Time 2019 Person Of The Year-Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg sits in silence in the cabin of a boat that will take her across the Atlantic Ocean. Inside, there’s a cow skull hanging on the wall, a faded globe, a child’s yellow raincoat. Outside, it’s a tempest: rain pelts the boat, ice coats the decks, and the sea batters the vessel that will take this slight girl, her father and a few companions from Virginia to Portugal. For a moment, it’s as if Thunberg were the eye of a hurricane, a pool of resolve at the center of swirling chaos.
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This Swedish girl has inspired far beyond her generation and geography. For that alone she is remarkable. But what truly makes her worthy of such a distinguished accolade is the ‘message she carries’ for billions around the world “We can’t just continue living as if there was no tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow.”
In fact, we at e-zoomed wrote about her in September 2019. In the article we made the assertion ‘There is a Greta in many of us, and she will only grow taller.’ Her becoming the TIME’s Person of the Year 2019, has certainly made her taller in stature! Our world of zero-emission road transportation is very closely linked to the broader issues of climate change and her world and ours are inextricably linked. Today is a day of pride for each one of us battling to protect our only home: earth. We applaud Greta Thunberg as loudly as humanly possible!
China Electric-Car Startups NIO, Xpeng Team Up In Charging
Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturers NIO Inc. and Xpeng Motors agreed to share charging stations as well as related services and data, seeking to spur EV demand and curb costs. NIO and Xpeng customers can charge their cars using either companies’ facilities with no extra fees, the companies said Wednesday. NIO will also provide home-charger installation services for some Xpeng customers.
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This is indeed welcome news, but more importantly a critical step in encouraging consumers to migrate from internal combustion engine (ICE) to zero-emission battery electric vehicles (BEVs). In fact, the combination of range anxiety, concern over lack of adequate charging infrastructure and the lack of ‘open access charging networks‘, has formed a ‘perfect storm’ in discouraging consumers to take the first step towards electric driving.
This is not an issue isolated to China but is applicable to many markets, to include the UK, where there are a number of different charging networks, many of which are yet to become truly open access. However, in the UK, there is some good news in this regards in 2019, as network operators have understood the importance and urgency of ‘common protocols’ and seamless open access for public charging points. Many network operators in the UK are now allowing open access in joint agreements, similar to the collaboration between the Chinese companies.
On a side note, the UK the government has commenced a consultation process to introduce legislation that will make it mandatory for new-build homes to be fitted with electric car charging points, in the hope to increase charging infrastructure.
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