Freight trains have doubled fuel efficiency since 1980
Cars are the big news in fuel economy because of the recent increase in CAFE standards, but it's trains that really scoop the efficiency scores. One ton of freight ( on a train moves 480 miles per gallon. For comparison, and Honda Accord would have to get 320 MPG to match it). That's probably why liberals love commuter rail, beneficiary of $9.3 billion in stimulus dollars.
High taxes don't cause growth, but they don't kill it either
A nice chart by Paul Krugman exploding the conservative-spread myth that high taxes and growth aren't good bedfellows. Also note that the federal debt wasn't rising back then, either.
Hard work trumps natural ability
In the long run, it's hard work that matters, not innate IQ (and IQ can be increased through study). A study of students found that "Students who were more self-disciplined and were able to delay gratification performed better than their peers who had higher IQs." In other words, keep at it.
2 comments:
I don't think you can link the efficiency of freight trains to the efficiency of commuter trains that simply, can you? I'd guess that some of that efficiency is lost in commuter trains b/c of the more frequent stops/starts per mile and the acceleration. I'd also guess that commuter rail still comes out ahead of cars, sure, but I'm just not sure of the comparison you used.
An analysis of energy cost by mode of transport, including non-operational components. Figure 1, page 4.
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/4/2/024008/pdf/erl9_2_024008.pdf
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