1.      Call to Order and Roll Call. The Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m.  Present: Chair Rosenmeier, Vice-Chair Meyerson, Members Katz, Mark, and Simone; Excused:  Member Gerber.

 

2.      Approval of Amendments to Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force Bylaws. (Discussion and Action)  (Explanatory Documents: Amended Draft Bylaws; Amended Bylaws Redlined) Commission Secretary Monica Fish reported that the Bylaws were amended to show: (1) the Task Force’s extended sunset date which is upon the Clerk of the Board’s receipt of the final Report of the Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force, but not later than March 27, 2009 and that (2) nomination and election of officers would take place at the October 7, 2008 meeting for the extended term.   Upon Motion by Member Katz and second by Member Mark, without objection, the Bylaws amendments were approved (Absent:  Member Gerber) (Explanatory Document:  Amended Final Bylaws).  

 

3.      Nomination and Election of Officers.  (Discussion and Action)  Member Mark nominated Member Rosenmeier for Chair, second by Vice-Chair Meyerson, without objection (Absent:  Member Gerber). Member Rosenmeier was reelected as Chair for the extended term.  Member Simone nominated himself as Vice Chair.  Member Katz nominated Member Meyerson as Vice-Chair, second by Member Mark, without objection (Absent:  Member Gerber).  Member Meyerson was reelected as Vice-Chair for the extended term. 

 

4.      Approval of the September 2, 2008 Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force Regular Meeting Draft Minutes.  (Discussion and Action) Upon Motion by Member Mark and second by Chair Rosenmeier without objection, the Meeting Minutes were approved as written (Absent:  Member Gerber) (Explanatory Document: September 2, 2008 Approved Minutes).

 

5.      Presidio School of Management Town Hall Meetings--Vote on whether to retain the presentations on the Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force web site. (Discussion and Action)  Continued to the October 21, 2008 meeting.

 

6.      Report on Funders' Forum. (Informational Report and Discussion) Speaker:  Member Meyerson.  Vice-Chair Meyerson reported that attendees at the funders’ forum represented local funding and non-profit groups, that there were four major presentations from speakers that included (1) Mr. Richard Heinberg, (2) Mr. David Fridley, (3) Ms. Nancy Nadell, Oakland City Councilperson discussing implementation of the 3% oil depletion protocol, and (4) Mr. Jeffrey Ritterman, Kaiser Chief of Cardiology and Vice President of the Bay Area Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility who discussed the impact of peak oil on the medical profession. A discussion was held on how totally dependent the medical services delivery system is on plastic and water-based plastics.  Vice-Chair Meyerson reported that grant organizations commented that they wanted to see measurable projects and a precise methodology for evaluating the progress for any project proposal.  The forum participants included representatives from the Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force members, Berkeley Oil Independent TaskForce, Post Carbon Marin, the former Oakland Oil Independent by 2020, and others. 

 

Public Comment

 

Mr. Mike Cohn stated that as oil is running out we’re getting lesser of the finer grade oil and more of the lower grade oils, which is better for making plastics, but not for putting in cars.

 

Mr. Don Eichelberger discussed ranking the legitimate uses of oil.  Mr. Eichelberger also discussed the need for cleanup in the medical industry as he felt it is a wasteful industry. Vice-Chair Meyerson discussed how waste may not be avoidable in the medical industry because sterilization does not always remove the contaminant.

 

7.      Report on Meeting with the Chicago Department of Environment Personnel. (Informational Report and Discussion) Speaker:  Member Rosenmeier.   Chair Rosenmeier reported that she had met with City of Chicago Department of the Environment personnel that included a global warming staff-person and Fleet Department staff.  Chair Rosenmeier reported on comments made by the Fleet Department staff member who indicated they had never heard of peak oil but were interested in the concept.  Chair Rosenmeier and Member Mark reported that the City released their Climate Change Action Plan recently.  Chair Rosenmeier reported that the City of Chicago is (1) running B5 or B10 in their City fleet, that they have a few hybrid vehicles, and are focusing their efforts on the City fleet; (2) for the Police Department cars, they are looking into using the Chevy Impala instead of the Crown Victoria’s as it uses 30% less fuel but their onboard computers won’t fit; however, they decided to order Tahoe’s; (3) in downtown, the officers use segways and in the neighborhoods, they use electric vehicles that are street-ready golf carts; (4) Chicago has 60 parking enforcement officers on bicycles; and (5) neighborhood patrols could be in electric vehicles, but it is the officer’s choice of which vehicle to use.  Member Mark recommended asking Supervisor Mirkarimi on the process for sending a copy of the final report to other City governments.  Vice-Chair Meyerson stated that the report could be posted on the Department of the Environment website.  Member Katz recommended creating a list of agencies that should receive copies of the report.

 

Public Comment:

 

Mr. Mike Cohn recommended that the Chicago Department of Environment personnel be given a primer before being given San Francisco’s recommendations since they indicated they were not aware of peak oil.

 

Mr. Mike Adams asked whether the City of Chicago is considering starting up a Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force.  Chair Rosenmeier indicated that she did not have any information whether they would be or not.

 

Mr. Don Eichelberger inquired about wind development projects in Chicago since they are considered the windy city.  Chair Rosenmeier explained that the areas that are windy enough to develop wind power are near Lake Michigan, but that there has been recent discussion about developing wind farms.  Mr. Cohn reported that there is a small wind farm that is in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago that is not on Lake Michigan and is on farm land.

 

8.      Review of the Revised Introduction Section of the Final Report. (Discussion) Speaker:  Member Rosenmeier.  Chair Rosenmeier distributed a revised version of the Introduction Section (Explanatory Document: Introduction Section 100708).  Members provided their recommendations for adding graphs, formatting, and content additions/revisions.  A revised Introduction section containing the Task Force’s recommendations and additional comments will be presented at a future meeting.

 

Public Comment:

 

Task Force members and the public discussed the $20 fuel-price projection referenced in the Introduction Section and provided their varying recommendations on what that figure should be.

 

Mr. Mike Cohn stated that if the Peak Oil report is written for the Berkeley “bubble” that people who do not represent the Berkeley bubble would not buy into it.  It was explained that they may buy into price considerations, but not into environmental issues.  Mr. Cohn was asked to define the Berkeley bubble.  Mr. Cohn explained that the Berkeley bubble is that everybody really cares about social justice and environmental benefits that could be achieved from the peak oil version.  Mr. Cohn felt that all the topics are great for the environment, but the financial aspect should be broadcast first.

 

Mr. Mike Adams stated that the Introduction section should contain more key specifics to bring the issue to light, but felt that otherwise it is a great introduction.

 

9.      Schedule for Review of Remaining Final Report Sections and Strategy for Finalizing the Report. (Discussion)  Task Force members agreed to the following schedule for discussion and review of final report sections:

·         The Report should be completed before the end of the year and released in January. 

·         Chair Rosenmeier would present an updated draft of the Economy Section on October 21.

·         First drafts of the Energy and Society sections would be reviewed on November 4.

·         Member Mark would present an updated draft of the Food Section for the November 18 meeting for review.

·         Member Katz would present the second draft of the Transportation Section for discussion at the November 18 meeting.    

·         Vice-Chair Meyerson would present a second draft of the Infrastructure Section on December 2. 

·         All drafts would be reviewed again on December 16.

·         Vice-Chair Meyerson asked members to include bullet points from their individual section that could be used for the Executive Summary.

 

10.  Ideas for Report Aesthetics. (Discussion) Member Mark requested that the Task Force at their next meeting discuss creating a Craig’s List draft advertisement/posting requesting a freelance graphics designer to work on the report.  Member Katz stated that he may be able to contact the person who designed the graphics for the Peak Oil posters.  A suggestion was made to talk to the Department of the Environment or Supervisor Mirkarimi about providing funding for a modest number of report copies.

 

11.  Brainstorm Ideas for Inclusion of Vulnerable Populations into the Final Report.  Chair Rosenmeier requested ideas on this section from all members and explained that it is in the Task Force mandate to address this topic. Member Gerber's Recommendations were provided in the meeting packet.

 

Public Comment:  Mr. Cohn provided recommendations on the framework and additional topics for inclusion for the vulnerable populations section. 

 

This agenda item was continued to the October 21, 2008 meeting.

 

Item 13 was heard before Item 12.

 

12.  Report on the Association for the Study of Peak Oil Meeting. (Informational Report and Discussion) (time permitting)  This item was continued to the October 21, 2008 Meeting.

 

13.  New Business/Future Agenda Items. (Information and Discussion) Member Mark reported that he would not be able to attend the October 21 meeting.   Ms. Fish distributed copies of a City Attorney Memorandum “Political Activity by City Officers and Employees” dated September 19, 2008 and explained that members should be aware of requirements and to contact Deputy City Attorney Catherine Barnes for additional questions. Member Simone recommended a discussion on cell phone vulnerability for the next meeting.

 

Public Comment: Mr. Mike Cohn inquired whether a community action plan would be created as part of this Report.  Vice-Chair Meyerson reported that the intent of the report is to present a series of proposals to the Board of Supervisors which they can take or not take action on. 

 

14.  Public Comments:  Members of the public may address the Task Force on matters that are within the Task Force’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda.  There was no public comment at this time.

 

15.  Adjournment.  The Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m.

 

Additional explanatory documents were distributed in Task Force Meeting as provided by Member Gerber.

 

** Copies of explanatory documents are available at (1) the Task Force office, 11 Grove Street, San Francisco, California between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., (2) upon request to the Task Force Secretary, at telephone number 415-355-3709 or via e-mail at [email protected], or (3) at the Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force meeting website as attachments with each agenda or meeting minutes.