I went to the Utah inland port public forum Tuesday evening, way over at the Utah State Fairgrounds. I soon became disoriented.
What century were we in? Freight trains, switching yards, shipping containers, diesel trucks, warehouses, all the graphs curving up and blue-skies optimism, so it couldn't have been 2019, the 21st century. Maybe the ‘50s?
But, which? The booming post-war 1950s? Or the 1850s, home of our Legislature?
Anyway, drastic climate change wasn't on the radar. No limits to growth, so the ecological crisis was far in the future.
Drastic income inequality? Well, there were going to be many fine jobs in warehousing and manufacturing. Until there weren’t. When automation kicked in and we shot into a sci-fi future.
Only 10 years off, electric trucks! I didn’t hear about levitating air freight, or exactly how the congestion, noise, habitat destruction and massive pollution would be disappeared, so maybe that was coming with the cloaking devices around 2219?
No contingency to recycle the port installation, should a global economic Black Swan hit. Maybe just abandon it as a sort of monument? Repeated talk of “transparency” and public input. And, I've gotta admit, it was pretty transparent.
John Prehn, Salt Lake City
