Photo from "Tesla"
It is mid 2017, and things seem to change quite quickly. But not as quickly as the recent and durastic switch to clean and renewable energy, particularly Solar Energy. It comes on the recent heels of what is believed to be an energy crisis regarding climate change, but for others, this seems to represent a dramatic and long needed shift from the Petrol dollar. This shift means more than just zero harmful emissions to the enviornment around us, but it also represents a world where energy is always accessible, as long as the sun is shining, which has its own hidden benefits.
Companies like Tesla, are fighting smart, and maybe hard, against a very challenging business and capitalist environment that is virtually owned by a conglomerate of borderline monopolies. CEO, and Futurist Elon Musk has overseen the projects of Tesla, and his other companies pushing for a more modern and ambitious energy projects, mainly in transportation. As they say, you have to start somewhere, and Elon is no stranger to starting things. Just recently he founded a "Boring Company", pun likely intended, and has since began digging tunnels under the streets of LA. His plan, is to alleviate traffic, yet, this simple idea actually connects almost seamlessly with his other interests. While digging tunnels, these could actually see use by his open source idea, the Hyper Loop, a concept of a sub sonic train in a tube like from The Jetsons, which has seen many young and talented engineers present their visions of how such a project might function. Yet all of this is based on clean, Eletric, and Solar Powered Energy, and more modern than the current petrol tycoons currently running things. A milestone in this has also been achieved as of the most recent development, one of the leading R&D companies, Hyperloop One, tested it's Prototype pod, reaching 192 miles per hour, in under 1000 feet. This was done with magnetic levitation in a vaccum tude, or early "loop", with an eletric prupulsion system.
Photo from "Wired"
If you remember growing up and noticing every electric invention being either inefficient, unattractive, or both, than you might see where things are heading. Elon Musk, seems to have especially solved those problems, more so with his firstly Automotive, now general energy company, Tesla. From his sleek Model S Sedan, and Model X SUV's, these cars looked nothing like what early Electric or Hybrid cars looked like. These cars are downright beutiful in every sense of the word, except for the price. At $70,000 and up, its enough to make one think twice about clean energy... unless of course you understand the motive behind it.
Photo via. "Tesla"
Again, you have to start somewhere, and where else to start than with the pockets of the wealthy. Its good to keep in mind that to make durastic change in the energy sector, you need the tools and following, as well as a large sum of funding to be sucessful. Musk took on two birds, or arguably more, with a single stone. He was a co-founder of Paypal, a popular internet transaction service, that was later sold for a large sum of money to fund his now ambitious oddesy, and with that money, he started from the top and workes his way to what has been recently revealed as a mass market car, the Model 3. This car, shares the beauty of his much more lavish S and X, but is less complex, and fits in the price range that a wide amount of the middle class can reach.
Photo via. Tesla
Another important milestone, is the infrastructure. Musk has worked hard to place charging stations across the world, and superchargers, which charge faster, in reach for everyone who drives a Tesla. This is important, because now, you save a large amount of money because charging doesnt cost anywhere close to what petrol does for a full tank. A final peice is home charging. You can charge an eletric vehicle virtually anywhere theres an outlet with electricity. However, Tesla has another rabge of products, which is the Powerwall, which is a garage mounted battery for storing electricity to charge your car, as well as improved solar shingles. These solar shingles may not produce as much power as regular solar cells, however, they do produce a moderate amount of eletricity, as well as being extremely sturdy and resiliant against weather, unlike regular shingles. These Tesla shingles proved to withstand harsh tests which would shatter conventional shingles. Thia proves the technology to be both effective in producing power, protecting the home, and being darn beautiful at the same time.
Photi via. Tesla
To rap things up, its worth noting that Elon Musk and Tesla have proven that the smart use of modern technology was able to surpass the usefulness, and efficiency of the current, while being both safer, and aesthetically pleasing. While this technology can be expensive, it can also be extremely affordable when it is made to be so. The only limitation are those who provide us the service, and prices which are bound only to fall since the supply and demand will rise, and production of such products will only increase in the coming decade's. Its important to note that solar and electric energy can also go much further. A Youtuber by the name of "jehugarcia", and some friends, who stripped an old BMW, put a home made bettery pack in it, using recycled parts, and managed to get more miles (740 miles on a single charge) in regular driving conditions than a top of the line Electric Vehicle, is pure proof that we havn't even scratched the surface just yet, and all that while breathing clean. This truly is, only the beggining, of the Energy Revolution.
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