Director Greg Greene and I have had the opportunity to attend a number of screenings of The End of Suburbia across North America to do Q&A, and sit on discussion panels with experts from the doc, such as Matthew Simmons, Richard Heinberg, Julian Darley and Mike Ruppert. This is still a challenge for me. I’ve always been shy, and I’m not a great speaker, which is why I produced a documentary in the first place. Let the experts and pictures tell the story. I’ve often said that I feel like an idiot savant, as I’m neither an expert on energy, nor suburbia. But I have had the pleasant opportunity to rub elbows with those who are, and they have been great teachers. And it’s surprising how much information I retain from hours of reading news stories and commentary.

Last month I was invited to a screening about an hour from where I live. It was organized by a small Post Carbon Institute group that had recently formed. I shared the floor with a member of that group, and he was able to back me up with additional information every time I mentioned a news story, report or study. As I drove home, it occurred to me that the pressure for me to excel as a guest speaker is over. I think now I can stay home and save some fossil fuels. It seems that so many people are now peak oil experts that they are able to pick up the ball and run with it themselves. But maybe "experts" is the wrong term. Recently Jan Lundberg of Culture Change wrote this about Matthew Simmons:

He reminds us that the word "guru" only means leader or guide, not expert.

The peak oil meme is being virally marketed and there are now thousands of oil depletion "gurus" out there. You’re probably becoming one yourself without realizing it. When the time is right, people will seek you out for enlightenment, but there’s no reason to be intimidated. There’s plenty of room on the mountaintop for more gurus.

Barry