According to Channelnewsasia
SINGAPORE: In a solar-powered car, Mr Louis Palmer, 33, has so far traversed more than 20 countries to find out what the world is doing to stop global warming.
Calling his car a Solartaxi, he offers a ride to anyone keen on solar energy, although the Swiss adventurer had a slight hitch when he arrived in Singapore on Tuesday as his car had to be held at customs for a few hours as it did not have the necessary insurance.
That aside, he has been heartened to see how many are doing their part. In Melbourne, for instance, he noted how some citizens campaigned to get people to stop drinking milk, as cows emit methane gas when they belch.
“My main purpose is to convince people that global warming can be stopped,” said Mr Palmer, who has covered more than 40,000km in nine months.
Speaking at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Mr Palmer said his Solartaxi — which took three years to assemble — has ferried more than 400 people, from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to a German couple who used it as their wedding car.
In Saudi Arabia, he endured temperatures of 51°C, he said, while India had the most challenging traffic conditions. Still, “it was great fun meeting different people and I could not single out a favourite country”.
While he is optimistic about the future of solar-powered cars, Mr Palmer said one big obstacle is getting companies to invest in such eco-friendly cars.
On Tuesday, a group of final-year NTU engineering students showcased their solar racing car which will race in Japan this August. Mr Xu Wen Xiang, 24, said the biggest challenge had been securing sponsorship, but he was inspired by Mr Palmer’s achievements.
- The only problem the world has is the lack of will power to change the status-quo, they are overly fearful of changing to solar vehicles and the oil dependent automobile industry are fearful of such cars as these are new technologies that they don’t have patents for mass manufacturing. They tried in the past to use electric cars and the automobile giants recalled these electric cars and crushed them totally leaving fans of electric cars frustrated.
There are more then one interest party that wants the status quo as oil does have many powerful allies and investors alike. They want more people to use oil and be forever dependent on it regardless if there are other viable alternatives, some investors are so powerful that they can determine who can survive in the market place.
It will take one revolution of cheap energy to revitalize the cheap energy industry and a whole lot of newly formed independent contractors, electrician, mechanic and scientist will sweep the market with so much cheap energy cars that will collapse the oil industry suddenly. These comes at a cost of a sudden drop in prices of all things and these will cause financial panic as deflation too are not growth friendly.
I can only guide you so much to renewable energy but the decisions to drive “expensive” but environmentally friendly using renewable energy is yours and yours only. Soon everyone will be buying these cars but without you making the first tiny steps and prove to the world that it can be done…the rest will still continue to suffer in silence.
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