Much has been made of the fact that
President Bush named a Democrat to head the Dept. of Transportation
when he put together his first Cabinet in 2001.
It was an unusual
appointment that gave rise to a fair amount of commentary. But
behind all the politics and all the talk about bipartisanship (or
the veneer of bipartisanship), lay one hard, inescapable fact:
There were few people in politics, of either party, as qualified to
be Secretary of Transportation as Norman Mineta.
After two decades
in the House, where he chaired various transportation-related
committees, Mineta served as Secretary of Commerce during the final
months of the Clinton administration.
History buffs may
remember him as the first Cabinet member in U.S. history to switch
directly from a Democratic to a Republican Cabinet. Travel people,
however, will remember him fondly as a level-headed legislator and
as the Transportation Secretary who kept his cool in the aftermath
of 9/11. We havent always agreed with this administrations
transportation policies, but we never regretted Minetas decision to
take this job.
His decision to
resign and move on comes as no surprise. He served for over five
years, an eternity for
transportation secretaries. He told the president in his letter of
resignation that hes looking for other challenges. We hope he finds
a worthy one.
How green
are your travels?
Until recently we thought the major nexus
between the environmental movement and the travel industry was the
advent of eco-tourism -- think of reverent tourists carefully
leaving nothing but footprints as they traipse across tundras,
glaciers, rainforests or the Galapagos.
But theres more to
it than that. Environmental awareness can have a place in business
travel, too, as Sabre has just demonstrated. Offering up the oddest
enhancement weve yet seen for traditional GDS users, Sabre now
enables agents and business travel managers to calculate the carbon
dioxide emissions from their airline itineraries.
Readers can decide
for themselves whether this development is useful, but it should
serve as a reminder to all that travel has consequences that go
beyond the price consumers pay, and some consumers are getting
interested in what those consequences are.
There are
environmental side effects to virtually everything people do, and
we are apparently approaching the point where science and
technology will allow us to quantify the costs and benefits of the
choices we make -- including our travel choices.
What is the net
energy difference between driving to Florida or taking the train,
and how does it compare with the difference in price?
How much energy can
a hotel guest save by booking a room on the second floor and taking
the stairs rather than staying on a upper floor and using the
elevator?
Few travel sellers
today are equipped to help consumers answer such questions, but
they may need such tools sooner than they think.
The purveyors of
hybrid vehicles, battery-powered lawn-mowers and other such green
devices are already training consumers to do the math and place a
value on the environmental benefits of their purchases.
Some folks will pay
more for such cars and lawn mowers even if they dont fully pay for
themselves, just to feel good about the environment.
Can it happen when
they buy travel?