U.N. Secretary-General Warns of 'Total Disaster' If Global Warming Isn't Stopped

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general said the world must dramatically change the way it fuels factories, vehicles and homes to limit future warming to a level scientists call nearly impossible.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres. 

That’s because the alternative “would mean a catastrophic situation for the whole world,” António Guterres told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.

Guterres said he’s about to tour Pacific islands to see how climate change is devastating them as part of his renewed push to fight it. He is summoning world leaders to the U.N. in September to tell them “they need to do much more in order for us to be able to reverse the present trends and to defeat the climate change.”

Read the story from Time magazine - “U.N. Secretary-General Warns of 'Total Disaster' If Global Warming Isn't Stopped.”

Coalition spends millions on electric vehicles despite claiming Labor push will 'end the weekend’

The Morrison government's derision of Labor's electric cars policy has been undermined after it emerged that the Coalition has spent millions of dollars encouraging Australians to use the vehicles and its MPs routinely spruik the technology.

Mitsubishi chief executive Mutsuhito Oshikiri, Minister for
Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher, then-minister for Environment
 and Energy Josh Frydenberg and then-AGL chief executive
Andy Vesy at an electric car event in 2017.

The government has aggressively criticised Labor's election pledge that half of all new cars sold in 2030 would be electric, claiming it would "end the weekend" by forcing Australians to stop driving petrol-guzzling 4WDs.

A Liberal Party advertisement running on Twitter, shared by Energy Minister Angus Taylor on Friday, derides Labor leader Bill Shorten's statement that electric vehicles could be charged in eight to 10 minutes.

The ad claims that in fact, "electric cars will tend to charge between about eight and nine hours overnight”.

Read the story from The Age by Nicole Hasham - “Coalition spends millions on electric vehicles despite claiming Labor push will 'end the weekend’.”

Big Diesel-Burning Pickup Trucks Are Paying for GM’s Electric Future

The vehicles that will secure the next decade for General Motors Co. aren’t covered in self-driving sensors or loaded with batteries. No, the future depends on hulking pickup trucks that often run on diesel and cost more than the average BMW.

Sales of heavy-duty pickups like the 2020 Chevrolet
Silverado are paying for General Motors to invest
billions into electric vehicles and driverless technology.

That’s the irony at the heart of GM’s event this week at its sprawling factory in Flint, Michigan, where the next iterations of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra will be introduced. These revamped heavy-duty pickups, which go on sale in June, feature advanced, lightweight materials and fuel-efficient engines but none of the technology that will supposedly shape the next era of the auto industry. Yet in Detroit that future can’t exist without the profit margins generated by classic pickup trucks.

Read the story from Bloomberg by David Welch - “Big Diesel-Burning Pickup Trucks Are Paying for GM’s Electric Future.”

Drivers airlifted to safety as freak rain closes freeway

Drivers were winched to safety after becoming trapped in their vehicles on the Hume Freeway as heavy rain brought floods and emergency warnings to northern Victoria on Thursday afternoon.

The flooded Hume Freeway, near Wodonga, on Thursday afternoon.

Victoria’s State Emergency Service had responded to more than 20 requests for assistance by 1pm (ADST), including reports of up to 100 cars trapped on the freeway near Wangaratta, in the state’s north-east.

Drivers and passengers waited on the tops of their vehicles before they could be airlifted away from the flooded road, as emergency services warned of worse weather to come later in the afternoon.

Read The New Daily story “Drivers airlifted to safety as freak rain closes freeway.”

Nissan plans to be 'trigger' for electric vehicle boom

Motor company Nissan plans to make one-third of all its vehicles sold in Australia electric by the mid-2020s, despite the lack of subsidies or government incentives for consumers to switch to EVs.

Nissan vice-president for electric vehicles, Daniele Schillaci,
said the company wants to be the catalyst for EV uptake in Australia.

The Japanese company announced its plan during the launch of its latest fully electric vehicle, the second generation of the Leaf.

Read the story by Cole Latimer from The Age - “Nissan plans to be 'trigger' for electric vehicle boom.”

Advice on automated and zero emission vehicle infrastructure

The Victorian Government has requested Infrastructure Victoria provide advice on the infrastructure required to enable the implementation of automated and zero emissions vehicles in Victoria.

Infrastructure Victoria has released a report outlining future scenarios for automated and zero emissions vehicles in Victoria.

Read the report and watch the video from Infrastructure Victoria - “Advice on automated and zero emission  vehicle infrastructure.”

The quiet e-bike revolution

It seems every day we are seeing a new highlight in the Electric Vehicle space. Whether it is a new model or another City with a plan to phase out fossil fuelled vehicles, there is no doubt the momentum for EVs and autonomous vehicles is building.

The e-bike revolution.

However, in the background a quiet revolution has been taking place. The fastest growing segment in the transport world now is e-bikes, or electric bicycles.

As with many things, China is the biggest market with an estimated 30 million sold in 2016, compared to the rest of the world selling around 4 million, according to Navagant Research.

In 2017 e-bike sales in much of the EU had double digit growth with the standout, Italy by 50%. Germany had 19% growth for a total of 720,000 sales.

It appears e-bikes are popular across demographic groups with the younger generation possibly eschewing driving or car ownership in favour of an e-bike.

Read the RenewEconomy story by Rod Munro - “The quiet e-bike revolution.”

BMBF Project Puts Automated Electric Vehicle on the Road

The German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded project UNICARagil aims to rethink vehicles and their development processes. The goal is a disruptive, modular and agile vehicle architecture and the prototypical implementation of four different application cases from automated family taxis to mobile package delivery stations.

As early as 2013 TUM’s Visio.M drove its rounds remotely operated.

Autonomous electric vehicles will be an essential component of future mobility: they will form the basis for sustainable and intelligent road transport, novel mobility and transportation concepts, improvements in traffic safety and a boost in the quality of life in urban environments.

However, requisite vehicle concepts require a significantly more centralized and efficient data processing and transmission in motor vehicles and, consequently, a departure from established architectures and processes.

Read the Science and Technology Research News story - “BMBF Project Puts Automated Electric Vehicle on the Road.”

More than trees needed to bring wildlife back to our cities

The federal environment and acting cities minister, Greg Hunt, on Tuesday pledged to increase the number of trees in Australian cities. In a bid to fight higher urban temperatures, the plan will set targets for tree cover.

This is part of a green revolution spreading through the world’s cities. From New York to Singapore, urban areas are undertaking bold “greenspace” initiatives – removing concrete and allowing trees and vegetation back in.

Some of the benefits include replacing the ugly infrastructural trappings of vehicles and motorways as well as cooling cities, absorbing air pollution and minimising runoff. These greenings further have mental health benefits, by bringing residents and visitors alike back into contact with the land.

Read the piece on The Conversation by Adjunct Professor of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University, Peter Fisher - “Concrete jungle? We’ll have to do more than plan trees to bring wildlife back to our cities.”