My life has been a collage of wonderful opportunities and events, and of course the unexpected tragedy from time to time.  I spent most of my childhood growing up in Santa Cruz, California -- THE most liberal town in the United States at the time (Berkley was taking its liberal lessons from us!) 

I headed off to mid-America, Oklahoma, destined for college, on Election Day of 1976, the day Jimmy Carter was elected President (I had voted for Gerald Ford.)    I studied Management Science and Computer Systems.  Following college I was hired by Trans World Airlines in their customer services division, obtaining my training at the Oklahoma City airport and then opening new airport operations for the airline around the country -- Ft. Lauderdale, Little Rock, and Portland, OR.  I also served in Nashville and Miami for a period of time.

I soon was hired into the computing services division of the airline, coordinating travel industry automation for the Pacific Northwest of the USA.   This led me to design the training programs for Worldspan Automation Coordinators around the globe and ultimately led me to becoming the primary Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Product Development consultant to the largest travel industry computing services company in Asia, known as Abacus Distribution Systems, an alliance of more than a dozen airlines.  I lived in Singapore for three years fulfilling this contract.

It was in Singapore that I fell in love with a wonderful woman named Angela.  We became engaged and were counting on living happily ever after.  Alas, providence was not on our side and our engagement was ultimately cancelled -- a devastating event in my life.

It was also in Singapore that I entered a spiritual quest, and found my inner self, and God.  (If you haven't done this yet, I highly recommend it.)  My spiritual development led me to understand the nature of being, and the value of service to others.  I chose to dedicate a huge portion of my life to helping kids.  It has completely changed my life. 

Upon my return to the USA, I continued consulting in the areas of travel industry automation and business planning, ultimately landing a position with the just-beginning-to-grow Dell Computer Corp as their Deployment Manager for Information Technology.  I survived 5 years there, establishing their first software quality, IT process, IT deployment, and IT Program Management Office functions.

It was also during this period that I adopted my best friend, Tranya, an Australian Shepherd.  She is my very best friend and companion to this day, having stood by me during better and worse, without complaint.  (Of course that probably has a lot to with the fact that I feed her ice cream and marshmallows.)

It became clear to me at Dell, just after we all survived the Y2K fiasco, that it was time to move on.  I landed a position as Director of Knowledge Management for a venture-funded start-up software company, and also sat on the Corporate Executive Committee.  One of the key tragedies of my life was when our CEO, and my friend, unexpectedly passed away from a sudden heart attack.  The company did not survive the shock.

Shortly thereafter, I met a wonderful woman, Brenda, whom eventually became my domestic partner.   She had three children that I grew to love and learn with.  It was during this relationship that Brenda and I embarked on business ventures together, first in the import of bamboo flooring and dimensional bamboo furniture, and then investment in real estate.

Our real estate investment strategy was both noble and exciting.  We bought homes from folks who had run into financial challenges and needed to sell fast, but couldn't afford the costs involved.   We then refurbished as necessary and resold the homes.  On occasion, we were able to help our clients downsize into a home that was more affordable and that met their specific needs.  Our mission was to help people, and we did.   

Supporting the passion of Brenda's son, I became involved in the United States Air Force Auxiliary, also known as the Civil Air Patrol.  I soon became Commander of a new Flight that we grew dramatically, and then Deputy Commander of the Squadron.  We educated civilians, including teenagers, in the ways of disaster relief, emergency services to the community, and established one of the largest cadet programs for teenagers in the nation.  Within two years,  we earned the awards of Squadron of Distinction for our State, the Region, and the Nation, along with recognition for being the top emergency services squadron in Texas.   Brenda's son went on to solo an airplane at the age of fifteen and obtain his pilots license.  Today he's a hot-shot young pilot and a Certified Flight Instructor with an obvious aviation career in the future.  I was recognized as Member of the Year when we achieved the coveted National Squadron of Distinction award, along with the Air Search and Rescue Medal for performing on more than ten missions that year, and the Commanders Commendation.

