Sustainability — What about the solar car?

After reading my post about the Urban Ambassador nomination (here), someone asked, “What about the solar car? Wasn’t that sustainability?”

Yes, the solar car was sustainability work for the future. I think I’ve had sustainability as my lifestyle for so long that I truly don’t know what is/isn’t in the sustainable category. Maybe things are just part of my life (is) or they aren’t (isn’t).

To review, I went to Iowa State University a long time ago. I was the solar car team business manager in 1992-3. When I wasn’t getting donations, I also did some assembly on the solar array for PrISUm II, also known as P2.

So Mr. TellBlast (who was the 1993 solar car team director) and I have watched the electric vehicle scene for a while. I still have GM Impact refrigerator magnets to remember that vehicle. It was beautiful, a thing to behold. Acceleration? The Impact had it in spades. Here is a photo from “I” of GAIN in a Tesla. We had a test ride in October 2014. Also a thing of beauty. I want one. Bad.

I’ve been in contact with the Team PrISUm off and on over the years. The team became office-less while we were still living in Ames. (Remember Morrill Hall in the 90’s? It was scary.) I sent our work (by that time it had become memorabilia) to their office after they had stable office space in Sweeney Hall.

I ran into the team in March 2016, which was quite fun, until we spoke later and learned that again, the team needed to move to a new work space. The car always gets stuck in ‘leftover spaces.’ Way to make the team feel important, all you university of technology leaders.

And we currently drive a hybrid Camry and love it. (However, it doesn’t work well for bee keeping.) Here is my closing shot, a memory from SunRayce 93, PrISUm II crossed the finish line first for Day 5 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. For a related look at the solar car, read this post.