guardian | A conference sponsored by a US military official convened experts in
Washington DC and London warning that continued dependence on fossil
fuels puts the world at risk of an unprecedented energy crunch that
could inflame financial crisis and exacerbate dangerous climate change.
The 'Transatlantic Energy Security Dialogue',
which took place on 10th December last year, was co-organised by a US
Army official, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis, operating in a
private capacity, in association with former petroleum geologist Jeremy
Leggett, covener of the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security.
Participants,
who addressed one another via video link, consisted of retired military
officers, security experts, senior industry executives, and politicians
from the main parties - including two former UK ministers. According to
US Army colonel Daniel Davis, a veteran of four tours of duty in
Afghanistan and Iraq, and regular contributor to the Armed Forces Journal:
"We put the event together because the prevailing idea that we have a bright future of increasing oil and gas production that can sustain our current way of life indefinitely is based on a selective appraisal of the data. We brought together experts from across the spectrum, and with a wide range of opinions, to have a comprehensive look at all the relevant data. When you only look at certain things, like the very real resurgence of US oil and gas production, the picture looks fine. But when you dig deeper into the data, it becomes clear that this is only part of the picture. And the big picture proves that our current course cannot continue without significant risks."
The dialogue opened with a
presentation by Mark C. Lewis, former head of energy research at
Deutsche Bank's commodities unit, who highlighted three interlinked
problems facing the global energy system: "very high decline rates" in
global production; "soaring" investment requirements "to find new oil";
and since 2005, "falling exports of crude oil globally."
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