Planetary Engineering for Climate Change
Capitalism will still work for you as long as you maintain a practical outlook of the future economic horizon. The focus should be on steady long-term investments rooted in local industries and skilled labor. Your investments should be in trains. The renaissance of America's once iconic, but now century's old transportation network has become more important in this age of individualism than ever before.
As GM, Ford, and Chrysler began ripping up street car lines in the 1930s and passenger rail lines in the subsequent post war years, the paradigm of American independent transportation is now being up heaved. Despite the fluctuating gas prices - at the moment in 3 year lows - there is a general dissatisfaction with American suburban life as it relates to the commuter. This dissatisfaction is not only endemic in the suburbs, but across the entirety of the United States. There are a few regions in the U.S. where rail transit stands above the rest; most notable the Seattle-Portland region and the New York City Metropolitan Area along with the Bos-Wash Metropolis. Good examples yes, but even they can be improved. There are also new rail projects that have emerged recently, for instance the California High Speed Rail Authority has proposed a 225 mph train that will link Sacramento, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
California High Speed Rail from Constructed Perfection on Vimeo.
Even freight rail is a wise investment. Norfolk Southern has seen steady gains over the past five years and it continues to expand and diversify its service while conducting environmentally friendly business.
As the United States begins to evolve into its 21st century urban form the landscape is rife with investment opportunities. Proof of this opportune time can be seen in the past reinventions of the American urban form and the countless millionaires and billionaires it has created. Compare the agricultural America of the 18th Century with the industrial America of the 19th century, with the post-industrial and rampant suburban America of the 20th Century. Each of these manifestations has reinvigorated the American economy and the American "dream" so-to-speak; as the American dream = happiness = living comfortably = needing $$$, therefore finding sound and lucrative long term investments is one of the most American acts anyone can participate in. Just cite the Carnegies, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers. If we blend our love for individualism with the grand investment schemes of old we should have a particularly vibrant 21st century economy built on the backs of an ever diverse American population - not on debt and foreign investment.
A few key things to look for are the expansion or creation of new municipal rail transit, intercity regional transit, and new Trans-Atlantic commuter rails. These new models coupled with suburban and urban infill development (to densify) can ease the strains of commuting, energy, and help to reconnect Americans to the idea that they live in a community where it's acceptable to sit beside a stranger and have a pleasant conversation.
America is already quite connected in the virtual world, but once we as a nation begin to reconnect with each other in the physical world the accumulation of communities built around high-speed rail hubs, and neighborhoods interlinked with efficient and clean rail - both below ground and above - will become America's new love affair, and that will bring in staggering returns for those who had the foresight to invest in these infrastructures early.
Imagine an America where most Americans find riding mass transit as natural as driving their car, and America with transportation options, a truly multi-modal society where a journey across our vast land is not only point A to point B, but where a journey can also be an adventure. The practical, economical, psychological, and entertainment value of rail transit will undoubtedly keep it profitable.
As GM, Ford, and Chrysler began ripping up street car lines in the 1930s and passenger rail lines in the subsequent post war years, the paradigm of American independent transportation is now being up heaved. Despite the fluctuating gas prices - at the moment in 3 year lows - there is a general dissatisfaction with American suburban life as it relates to the commuter. This dissatisfaction is not only endemic in the suburbs, but across the entirety of the United States. There are a few regions in the U.S. where rail transit stands above the rest; most notable the Seattle-Portland region and the New York City Metropolitan Area along with the Bos-Wash Metropolis. Good examples yes, but even they can be improved. There are also new rail projects that have emerged recently, for instance the California High Speed Rail Authority has proposed a 225 mph train that will link Sacramento, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
California High Speed Rail from Constructed Perfection on Vimeo.
Even freight rail is a wise investment. Norfolk Southern has seen steady gains over the past five years and it continues to expand and diversify its service while conducting environmentally friendly business.
As the United States begins to evolve into its 21st century urban form the landscape is rife with investment opportunities. Proof of this opportune time can be seen in the past reinventions of the American urban form and the countless millionaires and billionaires it has created. Compare the agricultural America of the 18th Century with the industrial America of the 19th century, with the post-industrial and rampant suburban America of the 20th Century. Each of these manifestations has reinvigorated the American economy and the American "dream" so-to-speak; as the American dream = happiness = living comfortably = needing $$$, therefore finding sound and lucrative long term investments is one of the most American acts anyone can participate in. Just cite the Carnegies, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers. If we blend our love for individualism with the grand investment schemes of old we should have a particularly vibrant 21st century economy built on the backs of an ever diverse American population - not on debt and foreign investment.
A few key things to look for are the expansion or creation of new municipal rail transit, intercity regional transit, and new Trans-Atlantic commuter rails. These new models coupled with suburban and urban infill development (to densify) can ease the strains of commuting, energy, and help to reconnect Americans to the idea that they live in a community where it's acceptable to sit beside a stranger and have a pleasant conversation.
America is already quite connected in the virtual world, but once we as a nation begin to reconnect with each other in the physical world the accumulation of communities built around high-speed rail hubs, and neighborhoods interlinked with efficient and clean rail - both below ground and above - will become America's new love affair, and that will bring in staggering returns for those who had the foresight to invest in these infrastructures early.
Imagine an America where most Americans find riding mass transit as natural as driving their car, and America with transportation options, a truly multi-modal society where a journey across our vast land is not only point A to point B, but where a journey can also be an adventure. The practical, economical, psychological, and entertainment value of rail transit will undoubtedly keep it profitable.