The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is embarking on the first regional Energy Resilience (Peak Oil) Task Force in Canada.  The Task Force is one component of the SLRD’s Climate and Energy Planning process that is aimed at both reducing greenhouse gases and building regional resilience in the face of climate change and peak oil.

The Task Force includes over 20 knowledgeable residents of the SLRD from a wide variety of sectors.   This group meets monthly to generate ideas and formulate solutions in order to build resilience within the region.  Their final recommendations will form the basis of a draft task force report that will be presented at public meetings in October, 2010 for input.

The Task Force’s charge is:

1.      To review current and credible data and information with respect to peak oil and energy production and related societal implications;

2.      To seek community and business input on the impacts to various sectors and to propose “actionable” solutions;

3.      To develop recommendations to the SLRD Board in 2010 on strategies that the SLRD can take to mitigate the impacts of declining energy supplies in areas including, but not limited to:  transportation, tourism, business, energy and infrastructure, housing, food and agriculture, the environment, health care, social service, communications, land use, emergency planning and the delivery of SLRD services.

4.      To propose methods of educating the public about this issue in order to create positive behavior change among businesses and residents in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Principles:

The following principles will be employed by the Task Force:

·        Recommendations will be actionable by the SLRD

·        Bold ideas will be pursued

·        Efforts will be made to refer to the actions and findings of other task forces

·        Impacts on the environment, equity and the economy will be taken into account

·        An open and inclusive approach that does not foreclose on options will be utilized

·        Ensure that recommendations have a positive impact and promote resilience

For more details, please see the link below to review the Terms of Reference.

Public Input will be sought in October, 2010 with respect to the draft task force report.  Meetings will be held in Lillooet, Whistler, Pemberton and Squamish.  Meeting dates will be determined in September, 2010.

If you have ideas that you’d like to submit to the task force, please contact the program manager and Chair of the SLRD Energy Resilience Task Force, Kimberly Needham at 604-894-6371, ext. 242 or email kneedham@slrd.bc.ca

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SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS

TERMS OF REFERENCE