NationStates Jolt Archive

Roads of the Future

A resolution to increase the quality of the world's environment, at the expense of industry.


Category: Environmental


Industry Affected: Automobile Manufacturing


Proposed by: Beautiful skies

Description: With the use of the technology we, the members of the UN have at our disposal I propose the creation of a gas free, accident free, traffic free road system.

By embedding powerful electromagnets into the roads and using electromagnetic pulse generators we can safely provide power and propulsion without the use of hazardous wires and connections. This allows safe use of roads by pedestrians and animals.

Power to the magnets will be provided by super powerful solar dishes and the energy created by lightening in the atmosphere, collected by lightning rods.

The traffic system will be controlled by super computers, maintained and protected by countless employees, providing jobs to not only computer technicians but to everyone from electricians to janitors. These computers will cut travel time in half, prevent traffic before it occurs, prevent accidents, and eliminate the need for drivers licenses.

The automobile Manufacturing Industry will be converted to create cars and trucks compatible with the road system and with Direct connections to road management teams, 911, and super computers around the world.

This overhaul will provide jobs to millions of people around the world creating an economic boom, offsetting any and all costs for the road systems creation.

Approvals: 7 (Sorgloss, Taeem, Masoa, Wolololia, OCR, Thymlia, Lisergicanabis)

Status: Lacking Support (requires 117 more approvals)

Voting Ends: Sat Aug 26 2006

Excuse me while I laugh maniacally on the way back to my office.

HotRodian UN Representative
Accelerus Dioce

thats messed up

I think it belongs in the Silly Proposals thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11589673&postcount=3210). Oh wait, it's already in there.

Bob Flibble
UN Representative

thats messed up

OOC: I agree. The thing is, your proposal is a cool idea, and you probably mean very well, but...to put it plainly, it's ridiculous.

OOC: I agree. The thing is, your proposal is a cool idea, and you probably mean very well, but...to put it plainly, it's ridiculous.
In the short term. However, I could forsee something like this happening at some point in the, er, very far future. Perhaps a more general proposal for research on improved transportation? Or something like that?

And who exactly is going to pay for all of this?

I think it belongs in the Silly Proposals thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11589673&postcount=3210). Oh wait, it's already in there.

Bob Flibble
UN Representative

Well there is a UN card for that ;).

http://test256.free.fr/UN%20Cards/pointinghanddone1nt.jpg

But, in all seriousness, your proposal is an interesting idea, but not the kind of ideas we're looking for in UN proposals. Peruse the Past UN Resolutions (http://www.nationstates.net/85553/page=UN_past_resolutions) (well, the more recent ones, that is) to get a sense of what we like to see in resolutions. It may also be helpful to review the Proposal Rules (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=420465).

I think most 'silly' UN proposals can be turned into rather interesting issues (but I know Beautiful Skies is not at 500 million yet).

I think most 'silly' UN proposals can be turned into rather interesting issues (but I know Beautiful Skies is not at 500 million yet).500 million is barely out of nappies. Mind you, 5 billion is only just past the moody adolescent stage.

Utterly impossible for Third World / under-developped nations such as Ariddia to implement. It's a nice thought, and and if you want to personally offer us the technology, materials and personnel we'll take them, but otherwise this simply isn't feasible.

The problem, in a nutshell, is that nations in the NS UN form a spectrum of past, present and future tech. Resolutions need to be somewhat past tech friendly, and definitely present tech friendly. This resolution isn't even present tech friendly and it might even suffer from the bad science problem.

First there is the power problem. NiMH batteries can aready provide the power source for the pratical EV car (OOC: and the only reason you don't see this in the RW is because Chevron Texaco owns the pattent ... until 2010 that is) so the question of getting power to present tech cars is a non issue. Certanly pushing people through strong magnetic fields isn't the healtiest answer. (Unless you are talking future tech warp/spindizzy fields and we all know those are perfectly safe.)

Computerized traffic systems are probably easier to manage, you only need to equip low level sesors into the roads, and special processors into the cars. There have been proposals for automated HOV lanes for years now. It's still a past tech problem, but easy for present tech.

But, and here is the killer but, this resolution, nice though it is, has no business being in the UN in the first place. Is this a major international issue? (I suppose if you want your high tech cars to travel in another nation it is, but you need to make that argument in the resolution itself.) Is this a fndamental human right that must be enforced world wide? (Don't think so.) It this some attempt to force other nations to spend money? DEFINITELY!

Perhaps this might make a better daily issue than a UN resolution. Unfortunately, it would probably be rejected there for being too reasonable.

The problem, in a nutshell, is that nations in the NS UN form a spectrum of past, present and future tech. Resolutions need to be somewhat past tech friendly, and definitely present tech friendly. This resolution isn't even present tech friendly and it might even suffer from the bad science problem.
I think everything is do able with present technology.

The only flaw he seems to have is he still wants to use roads and cars. I dunno if it could be done like that though it likly could(with differnt cars). It basically wants the world to run on maglev trains(magnetically levitated) instead of gas powered cars. Which just as a side note is amzingly expensive unless Beautiful skies has found a cheap material that super-conducts at room tempeture(which sientiests have been working at for at least 50 years and still havn't found one)

Actually the "bad science" part was "Power to the magnets will be provided by super powerful solar dishes and the energy created by lightening in the atmosphere, collected by lightning rods." We already had a discussion on complete solar power resolutions, and the lightning rod suggestion is even more questionable.

Indeed, not to mention the sheer amount of raw materials needed to produce the supercomputers, massive solar panels, road systems, cars, and electromagnets and the pulse generators for 30,000+ nations.

It's a decent concept. However, it's extremely costly. I know that I wouldn't be willing to fork out the billions of tribbles (yes, that is my currency) that it would take to do this.

I do also realise that this has alreay been pointed out numerous time.

Seems like it would require even more strip-mining and development of destructive industries -- even the creation of solar panels requires petroleum and toxic manufacturing processes. And then of course the extent of this new highway system with giant magnets everywhere reminds me of an old song by a little known punk rock band "The Blue Meanies." They sang a song called "Pave the World" and the chorus went something like this: "Pave, pave, pave the world!" It was very catchy. Anyway... no thanks -- this technology would only make things worse.

I'll support this if you support my Rail Gun initiative? I want to shoot icebergs at the moon.