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Although many unthinking people have criticized his decision, Denver Mayor Federico Peña is helping the depressed economy of rural Colorado by salting Denver streets. It's a complicated process, but I can explain.
My wife, Martha, grew up in Michigan, and came to Colorado 20 years ago. Upon her arrival, what most impressed her was not the mountains or the climate, but the abundance of old cars still on the highways.
When she met me in 1969, I was driving a 1954 Chevy.
You just wouldn't see a car like this in Michigan,
she told me. Back there, your $50 junker would be a
valuable antique, worth hundreds of dollars.
Innocent and untraveled, I didn't ask why old cars were so rare near the Great Lakes. But I found out why during the first time Martha drove here in the winter.
It's been two weeks since it snowed,
she
complained, and there's still ice all over the roads.
You slide and skid whenever you start, stop or turn.
Michigan gets a lot more snow, but you can drive there in
the winter, because the roads aren't slick. Their highway
department keeps the roads clear. Colorado doesn't care
whether you live or die.
Colorado, I patiently explained, has always been in the forefront of alternative energy applications. One example of that leadership is that the highways are cleared by solar energy.
No, I've seen a plow or two over the years,
Martha said. The difference is that they use salt on the
roads in Michigan.
But that's awful,
I protested. Salt is
corrosive. It eats up car bodies. There aren't any old cars
in Michigan. And that's really sick. People ought to be
able to save their money by driving cheap old cars. We
shouldn't be forced to buy a new car every couple
years.
Maybe salting the roads wouldn't be a good thing for
Colorado,
she conceded. But forcing people to buy
new cars often is a good deal for Michigan.
I pressed her for further explanation, and she looked at
me as though I were a total idiot. What do you think
they make in Michigan? Cars. The more cars people have to
buy, the more jobs and money in Michigan. And there's a
huge salt mine right under the city of Detroit. It's a
great deal all the way around. You'll always be in debt for
a new car, but the mines and factories will be
humming.
The mines and factories of Colorado aren't exactly humming these days. Molybdenum is used to harden steel, and Climax Molybdenum, which once employed 5,000 miners, now has fewer than 1,000. CF&I has a lot more capacity than buyers for its steel products, which means that once-productive limestone quarries, coal mines and coking ovens are now idle.
A huge increase in steel demand would return Colorado to prosperity. The auto industry is the nation's leading steel consumer. With salted streets, Denverites will soon be forced to buy new cars every year or two. The miners will resume mucking in Leadville, the blast furnaces will fire up in Pueblo, the tipples will start dumping in Trinidad, and happy days will be here again.
I, for one, am grateful that a metropolitan mayor has exhibited such sensitivity to rural economic needs, and has taken bold and creative steps to put us back to work. As the 1987 municipal election approaches, Mayor Peña might announce similar measures to stimulate the regional economy.
He would begin by conceding that the current Better Air Campaign is causing economic hardship. So people will be encouraged to burn cheap but dirty Colorado coal, rather than clean but expensive Texas natural gas; this will put many miners and railroaders to work. Colorado coal is high in sulfur, which will tarnish and erode the family silver. That will need to be replaced, which means jobs in Creede and Silverton.
To maintain air quality, there are insects which metabolize atmospheric sulfur, and millions of these bugs will be loosed in the metro area. They are, however, a species of termite. As houses and garages collapse and require replacement, sawmills and lumberjacks throughout Colorado will return to work. The entire region will be thriving and prosperous, and we can thank Federico Peña for starting it all with a helping of salt.
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