21st Century Transportation [XPrize - Crazy Green Idea]-re

We all know and understand the impact that humans have on the environment. Things must change.

A competition to design a new form of high speed mass transportation will allow us to reduce our usage of fossil fuels, and it would allow our economies to grow. Automobiles are not the way of the future.

This competition would push our current technologies to their limits. It will challenge the greatest innovators of our time. It is a competition that is worth $10 million.

Rules:

1. The system can not use fossil fuels. Perhaps teams could build a train track out of solar panels. Or add wind turbines to create energy.

2. Construction costs can not exceed $25 million per mile.

3. Speeds much reach up to 450 mph.

The Benefits:

1. Provide the necessary infrastructure for the 21st century.

2. Greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, if not eliminate.

3. We can even save on space. Fewer cars means less need for large parking lots.

4. Save citizens time.


Video credits:

Concept, Video and Music created
by Michael Francis

Photographs from Flickr:

The Colossal Traffic jam. by lasgalletas
Traffic jam by lynac
Tianjin Construction Site. by Montrasio International
Madison Wind Turbines by borisvolodnikov
1_7506-Taiwan High Speed Rail by Harry 棟樑, Taiwan
Time For Change by David Reece

Video Clip from blip.tv:

Tram Ride up to the Getty by Desertnut Vlog

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Xprize
• transportation
• green
• idea
• change
• future
• prize
• competition
• energy
• physics
• science
• X PRIZE
• PRIZE

[mfrancis107]

@Gleen Doty

Obviously, a design, goal, and implementation strategy are a part of building the infrastructure. A private company wont sponsor anything without them.

Maybe the Xprize will need to be more than 10million.

The Ansari X PRIZE was about getting a spaceship to space. It wasn't about just designing one on paper. The Lunar X PRIZE is about getting a robot on the moon. Not just thinking of a way to get one there.

Yes it is a big idea, but the X PRIZE is about pushing limits.

[datkoolbrutha]

People are gonna buy, and drive cars regardless, how much it will cost in the future. Making people stop driving their cars, is like telling people to stop smoking cigarettes. They both can kill, but will still do it.

[carcultured]

As a senior, I see the decades of automobile habit as the worst thing we do on this planet.

I opted for an electric bike and public transit.

Why have our Health Departments permitted the use of these things?

[familieVorselaar]

search acabion on youtube.

its a system of very aerodynamic car like vehicles that travel on todays roads en on elevated highways going up to 550 km per hour (350 miles an hour) and goes into transcontinental tubes of 10 to 30000 km an hour.an the best part is , a mile of such a transcontinental vacuum tube costs the same amount as a mile of high speed (maglev)rail

[tubewinkle]

It's pretty bad when someone starts their pitch with three "facts", all false.

[dmitriy40]

Smoking is declining in developed countries. Education + regulation are to thank for that.

[greenboy215]

Obama was talking about building a train system from california to vegas usng tax payer money. But too me I think its just making money for vegas...but should the casinos pay for it? Since they make all that money from visitors!

[merakhagen]

I am an American. United States will not do anything about this oil reliance problem until someone or something kicks us. I am sorry, but when you have sprawling Wal-marts with "one" floor buildings litter across the country, rail will not solve the problem. US has to drastically change its suburban community planning before the rail can help.

[mylexicon2]

Why stop at 450mph? If you run pressurized trains through vacuum tunnels you can go as fast as you want without creating a sonic boom.

Subterranean transcontinental maglev electric rail that delivers people from coast to coast in just a couple of hours. Faster than cars and planes and greener if the electricity is carbon neutral.

Now that's bold, but I didn't come up with the idea.