[corethree]

Probably could. I doubt the US has the ability to do it. CA can't even finish the bart and they can't even finish the high speed rail.

Huge infra structure projects like this are no longer feasible in terms of cost and political/collective will in the US.

It's almost a 99% guarantee this will never get built ever. At least not by the US. Any time you see speculative stuff about big projects in the US that aren't related to the military it's a pretty much a guarantied pipe dream.

The only way I see it getting built if they angle it as some kind of military thing to stay competitive with China. But that's really a stretch.

[zdragnar]

There's already federal laws against setting up geothermal power generation in Yellowstone.

Any discussion on the topic has to begin with assuming the usual red tape has been cut (however much I agree with the impossibility of that happening aside).

[shiroiuma]

A federal law can easily be changed by simply passing another federal law. It's not like a constitutional change.

Of course, this requires political will too, but unlike various other issues, I doubt that some old law protecting national parks is going to be held as sacrosanct as the second amendment. The GOP certainly doesn't care about protecting NP resources, and the Dems will agree too as long as enough scientists tell them it's a good idea.

[corethree]

It's never this simple. There are multitudes of interested parties in either direction not just at the federal level, but below it from state, to county, to city and more.

[shiroiuma]

This is a National Park. There is no county or city involved; it's federal land. Even the state it's in has pretty much zero say.

[corethree]

They have a say. Everyone is going to throw in their two cents here. A policy change like this involves the legislative branch which involves everyone. Even corporate interests.

It's not going to be some scientists making a statement and then the federal government putting their hammer down. In china I can see this happening, but in the US it's a democracy.

[fragmede]

How exactly do you "finish the Bart"? It's not a perfect system, but there are stations and trains and they run and people (including me) use it to get around.

[corethree]

The goal is to ring it around the bay. They've been failing to do this for decades. You'll probably be dead before they finish that.

[mercutio2]

That hasn’t actually been a goal for 50 years. That was a “maybe if this is really successful we’ll do it” vision in the early days of BART planning.

Extend to downtown San Jose? Maybe a goal for 20 years from now. Add additional transbay tubes? Sure, if the tooth fairy pays for it. The electorate emphatically does not want to pay for more BART, much as I’d like it to be otherwise.

[corethree]

>maybe if this is really successful we’ll do it

Even worse. They're so self aware of their own incompetence they know it's pure luck if they can pull it off. My overall point still stands they can barely ring it around the bay they definitely won't be able to build a single geothermal plant in Yellowstone.

How come in other countries you get a much nicer train and you don't need the tooth fairy to pay for it? Rhetorical question.