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OPINION: Snow, speed bumps and surfing: Monday musings
Nov 23, 2009 (The Montana Standard - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
No snow in Moscow? Retractable speed bumps? Mandatory Internet for all? These news items from around the world caught my eye in recent weeks, so I decided to pass them along: The Moscow Times first reported the "snow ban" on Oct. 15. Mayor Yury Luzhkov wants to save money on snow removal costs, so he pitched a plan to inject clouds with either liquid nitrogen, silver or cement particles to force the precipitation down before it hits the capital this winter. The city quickly approved the plan, according to a version of the story published at www.reddit.com.
The mayor said this drastic measure would only need to be used a couple times a winter, and it would save the city an estimated $10.2 million in snow removal costs annually.
Talk about the height of arrogance: tampering with Mother Nature just to save money and avoid the inconvenience of traffic jams, plowing and shoveling. Outlying regions that stand to see much more snow aren't so keen on the idea either.
Bozeman would have appreciated the tool a few weeks ago, however. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported last week that the city hauled away more snow following the Nov. 12 dump than it moved all last winter.
More than two feet fell that day, leaving the MSU Bobcats with the challenge of getting their field cleared in time for the Nov. 14 home football game.
The speed bump item hails from Mexico, and I read about it in the Oct. 16 issue of The Week, my favorite magazine. Engineers in Mexico City have reportedly designed a "smart" speed bump that only pops up when it senses a car speeding. Vehicles that travel the speed limit or slower can enjoy a smooth trip that's also easier on the environment.
All the stopping and accelerating that goes with speed bump territory pollutes the air more than regular driving, and the added emissions were a prime mover behind this innovation. Mexico City has long grappled with air pollution problems from too many cars.
The brief article also said that speed bumps are popular in Mexico "because police officers -- who are busy with drug-related murders and other mayhem -- tend not to enforce traffic laws." Our police force here in Butte is also stretched pretty thin, so if this technology becomes widely available at a low enough cost, maybe we could give it a try.
Just the other day at Montana Tech's growth plan meeting, Granite Street residents called out for speed bumps to slow down the students.
And finally, Finland has become the first government in the world to declare that broadband Internet access is a legal right of all citizens.
Slate.com e-mailed a link to an Oct. 14 story about it from The Guardian's Web site, www.guardian.co.uk. Every morning Slate sends out a list of major stories to newspapers around the country, and it's a great source.
Apparently the Finnish government has passed a law compelling the country's telecommunications industry to offer high-speed Internet to the entire population of 5.3 million.
The article didn't mention how much the service would cost, but it did say the mandate was made with the remote rural areas in mind. Finland already has an estimated 96 percent of its population online, and this law should ensure that nobody is left out of the cyber loop due to lack of access.
It's hard to imagine the United States following suit on this one anytime soon. Our country is still bitterly divided over the question of whether citizens are legally entitled to health care -- a much more basic human need.
-- Roberta (Bobbi) Stauffer is The Standard's opinion page editor. She may be reached at 496-5514 or by e-mail at roberta.stauffer@mtstandard.com.
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