Global Issues 1 A Quick Refresher 1

Global Issues 1

A Quick Refresher… 1. What is the United States’ single greatest pollutant? 2. What is the primary source of this pollution? 1. CO 2 2. Electricity (made from coal, oil, and natural gas) and Transportation 3. When did it become this 3. Post-Industrial way? Revolution 2

U. S. Sources of Pollution CO 2 Cars 3

Vehicle Ownership (2011) 4

Kms of Roadways Rank Country World Roadways (km) Date 64, 285, 009 2013 1. U. S. 6, 586, 610 2012 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. India China Brazil Japan Russia Canada France 4, 689, 842 4, 106, 387 1, 580, 964 1, 210, 251 1, 283, 387 1, 042, 300 1, 028, 446 2013 2011 2010 2012 2008 2010 Source: CIA World Factbook 5

But why so many cars in the U. S. ? • • Large land area Large population American Culture: Individualism Fordism: Prosperity through mass production and mass consumption: Assembly Line = Affordability • Led to the domination of the Auto Industry in the early 20 th century • History of affordable gas ? 6

Netherlands ($7. 73) U. S. ($3. 37) 11/13/14 7 http: //www. eia. gov/countries/prices/gasolinewithtax. cfm

Amsterdam 8

U. S. : Railroads used to be #1! • Most dominant form of transportation in the U. S. until after WWII • However, by the end of WWII, gas was cheap and so were cars • “Everyone can have a car in their driveway for $500”—Henry Ford • With economic boom after the war, people had the $$$ for a car…and a house. • But is there more to the story? 9

“The Streetcar Conspiracy” • 1921: General Motors lost $65 m 1921: • 90% of all trips taken by rail • Only 1 in 10 Americans owned a car • 15 billion rail passengers per year • Most towns of over 2, 500 had a rail system • GM formed a new conglomerate composed of: – – General Motors Firestone Rubber Co. Standard Oil Co. Phillips Petroleum 10 John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil)

National City Lines • • • New Company Created: National City Lines was to “buy out” 100 major rail lines from 1936 -1950 Through a variety of means, National City Lines “persuaded” the railroads to convert their trains to buses National City then dismantled and decommissioned the trains and rails U. S. Highway System began in California— first place where railroads were bought End of the railroad era in the United States 11

However… • Many believe National City Lines came in after the trolley and rail system was already in trouble • Great Depression • Case went to court in 1948: – GM found guilty of conspiracy – GM had to pay a fine of $5, 000 12

North Shore Line: Chicago to Milwaukee • GM helped acquire and dismantle the $50 million North Shore Line • Was the fastest electric service in the world • Milwaukee to the Loop • However, was in dire financial straits (had filed bankruptcy several times) • GM also purchased and scrapped the street railways serving Minneapolis-St. Paul. 13

Rail Passenger Miles (Country) Rank Country Bn passenger-kms 1. China 662. 20 2. India 575. 70 3. EU 352. 74 4. Japan 245. 96 5. Russia 164. 26 6. France 79. 94 7. Germany 74. 73 8. Ukraine 52. 66 9. U. K. 46. 76 10. Italy 46. 44 Year 2006 2005 2006 2005 24. U. S. 2006 8. 66 http: //www. nationmaster. com/encyclopedia/Rail-usage-statistics-by-country 14

How does this figure? Freight rail by billions of tonne-kilometers Rank Country Bn tonne-kms Year 1 U. S. 2717. 50 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 China 2195. 40 Russia 1852. 91 India 407. 40 EU 359. 12 Canada 352. 07 Ukraine 223. 98 Brazil 221. 60 Kazakhstan 171. 86 South Africa 108. 51 Germany 89. 69 2005 2006 2005 2005 2006 http: //www. nationmaster. com/encyclopedia/Rail-usage-statistics-by-country 15

Questions… • Is it too late to revive the railroad? Should we revive the railroad? • Every other highly populated core country has a significant passenger railroad system—not us. • Would you use a rail system if one were to become available? • Railroad vs. taxis: MSP to downtown $2. 00 $36. 00 • More ecologically friendly and cheaper 16

