Spain now has the longest high-speed rail network in Europe, surpassing France. Yet France still has a huge lead in terms of passenger travel. European countries remain among the world’s passenger rail leaders. But relative to population, Japan is the overall champion.
 Rail and Transit Manufacturing: Two New ReportsThis blog post was co-authored by Michael Renner and Gary Gardner The Worldwatch Institute has produced two companion reports that assess the state of rail [Read More...] |
 When a Rail Project Becomes a Political SymbolIn southwestern Germany, opposition is building against a huge railway construction project–dubbed “Stuttgart 21″–that is a poster-child of an over-dimensioned megaproject. A violent police crackdown has only steeled opponents’ resolve, and upcoming elections could oust the party that has governed the state of Baden-Württemberg for decades. The battle over Stuttgart 21 is no longer just about a railway project. |
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 Inaction Has ConsequencesActions have consequences. But so does inaction. This is particularly true in the field of climate policy. Environmental advocates have long complained that by failing [Read More...] |
 Notebook Germany: The Ups and Downs of Rail TravelIn June, I needed to travel from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to my hometown of Ulm in southern Germany—a distance of a little more than [Read More...] |
 It’s a Bird, it’s a Plane … it’s a High-Speed Train!High-tech equipment, precision instruments, and miles of electrical wiring at the Siemens production facility in Krefeld, Germany, might fool you into thinking that what’s being [Read More...] |
 A Tale of Two Sterns … But Only One PlanetNicholas Stern and Todd Stern are prominent voices in the climate debate. But Nick’s warnings are growing more insistent, while Todd–reflecting U.S. political realities–appears to downplay expectations about the outcome of the December Copenhagen conference. We can’t have it both ways, and the planet will have the last word. Will it be stern with us? |
 Make Levees Not War: Shifting Resources from the Military to Climate ProtectionMany governments lavish money on their armed forces and weapons manufacturers, but are tight-fisted when it comes to financing climate protection programs. Sealing the climate deal in Copenhagen in December will require adequate financing. World military expenditures are higher now than at any time since World War II. It is time to re-order budget priorities. |
