The Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions: Schedule

Friday, October 31

3-6pm Tour of Willows Earth Education Center & Pizza Dinner (More about it)

5-8:30pm Registration and Check-in at Oakland Center

6-6:30pm Press Conference with Local Media, Megan Quinn Bachman
Megan Quinn Bachman, Conference Program Manager, will provide a preview for media and community leaders of the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions and Green Living Expo to be held at Oakland University over the Halloween weekend. Keynote and panel presenters as well as select Connectors (roundtable topic facilitators) and expo exhibitors will be available for interviews. Fitting for Halloween, these local and world sustainability leaders will describe the scary prospects we face as we encounter the end of cheap energy resources and the onset of climate change, but will also provide a message of hope, that low-energy lifestyles and community solutions can offer more resilient communities and a better quality of life.

7-7:30pm Conference Welcome and Introduction
Pat Murphy, Megan Quinn Bachman

7:30-8:30pm Keynote Presentation: "A Window of Opportunity,"John Michael Greer
Almost forty years after M. King Hubbert's original warning, and some three years after the peak of conventional petroleum production, Peak Oil is finally beginning to find an audience across the industrial world. As energy markets gyrate, economies falter, and politicians scramble for solutions, a window of opportunity for significant change is opening. Drawing on examples from history, John Michael Greer places the current crisis in its wider context and discusses the possibilities and challenges facing communities and agents of change in the immediate future.

8:30-10pm Performance Event: Peter Folco, Earth-Friendly Music
Pete Folco is a singer/songwriter and musical story teller influenced by American folk, country and classic rock. He's been playing guitar since 1969 and has played with a wide variety of bands but these days simply enjoys the lighter side of his music. A Lapeer, Michigan resident for the past four years, you can catch Pete enjoying himself entertaining the folks at some of the local coffee houses in the surrounding area.

Saturday, November 1

8-10am Registration continues

9-10am Keynote Presentation: "Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change," Pat Murphy
Pat Murphy's recently released book "Plan C" shows the need for a 90% reduction in US energy consumption by 2050. He proposes ways to achieve such deep reductions in the household sector of the economy – food, housing and personal transport. Murphy points out that buildings consume more energy than food or personal transport and shows ways that as a society we can achieve the reductions needed. He will also discuss the geopolitical implications of the U.S. continuing to consume 25% of the world’s energy with 5% of the population.

10-10:30am Morning Break

10:30-12 Noon Tracks 1-3 (see details in right column)

12 Noon-6pm Free Green Living Expo (More about it)

12 Noon-2pm Lunch

12 Noon-2pm Tour of Michigan's First Sustainable Restaurant & Organic/Local Gourmet Lunch (More about it)

12 Noon-1pm Free Film Presentation: "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil," Faith Morgan
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people. They share how they transitioned from highly mechanized agriculture to using organic farming and urban gardens. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis, is an example of options and hope. Join director Faith Morgan for a Q&A session after the screening.

1-2pm Free Slideshow Presentation: "U.S. Sustainability Tour," Shane Snell
Shane Snell will present photos and share stories from his two years of research on eco-villages and travel throughout North America in a veggie oil powered camper. The presentation will show how ordinary people are responding to the challenges of energy depletion and climate change.

2-3pm Keynote Presentation: "Five Stages of Collapse – A Progress Report," Dmitry Orlov
Using the collapse of the USSR and other historical examples, Dmitry Orlov will define the five stages of collapse – financial, commercial, political, social, and cultural – and identify the U.S.’s progress through them as the age of the cheap, abundant oil comes to an end. Orlov will go own to comparatively gauge our own collapse-preparedness and suggest strategies to improve it.

3-3:30pm Afternoon Break

3-6pm Round Table Discussion
Connections Café (More about it)

3:30-5pm Tracks 1, 2, 4 (see details in right column)

5-7pm Dinner

5-9pm Rochester Main Street Excursion
Take a break from the conference and enjoy beautiful downtown Rochester's many fine eating and entertainment establishments, including Rochester Mills Brewing Company and Mind Body & Spirits, Michigan's first sustainable restaurant and lounge. Shuttle bus service will leave the Oakland Center on the half hour and downtown Rochester on the hour.

