An Eye-Opening Evening with Best-Selling Author & Economist Jeff Rubin

Image via Trent University

Do you love your city or town?

I never thought I would be able to say yes to this question, but it turns out I do. I live in a small sized city about 1.5 hours outside of Toronto, and from the moment I moved here almost 4 years ago, I’ve loved it. It has spaces that remind me of home, across the border from Detroit, but it is progressive and the vibe is quite different.

Anyone that lives in a University city can attest to the fact that their school plays a role in the overall feel of the area. Peterborough is no different, and some of their more forward-thinking programs reflect this. In fact, just last week the Business department along with a local Credit Union brought in author and former Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets, Jeff Rubin.

My husband has been a fan of his for quite some time, since his first book “Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller” was released years ago. Recently, his latest book, “The End of Growth” hit bookshelves. Though I read neither, I had a feeling hearing him speak would be a worthwhile evening.

I was right.

For fellow, non-finance folks, here is the gist of his latest book: The price of oil is high, and our only option is to cut back. To change our way of living.

Music to my ears.

Here are some of the highlights from the talk:

- Despite what others say, we will never run out of oil. (He received criticism for inaccurately calling for $200 oil prices)

- Oil is the ONLY efficient means for transport. Natural Gas is  about 1/4 as efficient.

- Manufacturing jobs will return to North America from overseas as distance continues to cost more and more.

- The world did not learn anything from the global recession in 2007/2008, as no changes were made to regulation of the financial markets. The next major recession will cause governments to make the changes that should have been made during the Great Recession.

- There is a direct correlation between CO2 emissions, and the state of the economy (GDP). The only time in the last decade that Carbon Emissions has fallen, was during a time at which GDP was falling (ie. recession).

- Denmark is an example of cutting edge green policy, and he uses this country as an example of how increase cost (electricity) results in reduction of consumption.

- The business service industry is so heavily internet based, that it will be effected little by any future economic issues

Overall, I really enjoyed Rubin’s message. It was actually quite hopeful. He closed with the following: “I’m an economist. I believe in the power of prices. I believe that people will adapt to triple-digit oil prices and the way to adapt … is to learn to burn less energy and I think that’s exactly what we’ll end up doing.”

You can learn more about Rubin, who currently merging economy and environment by touring with David Suzuki, here on his website.

If you have any thoughts or insight into the ideas brought forth by Rubin, please share in the comments below!