Tag Archives: environment

Tesla Semi Truck Chaning the Transportation Industry and the World

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Back in 2017, Tesla Semi Truck was presented by the CEO of Tesla Elon Musk as an innovation in the transportation industry. Again sticking to the idea of a sustainable future, the company had an idea to create a semi-truck that would be eco-friendly and simultaneously outweigh the performance of usual combustion engine-based lorries in every possible way. For example, it was stated that the vehicle would be capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in mere 20 seconds with a full load, which is claimed to be 37 tons! Though, 5 years passed before one of the first such lorries would be released on the market. Recently, tesla has presented ready trucks labeled with Pepsi-Cola logos.

Tesla Live. Tesla Motors official Twitter page.

Yet, the data regarding the credibility of Tesla’s previous claims was not provided. However, if they turn out to be true or at least 50% true, the product could revolutionize the transportation network. Although the cost that a company would have to bear in order to purchase one of these is unknown, the fact that the vehicle is electric most likely provides a possibility for an immense economy in terms of fuel expenses for logistics businesses, especially considering the ones like FedEx or UPS. Just to compare, the average fuel consumption of a semi-truck in 2022 as found by research at Bridgestone Mobility Solutions is around 30 to 40 liters of diesel. “According to the Spanish observatory of road freight transport costs report published in October 2019 by the Ministerio de Fomento, an articulated vehicle with a payload of 25,000 kg that travels around 120,000 km annually will have a fuel expenditure of more than 40,700 euros” (Bridgestone Mobility Solutions B.V., n.d.). Meaning that in just a year of the vehicle’s exploitation the costs for its fuel would come close if not overcome a third of the vehicle’s own monetary worth. That’s why an electric Semi Truck would shift the whole industry. The expenses connected to fuel would diminish by thousands of euros and the potential losses that would be connected to slower recharge times would be equalized by the fact the vehicle is moving simply faster. Even if the vehicle costs more in the beginning, considering the long-term perspective it would be cheaper for companies to use them.

Another important factor to look at is that the ownership of a such vehicle by a company would promote the company itself, and would also contribute positively to its Corporate Social responsibility. Moreover, the environmental impact would decrease with time. Sounds like a perfect solution to many problems at a time:

  • The companies are interested in these semis because it is financially beneficial for them.
  • The human race overall is interested in decreasing the negative influence we put on nature.
  • The economies are interested in quicker and cheaper transportation.

Just by the provision of a single new product, a revolution in an industry might make a shift in the whole world’s operation. Nonetheless, as it often happens, the beautiful picture portrayed on the internet and on TV may not be so true. The fact stays that the majority of electricity that is produced in the world still comes from coal. In other words, if we would transfer to electric trucks the majority of energy used by them would still come from a source that destroys the climate. Moreover, another threat that electric trucks can bring to play is the massive batteries that have to be carried in order to overcome more than 800 km on a single charge. The way in which batteries are produced is not fully eco-friendly and the largest issue with them is recycling when their lifetime passes. There yet was not invented a sustainable way to do that.

In conclusion, the Tesla Semi Trucks seem like an innovative product that should set a new trend in the logistics sector. With time, it might stimulate other car manufacturers to develop an electric semi truck of their own, thus spurring the growth and competition in the space, that in turn could lead to a reduction in prices for such transport. Furthermore, with the global transition to renewable sources of energy, the vehicles would not only preserve millions of dollars for corporations but would also save millions of lives suffering from global warming.

Share your thoughts on Tesla Semis and its impact on the environment and the economy below! I will be happy to hear different ideas 😀

References:

Average and Median MPG For All Types of Pickup Trucks. (2022, August 22). GizmoDriver. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://gizmodriver.com/average-and-median-mpg-for-all-types-of-pickup-trucks/

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Is seaweed the new plastic?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

According to the UN each year the human race produces over 300 million tons of plastic and each day millions of pieces of plastic land in the ocean killing hundreds of millions of marine animals annually. As the problem keeps on growing many across the world try to find solutions. The big issue? How can we substitute plastic, especially single-use plastic bags, packages, and wrappings.


Many countries across the world have banned certain plastic items like straws or shopping bags and many companies start going more green in fear of public opinion. But there is still a long way to go. There are just too many products that need the plastic package. Or do they? A British company called Notpla is designing seaweed-based packaging, film wrap, and paper wrappers in hopes of fighting not only water pollution but also global warming. According to founders Rodrigo García González and Pierre Paslie seaweed is a perfect material. It grows quickly, doesn’t use land, doesn’t need pesticides, and has a positive effect on the ocean’s ecosystem. In addition to that, it sequesters carbon from the air and lowers the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Notpla packaging is 100% edible and the company is even experimenting with adding flavoring to the seaweed. But even if you throw it away it will decompose within a few weeks and cause no harm to the marine animals.

