Following several months of providing multiple updates to our County Commissioners and Mayors on the peak oil issue, and providing them with multiple government reports highlighting the issue, the following suggestions have been sent as a courtesy by Washington County Peak Oil to all of the Mayors and Commissioners in Washington County. These solutions have been sent one at a time, via email, with a new solution delivered about twice per week. The solution campaign began at the beginning of 2008. This page will be continually updated as additional solutions are delivered.

Milan introduces traffic charge

Published by BBC News (original article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7167992.stm )

Milan, long an industrial center and reputed to be one of Europe's most polluted cities, has instituted a charge for driving in the central city. The charge, based on individual cars' emissions, will go toward buses, cycle paths and green vehicles in the city - and so far, the transition seems to be working.

[Although Milan's congestion charge is specifically to address air quality concerns, the technique of congestion charges could be a useful one for encouraging the development of alternative transportation systems and making more livable downtowns. -Ed.]

The Italian city of Milan has imposed a charge of up to 10 euros (£7.50) [US$14.70] on vehicles entering the city.
The "eco-pass" is being policed by cameras at 43 electric gates around an 8-sq-km (three-square-mile) inner area.

The mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti, launched the charge predicting a 30% cut in pollution levels and a 10% reduction in traffic.
Electric and hybrid cars are allowed to enter the congestion charge zone without payment.

On weekdays, between 0730 and 1930, drivers will have to buy a ticket either online or from key points in the city.
The price of the ticket depends on the vehicle involved and anyone who fails to pay the charge will face a fine of at least 70 euros (£52). Money raised will go towards buses, cycle paths and green vehicles.

In a country considered to have one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world, Milan itself is reputedly one of Europe's most polluted cities. An estimated 89,000 vehicles take to the city's streets every day but city officials say traffic on the first day of the scheme was 40% lower than normal.

The man in charge of the eco-pass, Edoardo Croci, said he could not have imagined a better start. "Everything was quiet," he said. "We did not have the emergency our critics had imagined." Mr Croci said that the majority of the private cars entering the zone on Wednesday were exempt from the charge because they had been fitted with anti-smog filters.

The real test of the scheme will not come until next week when children return to school and businesses fully re-open after the Christmas and New Year break.

Two other northern cities in Italy, Turin and Genoa, are also considering a pollution fee. In 2003, a congestion charge was introduced in London, reducing traffic levels in the area and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by almost a fifth.

Indian cities adopt renewable energy and energy efficiency policies

The cities of Bhubaneswar and Nagpur have become the first in India to adopt city level policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Their policies include interventions in the sectors that are under local government’s jurisdiction like street lighting, water pumping, buildings, waste management, lighting in public areas, public transport, citizen’s awareness, etc. The policy documents for both cities are supported with detailed action plans to be implemented for achieving the targets set in the policy.

Published 24 October 2007 by ICLEI Global, http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=7289&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2404&tx_tt...

Bhubaneswar and Nagpur (India) have recently adopted city level policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
This is the first time in India that cities have taken the initiative to adopt a comprehensive policy for reducing their conventional energy consumption.

The policy includes interventions in the sectors that are under local government’s jurisdiction like street lighting, water pumping, buildings, waste management, lighting in public areas, public transport, citizen’s awareness, etc. The policy documents for both cities are supported with detailed action plans to be implemented for achieving the targets set in the policy.

Some of the measures included in the policies include:

* incorporating energy efficiency in all its present and future planning;
* integrating energy efficiency measures in all its applications such as street lighting, parks/campus lighting, traffic signals, buildings, etc.;
* developing energy conservation and management guidelines for all corporation activities;
* promoting renewable energy sources such as solar water heating systems in all commercial/domestic activities;
* encouraging non-motorized transportation systems in the city;
* partnering with relevant government agencies, institutions and businesses in bringing in new technologies; and
* organizing awareness programs for citizens, staff, etc. on energy conservation

These cities have set a model for other cities in the region and around the globe, by committing to continuously improve their energy conservation drive and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Both Bhubaneswar and Nagpur are participating in the Local Renewable Model Communities Network project, an initiative of ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability. supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and receiving technical support from GTZ. The overall goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate a leading role for local governments in promoting, generating and using renewable energy sources. The formulation of City Level Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policies is a major component of the Local Renewables project. For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/index.php?id=4991.

