Friday, November 22, 2002
POLAND -- Poland Middle School eighth-graders looked beyond their school years toward a variety of career possibilities Thursday.
More than 60 area professionals spent time at the school telling pupils the highs, lows and future possibilities of their various careers.
Maureen Midgley, plant manager of General Motors' Lordstown assembly plant, spoke to the kids about fuel cell technology -- what she described as the future of the automotive industry.
Midgley explained that fuel cell powered vehicles are automobiles that will emit no pollution. The only products of a fuel cell powered car will be heat and water.
"Probably by the year 2010 there will be fuel cell vehicles on the road, and people will begin to realize this is real -- it is the next generation," she said. "Certainly within the next 20-plus years there will have to be a significant change in technology for propulsion systems and we think fuel cells are it."
Midgley told the pupils "oil will become an issue" by 2030 if another fuel source does not come into play. She said the junior high pupils are at a prime age to build careers working on the technology.