The High Speed Rail Benefits California
PRO (3 arguments)
Definitions:
California High Speed Rail: High-speed rail system that will have stops in major cities.
Instead of many multitudes of cars, with only about one to two commuters in each, clogging up the streets and the freeways, as well as polluting the air, the high speed rail in California which is extremely efficient will eliminate the majority of those cars, thus eliminating unnecessary pollution and ruin of our environment. Not only is the high speed rail faster, but it will run on its own renewable energy sources and help our suffering environment even more. The California High Speed Rail Authority’s current plan seeks to make the rail completely sustainable. It will provide its own renewable able power, and won’t damage the environment, via state-of-the-art engineering practices. Also, As a result of the California High Speed Rail, 320 billion fewer vehicle miles will be traveled over 40 years. 146 million hours in traffic will be saved annually. Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 3 million tons annually. 237 million gallons of auto fuel will be saved annually, and 35 million gallons of aviation fuel will be saved annually. High-speed trains need only one-third of the energy than that of an airplane and one-fifth of an automobile trip. The system is projected to save 12.7 million barrels of oil per year by 2030, even with future improvements in auto fuel efficiency. Electrically-powered high-speed trains reduce pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. The total predicted emissions savings of the California high-speed train system is up to 12 billion pounds of CO2 per year by 2030 and would grow with higher ridership. Furthermore, a study undertaken for the High-Speed Rail Authority entitled “The Use of Renewable Energy Sources to Provide Power to California’s High Speed Rail" presents the data and reasons supporting the technical and commercial feasibility for the system to use 100% renewable energy with no carbon dioxide emissions whatsoever.
Massive droughts. Devastating Floods. Horrific wildfires. Judge, California has seen the dramatic weather-related effects of climate change and everybody has in some way been negatively impacted.There needs to be a change, and while cars are the leading polluter, this high speed rail is one of our only and best solutions, to speed up the process of eliminating climate change and taking steps towards solving the problem completely. With the high speed rail, we can live on this earth for another millennia, not another thousand years.
Not only does building a high speed railroad create thousands of green jobs, it also reduces money (spent by the government) on oil. Also, by instituting the high speed railroad, it lowers our dependence on expensive military operations securing oil to the United States, simultaneously ending wars and fights for oil amongst other countries. According to the American Public Transportation Association, every dollar renown invested in the road amounts to 4 dollars in economic benefits. In other words, by building a railroad that helps thousands of people daily, you are increasing the economic benefits by four times. Traffic and congestion on our roads cost $140 billion in lost time and productivity. It is projected that the American population will increase by another 100 million people within the span of forty years. With that huge increase, traffic will increase drastically, costing us fortunes. As mentioned before, implanting the high speed railroad keeps billions of dollars in the American economy by decreasing the amount of oil needed, also improving the environment. Nearly 1.3 million people die yearly due to car accidents, and by building upon the railroad the deaths will be decreased along with the financial burden of having to pay for hospitalization and all car accidents. Investing in HSR infrastructure is associated with lower total travel time, higher comfort and reliability, reduction in the probability of an accident, and in some cases the release of extra capacity which helps to alleviate congestion in other modes of transport.
By instituting this railroad, we are benefitting the economy tremendously. With the national unemployment rate being at 4.9% (7.8 million people) and more specifically the unemployment rate in California being at 6.3%, it is important to open more jobs for people, thus growing and expanding our economy. We can make billions of dollars off this very useful investment and the impact it has on society is very qsimple: a higher quality of life for more people whether it be the money directly pocketed into those working at the railroads or money given to the government to fund other programs. While the con side of this debate may be arguing that the train is unattractive, we are arguing that by installing this train, we are helping more people put food on their table at night. We are opening more businesses, attracting more tourists, eliminating traffic that comes with billions of dollars, saving billions of dollars used on oil and greenhouse gasses that are literally killing our Earth, and advancing our nation technologically.
American Public Transportation Association, NY Times, University of Las Palmas in Spain
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the California unemployment rate is at 6.3 percent. Building and sustaining the Speed Rail results in as many as 600,000 construction jobs being created for as many as 6 years until the construction is done. After that, each station would need workers to help maintain the place. It would need janitors, builders, engineers, designers, train workers, ticket counters, and people to work at shops that are in the station. This is just a small list of the jobs that could be created from the California High Speed Rail and could result in as many as 450,000 permanent jobs. It will need a huge task force therefore creating jobs and helping the economy. Job-creating advocates in Fresno said they moved a step closer to ensuring that local workers who need a job can compete for one building California's high-speed rail system. Representatives from Fresno Works, a coalition of local government and business leaders, pitched a proposal to establish a "national targeted hiring initiative." The program would put a premium on contractors to hire workers who live in communities with high rates of long-term unemployment or other economic hardship, or workers who are considered economically disadvantaged -- homeless, single parents who have custody of their children, chronically unemployed or other qualifying factors. The job creation benefits are documented in, among many sources, a 2007 Federal Highway Administration study that identified that for every $1 billion invested in infrastructure development, 20,000 long- and short-term jobs are created. Building the Phase 1 blended system—the Bay Area to Southern California—is estimated to create 990,000 job-years over 15 years, an average of 66,000 annually. In tough financial times, a project of this magnitude will have a significant impact, even in the short term. Construction start-up of ARRA-funding-related sections by 2012 is expected to generate 130,000 early jobs and kick-start economic activity in design, construction and supply services. Over the longer term, California’s high speed train will mean nearly 600,000 construction-related jobs and 450,000 permanent jobs.
Judge, This high speed rail will generate over a 600,000 construction jobs as well as 450,000 permanent high paying jobs to people in need. People who can’t get any other jobs, who have been unemployed, who can’t pay for their son or daughter to even eat, much less have anything. This is beneficial to the environment as it saves energy. Not only that, but it also boost the economy as building more jobs generates more revenue for the government. Judge, even though this rail might cost a lot of money, it is giving over a million jobs to people in california, substantially lowering the unemployment rate, and as this rail runs through most major cities, people all over California can get a job that they need. Judge, this would provide over a million jobs to people all over california. That’s about 3 percent of the state that suddenly has a job, lowering the unemployment rate to 3 percent. Judge not only does this help us, but it also saves the environment. There are no downsides.
Huffington post, 2007 Federal Highway Administration