Emerging Ideas Roundup: Culture & politics

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Changing rates quickly is becoming easier as cities replace meters with parking pay stations that cover multiple spaces and can be updated remotely from city hall. Some cities, San Francisco among them, are beginning to install wireless sensors that can tell them when a space is occupied, allowing them to know when pricing needs to be changed.

With 230 million motor vehicles in the United States, that might just mean a lot less driving and a much healthier environment.

Finding NEVerland

More than a golf cart, not quite a traditional car. Welcome to the world of the NEV-or neighborhood electric vehicle-a battery-powered, superclean vehicle that travels 25 miles an hour or less, perfect for a quick trip to the neighborhood market. So why isn't there one on every street corner? Well, it turns out that no one seems to know about them. Perhaps that's poised to change, posits Green Car Journal (Summer 2006). With gas prices on the rise and more conversations about alternative fuels and green technologies, the dawn of the NEV era may finally be here.

Frankenfelines

Cat allergies? No worries, thanks to a San Diego-based company that has developed a hypoallergenic cat. According to Plenty (Aug./Sept. 2006), scientists at Allerca Inc. are altering cats' genetic profiles so they don't produce the glycoprotein responsible for itchy eyes, sneezing, and hives. There are some hitches. Not only do these kittens carry a hefty price tag-$3,950-but, according to critics, there is no guarantee that the genetically tweaked critters will lead normal, healthy lives. Maybe it's still better to accept the sneezing and adopt a stray.

ROACHES Like Us

Tiny robots that act and smell like cockroaches? Yep. The pheromone-dipped roachbots are a creation of a group of French, Swiss, and Belgian scientists, according to Wired (Aug. 2006). The machines infiltrate roach nests and, through scent and movement, coax the roaches out of their home and into the light-something they generally avoid like Raid. But this isn't a form of high-tech extermination: The scientists are actually seeking insight into collective intelligence.

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