7-8pm Slideshow Presentation: "U.S. Sustainability Tour," Shane Snell
Shane Snell will present photos and share stories from his two years of research on eco-villages and travel throughout North America in a veggie oil powered camper. The presentation will show how ordinary people are responding to the challenges of energy depletion and climate change.

7-8pm Film Presentation: "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil," Faith Morgan
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people. They share how they transitioned from highly mechanized agriculture to using organic farming and urban gardens. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis, is an example of options and hope. Join director Faith Morgan for a Q&A session after the screening.

7-9pm Informal Reception

Sunday, November 2

9-9:45am Presentation: “The Long Dark Night Ahead – Humanity’s Prospects at the End of the Era of Cheap Energy,” Megan Quinn Bachman
On a finite and increasingly full planet, the choices we make greatly impact the natural world and all people. Meeting basic human needs for energy, food, and shelter is fast becoming an epic challenge and will shape the world to come. Megan Quinn Bachman will discuss the current critical junction in our history as both a curse and a blessing, and will explore community as both a means to an end, and as the end itself.

9:45-10:15am Presentation: "Transition: The Most Inspiring Movement in the World (and How to Bring It to Your Community)," Michael Brownlee
Now arriving in the U.S., Transition empowers communities to squarely face the local impacts of global crises, and to unleash the collective genius of their own people to find the answers to this momentous question: For all those aspects of life that this community needs to sustain itself and thrive, how are we going to drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change), significantly rebuild resilience (in response to peak oil), and greatly strengthen our local economy (in response to economic instability)?

10:15-10:30am Regional Meet-ups and Working Groups
Megan Quinn Bachman

10:30-11am Morning Break

11am-12 Noon Webcast: “Resilient Communities: Paths for Powering Down – An Exercise in Strategic Thinking,” Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg will give a live webcast presentation covering the latest on the unfolding energy and economic crisis and how communities can begin to prepare. This presentation includes a look at community responses currently underway, including those which are top-down, bottom-up, proactive, and responsive. Heinberg addresses the question, how can we use this information and understanding about looming crises strategically to ease the transition and make the end result more satisfactory for people and planet?

12 Noon-2pm Lunch

12 Noon-1:30pm Tour of Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center & Lunch
(More about it)

2-3pm Panel Discussion: "Peak Oil and the Financial Crisis," Moderated by Rob Content
Join presenters John Michael Greer, Dmitry Orlov, Pat Murphy, Peter Bane, and Clark Tibbits for a panel discussion on the recent financial crisis, prospects for the U.S. economy, and survival strategies for weathering future shocks. Panelists will answer questions from the audience and respond to one another.

3-3:30pm Closing
Pat Murphy

Track 1: Food

10:30-11am and 3:30-4pm Presentation
Permaculture and the Household Economy
Peter Bane
Show or hide full description -

The coming massive cultural transition will require a rapid education in basic self-reliance for all people, rural and urban. Peter Bane will talk about how to design a plan of action and implementation to secure your family's and neighborhood's future. He'll provoke some thinking on central issues around household sustenance and address increasing labor (needs and availability), water supply, growing space and energy constraints, sources of fertility, food storage and processing, year round production, choosing crops, and setting priorities.

11-11:30am and 4-4:30pm Presentation
Food Security: Respecting Nature and Animals as If Our Future Depended On It
Christopher Bedford
Show or hide full description -

Our survival depends, in great measure, on the quality of our life decisions not the quantity of stuff we produce. Sustainability is grounded on specific principles of life and energy that should inform and guide our economy, particularly our food economy. Chris Bedford, President of the Center for Economic Security and the Sweetwater Local Foods Market, will talk about the values of sustainability and how they can ensure a safety, healthy food supply for our communities. He will offer both an ethical overview and specific examples of how values-based food systems work our collective future.