Clustered and Energy Efficient Living

Effective Land Use and Planning will be crucial to an energy depleted world. This means, generally, much denser, mixed-use and walkable communities. Walkable communities are modeled after developments such as college campuses, military bases, or large mixed-use buildings -- all virtually self contained communities that are completely walkable with both residential and commercial space, even schools, libraries, shops and restaurants included within its boundaries. And public transportation for outside connections is available from a central location within the community.

In the country of Singapore, the housing estates under the development of the Housing Development Board (HDB) are prime examples of careful community planning. Affordable apartments and condominiums are located in these large housing estates, which are self-contained satellite towns with schools, supermarkets, clinics, food centres, as well as sports and recreational facilities. There are a large variety of residential floorplans and layouts, generally classified into three-room, four-room, five-room and executive flats (the living room is counted as one room), ranging from 800 sqft to over 1600 sqft. See more about the HDB at http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10296p.nsf/WPDis/About%20UsHDB's%20Role?OpenDocument

Building such communities in the future will require significant creativity, zoning, and permitting to assure the lowest carbon footprint possible.

Independence Station is an extraordinary 57,000 square foot mixed-use development in Independence, Oregon, about 15 miles from Salem. It is powered primarily by vegetable oil and the sun. Residents, businesses and visitors alike will experience what an intelligent sustainable building can really be. This unique structure is currently under development and is targeting achievement as the highest rated LEED building in the world.

This incredible living building will offer a number of 2nd floor 1-bedroom units and 3rd floor garden 1 & 2 bedroom units. Residences will range in price from the $250’s to the $700’s. Additionally, high-tech office and retail space will be available for lease.
See more about this project at http://independencestation.com/index.shtml. Much can be learned from its design.

Strategic Local Climate Solutions

As local governments take the lead in climate protection, a new tool is available to help them rapidly advance green buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure. Called the "Playbook," this web-based resource shows how strategic actions in these sectors promote economic development, build healthier communities, strengthen energy independence, and support climate protection.

The City of Seattle and US Green Building Council convened over 20 partners including US cities and counties, non-profit organizations, state and federal agencies and utilities who collaborated to produce the first phase of the Playbook to help mayors and county leaders who have accepted the challenge set out in the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

Launched on November 1, 2007 at the US Conference of Mayors Climate Summit, the Playbook is designed for elected officials, and senior managers and staff developing and implementing local climate action plans. The Playbook details strategic actions that build support and assure steady progress. There is specific advice on:

* How to assess the local risks and opportunities.
* How to create an action-oriented planning process for green projects and programs.
* How to build momentum and maintain steady progress by moving innovative ideas into the mainstream.
* How to build local government’s capacity for advancing green buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure.

Each section contains "talking points" for elected officials and background materials for staff to prime them on the issues; detailed how-to resources gleaned from local governments across the country; and, practical program guidance and policies and regulatory levers. By working to address buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure, local governments will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide wise investment in the social infrastructure of their communities, produce cleaner air, generate more robust jobs and local commerce, and create healthier environments for their citizens and future generations.

A wide range of useful and effective tools currently exist for local governments. The Playbook complements existing tools, provides depth and breadth in the three targeted sectors, and situates the information within a strategic guide to local action. The tool will evolve through input by local governments to ensure its long-term value and relevancy. The Playbook will enable local governments to take rapid and effective action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by these sectors. In so doing, it will result in significant, timely, and effective municipal action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Green Buildings
The building industry is the single largest contributor to global warming in the country, and green buildings can offer a cost effective solution for achieving measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The section helps to make the case for action, provides guidance on careful planning, and recommends effective policies and strategies to practice and promote green building.

Green Neighborhoods
Green neighborhoods are great places to live, as well as a terrific opportunity to combat climate change. They reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 40 percent or more per person. This section introduces an approach to build a robust plan around realistic targets, and recommends a comprehensive suite of short- and long-term actions to take and access to useful tools and resources.

Infrastructure
The infrastructure systems that underpin our buildings and neighborhoods play a strong role in sustainability. Sustainable infrastructure solutions consider a balance between centralized and distributed systems. This section offers an approach and strategic solutions to help advance sustainable infrastructure through collaboration, "quick wins," tools, policy recommendations, and leading actions.

