---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 1997 11:33:35 -0400
>
>
> DESIGNERS CLAIM SOLUTION TO TRAFFIC POLLUTION
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>
> Copyright =B8 1997 Nando.net
> Copyright =B8 1997 Reuter Information Service
>
> OSLO (June 29, 1997 8:20 p.m. EDT) - While world leaders at the U.N. Eart=
h
> Summit debated how to curb fossil fuel emissions and save the planet from
> environmental disaster, two Norwegian designers say they have the solutio=
n to
> traffic congestion and related pollution.
>
> Claimed to be the first ever combined solar and wind-power vehicle, their
> three-wheeled, open, aluminium-framed car is based on a principle similar=
to
> the motorized rickshaw popular in many of the world's most over-populated
> cities.
>
> "This vehicle is a signal for the challenges related to the environment,
> especially when you think of the parts of the world where the majority of=
the
> globe's population lives," said Harald Roestvik, a Stavanger-based archit=
ect
> specialising in solar architecture.
>
> Together with Oslo-based industrial designer Peter Opsvik, he has worked
> secretly for three years on the first prototype of the new car.
>
> Dubbed the Butterfly, because butterflies spread their wings to warm up t=
heir
> bodies with solar energy before they can fly, the general-purpose vehicle=
is
> slow in comparison to its gasoline-guzzling contemporaries -- it tops jus=
t 30
> mph. But that is not a problem in crowded cities, Roestvik said.
>
> "About 85 percent of people live in Asia. The congestion and pollution in
> Asian cities are a huge problem. (Average) traffic speeds in a lot of Asi=
an
> cities are about 4 mph per hour, compared with 12 mph in, say, London," h=
e
> told Reuters.
>
> LIKE A 2CV WITH SOLAR PANELS
>
> Looking like the legendary Citroen 2CV, with the roof jacked up at the ba=
ck,
> the Butterfly can seat the driver and two to three passengers.
>
> Its roof has three solar panels extending from the windscreen to a black =
wire
> sphere containing the windmill at the back. A battery at the rear of the =
car
> is continuously charged by electricity from the sun and wind.
>
> Roestvik said the vehicle could provide a solution to harnessing the natu=
ral
> resources of sunshine and wind abundant in many Asian and African countri=
es,
> which often spend large proportions of their budgets on importing fossil
> fuels.
>
> "It is amazing nobody has looked at this before. In cities such as Dakar,
> Calcutta and Bangkok, the pollution problems are dreadful. I've been
> physically sick in Mexico City from pollution," said Roestvik.
>
> The Butterfly project so far has been funded solely by the designers, but=
a
> Norwegian environmental group, The Bellona Foundation, has now stepped in=
to
> lend support.
>
> Bellona has been a vocal critic of Norwegian energy policy, both for
> increasing production of oil and gas without dealing with the resulting r=
ise
> in emissions of the so-called greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), and fo=
r
> doing little to encourage reductions in domestic energy demand.
>
> The Scandinavian country is the world's second largest oil exporter after
> Saudi Arabia and is one of the top five gas sellers to continental Europe=
=2E
>
> The state has a burgeoning budget surplus forecast at $7.9 billion in 199=
7,
> thanks to the rich hydrocarbon resources in the North Sea.
>
> "We (Norway) are exporting oil with the result of 600 million tons of CO2
> emissions every year and we have the income from this oil," said Frederic
> Hauge, Bellona's leader.
>
> "There is a moral responsibility for Norway to use some of the income fro=
m the
> oil industry to take the costs of developing new technology... We wanted =
to
> show this electric vehicle could form part of a realistic and practical
> solution to the world's pollution problems," Hauge said.
>
> BENEFITS OF STATE-FUNDED PROJECT
>
> Roestvik said that, if two Norwegian innovators could come up with a seri=
ous
> prototype for a "clean" vehicle, just think what an industry or state-fun=
ded
> project could do.
>
> It was time for Norway and for authorities around the world to become inv=
olved
> in looking for alternative solutions to fossil fuels, he said.
>
> "Norway is not in the lead in environmental matters. Norway is protecting=
its
> oil and gas interests full stop," he said.
>
> "You don't need to be an expert in pollution or have any more proof, just
> stand on the street corner of any major city and do your own research.
>
> By TANYA PANG, Reuter
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