'Combined heat and power' (CHP) plants and 'district heating' systems have been around for well over a hundred years. And yet, only a handful of modern cities and towns have made use of these highly efficient technologies until very recently. Now that we've rediscovered CHP and district heating, what role will they play in retrofitting our economies to rely on local energy?

Certainly people will want to stay in their own cozily-heated homes for the winter. But if energy prices make that economically infeasible for individuals, it's bound to also be a stretch for local governments. Towns that want to be effective in helping need to look beyond financial heating assistance for homeowners and instead harness the resources they have.

Chemical emergency. Dam Failure. Earthquake. Fire. Flood. Hazardous Material emergency. Heat emergency. Hurricane. Landslide. Nuclear emergency. Terrorism. Thunderstorm. Tornado. Tsunami. Volcano. Wildfire. Winter Storm. A scary list, but it's too late for Halloween, so what is it?

Renewable energy has emerged as a serious issue among politicians at all levels in the United States. Peak oil is a different story, however. Federal, state and local leaders will continue to misunderstand the energy crisis we face if they ignore the new energy production constraints of the 21st century.

With oil $60 cheaper today than it was in July, you might think economic recovery and increased global oil production are right around the corner. Not so, says peak oil author Richard Heinberg, who argues that cheaper oil is actually part of the problem -- and that it's all downhill from here for oil and the global economy

Policies are choices. We can choose to set policy as if we're still in a world of cheap oil, or we can choose to set policies more appropriate for the new and very real and world of energy and climate uncertainty. For most people that means electing government leaders who understand peak oil, and letting them figure out what exactly to do about it. As people who work in government know, however, it takes more than winning on Election Day to change policy.

How can planners and elected officials address incredibly complex issues like peak oil and global warming while juggling multiple stakeholders, competing priorities and limited resources? Some thoughts on talking about complexity in a world of soundbites and short attention spans.

Academic thinking about sustainability has progressed quite a bit since the days of the Brundtland Commission and the Earth Summit. Our practice of sustainability, however, has lagged. With global warming and peak oil at our doorstep, we have no time to waste to turn theory into practice.

Colleges and universities can be powerful social actors, with their large populations, research facilities, and significant budgets. How are they acting with respect to climate and energy issues?

I've always been wary of city sustainability rankings (Warren Karlenzig's top-notch How Green Is Your City? excepted). A recent Brookings Institution report of the carbon emissions of the 100 largest U.S. cities is a case in point.

Rutgers University planning school Dean James W. Hughes recently imparted two essential lessons about planning and the economy in the 21st century. First, resource constraints and reduced consumption are the future. And second, distance matters again.

Students of all ages are heading back to school this month. Post Carbon Cities Program Manager Daniel Lerch looks at what energy and climate uncertainty means for schools -- and what schools can do for the communities they serve.

New London, Connecticut is turning the clock back on a public square that was 're-muddled' in the 1970s. In fact, there's a lot to learn from the ways we built and organized our communities before the modern era. The success of our cities in the post-carbon era may depend on it.

An array of news stories related to energy and climate uncertainty from the British Isles - and a few other isles.

After my presentation to the Anchorage (Alaska) Municipal Assembly last week, I chatted with a local businessman who gave me a piece of surprising news: local airline industry reps recently came out against an expansion at Anchorage International Airport.

Schools are starting to encourage students to use other, human-powered modes to get to and from school. The many benefits of this development may seem clear, but what does it mean for, say, school buses? Does a movement toward walking and cycling really pose a challenge to the yellow icon of our school system?

By 1970 it was safe to say that a major shift was underway in our thinking about our relationship with each other and the planet. Then the oil crisis of 1973-1974 hit -- the first big test of this new-found awareness. What was our response, and what can we learn from it?

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.

Electrifying the U.S. freight rail system makes economic and national security sense, and may be more feasible than you think. A new proposal explores just what it would mean --and what it would take-- to shift the bulk of the U.S. freight system from oil to electricity in a relatively short amount of time.

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.