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!

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.

Video (1 Nov 2007) presentation of John Kaufmann, former lead staffer for the groundbreaking Portland (Ore.) Peak Oil Task Force, to the Connecticut Legislative Peak Oil and Natural Gas Caucus. Kaufmann is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Oregon Department of Energy.

If Kilkenny is to free itself from oil dependency, it will have to come up with local solutions rather than relying on the Irish government or the EU. And the best results will come if the initiative is taken by residents and businesses rather than just the local authorities.

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.

Spend a few minutes surfing most of the peak oil websites, and you will quickly arrive at the grim conclusion that civilization is doomed, or worse—we oil-addicted humans are all going to die of starvation or be killed in the violence of a society in its death throes. Time to close your web browser and open Post Carbon Cities, a reference manual that offers a cautiously optimistic and pragmatic assessment of the looming twin crises of peak oil and climate change.

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.

Even if we stop all emissions today we will still impact climate in the 22nd century - what communities can do now to adapt to the changes they will see in their climate. The international organization ICLEI can help communities choose their paths, as it did in Keene, NH, where several concrete goals were set to help the community protect itself from future uncertainties.

In January, I attended "Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty" presentations in the Twin Cities by Daniel Lerch, author of "Post Carbon Cities," and John Kaufmann of Oregon’s Department of Energy, representative to Portland Peak Oil Task Force.

Rep. Bill Hilty, chairman of the Energy Committee, is to be commended for attending the United States’ Association for the Study of Peak Oil and getting these experts to present to a Minnesota legislative hearing and meetings in four other cities.

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."