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How children whose families can't afford soccer balls get help

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How children whose families can't afford soccer balls get help

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Joy That Lasts, on the Poorest of Playgrounds (Published 2012)

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For children in impoverished countries, where soccer balls donated by relief agencies often rip and quickly deflate, Tim Jahnigen has developed a ball that can last for decades.

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A website that explains trash islands.if you are curious where the trash goes you can find it here

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A website that explains trash islands.if you are curious where the trash goes you can find it here

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https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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This is useful if you are learning about gender equality.

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This is useful if you are learning about gender equality.

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_equality

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Are electric cars really eco-friendly? Maybe not as such much as you think.

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Are electric cars (EC) really greener and eco-friendly? They seem to be a great solution to fight climate change and they are even said to have zero emissions. But are they worth it? Is it true that they are harmless to the planet?
Climate change is, quite simply, an existential threat for most life on the planet - including, and specially, the life of humankind

Said António Guterres, the Secretary-General the United Nations, in May 2018. But he's not standing alone. From the IPCC to NASA, WWF or CDP, all these important entities agree on this phenomena's spin-off and are committed to fighting it.

From the loss of sea ice and the increase in sea levels to the occurrence of extreme events such as hurricanes, droughts or intensive heat waves, it's hard to deny the dimension of what we are fighting here. And there's more to come if we reach the temperature increase of 2° Celsius.

In an attempt to minimize these consequences, scientists have been looking into what may be the main causes of climate change. They found out that greenhouse gases (GHG) like carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide, and aerosols are changing the atmosphere and leaving the planet more exposed.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pointed out that of the 49 Gt Co2 eq released into the atmosphere in 2010, 14% was released by transportation vehicles. And despite being already a big number, this doesn't even consider the Co2 impact of complementary activities such as manufacturing vehicles or getting road surfaces worn.

As cars make up 72% of the Co2 emissions in this sector (followed by planes, with 10%), the market of electric cars has been growing and seems to be a good solution to fight climate change. But is it true that EVs have zero emissions?

Are Electric Greener Than Fossil Fuel Powered Cars?

The fundamental difference between conventional, thermal cars and electric cars has to do with the process of transforming the potential (stored) energy into kinetic (movement) energy. In thermal cars, this energy is stored in a chemical form and is released through a chemical reaction inside the engine.

On the other hand, despite also having chemically stored energy, electric cars release it electrochemically without any kind of combustion, thanks to lithium-ion batteries. This means that there is no fuel being burned and therefore no air pollution through CO2 happening while driving. They are also more efficient than fossil cars. So is this a clear win for the electric movement? Are electric cars and vehicles greener?

Not necessarily. Or better said, not always. If the source of energy to power these cars doesn't come from solar panels, wind turbines or even nuclear or hydroelectric, their CO2 emissions will be much higher. For instance, if the electricity used to charge cars comes from the burning of fossil fuels, it doesn't matter if the EC are not polluting while being driven, as this pollution was already released in some distant power plant.

This means that if you're driving an electric car in the US, where fossil fuels accounted 62,7% of the country's energy production in 2017, you'll probably release more CO2 into the atmosphere than if you're driving it in Iceland, that runs almost entirely on hydro, geothermal and solar energy.

As for the UE28, forecasts are encouraging, being expected that the EU grid mix will come down from 300gCO2 eq/km in 2015 to 200gCO2 eq/km in 2030, and 80gCO2 eq/km in 2050. But let's assume a scenario where cars are 100% powered with renewable or clean energy. Could we then say electric cars have zero emissions?

Does The Manufacturing Of Electric Cars Have Zero Emissions? How Eco-Friendly Is The Process?

The cycle of making a car starts with raw materials being extracted, refined, transported and manufactured into several components that will be assembled to produce the car itself. This process is very much the same in both conventional and electric cars. Nevertheless, at the end of the manufacturing process, electric cars are the ones generating more carbon emissions, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Why is this? Because electric cars store energy in large batteries (the larger they are, the bigger their range is) that have high environmental costs. This happens because these batteries are made of rare earth elements (REE) like lithium, nickel, cobalt or graphite that only exist beneath the surface of the Earth and therefore depend on mining activities with very polluting processes. That's why asking whether electric cars are greener or not does come with an easy answer.

For instance, to produce 1 ton of REE, 75 tons of acid waste (that isn't always handled in the right way) and 1 tone of radioactive residues are also made, according to the Chinese Society of Rare Earths. In spite of these pollution issues, research tells us not to worry about the availability of these rare earth elements and when it comes to lithium, there is data estimating enough worldwide reserves for the next 185 years, even if the EC market triples, according to the Deutsche Bank. As for cobalt, graphite, and nickel, they also seem to be in a comfortable situation, since the demand for the years to come is expected to stay far away from the reserves Earth has to offer. Although it looks like everything will work out just fine, let's not forget the negative environmental impact of extracting REEs.

Apart from the weight of the REE, the energy used to produce the batteries themselves is also responsible for nearly half of their environmental impact since most of this energy doesn't come from low carbon sources. Nevertheless, forecasts show that the electricity generation is improving and there are more renewable sources entering the grid, which would help decrease the ecological footprint of building up these batteries.

On the other hand, developing renewable energy systems has its impact as well, again using energy and REE. In the end, we should be reasonable about this and despite their initial footprint, the impact of lithium-ion batteries, when compared to conventional cars, is offset within 6 to 16 months of average driving (using clean energy) in the US or 2 years in the EU. From this moment on, EC keep being a better eco-alternative to conventional cars until their battery gets to the end of its life cycle. But what happens next? How are lithium-ion batteries being handled when they're no longer useful for electric cars?

Where Do Electric Cars' Batteries Go To? Are They Recycled In An Eco-Friendly Way?

In the conventional car industry, according to a study from the international council of clean transportation (ICCT), 99% of lead-acid batteries (the ones running in fossil fuel powered cars) are recycled in the US. This is not the case for the lithium-ion batteries that have a very specific mix of chemical components and little quantities of lithium, which doesn't make them an appealing market opportunity. For instance, in the EU market, in 2011, only 5% of lithium was being collected and the rest was either incinerated or dumped in landfills (this specifically doesn't make electric cars greener at all), as it was not justified by price or regulations to recover it by hydrometallurgical processes.

Nevertheless, the more batteries that are out there, since the electric cars market is growing, the more interesting it gets to try to figure out how to recycle them or recapture rare earth elements. So the chances are that a strong recycling industry for these batteries will keep developing and allowing electric cars to become greener.

Meanwhile, another solution might have to do with reusing these batteries and giving them a second life since they are able to support the electric grid of buildings and to store energy from wind or solar electricity sources. This would also help offset the environmental impacts of making the batteries in the first place since they are amortized over a longer period of time.

In The End, Are Electric Cars Really Eco-Friendly And Zero Emissions?

No, electric cars they are not zero emissions vehicles. We have seen that although they do not emit CO2 while being driven, they might do it in 3 other stages: during manufacturing, energy production and at the end of their life cycle. In the first case, the need for mining activities to extract the rare earth metals that are used in batteries is very energy consuming and polluting.

As for the energy production, if the car is being powered with energy from burning fossil fuels, it is still releasing CO2 in the atmosphere, not from the tailpipe but from some distant power plant. When it comes to batteries being recycled, it is still an expensive and ongoing process and most batteries are not being recycled yet.

In spite of this, solutions to make electric cars greener and more eco-friendly and sustainable are being developed. And although there is room for improvement, we have also seen that electric cars, as they are today, are already, in general, more eco-friendly along their lifecycle than the conventional fossil fuel cars, especially if they are powered with clean electricity. Some countries are already realizing this and that's why they are fostering the growth of the electric cars market, mostly by giving fiscal benefits that make the cars economically more competitive. In fact, countries like Norway, Germany or Costa Rica are simultaneously increasing their bet on renewable energies and setting deadlines for the end of conventional cars in their roads.

But in the end, are electric vehicles the solution for our sustainability problem on mobility? We are running to avoid the 2° Celsius temperature increase and prevent the bad consequences of climate change from happening. But is preventing the bad the same as planning for the best?

We have REE for some time but do we truly have enough for the long run? UN forecasts are that 68% of the world population will live in urban areas in 2050, so issues like traffic, parking, and high consumption rates will need to be managed as well.

The truth is that public transportation is a better option than using individual vehicles if we want to lower our carbon footprint, so shouldn't we be more worried about reinventing it? At the same time, some scientists say that the sharing economy of cars, or even motorbikes or bicycles, will be the next stage in the evolution of mobility, with new business models already being developed. Let's embrace the change?

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Are electric cars really eco-friendly? Maybe not as such much as you think.

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Are electric cars (EC) really eco-friendly? They seem to be a great solution to fight climate change and they are even said to have zero emissions. But are they worth it? Is it true that they are harmless to the planet?

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Are Electric Cars Worth It? - Pros and Cons | Metromile

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If you're in the market for a new vehicle, you may have your eye on an electric vehicle (EV). Maybe you want to reduce your environmental impact or simply save money on gas - or you just like the look of the new Tesla and you're sold. But then you hear that nagging voice, "Are electric cars worth it?" Before deciding on going fully electric or not, you want to understand the benefits of electric cars. Read on to review electric cars pros and cons to help make your decision easier.

Benefits of electric cars

f you're wondering are electric cars worth it, it's key to understand all the benefits of electric cars. Owning an electric vehicle has its perks, so let's review.

You can save a lot of money

Have you ever lamented about how high the cost of gas is while at the pump? Imagine those days are gone. Instead of filling up your gas tank each week and feeling like it's taking a good chunk of your discretionary income, you could save a lot of money by going electric. When you have an electric car, you no longer need any gas to fuel your car.

Instead, you need electricity which is much more affordable. According to Energy.gov, you could reduce costs by 50% by going electric when compared to gas. You can even use their nifty eGallon tool to compare the costs of driving with gas versus electricity. For example, in California, it shows that the cost of gasoline is $3.73 per gallon compared to $1.86 for electricity.

Being able to cut your costs in half is remarkable for your budget and can reduce your overall spending, freeing up money to put elsewhere - like savings, debt, or even a fun hobby.

Electricity is renewable

The thing about gas is that it's a finite resource as it uses oil to create gas. Oil is a natural resource. Given everything going on with climate change, it's important to take a harder look at natural resources and the way they're being used.

That's why electric vehicles are an attractive alternative. Unlike gas which can technically run out, electricity can be renewable. It's possible to get electricity in renewable ways such as through wind or water powers or even solar energy.

Renewable energy is on the rise as the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that usage reached record highs as of 2020, making it 12% of energy consumption. According to the EIA website, "The electric power sector accounted for about 60% of total U.S. renewable energy consumption in 2020, and about 20% of total U.S. electricity generation was from renewable energy sources."

You can lower greenhouse gas emissions

One of the major benefits of electric cars is the fact that you can reduce your environmental impact. Regular vehicles that use gas greatly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as of 2019 transportation makes up 29% of greenhouse gas emissions, effectively the largest contributor next to electricity (25%), industry (23%), commercial and residential (13%), and agriculture (10%).

Electric cars don't have an exhaust pipe to create greenhouse gas emissions. That's not to say there is no environmental impact.

If you use coal or natural gas to power electricity, it can leave carbon pollution. If you use one of the more natural ways listed above, you don't contribute to carbon pollution.

The EPA does state on their website, "Even accounting for these electricity emissions, research shows that an EV is typically responsible for lower levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) than an average new gasoline car. To the extent that more renewable energy sources like wind and solar are used to generate electricity, the total GHGs associated with EVs could be even lower."
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the national averages for annual emissions per vehicle is 11,435 pounds of CO2 equivalent for a gasoline vehicle whereas for all-electric vehicles it is 3,774 pounds of CO2 equivalent which represents 3x less CO2 than gasoline vehicles.

You can take advantage of tax credits

Another major perk of owning an electric car is the tax credits you could qualify for. According to the U.S. Department of Energy website, you could get up to $7,500 in tax credits. Your car must be all-electric or plug-in hybrid and made in 2010 or later to qualify.

Tax credits are more effective than deductions at lowering the amount you pay in taxes as they're dollar-for-dollar. Meaning, if you owed $10,000 you could effectively lower your tax bill up to a maximum of $7,500 and only pay $2,500.

It's important to note that the tax credit is only available up to the limit. So if your tax bill is only $2,000, you can receive the credit for up to $2,000 and the rest won't help your tax situation any further. Deductions lower your taxable income which can lower how much you pay in taxes but is not dollar-for-dollar.

Less maintenance is required

When you have a regular car, you need to fill up the gas tank regularly and also change your oil at regular intervals. All of that can add to the cost and time it requires to maintain the car. When it comes to considering electric cars pros and cons, this is a huge benefit. On top of that, there may be fewer repairs needed as well.

Better performance

Electric cars tend to be much quieter than gas vehicles. That noise reduction can improve performance and quality of life and lead to a smooth ride on the road. Electric vehicles tend to be more energy efficient in stop-and-go traffic as well and electric motors actually react faster than mechanical engines. All of these factors combined make for a better performance and experience as both a driver and passenger.

Downsides of electric cars

Now that you know the benefits of electric cars, it's time to consider the cons as well. Here are the most common downsides of electric cars.

Electric cars can be pricey

Though you can benefit from the cost savings on gas, there's no doubt that electric cars are more expensive than standard cars to buy. In some cases, thousands of dollars more.

But Business Insider recently discovered that there is a new group of EVs priced at $35,000. Additionally, Axios noted that electric vehicles are more expensive to buy bu t not to own. Due to lower maintenance costs it may all even out. But just be aware that you could pay a higher sticker price.

Charging can be a lengthy process

When you have an electric vehicle, you can't just go to the pump and get on your way. You do have to charge your vehicle for it to work properly. Depending on your make, model, and year, your EV could take between 4 and 20 hours or more to charge. Having a charging station in your home can certainly help, but you need to make sure you budget for that time to adequately charge your vehicle.

You can't go as far or as long as gas cars

A major downside to owning an electric vehicle is that you can't go as far or as long as you might want. Electric vehicles can typically go between 60-100 miles when fully charged, but many modern EVs may get up to 250 to 350 miles per charge. Compare that to up to a maximum of 400 miles on a single gas tank (depending on car and efficiency), it's a notable difference. Going on a road trip is less ideal in this scenario with an electric car.

Finding a station can be tough

If you don't have a charging station at home, you're at the mercy of public charging stations. While some cities may have plentiful options, not every place does and it can all depend. The lack of stations in your area could present a challenge if you're in a bind and need to go somewhere. Be sure to do research abou t charging stations in your neighborhood and what options are available.

Car insurance premiums may increase

Another downside to consider is that car insurance premiums may be higher with an electric vehicle. The website ValuePenguin found that electric vehicle insurance premiums were 23% higher than regular cars. Part of that is due to the fact that electric cars can be more expensive. So if something were to happen to you, it may cost more to repair.

Electric cars pros and cons

You can save a lot of money

Electric cars can be pricey

Electricity is renewable

Charging can be a lengthy process

You can reduce your environmental impact

You can't go as far or as long as gas cars

You can take advantage of tax credits

Finding a station can be tough

Less maintenance is required

Car insurance premiums may increase

Better performance

Are electric cars worth it?

If you've been thinking of buying a new car it's natural to wonder, are electric cars worth it? The benefits of electric cars are generous and pretty clear cut but you also want to know about electric cars cons as well. It may cost more to buy and insure your car, but you'll likely make up some of that with reduced costs on fuel.

If you are thinking about purchasing an electric vehicle, chances are you don't drive much or are actively looking to drive less. Pay-per-mile auto insurance can be a good fit for you and help you lower car insurance costs.

You can see if pay-per-mile car insurance is right for you with Metromile. Download the Metromile app and take a Ride Along ™ trial for free. For about two weeks, you'll drive like you typically do (you should keep your existing insurance policy to keep covered during the trial). After, you'll see how much you could save if you switched to a usage-based insurance policy.

Drivers can also save up to an extra 15% off their initial Metromile auto insurance quote if they show they're a safe driver during their Ride Along™ in select states.

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Melanie Lockert is a freelance writer, podcast host of the Mental Health and Wealth show, and author of . She's a cat mom to two jazzy cats, Miles and Thelonious, an amateur boxer, music lover, and needs coffee to function.

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Are Electric Cars Worth It? - Pros and Cons | Metromile

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If you're in the market for a new vehicle, you may have your eye on an electric vehicle (EV). Maybe you want to reduce your environmental impact or simply save money on gas - or you just like the look of the new Tesla and you're sold.

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BBC Studios is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC (and just the BBC). No money from the licence fee was used to create this website. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. BBC is a trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Logos © 1996.

Top Gear international sites :list of 13 items

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Head this way for a roundup of our favourite everyday EVs

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An electric vehicle ( EV)[note 1] is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes charged by solar panels, or by converting fuel to electricity using fuel cells or a generator).[1] EVs include, but are not limited to, road and rail vehicles, surface and underwater vessels, electric aircraft, and electric spacecraft. For road vehicles, together with other emerging automotive technologies such as autonomous driving, connected vehicles, and shared mobility, EVs form a future mobility vision called Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric (CASE) Mobility.[2]

[Stint nl] child transport and operator stand

EVs first came into existence in the late 19th century, when electricity was among the preferred methods for motor vehicle propulsion, providing a level of comfort and ease of operation that could not be achieved by the gasoline cars of the time. Internal combustion engines were the dominant propulsion method for cars and trucks for about 100 years, but electric power remained commonplace in other vehicle types, such as trains and smaller vehicles of all types.

Government incentives to increase adoption were first introduced in the late 2000s, including in the United States and the European Union, leading to a growing market for vehicles in the 2010s.[3][4] Increasing public interest and awareness and structural incentives, such as those being built into the green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, are expected to greatly increase the electric vehicle market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns reduced the number of greenhouse gases in gasoline or diesel vehicles.[5] The International Energy Agency has stated that governments should do more to meet climate goals, including policies for heavy electric vehicles.[6][7] A total of 14% of all new cars sold were electric in 2022, up from 9% in 2021 and less than 5% in 2020.[8] Electric vehicle sales may increase from 1% of the global share in 2016 to more than 35% by 2030.[8][9] As of July 2022 the global EV market size was $280 billion and was expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2026.[10] Much of this growth is expected in markets like North America, Europe, and China;[11] a 2020 literature review suggested that growth in the use of electric 4-wheeled vehicles appears economically unlikely in developing economies, but that electric 2-wheeler growth is likely.[12] There are more 2 and 3 wheel EVs than any other type.[13]

Electric motive power started in 1827, when Hungarian priest Ányos Jedlik built the first crude but viable electric motor, which used a stator, rotor, and commutator; and the next year he used it to power a small car.[14] In 1835, professor Sibrandus Stratingh of the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, built a small-scale electric car, and sometime between 1832 and 1839, Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first crude electric carriage, powered by non-rechargeable primary cells.[15] American blacksmith and inventor Thomas Davenport built a toy electric locomotive, powered by a primitive electric motor, in 1835. In 1838, a Scotsman named Robert Davidson built an electric locomotive that attained a speed of four miles per hour (6 km/h). In England a patent was granted in 1840 for the use of rails as conductors of electric current, and similar American patents were issued to Lilley and Colten in 1847.[16]

Due to lack of electricity grids[18] and the limitations of storage batteries at that time, electric cars did not gain much popularity; however, electric trains gained immense popularity due to their economies and achievable speeds. By the 20th century, electric rail transport became commonplace due to advances in the development of electric locomotives. Over time their general-purpose commercial use reduced to specialist roles as platform trucks, forklift trucks, ambulances,[19] tow tractors, and urban delivery vehicles, such as the iconic British milk float. For most of the 20th century, the UK was the world's largest user of electric road vehicles.[20]

Electrified trains were used for coal transport, as the motors did not use the valuable oxygen in the mines. Switzerland's lack of natural fossil resources forced the rapid electrification of their rail network. One of the earliest rechargeable batteries - the nickel-iron battery - was favored by Edison for use in electric cars.

EVs were among the earliest automobiles, and before the preeminence of light, powerful internal combustion engines (ICEs), electric automobiles held many vehicle land speed and distance records in the early 1900s. They were produced by Baker Electric, Columbia Electric, Detroit Electric, and others, and at one point in history outsold gasoline-powered vehicles. In 1900, 28 percent of the cars on the road in the US were electric. EVs were so popular that even President Woodrow Wilson and his secret service agents toured Washington, D.C., in their Milburn Electrics, which covered 60-70 miles (100-110 km) per charge.[21]

Most producers of passenger cars opted for gasoline cars in the first decade of the 20th century, but electric trucks were an established niche well into the 1920s.[22][23][18] A number of developments contributed to a decline in the popularity of electric cars.[24] Improved road infrastructure required a greater range than that offered by electric cars, and the discovery of large reserves of petroleum in Texas, Oklahoma, and California led to the wide availability of affordable gasoline/petrol, making internal combustion powered cars cheaper to operate over long distances.[25] Electric vehicles were not seldom marketed as a women's luxury car, which may have been a stigma among male consumers.[26] Also, internal combustion powered cars became ever-easier to operate thanks to the invention of the electric starter by Charles Kettering in 1912,[27] which eliminated the need of a hand crank for starting a gasoline engine, and the noise emitted by ICE cars became more bearable thanks to the use of the muffler, which Hiram Percy Maxim had invented in 1897. As roads were improved outside urban areas, electric vehicle range could not compete with the ICE. Finally, the initiation of mass production of gasoline-powered vehicles by Henry Ford in 1913 reduced significantly the cost of gasoline cars as compared to electric cars.[28]

In the 1930s, National City Lines, which was a partnership of General Motors, Firestone, and Standard Oil of California purchased many electric tram networks across the country to dismantle them and replace them with GM buses. The partnership was convicted of conspiring to monopolize the sale of equipment and supplies to their subsidiary companies, but was acquitted of conspiring to monopolize the provision of transportation services.

Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota also produced limited numbers of EVs for California drivers during this time period. In 2003, upon the expiration of GM's EV1 leases, GM discontinued them. The discontinuation has variously been attributed to:

the auto industry's successful federal court challenge to California's zero-emissions vehicle mandate,

a federal regulation requiring GM to produce and maintain spare parts for the few thousand EV1s and

the success of the oil and auto industries' media campaign to reduce public acceptance of EVs.

A movie made on the subject in 2005-2006 was titled Who Killed the Electric Car? and released theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics in 2006. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, oil industry, the U.S. government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and the general public, and each of their roles in limiting the deployment and adoption of this technology.

