How I’m voting for the environment in the Nov. 4, 2008 election.

Wanna get from LA to San Francisco in 2.5 hours for just $55? Thought so. So vote yes on Prop 1A.

Neither flying nor driving gets Angelenos to San Francisco within that time frame right now, if one accounts for the post-9/11 plane boarding process — not to mention the time (and CO2 emissions) spent bagging liquidy stuff in ziploc bags.

Prop 1A authorizes $9.95 billion in bonds to build a zero-emissions, high-speed electric train between LA to San Francisco. To build the whole train network, it’ll take 8 years and cost $40 billion. According to the SF Chronicle, “State funding would account for about half of the project; the balance would come from the federal government and private sources.”

So yes, we’re talking about a lot of money and a rather long time. Still, the end results, I believe, will be well worth it. As the SF Chronicle opines:

The passage of Prop. 1A would generate an estimated 160,000 construction-related jobs at a time when the state could use an economic stimulus. But its even greater long-term value to the state will be the economic and environmental benefits of connecting urban centers with growing inland cities that don’t have major airports – and providing an alternative to the cattle-call flights between the Bay Area and Southern California.

The California League of Conservation Voters is pro Prop 1A:

California will grow by at least 15 million people over the next 25 years. Unless we make a serious shift in in-state transportation travel, we’ll have to invest in major freeway and airport expansion up and down the state even sooner. A high-speed rail system would cost less than half of what it would cost to get the same increase in capacity from highway and airport expansion.

Local blogger Gary of Gary Rides Bikes is so enthused about Prop 1A that he’s started a new blog, dubbed Trains Are Awesome!

Convinced — or at least intrigued? CALPIRG, a statewide public interest org that works on a number of enviro issues, wants you to come learn more at an educational forum, happening Tues., Oct. 21 from noon – 1 pm at UCLA’s Kerckhoff Grand Salon, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles. Speakers Include Darrell Clarke of Los Angeles Sierra Club, Maria Elena Durazo of Los Angeles AFL-CIO, and others. RSVP’s requested to Sean Carroll at sean@calpirgstudents.org.

Update, 10/26/08: A very informative video on Prop 1A from KQED’s Quest multimedia series shows that with our population growing, the train’s really the best option for addressing transportation needs. We can’t, after all, double or triple the size of our airports and freeways. (via Grist)

Image via CALPIRG

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