Berkeley going solar - city pays up front, recoups over 20 years

By Carolyn Jones

Berkeley is set to become the first city in the nation to help thousands of its residents generate solar power without having to put money up front - attempting to surmount one of the biggest hurdles for people who don't have enough cash to go green.

The City Council will vote Nov. 6 on a plan for the city to finance the cost of solar panels for property owners who agree to pay it back with a 20-year assessment on their property. Over two decades, the taxes would be the same or less than what property owners would save on their electric bills, officials say.

"This plan could be our most important contribution to fighting global warming," Mayor Tom Bates said Thursday. "We've already seen interest from all over the U.S. People really think this plan can go."

The idea is sparking interest from city and state leaders who are mindful of California's goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. Officials in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica and several state agencies have contacted Berkeley about the details of its plan.

"If this works, we'd want to look at this for other cities statewide," said Ken Alex, California deputy attorney general. "We think it's a very creative way to eliminate the barriers to getting solar panels, and it's fantastic that Berkeley's going ahead with this."

This is how Berkeley's program would work:
A property owner would hire a city-approved solar installer, who would determine the best solar system for the property, depending on energy use. Most residential solar panel systems in the city cost from $15,000 to $20,000.

The city would pay the contractor for the system and its installation, minus any applicable state and federal rebates, and would add an assessment to the property owner's tax bill to pay for the system.

The extra tax would include administrative fees and interest, which would be lower than what the property owner could obtain on his own, because the city would secure low-interest bonds and loans, officials say. The tax would stay with the property even if the owner sold, although the owner would have to leave the solar panels.

The property owner would save money on monthly Pacific Gas & Electric bill because electricity generated by the solar panels would partly replace electricity delivered by the utility. After the assessment expired, the solar panels - of a simple technology that requires little or no maintenance - would continue to partly replace PG&E electricity.

Article continues... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/26/MNAIT0DQO...

On the rise in American cities: the car-free zone

Declare certain areas as "car-free" for one day per week, to raise awareness.

Pedestrians, bicyclists, and joggers are king of the road – at least sometimes – as more US cities ban autos from parks or designated districts.

San Francisco - Every Saturday starting May 26 through Sept. 30, bicyclists, joggers, and pedestrians will have free rein on almost a mile of John F. Kennedy Drive, the main drag through Golden Gate Park. The usual denizens of the road – autos – will be banned, detoured elsewhere.

Vehicles are already prohibited in parts of the park on Sundays, and the decision to "go carless" on Saturdays as well concludes a heated seven-year debate. In the end, arguments that such road closures promote family activities, more active lifestyles, and tighter-knit communities carried the day.

The auto's demotion at Golden Gate Park follows dozens of similar moves in at least 20 American cities in the past three years. It's a trend that is gaining ground rapidly in the US, say urban planners.

• New York is proposing to shut down perimeter roads of Central Park and Brooklyn's Prospect Park all summer long.

• Atlanta plans to transform 53 acres of blighted, unused land into new bike-friendly green space.

• Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and El Paso, Texas, are planning events to promote car-free days in public parks, most in the hope that the idea will become permanent or extend for months.

"Cities across America are increasingly declaring that parks are for people, not cars, ... and closing roads within parks is one result of that," says Ben Welle with The Trust for Public Land's Center for City Park Excellence, in Washington.

[Article continues... http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0502/p01s03-ussc.html ]

Saving the World Through Zoning

The sustainable community development code comes to the rescue.

A 6-page report developed by Chris Duerksen for the APA (American Planning Association) was published in March, 2008. (http://postcarboncities.net/files/savingtheworld.pdf)

What can a local zoning code do about huge global sustainability issues? Plenty! Ask any local elected official what their most powerful and effective tool is to shape and protect their community and most will say, "our zoning code."

The report discusses three approaches to a sustainable community development code:
• Removing obstacles: Most modern codes create barriers to sustainability, often unintentionally. For example,
small wind turbines and solar panels are often prohibited by residential zoning regulations, height controls, or
design standards.
• Creating incentives: Some sustainable technologies are relatively new and experimental — like green roofs.
Zoning codes can foster increased density and other incentives to encourage use of such technologies.
• Enacting standards: While removing obstacles and creating incentives will be important, no zoning code can
succeed without mandatory regulations that require certain actions or prevent harm. As Teddy Roosevelt once
said, a smile and a six-shooter sometimes work better than a smile alone. For example, protective regulations
may be essential to preserving trees that help sop up carbon dioxide.

