The power of dreams -- carbon emissions not included

I had the pleasure of meeting Louis Palmer on Friday -- a Swiss man who is five months away from being the first person to circle the world in a solar-powered, zero-carbon emission car.

For those that have not yet read the whole story about his stop in Merced, click here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/story/353793.html

The thing that amazed me the most about Palmer (besides the fact that he speaks six languages) is the fact that he envisioned building his solar-powered car at age 14. At an age when most kids are caught up in trying to be cool among their peers (myself included), this guy was trying to figure out how to build the vehicle of the future.

He also mentioned that he's been concerned about global warming and environmental issues equally as long, which was also impressive. Palmer's personality was kind of like a younger, Swiss version of "The Professor" from ‘Gilligan's Island’ – an unassuming, charming man who is literally like a walking computer. Not to mention that fact that this guy has enough "pull" to get more than 200 people to help him build his solar-powered car -- and get teams of people around the world to sign up volunteers, guiding him through Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, the U.S. -- and Merced.

I think it' a given that 100 years from now (if not sooner), people will look at Palmer as a pioneer of solar-powered vehicle travel. With the way things are going with more and more "green" vehicles, it's only a matter of time that solar-powered vehicles could become the norm, as opposed to the exception. That is, if we can wean ourselves from our crack cocaine-like addiction to foreign oil.

Hopefully, kicking that dependency will be more than just "a dream."