Hi everybody! I hope you were all inspired to keep your printer waste down by this morning’s presentation. This post is going to be about how you can both feel more connected to your country and vastly lower your contribution to climate change–killing two birds with one stone!
Automobiles are perhaps the least efficient means of transport around. They are powered by directly spitting poisonous gases into the air, and since they carry so few people, every time you ride in a car, you’re contributing tons upon tons of gases into our atmposphere. Though there are some cars that are theoretically “green”, there is still no real way to power an automobile cleanly.
Airplanes are slightly more fuel-efficient than cars, but they release their gases directly into the stratosphere, making flying possibly even more brutally damaging to the environment.
Trains, on the other hand, are by far the most environmentally-friendly way of traveling, and unlike what the media constantly tells us, railroads are still an efficient way of traveling that is far more comfortable than flying or driving. Within the United States, trains have been proven to be 31% more fuel-efficient than cars, and 11% more efficient than planes (but as I said before, airplanes are not as efficient as they seem due to their altitude).
In Europe, taking the train instead of flying can cut your emmissions by up to a staggering 90%–well worth an extra hour or two in the journey, especially when there’s no security or baggage claim or boarding queues.
Besides that, many trains (such as the Acela Express, above, from New York to Boston and Washington) actually take less time than flying due to the lack of hassle at stations. And by using night trains like the Lake Shore Limited from New York to Chicago, you can save both time and a hotel bill– and overnight trains have civilized compartments with beds, unlike the awful experience of red-eye flights.
And on longer journeys like the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco, your time isn’t being wasted! These rail trips are a vacation in themselves where you can lose yourself in the wilderness of the most beautiful country in the world!
Rail map of the United States. Rail map of Canada. Note that these maps show only the most basic routes, as systems are often too complicated to fit on one map.
A complete collection of timetables for the long-distance routes in America. You can use the side window on this same tab to buy train tickets!
For more information, contact me at 19harsh@friendsseminary.org. I’d love to help you with any train questions you have.
By Andrew D. Harsh. Photo credit to thefutureofhealthow.com, telegraph.co.uk, amtrak.com, and seat61.com.