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| The most energy efficient, sustainable form of transportation |
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A national high speed rail system ends our oil dependency quickly & permanently
Building an electrically-powered national high speed rail network across America is the single most powerful thing we can do to get the nation off oil and into a secure, sustainable form of mobility. A national network of high speed trains can be powered by a combination of renewable energy sources including wind, solar, geothermal, and ocean/tidal energy.
America's dependency on oil is the most severe in the world, and inevitably pulls us into costly resource wars. We use 25% of the entire world's oil supply, yet we only have 5% of the world's population. We use 8-10 times more oil per person per day than Europeans. This is not because we have a higher standard of living, but due to the extremely energy intensive nature of our transportation systems (based on individual vehicles powered by internal combustion engines), and our sprawling community designs that force people into cars for every trip.
As the world oil supply begins to peak and then irreversibly declines, the situation will get far worse if don't quickly reduce our national oil dependency. This dependency cuts across our entire society and affects our daily survival. Oil provides 95% of the energy to grow, process and deliver food to the nation. Our entire national transportation system is powered mostly by oil. Numerous daily products we use are made from oil. We use 20 million barrels of oil every day - just in America - 70% of which is consumed for transportation. No combination of drilling off our coasts, hydrogen fuel cells, biofuels, and used french fry oil will solve this and carry 300 million Americans into the future. None of these fuels can be scaled up to anywhere near the amount of liquid fuel we use daily in any practical, economical, or sustainable way.
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The U.S. Joint Forces Command, under U.S. Marine General J.N. Mattis, issued a report earlier this year stating that oil demand could outpace supply as early as 2015. The potentially devastating consequences for our economy, transportation system and national security require an urgent and important investment high speed trains, which can be nine times more energy-efficient than cars or planes, advocates argued.
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| We have arrived at world peak oil |
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| Energy Security = National Security |
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The fastest and most effective way to reduce our oil dependence is to reduce our car dependence. The most effective way to do this is by building a national high speed rail network. This would be supported by regional rail systems, light rail, trams and trolleys, bicycles and walkable communities - together forming a sustainable, secure future - free from oil.
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A National HSR system is the centerpiece of an energy-secure America
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Renewable Energy
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Green, Electric Transportation
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Walkable Urbanism
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"America consumes 20 million barrels of oil every day - 70% of it for transportation."
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| America - Millions of barrels of oil used daily = vulnerability |
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| Spain - Oil-free transportation = Energy Security |
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| Millions of barrels of oil used daily |
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| Oil-free transportation |
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| High capacity, electric transportation |
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| Incredible energy efficiency of high speed trains. (Chart source: www.uic.org) |
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| Clean, electric transportation = Energy Security |
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| Click to view HSR map |
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US HSR. Making it happen.
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