When the oil runs out …

Sacramento has long stolen good ideas from Portland. Maybe it’s time to heist another one in preparation for the effects of peak oil.

Early last month, the Portland, Ore., City Council adopted a resolution to cut in half the city’s oil and natural gas usage by 2032. That resolution came after the Portland Peak Oil Task Force recommended some radical solutions to an oil-less world: foster alternative transportations, improve community cohesion to brace for change, decrease planning for roads and airports while increasing mass transit and walkable city centers, limit free parking to discourage cars, tax people for driving alone, incentivize commercial composting, increase urban farming, and prepare energy plans that can help people survive everything from short-term fuel shortages to economic collapse.

So what’s Sacto doing to prepare for the day when the oil wells go dry? Amy Williams, public information officer for the city, told SN&R that the city addresses energy issues in its sustainability master plan, which was scheduled to come before the City Council on April 3.

While Sacramento’s report does not reference peak oil directly, it does recommend reducing fossil-fuel use and a 25-percent reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030. Several of the sustainable proposals for public health and nutrition also will reduce the amount of oil and natural gas used within the city.