LS News & Views

Canada from Van Isle to PE Isle but emphasis on BC and Vancouver Island

[thejamesbaycritic]

Sustainable Energy for Cities

Pittsburgh's Microgrids Technology Could Lead The Way For Green Energy, by Daniella Cheslow, Science, a Flipboard Magazine by NPR, November 12, 2017.

An electric fork lift powered by renewable energy at Pitt Ohio, a trucking company with an office in Harmar, Pa. The firm has invested in solar and wind energy, along with a bank of storage batteries, to create an independent microgrid that would hold up in a storm. Researchers hope to build more of these and link them together to create a reliable backup supply. Daniella Cheslow/NPR notes that "other cities are looking to Pittsburgh as a model"

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LS Comment: This should be seen by all cities as the key to resilience obtainable by building code amendments specifying geo, wind and solar self sufficient production and storage of energy to the extent that an entire city can sustain a natural or targeted event.

[renewableenergyregimen]

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Foundation announced its biggest-ever portfolio of grants, dedicating $20 million to organizations with innovative solutions to combat climate change. We are living in the future!

[thejamesbaycritic]

Surely there is a Canadian sponsor for equal contributions to the same purpose!

[thejamesbaycritic]

Is Driverless Reliable?

FREE DRIVERLESS SHUTTLE LAUNCHES IN DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS TRAFFIC, and: A driverless shuttle was involved in a crash hours after it was launched in downtown Las Vegas on Nov. 8, 2017. Report by Kathleen Jacob/FOX5 News.

"The oval-shaped shuttle was tested last January on a closed street in the Fremont Street East entertainment district. It has a human attendant and computer monitor, but no steering wheel and no brake pedals."

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"...the shuttle did what it was supposed to do, in that it's sensor registered the truck and the shuttle stopped to avoid the accident. If the truck had the same sensing equipment that the shuttle has the accident would have been avoided."

"The AAA testing of the shuttle will continue during the 12-month pilot in downtown."

[thejamesbaycritic]

Why own a car?

You won’t believe how much that’s costing you every year By Erica Alini  National Online Journalist, Money/Consumer, 9 Nov 2017, Global News and a tweet by Better Transit YYJ.

"If you include depreciation, owning your own vehicle costs between $8,600 and $13,000 a year..."

Read more: (complete description of those costs)

"With fully autonomous vehicles possibly becoming a reality as early as 2021, automakers are thinking they’ll increasingly be selling “mobility services” rather than cars in the future. Think of a subscription service for vehicles that will stop at your door and take you wherever you need to be, rather than your own vehicle waiting for you in your home garage."

"In Helsinki, Finland’s capital, residents are already able to pay for all kinds of public and private transport — from buses and taxis to bikeshares — using a single app called Whim. The city is aiming to make private car ownership superfluous by 2025."

LS Comment: Will the Victoria CRD approve similar objectives? Will voters demand it?

[thejamesbaycritic]

AAA sponsors Driverless Bus

The AAA wants consumers to overcome their fear of driverless cars; by Karen Hao, Quartz Media, November 08, 2017.

"Over the next year, AAA aims to give some 250,000 people free rides on the self-driving shuttle, which will run a 0.6-mile loop with three stops."

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LS Comment: BCAA should do likewise from the "downtown" VicWest terminus of our commuter rail service to and from three stops: Harbour Air, Empress Hotel and Harbour Ferries and return.

[thejamesbaycritic]

Autonomous Transit by 2020? or even 2030?

How Beaverton, Ore., Is Preparing for the Onslaught of Autonomous Vehicles; by Bob Graves, ATRA and govtech.com / October 5, 2017.

"The length of time for change to occur is shrinking, says Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle, who noted that by the time cars are fully automated, flying cars may be part of the equation."

But, "This has to be a regional approach because it can't just stop at the boundaries of the central city. It's got to be the whole area. And there's plenty going on in Washington County. There's 12 cities involved and they meet monthly as a group of mayors."

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LS Comment: Greater Victoria? Yes, the same problems, so tackle it in the same way. There are other "small" cities tyring to do the same thing, one of which was Innisfil, Ontario.  See their solution (link). All the suburbs of Victoria have the same problem and BC Transit, unwilling to make any changes; even park & ride options.

