About 200 environmentalists, peace and social activists and energy experts met at a first-of-its-kind conference Friday in Portland. Organizers said they found a lot in common to talk about.

The conference, titled “Achieving Global Energy Security,” tied together issues related to America’s dependence on oil. There were discussions of the war in Iraq, tensions in Iran, global warming and nuclear power, among other issues. “We as activists and experts have become used to working in our own silos,” said Danny Muller, director of Peace Action Maine. “These actually are related. Flawed energy policy drives all these other problems.”

The conference was sponsored by a long list of diverse groups, including Peace Action Maine and Physicians for Social Responsibility. Speakers came from around the country. Bruce Smith, a physics professor at the State University of New York, led a discussion about whether nuclear energy is a solution to global warming. “What’s hopeful is that there are many safer routes,” he said.

As for oil dependence and violence, participants heard reasons both for concern and hope.

Michael Renner of the Worldwatch Institute said it’s clear that a transition from fossil fuels is inevitable, both because of limited resources and climate change. “Within what time horizon is up for debate,” he said. In the meantime, he predicted, tensions about oil and other diminishing resources will mount. “If anything, we’ll probably see more problems in these countries that are oil-rich,” he said.

Mary-Wynne Ashford, a physician and author who delivered a keynote address, offered hope about what she said was a decline in violence worldwide. A civil societies movement, which brought us civil rights, women’s rights and environmentalism, is making major wars and genocide rarer around the globe, she said, adding, “The world is turning away from war.”

Similar conferences recently have taken place in other cities around the country, though this one was the first for Maine and the region, organizers said.

Portland was fertile ground for the meeting because of the large number of groups dedicated to peace, social activism, health and environmental advocacy, organizers said. The conference is considered a first step in a new collaboration. The groups plan to create a DVD and a blog to spread the message and build on the connections among the groups.
“All the different pieces of the puzzle are coming together,” said Melissa Boyd, executive director of the Physicians for Social Responsibility in Maine.