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- Currently in Los Angeles — August 31, 2023: Marine layer comes back
Currently in Los Angeles — August 31, 2023: Marine layer comes back
Plus, an American train renaissance is underway
Ade Adeniji & Eric Holthaus
August 31, 2023
The weather, currently.
Marine layer comes back
To close the last day of August, and my 2nd month of writing this newsletter, the recent L.A. heatwave will start to wane over the next few days and into early next week. The early morning marine layer, including with some drizzle at the coast, will return and along with it high temperatures will be 5-15 degrees below normal depending on location.
Over the weekend, low temps will be in the mid to low 60s. Some Valley locations may even hit the upper 50s on early Labor Day morning. Enjoy the long weekend!
What you need to know, currently.
The Washington Post has a new engrossing feature story (gift link) on the privatized future of high speed rail in America. It brings up some interesting scenarios about the near-term future of trains in the world’s most car-dependent country.
Transportation (specifically, by car) is the largest source of energy use in the United States, so any displacement of cars for trains is a big deal for the climate. Amtrak has been strategic about this in announcing its expansion plans, focusing on car-centric routes like Dallas-Houston, Miami-Orlando, Colorado Springs - Fort Collins, and Los Angeles - Las Vegas.
A newcomer to America rail is the private high speed rail company Brightline, which to me sounds like the train version of the Megabus displacing Greyhound back in the early 2000s.
From the article:
Fifty million trips are made between Southern California and Las Vegas each year, mostly via private vehicles, according to project ridership studies. Brightline wants to capture 11 million of those trips annually.
An interactive map of Amtrak’s proposed expansion shows that, thanks in part to Amtrak Joe, by 2028 the US will have a vastly improved rail system, and it’s about time.
Take a look at the *proposed* US passenger train map.
If all (or most of it) happens, the US will finally start to have a pretty decent passenger train system. Faster travel times. More connected cities. Even some private service in Florida...
washingtonpost.com/transportation…— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong)
7:32 PM • Aug 30, 2023
What you can do, currently.
One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like Hurricane Idalia. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support networks in Florida:
