A research paper produced for the Municipal Association of Victoria, Australia explores the energy uncertainty adaptation strategy of relocalization through case studies. The report also touches on ways in which local governments can encourage these efforts.

Portland, Ore., and California’s Silicon Valley are leaders in a new paradigm, a high efficiency and environmentally low impact model, reversing Americans’ profligate, high-impact, low-efficiency culture of the past half century. One element in the transition: demand for oil is exceeding supply. Shifts have to be made.

As oil prices surged this year, manufacturers raised the prices of a lot of products — not just gasoline but lotions, toothpaste, plastics and many more items that use oil as a raw material. But even now that oil prices are dropping, the manufacturers are loath to lower their prices until they recoup what they lost in the runup - and are sure the prices won't go up again.

The dilemma for governments is that forecasting has such a poor track record that forgoing today's pressing needs to prepare for an uncertain future carries considerable political risk. Making the wrong choices will lead to unfortunate consequences either way.

A shift to alternative energy sources and energy efficiency is creating jobs in Oregon, where turbines, solar panels and other technologies need to be designed, built, installed, and maintained. Schools and unions are filling a great demand for new training.

Pennsylvania's ridges make wind energy a rising presence in the state's energy profile. And demand for wind turbines is creating new jobs, often housed in the old steel complexes.

When household budgets are tight because of expensive necessities, luxuries get pared down. What does this mean for cities, when so many are reliant on tourism as a major economic driver? Keep energy trends in mind when planning - and make sure there are other industries in the mix.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy senior fellow Armando Carbonell writes about the importance of land use and transportation decisions to a coherent energy and climate policy.

As the inevitable shadow of high-priced and carbon-emitting fossil fuels looms, Nova Scotia's municipality of Clare is sowing its own seeds of self-sufficiency, based on its kinship with a tiny European local energy leader Güssing, Austria.

How are rising oil prices affecting the summer tourist season and cities that depend on vacationers? The news isn't all bad, especially for destinations that cater to local and regional tourism. The long term trends are indeed shifting, however, with unclear prospects for business travel and the tourist dollars it generates.