Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, A Guidebook on Peak Oil and Global

by Daniel Lerch

Post Carbon Cities examines how peak oil and global warming are creating new uncertainties for cities of all sizes. It explains how local decision makers can address the energy and climate challenges of the twenty-first century by:

breaking community dependence on oil stopping community contributions to global warming preparing the community to thrive in a time of energy and climate uncertainty

This beautifully illustrated, full-color guidebook is crucial reading for government officials, city planners, and anyone concerned about preparing their community for the post-carbon world.

Daniel Lerch manages the Post Carbon Cities program at the Post Carbon Institute.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was primarily intended as a tool for local government officials to help them plan their transition to a post carbon economy. They start with an overview of the problem, admission of uncertainty, then finally offer some solutions, possible pathways, and calls to action.

This really is a book for people who are already aware that there is a problem, it's not really to convince anyone. That being said, it will only be effective with cities and municipalities that believe there will be a post carbon economy and that they need to make changes in their status quo.

There are some good suggestions here, ones that definitely could provide a starting place, and I really think the emphasis on getting the whole community involved is a good one. Elected officials are not going to be willing to stick their necks out without the support of community leaders (clergy, business people, educators), and those people can get a lot of others on board.

Some of the solutions require a great deal of capital, and most of these places will require the cooperation of neighboring areas in order to make things work. With budgets tight as is, it may be hard to implement some of the needed changes, even if it will save a lot of money in the long run. This is where the Federal Government can really help by providing grants, or even loans, passing laws, etc to help smaller communities really get the ball rolling.

Local governments really will be able to have the most impact in the coming changes, they know what people need and want, and are in a much better position to deploy the needed tactics than larger agencies that have a lot more ground to cover and everyone clamoring for their attention and resources.

There aren't a lot of super original ideas in this book, but it does have a good collection of ideas/suggestions, a resource with a few case studies that should hopefully give people a place to begin.