OK, I think actually we’re in total agreement. We’re not going to change the entire development pattern of the U.S. to adapt to trains. Because we grew up in the 20th century, not the godawful olden days.

So... what you're saying is that trains are terrible and people will only use them if forced?

I love HSR. But I also think that advocates ask too much of it, given that we are a very large, 20th century-built country.

Exactly. But that needs to be part of the conversation up-front. And way more Americans live in suburbs rather than cities (by choice, mostly), so you're never going to have widespread support to blow up our regions and build them like it's 1880.

Yeah, not cool with using price as a way of influencing mode share. Your income shouldn't determine your travel method - I don't want rich assholes being the only ones with a real choice. I also want rich assholes on trains because they're the right option for a given trip.

You can control for that by calculating gallons per comparable trip or any number of other things.

I’m sorry that you think my argument that we should build HSR (but shouldn’t get too excited trying to measure ridership versus Europe) is bullshit.

The average population density of Texas is about 110 people per square mile. The average population density of Germany is 620 people per square mile. (Yes, there are better ways of counting this, but I didn’t want to load QGIS.)

Fair enough. Especially if you have one of those fancy sail-barges.

I’m totally with you within certain corridors, but that’s my point: it only works within a specific set of corridors of medium distance (250-600 miles, if we’re being generous).

But also the opposite effect in terms of the albedo of the atmosphere. Vapor trails actually reflect light, which unbelievably has a measurable effect on the Earth’s temperature!

The world would be such a more dangerous and unpleasant place if we still had to travel by ship. We need to see each other to affirm each others’ humanity.

We also screwed the pooch on aviation and space. We tend to do cool stuff only if we’re pressured into it.

Exactly. Long-haul flying is actually the most fuel efficient mode of transportation, but short-haul RJ flying is one of the least.

Indeed. The world would be a terrible, and much more dangerous place, if we didn’t have airplanes to show us each other.

Yep. And for the next few weeks, almost every airline is tankering fuel into the southeast so that they don’t have to draw so much on the limited supply thanks to the Colonial hack.

Long-haul flying on a full commercial airplane is by far the safest and most fuel-efficient mode of transportation. It’s actually even more fuel-efficient than bicycling, if you add in the carbon cost of eating food.

That is what makes the Olympics so thrilling, I think. Sure, it’s fun when the Americans win (suck it, rest of world!), but who doesn’t watch the Russian figure skaters, or the Austrian skiers, and just go “Wow, that’s amazing?”

Yeah, the era of free agency has benefitted players a lot, and I wouldn’t want to lose that, but we lost a big part of the “local” factor in sports when players started changing teams all the time.

Yep. I can’t tell you how many indelible memories have been formed over watching games with friends and family. Some of my fondest memories of deceased loved ones, even.