On April 16, the Obama administration announced plans to build a network of high-speed passenger rail lines across the country. The administration said that the rail lines have been designed to cut down on automobile traffic, reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oil, and be environmentally friendly.
The plan includes ten regions of the country that will receive government funding to create a rail network that would connect cities within those regions. The regions chosen are the parts of the country that are most densely populated. They include New England, the southeast, the Midwest, centering on Chicago, the Pacific Northwest, and southern California, among others.
The high-speed trains will carry passengers from city to city at speeds of over 150 miles per hour. The government will provide about $8 billion from the stimulus package to fund the fast trains. President Obama also plans to include money from next year’s budget for funding.
In making the announcement, President Obama cited the popularity of high-speed trains around the world, including Japan, France, Spain, and China. Japan is currently developing trains that will be able to travel between cities at over 300 miles per hour. The Obama administration believes that a rail service that provides fast, cheap, clean travel will be a big step forward in reducing our oil dependence.
Related Links
- Obama Pushes for High-Speed Rail
Story from Reuters covers the announcement of the plan for the rail networks. Includes a link to video footage of Obama making the announcement.
(Source: Reuters, April 16, 2009) - Obama Unveils High-Speed Passenger Rail Plan
Article from CNN on the announcement of the rail plan by President Obama. Includes information about funding that will go to rail lines that already exist.
(Source: CNN, April 16, 2009) - Pro-Con: Is High-Speed Rail a Good Investment
Article from the Kansas City Star includes the arguments for and against developing high-speed rail networks. The pro side of the argument is taken from President Obama’s announcement of the rail lines, with the con side coming from a scholar at a non-partisan think tank.
(Source: Kansas City Star, April 19, 2009) - Map of Proposed High-Speed Rail Lines
Information from the White House Web site covering the announcement of the rail networks. Scroll to the bottom of the announcement to find a map of the regions where the high-speed rail networks will be developed.
(Source: The White House, April 16, 2009)
Other Issues in the Region
Urban Sprawl
Poorly-planned or unplanned growth that causes the population in a metropolitan area to spread out over an ever-wider area is called urban sprawl. As cities expand, more roads must be built (using up even more land), traffic increases, and commuting time between home and work keeps growing longer. Additional green areas are paved over for shopping centers that sprout up along the new roads, adding to the traffic congestion. Urban sprawl can reduce the quality of life and harm our health, according to a growing number of concerned scientists, policy makers, environmentalists, public-health workers, and ordinary residents. Not only does urban sprawl deplete natural resources, it also discourages activities that promote health, such as walking and bike riding. Pedestrians often find it dangerous to cross busy intersections, and bicyclists feel threatened by the rush of distracted commuters. Many people are calling for increased awareness and action to address health concerns related to urban sprawl.
- Urban Sprawl Causes Delay in Ambulances Reaching Their Destinations in the United States
The University of Virginia Health System has analyzed how ambulance response times in the United States are affected by urban sprawl. Unregulated development is having a negative impact on metropolitan area emergency services. (Source: Medical News, November 24, 2009)
Diverse Populations
After waves of immigration over several centuries, the United States has an ethnically diverse population, but this diversity brings its own challenges. Some Americans advocate stricter immigration controls, saying the United States allows too much immigration. Others believe immigrants do not do enough to assimilate, or become part of the larger U.S. culture. Many recent immigrants, meanwhile, try to balance assimilation against their cultural heritage. As immigrant and ethnic groups increase in size, their political influence increases and political parties vie for their support by identifying issues of concern to the immigrant community.
Between 8 and 12 million people in the United States are “undocumented aliens”-immigrants who are in the country illegally. Some have expired temporary visas. Others risked their lives to sneak across the U.S. border. Once in the United States, many take low-paying jobs and live in squalid conditions in fear of being arrested or deported. Opponents of increased immigration say foreign workers will take jobs from U.S. citizens and that offering legal status to illegal aliens who are already here only encourages illegal immigration. Supporters of increased immigration dispute claims that immigration hurts American workers. They also argue that many illegal aliens do not want to stay in the United States permanently, but cannot go home because of tight border controls.
- Multiracial No Longer Boxed In by the Census
The Census 2010 questionnaire reminds Americans that racial classifications do still matter (at least to the government), while allowing the increasing number of people for whom racial lines have blurred to identify themselves as multiracial. (Source: USA Today, March 15, 2010)
Combating Terrorism
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States launched a broad campaign against terror groups in the United States and abroad. The Department of Homeland Security was created as a way to consolidate government departments charged with finding and breaking up terror cells inside the country. The United States also invaded Afghanistan to break up al-Qaeda terrorist training grounds and to overthrow the country’s Taliban regime, which had provided al-Qaeda with a haven for its activities.
- “Islamic Radicalism” Nixed from Obama Document
President Barack Obama has taken some different approaches to combating terrorism than his predecessor, George W. Bush. As Obama plans a new national security strategy, rhetoric and terminology about the terrorist threat facing the United States is again under examination. (Source: CBS News, April 7, 2010)