[Mpls] Stadium Proposal: Politics of Denial and Distraction? (Part 1)

[Gary Hoover]

Our Mayor, City Council Members, candidates, and citizens interested in the 
stadium issue would do well to listen to this interview with Congressman 
Roscoe Bartlett regarding Peak Oil.  The interview is online here: 
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/interviews/397

Roscoe Bartlett is a conservative Republican with 7 terms in the house.  Go 
to his web page for a complete bio, but it is important to note that he is 
one of the few (maybe the only?) Representative who is a scientist.  His 
work includes teaching physiology and endocrinology, and while working for 
NASA was highly recognized for his contributions,  Amoung other things, Dr. 
Bartlett developed re-breathing devices that increase the safety of 
astronauts, pilots, and fire fighters.  He has farmed and run a small 
business that built over 100 homes, many of them with solar power.

Dr, Bartlett recommends that we prepare for energy depletion "at every 
level" of American government and society. This issue, he believes, should 
take top priority in every decision at every level of business and 
government.  The most important steps to take, according to Bartlett, are 
these:

1.  Get off the grid.  Our large, fragile, electric grid is the wrong way to 
do electricity.  We need to generate as much electricity onsite or near to 
site of use as we can.  It will take time, but we need to move quickly to a 
dispersed and decentralized electricity production system.

2.  Get out of debt.  This goes for individuals and for business and 
government.  Our economy is likely to see severe "dislocations" over the 
next decade or two.  Those free of debt will be better prepared to weather 
the economic difficulties.

3.  Invest in conservation.  This is our most important single method for 
coping with energy resource depletion.  Dr. Bartlett addresses the use of 
coal, nuclear, and alternative energies.  Like others who have studied this, 
he realizes that we have no combination of fuel sources or technologies that 
will begin to make up for the energy depletion we are likely to see.  (Even 
if we build a nuclear power plant every two weeks from now to 2050, we would 
only dent the difference between energy demand and supply.)

4.  Re-localize agriculture.  We spend 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to 
grow one calorie of food.  We spend even more energy to package and 
distribute and market food.  People who live on or close to the farm are 
much better suited to thrive in the future than we Americans, who cannot 
feed ourselves at all.  We no longer know how to grow our own food, let 
alone how to preserve food without intensive energy inputs.

5.  Transform transportation.  Dr. Bartlett suggests that most Americans 
should be able to walk to work.  It is interesting that he gives transit 
some support, but is far more emphatic that walking to work is the goal we 
should keep in mind.  Walking and biking are the most energy-efficient 
transportation we have, and this change alone can transform our culture for 
the better.

Should we invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a new professional 
sports stadium?  To do so would be a local act of eco-suicide.  We need 
instead to invest in transforming our city in terms of energy, agriculture, 
and transportation. Sustainable urban infrastructure is no longer optional. 
Sustainable urban infrastructure is necessary for survival.

-- pedaling for peace and ecojustice -- from Lynnhurst for now -- Gary 
Hoover