11:30am-12 Noon and 4:30-5pm Food Panel Discussion
Peter Bane, Chris Bedford

Track 2: Housing

10:30-11am and 3:30-4pm Workshop
Plan C for Housing – Deep Retrofits and Low-Tech Strategies
Pat Murphy
Show or hide full description -

Because buildings in the U.S. use one-half of the nation’s energy in their construction, maintenance, demolition, and especially operation, retrofitting existing buildings and building new homes and communities for low-energy use will be critical. Pat Murphy will give an overview of building energy use, identify viable strategies for and share personal experiences with deep energy reductions in existing homes, and offer low-tech and community-based survival strategies for staying warm in our homes.

11-11:30am and 4-4:30pm Presentation
"Positive Net Energy Homes – the Passive House Concept"
Katrin Klingenberg
Show or hide full description -

The Passive House movement began in the U.S., was carried on in Germany and Sweden, spread through Europe, and is now being re-introduced in North America. It was created based upon the need for developed countries to reduce the emissions from space conditioning their homes by at least 90% on average to bring them within sustainable levels, a goal which is both achievable and cost-effective. Katrin Klingenberg will talk about the features and benefits of Passive House construction, including thermal comfort in summer and winter, the importance of building airtight and thermal-bridge free, windows as an essential component, balanced ventilation with highly efficient heat recovery, superior air quality, and minimized mechanical systems for space conditioning and domestic hot water. She will also share built examples and her construction experiences.

11:30am-12 Noon and 4:30-5pm Housing Panel Discussion
Katrin Klingenberg, Pat Murphy, Linda Wigington

Track 3: Transportation

10:30-11am Workshop
Sail Transport Initiative
Dmitry Orlov
Show or hide full description -

A sailboat is not the first thing that comes to mind when contemplating the range of useful responses to the set of intractable global problems that confront us. Nor the second. But once it does, a bit of further study makes it apparent that few things will possess greater long-term utility in the changed circumstances we should all be expecting. Dmitry Orlov will talk about why it makes sense to pursue this long-term utility, rather than continuing to think of temporary measures and half-measures.

11-11:30am Presentation
Avego Shared Transport / Smart Jitney
Steve Raney
Show or hide full description -

Transportation analyst Steve Raney will introduce Avego, an innovative, user-based system to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gases, and traffic. A five-seat car traveling with only a driver is inherently inefficient, and yet 85% of the time in much of the world, that's how cars travel. With Avego's GPS technology, web services, and public participation, those empty seats can be filled. Avego thus permits travelers to cooperate in making a region's transport system more efficient, saving time and money and reducing pollution and congestion.

11:30am-12 Noon Transportation Panel Discussion

Track 4: Energy

3:30-4pm Workshop
The Problem with Renewables
John Michael Greer
Show or hide full description -

Because most so-called "renewables" have relatively short working lives, and require very substantial fossil fuel inputs to be manufactured, maintained, and replaced, they'll sunset out as petroleum does. While renewables are important – they're what we'll have left when the fossil fuels are gone – sheer thermodynamic limits make it effectively impossible to run a modern energy-wasting economy off them. John Michael Greer will take a whole system and long-term perspective, concluding that industrial age is nearing its end.

4-4:30pm Presentation
Squandered Inheritance: Living on Our Energy Income
John Richter
Show or hide full description -

Fossil fuels are concentrated solar energy from the distant past. We burned this inheritance and now face the challenge of living on our energy income – sun, wind, hydro and biomass. Can they power the world as we know it – including transportation? How do we address their intermittence and expense? Which technologies are best suited to a community scale energy system? Do we have time to carry out this massive transition? What’s the alternative to renewable energy?

4:30-5pm Energy Panel Discussion
Greer, Richter


	Click to download final conference program. Conference Schedule Friday, October 31 3-6pm Tour of Willows Earth Education Center & Pizza Dinner (More about it) 5-8:30pm Registration and Check-in at Oakland Center 6-6:30pm Press Conference with Local Media, Megan Quinn Bachman Megan Quinn Bachman, Conference Program Manager, will provide a preview for media and community leaders of the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions and Green Living Expo to be held at Oakland University over the Halloween weekend. Keynote and panel presenters as well as select Connectors (roundtable topic facilitators) and expo exhibitors will be available for interviews. Fitting for Halloween, these local and world sustainability leaders will describe the scary prospects we face as we encounter the end of cheap energy resources and the onset of climate change, but will also provide a message of hope, that low-energy lifestyles and community solutions can offer more resilient communities and a better quality of life. 7-7:30pm Conference Welcome and Introduction Pat Murphy, Megan Quinn Bachman 7:30-8:30pm Keynote Presentation: "A Window of Opportunity,"John Michael Greer Almost forty years after M. King Hubbert's original warning, and some three years after the peak of conventional petroleum production, Peak Oil is finally beginning to find an audience across the industrial world. As energy markets gyrate, economies falter, and politicians scramble for solutions, a window of opportunity for significant change is opening. Drawing on examples from history, John Michael Greer places the current crisis in its wider context and discusses the possibilities and challenges facing communities and agents of change in the immediate future. 8:30-10pm Performance Event: Peter Folco, Earth-Friendly Music Pete Folco is a singer/songwriter and musical story teller influenced by American folk, country and classic rock. He's been playing guitar since 1969 and has played with a wide variety of bands but these days simply enjoys the lighter side of his music. A Lapeer, Michigan resident for the past four years, you can catch Pete enjoying himself entertaining the folks at some of the local coffee houses in the surrounding area. Saturday, November 1 8-10am Registration continues 9-10am Keynote Presentation: "Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change," Pat Murphy Pat Murphy's recently released book "Plan C" shows the need for a 90% reduction in US energy consumption by 2050. He proposes ways to achieve such deep reductions in the household sector of the economy – food, housing and personal transport. Murphy points out that buildings consume more energy than food or personal transport and shows ways that as a society we can achieve the reductions needed. He will also discuss the geopolitical implications of the U.S. continuing to consume 25% of the world’s energy with 5% of the population. 10-10:30am Morning Break 10:30-12 Noon Tracks 1-3 (see details in right column) 12 Noon-6pm Free Green Living Expo (More about it) 12 Noon-2pm Lunch 12 Noon-2pm Tour of Michigan's First Sustainable Restaurant & Organic/Local Gourmet Lunch (More about it) 12 Noon-1pm Free Film Presentation: "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil," Faith Morgan When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people. They share how they transitioned from highly mechanized agriculture to using organic farming and urban gardens. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis, is an example of options and hope. Join director Faith Morgan for a Q&A session after the screening. 1-2pm Free Slideshow Presentation: "U.S. Sustainability Tour," Shane Snell Shane Snell will present photos and share stories from his two years of research on eco-villages and travel throughout North America in a veggie oil powered camper. The presentation will show how ordinary people are responding to the challenges of energy depletion and climate change. 2-3pm Keynote Presentation: "Five Stages of Collapse – A Progress Report," Dmitry Orlov Using the collapse of the USSR and other historical examples, Dmitry Orlov will define the five stages of collapse – financial, commercial, political, social, and cultural – and identify the U.S.’s progress through them as the age of the cheap, abundant oil comes to an end. Orlov will go own to comparatively gauge our own collapse-preparedness and suggest strategies to improve it. 3-3:30pm Afternoon Break 3-6pm Round Table Discussion Connections Café (More about it) 3:30-5pm Tracks 1, 2, 4 (see details in right column) 5-7pm Dinner 5-9pm Rochester Main Street Excursion Take a break from the conference and enjoy beautiful downtown Rochester's many fine eating and entertainment establishments, including Rochester Mills Brewing Company and Mind Body & Spirits, Michigan's first sustainable restaurant and lounge. Shuttle bus service will leave the Oakland Center on the half hour and downtown Rochester on the hour. 7-8pm Slideshow Presentation: "U.S. Sustainability Tour," Shane Snell Shane Snell will present photos and share stories from his two years of research on eco-villages and travel throughout North America in a veggie oil powered camper. The presentation will show how ordinary people are responding to the challenges of energy depletion and climate change. 