Events

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When Richard Heinberg was in Portland last month, he showed this video in his workshop. Join us for this informative and often humorous talk by Al Bartlett. Free and open to the public.

In this DVD, Colorado University-Boulder Professor Emeritus Al Bartlett gives his celebrated talk, "Arithmetic, Population and Energy: Sustainability 101".

Bartlett, of the University of Colorado at Boulder physics department, has given the lecture over 1,540 times since 1969. The talk warns of the perilous effects of population growth and of growth in rates of consumption of nonrenewable resources.

Bartlett first delivered the lecture in 1969 to explain the arithmetic of steady growth and to alert the public to the consequences of rising human population and of rising rates of consumption of nonrenewable resources. Since his first presentation in 1969, he has given the talk an average of about once every nine days.

Bartlett begins his talk with a striking observation: "The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." His lecture includes examples of how the steady growth of the human population erodes everything from natural resources to democracy.

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This is the debriefing/next steps meeting following the group's meeting with Commissioner Dan Saltzman.

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Living Earth's four-week discussion group in autumn 2005 on Richard Heinberg's "Powerdown" has evolved into an ongoing Powerdown Circle to support our own shifting responses to the prospect of "peak oil" and to encourage the wider community to join in the discussion. We are particularly interested in engaging people in positions to influence civic and private sector decisions that have community-wide impact and potential.

The implications of the end of cheap fuel for American culture and for global stability are immense. The changes on the horizon run so deep - economic, environmental, geopolitical - it is tempting to put our heads under the covers and hope for a magical rescue, or else to "bunker down" in a dangerous state of escalating fear and isolation. Both reactions - stubborn denial or societal panic - waste the narrow window of time available to think creatively, constructively, and cooperatively to prepare ourselves, our neighborhoods and communities, our city, and our society for an American future radically different than the culture we have developed over the past two and a half centuries.

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Jim Wrathall, a longtime member of Portland Peak Oil, speaks about his experience from the World Social Forum in Caracas, Venezuela. Description of his talk coming shortly.

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"Hubbert's Peak: The End of Oil"

Kenneth Deffeyes is professor emeritus of Geosciences at Princeton University. Early in his career he worked with famed petroleum geologist King Hubbert, who correctly predicted that U.S. oil production would peak around 1970, and who later predicted that world production would peak around 2005...

Deffeyes is also the author of Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak (2005) and Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage (2003).

Tickets are available for purchase here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/1952

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Join your neighbors for:

- Healthy Home Workshops

- Money-Saving Tips

- Free Lunch from Burgerville

 Click here for details!

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The Portland Peak Oil Outreach group is committed to taking on creative and constructive projects designed to inform the public about peak oil and the existence of our group. Open to the public. See agenda post here.

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If you are interested in being a part of planning & instigating the "1st Wednesday" preparation-oriented meetings, you are welcome to attend.  Please feel free to send feedback if you can't make the meeting! 

Agenda

1. Work out logistics Spring Gardening Workshop to be held 3/1/06
2. Discuss theme for next support group meeting (4/5/06) & confirm facilitators
3. Look at most popular workshop topics & start to draft a schedule.
4. Use a 1st Wednesday to show the Red Cross 72 hour preparedness kit?
5. Additional ideas?

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There is a Clean Cars hearing in Portland on Monday night. There have been almost a hundred people at hearings around the state so far, and we expect the Portland hearing to be huge!

It is critical that as many people as possible attend the hearing so that elected officials see how much support there is, because the auto industry isn't backing down. They've now sued four states -- including Oregon -- for cutting global warming pollution from cars.

WHAT: Portland hearing on the Clean Cars program

WHO: Oregonians from across the metro area, including Majority Leader Kate Brown (Portland), Rep. Greg Macpherson (Lake Oswego) and Rep. Jackie Dingfelder (Portland)

WHERE: in Portland, at DEQ Headquarters, 811 SW Sixth Ave, Room 3A (3rd flr)

WHEN: Monday, February 27, at 7:00 pm

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NE Area Peak Oil Potluck

We gather once a month to socialize, discuss, strategize and support one another in making our lifestyles more sustainable, our homes more efficient, and our sense of community more intact.

This month our discussion will include “work parties” - how they might be organized to get particular projects done in our various homes. You need not be a homeowner to participate!

Bring food to share. (Plates, utensils, glassware provided.)

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On Wednesday, January 18th, a Sustainability Committee started up under the auspices of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association. Whether you live in Sunnyside or not, this meeting on peak oil preparedness in Sunnyside should be very interesting. The meeting is open to the public.

For questions, call the Sunnyside Hotline at 503-295-1699.

