In a matter of three months, contestants poured in from across the globe, ranging from one-time inventors to students at prestigious universities like MIT. Of the more than 100 qualified entries, ”
Aquaduct: Mobile Filtration Vehicle” won based on environmental impact, creativity and design.
Rich Silverstein, founding partner at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, was impressed. “It’s up to the next generation to solve the mess we find ourselves in today,” said Silverstein. “The success of the ‘Innovate or Die’ competition gives me confidence that they have the imagination and creativity to succeed.”
“Aquaduct” was the brainchild of five California-based design students who wanted to address the 1.1 billion people in the world who don’t have access to clean drinking water. The pedal-powered machine successfully transports and filters water without burning fossil fuels or wood, both of which contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions. To see the winner and five runners-up, go to
www.innovate-or-die.com.
All winners and runners-up will receive Specialized Globe bicycles, Specialized's premier vehicle for change, perfect for getting any rider from point A to point B in style. Specialized and Google have already partnered to equip Google's main Mountain View campus with 350 Globes. “We will continue partnering with businesses, non-profits and city governments to implement bike-share programs with the like-minded goal of decreasing CO2 emissions,” said Specialized Founder and President Mike Sinyard. “Let’s all get out of our cars and onto bikes.”
"The diversity, creativity and potential impact of the proposals was impressive," said Dan Reicher, Director of Climate and Energy Initiatives for Google.org and former US Assistant Secretary of Energy. "I was interested to see if bicycle powered technologies could help address global problems like climate change and water pollution. These proposals convinced me that human brainpower can harness muscle power to help solve some of our biggest environmental challenges."
Specialized Bicycles, founded in Morgan Hill, CA in 1974, is a company filled with passionate cyclists who lead the industry with innovative bikes for all types of riding. Specialized is committed to global cycling advocacy and environmental consciousness, including programs like its annual Bike-to-Work Day Challenge, Recycle-a-Tire Project (over four tons of bicycle tires recycled to date) and Specialized Employee Commute Club, which has offset more than 23 tons of CO2 emissions since 2006.
If i could ride a bike when i was three anyone can ride a three wheeler LMAO
'Tis NOT a shit/myth
Same with Specialized... they ccan talk all day about the environemt but how much damage do their factories do when producing all their stuff?
For me that negates a lot of the "bikes are green" argument.
Sorry, I'm just a natrual cynic.
That bike may not solve many environmental issues, but it will solve a tonne of poverty issues like the obtaining and storage of clean water.
keep you area green cycle to work
all that greed for more horsepower, mor ggets, more of this & more of that just destroys our world and tortures all living creatures, that just happens to have the same rights as we do.
wake up mate, this kind of thinkig (ifwe can call it thinking) is leading us to destruction...
Yes making the bike spits out a certain amount of pollution per bike, but the bike puts out 0 emmitions once it's built.
Campare that to a car or even a motorbike plant. Tons more pollution per vehicle to produce, then the vehicles themselves produce carbon.
So overall the "carbon footprint" of bikes is a LOT smaller.
This thing is a great invention and if the manufacturers chose to produce this bike as not for profit, it could make a huge differance to the lives of millions of people.
'Tis NOT a shit/myth
And this bike is an idea, thats it.
The actual product will be refined many times over to address any and all issues we could think of before this would ever reach mass production. I say props for he effort and the idea and and to specialized for making the contest. At least they are trying if nothing else.