Strive for green

I came across an excellent paragraph today on the website ecogeek.org:

“In Europe, where petrol prices are several times higher than the U.S., small, efficient cars are the norm. But there’s also an accompanying tradition of good mast transit, walkable cities, and a support for cycling. Perhaps a spike in fuel prices is just what we need in the U.S. We’ll be forced to stop developing sprawl, which in turn increases gas consumption, pollutes our air, causes global warming, and perhaps kills us all.”

Well spoken!

I was quite surprised today when I took a quick news break from work, and found an article on CNN titled “Bush signs bill raising auto fuel efficiency standards.” I read the story certain I would find some sort of provision like “Anyone who has ever lived in Texas or even thought about living in Texas and likes real big trucks aint gotta meet no fuel standards.” I can report that upon first glance at the mass-media news stories, there appear to be no such provisions.

Given Bush’s horrific environmental track record, I’m still somewhat skeptical. Any step towards efficiency is great, and I commend that, but it is hard to believe there is not a major ulterior motive going on. I would love to hear others thoughts!

(I don’t think this guy will be happy about the new standards).

A couple of friends of mine just released a new website that promotes passage of a measure on the 2008 California bond to create a high speed rail network in California. There are a couple examples of decent rail systems in California such as BART and Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor, but otherwise the state is very dependent on inefficient, environmentally inferior, and/or slow means of transport - car and plane. Strive for green throws its full support behind establishing a high speed rail network in California!

Here is the email my friend Barret from Golden State Rail just sent out announcing their website:

“If you’re like me, you’re frustrated with highway traffic and fed up
with our poor Amtrack system. After discussing California’s
transportation problem amongst ourselves, me and friends discovered
that a High Speed Rail system has been proposed for California. The
bond to fund this project will be on the 2008 November ballot.

We’ve put together a website to inform and motivate public support for
this bond. All we ask is that you take two minutes to view our
website and to sign the form showing your support. ALSO, we do not
have a marketing budget. We are counting on our friends to email
their contacts and organizations about this movement.”

Visit GoldenStateRail.org for more information and to join the movement!

Railroad travel has been out of style in the United States for quite some time now, but as oil prices top $80/barrel and continue to climb, I think rail travel is going to make a big comeback. Driving is simply going to get more and more expensive, and the price of maintaining our massive highway infrastructure will certainly far exceed the $150 billion per year we currently spend. Railroads provide a way to make travel drastically more efficient because several hundred people in a couple railroad cars is about the best carpool I can think of! Beyond the simple economics, taking trains is more environmentally responsible AND relaxing! Let me tell you about my train ride yesterday:

After visiting my girlfriend in Sacramento over the weekend, I decided to take the California Zephyr to get back home to Tahoe. I had previously used Greyhound and Amtrak’s bus service to complete the trip, but I decided to check out the actual train. I bought a ticket online the night before, and showed up at the station five minutes before departure and was soon rolling through a bunch of places I had never seen. Bottom line: travel by rail is dead simple.

It would have been quicker to take a car, but the little bit of extra time on train was well spent reading and noting the beautiful surroundings. Every time I travel long distances in a car, I arrive at my destination stressed out and feeling like I just risked my life for several hours. Riding on an Amtrak train is about as mellow as you can get and I arrived at the station in Truckee feeling good.

A cool side note is that on this route there are historians from the California State Railroad Museum who tell passengers interesting facts about the route. For instance, I learned that back in the late 1800s when devastating hydraulic mining was used to wash away entire hillsides for gold, the railroad had to hire special police to protect the rail lines because the miners were so greedy that they would try to wash away the very ground the tracks were on! Luckily hydraulic mining was banned in 1884, but the scars were still readily evident everywhere I looked.

As an environmentalist, it definitely felt good to take a train. According to The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, from the Union of Concerned Scientists, rail travel is better than driving. Period.

Today I enjoyed a scenic, relaxing, informative and GREEN ride on Amtrak’s California Zephyr from Sacramento to Truckee. I’ll write more about it tomorrow, but for now, here is a nice video of a train passing by: