This essay is in the latesst issue of High Country News. You can find it A message to our grandchildren As a freshman congressman in 1955, I regrettably voted with my unanimous Oil lies at the epicenter of a critical energy crisis. Petroleum is a As world oil production reaches its apex and begins its inevitable I am convinced that the American people will tighten their belts if a Energy efficiency must be the rallying cry. Higher oil prices are already I urge you to be stalwart supporters of any projects that promote fuel You also must contend with the carbon dioxide problem. Once it is released The United States and China are responsible for producing over 40 percent I have recently proposed that these two countries join together in a 50/50 All climates would benefit from advances produced by such an enterprise: Even though scientists can solve many technological problems, a word of One further example will dramatize my point. In the summer of 1969, after Meanwhile, Americans’ vision of the future was warped; they believed, Having said that, technology may yet help solve some of our current Such advances won’t be enough, however. Americans must finally cast aside Foster a consciousness that puts a premium on the common good and the In the 1960s, when the carbon problem and the exhaustion of the world’s Go well, do well, my children. Cherish sunsets, wild creatures and wild Carry our love in your hearts, Stewart and Lee Udall, 2008 To receive two free issues of High Country News call 1-800-905-1155, or
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Essay - March 31, 2008 by Stewart and Lee Udall
Among other accomplishments in a life of public service, Arizona native
Stewart Udall was perhaps the most influential secretary of Interior ever.
He served in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations from 1961 to 1969,
and played a part in some of the nation’s landmark environmental laws,
including the Clean Air Act, the Wilderness Act and the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act. He now lives in Santa Fe, N.M., where he and his
wife, Lee, penned this letter to their grandchildren.
My dear ones, your generation will face a series of environmental
challenges that will dwarf anything any previous generation has
confronted. I’m hoping to add some insights of my own based on things I
learned as a policymaker in the 1950s and ’60s, when I observed and
participated in some monumental achievements and profound misjudgments.
colleagues for the Interstate Highway Program. All of us acted on the
shortsighted assumption that cheap oil was super-abundant and would always
be available. This illusion began to unravel in the 1970s, and it haunts
Americans today.
finite resource and is the most precious, versatile resource on the
planet. Cheap oil played a crucial role in the development of American
power and prosperity, and sustains the military machine that dominates the
world today. Oil is now nearing a historic transition that will alter the
civilization Americans have come to take for granted.
decline, it will have a radical impact on everyday American life. It will
take bold political leadership and awareness on the part of individual
citizens to craft a full-scale, creative response. I watched with
admiration in 1974 as my friend, President Gerald Ford, persuaded Congress
to adopt a 55 mph speed limit to reduce our reliance on imported oil. He
also got a law passed which mandated production of more fuel-efficient
automobiles.
president forges a national strategy to stretch the life of our oil
reserves and to adjust to a long-range plan of energy conservation.
serving as a wake-up call. Despite an utter lack of leadership from the
White House, a few progressive states and cities are building light-rail
systems to serve urban residents and commuter trains to connect their
communities.
efficiency and conservation for all citizens.
into the atmosphere, this gas has a long life (approximately 100 years),
spreads over the entire globe, and acts as a blanket that warms all parts
of the earth.
of the CO2 that is altering the earth’s atmosphere. Consequently, these
two nations have a moral responsibility to be in the forefront of any
global campaign to develop new technologies to cut the emissions of this
damaging pollutant.
research venture, and assemble teams of engineers and scientists to work
together to develop technologies to capture carbon as it emerges from coal
power plants. These teams would perfect technologies to isolate the carbon
and transport it through pipelines to storage sites in the deep ocean or
in depleted oil and natural gas fields. The success of such international
cooperation would set an example that could spur development of new
supplies of renewable energy.
Today, China has the most polluted air in the world and suffers the most
premature deaths from gross air pollution. These same teams of scientists
could also devise technologies to capture the deadly pollutants that
shorten the lives of millions of people in all parts of the world.
caution is in order. I learned during my government service that even the
most gifted researchers couldn’t perform technical miracles. The skilled
engineers at the Interior Department built the first direct current line
to transmit huge blocks of electricity from hydroelectric dams on the
Columbia River to Los Angeles by simply flipping a switch. But the same
engineers couldn’t develop a cheap technique to desalinate seawater.
our astronauts completed their round trip to the moon (a brilliant but
narrow feat), most Americans were overwhelmed by the promises that became
the mantra of that exciting moment. The slogan, “This proves we can do
whatever we want to do,” influenced the mindset of Americans and generated
a vision of a future with no restraints or limits. President Richard
Nixon, quickly rebuked for his wild rhetoric by the Rev. Billy Graham,
characterized the accomplishment as “the greatest week since the creation
of the earth.” A gusher of extravagant prophecies followed, predicting
that a new planet of superabundant resources had magically come into
existence followed. Though scientists regarded such predictions as Alice
in Wonderland speculation, they were generally ignored; dissent was not
welcome during this moment of triumph.
falsely, that technologists could perform miracles that would solve any
future energy problems. Ignored was the nation’s ever-increasing
dependence on oil produced by other countries. Worse yet, this new vision
offered assurances that our own oil wells would never run dry, and it has
persuaded many of the current leaders of our nation that global warming is
a myth.
problems. Some of the world’s best architects and designers are already
working on changes in the design of buildings and cities, which, they
believe, will reduce requirements for electricity by as much as 50 percent
by 2050.
our notion that we can continue the wasteful consumption patterns of our
past. We must promote a consciousness attuned to a frugal, highly
efficient mode of living. In closing, I leave you with these thoughts, and
hope you will hold to these ideals throughout your lives:
protection of the environment. Give your unstinting support to all
lasting, fruitful technological innovations. Be steadfast enemies of
waste. The lifetime crusade of your days must be to develop a new energy
ethic to sustain life on earth.
petroleum were still beyond our gaze, I advocated a new ethic to guide our
nation’s stewardship of its resources. I realize now this approach was too
narrow, too nationalistic. To sustain life on our small planet, we will
need a wider, all-encompassing planetary resource ethic based on values
implemented by mutual cooperation. This ethic must be rooted in the most
intrinsic values of all: Caring, sharing, and mutual efforts that reach
beyond all obstacles and boundaries.
places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth.
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