Thursday, February 22, 2024

How Norway Built An EV Utopia While The USA is Struggling To Go Electric


See How Norway Built An EV Utopia While The USA is Struggling To Go Electric - CNBC Documentary.

CNBC on Youtube has the story.

Norway boasts the highest electric vehicle adoption rate in the world. 82% of new car sales were EVs in Norway in 2023. In comparison, 7.6% of new car sales were electric in the USA last year, according to Kelley Blue Book estimates. The Norwegian government started incentivizing the purchase of EVs back in the 1990s, but it wasn’t until Tesla and other EV models became available about ten years ago that sales really started to take off. Norway’s capital, Oslo, is also electrifying its ferries, buses, semi trucks and even construction equipment. Gas pumps and parking meters are being replaced by chargers. It’s an electric utopia of the future. CNBC flew across the globe to meet with experts, government officials and locals to find out how the Scandinavian country pulled off such a high EV adoption rate.

A so-called electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes charged by solar panels, or by converting fuel to electricity using a generator (often known as a hybrid) or fuel cells. EVs include but are not limited to road and rail vehicles, and broadly can also include electric boat and underwater vessels (submersibles, and technically also diesel- and turbo-electric submarines), electric aircraft and electric spacecraft.

Electric road vehicles surely include electric passenger cars, electric buses, electric trucks and personal transporters such as electric buggy, electric tricycles, electric bicycles and electric motorcycles/scooters. Together with other emerging automotive technologies such as autonomous driving, connected vehicles and shared mobility, EVs form a future vision of transportation called Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric (CASE) mobility.

Early electric vehicles first came into existence in the late 19th century, when the Second Industrial Revolution brought forth electrification. Using electricity was among the preferred methods for motor vehicle propulsion as it provides a level of quietness, comfort and ease of operation that could not be achieved by the gasoline engine cars of the time, but range anxiety due to the limited energy storage offered by contemporary battery technologies hindered any mass adoption of private electric vehicles throughout the 20th century. Internal combustion engines (both gasoline and diesel engines) were the dominant propulsion mechanisms for cars and trucks for about 100 years, but electricity-powered locomotion remained commonplace in other vehicle types, such as overhead line-powered mass transit vehicles like electric trains, trams, monorails and trolley buses, as well as various small, low-speed, short-range battery-powered personal vehicles such as mobility scooters. Hybrid electric vehicles, where electric motors are used as a supplementary propulsion to internal combustion engines, became more widespread in the late 1990s. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, where electric motors can be used as the predominant propulsion rather than a supplement, did not see any mass production until the late 2000s, and battery electric cars did not indeed become practical options for the consumer market until the 2010s.

Government incentives to increase technology adoption were indeed first introduced by Norway in 1990, followed by larger markets in the 2000s, including in the United States and the European Union, leading to a growing market for vehicles in the 2010s. Increasing public interest and awareness and structural incentives, such as those being built into the green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, are expected to greatly increase the electric vehicle market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns reduced the number of greenhouse gases in gasoline or diesel vehicles. The International Energy Agency has stated that governments should do more to meet climate goals, including policies for heavy electric vehicles. A total of 14% of all new cars sold were electric in 2022, up from 9% in 2021 and less than 5% in 2020. Electric vehicle sales may increase from 1% of the global share in 2016 to more than 35% by 2030. As of July 2022 the global EV market size was $280 billion and was expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2026. Much of this growth is expected in markets like North America, Europe, and China; a 2020 literature review suggested that growth in the use of four-wheeled electric vehicles appears economically unlikely in developing economies, but growth in electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler is likely. At more than 20%, two/three-wheelers are already the most electrified road transport segment today, and are projected to continue being the largest EV fleet among all transport modes. Bloomberg reports that in 2023, 292,423,403 bicycles and tricycles sold, representing 49% of the total market. The same report noted that 666,479 buses were sold, with 38% of the market (these are higher priced vehicles, so actual numbers are lower than the percentage of sales), 26,583,856 passenger cars at 14% of sales, and 965,442 vans and trucks with 3% of sales.

Electric vehicles exist around the world, such as:
- Electric car, a Mercedes-Benz EQS
- Electric aircraft, the Solar Impulse 2, which circumnavigated the globe
- Electric tram, a Wiener Linien ULF-B in Vienna, Austria
- Battery electric bus, a BYD bus in Landskrona, Sweden
- E-bike in Manhattan, New York City
- Electric truck, Class 8, a Tesla Semi in Rocklin, California
- Electric cart, an Italcar Attiva C2S.4
- Electric boat, the Tûranor PlanetSolar, the first solar-powered boat to circumnavigate the whole world

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Why Monster Beverage Has The Best-Performing Stock In Over 30 Years


CNBC has the story.

It may come as a surprise that Monster Beverage Corporation, which sells Monster Energy drink, is the best-performing USA stock in 30 years, even over tech giants such as Google, Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft. The company has been run by South African billionaires Hilton Schlosberg and Rodney Sacks since they acquired Hansen Natural in 1990. Monster, followed by main competitor Red Bull, is the leader in the $21 billion energy drink industry. Watch the video above to learn how an unassuming company came to have such wild success by focusing on marketing to audiences of sports such as UFC, MotoGP, Formula 1 and Nascar.

Canada giving Ukraine over 800 drones worth $95 million


CBC News has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Canada will donate more than 800 drones, valued at $95 million, to help the war effort in Ukraine, Minister of National Defence Bill Blair announced Monday. The funding for the new drones comes from the $500-million military aid package announced by the government in June 2023. Ihor Michalchyshyn, the CEO and executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress discusses the new donation.

'Freedom Convoy' returns to Ottawa to mark 2nd anniversary


CBC News has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Protesters have gathered in Ottawa this weekend to mark the second anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy.' This comes after a court ruling in January that found Ottawa's use of the Emergencies Act to clear convoy protesters in early 2022 unreasonable.

Canadian consumers call for shrinkflation regulation


CBC News: The National has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Consumers and advocates upset about shrinkflation — when companies shrink the size of packaging instead of increasing the price — say Canada should follow a growing number of countries that are forcing companies to tell consumers when it happens.

Canadian minister visiting Rafah warns of 'catastrophic' humanitarian situation


CBC News has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen, who was at the Rafah border Tuesday, says there's an urgent need for aid delivery to avoid a 'very catastrophic' situation.

Canada: How a flesh-rotting ‘zombie drug’ is complicating the overdose crisis


CBC News: The National has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Warning: Video contains distressing images : A menacing new additive is turning up in fentanyl and threatening to make Canada’s overdose crisis worse. CBC’s Ellen Mauro breaks down the risks of xylazine, better known as tranq.

More than 6 million Canadians don’t have a family doctor, report finds


CBC News has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Kathleen Ross discusses the lack of family doctors nationwide and the consequences of not addressing the shortage. 'The health of Canadians really rests on the health of our primary care system,' Ross says.

Is Canada failing to meet its pledge to NATO?


CTV News has the story.

Panelists discuss the pressure on Canada to complete NATO defence spending targets and what it will mean for its relationships with allies.

Electric vehicles are becoming easier to find in Canada, but not easier to afford


CBC News: The National has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Electric vehicles are becoming easier to find at Canadian auto dealers, but they are still more expensive than most gas-powered vehicles. EV experts encourage drivers to consider fuel savings and provincial incentives as they mull over their next car purchase.

Canadian military accepting less than 1% of permanent residents who apply


CBC News has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

The Canadian Armed Forces has received more than 21,000 applications from permanent residents eager to join the chronically understaffed military full time, but less than 100 of them have made it into the regular forces in the year since they were allowed to sign up.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Canadian inflation slows to 2.9% in January, down from 3.4%


CBC News has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to 2.9 per cent in January, mostly due to a deceleration in the price of gas, according to data from Statistics Canada. The inflation rate was 3.4 per cent in December.

Canada: Here are some changes to expect when filing your 2023 taxes


CBC News: The National has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Feb. 19 is the first day you can file your taxes online and there are some key changes that will affect the tax filings of many people in Canada --  especially those who work from home.

Rent in Canada hits another record high in January


CBC News has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

The average asking price for rent in Canada reached $2,196 in January, a 10 per cent increase from this time last year. Thomas Davidoff, director of the UBC Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate, discusses his thoughts on the rising rents across the country.

Read more: www.cbc.ca/1.7114976

Ex-Ontario nuclear plant worker charged in secretive leak case


Global National: Feb. 20, 2024
Ex-Ontario nuclear plant worker charged in secretive leak case

Air Canada found liable for chatbot’s bad advice on plane tickets


CBC Vancouver has the story.

CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.

Air Canada has been found liable for a chatbot's bad advice on plane tickets. The airline claimed that the chatbot was responsible for its own actions. However, as Jason Proctor reports, the B.C. The Civil Resolution Tribunal didn't buy that argument, and has ordered Air Canada to compensate a passenger.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

This Is The World's First LIQUID Robot


Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmV3m0QqNOY

AsapSCIENCE on Youtube has the story.

These liquid robots are truly mind-blowing and fascinating.

The Magnetic Slime Robot is interesting. A magnetic slime robot is a self-healing soft robot made up of polyvinyl alcohol, borax and neodymium magnet particles. It was co-created by professor Li Zhang of Chinese University of Hong Kong. It is really a non-Newtonian fluid that behaves like a liquid or solid depending on force, having "visco-elastic properties". The robot is developed by and could be deployed inside the human body to perform tasks such as retrieving objects out of it. Contrary to its name, it currently does not have a robot in it, and is only controlled by magnets. It can reach speeds of 30 millimeters per second.

Properties of the so-called robot are interesting. It is in the form of a blob of slime. It is said to be able to make C and O shapes with its body, and these robots could navigate passages as small as 1.5 millimeters. Its self-healing properties make it able to connect with other separate parts of itself to make a whole. It is made of neodymium magnet particles, which make the slime magnetic, and allow the slime to stretch when being attracted to metal.

The robot has various hypothetical uses for the future, such as in health care. It is believed that this kind of magnetic robot could extract unhealthy objects ingested by humans, and possibly traverse out of the body with the ingested object with it, and scientists state that the slime is capable of "transporting harmful things". The robot could be used to be deployed into the human body to retrieve objects that were possibly accidentally ingested. Zhang states that the slime can prevent toxic electrolytes from leaking out by performing encapsulation, and create a kind of coating around the object that is leaking.

Despite the possible health benefits this "robot" can provide, it is currently toxic to ingest for humans, and will leak out toxic neodymium particles into the body. Researchers coated the slime robot in silicon dioxide to make a protective layer in the belief that it will prevent the slime from having neodymium leak into human insides. Zhang states that the safety of the slime being in the human body is dependent on the time duration it stays inside.

Electrical properties of the robot are interesting. The magnetic slime robot is shown and told to be able to conduct electricity, and to pull wires together. Scientists state that the robotic slime is capable of "circuit switching and repair."