Energy, Transportation, and Politics in Germany and the United States

Ava Hedeker interviews her father, Don Hedeker, about differences between Germany and the United States observed as German-American growing up in Chicago. Hedeker begins by describing his experiences of the 1973 and 1979 oil crises, recalling gas rationing and shifts in car manufacturing toward smaller, more efficient cars in the United States. Hedeker also reflects on the emerging environmental movement in the 1970s and on the election of Ronald Reagan. He compares attitudes toward conservation, consumption, land use, and transportation in the United States and in Germany. Hedeker also discusses political changes in Germany and differences between East and West Germany. Hedeker concludes by comparing American public transit systems to German public transit systems.