Climate Crisis AM 1.24.24 China EV Surge
A global rotation from gas-powered vehicles to EVs is among the most critical efforts to slow climate change. China is the leader in the movement among the world’s largest nations. A new wave of advanced technology may make EVs more affordable in a country with the world’s largest population and also make them far more technologically advanced. CNBC quotes Li Yi, chairman and CEO of Appotronics, “Electric vehicles in China become a consumer electronics [product]. It’s similar to the cellphone industry,” Semi Autonomous driving is among these.
Poll: Americans aren’t afraid of climate change
Toyota, the world’s largest car manufacturer by revenue, has decided that EVs will only be a modest part of its green vehicle initiative. It is the only major car company that has decided to make huge bets on several technologies to diversify outside electric vehicles in its efforts. Akio Toyoda says his company and EV initiatives have a common challenge: “The enemy is CO2.” Globally, Toyoda expects that EVs will only be a third of the non-gas-powered car market. Hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles will make up the balance. Toyota was the earliest major manufacturer of hybrids over a decade ago when it launched the Prius.
Wind energy returns
Wind energy is returning after two rocky years of low investment and technology problems. Many of the new wind farms are on land and not on water. Aaron Barr, global head of onshore wind at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, “We’re hitting the bottom. 2023 was a bit of a reload and reset year, but the promise for onshore wind is very high.” It is forecast that onshore wind installations will rise threefold between last year and 2030.
Climate change has been blamed for massive 1,000-year floods in San Diego. The atmosphere above the Pacific contained record amounts of water. The was as much as 350% above normal. It is another example of how difficult it is for weather experts to forecast when these storms will occur and how intense they will be. Much of the city’s downtown was flooded.
New buildings are protection against climate change.
Changing how residence and office buildings are constructed may save people from the worst effects of climate. Change. Building codes need to be part of this movement. Nature published a paper titled “Coping with climate change could be a matter of what building you’re in.” The author pointed out that among the most critical issues is how well people can survive without power in a building based on its construction specifications. The research acknowledges that improving energy infrastructures may not be adequate to keep thousands of buildings safe from climate impact.
