E&EM Lead Professor Jonathan Deason was the featured speaker at the March 10, 2003 monthly meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Environmental Professionals, the regional chapter of the National Association of Environmental Professionals. The meeting was combined with the periodic Environmental Values and Strategies Seminar Series, sponsored by the George Washington University. Professor Deason spoke on the subject "Energy Options for the Future: What Implications Do Today's Decisions Have for Us and Our Environment?"
In his presentation, Deason set forth the results of his calculations concerning the life expectancies of the Earth’s fossil fuel resources, based on theories of exponential decay. He illustrated the phenomenal power of exponential growth and exponential decay using several interesting anecdotes. The importance of finding new sources of energy sources, in light of his findings, was discussed, along with actions that he recommends be undertaken to mitigate the impacts of major future problems we can expect if we do not take action to address predicted energy shortfalls.