Image transcript:

I don’t want fossil fuel cars

I don’t want electric cars

I want fast trains so I can go visit Grandma

(she’s a sweet old lady and I’d like to visit more often without killing the planet, my wallet, or a pedestrian)

  • blubton@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    5 months ago

    I don’t know about interstate water systems. In Europe something of the kind is already there, but the ecological consequences are pretty bad. Unconnected rivers sometimes have their own species, but connecting the rivers will mean that species from one river can invade the other. This happened when they connected the Rhine and the Danube. I don’t know how big the economic gains would be, but I feel like the world has damaged its rivers enough, with canalization and dam placements.

    • Pofski@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      5 months ago

      I would just like to point out that it is not all bad. There are several waterways in europe that have been reconnected in the last 30+ years and that those reconnections have had significant impact on the fauna and flora (in a positive way).

      • blubton@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        5 months ago

        Do you have any stories/articles about this you can share? I would love to hear more about it!

        • Pofski@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          5 months ago

          Sure. If I remember correctly in Belgium in the 90s (or early 00) they reconnected the schelde and the leie, two rivers that used to be connected but were separated. The intend was to increase the debit that was missing from de schelde. This had a result of more oxygen in the water, increasing fish population and plant growth. 10 years after there were seals (and at some point even a dolphin) spotted in Ghent.