Video Reflection: Who killed the electric car

'Who Killed the Electric Car' is a documentary which explores the complex set of events around the development and demise of the modern electric car. "Who killed the electric car" portrays a great example of how money and greed seem to rule the way we live our lives. The first electric cars were built in the early 20th century, but became economically unviable compared to machines with internal combustion engines. However later in the century, they made a brief re-appearance as new technologies developed. 

The documentary made it obviously clear that governments, oil companies and large car manufacturers did not want the electric car to take off as they believed that it would not be a profitable option, at least in the short term. Legislations were made and fought in regards to the electric car, but ultimately it was the car manufacturers and oil companies that won, due to their sheer size and increased influence they had in certain government administrations. Car companies used poor technology as a scapegoat to help deter consumers from purchasing electric cars over their other models, arguing that using coal for electric vehicle power would produce worse emissions than using petroleum. General Motors even went so far as to install what they knew were inferior parts into the cars, so that they had a bad stigma attached to them.

Howewver the documentary isnt all doom and gloom, as towards the end it does portray a world in which the electric car is becoming more prominent. Higher oil prices, further entanglements in the Middle East and the increasing threat of global warming are increasing the pressure to reduce dependence on crude oil, and thus look into alternative methods such as electric cars. Many companies are adapting to change to build new car and energy alternatives. Smaller car companies are producing specialist vehicles such as the Tesla and others are doing their own conversions of gas cars to electric or hybrids to plug-in hybrids.

Overall my three take-home messages are:

• Money and oil are such powerful commodities that their rarity and existence has enormous influence into the political decisions made in the world, which is not always a good thing
•  People are becoming more environmentally conscious in the 20th and 21st centuries, as they can feel and see the effects of global warming and other natural phenomenon's
•  The electric car may have been 'killed off' in the past, but it is now re-emerging, bigger and better than ever with large companies now more willing to put electric cars into production at a larger scale

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Rationale - Mighty Vites

Mighty Vites is a multi-vitamin dispenser for kids aged between three and twelve, though it can be used by higher ages. Its main strengths are that it is a compact dispensing unit that allows the user (whether it be parent or child) to easily dispense a multi-vitamin capsule. Many of today's children's multi-vitamins come in large bottles. This has some potential flaws such as it can be difficult for the child to dispense the correct dosage. They usually tip the bottle and numerous capsules come out which creates excessive waste. The Mighty Vites dispensing unit uses a push trigger that only allows one capsule to be dispensed at a time, hence reducing the risk of wastage and creating greater control on the dosage levels administered “One of the biggest concerns with an overdose on children's chewable multivitamins is the sudden increase in iron intake. Iron acts as a poison when consumed in large amounts.” - Jill Armayor, Master of Science in Exercise and Sports Nutrition.

Bottles also make it difficult to access the last of the capsules remaining as most adult hands cannot fit inside the small opening of the neck. The trigger system allows all the capsules to easily dispense through the correct cavities, hence removing the need to reach in and struggle to access the last of the capsules. Mighty Vites is also refillable by using standard multi-vitamin bottles. The deep lip recess on one side allows existing bottles to neatly sit on the body, hence making it easier to refill the dispenser whilst eliminating wastage as the capsules fall into the body. The main body has an internal angled ledge that points down to a cavity. The ledge guides capsules into the cavity where the capsules are stored, waiting to be dispensed. When the push trigger is activated, the two cavities align therefore releasing the capsule to be consumed.

To keep costs down and to make manufacturing simpler, Mighty Vites comes in three different parts: the main body, cap and push trigger. All parts are made from polypropylene as its qualities are ideal for a pharmaceutical product. It is non-toxic, odourless and is food safe making it an ideal choice as the base material for Mighty Vites. The main body is to be coloured Paris White while the cap and push trigger are Indigo Flare. The colour choice was aimed to appeal neutrally to both parents and children, as well as males and females hence making it unisex. This was so that it seemed attractive to either denomination and did not appeal to one more than the others. The turtle as the mascot is there to resemble longevity and strength, as turtles are generally well renowned for living over extended periods of time. All parts are injection moulded to reduce costs in manufacture, labour and transportation.

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