Originally Posted by
kebosabi
But seriously, our nation's addiction to oil needs to be solved. One idea that the government has failed to invest were high-speed rail linking outlying cities as they do in Europe and Asia. Frankly, these should've been done years ago, but only now are we realizing that our car culture has its shortfalls. But as the days of $200 barrel oil approaches, such an idea is not as farfetched as many people believe - except for lobbyists and NIMBYs who block such proposals.
In the early part of the 20th Century, most Americans traveled by rail, trolley and streetcar.
Then in the 1940's and 1950's a consortium made up of General Motors, Standard Oil, and Firestone Tire bought out the rail systems in 45 cities and replaced them with GM buses.
This helped usher in the era of America's highway system and our reliance on gasoline.
The oil companies have spent billions lobbying against rail expansion for over 30 years. With oil company profits forecasted at over $100 billion this year, it will be interesting to see whether they can continue to influence the government's reluctance to embrace rail.