Way back in the 1950's, the National Defense Highway Act was passed by Congress. This is the legislation that built the Interstate Highway system, and one industry that was lobbying for the act was the trucking industry.
This highway system gave freight transport business to the long haul trucking industry, to the detriment of the railroad industry.
It is well known that the amount of fuel to move a ton of freight 1 mile by railroad is a fraction of that consumed by a big rig to move the same tonnage.
The chickens have come home to roost, and if you want chicken dinner, you better hope that the railroads get more of the chicken hauling business. Not a great analogy, but you get the picture.
The freight business needs some realignment. Sad to say, some will suffer. The idea is to reduce our dependence on oil, and economic dislocation is a nasty byproduct of this necessary transition.
We need a way to help those who will suffer from this change.
Interesting sidebar: Co-author of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
Sen. Albert Gore Sr.
Sen. Albert Gore Sr.
How much has this contributed to global warming?
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