Our elected representatives and government officials are well aware of the increase in fuel prices, but few know about peak oil and the full scope of the energy dilemma. The single most important thing that you can do is to help change that, by rapidly increasing public awareness of fuel depletion. |
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Sample letter: We are all rightly concerned about the rising prices of oil and natural gas. The destruction left by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita played a part, as well as financial speculation and price gouging. But the central issue, the depletion of the world's oil and gas supplies, is only lately coming to widespread public awareness. All experts, including those at the U.S. Department of Energy, agree that the world's production of oil will peak. Once that takes place, the age of cheap oil will be over – it will steadily become scarcer and more expensive. The only question is when the peak will arrive. Some say it won't take place for thirty years, but the Association for the Study of Peak Oil, and a growing number of petroleum geologists and energy analysts, expect oil production to peak between 2005 and 2010. Each day, the world uses about 84 million barrels of oil, and current production is so close to that figure that even slight disruptions to that figure could cause oil prices to skyrocket. Matthew Simmons, CEO of Simmons and Company International and a former adviser to Vice-President Dick Cheney, says oil prices could surpass $100 per barrel in the near future. Most of the world's remaining oil reserves are located in the Middle East , so trouble there could quickly result in oil prices shocks. The Hirsch report, commissioned by the US Department of Energy, warns that peak oil will inevitably trigger huge fuel shortages, price increases, and economic disruptions. It calls for massive government efforts to prepare for a fuel-deprived future by using less energy, using it more efficiently, developing alternative fuels, and generating more power from renewable sources like solar and wind. The good news is that these efforts will build new industries and create a great number of new jobs – if we implement them quickly enough. At this critical time, we need your leadership. New York State and City governments are already leaders in energy efficiency, but we need to do much more. Last fall, the City of Denver cosponsored a conference on peak oil with ASPO. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) has formed a Peak Oil Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. A report outlining local options is available at www.peakoilnyc.org . You and your staff are invited to hear leading national and local experts at a peak oil conference in Manhattan on April 27 – 29, 2006 . Please let me know how you will respond to the coming challenge of fuel depletion.
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New York City Contacts: Contact Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg There are fifty NYC council districts. At the NYC Council website, enter your address to find out which district you live in, and who your Council member is. Follow the link to their site to email and phone them. Try to set up a meeting with their chief of staff or legislative director, and a member of the Peak Oil NYC steering committee will join you. Contact City Council Leaders:
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