The Beginning Of The End: Cleaning Up The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Just recently there had been a marine parade that took place in Victoria BC to celebrate the completion of the System 002 test campaign by The Ocean Cleanup. They took out multiple tons of trash during the test campaign and have been working for years with the goal of cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Advertisements

Through the test campaign they were able to achieve proof of technology and that means that they’ve gone through tests to validate the data and come up with a scalable solution, they are able to repeatedly extract large amounts of plastic trash in the ocean.

This is an incredible tool that is going to be used to help clean up the ocean in an efficient manner. This brings a lot of confidence that through these efforts we will see a turnaround on this problem.

The Beginning of the End

To solve this problem of plastic pollution in the ocean it has taken many years to map the extent of the issue and to come up with something that works to address the problem. It’s suggested that as many as 1.8 million pieces of plastic are afloat in the ocean which makes up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that experts have been working to tackle together for years now.

The Ocean Cleanup has been on a mission to develop a scale technologies that are going to work to help rid the ocean of these unwanted plastics. Each year millions of tons of that plastic enters oceans through rivers and other water sources, and the problem is not going to go away on its own.

90% reduction in ocean plastic

For The Ocean Cleanup they have a goal of reducing at least 90% of the plastic in the ocean and they won’t consider it a job done until they reach that goal.

Advertisements

They and others have been dedicated to working at the problem of cleaning the oceans and over the years the optimism is growing as more solutions come to light that are looking to address this problem that we face. Millions of dollars have been raised in the effort to get this job done and it is one that many around the world support, cleaning up the oceans, and doing away with plastic waste and pollution in our environment and from the market as well.

Thanks to their efforts we can expect that the days of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are truly numbered now and sooner or later we are going to see a significant resolution to this problem with more plastic waste that has been removed from our oceans.

Kelowna Wants Community Feedback on E-Scooter Program

E-Scooters have been growing in popularity and we are starting to see the trend growing around BC too now. The e-scooter service has already proven to be a popular one around the province, including areas like Kelowna.

There have been some issues along the way with the proposed e-scooter service in BC, including concerns for a lack of helmet use, lack of proper parking, and concern over riders being possibly under the influence, among other issues.

Looking to Improve On E-Scooter Service

Those behind the project have reportedly been working with authorities to iron out those kinks and enforce helmet laws, to also educate on the crime of riding an e-scooter under the influence, and so on.

Advertisements

So far there have been a lot of first time riders who have used the service as it is a great way for someone to test out what e-scooters might be like without having to buy one for themselves, they can just rent one. They are also a more cost effective transportation method than a ride sharing alternative might be or other transportation methods.

Those who are looking forward to expanding the e-scooter services around BC have noted their enthusiasm for using the e-scooters to delivery on community priorities. They are favored because they take up less space on the roads, are electric, and provide a more cost effective alternative, among other benefits.

There are some restrictions surrounding those e-scooter services and it is important to be aware of them before engaging in the program.

Advertisements

Now the program for e-scooters in Kelowna is looking for community feedback, searching for possible input on looking to identify improvements. People are encouraged to share their own personal experiences with e-scooters to help build that overall community feedback for the e-scooter program in Kelowna.

Take the E-Scooter Survey

Anyone looking to give their feedback for that e-scooter service can do the e-scooter survey here. There isn’t much time left so for those who want to take part in giving their feedback to try and improve upon this program for e-scooters in Kelowna you will need to submit your information to the survey before the deadline.

Canada Plans to Ban New Gas-Engine Car Sales by 2035

Canada currently has plans to eventually move forward with the decision to phase out sales of new gas and diesel-engines for cars and light trucks by 2035. This is moving five years earlier than was originally planned and make up their aggressive goals to transition to zero-emission vehicles in the market.

To get to the goal of having more electric vehicles we will see more investment in charging infrastructure, and other changes being made to make way for the transition ahead.

Canada’s plans are similar to those that have been considered by a number of European countries and other individual cities that have moved to ban the sales of gas and diesel passenger cars.

The expectation is that more regions are going to make this move in the coming years, several countries are looking at eventually aiming to phase out internal-combustion vehicles by 2040 or earlier.

Right now there are a growing number of EV owners in B.C. and around certain regions of Canada, and if they are to one day dominate the roadways in the country it is going to be a slow transition happening over the next few decades. For the EV market though there are still concerns for those who have or who want to buy EVs, such as where they might charge them for those who live in apartment buildings.

British Columbia has already set clear goals when it comes to trying to eliminate fuel-powered car sales in the B.C. market by certain time.

It’s estimated that some 3.5 percent of cars that are currently sold in Canada today are electric, but more are being sold in some provinces than others. British Columbia is going to be eventually phasing out fuel-powered cars and trucks with a total ban that will at some point coming into effect in 2040.

There is growing demand for EVs in Canada Today

Vancouver is already considered to be one of the greenest cities and thousands of electric vehicles have been sold in provinces like B.C. and Quebec.

