Things That Make You Go Green

When I visited Japan (circa 2005), I rode the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. The Shinkansen is operated by Japan Railways and is essentially a network of high speed railway lines. It is, in a word, superb. I remember thinking how great it would be to have our very own Shinkansen in the good ‘ole US of A.

Well, fast forward a few years – according to a post in Venture Beat, there’s talk of a $10 billion voter-approved bond measure to develop a high-speed rail network in the state of California. It’s pending approval by the state legislature, and has already been approved by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Trains will go up to 220 mph, traveling as far north as Sacramento, all the way down to San Diego. Costs would be quite affordable – one example cited was a $24 fare for a 2.5 hour trip from downtown SF to downtown LA. That’s pretty rockin’ if you ask me. (Although the marketer in me wonders, how long will it take for this effort to prove ROI positive?)

Critics argue that this money would be better spent towards health care and education, or improved regional transportation.

On the flip side, there are some great benefits, including:

• A reduction of 1.4 million cars from the road (although we probably won’t see these kinds of numbers until 2020, or later)
• Fewer traffic accidents (10,000 per year)
• Lower state CO2 emissions (17.6 billion pounds per year)
• Reduced oil consumption (by up to 22 million barrels per year)
• 450,000 new jobs

What do you guys think of this proposal? I have to admit that I love the idea of a Shinkansen of our own, but I am skeptical that this will be successful. Our ability to achieve success will be partially rooted in a mind shift, as Californians love their cars too much. Are we willing to give up our beloved cars and take public transportation instead? I certainly hope so! I suppose though, that if gas prices keep going up, that will certainly accelerate a mind shift…