Dumb Americans

There are a lot of critics out there that believe that these solar roadways are not very practical. For instance a man named Craig Morris says that this idea is "going nowhere, and no one is going anywhere on 'solar roadways'." This is a very bold statement to make, I mean there is still a possibility that we can implement these panels in other aspects. Morris claims that he had heard this idea in previous attempts when they wanted to try to send solar panels in space so there would be no interference from the sun. This idea was put to rest when Morris made a point of explaining the cost of a "single kilogram into orbit," which was not a good result (Sinclair, 2014).

Morris is not convinced this idea could work at all. He goes on to insult the inventors of solar roadways saying "...the makers of Solar Roadways don't know the first thing about solar or roadways." Very broad and most likely untrue statement considering they have actually made these panels work and use them at their own personal home. But he then says, "...the surface on which we are apparently not only to drive and park our cars, but also dribble," in an effort to exclaim that he could look at the surface that covers the panels and 'twist his ankle.' Yes,  the surface is made of glass, but it is a textured, tempered, and sturdy covering. It also allows for the solar energy to be transmitted to the electrical storage unit. I really don't see a big problem with this especially since its been tested and proven safe (Sinclair, 2014).

Later on in the article Morris then lists some of the other issues that he has with these panels which includes:

• Only Americans would fund an idea like this, they obviously forgot about shade.
• Roads serve a purpose, and are designed to be quiet.
• We already have field open that are being used for solar panel energy.

I don't know about you but that kind of makes me mad. The inventors are trying to be innovative and put something to good use, while these people like Morris just look for ways to shoot them down. Yes, using these solar roadways on actual roads could be a disaster on a number of points, but what about sidewalks? We would all just be walking or biking along them, why not make it so that we can walk on them and have the sun still gathering the energy provided by the sun? I think that if we implemented them on open bike paths and walkways or even shoulders of highways we can be doing our environment a good deal of service. The idea really does have a fighting chance to be implemented across our country, we just haven't found it yet (Sinclair, 2014).

With people like Morris demeaning an idea such as this, will surely make sure that the idea goes nowhere. If there are people out there that are excited about solar roadways and work really hard to be creative and implement them in other ways than just one, then who knows what could happen! I know that I will do what I can to see that George Mason lets me experiment with this idea and that I can prove my case to them. 

Resources:

Sinclair, P. (2014, June 7). Solar Freaking Roadways Video Goes Viral, But Will Real Solar Roadways Go Anywhere? Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://climatecrocks.com/2014/06/07/solar-freakin-roadways-video-goes-viral-but-will-real-solar-roadways-go-anywhere/He ha