Schwarzenegger To Slash California Bullet Train Funding
California governor cites other pressing transportation needs.
"For more than a decade, policymakers have debated, studied and scoped out a high-speed rail line that would whisk travelers between downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2 1/2 hours.
But, this year, the $40-billion dream of building a Japanese- or European-style bullet train through the Central Valley may find itself stopped in its tracks...
Critics see the high-speed train as a potential boondoggle that would be a drain on the state treasury and a loser that would never pay for itself. Consider, they say, the poor performance of most long-distance U.S. passenger rail service...Supporters disagree. They cite the train's speed, convenience and its less-controversial route."
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Schwarzenegger Two-Faced On Global Warming
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=315531
"This month, the Bay Area-based Transportation and Land Use Coalition(TALC) reported that high-speed rail in California would dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Over 40 percent of CO2 emissions in the state come from automobiles and planes."
"...environmental-science and transportation experts now warn that if California is going to rein in climate change and meet its emission-reduction targets, the bullet train needs to be put on the fast track.
"'Because of projected and demonstrated increases in vehicle-miles traveled,' explained Carli Paine, transportation program director with TALC, 'we can't really return emissions to 1990 levels through only cleaner fuels and technology.' Last year's act mandates that California reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and then 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050."
Charles Siegel
Always the cost.
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap" -- Kurt Vonnegut
Best,
D
Sad, sad, sad
No form of transportation, with the arguable exception of walking, "pays for itself." Schwarzennegger's shortsightedness will cost California for decades...