[Mpls] Another Take on Airport Expansion

[Gary Hoover]

As I've done research on energy issues -- and especially on energy issues as related to transportation -- I am a bit bewildered by the lack of discussion of how oil resource depletion combined with worldwide increased demand for oil will impact air travel.

Why do policy makers, planners, and the press seem to ignore energy resource availability?  It seems tomme that the cost and availability of energy resources -- again, specifically of petroleum -- will strongly impact transportation, and especially air travel.

I've found references to this in the following places:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-08-30-nwa-growth_x.htm?POE=TRVISVA   

In august of 2,004 USA Today:  "undaunted by high fuel costs and a loss of more than $2 billion over the past three years, Northwest Airlines...is envisioning growth..."

There is a link to a Wall Street Journal article related to high fuel costs and the airlines industry here, but I don't subscribe to the WSJ.  Maybe some list members do?

About halfway down this page   http://www.hubbertpeak.com/    is the link to the WSJ article.

Minnesotans for Sustainability has an old (1999) article by Duncan and Youngquist on petroleum depletion.  The article includes comments about the importance of petroleum depletion impact on transportation, including air travel to planners and policy makers, but does not lay out a blueprint for change.

The MFS article is here:  http://www.mnforsustain.org/duncan_and_youngquist_encircling_oil.htm   

More recent work done by such a diverse group as energy investment banker Matthew Simmons and folks like Richard Heinberg and even Jared Diamond refer to the importance of energy resources as a crucial factor to be taken into account when shaping our culture and our infrastructure.  Numerous articles appear at this website, which may be good background for citizens, policy planners, and politicians:  http://www.energybulletin.net/index.php  

Of course there are many other helpful sites!

My basic question is this:  Are we investing huge sums of money in a transportation infrastructure designed for an energy future which will not exist in even 10 years, let alone 20 years?  Air travel is likely to plateau soon, and may very well decline over the next few years as fuel becomes increasingly expensive.

There are also very serious issues related to the environmental impact of air travel -- both local and global -- but I would like to focus on the issue of energy resource depletion and infrastructure planning and development.  Do list members feel confident that we as citizens are well-educated about this issue?  Are our political and business leaders well-educated about the issue?  What about the media?

Shouldn't we ask ourselves what kind of energy resources will be available over the next ten to twenty years and design our urban infrastructure to work well within that framework?

--pedaling for peace and justice -- from Kingfield -- Gary Hoover