Examples are given in each of the three areas.

Invest in a Solar Power Facility to offset or replace government energy expenditures.

Aggregate the electricity bills and use net metering to feed the grid with excess power -- at a profit. Finance it with a bond issue.

Another idea...
A solar power system could be coming to Medford that could save the city millions of dollars.

The solar power facility would be located on 15 acres of land near Medford's water treatment and sewer plants.

Now the Council is looking for a business that wants to come in and set up shop. "We want to open this up for all different companies to come in and see what they can do, and what's best for the city of Medford and the people of Medford,” said Jason Anderson, City Council President.

All Medford has to do is provide land and the company will do the rest.
"They design, build operate and maintain the solar panels and then we buy the energy from them at a reduced rate," said Jim Hill, Water Reclamation Administrator.
Hill says he had doubts about the project at first, but after touring the solar farm in Oroville California he says he was pleasantly surprised. "We didn't find any deterrents. We were thinking there would be some, but we didn't find any,” said Hill.

Anderson agreed, “those reductions in energy costs would be a total of 20-percent. With the total 30 year life span of the solar panel which could equate anywhere between two million and ten million dollars in savings to the taxpayers.”

If the project continues to move forward commercial operations could begin before the end of next year.

To reduce traffic, strongly encourage employers to implement an aggressive flex-time work schedule or telecommuting program for their employees. Get Washington County residents accustomed to the idea.

From the January, 2007, U.S. Conference of Mayors Best Practices guide: Page 58 (http://usmayors.org/uscm/best_practices/EandEBP07.pdf)

Houston is working with large employers to develop flexible work schedules, including telecommuting, for employees. The program has a measurable impact on Houston’s freeways, with time and cost savings for motorists. The reduced traffic congestion translates into reduced emissions, and because some of the flexible schedules require fewer days of work per week, the number of trips is reduced.

The project successfully showed that motorists’ time and money could be saved without loss of productivity to businesses. The project also saves taxpayers the millions of dollars it would cost to build enough road-lane capacity to achieve the same kind of improvement in mobility that was seen through this program.

More than 140 organizations registered for the two-week Flex in the City program as participants and/or supporters; anticipating more than 20,000 employees eliminating an additional peak-time commute through teleworking/telecommuting; compressed workweeks (same number of work hours in fewer days); or shifting their commute to before or after peak-time commute hours.

Employers were encouraged to measure the effect of the flexible work options on productivity while the City measured effects on Houston’s freeways using Houston TranStar. Traffic engineers completed the travel time analysis on two Houston freeways—I-45 north (North Freeway) and US 59 south (Southwest Freeway). The travel time indicators for the two weeks of Flex in the City show:

- A 1.7-minute or 5.8% travel time-savings. The average travel time during the week of Sept 11–15 was 29.7 minutes. During the Flex in the City project, the weeks of Sept. 18 - 29, the travel time average was reduced to 28 minutes.
- That is 906 hours a day taken off those two freeways. (The average travel time saving of 1.7 minutes for each of the 8,000 peak-hour commuters for each freeway during the two peak hours (am/pm) per day).
- The combined estimated annual user cost savings for the more 16,000 peak-hour commuters for the two freeways is $16.8 million. (Annual road user cost savings includes the time-savings from a productivity perspective due to travel time, safety in terms of traffic accident avoidance and fuel costs.)

There are 1,434 employee-commuter participants who have responded to the post Flex in the City survey to date and that survey shows that:
- 68% found their commute was faster or much faster than the previous week
- 58% found their morning and/or evening stress levels to be lower or much lower than the previous week
- 96% found their productivity levels on the job to be the same or higher than the previous weeks
- 50% plan to continue working in a flexible work schedule as a result of participating in Flex in the City.

As a result, Mayor White created a city position for a Director of Flextime, whose sole responsibility is dedicated to increasing flextime arrangements with large employers in the public and private sectors. With this initiative the City of Houston is leading the way in promoting work place flexibility.

