Completed
A fascinating feat of engineering, stationary locomotives dragged canal boats and cargo over the Allegheny Mountains between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, cutting travel time from over three weeks to about 4 days. Now, the best way to travel through the scenic wooded hills is probably bicycle, on one of the many converted old railroad trails. Maybe next year. Today I drove the route in just a few hours on one electric charge.
150 years ago, a few of the wealthiest men in the world (Carnegie, Mellon, Frick, et al.) enjoyed relaxing in their fishing & hunting club on the shores of their huge private lake. The lake was held back by raising a dam, but the industrialists ignored recommendations for spillways to avoid overflowing. In the smoky valley below, their workers lived in the fast growing industrial city of Johnstown. The rains came, the waters rose, warnings were issued too late and the dam failed. Over 2,200 people died in Johnstown and the neighboring towns.
As with the Climate Crisis today, people just went about their business and assumed their bosses would not carelessly risk their lives. By the time they realized the danger they were in, it was too late.
Rather than let the 9/11 terrorists use their plane against us, the passengers chose to fight back, preventing another attack on DC and becoming heroes in the war on terror. They are profiled in the visitor center exhibits, regular Americans who did not deserve to be killed by Al Qaeda.
I’m old enough to remember the events, but after my visit today, I felt the need to look up some details about what happened afterward. Turns out that Al Qaeda is still out there (although under new leadership after Seal Team 6 killed Bin Laden in 2011). Al Zawahiri was rumored to have died of natural causes in 2020, before finally being killed in a drone strike in August 2022. Iran and Syria have provided safe havens, and many of the senior members are reportedly Egyptian.
Remembering what happened that day is important for us and for future generations, and it is also important that we continue to bring justice to those responsible.
Zero Carbon Travel 