Ford released a number of their Ford Ecostar delivery vans into the market. Honda, Nissan and Toyota also repossessed and crushed most of their EVs, which, like the GM EV1s, had been available only by closed-end lease. After public protests, Toyota sold 200 of its RAV4 EVs; they later sold at over their original forty-thousand-dollar price. Later, BMW of Canada sold off a number of Mini EVs when their Canadian testing ended.

During the late 20th and early 21st century, the environmental impact of the petroleum-based transportation infrastructure, along with the fear of peak oil, led to renewed interest in electric transportation infrastructure.[34] EVs differ from fossil fuel-powered vehicles in that the electricity they consume can be generated from a wide range of sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewables such solar power and wind power or any combination of those. The carbon footprint and other emissions of electric vehicles vary depending on the fuel and technology used for electricity generation.[35][36] The electricity may be stored in the vehicle using a battery, flywheel, or supercapacitors. Vehicles using internal combustion engines usually only derive their energy from a single or a few sources, usually non-renewable fossil fuels. A key advantage of electric vehicles is regenerative braking, which recovers kinetic energy, typically lost during friction braking as heat, as electricity restored to the on-board battery.

There are many ways to generate electricity, of varying costs, efficiency and ecological desirability.

It is also possible to have hybrid EVs that derive electricity from multiple sources, such as:

On-board rechargeable electricity storage system (RESS) and a direct continuous connection to land-based generation plants for purposes of on-highway recharging with unrestricted highway range[37]

On-board rechargeable electricity storage system and a fueled propulsion power source (internal combustion engine): plug-in hybrid

For especially large EVs, such as submarines, the chemical energy of the diesel-electric can be replaced by a nuclear reactor. The nuclear reactor usually provides heat, which drives a steam turbine, which drives a generator, which is then fed to the propulsion. See Nuclear marine propulsion.

A few experimental vehicles, such as some cars and a handful of aircraft use solar panels for electricity.

These systems are powered from an external generator plant (nearly always when stationary), and then disconnected before motion occurs, and the electricity is stored in the vehicle until needed.

Full Electric Vehicles (FEV).[38] Power storage methods include:

Batteries, electric double-layer capacitors and flywheel energy storage are forms of rechargeable on-board electricity storage systems. By avoiding an intermediate mechanical step, the energy conversion efficiency can be improved compared to hybrids by avoiding unnecessary energy conversions. Furthermore, electro-chemical batteries conversions are reversible, allowing electrical energy to be stored in chemical form.[39]

Battery electric bus powered with lithium-ion batteries

Learning curve of lithium-ion batteries: the price of batteries declined by 97% in three decades.[40][41]

Most electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries (Li-Ions or LIBs). Lithium ion batteries have higher energy density, longer life span and higher power density than most other practical batteries. Complicating factors include safety, durability, thermal breakdown, its environmental impact and cost. Li-ion batteries should be used within safe temperature and voltage ranges in order to operate safely and efficiently.[42]

Increasing the battery's lifespan decreases effective costs. One technique is to operate a subset of the battery cells at a time and switching these subsets.[43]

In the past, nickel-metal hydride batteries were used in some electric cars, such as those made by General Motors.[44] These battery types are considered outdated due to their tendencies to self-discharge in the heat.[45] Furthermore, a patent for this type of battery was held by Chevron, which created a problem for their widespread development.[46] These factors, coupled with their high cost, has led to lithium-ion batteries leading as the predominant battery for EVs.[47]

The power of a vehicle's electric motor, as in other machines, is measured in kilowatts (kW). Electric motors can deliver their maximum torque over a wide RPM range. This means that the performance of a vehicle with a 100 kW electric motor exceeds that of a vehicle with a 100 kW internal combustion engine, which can only deliver its maximum torque within a limited range of engine speed.

Efficiency of charging varies considerably depending on the type of charger,[49] and energy is lost during the process of converting the electrical energy to mechanical energy.

Usually, direct current (DC) electricity is fed into a DC/AC inverter where it is converted to alternating current (AC) electricity and this AC electricity is connected to a 3-phase AC motor.

For electric trains, forklift trucks, and some electric cars, DC motors are often used. In some cases, universal motors are used, and then AC or DC may be employed. In recent production vehicles, various motor types have been implemented; for instance, induction motors within Tesla Motor vehicles and permanent magnet machines in the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt.[50]

Neighborhood Electric Vehicle
Squad Solar NEV

It is generally possible to equip any kind of vehicle with an electric power-train.

A pure-electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is powered exclusively through electric motors. The electricity may come from a battery ( battery electric vehicle), solar panel ( solar vehicle) or fuel cell ( fuel cell vehicle).

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system ( hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each function as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks (pickups and tractors), buses, boats and aircraft also exist.

Modern HEVs make use of efficiency-improving technologies such as regenerative brakes which convert the vehicle's kinetic energy to electric energy, which is stored in a battery or supercapacitor. Some varieties of HEV use an internal combustion engine to turn an electrical generator, which either recharges the vehicle's batteries or directly powers its electric drive motors; this combination is known as a motor-generator.[51] Many HEVs reduce idle emissions by shutting down the engine at idle and restarting it when needed; this is known as a start-stop system. A hybrid-electric produces lower tailpipe emissions than a comparably sized gasoline car since the hybrid's gasoline engine is usually smaller than that of a gasoline-powered vehicle. If the engine is not used to drive the car directly, it can be geared to run at maximum efficiency, further improving fuel economy.

There are different ways that a hybrid electric vehicle can combine the power from an electric motor and the internal combustion engine. The most common type is a parallel hybrid that connects the engine and the electric motor to the wheels through mechanical coupling. In this scenario, the electric motor and the engine can drive the wheels directly. Series hybrids only use the electric motor to drive the wheels and can often be referred to as extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) or range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs). There are also series-parallel hybrids where the vehicle can be powered by the engine working alone, the electric motor on its own, or by both working together; this is designed so that the engine can run at its optimum range as often as possible.[52]

Togg C-SUV[53] produced by Togg,[54] a Turkish automotive company established in 2018 for producing EVs.[55][56][53]

A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any motor vehicle that can be recharged from any external source of electricity, such as wall sockets, and the electricity stored in the Rechargeable battery packs drives or contributes to drive the wheels. PEV is a subcategory of electric vehicles that includes battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles, (PHEVs), and electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.[57][58][59]

A range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) is a vehicle powered by an electric motor and a plug-in battery. An auxiliary combustion engine is used only to supplement battery charging and not as the primary source of power.[60]

An electric powertrain used by Power Vehicle Innovation for trucks or buses[61]

On-road electric vehicles include electric cars, electric trolleybuses, electric buses, battery electric buses, electric trucks, electric bicycles, electric motorcycles and scooters, personal transporters, neighborhood electric vehicles, golf carts, milk floats, and forklifts. Off-road vehicles include electrified all-terrain vehicles and tractors.

A streetcar (or tram) in Hanover drawing current from a single overhead wire through a pantograph

The fixed nature of a rail line makes it relatively easy to power EVs through permanent overhead lines or electrified third rails, eliminating the need for heavy onboard batteries. Electric locomotives, electric multiple units, electric trams (also called streetcars or trolleys), electric light rail systems, and electric rapid transit are all in common use today, especially in Europe and Asia.

Since electric trains do not need to carry a heavy internal combustion engine or large batteries, they can have very good power-to-weight ratios. This allows high speed trains such as France's double-deck TGVs to operate at speeds of 320 km/h (200 mph) or higher, and electric locomotives to have a much higher power output than diesel locomotives. In addition, they have higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration, and using regenerative brakes can put braking power back into the electrical grid rather than wasting it.

There are also battery electric passenger trains operating on non-electrified rail lines.

Crewed and uncrewed vehicles have been used to explore the Moon and other planets in the Solar System. On the last three missions of the Apollo program in 1971 and 1972, astronauts drove silver-oxide battery-powered Lunar Roving Vehicles distances up to 35.7 kilometers (22.2 mi) on the lunar surface.[63] Uncrewed, solar-powered rovers have explored the Moon and Mars.[64][65]

Mars helicopter Ingenuity

Since the beginnings of aviation, electric power for aircraft has received a great deal of experimentation. Currently, flying electric aircraft include manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Oceanvolt SD8.6 electric saildrive motor

Electric boats were popular around the turn of the 20th century. Interest in quiet and potentially renewable marine transportation has steadily increased since the late 20th century, as solar cells have given motorboats the infinite range of sailboats. Electric motors can and have also been used in sailboats instead of traditional diesel engines.[66] Electric ferries operate routinely.[67] Submarines use batteries (charged by diesel or gasoline engines at the surface), nuclear power, fuel cells[68] or Stirling engines to run electric motor-driven propellers.

Electric power has a long history of use in spacecraft.[69][70] The power sources used for spacecraft are batteries, solar panels and nuclear power. Current methods of propelling a spacecraft with electricity include the arcjet rocket, the electrostatic ion thruster, the Hall-effect thruster, and Field Emission Electric Propulsion.

Most large electric transport systems are powered by stationary sources of electricity that are directly connected to the vehicles through wires. Electric traction allows the use of regenerative braking, in which the motors are used as brakes and become generators that transform the motion of, usually, a train into electrical power that is then fed back into the lines. This system is particularly advantageous in mountainous operations, as descending vehicles can produce a large portion of the power required for those ascending. This regenerative system is only viable if the system is large enough to utilise the power generated by descending vehicles.

In the systems above, motion is provided by a rotary electric motor. However, it is possible to "unroll" the motor to drive directly against a special matched track. These linear motors are used in maglev trains which float above the rails supported by magnetic levitation. This allows for almost no rolling resistance of the vehicle and no mechanical wear and tear of the train or track. In addition to the high-performance control systems needed, switching and curving of the tracks becomes difficult with linear motors, which to date has restricted their operations to high-speed point to point services.

Electric Land Speed Record 353 mph (568 km/h).[71]

Electric Car Distance Record 1,725 miles (2,776 km) in 24 hours by Bjørn Nyland.[72]

Greatest distance by electric vehicle, single charge 999.5 miles (1,608.5 km).[73]

Electric Motorcycle: 1,070 miles (1,720 km) under 24 hours. Michel von Tell on Harley.[74]

Electric flight: 439.5 miles (707.3 km) without charge.[75]

The type of battery, the type of traction motor and the motor controller design vary according to the size, power and proposed application, which can be as small as a motorized shopping cart or wheelchair, through pedelecs, electric motorcycles and scooters, neighborhood electric vehicles, industrial fork-lift trucks and including many hybrid vehicles.

EVs are much more efficient than fossil fuel vehicles and have few direct emissions. At the same time, they do rely on electrical energy that is generally provided by a combination of non-fossil fuel plants and fossil fuel plants. Consequently, EVs can be made less polluting overall by modifying the source of electricity. In some areas, persons can ask utilities to provide their electricity from renewable energy.

Fossil fuel vehicle efficiency and pollution standards take years to filter through a nation's fleet of vehicles. New efficiency and pollution standards rely on the purchase of new vehicles, often as the current vehicles already on the road reach their end-of-life. Only a few nations set a retirement age for old vehicles, such as Japan or Singapore, forcing periodic upgrading of all vehicles already on the road.

EVs convert over 59-62% of grid energy to the wheels. Conventional gasoline vehicles convert around 17-21%.[78]

If almost all road vehicles were electric it would increase global demand for electricity by up to 25% by 2050 compared to 2020.[79] However, overall energy consumption and emissions would diminish because of the higher efficiency of EVs over the entire cycle, and the reduction in energy needed to refine fossil fuels.

A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a power supply device that supplies electrical power for recharging plug-in electric vehicles (including battery electric vehicles, electric trucks, electric buses, neighborhood electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles).

There are two main types: AC charging stations and DC charging stations. Electric vehicle batteries can only be charged by direct current (DC) electricity, while most mains electricity is delivered from the power grid as alternating current (AC). For this reason, most electric vehicles have a built-in AC-to-DC converter commonly known as the "onboard charger". At an AC charging station, AC power from the grid is supplied to this onboard charger, which converts it into DC power to then recharge the battery. DC chargers facilitate higher power charging (which requires much larger AC-to-DC converters) by building the converter into the charging station instead of the vehicle to avoid size and weight restrictions. The station then supplies DC power to the vehicle directly, bypassing the onboard converter. Most modern electric car models can accept both AC and DC power.

Charging stations provide connectors that conform to a variety of international standards. DC charging stations are commonly equipped with multiple connectors to be able to charge a wide variety of vehicles that utilize competing standards.

Public charging stations are typically found street-side or at retail shopping centers, government facilities, and other parking areas. Private charging stations are typically found at residences, workplaces, and hotels.

Instead of recharging EVs from electric sockets, batteries could be mechanically replaced at special stations in a few minutes ( battery swapping).

Batteries with greater energy density such as metal-air fuel cells cannot always be recharged in a purely electric way, so some form of mechanical recharge may be used instead. A zinc-air battery, technically a fuel cell, is difficult to recharge electrically so may be "refueled" by periodically replacing the anode or electrolyte instead.[80]

TRL (formerly Transport Research Laboratory) lists three power delivery types for dynamic charging, or charging while the vehicle is in motion: overhead power lines, and ground level power through rail or induction. TRL lists overhead power as the most technologically mature solution which provides the highest levels of power, but the technology is unsuitable for non-commercial vehicles. Ground-level power is suitable for all vehicles, with rail being a mature solution with high transfer of power and easily accessible and inspected elements. Inductive charging delivers the least power and requires more roadside equipment than the alternatives.[81]: Appendix D

The European Commission published in 2021 a request for regulation and standardization of electric road systems.[84] Shortly afterward, a working group of the French Ministry of Ecology recommended adopting a European electric road standard formulated with Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and others.[85] The first standard for electrical equipment on-board a vehicle powered by a rail electric road system (ERS), CENELEC Technical Standard 50717, has been approved in late 2022.[86] Following standards, encompassing "full interoperability" and a "unified and interoperable solution" for ground-level power supply, are scheduled to be published by the end 2024, detailing complete "specifications for communication and power supply through conductive rails embedded in the road".[87][88]

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Conventional electric double-layer capacitors are being worked on to achieve the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, offering almost unlimited lifespans and no environmental issues. High-K electric double-layer capacitors, such as EEStor's EESU, could improve lithium ion energy density several times over if they can be produced. Lithium-sulphur batteries offer 250 Wh/kg.[89] Sodium-ion batteries promise 400 Wh/kg with only minimal expansion/contraction during charge/discharge and a very high surface area, and rely on lower cost materials than Lithium-ion, Leading to Cheaper batteries that do not require critical minerals.[90]

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EVs release no tailpipe air pollutants, and reduce respiratory illnesses such as asthma.[92] However, EVs are charged with electricity that may be generated by means that have health and environmental impacts.[93][94]

One limitation of the environmental potential of EVs is that simply switching the existing privately owned car fleet from ICEs to EVs will not free up road space for active travel or public transport.[97] Electric micromobility vehicles, such as e-bikes, may contribute to the decarbonisation of transport systems, especially outside of urban areas which are already well-served by public transport.[98]

Internal combustion engined vehicles use far more raw materials over their lifetime than EVs.[99]

Since their first commercial release in 1991, lithium-ion batteries have become an important technology for achieving low-carbon transportation systems. The sustainability of production process of batteries has not been fully assessed in either economic, social or environmental terms.[100][obsolete source ]

Business processes of raw material extraction in practice raise issues of transparency and accountability of the management of extractive resources. In the complex supply chain of lithium technology, there are diverse stakeholders representing corporate interests, public interest groups and political elites that are concerned with outcomes from the technology production and use. One possibility to achieve balanced extractive processes would be the establishment of commonly agreed standards on the governance of technology worldwide.[100]

One source estimates that over a fifth of the lithium and about 65% of the cobalt needed for electric cars will be from recycled sources by 2035.[102] On the other hand, when counting the large quantities of fossil fuel non-electric cars consume over their lifetime, electric cars can be considered to dramatically reduce raw-material needs.[102]

In 2022, the manufacturing of an EV emitted on average around 50% more CO2 than an equivalent internal combustion engine vehicle, but this difference is more than offset by the much higher emissions from the oil used in driving an internal combustion engine Vehicle over its lifetime compared to those from generating the electricity used for driving the EV.[103]

A 2003 study in the United Kingdom found that "[p]ollution is most concentrated in areas where young children and their parents are more likely to live and least concentrated in areas to which the elderly tend to migrate," and that "those communities that are most polluted and which also emit the least pollution tend to be amongst the poorest in Britain."[104] A 2019 UK study found that "households in the poorest areas emit the least NOx and PM, whilst the least poor areas emitted the highest, per km, vehicle emissions per household through having higher vehicle ownership, owning more diesel vehicles and driving further."[105]

Electric motors are mechanically very simple and often achieve 90% energy conversion efficiency[106] over the full range of speeds and power output and can be precisely controlled. They can also be combined with regenerative braking systems that have the ability to convert movement energy back into stored electricity. This can be used to reduce the wear on brake systems (and consequent brake pad dust) and reduce the total energy requirement of a trip. Regenerative braking is especially effective for start-and-stop city use.

They can be finely controlled and provide high torque from stationary-to-moving, unlike internal combustion engines, and do not need multiple gears to match power curves. This removes the need for gearboxes and torque converters.

EVs provide quiet and smooth operation and consequently have less noise and vibration than internal combustion engines.[107] While this is a desirable attribute, it has also evoked concern that the absence of the usual sounds of an approaching vehicle poses a danger to blind, elderly and very young pedestrians. To mitigate this situation, many countries mandate warning sounds when EVs are moving slowly, up to a speed when normal motion and rotation (road, suspension, electric motor, etc.) noises become audible.[108]

Electric motors do not require oxygen, unlike internal combustion engines; this is useful for submarines and for space rovers.

EV ' tank-to-wheels' efficiency is about a factor of three higher than internal combustion engine vehicles.[107] Energy is not consumed while the vehicle is stationary, unlike internal combustion engines which consume fuel while idling. However, looking at the well-to-wheel efficiency of EVs, their total emissions, while still lower,[clarification needed ] are closer[clarification needed ] to an efficient gasoline or diesel in most countries where electricity generation relies on fossil fuels.[110][111]

Well-to-wheel efficiency of an EV has less to do with the vehicle itself and more to do with the method of electricity production. A particular EV would instantly become twice as efficient if electricity production were switched from fossil fuels to renewable energy, such as wind power, tidal power, solar power, and nuclear power. Thus, when "well-to-wheels" is cited, the discussion is no longer about the vehicle, but rather about the entire energy supply infrastructure - in the case of fossil fuels this should also include energy spent on exploration, mining, refining, and distribution.

The lifecycle analysis of EVs shows that even when powered by the most carbon-intensive electricity in Europe, they emit less greenhouse gases than a conventional diesel vehicle.[112]

As of 2021 the purchase price of an EV is often more, but the total cost of ownership of an EV varies wildly depending on location[113] and distance travelled per year:[114] in parts of the world where fossil fuels are subsidized, lifecycle costs of diesel or gas-powered vehicle are sometimes less than a comparable EV.[115]

In 2022, the sales-weighted average range of small BEVs sold in the United States was nearly 350 km, while in France, Germany and the United Kingdom it was just under 300 km, compared to under 220km in China.[90]

In cold climates, considerable energy is needed to heat the interior of a vehicle and to defrost the windows. With internal combustion engines, this heat already exists as waste combustion heat diverted from the engine cooling circuit. This process offsets the greenhouse gases' external costs. If this is done with battery EVs, the interior heating requires extra energy from the vehicles' batteries. Although some heat could be harvested from the motor or motors and battery, their greater efficiency means there is not as much waste heat available as from a combustion engine.

However, for vehicles which are connected to the grid, battery EVs can be preheated, or cooled, with little or no need for battery energy, especially for short trips.

Shifts from private to public transport (train, trolleybus, personal rapid transit or tram) have the potential for large gains in efficiency in terms of an individual's distance traveled per kWh.

The IEA suggests that taxing inefficient internal combustion engine vehicles could encourage adoption of EVs, with taxes raised being used to fund subsidies for EVs.[90] Government procurement is sometimes used to encourage national EV manufacturers.[123][124] Many countries will ban sales of fossil fuel vehicles between 2025 and 2040.[125]

Many governments offer incentives to promote the use of electric vehicles, with the goals of reducing air pollution and oil consumption. Some incentives intend to increase purchases of electric vehicles by offsetting the purchase price with a grant. Other incentives include lower tax rates or exemption from certain taxes, and investment in charging infrastructure.

The COVID-19 pandemic gave birth to proposals for radical change in the organisation of the city, such as the Manifesto for the Reorganisation of the City after COVID-19, published in Barcelona and signed by 160 academics and 300 architects, highly critical towards a transportation based on the private electric vehicle considered as a false solution.[127][128][129]

By reducing air pollution, such as nitrogen dioxide, EVs could prevent hundreds of thousands of early deaths every year,[131][132] especially from trucks and old cars in cities.[133]

Many vehicle battery chemistries rely heavily on the mining of rare earth metals such as cobalt, nickel, and copper.[134][135][dubious ] In 2023 the US State Department said that the supply of lithium would need to increase 42-fold by 2050 globally to support a transition to clean energy.[136] Rare-earth metals ( neodymium, dysprosium) and other mined metals (copper, nickel, iron) are used by EV motors, while lithium, cobalt, manganese are used by the batteries.[137][135] The full environmental impact of electric vehicles includes the life cycle impacts of carbon and sulfur emissions, as well as toxic metals entering the environment. Most of the lithium ion battery production occurs in China, where the bulk of energy used is supplied by coal burning power plants. A study of hundreds of cars on sale in 2021 concluded that the life cycle GHG emissions of full electric cars are slightly less than hybrids and that both are less than gasoline and diesel fuelled cars.[138]

Advances in lithium-ion batteries, driven at first by the personal-use electronics industry, allow full-sized, highway-capable EVs to travel nearly as far on a single charge as conventional cars go on a single tank of gasoline. Lithium batteries have been made safe, can be recharged in minutes instead of hours (see recharging time), and now last longer than the typical vehicle (see lifespan). The production cost of these lighter, higher-capacity lithium-ion batteries is gradually decreasing as the technology matures and production volumes increase.[140][141]

Another improvement is to decouple the electric motor from the battery through electronic control, using supercapacitors to buffer large but short power demands and regenerative braking energy.[144] The development of new cell types combined with intelligent cell management improved both weak points mentioned above. The cell management involves not only monitoring the health of the cells but also a redundant cell configuration (one more cell than needed). With sophisticated switched wiring, it is possible to condition one cell while the rest are on duty.[citation needed ]

Electric Renault Midlum used by Nestlé in 2015

An electric truck is an electric vehicle powered by batteries designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work.