The total cost of the program is approximately $200,000/year. This is funded through the City’s general fund, which supports the staff position and associated overhead, and corporate sponsorships, which underwrite certain pieces of the program.

Go Get The Money...and keep your eyes and ears peeled for more sources.

In the U.S., a new Energy and Environment Block Grant program created by Energy Independence and Security Act provides for grants intended to reduce fossil-fuel emission and total energy use, as well as improve energy efficiency and conservation in the transportation and building sectors. Of the $2 billion in funding provided for such grants, 68 percent is distributed directly to counties and cities.

At the end of 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act (H.R. 6), was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. Title V of this law establishes an Energy and Environment Block Grant program. These grants are intended to reduce fossil-fuel emission and total energy use, as well as improve energy efficiency and conservation in the transportation and building sectors.

Of the $2 billion in funding provided for such grants, 68 percent is distributed directly to counties and cities, with priority based on their population and other factors such as daytime population and square footage of office, commercial, and industrial space. The majority of the remaining funds — 28 percent of the total — are allocated to the states. The remaining 4 percent of grant funding is equally divided between Indian tribes and competitive grants to local government entities that are not eligible for other funding.

The grants can be used for a variety of purposes, from planning and building to providing incentives for efficient energy use. Among the program-eligible uses are: developing and implementing efficient energy and conservation strategies; developing programs to conserve energy used in transportation, such as flex time for workers, satellite work centers, bike paths, and pedestrian walkways; updating building codes and inspection procedures; installing renewable energy technology on or in government buildings; replacing traffic signals and street lighting with energy-efficient technology; energy audits; conservation programs; retrofitting to increase energy efficiency; smart-growth planning and zoning; and installing technology designed to capture greenhouse gases.

Turn Off The Lights

Anyone who drives around the County at night, particularly between 12:00 midnight and 5:00am, simply can't miss the thousands and thousands of lights illuminated in every direction. But at the same time what they don't see are lots of people and lots of cars...it's pretty quiet after midnight The citizens are in their homes, soundly asleep in most cases. There are street lights, house lights, commercial signs, billboards, traffic lights, and commercial building lights ablaze.

Some of these should simply be turned off, by ordinance if necessary, unless power is provided from 100% renewable energy sources.

Imagine the cumulative energy savings to businesses if they simply turned off their interior lights for 5 hours a day, when no one is in the office. Add to that the energy savings if they turn off their brightly lit external commercial signs and landscape lighting for that same five hours per day, when almost nobody is out on the streets to view them. In each case, that five hour savings adds up to 1825 hours per year, times the number of watts the lights are burning for each of those hours. That's a lot of energy. Many say these lights are on for "security" purposes, but with motion detection and infrared and night-vision cameras readily available for security purposes, this argument is rarely valid any longer.

The same could be said for street lighting -- turning off every other street light for certain hours could significantly reduce energy use. Replacing street lights with LED technology could provide incredible energy savings; the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan did this. Unlike standard lights that use heated, incandescent bulbs, LED light is cooler and is produced by a semiconductor. The bulbs last as long as 10 years, or five times longer than traditional lights, while using about half as much energy. Ann Arbor recently obtained a $630,000 grant from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to replace all 1,046 of the street lights downtown. The city estimates that replacing the downtown street lights alone will save more than $100,000 in reduced power costs annually as well as 294 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions -- equivalent to the carbon dioxide that about 35 homes generate annually from electricity use.

And we all have heard about the energy savings of compact florescent bulbs. But how many realize that for every incandescent bulb that is replaced with a compact florescent bulb that, over the lifetime of that florescent bulb, the energy saved equals the energy produced by 500 pounds of coal?

Think Outside The Barrel ... and Install Solar for Major Energy Needs

The City of San Diego has negotiated a five year, 5 Megawatt, power purchase agreement.

The first project is a photovoltaic system at the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant. A private firm will install, own and operate/maintain a solar panel system along Kiowa Drive. All the power generated by the solar panels will be purchased by the Water Department at a negotiated cost. The system is very large and is anticipated to produce 928 kilowatt hours of power each year. This represents 20% of the power used in the water filtration plant operation, training facility, pump stations, and laboratory on the site. And, all of the energy is "green" meaning that no air pollution is generated as a byproduct of producing the electricity.

