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SOLAR IMPULSE transatlatic record 5th June 2012
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Given the constant rise in fuel prices such as kerosene, diesel and petrol and taking into account taxes on CO2 it makes sense to experiment with transport that will provide for the human race for as long as the Sun graces us with her miraculous nuclear stability.
Solar Impulse has demonstrated that a solar-powered airplane can fly day with a finely tuned mixture of technology. The hop across the Atlantic is a major advance in the ultimate quest to fly around the world using clean energy - the ethos of many projects featured on this website - such as the PlanetSolar Turanor, the Solar Navigator and Blueplanet Ecostar or even something a little more down to earth: the Utopia Tristar zero carbon house.
As this wonderfully efficient duo have demonstrated, becoming a pioneer is all in the mind. The difference between an armchair theorist and the man who gets into his workshop with the chisels out, it exactly that - he took the trouble to see if his idea might work in practice. it doesn't matter if it doesn't work, the point is the give it a go, to break free of the certainties that we all take for granted and the confront the unknown.
Solar Impulse record 5 June 2012 - Youtube
Solar Impulse has become the ambassador for responsible citizenship that the project was intended to be. This solar powered airplane triggers discussions at the highest political and economic levels, letting governments around the world see the technological solutions that may be implemented to help them achieve the world’s agreed CO2 reduction targets.
Such demonstrations silence critics of alternative energy who may have vested interest in the present oil industry, nut it is true to say that the more progressive energy companies are aligned to such projects more than one might expect.
Pioneers who demonstrate what is possible overcome resistance to change, which locks us into dinosaur thinking with dangerous and costly consequences, such as global warming. Thus, innovators such as Bertrand Piccard André Borschberg are promoting the processes of change that Europe is currently spearheading. The Solar Impulse is superb example of what clean technology is capable of achieving. For this reason the Presidents of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, as well as the European Commission are supporting the venture.
The landing - Solar Impulse record 5 June 2012 - Youtube
The intention of Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg is not to change the aviation industry overnight, but to use this aviation symbol to focus minds onto renewable energies, such as to open the door to possibilities in the future that would not be given credible boardroom discussion otherwise. Therefore, say not to yourself that this is too big a challenge, say to yourself that change is inevitable, but take heart in the fact that humans have the ability to absorb good ideas and adapt - and that is the key to survival in life, economically and in evolutionary terms.
Technological solutions can create new jobs and open markets previously undreamed of whilst in duality protecting blue planet that we call home and all the flora and fauna who look to us for help.
The existence of a solar airplane demonstrates the human spirit. As with all the great “firsts” in history, doubts have been transformed into innovative solutions by the catalysts in this story. The vision of Bertrand Piccard’s and André Borschberg’s has enabled an idea on the drawing board to be transformed into the reality of a breathtaking albatross of a solar plane, that apparently only the aviation specialists, Dassault, believed in. The others appeared to have fallen into dinosaur mode when saying that they thought Solar Impulse was: “Too big, too light and impossible to control in flight". But they were wrong - fortunately, and fortunately for us the dynamic duo had the chutzpa to follow their dream.
LINKS & REFERENCE
Biztek Mojo solar-impulse-completes-second-leg-journey-sets-new-world-record http://www.biztekmojo.com/00391/solar-impulse-completes-second-leg-journey-sets-new-world-record http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Impulse
European Commission | Enterprise and Industry
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