Discover your driving force
Take the quizWhose job is it to “save the planet” — is it the government’s responsibility? Consumer activists? Non-profits?
What if it’s none of these? What if it was possible for businesses to do it, by combining social and environmental responsibility with their own business objectives, and achieving their goals while still having a positive impact on the world?
As an example, think about the recent demand for and advent of solar energy.
We’re all familiar with solar panels that are installed in places like rooftops, where they are readily exposed to sunlight. But have you ever considered solar panels being used on other open spaces, like parking lots, streets or even interstates? The potential for generating more energy and more economic opportunity would be massive — that, at least, is what engineering couple Scott and Julie Brusaw are banking on.
Husband and wife team Scott and Julie Brusaw are the creators of a company called Solar Roadways, and have been working on turning parking lots, streets and yes, even interstates, into power-generating surfaces for the past decade.
The idea for “solar roadways” dates back to the early 2000’s, when the phrase “global warming” was beginning to pick up even more steam. Concerned by what she was learning about CO2 emissions, Julie Brusaw pitched the idea of replacing asphalt and concrete surfaces with solar panels that could be driven upon to her husband, Scott, an electrical engineer.
The concept was straightforward enough: solar panels collect the sun’s energy, turn the sunlight into electricity, feed the grid and, in turn, feed the nation. If these solar panels could be used to replace the estimated 28,000 square miles of asphalt and concrete surfaces exposed to the sun, Scott and Julie theorized, they could produce 3X more power than we use as a nation, which would eliminate the need for coal-fired power plants and lower all electricity bills, and open up a new realm of employment opportunities and entrepreneurial offshoots.