Benefits to the City include having "known" energy costs for the solar generated power for the next twenty years. The solar electricity prices are anticipated to be below the retail level of electricity provided by San Diego Gas and Electric, and are anticipated to save the Water Department $710,000 over the next 20 years. In addition, the City does not need to front the capital costs to install the system. In this case, it represents a $6.5 million dollar savings.

Consider that power company energy rates are realistically going to rise significantly as fossil fuel supplies decline. Compare the cost of a solar solution versus realistic grid energy price-increase probabilities over twenty years. Which solution is ultimately going to be cheaper per kilowatt hour? Go ahead, do the math.

Another option is to grid-tie an oversized photovoltaic system to offset aggregated energy costs for multiple remote facilities. It doesn't matter when the sun shines, nor does it matter when you use electricity (e.g. at night). What matters is how much energy the system will typically generate over a year-long period (easily calculable). If that amount equals your total annual energy use then you have effectively offset your entire energy use for the year.

Lower the Hot Water temperature and Storage Standards in Business Structures

Thousands of business and commercial offices throughout Washington County utilize hot water only in bathrooms and breakrooms. Like homes, these businesses frequently utilize standard 40-120 gallon hot-water heaters to heat and store water at 120F or more, and pipe it to the various use points throughout the building -- a completely unnecessary use of heating energy.

Implement a voluntary program, or by ordinance if necessary, to heat commercial establishment restroom water sources to a maximum of 80F and do it without the standard hot water tank where feasible. Instant hot water systems are more efficient. In the lunchroom or breakroom, install instant hot water dispensers at the sink.

Another option is to insist that hot water in business and commercial establishments be heated entirely by solar energy.

Ask the business community to dramatically reduce their energy consumption with easy ideas.

For example, take a company with 1,000 PC's in their offices. If the company can ensure computers are turned off at night and on the weekends, it will save enough to cover wages and benefits for another full-time employee. What if EVERY business in Washington County did that?

Respondents to a recent Info-Tech survey said they were concerned about the environment, but only about one-third felt their companies even had “Green IT” on their radar screen. More than half believe their firms are unlikely to budget for it in the next three years.

Clicking the "Shut Down" button isn't something most companies actively practice either. Only 37 per cent of North American companies have such a policy – paltry when compared to the 75 per cent of Asian countries that do so.

"Setting goals for energy-use reduction and then pursuing some quick-results small projects is the best way to get started on the path to rewards," says David Douglas, vice-president of eco-responsibility for Sun Microsystems Inc. in Santa Clara Calif.

What kinds of incentives could Washington County Municipalities offer to influence businesses to start taking real steps to reduce energy consumption?

Is Washington County Ready for $4 Gas?

World oil prices reached their highest levels ever Tuesday ($109.70). A new study released March 4th ranked the largest 50 US cities by their readiness for $4+ a gallon gas and $100+ barrel oil prices. The top ten cities ranked according to providing the best alternatives to oil dependence are as follows:

1. San Francisco
2. New York
3. Chicago
4. Washington, DC
5. Seattle
6.Portland, OR
7. Boston
8. Philadelphia
9. Oakland
10. Denver

The study, "Major US City Preparedness for an Oil Crisis," written by Warren Karlenzig, author of How Green is Your City? ranks the largest 50 US cities based on combined city resident public transit use, city carpooling rates, metro public transit ridership, metro area sprawl, telecommuting, biking and walking-to-work rates, and use of heating oil.

[Full study available at: http://postcarboncities.net/files/CommonCurrents_Oil%20Crisis_final_4Mar... ]

"With soaring gas prices and ongoing global political instability, cities that have strong public transit and carpooling as well as no-carbon transit options will be the most able to carry on as the nation faces continued price swings and even potential oil disruptions," said Karlenzig, president of the consulting firm Common Current (San Anselmo, CA).

New York City has the highest resident public transit ridership, at 54.6% according to the 2006 Census American Community Survey data used. San Francisco topped the list for telecommuters at 6.3%, which helped it get the overall edge over New York. Boston had highest scores in combined biking and walking to work, at 13.4%. Mesa, Arizona has the highest carpooling rate at 16.7%.

