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Category: Transportation (Page 2 of 2)

Electric-Vehicle charging stands outnumber gasoline pumps at a Circle K service station outside Kongsberg, Norway

Bloomberg »

It’s a scene that is steadily being replicated all over the Nordic country, offering a glimpse of what may be in store for drivers the world over in the years ahead.

When it comes to electric vehicles, Norway is very much a trailblazer. It has moved much more rapidly away from the internal combustion engine than its neighbors thanks to generous tax breaks and incentives, which made Tesla Inc.’s battery-powered Model Y cost competitive with a gasoline-burning Toyota Motor Corp. RAV4.

Most countries can’t afford to move quite as fast as wealthy Norway — the nation’s government estimates that various supports measures cost it some $1.8 billion annually in lost revenue. But the International Energy Agency says the rest of the world is going in the same direction, bringing peak oil demand before the end of the decade.

Monday may have set a global record for the hottest day ever. Tuesday was even hotter. Wednesday may break it again. [Updated]

AP »

The planet’s temperature spiked on Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer, and Wednesday could become the third straight day Earth unofficially marks a record-breaking high, the latest in a series of climate-change extremes that alarm but don’t surprise scientists.

The globe’s average temperature reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a common tool based on satellite data and computer simulations and used by climate scientists for a glimpse of the world’s condition. On Monday, the average temperature was 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit (17.01 degrees Celsius), breaking a record that lasted only 24 hours.

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For two straight days, the global average temperature spiked into uncharted territory. After scientists talked about Monday’s dramatic heat, Tuesday (July 4th, 2023) temperatures soared 0.17 C hotter, which is a huge temperature jump in terms of global averages and records.

National Observer » Unofficial record for hottest days in human record keeping smashed for two days running

AP | Washington Post | NBC | PBS | The Guardian

Self-driving cars are “surveillance cameras on wheels”

Bloomberg »

While security cameras are commonplace in American cities, self-driving cars represent a new level of access for law enforcement — and a new method for encroachment on privacy, advocates say. Crisscrossing the city on their routes, self-driving cars capture a wider swath of footage. And it’s easier for law enforcement to turn to one company with a large repository of videos and a dedicated response team than to reach out to all the businesses in a neighborhood with security systems.

“We’ve known for a long time that they are essentially surveillance cameras on wheels,” said Chris Gilliard, a fellow at the Social Science Research Council. “We’re supposed to be able to go about our business in our day-to-day lives without being surveilled unless we are suspected of a crime, and each little bit of this technology strips away that ability.”

Toyota claims solid-state battery breakthrough with a possible range of 1,200 km that charges in 10 minutes

The Guardian »

David Bailey, a professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, said that if Toyota’s claims were founded, it could be a landmark moment for the future of electric cars.

“Often there are breakthroughs at the prototype stage but then scaling it up is difficult,” he said. “If it is a genuine breakthrough it could be a gamechanger, very much the holy grail of battery vehicles.”

FT | The Driven | CleanTechnica

Automakers enjoyed stronger sales than previously predicted for the first half of 2023

The Detroit Bureau »

Most analysts predicted sales for the full year 2023 would be between 13 million and 14 million units, with 6.5 million for the first half. However, the actual numbers are going to be closer to 8 million vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first six months, with the second quarter outperforming the first quarter.

“We came into 2023 concerned about affordability, supply constraints, and a fragile economy,” noted Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. “But the jobs market has remained healthy, and consumers have found a way to buy new wheels.

“As we close the first half, the market is showing signs of being more balanced, with smaller, more predictable changes in sales and less news about big price changes. A year from now, we might look back at this point as the beginning of a return to normal.”

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