Solar taxi driver plans global zero emissions race

GENEVA – A Swiss inventor who last year circumnavigated the globe in a solar taxi says four teams will follow in his tire tracks next week. Louis Palmer says the teams from Australia, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland will fire up their electric vehicles Aug. 16 in Geneva in an effort to race around the world in 80 days without producing any carbon emissions. They will finish there again after 18,642 miles (30,000 kilometers) on the road in Jan. 2011. On the way they will stop in 150 cities including Berlin, Moscow, Shanghai, Los Angeles and Cancun for the U.N. climate change meeting at the end of November. Palmer told the AP on Wednesday the aim is to show that electric vehicles are practical for daily use. He hopes to repeat the race every two years.—AP