The health care bill has passed. Headlines hail Obama as the image of the new America, retracting the country away from the old, Regan years. History has been made…
but what’s next?
Part of this new growing conscious in the country has begun to look at the earth in a new way. No longer is it limitless with resources, no longer something to ignore, or even a safe place to build a home: People are treading with lighter shoes. But at the same time, the economy struggles and Obama’s fate relies on his ability to stimulate the country and create new jobs.
Trains are part of this solution. High speed trains that have flourished in the rest of the modern world can compete with the automobile and airfare. The Obama administration has awarded $8 billion, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), to the development of the country’s first, national, high speed rail system, connecting several, heavily trafficked cities. The trains on a rail through California will reach speeds of 220 miles per hour, and average a commute time, from L.A. to San Francisco, of about 2 and half hours. Normally, a drive between the two cities is about 6 to 8 hours. Imagine the influx of train travelers. Imagine if similar rails could be opened around the country.
The project will spur the economy with job creation, much of the purpose behind ARRA, but, on an environmental standpoint, is projected to save 12.7 million barrels of oil per year by 2030. Trains require only one third of the amount of energy compared to planes and one fifth of the daily automobile trip. Also, the rails will steer us away from fossil fuels as they are operated with electricity. As our knowledge of renewable energies increases, the pollution trains will save us could be astronomical.
The automobile industry is sinking and right in its wake could be the train. Not only will the environmental impact be great, but perhaps it will counteract the travesties in Detroit. Trains serve as a great metaphor for the green movement. As consumers are looking for the greenest, most sustainable products, a whole new economy will explode with possibilities.
(photos from treehugger.com)
