Last month John McCain made a campaign promise that, if elected, he would champion a $300 million prize to develop an inexpensive and powerful automotive battery that could “leapfrog” current available batteries.While the announcement garnered some press coverage, it was covered with fervor in the political as well as technology blogosphere.In fact, it seems to have been one of the most polarizing political announcements in technology and clean-technology investment spheres since a number of candidates promised to make changes in laws regarding carried interest.Tech investors left a number of interesting commentaries on the McCain battery plan.Many deemed the intentions of the plan as noble, but the logistics poor.One of the major arguments, among others, was that the development of such a battery would have a monetary upside that would far outweigh the $300 million prize.Others argued that such money would be better used in some kind of federal R&D program that could foster emerging battery research.
These commentaries got me thinking about prizes and the inherent “carrot and stick” issues that surround such achievement-based prizes.While the clean-tech detractors certainly make interesting and very true points, they’re forgetting the intangible inspiration factor that such a prize could create.An excellent example of such inspiration success could be the $10 million Ansari X-Prize awarded in October of 2004.In the the nine years from introduction to its presentation to the Paul Allen-backed winner Mohave Aerospace Ventures, the prize inspired over twenty-six teams made up of both amateurs as well as professionals to create and successfully launch a reusable manned spacecraft in two separate flights within two weeks.What many fail to point out is that over $100 million was invested in technologies leading up to the two successful Mohave flights.
Wait, isn’t something off here?Why would Mohave and Paul Allen put up ten times the financial muscle into winning a prize that doesn’t even cover the costs of research and development?In the typical investment world such ideas are shear lunacy.In this case wouldn’t it make sense that the prize money merely inspired the group towards the end goal?Why can’t the same true for battery improvements, or wind power, or any other publicly available prize?Isn’t the mere possibility that such a prize could inspire a talented scientist or engineer to shift their efforts towards developing new technology worth forgetting a few logistical shortcomings in a plan?
There however is another important fact that many clean-tech investors have left out.Beyond talk of batteries and prizes, recent campaign statements by both major party candidates illustrate the fact that both candidates are actively interested (at least for now) in making some serious changes to federal energy policy.Placing individual candidates positions aside, if promises from both candidates hold true into a new administration shouldn’t clean-tech investors (as well as the general public) be excited about the possible sea change such policies will bring?
Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of Flickr user AndyArmstrong.
Another week closer to Spring…or so we hope. This week’s links are very heavy on environmental stories. I apologize for the one-dimensionality, but Jarred has some Web 2.0 stuff planned for this week to even things out a bit. Links:
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. offers three major environmental policies for the next president: a carbon cap-and-trade system (wisely endorsed by Senators Obama, Clinton, and McCain); smart grids and modernizing energy delivery infrastructure; and drastic improvements in energy efficiency for buildings and machines. Sounds like a start [Hat Tip: Grist].
Treehugger features stories on space debris (click through to see the image…pretty unbelievable) and the “Pacific trash vortex“–an area twice the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that’s entirely covered in garbage (more here). Further proof of the attitude that out of sight is out of mind…until our children grow up, anyway.
The latest version of Google Earth includes a feature that shows users when a satellite image was taken; this is enormously important for conservation efforts aimed at tracking land and water conditions over time. Also helpful for spies.
If I managed to freak you out with my post on the need to specialize in your career, Monica (of Twenty Set) follows her original post with helpful tips to take inventory of your current job in terms of skill focus. One sign that your current job is too unfocused:
You could train a recent college graduate to do your job well in a few days or less - This demonstrates you do not need any experience or knowledge learned over time to complete your tasks, which implies busy work or menial duties.
The New Yorker featured a really fascinating article on something I rarely give a second thought: elevators. The story includes an account of the horrific experience of a guy trapped in an elevator for 41 hours. The time-lapse video of his ordeal makes me think I’ll be taking the stairs for a few weeks.
I keep procrastinating on a green architecture post; in the meantime, this is one of the coolest green building concepts I’ve seen recently: urban skyscraper farming, courtesy of the Dwell Magazine blog. Check out this design, and follow the link for details:
I’m giving Jarred this raw meat themed iPod case for his birthday, just to send Ashish (and Steve Jobs, for that matter) over the edge. Fortunately for you, Ashish, it’s way too expensive for a gag gift.