Electric trucks have serviced niche applications like milk floats, pushback tugs and forklifts for over a hundred years, typically using lead-acid batteries, but the rapid development of lighter and more energy-dense battery chemistries in the twenty-first century has broadened the range of applicability of electric propulsion to trucks in many more roles.

Electric trucks reduce noise and pollution, relative to internal-combustion trucks. Due to the high efficiency and low component-counts of electric power trains, no fuel burning while idle, and silent and efficient acceleration, the costs of owning and operating electric trucks are dramatically lower than their predecessors.[145][146] According to the United States Department of Energy, the average cost per kWh capacity of battery packs for trucks fell from $500 in 2013 to $200 in 2019, and still further to $137 in 2020, with some vehicles under $100 for the first time.[147][148]

Long-distance freight has been the trucking segment least amenable to electrification, since the increased weight of batteries, relative to fuel, detracts from payload capacity, and the alternative, more frequent recharging, detracts from delivery time. By contrast, short-haul urban delivery has been electrified rapidly, since the clean and quiet nature of electric trucks fit well with urban planning and municipal regulation, and the capacities of reasonably sized batteries are well-suited to daily stop-and-go traffic within a metropolitan area.[149][150][151]

In South Korea, electric trucks hold a noticeable share of the new truck market; in 2020, among trucks produced and sold domestically (which are the vast majority of new trucks sold in the country), 7.6% were all-electric vehicles.[152]

Particularly in Europe, fuel-cell electric trains are gaining in popularity to replace diesel-electric units. In Germany, several Länder have ordered Alstom Coradia iLINT trainsets, in service since 2018,[153] with France also planning to order trainsets.[154] The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Canada[153] and Mexico[155] are equally interested. In France, the SNCF plans to replace all its remaining diesel-electric trains with hydrogen trains by 2035.[156] In the United Kingdom, Alstom announced in 2018 their plan to retrofit British Rail Class 321 trainsets with fuel cells.[157]

In New Mexico the government is looking to pass legislation mandating electrical receptacles that are higher voltage to be installed in garages of newly built homes.[158] The NEMA 14-50 outlets provide 240 volts and 50 Amps for a total of 12.5 Kilowatts for level 2 charging of electric vehicles.[159][160] It is expected to only add a few hundred dollars to the building cost of the home. Level 2 charging can add up to 30 miles of range per hour of charging compared to up to 4 miles of range per hour for level 1 charging from 120 volt outlets.

Since EVs can be plugged into the electric grid when not in use, battery-powered vehicles could reduce the need for dispatchable generation by feeding electricity into the grid from their batteries during periods of high demand and low supply (such as just after sunset) while doing most of their charging at night or midday, when there is unused generating capacity.[163][164] This vehicle-to-grid (V2G) connection has the potential to reduce the need for new power plants, as long as vehicle owners do not mind reducing the life of their batteries, by being drained by the power company during peak demand. Electric vehicle parking lots can provide demand response.[165]

The infrastructure for vehicle repairs after accidents is a concern for insurers and mechanics due to safety requirements.[169] Batteries and other components must be carefully evaluated rather than being totally written off by insurers.[170]

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49. ^ Tessum; Hill; Marshall (2014). "Life cycle air quality impacts of conventional and alternative light-duty transportation in the United States". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (52): 18490-18495. Bibcode:2014PNAS..11118490T. doi:10.1073/pnas.1406853111. PMC 4284558. PMID 25512510.

50. ^ Choma, Ernani F.; Evans, John S.; Hammitt, James K.; Gómez-Ibáñez, José A.; Spengler, John D. (1 November 2020). "Assessing the health impacts of electric vehicles through air pollution in the United States". Environment International. 144: 106015. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2020.106015. ISSN 0160-4120. PMID 32858467.

51. Agusdinata, Datu Buyung; Liu, Wenjuan; Eakin, Hallie; Romero, Hugo (27 November 2018). "Socio-environmental impacts of lithium mineral extraction: towards a research agenda". Environmental Research Letters. 13 (12): 123001. Bibcode:2018ERL....13l3001B. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aae9b1. ISSN 1748-9326.

52. "Electric car batteries need far less raw materials than fossil-fuel cars - study Archived 2 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine". transportenvironment.org. Retrieved 1 November 2021.

53. ^ Mitchell G, Dorling D. An Environmental Justice Analysis of British Air Quality. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. 2003;35(5):909-929. doi:10.1068/a35240

54. ^ "Better Place" (PDF).

55. ^ "Nissan Adds 'Beautiful' Noise to Make Silent Electric Cars Safe". Bloomberg L.P. 18 September 2009.

56. ^ Nealer, Rachael; Reichmuth, David; Anair, Don (November 2015). "Cleaner Cars from Cradle to Grave: How Electric Cars Beat Gasoline Cars on Lifetime Global Warming Emissions" (PDF). Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2015.

57. ^ Lepetit, Yoann (October 2017). "Electric vehicle life cycle analysis and raw material availability" (PDF). Transport & Environment. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2018.

58. ^ Guillaume, Gilles; Piovaccari, Giulio (27 July 2023). "Western car makers look to slash EV costs to fight Chinese 'invasion'". Reuters.

59. ^ "Zeroing in on Healthy Air". American Lung Association. 2022.

60. ^ Le Petit, Yoann. "Electric vehicle life cycle analysis and raw material availability" (PDF). transportenvironment.org. Transport & Environment. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2021.

61. "Move to net zero 'inevitably means more mining'". BBC News. 24 May 2021. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021.

62. ^

63. ^

64. ^ "Daimler deepens CATL alliance to build long-range, fast-charging EV batteries" Archived 23 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, August 5, 2020; and "Porsche: The perfect cell" Archived 25 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Automotive World, August 28, 2020

65. ^ Horn, Michael; MacLeod, Jennifer; Liu, Meinan; Webb, Jeremy; Motta, Nunzio (March 2019). "Supercapacitors: A new source of power for electric cars?" (PDF). Economic Analysis and Policy. 61: 93-103. doi:10.1016/j.eap.2018.08.003. S2CID 187458469.

66. ^ "New Mexico law seeks solar on every roof, and an EV charger in every garage". pv magazine USA. 25 January 2023.

67. ^ "Buy Nema 14-50 EV Charger - Lectron". Lectron EV.

68. ^ Barbecho Bautista, Pablo; Lemus Cárdenas, Leticia; Urquiza Aguiar, Luis; Aguilar Igartua, Mónica (2019). "A traffic-aware electric vehicle charging management system for smart cities". Vehicular Communications. 20: 100188. doi:10.1016/j.vehcom.2019.100188. hdl:2117/172770. S2CID 204080912.

69. ^ Liasi, Sahand Ghaseminejad; Golkar, Masoud Aliakbar (2017). "Electric vehicles connection to microgrid effects on peak demand with and without demand response". 2017 Iranian Conference on Electrical Engineering (ICEE). pp. 1272-1277. doi:10.1109/IranianCEE.2017.7985237. ISBN 978-1-5090-5963-8. S2CID 22071272.

70. ^ "It's not just cars driving the EV revolution in emerging markets". www.schroders.com. Beyond grid stabilisation benefits, smart charging of EVs, using differentiated electricity tariffs in off-peak hours, may also mitigate the pressure on electricity demand. That's because vehicles can be charged during the day, when demand is lower and renewables generation is available.

71. ^ Shafie-khah, Miadreza; Heydarian-Forushani, Ehsan; Osorio, Gerardo J.; Gil, Fabio A. S.; Aghaei, Jamshid; Barani, Mostafa; Catalao, Joao P. S. (November 2016). "Optimal Behavior of Electric Vehicle Parking Lots as Demand Response Aggregation Agents". IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. 7 (6): 2654-2665. doi:10.1109/TSG.2015.2496796. ISSN 1949-3053. S2CID 715959.

72. ^ "It's not just cars driving the EV revolution in emerging markets". www.schroders.com. Intermittency from solar or wind technologies can put creating voltage and frequency variations. Batteries can charge and discharge to stabilise the grid in such instances. The batteries of electric vehicles, e-buses or electric two-wheelers, while connected to the grid, could therefore play a role in protecting a grid's stability.

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An electric vehicle ( EV)[note 1] is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes charged by solar panels, or by converting fuel to electricity using fuel cells or a generator).[1] EVs include, but are not limited to, road and rail vehicles, surface and underwater vessels, electric aircraft, and electric spacecraft.

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Here is a video about a woman named Malala who is who is a protester for women’s rights.

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Here is a video about a woman named Malala who is who is a protester for women’s rights.

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https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/famoushistoricalfigures/malala/

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How Does Climate Change Affect the Ocean?

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This is a good website about “ How climate change affects life under water”.

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This is a good website about “ How climate change affects life under water”.

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Why is the ocean important for life on Earth?

The ocean is important because it is a very large part of our planet. In fact, it covers 70% of Earth's surface. The ocean is a home and food source for countless fish, mammals, plants, birds, and more.

The ocean plays an important role in whatever happens in our environment on Earth. Even if you live on land - like humans do - you wouldn't survive without the ocean!

One example: without the ocean, Earth would be much hotter than it is right now. That's because the ocean absorbs heat from the Sun and spreads it more evenly around our planet.

How does the ocean soak up heat from the Sun?

Water is excellent at storing heat. Water has a high heat capacity-it absorbs a lot of heat before it begins to get hot. Air, on the other hand, is not so great at storing heat.

Earth's climate is warming due to human activities. As Earth experiences a warming climate, we experience hotter air temperatures. The ocean does an excellent job of absorbing the extra heat from the atmosphere, delaying the full impact of global warming.

The top few meters of the ocean store as much heat as Earth's entire atmosphere. So, as the planet warms, it's the ocean that gets most of the extra energy. More than 90% of the global warming is going into the ocean.

But if the ocean gets too warm, then the plants and animals that live there can get sick or even die.

How are coral reefs affected by climate change?

Coral reefs are created by living creatures. Warming oceans caused by climate change are putting coral reefs in danger. Coral reefs are made by very fragile colonies of organisms that build skeletons around themselves.

Coral lives together with a certain kind of colorful algae. The algae make food using sunlight ¬- a process called photosynthesis. The algae share the food with the coral, and in turn, the coral gives the algae a safe and comfortable place to live.

The two of them get along fine, living in clean, clear, shallow waters where the Sun shines through brightly. Fish and other sea creatures love coral too, because there are lots of nooks and crannies for them to hide in.

But the algae cannot carry out photosynthesis in water that is too warm. The algae either die, or the coral spits it out. It's bad for the algae, the coral and the fish, because the coral lose their food sources and become weak and can die. This event is called coral bleaching, and it is a very serious problem in many ocean ecosystems around the world.

Read about what it's like to be an ocean scientist studying coral reefs.

How does the ocean soak up CO₂?

Fish and other animals in the ocean breathe oxygen and give off carbon dioxide (CO ₂), just like land animals. Ocean plants take in the carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, just like land plants. The ocean is great at absorbing CO ₂ from the air.

However, a lot of CO ₂ comes from human activities, too. For example, exhaust from cars, planes, and factories put extra carbon dioxide into our air. Too much carbon dioxide in the air is a problem, as it causes the Earth to trap more heat. The ocean absorbs about one-quarter of the CO ₂ that humans create when we burn fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas).

Too much carbon dioxide in the ocean causes a problem called ocean acidification. You can read this article to learn all about ocean acidification and its effects.

How does the ocean affect the climate?

The ocean absorbs heat from the Sun and ocean currents move that warm water all around the planet. Ocean currents are like highways that carry water around the world. Heat (along with salt) is a major source of power for ocean currents.

Cold water near the North and South Poles sinks deeper into the ocean. Water near the equator is warmed by the Sun. Then, the warm surface water moves closer to the poles where it cools and sinks.

As Earth's climate warms, the water also warms melting sea ice. This warming could make the water less cold and less likely to sink. Without sinking cold water, the ocean currents could slow down or stop in some places. This could change the climate in places like Europe that have milder climates thanks to the warm currents in the oceans around them.

Does the salt in the ocean do anything?

The amount of salt in the ocean also affects currents. Saltier water is heavier than less salty water. When salty ocean water freezes, the ice can no longer hold on to the salt. Instead, the salt mixes with the water below making it saltier and heavier. Glaciers, land ice and icebergs are made of fresh water, so what happens when this ice melts? Good question!

The water in the North Atlantic sinks because it's cold, but also because it's salty. Being both cold and salty makes it really dense and heavy, so it can sink very far. But if too much ice melts in the North Atlantic, the water could become less salty and affect ocean currents. NASA satellites are keeping a close eye on the melting ice, the ocean currents, and ocean life to better understand this complicated system.

Play Go With the Flow to use temperature, salinity, and ocean currents to find treasure!

How does climate change impact sea level?

As Earth warms, NASA has observed that sea levels are rising. Water expands as it gets warmer. So, warm water takes up more room in our oceans, and this leads to higher sea levels. Another reason that oceans are rising is due to melting ice on land. Glaciers and ice sheets are large masses of ice that sit on the land. As our planet warms, this ice melts and flows into the oceans. More water in the oceans makes sea level higher.

NASA satellites are constantly measuring sea level around the globe. Learn more about how we measure sea level with satellites.

Related NASA Missions

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How Does Climate Change Affect the Ocean?

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Additional heat and carbon dioxide in the ocean can change the environment for the many plants and animals that live there.

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Child labour means that children are forced to work like adults and take part in an economic activity. According to the ILO International Labour Organization the term is applied to people up to age thirteen, or seventeen in case of dangerous work. Only about a fourth of the ILO members have ratified the respective convention, but the age limits are generally accepted.[5]

When children work like adults, this will deprive them of their childhood: Very often, they cannot attend regular school either. This kind of work is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.

Child labour is fundamentally different from casual work done by children, like guarding other children, or helping here and there. Child labour is forbidden in most countries. In some places minor boys and girls work in tea stalls, restaurants, hotels and other small shops. Some work in huge factories like brick factories. The main reason why child labour occurs is poverty.

There are two kinds of work that minors can do:

1. Some work they do is acceptable, as it is only light, or easy to do. Children can also do it while they are well-integrated into the family. This kind of work can be done in addition to an education the children are getting.

2. The other kind of work is difficult to do, or it is physically exhausting. It may be dangerous, the children may be required to work for long hours and in humiliating clothing.

In general the second kind of work is usually labelled child labour. Estimates are that up to 350 million children are affected by child labour. Eight million of these are affected by the worst forms of child labour: they are child soldiers, they are forced into child abuse, they are used for child abuse, they are child slaves, debt bondage or affected by human trafficking.

Often such cases are known through scandals in the mass media. In that manner, a working child is often seen as a slave, working in a Sweet shop in a third world country, producing textiles, or as one of the street children in South America. The reality is different though: Such shops exist all over the world, also in countries like the United States or Italy. The fact that child labour is involved is often hidden: More than three quarters of this work is done in the sector of agriculture, or it has to do with activities done at home, in the context of the family. If child-slaves exist, they are only a minority. This form of work done by children also existed before industrialisation and globalisation, the two phenomena have made it more visible.[6]

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Child labour facts. Child labour means that children are forced to work like adults and take part in an economic activity. According to the ILO International Labour Organization the term is applied to people up to age thirteen, or seventeen in case of dangerous work.

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https://kids.kiddle.co/Methane

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https://www.britannica.com/technology/desalination

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Learn about the gpgp! There’s lots of facts and sad stories about it

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Learn about the gpgp! There’s lots of facts and sad stories about it

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Gpgp? Why is it stuck and what does it do? This website will answer it

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Gpgp? Why is it stuck and what does it do? This website will answer it

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Welcome to Britannica School , a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Primary, Middle and Secondary School.

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These are companies trying to save our ocean! Except for some…

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These are companies trying to save our ocean! Except for some…

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https://dipndive.com/blogs/stories/10-amazing-organizations-fighting-to-save-our-oceans

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Helpful for life under water

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Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area. Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes, such as ponds, wetlands, rivers, lakes or oceans, and can result in resource depletion, reduced biological growth rates and low biomass levels. Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation, where the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. Some forms of overfishing, such as the overfishing of sharks, has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems.[1] Types of overfishing include: growth overfishing, recruitment overfishing, ecosystem overfishing.

Jack mackerel caught by a Chilean purse seiner

Fishing down the food web

The ability of a fishery to recover from overfishing depends on whether its overall carrying capacity and the variety of ecological conditions are suitable for the recovery. Dramatic changes in species composition can result in an ecosystem shift, where other equilibrium energy flows involve species compositions different from those that had been present before the depletion of the original fish stock. For example, once trout have been overfished, carp might exploit the change in competitive equilibria and take over in a way that makes it impossible for the trout to re-establish a breeding population.

Since the growth of global fishing enterprises after the 1950s, intensive fishing has spread from a few concentrated areas to encompass nearly all fisheries. The scraping of the ocean floor in bottom dragging is devastating to coral, sponges and other slower-growing benthic species that do not recover quickly, and that provide a habitat for commercial fisheries species. This destruction alters the functioning of the ecosystem and can permanently alter species' composition and biodiversity. Bycatch, the collateral capture of unintended species in the course of fishing, is typically returned to the ocean only to die from injuries or exposure. Bycatch represents about a quarter of all marine catch. In the case of shrimp capture, the bycatch is five times larger than the shrimp caught.

A report by FAO in 2020 stated that "in 2017, 34 percent of the fish stocks of the world's marine fisheries were classified as overfished".[2]: 54  Mitigation options include: Government regulation, removal of subsidies, minimizing fishing impact, aquaculture and consumer awareness.

Darker shades mean less overfishing, lighter shades mean more overfishing. EPI scores range from 1-7; 7=highest level of overfishing.

Overfishing has stripped many fisheries around the world of their stocks. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in a 2018 report that 33.1% of world fish stocks are subject to overfishing.[3] Significant overfishing has been observed in pre-industrial times. In particular, the overfishing of the western Atlantic Ocean from the earliest days of European colonisation of the Americas has been well documented.[4]

The fraction of fish stocks that are within biologically sustainable levels has exhibited a decreasing trend, from 90% in 1974 to 66.9% in 2015. In contrast, the percentage of stocks fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 10% in 1974 to 33.1% in 2015, with the largest increases in the late-1970s and 1980s.

Global trends in the state of the world's marine fish stocks, from FAO's Statistical Yearbook 2020[5]

In 2015, maximally sustainably fished stocks (formerly termed fully fished stocks) accounted for 59.9% and underfished stocks for 7% of the total assessed stocks.[6] While the proportion of underfished stocks decreased continuously from 1974 to 2015, the maximally sustainably fished stocks decreased from 1974 to 1989, and then increased to 59.9% in 2015.[6]

In 2015, among the 16 major statistical areas, the Mediterranean and Black Sea had the highest percentage (62.2%) of unsustainable stocks, closely followed by the Southeast Pacific 61.5% and Southwest Atlantic 58.8%. In contrast, the Eastern Central Pacific, Northeast Pacific (Area 67), Northwest Pacific (Area 61), Western Central Pacific and Southwest Pacific had the lowest proportion (13 to 17%) of fish stocks at biologically unsustainable levels.[6]

Daniel Pauly, a fisheries scientist known for pioneering work on the human impacts on global fisheries, has commented:[7]

It is almost as though we use our military to fight the animals in the ocean. We are gradually winning this war to exterminate them. And to see this destruction happen, for nothing really - for no reason - that is a bit frustrating. Strangely enough, these effects are all reversible, all the animals that have disappeared would reappear, all the animals that were small would grow, all the relationships that you can't see any more would re-establish themselves, and the system would re-emerge.

According to the Secretary General of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, "Overfishing cannot continue, the depletion of fisheries poses a major threat to the food supply of millions of people."[8]

The fishing down the food web is something that occurs when overfishing arises. Once all larger fish are caught, the fisherman will start to fish the smaller individuals, which would lead to more fish needing to be caught to keep up with demand.[9] This decreases fish populations, as well as genetic diversity of the species, making them more susceptible to disease, and less likely to adapt to their stressors and the environment.[10] Additionally, catching smaller fish leads to breeding of smaller offspring, which can be problematic for fish. In many species, the smaller the female, the less fecund it is, impacting the fish population.[11]

There are three recognized types of biological overfishing: growth overfishing, recruit overfishing, and ecosystem overfishing.

Overfishing can deplete key reef species and damage coral habitat. Coral reef fish are a significant food source for over a billion people worldwide.[12]

Growth overfishing occurs when fish are harvested at an average size that is smaller than the size that would produce the maximum yield per recruit. A recruit is an individual that makes it to maturity, or into the limits specified by a fishery, which are usually size or age.[13] This makes the total yield less than it would be if the fish were allowed to grow to an appropriate size. It can be countered by reducing fishing mortality to lower levels and increasing the average size of harvested fish to a size that will allow maximum yield per recruit.[14][15]

Recruitment overfishing happens when the mature adult population (spawning biomass) is depleted to a level where it no longer has the reproductive capacity to replenish itself-there are not enough adults to produce offspring.[14] Increasing the spawning stock biomass to a target level is the approach taken by managers to restore an overfished population to sustainable levels. This is generally accomplished by placing moratoriums, quotas, and minimum size limits on a fish population.

Ecosystem overfishing occurs when the balance of the ecosystem is altered by overfishing. With declines in the abundance of large predatory species, the abundance of small forage type increases causing a shift in the balance of the ecosystem towards smaller fish species.

Examples of overfishing exist in areas such as the North Sea, the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and the East China Sea.[16][17] In these locations, overfishing has not only proved disastrous to fish stocks, but also to the fishing communities relying on the harvest. Like other extractive industries such as forestry and hunting, fisheries are susceptible to economic interaction between ownership or stewardship and sustainability, otherwise known as the tragedy of the commons.

Overfished US stocks, 2015

Tuna has been caught by the locals in the upper Adriatic for centuries. Increasing fishing prevented the large schools of little tunny from migrating into the Gulf of Trieste. The last major tuna catch was made in 1954 by the fishermen of Santa Croce, Contovello and Barcola.[18]

The Peruvian coastal anchovy fisheries crashed in the 1970s after overfishing and an El Niño season[19] largely depleted anchovies from its waters.[20][21] Anchovies were a major natural resource in Peru; indeed, 1971 alone yielded 10.2 million metric tons of anchovies. However, the following five years saw the Peruvian fleet's catch amount to only about four million tons.[19] This was a major loss to Peru's economy.

The collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery off Newfoundland,[22] and the 1992 decision by Canada to impose an indefinite moratorium on the Grand Banks, is a dramatic example of the consequences of overfishing.[23]

The sole fisheries in the Irish Sea, the west English Channel, and other locations have become overfished to the point of virtual collapse, according to the UK government's official Biodiversity Action Plan. The United Kingdom has created elements in this plan to attempt to restore the fishery, but the expanding global human population and the expanding demand for fish has reached a point where demand for food threatens the stability of these fisheries, if not the species' survival.[24]

Many deep sea fish are at risk, such as orange roughy and sablefish. The deep sea is almost completely dark, near freezing, and has little food. Deep sea fish grow slowly because of limited food, have slow metabolisms, low reproductive rates, and many do not reach breeding maturity for 30 to 40 years. A fillet of orange roughy at the store is probably at least 50 years old. Most deep sea fish are in international waters, where there are no legal protections. Most of these fish are caught by deep trawlers near seamounts, where they congregate for food. Flash freezing allows the trawlers to work for days at a time, and modern fishfinders target the fish with ease.[25]

Blue walleye became extinct in the Great Lakes in the 1980s. Until the middle of the 20th century, the walleye was a commercially valuable fish, with about a half million tonnes being landed in the period from about 1880 to the late-1950s, when the populations collapsed, apparently through a combination of overfishing, anthropogenic eutrophication, and competition with introduced rainbow smelt.

The World Wide Fund for Nature and the Zoological Society of London jointly issued their "Living Blue Planet Report" on 16 September 2015 which states that there was a dramatic fall of 74% in worldwide stocks of the important scombridae fish such as mackerel, tuna and bonitos between 1970 and 2010, and the global overall "population sizes of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish fell by half on average in just 40 years."[26]

Overfishing of the critically endangered Pacific bluefin tuna has resulted in the few still caught selling for astronomical prices. In January 2019, a 278 kilogram (612 pound) tuna sold for 333.6 million yen, or over US$3 million, US$4,900 per pound. Fishers, driven by the fish's high value, use extraordinary techniques to catch them, leaving the population on the verge of collapse.[27]

Sharks and rays: The global abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has declined by 71% since 1970, owing to an 18-fold increase in relative fishing pressure. As a consequence, three-quarters of the species comprising this group are now threatened with extinction.[28]

A study in 2003 found that, as compared with 1950 levels, only a remnant (in some instances, as little as 10%) of all large ocean-fish stocks are left in the seas. These large ocean fish are the species at the top of the food chains (e.g., tuna, cod, among others). This article was subsequently criticized as being fundamentally flawed, although much debate still exists and the majority of fisheries scientists now consider the results irrelevant with respect to large pelagics (the open seas).[29]

Several countries are now effectively managing their fisheries. Examples include Iceland and New Zealand.[30] The United States has turned many of its fisheries around from being in a highly depleted state.[31]

Atlantic cod stocks were severely overfished in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to their abrupt collapse in 1992.

According to a 2008 UN report, the world's fishing fleets are losing US$50 billion each year due to depleted stocks and poor fisheries management. The report, produced jointly by the World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), asserts that half the world's fishing fleet could be scrapped with no change in catch. In addition, the biomass of global fish stocks have been allowed to run down to the point where it is no longer possible to catch the amount of fish that could be caught.[32] Increased incidence of schistosomiasis in Africa has been linked to declines of fish species that eat the snails carrying the disease-causing parasites.[33] Massive growth of jellyfish populations threaten fish stocks, as they compete with fish for food, eat fish eggs, and poison or swarm fish, and can survive in oxygen depleted environments where fish cannot; they wreak massive havoc on commercial fisheries. Overfishing eliminates a major jellyfish competitor and predator, exacerbating the jellyfish population explosion.[34] Both climate change and a restructuring of the ecosystem have been found to be major roles in an increase in jellyfish population in the Irish Sea in the 1990s.[35]

According to the 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, overfishing is a primary driver of mass extinction in the world's oceans.[36] A 2021 study published in the journal Nature asserted that the "primary cause" of ocean defaunation is overfishing.[28] Other studies have shown that overfishing has reduced fish and marine mammal biomass by 60% since the 1800s,[37] and is currently driving over one-third of sharks and rays to extinction.[38]

The notion of overfishing hinges on what is meant by an "acceptable level" of fishing. More precise biological and bioeconomic terms define acceptable level as follows:

Biological overfishing occurs when fishing mortality has reached a level where the stock biomass has negative marginal growth (reduced rate of biomass growth), as indicated by the red area in the figure. (Fish are being taken out of the water so quickly that the replenishment of stock by breeding slows down. If the replenishment continues to diminish for long enough, replenishment will go into reverse and the population will decrease.)[39]

Economic or bioeconomic overfishing additionally considers the cost of fishing when determining acceptable catches. Under this framework, a fishery is considered to be overfished when catches exceed maximum economic yield where resource rent is at its maximum. Fish are being removed from the fishery so quickly that the profitability of the fishery is sub-optimal. A more dynamic definition of economic overfishing also considers the present value of the fishery using a relevant discount rate to maximise the flow of resource rent over all future catches.[citation needed ]

The Traffic Light colour convention, showing the concept of Harvest Control Rule (HCR), specifying when a rebuilding plan is mandatory in terms of precautionary and limit reference points for spawning biomass and fishing mortality rate.

A model proposed in 2010 for predicting acceptable levels of fishing is the Harvest Control Rule (HCR),[40] which is a set of tools and protocols with which management has some direct control of harvest rates and strategies in relation to predicting stock status, and long-term maximum sustainable yields. Constant catch and constant fishing mortality are two types of simple harvest control rules.[41]

Fishing capacity can also be defined using an input or output orientation.

An input-oriented fishing capacity is defined as the maximum available capital stock in a fishery that is fully utilized at the maximum technical efficiency in a given time period, given resource and market conditions.[42]

An output-oriented fishing capacity is defined as the maximum catch a vessel (fleet) can produce if inputs are fully utilized given the biomass, the fixed inputs, the age structure of the fish stock, and the present stage of technology.[43]

Technical efficiency of each vessel of the fleet is assumed necessary to attain this maximum catch. The degree of capacity utilization results from the comparison of the actual level of output (input) and the capacity output (input) of a vessel or a fleet.[clarification needed ]

In order to meet the problems of overfishing, a precautionary approach and Harvest Control Rule (HCR) management principles have been introduced in the main fisheries around the world. The Traffic Light color convention introduces sets of rules based on predefined critical values, which can be adjusted as more information is gained.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea treaty deals with aspects of overfishing in articles 61, 62, and 65.[44]

Article 61 requires all coastal states to ensure that the maintenance of living resources in their exclusive economic zones is not endangered by over-exploitation. The same article addresses the maintenance or restoration of populations of species above levels at which their reproduction may become seriously threatened.

Article 62 provides that coastal states: "shall promote the objective of optimum utilization of the living resources in the exclusive economic zone without prejudice to Article 61"

Article 65 provides generally for the rights of, inter alia, coastal states to prohibit, limit, or regulate the exploitation of marine mammals.

According to some observers, overfishing can be viewed as an example of the tragedy of the commons; appropriate solutions would therefore promote property rights through, for instance, privatization and fish farming. Daniel K. Benjamin, in Fisheries are Classic Example of the 'Tragedy of the Commons', cites research by Grafton, Squires and Fox to support the idea that privatization can solve the overfishing problem: According to recent research on the British Columbia halibut fishery, where the commons has been at least partly privatized, substantial ecological and economic benefits have resulted. There is less damage to fish stocks, the fishing is safer, and fewer resources are needed to achieve a given harvest."[45]

Another possible solution, at least for some areas, is quotas, restricting fishers to a specific quantity of fish. A more radical possibility is declaring certain areas of the sea " no-go zones" and make fishing there strictly illegal, so the fish have time to recover and repopulate.

In order to maximise resources some countries, e.g., Bangladesh and Thailand, have improved the availability of family planning services. The resulting smaller populations have a decreased environmental footprint and reduced food needs.[46]

Controlling consumer behavior and demand is critical in mitigating action. Worldwide, a number of initiatives emerged to provide consumers with information regarding the conservation status of the seafood available to them. The "Guide to Good Fish Guides" lists a number of these.[47]

Many regulatory measures are available for controlling overfishing. These measures include fishing quotas, bag limits, licensing, closed seasons, size limits and the creation of marine reserves and other marine protected areas.

A model of the interaction between fish and fishers showed that when an area is closed to fishers, but there are no catch regulations such as individual transferable quotas, fish catches are temporarily increased but overall fish biomass is reduced, resulting in the opposite outcome from the one desired for fisheries.[48] Thus, a displacement of the fleet from one locality to another will generally have little effect if the same quota is taken. As a result, management measures such as temporary closures or establishing a marine protected area of fishing areas are ineffective when not combined with individual fishing quotas. An inherent problem with quotas is that fish populations vary from year to year. A study has found that fish populations rise dramatically after stormy years due to more nutrients reaching the surface and therefore greater primary production.[49] To fish sustainably, quotas need to be changed each year to account for fish population.

Individual transferable quotas (ITQs) are fishery rationalization instruments defined under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act as limited access permits to harvest quantities of fish. Fisheries scientists decide the optimal amount of fish ( total allowable catch) to be harvested in a certain fishery. The decision considers carrying capacity, regeneration rates and future values. Under ITQs, members of a fishery are granted rights to a percentage of the total allowable catch that can be harvested each year. These quotas can be fished, bought, sold, or leased allowing for the least-cost vessels to be used. ITQs are used in New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Canada, and the United States.

In 2008, a large-scale study of fisheries that used ITQs compared to ones that didn't provided strong evidence that ITQs can help to prevent collapses and restore fisheries that appear to be in decline.[50][51][52][53]

China bans fishing in the South China Sea for a period each year.[54]

Because government provided financial subsidies can make it economically viable to fish beyond biologically sustainable levels, several scientists have called for an end to fishery subsidies paid to deep-sea fisheries. In international waters beyond the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones of coastal countries, many fisheries are unregulated, and fishing fleets plunder the depths with state-of-the-art technology. In a few hours, massive nets weighing up to 15 tons, dragged along the bottom by deep-water trawlers, can destroy deep-sea corals and sponge beds that have taken centuries or millennia to grow. The trawlers can target orange roughy, grenadiers, or sharks. These fish are usually long-lived and late maturing, and their populations take decades, even centuries to recover.[55]

Fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly and economist Ussif Rashid Sumaila have examined subsidies paid to bottom trawl fleets around the world. They found that US$152 million per year are paid to deep-sea fisheries. Without these subsidies, global deep-sea fisheries would operate at a loss of US$50 million a year. A great deal of the subsidies paid to deep-sea trawlers is to subsidize the large amount of fuel required to travel beyond the 200 mile limit and drag weighted nets.[55]

"There is surely a better way for governments to spend money than by paying subsidies to a fleet that burns 1.1 billion litres of fuel annually to maintain paltry catches of old growth fish from highly vulnerable stocks, while destroying their habitat in the process" - Pauly.[55]

"Eliminating global subsidies would render these fleets economically unviable and would relieve tremendous pressure on over-fishing and vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems" - Sumaila.[55]

Over 30 billion euros in public subsidies are directed to fisheries annually.[56][57]

Fishing techniques may be altered to minimize bycatch and reduce impacts on marine habitats. These techniques include using varied gear types depending on target species and habitat type. For example, a net with larger holes will allow undersized fish to avoid capture. A turtle excluder device (TED) allows sea turtles and other megafauna to escape from shrimp trawls. Avoiding fishing in spawning grounds may allow fish stocks to rebuild by giving adults a chance to reproduce.

World capture fisheries and aquaculture production by species group, from FAO's Statistical Yearbook 2020[5]

Aquaculture involves the farming of fish in captivity. This approach effectively privatizes fish stocks and creates incentives for farmers to conserve their stocks. It also reduces environmental impact. However, farming carnivorous fish, such as salmon, does not always reduce pressure on wild fisheries, since carnivorous farmed fish are usually fed fishmeal and fish oil extracted from wild forage fish. The various species of Pacific salmon and Atlantic salmon are relatively easy to raise in captivity and such aquacultural operations have existed for more than 150 years. Largescale releases of salmon raised in captivity to supplement wild salmon runs will usually increase fishing pressure on the much less abundant wild salmon runs.

Aquaculture played a minor role in the harvesting of marine organisms until the 1970s. Growth in aquaculture increased rapidly in the 1990s when the rate of wild capture plateaued. Aquaculture now provides approximately half of all harvested aquatic organisms. Aquaculture production rates continue to grow while wild harvest remains steady.

Fish farming can enclose the entire breeding cycle of the fish, with fish being bred in captivity. Some fish prove difficult to breed in captivity and can be caught in the wild as juveniles and brought into captivity to increase their weight. With scientific progress, more species are being made to breed in captivity. This was the case with southern bluefin tuna, which were first bred in captivity in 2009.[58]

As global citizens become more aware of overfishing and the ecological destruction of the oceans, movements have sprung up to encourage abstinence[59]-not eating any seafood-or eating only "sustainable seafood".

Sustainable seafood is a movement that has gained momentum as more people become aware of overfishing and environmentally destructive fishing methods. Sustainable seafood is seafood from either fished or farmed sources that can maintain or increase production in the future without jeopardizing the ecosystems from which it was acquired. In general, slow-growing fish that reproduce late in life, such as orange roughy, are vulnerable to overfishing. Seafood species that grow quickly and breed young, such as anchovies and sardines, are much more resistant to overfishing. Several organizations, including the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and Friend of the Sea, certify seafood fisheries as sustainable.[citation needed ]

The Marine Stewardship Council has developed an environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Environmentally responsible fisheries management and practices are rewarded with the use of its blue product ecolabel. Consumers concerned about overfishing and its consequences are increasingly able to choose seafood products that have been independently assessed against the MSC's environmental standard. This enables consumers to play a part in reversing the decline of fish stocks. As of February 2012, over 100 fisheries around the world have been independently assessed and certified as meeting the MSC standard. Their where-to-buy page lists the currently available certified seafood. As of February 2012, over 13,000 MSC-labelled products are available in 74 countries around the world. Fish & Kids is an MSC project to teach schoolchildren about marine environmental issues, including overfishing.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, although not an official certifying body like the MSC, also provides guidance on the sustainability of certain fish species.[60] Some seafood restaurants have begun to offer more sustainable seafood options. The Seafood Choices Alliance[61] is an organization whose members include chefs that serve sustainable seafood at their establishments. In the US, the Sustainable Fisheries Act defines sustainable practices through national standards. Although there is no official certifying body like the MSC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has created FishWatch to help guide concerned consumers to sustainable seafood choices.

In September 2016, a partnership of Google and Oceana and Skytruth introduced Global Fishing Watch, a website designed to assist citizens of the globe in monitoring fishing activities.[62][63][64]

The United Nations has included sustainable fishing and ending subsidies that contribute to overfishing as key targets for 2030 as part of their Sustainable Development Goal 14 called "Life Below Water".[65]

The fishing industry has a strong financial incentive to oppose some measures aimed at improving the sustainability of fish stocks.[4] Recreational fisherman also have an interest in maintaining access to fish stocks. This leads to extensive lobbying that can block or weaken government policies intended to prevent overfishing.

Outside of countries' exclusive economic zones, fishing is difficult to control. Large oceangoing fishing boats are free to exploit fish stocks at will.[66]

In waters that are the subject of territorial disputes, countries may actively encourage overfishing. A notable example is the cod wars where Britain used its navy to protect its trawlers fishing in Iceland's exclusive economic zone.[citation needed ] Fish are highly transitory. Many species will freely move through different jurisdictions. The conservation efforts of one country can then be exploited by another.

While governments can create regulations to control people's behaviors this can be undermined by illegal fishing activity. Estimates of the size of the illegal catch range from 11 to 26 million tonnes, which represents 14-33% of the world's reported catch.[67] Illegal fishing can take many forms. In some developing countries, large numbers of poor people are dependent on fishing. It can prove difficult to regulate this kind of overfishing, especially for weak governments. Even in regulated environments, illegal fishing may occur. While industrial fishing is often effectively controlled, smaller scale and recreational fishermen can often break regulations such as bag limits and seasonal closures. Fisherman can also easily fish illegally by doing things such as underreporting the amount of fish they caught or reporting that they caught one type of fish while actually catching another.[68] There is also a large problem with the surveillance of illegal fishing activity.[69] In 2001, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), passed the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU). This is an agreement with the intention to stop port states from allowing boats to dock that participated in illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing. It also gives details for port states on effective measures of inspecting and reporting illegal fishing.[70] Some illegal fishing takes place on an industrial scale with financed commercial operations.[citation needed ]

The fishing capacity problem is not only related to the conservation of fish stocks but also to the sustainability of fishing activity. Causes of the fishing problem can be found in the property rights regime of fishing resources. Overexploitation and rent dissipation of fishermen arise in open-access fisheries as was shown in Gordon.[71][72]

In open-access resources like fish stocks, in the absence of a system like individual transferable quotas, the impossibility of excluding others provokes the fishermen who want to increase catch to do so effectively by taking someone else' share, intensifying competition. This tragedy of the commons provokes a capitalization process that leads them to increase their costs until they are equal to their revenue, dissipating their rent completely.[citation needed ]

There is always disagreement between fishermen and government scientists... Imagine an overfished area of the sea in the shape of a hockey field with nets at either end. The few fish left therein would gather around the goals because fish like structured habitats. Scientists would survey the entire field, make lots of unsuccessful hauls, and conclude that it contains few fish. The fishermen would make a beeline to the goals, catch the fish around them, and say the scientists do not know what they are talking about. The subjective impression the fishermen get is always that there's lots of fish - because they only go to places that still have them... fisheries scientists survey and compare entire areas, not only the productive fishing spots. - Fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly [73]

1. ^ The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020. FAO. 2020. doi:10.4060/ca9229en. hdl:10535/3776. ISBN 978-92-5-132692-3. S2CID 242949831.

2. Bolster, W. Jeffery (2012). The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail. Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-04765-5.

3. World Food and Agriculture - Statistical Yearbook 2020. Rome: FAO. 2020. doi:10.4060/cb1329en. ISBN 978-92-5-133394-5. S2CID 242794287.

4. ^ In brief, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2018 (PDF). FAO. 2018.

5. ^ Pauly, Daniel. Fisheries on the brink (YouTube video). Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.

6. ^ Sonsthagen, Sarah A.; Wilson, Robert E.; Underwood, Jared G. (2017). "Genetic implications of bottleneck effects of differing severities on genetic diversity in naturally recovering populations: An example from Hawaiian coot and Hawaiian gallinule". Ecology and Evolution. 7 (23): 9925-9934. doi:10.1002/ece3.3530. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 5723630. PMID 29238526.

7. ^ Beldade, R.; Holbrook, S. J.; Schmitt, R. J.; Planes, S.; Malone, D.; Bernardi, G. (2012). "Larger female fish contribute disproportionately more to self-replenishment". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 279 (1736): 2116-2121. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.2433. PMC 3321707. PMID 22279163.

8. ^ How does overfishing threaten coral reefs? NOAA: National Ocean Service. Updated: 4 February 2020.

9. Pauly 1983

10. ^ Lu Hui, ed. (16 August 2006). "Pollution, overfishing destroy East China Sea fishery". Xinhua on GOV.cn. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012.

11. ^ Andrea Di Matteo "Santa Croce, 1954: ultima grande pescata di tonni", Il Piccolo, 23. August 2014.

12. ^ Foreign Assistance Legislation for Fiscal Year 1982. Committee on Foreign Affairs. 1981.

13. ^ Kurlansky 1997

14. ^ Fishing, Costa Rica Experts. "Fishing Costa Rica".

15. ^ http://awsassets.wwf.org.au/downloads/mo038_living_blue_planet_report_16sep15.pdf[bare URL PDF ]

16. Pacoureau, Nathan; Rigby, Cassandra L.; Kyne, Peter M.; Sherley, Richard B.; Winker, Henning; Carlson, John K.; Fordham, Sonja V.; Barreto, Rodrigo; Fernando, Daniel; Francis, Malcolm P.; Jabado, Rima W. (January 2021). "Half a century of global decline in oceanic sharks and rays". Nature. 589 (7843): 567-571. Bibcode:2021Natur.589..567P. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03173-9. hdl:10871/124531. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 33505035. S2CID 231723355.

17. ^ Changes in the Biomass of Large Pelagic Predators - Pelagic Fisheries Research Program

18. ^ Richardson, Anthony J.; Bakun, Andrew; Hays, Graeme C.; Gibbons, Mark J. (1 June 2009). "The jellyfish joyride: causes, consequences and management responses to a more gelatinous future". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 24 (6): 312-322. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2009.01.010. PMID 19324452.

19. ^ Lynam, C. P.; Lilley, M. K. S.; Bastian, T.; Doyle, T. K.; Beggs, S. E.; Hays, G. C. (1 February 2011). "Have jellyfish in the Irish Sea benefited from climate change and overfishing?". Global Change Biology. 17 (2): 767-782. Bibcode:2011GCBio..17..767L. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02352.x. ISSN 1365-2486. S2CID 86197455.

20. ^ Hatton, Ian A.; Heneghan, Ryan F.; et al. (2021). "The global ocean size spectrum from bacteria to whales". Science Advances. 7 (46): eabh3732. Bibcode:2021SciA....7H3732H. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abh3732. PMC 8580314. PMID 34757796.

21. ^ Dulvy, Nicholas K.; Pacoureau, Nathan; et al. (2021). "Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis". Current Biology. 31 (21): 4773-4787. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.062. PMID 34492229. S2CID 237443284.

22. ^ Pauly, D.; G. Silvestre; I.R. Smith (1989). "On development, fisheries and dynamite: a brief review of tropical fisheries management" (PDF). Natural Resource Modeling. 3 (3): 307-329. doi:10.1111/j.1939-7445.1989.tb00084.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2012.

23. ^ Froese, Rainer; Branch, Trevor A; Proelß, Alexander; Quaas, Martin; Sainsbury, Keith; Zimmermann, Christopher (1 September 2011). "Generic harvest control rules for European fisheries" (PDF). Fish and Fisheries. 12 (3): 340-351. doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2010.00387.x.

24. ^ Coad, Brian W; McAllister, Don E (2008). "Dictionary of Ichthyology".

25. ^ Kirkley, J.E; Squires, D (1999), "Capacity and Capacity Utilization in Fishing Industries, Discussion paper 99-16", Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego

26. ^ Vestergaard, N.; Squires, D.; Kirkley, J.E. (2003). "Measuring Capacity and Capacity Utilization in Fisheries. The Case of the Danish Gillnet Fleet". Fisheries Research. 60 (2-3): 357-68. doi:10.1016/S0165-7836(02)00141-8.