In 2005, I served for more than a year as the Director of Digital Libraries for a private foundation that is serving to rescue, republish, and repopulate thousands of very rare and ancient Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts to Buddhist libraries, monasteries, and education centers around the globe.  Although I don't personally follow the Buddhist practice, I was (and am) profoundly honored to have been a part of such a noble cause.

In 2005 I also learned of the concept of "peak oil"...  the point in time where the aggregate of the worlds oil fields are no longer able to increase production, due to lack of new discoveries, oil field depletion and geological factors, and consequently the global supply of oil can no longer meet the heavy consumption demands of the world.  I was horrified to learn that this significant point in time would occur in this decade, and I recognized the enormous and devastating implications to the world's economy, our food supply, and transportation infrastructure.  It never occurred to me that such a calamity to humanity would occur in my lifetime.

Following the Bodhi Foundation project, largely due to my understanding of the coming petroleum energy crisis, I moved to the beautiful state of Oregon to settle and re-establish myself in the most sustainable region of the country.  The Portland City Council passed a Peak Oil resolution, establishing a task force to research and report on the issue.   I volunteered to assist the Task Force in understanding the enormous implications of energy depletion.  My role was unofficial, casual and consultative, and the task force accomplished a great deal; ultimately making some astounding recommendations to the city, which the City formally adopted.  I was honored to be a part of this.  I have additionally written several papers and a book on the subject of peak oil.  

On the experiential side of life, I have been through hurricanes and typhoons, major earthquakes (7.2!), I've lost friends and relations to cancer, tumors, heart disease and senseless automobile accidents, and personally watched the space shuttle Discovery disintegrate during re-entry in front of my eyes.  I have experienced a number of other calamities:  It was when I lived in Singapore that I learned that I had a large tumor in my spinal chord that required immediate and dangerous surgery, and would require learning to walk again, all with my family on the opposite side of the planet.   Last year a dear friend of 25 years passed away following a long, preventable illness.  This year my father passed away and I am learning to live in a world without his existence.  These have all been tragedies.

But over the years I have had the extraordinary opportunity to travel the globe extensively, now counting more than 40 countries visited on more than 100 occasions.  I have visited every continent except South America, and can now walk around many of the world's great cities without a map.  I have seen and visited many of the wonders of the world; the pyramids, the Great Barrier Reef, the Taj Mahal, the palaces of China, Petra (of course), the Vatican Museum, the canals of Amsterdam, the remote jungles and villages of Papua New Guinea and Borneo, and the list just goes on, and on.  And I was able to learn enough German, Italian, French, and Mandarin to get around in those countries.  

I have also viewed the earth from 45,000 feet, scuba'd many of the world's great reefs, climbed and hiked the Swiss and Austrian Alps, skied a glacier, held a moon rock, manned the helm of a yacht motoring around the Virgin Islands,  and experienced "Full Moon Friday" on Tortola.  I have viewed solar and lunar eclipses, piloted an L-1011 commercial airliner in flight, flown small fixed-wing aircraft, experienced an F14 fighter jet break the sound barrier less than 100 yards in front of where I stood, personally met some world leaders and several celebrities, fallen in love, and known some astonishing human beings.  For these things, I have truly been blessed.

Recently I have extensively studied the convergence of the threats of peak oil, population expansion, the housing bubble and its economic consequences, and global warming and its environmental concerns.  While each one of these crucial issues is potentially catastrophic in and of itself, I am more deeply alarmed about the consequences of them converging on humanity simultaneously.  We are all in for a hell of a ride.   I hope you will take a moment to read my passions section to learn more about why I am alarmed.  I urge everyone to take preemptive action to help make our transition to the inevitable new world as painless and as rewarding as possible, for everyone.  

Oh yeah, and another thing I've learned: As it turns out, you are not your stuff.

Peter Lunsford
Oregon
October, 2007