Sustainable Retirement #8: The Struggle Against Travel Carbon
Our historic rehab project in St. Louis requires us to go there from Chicago after work tomorrow. On Thursday morning we meet with our architect and builder for the first design conference for the project, which has dual, sometimes conflicting themes of historic preservation and sustainability. For sustainability's sake, we try to control the carbon footprint of every aspect of this venture, but having to work long distance makes that more challenging. Having Amtrak available really helps. This graph helps put that in perspective:
click image to enlarge
Even if we drove our Prius, we'd produce more carbon than by taking the train.
Amtrak's line between Chicago and St. Louis benefits from upgrades funded by the Stimulus Act, aka ARRA, as new signals, crossings, double tracks and extra sidings will eventually allow the railroad to cut an hour off of travel time between these major Midwestern cities. By next year, major sections of the line will be operating at speeds of 110 mph, driven by new engines and pulling new cars. Additional trains per day are promised as well.
Do you ride trains? Could you? What would it take to get you to?