2009

• Welcoming Remarks
• Richard Heinberg Keynote Address Post Carbon Institute
• Roy Arnott Appropriateness of Scale – Bigger Isn’t Always Better

• Succeeding With “Peak Everything” Around The Corner Mathis Wackernagel, PhD 6th Annual Sustainable Biodiesel Summit, Feb 1, 2009
• Clean Diesel and After-Treatment Systems Gary M. Parsons, Global OEM and Industry Liaison Manager 6th Annual Sustainable Biodiesel Summit, Feb 1, 2009

Is the author of eight books including The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies (New Society, 2003, 2005), Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World (New Society, 2004), The Oil Depletion Protocol (New Society, 2006), and Peak Everything (New Society, 2007). He is a Senior Fellow of Post Carbon Institute and is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost Peak Oil educators. He writes a regular column for The Ecologist, and has also authored scores of essays and articles that have appeared in such journals as The American Prospect, Public Policy Research, Quarterly Review, Z Magazine, Resurgence, The Futurist, European Business Review, Earth Island Journal, Alternative Press Review, and The Sun; and on web sites such as Alternet.org, EnergyBulletin.net, GlobalPublicMedia.com, ProjectCensored.com, and Counterpunch.com. He has appeared in numerous video documentaries, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s 11th Hour.

Is the Business Development Specialist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Pembina GO Team located in Killsrney, Manitoba. Roy received a Bachelor of Science, Agriculture degree with a major Plant Science from the University of Manitoba in 1989. After graduation he was employed with a producer based research association located in Oyen, Alberta and with Duck’s Unlimited Canada’s native plant materials program in Manitoba. For the past 13 years he has worked with local producers developing value added solutions for farms and rural communities and finding answers to production and business challenges. His recent focus has been centered mainly on agri-energy projects including biodiesel, ethanol, forage biomass, wind energy, understanding fuel taxation and incentives, and developing cost of production models.

As the Biofuel Coordinator for the San Francisco PUC, Karri’s responsibilities include city-wide coordination of waste cooking oil collection from residents and food service establishments; developing a “closed loop” city fleet fueling system from fryers to SF fleets while actively pursuing available funding and emerging technologies to convert “brown grease” and other lipid waste into various biofuels. Karri has experience in restaurant management, marine diesel mechanics, environmental campaigning and received her baccalaureate degree in Politics from Oberlin College. She sits on the San Francisco Biofuels Cooperative Board, the Mayor’s San Francisco Biodiesel Access Task Force and its Marine Subcommittee.

Is a Founding member and Production Manager of Newport Biodiesel in Rhode Island.

Is a distributor of sustainable biodiesel for his family business which was founded by his grandmother in 1937. He is the co-creator of a hand crafted fossil fuel free, wind, solar, wood powered home in the midst of a diverse fruit orchard. Jim also presents sustainable permaculture design workshops.

Guided Yokayo Biofuels from its inception in 2001 to its current existence as a biodiesel producer and distributor that makes fuel from recycled restaurant fryer oil collected by the company. Kumar represents sustainability-minded small-scale producers and distributors focused on local/regional resource management and a decentralized energy model. Kumar served on the California Energy Commission biodiesel working group and helped form the Biodiesel Council of California. In addition, Kumar has taught numerous workshops on biodiesel, and given a number of lectures at events focused on sustainability, including Solfest, the Sustainable Biodiesel Summit, and the Green Festival. Kumar is on the Producer Working Group of the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance and writes a regular column for the publication biodieselSMARTER, focused on the inner workings of a sustainability-oriented biodiesel company. With a focus on quality as a key aspect of sustainability, Kumar understands how to make biodiesel from a range of feedstocks to meet ASTM specifications. An active member of Rotary, in 2007 he was named “Business Person of the Year” by the Ukiah Chamber of Commerce.

Is the President and founder of Pacific Biodiesel. Robert is a respected expert and pioneer in the biodiesel industry and is credited with opening the first retail biodiesel pump in the United States.

Has been solving clients’ technical problems for thirteen years in fields ranging from data management to hardware design and energy systems integration. He has worked in industry, volunteered with non-profits and municipal government and has consulted for a variety of clients. Chris is trained in mechanical engineering and business management with degrees in both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Over the years, he has also developed systems engineering practices based on principles established by INCOSE. Licensed as a professional engineer (PE), Chris is active in the advancement of the engineering profession. He has been involved in the development of standards and recommended practice in the renewable energy field. Chris has lived and conducted business in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and presently resides in Cambridge, NY.

Is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint. He has worked on sustainability issues for organizations in Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia and Australia, and has lectured for community groups, governments and their agencies, NGOs, and academic audiences at more than 100 universities around the world. Mathis previously served as the director of the Sustainability Program at Redefining Progress in Oakland, CA, and directed the Centre for Sustainability Studies / Centro de Estudios para la Sustentabilidad in Mexico, which he still advises. He is also an adjunct faculty at SAGE of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mathis has authored or contributed to over fifty peer-reviewed papers, numerous articles and reports, and various books on sustainability that focus on the question of embracing limits and developing metrics for sustainability, including Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth, Sharing Nature’s Interest, and WWF International’s Living Planet Report. After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, he completed his Ph.D. in community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. There, as his doctoral dissertation with Professor William Rees, he created the Ecological Footprint concept. Mathis’s awards include an honorary doctorate from the University of Berne in 2007, a 2007 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, a 2006 WWF Award for Conservation Merit, and the 2005 Herman Daly Award of the US Society for Ecological Economics.

