Since his business contributes to the problem, it's appropriate that he is contributing that kind of money to researching a solution. That's a balanced solution in a non-ideal world.
I rarely travel by air, but I wouldn't want to have rapid air travel eliminated without equally as rapid alternatives already in place. I don't have the vacation time or the personal wealth which would be necessary to take the time off I would need to travel by some other means between NYC and the island of Trinidad, where my sister lives. I only see her once a year, as it is, and those visits are already too short for our tastes, because of those constraints. Without rapid air travel, I and many other people around the world wouldn't be able to visit family and dear friends, or our rare visits would have to be shorter/rarer than they already are.
I don't think rapid air travel needs to be eliminated, but it's obvious alternatives need to be found. People can be encouraged to fly less--use conference calls for out-of-state business meetings, for example--and save flying for truly long flights, where traveling by some other means is not possible with the other real-life constraints they are working with. And while that is going on, money from people like Branson can be used to research alternatives.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-09-21 05:38 pm (UTC)I rarely travel by air, but I wouldn't want to have rapid air travel eliminated without equally as rapid alternatives already in place. I don't have the vacation time or the personal wealth which would be necessary to take the time off I would need to travel by some other means between NYC and the island of Trinidad, where my sister lives. I only see her once a year, as it is, and those visits are already too short for our tastes, because of those constraints. Without rapid air travel, I and many other people around the world wouldn't be able to visit family and dear friends, or our rare visits would have to be shorter/rarer than they already are.
I don't think rapid air travel needs to be eliminated, but it's obvious alternatives need to be found. People can be encouraged to fly less--use conference calls for out-of-state business meetings, for example--and save flying for truly long flights, where traveling by some other means is not possible with the other real-life constraints they are working with. And while that is going on, money from people like Branson can be used to research alternatives.