Michael Dukakis on Trains as a Sutainable Transportation System

Why is it that Democratic presidential candidates always get so much gutsier after they've lost the election?  Here's Michael Dukakis talking about why we need to build a decent train system instead of continuing to subsidize cars and just how cheap it would be to do it.  This comes from "The Long View" on WUML.

 

Audio:

Michael Dukakis

on The Long View, 

Oct 27, 2005

 

Michael Dukakis: A Public Figure Who "Walks the Walk"

Reasoning the case for NE railway system development

The words of our former MA Governor, and presidential candidate are passionate (a.k.a. "Professor Dukakis" at Northeastern University) . His understanding of the advantages of public transportation is personal. On the day he joined us at UMass Lowell, Mr Dukakis insisted on returning to Boston via the train that leaves from Lowell, though there were students willing to return him by car. 

Our speaker reasons the expansion and modernization of our rail system in concrete and practical terms. But, we learn that the majority of transportation development funding is used toward venues that are more expensive and polluting [I believe that I will have spent nearly $3000. in gas for my car this year alone. I haven't even tallied the other car expenses. And you??]. Why does this cheaper and greener mode of transportation receive such minimal support by the current State and Federal Governments? 

Figuring out the politics of this discrepancy may be an impossible feat (as it normally is when we review politics) however, we can tip the scales with some minimal effort. 

If the $30-$40 dollars to fill our gas tanks is an inspiration to consider a change, there are ways to become part of the solution too.

 

Hummer more efficient than Prius?

Interview About Dust-to-Dust Study of Vehicle Energy Use 

There's a study done by a research outfit called CNW Marketing Research which attempts to determine the total energy used by a vehicle from mining the metals to final disposal.  Interestingly the Hummer H2 comes out ahead of a number of more fuel efficient vehicles including the Honda Civic and the Toyota Prius. (Let it be said that the Focus and the Scion XP come out far ahead of the Hummer).  There's an interesting discussion of the results here and an audio interview with the researcher here.  The primary reason's why the Hummer does so well seems to be low research costs, simple design resulting in lower tooling costs, and the fact that many of the Hummers parts are also used in many other GM vehicles resulting in economies of scale.  These could be important lessons in attempting to reduce our society's overall energy usage.  Of course better still is riding a bicycle.

This comes from TheWatt podcast.