Has been involved with the development of the biodiesel industry since 2000 and has worked in all areas of the biodiesel industry including feedstock development, biodiesel production, marketing and distribution. Jeff was formerly President of Austin Biofuels and in 2003 opened the first biodiesel retail station in Texas, established a Texas based supply chain and in 2006 developed Austin into the highest concentration biodiesel market in the nation. He is active in legislative issues as co-founder of the non-profit Biodiesel Coalition of Texas and voting member of Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association. Jeff is currently leading the efforts of the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (SBA) to develop sustainability standards for the U.S. biodiesel industry. The SBA recently published the Baseline Practices for Sustainability, the first document of its kind to address biodiesel sustainability issues in the United States.

Is a Process Engineer and Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Manager for Community Fuels. She has prepared a preliminary sustainability assessment of biodiesel production process at Community Fuels. Community Fuels will also prepare a Corporate Sust. Report based on this data.

Has a Ph.D in Microbiology from UCLA. He as 12 years experience and numerous publications on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of microalgae. For the last 7 years he has worked in the Biosystems Research Department at Sandia National Laboratories.

Is the President and founder of Emerging Markets Online, a global energy and biofuels intelligence firm started eleven years ago in 1997. Mr. Thurmond is also the author of Biodiesel 2020: A Global Market Survey, and Algae 2020: Advanced Biofuels Markets and Commercialization Outlook.. Mr. Thurmond’s work been cited in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Biodiesel Magazine, Swiss Derivatives Review, the Futurist, BBC Radio, Fox News, Reuters TV, and his business has received Forbes Magazine’s “Best of The Web” award seven years in a row. Mr. Thurmond is also a columnist for Biofuels International journal, Renewable Energy Access, Biofuels Digest, and speaks regularly at biofuels and renewable energy conferences. Mr. Thurmond serves as a volunteer for the National Algae Association as Chairman of Research and Development; the American Biofuels Council as Chairman of Development; and the Houston Technology Center’s energy screening committee as an advisor on alternative energy technologies.. Mr Thurmond is a member of The International Association for Energy Economics, and the Association of Professional Futurists. Mr. Thurmond has participated in graduate courses towards a PhD, Alternative Futures, at The University of Hawaii at Manoa; earned an M.S., Studies of The Future, from The University of Houston; and a B.A, International Relations and Economics from Rollins College.

Gary joined Chevron in 1981 after obtaining his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. From 1981 through 1985, Gary worked as a Research Engineer in the Fuels Division at Chevron Research and Technology Company. From 1986 through 1995, Gary was the Oronite Additives Fuels Product Manager in three different assignments in Europe, North America, and Asia. In 1995, Gary took the role of Asia Pacific Region Lubricants Specialist for Oronite Additives. In 1999, Gary joined Chevron Products Company as an Account Manager in the Strategic Accounts Group. In October 2000, Gary was selected as a Market Manager in the Commercial Automotive Group of Chevron Products Company. Since the merger between Chevron and Texaco in 2001, Gary has served as the Global Consumer Transport Segment Director and as Commercial Automotive Business Unit Manager. Gary was named Global OEM and Industry Liaison Manager, Chevron Oronite Company in January 2005. Gary has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) since 1981.

Is the General Manager of Bently Biofuels Company, a family owned company dedicated to the production of renewable fuels for the protection of our environment and the benefit of our economy. He first became involved with biodiesel in 1997 and has managed Bently’s biodiesel manufacturing plant since 2005. Recently, Carlo oversaw the opening of Bently’s first all-biofuels retail station and LEED certified green convenience store in Minden, Nevada.

Jennifer is co-founder and worker-owner of the BioFuel Oasis. She founded Biofuel Oasis in 2003 and currently is one of 5 worker-owners. She is in charge of financials and accounting, researching and installing new equipment, and education. Jennifer has been teaching with the Solar Living Institute based in Hopland, CA and throughout the Bay Area since 2003 on Homebrewing, Biodiesel processor building, starting Biodiesel stations and Biodiesel advanced topics. Jennifer is a guest lecturer at California College of Arts, Car Mechanics Program at SF City College, and Lake Merritt College Permaculture Class. Jennifer is also the author of her own book Not a Gas Station, about founding and running BioFuel Oasis. Before birthing BioFuel Oasis, Jennifer worked as a production manager for a non-profit computer association, and a researcher in library for Big Six Accounting Firm.

Is the co-owner of the Biofuels Station with her partner Eric Vogt, which was founded in 2003 in rural Northern California. She has a background in cooperative business management., and was one of the organizers of the California Biodiesel Consumers Conference, which over the years transmuted into the Sustainable Biodiesel Summit. Kimber has taught Biodiesel 101 classes at the Solar Living Institute and the Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium with Jennifer Radtke. She lives off-the-grid, teaches earthen building techniques, practices permaculture and is the mother of 2 wonderful daughters.