So how does it work? The process is simple: powdered, dried seaweed is mixed with other, secret plant-based ingredients to form a thick, gel-like fluid that is later formed in a special machine and dries to become a plastic-like packaging.

With several initiatives like Notpla the world is starting to head in the right direction but we still have a lot of work to do. We all need to be more responsible and thoughtful when it comes to our planet, and take action.

Sources: businessinsider.com, generationsnouvelles.net, notpla.com

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To disrupt the way health is monitored

Reading Time: 3 minutesAfter battling it out on Centre Stage, the audience cast their final votes. A moment of waiting and… we have it! Congratulations to Nutrix, who were crowned on Centre Stage at Web Summit 2019 tech conference this week, for their innovative solution to measuring glucose in the blood without needles.

Maria Hahn, CEO & Founder of Nutrix, receiving the main prize at Web Summit 2019
Source: https://portugalinews.eu/web-summit-announces-nutrix-as-pitch-winner/

 

Diabetes prevalence

Firstly, we will look at the data. It is estimated that 415 million people are living with diabetes in the world, which is estimated to be 1 in 11 of the world’s adult population. 46% of people with diabetes are undiagnosed. The forecast is as follows: the figure is expected to rise to 642 million people living with diabetes worldwide by 2040.

 

Nutrix’s vision

This year’s winner of Web Summit PITCH, powered by Siemens is going to disrupt the way health is monitored. Today it is only when you are unwell that you get the information from your doctor. Nutrix wants to give the people a chance to monitor this before.

Nutrix
Source: https://nutrix.tech/

 

Future of glucose monitoring

Currently, Nutrix is developing a high tech nanosensor that is placed on the tooth which detects glucose level in the saliva and transfers information to an external app. Nutrix is invisible, non-invasive, and patient-friendly. Additionally, it will track food intake and provide valuable information for the patient and artificial pancreas algorithms.

Nutrix’s nanosensor technology
Source: https://nutrix.tech/

 

Progress and development

Nutrix is being incubated at University Children’s Hospital Basel and developed at CSEM lab a private, non-profit Swiss research and technology organization.

 

Advantages

It is not the mere fact of monitoring blood glucose that arouses the greatest enthusiasm. It turns out that you can control the level of other chemicals in the same way. The technology proposed by the startup becomes useful not only for people who are sick and their lives depend on the level of specific substances in the blood. It is also an effective way to control the compounds consumed every day.

Correct blood sugar is important not just for diabetics. Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can contribute to weight gain and fat deposits all over the body. Therefore, it is a mistake to think that glucose levels should be controlled only by those who have diabetes.

So we get to the point where we can confidently say that the use of Nutrix is ​​an effective way to prevent civilization diseases.

Finally, Nutrix has a long-term vision that goes further than just glucose. This is their current focus, but ultimately the company wants to go into how to monitor the reaction of the immune system.

 

Diabetes and the environment

There are more advantages. Blood glucose test strips are the basic equipment of every diabetic. The strips are used for self-monitoring of blood glucose. They are used once and then discarded.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, lancets are medical wastes called sharps. Sharps can be dangerous to that handling garbage if they are thrown in the regular trash. What is more, many people do not pay attention to the safe disposal of their medical waste. The use of a nanosensor eliminates the need for strips and reduces harmful effects on the environment.

 

Cost-effectiveness

An additional advantage of eliminating the need to use measuring instruments is not only the reduction of harmful effects on the environment. The less intrusive (read needleless) device will be sold at half the price of existing devices.

Invisible, non-invasive, patient-friendly. Good for the Earth and still less costly. There is nothing else to do but observe how Nutrix revolutionizes medicine. Soon, checking how many chemicals you ate during the day will be a matter of opening the app.

Can you imagine all of that data on your mobile device’s screen without the need of doing blood tests?

 

References:

[1] https://portugalinews.eu/web-summit-announces-nutrix-as-pitch-winner/

[2] https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-prevalence.html

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes

[4] https://nutrix.tech/

[5] https://www.eu-startups.com/2019/11/nutrix-glycose-level-measurement-device-wins-pitch-competition-at-web-summit-2019/

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose_meter

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK115277/

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