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.

More attention is being paid nationwide to reducing GHG emissions at the local level in land use pl anning. This path-breaking conference assembles experts from early adopter jurisdictions around the country, as well as leading Massachusetts land use professionals, to provide insights for attorneys, developers, planners, consultants and local governments on the best ways to respond to climate change concerns regarding development projects.

San Francisco's Bay Conservation and Development Commission is preparing to launch a $125,000 competition that will invite architects, planners and engineers to bring innovative proposals "to climate-proof the Bay Area," in the words of the competition outline. There is hope that some of the designs produced may be useful to other communities in similar situations.

Among other "green" initiatives being unveiled by Detroit's mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. are a few standouts, in terms of energy policy. He's creating an Office of Energy and Sustainability within the mayor's office, and a "Green Council" of representatives from city agencies to find ways to improve energy use in city buildings.

Changes in Portland, Ore. bureaus by mayor-elect Sam Adams reflect a commitment to sustainability as a guiding principle in planning decisions, not an add-on. Earlier this week, his office announced that the city's Office of Sustainable Development (created in 2000) would merge with the Bureau of Planning to form the Bureau of Sustainable Planning & Development.

Sustainability: Beyond the Platitudes
The Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute hosts the largest land use
law and planning conference in the nation. Join them for a wide range of presentations on land use, land use law, and sustainability.

Oil production could peak by 2010. What does that mean for your community? An article by Daniel Lerch, featured in the December 2008 issue of Planning magazine.

The coastal Oregon town of Lincoln City aims to be first in the state to achieve "carbon neutrality" through green energy, efficiency, collaboration with a carbon co-op, and other measures. Their motive is ever-present: the Pacific Ocean, which will rise with global warming. (Daniel Lerch is quoted in this article.)