Solar Powered Car Drives Over Frozen Arctic Ocean

by Energy Matters

Solar powered car XOF1 has become the first vehicle of its type to traverse one of world's longest ice roads.

The solar car arrived in the village of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada after driving 187km from the town of Inuvik via one of the longest seasonal ice roads in the world.

The journey took 9.5 hours and was by no means a comfortable crossing for driver and project lead Marcelo da Luz as the solar car isn't heated and the road is considered treacherous even for large semi-trucks.

While temperatures hovered around -7C at the start of the attempt, conditions were favourable thanks to clear skies. The solar car was able to attain speeds of 70kmh travelling over smooth and wavy ice, but road conditions deteriorated over the Arctic Ocean stretch, forcing  da Luz to slow to 30-40kmh.

A layer of ice approximately 1.5 – 2 meters  thick was all that separated the car from the Arctic Ocean. Multiple flat tires occurred when ice cracks several inches wide swallowed the solar car's wheels and spinouts became commonplace as da Luz alternated between driving on ice and snow.

The solar car departed Inuvik with a complete charge and arrived at Tuktoyatuk on what the team referred to as "solar fumes". The team will attempt a return trip to Inuvik tomorrow after recharging the solar car batteries courtesy of the Arctic Sun. The return trip promises additional challenges due to recent sunny weather creating uncertainty about ice road conditions.

The XOF1 vehicle and Marcelo da Luz are no stranger to solar car firsts. In 2008, da Luz broke the world record for distance travelled in a solar powered vehicle; covering 15,000.

Chris Matthews had an excellent question on "Hardball"

NOT, YOU  THE  PERSON !

"Why is it that some news organizations are held to a higher standard regarding the facts and the truth while others aren't?"

I believe it is a conversation the USA needs to have.
The issue of 'infotainment' is false advertising and that is just the beginning.  The news organizations that PRACTICE 'infotainment' seek to have a profound effect on elections without being accountable for 'the truth' or accurate facts.  Their attitudes are abysmal and seek to distort the message to impose a point of view that is chronically skeptical and incidious to instigating lies.


THAT is a fact that is not distorted.  And the entire country knows it.

As an example:  Rush Limbaugh always blames the Democrats on the House Committee with misuse of powers in regard to Fannie May and Freddie Mac.  He goes on in his rant that the housing failure that lead to the bank failure of 2008 was due to these people.

He never once states, that in 2001 Bush passed a huge spending bill to move rental tenants out of apartments and into home ownership and that is what started the issue with Countrywide Mortgage Company.  

Bush literally funded the failure of October 2008.  Now, why can't that idiot get it right?  

Because it doesn't provide his political agenda with impetus, that is why !

There is a MOTIVE within that deception and that motive is directed by the same 'bad attitude' at the Murdoch news networks.  They want control and power and don't give a damn if that drives every other news service and newspaper out of business either.

After all, isn't that what capitalism is all about?  Domination just short of anti-trust.

AND...

...why does he keep returning to it?  That is the greater question.  Why return to issues that are irrelevant to the news of the day.  I have yet to hear any real news on that station either.  Opinion in any news service is available, but, it doesn't dominate 'the talk.'  

He keeps returning to it because it assists him in rebuilding 'the lie' and allowing it to fester as if it were true in the first place.  Limbaugh knows exactly what he is doing and he is allowed to get away with it.


It is like lying and pointing a finger at the guy next to you.  So long as the guy next to you continues to believe the lie and propagate it then you aren't the problem.  No.  But, just the instigator.  It is criminal INTENT of the public airwaves.  He and all those like him are violating the Public Trust.

How many times has the National Inquirer been sued for false content and what has it done to correct its path?  Why then is it allowed in audio and visual media where the damage is greater? 

The culture of this 'infotainment' is corruption.  They practice corruption everyday.  The other competing news agencies are priding themselves on truth and facts.  How can they compete HONESTLY with a news organization that seeks to scandalize every aspect of the political culture of the USA into a 'made for Republican' victory?  


There is a lot "W"rong here and it needs to stop.

Sarah Palin can seek to 'ban abortion' in a childish view of the world.  The fact of the matter is that women face DIFFICULT adult decisions before they have an abortion performed.  To state that women and men allowing 'freedom of choice' to women so they can 'handle' their lives are baby killers is some of the most juvenile behavior and verbiage ever to be witnessed.


To demand a country, a First World country, eliminate abortion as an option for women is oppression, it is sexist and it is like stating the American woman needs to don their burkas when they date.  It prohibits freedom in this country and also inhibits career advancement.  It is a point of view that is uninformed and lacks compassion for others and criminal in its intent.  Abortions are legal in the USA as they are in other First World nations.  It also seeks to impose 'specific' religious dogma on every woman and man in the USA.  


It is some of the most idiotic political attack on a political sector that believes in a woman's ability to handle their own lives.  It is not only insulting, but, humiliating to those that espouse it.

It is easy for the Right Wing to carry on as if it is important as they don't have to support the women and their children after the birth either.  They simply let 'the system' handle the aftermath of oppression and religious zealotry.

Banning abortion is unrealistic, done with religious oppression intended and the 'case' for such a rant should be considered a 'closed case.'  It would be a reasonable complaint if women didn't have 'free will' to decide their futures.  That is not the case in the USA, nor will it ever be.

The Right Wing always 'chooses' those soft targets for their political dogma and it is hideous.  They carry on about the Hyde Amendment as if that was something that was the most angelic aspect of their political rant.


The Hyde Amendment WAS NOT all that.  The reason the Hyde Amendment was passed was to 'contain' budgetary issues.  It literally prohibited abortion from being birth control at the government's expense.  When it was passed in the 1970s the government didn't have welfare reform either.


The FACTS are that Hyde never limited any kind of abortion.  Abortions and parental notification didn't start until long after Hyde was passed.  As a matter of fact 'late term abortions' didn't end until decades of 2000.  


The entire focus is perverted and has no moral authority in the USA.

These are the issues of 'infotainment.'  They are nothing but issues to agitate the electorate while derailing facts and truth.  There are certain principles in the USA, freedom of choice is one of them and the rants of the Right Wing are nothing short of treasonous.

This ? illegal advantage ? executed by the 'infotainment' industry has destabilized the news media services around the country for the previous eight years of the preceding administration.  It has to stop.  

The news services that still practice accuracy in their reporting and opinions respect the rights of individuals.  It is inherent to their reporting.  That respect for individualism is what drives the American economy.  It is why advertisers spend money to compete with their products.  


The 'climate' of news media these days has become hostile to competent competition.  The FCC needs to rein in the lies that are political impetus and damaging to 'freedom of speech' by competing news media. 


Journalists have ethics.  It is when 'infotainment' throws out the ethics that the imbalance causes profound damage to the 'free market' news media industry.