Slashdot Mirror
Are Glowing, Solar Smart Roads the Future?
cartechboy (2660665) writes "We were just talking about glow-in-the-dark roads and how they were having issues already. Now there's a company called Solar Roadways that's looking to make glowing, solar, smart roads. Back in 2009 the Department of Transportation awarded Solar Roadways $100,000 to prototype road systems with embedded digital signage and dividing lines, all powered by the sun. As it turns out, the company's prototype performed well — so well that Solar Roadways is now looking to go big-time, and it's asking for your help to do so. At the heart of the Solar Roadways project sit a vast number of hexagonal tiles. The bottom of those tiles consist of solar panels and circuit boards, covered with a thick sheet of tempered glass. The panels contain LED lights, which can be configured to mark traffic lanes, send messages, or fulfill other functions. The panels also have heating elements to help melt snow and ice during colder months. Are these smart roads the future, or just another pipe dream?"
You are dead on about costs not being considered.. And it is not just in new products either. It has been understood for many decades that gasoline and diesel exhaust cause a lot of death and disease and that environmental clean up was required. Yet there has been no effort to define what one more mile of road or one more car or truck burning fossil fuels generates in negative costs. Both individuals and businesses have trouble with issues they do not wish to confront. Burning fossil fuels and global warming are both issues the public wishes to not understand. Half the yokels are just getting a tiny bit comfortable with the concept of evolution.