More carmakers caught in headlights of VW engine-rigging scandal

More carmakers caught in headlights of VW engine-rigging scandal
Volkswagen has admitted it installed illegal software into 11 million 2.0 liter and 3.0 liter diesel engines worldwide (AFP Photo/Josh Edelson)

Volkswagen emissions scandal

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission
Analsyts say it is irresponsible to link the crash of a Ukraine International Airline Boeing 737-800 to the 737 MAX accidents (AFP Photo/INA FASSBENDER)

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 commercial jet.

QZ8501 (AirAsia)

Leaders see horror of French Alps crash as probe gathers pace

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Thursday, April 26, 2018

For the first time, more cyclists are killed on the Dutch roads than people in cars

DutchNews, April 25, 2018

Photo: Depositphotos.com

The number of cyclists killed on the Dutch roads has outstripped the number of people killed in cars for the first time, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday. 

In total, 613 people were killed in traffic accidents last year, a drop of 16 on 2016. Of them, 206 of them were cyclists, a rise of 17 and the highest figure in 10 years, the CBS said. 

In addition, 201 people were killed in cars, 82 died in motorbike or moped accidents, 58 pedestrians were killed and 25 people died while using mobility scooters, the CBS said. 

While the number of people killed in car accidents has declined steadily, deaths among cyclists has been virtually unchanged for years. 

The over-65s account for two-thirds of deaths among cyclists, and e-bikes were involved in one in four bike accidents. 

Road safety body Veilig Verkeer Nederland said in a reaction it is important that road users are aware of their own physical limitations. ‘Being in traffic is a question of taking each other into account, and that is not difficult to do,’ spokesman Rob Stomphorst said. 

Transport minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen said she would do ‘all’ she could to reverse the trend.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Fast bike tracks easily earn back their investment, say Dutch economists

DutchNews, April 17, 2018

King WIllem-Alexander checks out a new bike path in Nijmegen last year.
Photo: Bas de Meijer / Hollandse Hoogte 

Specialised bike paths aimed at commuters might be expensive but they can earn back their cost three times over, according to a cost-benefit analysis published in economics magazine ESB

Hundreds of kilometres of dedicated ‘bike highways’ which often link towns together and are closed to all other forms of transport, have been built in the Netherlands in recent years. 

However, the ambition to cover the country in a bike highway network is being tempered because of the cost and the lack of insight into other benefits, the magazine said. 

Now economists have researched the impact of bike highways and found that not only do they improve the comfort and safety of cyclists, they can encourage others to switch from cars to bikes as well. 

The research focused on a 14.4 kilometre stretch of road between Hellevoetsluis and Spijkenisse and calculated what impact a dedicated bike highway would have instead. 

‘Building it and maintenance would cost €5.7m but the benefits to society would reach €15.5m, so you would earn the investment back in five years,’ Ernst Bos of Wageningen Economic Research told the Volkskrant

Faster 

The new bike route would cut journey times because average speeds would be 5kph faster, the researchers said. 

They also put a financial value on comfort and safety and the enjoyment of nature. In addition, if just 1.4% of motorists decided to cycle instead, car numbers on the same road would be cut by 1,056. 

The new government has allocated €100m to boost the number of dedicated bike lanes.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Faced with global warming, aviation aims to turn green

Yahoo – AFP, Pierre-Henry DESHAYES, April 8, 2018

A computer generated image of the hybrid-electric regional aircraft being developed
by Zunum Aero, a start-up partly financed by US aeronautics group Boeing that could
enter service as soon as in 2022. (AFP Photo)

Oslo (AFP) - Will we someday be able to fly without the guilt of causing environmental damage? A handful of firms and regulators hope that the electric revolution in cars will also take to the skies, helping the industry cope with an expected boom in travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Many people say that we must get rid of air transport because we will never be able to deal with emissions and noise, but this is an outdated approach," said Norwegian Transport Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen, who recently hosted an aviation conference in Oslo.

Norway, the largest oil and gas producer in western Europe, is paradoxically a pioneer in the field of electric transport. The Nordic nation aims for all new vehicle registrations to be zero emission by 2025 and launched a first electric ferry in early 2015.

After land and water, the northern kingdom is now turning to the sky with the goal of electrifying all short haul flights in just over 20 years.

"In my mind, there is no doubt: by 2040 Norway will be operating totally electric," said Dag Falk-Petersen, head of the country's public airport operator, Avinor.

Tesla of the skies?

Air transportation's impact on global warming is estimated at around five percent through CO2 emissions and other substances, including nitrogen oxide and water vapour.

As the number of air passengers is expected to almost double by 2036 to 7.8 billion per year, according to the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) projections, aviation's impact is on a course to increase substantially if nothing is done.

Meanwhile, the airline industry aims to cut its CO2 emissions in half by 2050 from 2005 levels.

Zunum Aero hopes that cheaper operating costs will entice airlines to
go electric (AFP Photo)

While the international umbrella group Climate Action Network (CAN) says these goals are unrealistic, some airlines are beginning to look at electric-powered aircraft as an answer.

The small regional carrier Wideroe Airlines, operating in Norway's far north, plans to renew its fleet of twin-engine Bombardier Dash 8 planes with electric-powered aircraft by 2030.

"Aircraft producers see that they have to do it because otherwise there will be a new Tesla taking their positions," said Falk-Petersen, referring to how the upstart US electric car manufacturer has shaken up the traditional automobile industry.

Both of the major manufacturers of large passenger aircraft, Airbus and Boeing, are exploring the viability of electric planes.

Airbus aims to develop a hybrid model called E-Fan X, and has teamed up with British engine maker Rolls Royce and German industrial group Siemens. The first flight is planned for 2020.

"One of the biggest challenges is electricity storage," Glenn Llewellyn, general manager for electrification at Airbus, told AFP.

As with cars, the performance of batteries is a critical element, with the added problem that they are heavier than fuel and carrying them into the air is the most-energy intensive part of the flight.

"But at the same time battery technology is probably the technology in the world which has the most investment. So it will evolve," added Llewellyn.

'Any place in the world'

Zunum Aero, a start-up partly financed by US aeronautics group Boeing, meanwhile plans to bring a 12-seat hybrid plane to the market by 2022.

"The price that we're targeting is very much in line with the current aircraft but the operation cost is just a fraction, it's literally 60 to 70 percent lower than an equivalent aircraft in operation right now," said the startup's founder Matt Knapp.

The expected lower operating costs of electric planes, both due to cheap electricity and simpler motors, means that the highly competitive airline industry could end up adopting them quickly.

Airbus offered several years ago updated aircraft with 15 percent fuel savings, and as jet fuel is a major cost for airlines, they quickly placed orders for thousands as they tried to get ahead of rivals.

The transition to electric could also provide another advantage: they are much quieter, meaning they may win exceptions to restrictions imposed due to noise near residential areas.

Combined with the fact that electric planes don't need such long runways, they could be used at some smaller airports close to city centres.

Avinor said switching to electric would also help airlines avoid any climate change related penalties that regulators could impose, such as higher taxes and flying restrictions.

Norway sees itself as a good test bed for electric planes.

"There are a lot of issues to deal with, with icy conditions, with heavy winds," says Widero CEO Stein Nilsen.

"But if we can do that here in Norway, I'm certain that this air plane will cope with any conditions in any place in the world."

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