A video by CNN. Here the highlights:
electrification being led by small vehicles, including rickshaws
one scooter every 90 seconds, 10 startups producing
not (yet) exporting, given the size of the internal market
15.000 scooters sold per month (compared to 200 in 2020)
they (still) cost 30% more
markets by 2030: 25 million units, 60-70% electric
monumental changes in favour of the environment
Some of you might recall demonstrations of farmers in the Netherlands a few months ago. What was that all about?
Think about a country the same size of US West Virginia or 205 times smaller than Brazil. 30% of the area below sea level, mostly sandy, groundwater level varies from 0.5 to 1.0 m below surface in most of the country. Land is very much saturated with water.
Water quality over time and space changes due to a variety of physical and chemical properties of the saturated zones, aquifers and impermeable layers. And surface waters are fed by groundwater of various ages and sources. They are additionally supplied by rainwater and sometimes contaminated by wastewater from e.g. sewage treatment plants, industrial plants and farms.
Nitrogen pollution is not only caused by the burning of fossil fuels, but also manure of farm animals (when dung and urine mix), which emits ammonia. And also excretion of phosphorus by cattle, essential for metabolism and improving growth, health and milk production.
The Netherlands, with 115 million animals, has the highest livestock density in the world.
Click here for the official 229 pages report “Agricultural practices and water quality in the Netherlands: status (2016-2019) and trends (1992-2019). The 2020 Nitrate Report with the results of the monitoring of the effects of the EU Nitrates Directive Action Programmes”.
Farms cause 85% of ammonia emissions and 40% to 45% of overall nitrogen emissions, leading to excess nitrogen deposits over the years in conservation areas, due to a more likely proximity. And causing some plants, like grass, to grow faster, but others to wither and die, further impacting the ecosystems.
Worth also reading this academic study “The effects of nitrogen deposition on the structure and functioning of ecosystems” (relatively easy, with images)
We thank our reader Marcio Barbosa for the insights on this topic.
