The resolution, which won unanimous support by the board was sponsored by supervisors Aaron Peskin, Jake McGoldrick and Sophie Maxwell. It cites an influential study commissioned by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, known as the Hirsch Report, which raised concerns about the nation's ability to avert a major crisis from the peak and decline of oil production.

This was enhanced by the local Peak oil meet-up group's grassroots campaign.

The measure comes on the heels of an increasingly effective grass roots campaign by groups such as San Francisco Oil Awareness, Post Carbon San Francisco, and SF Informatics, who have sponsored mailings and meetings targeting Bay Area elected officials for more than two years. San Francisco has been making strides in the area of energy independence, energy watchdogs have reported. The group Sustainlane.com says that San Francisco was voted third best city to withstand an oil crisis.

They generated a local media buzz about the subject through the spotlight that the Salon article put on them:

Members of the SF Post Carbon group were featured in a recent article in Salon.com surveying the growing movement.

And they used a great visual, the Oil Poster.

Among the high-visibility tools used by the groups is a colorful poster called The Oil Age, created by SF Informatics in association with Global Public Media. The poster traces the history of oil production worldwide and displays relevant energy statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, BP Statistical Review and other industry sources. The poster was hand delivered to dozens of Bay Area elected officials in January, including the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, The Department on the Environment and the Communion on the Environment.

Here in NYC, I know there are many people trying to break through the clutter (including myself) to get on the City Council and Mayor's radar screen, but so far it hasn't really resulted in more than a few nods that yes we should improve efficiency and become less dependent on automobiles, etc. Hopefully, the energy solutions conference later this month will start that process.

So, let's turn up the volume across the nation. Let's get the word out. The time has never been better to talk about  peak oil or at least responding to the higher energy costs we are already experiencing.

I would love to hear from some of the SF folks what they think about this.