|
Now some would say the ultimate green transportation is a bicycle. I'd probably agree. Yet when we talk about moving large groups of people, what we call "mass-transit", there actually is one that uses virtually no oil, no gases and no fuels that can contaminate or pollute. It is already a success in some parts of the world and its future seems very large and fast-coming.
According to one of the most talented financial and investment analysts I personally know, Puru Saxena, in the latest edition of his fascinating publication "Money Matters" (http://www.purusaxena.com), writes "I have given a lot of thought to the future of our transportation system which is heavily dependent on crude oil. I happen to believe that the prospects of the airline industry are grim at best and perhaps magnetically-levitated trains (Maglev) will be very much our future. "Maglev trains are suspended, guided and propelled using electromagnetic energy and can reach amazing
speeds with zero pollution. This technology has the potential to reach velocities comparable to jet
aircrafts (900 km/hour or 600mph). The highest recorded speed of a maglev train is 581 km/hour,
achieved in a test in Japan in 2003. Already, China operates such a commercial maglev train between
Shanghai and the Pudong International Airport. This express train covers its distance of 30 km (18.6
miles) in 7 minutes 20 seconds at a phenomenal speed of 431 km/jour (268 mph). At present, this
technology is expensive and not suitable for international travel over water bodies. However, in the
future, perhaps it may be possible to modify maglev trains so that they float over water, something
already being done by the ferries operating between Macau and Hong Kong. In any case, maglev trains
represent exceptional investment opportunities for the long-term investor." Thank you Puru for sharing this with us, and I hope we can uncover some specific investment "vehicles" that these remarkable Maglev trains will present. There will be specific publicly-traded companies that will participate and be the big beneficiaries of the potential that this green mass-transit is creating. In the meantime it gives us an example of a solution to an age-old problem that now barks at us louder then ever. Like Puru, I believe that Peak Oil is a reality, and that $100-a-barrel oil will happen sooner than later. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we see $200 oil by 2012. Natural gas might sky-rocket in the same period, and uranium is likely to double in the next few years. This all means we need to use scientific genius and visionary thinking to figure out a cleaner and less costly way to haul our butts around in the years ahead. Maglev trains? Why not!
|
Seeing Green 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Wearing 
destruction of the rail and transit industries, and the demise of those jobs. But back then it was called 'progress'. While green vehicles are nice they eat up much more land than rail or fiber optics: land that is used to replenish oxygen and water supplies, and to grow food on.
-------------------
Sarah
Social Bookmarking