Confused about the headline? Don't be. Just wiki 'Love in the Time of Cholera'.
2050, or thereabouts, will be a very tough time in mankind’s tenure on planet Earth. If experts are to be believed, that is the time by when the Earth’s resources will run out. By then, if we do not manage to colonise two other planets in space, then we are all apparently in for a very hard time.
Complacency, perhaps, is the biggest threat facing us. We have facts, figures and experiments done by very capable scientists everyday that helps the truth stare in our faces. And yet, here we are, standing on the sidelines, barely 40 years away from Earth-exhaustion, cheering on colossal wastes of exhaustible resources such as F1 and motor sports. An alien race looking down on us would surely think we’re daredevils of some sort. Daredevils know the risks involved. We do not.
F1 is arguably the most popular motor sport in the world today. Reportedly, a whopping 600 million people tuned in per race during last year’s F1 season. Italy and Britain are among the world’s biggest markets for F1 TV broadcasters. This year, figures are reported to have jumped up to 9 million for some races.
20 cars; 300 kilometers and nearly 225 liters of fuel spent per car. 4500 liters spent per race; 20 races in a season; hence 9000 liters of fuel spent. And this is just one among the host of motor sports that are consuming fuel at break-neck speeds.
This, is in no way the first time this argument has been posed. Responses to a call for an F1 ban have been meted with such responses as ‘footballers travel in cars too’ and ‘look what F1 has contributed to the world’.
Yes, footballers travel in cars as do cricketers and the layman. And yes, F1 has contributed several key technologies to the world that has bettered efficiency, speed and safety of many engine components. Engineering marvels have arose out of F1 that cannot be paralleled. Yet, have we forgotten to ask at what cost all this comes?
F1 as a sport is interesting, exciting and thrilling. But it’s harmful. There are two sides of the debate and there is only one possible middle ground. And that involves F1 shifting from exhaustible resource based fuel to renewable resource fuel.
But, yes, there is no such technology available today that will drive F1 cars as fast on renewable sources as it does on non-renewable ones. But, at least an effort and a sense of urgency should be induced to start work to that end. If we wait another 40 years to get work done regarding this end, we’ll end up driving electric F1 cars on the moon.
Just imagine, we'll have to share the Moon with these guys!
(Images Courtesy : 4.bp.blogspot.com, www.plu.edu)
