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I was hoping for some solid economic / engineering analysis, but instead, the article strikes me as being written by a left-wing politician with the usual crisis mongering about crumbling infrastructure, climate change, running out of oil, highway congestion, and the need for public investment to fix everything.  As greyhounds mentioned, the article does not say where the new supply of electricity will come from, and we have been discussing how it cannot come from coal or nuclear power unless we have a sea change in national policy.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> However the author of the article makes it loud and clear by strong implication at least, that the new energy will come from renewables such as wind and solar.  In fact, I get the impression that the author would not have it any other way, and is in total agreement with those who want to phase out coal and become green.   <o:p></o:p> To support a case for electrification, author Lothes suggest that it might be the only alternative should a state or local district suddenly outlaw diesels, based on some perceived threat.  He asks:  “What might happen if, say, the city of Los Angeles or the entire state of California decided to ban diesel locomotive emissions?”  My answer to that question would be: If the state of California decided to ban diesel locomotive emissions, they would quickly change their mind when they realized the consequences of their ban.  <o:p></o:p> If private investors were willing to back such electrification, and showed their analysis of facts and figures to support their plan, I would have no reason to doubt them.  However, when such a plan is being put forth by someone having the politically ulterior motive to expand the public sector, i.e. a cheerleader for bigger government; I don’t trust his numbers.   The author argues that this mass electrification is too big of a project for private capital to finance, thus leaving only government to get the job done.  I would say that the truth is that if the private sector won’t do it, it is not worth doing.  And furthermore, the government cannot succeed in doing it because their policy precludes coal or nuclear power for electrification, and creating enough wind and solar power will add so much time and money that the project will sink under its own weight.
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