Peak oil and railroads

Thank you for publishing the Op-Ed by James Howard Kunstler, “Fueling disaster with confused thinking” (BDN, May 29). Since he addresses peak oil clearly and succinctly, I hope that government officials from Baldacci on down, and especially David Cole of the Department of Transportation read the article closely.

Kunstler lists those aspects of daily life which will be profoundly affected when demand for oil outreaches supply, namely the way we produce food, conduct commerce and trade, travel, occupy the land, and acquire and spend capital.

My favorite paragraph is, “Fixing the U.S. passenger railroad system is probably the one project we could undertake right away that would have the greatest effect on the country’s oil consumption. The airline industry is disintegrating under the enormous pressure of fuel costs. If we do not get the passenger trains running again, Americans will be going nowhere five years from now.”

And think of the jobs that would create.

Jane Sanford

Belfast