Post Carbon Cities :: Newsletter #2 August 2007

Posted 17 August 2007

Post Carbon Cities :: Newsletter #2, August 2007

IN THIS ISSUE:

Download the Post Carbon Cities Guidebook preview
Post Carbon Cities going on the road
Twelve large US counties launch "Cool Counties" initiative
Top recent NEWS on postcarboncities.net
Post Carbon Institute: New on Global Public Media
Upcoming events

1. Download the Post Carbon Cities Guidebook preview

An abridged preview version of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, our long-awaited guidebook for local governments, is now available for free download. Visit the Guidebook webpage at www.postcarboncities.net/guidebook to download this 20-page preview, which includes:

Executive Summary and Table of Contents
Preface and Introduction
Guide to making a local government statement on peak oil
Guide to establishing a peak oil task force.

As energy and climate change become increasingly important issues for businesses and citizens, Post Carbon Cities comes not a moment too soon for local leaders who want to know more about these long-term challenges.

"How will we cope with a future of energy scarcity? As a policy maker I look to other communities for inspiration and ideas, but there's been a lack of information on what local governments are doing to adapt to Peak Oil. Post Carbon Cities fills this gap: herein lies the roadmap plotted by the cities that are leading the way. Enthusiastically recommended!"

-- Dave Rollo, City Council President, Bloomington, Indiana

"Post Carbon Cities will be very helpful to people involved in transportation and land use planning as they attempt to re-think land use patterns and the movement of people and goods for the economic, environmental and social well being of the planet. The timing could not be more critical!"
-- Alan Falleri, Community Development Director, Willits, California

Print copies of Post Carbon Cities will be available for pre-order (US$30.00) by the end of the month, with delivery starting mid-September. Visit www.postcarboncities.net/guidebook for more information.

2. Post Carbon Cities going on the road

Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch will be traveling in September and October to promote the Post Carbon Cities Guidebook. His tour will include public presentations as well as meetings with government agencies and citizen groups working on local responses to peak oil and global warming. Watch our website in the coming weeks for Daniel's full itinerary, and contact him if you would like to host a presentation when he's in your area.

Preliminary tour schedule:

9/10 - 11: in San Francisco Bay Area
9/17 - 19: in Washington, D.C. area
9/20 - 21: in San Francisco Bay Area
10/22 - 23: in Ottawa and Montreal
10/26 - 11/3: in New England
11/4 - 9: in New York City / New Jersey / Philadelphia area

3. Twelve large US counties launch "Cool Counties" initiative

On July 16th, twelve large U.S. counties --led by King County (WA), Fairfax County (VA), and Nassau County (NY)-- and the Sierra Club launched the Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration, a major new initiative to combat global warming.

Similar to the well-known U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Initiative launched by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels in February 2005, the Counties Declaration represents a pledge by signatories to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to urge the federal government to tack action on climate change. The Counties Declaration goes further in its details, however, specifically calling for:

reducing GHG emissions 80 percent by 2050 (compared to the Mayors Initiative which calls for meeting the Kyoto U.S. target of 7% below 1990 levels by 2012) -- an annual reduction of 2 percent; and
raising federal fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon

The inaugural counties represent some of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, including:

Seattle, Washington: King County
Washington, D.C. region: Fairfax, Arlington and Montgomery Counties
New York City region: Nassau County
Miami, Florida: Miami-Dade County
Oakland, California: Alameda County
Chicago, Illinois: Cook County
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Hennepin County
Madison, Wisconsin: Dane County

[ Read more about the Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration. ]

4. Top recent NEWS on postcarboncities.net

Every business day we dig through over thirty top news feeds for the latest on how energy and climate concerns are affecting cities, and what city leaders are doing in response. Search for recent articles by subject and region, or jump to our Editor's Choice section for the most significant and interesting stories of the past few months.

Here are a few of the more popular news items of the last month:

Bogota, Columbia: From living hell to living well
Published 25 June 2007 by The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Mayor Enrique Peñalosa's unorthodox initiatives transformed the megacity of Bogota, Colombia from a sprawling, polluted, violent mess a into successfully model for mobility, social equity and --perhaps most surprisingly-- citizen happiness. This lengthy article describes what Peñalosa did, how he did it, and what lessons might be learned by North American cities.

Pilot projects launch for 'green neighborhood development' certification
Published 1 July 2007 by New Urban News (US)
The US Green Building Council's new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) certification integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design. This article describes nine of the diverse developments from all over the U.S. that have registered to be LEED-ND pilot projects.

Climate change may spur major population shifts
Published 22 July 2007 by The Toronto Star

As the U.S. Southwest grapples with historic drought, water supply depletion and the creeping sense that things can only get worse, concerns are rising that long-term climatic shifts may eventually force major regional population shifts across North America. This may be good news, however, for older Rust Belt cities in more temperate climes, like Cleveland, Buffalo and Toronto.

5. Post Carbon Institute: New on Global Public Media

Global Public Media, another program of Post Carbon Institute, is an internet broadcasting station that streams long format audio and video interviews with world experts. Click on the links below for the latest additions on GPM.

6. Upcoming events

International Forum on Globalization Teach-in: Confronting the Global Triple Crisis

Sept. 14-16, 2007, Washington, DC
See www.ifg.org for more information. Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Global Resource Depletion & Extinction.

A Renaissance of Local

Sept. 28-30, 2007, Boulder, CO
See www.bouldercountygoinglocal.com for more information. A celebration of local food, local energy, local economy, local culture, and local community. Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch will be presenting at this event.

ASPO-USA 2007 Houston World Oil Conference

October 17-20, Houston, Texas
See www.aspo-usa.com for details and registration. Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch will be presenting at this event.

18th Annual Bioneers Conference

October 19-21, San Rafael, California
See www.bioneers.org/conference for details and registration.

Community Matters '07 Conference

October 23-25, Burlington, Vermont
See www.communitymatters.org for details and registration.

The Community Solution: 4th Annual U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions

October 26-28, Yellow Springs, Ohio
See www.communitysolution.org for details and registration.

Post Carbon Institute
6969 Sebastopol Avenue
Sebastopol, CA 95472
+1 707 827 3221
+1 800 590 7745 (toll-free)
Email Us
www.postcarboncities.net
www.postcarbon.org

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