SHELL SPONSORS MAY
LUNCHEON
Photos by
Marlen Bedoya
Another month, another successful SAMA luncheon
More
than 40 members and guests -- 43 to be exact -- attended May’s event at
the Rusty Pelican sponsored by Shell Lubricants. They heard Mark Ferner,
Team Leader at Shell Global Solutions, Lubricant Technology, talk on
what the company is doing to deal with energy demands of the future.
“We
can see a doubling of the global energy demands in the first half of
this century,” Ferner said. “So we need more energy, but it will be
harder for energy suppliers to keep up with that growth and demand as
existing oil and gas fields mature and new sources are harder to
extract.
“All
this will need to be achieved while at the same time meeting all the
environmental challenges such as reducing CO2 emissions from that energy
use.”
But
those emissions are growing fast, Ferner said.
“So
our industry will need to make more efficient use of fossil fuel supply
and develop new low-carbon energy sources in both these areas. But this
will not happen quickly.
“For
all new forms of energy, it takes about 30 years to achieve a 1 percent
market share. And it’s always uncertain which of those technologies will
prove successful over the long term.”
But
despite those difficult odds, it is important for us to invest in a
range of technologies and to do so now.
“That
is why Shell invested more than one billion dollars last year in
researching alternative energies and energy solutions.”
Research in fuels and lubricants for today’s vehicles remains vital.
While development of fuel cell and electric powered vehicles gets much
media attention, “We need to recognize that by 2050 two-thirds of the
vehicles are still likely to use current engine technology and
conventional engine fuels.
“So we
need to use innovative partnerships to find ways of improving fuel
economy and cleanliness of those fuels and those engines, and by
improving and applying existing technology.”
In a
business session before the presentation, President Paul Borden
announced that June 30 had been set as the date for SAMA’s first
convertible competition event.
Billed
as “Topless in Miami,” the one-day event will give SAMA media members
the opportunity to rate and score different convertibles with one to be
selected as the “South Florida Convertible of the Year.” There also will
be winners in various categories.
More
details will be coming on this event, so watch your email!
We
also will be working on another charity event at the suggestion of Vice
President Bill Adam. Bill noted that many, many people in areas struck
by flooding and tornados in the South are in need of clothing and other
items, and it would be great if SAMA could organize a drive to collect
these items and get them to the stricken areas to provide relief. The
board is currently working on details to implement that idea. Members
should watch their email for more details on this as well.
New
members in attendance at the May event included Steven Marks, a
freelancer who works the auto show circuit as well as representing
several manufacturers at various events.
Edward
Williams from Homestead-Miami Speedway introduced two new members of the
Speedway staff, Adam Beasley (media relations) and Ali Bradshaw (ticket
sales).
We
want to thank Shell Lubricants for sponsoring our May luncheon. We also
enjoyed our return to the Rusty Pelican after an absence of several
months!
Our
next monthly luncheon will be June 23 at the Mondrian Hotel in Miami
Beach. Honda is the sponsor and will showcase the new Civic.
Please
watch your emails for further details!
To view
larger photos from the event, please click here.
