Solar impulse for a cleaner sky and human conscience

The cries of pollution of all kinds are hitting the sky. Global warming is as much a reality as the day light is. In that sense, when science and technology come together with their conscience in the right place, it sure can create miracles for the humankind and increase the longevity of this tiny ball of life called earth.

When Solar Impulse took off from Abu Dhabi and landed in Oman, the world exhaled a sigh of both relief and hope. Reason: The world’s first and only solar powered plane holds the potential to change the way we fly. On its broad shoulders that appear grey from the skies above, it carries the fruits of 13-years of research that went into building this plane.

After Muscat in Oman, the quintessential Ahmadabad in Gujarat played host to the plane. When it landed, the country was thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking technology invention that the world would greatly benefit from. Soon, the plane will leave for Varanasi, making it two stops in India for Solar Impulse 2. Indeed a rare honour, just around the time when India is all set to take on the world economically and historically.

The founder of Solar Impulse 2 Andre Borschberg has been at the controls when the single-seater took off from Al Bateen Executive Airport. Borschberg and Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard are alternating as pilots as the plane goes around the world, taking over five months to complete the spin. When it ends its journey, the world would have started on a new one, that of celebrating the triumph of sun power, the new ways to harness the solar energy and of course, a better way to maintain bilateral relations with countries that provide oil to the world.

When Solar Impulse 2 wins, the new road opens into the inner alleys of human conscience.

The social media networking sites are almost on fire, anticipating the winning journey of Solar Impulse 2, hailing the power of mind and the ever-so-giving nature that has gifted the human race with insights into new ways of living.

Twitter has been adding approximately 40 – 50 new tweets almost every minute with people all over the world celebrating its fruitful journey. As the plane landed, there were reports that the twitter had an impossible task at hand, of accommodating the tweets of celebration. In any case, it is heartening to know the world was out there, celebrating the safe landing of a plane of future.

Prior to taking off, Andre and Piccard are presumably on high spirits. And they did send out the customary tweets, helping the world find the right spirit to hold up its solar flying machine in the high skies. Andre was elated to say Solar Impulse isn’t just about a plane flying on sun’s energy. ‘With the @solarimpulse team, we aim to explore new solutions and ideas’. That goes WAY beyond just flying.

Piccard was candid about the entire flight. It’s a milestone yes. But then, Solar Impulse is also a stepping stone to better solutions that can emerge out of successful implementation of solar energy. Imagine if Sun could be a solution to all our energy needs? Our seas will be clear, our relationships better and countries can focus on trade instead of looking for oil or fracking for shale gas in each others’ backyard.

The spirit in Piccard’s message soared high. ‘We need pioneering spirit to do things that have never been done before. Clean technologies, like the ones on @solarimpulse, can divide by two the energy consumption in our world!’ Now, that’s beyond just technology that would do the speaking for the future.

Gujarat, the seat of royalty is also home to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has been the champion of the solar cause. During his reign as CM, he set up many projects that were about harnessing the solar energy to provide civic amenities to the population of the state at large.

Now, with Solar Impulse having landed in the city, Ahmadabad has truly become a destination for forward looking technology that doesn’t include exploitation of earth, in any manner that would cut her life short by time or resources.

Image Credit: http://press.solarimpulse.com/