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Green Greetings,
The "greenest" part of the Gratola vision is the heart and soul of that envisioned human habitat. It is the link that will connect all four AGRA (American Green Region Authority) corridors - the HyperLoop Transit System.
Using today's technology, the state-of-the-art transit system will enable every citizen to effortlessly reduce their carbon footprint by more than 50% - primarily in three ways: fewer vehicles, less air travel and fewer highways. Let's take a look at each one:
1. Slashing the size of America's road vehicle fleet. Did you know that there are a total of 275 million autos and trucks registered in the USA today. And guess what? Over 250 million of them are parked at any given moment.
That means we have an extra 250 million vehicles that require huge amounts of carbon to manufacture - and they're sitting in asphalt driveways or parking lots, which also require huge amounts of carbon to build and maintain.
So how many vehicles will be needed in the USA after the AGRA corridors are fully operational by the year 2075? Assuming we maintain or reduce the population, with a fully-shared fleet of electric vehicles, America will probably be able to eliminate 175 million vehicles or more.
2. Gradual demise of air travel. Once AGRA is fully deployed with three additional corridors that will connect New York, Chicago and Seattle to the southern Gratola corridor - domestic air travel will plummet from the 87,000 flights per day - reducing daily jet-fuel consumption by as much as 400 million pounds.
Then there's driving to the airport and parking. With those HyperLoop trains traveling at up to 760 mph, the days of driving to the airport two hours before your flight and parking in a huge asphalt lot for weeks - are OVER.
Just think of the savings that will accrue - on the ground and in the air.
And a
lthough international flights will continue until a greener mode of travel is introduced, they too will be sharply reduced as the new green economy will price those tickets far out of reach for most people.
3. Gradual elimination of most roads & highways. By 2075, when over 80% of the population is living in one of the four AGRA corridors, the never-ending, carbon-intensive process of building new roads, repairing and/or replacing old roads will be practically eliminated.
And, as a bonus, much of the land that is currently under highways, towns, factories and some cities can be returned to nature forever.
This doesn't mean that all of the roads will disappear. Some will be needed indefinitely for vacation trips to the national parks, for manufacturing and for the delivery of health promoting, Earth-friendly plant-based foods.
The Bottom Line.
All of the above are fringe benefits of a transcontinental transit system that almost completely eliminates many of the grossly unsustainable elements of our incredibly wasteful and harmful
American lifestyle
.
No doubt, most people care about the environment and want to do the right thing. But no matter how hard they try to live "greener," it will be impossible for all those individual efforts to result in a sustainable ecosystem.
For that, we'll need to totally re-invent the way we live, work, eat, play, etc. Dr. E.O. Wilson says (in the book below) that we have the intelligence, goodwill, generosity and enterprise to create a paradise
for all of humanity and for all the creatures with whom we share this planet.
Finally, as reported in an earlier BSB, the USA will be able to house and feed 300 million Americans living in those four corridors - in a total land area equal to the combined states of Oregon, Kansas and South Dakota. The remaining land can be returned to nature.
One more very important item: We'll also need a totally new economy - one that answers first to Mother Nature.
How can you help?
Three ways:
1. Live as greenly as possible while doing all that you can to raise the awareness of "big picture" solutions that are ultimately necessary to save our civilization.
2. Circulate my recent
"Mama Ain't Happy" BSB among prominent journalists, thought leaders and/or elected officials whom you respect. They need to learn a lot more about the many reasons why
Mama ain't happy.
3. Help me find thoughtful audiences where I can speak about the most important topic in the history of humanity.
Closing on a personal a note, last night I attended Thursday night high school ski racing in Massachusetts, where all of my teenage grandchildren were competing.
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From left to right: Andrew, Peyton, Collin and Cooper. They all call me GB these days; short for GranBuddy.
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Until next time, just remember...
Humanity is on a collision course with Nature.
A damaged Nature will survive. We may not.
We must change course to avert an ecological disaster.
For
your convenience, here are links to a few related BSBs:
Be well,
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks
CEO, 4Leaf Global, LLC
(now contains 5-minute video of me speaking in Tucson)
To schedule a presentation at a venue near you, please contact me at
[email protected]
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