April 2008 / Issue 2

Rising Gas Prices, Harmful or Helpful?

The Europeans have always paid substantially more for their liquid fuels then Americans. This increased cost for fuel induces entirely different city planning, less reliant on petroleum. Furthermore the European standard of living, although much like the Americans, consumes much less energy per capita [1]. However, when America was enticed with the guarantee of massive amounts of cheap gasoline, we rushed to develop a landscape entirely based on exploiting it. There has been little foresight about the stability of this sprawling civilization. The American dream seems to be about using more then our share of oil (5% using 25%, [2]), to ensure the current middle class up-holds the status-quo of it’s standard of living.

The indictment of the “Traditional American Dream”[3] was caused by a transformation towards desire for simulated country living. This type of simulated country living comes with all the amenities and convenience of the city with no actual connection to the country (Kunstler, James Howard; 4). This lifestyle was tailored around the conception of the independent automobile. Combined with the largest subsidized program ever promoted by a national government: the US highway system. The last 6 decades the United States landscape has been transformed into a geographical exploit of curb cuts, parking structures, and suburban catacombs. All of which rely upon the assumption that the supply of cheap gasoline will always exist.

We are now coming to the end of the first decade of the 21st century and it is quite obvious, even to a layman, that cheap gasoline is no longer a card in the American deck. Admittedly, a topic of this nature is both compelling and appalling to discuss. How could we have created such an unreliable system of living in such a short span of time? Moreover, how could we turn in all of the rewards of a truly civic society to furnish our suburban homes with discount items from Wal-Mart?[5]

A truly civic city or town relies upon local infrastructure and resources to develop reasonable living arrangements for it’s citizens. Neighbors know each other through various social interactions including marketplace bargaining & community agriculture. The systems for transportation are scaled to reflect the needs of each individual town and are built solely ( "federally un-subsidized") from the local tax cooperation. The systems of resource distribution are substantially less dependent on fossil fuels. Where the average "food miles" can be counted in single digits, not thousands of miles [6]. The town functions as it’s own entity, with no affect from outside hardships (ie. rising fuel costs). Citizen’s use only what they need and produce enough locally to bargain for the essentials. These civic citizens spend more time together in a community environment conversing, rationalizing, philosophizing, and living naturally. The suburban town lacks many of these critical civic functions.

However, a call to arms in the war against suburban sprawl is now at hand and gaining ground. The movement, called New Urbanisn, began in the early 1980’s. "The goal is to reform all aspects of real estate development and urban planning, from urban retrofits to suburban infill. New Urbanist neighborhoods are designed to contain a diverse range of housing and jobs, and to be walkable."(7) The movement can help design communities that rely less on fossil fuels.

There seems to be no quick answer to transforming the millions of acres of suburban outlays into something free of the cheap gasoline addiction. The hypothesis of ODO remains that education is the most optimistic solution to our future development as a responsible civilization. We need to simply teach our kids a lesson in appreciation of the American lifestyle, and what is needed to achieve positive progress for centuries to come.

The sprawling Question?

The main focus of the April 2008 newsletter is to discuss the fundamental basis of our suburban culture. To question just how well the suburban infrastructure can adapt to a world without cheap fuel. For the most part the the Suburban dream, contradicts any movement to help improve the environment. The suburban lifestyle is the greatest user of energy out of any other arrangement on the planet. Throughout years of research it is apparent that a large portion of suburban residents seem welcome the idea of New Urbansim. Overall, I would say that most humans enjoy a community more conducive to walking. Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,


Matthew E. Coyle
Oil Dependency Organization
oildependency.org

In this issue:

• latest news
• New Urbanism
• Solar Tower
• Green Skyscrapers