Minneapolis Minnesota’s first light-rail line opened in 2004 Length: Now 21 mi. , connecting Length: downtown St. Paul, the U of M, downtown Mpls, MSP Int’l Airport and the Mall of America. Ridership: 2014: New line just Ridership: opened; already exceeding predictions for 2015 and growing. Future: New route to SW suburbs Future http: //www. metrocouncil. org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/Central. Corridor/Publications-And-Resources/Miscellaneous-Documents/Metro-Green. Line-Fact-Sheet. aspx Notes: $81. 9 m Hennepin County Notes taxes to county road repair in ‘ 10. $12. 7 m to train. Car Train 17 Per user taxes: $7. 58 $1. 20

Other Trains? http: //volumeone. org/news/1/posts/2014/11/07/8004_chug ging_forward_local_train_service_on_minnesotas 18

High-Speed Rail • • • Competes with airlines in Europe, Japan Fewer delays, easier through security More eco-friendly Airport hassles: more likely to catch on? Or same old story? 19

Perhaps not too far off? 20

Back to cars… • Post-WWII: U. S. economy BOOMING! • Women in the workforce: no longer only option being the “farmer’s wife” • People making $$$ = More demand • More demand = More production • More production = More people moving off the farm and into the city • But cities were dirty, cramped 21 • Birth of suburbia

Not only was the economy booming… “Baby Boom” • More people = More resources 22

The Suburbs 23

Suburbanization • • • A new “neighborhood” City conveniences without the city Led to the decline of the city Loss of “neighborhood” / community More individualistic Automobile dependent (shopping, banking, school, etc. ) 24

Conflict: Urban Sprawl vs. the Environment • Encroachment into Wilderness - Animal conflicts - Plants conflicts • Environmental Impacts - Water Pollution / Depletion § § Overwatering of land (Las Vegas grass ban) Golf courses: chemicals Depletion of aquifers Wetland / natural habitat destruction - Smog / Pollutants from vehicle emissions - Lack of exercise (car) 25

Las Vegas • • One of the fastest growing cities in the U. S. over last 10 years…until recently What is its carrying capacity? Where would Las Vegas be without extreme non-ecological efforts to support the city? One of the most ecologically “wrong” cities in the world (and Phoenix) 26

Dubai: World Islands Palm Islands 27

Hoover Dam • In today’s $$$, would cost approximately 2/3 of a billion $$$! • Supplies power to So. Cal, NV, AZ, elsewhere • Lake Mead created from damming Colorado River • Without dam, Las Vegas and L. A. could not exist as they do • Is that good or bad? 28

Lake Mead 29

Which is more “G. C. ? ” Eau Claire? Las Vegas 30

Fastest Growing Metro Areas (U. S. ) Metro Area Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX 162, 250 Atlanta, GA 151, 063 Phoenix, AZ 132, 513 Houston, TX 2012 Electoral College Map + 120, 544 Riverside, CA Charlotte, NC Carrying Capacity? 86, 660 66, 724 Chicago, IL 66, 231 Austin, TX 65, 880 Las Vegas, NV 59, 165 31 San Antonio, TX 53, 925

L. A. : Urban Sprawl and Pollution 32

Almost 60 miles!! 33

? Map of Los Angeles Metro (Train) 34

Paris Metro Map 35

36

London Underground Map 37

Amsterdam Dublin Vienna Rome 38

Chicago CTA Map 2 nd to last line added: 1984 (O’Hare Airport) Last line added: 1993 (extension to Midway Airport) 39

San Juan (Puerto Rico) Urban Train Map ? Only Red Line has been completed! 40

U. S. Airports with train connections YES • Washington D. C. (1977) • Baltimore (1980) • Chicago (1984, 1993) • Philadelphia (1984) • Atlanta (1988) • St. Louis (1998) • Portland, OR (2001) • San Francisco (2003) • Minneapolis (2004) • Seattle (2010) • Miami (2012) • St. Paul (2014) NO • • • • • Boston (bus to rail) Denver (bus to rail) L. A. (bus to rail) New York (bus / tram to rail) Memphis (bus to rail) New Orleans (bus to rail) Pittsburgh (bus to rail) Sacramento (bus to rail) San Diego (bus to rail) Washington D. C. (Dulles-bus to rail) Milwaukee • Indianapolis Austin, TX • Kansas City Charlotte, NC • Las Vegas Cincinnati • Nashville Columbus • Oklahoma City Cleveland • Orlando Detroit • Phoenix Dallas • Salt Lake City Honolulu • Tampa 41 Houston

