Within the last seven
weeks, there have been three significant Amtrak crashes that have resulted in
the injuring, and in some cases deaths, of hundreds of Americans. Although the
causes of these accidents were a mix of human error as well as infrastructure
failure, these accidents do bring to our attention of how outdated our public
transportation systems are. Compared to other industrialized countries such as
Japan, home of the bullet train, our crumbling infrastructure is not only
disgraceful but has ruined the lives of American citizens. If our country believes
that we are the best place in the world, then the American people need to demand
that their elected representatives invest more funding to revitalize our
crumbling infrastructure.
The environmental
movement has advocated for the use of public transportation, such as trains, to
reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The more people who use public
transportation, the less vehicles on the road that will reduce greenhouse
gasses. This model only works if commuters believe that it is safe to use the
public transportation at their disposal. With all these horrific accidents
continuing to play out in the news, the public will become more hesitant to use
railroads for their daily commute. If they are too afraid to use the train
networks, then our climate will become even worse. The United States is the
second largest emitter of carbon dioxide gasses in the world, so our actions
affect countries all over the world. Almost every other country in the world
has put in the effort to reducing carbon emissions and implementing green
policies to try and protect the environment. These efforts go to waste if one
of the largest problem countries doesn’t opt-in to protect the planet. We
Americans need to be aware of how our domestic policy decisions to have an impact
on the international field. Once this is accomplished, the American public will
be able to move forward and hold their elected representatives accountable to achieving
these goals.
We are living in
an era where technological advances are being accomplished faster than the
speed of sound, yet our public infrastructure has been excluded from this rate
of development. We pride ourselves for having the world’s top innovators
creating and reinventing within the private sphere, yet we do not utilize this brainpower
to revolutionize the way millions of Americans travel to and from work every
week. Japan has had high-speed railways since the 1960’s, yet we are still trailing
behind implementing this Cold-War Era technology in our own country. We should
follow the example of our international allies and implement this technology. The
technology is there, the only obstacles from implementing this technology is
politics and money. Granted, infrastructure is not a “sexy” or controversial policy
area. Which is why it doesn’t receive the attention of the media and American
public. Despite this, the American people need to demand that their elected representatives
address these issues that affect tens of millions of Americans daily.
Furthermore, addressing
and resolving America’s train problem is just good business. If protecting the environment
isn’t on your priority list, the practicality of having faster, safer trains is
good for local business. Cutting down on transportation time and cost can lead
to more productivity at work. The less time a commuter spends traveling, the
more time they can spend earning a profit for employers. Additionally, it is
well aware that longer commutes lead to more stress on the individual. Thus, it
only makes sense that having faster trains can lead to happier and more efficient
workers. Also, improving commuter transport can encourage businesses to locate
themselves in highly populated metropolitan areas. Such as Amazon’s HQ2, where
their executives outlined the standards they are looking for to locate their second
headquarters: one of which being “quality transit options.”[1]
If policy makers wish to credit claim for promoting economic opportunities,
then the clear route to do so is by investing tax payer dollars in
infrastructure programs that directly benefit the American people.
In conclusion, the Amtrak train accidents have
pointed out America’s flawed transportation system that is in critical need of
improvement. The American people need to hold their representatives accountable
for improving and maintaining efficient and safe public transportation for its environmental
and buinsess benefits. The time has come to revolutionize the way we travel.
[1]
Monica Nickelsburg, “Amazon HQ2 deadline day: Everything you need to know about
the biggest headquarters contest ever,” GeekWire,
published October 19th, 2017, accessed February 5th,
2018, https://www.geekwire.com/2017/amazon-hq2-deadline-day-everything-need-know-biggest-headquarters-contest-ever/
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