This report, issued by the Energy Depletion Risks Task Force on May 15 2009, addresses the potential impact of energy uncertainty and provides ten policy recommendations to mitigate negative effects on the City of Austin.

The thirteen-member Task Force on Sustainability is part of the city's strategic planning effort to identify and address the ways that climate change and rising energy prices will impact the government's operations, services, programs and policies. In conjunction with subcommittee members, citizens and city staff, the Task Force released this plan on March 13, 2009.

This seven-member body was charged with coordinating the assessment of San Francisco's vulnerability to energy price shocks, determining appropriate measures to mitigate municipal vulnerability, and to draft a comprehensive response plan for recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The Task Force released this report and held its final meeting on March 17 2009.

The New York Times' "Green Inc." blog explores reactions to a previous article on the Vauban car-free development in Freiburg, Germany. Post Carbon Cities author Daniel Lerch is quoted in this article.

The final report of the Berkeley Oil Independence Task Force, to be presented to the City Council in May 2009.

Smaller cities have a distinctive and vital role to play in the work of the new century: they will be critical in the move to local agriculture and the development of renewable energy industries. Their underused or vacant industrial space and surrounding tracts of farmland make them ideal sites for sustainable land-use policies, or "smart growth." (This article quotes Post Carbon Cities author Daniel Lerch.)

The MTA's new report, "Sustainability and the MTA," outlines a transit program for the New York metro region that could well be applied to other metro regions.

A report compiled by Helena officials and the city's Climate Change Task Force shows that the Capital City's government reduced its energy usage between 2001 and 2007 by 22.1 percent and its carbon dioxide emissions by 18.1 percent. City officials knew the energy-saving changes they'd made in those years - everything from using more efficient light bulbs to installing smarter temperature controls - would make a dent in Helena's energy usage, but they were surprised to learn they'd outpaced the Kyoto Protocol's 20-year goals in less than a third of the time.

The City of Lawrence will create the Mayor's Task Force on Peak Oil to develop a response plan in active consultation with the community that will address both a sudden crisis-related reduction of fossil fuels and a long term depletion of fossil fuels.

Like many places, Portland, Ore. is seeing a lot of snow -- snow it's largely unprepared for. But despite the county's declared state of emergency, those in walkable neighborhoods are actually doing pretty well. Unusual conditions lend a special, festive air to everything, encouraging acts of play and goodwill. Post Carbon Cities will be on break through January 4. We wish you and your community resilience and joy in the New Year.