to: Mayor and Town Council
from: Jim Ward, Mayor Pro Tem and Sustainability Committee Chair
subject: Statement of Support for Peak Oil Awareness and Planning
date: September 8, 2008
The purpose of this report is to provide the Council with the Sustainability Committee’s position on the attached Peak Oil resolution proposed by NC Powerdown.
Peak oil is generally defined as the point in time when half of the world’s oil reserves have been used, therefore leading to increased scarcity of this commodity and corresponding price hikes.
At the April 2nd, 2008 SEE Committee meeting, NC Powerdown members Daniel Morris, Ari Berenbaum and Abraham Palmer made a presentation entitled “Peak Oil Will Affect Us All.” As part of an effort to provide the Committee with detailed information on the issue of peak oil, the representatives from NC Powerdown asked the SEE Committee for their assistance in developing a resolution for the Town Council’s consideration on the topic of peak oil awareness and planning.
At the April 14th, 2008 Council Business Meeting, the SEE Committee asked the Council to refer the peak oil resolution request to the newly formed Sustainability Committee and Town staff. On May 8th, the staff liaison to the Sustainability Committee received a draft peak oil resolution from NC Powerdown. After completing a number of necessary organizational tasks during the first three meetings, the Sustainability Committee invited NC Powerdown to present the peak oil issue and resolution to the committee at their July 8, 2008 meeting.
At the August 12, 2008 Sustainability Committee meeting, the Committee continued its discussion of the peak oil resolution and unanimously agreed to issue a statement of support as an information item at the September 8, 2008 Council Business Meeting.
The Sustainability Committee is concerned with the issue of peak oil and believes that it is appropriate to assign one body the task of exploring opportunities to better safeguard the Town against the challenges of a peak oil economy. Consequently, the Sustainability Committee supports the essence of NC Powerdown’s peak oil resolution, which is to advance peak oil planning measures and increase awareness on the topic. However, the Committee also believes that it is not in a position to advocate for the specific items proposed within the resolution because the Committee is a) not far enough along in its own work plan development and b) recognizes the practical difficulties associated with addressing peak oil in isolation from other considerations.
In light of these interests, the Committee will attempt to incorporate peak oil awareness and planning into the development of a holistic sustainability work plan that addresses issues of social equity, economic vitality and environmental protection within the community. To this end, the Committee intends to develop goals and strategies that consider the anticipated social, economic and environmental consequences of a peak oil economy within the greater context of community sustainability.