One of the most popular electric vehicles that is already being sold in Canada is also considered to be the Chevy Volt, but you can find many Tesla’s and other varieties on the road.

B.C. takes the lead in EV adoption as there are now estimated to be more electric vehicles in B.C. than other provinces like Quebec, showing an impressive trend that is growing around the province. EVs are a popular mode of transportation here and perhaps having some of the highest gas prices in the country could also have something to do with that transition.

Canada will move to ban the sale of new fuel-powered cars and light trucks in the market from 2035

Canada has a goal to eventually reach net-zero emissions across the country by 2050 and this is a part of that plan.

B.C. E-Scooter Pilot Project: Kelowna Votes to Ban Use Around Downtown Waterfront

E-scooters are now legally allowed to be used in Kelowna as a part of a new B.C. pilot project to see how well e-scooters work around the province. They will be operating under the same rules as bikes and e-bikes.

Now in cities around B.C. like Kelowna and others people can access shared e-scooters to use for a transportation option. The cities involved in the pilot project include Kelowna, Vancouver, and other regions.

B.C. Cities Getting E-Scooters

• Kelowna
• West Vancouver
• Vernon
• Vancouver
• North Vancouver City and district.

Now permits have been issued in B.C. to electric scooter companies so that they can operate in regions like Kelowna and other areas. The hope is that the program is going to boost their efforts toward certain mobility goals for the community.

The e-scooters in B.C. provide one more transportation option for people who are willing and open to it, that’s flexible and affordable for many.

The benefits associated with having e-scooter programs come into different B.C. communities include:

• promoting a more active living community
• encouraging alternative transportation methods to car or truck etc
• removing pressure for moving more cars and trucks on the road
• helping to lower the cost of living with another affordable transportation method that might be preferred by many.

E-scooter companies in Kelowna include those like Zip, Roll, Lime, and Bird.

Those who rent or use e-scooters can use them in the same way that bikes and e-bikes are used. This means using them on streets, bike lanes, and on shared pathways in those regions that have approved of the pilot e-scooter project.

Advertisements

There are some areas that using the e-scooters is going to be banned. One region that has passed rules on that recently is Kelowna. Officials there have banned the use of those rental e-scooters from the downtown waterfront in Kelowna. They want to reduce the number of complaints about bad e-scooter behavior and make the use of them safer overall in the community.

In Kelowna now e-scooter rentals are banned downtown between 10:30 p.m. and 4 a.m

They are also limiting the total rental fleet of e-scooter devices as well. Those who are interested in renting or using one won’t be able to use them along the waterfront or along pedestrianized blocks. They are looking to successfully be able to manage the e-scooter program going forward and don’t want it to get out of control.

Depending on how the pilot project goes around B.C. we might also see other restrictions come about for cities that have so far embraced the e-scooter effort like Vancouver and others.

Already in B.C. there are thousands of e-scooters being rented each day.

In Vancouver they recently introduced some rules related to e-scooters as well. Including rules that prohibit riding the electric scooters on the sidewalks, seawall, or on major streets. The e-scooters are only to be used on approved streets and bike lanes. The devices also cannot go faster than 24 km/h.

Vancouver is just one of the 6 B.C. regions that is taking part in bringing these scooters forward as a potential transportation option.

The e-scooter program in B.C. is expected to go on until April 2024 with officials around the province looking to see how they might implement this transportation option in different communities in a safe and effective manner.

Walmart In Terrace B.C. Plans to Go 100% Self Serve Only At Checkout

One Walmart location in Canada that is located in Terrace, B.C. is going to be experimenting with a new style of business which is self-serve checkout only. They are going to remove the traditional checkout lanes and now it will only be self-checkout counters for customers to be able to use. The plan is to get started late this summer.

We have already seen the self-serve checkout make their way into stores all across B.C., around Canada, and in other countries we have seen the same adoption. The rise of self-serve checkouts might not be favorable by everyone, but for the most part it offers convenience to the consumers.

Millions have been willing to use them an don’t mind checking out their groceries and other items this way.

At a number of stores in B.C. you can already find have made this transition, bringing in more self serve checkout options along with the traditional cashier checkout option too.

It has been previously predicted that perhaps at one point we might see the self-serve option prevail with the traditional checkout becoming harder and harder to find in the years to come.

At Walmart locations around B.C. you can find that they have some of the most self serve checkout lanes already in their stores, along with cashiers, compared to other grocery stores. It should not come as a total surprise that they might want to more further into this direction and adopt that technology where customers check themselves out.

At that Walmart store in B.C. the customers there have reportedly been using the self checkout in high numbers and so that is the location they’ve chosen for the experiment. It also isn’t the first Walmart store in the world to test the idea either.

There are a growing number of companies today that look to be going in this direction, whether that be adopting self serve checkout options or other technology that is available which they choose to implement into their business model to offer more convenience and cost efficiency overall.

Walmart has insisted that this transition is not going to mean any jobs lost and that even though there might be self serve checkouts that staff will still be nearby to help if there is a problem.