It’s better than fossil fuel or ethanol, produces zero emissions, and it’s easier to obtain than solar. We’ve heard of harnessing wind power, but compressed air is coming onto the alternative energy scene with gale force.
French engineer Guy Negre now plans to market a compressed-air car in India within a year.
According to Grist:
Tata Motors has backed his invention: a five-seater called the OneCAT, which would produce no emissions and cost around $5,000. "The first buyers [of the car] will be people who care about the environment," says Negre, who hopes that investors around the world will set up factories to build the car using local materials, cutting down on shipping emissions. "I really hope he succeeds," says Terry Spall from the U.K. Institution of Mechanical Engineers. "It is a really brave experiment in producing a sustainable car."
We like the ultra-low price, utilization of local materials, and zero emissions, but wonder whether the compressed air car will catch on—particularly in countries where people love their vehicles (big, bone-crushing models, especially) more than their parents. Is it less painful for people to part with fossil fuel than to part with their wheels, altogether? Probably. Which is exactly the problem. Why not propose to put more effort and money into expansive mass transit systems (and fight against sprawl with more centralized city planning) than into alterna-cars? That’s an avenue that might actually take us places.
Photos via flickr by pietel & prolix6x.
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All I know is this evening on my 23 mile rec ride through central Texas, I could have done without the 2 miles of over powering smell of recently mowed wild onions.
but In general I’d agree I’d like to smell the roses more.
also like the honey suckle and morning glory.
This may be a reach, but could this play even a small part in the rapidly decreasing bee population?
Charley – not a reach at all. In fact the National Geographic article suggests there may be a connection. Global warming has been implicated for its role but pollution’s damage to flowers looks to be a likely culprit as well…