[thejamesbaycritic]

Promote E-autos-POVtoTruck

China Pushes Electric Car Plan Back To 2019 September 30th, 2017 by Steve Hanley, Clean Technica

“In June, there were reports that the date would be pushed back by a year. Then just two weeks later, other reports said Chinese officials would stick to their original timetable. In the end, everybody got a little bit of what they wanted.

Carmakers will (now) have until the start of 2019 to meet China’s electric car targets, but there’s a catch. The original plan required 8% of sales to be qualifying electric cars (the plan assigns different weights to each car, depending on whether it is a plug-in hybrid or fully electric car, while conventional hybrids are excluded from consideration).”

Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/30/china-pushes-electric-car-plan-back-2019/

LS comment:  BYD Song PHEV, a Chinese enterprise, seems to dominate the EV sales in China, but the race goes on in North America where Nissan seems to dominate. That would change rapidly in NA if governments would simply set a date for excluding fossil fueled operation in all urban cities. BC led the way in emission standards 20 years ago; it is time for BC to do likewise for all EV licensing in urban communities NOW; e.g. starting 2020 !!!

This subject was previously presented just a few month ago in:  https://thejamesbaycritic.tumblr.com/post/155853764226/the-future-is-here-we-are-not-ready-in-all

[thejamesbaycritic]

Wind Farm Advantages

Why Wind Energy Is Booming in the U.S. by Travis Hoium (TMFFlushDraw), 29 Oct 2017 and StopPress, 30 Oct 2017.

"Falling costs aren't the driver of wind energy's resurgence in the U.S. -- there are two more important factors driving the installation boom"; and "Capacity factors are up over the past decade, and subsidies favor wind over other renewables."

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LS Comment: Climate change factors do seem to be promoting more frequent strong winds too; so, take heed of the potential investments.

[thejamesbaycritic]

E-Bus better than D-Bus

Nantes invests in fast-charging for buses SmartCities News & Facebook, 30 Oct 2017.

"The 24-metre-long, fully electric buses from HESS will be the first of their kind in the world to be equipped with the flash-charging technology, enabling a higher passenger capacity, emission-free public transport and noise reduction. The buses are expected to be operational by the end of 2018."

"Each of the new e-buses can carry 151 passengers and will be equipped with energy-efficient ABB drivetrain technology, comprising traction and auxiliary converters, permanent magnet traction motors, roof-mounted battery units and energy transfer systems."

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LS Comment: Note the absence of wooden telephone poles and overhead wiring !! That and cross walks on either end of bus stops too should be objectives for Greater Victoria.

[thejamesbaycritic]

Alt Energy & Transit Options - Questions? Status Sep 2016

The CleanTechnica Answer Box (Renewable Energy & Electric Vehicle Answers) September 2nd, 2016 by Zachary Shahan, CleanTechnica and Twitter.

"There are many topics to cover, and it’s probably best if they are answered by many people. Here’s how we’re thinking it might work: On this page, we’re listing many popular cleantech topics and answers to common myths (grouped under these 4 categories: 1) Solar + Wind + Other Renewables, 2) Solar Energy, 3) Wind Energy, 4) Electric Vehicles (e.g link*). If there are other topics you think we should add (of course there are), then list them in the comments section below."

" … and note that we don’t just allow you to copy & paste these responses when useful — we encourage you to do so!"

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LS Comment: Those readers who reside in Vancouver Island are also encouraged to include IslandTransformations.Org on your feedback re any of the many topics covered by CleanTechnica.

*e.g. link: MIT Proves What We’ve Argued For Years: Range Anxiety anxiety Is Illogical ! https://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/17/mit-proves-weve-argued-years-range-anxiety-anxiety-illogical/

[thejamesbaycritic]

Who is ready for AI roads?

How 53 Cities Are Preparing for Autonomous Vehicles - by Rachel Dovey, Next City and Facebook, October 24, 2017.

“Cities are stronger when they learn and act together, and this map (link) provides cities with information critical to their own success through this transition,”

“At the time of writing, more than half of the 36 cities, with ongoing or committed pilots, are testing AVs in last-mile applications ranging from connectors between rail stations and employment centers to shuttles circulating within large campuses,”

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LS Comment: Edmonton is one of those cities !  Why not Greater Victoria?

[thejamesbaycritic]

E vehicles too quiet?

