Tuesday, May 21, 1974 Energy Crisis examined: Notes from the Continent By PAUL O'DONNELL SHORTAGE OF petro- leum and other fuel pro- ducts, and the resulting "across the board" price rises, that have occurred and still occur in Europe and most of the Western world, have had some unexpect- ed positive results. When people in France, where gas was al- ready selling for over 90 cents before the October Arab-Israeli war, were buying it for $1.35 a gallon in January, 1974, is be- came evident that Europe would. suffer more from the power crisis than the U. S. would. While Americans were still driv- ing their six-or-eight cylinder "made-in-U.S.A." specials des- pite the price rise and the gas lines, many European coun- tries, where the average car has two, four, or at most six cylin- ders, were prohibiting automo- bile usage on Sundays in an at- temot to conserve fuel. Although the Sunday - driving ban caused anger and conster- nation in the affected countries, some statistics showed that the results of this prohibition were- n't all unfavorable. In Italy, for example, there was evidence that during the "no-driving" Sundays, a decline was register- ed in: * Atmospheric pollution, * Noise, " Accidents and Injuries, " and even crime. ONE MIGHT SUPPOSE that the Italians, the Dutch, the Germans, and to a smaller ex- tent, the Americans, were oc- casionally obliged by the En- ergy Crisis to walk or ride bi- cycles instead of drive. Back in America, certain individualists were quoted as saying- "I'm gonna show those Arabs . . .", and took their revenge by driv- ing their oversize cars despite the price increase. Other Yan- kees, emulating Hitler, criticiz- ed America's support of Israel by displaying bumper - stickers which read "BURN JEWS; NOT GAS." Meanwhile, bicycle sales, and even tennis-shoe sales (with the help of "streaking"), continue to be on the rise. The Arabs, few of whom had read "The Green- ing of America," were accom- plishing what many members of the counter - culture had pro- posed long ago; reversion back to simpler and healthier means of transportation. It would be misleading and un- fair to dwell upon the unexpect- ed positive effects of the power crisis, for its unfavorable con- sequences were multifarious. Great Britain was perhaps the European country hardest hit by the energy crisis: "Newsweek," in its "Britain's New Dark Age" edition, talked of three-day work weeks, hundreds of thousands of Britons jobless, and pay cuts of up to 40 per cent for many workers. British workers were- n't the only ones jobless during the crisis; their American counterparts, especially the au- toworkers, were also queueing up for unemsployment compen- sation. ONE OF THE most frustrat- ing realities of this economic crisis is that the problems of shortages and unemployment didn't affect the citizenry in Britain, or anywhere, equally. While unemployment lines lengthened in Britain, the Lon- don elite flaunted its wealth by driving luxury cars and spend- ing lavishly. "Newsweek" re- ports, "There are more Rolls Royes on the streets of London today than anyone can remem- ber," and that . . . an unpre- cedented orgy of Christmas shopping in London's West End shops" served to underscore "the financial gulf between the haves and have-nots." Although few members of the American and European middle and lower classes escaped the squeeze, there were many ob- servers in the U. S. who main- tained that the Energy Crisis was "a hoax to push up oil pric- es and take the public's mind off Watergate." Whether the crisis was real or not, I would be dis- honest to neglect mentioning that I felt few of the direct ef- fects of the power crisis. By living in a warm Mediterranean climate where many do without heating throughout the winter, and by using a bicycle and the electric-run subway system as my main means of transporta- tion, I managed to avoid a di- rect confrontation with the cris- is. It wasn't until the city bus prices rose from 9 to 11 cents that I began to feel the squeeze; later on came "the sky's the limit" price increases by many shop owners who used the crisis as an excuse to increase pro- fits. ONE CAN, HOWEVER, still eat a three-course meal in Bar- celona for about 90 cents, and the subway is still about seven cents a ride. Which brings me to the point of this article: the positive ef- fects which the power crisis could have provoked in Ameri- ca. In my opinion, there is a di- rect correlation between the ef- fectiveness of public transport and the quality of urban exist- ence. An increased usage of bi- cycles, subways, trains, and buses would reduce air pollu- tion, poise, individual transport costs, traffic jams, and numer- ous other auto-related problems, and would encourage people to live in the city rather than flee- ing to the suburbs. Although the auto industry and related corp- orations have provided millions of jobs, automobiles are in large part responsible for the declin- ing quality of life in the big city. The degradation of the Ameri- can city, the flight to the sub- urbs, and the decline of proper- ty values in many urban centers are all well documented facts; Detroit automobile. nabobs earned their money in the city of Detroit, but at night escape to the opulent suburbs, leaving the nocturnal city to decay. The au- tomobile industry's effort to de- feat projects for subways and other means of non-auto trans- portation are also public knowl- edge, as are its results: with poor mass transit, one is almost obliged to purchase a car, end there are thereform few advan- tages to living near one's work, in the city. The circle -is completed by the construction of parking lots and expressways, which further de- stroy city tax base, make the living conditions near the high- way unpleasant, and facilitate the flight to the suburbs. With the money in the suburbs, the educational quality, police pro- tection, public service, etc., all suffer, and the suburbs become all the more inviting. IS THERE ANY SOLUTION TO THIS VICIOUS CIRCLE OF URBAN DESTRUCTION? Living in Barcelona has made me somewhat more hopeful about the possibilities of big- city existence. An international port, with a population almost equal in number to that of De- troit, and a demographic density comparable to that of Calcutta or Tokyo, Barcelona has all the problems of an American big city, and some special ones of itsown. Solutions to urban tran- sit problems are hindered by certain geographical realities; as one Barcelona urbanist told me, Barcelona is "encajonada" (boxed-in) by the sea on one side, the mountains on the in- land side, and by two rivers on the north and south. Despite these problems, and the fact that the city is built on a slant, the subway system is slowly be- ing expanded, and urbaniots and "Friends of the City" are con- tinuously seeking solutions to Barcelona's problems. Although served by the regu- lar Spanish National Railways (RENFE), end by two different subway systems, Barcelona's mass transit system is still far from sufficient. Despite the problems of making historical Barcelona compatible with In- dustrial, modern Barcelona, this Mediterranean city has managed to avoid the kind of urban-jungle life that American cities have become famous for. Downtown Barcelona is still picturesque, and anyone who has walked through the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona during the "pedestrians-only" hours of the day realizes that life in the big city needn't be unpleasant or tense. The fact that modern ci- ties are built for cars, not for people, is one of the dehuman- izing factors of urban life. When Nixon finally declared that the "Fuel Crisis is Over," some sighed with relief; other observers, such as Ralph Nader, questioned the very existence of a power crisis; and some of us thought that the crisis perhaps didn't last long enough. If pow- er shortages, real or phony, had forced the American govern- ment to create the kind of inter- national, national, Ind urban transport systems that I have observed in European countries, then the power crisis could have had long range beneficial re- sults in America. Paul O'Donnell is the Euro- pean correspondent for T h e Daily. Micehigan Dailly OFFICE HOURS Circulation Dept. .. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 764-0558 Classified Dept. . . 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 764-0557 Display Dept. ... 12 noon-3 p.m. 764-0554 Please try to coil our offices during these hours. Rackham Student Government is currently soliciting applications for two graduate student seats on the L S and A library committee. Interested parties should contact the R. SG. office at 2006 Rackh B uildin g or call 3-0 109. REPEAT PERFORMANCE BIG L/P $s49 Record Sale AND UP S AV E NOW ! S AV E BIG! at fOLLETT' TA E s STATE STREET END OF THE D7AG