In discussing whether the auto industry deserves a bailout, we talked about the role of the auto industry in creating the middle class. The work protections that we have, the work week that we have, the benefits we have, all come from the “massification” of work and labor organizing.
As one of my commenters noted “As GM goes, so goes America.”
But what we didn’t talk about the relationship between the automobile and our very conception of the city itself. The conception of urban and suburban space, the development of the freeways we use to drive to work and back, all come from our affair with the car. The ideas we have about whiteness and non-whiteness and the modern mode of segregation that most afflicts blacks are not possible without the widespread use of the automobile.
The discussions about the Big Three have revolved around whether to save them or not. If we do save them, how will we force them to restructure. But what is perhaps as important is what we want our cities to do in the wake of the change. Key to this discussion is the question of sustainability.
Even the articles that recognize that the automobile industry has to become greener miss the point. Today for example the New York Times reports that William Clay Ford jr. has been a trailblazer in this area for Ford. But the writers totally ignored his work to make one of the oldest and largest manufacturing plants sustainable.
David Harvey is one of the world’s foremost geographers. He participated in an interview with Sustainable Cities in August, before the bottom fell out. For him there were six aspects of city life that needed to be reconfigured.
4. The organization of production systems relates to the organization of social and technical divisions of labour as well as to technologies.This system is driven by a political economic system in which the coercive laws of competition and market valuations hold priority of place. The production of space and the built environment, as well as decisions regarding which goods and services should be produced under which labour processes are fundamental to the transformation of nature into urban life. Experiments with new production and reproduction systems are vital in the search for more sustainable forms of urbanization.
The other five can be found here.
I linked to Subrealism the other day in talking about American illiteracy, or aliteracy. As Craig Nulan wrote in the comments we have the technology, perhaps for the first time, to begin to address this question. And here I’m talking more about the types of discursive networks that both enable you and I to converse with each other in real time, and to amplify our thoughts in a way that leads to policy shifts.
How do we begin to take these tools and make them work for a new project?
It's not about the tools brah.
It's about picking the specific project.
What specific project can people get on tomorrow in every city across the country given a modicum of awareness, interest, and capability? (and that's all folks have, a modicum)
Until somebody tells me that, this is all just conversation.
Hint: If I were approaching a new network infrastructure to hack, what's the first thing I would look for? Now then, since we're talking about resource infrastructures, and figuring out a way in to exploit (for the good), what should we be looking for in the electrical utility, the gas utility, the water services utility that we could leverage in order to get the ball rolling?
For the purposes of electing a better class of representatives, they can see where their reps are getting their loot from. But I don't think this is where you were going. What were you thinking about?
well that's certainly a help toward increased transparency, and worthwhile in and of itself, but nah, that's not what I was thinking about.
When Gore came out a couple weeks ago with his five point program – you were quick enough in recognizing what was missing from that proposal. So also with what Harvey is on about, and what the president-elect announced on Saturday.
None of this will work without what you noted then; Gore doesn't address changes in our lifestyle here…perhaps his plan should not. But if oil is the thing that creates the product we consume (in addition to delivering them) then we've more to do.
Those lifestyle changes are worth HUGE $$$ to the utility companies. Both electrical and water suppliers need for folks to make major changes and have tangible incentives to offer, not least of which is cost savings.
Could the utility market be the vehicle for the self-sustaining networks you refer to? Or are you suggesting something else?
Wouldn't the choice in projects be influenced by the resources specific to a given area?
If we're talking Detroit or another Rust Belt city, for example, there's an abundance of underused industrial capacity and specialized labor which can be adapted or updated for use in projects ranging from housing to energy production. There was a time when GM manufactured household appliances and satellites. It stands to reason the company's plants could be configured to make fuel cells (for private residences) and wind turbines.
One caveat: what may work in Motown may not be practical for New Orleans, however, and vice versa.
Could the utility market be the vehicle for the self-sustaining networks you refer to? Or are you suggesting something else?
Nice.
Those must ABSOLUTELY serve as the vehicle through which the economics of any project undertaken to modify our resource/energy cost-generation-consumption patterns must flow and make sense. Think about it, unless adopted and proliferated by these highly collegial intelligent agents, nothing done in this space will gain mass traction and diffusion.
Here-to-date – the utilities have not by-and-large been party to very much of the economic activity toward which Obama has committed $150 Billion in expenditures. As for the 2.5 million jobs, doing what? Making photovoltaic elements and windmills – which if ever deployed – can't sell whatever marginal energy returns they generate back to the wholesale mothership(s)? There's a question of price parity and the comparative cost of energy in different localities. This has a determinative effect on the viability of alternative energy.
So back to your question. In order for projects to be “self-sustaining” they have to do some things that make them worthwhile to the utility companies.
I'm curious Les, I know that your kids can count money and tell time. Can any of them read a utility meter and understand what it means?
When was the last time you and Mrs. Spence looked into the consumer-oriented programs and benefits being offered by your utility companies, gas/water/electric? Cause I know you payin them bills like clockwork, how literate and aware have you made yourself concerning potentially significant savings and other benefits that may already be at your fingertips?
Beyond this immediate step, what are the systemic incentives for your resource energy providers and what constraints do they operate under, market and regulatory?
Wouldn't the choice in projects be influenced by the resources specific to a given area?
Fundamentals first William.
Gas, electricity, water (and home heating oil in certain areas) are universal commodity resource dependencies. Before we think about manufacturing anything extra, IMOHO it would behoove us to interrogate our relationship to these universals as a prerequisite to any further potential activity.
“Gas, electricity, water (and home heating oil in certain areas) are universal commodity resource dependencies. Before we think about manufacturing anything extra, IMOHO it would behoove us to interrogate our relationship to these universals as a prerequisite to any further potential activity.”
Oh, I agree 100%. In fact, I'm focused on the same area — with a nod to 'green' industry. As I wrote, the Big Two-and-One-Half could be easily be refitted to produce
fuel cells for homes. Just as easily, they could use some of their capacity on speeding up the development and deployment of alternative fuels, in addition to building fleets of cars that can use E85, CNG, electricity, etc.. I know GM bought such a company — Coskata (?) — that supposedly has developed a practical and inexpensive cellulosic ethanol process using bio-, and thermochemical processing.
By contrast, New Orleans to me represents a fantastic opportunity for harnessing hydropower and producing fresh water by way of an updated water management infrastructure.
Ross Perott claimed that America's cheap oil policy was the root of many of these evils and of course “sustainablilty” has become the question of a cheap oil policy too. Current market turmoil also hints at a “bust” or at least a flaw to the premiss of consumerism. Interesting notion.