Portland leads the way in preparing for "peak oil".

• Author: Herro, Alana
• Position: EYE ON EARTH - Oil production

In early March, Portland, Oregon, became the first U.S. city to publish an official strategy for coping with a future in which oil is no longer plentiful and economical. The city's 85-page report on "peak oil" 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). It recommends cutting Portland's oil and natural gas use by half over the next 25 years.

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The report notes that regardless of when the peak in oil production actually occurs, the changes will be so immense that immediate action is necessary. Dividing the issue into four main topics--land use and transportation, food and agriculture, economic change, and...