Powerline: The First Battle of America's Energy War

by Paul Wellstone, Barry M. Casper (Contribution by)

Overview

The inspiring story of a grassroots rebellion

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780816643844
Publisher:	University of Minnesota Press
Publication date:	09/10/2003
Edition description:	First edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	1170L (what's this?)

About the Author

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).