Seven years ago, the White House was bracing itself for not one pandemic, but two. In the spring of 2013, several people in China fell sick with a new and lethal strain of H7N9 bird flu, while an outbreak of MERS—a disease caused by a coronavirus—had spread from Saudi Arabia to several other countries. “We […]
The Kubanek Pond
The Pond Reflections on a non-Human Centred View Way of Living Cold, wet leaves Floating on moss-coloured water And the croaking of frogs— Cracked bell-notes in the twilight. – Amy Lowell Many years ago I had a pond dug in our backyard. At first it was for our golden retriever to swim in when […]
Daimler deploying more electric big rigs for field testing
Daimler Trucks North America is getting more battery-electric trucks out into the world, if not the wild. The Portland company said Tuesday that six heavy-duty and two medium-duty electrics will be deployed with a group of customers who are working with it “to identify and address all potential hurdles to large-scale deployment of commercial battery […]
Getting to 20 Million EVs by 2030
Overview The number of electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. is projected to increase from 1.5 million in 2020 to 10–35 million by 2030 and will be a major disruptor to the electric power sector Major adoption drivers include decreasing vehicle and battery costs, expanding EV models, increasing charging infrastructure, and growing market awareness of […]
Plastic Sucks
Plastic Sucks One of the perhaps not so surprising side effects of Covid-19 is our increased use of plastic. Clearly, because of the fear of contamination, we are no longer using reusable items, more goods are being purchased online [which often means more packaging], personal protective equipment, the masks and gloves and other medical equipment […]