Portland preparing for peak oil

Portland (U.S.A.) is the first city in the U.S.A. to publish an official strategy for coping with a future in which oil is no longer economical.

The 85-page report explores three scenarios for the decline of the oil age, ranging from the best case (a slow decline of oil to which the economy adjusts) to the worst (leading to social disintegration).

The report recommends that the city of Portland cut oil and natural gas use by half over the next 25 years, through better land use, mass transit, walkable communities, highly efficient vehicles and education. The report also lays out plans for adapting to economic and social hardships that might result as the supply of oil diminishes.

Fossil-fuel based power are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Green power from renewable energy sources emit no or low greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. Green power can include electricity generated exclusively from renewable resources including wind, hydro-electric or solar power – or electricity produced from a combination of fossil and renewable resources. For more information on the generation and use of green power at the local level, please visit www.iclei.org/ccp.

Portland is one of 93 local governments in the U.S.A. that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. For more information on ICLEI and its activities in the U.S.A., please visit www.iclei.org/usa.

Source: “Portland Leads the Way in Preparing for Peak Oil”, Worldwatch Institute, 28 March 2007.

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