Untung di negeri Belanda ada sistem pengangkutan umum yang bagus hingga Marlene dan saya tidak perlu punya mobil.
--- CNN.com Why the world faces a massive traffic jam (CNN) -- Sustainability is the biggest issue facing global business in the 21st century. While breakthroughs like improved battery technology will likely provide a solution to the CO2 challenge, another issue -- "Global Gridlock" -- is quietly taking its place. Global gridlock can be defined by numbers. The world's population is growing and is becoming more affluent. There are approximately 6.8 billion people in the world today. Within our lifetime, that number will approach 9 billion. Today, there are about 800 million vehicles on the road worldwide, but by midcentury that number could grow to between 2 and 4 billion. Watch Bill Ford's TED Talk If we continue to follow the personal mobility model that is now in place, the world's roads are going to become too crowded. Commutes will become longer; traffic jams will become larger and more ubiquitous. Economic opportunity will be stifled. More time and resources will be squandered while people try to get from point A to point B. This all threatens the promises of both physical and social mobility, which in turn lessens opportunities to improve the world's standards of living. TED.com: Robin Chase on Zipcar and her next big idea There's no single answer to this new threat to our mobility, and it isn't going to be solved by one person or group. It's going to take corporations, entrepreneurs, NGOs, universities, governments and other interested parties all working together to build a global, interconnected system of transportation and mobility solutions. Smart businesses, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will see this as a tremendous opportunity and a job creator. We need to develop better mass transit systems and strive to find new forms of individual mobility. Cars will continue to evolve, but they will need to work in harmony with other cars, city infrastructure and other forms of transportation. We need smart cars and smart infrastructure that communicate with each other while using real-time data to maximize their efficiency. We also need to tie in innovative and unique solutions that in their own way address global gridlock. Some of these solutions already are already being developed. Masdar City is a carbon-neutral city in Abu Dhabi, being built from the ground up, where no internal combustion vehicles will be used within the city limits. People will get around on foot or bike above ground or with driverless pods beneath the city. In Manhattan, 34th Street traffic will be managed better through dedicated bus lanes, private automobile restrictions, and optimally timed traffic lights. In cities across the United States, smart parking is already being enabled by phone applications that can alert drivers to parking spots -- and even reserve them in advance. This will work to eliminate one of the largest contributors to inner-city gridlock: drivers trolling around for parking. At Ford, we are rapidly expanding our commitment to intelligent cars that can wirelessly talk to each other to help make driving safer, more efficient and more enjoyable. We're doubling our intelligent vehicle investment in 2011, and we've initiated a new 20-member task force of scientists and engineers to explore the technology's broader possibilities. TED.com: Robots that "show emotion" Other automakers also are investing in related technologies. The goal is for all intelligent vehicles, one day, to be able to talk to each other, no matter what name is on the grille. Just as we all embraced the green energy challenge, we must now start attacking global gridlock with the same passion. We are starting to make progress, but we've got a long way to go. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Links referenced within this article Watch Bill Ford's TED Talk #expand1 TED.com: Robin Chase on Zipcar and her next big idea http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/robin_chase_on_zipcar_and_her_next_big_idea.html TED.com: Robots that "show emotion" http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you.html Find this article at: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/26/ford.mobility/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 © 2008 Cable News Network. ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
