Post Carbon Institute is a think tank which provides information and analysis on emerging responses and strategies to
climate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, energy scarcity, overconsumption,
economicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and other issues related to
sustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
and long term social
resilienceResilience is the property of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon unloading to have this energy recovered. In other words, it is the maximum energy per unit volume that can be elastically stored...
. Post Carbon's Fellows specialize in various fields related to the organization's mission, such as fossil fuels, food, water, and population. Post Carbon is incorporated as a 501(c)3
non-profit organizationNonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
and is based in Santa Rosa, California, USA.
History
Post Carbon Institute was established in 2003. From 2003 to 2008, under the leadership of
Julian DarleyJulian Darley is a writer and speaker on policy responses to global environmental degradation. He is the author of the book High Noon for Natural Gas, and the founder of Global Public Media and Post Carbon Institute...
(President) and Celine Rich (Executive Director), Post Carbon Institute implemented programs to educate the public on issues surrounding global fossil fuel depletion (see
peak oilPeak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
,
peak coalPeak coal is the point in time at which the maximum global coal production rate is reached, after which, according to the theory, the rate of production will enter to a terminal decline. Coal is a fossil fuel formed from plant matter over the course of millions of years...
,
peak gasPeak gas is the point in time at which the maximum global natural gas production rate is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline. Natural gas is a fossil fuel formed from plant matter over the course of millions of years. It is a finite resource and thus considered...
) and
climate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, as well as on possible responses to these challenges. Post Carbon promoted the concept of "relocalization," a strategy to build community resilience based on the local production of food, energy, and goods, and the development of local currency, governance, and culture.
Post Carbon's programs during this period included:
- Global Public Media, a website streaming long format audio and video interviews about the issues surrounding fossil fuel depletion.
- The Relocalization Network, a network of groups and individuals working to educate their local communities and develop programs to re-localize food and energy production, and reduce local consumption.
- Post Carbon Cities, a program to help local governments understand and prepare for the challenges of peak oil and climate change, which published Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, a guidebook on peak oil and climate change and for U.S. and Canadian local government leaders.
- The Energy Farms Network, a demonstration and partnership program to build a broad body of knowledge to help farmers, citizens, and community leaders to understand the possibility of producing vital feedstocks, fuels and electricity by local farmers for local users.
- The Oil Depletion Protocol, (aka the Rimini
The Rimini Protocol is a proposal made by the geologist Colin Campbell in 2003. It is intended to stabilise oil prices and minimize the effects of peak oil....
or Uppsala Protocol) a blueprint for an international agreement to avoid price and supply volatility problems associated with global oil production decline by gradually and collaboratively lowering the global rate of oil production and oil consumption.
In 2008
Richard HeinbergRichard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of ten books...
, author of Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World,
The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial SocietiesThe Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies, by Richard Heinberg , is an introduction to the concept of peak oil and petroleum depletion....
and
Blackout: Coal, Climate, and the Last Energy Crisis joined PCI as a Senior Fellow-in-Residence.
Also in 2008, Post Carbon collaborated with U.K.-based
ODACODAC may refer to:* Oil Depletion Analysis Centre, an independent UK-registered educational charity* Old Dominion Athletic Conference, a collegiate athletics conference in the southeastern United States* Oncology Drug Advisory Committee...
to produce a report to help local authorities prepare for energy depletion.
In 2009, under the leadership of
Asher Miller (Executive Director), Post Carbon restructured to concentrate its program activities on research and publishing, and to broaden its topical focus to include natural resource depletion, climate change, the limits to economic growth, overpopulation, food, and other issues (see
Post Carbon Institute Manifesto). Post Carbon discontinued or consolidated most of its earlier programs, and entered into partnerships with
Transition US — the United States arm of the international
Transition TownsTransition Towns is a grassroots network of communities that are working to build resilience in response to peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instability...
— and Energy Bulletin.net, a clearinghouse website for news and commentary on issues surrounding global energy resource depletion. The organization also expanded its list of
Fellows and
Advisors to include notable figures such as
Bill McKibbenWilliam Ernest "Bill" McKibben is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College...
