The Hindu : Front Page : Solar car completes round-the-world trip

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Friday, Dec 05, 2008
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Solar car completes round-the-world trip

POZNAN: The first solar-powered car to travel around the world ended its journey at the United Nations climate talks here in Poland on Thursday, arriving with the message that clean technologies are available now to stop global warming.

The small two-seater, hauling a trailer of solar cells and carrying chief U.N. climate official Yvo de Boer, glided up to a building where delegates from some 190 nations are working toward a new treaty to control climate change.

“This is the first time in history that a solar-powered car has travelled all the way around the world without using a single drop of petrol,” said Louis Palmer, the 36-year-old Swiss schoolteacher and adventurer who made the trip. “These new technologies are ready,” he said. “It’s ecological, it’s economical, it is absolutely reliable. We can stop global warning.”

Mr. Palmer’s appearance at the conference marked the end of a 52,000-km journey that began 17 months ago in Lucerne, Switzerland and took him through 38 countries.

The car, which runs noiselessly, can travel up to 90 kmph and cover 300 km on a fully charged battery.

Mr. Palmer said he lost only two days to breakdowns during the journey. He calls his vehicle, which was developed by scientists at Swiss universities, a “solar taxi” because he has given rides to about 1,000 people — officials and regular folk alike — to convince them of the viability of the technology. Passengers have included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“Here at the conference, we are talking about reducing emissions by 10 or 20 per cent,” Mr. Palmer said. “I want to show that we can reduce emissions by 100 per cent — and that’s what we need for the future.” — AP

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