Experts Tell What's Up With Gas Prices

Geologist, Former Oil Co. Exec to Say If They See Light at End of the Pipeline

September 19, 2008 :: No. 042

“Baby, You Can’t Drive My Car: Rising Gas Prices — Why Is It Happening and When Will It End?” is the title of a public presentation Sept. 25 at Coyote Hills Golf Course in Fullerton.

During the program, a Cal State Fullerton geologist will tell how oil is found and pulled from the ground, and a CSUF chemist will tell how petroleum is refined into products that society consumes — especially in gas tanks.

Mark Filowitz

Both presenters worked for years in the oil industry: Jeffrey Knott, assistant professor of geological sciences, as a senior geologist with Unocal, and Mark Filowitz, lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry and associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, as president and chief executive officer of the Azusa-based international company Wynn Oil.

They will outline problems that can lead to high prices and address some of the obstacles to short-term alternatives. For example, said Filowitz, “It is possible to convert soy into oil products and, chemically, it is a workable idea. But, if all the available soy were converted to oil, we would have only about a day’s worth.”

The two, both Fullerton residents, said they will not profess a particular viewpoint and that issues such as global warming will not be a part of their talk. “We’ll just give the facts, hopefully in an entertaining fashion,” Filowitz said.

“There seems to be a lot of misinformation around these days with the general public, and finger-pointing follows when fuel becomes so expensive,” he said. “The objective of this colloquium is to provide a factual context for discussion so people might better understand why this is all happening.”

It is impossible to determine what trends might be expected in the future, Filowitz added, “but it is certain that current trends of increasing demand and diminishing supplies of petroleum cannot have a happy outcome, unless we can adapt.”

The presentation is the first in the 2008-09 series of Colleagues Colloquium Dean’s Breakfast Briefings, sponsored by Cal State Fullerton’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Registration begins at 7 a.m. for the 7:30 to 9 a.m. program. Cost is $10 for the public and free for Colleagues members. The golf course is located at 1440 E. Bastanchury Road.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. Reservations can be made online at http://nsm.fullerton.edu/colleagues/RSVP or by calling Doug Colby at 657-278-7018.

Media Contacts:
Doug Colby, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, 657-278-7018 or dcolby@fullerton.edu
Russ L. Hudson, Public Affairs, 657-278-4007 or rhudson@fullerton.edu

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