27. ^ "Text of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Part V".

28. ^ Benjamin, Daniel K (2001). "Fisheries are Classic Example of the Tragedy of the Commons". PERC Reports. 19 (1). Archived from the original on 19 February 2005.

29. ^ Moustakas, Silvert & Dimitromanolakis 2006

30. ^ (subscription required)

31. ^ Costello, Gaines & Lynham 2008

32. ^ "The last wild hunt - Deep-sea fisheries scrape bottom of the sea" (PDF). AAAS. 2007.

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34. ^ "Many government subsidies lead to overfishing. Here's a solution. - OECD".

35. ^ Monbiot, George (9 May 2019). "Stop eating fish. It's the only way to save the life in our seas" (Opinion). The Guardian.

36. ^ "Seafood Choices - Promoting Sustainable Seafood". seafoodchoices.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2006.

37. ^ Google Launches Global Fishing Watch-Digital Trends (16 September 2016)

38. ^ Oceana Unveils Global Fishing Watch-Huffington Post (15 September 2016)

39. ^ Illegal fishing targeted by crowdsourcing thanks to new Global Fishing Watch website-ABC News (Australia) (15 September 2016)

40. ^ Sumaila, U. R.; Alder, J.; Keith, H. (1 November 2006). "Global scope and economics of illegal fishing". Marine Policy. 30 (6): 696-703. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2005.11.001.

41. ^ Gordon, H. S. (1953). "An Economic Approach to the optimum utilization of Fishery Resources". Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. 10 (7): 442-57. doi:10.1139/f53-026.

42. ^ Gordon, H.S. (1954). "The Economic Theory of a Common-Property Resource: The Fishery". Journal of Political Economy. 62 (2): 124-42. doi:10.1086/257497. S2CID 222437331.

43. ^ Boyes, Margaret (March 2008). "An interview with Daniel Pauly" (PDF). Fisherman Life.

Costello, Christopher; Gaines, Steven D; Lynham, John (2008). "Can Catch Shares Prevent Fisheries Collapse?". Science. 321 (5896): 1678-1681. Bibcode:2008Sci...321.1678C. doi:10.1126/science.1159478. PMID 18801999. S2CID 24879449.

Kurlansky, Mark (1997). "11-12". Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. New York: Walker. ISBN 978-0-8027-1326-1.

Moustakas, A; Silvert, W; Dimitromanolakis, A (2006). "A spatially explicit learning model of migratory fish and fishers for evaluating closed areas" (PDF). Ecological Modelling. 192 (1-2): 245-258. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2005.07.007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2012.

Pauly, Daniel (1983). Some simple methods for the assessment of tropical fish stocks. FAO Fisheries technical paper 234. ISBN 978-92-5-101333-5.

Roberts, Callum (2007) The Unnatural History of the Sea Island Press. ISBN 978-1-59726-102-9

Young, Margaret (2011). Trading Fish, Saving Fish: The Interaction between Regimes in International Law. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521765725.

This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO ( license statement/permission). Text taken from In brief, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2018​, FAO, FAO.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area.

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Plastic Waste & OCEAN POLLUTION 🛍️🌊 Causes, Consequences and Solutions!

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Plastic Waste & OCEAN POLLUTION 🛍️🌊 Causes, Consequences and Solutions!

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https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/methane-emissions-are-driving-climate-change-heres-how-reduce-them

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Where is trash island? What is trash island? Figure it out here

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Where is trash island? What is trash island? Figure it out here

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https://m.clien.net/service/board/park/15096391

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Waste-to-energy ( WtE) or energy-from-waste ( EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Most WtE processes generate electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol or synthetic fuels.[1][2]

Spittelau incineration plant, with its distinct Hundertwasser facade, is providing combined heat and power in Vienna (German article here).

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

The first incinerator or "Destructor" was built in Nottingham, UK, in 1874 by Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. to the design of Alfred Fryer.[3]

The first US incinerator was built in 1885 on Governors Island in New York, New York.[4]

The first waste incinerator in Denmark was built in 1903 in Frederiksberg.[5]

The first facility in the Czech Republic was built in 1905 in Brno.[6]

Gasification and pyrolysis processes have been known and used for centuries and for coal as early as the 18th century.... Development technologies for processing [residual solid mixed waste] has only become a focus of attention in recent years stimulated by the search for more efficient energy recovery. (2004) [7]

Incineration, the combustion of organic material such as waste with energy recovery, is the most common WtE implementation. All new WtE plants in OECD countries incinerating waste (residual MSW, commercial, industrial or RDF) must meet strict emission standards, including those on nitrogen oxides (NO x), sulphur dioxide (SO ₂), heavy metals and dioxins.[8][9] Hence, modern incineration plants are vastly different from old types, some of which neither recovered energy nor materials. Modern incinerators reduce the volume of the original waste by 95-96 percent, depending upon composition and degree of recovery of materials such as metals from the ash for recycling.[5]

Incinerators may emit fine particulate, heavy metals, trace dioxin and acid gas, even though these emissions are relatively low[10] from modern incinerators. Other concerns include proper management of residues: toxic fly ash, which must be handled in hazardous waste disposal installation as well as incinerator bottom ash (IBA), which must be reused properly.[11]

Critics argue that incinerators destroy valuable resources and they may reduce incentives for recycling.[11] The question, however, is an open one, as European countries which recycle the most (up to 70%) also incinerate to avoid landfilling.[12]

Incinerators have electric efficiencies of 14-28%.[11] In order to avoid losing the rest of the energy, it can be used for e.g. district heating ( cogeneration). The total efficiencies of cogeneration incinerators are typically higher than 80% (based on the lower heating value of the waste).

The method of incineration to convert municipal solid waste (MSW) is a relatively old method of WtE generation. Incineration generally entails burning waste (residual MSW, commercial, industrial and RDF) to boil water which powers steam generators that generate electric energy and heat to be used in homes, businesses, institutions and industries. One problem associated is the potential for pollutants to enter the atmosphere with the flue gases from the boiler. These pollutants can be acidic and in the 1980s were reported to cause environmental degradation by turning rain into acid rain. Modern incinerators incorporate carefully engineered primary and secondary burn chambers, and controlled burners designed to burn completely with the lowest possible emissions, eliminating, in some cases, the need for lime scrubbers and electro-static precipitators on smokestacks.

By passing the smoke through the basic lime scrubbers, any acids that might be in the smoke are neutralized which prevents the acid from reaching the atmosphere and hurting the environment. Many other devices, such as fabric filters, reactors, and catalysts destroy or capture other regulated pollutants.[13] According to the New York Times, modern incineration plants are so clean that "many times more dioxin is now released from home fireplaces and backyard barbecues than from incineration. "[14] According to the German Environmental Ministry, "because of stringent regulations, waste incineration plants are no longer significant in terms of emissions of dioxins, dust, and heavy metals".[15]

Compared with other waste to energy technologies, incineration seems to be the most attractive due to its higher power production efficiency, lower investment costs, and lower emission rates. Additionally, incineration yields the highest amount of electricity with the highest capacity to lessen pile of wastes in landfills through direct combustion.[16]

One process that is used to convert plastic into fuel is pyrolysis, the thermal decomposition of materials at high temperatures in an inert atmosphere. It involves change of chemical composition and is mainly used for treatment of organic materials. In large scale production, plastic waste is ground and melted and then pyrolyzed. Catalytic converters help in the process. The vapours are condensed with oil or fuel and accumulated in settling tanks and filtered. Fuel is obtained after homogenation and can be used for automobiles and machinery. It is commonly termed as thermofuel or energy from plastic.[17]

A new process uses a two-part catalyst, cobalt and zeolite, to convert plastics into propane. It works on polyethylene and polypropylene and the propane yield is approximately 80%.[18]

There are a number of other new and emerging technologies that are able to produce energy from waste and other fuels without direct combustion. Many of these technologies have the potential to produce more electric power from the same amount of fuel than would be possible by direct combustion. This is mainly due to the separation of corrosive components (ash) from the converted fuel, thereby allowing higher combustion temperatures in e.g. boilers, gas turbines, internal combustion engines, fuel cells. Some are able to efficiently convert the energy into liquid or gaseous fuels:

Pyrolysis Plant

Thermal treatment technologies:

Landfill Gas Collection

Non-thermal technologies:

Waste-to-energy generating capacity in the United States

Waste-to-energy plants in the United States

During the 2001-2007 period, the waste-to-energy capacity increased by about four million metric tons per year.

Japan and China each built several plants based on direct smelting or on fluidized bed combustion of solid waste. In China there were about 434 waste-to-energy plants in early 2016. Japan is the largest user in thermal treatment of municipal solid waste in the world, with 40 million tons.

Some of the newest plants use stoker technology and others use the advanced oxygen enrichment technology. Several treatment plants exist worldwide using relatively novel processes such as direct smelting, the Ebara fluidization process and the Thermoselect JFE gasification and melting technology process.[19]

As of June 2014, Indonesia had a total of 93.5 MW installed capacity of waste-to-energy, with a pipeline of projects in different preparation phases together amounting to another 373MW of capacity.[20]

Biofuel Energy Corporation of Denver, Colorado, opened two new biofuel plants in Wood River, Nebraska, and Fairmont, Minnesota, in July 2008. These plants use distillation to make ethanol for use in motor vehicles and other engines. Both plants are currently reported to be working at over 90% capacity. Fulcrum BioEnergy incorporated located in Pleasanton, California, is building a WtE plant near Reno, NV. The plant is scheduled to open in 2019 under the name of Sierra BioFuels plant. BioEnergy incorporated predicts that the plant will produce approximately 10.5 million gallons per year of ethanol from nearly 200,000 tons per year of MSW.[21]

Waste to energy technology includes fermentation, which can take biomass and create ethanol, using waste cellulosic or organic material.[2] In the fermentation process, the sugar in the waste is converted to carbon dioxide and alcohol, in the same general process that is used to make wine. Normally fermentation occurs with no air present.

Esterification can also be done using waste to energy technologies, and the result of this process is biodiesel. The cost effectiveness of esterification will depend on the feedstock being used, and all the other relevant factors such as transportation distance, amount of oil present in the feedstock, and others.[22] Gasification and pyrolysis by now can reach gross thermal conversion efficiencies (fuel to gas) up to 75%, however a complete combustion is superior in terms of fuel conversion efficiency.[7] Some pyrolysis processes need an outside heat source which may be supplied by the gasification process, making the combined process self-sustaining.

In thermal WtE technologies, nearly all of the carbon content in the waste is emitted as carbon dioxide (CO ₂) to the atmosphere (when including final combustion of the products from pyrolysis and gasification; except when producing biochar for fertilizer). Municipal solid waste (MSW) contain approximately the same mass fraction of carbon as CO ₂ itself (27%), so treatment of 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) of MSW produce approximately 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) of CO ₂.

In the event that the waste was landfilled, 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) of MSW would produce approximately 62 cubic metres (2,200 cu ft) methane via the anaerobic decomposition of the biodegradable part of the waste. This amount of methane has more than twice the global warming potential than the 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) of CO ₂, which would have been produced by combustion. In some countries, large amounts of landfill gas are collected. However, there is still the global warming potential of the landfill gas being emitted to atmosphere. For example, in the US in 1999 landfill gas emission was approximately 32% higher than the amount of CO ₂ that would have been emitted by combustion.[23]

In addition, nearly all biodegradable waste is biomass. That is, it has biological origin. This material has been formed by plants using atmospheric CO ₂ typically within the last growing season. If these plants are regrown the CO ₂ emitted from their combustion will be taken out from the atmosphere once more.

Such considerations are the main reason why several countries administrate WtE of the biomass part of waste as renewable energy.[24] The rest-mainly plastics and other oil and gas derived products-is generally treated as non-renewables.

MSW to a large extent is of biological origin (biogenic), e.g. paper, cardboard, wood, cloth, food scraps. Typically half of the energy content in MSW is from biogenic material.[25] Consequently, this energy is often recognised as renewable energy according to the waste input.[26]

Several methods have been developed by the European CEN 343 working group to determine the biomass fraction of waste fuels, such as Refuse Derived Fuel/Solid Recovered Fuel. The initial two methods developed (CEN/TS 15440) were the manual sorting method and the selective dissolution method. A detailed systematic comparison of these two methods was published in 2010.[27] Since each method suffered from limitations in properly characterizing the biomass fraction, two alternative methods have been developed.

The first method uses the principles of radiocarbon dating. A technical review (CEN/TR 15591:2007) outlining the carbon 14 method was published in 2007. A technical standard of the carbon dating method (CEN/TS 15747:2008) is published in 2008.[needs update ] In the United States, there is already an equivalent carbon 14 method under the standard method ASTM D6866.

The second method (so-called balance method) employs existing data on materials composition and operating conditions of the WtE plant and calculates the most probable result based on a mathematical-statistical model.[28] Currently the balance method is installed at three Austrian and eight Danish incinerators.

A comparison between both methods carried out at three full-scale incinerators in Switzerland showed that both methods came to the same results.[29]

Carbon 14 dating can determine with precision the biomass fraction of waste, and also determine the biomass calorific value. Determining the calorific value is important for green certificate programs such as the Renewable Obligation Certificate program in the United Kingdom. These programs award certificates based on the energy produced from biomass. Several research papers, including the one commissioned by the Renewable Energy Association in the UK, have been published that demonstrate how the carbon 14 result can be used to calculate the biomass calorific value. The UK gas and electricity markets authority, Ofgem, released a statement in 2011 accepting the use of Carbon 14 as a way to determine the biomass energy content of waste feedstock under their administration of the Renewables Obligation.[30] Their Fuel Measurement and Sampling (FMS) questionnaire describes the information they look for when considering such proposals.[31]

A 2019 report commissioned by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), done by the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School, found that 79% of the then 73 operating waste-to-energy facilities in the U.S. are located in low-income communities and/or "communities of color", because "of historic residential, racial segregation and expulsive zoning laws that allowed whiter, wealthier communities to exclude industrial uses and people of color from their boundaries."[32]. In Chester, Pennsylvania, where a community group is actively opposing their local waste-to-energy facility, Sintana Vergara, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering at Humboldt State University in California, commented that community resistance is based on both the pollution and the fact that many of these facilities have been sited in communities without any community input, and without any benefits to the community.[33]

According to a 2019 United Nations Environment Programme report, there are 589 WtE plants in Europe and 82 in the United States.[34]

The following are some examples of WtE plants.

Essex County Resource Recovery Facility, Newark, New Jersey

Harrisburg incinerator, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Lee County Solid Waste Resource Recovery Facility, Fort Myers, Florida, USA (1994)[35]

Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility in Dickerson, Maryland, USA (1995)

Spittelau (1971), and Flötzersteig (1963), Vienna, Austria (Wien Energie)

SYSAV waste-to-energy plant in Malmö (2003 and 2008), Sweden

Algonquin Power, Brampton, Ontario, Canada[36]

Stoke Incinerator, Stoke-on-Trent, UK (1989)

Burnaby Waste-to-Energy Facility, Metro Vancouver, Canada (1988)

East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited, New Delhi, India

SELCHP, South Bermondsey in Greater London, England (1994)

A single plant is currently under construction:

The US Air Force once tested a Transportable Plasma Waste to Energy System (TPWES) facility (PyroGenesis technology) at Hurlburt Field, Florida.[40] The plant, which cost $7.4 million to construct,[41] was closed and sold at a government liquidation auction in May 2013, less than three years after its commissioning.[42][43] The opening bid was $25. The winning bid was sealed.

Besides large plants, domestic waste-to-energy incinerators also exist. For example, the Refuge de Sarenne has a domestic waste-to-energy plant. It is made by combining a wood-fired gasification boiler with a Stirling motor.[44][45]

Renergi will scale up their system of converting waste organic materials into liquid fuels using a thermal treatment process in Collie, Western Australia. The system will process 1.5 tonnes of organic matter per hour. Annually the facility will divert 4000 tonnes of municipal waste from landfill and source an additional 8000 tonnes of organic waste from agricultural and forestry operations. Renergi's patented "grinding pyrolysis" process aims to converts organic materials into biochar, bio-gases and bio-oil by applying heat in an environment with limited oxygen.[46]

Another project in the Rockingham Industrial Zone, roughly 45 kilometres south of Perth will see a 29 MW plant built with capacity to power 40,000 homes from an annual feedstock of 300,000 tonnes of municipal, industrial and commercial rubbish. As well as supplying electricity to the South West Interconnected System, 25 MW of the plant's output has already been committed under a power purchase agreement.[47]

1. ^ Fackler, Nick; Heijstra, Björn D.; Rasor, Blake J.; Brown, Hunter; Martin, Jacob; Ni, Zhuofu; Shebek, Kevin M.; Rosin, Rick R.; Simpson, Séan D.; Tyo, Keith E.; Giannone, Richard J.; Hettich, Robert L.; Tschaplinski, Timothy J.; Leang, Ching; Brown, Steven D.; Jewett, Michael C.; Köpke, Michael (7 June 2021). "Stepping on the Gas to a Circular Economy: Accelerating Development of Carbon-Negative Chemical Production from Gas Fermentation". Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. 12 (1): 439-470. doi:10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-120120-021122. ISSN 1947-5438. OSTI 1807218. PMID 33872517. S2CID 233310092.

2. ^ Herbert, Lewis (2007). "Centenary History of Waste and Waste Managers in London and South East England" (PDF). Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.

3. ^ Waste to Energy in Denmark Archived 2016-03-11 at the Wayback Machine by Ramboll Consult

4. ^ The Viability of Advanced Thermal Treatment of MSW in the UK Archived 2013-05-08 at the Wayback Machine by Fichtner Consulting Engineers Ltd 2004

5. ^ Emissionsfaktorer og emissionsopgørelse for decentral kraftvarme, Kortlægning af emissioner fra decentrale kraftvarmeværker, Ministry of the Environment of Denmark 2006 (in Danish)

6. ^ "Waste Gasification: Impacts on the Environment and Public Health" (PDF).

7. ^ "Waste-to-Energy in Austria, White Book, 2nd Edition 2010" (PDF). Austrian Ministry of Life. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-27.

8. ^ Rosenthal, Elisabeth (12 April 2010). "Europe Finds Clean Energy in Trash, but U.S. Lags". The New York Times.

9. ^ "Waste incineration - A potential danger? Bidding farewell to dioxin spouting" (PDF). Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-25.

10. ^ Agaton, Casper Boongaling; Guno, Charmaine Samala; Villanueva, Resy Ordona; Villanueva, Riza Ordona (2020-10-01). "Economic analysis of waste-to-energy investment in the Philippines: A real options approach". Applied Energy. 275: 115265. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115265. ISSN 0306-2619.

11. "Beginners guide" ^ "Introduction to Fuel from plastics".

12. ^ "Waste Council Attracts Experts Worldwide". Columbia Engineering, Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2017-12-25.

13. ^ "Fulcrum BioEnergy". fulcrum-bioenergy.com.

14. Themelis, Nickolas J. ^ An overview of the global waste-to-energy industry Archived 2014-02-06 at the Wayback Machine, Waste Management World 2003

15. ^ [1], from the homepage of the UK Renewable Energy Association

16. ^ Séverin, Mélanie; Velis, Costas A.; Longhurst, Phil J.; Pollard, Simon J.T. (2010). "The biogenic content of process streams from mechanical-biological treatment plants producing solid recovered fuel. Do the manual sorting and selective dissolution determination methods correlate?". Waste Management. 30 (7): 1171-1182. Bibcode:2010WaMan..30.1171S. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2010.01.012. hdl:1826/5695. PMID 20116991.

17. ^ A New Method to Determine the Ratio of Electricity Production from Fossil and Biogenic Sources in Waste-to-Energy Plants. by Fellner, J., Cencic, O. and Rechberger, H., 2007. In: Environmental Science & Technology, 41(7): 2579-2586.

18. ^ Determination of biogenic and fossil CO₂ emitted by waste incineration based on ¹⁴CO₂ and mass balances. by Mohn, J., Szidat, S., Fellner, J., Rechberger, H., Quartier, R., Buchmann, B. and Emmenegger, L., 2008. In: Bioresource Technology, 99: 6471-6479.

19. ^ "Fuelled stations and FMS" (PDF). ofgem.gov.uk.

20. ^ Li, Rina (2019-05-23). "Nearly 80% of US incinerators located in marginalized communities, report reveals". Waste Dive.

21. ^ Cooper, Kenny (2021-05-03). "Chester residents raise environmental racism concerns over Covanta incinerator". WHYY. "I do think that there are two issues here, though. So one is the fact that, of course, incineration is going to produce some air pollution, even with the highest control technologies, some pollution is going to be produced," Vergara said. "But I think the second issue ... is public perception and acceptance of a technology like this. So in the United States, we have a very long history of siting dirty power plants and waste facilities in communities of color, in low-income communities, who are bearing the risks of these facilities without necessarily sharing in any of the benefits."

22. ^ Energy-from-Waste facility in Lee County Archived 2013-08-12 at the Wayback Machine run as Covanta Lee, Inc.

23. ^ Algonquin Power Energy from Waste Facility Archived 2012-03-01 at the Wayback Machine from the homepage of Algonquin Power

24. ^ "PyroGenesis Plasma Gasification and Waste Incineration System". Government Liquidation. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08.

Field, Christopher B. "Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts." PNAS 101.34 (2004): 12422-12427.

Sudarsan, K. G.; Anupama, Mary P. (October 2009). "The Relevance of Biofuels" (PDF). Current Science. 90 (6). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24.

Tilman, David. "Environmental, economic, and energetic costs." PNAS 103.30 (2006): 11206-11210.

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Waste-to-energy ( WtE) or energy-from-waste ( EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery.

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World's Largest Meat Producing Countries

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World's Largest Meat Producing Countries

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What are microplastics and nanoplastics?

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What are microplastics and nanoplastics?

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https://m.blog.naver.com/qldkrla21/222531433468

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How does plastic get into our food. Very interesting video.

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How does plastic get into our food. Very interesting video.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55130304

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https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/how-does-plastic-get-into-the-ocean#:~:text=Wastewater%2C%20wind%2C%20rain%20and%20floods,network%20before%20reaching%20the%20sea.

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This will help you If you are doing wind energy 

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This will help you If you are doing wind energy 

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Find out how those turbine blades turn air into electricity, and why wind power rocks Tim and Moby into earth awareness!

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Eating Different Foods from Around the World! 🌍

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Eating Different Foods from Around the World! 🌍

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You Eat Plastic Every Day. Here's How To Avoid It.

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Very useful if you want to know how to avoid eating plastic or different ways you are eating plastic

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Very useful if you want to know how to avoid eating plastic or different ways you are eating plastic

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You Eat Plastic Every Day. Here's How To Avoid It.