,
Majora CarterMajora Carter is an economic consultant, public radio host, and environmental justice advocate from the South Bronx area of New York City. Carter founded the non-profit environmental justice solutions corporation Sustainable South Bronx before entering the private sector.-Early life:Carter...
,
Wes Jackson-Early life and Education:Jackson was born and raised on a farm near Topeka, Kansas. After earning a BA in biology from Kansas Wesleyan University, an MA in botany from the University of Kansas, and a PhD in genetics from North Carolina State University, Wes Jackson established and served as chair...
.
Partnerships
- Energy Bulletin - a clearing house for news regarding the peak in global energy supply.
- Transition US - a grassroots movement building community resilience to the challenges of peak oil and climate change
Fellows
- Peter Whybrow
- Sandra Postel
Sandra Postel is the director and founder of the Global Water Policy Project. She is a world expert on fresh water issues and related ecosystems. From 1988 to 1994 she served as the Vice President for Research at the Worldwatch Institute. In 2002, Scientific American magazine named her as one of...
- Stephanie Mills
- Tom Whipple
- Warren Karlenzig
- Wes Jackson
-Early life and Education:Jackson was born and raised on a farm near Topeka, Kansas. After earning a BA in biology from Kansas Wesleyan University, an MA in botany from the University of Kansas, and a PhD in genetics from North Carolina State University, Wes Jackson established and served as chair...
- William E. Rees (academic)
- William Ryerson
- Zenobia Barlow
Advisors
- Colin Campbell (geologist)
Colin J. Campbell, PhD Oxford, is a retired British petroleum geologist who predicted that oil production would peak by 2007. The consequences of this are uncertain but drastic, due to the world's dependency on fossil fuels for the vast majority of its energy...
- Mia Birk
- James Howard Kunstler
James Howard Kunstler is an American author, social critic, public speaker, and blogger. He is best known for his books The Geography of Nowhere , a history of American suburbia and urban development, and the more recent The Long Emergency , where he argues that declining oil production is likely...
- Richard Gilbert
- Jason Bradford
- Sanjay Khanna
Publications
- Report: Will Natural Gas Fuel America in the 21st Century, by J. David Hughes.
- Book: The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises, edited by Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of ten books...
& Daniel Lerch with authors including Peter C. WhybrowPeter C. Whybrow is an American psychiatrist and award-winning author whose primary research focus has been on understanding the metabolic role of thyroid hormones in the adult brain and how to apply this knowledge to the treatment of mood disorder, especially manic depression...
, David W. OrrDavid W. Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College and a James Marsh Professor at the University of Vermont. He is a well known environmentalist and is active in many areas of environmental studies, including environmental education and...
, and Sandra PostelSandra Postel is the director and founder of the Global Water Policy Project. She is a world expert on fresh water issues and related ecosystems. From 1988 to 1994 she served as the Vice President for Research at the Worldwatch Institute. In 2002, Scientific American magazine named her as one of...
.
- Report: Searching for a Miracle: ‘Net Energy’ Limits & the Fate of Industrial Society by Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of ten books...
and International Forum on Globalization
- Report: The Food and Farming Transition by Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of ten books...
and Michael Bomford (2009)
- Report: The Real New Deal: Energy Scarcity and the Path to Energy, Economic, and Environmental Recovery by Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of ten books...
, Daniel Lerch, Asher Miller (2009)
- Book: Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty by Daniel Lerch (Post Carbon Press, 2007)
- Video: Peak Oil for Policymakers by Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of ten books...
and Julian DarleyJulian Darley is a writer and speaker on policy responses to global environmental degradation. He is the author of the book High Noon for Natural Gas, and the founder of Global Public Media and Post Carbon Institute...
(2008)
- Report: Preparing for Peak Oil: Local Authorities and the Energy Crisis by The Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC
ODAC may refer to:* Oil Depletion Analysis Centre, an independent UK-registered educational charity* Old Dominion Athletic Conference, a collegiate athletics conference in the southeastern United States* Oncology Drug Advisory Committee...
) and Post Carbon Institute (2008)