electricity and communication

[Richard Pickard <rpickard@uvic.ca>]

Last week Aimee Cree Dunn replied most thoroughly to a question from 
Donelle Dreese, and since the list has been quiet since her 
observations about using less electricity, I wanted to engage the issue 
again.

A recap: Donelle was asking for comments about greener teaching 
practices, particularly about shifting toward paperless courses toward 
e-texts. While she agreed about using less paper, Aimee rightly pointed 
out as well that electricity is structurally bad for a number of 
reasons: EMF radiation, coal-fired or nuclear plants, hydro dams, wind 
farms, urban colonization and exploitation of rural areas, and so on.

But here's the problem for me.

I can't teach more greenly without hearing regularly from some of you. 
Participating in the great conversation that is the ASLE listserv makes 
all of us more competent to face up to the challenge of living -- and 
teaching -- more greenly.

Maybe the digest would be a better approach than getting single 
messages, but then what about all the dozens of one-on-one email 
conversations I maintain and the telephone calls I make, which use more 
energy per listener than a listserv-style distribution?

My point is that if we're to remain a culture, we'll have to use 
resources to do it. Even 100% post-consumer paper, Aimee's provisional 
answer to the paper conundrum, uses energy, water, and so on. I agitate 
for and take action act and so on toward green principles, but I use 
energy in order to do that.

Maybe I'm not as committed as Aimee. I don't know; I hope not, though I 
am grateful for her thoughtfulness, which has occupied part of my mind 
for the better part of a week here. But I will say that my reaction to 
her long and thoughtful post was in part that I'm a better person for 
being able to read it and respond to it -- even though both ends of 
that conversation irrevocably use up some of the energy we both want to 
conserve.

Inconclusively,
Richard


Aimee Cree Dunn wrote:


>Some thoughts...
>
>I think it's a great idea to emphasize using less paper.  However, I 
>strongly disagree that greater computer use is the answer.
>
>First and foremost -- computers use electricity.  Where does this 
>electricity come from?  Coal and nuclear, I'm sure we're all agreed, 
are 
>terrible.  But the alternative energies can be devastating as well.
>
>Hydropower, for example, is one of the biggest threats to Indigenous 
peoples 
>around the world -- see the Cree in Manitoba and Quebec for examples of 
>this.  Also look at what is happening to farmers and Indigenous peoples 
in 
>India for another example.  That is just the beginning.
>
>Windpower, as well, can be highly problematic when it is done in a 
>centralized, large-scale way.  Building large-scale windfarms to 
produce 
>electricity that will be transmitted over large distances essentially 
>results in colonizing rural areas -- call this energy colonization.  
Ontario 
>recently built a windfarm near Sault Ste. Marie that extends for around 
30 
>miles.  This is a major operation, a major form of resource 
colonization.  
>What gives urban areas the right to do this to the rural?  
Same-old/same-old 
>attitudes prevail.
>
>In addition, whether it is produced by coal or wind or hydro, 
long-distance 
>transmission of electricity involves great loss of electicity (on 
average, 
>50% of electricity is lost from point of production to point of use in 
long 
>distance power transmission).  This lost electricity can often take the 
form 
>of stray voltage.  Dairy farmers have been reporting problems with this 
for 
>a long time.  Further, EMFs (electo-magnetic frequencies) of 
high-voltage 
>transmission lines are substantial, enough to be cited as causing such 
>things as childhood leukemia among other illnesses.
>
>See rural northern Wisconsin for how farmers, the Ojibwe and other 
rural 
>people are battling hard to keep these lines out of their areas - 
>specifically they're fighting the Arrowhead-Weston Transmission line.  
This 
>line is owned by American Transmission Company (ATC) which formed in 
the 
>early 2000s as the first corporation in the US to make its money solely 
from 
>transmitting electrical power between states.  The Arrowhead-Weston 
line in 
>Wisconsin, when completed, will be linked with the mega-dams on Cree 
lands 
>in Manitoba.  The line's main goal is to bring power to urban areas in 
the 
>US.
>
>Computers are also known to cause major health problems such as male 
>impotence, sterility, decreased eyesight, possible links to 
miscarriages, 
>brain cancer, etc.
>
>Computers are not the answer.  Agitating for 100% (or as near as 
possible to 
>this) post-consumer recycled paper may work.  Simply cutting back on 
paper 
>usage would work as well.  Further, it is absolutely imperative that we 
>begin to CUT BACK on our electrical power usage.  It is not simply 
enough to 
>switch to the "alternative energies."  When making a change, we need to 
make 
>it the right change, not simply a quick-fix bandage application.
>
>Great question!
>
>Aimee
>Michigan's Upper Peninsula
>Northern Michigan University
>
>"We can't just consume ourselves into extinction.  We have to find a 
new 
>paradigm, a new way of thinking."  Brad Pitt, Actor
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Indigenous/Rural Issues and Links
>http://www.geocities.com/starrivers2002/
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Rural Greens Discussion
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ruralgreen
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Rural Greens Blog
>http://www.refpub.com/RGC/
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Witness for the Earth
>http://www.geocities.com/witnessfortheearth
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>From: "Donelle Dreese" <dreesed1@nku.edu>
>>Reply-To: asle@interversity.org
>>To: <asle@interversity.org>
>>Subject: [asle] Greener Teaching Practices
>>Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 13:04:02 -0400
>>
>>Hello,
>>
>>In the Literature & Language Department at Northern Kentucky 
University, we
>>are currently engaged in a discussion about "greener" teaching 
practices 
>>and
>>paperless courses, or at least, using less paper in our courses.
>>
>>I was wondering if ASLE members have some thoughts on the subject in the
>>form of either anecdotal evidence or empirical data in relation to 
teaching
>>more green?  Some questions that have been raised in our department 
are: Is
>>it more environmentally friendly to rely more on computers than on 
paper?
>>What are
>>some practical ways to be a more green department without compromising
>>teaching goals?  Are there departmental or campus-wide success stories 
of
>>how greener practices have been put to use?
>>
>>Any thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated!
>>
>>Donelle Dreese, Ph.D.
>>Assistant Professor
>>Literature & Language Department
>>Northern Kentucky University
>>859-572-6148
>>dreesed1@nku.edu
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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----------------------
--------------------
Richard Pickard, PhD
University of Victoria
Dept. of English
Clearihue D331
(250)721-6636
rpickard@uvic.ca