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August 2005
New York Times article on Peak Oil
This article in the New York Times, is an in depth look at whether the Saudis can, or can't match oil demand - i.e. whether Peak Oil is real or not.
www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/magazine/21OIL.html
As Aref al-Ali, my escort from Saudi Aramco, the giant state-owned oil company, pointed out, ''One mistake at Ras Tanura today, and the price of oil will go up.'' This has turned the port into a fortress; its entrances have an array of gates and bomb barriers to prevent terrorists from cutting off the black oxygen that the modern world depends on. Yet the problem is far greater than the brief havoc that could be wrought by a speeding zealot with 50 pounds of TNT in the trunk of his car. Concerns are being voiced by some oil experts that Saudi Arabia and other producers may, in the near future, be unable to meet rising world demand. The producers are not running out of oil, not yet, but their decades-old reservoirs are not as full and geologically spry as they used to be, and they may be incapable of producing, on a daily basis, the increasing volumes of oil that the world requires. ''One thing is clear,'' warns Chevron, the second-largest American oil company, in a series of new advertisements, ''the era of easy oil is over.''
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Ten things a business in Byron Shire can do for sustainability
The Byron Sustainable Ventures Network is a network of local business-owners which was started about a year ago by Mitra Ardron of Natural Innovation. The people that make up the network believe that business has a duty to care for the environment and the communities we are part of. The network has been gathering monthly to support each other in balancing the challenges of keeping our businesses environmentally, socially and economically healthy.
Here are some suggestions and examples of ways to make your business more sustainable.
1. Consider your raw materials. Could you use recycled or reclaimed materials? Slingfings uses reclaimed and recycled fabrics. ReGenesis collects and transmutes green waste into live soil or ‘humus’ for replenishment of the land.
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Climate Change, Environmental Refugees, and solutions.
Thursday 25th August 7pm
Byron Bay Community Center
The Byron Sustainable Ventures Network, in conjunction with Friends of the Earth are presenting an information evening on Climate Change at the Byron Bay Community Center on Thursday 25th August at 7pm. Friends of the Earth will highlight the inequity of climate change impacts across the globe while the Byron Sustainable Venture Network will share actions that local businesses can and are taking to mitigate their impact on the environment.
Climate Change is the most significant environmental issue facing us over the next decade, with major impacts that will be felt worldwide, and not just by those who are creating most of the greenhouse gas pollution. this forum will follow up on Tim Winton’s recent Peak Oil forum, by looking at one of the specific impacts of climate change, and by addressing the responsibility of businesses to do their part in reducing the impact and scale of climate change.
Continue reading "Climate Change, Environmental Refugees, and solutions."
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