"Do what you can in the face of the Hype-Hurricane"

ASPO-USA Co-Founder, Randy Udall

Catching up on the news from the July 4th break. And I have to start with the tragic loss of ASPO-USA co-founder Randy Udall.

Sally Odland, Steve Andrews, and John Theobald wrote a wonderful tribute to him this week in Peak Oil Review. Also, Joe Romm and Auden Schendler wrote a great piece, "Are You Strong? Remembering Randy Udall" in Climate Progress. (Updated 07/10/13: Adding to the list, Chris Nelder's tribute: "Randy Udall: An Energy Hero's Journey")

On a personal note, I didn't know Randy well, because he was no longer part of the ASPO-USA Board of Directors when I came aboard. But I'm thankful that the last time I spoke to him I was describing our recent efforts to release the videos of ALL the ASPO-USA conferences online, and I thanked him for all the hard work he did in those early years. I also told him that I edited one of his commentaries and included it on the website. It feels a little silly admitting this now, but I tracked down and embedded the video at the top of that commentary, just out of the hope that Randy would see it - and that it would help remind him of those days.

In his email response, he expressed joy that ASPO-USA was still fighting the good fight, reiterated how critical these energy issues are, and closed with the final words Randy Udall would ever say to me: "Do what you can in the face of the hype-hurricane."