High Speed Rail's and the Obama Administration

Shortly after President Obama's State of the Union address, Time Magazine had an interesting article on Obama's call for construction of high-speed rails to reduce carbon emissions. Click here to read the article.

Not only will the use of high-speed trains reduce carbon emissions, but their creation will create "green jobs." And create jobs relatively soon. Construction on a high-speed rail from Tampa to Orlando is scheduled to open by 2015. The Obama administration and the Federal Railroad Administration have given Florida $1.3 billion grant for the construction of the high-speed rail. They are disbursing $8 billion to 31 states for the construction or improvement of such rails. Perhaps Florida is receiving such a large portion of the stimulus funds because the plan has already been approved, most of the lands are public owned, and an environmental impact statement has been completed. However, most other states are not that far along in the process and may spend the money on updating or maintaining the current system.

This a departure from the Bush administration's stance on reducing carbon emissions. The Bush administration favored "to dramatically increase development of U.S. oil and natural gas supplies on public lands" (Vig, 2010, p. 1).

The EPA under the Clinton administration looked for sustainable development (Vig, 2010). Obama's call for the development of high-speed rails definitely falls in line with the sustainable development sought during the Clinton administration.

I agree with Obama's call for the development of high-speed trains. It will be a more efficient and effective way to travel in this country. Most other developed nations have some from of high-speed trains. It would be nice to have the environmental and economical benefits of such a rail system.