In the next few years, we'll answer a lot of questions about the electric vehicle market. Will Tesla's forthcoming, entry-level Model 3 be a winner? Will oil prices stay down and squelch enthusiasm for electric cars? And, speaking of enthusiasm, does the public truly, legitimately—deep in its heart—actually want EVs?
Last year at the Consumer Electronics Show, General Motors announced its plans to add 4G LTE connectivity to most of its vehicles by 2015. It was tough to picture exactly how The Internet of Things might revolutionize motoring then, but 2015 has arrived and it's all becoming clearer.
Last night, about 450 people packed into New York City's Kaufman Center to hear a genetics professor and Monsanto's chief technology officer debate against researchers who are against the use of any genetic engineering technology. Among the audience members were writers for environmental magazines, a well-known biologist who had invented major genetic techniques, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. It was a sold-out show.
Robotic cars that drive everyone around are a distant dream at best, but that hasn't stopped auto manufacturers from selling their whiz-bang appeal. In September it was Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who teased a new "Super-Cruise" feature in the automaker's 2017 Cadillac model. A month later it was entrepreneur Elon Musk, who announced “Autopilot” in his company's upcoming “D series” Tesla S electric roadster.
There are no genetically engineered animals sold for human consumption right now. The only candidate that's anywhere close, AquaBounty's fast-growing GM salmon, seems to have stalled in its approval process, in spite of positive scientific reviews finding AquaBounty fish safe to eat and safe for the environment. As you might guess, the lack of genetically modified meat on the market isn't because of a lack of technology. It's because of politics—GM foods are deeply unpopular, and GM food animals especially so.
