A Swiss psychiatrist-turned-adventurer who circumnavigated the globe in a hot air balloon now wants to become the first to do it in a solar-powered aircraft.
Bertrand Piccard, 56, believes the flight by Solar Impulse 2 offers a chance to promote renewable energy over nuclear and other forms of power that bear a heavy environmental cost.
"The Fukushima story is not only in Japan," he said, referring to the ongoing nuclear crisis that began in 2011 and pointing out that the United States and Europe have had to grapple with nuclear accidents as well.