THIS ELECTRIC NISSAN CONCEPT CAR SINGS TO SAVE LIVES by Aarian Marshall, Wired News, 26 Oct 2017

"...the Nissan IMx model is built to alert pedestrians with "Canto" that is a very quiet electric vehicle is coming, even at low speeds. And, other electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturers have come up with sounds, too: Chevrolet Volts can "chirp", hybrid Toyota Rav4s "beep", and Prii "hum".

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LS Comment: That is good news, but cycles and powered handicap carts must be included in this safety matter as long as manned vehicles are traveling in other than dedicated lanes.

[thejamesbaycritic]

Smart City Options

Traffic charge is up and running in London SmartCitiesWorld News, 24 Oct 2017

London Mayor getting tough on toxic air levels in the capital

London’s £10 Toxicity Charge (T-Charge), which aims to help tackle, the capital’s lethal air pollution has come into force...and Motorists will pay a total of £21.50 a day to drive a pre-Euro 4 vehicle into central London zone.

The T-charge is a stepping-stone to the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, which could be introduced as early as 2019.

TforL will use a camera-based mechanism for enforcement of the T-Charge, monitoring both diesel and petrol vehicles.

Since the T-Charge was announced in February 2017, the daily number of older more polluting vehicles driving into the Congestion Zone has decreased by about 15 per cent.

London now joins Paris, Copenhagen and many other progressive cities in taking urgent steps towards removing polluting diesel cars from their streets.

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LS comment: The Victoria CRD Transportation Committee should take notice of how to reduce traffic in our most congested corridors when we have established park & ride locations on the boundaries of those corridors (e.g. Colwood, Langford and Uptown) AND, have improved public transit options within those corridors.

[thejamesbaycritic]

UK funds driverless study

Government announces autonomous vehicle contest by Alex Scroxton, Computer Weekly, 30 Mar 2017.

In a speech to 400 industry leaders, business secretary Greg Clark said the CAV programme would be launched as a grant through a series of funding competitions. The first such competition will invite bids for a share of £55m.

“By 2035, the global market for connected and autonomous vehicle technologies is predicted to be worth £63bn."

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Then the following:

A consortium led by the Transport Research Lab has been awarded government funding to run connected and autonomous vehicle tests in the capital (as reported by Alex Scroxton, 20 Oct 2017). “Accelerating connected and autonomous vehicle technology development is central to achieving this ambition and will help to ensure the UK is one of the world’s go-to locations to develop this sector.”

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LS Comment: The US and Canada has Uber, Google and most automobile companies (private enterprise) well into the provision of autonomous service in several cities but, as yet, our federal government has done little to support the transformation for all of the benefits that would accrue, such as reduced accident rates and environmental damage as well as road congestion. Action, please Minister Garneau and Provincial Ministers of Transportation & Infrastructure!

[thejamesbaycritic]

Uber wins In Innisfil, Ont.

A Canadian Town Wanted a Transit System. It Hired Uber. By CRAIG S. SMITH, MAY 16, 2017. NYTimes News.

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LS comment: Mayor of Victoria, I suggest that all of downtown Victoria could be covered by such a service for many residents of James Bay as well as seniors in all of the downtown area. The entire Handy Dart program should be replaced by smaller vehicles with driver and, if necessary, an escort person.

[thejamesbaycritic]

Urban Transit Plans

Underground Spaces Already Prepped For Broadway Subway Stations By Christopher Cheung Yesterday | TheTyee.ca

"Developers, city negotiated deals to set aside space for entrances at four key sites."

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LS Comment: This is the type of planning that should now be tackled to solve Victoria's downtown connection with the Vic West terminal of the E&N commuter station. If not a subway from Langford or Colwwod, we should at least have a moving sidewalk under the Johnson St bridge to convey travellers to and from downtown Victoria to surface public transit systems.

[thejamesbaycritic]

Oil out, Green in !

It’s Over: Oil Giant Shell Doubles Down On EV Charging Stations October 16th, 2017 by Tina Casey, Clean Technica.

"Royal Dutch Shell announced that it is buying one of Europe’s largest and most highly regarded EV charging providers, NewMotion....The basic idea is to install EV charging stations at existing Shell gas stations, in order to keep the Shell brand front and center as drivers switch to EVs."

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LS Comment: I understand that Kinder Morgan is “doubling down” too; so we all need to plan for that in our personal and commercial vehicle purchases; within five years fossil fueled vehicles will not sell.