https://archive.md/gGKAc
"BAMBLE, Norway — About 110 miles south of Oslo, along a highway lined with
pine and birch trees, a shiny fueling station offers a glimpse of a future
where electric vehicles rule.
Chargers far outnumber gasoline pumps at the service area operated by Circle K,
a retail chain that got its start in Texas. During summer weekends, when Oslo
residents flee to country cottages, the line to recharge sometimes backs up
down the off-ramp.
Marit Bergsland, who works at the store, has had to learn how to help
frustrated customers connect to chargers in addition to her regular duties
flipping burgers and ringing up purchases of salty licorice, a popular treat.
“Sometimes we have to give them a coffee to calm down,” she said.
Last year, 80 percent of new-car sales in Norway were electric, putting the
country at the vanguard of the shift to battery-powered mobility. It has also
turned Norway into an observatory for figuring out what the electric vehicle
revolution might mean for the environment, workers and life in general. The
country will end the sales of internal combustion engine cars in 2025.
Norway’s experience suggests that electric vehicles bring benefits without the
dire consequences predicted by some critics. There are problems, of course,
including unreliable chargers and long waits during periods of high demand.
Auto dealers and retailers have had to adapt. The switch has reordered the auto
industry, making Tesla the best-selling brand and marginalizing established
carmakers like Renault and Fiat.
But the air in Oslo, Norway’s capital, is measurably cleaner. The city is also
quieter as noisier gasoline and diesel vehicles are scrapped. Oslo’s greenhouse
gas emissions have fallen 30 percent since 2009, yet there has not been mass
unemployment among gas station workers and the electrical grid has not
collapsed."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-poverty-indonesia-press-freedom-fiji-shade-america/>
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
