A local group is confident the peak is coming down the pike.

Sustainable Indiana, Inc. spoke to the Crawfordsville City Council after the committee meetings were completed Monday evening in the council chambers of the city building.

The matter at hand was what to do when there is no more crude oil. Peak Oil is when the extraction rate of petroleum reaches its maximum and can no longer meet demand.

"The alternatives cannot ramp fast enough," John Easton of SI said. "And it just doesn't go to fuel."

The Oil Depletion Protocol would prepare entities as small as municipalities to as large as whole countries for an oil-depleted future, according to Easton.

How can that stopped on a local basis?

"It can't without reducing," Easton said. "We're trying to start something in West Central Indiana that has never been done. We have to support locally-produced goods because the boxed store items are getting more and more expensive."

Easton told councilmen it will be cheaper in the long run to support items produced within 100 miles of here.

The Power Point presentation explained the ODP is a commitment of "year over year reduction matches global (oil) depletion rate of 2.5 percent."

"It's a tool for productive leaders looking past their term," Easton said. "The consumption rate (nationally) is way too high. When we get to $4 or $5 a gallon for gas, it will mandate us to reduce."

The item was not on any of the committee agendas, but councilmen agreed to hear the presentation. No action was taken.