New York Magazine - USA (2019-11-11)

november11–24, 2019 | newyork 59

promiseshershecanliveforever,butonlyif she’ll

liveinsidea tinyplasticsphere. Sheagrees.

—RACHELHANDLER

TheHyperloopWill

FinallyArrive... in Ohio

THEOTHERDAYINCHICAGO,a friendwho

livesinColumbus,Ohio, 360 milesaway, texted

mea last-minutedinnerinvitation.I walkedto

theMichiganAvenueHyperloopstationand,

because I had just missed a downtown-

Columbus-boundpod,waiteda full 29 seconds

forthenextone.I wasindowntownColumbus

30 minuteslater, andthetime-zonedifference

putmehalfanhouraheadofwhereI started.

Thatfictionalvignetteseemsabsurd:Chicago

toColumbusis atleast a five-hourdrive,andfly-

ingtakeshalfa day bythetimeyou’vegottento

O’Hare. Realizingthefantasyof jet-speedsurface

transportationwilldependmore onbureaucracy

andpoliticalwillthanonengineeringwizardry.

Thetechnology alreadyexists,afterall,inthe

formofa 500-metertest trackoperatedbythe

companyVirginHyperloopOne.

WhenAmericantechno-utopiansconjurea

transportationrevolution,they usuallyimagine

somethinglike coast-to-coastteleporting.But

VirginHyperloopthinksthemost fertileareas

fornext-gentransitare theonesthat havehardly

anyat all,like centralOhio.“Ourregionis pro-

jectedtogrowbya millionpeoplein 25 years,

andwecan’t growbya millionmore cars,” says

ColumbusCityCouncilpresidentShannonHar-

din.Nottomentionconsumergoods:A ceaseless

supplyofmicrowaveovensandbootspasses

throughRickenbackerairport

already, anddedicatedhyperloop

podscouldcutthetimeit takes

tomovea packagefromrunway

tofrontdoor.

AaronGordon,a transporta-

tionwriteratthewebsiteJalop-

nik,contendsthatevena radical

newtechnology inevitablyhasto

confrontintractableoldprob-

lems.Totake just oneexample:

Running a tube down the

medianofaninterstatehighway

wouldminimizetheneedtoacquire a new right

ofway, butpodswillhavetoslowdrasticallyas

theyapproachcurvesengineeredfor70-mph

speeds.Problemslike thismay betheoretically

solvable,but“ifI hadtoguesswhere thisis

going,” Gordons w very-small-scaleproj-

ectswillgetbu dities,butnota full-

fledgedtransportationsystem.”

WilliamMurdock,executivedirectorofthe

Mid-OhioRegionalPlanningCommission,dis-

agrees:“Whenwelookat traditionalhigh-speed

rail, for instance, we’re very aware of the chal-

lenges, the costs, and the environmental impact.

Which is why hyperloop excites us: The envi-

ronmental footprint is smaller, the right of way

is narrower, and the noise impact is lower.”

Murdock tries hard to come off as a sober plan-

ner, but his enthusiasm bubbles up. “We’re

being cautious,” he insists. “But the more we

learn about the technology, the more confident

weare.” —JUSTINDAVIDSON

We WillDrinkChampagne

Grown in England

TO PRODUCE GOOD CHAMPAGNE, acid is key.

The warm summers and cold winters of Cham-

pagne’s northerly continental climate have long

been the perfect location to grow grapes that

properly balance acidity and sugar. However,

over the past 30 years, average temperatures

there have risen two degrees Fahrenheit, leading

the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Cham-

pagne, the trade organization that represents

the region’s growers and producers, to commis-

sion semi-secret, experimental vineyards where

traditional Champagne grapes are crossed with

hybrids, as well as the planting of so-called for-

gotten grapes in an effort to find varietals that

will maintain their much-needed acidity in the

face of ever-increasing heat waves. The reality,

though, is that if climate change leads to extreme

weather, it doesn’t matter which grapes are in

the ground—the crop will be lost. So some

houses are also starting to look north. Cham-

pagne Taittinger is the first major Champagne

house to plant vines on English soil, with vine-

yards located two parallels north of what has

been considered for centuries to be too northerly

a climate for quality Champagne production.

That wine won’t be sold until 2023, but as

Champagne warms, sparkling-wine production

here will only increase. —VANESSA PRICE

Voters Will End Mass Incarceration

“The truth is, when you

do something to the point

where it affects a whole lot

of people’s lives, it will

undo itself. Incarceration has

touched people of every race,

including white people.

Mass incarceration is going to

end mass incarceration.”

—LARRY KRASNER,

Philadelphia district attorney

JUL 21

Virgin
Hyperloop
One announces
partnership
with Saudi
Arabia.

JUL 25

The

temperature

in Champagne,

109.2 ̊

Fahrenheit,

is thehighest

ever recorded

there.

JUL 29

Reformist

Queens DA

candidate

Tiffany Cabán

nearly upsets

Melinda Katz

in recount.



FromVegas
to Columbus
A sectionof
hyperlooptube
attheVirgin
HyperloopOne
testcenter.