Description
Powerline is a book that details the resistance of rural Minnesotans against the construction of a high voltage powerline spanning 430 miles from North Dakota to the Twin Cities suburbs. The opposition was fueled by concerns for the safety of their families and the impact on their land, and escalated to civil disobedience and sabotage. The book also explores the power of rural communities and its relevance to current energy debates. Written by Paul Wellstone and Barry M. Casper, the book sheds light on Wellstone's progressive political vision and his untimely death in 2002.
Powerline describes the opposition of rural Minnesotans to the building of a high voltage powerline across 430 miles of farmland from central North Dakota to the Twin Cities suburbs. Convinced that the safety of their families and the health of their land was disregarded in favor of the gluttonous energy consumption of cities, the farmer-led revolt began as questioning and escalated to rampant civil disobedience, peaking in 1978 when nearly half of Minnesota's state highway patrol was engaged in stopping sabotage of the project. After construction was completed, the powerline proved difficult to defend and unprecedented guerrilla warfare brought many towers to the ground (due to "bolt weevils"). Through pulse-quickening personal interviews and big-picture analysis, Powerline lays bare the latent and unexpected power of the people of rural America-and resonates strongly with today's energy debates. Paul Wellstone (1944-2002) was professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and worked as a political organizer before being elected to the Senate in 1990. His untimely death in a plane crash during the 2002 election galvanized public interest in his vision for progressive politics. His work, ideas, and beliefs are described in The Conscience of a Liberal, available in paperback from the University of Minnesota Press. Barry M. Casper is a professor of physics at Carleton College and the author of Lost in Washington: Finding the Way Back to Democracy in America (2000).
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