Post Carbon Cities :: Newsletter #4 October 2007

IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. Post Carbon Cities book launch and tour
  2. REPORT: Development can create or ameliorate climate change
  3. Queensland report a first
  4. Upcoming EVENTS

 

Post Carbon Cities

1. Post Carbon Cities book launch and tour



In connection with the release of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, Post Carbon Cities Project Manager Daniel Lerch, will be out on the road for the next month. This week, he's at the ASPO Conference in Houston, where he'll be participating in a panel about local and regional policy planning.

Then he'll be off to the East coast, to meet with government agencies and citizen groups in Quebec, Ontario, New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Check the tour schedule to see if he'll be speaking in a city near you.

Post Carbon Cities is a practical guidebook to taking action at the city or municipal level on the sometimes bewildering issues of energy uncertainty and climate change. In its case studies, it highlights what some North American cities are already doing to address and mitigate risks.

"Post Carbon Cities is an exceptionally clear and comprehensive call-to-action to those who actually work in the trenches of city governance. We don't have any more time to waste getting ready for an energy-scarcer future, and for those who remain dazed and confused, this book is an excellent place to start."

  -- James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency and The Geography of Nowhere

For more information and to buy the book, go to http://postcarboncities.org/guidebook.

2. REPORT: Development can create or ameliorate climate change

In September, the Urban Land Institute released a report, Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change that demonstrated links between land development decisions, the transportation patterns that grow out of them, and the pattern of global climate change.

"The report cites real estate projections showing that two-thirds of development expected to be on the ground in 2050 is not yet built, meaning that the potential for change is profound. The authors calculate that shifting 60 percent of new growth to compact patterns would save 85 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030. The savings over that period equate to a 28 percent increase in federal vehicle efficiency standards by 2020 (to 32 mpg), comparable to proposals now being debated in Congress."

The report concludes with a detailed chapter of policy recommendations for promoting more environmentally-sane development.

3. Queensland report a first

As far as we know, Queensland, Australia, was the first government to commission a report on oil vulnerability, back in 2005. The report, assembled by The Queensland Oil Vulnerability Taskforce, was released this fall. With the report's outline of the issue, description of likely impacts that it would have on the state's industry and economy, and recommendations of options to minimize those risks, Queensland's government is in a better position to prepare their state.

Read the report here.

4. Upcoming EVENTS

Assoc. for the Study of Peak Oil World Oil Conference

17 Oct - 20 Oct, Houston, TX

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

CommunityMatters07

23 Oct - 25 Oct, Burlington, VT

See www.communitymatters.org for details and registration.

U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions

26 Oct - 28 Oct, Yellow Springs, Ohio

See www.communitysolution.org for details and registration.

National League of Cities Conference

13 Nov - 17 Nov, New Orleans, LA

See www.nlc.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