Hawkins, who advocates averting climate change and addressing the energy crisis one small step at a time, has designed the Icekart with solar panels to power the refrigeration element, replacing the need for a compressor and overnight charging.
Its futuristic lines, “fat” wheels, and fun shape will also attract attention, which will presumably prompt some questions about the design and lead to explanations that will help educate another segment of America about the advantages of solar power.
The design will also undoubtedly help sell more ice cream treats and cold beverages, and the lightweight frame and wide wheels will make the cart easier to move across summer’s sandy beaches.
Photo from Ubergizmo
In the U.S., fifty percent of the electricity generated comes from coal. This means half of all the electricity used is creating not only carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury pollution as well.
Dry ice is made from carbon dioxide, and as it “melts” it returns to its original composition. This, while cutting out the middleman (the power producer), releases just about as much CO2 pollution as electricity generation, though it is a good use of a gas which has, since the Industrial Revolution, become so ubiquitous it is a nuisance.
The Icekart enters a favorable niche in American business. Sales of ice cream and frozen dessert products reached $23 billion in 2006, with more than half of that amount spent on frozen treats away from home. The cost of a typical ice-cream cart (push-powered or bicycle-powered) runs between $2,000 and $4,000.
Cost aside, there’s nothing quite as magical as the sight or sound of an ice cream cart on a sultry summer day. And Hawkins’ climate rescue concept – that many small changes can add up to a revolution in the fossil-fuel energy paradigm – was first expressed by American anthropologist Margaret Mead, who said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”