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https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality

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https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/womens-suffrage-movement

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https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/famous-feminists-that-changed-womens-rights

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Why are there so many people against electric cars? Why put off the future? It's coming, you can't stop it.

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Why are there so many people against electric cars? Why put off the future? It's coming, you can't stop it.

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Answer (1 of 13): Before I answer the question, let me offer the caveat that there are some people for which their requirements are truly not met by EVs, and they certainly have a right to be "against" EVs. There are also people that THINK their requirements are not met by EVs, and are possibly o...

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Battery electric cars run exclusively on electricity-cutting air pollution and global warming pollution.

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Micro- and nanoplastics - current state of knowledge with the focus on oral uptake and toxicity

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Here is a website, very useful for micro and nano plastics

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Here is a website, very useful for micro and nano plastics

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The production and use of plastics has constantly increased over the last 30 years. Over one third of the plastics is used in disposables, which are discarded within three years of their production. Despite efforts towards recycling, a substantial volume of debris has accumulated in the environment and is slowly degraded to micro- and nanoplastics by weathering and aging. It has recently been discovered that these small particles can enter the food chain, as for example demonstrated by the detection of microplastic particles in honey, beer, salt, sea food and recently in mineral water. Human exposure has further been documented by the detection of plastic microparticles in human feces. Potential toxic consequences of oral exposure to small plastic particles are discussed. Due to lacking data concerning exposure, biodistribution and related effects, the risk assessment of micro- and nanoplastics is still not possible. This review focuses on the oral uptake of plastic and polymer micro- and nanoparticles. Oral exposure, particle fate, changes of particle properties during ingestion and gastrointestinal digestion, and uptake and transport at the intestinal epithelium are reviewed in detail. Moreover, the interaction with intestinal and liver cells and possibly resulting toxicity are highlighted.

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Micro- and nanoplastics - current state of knowledge with the focus on oral uptake and toxicity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The production and use of plastics has constantly increased over the last 30 years. Over one third of the plastics is used in disposables, which are discarded within three years of their production. Despite efforts towards recycling, a substantial volume of debris has accumulated in the environment and is sl

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https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian

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What Are the Effects of overconsumption of energy?

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Conserving energy is not just about saving on your electricity costs. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warns that, given the current trends, energy-related emissions will increase by 70 percent by 2050. This can accelerate the negative consequences of climate change, including higher temperatures and a rise in the frequency of extreme weather events (See References 1).

Increased Carbon Footprint

The primary environmental effect of energy overuse is an increase in your carbon footprint, but there are simple changes you can make at home to avoid this. For example, if you keep devices plugged in and running when they're not in use, the result is an increase in electrical use and, consequently, a bump in the amount of greenhouse gases that enter the atmosphere. Leaving your laptop plugged in all the time will use nearly 300 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity each year, and a desktop computer left to idle will use more than 600 kW of electricity annually. Even leaving your fully charged cellphone attached to its charger can waste almost 20 kWh a year, explains the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (References 2 and 3)

Increased Risk of Climate Change

Coal and natural gas supplied more than two-thirds of the energy in the U.S. in 2011. Each energy form contributes to total greenhouse gas emissions. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fossil fuel combustion accounted for more than 5,200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMT CO2 Eq.) in 2009. This figure is a 10 percent increase from 1990. In addition, methane emissions from natural gas increased during the same period by 17 percent. Part of this increase is due to the careless use of electricity. The United States wastes more than $2 billion worth of energy each year from inefficient outdoor lighting alone (See References 4 and 5).

Reduction in Supply

In areas with heavy population densities, the price you pay for home electricity is determined by supply and demand. Some power plants charge consumers more during peak hours. Your overuse will contribute to a scarcity in this energy supply and thus an increase in overall electricity costs. Over the long term, the rise in demand may place additional burdens on threatened environmental areas -- such as coastal areas or wildlife refuges -- to ensure adequate resources. Drilling for natural gas or mining for coal to meet excessive energy demands will negatively impact the environment (See References 6).

Higher Energy Costs

A natural consequence of overusing energy is increased costs for you. This can come in the form of fuel and energy bills; you will be paying more without an appreciable return on your investment. You may also risk lowering the expected lifespan of appliances and other electronics. When you have to replace spent devices, you further impact the environment by generating waste and purchasing replacement equipment. Your wise use of electricity, therefore, can translate into long-term savings in energy bills and also reduce the need for other purchases (See References 7).

References

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organisation for economic co-operation and development

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organisation for economic co-operation and development: climate change chapter

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u.s. environmental protection agency: electricity from non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources

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iowa department of natural resources: e-waste: environmental and health hazards

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national optical astronomy observatory: wasted lights and wasted nights: globe at night tracks light pollution

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/people & society/social issues & advocacy/green living & environmental issues

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/business & industrial/energy & utilities/renewable & alternative energy

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the consequences of inaction lawrence berkeley national laboratory: standby power summary

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What Are the Effects of Overusing Energy?

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Conserving energy is not just about saving on your electricity costs. The Organisation for...

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With one dietary change, the U.S. could almost meet greenhouse-gas emission goals.

Ecoanxiety is an emerging condition. Named in 2011, the American Psychological Association recently described it as the dread and helplessness that come with "watching the slow and seemingly irrevocable impacts of climate change unfold, and worrying about the future for oneself, children, and later generations."

It's not a formal diagnosis. Anxiety is traditionally defined by an outsized stress response to a given stimulus. In this case, the stimulus is real, as are the deleterious effects of stress on the body.

This sort of disposition toward ecological-based distress does not pair well with a president who has denied the reality of the basis for this anxiety. Donald Trump has called climate change a fabrication on the part of "the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." He has also led the United States to become the only G20 country that will not honor the Paris Climate Accord, and who has appointed fossil-fuel advocates to lead the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency.

For people who experience climate-related anxiety, this all serves as a sort of exacerbation by presidential gaslight. The remedy for a condition like this is knowing what can be done to mitigate environmental degradation, from within in a country singularly committed to it.

Like what?

Helen Harwatt is a researcher trained in environmental nutrition, a field focused on developing food systems that balance human health and sustainability. She's interested in policy, but realistic about how much progress can be expected under the aforementioned leadership. So she and colleagues have done research on maximizing the impacts of individuals. As with so many things in life and health, that tends to come down to food.

Recently Harwatt and a team of scientists from Oregon State University, Bard College, and Loma Linda University calculated just what would happen if every American made one dietary change: substituting beans for beef. They found that if everyone were willing and able to do that-hypothetically-the U.S. could still come close to meeting its 2020 greenhouse-gas emission goals, pledged by President Barack Obama in 2009.

That is, even if nothing about our energy infrastructure or transportation system changed-and even if people kept eating chicken and pork and eggs and cheese-this one dietary change could achieve somewhere between 46 and 74 percent of the reductions needed to meet the target.

"I think there's genuinely a lack of awareness about how much impact this sort of change can have," Harwatt told me. There have been analyses in the past about the environmental impacts of veganism and vegetarianism, but this study is novel for the idea that a person's dedication to the cause doesn't have to be complete in order to matter. A relatively small, single-food substitution could be the most powerful change a person makes in terms of their lifetime environmental impact-more so than downsizing one's car, or being vigilant about turning off light bulbs, and certainly more than quitting showering.
Read: The economic case for worldwide vegetarianism
To understand why the climate impact of beef alone is so large, note that the image at the top of this story is a sea of soybeans in a silo in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. The beans belong to a feed lot that holds 38,000 cattle, the growth and fattening of which means dispensing 900 metric tons of feed every day. Which is to say that these beans will be eaten by cows, and the cows will convert the beans to meat, and the humans will eat the meat. In the process, the cows will emit much greenhouse gas, and they will consume far more calories in beans than they will yield in meat, meaning far more clearcutting of forests to farm cattle feed than would be necessary if the beans above were simply eaten by people.

This inefficient process happens on a massive scale. Brazil, the world's largest exporter of red meat, holds around 212 million cattle. (In June, the U.S. temporarily suspended imports of beef from Brazil due to abscesses, collections of pus, in the meat.) According to the United Nations, 33 percent of arable land on Earth is used to grow feed for livestock. Even more, 26 percent of the ice-free terrestrial surface of Earth is used for grazing livestock. In all, almost a third of the land on Earth is used to produce meat and animal products.

This means much less deforestation and land degradation if so many plant crops weren't run through the digestive tracts of cattle. If Americans traded their beef for beans, the researchers found, that would free up 42 percent of U.S. crop land.

"The real beauty of this kind of thing is that climate impact doesn't have to be policy-driven," said Harwatt. "It can just be a positive, empowering thing for consumers to see that they can make a significant impact by doing something as simple as eating beans instead of beef."

She and her colleagues conclude in the journal Climatic Change: "While not currently recognized as a climate policy option, the 'beans for beef' scenario offers significant climate change mitigation and other environmental benefits, illustrating the high potential of animal to plant food shifts."

The beans for beef scenario is, it seems, upon us.

"I think it's such an easy-to-grasp concept that it could be less challenging than a whole dietary shift," said Harwatt. The words vegetarian and vegan have stifled some people's thinking on what it means to eat well-to consume responsibly, conscientiously. Rather the beans for beef scenario is the dietary equivalent of effective altruism -focusing on where efforts will have the highest yield. "It's kind of a worst-first approach, looking at the hottest spot in the food system in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions, and what could that be substituted with without losing protein and calories in the food system? And at the same time, gaining health benefits."

In addition to the well-documented health benefits of a plant-based diet, this case also brings empowerment, or at least reprieve. Regardless of a person's degree of ecoanxiety, there is some recourse in knowing how far individuals can go to make up for a regressive federal administration simply by eating beans.

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With one dietary change, the U.S. could hypothetically get 74 percent of the way to meeting 2020 greenhouse-gas emission goals.

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The Incredible Transformation Of World's Most Polluted Beach

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Do you want to know where one of the most dirtiest beaches is. Then watch this video.

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Do you want to know where one of the most dirtiest beaches is. Then watch this video.

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The Incredible Transformation Of World's Most Polluted Beach

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poverty | Definition, Causes, Types, & Facts

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

poverty, the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. In this context, the identification of poor people first requires a determination of what constitutes basic needs. These may be defined as narrowly as "those necessary for survival" or as broadly as "those reflecting the prevailing standard of living in the community." The first criterion would cover only those people near the borderline of starvation or death from exposure; the second would extend to people whose nutrition, housing, and clothing, though adequate to preserve life, do not measure up to those of the population as a whole. The problem of definition is further compounded by the noneconomic connotations that the word poverty has acquired. Poverty has been associated, for example, with poor health, low levels of education or skills, an inability or an unwillingness to work, high rates of disruptive or disorderly behaviour, and improvidence. While these attributes have often been found to exist with poverty, their inclusion in a definition of poverty would tend to obscure the relation between them and the inability to provide for one's basic needs. Whatever definition one uses, authorities and laypersons alike commonly assume that the effects of poverty are harmful to both individuals and society.

Although poverty is a phenomenon as old as human history, its significance has changed over time. Under traditional (i.e., nonindustrialized) modes of economic production, widespread poverty had been accepted as inevitable. The total output of goods and services, even if equally distributed, would still have been insufficient to give the entire population a comfortable standard of living by prevailing standards. With the economic productivity that resulted from industrialization, however, this ceased to be the case-especially in the world's most industrialized countries, where national outputs were sufficient to raise the entire population to a comfortable level if the necessary redistribution could be arranged without adversely affecting output.

Several types of poverty may be distinguished depending on such factors as time or duration (long- or short-term or cyclical) and distribution (widespread, concentrated, individual).
(Read Indira Gandhi's 1975 Britannica essay on global underprivilege.)

Cyclical poverty

Cyclical poverty refers to poverty that may be widespread throughout a population, but the occurrence itself is of limited duration. In nonindustrial societies (present and past), this sort of inability to provide for one's basic needs rests mainly upon temporary food shortages caused by natural phenomena or poor agricultural planning. Prices would rise because of scarcities of food, which brought widespread, albeit temporary, misery.

In industrialized societies the chief cyclical cause of poverty is fluctuations in the business cycle, with mass unemployment during periods of depression or serious recession. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the industrialized nations of the world experienced business panics and recessions that temporarily enlarged the numbers of the poor. The United States' experience in the Great Depression of the 1930s, though unique in some of its features, exemplifies this kind of poverty. And until the Great Depression, poverty resulting from business fluctuations was accepted as an inevitable consequence of a natural process of market regulation. Relief was granted to the unemployed to tide them over until the business cycle again entered an upswing. The experiences of the Great Depression inspired a generation of economists such as John Maynard Keynes, who sought solutions to the problems caused by extreme swings in the business cycle. Since the Great Depression, governments in nearly all advanced industrial societies have adopted economic policies that attempt to limit the ill effects of economic fluctuation. In this sense, governments play an active role in poverty alleviation by increasing spending as a means of stimulating the economy. Part of this spending comes in the form of direct assistance to the unemployed, either through unemployment compensation, welfare, and other subsidies or by employment on public-works projects. Although business depressions affect all segments of society, the impact is most severe on people of the lowest socioeconomic strata because they have fewer marginal resources than those of a higher strata.

Collective poverty

In contrast to cyclical poverty, which is temporary, widespread or " collective " poverty involves a relatively permanent insufficiency of means to secure basic needs-a condition that may be so general as to describe the average level of life in a society or that may be concentrated in relatively large groups in an otherwise prosperous society. Both generalized and concentrated collective poverty may be transmitted from generation to generation, parents passing their poverty on to their children.

Collective poverty is relatively general and lasting in parts of Asia, the Middle East, most of Africa, and parts of South America and Central America. Life for the bulk of the population in these regions is at a minimal level. Nutritional deficiencies cause disease seldom seen by doctors in the highly developed countries. Low life expectancy, high levels of infant mortality, and poor health characterize life in these societies.

Collective poverty is usually related to economic underdevelopment. The total resources of many developing nations in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America would be insufficient to support the population adequately even if they were equally divided among all of the citizens. Proposed remedies are twofold: (1) expansion of the gross national product (GNP) through improved agriculture or industrialization, or both, and (2) population limitation. Thus far, both population control and induced economic development in many countries have proved difficult, controversial, and at times inconclusive or disappointing in their results.

An increase of the GNP does not necessarily lead to an improved standard of living for the population at large, for a number of reasons. The most important reason is that, in many developing countries, the population grows even faster than the economy does, with no net reduction in poverty as a result. This increased population growth stems primarily from lowered infant mortality rates made possible by improved sanitary and disease-control measures. Unless such lowered rates eventually result in women bearing fewer children, the result is a sharp acceleration in population growth. To reduce birth rates, some developing countries have undertaken nationally administered family-planning programs, with varying results. Many developing nations are also characterized by a long-standing system of unequal distribution of wealth -a system likely to continue despite marked increases in the GNP. Some authorities have observed the tendency for a large portion of any increase to be siphoned off by persons who are already wealthy, while others claim that increases in GNP will always trickle down to the part of the population living at the subsistence level.

Concentrated collective poverty

In many industrialized, relatively affluent countries, particular demographic groups are vulnerable to long-term poverty. In city ghettos, in regions bypassed or abandoned by industry, and in areas where agriculture or industry is inefficient and cannot compete profitably, there are found victims of concentrated collective poverty. These people, like those afflicted with generalized poverty, have higher mortality rates, poor health, low educational levels, and so forth when compared with the more affluent segments of society. Their chief economic traits are unemployment and underemployment, unskilled occupations, and job instability. Efforts at amelioration focus on ways to bring the deprived groups into the mainstream of economic life by attracting new industry, promoting small business, introducing improved agricultural methods, and raising the level of skills of the employable members of the society.

Case poverty

Similar to collective poverty in relative permanence but different from it in terms of distribution, case poverty refers to the inability of an individual or family to secure basic needs even in social surroundings of general prosperity. This inability is generally related to the lack of some basic attribute that would permit the individual to maintain himself or herself. Such persons may, for example, be blind, physically or emotionally disabled, or chronically ill. Physical and mental handicaps are usually regarded sympathetically, as being beyond the control of the people who suffer from them. Efforts to ameliorate poverty due to physical causes focus on education, sheltered employment, and, if needed, economic maintenance.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Adam Augustyn.

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Poverty | Definition, Causes, Types, & Facts

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Poverty, the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. Learn more about types and causes of poverty in this article.

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© Zoriah Miller

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of the world's population living in extreme poverty fell from 10.1 per cent in 2015 to 9.3 per cent in 2017. This means that the number of people living on less than $1.90 per day dropped from 741 million to 689 million. However, the rate of reduction had slowed to less than half a percentage point annually between 2015 and 2017, compared with one percentage point annually between 1990 and 2015.

The pandemic has compounded the threats to progress raised by conflict and climate change. Estimates suggest that 2020 saw an increase of between 119 million and 124 million global poor, of whom 60 per cent are in Southern Asia. Nowcasts point to the first rise in the extreme poverty rate since 1998, from 8.4 per cent in 2019 to 9.5 per cent in 2020, undoing the progress made since 2016. The impacts of the pandemic will not be short-lived. Based on current projections, the global poverty rate is expected to be 7 per cent (around 600 million people) in 2030, missing the target of eradicating poverty.

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The share of the world's workers living in extreme poverty fell by more than half from 2010 to 2019 - from 14 per cent to 6.6 per cent. However, lockdowns and related public health measures due to COVID-19 have severely affected the informal economy, where the vast majority of the working poor are employed. The related income losses threaten to roll back global progress on reducing working poverty.

Although the gender gap in working poverty globally has narrowed over the years, a substantial gap persists in many parts of the world, particularly in the least developed countries (LDCs). There, one third (33.5 per cent) of employed women were living in poverty in 2019, compared with 28.3 per cent of employed men. Worldwide, young workers are twice as likely to be living in poverty as adults, reflecting lower earnings and poorer quality jobs. Since the COVID-19 crisis has had a disproportionate impact on the livelihoods of women and young people, it is likely to exacerbate these longstanding disparities.

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Social protection measures are fundamental to preventing and reducing poverty across the life cycle. Nevertheless, by 2020, only 46.9 per cent of the global population were effectively covered by at least one social protection cash benefit, leaving as many as 4 billion people without a social safety net. The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the importance of social protection systems to protect people's health, jobs and incomes, as well as the consequences of high coverage gaps. As a result, many new social protection measures were introduced in 2020: between 1 February and 31 December, the Governments of 209 countries and territories announced more than 1,600 such measures in response to the crisis, but almost all (94.7 per cent) were short term in nature.

Before the pandemic, most of the population (85.4 per cent) in high-income countries was effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit, compared with just over one tenth (13.4 per cent) in low-income countries. The coverage gap is even greater for those considered vulnerable, only 7.8 per cent of whom were covered by social assistance in low-income countries.

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Disasters and their immediate impacts threaten to reverse development gains and slow poverty reduction and hunger alleviation. Based on the latest reporting under the Sendai Framework monitoring process, direct economic losses of $70.4 billion due to disasters were reported by 53 countries for 2019, of which 60 per cent ($42.5 billion) were recorded in the agricultural sector.

In 2019, over 24,000 deaths were attributed to disasters in 67 countries. This is a substantial reduction from 2018, when disaster mortality peaked at 126,000 (reported by 79 countries), and is consistent with an overall trend of declining mortality since 2005. However, COVID-19 is already reversing this progress, overwhelming health systems and highlighting underlying socioeconomic vulnerabilities to biological hazards.

The adoption and implementation of robust multi-hazard disaster risk reduction strategies, which incorporate biological risks such as COVID-19, are critical. As of April 2020, 120 countries reported that they had developed and adopted national and/or local disaster risk reduction strategies, up from 48 during the Sendai Framework's nascent period in 2015.

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Overview Goal 2

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All our data, research and writing on poverty is now collected together on our Poverty topic page.

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Inspire Indonesia - We Change Lives Through Football

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Inspire Indonesia is an internationally recognized organization that uses football's transformative power in the lives of young people.

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Soccer is a game with a ball tool played by 2 teams. Each team consists of eleven players. Football until today has been played over 250 million people from more than two hundred countries. Soccer is the most popular game today. Soccer was invented in China in the 2nd century BC. Football was first played with a ball made of leather and dribbled with legs. In 1365, King Edward III banned the game of football because it was considered to be a lot of violence during the game. To see more about the history of soccer in Indonesia, you may see these paragraphs below.

Brought by the Dutch during their colonialism

Indonesian soccer began in 1914 when Indonesia was still colonized by the Dutch East Indies government. Inter-city competition in Java is only in champion by two teams or in the dominance of two teams only, namely Batavia City, Soerabaja City.

History of Modern Football in Indonesia began with the formation of PSSI (Football Association of Indonesia) on 19 April 1930 in Yogyakarta with the chairman Soeratin Sosrosoegondo. As a sporting organization born in the Dutch colonial era, the birth of PSSI is however related to political activities against colonialism.

Read also: History of Basketball in Indonesia

Indonesian soccer was recognized FIFA for the first time

In the 1930s, there were three societies based on the Nederlandsch Indische Voetbal Bond (NIVB) in 1936, which belonged to the Dutch, Hwa Nan Voetbal Bond (HNVB ) belongs to the Chinese nation, and Persatoean Sepakraga Seloeroeh Indonesia (PSSI) owned by Indonesians.

Entering the 1930s, the prestige of Bond NIVB field stars, G Rehatta and de Wolf, began to meet the twilight stars of Chinese and indigenous bond stars, such as Maladi, Sumadi, and Ernst Mangindaan. In 1933, VIJ came out as champion in the 3rd PSSI championship.

In 1938 Indonesia qualified for the World Cup. Delivery of teams Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) had experienced obstacles. NIVU (Nederlandsche Indische Voetbal Unie) or the Dutch football organization in Jakarta has an argument with the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) which was established in April 1930. PSSI chaired by Soeratin Sosrosoegondo, a longtime German graduate engineer in Europe, wants PSSI players delivered. However, eventually the squad was dispatched without PSSI players and used the FIFA-recognized NIVU flag.

Read also: Facts About Indonesian Sports

PSSI was founded by a civil engineer named Soeratin Sosrosoegondo. He completed his education at the Higher Technical School in Heckelenburg, Germany, in 1927 and returned home in 1928. When he returned, Soeratin worked for a Dutch building company, Sizten en Lausada, headquartered in Yogyakarta.

Soeratin was a young man active in the field of movement. As a young man who liked to play soccer, he realizes the importance of implementing the agreed points of grain in a meeting of Indonesian youths on October 28, 1928 (Youth Pledge). Soeratin saw football as the best container for sowing nationalism among youth as a means to oppose the Dutch.

