One of the things that the city of Columbia has accomplished is becoming very bike-friendly. Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman is a big bicycle advocate. Ever an 76 years old, he still bikes about 60 miles each week. Columbia has done many things to help further accommodate biking in the city. Road intersections have changed to have bike routes, and the New Providence Road expansion which was opened today has bike lanes added, as well as sidewalks and pedways. Columbia is an example of a city that is definitely trying to promote health lifestyles and help the environment.
Going outside of Columbia, bigger cities are trying to do what they can to go green. One way cities are making this possible is by changing the make-up of their city transportation...trains. Clean electric trains are a major form of daily transportation for many places. Rail travel is more energy efficient and uses less fuel than cars or airplanes. A good example of this is Amtrak introduced 80 new vehicles to their Auto Train. These train cars are lighter and they have helped reduce annual diesel fuel usage.
Going green isn't just a process taken on by the United States, but it involved the whole world. For example, some of the top eco-friendly trains to travel on are in different countries. Here are examples I've found on green transportation:
1.) Sweden's "Green Train" - It features a new engine with a permanent magnetic motor with speeds as fast as 180mph. This has improved its energy consumption by 20 to 30 percent.
2.) France's AGV - Instead of a traditional diesel engine in the front or back, each carriage on the train is fitted with its own engine. So far, it has improved energy by 20 percent.
3.) Spain's AVE S103 - This train runs on an electric motor and the average cruising speeds reach 200mph.
These forms of transportation are becoming more and more popular, and could in the future actually be beating out the airline industry.
GG573 love,
Chelsea
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