The Arizona Republic spent a week writing articles about "sustainability." This was obviously Gannett top-down: the series was relentlessly "positive," aimed at "the average reader" and ultimately useless. Which is too bad, because reporter Shaun McKinnon is as close to an expert on water issues as you'll find at major newspapers -- when he's allowed to write on them.
This was followed, equally predictably, by the kind of anodyne editorial the Republic has written hundreds of times before. This one had such deep renderings as:
Sustainability: The word is everywhere. Companies from Wal-Mart to Ford are trumpeting their commitment to it. There are indexes to measure it, including a Dow Jones corporate yardstick. Bloggers have seized on it.
And, after gently laying out some challenges, then offering soothing praise for the state:
But more needs to happen on the ground. While Gov. Janet Napolitano, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and other leaders have certainly supported sustainability, Arizona still seems in the minor leagues. The efforts need to be bigger, better, faster.
"Seems"? Here's what was not covered, as far as I can tell:
--The consequences of global warming on the Southwest, not only in how longer and hotter summers will break down the electricity grid, but how these weather changes -- even the heat-island from metro Phoenix -- are threatening the region's renewable water supplies held in snowmelt.
--Who is profiting from the lack of water regulation in rural Arizona, where subdivisions proliferate with little, if any, hope of long-term (or even medium-term) water supplies. Especially name names in the Legislature and Congress of who did favors for whom.
--The disaster that is Pinal County, which will not have the water to become Orange County but has built a suburban mishmash that was only stopped, perhaps temporarily, by the housing crash. If it resumes, look out.
--The reality of the vaunted 100-year water supply "rules" in some regions -- are they really being enforced? Are they real? Does anybody think the federal government is going to build desalination plants, much less a second CAP canal (even if Colorado River water existed to fill it)?
--Sprawl and long, single-person car trips are not sustainable. Building a new house, however "green," outside existing, transit-served urban areas, is not sustainable. Yet sprawl and car-use continues to be subsidized in Arizona.
--How Arizona lost its leadership in the movement it founded: solar energy. Name names. Who was responsible, and who continues to stand in the way? At the same time, tell the truth about solar's serious limitations.
--Who in power continues to stand in the way of expanded bus, train and light rail service? Name names. Who profits from unsustainable "master planned communities"?
--How will Arizona fare in a world of $200-a-barrel oil? $500? $700?
--What will happen with illegal immigration as global warming devastates the Third World, sending millions northward?
The reality is that sustainability is not about wasting time and money searching for ways to continue the status quo.
The reality is that Arizona as it is now constituted is not sustainable. Nor does it have the will to take the steps to avoid a Hurricane Katrina-like disaster in the future. Somewhere Edward Abbey is sadly shaking his head.
Given the ignorance of the average Arizonan about environmental issues, the Republic's series wasn't entirely a wasted effort. The problem here is that most people don't read newspapers, at least in Gannetized Phoenix. Obviously, there's little point in keeping civic consciousness alive in place that has become no place.
In our civic vacuum, talk radio and cable TV fill the void like it was a rectum. We're told global warming is a joke, that the environment is a buzzword, not a reality. Glibertarian certitude is our collective wisdom. And we're happy not to invest in the future because the individual taxpayer matters more than any social group we might call "Phoenix".
It's going to be interesting descent and I'd be happy to say Talton told you so. But the few who care already know that.
Posted by: soleri | June 30, 2008 at 07:42 PM