Intelligent Streets Coming Our Way

Imagine living in a world where you never have to worry about the negative impacts of coal and oil on the environment. Where there is no pollution in the oceans. Where there are less car accidents. Well, this world isn't as far away as you think. In fact, it's right around the corner! Julie (fun fact: she breeds standard Poodles as a hobby) and Scott Brusaw, two married engineers who met when they were three and four, came up with the idea to create a "solar roadway" which they hope will replace paved and dirt roadways.

Basically, this "solar roadway" consists of solar panel tiles that serve many functions. Not only do they harvest energy from the Sun, but they also have the ability to filter storm water and snow (decreasing the amount of pollution in lakes and oceans), they light up the road for easier and safer nighttime driving, they heat up during winter time to eliminate ice from the roads, they can warn drivers when there is an object (like a fallen tree) in the road, and if they were made into a blacktop they could light up different configurations according to what game people wanted to play (like a basketball court or a four-square court). The manufacturing of these solar panel tiles would also generate more jobs, stabilizing the economy. It would also cost much less than keeping the current roads in the long run because so much money would be saved from not having to repaint and repave roads all the time.

To put it simply, our streets would look like they're from an eco-friendly version of Tron.

These two inventors are entrepreneurs - meaning they don't work for the government. All of their inventions are tested in their own backyard in Idaho. I think this really shows what an "American" is supposed to be like: working hard on their own to make America the best it can be.If this these solar roadways actually worked the way they were intended and were distributed as much as intended, they would produce 3x more energy than Americans use today, which would basically eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. This seems all good and dandy, right? Wrong. This would put major companies in the oil, coal, and mining industries out of work. These companies basically rule the country and are very heavily controlled by the government.

This may seem like a brilliant new idea, but will the government let it happen? Will these massive mining companies let it happen? If the government actually lets these solar panels take over the energy industry, how would Julie and Scott's company be affected by it?