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I would not say that electrification couldn’t be done.  My only objection is to the premise of the article, which includes its specific reasons why we should electrify, and advocates doing so as a collective, taxpayer funded, federal project.   As large of a sea change as electrification would be, having the federal government do it would be an even larger sea change.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> The specific reasons to electrify from the article: <o:p></o:p> 1)      Less traffic congestion. 2)      Less air pollution. 3)      Less energy consumption. 4)      Higher capacity transportation. 5)      Higher capacity and improved electric grid [smart grid?]. 6)      Aiding and speeding the development of alternative energy. 7)      Renewable energy development. 8)      Better national defense. 9)      Less fuel use. 10)  Less greenhouse gas emissions. 11)  Increase of 13% in GDP in 20 years. 12)  Adds 175,000,000 new jobs. 13)  Reduces greenhouse gases by 38% within 20 years. 14)  Reduces oil consumption by 22% within 20 years. 15)  A “non-oil policy.” <o:p></o:p> To me, it is clear that the ideas and reasoning expressed in Mr. Lothes’ article have many adherents, and are being pushed as a political ideology.  Generally, it falls under the umbrella of a command and control, central planning economy that is built around the green movement, and so-called, sustainability.  Because the cornerstone of sustainability is reducing consumption, coercion is a prominent component of this ideology.  Mr. Lothes touches on its application when he says that local governments could become electrification catalysts by outlawing diesels. <o:p></o:p> Another major component of sustainability is the war on the private automobile and the role it plays in suburban living.  I think that it is quite telling that in the lead illustration of the article, the role of highways and motor vehicles has been obviously reduced quite sharply. <o:p></o:p> For the perception of balance, author Lothes makes a nod to nuclear power by saying that new power lines could transmit electricity produced by wind or nuclear plants, but the foregone conclusion of the article seems to be that the electrification will be powered by renewable energy, and not nuclear, coal, or other fossil fuels.  Indeed, he sees the need for additional power for rail electrification, as a way to spur the development of renewable energy, leading one to wonder which one of the two is really the main objective.   <o:p></o:p> It will be interesting to see whether the management of railroad companies get onboard this bandwagon, or whether they see it as running against their interests as private sector businesses.
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