Could Dyson Hold the Key to the Future of Transport?
When someone says “Dyson” the immediate image that pops in to my head is a vacuum cleaner; but there is a lot more to Sir James Dyson than just vacuum cleaners.
Sir James Dyson is Britain’s most famous inventor and is responsible for the technology inside his famous vacuum cleaners that many people swear by (and that many companies have tried to mimic).
Now, however, Dyson is working on technological advances that could lead to the development of a fast, green, car. Engineers working for Dyson in his research laboratory in Wiltshire, are developing a lightweight, yet powerful, electric motor that could allow electric cars to travel quickly and for hundreds of miles without causing any pollution.
Dyson’s new technology would use solar panels installed on the roof of cars or garages in order to charge the vehicles with renewable energy. Currently, electric cars have to be charged for approximately eight hours and then can only travel (slowly!) for a maximum of forty miles. This makes models that are available now ideal for city jaunts, but not practical for long distant journeys outside of urban areas.
This is obviously an exciting development in the new generation of vehicles powered by electricity. Cars spend a considerable amount of their time stationary in daylight; this makes the use of solar panels on vehicles ideal. Dyson cemented his reputation as an innovative risk-taker with the creation of the Dyson branded vacuum cleaner and this bold move would further solidify his reputation as one of our best talents in the world of invention.
Electric cars seem to be a perfect replacement for the highly polluting petrol car of today. The main drawbacks, however, are the speed and short battery life of the current models. Sir James Dyson believes that he can overcome these issues with a lightweight electric motor that has been specially developed to run for longer.
An electric car that does not run off the National Grid, but instead is powered by renewable energy from the sun is an even better option from an environmental point of view. Using a fossil fuel to power an electric car is still using up valuable finite resources whilst at the same time contributing to greenhouse gases. Sir James Dyson hopes to use the renewable energy from the sun to power a lightweight electric vehicle.
It is this combination of renewable energy and increased speeds and battery life means that Dyson could have hit upon the future of electric cars and the transport mode of the future. Although the motor itself is still in development the idea has been welcomed by green groups.
With oil and fuel prices rising and an increased awareness of climate change something needs to change and drivers need to wean themselves off the fossil fuels we have all become so dependent upon. Perhaps Sir James has found a way to make the transition not only more bearable, but maybe even enjoyable!
Can Britain Afford to Go Green?
Britain is currently in a time of economic change; no longer are house prices guaranteed to rise, food and oil prices are increasing at a dramatic rate and many of us are having to tighten our financial purse strings. In such a volatile financial climate the question has to be asked: can we, as consumers, afford to make environmental choices? Does money affect our ability to follow through and act upon what we know is the right thing to do? Are our moral choices affected by our income?
Politicians are even beginning to have a marked difference in their political stance on the environment as troubles more prominent and glaringly obvious in society come to the forefront of the news- and to the minds of the voting public of course. Due to the economic stability that has been prevalent in our country for many years, political focus was very much on the environment and ways to increase sustainability, reduce our carbon footprint and decrease the amount of waste we produce. With a downturn in the economy also comes a change in mindset; the environment gets put on the backburner as people tighten their belts and begin to focus on concrete and jobs. Climate change is a lot harder for politicians to sell when the electorate are concerned about their own personal future in terms of employment and housing.
It is easy to see the way companies concerns have shifted from environmental issues to more personal issues; companies that a few months ago were unveiling new eco-friendly policies and strategies are now focused on staff retention and profitable growth. It seems that now the economy has taken a downturn the ‘each to their own’ mentality has come to the forefront of the mass public’s minds.
In politics it is a similar issue; although the environmental rhetoric of the politician’s continues, it is a sad fact that when there is an economic downturn the environment is one of the first things to suffer when it comes to actual policies. When people start to worry about their houses and their jobs, money and safety become their two primary concerns. It is argued by some that this will lead to people choosing to shop and choose their suppliers for services due to low prices rather than the green credentials that may well have attracting them in a more buoyant financial market.
It could, however, be argued that in such a time where oil price hikes are causing financial hardship for so many, that green issues actually become more important rather than something we can merely put on the backburner. Our dependency on fossil fuels is one of the main reasons many people are experiencing financial difficulties at present; as we do not have any easily available alternatives that can be used to heat our homes or run our cars, as world oil prices increases as do most households outgoings.
This logic means that rather than economic hardship meaning that the focus should be taken away from environmental issues, moreover it should make us, and our government, readdress our dependency on fossil fuels and instead increase the amount of effort and energy we spend on developing new means of energy. Rather than looking in the short term, instead the bigger picture should be viewed and it should be realised that, in reality, many environmental issues hold the key to a more secure economic future in the long term.
Despite this long term vision, however, many investors are putting decreasing amounts of their money in to alternative energy products; instead ploughing money in to businesses that need a boost as we approach an apparent economic downturn. Although the market for solar energy remains strong, as technological advances increase the possibilities of this form of energy, investments in wind power have certainly dipped in recent months. Most notably perhaps is the fact that Shell have pulled out of the world’s biggest planned wind farm, the London Array, after the world oil price hike made it a much more worthwhile investment than renewable energy sources.
Despite these major knocks to renewable projects it is not all doom and gloom on the environmental horizon. Consumers, it would appear, are not immediately changing their shopping habits despite the current financial climate.
An example of this comes from the Soil Association, which certifies up to 80% of organic produce. They maintain that there has been no dip in demand for organic products in recent months. Major retailer Sainsbury’s also account much of their continued financial growth to organic sales.
Organic food is a choice that many people make for the claimed health benefits for themselves and their families, as well as the environmental positives it has over conventional farming. People who feel passionately about organic food would probably compromise on many other areas of their life rather than the food they feed themselves and their families.
Even in this current economic climate, however, we could see organic food not rise at the same rate as other food products. As oil prices continue to rise as does the cost of the pesticides and nitrogen based fertilisers as these a produced from oil. Organic products are not farmed using these chemicals which means the inflated price of these items will not need to be passed on to the consumer. As organic food also uses, on average, 26% less energy to produce than standard products, in the current climate this definitely gives organic produce the competitive advantage.
The reason the organic food market is set to increase by 10% this year despite the credit crunch is because people hate to compromise on food. Food is not the first place people look to cut costs when the time comes to tighten the purse strings. This is good news for the environment due to the reduced packaging used and the significantly less energy used in its production.
With energy companies offering ‘greener fuel’ to your home at the same cost as standard non-renewable fuel the effect our choices as a consumer will have on the environment is questionable. We will endeavour to use our cars less as petrol increases in price, we gradually begin to view our cars as a luxury; not jumping in just to pop to the shops or down the road. These fuel conscious choices are also beneficial to the environment.
If energy is at the heart of the credit crunch, and of peoples need to rein in their spending then the old fashioned notion that it is cheaper to not care about the environment that to behave in a ‘green fashion’ no longer holds any water.
In the short term the credit crunch make affect people’s decisions to make green choices, in the longer term however people will look at ways to become more fuel efficient and look at energy efficiency to improve things.
Rather than being environmentally aware being an expensive luxury that few people will be able to afford in the current climate, moreover being green should be seen as a way in which we can reduce our expenditure. Many things that we, as consumers, can do to help the environment: use the car less, insulate our homes effectively and take less foreign holidays, are also actions that will help us to reduce our Carbon footprints.
So, whilst grand gestures (such as installing a wind turbine to your home) may well be out of the question for the time being, small environmentally conscious factors could make all the difference to the environment, as well as a significant saving in your wallet.
