Think of it as the “Endless Summer” for the green set.
A PBS-produced documentary about the Swiss teacher who drove his solar-powered taxi around the world has been released on DVD. The hour-long “Solartaxi: Around the World With the Sun” is now available on Amazon for $16.99.
The film chronicles Swiss teacher Louis Palmer, who built a solar-powered two-seat taxi that towed a trailer covered in photovoltaic cells and started driving it around the world during the summer of 2007. Palmer even affixed a taxi sign to offer rides for anyone interested in part of the journey.
Over an 18-month period, Palmer drove the taxi more than 32,000 miles, including a trip through parts of the U.S. in 2008. While most of the voyage was made on sun rays, Palmer occasionally had to plug in for a recharge when cloud-cover prevented the car from powering up. That’s still enough to qualify for the “green roadtrip” title and it is an inspiring look at what’s possible with a lot of ambition and mostly free energy.