Climate change, the financial crisis and now the economic downturn show the shortcoming of short-term oriented thinking. Green technologies are the key to the future. They enable us to act in a sustainable manner without having to drastically lower our standard of living. Instead of trying to maximize profits in the short-term, let us focus on what really matters: investments in research and development of sustainable technologies for the future which cause no indirect costs and are profitable in the long run.
Swissmetro is an advanced project for the future of the booming transportation sector. Swissmetro uses new technologies to solve old problems and avoid indirect costs such as land use, noise or air pollution. It creates urgently needed additional capacities on the main lines and drastically reduces the travel time. Swissmetro needs just 12 minutes from Zurich to Bern.
Unfortunately, Switzerland still hasn’t found the political will that is necessary to realize a project of such a scale. The costs of Swissmetro are an investment to strengthen Switzerland’s position in science and economy. Crises are also opportunities and Swissmetro is an ideal focal point to overcome our short term orientation and invest in a sustainable future.
