In the race to save the planet, the technology powering Virgin Hyperloop potentially could lead the charge in reducing the carbon impact of global transportation, one of the largest contributors to climate change, by more than 25 percent, according to Virgin Hyperloop CEO and co-founder Josh Giegel.
"Transportation is the largest emitter in the U.S., it's about 29 percent," Giegel told Cheddar. "So things like electric vehicles, last mile, ride-sharing, all of those things are making a dent."
Virgin Hyperloop uses an electric propulsion system to transport pods from one place to another through a low-pressure tube. Giegel said that the pods can transport people or goods at the speed of conventional airplanes while consuming 10 times less energy.
"But we need to look at mass transportation systems for people, for cargo and that's the opportunity for hyperloop, is that we can live in this century and the next century with technology that allows us to move at these speeds and save this amount of time without having to, i'll say, destroy the planet around us," he said. "It's really sustainability without sacrifice."
The pods also would be able to seat 25 to 35 passengers, take them directly to their destinations without making additional stops, and the service would be "on-demand," allowing passengers to move at their own pace without sticking to a strict departure schedule, according to the CEO. Giegel and colleague Sara Luchian were the first live passengers to test the technology in November of last year.
As global communities continue to seek transportation options that are more climate-conscious, Giegel said he expects technologies similar to Virgin Hyperloop to become more mainstream. He pointed to the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the environment, which led to a reduction in greenhouse gas pollution and even exposed a need for speedier, efficient transportation for vaccine distribution.
"The focus on sustainability, I think, is really, really refreshing and that there's opportunity like here in the U.S. or wherever it might be to 'build back better,' to use the technology of the future to, I'll say, enable the future that we want, which is fast, it's electric, it's clean," he said. "I'm just seeing a much more rapid view on getting people into sustainable modes of transport a heck of a lot faster."
Joel Birch, Co-Founder and CEO of Stacked, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why he doesn't see any new catalysts that would lead to a Bitcoin rally at the moment. He also reiterates that now is a good time for long-term Bitcoin investors to buy low.
The dating app Bumble has sponsored bills and pushed lawmakers to criminalize the online practice of sending unsolicited nudes or “cyberflashing." Payton Iheme, Bumble's head of public policy for the Americas, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the app was going after the harassing behavior beyond its own platform. "Now, while we went to work internally in the company, and we created something called private detector to automatically blur those images so the user can decide if they want to see them, there's nothing for the rest of the internet," she said. "And so that's why we went to work with these laws."
The holiday weekend saw Disney+ and Netflix competing head-to-head for streaming views as the Disney behemoth kicked off the unofficial start to summer with its release of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and Netflix responded with the first part of "Stranger Things" Season 4. The streaming giants caught the eye of Wall Street, and Seth Schachner, the managing director at consultancy Strat Americas, joined Cheddar News to break down the heavy hitters. "This is a very tough, competitive game, and I don't see it getting any easier," he said. "I think you'll probably see more consolidation."
Amid high inflation, shoppers are pinching their pennies in the grocery stores and becoming more frugal when food shopping. However, supermarkets like Kroger are pushing back against passing on the higher costs and demanding reasons for the higher food prices from suppliers.
The founder and president of Cyborg Mobile Kobie Hatcher has been on a strong trajectory to disrupt his industry with a program called The New Technologists. It's not only meant to address the diversity gap within large tech companies but also help pave the way to transform the lives of young BIPOC students. He joined Cheddar News to talk about how he's working to make a difference with the lack of diversity in tech. “There's truly no lack of talent out there. It's just identifying them and letting them know that, hey, I've been in the tech sector for over 20 years. I see you. I know what you can bring, bring it, we need it," Hatcher said.
