A new electronic reference has launched that needs input from the energy community. With the recent public release of the Encyclopedia of Earth www.eoearth.org, scientists from around the world are joining to create a comprehensive, authoritative source of information about the environments of Earth and their interactions with society. The Encyclopedia is written and governed by experts working in a unique collaborative environment, and it has been released through the initial work of about 350 Authors and 120 Topic Editors. All content is free to the public and free of advertsing. The Encyclopedia's oversight comes from an outstanding group of international scholars, our International Advisory Board (see below).

The Encyclopedia is built, maintained, and governed by experts like you via a specially adapted "wiki," an online resource that allows users to add and edit content collectively. Significantly, unlike other wikis, access to the Encyclopedia wiki is restricted to approved experts, and all content is peer reviewed and approved prior to being published at the free public site.

Peak oil is central to charting a sustainable course for society. I urge you visit the Encyclopedia and to consider joining our community.

Contributing is easy: visit www.eoearth.org, click on click on CONTRIBUTE TO THE EOE, and follow the guidelines there. The site also contains additional information about the project.

With best regards,

Cutler J. Cleveland
Editor-in-Chief
Encyclopedia of Earth

Professor of Geography and Environment
Boston University

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

Rita Colwell, Chairman, Canon U.S. Life Sciences, Inc., former Director of the National Science Foundation, USA
Robert W. Corell, Chair of the Steering Committee for the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
Robert Costanza, Director, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont, USA
Mohamed H. A. Hassan, President, African Academy of Sciences, Nairobi, Kenya
Thomas Homer-Dixon, Director, Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University College, Canada
Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, Ross School of Business, The University of Michigan, USA
Steve Hubbell, Distinguished Research Professor, University of Georgia, USA
Simon A. Levin, Moffett Professor of Biology, Director, Center for Biocomplexity, Princeton University, USA
Bonnie J. McCay, Distinguished Professor of Human Ecology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA
David W. Orr, Chairman, Environmental Studies Program, Oberlin College, Ohio, USA
Rajendra K. Pachauri, Director-General, The Energy and Resources Institute, India
F. Sherwood Rowland, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, University of California - Irvine, USA
B. L. Turner, Director, School of Geography, Clark University, USA