This new 80-day race starts from Europe and requires that contestants meet the same time conditions, and they can do so in any order. The only rule is that no fossil fuels are used.
We’ve all heard of the story of around the world in 80 days. Part of the reason this was so amazing in its time was just the notion that it was even possible to perform such an amazing feat in so little time.
This is being taken to a completely new level now that it has become blasé to go around the world in just 80 days. In fact the fastest jets available could probably meet this goal in under 8 hours of flight time.
Surely this would have been almost impossible, even a decade ago. Now with electric cars and trains, the world has changed rapidly. Boating across the ocean in particular could be a considerable challenge. But where there’s a will there is a way. Several groups of two will be competing for the fastest time.
The underlying purpose of this competition is to raise awareness for clean energy transportation. Also progress has been slow, few people realize how far the human race has come in terms of clean energy development.
This project is similar to Elon Musk’s idea of sending a rocket to Mars just to get the population interested in the possibilities of science again. Plus, in traveling so widely people are going to realize where the clean energy technology breaks down and needs improvement. This will not only be a way to focus on clean energy, but to focus criticism on where it can be invested in further.
