My last post started some good conversations elsewhere, and gave my brain more grist for its constantly moving millstones.

The idea behind flying or training, of course, is the carpool idea—lots of people on one vehicle.  And yes, this IS a good idea.  For long journeys in speed, or commuting to work.  It is not necessarily a good idea for a holiday weekend’s trip.  And there are “outside” reasons and “inside” reasons.

I already discussed the obvious outside reasons, but here are a few more:

(1) Who wants to spend two to four hours of the weekend in air terminal lines?  That time equates to anything from 200 to 300 miles down the road!

(2) Trains and planes don’t even GO the places I tend to go (if I am going anyplace) on holiday weekends.  There is no train or plane to Kalaloch or Ruby Beach.  There is no train or plane to Multnoma Falls in Oregon; I could fly to Portland and then, VOILA—need to rent a CAR.  Stupid waste of time and money.

(3) Most of the airlines that go places I go (again, when and if I go) are small jets like the MD-80.  They don’t seat huge numbers of folks.  The do use a lot of fuel.  I really wonder, if you divided up the gallons per mile per passenger; is it REALLY better than what I get in my Corolla, or on the motorcycle?  I don’t know, but I bet a case could be made!

(4) I won’t fly because I don’t like TSA–but one reason is the lack of my own choice of food and beverages.  One used to be able to pack a lunch and take beverages and now cannot do so.  Not only do I object to inferior quality and high priced airport/airplane food that is acceptable to the TSA, but an awful lot of it is a medical risk to me because of allergies.  And no, I do not consider it an option to need to get a doctor’s note to travel with my own provisions, dammit.

Now, the deeper levels of reasons:

(1) The trains DO stink.  They’re also dangerous : derailments are more and more common on our aging railroad infrastructure.  But in case anyone is going to call me an elitist because I don’t want to ride trains that largely smell like latrines, let me get right to it.  Yes, I AM an elitist if that is the qualifier.  This is where the INNER reasons come in; the hypocritical ones the American environmentalists and others do not want to talk about.

(2)You see, public transport in America is seen as something to make money upon, and not just a living for everyone involved, no, someone needs to get rich.  Stockholders have more sway over airlines than the paying passengers.  So, corners are cut on trains and planes to keep the profit margin within the range desired by people who are not spending much time riding.

(3)In Europe, conversely, public transport is a means to get people efficiently and comfortably from place to place; it is to SERVE the populace and make a living for the workers—not to enrich stockholders.  I think airlines and trainlines should all be nationalized and funded by taxpayers FOR taxpayers.  If you want to “green” America’s travel habits, holiday weekend or not, you need to make it safe, affordable and not stigmatized by FILTH.  The dirtiest subway train I ever saw in Germany, and the filthiest bus in France were still FAR cleaner than the cleanest train I have been on in America.

(4) Why are the trains and buses here dirty?  And even the planes are getting very shabby and dingy looking, I must say.   Because they don’t spend money on poor people, thats why.  And yes, the perception in America is that poor people ride the buses cause they can’t afford cars; and poor people go by train cause they can’t afford to fly.  Not that trains are terribly cheaper–the price is as high in most of the train trips I considered within the last two years.  And the accommodations are worse, although you might have better access to food and water at stations.

So there it is, I can’t get “there” from “here” on my choice of destinations, the prices stink, the trains stink, the food and beverages are inferior and expensive.  TSA acts like goons, and the perception is “You are our cattle, shut up and sit down.”  Gee, yeah, Kermit said “It’s not easy being green” but he had no idea it meant martyring yourself for a bunch of rich guys who fly charter and never look at a train or bus!

So, when those perceptions change, and those priorities, yeah, I will train.  For now, if I can’t drive, I actually take the bus.  I like the buses, though for the record, Mexican owned buses are cleaner than Greyhound.  The drivers take more pride, it seems.  People on the bus talk more, it is a better trip even with back-wrenching seats and stops and starts that keep one from sleeping.

So, I will be climbing onto the motorcycle an hour hence for a ride to the Post Office, and then out in the temporary sunshine for a few hours before beginning a weekend’s yard work.  America DOES need to be green;  but green in a way that does not aid the serfification efforts of corporate American!  There should not be a class of financially broken, demoralized, but environmentally conscious workers at the bottom of the American pyramid, and a REAL elite class that could give less than a hoot about the environment because wealth insulates them from the dangers of the degraded environment.

Go green, but insist on the real deal.  The environment doesn’t need martyrs, it is not a religion.  It needs the ordinary masses active, insistent and making conscious choices and holding ALL classes accountable.  And maybe, just maybe, with enough of that class action—we won’t need more wars for oil!