It's a real shame that Gov. Schwarzenegger of California, who has been acting pretty moderate during the past year and is clearly proud of the state's strong stand on global warming, has decided to shelve the prospect of investing in an ultrafast "bullet train" connection between the northern and southern urban centers of the state (San Francisco, San Jose, & Sacramento to Los Angeles & San Diego). Air travel is a significant contributor to global warming, and north-south travel in California is a major means of travel in this long, skinny state..
There has been ongoing interest in the bullet train for years among a small cadre of far-sighted people. It's time for responsible business folks to step up to the plate. Creative alternatives should be explored, such as investment in the bullet train as constituting a "carbon offset", or creation of a nonprofit "bullet train trust" (analogous to a land trust). Dealing with global warming is going to require thinking outside our life-as-usual boxes.