An update from Post Carbon Cities to the Relocalization Network - a network of citizen groups working to strengthen their communities though relocalization. The news: action on the U.S.'s Southeastern front!

Portland's a "Platinum" bike-friendly city -- the second in the United States, and the only major urban area in the U.S. thus designated. And Laurel's still not satisfied.

Come to our hosting a session on peak oil and energy uncertainty at the annual American Planning Association conference in Las Vegas, Wednesday April 30th at 4:00pm. "Post Carbon Cities" author Daniel Lerch is joined by John Kaufmann of the Portland (Ore.) Peak Oil Task Force and Jennifer Sarnecki of Southern California Association of Governments.

Laurel shares two videos: In one, Santa Barbara's City Council member Das Williams talks about that city's efforts to address energy and climate uncertainty. The other is from the city of Portland's education campaign about bike boxes. Plus, seven other cities using bike boxes to protect cyclists.

Program Manager Daniel Lerch starts a two week trip to the British Isles at a symposium for local officials, planners, architects and builders in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Oil burst through its all-time record price last week, but this wasn't so much of a surprise as three other things we've recently learned. Which U.S. city is most prepared for high oil prices? (Hint: it's not Portland.) Which city in the world was the first to complete a joint peak oil - global warming task force? And which high-level politician in the news this week is an outspoken voice on peak oil?

Now that we've moved decisively into all-time high prices for oil, what better moment to take a look at what one of the first cities to act on peak oil --Portland, Oregon-- has done since the conclusion of its peak oil task force a year ago.

As transportation costs and wasted resources become more dear, greater attention to appropriate scales may well offer better solutions and prevent harmful ones. Post Carbon Cities staff Laurel Hoyt considers the problem of scale in producing two of our most basic needs: energy and food.

Many cities have plans in place to reduce greenhouse gases, and a growing number are planning for declining global oil production. But the U.S. city of Spokane, Washington has become the first to tackle climate change and global oil depletion together, marking a new step in local government responses to these increasingly urgent challenges.

On January 31, Post Carbon Cities' Daniel Lerch gave a presentation in Portland, Oregon as part of Focus the Nation, a nationwide teach-in on global warming. That presentation (and many more) are now available in podcast format.

Program Manager Daniel Lerch travels to Minnesota for a whirlwind presentation tour with John Kaufmann of the Oregon Department of Energy: "State Representative Bill Hilty likened the crisis we face to an interstate highway bridge. There's a joint on this bridge with five potential fracture points: growth, energy, climate, the environment, and the economy... We need to do an inspection."

A local energy system will be more resilient in the face of fossil fuel energy uncertainty, and it will look different for different places. A careful consideration of the qualities of a place -- including what people do there or have done there -- can result in surprising sources of energy.

2008 looks to be the year of $100+ oil and a new urgency on climate change. At the start of what promises to be an historic year for energy and climate (not to mention U.S. politics), program manager Daniel Lerch looks at two recent important articles and a new peak oil video on YouTube that will help you start 2008 with the right information.

Oil's brush with $100 was an exciting New Year's moment, perhaps a more sobering one than we'd wish. But, thanks in part to these market fluctuations, popular awareness of peak oil and the energy uncertainty problem is clearly rising. 2008 promises to be a big year in many ways that will profoundly shape the future.

This weekend I took a pleasant train trip from Portland to Seattle to visit with family for Christmas. For me, the travel itself was one of the most enjoyable facets of a very full weekend. Both passenger and freight rail traffic have been increasing as fuel costs soar, making it clear that a functional rail system will be a real asset in an energy uncertain future.

When I left New York City for Portland, Oregon nearly ten years ago, I was consciously turning my back on a whole region of the country that, in my eyes, didn't take sustainability seriously. But this past November on the Post Carbon Cities book tour, I found that some communities throughout the Northeast are among the best prepared for peak oil.

Portland, Oregon has reaped the benefits of its light rail and streetcar lines -- and is adding more, to the delight of public transport aficionados like me. Other U.S. cities are also adding rail-based transit or restoring some of the rail that existed in the past.

(16 November 2007) Daniel Lerch's final report from the Fall 2007 Northeast Book Tour. The last two weeks have included presentations and meetings in New York and Toronto, and a special regional planning workshop on energy and climate uncertainty in Philadelphia.

Cosmetic and add-on projects are not enough to address the systemic problems that climate and energy uncertainty will bring. The status quo must be changed. This is a daunting task, but many are already working on it.

(2 November 2007) Post Carbon Cities author Daniel Lerch reports from New England in week three of his book tour: "The last night of the conference found me in a noisy pub straining to hear Portland (Maine) City Councilor Kevin Donoghue describe the disappearing pre-oil age infrastructure of his city's developing waterfront..."