Kansas City Wastes Energy!!!

We're at the end of the era of cheap oil and what's clear to me is that Kansas City is woefully behind the times when it comes to some of our landmarks and conservation efforts.

In particular, the new(ish) addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum - The Bloch Building is one of the most egregious examples of backward, wasteful and impractical designs in the Kansas City area. The building is obviously intended to be viewed with the lights on when the sun goes down and the structure is illuminated long after museum hours are over. High ceilings and long, empty corridors not only waste space but also energy to heat and cool. The structure, which looks like one of those prefabricated buildings according to many, seems to have been conceived in a long ago era when fuel was relatively cheap but as of late the building has little in common with the much more recent green movement among more progressive architects.

In fact, the wasteful use of light, space and energy by the Bloch Building is akin to another Kansas City tradition that abuses kilowatt hours in a gross display of consumerism and celebration of a district that was founded on restrictive racial covenants . . . The Plaza Lights.



The target audiences are different but the waste of energy seems the same. Whether it's for art's sake or in order to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus and luxury goods - Leaving the lights on half the night is simply unacceptable when retail energy prices will remain high from now until a time when they invent an anti-gravity machine that runs off good vibes.



Sadly, environmentalists, art lovers and Kansas City cheerleaders ignore one of the most obvious year-round signs of waste because it looks pretty they're afraid to challenge fellow liberals or point out the hypocrisy of seemingly forward thinking art aficionados. But make no mistake, the Bloch Building is not only a disaster because of the pedestrian, prefab design but also because it requires a substantial amount of energy to even look halfway presentable . . . If Kansas City was truly making an effort to go "green" there would be a request to at least turn off the lights in the Bloch Building at closing time rather than several hours later.

Unfortunately, like so many others in Kansas City, the supporters of the Bloch Building like to make a big show of their philanthropy but don't really care when the best interests of people and the planet diverge from keeping up appearances.

Put simply, as long as The Bloch Building remains illuminated after hours . . . Art lovers in this town are killing the planet and the people of Kansas City.