To realize his ideals, Soeratin diligently held meetings with soccer figures in Solo, Yogyakarta, and Bandung. The meeting was conducted with private contacts secretly to avoid the Dutch Police (PID) ambush.

Read also:

Then, while meeting at the small Binnenhof hotel on Jalan Kramat 17, Jakarta, Soeri, the chairman of VIJ (Voetbalbond Indonesische Jakarta), as well as other administrators, matured the idea of ​​a national football organization.

Furthermore, the maturation of the ideas was carried out again in Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Solo which was done with several national movement figures, such as Daslam Hadiwasito, Amir Notopratomo, A. Hamid, and Soekarno (not Bung Karno). Meanwhile, for other cities, maturation is done by personal contact or by courier, as with Soediro who became Chairman of the Young Association of Magelang.

From the meeting, decision was made to establish PSSI, short for Persatoean Sepak Raga Seloeroeh Indonesia. PSSI name and then changed in the congress PSSI in Solo in 1930 into the All Indonesia football association at once set Ir. Soeratin as general chairman.

The increasing number of PSSI members which reached by 40 cities spread across Java, Makasar, Medan and Padang in 1942, showed a high interest of this nation against football.

Because the PSSI was dissolved by the colonial government when Japan came to power and all mass gathering activities must be under Japanese supervision, no football matches were recorded during the Nippon occupation. Moreover, the Japanese colonial government required the people of Indonesia at that time to follow Taiso, a type of Japanese-style gymnastics.

After the full independence in 1945, the spirit of Indonesian football again increased. One of the momentum of determination was the event of the National Sports Week or PON in 1948. Finally in 1950, PSSI re-activated through the transformation of the football department in the sport of the republic, PORI. In the same year, Persib Bandung won the national competition in Semarang after beating Persebaya Surabaya in the top party.

Read also: Unusual Sports in Indonesia

The prestige of Indonesian soccer was not so amazing

After the death of Soeratin Sosrosoegondo, the achievement of Indonesian national football team is not very satisfactory because the national team coaching is not balanced with the development of organization and competition.

In the era before the 1970s, some Indonesian players had competed in international competitions which include Ramang, Sucipto Suntoro, Ronny Pattinasarani, and Tan Liong Houw.

Read also: Traditional Sports in Indonesia

PSSI started to create the new policy for Indonesian soccer

In its development, PSSI has expanded the domestic football competition, among others with the implementation of Super League Indonesia, Division Main, Division One, and Division Two for non-amateur players, and Division Three for amateur players. In addition, PSSI is also actively developing women's football competitions and competitions in certain age groups (U-15, U-17, U-19, U21, and U-23).

Read also: Unique Indonesia Activities

The internal problem of PSSI during 20's century

PSSI is the only parent of a sports organization registered in State news since 8 years after Indonesia became independent. PSSI under the leadership of Nurdin Halid has several things considered controversy, among others: the easyness of Nurdin Halid to give the forgiveness of the violation, not the end of Nurdin Halid's position as Chairman even though he was imprisoned, unsavory issues circulating during the election of Chairman in 2010, and overreaction over the holding of the Premier League Indonesia.

Those are the history of Indonesian soccer. Although the development of the soccer in Indonesia couldn't be as good as in Europe or US, PSSI and also the government still do much strives to make them go international.

Read also: Healthy Lifestyle in Indonesia

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The Long Term History of Soccer in Indonesia - FactsofIndonesia.com

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Soccer is a game with a ball tool played by 2 teams. Each team consists of eleven players. Football until today has been played over 250 million people from more than two hundred countries. Soccer is the most popular game today. Soccer was invented in China in the 2nd century BC.

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The most popular football clubs: Indonesia

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Jakarta: Few places in the world can match the passion for football held by fans in Indonesia, where stadiums are regularly packed to the rafters to cheer on the Southeast Asian country's top sides.

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Elon Musk Announces Tesla's $13 Billion Gigafactory

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Elon Musk Announces Tesla's $13 Billion Gigafactory

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Mit dem Elektroauto nach Kroatien – wie entspannt ist das?

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Mit dem Elektroauto nach Kroatien – wie entspannt ist das?

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E-Auto im Praxis- und Öko-Check – sind E-Autos wirklich besser als Verbrenner? I Ökochecker SWR

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E-Auto im Praxis- und Öko-Check – sind E-Autos wirklich besser als Verbrenner? I Ökochecker SWR

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The history of the electric car: It all started in 1832

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The history of the electric car: It all started in 1832

The very first car was an electric car - and it was not the Patent Motor Car designed by Carl Benz. A short cultural history.

The vehicle softly hums, and the pedestrian does not notice a thing. There is only one thing for Robert Anderson to do: He stomps on the wooden switch on the floor of the vehicle and honks the horn. The pedestrian turns around in wonder, and is amazed by the sight. An electric three-wheeled vehicle passes him by.

The history of the electric car started with British inventor Robert Anderson: He built his electrically powered vehicle in Aberdeen, a port city in northeast Scotland, between 1832 and 1839. He had once presented it at an industry exhibition in 1835. The car could travel around 12 kilometers per hour. It was a bit cumbersome to steer, but the drive unit was almost as quiet as the powertrain in the new Tesla. This pioneer in automotive history used a disposable battery for his vehicle, and crude oil was used to generate the electricity. This is how Anderson managed to get his electric car on the road long before the famous three-wheeled, gas-powered Benz Patent Motor Car from 1886. It stands as proof that cars did not run on gasoline from the beginning.

With a lead battery and 18 kph

There is yet another trailblazer: The Frenchman Gustave Trouvé. In 1881 he designed his Trouvé Tricycle - a three-wheeled and electric vehicle that was powered by two engines, which drew their power from several lead batteries. It was driven through the streets of Paris and could travel around 18 kilometres per hour, with a range of 14 to 26 kilometres.

And what was the first electric car from Germany? The Flocken Elektrowagen from 1888. The four-wheeled electric carriage was manufactured by Maschinenfabrik A. Flocken in Coburg, Germany.

There are more electric vehicles than gasoline cars around 1900

First came the electric engine, then the gasoline engine - and long before those two, the steam engine. The first was an artillery tractor by Nicolas Cugnot in 1769. It used wood, coal, or coke as fuel. Here is the situation around 1900: 40 percent of all automobiles were powered by steam, 38 percent by electricity, and only 22 percent by gasoline.In the U.S., around 1900, there were

The electric car was a real competitor to the combustion engine until around 1920. As early as 1898, the La Jamais Contente was the first electric car to achieve over 100 kilometers per hour, briefly holding the record for speed, as well. But what happened? Why did the electric car not prevail?

Illustration of the "La Jamais Contente" with designer Camille Jenatzy. Photo: Wikipedia

The obstacle for the electric car of the 20th century

The advantages of electricity over steam and gasoline have not changed: Even the fear of limited range that people express today is not the problem. easy handling, pleasantly quiet, and clean.

The decisive factor in the race between the electric engine and gasoline engine is something else: The American , which required stationary generators. There is no comparison to today: Modern charging solutions from suppliers such as Charles F. Kettering designed a starter motor that could be used to start combustion engines without any problems in 1911 - unlike electric cars. They have other disadvantages: Not only are they more expensive, they are also heavier than gasoline engines (due to the batteries). Another obstacle was the complicated and lengthy charging process Vattenfall InCharge guarantee that users can conveniently and quickly charge their vehicles. Added to this is the constant expansion of the charging infrastructure.

In contrast to electricity, crude oil was inexpensive back then, which made gasoline filling stations pop up everywhere. One factor that should not be underestimated, both then and now: advertising. Early on, gasoline engines were marketed as a sign of speed and strength. Today they have lost much of their appeal, and the new electric cars are catching up.

Five differences between electric and plug-in hybrid cars
Read more

The world's smallest electric car: A model car kit for adults

Read more

The new electric cars: These models are raring to go

Read more

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The history of the electric car: It all started in 1832

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The vehicle softly hums, and the pedestrian does not notice a thing. There is only one thing for Robert Anderson to do: He stomps on the wooden switch on the floor of the vehicle and honks the horn. The pedestrian turns around in wonder, and is amazed by the sight.

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One of the World’s Most Remote Uninhabited Islands Is Literally Covered in Our Trash

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Henderson Island has a human population of zero, and the highest density of litter anywhere in the world.

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For decades, we've known that the plastics we throw away - empty water bottles and grocery bags, for instance - pollute our oceans. Every year, about 8.8 million tons (8 million metric tons) of this material ends up in the deep blue sea, imperiling marine ecosystems.

Obviously, action is called for. But before we can curtail the trend, we must figure out how plastic waste travels seaward in the first place. According to some new findings, the majority of it might be hitching a ride on the world's rivers.

A comprehensive study about this topic appears in the latest issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The research was carried out by a German team under the leadership of hydrogeologist Christian Schmidt.

Numerous previous studies have reported on how much plastic is generally carried by various rivers. Schmidt's team scrutinized these papers and found a " definite correlation" between how well the people who live near any given drainage basin manage their plastic waste and how much of this garbage winds up inside the local river.

" "
This graphic shows how rivers become sources for global marine plastic pollution.

A drainage basin (also known as a watershed or catchment area) is an area of land in which precipitation is sent downhill to a common outlet, such as a river. Unsurprisingly, when there's a lot of litter around one of these, its waterway will suffer. The researchers determined that the size of a waterway also influences the load of plastic it carries. Relative to small rivers, big ones contain a disproportionately high amount of plastic per cubic meter of water.

This explains another one of the discoveries made by Schmidt's team: The 10 river systems on Earth with the highest concentration of plastic debris are all large in size and located in densely populated areas where littering is common. Two are in Africa (the Nile and the Niger) while the other eight reside in Asia (the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Yangtze, Hai He, Pearl, Mekong and Amur). By the scientists' calculations, these 10 bodies alone are responsible for a whopping 88 to 95 percent of all the plastic that's being channeled into the ocean.

"Halving the plastic input from the catchment areas of these rivers would already be a major success," says Schmidt in a press statement. "To achieve this, it will be necessary to improve the waste management and raise public awareness for the issue. We hope that our study will make a contribution to a positive development so that the plastic problem in our oceans can be curbed in the long run."

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Just 10 River Systems Contribute Up to 95 Percent of Plastic in Oceans

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Environmental researchers found that large river systems with lots of surrounding residents are the sources of plastic debris in the oceans.

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It's not quite the notes of blackberry with oaky overtones, but marine scientists recently called on wine chemists to help determine why plastic smells like food to seabirds. The chemists found out the plastic left in the ocean has a hint of the sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide, or DMS, a chemical released by algae. And even though it's stinky (DMS' odor has been likened to rotten cabbages), that smell is like a dinner bell for some long-billed, super-sniffer seabirds.

The study, published in Science Advances, examined why some seabirds mistake plastic for chow. It turns out DMS is a smell they associate with the aroma of food. Once they realize they've not found food at all, it's too late. They've got a snootful - and a belly full - of plastic. The study also explains why some species - such as petrels, albatross and other tubenoses - are more prone to binging on plastic than others.

"Animals usually have a reason for the decisions they make," says lead author Matthew Savoca, who performed the study as a graduate student at UC Davis, in a press release. "If we want to truly understand why animals are eating plastic in the ocean, we have to think about how animals find food."

Tubenoses had already been shown to follow their noses to food. So, the first step for this study was to learn what plastic smells like after it's been in the water. The scientists loaded pellets of three common types of plastic - high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene and polypropylene - into mesh bags and tied the bags to a buoy in the ocean at Monterey Bay and Bodega Bay, off the California coast.

Three weeks later, the bags were collected and the wine experts at the UC Davis Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, were called in. A chemical analyzer showed that the plastic smelled of DMS, thanks to algae, which had coated the plastic. The scent is released when animals such as krill, a tubenose favorite, eat the algae. This works to alert the birds to the presence of a meal of their own.

It's a case of having a world-class sniffer not being a good thing. The researchers found that the seabirds that follow their noses via DMS to food are almost six times more likely to ingest plastic as other birds.

A 2015 study estimated that an alarming 90 percent of seabirds eat plastic. Sharp pieces of plastic can injure their internal organs, while soft pieces can affect body weight since the plastic takes up space in the stomach without giving any nutrition. The health effects of plastic on birds have not been completely studied.

In the meantime, give the birds a break, people. Recycle!

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There's a Stinky Reason Seabirds Eat Plastic

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The plastic dumped in the ocean is often consumed by seabirds. HowStuffWorks Now finds out what makes this inedible edible to them.

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Scientists Create Alternative Plastics Using Just Sugars and CO2

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British researchers say that plastics of the future could be made from sugar and carbon dioxide, replacing oil and natural gas byproducts.

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Maria Trimarchi, Patrick J. Kiger, Vicki M. Giuggio

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Top 10 Eco-friendly Substitutes for Plastic

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Without a doubt, plastic is useful. It’s also everywhere — filling up landfills and recycling bins. These 10 twists on the common polymer are trying to change that reality.

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Username:   bbis
Password: panthers

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We drove these electric cars until they DIED!

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We drove these electric cars until they DIED!

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We drove these new electric cars until they DIED!

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We drove these new electric cars until they DIED!

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No room to exercise? Tiny space workouts have never been more important - Harvard Health

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This will help you if you have no space to do fitness 

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This will help you if you have no space to do fitness 

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For many of us, the loss of our fitness routines - the social aspects of a regular exercise class, scheduled walks with friends - is one of the stresses imposed by COVID-19 restrictions. Yet maintaining, or possibly increasing, your physical activity level seems even more important than usual in the face of this new coronavirus. While we don't know exactly how fitness and exercise affect this particular virus, we do know that regular physical activity boosts the immune system. One study shows just a single dose of moderate- to high-intensity exercise can bolster the immune system. And a strong immune system can help fight off the effects of viral illnesses.

Also, exercise confers multiple benefits on essentially all of your body's systems, from your muscles, bones, heart, and lungs to your brain. Importantly, it increases insulin sensitivity and reduces stress hormones, which further helps your body fight infections. Significantly, exercise helps people manage anxiety and depression. Even a single bout of exercise can help if you're feeling anxious or depressed, perhaps due to the fear of becoming ill, financial concerns, and worry about the well-being of loved ones. But how can you get enough physical activity in a confined space and without access to your usual exercise machines or classes?

Be flexible about the types of exercise you choose

Switching your exercise to a more confined space may require some flexibility on your part. When I counsel my patients about exercise and suggest flexibility, they often think of yoga or stretching. But in this case, I am suggesting being more flexible about your choice of exercise and less rigid about holding onto prior habits. Keep in mind:

Change may be good for you and your body. Perhaps your usual activity is a barre class, yoga, Pilates, indoor cycling, or a boot camp. Your body is accustomed to the muscles worked and the intensity of your accustomed activity. Varying your choice of exercise reduces boredom, and lessens your chance of musculoskeletal injury from repetitive movements. It may also engage new muscle groups.

Your muscles are agnostic. They don't know, nor do they care, what kind of workout clothes you are wearing, what kind of space you are in, or what kind of music is playing. Your muscles are highly adaptable. Simply put, if you apply a specific demand, such as lifting weights or doing squats, your muscles will become stronger to allow you to meet the new requirement. And you can do that even in a very small area.

If you feel confined in your available exercise area - and, as some people complain, like a prisoner in your home due to stay-at-home orders - consider that exercise actually has been shown to improve depression, stress, and anxiety in people who are in prison. Even within limited space, people can do body weight exercises similar to these workouts, such as push-ups, bridges, squats, yoga poses, and mat Pilates. Want more? Try challenging your standing balance and performing agility work by hopping from side to side or front and back.

Reshape your exercise routine during stay-at-home orders

Here are four ways to reshape your exercise routine during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Go online to find classes and specific exercises. Join one of the many exercise class recordings from the YMCA or commercial trainers designed for in-home exercise with minimal or no equipment. Check out a library of exercises for every muscle group and level of difficulty offered by the American Council on Exercise.

Consider taking a live exercise class online. This adds a bit of social connection (ask a friend to join so that you can see them in class). Also, for many of us, setting an appointment for a live class will improve compliance compared to on-demand videos, which can be watched - or avoided - at any time of day.

Get outside. One of few excuses for leaving your home, other than to get food and medicine, is to exercise. Exposure to nature is particularly beneficial to combat the blues from staying inside.

Have fun and try something new. If you were never comfortable joining a Zumba or dance class, this may be your opportunity to try it out at home. You can choose to turn off your camera (at least until you get the moves down).

About the Author

Edward Phillips, MD, Contributor

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No room to exercise? Tiny space workouts have never been more important - Harvard Health

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You can't go to the gym, but needing to stay home makes exercise even more important to boost your immune system, relieve anxiety, and boost your mood. Working out in a small space isn't a hardship, and it can even be a challenge.

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History and Evolution of the Microbead | International Joint Commission

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Here is a very useful website of history about micro beads, not too long not too short.

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Here is a very useful website of history about micro beads, not too long not too short.

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Part 2 of 4

Considering the ubiquity of plastic in today's society, it's difficult to realize how recently the mass production of plastics began.

The initial commercial development of thermoplastics such as polyvinyl chloride, low-density polyethylene, polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate began with the advent of World War II in 1939. Natural rubber was in short supply and extensive research was completed to develop synthetic alternatives. Large-scale production of polyethylenes in the late 1970s reduced their costs dramatically, and new applications were discovered - from cars to personal care products.

One of the negative side effects of this mass production is that petroleum-based plastics now make up about 60-80 percent of all marine litter or debris, from the oceans to the Great Lakes. Of this, the majority are microplastics.

Plastic bitten by fish. Credit: 5Gyres

These microplastics originate from washing synthetic clothing and textiles, discarded sand blasting pellets for boat hulls, sewage sludge applied as fertilizer, drugs and pharmaceuticals, atmospheric deposition, and larger plastics such as water bottles.

Microplastics are so tiny that they can bypass wastewater treatment processes and end up in lakes, where they disintegrate in the water, shoreline and lakebed, remaining for hundreds of years.

The plastics have a pervasive presence in the Great Lakes. Researchers at the State University of New York, for example, estimate that Lake Ontario contains 1.1 million particles per square km. Elsewhere, 46,000 particles per square km have been measured in Lake Erie, 17,000 in Lake Michigan and 6,000-8,000 in Lakes Superior and Huron. Of the microplastics pollution in Great Lakes waters, at least 20 percent are microbeads.

A detail shot of plastic microbeads. Credit: 5Gyres

Early patents for microbeads in personal care products began in the late 1960s. They were not regularly included commercially until the 1990s when they were considered a go-to source of innovation in personal care products. Manufacturers added them to hundreds of personal care products, including cosmetics, lotions, face washes, toothpastes, shampoos, sunscreens, shaving creams and exfoliators, for the silky texture they create. Microbeads also can function as bulking agents, exfoliants, as a tooth polisher, and to prolong shelf life by trapping and adsorbing degradable ingredients.

Prior to the widespread use of synthetic microbeads, manufacturers used naturally abrasive materials including cocoa beans, ground almonds, ground apricot pits, sea salt, ground pumice and oatmeal, which biodegrade when released in the environment.

Because of their pervasiveness and tiny size, microbeads are virtually impossible to remove from the environment, especially water. Prevention through legislation by banning the manufacture and sale of products containing microbeads is a key mitigation strategy. Until bans in Canada and the United States occur, citizens can support existing legislation and use their purchasing power to support companies that use natural alternatives to microbeads or have already voluntarily eliminated them from their products.
Coming up next: Consumer Decisions Can Curb Microbead Pollution Other articles in the series: Tiny Plastics Inflict Huge Environmental and Human Health Impact

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History and Evolution of the Microbead | International Joint Commission

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Considering the ubiquity of plastic in today's society, it's difficult to realize how recently the mass production of plastics began.

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How playing sports benefits your body ... and your brain - Leah Lagos and Jaspal Ricky Singh

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How playing sports benefits your body ... and your brain - Leah Lagos and Jaspal Ricky Singh

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Interesting facts about fossil fuels

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Viele Unternehmen behaupten, klimaneutral oder sogar klimapositiv zu sein. Doch was bedeutet das eigentlich und wie erkennt man, ob ein Unternehmen tatsächlich klimaneutral ist? EIT Climate-KIC ist Teil einer Wissens-...

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Kleiderly produziert die weltweit ersten Sonnenbrillen und Bildschirmbrillen aus recycled Textilien. Dadurch werden Textilien von Verbrennungsanlagen fern gehalten. Mit ihrer innovativen zum Patent angemeldeten Lösung löst Kleiderly somit zwei Probleme auf einmal - das des Textilabfalls und des Plastiks.

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https://www.brainpop.com/health/nutrition/nutrition/
Helpful for balanced diets

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Arctic whales may be consuming thousands of microplastics each year

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Website that has information about big consumers of micro plastics.

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Website that has information about big consumers of micro plastics.

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Whales living in the Arctic may be ingesting up to 145,000 small pieces of plastic each year through their prey.

Canadian researchers found that around a fifth of fish eaten by beluga whales are likely to contain microplastics. These plastics, the remains of larger items that have broken down over time, can cause a range of effects on animal life, but their overall impact on the whales remains uncertain.

Rhiannon Moore, the study's lead author, says, 'We use so much plastic in our society, and when improperly discarded they break apart into smaller and smaller pieces, and that makes them easy to be transported in ocean environments.

'The results of these studies just further point to the reality that microplastics don't stay in one place. They move through the air, the water, they're in sediment and now we understand they're moving through the food chain.'

Alex McGoran, a PhD student at the Museum who is looking at how microplastics move through marine environments, says that while the figure is high, many microplastics may pass rapidly through the system.

'The headline figure of 145,000 pieces of microplastic doesn't mean that all of it is maintained in the body,' she says. 'It may pass through and only be in the body for a short time which suggests the impact could be less on the whales.

'Another study on marine mammals found that while every studied individual had plastic in them, it was not at high levels. This highlights the need for more research into microplastics and their health effects.'

The study, led by researchers at Simon Fraser University, was published in Science of The Total Environment.

Bad things come in small packages

Microplastics are any type of plastic that is smaller than 5 millimetres in size. While over five trillion plastic pieces are estimated to be floating in the sea, it is an issue that has only been appreciated recently.

'Microplastics have been around for a long time,' Alex says. 'The first reports were in the 1970s but were mostly notes about the fact they had been observed in papers focusing on other topics.

'It wasn't until the 2000s that scientific research began to escalate and the term was coined. It took scientists a while to realise this material was abundant and potentially a threat, and it is now publicly known.'

The diverse range of materials covered by microplastics mean that its impacts are equally diverse and difficult to generalise.

