I travelled from Copenhagen to Billund this week. I took a train + taxi. The travel agent offered a flight first. I booked my own train travel.

There seems little incentive from the system to choose the train. Limited ability to assess choices, without prior thought or knowledge.

The time (door to door) is approx same, perhaps better on train, accounting for delays. WiFi, food, drink, comfort and price are all better on train.

The flight pollution impact is 20x worse than train, c.10% of the recommended individual yearly (2T) carbon budget at 200kg of CO2; train would be 20kg.  (It took me about 20 minutes and several websites to calculate this, maybe it is something to add to Google Maps?)

The price is already cheaper. I wonder on the impact of a carbon tax.  There must be some.  Even as signalling (cf plastic bag tax).

But is there something else needed?  The whole experience is better by train. So why still so many flights?

I noted many Danish companies seemed to take renewables more seriously, than when travelling in other countries.

I think about NYC-Boston, here flights are a little quicker but is the pollution worth a 2 hour time saving? Here a tax could make difference if trains were much cheaper than flights. Better rail infrastructure would close the gap.

Maybe the Hyperloop idea (now with Richard Branson money), or Musk’s deep tunnels (Boring company)  are ways forward.

If you'd like to feel inspired by commencement addresses and life lessons try: Ursula K Le Guin on literature as an operating manual for life;  Neil Gaiman on making wonderful, fabulous, brilliant mistakes; or Nassim Taleb's commencement address; or JK Rowling on the benefits of failure.  Or Charlie Munger on always inverting.

Cross fertilise.  On investing try a thought on stock valuations.  Or Ray Dalio on populism and risk.  You can also click on the Carbon tag below. 

A lesson from autism here.