7-8pm Film Presentation: "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil," Faith Morgan When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people. They share how they transitioned from highly mechanized agriculture to using organic farming and urban gardens. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis, is an example of options and hope. Join director Faith Morgan for a Q&A session after the screening. 7-9pm Informal Reception Sunday, November 2 9-9:45am Presentation: “The Long Dark Night Ahead – Humanity’s Prospects at the End of the Era of Cheap Energy,” Megan Quinn Bachman On a finite and increasingly full planet, the choices we make greatly impact the natural world and all people. Meeting basic human needs for energy, food, and shelter is fast becoming an epic challenge and will shape the world to come. Megan Quinn Bachman will discuss the current critical junction in our history as both a curse and a blessing, and will explore community as both a means to an end, and as the end itself. 9:45-10:15am Presentation: "Transition: The Most Inspiring Movement in the World (and How to Bring It to Your Community)," Michael Brownlee Now arriving in the U.S., Transition empowers communities to squarely face the local impacts of global crises, and to unleash the collective genius of their own people to find the answers to this momentous question: For all those aspects of life that this community needs to sustain itself and thrive, how are we going to drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change), significantly rebuild resilience (in response to peak oil), and greatly strengthen our local economy (in response to economic instability)? 10:15-10:30am Regional Meet-ups and Working Groups Megan Quinn Bachman 10:30-11am Morning Break 11am-12 Noon Webcast: “Resilient Communities: Paths for Powering Down – An Exercise in Strategic Thinking,” Richard Heinberg Richard Heinberg will give a live webcast presentation covering the latest on the unfolding energy and economic crisis and how communities can begin to prepare. This presentation includes a look at community responses currently underway, including those which are top-down, bottom-up, proactive, and responsive. Heinberg addresses the question, how can we use this information and understanding about looming crises strategically to ease the transition and make the end result more satisfactory for people and planet? 12 Noon-2pm Lunch 12 Noon-1:30pm Tour of Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center & Lunch (More about it) 2-3pm Panel Discussion: "Peak Oil and the Financial Crisis," Moderated by Rob Content Join presenters John Michael Greer, Dmitry Orlov, Pat Murphy, Peter Bane, and Clark Tibbits for a panel discussion on the recent financial crisis, prospects for the U.S. economy, and survival strategies for weathering future shocks. Panelists will answer questions from the audience and respond to one another. 3-3:30pm Closing Pat Murphy See what the 2007 conference was like. Click here for the summary of the Fourth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community. For more information, email info@plancconference.org. Download the conference brochure and registration form.		Tracks 1,2 and 3 will occur in the morning and Tracks 1, 2 and 4 in the afternoon. Track 1: Food 10:30-11am and 3:30-4pm Presentation Permaculture and the Household Economy Peter Bane Show or hide full description - The coming massive cultural transition will require a rapid education in basic self-reliance for all people, rural and urban. Peter Bane will talk about how to design a plan of action and implementation to secure your family's and neighborhood's future. He'll provoke some thinking on central issues around household sustenance and address increasing labor (needs and availability), water supply, growing space and energy constraints, sources of fertility, food storage and processing, year round production, choosing crops, and setting priorities. 