A Blacktip Island entrepreneur has announced plans to manufacture amphibious automobiles, modeled loosely on World War II-era amphibious DUKW boats, to fight climate-change induced flooding. (photo courtesy of Sue Nami)
A Blacktip Island inventor announced plans Wednesday to begin manufacturing buoyant cars in an effort to combat damage caused by climate change-induced flooding.
“Every time you turn on the news you see cars getting washed away in massive floods,” Sue Nami said. “With all these climate changes, disastrous flash floods are becoming the norm. But with a Float-O-Bil, you won’t have to worry about losing your vehicle. When flood waters rise, so will your ride.
“They’ll also be equipped with sensors that’ll inflate a tube around the car, so it won’t get damaged bashing into anything,” Nami said. “When water hits the center of the axle—POOF—an airbag deploys around the car. An anchor’ll be standard, too, so motorists don’t have to be worried about washing away completely. We can’t stop floods, but we can out-maneuver them.”
Residents say the cars will be beneficial, even without flash floods.
“We get a good, heavy rain for a few days, the roads flood,” Lefty Wright said. “That causes all kind of problems ‘cause folks can’t get to and from work. Just last week, when the pond overflowed from normal rain, Dermott Bottoms hit a tarpon driving in to work. With one of these new cars, that wouldn’t have happened, and Dermott would’ve been spared an awkward conversation with his insurance agent.”
Local climate researchers lauded the Float-O-Bil.
“As floods become more common, vehicles like this’ll become standard,” Tiperon University-Blacktip climate sciences professor Goby Graysby said. “We’ll be seeing these all over the world. It’ll drive auto insurance rates down, too. Sure, they’ll cost more up front, but they’ll pay for themselves over time.”
Environmental activists, however, were skeptical.
“This is a Pollyana-esque idea that’s in no way practical,” Coral Reef Aquatic Protectors president Harry Pickett said. “It’ll take years just to build the factory, then more years to produce the cars—which are dubious, at best. Why not take all that energy and money and put it into flood prevention? And stop building in flood-prone zones.”
Nami brushed aside those concerns.
“Harry’s stuck in the past,” she said. “We have to focus on the future, and the future is all about amphibious vehicles. It’s not as far-fetched as Harry makes it sound—there’s still amphibious Duck boats from World War II in service. And constructing the factory and building cars’ll create a ton of new jobs on the island. There’s no down side to this.
“We also have plans to develop up-market models with means of propulsion,” Nami said. “Top-of-the-market will have a small propeller that’ll deploy off the transmission. Lower-priced models with come with either oars or paddles, whichever the customer prefers. And if the Float-O-Bil is a success, we’ll look into building floating houses.”
The Blacktip Times 