'There isn't just one problem with plastic,' Alex says, 'and it's hard to say what impacts microplastics have on an organism. Unlike certain chemicals such as pesticides, plastic is a soup of pollutants.

'Microplastics can contain dyes and plasticisers that can leach into animals and cause cancers, affect hormonal cycles through oestrogen-mimicking chemicals, and can scratch or block the digestive tract.

'The effects of these different plastics then varies by animal, but one particular group that are affected are the crustaceans. Microplastics in their stomach can form into balls that can become too large to enter the intestines.'

Scientists are concerned that microplastics in prey animals could build up in their predators in a process known as bioaccumulation. While only small amounts are found in each prey animal, predators can end up with significant amounts in their body as they eat multiple animals.

This process can have devastating impacts on predators, with bird of prey populations suffering from brittle eggs in the twentieth century after the pesticide DDT accumulated in this way.

In this study, the researchers wanted to investigate whether beluga whales living in remote Arctic waters are affected in a similar way by plastic pollution.

A fishy meal

The researchers sampled five fish species that beluga whales are known to eat, including Arctic cod, capelin and four-horn sculpin. They found that 21% of the fish had microplastics in them, with an average of 1.5 fragments per fish.

The microplastics were predominantly in the form of fibres, which originate from textiles, clothing and synthetic ropes.

Based on the number of fish beluga whales need to survive, the scientists found that an individual whale may eat between 3,800 and 145,000 microplastic fragments each year. While the figures are large, the study is based on a relatively small sample size of seven whales, and 117 fish, which may not provide a representative result for populations at large.

The health impacts of microplastics are also uncertain. While there are some studies suggesting that microplastics can help carry toxic chemicals into marine predators, it can be difficult to differentiate the impacts of these fragments from pollution leaching directly from the sea itself.

'Many studies are limited in this way, as they can't distinguish seaborne pollutants from those from plastics,' Alex says. 'There's also a need to look at environmentally relevant concentrations.

'Early studies used levels of plastics at up to 20 times more than is found in the environment, which is a worst-case scenario and not necessarily what happens in reality.'

Research into microplastics is a rapidly evolving field, with researchers now looking into even smaller particles known as nanoplastics. These are microscopic fragments that may be able to pass between cells and even enter the brain.

Finding out more about the diverse forms of microplastic, and the impacts they can have, will help scientists better inform governments about how to best protect nature from these tiny remnants of humanity's creations.

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Arctic whales may be consuming thousands of microplastics each year

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Beluga whales may be consuming hundreds of thousands of microplastics each year due to the fish they eat.

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Worldometer - real time world statistics

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Counts interesting things in the world

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World Population:

reached 8 billion on November 15, 2022 according to the latest United Nations estimates.

is projected to reach 9 billion in 2037, and 10 billion in 2058.

has doubled in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion).

is currently (2023) growing at a rate of around 0.88% per year, adding around 70 million people per year to the total.

growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at 2.09%.

growth rate is currently declining and is projected to continue to decline in the coming years (reaching below 0.50% by 2048, reach 0 in 2086, and decline by -0.11% in 2100) .

a tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history up to the year 1800 for world population to reach 1 billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in 30 years (1960), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), the fifth billion in 13 years (1987), the sixth billion in 11 years (1998), the seventh billion and eighth billion in 12 years each (2010 and 2022). During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.

Sources for the world population counter: For more detailed information:

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Worldometer - real time world statistics

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Live world statistics on population, government and economics, society and media, environment, food, water, energy and health. Interesting statistics with world population clock, forest loss this year, carbon dioxide co2 emission, world hunger data, energy consumed, and a lot more

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The effects of radiation on the human body - Uses and dangers of radiation - AQA - GCSE Physics (Single Science) Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

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This is helpful for radiative waste and how it’s effecting human body 

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This is helpful for radiative waste and how it’s effecting human body 

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The effects of radiation on the human body - Uses and dangers of radiation - AQA - GCSE Physics (Single Science) Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about and revise irradiation, contamination and the uses and dangers or radiation with GCSE Bitesize Physics.

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How We Can Keep Plastics Out of Our Ocean | National Geographic

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How We Can Keep Plastics Out of Our Ocean | National Geographic

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This is useful for people who research about Child Labor 

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This is useful for people who research about Child Labor 

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Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. The participation of children or adolescents above the minimum age for admission to employment in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children's development and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life.

The term "child labour" is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that:

is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or

interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

Whether or not particular forms of "work" can be called "child labour" depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.

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Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. The participation of children or adolescents above the minimum age for admission to employment in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive.

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This is helpful for radioactive waste research 

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This is helpful for radioactive waste research 

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Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons reprocessing. The storage and disposal of radioactive waste is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment.

Radioactive waste is broadly classified into low-level waste (LLW), such as paper, rags, tools, clothing, which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity, intermediate-level waste (ILW), which contains higher amounts of radioactivity and requires some shielding, and high-level waste (HLW), which is highly radioactive and hot due to decay heat, so requires cooling and shielding.

High-level radioactive wastes give off large amounts of ionizing radiation.

Radioactive waste is dangerous to the environment, and there are many regulations about transporting it, handling it, and processing it in such a way that the dangers are reduced. They can contaminate water and affect the living organisms. Storage of radioactive waste must be guaranteed for thousands of years, until it decays sufficiently to be safe to the environment and its inhabitants.

The time radioactive waste must be stored for depends on the type of waste and radioactive isotopes it contains. Short-term, radioactive waste can be stored on the surface or near-surface. Burial in a deep geological repository is a favored solution for long-term storage of high-level waste. Radioactive waste can be stored by deep geological burial or by dry cask storage. Dry Cask Storage is large cylinders of concrete and steel that are used to hold 10 or more metric tons of high-level radioactive waste.

In nuclear reprocessing plants about 96% of spent nuclear fuel is recycled back into uranium-based and mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels. The residual 4% are subsequently converted into a glass-like ceramic for storage in a deep geological repository.

The joint convention of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) lists management approaches to storing radioactive waste for most developed countries.

The U.S. currently has no long-term radioactive waste storage site. In 1987 Yucca Mountain, Nevada was a candidate for radioactive waste storage, but was shut down.

Images for kids

The Onkalo is a planned deep geological repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel near the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in Eurajoki, on the west coast of Finland. Picture of a pilot cave at final depth in Onkalo.

In Spanish: Residuo radiactivo para niños

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Child labour means that children are forced to work like adults and take part in an economic activity. According to the ILO International Labour Organization this is applied to people up to age fifteen, or seventeen in case of dangerous work. Even though only about a fourth of the ILO members have ratified the respective convention, this age limit is generally accepted.

Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.

Child labour is fundamentally different from casual work done by children, like guarding other children, or helping here and there. Child labour is forbidden in most countries. These days we see many minor boys and girls working in tea stalls, restaurants, hotels and other small shops. Some work in huge factories like brick factories. This is caused due to child labour, and the main reason why child labour occurs is poverty.

There are two kinds of work that minors can do:

1. Some work they do is acceptable, as it is only light, or easy to do. Children can also do it while they are well-integrated into the family. This kind of work can be done in addition to an education the children are getting.

2. The other kind of work is difficult to do, or it is physically exhausting. It may be dangerous, the children may be required to work for long hours and in humiliating clothing.

There are many prejudices against child labor in the Western world: Very often such cases are known through scandals made by the mass media: In that manner, a working child is often seen as a slave, working in a sweat shop in a third world country, producing textiles, or as one of the street children in South America. The reality is different though: Such shops exist all over the world, also in countries like the United States or Italy. The fact that child labour is involved is often hidden: More than three quarters of this work is done in the sector of agriculture, or it has to do with activities done at home, in the context of the family. If child-slaves exist, they are only a minority. This form of work done by children also existed before industrialisation and globalisation, the two phenomena have made it more visible, at best.

Related pages

Images for kids

In Spanish: Explotación infantil para niños

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This is about whether animal studies are accurate or not

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This is about whether animal studies are accurate or not

# data[].attributes.headline
Helpful resorses if you are doing radiative waste

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Helpful resorses if you are doing radiative waste

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons reprocessing. The storage and disposal of radioactive waste is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment.

Radioactive waste is broadly classified into low-level waste (LLW), such as paper, rags, tools, clothing, which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity, intermediate-level waste (ILW), which contains higher amounts of radioactivity and requires some shielding, and high-level waste (HLW), which is highly radioactive and hot due to decay heat, so requires cooling and shielding.

High-level radioactive wastes give off large amounts of ionizing radiation.

Radioactive waste is dangerous to the environment, and there are many regulations about transporting it, handling it, and processing it in such a way that the dangers are reduced. They can contaminate water and affect the living organisms. Storage of radioactive waste must be guaranteed for thousands of years, until it decays sufficiently to be safe to the environment and its inhabitants.

The time radioactive waste must be stored for depends on the type of waste and radioactive isotopes it contains. Short-term, radioactive waste can be stored on the surface or near-surface. Burial in a deep geological repository is a favored solution for long-term storage of high-level waste. Radioactive waste can be stored by deep geological burial or by dry cask storage. Dry Cask Storage is large cylinders of concrete and steel that are used to hold 10 or more metric tons of high-level radioactive waste.

In nuclear reprocessing plants about 96% of spent nuclear fuel is recycled back into uranium-based and mixed-oxide (MOX) fuels. The residual 4% are subsequently converted into a glass-like ceramic for storage in a deep geological repository.

The joint convention of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) lists management approaches to storing radioactive waste for most developed countries.

The U.S. currently has no long-term radioactive waste storage site. In 1987 Yucca Mountain, Nevada was a candidate for radioactive waste storage, but was shut down.

Images for kids

The Onkalo is a planned deep geological repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel near the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant in Eurajoki, on the west coast of Finland. Picture of a pilot cave at final depth in Onkalo.

In Spanish: Residuo radiactivo para niños

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The failure of animal experiments – an animated educational film

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The failure of animal experiments – an animated educational film

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Here are some accidents that happened and that are famous because they were very bad 

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Here are some accidents that happened and that are famous because they were very bad 

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By now, the most serious nuclear accident has been the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Other serious nuclear accidents include Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, Three Mile Island accident, the Windscale fire, Mayak accident, and the SL-1 accident. In the period to 2007, 63 major nuclear accidents have occurred at nuclear power plants. Twenty-nine of these have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster, and 71 percent of all nuclear accidents (45 out of 63) occurred in the United States.

Fukushima, Onagawa and Tōkai

On 11 March 2011, the Magnitude 9.0 devastating Sendai earthquake and tsunami took place in Japan. As a result, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant and Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant stations consisting of eleven (11) reactors were automatically shut down following the earthquake.

At Fukushima Daiichi and Daini tsunami waves went over seawalls and destroyed diesel backup power systems. This loss of power caused severe problems including two large explosions at Fukushima Daiichi and leakage of radiation. Over 200,000 people have been evacuated. Seismic recordings at six assessed nuclear power plant facilities indicated the plants had been exposed to peak ground accelerations of 0.037-0.383  g and peak ground velocities of 6.18-52.62 cm/sec.

One year after the accident, the official death toll related to the Fukushima accident has been five: one caused by the earthquake, another one had a heart attack, two people drowned, and a last person died in October for unreported causes. None of the deaths have been caused by radiation.

Chernobyl disaster

The Chernobyl disaster was a major accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986, with an explosion at the plant and later radioactive contamination of the surrounding area. It is so far the worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power. A plume of radioactive fallout drifted over parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, the UK, Ireland and eastern North America. Large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly damaged, forcing the people in charge to have to evacuate and resettle more than 336,000 people. About 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus, according to official post-Soviet data.

The accident made many people worried about the safety of the Soviet nuclear power industry. As a result, plans for more nuclear plants were put on hold and the Soviet government, who were not very open with its data, had to make public more of its data. The now-independent countries of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have had to spend a lot of money and time on decontamination and health care costs of the Chernobyl accident. Nobody knows how many people died because of this accident. This is because the Soviets covered up information, did not fully complete lists, and did not let doctors list "radiation" as the reason why some people died. Most of the expected long-term deaths, such as that from cancer, have not yet happened and it is hard to say that Chernobyl was the full reason for their deaths.

At Fukushima I and II tsunami waves overtopped seawalls and destroyed diesel backup power systems, leading to severe problems including two large explosions at Fukushima I and leakage of radiation.

Three Mile Island accident

On March 28, 1979, the Unit 2 nuclear power plant on the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI-2) in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg suffered a partial core meltdown.

The Three Mile Island accident was the worst accident in American commercial nuclear power generating history, even though it led to no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of the nearby community.

The accident unfolded over the course of five tense days, as a number of agencies at local, state and federal level tried to diagnose the problem and decide whether or not the on-going accident required a full emergency evacuation of the population. The full details of the accident were not discovered until much later. In the end, the reactor was brought under control. Although approximately 25,000 people lived within five miles of the island at the time of the accident, no identifiable injuries due to radiation occurred, and a government report concluded that "the projected number of excess fatal cancers due to the accident... is approximately one". But the accident had serious economic and public relations consequences, and the cleanup process was slow and costly. It also furthered a major decline in the public popularity of nuclear power, exemplifying for many the worst fears about nuclear technology and, until the Chernobyl disaster seven years later, it was considered the world's worst civilian nuclear accident.

Davis-Besse

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant with a single reactor located on the southwest shore of Lake Erie near Oak Harbor, Ohio. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Davis-Besse has been the source of two of the top five most dangerous nuclear incidents in the United States since 1979.

SL-1 accident

The SL-1, or Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One, was a United States Army experimental nuclear power reactor which underwent a steam explosion and meltdown in January 1961, killing its three operators. The direct cause was the improper withdrawal by a maintenance team of a single reactor control rod. The event is the only reported fatal reactor accident in the United States.

Windscale fire

On October 10, 1957, the graphite core of a British nuclear reactor at Windscale, Cumbria, caught fire, releasing substantial amounts of radioactive contamination into the surrounding area. The event, known as the Windscale fire, was considered the world's worst nuclear accident until the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

The fire itself released an estimated 20,000 curies (700 |tera becquerels) of radioactive material into the nearby countryside. Of particular concern was the radioactive isotope iodine-131, which has a half-life of only 8 days but is taken up by the human body and stored in the thyroid. As a result, consumption of iodine-131 often leads to cancer of the thyroid.

No one was evacuated from the surrounding area, but there was concern that milk might be dangerously contaminated. Milk from about 500 km² of nearby countryside was destroyed (diluted a thousandfold and dumped in the Irish Sea) for about a month.

Mayak accident

Mayak is the name of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plants 150 km northwest of Chelyabinsk in Russia. Working conditions at Mayak resulted in severe health hazards and many accidents, with a serious accident occurring in 1957.

The 1957 Kyshtym disaster occurred when the failure of the cooling system for a tank storing tens of thousands of tons of dissolved nuclear waste resulted in a non-nuclear explosion having a force estimated at about 75 tons of TNT (310 gigajoules), which released some 20 MCi (740 peta becquerels) of radiation. Subsequently, at least 200 people died of radiation sickness, 10,000 people were evacuated from their homes, and 470,000 people were exposed to radiation.

Attacks on nuclear plants

Nuclear reactors become easy targets during military conflict and, over the past three decades, have been repeatedly attacked:

Between 18 December 1977 and 13 June 1979: attacks on Lemoniz Nuclear Power Plant in Spain while it was still under construction.

In September 1980: Iran bombed the Al Tuwaitha nuclear complex in Iraq, in Operation Scorch Sword.

In June 1981: an Israeli air strike completely destroyed Iraq's Osirak nuclear research facility.

On 8 January 1982: Umkhonto we Sizwe attacked Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in South Africa while it was still under construction.

Between 1984 and 1987: Iraq bombed Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant six times.

In Iraq in 1991: The U.S. bombed three nuclear reactors and an enrichment pilot facility.

In 1991: Iraq launched Scud missiles at Israel's Dimona nuclear power plant.

In September 2003: Israel bombed a Syrian reactor under construction.

Radiation accidents

is harmful to health and there have been many accidents caused by radiation:

17 fatalities - Instituto Oncologico Nacional of Panama, August 2000 -March 2001. patients receiving treatment for prostate cancer and cancer of the cervix receive lethal doses of radiation.

13 fatalities - Radiotherapy accident in Costa Rica, 1996. 114 patients received an overdose of radiation from a Cobalt-60 source that was being used for radiotherapy.

11 fatalities - Radiotherapy accident in Zaragoza, Spain, December 1990. Cancer patients receiving radiotherapy; 27 patients were injured.

10 fatalities - Columbus radiotherapy accident, 1974-1976, 88 injuries from Cobalt-60 source.

8 fatalities - Radiation accident in Morocco, March 1984.

7 fatalities - Houston radiotherapy accident, 1980.

5 fatalities - Lost radiation source, Baku, Azerbaijan, USSR, October 5, 1982. 13 injuries.

4 fatalities - Goiânia accident, September 13, 1987. 249 people received serious radiation contamination from lost radiography source.

4 fatalities - Radiation accident in Mexico City, 1962.

3 fatalities - Three deaths and ten injuries resulted in Samut Prakarn, Thailand when a radiation-therapy unit was dismantled, February 2000.

1 fatality - Mayapuri radiological accident, India, April 2010.

1 fatality - Malfunction INES level 4 at RA2 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, operator Osvaldo Rogulich dies days later.

Related pages

Images for kids

Following the 2011 Japanese Fukushima nuclear disaster, authorities shut down the nation's 54 nuclear power plants. The Fukushima site remains radioactive, with some 30,000 evacuees still living in temporary housing, although nobody has died or is expected to die from radiation effects. The difficult cleanup job will take 40 or more years, and cost tens of billions of dollars.

Corroded and leaking 55-gallon drum, for storing radioactive waste at the Rocky Flats Plant, tipped on its side so the bottom is showing.

The Hanford site represents two-thirds of USA's high-level radioactive waste by volume. Nuclear reactors line the riverbank at the Hanford Site along the Columbia River in January 1960.

Operation Crossroads Test Able, a 23-kiloton air-deployed nuclear weapon detonated on July 1, 1946.

The recovered thermonuclear bomb was displayed by U.S. Navy officials on the fantail of the submarine rescue ship U.S.S. Petrel after it was located in the sea off the coast of Spain at a depth of 762 meters and recovered in April 1966

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Good and bad things about animal testing 

# data[].attributes.subject
Good and bad things about animal testing 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. The participation of children or adolescents above the minimum age for admission to employment in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children's development and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life.

The term "child labour" is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that:

is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or

interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

Whether or not particular forms of "work" can be called "child labour" depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. The participation of children or adolescents above the minimum age for admission to employment in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive.

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What is climate change and global warming

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What is climate change and global warming

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Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

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The Greenhouse Effect

Increasing Greenhouses Gases Are Warming the Planet

Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20 th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" ¹ - warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.

Life on Earth depends on energy coming from the Sun. About half the light energy reaching Earth's atmosphere passes through the air and clouds to the surface, where it is absorbed and radiated in the form of infrared heat. About 90% of this heat is then absorbed by greenhouse gases and re-radiated, slowing heat loss to space.

Gases that Contribute

The Role of Humans

Human Activity Is the Cause of Increased Greenhouse Gas Concentrations

Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO ₂). This increase happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO ₂. To a lesser extent, clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

How do we know what greenhouse gas and temperature levels were in the distant past?

Ice cores are scientists' best source for historical climate data. Other tools for learning about Earth's ancient atmosphere include growth rings in trees, which keep a rough record of each growing season's temperature, moisture and cloudiness going back about 2,000 years. Corals also form growth rings that provide information about temperature and nutrients in the tropical ocean. Other proxies, such as benthic cores, extend our knowledge of past climate back about a billion years.

detailed answer

The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by nearly 50% since 1750 ². This increase is due to human activities, because scientists can see a distinctive isotopic fingerprint in the atmosphere.

In its Sixth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, composed of scientific experts from countries all over the world, concluded thatit is unequivocal that the increase of CO ₂, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere.

"Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact."

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The panel's AR6 Working Group I (WGI) Summary for Policymakers report is online at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/.

Is the Sun to Blame?

Evidence Shows That Current Global Warming Cannot Be Explained by Solar Irradiance

Scientists use a metric called Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) to measure the changes in energy the Earth receives from the Sun. TSI incorporates the 11-year solar cycle and solar flares/storms from the Sun's surface.

Studies show that solar variability has played a role in past climate changes. For example, a decrease in solar activity coupled with increased volcanic activity helped trigger the Little Ice Age.

The above graph compares global surface temperature changes (red line) and the Sun's energy that Earth receives (yellow line) in watts (units of energy) per square meter since 1880. The lighter/thinner lines show the yearly levels while the heavier/thicker lines show the 11-year average trends. Eleven-year averages are used to reduce the year-to-year natural noise in the data, making the underlying trends more obvious.

The amount of solar energy that Earth receives has followed the Sun's natural 11-year cycle of small ups and downs with no net increase since 1880. Over the same period, global temperature has risen markedly. It is therefore extremely unlikely that the Sun has caused the observed global temperature warming trend over the past half-century. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

But several lines of evidence show that current global warming cannot be explained by changes in energy from the Sun:

Since 1750, the average amount of energy from the Sun either remained constant or decreased slightly³.

If a more active Sun caused the warming, scientists would expect warmer temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere. Instead, they have observed a cooling in the upper atmosphere and a warming at the surface and lower parts of the atmosphere. That's because greenhouse gases are slowing heat loss from the lower atmosphere.

Climate models that include solar irradiance changes can't reproduce the observed temperature trend over the past century or more without including a rise in greenhouse gases.
References
References

1. IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Summary for Policy Makers, Sections A, " The Current State of the Climate "

IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Technical Summary, Sections TS.1.2, TS.2.1 and TS.3.1

2. P. Friedlingstein, et al., 2022: "Global Carbon Budget 2022", Earth System Science Data ( 11 Nov 2022): 4811-4900. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4811-2022

3. IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Chapter 2, Section 2.2.1, " Solar and Orbital Forcing"

IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Chapter 7, Sections 7.3.4.4, 7.3.5.2, Figure 7.6, " Solar"

M. Lockwood and W.T. Ball, Placing limits on long-term variations in quiet-Sun irradiance and their contribution to total solar irradiance and solar radiative forcing of climate," Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 476, issue 2228 (24 June 2020): https://doi 10.1098/rspa.2020.0077

Header image credit: Pixabay/stevepb

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Vital Signs of the Planet: Global Climate Change and Global Warming. What is the "greenhouse effect"? What is causing it? Are humans to blame? What does solar irradiance have to do with it? Answers here.