The new study's data sources and weighting were as follows:

Double Weighting (x2)
* City public transit; telecommuting; and bike-or-walk-to-work rates data is from US Bureau of the Census 2006 American Community Survey
* Metro transit data is from 2005 Texas Transportation Institute

Single Weighting (x1)
* Metro sprawl data is from Smart Growth America 2002 study, "Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact"
* Heating oil use from primary research conducted in 2007

Half Weighting (x.5)
* Carpooling, from the 2006 American Community Survey, was the least weighted.

"Some local economies will clearly become more attractive in this uncertain future," said Karlenzig. "Cities and metro areas that are maintaining and developing alternatives for residents and business if weather, political events or terrorism disrupt the lifeblood of our economy will prosper over cities that rely almost exclusively on single-occupancy autos to get people to work, school and shopping."

At the bottom of the ranking are cities that largely lack public transit, telecommuting and walking or biking options. The bottom ten cities in the ranking were:

41. Virginia Beach, VA;
42. Forth Worth, Texas;
43. Nashville, TN;
44. Arlington, TX;
45. Jacksonville, FL;
46. Indianapolis, IN;
47. Memphis, TN;
48. Louisville, KY;
49. Tulsa, OK;
50. Oklahoma City, OK

"There are cities with less than 1-2% public transit commute ridership, compared to New York City, which has close to a 55% rate," Karlenzig said. "It's no mystery who will be feeling the pain of high gas prices the most. Some employers and potential employees considering relocating to the Sunbelt and other 'car-only' cities should take into account the total expenses such locations will have on their budgets and employees."

"Besides economic issues, studies have shown that even occasional use of public transit, cycling and walking are far healthier alternatives to driving everywhere. Getting around less without a car is not only environmentally preferable, it helps people look and feel better."

"The good news is cities can quickly take steps to better prepare for life with $100-a-barrel oil. In this new era, cities must maintain and when possible improve public transit options. Public transit has always been an economic lifeline for low-income residents. Now as we near $4-a-gallon gas prices, it's becoming more critical to the middle-class pocket book," Karlenzig said.

"Telecommuting and carpooling incentives from public agencies and private employers are another great way to insure a less risky future. Other measures include development of new regional and city public transit options, increased infill and mixed-use real estate development, as well as creating more walkable and bikeable communities and downtown districts."

"Implementing more fuel-efficient technologies, such as plug-in hybrids for local government fleets, presents another option that will hedge budgetary risks while boosting clean technology economic development for regions," he said.

Participate in Earth Hour on March 29th to help raise citizen awareness.

Earth Hour is an event promoted by World Wide Fund for Nature Australia (WWF), an environmental lobby group, and the Sydney Morning Herald that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour of a March evening to promote electricity conservation and thus lower carbon emissions. The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia between 7.30pm and 8.30pm on 31 March 2007. The 2007 Earth Hour is estimated to have cut Sydney's mains electricity consumption by between 2.1% and 10.2% for that hour, with as many as 2.2 million people taking part.

The 2007 Earth Hour was part of a wider awareness campaign that aimed to reduce Sydney's carbon emissions by 5%. 68,506 individuals and 2,270 businesses registered their intention to participate on the Earth Hour website. EnergyAustralia, a utility, attributed a 10.2% decrease in consumption during the hour to the campaign. A poll of about 1000 people conducted afterwards suggested that 57% of Sydneysiders participated – some 2.2 million people.

A second Earth Hour will be held in Sydney, Melbourne, Montreal in Canada, Chicago, Tel Aviv in Jerusalem and other cities on Saturday, March 29th, 2008.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tel Aviv will unite and switch off for Earth Hour.

Strong backing from the City of Sydney and its Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, helped to make Earth Hour 2008 an international event.
As of March12th, over 7000 businesses and 120,000 individuals had indicated their intention to participate.

http://www.earthhour.org/
You can find out how to make it happen here, in your city: http://www.earthhour.org/pdfs/EarthHour2008_MakingItHappenInYourTown.pdf .

"It's about moving people rather than moving cars"

One area of Melbourne, Australia, is now planning to give priority access on key roads to pedestrians, bikes, and trams...over cars.

Other councils across Melbourne, including Maroondah, Manningham and Whitehorse, are working with VicRoads on similar transport plans.

Planning Institute president Jason Black said the local policy was a positive — if small — step in the right direction if Melbourne wanted to reduce its reliance on cars and move towards more sustainable modes of transport.

