Project Better Place -- is this the answer to our problems?

heartofthecity · 07-26-2008, 04:24 AM

Perhaps I am naive, but I think that problems such as our dependence on fossil fuels and global warming present our society with an opportunity for innovation and creative stimulation. Enter Shai Agassi and Project Better Place. His vision is profound and clear (albeit unorthodox and full of skepticism): in Obama-esque fashion, he claims that the world of transportation as we know it needs a dramatic change.

The proposed solution? Slowly eliminate the need for fossil fuels. How? Simple, change the current transportation infrastructure by setting up a global network of charging hotspots for electric cars to abound and thrive on a large and efficient scale.

Quote:

Project Better Place’s business model for electric cars will look like the model used for mobile phones. Mobile phone operators arrange cell towers to create coverage areas. Similarly, electric cars will be able to travel throughout a network of charging spots and battery exchange stations, with easy access to electricity. Our partnerships with car manufacturers and battery suppliers will create huge benefits for our network subscribers, including lower car prices and batteries that cost far less than conventional fuel.

I am interested in hearing how this "idea" reverberates in the ears of elder generations. Plausible? Iconoclastic? A serious solution? Or just another scheme?

Thanks. Make today extraordinary.

overseas · 07-26-2008, 05:23 AM

I guess I am an elder and I have been waiting for this for a whole long time. I would like to see the innovation needed at work in my lifetime. I guess I thought something was going to be done about this dependence in the 70s. My son feels the price increases are the best thing that could happen to us. He is 22. The price increases will propel us towards the innovators and a myriad of innovations. Let's see what works best.

NewHope33 · 07-26-2008, 06:41 AM

I agree with overseas. In barely one hundred years the world has gone from "oil, what's oil?" to "oil, we can't find enough oil." Where will things stand in another 100 years?

overseas · 07-26-2008, 06:50 AM

My grandfather ran a horse and buggy business in the mother lode country in California that he inherited from his grandfather. He moved to S.F. in 1917 and the stables were in disarray for awhile until they were converted into a garage. We all have to continue to move on and some of us get hurt in the process.

On the other hand, what idiot decided that the street cars in Los Angeles were a bad deal?