TED Talk Grid Extra Credit Quiz

This TED Talk proposed an idea to eliminate traffic gridlocks by implementing "smart roads," even smarter public transportation, and going green like never before. Bill Ford, Henry Ford's great grandchild, says cars are "quite literally in my blood." "My great grandfather was Henry Ford, and on my mother's side, my great grandfather was Harvey Firestone. So when I was born, I guess you could say expectations were kind of high for me."

Ford continues, "But my great grandfather really believed that the mission of the Ford Motor Company was to make people's lives better and make cars affordable so that everyone could have them. Because he believed that with mobility comes freedom and progress. And that's a belief that I share." Ford is also very passionate about the environment. He joined Ford Motor Company after college. He took the job to see if he could provoke environmental change within his workplace. Most thought he was a little crazy, citing what Ford was talking about was a mere fad and that it wouldn't last long. Nowadays, most cars are fuel efficient and much healthier for the environment. Today there are around 800 million cars on the road worldwide. Ford states that the number is going to grow to between two and four billion cars by mid century. He says this will create a massive traffic gridlock like never before. Ford states, "Today the average American spends about a week a year stuck in traffic jams, and that's a huge waste of time and resources. But that's nothing compared to what's going on in the nations that are growing the fastest. Today the average driver in Beijing has a five-hour commute." Global gridlock is going to stifle economic growth and our ability to deliver food and health care, particularly to people that live in city centers. And our quality of life is going to be severely compromised. Ford said we need an integrated system that uses real time data to optimize personal mobility on a massive scale without hassle or compromises for travelers. And frankly, that's the kind of system that's going to make the future of personal mobility sustainable.