"Any initiative that changes the focus from purely car-based planning is a good thing," he said. "If we don't do this, we will never get any closer to planning communities that are for people and not just cars."

To read the full article: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/radical-plan-to-drive-cars-from-r...

Transit Helps Climate Change

“How much oil does transit save?”

Art Guzzetti of the American Public Transportation Association gave the shortest presentation at a recent Washington conference, but one with the most relevance to public transit advocates.

He asked, “How much oil does transit save?”

Answer: the equivalent of 300,000 gas station fill-ups daily, or 34 supertankers leaving the Middle East 11 days (34 in a year), or total U.S. imports from Kuwait in a year. But that’s just direct savings. Multiply by a factor of three to reflect indirect benefits, such as the more energy-efficient, denser real estate development that transit enables.

“By how much does transit reduce carbon emissions?” Transit directly saves 6.9 million metric tons annually. Taking into account indirect savings, this number jumps to 37 million metric tons.

He also noted that, in a typical household, just one person switching their commute from automobile to transit would reduce the carbon footprint of that household by 10%. And if that household is able to get by with one less car overall, the carbon footprint of that household will be reduced 30%. There are few household choices that have an impact of this magnitude.

The conference was the “First Transportation Convention,” held March 5-7 in Washington, DC. The conference was organized by the City of Irving, Texas, “as an extension of the annual Transportation Summit held in August” in Texas.

Transit Oriented -- or Merely Transit-Adjacent?

One concern among new urbanists is that some development around light-rail stations is transit-adjacent development, rather than truly transit-oriented. Some observers blame local building codes that still require streets too wide and parking too plentiful to make for a genuinely walkable community. They see developments geared too much toward park-and-ride users.

“Design is of the complete essence here,” says Stefanos Polyzoides of Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists, in Pasadena, Calif. For him, a critical point is the coding of the buildings around the transit stop. Do transit passengers step off the train and enter “something that looks like a legitimate urban context?” he asks. Or are they confronted with a suburban-scale storefront “that stretches out 300 or 400 feet with only a single front door?”

But, Polyzoides says, “I think park-and-ride and TOD are not competing ideas.” Successful development around a transit station needs to draw people from a wider area than is described by just the pedestrian radius of five or 10 minutes’ walk, he suggests. That means accommodating those who arrive by car and by bus. “It’s a common mistake not to have enough bus lines or parking space.”

The [citizens] vote for FasTracks, the Denver transit agency’s 12-year comprehensive plan to build and operate 119 miles of high-speed rail lines and expand and improve bus service and park-and-rides throughout the region, came out of “a conversation that has been going on in the region” for some time, says Park. He ascribes the “yes” vote to two factors -- strong political leadership from Denver’s mayor, John Hickenlooper, who was able to get the mayor of 30 different cities in the region to sign on, and a broad recognition by the people that they couldn’t simply widen their way out of freeway congestion."

“One line does not constitute a system,”

See the original article at...http://www.tndtownpaper.com/Volume10/tod_by_numbers.htm

Relocalization is the strategy we must embrace -- without further delay.

"We have already crossed too many important points in time where we could have managed a gentle change to a post oil society. We now enter a period of painful adjustment. The weakest links in society, the deniers, still wield too much influence."

"The green baby steps we now proclaim as progress are too little, too late. What sense does it make to give a green award to a building where everyone has to drive to get there? The longer this emergency is ignored, the worse the crash will be."

"When we delay the changes, our culture has less chance of survival. Planning for a soft landing is about working together to avoid the painful crash. We must accept radical change, quantum-leaps, lateral thinking, and shift to patterns of community, and we must do this in short order."

"Price escalations will not wait until the world's oil tank is empty, but will appear earlier, at the last quarter-tank mark. We are there. The oil era globalization monoliths are not people, nor community, nor essential to our survival. Safeway, Save-On-Foods, and Wal-Mart rely on cheap liquid fuel and cannot keep breathing in the same way beyond the next few years. Chains like Wal-Mart destroy local mom and pop community businesses, the very institutions we'll need to survive."

- Richard Balfour. [Balfour is an architect, strategic planner, director of the Metro Vancouver [BC] Planning Coalition, and a member of the Vancouver Peak Oil Executive, a group of citizens attempting to warn politicians about the challenges ahead.