7a. Testing the Hypothesis

1. I would like to pursue an opportunity dedicated to using cleaner energy when shipping goods. A trucking service that uses electric power instead of fossil fuels.

2. The Who: Trucking Companies
    The What: They cause a lot of CO2 emission as they drive across the country
    The Why: There are thousands of trucks that drive every day going long distances to deliver
                      groceries, packages, and any other needed items. The fumes that trucks emit cause
                      serious damage to the environment.

3. Hypothesis: If there is a trucking company that uses cleaner energy like electricity and limits our dependence on fossil fuels, more companies will want to use it to significantly lower their carbon footprint.

Testing the Who: Mainly large companies that use trucking directly have this need. However, we are all invested in the well being of the environment so everyone should be motivated to change our reliance on fossil fuels.

Testing the What: Are some models of trucks worse for the environment than others? How much more expensive would an electric trucking service be?

Testing the Why: Would trucking companies be motivated to make the change for the reason of it being good for the environment or for the reason of it making their company look better?

4. I interviewed 5 people on this topic asking if they would use an electric powered trucking service. One was the owner of a construction company that has 10 trucks and one was an employee of a company that uses many trucks to ship their items. The owner of the construction company said that he would love to use electric powered trucks if the price was right. He mentioned that he looked into having some of his vehicles run by electricity but the cost was astronomical. It did not make sense for him to spend that type of money. The employee of the other company stated that they are always trying to make their processes more environmentally cleaner. If it was a comparable price, he believes his company would use a cleaner method of shipping. They both mentioned that it would look great for their company and it would also make them feel better to be a part of a company that cares for the environment. I then asked three consumers, they spanned from 18 years old to 26 years old. Two of them said they would definitely order from a company that uses cleaner shipping methods even if it was a few dollars more expensive. One of them said they do not really care and that they believe electrically run cars are also not great for the environment, so it does not make that much of a difference.

5. The results of my interviews were not surprising. People care about the environment, but the means of installing less harmful practices is too expensive. Overall, it confirmed that there is an enormous opportunity in finding ways to lower our carbon footprint, however it is costly and difficult to come up with alternative energy methods.