We are all born with an insatiable curiosity about
our wonderful world. Along the way, life's busyness can capture
our thoughts and steal away our curiosity. I loved this story in
the latest Fast Company magazine about a man who looked
at an ordinary life event from a whole new perspective.
Henk Verweijmeren was curious as he watched a flock of sheep warming
themselves on a stretch of highway in Scotland. His curiosity led
to experimenting and then to application of a new source of power.
He was inspired to create the company Invisible Heating Systems,
with the intention of turning every stretch of highway into a solar
cell. Cool water pumped through a grid of pipes beneath a road is
warmed by the sun and produces hot water.This hot water melts snow
on roads, on runways, and even fills hot water heaters. Verweijmeren
says, “In Holland the government determined that if only 15%
of the motorways were paved with this, it would produce more energy
than all the utilities in that country combined.”
Wow! Verweijmeren's curiosity inspired a fabulous new energy source
by using a simple natural phenomenon of taking solar power out of
our roadways. What new doors could open for you if you took more
time to be curious?
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