Reply #14: You cannot, at this time, power a jet with electricity. [View All]

[originalpckelly]

Even bio-fuels put out gases that contribute to global warming.

In Japan, their trains are far safer than air travel anywhere. They've had no accident related deaths in 40 years of operation while actually at speed. The only deaths have been in stations while boarding, and that's still less than even the last commuter plane crash in Buffalo, NY.

In foreign countries, where there are really good rail systems, there is little regional airline business, as high speed trains are faster than than commuter planes, since you don't have to travel to an airport, then leave, then travel from an airport to town. There can be multiple stations that a single train can serve, so you don't need as many trips either. (In other words, flights either use the hub and spoke model or the point to point model, it's unusual for a plane to make several stops in the same city to pick up more people.)

Now, because the atmosphere is denser at ground level than at 40,000 ft, it means there is more drag. There are also losses of energy associated with transporting electricity over long distances to trains, but the fact that you can't currently power a plane with a wind mill or a solar farm, it's the only way to get fast transit over long distances that is environmentally friendly.