[This is an EXCERPT: read the whole article here. Armando Carbonell is chairman of the Department of Planning and Urban Form at the well-respected Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Mr. Carbonelli calls for a new approach to infrastructure, a new energy economy, and more attention to land use in order to address energy, climate and economy. Post Carbon Cities couldn't agree more - see the links below for further reading on these topics. -Ed.]

By Armando Carbonell

"The summer of 2008 already has the feel of a real turning point - a time Americans will remember when gasoline first sold for over $4 a gallon. Political calls for a gas tax holiday have been greeted with universal scorn. The search for longer term, sustainable solutions is on.

"Recognizing the deeper, structural issues at work, a growing number of planners and policy analysts are seeking to prepare for the future with a fundamental overhaul of the nation's systems of transportation and of land and energy use.

"Those systems were built on the premise that fossil fuels would serve as a cheap, abundant, and environmentally benign source of energy into the indefinite future. Demand for oil is outpacing supply, escalating prices to $140 a barrel and more. At the same time, the emerging consensus on global climate change - both presidential candidates support a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - will inevitably reinforce the trend of higher energy costs until the transition from overreliance on fossil fuels is achieved."

Photo credit: Allan Ferguson