For those of you who get jazzed up over some of our space-related posts, Google just made your (and my) day. Last August, the G-spot updated their Earth application with a new feature called Google Sky. Sky allows you to discover the universe in much the same way we’ve been able to discover our own planet using Earth. I’ve toyed with it off and on, and it’s pretty awesome. But since I unfortunately can’t download Earth at work, I am unable to browse the galaxy while I sit on my keister doing jack diddly enthusiastically seek assignments from my superiors.
The Giant of Mountain View must have heard my soul’s death rattle for, behold, here comes “Google Sky Maps.” (That’s my name for it anyway. I think they just call it “the web version of Google Sky,” but that’s lame. C’mon Google! Use some of that 20% time to dream up something creative. Google SkyNet? No? Too creepy?).
It still has room to improve, though. I get a little disoriented; as Garett Rogers suggests, it could use some sort of ground reference so we are reminded that we’re always observing from the Earth’s surface. And the service is still a little laggy, likely due to an overwhelming response from the geekosphere to Google’s conch shell call (I was lucky enough to have a tape recorder with me when the sweet sound came echoing down the streets of Washington. See below.)
Anyway, for better or worse you can now waste spend your billable free hours frolicking across the universe. Enjoy.
I saw an ad for the film while browsing the web a few weeks ago, and I almost scrolled right by. I usually don’t pay attention to web ads, let alone click on them, but I took the bait on this one upon seeing Ron Howard’s name attached to it. The film had received several honors and awards, but it was the enticing trailer that finally won me over.
And, as I’ve noted before, I’m a sucker for pretty much everything related to space. So I queued it up on Netflix and waited patiently.
A week or so later, the mailman brought me my little red envelope. I bought some beer, gathered some friends, and settled in to be entertained. I was not entertained. I was spellbound.
Before I introduce this week’s winner, let me make two disclosures.
At least two of the writers here at Tropophilia are huge space junkies. Taylor and I both went to Space Camp, were (and, come Christmas, will be born-again) Trekkies, and still get jazzed over anything that manages to exit the Earth’s atmosphere for destinations both known and unknown, explored and unexplored. Space is indeed the final frontier and - being both Americans and bros, and thus by nature in love with chasing frontiers - we can’t help but be obsessed with it.
I watched The Astronaut Farmer courtesy of Netflix last night, and while the movie was a little too cheesy and warm-and-fuzzy for me, I still had my heart in my throat and a little water in my eyes when this everyday dude finally gets his homemade rocket off the ground, into orbit, and then back down to Earth.
And so, with those disclosures made, it is my pleasure to announce that the recipient of this week’s Tropophy is Virgin Galactic. Yesterday, Virgin Chairman Richard Branson unveiled the design of SpaceShipTwo, the improved iteration of the SpaceShipOne model designed by Burt Rutan which won the Ansari X Prize in 2004. By the end of 2010, this vessel will be taking civilians on trips into space. Fo’ real, yo.
Late last night or early this morning we surpassed 10,000 visitors to this site since our launch in January. I’d call that a decent first 7 months. Thanks so much for reading, commenting, and spreading the word about Tropophilia. We’ll try our best to keep you coming back. -T
Put a little happy in your day. Here is the NYT write-up on him. Make sure to watch the vid in high quality. Thanks to Hank for pointing me to this! - J
Brian Greene calls attention to the transformative, inspirational effect that science can have on our lives if we only take the time to explore and understand it. Money quote: “The wonder of the cosmos transcends everything that divides us.” Check it out. - J
Disclaimer:All content found on Tropophilia represents the thoughts and positions of its authors alone, and does not seek to represent those of their employers.
Last month John McCain made a campaign promise that, if elected, he would champion a $300 million prize to develop an inexpensive and powerful automotive battery that could “leapfrog” current available batteries. While the announcement garnered some press coverage, it was covered with fervor in the political as well as technology blogosphere. In fact, it seems to have been one of the most polarizing political announcements in technology and clean-technology investment spheres since a number of candidates promised to make changes in laws regarding carried interest. Tech investors left a number of interesting commentaries on the McCain battery plan. Many deemed the intentions of the plan as noble, but the logistics poor. One of the major arguments, among others, was that the development of such a battery would have a monetary upside that would far outweigh the $300 million prize. Others argued that such money would be better used in some kind of federal R&D program that could foster emerging battery research.
