The wide open spaces of Oklahoma's cities and towns mean that their residents are heavily reliant on cars to get around - part of the reason that Tulsa and Oklahoma rated last on Common Current's rating of US cities' readiness for high gas prices. Commuters find themselves carpooling and counting the gallons in ways they haven't since the 70s.

Program Manager Daniel Lerch starts a two week trip to the British Isles at a symposium for local officials, planners, architects and builders in Kilkenny, Ireland.

With high energy prices, distance really makes a difference. Remote Gordo, California is seeing what may be the highest gas prices in the country; but it's not just gas that's expensive. Their distance from larger cities makes everything cost more - a difference that will just be amplified as energy prices soar.

Environmentalists calculate that a new development in Maine's north woods could generate 500,000 tons of CO₂ over 50 years, and are asking state regulators to keep these impacts in mind when considering the developer's zoning application. A huge piece of that emissions total is caused by the development's remote location, which would require residents to drive great distances regularly. This climate-change based challenge may be a first in the nation.

The costs of globally tight oil supplies are already being felt by Vermonters whose budgets are stretched to heat their homes and put food on the table. There is little to no response at the federal level. At the state level, the Energy Affordability and Climate Change bill that was passed by the state legislature but vetoed by the governor would have been a positive step. Vermont, with cold winters and economic dependence on tourism, has a lot of adjustments to make.

Ashton Hayes, an affluent, sleepy Cheshire community of just 1,000 people, was unexpectedly transformed last year into a model for grassroots efforts to fight climate change. Aiming to become the first carbon-neutral village in the United Kingdom, Ashton residents have mounted an aggressive campaign that is equal parts competition and collaboration, replacing incandescent bulbs, installing solar panels, planting trees, and boosting their recycling.

Global Public Media's Andi Hazelwood interviews two leaders in the new and quickly-growing international "Transition Towns" movement: Rob Hopkins of TransitionCulture.org in the UK and Sonya Wallace of Creating a Sustainable Sunshine Coast (CASSC) in Australia. Sonya and Rob discuss their work on creating town Energy Descent Action Plans (EDAP), and the benefits and challenges of working with citizens, businesses and local officials on energy depletion issues.

When a bright blue, 40-foot-long container rolls towards rural northeastern Oregon later this month, it will carry an innovative addition to the nation's growing renewable energy industry -- a portable biodiesel refinery. Now farmers in northeastern Oregon can not only grow biofuel crops, they can also pump locally-processed biofuels directly into their trucks, tractors and combines.

Börnsen, a village in northern Germany, is spoiling energy giant E.on's business by creating its own electricity and natural gas supply. The idea could catch on elsewhere.

A handful of villages in Germany are already generating heat from local farm waste. Now more boroughs want to set up their own grids of self-produced bio-energy.