Peak Oil and Globalization
Following the free forum, was a Mayor’s Networking Luncheon, which featured keynote speaker, Jeff Rubin. A Canadian economist and author, Mr. Rubin’s talk, “Why Your World is about to Get a Whole Lot Smaller,” addressed his predictions that:
“we are on the brink of a massive change. The future may not see the kind of economic growth that globalization has brought, but local economies will be revitalized, as well as our cities and neighbourhoods.”
At the centre of his speech, was a discussion of peak oil and future oil sale trends. Mr. Rubin contends that as the price of oil goes up and the demand in China increases, we will see a greater reliance on local industries and energy self-sufficiency in North America. Canada, with the Alberta oil sands being increasingly mined, will find itself in a new position globally as we seek to profit from the oil sands, while attempting to become more energy sustainable at home.
Overall, it was an interesting day and we made some excellent connections with fellow green businesses and city representatives. Mr. Rubin's discussion also recalls the work of our friend Alexis Zeigler in his book Culture Change: Civil Liberty, Peak Oil and the End of Empire. Alexis recently announced a new Living Energy Farm project in central Virginia, not completely unlike our client David Master's work at the LUNA Project (near Hamilton.)
Sustainable Cities Forum Presentations
Update! You now view PDF's of the following Hamilton Sustainable Cities Forum presentations listed below, courtesy of Hamilton Economic Development. Please note that these presentations will be available only until the end of December 2010.
