In regards to transportation, if you were to ask someone just before the turn of the 20th century what they wanted, they would tell you a stronger, faster horse. If you were to ask someone today they might still mention more horsepower, a V6 engine, 12 cylinders, a sleek style, decent leg room and a nice companion to ride along with. But many contemporary Americans would probably mention fuel economy and gas mileage as well. Why? Well, an environmentally friendly movement led by Al Gore inconveniently telling the truth about the negative effects of transportation emissions and global warming coupled with a number of geopolitical mishaps all revolving around oil could be influencing the American public to crave a new and improved fuel source. However, I would probably blame most of the growing concern with fuel economy on the exorbitant price of gas. Thus, the (long overdue) rise of the hybrid and electric car!

This is indeed one great example of how the global economy has influenced science and technology. See, according to http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/present-at-the-creation, hybrid cars are not some new phenomenon created by Japanese automakers of the 1990s. No, these types of cars that run on a combination of gas and battery power were created in the late 1960s by Dr. Baruch Berman, Dr. George Gelb, and Dr. Neal Richardson, the three musketeers of electro-mechanical transmission research (that’s a made-up group name). This fact leads one to ask, “Well why did it take 30 years for this technology to make it to the market?” In my assumption I would guess that conspiracy, led primarily by the major oil companies and the politicians whose campaigns benefit from these oil conglomerates, suppressed the spread of commercially available alternative energy sources out of self-interest in order maintain and expand their profits. However, it would be very hard for me to substantiate that claim in around 400 words. So another reason that it may have taken 30 years for this technology to be a commercial success could be the socioeconomic climate of the times. See when the three researchers were displaying their findings to automobile manufacturers in the 1970s, the price of gas was substantially lower than what it is today. In fact, it was not until 1973 during an Arab oil embargo that Americans were beginning to gain some consciousness of where their gas was coming from. And it wasn’t until 1974 that average gas prices exceeded 50 cents per gallon in the United States. Fast forward 30 years and gas is now approaching 3 dollars per gallon, 6 times the price of the gas of 1974. Thus creating a growing concern for fuel economy and a larger market for the hybrid/electric car! Boom… It is interesting to note the love affair between technology and society; how technology molds society is just as ubiquitous as how society molds technology. They play hand in hand and depend on one another.

Anyways, I leave you with Katt Williams. Please excuse the profanity and poor video quality.