by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Derek Tattersall

Age: 43

Occupation: Activist

Bio: This committed Milton-Park resident was weaned in the Maritimes and, after a stint studying science at UNB, moved to glorious Toronto, Ontario, where he was hoping “to change the world” through an experimental theatre company called Theatre Voyageur. Finding himself increasingly disillusioned “that with theatre, you can starve to death before changing the world,” he soon met a nice Quebec girl and decided Montreal might be a better locale in which to effect positive social change, relocating here in 1996. Now employed doing general office work while promoting ecological issues on the side, in April Derek launched the Montreal Oil Awareness Meetup Group (www.oilawareness.meetup.com/268/about), a posse of concerned citizens devoted to both spreading the word about the concept of Peak Oil and developing ways in which people can better prepare themselves for when Doomsday arrives, that being when the world’s oil resources are effectively depleted.

What’s peak oil anyway? In a nutshell, the concept of peak oil is based on Marion King Hubbert’s theory that the production of oil has peaked, or will peak soon, and that, from here/there on in, its availability as a viable source of energy will diminish considerably—eventually ceasing to exist at all. “Right now, the world consumes six times more oil than they’re finding.”

So what? “Think about the food you buy. The average item in a Canadian supermarket has traveled 2,600 kilometres from the farm to your plate. How will people get their food if there’s no oil to transport it?”

Is it safe to assume that, when oil runs out, anarchy will reign supreme and people will be killing each other over scraps of food and sources to power up their Gameboys? “Many people are saying, ‘Yes, head to the hills, because it’s going to be so bad.’ If trucks stopped transporting food to your local supermarket today, there’d be three days’ worth of food on the shelves. That’s not much. If you work in a community garden, fine, but if you don’t, where will you go to get lettuce?

Does anybody dispute the concept of peak oil? “Among independent scientists, there’s no debate, it’s a matter of when it’s going to happen, but the oil companies certainly try to dispute it. You see, oil company stocks are traded publicly, and if your raison d’être is oil, and oil is fast running out, who’s going to want your stocks? Their value goes down.”

But what about BP’s “Beyond Petroleum” campaign? Surely oil companies must be serious about moving past oil if they’re prepared to launch an eco-friendly PR campaign devoted to alternative energy sources? Everyone knows Big Oil would never deceive the public. “Yes, well, I believe BP’s research budget devoted to alternative energy sources is actually less than one per cent.”

How to prepare for doomsday: “Get acquainted with your local community. We’re talking about a crisis here. It’s all about community. Buy locally produced food and goods, take public transport, use less oil. Just try and keep it local.”

Last book read: Escaping the Matrix, by Richard K. Moore.

Musical preferences: Radiohead, Martha Wainwright.

Words of wisdom: “What goes around comes around.”

Comments? dimwit@hdot.net