Bitterroot Humanities info

This weeks’ discussion will be ‘Tragedy of the Commons: Overfishing of the Bitterroot?’

This weeks’ lecturer will be Mr. Zack Rogala, UM Philosophy Graduate Student.

This weeks’ discussion will be Monday the 1st, from 5-6 at Liaisons Coffee Shop across from the Roxy Twin Theater.

Remember to continue the discussion on line at http://www.bitterrootpolitics.com. And last week’s discussion on ‘Montana Transportation Reform’ included:

Everyone ‘transports.’ Yet when it comes to transportation in Montana there are three points to consider before any substantive discussion can take place.

1. Corporate and Government investment in infrastructure.

a. Corporate investment. In Montana we have a unique history with regards to railroad transportation. With the copper mines in Butte, rail road operators had a dilemma. They had full loads heading east to the manufacturing centers in the Great Lakes and east coast regions. Yet they generally had empty loads heading west. Any businessman would like to fill this void. This situation, I would argue, fostered a large impetus for the Montana Homestead boom when immigrants from Europe and elsewhere were lured into heading west to cultivate farms. Such a boom created the dozens of spur communities, most prevalently found in Eastern Montana, spaced 10-20 miles apart. Yet with the advent of the combustible engine the personal vehicle quickly replaced rail as the ideal means of individual transportation.

After this transition, fast forward approximately a hundred years and you find Montana now…lots of communities spread out over vast distances with declining or increasing populations in direct relation to the distance from major highway or interstates. The farther from a highway or interstate, the higher the population decline.

Check out Joseph Kinsey Howards, Montana: High Wide and Handsome, or Michael Malone’s, James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest, for an interesting look at the history.

b. Governmental investment. Montana gets $1.60 for every dollar sent to the federal government in 2003. That is seventh highest overall. Considering that New York City alone has a population almost 8.5 times that of the entire state of Montana, and New York State ranks 42nd in amount of federal transportation dollars returned, one feels pretty grateful for the state of our roads.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_82d23890-1c00-5986-a0ff-154ffbb13b1d.html

2. Vehicle as Identity.

a. Such vast distances between towns creates a large sense of identity in connection with vehicles. We rank fifth highest in the nation with respect to vanity license plates. And with good reason. When football playoffs can cover hundreds of miles from Ekalaka to Eureka, you get familiar with your vehicle.

3. Conflicting values

a. Bozeman and Missoula residents double the national average when it comes to desiring alternative modes of transportation (biking, walking, bike paths, walking districts, bus, etc.). In contrast, I lived about six miles from the Darby school system. A bike was out of the question.

With these three topics in mind we can begin to have a more nuanced discussion on transportation issues in Montana. Finally, the logical fallacy of the week is not a formal fallacy, rather a paradox. The claim is often made such that:

‘We must increase energy efficiency, so that we can mitigate our energy consumption.’

Yet William Stanley Jevons, after studying coal in industrial England concluded entirely the opposite:

‘When energy efficiency is increased, consumption increases.’

Therefore, energy efficiency alone is not the panacea for energy consumption. From this, appropriate energy policies need additional amendments in order to truly decrease energy consumption. Taken in context of transportation issues, look to Reserve Street in Missoula. The idea behind Reserve was to meet demand 20 years down the road by building a five lane road. Three years after it was constructed congestion had already met that 20 year mark. So the Jevons Paradox with respect to transportation is not:

‘In order to handle our transportation issues, we must increase efficiency, i.e. the most number of vehicles in the shortest possible time.’

But rather…

‘In order to handle our transportation issues, we must take into account not only efficiency, but also sufficiency. And our cultural values must provide a mediation of sorts between the two concepts.’

That’s it for now. Enjoy the week and see you Monday.

-Zack Rogala

Additional Information:

Jevons Paradox

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox

Transportation for America Campaign

Home

Russell Street in Missoula Plan

http://www.russellstreet.org/