buzz456 wrote:...
That's what we should be doing but the environment whackos won't let us.
Thats actually a small part of it, Buzz. The bigger part of the problem stems from pre-War utilities policy, particularly the parts of it that were enacted during the Depression. The Public Utilites Holding Company Act of 1936 was the worst element of this, effectively forcing the railroads to take it all in-house, having to raise their own capital at the worst market rates. Note that common carrier railroad electrification in the US effectively reached its maximum extent at about the same time.
A colleague of mine, who was familiar in detail with Southern's electrificatin study back in the '60s, noted that electrificatin undisputably improved the operation and associated costs significantly, but the savings was insufficient to pay back the costs. With a responsibility to their investors, that's as far as they could take it.
If it were legally possible for the utility and the railroad to engage in a joint venture, the equation would be quite different. Particularly interesting is the developmant of Gen4 nuclear, which is scalable and also eats nuclear waste. While not popularly reported, there is strong agreement between serious climate change advocates, free market advocates, labour advocates, and those advocating for revival of manufacuring that this is the way to go. The question, at this point, is whether the policy makers want the issue or the solution. This is typical of most policy questions, and the primary reason thing move so maddeningly slowly ... if, indeed, they move at all.
