[Editor’s note: As a New Year’s exercise, we asked a select group of Xconomists to answer this question: “What’s the craziest idea out there that just might succeed?”]
All-electric commercial boats, ships, railway engines, and aircraft. The hyper-convergence of energy generation, battery storage, electric vehicle systems development, and electric charging infrastructure has first focused commercially on cars, and now trucks. These advancements may, sooner than we have expected, transition into other highly polluting vehicle markets. As the economies of the all-electric automobile industry are understood and realized, the specific systems and technologies will migrate quickly into these other markets. Air and noise pollution will be dramatically reduced, and everyone on board will enjoy a much smoother ride. And pilots and other EV operators will love the hyper-responsiveness of their electric motors.
Author: Robert Noble
Robert Noble is an architect, environmental designer, industrial designer and environmental technology entrepreneur, which he calls an "ecopreneur." He has received numerous regional and national awards for his industrial and architectural designs, and green technology innovations. Over his 29-year career, he and/or his work has been awarded Entrepreneur Magazine's Environmental Innovator of the Year, the Edison Award for Environmental Achievement and "Best of What's New," Popular Science 100 Best of 1993, and awards from the American Institute of Architects, and the Urban Land Institute.
Noble is the founding CEO of Envision Solar, a San Diego architectural firm that is a worldwide leader in integrating solar photovoltaic technologies with the conventional building, real estate and transportation industries. Envision Solar designs, engineers and installs photovoltaic solar parking arrays and other commercial and residential solar-integrated building systems. As CEO of San Diego's Tucker Sadler Architects, he led a turn-around of the 50-year-old firm into the leading sustainable design firm in the region.
He is Past Chair of the US Green Building Council of San Diego, Past President of the American Institute of Architects of San Diego, Chairman of the Board of the California Center for Sustainable Energy, past Chair of the California American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, and Member of the San Diego Regional Sustainability Partnership.
He has written over 40 articles regarding sustainable design, USBGC LEED Certification, emergency shelter for disaster relief, renewable energy and other subjects. He has been a highly committed and vocal local, regional and national advocate of environmentally responsible manufacturing, design and planning, and low-cost, emergency and affordable housing for over 20 years.
He attended UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, Harvard Graduate School of Design and Harvard Business School, and Cambridge University Graduate Department of Architecture.
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