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This year, K and I are spending Thanksgiving with K’s family in Portland, OR. Rather than join the masses in one of the largest aviatorial migrations of the year, however, we’ve chosen to take our time on the 2,000+ mile trip from Chicago to Portland via Amtrak. Not only is this transportation option only half the cost of flying during the busy travel week, information from the Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) points out that travel by Amtrak uses at least 45% less energy per passenger as compared to domestic air-travel; motorcycle transportation being the only less energy-intensive means of transportation per passenger than Amtrak by just a narrow margin.
Juxtapose the aforementioned information with the current energy/climate crisis facing the U.S. and the information that the transportation sector accounts for over 25% of the total CO2 emissions from Fossil Fuel Combustion (according to an EPA report earlier this year), and I wonder at why more support isn’t being given to both passenger and freight rail operations in the U.S.
My wonders at a the lack of support for such an elegant and already technologically-feasible step toward our sustainable future are not unique. In Chicago, both the Midwest High Speed Rail Association as well as the Environmental Law and Policy Center (among others, I’m sure) are running strong initiatives with the goal of building a regional high-speed passenger train infrastructure that, with the support of consumers, would decrease the greenhouse gas emissions of regional travel by shifting travelers’ means of transportation to a more efficient option. In California this November, the Midwest High Sped Rail Association reports that “proposition 1A will provide $9.95 billion in state-backed bonds for a $40 billion, 700-mile network of 220-mph trains and improvements to other rail services that would connect to the high-speed system.” An article from the Next American City magazine entitled A New Era for Train Travel? provides a detailed account of the benefits and challenges of the future of the U.S. rail infrastructure.
On our two-day trip to and from Portland for Thanksgiving, K and I will travel through the unparalleled landscape of the northwestern U.S. We will start and end our vacation on a relaxing note rather than the stress and bustle of an airport, and have time in-transit to comfortably read, reflect and reconnect with each other and the beauty of the scenery around us. At the same time, we will be showing our support for a much more efficient and sustainable alternative to the status-quo, unsustainable travel-options.
The US Senate this week failed to move forward the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 (H.R.6049), a bill that would provide renewable energy incentives and carbon mitigation provisions. Introduced to and passed by the House in May of this year, the bill has since been at a standstill in the Senate despite majority support, with a third vote on Tuesday falling just 9 votes short what would have been needed to to move forward with legislation. Fortunately, the bill can again be brought to a vote, though not before a month-long August recess beginning tomorrow.
With more voices coming forward in support of the clean and efficient energy use that this and other stalled bills would promote (Al Gore’s voice as one of them, calling for 100% renewable energy in the US by the year 2018), and with evidence rising that our current energy practices are unsustainable, I sincerely hope that come September working on solutions for these issues will take higher priority within Congress, and that conscientious voters will make their voices heard in November that we want new leadership that will take environmental stewardship seriously and work with us to find solutions to our unsustainable practices.
Meanwhile, some groups are taking action based on the call for emissions-free energy, such as the proposed 909 MW Shepherd’s Flat Wind Farm of north-central Oregon and the proposed 2,000 MW TransWest Express Project wind farm in Wyoming. Co-op America has issued a call for the generation of 10% of the total US energy from solar power by 2025, a goal that their research indicates is very realistic, and grist explains the booming job market in the wind power industry.
With Congress at a standstill, however, and renewable energy generation dependent on investors, what can individuals do in their everyday lives to jump-start our energy future? I won’t pretend to have the answer to this, and I’d love to hear your thoughts, but I will propose two things:
(1) Even with more renewable energy generation from wind, solar and other innovative ideas, most people in the US are using more energy than sustainably available. Lifestyle changes will need to coincide with the generation of more renewable energy, and those changes can start now with CFL and LED light bulbs, energy-efficient appliances, turning off and unplugging electronics when not in use, challenging yourself along with friends and family to go one day a month “unplugged” from the grid and from that challenge finding a way to permanently remove some of your unnecessary energy consumption.
(2) Make your voice heard: Talk to friends and family about reducing energy consumption; tell your congresspersons that you support bills such as the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008; contact your utility company to see what steps they’re taking to invest in renewable energy for the future; think about what you support and what you want in your life and make purchases based on those ideals to make your money speak to corporations.
