Ed's Note: The intent of this thread is to combine two different discussion items:

1. A one-hour special on the oil situation, The Hunt for Black Gold. It features a discussion of peak oil, an interview with Sarah Palin, Matt Simmons, Randy Udall, and a closer look at oil company profits, and a discussion of alternatives. It was shown on CNBC yesterday, and will be shown again today, Thursday, Sept. 25 at 1 a.m. ET and on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 10 p.m. ET.

2. Heading Out's discussion of Day 2 of the ASPO-USA conference, which can be found below the fold.

* ASPO-USA is holding its conference September 21-23 in Sacramento, CA, at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento. The website is here: http://www.aspo-usa.org/aspousa4/matrix.cfm

* Hotel Rooms at Special Conference Rate are selling out. ASPO-USA increased its block to accommodate but rooms are going fast.

* Special guest Bob Hirsch will provide Summary and Response for Monday. Monday's sessions:

-Oil: Once Cheap, Never Easy
-Pipedreams: Oil & Gas Delivery Bottlenecks
-Economic Impacts of $100 Oil: Energy is the Original Currency
-4 Billion New Consumers: What Asian Growth Means For East, West, And The World

More notes on events and updated schedule on lunch speakers below the fold. Make your plans to come to Sacramento today!

In 2007, there were two conferences by Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) groups:

ASPO 6 - World ASPO Groups - Cork, Ireland - September 2007
ASPO-USA - Houston, Texas - October 2007

DVD's for both of these conferences are now available. The DVDs are especially good for schools and libraries, and for people who were not able to attend the conferences.

The ASPO-USA Houston Conference DVDs are available at this link. The ASPO 6 Conference DVDs are available at this link.

“Houston ... we have an Opportunity: Smart Steps for Another Giant Leap.”

http://www.aspousa.org/aspousa3

ASPO Week in Houston will consist of four days of high-level energy discussions, day and evening presentations, and mix & greet receptions with speakers and sponsors. In addition, we've planned field trips to an oil well drilling site and Refinery Row on the Houston Ship Channel, our nation's largest refining and petrochemical center. It is a $15 billion complex that stretches 50 miles from the Port of Houston, past the NASA Space Flight Center, and ends at Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico. We adapt our Conference theme from the historic words transmitted by U.S. astronauts from space to Mission Control in Houston. (A list of speakers and much more under the fold...)