11-11:30am and 4-4:30pm Presentation Food Security: Respecting Nature and Animals as If Our Future Depended On It Christopher Bedford Show or hide full description - Our survival depends, in great measure, on the quality of our life decisions not the quantity of stuff we produce. Sustainability is grounded on specific principles of life and energy that should inform and guide our economy, particularly our food economy. Chris Bedford, President of the Center for Economic Security and the Sweetwater Local Foods Market, will talk about the values of sustainability and how they can ensure a safety, healthy food supply for our communities. He will offer both an ethical overview and specific examples of how values-based food systems work our collective future. 11:30am-12 Noon and 4:30-5pm Food Panel Discussion Peter Bane, Chris Bedford Track 2: Housing 10:30-11am and 3:30-4pm Workshop Plan C for Housing – Deep Retrofits and Low-Tech Strategies Pat Murphy Show or hide full description - Because buildings in the U.S. use one-half of the nation’s energy in their construction, maintenance, demolition, and especially operation, retrofitting existing buildings and building new homes and communities for low-energy use will be critical. Pat Murphy will give an overview of building energy use, identify viable strategies for and share personal experiences with deep energy reductions in existing homes, and offer low-tech and community-based survival strategies for staying warm in our homes. 11-11:30am and 4-4:30pm Presentation "Positive Net Energy Homes – the Passive House Concept" Katrin Klingenberg Show or hide full description - The Passive House movement began in the U.S., was carried on in Germany and Sweden, spread through Europe, and is now being re-introduced in North America. It was created based upon the need for developed countries to reduce the emissions from space conditioning their homes by at least 90% on average to bring them within sustainable levels, a goal which is both achievable and cost-effective. Katrin Klingenberg will talk about the features and benefits of Passive House construction, including thermal comfort in summer and winter, the importance of building airtight and thermal-bridge free, windows as an essential component, balanced ventilation with highly efficient heat recovery, superior air quality, and minimized mechanical systems for space conditioning and domestic hot water. She will also share built examples and her construction experiences. 11:30am-12 Noon and 4:30-5pm Housing Panel Discussion Katrin Klingenberg, Pat Murphy, Linda Wigington Track 3: Transportation 10:30-11am Workshop Sail Transport Initiative Dmitry Orlov Show or hide full description - A sailboat is not the first thing that comes to mind when contemplating the range of useful responses to the set of intractable global problems that confront us. Nor the second. But once it does, a bit of further study makes it apparent that few things will possess greater long-term utility in the changed circumstances we should all be expecting. Dmitry Orlov will talk about why it makes sense to pursue this long-term utility, rather than continuing to think of temporary measures and half-measures. 11-11:30am Presentation Avego Shared Transport / Smart Jitney Steve Raney Show or hide full description - Transportation analyst Steve Raney will introduce Avego, an innovative, user-based system to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gases, and traffic. A five-seat car traveling with only a driver is inherently inefficient, and yet 85% of the time in much of the world, that's how cars travel. With Avego's GPS technology, web services, and public participation, those empty seats can be filled. Avego thus permits travelers to cooperate in making a region's transport system more efficient, saving time and money and reducing pollution and congestion. 11:30am-12 Noon Transportation Panel Discussion Track 4: Energy 3:30-4pm Workshop The Problem with Renewables John Michael Greer Show or hide full description - Because most so-called "renewables" have relatively short working lives, and require very substantial fossil fuel inputs to be manufactured, maintained, and replaced, they'll sunset out as petroleum does. While renewables are important – they're what we'll have left when the fossil fuels are gone – sheer thermodynamic limits make it effectively impossible to run a modern energy-wasting economy off them. John Michael Greer will take a whole system and long-term perspective, concluding that industrial age is nearing its end. 4-4:30pm Presentation Squandered Inheritance: Living on Our Energy Income John Richter Show or hide full description - Fossil fuels are concentrated solar energy from the distant past. We burned this inheritance and now face the challenge of living on our energy income – sun, wind, hydro and biomass. Can they power the world as we know it – including transportation? How do we address their intermittence and expense? Which technologies are best suited to a community scale energy system? Do we have time to carry out this massive transition? What’s the alternative to renewable energy? 4:30-5pm Energy Panel Discussion Greer, Richter