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Living Earth's four-week discussion group in autumn 2005 on Richard Heinberg's "Powerdown" has evolved into an ongoing Powerdown Circle to support our own shifting responses to the prospect of "peak oil" and to encourage the wider community to join in the discussion. We are particularly interested in engaging people in positions to influence civic and private sector decisions that have community-wide impact and potential.

The implications of the end of cheap fuel for American culture and for global stability are immense. The changes on the horizon run so deep - economic, environmental, geopolitical - it is tempting to put our heads under the covers and hope for a magical rescue, or else to "bunker down" in a dangerous state of escalating fear and isolation. Both reactions - stubborn denial or societal panic - waste the narrow window of time available to think creatively, constructively, and cooperatively to prepare ourselves, our neighborhoods and communities, our city, and our society for an American future radically different than the culture we have developed over the past two and a half centuries.

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This month's preparedness focus is starting your Spring garden with possible breakout sessions for gardening 101, bang for your buck(et)!, starting plants in space & time, and soil health including living & non-living mulches.

We will also have information additional gardening courses provided by other local non-profits and information on donating extra garden produce to the Oregon Food Bank.

Room discussion free and open to the public.

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If you'd like to see what's going on behind the scenes or if you'd like to get more involved, please attend the Portland Peak Oil Monthly Business Meeting.

The intention of the business meeting is to come together monthly to discuss group operations and make crucial decisions regarding PPO going forward. These meetings are open to the public to be as inclusive, transparent, and community-oriented as possible.

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Living Earth's four-week discussion group in autumn 2005 on Richard Heinberg's "Powerdown" has evolved into an ongoing Powerdown Circle to support our own shifting responses to the prospect of "peak oil" and to encourage the wider community to join in the discussion. We are particularly interested in engaging people in positions to influence civic and private sector decisions that have community-wide impact and potential.

The implications of the end of cheap fuel for American culture and for global stability are immense. The changes on the horizon run so deep - economic, environmental, geopolitical - it is tempting to put our heads under the covers and hope for a magical rescue, or else to "bunker down" in a dangerous state of escalating fear and isolation. Both reactions - stubborn denial or societal panic - waste the narrow window of time available to think creatively, constructively, and cooperatively to prepare ourselves, our neighborhoods and communities, our city, and our society for an American future radically different than the culture we have developed over the past two and a half centuries.

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Free and open to the public - come learn more about peak oil and make community connections.

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Three day class, Friday to Sunday covering introduction to permaculture and appropriate technology. Information at www.portlandpermaculture.com or call 503.293.8004.

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Three day class, Friday to Sunday covering introduction to permaculture and appropriate technology. Information at www.portlandpermaculture.com or call 503.293.8004.

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Three day class, Friday to Sunday covering introduction to permaculture and appropriate technology. Information at www.portlandpermaculture.com or call 503.293.8004.

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Back by popular demand! We had a really fun letter writing party last November which resulted in over 35 letters and cards sent out and personal responses from city officials and local environmental organizations. We come together to write letters to politicians, members of the local media, and environmental organizations conveying the message of peak oil and encouraging preparation action from these leaders.

We're having our second letter writing party this weekend. We're not talking multi-page letters here, just a few paragraphs can be very powerful. It's been shown that personal written notes are the most effective form of activist communication (as compared to form emails and postcards) and that's what we're going to do.

All you need to do is show up! A few of us on the Outreach team are organizing this and we're hoping to make this as fun and easy an event as possible. We'll provide cards, stationery, paper, pens, stamps, contacts/ addresses, "talking points" - facts and ideas to use as writing springboards, yummy snacks and drinks, music, and good company! Bring a snack or beverage if you like.

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NOTE: The first 20 minutes of the evening, Amanda Fritz, candidate for City Commissioner, will be speaking to the group on energy issues and Portland. There will also be Q&A, so bring your tough questions! Portland Peak Oil does not officially endorse any City candidates at this time; we simply aim to provide the service to the community of hearing the candidates speak about relevant issues. The film below will likely start at 7:30pm.


This showing is free and open to the public. It's a new film and a few of us saw the beta version that Richard Heinberg showed at his workshop here in January. It's excellent!

The documentary, "The Power of Community – How Cuba Survived Peak Oil," was inspired when Faith Morgan and Pat Murphy took a trip to Cuba through Global Exchange in August, 2003. That year Pat had begun studying and speaking about worldwide peak oil production. In May Pat and Faith attended the second meeting of The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, a European group of oil geologists and scientists, which predicted that mankind was perilously close to having used up half of the world's oil resources. When they learned that Cuba underwent the loss of over half of its oil imports and survived, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, the couple wanted to see for themselves how Cuba had done this.

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PPO's preparedness working group has moved their monthly meetings to the 3rd Thursday of the month. We will be planning upcoming 1st Wednesdays, setting up a reading group for the book "When Technology Fails", and other projects if other folks are available.