It’s Solstice Day around the world.

No religious dogma necessary–we can all scientifically agree that today is the shortest day of the year. Now, what you do with that information depends on what religion you come from…. In whatever religion I eventually devise, my followers and I will no doubt make a big deal of this day, and its sister event in the Summer.

Norfolk-Petersburg tracks to be upgraded for passenger trains

The other day, standing in line at Machismo Burrito Bar downtown, I got into a conversation with the guy next to me. We were discussing Norfolk’s light rail, and the guy, an intelligent-seeming fellow, shocked me by saying he didn’t understand the sudden push to go back to trains. “Didn’t Norfolk used to have a train or streetcar, and they pulled it out? Aren’t we spending a lot of money to install a technology from the last century?” he asked.

After reflection, I can see why he might think this. Technology progresses and improves, certainly, and we replace older generations with newer, better models. But the decision to switch from trains to cars was not a technological one. Streetcars, powered by electricity, are unarguably cleaner and more efficient than cars. Social, not technical, forces caused the end of the streetcar.

Cars, as presented by decades of industry marketing, promised individual freedom, a mobile suit of armor to protect the individual from contact with messy and unpredictable otherness, the paragon purchase of consumer America. Cars were high-powered, glossy extensions of the self. And they flourished, while cities paved over streetcar tracks and demolished the grand railroad stations that used to stand in their centers.

What cars did next was to expand their demand on transportation infrastructure until it took up all the available space. They enabled sprawling suburban development to radiate from cities in every direction, consuming rural land and countryside. They demanded more and wider roads be built and maintained, more fuel be burned to sustain the feverish illusion of freedom that car-culture inspired.

And then it all hit a wall. In 2006, American consumption of gasoline peaked (see next story). Use has been declining ever since as people have started to drive less, buy more efficient vehicles, and seek other forms of transportation. In this context, the return of the train makes absolute and perfect sense. As I told the guy at Machismo, “It’s not a step backward. Trains and streetcars were a more efficient way of getting people around in cities 80 years ago, and it’s still true. I think people just forgot that for a while.”

The news today is that Virginia and Norfolk Southern have signed an agreement to improve the track between Norfolk and Petersburg to restore passenger train service to the Southside. It last ran in 1977. Everything old is new again. Just ask Thelma Drake, director of the State Department of Rail and Transportation: “Connecting Norfolk to the Amtrak network and the Northeast is a major step forward for the mobility of our region.”

2006: the year gasoline consumption peaked in the U.S.

Demand for gasoline in the U.S. in 2010 is 8% lower than it was in 2006. Experts generally agree that this not a blip; it’s a trend, and it’s unstoppable. People are driving less, and switching to more fuel-efficient cars. Global demand, especially in China, is growing, more than making up for the decrease here. So prices won’t fall. Trains are looking better all the time.

Special ban on gays for Virginia?

A little political theater here at home. Bob Marshall, a Republican state delegate from Prince William county, is preparing to introduce legislation that would ban gays from serving in the Virginia National Guard. You’ve gotta admire these guys who get knocked down, but then get up again. You ain’t never gonna keep them down.

He proclaims that he’s looking out for the good of the military, but as we know, the majority of servicemen and women are not opposed to serving with openly gay soldiers. So, clearly he’s looking to refight a battle that he’s already lost. To relegalize bigotry in one place, after it’s been banned in another. The repeal of DADT is a long overdue victory for the cause of social equality in this country. Perhaps marriage will finally come next. In the meantime, Mr. Marshall, I remind you that your actions are offensive to a large portion of the population, many of whom are eager to serve in the military, to sacrifice their lives to defend peace, order, and the American way. Just not as you define it.