Why? The auto industry 42

Legacy of the Auto Industry • Because of the auto industry, we as Americans have certainly gained in our independence and individualism… • . . . but we are also paying in many other ways: – Environmentally – Economically – Personal Safety – Politically? Jimmy Hoffa 43

Transportation Deaths: 1999 -2009 (NTSB) http: //www. bts. gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_02_01. html Railroads Commercial Airliners Rec. Boating 1999 41, 717 530 12 734 2000 41, 945 512 92 701 2001 42, 196 550 531 681 2002 43, 005 594 0 750 2003 42, 884 531 22 703 2004 42, 836 520 14 676 2005 43, 510 525 22 697 2006 42, 708 534 50 710 2007 41, 259 512 1 685 2008 37, 261 514 3 709 44 2009 33, 963 458 52 736 Deaths: Motor Vehicles

Transportation Injuries: 1998 -2008 (NTSB) http: //www. bts. gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/#chapter_2 Railroads Commercial Airliners Rec. Boating 1998 3, 192, 000 10, 156 30 4, 612 1999 3, 236, 238 10, 304 67 4, 315 2000 3, 188, 750 10, 424 29 4, 555 2001 3, 032, 672 10, 104 19 4, 274 2002 2, 925, 758 9, 828 24 4, 062 2003 2, 888, 601 8, 229 31 3, 888 2004 2, 788, 378 8, 097 20 3, 363 2005 2, 699, 000 8, 460 14 3, 451 2006 2, 575, 000 7, 640 9 4, 474 2007 2, 491, 000 8, 549 16 3, 673 45 2008 2, 346, 000 7, 840 16 3, 331 Injuries: Motor Vehicles

Death Rates by Mode of Transportation (2006) Auto 1. 41 (per 100 m VMT) Train . 73 (per 100 m PMT) Bus . 59 (per 100 m PMT) Plane . 23 (per 100 m PMT) Auto Rec Boating 16. 99 (per 100, 000 vehicles) 5. 6 (per 100, 000 vehicles) Source: U. S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (2008) 46

Speaking of the automobile… 47

Rudolf Diesel (1858 -1913) "The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in the course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time. " After his death, the Diesel engine was marketed that it only ran on petroleum based products and his great ideas of a clean burning engine died with him. 48

Biofuels 49

Top 10 Ethanol Producing Countries (millions of gallons) C S SB Rye Source: Renewable Fuels Association W W W 50

Which fuel is greenest? 51

Cellulosic Ethanol PROS: • Not a specific crop • Made of yard waste: weeds, wood chips, stems, etc. • No competition with food production • Abundant in North America • No need for pesticides CONS: • Tough to market • Infrastructure not set up to handle this type of fuel • Land availability Switchgrass 52

Tequila Sunset: The Ethanol Boom Mexican farmers burning agave fields and replanting them with corn Wednesday, 27 August 2008 Mexico without tequila? It seems a far-fetched notion but the country's farmers are shunning the famous agave plant because of poor prices and switching to profitable crops. Savour that frozen margarita in your hand, for soon you might not be able to afford it. Mexico's tequila industry is about to become the latest victim of America's growing thirst for ethanol. Soaring demand for biofuel has sent global commodity prices through the roof, prompting farmers of blue agave, the cactus-like plant from which the country's national spirit is made, to move into more lucrative cash crops such as wheat and corn. Picturesque plantations of agave…are being replaced with orderly rows of corn, a crop now selling for a record 18 cents per pound, as US consumers from across the border seek respite from the soaring oil prices. Global food price rises have also seen the cost of another rival crop, beans, rise by 60 per cent in the past six months to 59 cents per pound. By comparison, agave, which in 2002 was worth more than 80 cents a pound, is now retailing for less than two cents. As a result, many farmers of agave…are taking the difficult decision to let their over-ripe plants turn brown in the desert sun, claiming it is no longer economically viable for them to bother with the annual harvest. "Corn is where the money is now, " one large-scale farmer, Miguel Ramirez, told USA Today. "I'm going to get out of agave completely. " Martin Sanchez, director of agriculture for Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council, added: "We don't have numbers but we know it is happening: people are abandoning their fields of agave and flipping over to other crops. " http: //www. independent. co. uk/news/world/americas/tequila-sunset-the-ethanol-boom-909668. html 53 Conservation Gone Wrong: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=_c 6 Hsiix. FS 8