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Click here to get a copy of Tom's Report on "The Facts About Peak Oil" (pdf)
Members and guests of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter witnessed a sharp contrast in lifestyles in presentations April 12 by former chapter president Tom Logsdon and chapter vice president Donna Byrom.
While Logsdon focused on a looming global “oil peak” and it’s implications for American dependency on the automobile, Byrom discussed her recent assignment in Hong Kong were 90 percent of the population rely on mass transportation.
The program was presented at the Fawcett Center on The Ohio State University campus.
Logsdon said:
“There are various types of peaks in the business of oil discovery, exploration, and production. In the U.S., for example, the discovery of oil peaked in the 1930s, while the country’s oil reserves peaked in 1971, and actual production per day is projected to peak by 2009. From a global perspective, discovery peaked in 1964, reserves peaked in the 1980s, and actual production per day either has peaked or will do so in the next few years.”
He said the United States uses 20-21 million barrels of oil per day and is dependant on foreign countries for about 60 percent of its supply. Logsdon predicts that by 2009-2010, the U.S. will face a short fall in oil supply that will trigger sharp increases in gasoline prices to as much as $5-6 a gallon, creating severe economic conditions.
“About 50 percent of the oil we use is for transportation, and 97 percent of our transportation depends on oil,” Logsdon said. “Oil is ubiquitous in our society, almost everything we touch has oil in it—our food, our furniture, our houses, and, of course, our gas tanks.”
Since the U.S. doesn’t supply most of its oil, the country will have to depend on conservation to help lessen the approaching dilemma, he said.
“We might be able to conserve 10-15 percent ... but no matter what the price is you are going to have to buy some of it. It’s just a matter of how much you or your company will have to buy. … This has a lot of ramifications for where we live, how we live, and our real estate.
“We are facility managers, property managers. Is your building on a bus stop? Can we influence the city to get more buses? Can we develop within our corporations a really sophisticated ride-pool system…so people can relate differently to overcome $5 or $6 a gallon gasoline?
Byrom was in Hong Kong, now considered a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, for several months during the winter to assist with the consolidation of an MCI Call Center. Byrom is supervisor of facilities at the MCI campus in Hilliard, but during her absence MCI became part of Verizon Business.
Using slides and oriental music to augment her presentation, Byrom said in contrast to cities in the U.S., Hong Kong, has an “extremely efficient mass transit system.” The region has nearly seven million residents with about half squeezed into an area known as the New Territories.
Only about 10 percent of the land mass is inhabited and only about 10 percent of the people own automobiles leaving the remaining population dependant upon several modes of inexpensive transportation, including the underground Mass Transit Railway (MTR), a rapid transit rail system, boats, double-decker trams, and smaller buses, and taxis.
“Hong Kong people are prompt because their transportation is incredibly timed to be exactly precise. The MTR runs about every three minutes and is extremely efficient as it moves millions of people every day. Even the hotel shuttle buses have timers that open and close the doors according to a display clock that shows the precise departure time,” she said.
Byrom said she found it interesting to see people running for a train when another was due in three minutes, but “Hong Kong people are anxious to get where they want to go.”
Because of the high concentration of people into a small area, hundreds of high-rise residential and commercial buildings define the Hong Kong skyline, and real estate is “astronomically expensive” and a reason for the MCI office consolidation and Byrom’s assignment.
She said most buildings feature “smart elevators” where you program your floor and are then told which elevator to take to reach it. Where there are no smart elevators there are often escorts for people waiting in line for an elevator, otherwise the elevators would become overcrowded.
She said her small hotel room of about 800 square feet with a kitchenette and occasional housekeeping service cost $3,500 a month. She said that because of the nearness of the buildings and the crowded conditions within the residential structures it is not unusual to see people on the streets at all hours.
Prior to the presentations, J.D. Flaherty, co-chair of the Membership Committee, announced a New Member Breakfast for 7:30 a.m. April 19 at Panera Bread on Bethel Rd. Also, Byrom and Mariah Leggitt received $20 Kroger gift certificates when their business cards were drawn from those in atendance.
Next month is the 2nd Annual Wine Tasting event. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. May 18 at The Venue, formerly Pierre’s at the Smith Bros’ Hardward Building site.