United States
Michael Kerr is an award-winning writer living in the Pacific Northwest. He has published thousands of articles and blog posts for dozens of publications including Automotive World, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, VentureBeat, as well as many other books, magazines, websites and anthologies.
Ghostwriting and Thought Leadership
We’re living in a time of astonishing technological innovations. That single device in your pocket has hundreds of thousands of times more processing power than all of NASA had when it last put human beings on the moon a half-century ago. Only decades old, the internet allows billions of people and millions of businesses around the globe to effortlessly communicate regardless of time zones and to synchronise work across multiple geographies.
Think back to the year 2007. It may feel like only yesterday-but consider all the things we took for granted then: There was probably a Blockbuster Video nearby, and Nokia and Palm ruled the mobile device space. If you needed a ride, you called a taxi.
Things could have turned out differently. Over a century ago, when automobiles were first becoming a viable means of moving people and goods around, there was a debate raging about how best to power them. It came down to three competing fuels: steam, gasoline and electricity.
When the story of the modern electric vehicle (EV) is written, the era we’re currently living in will still be part of the prologue. When ChargePoint started back in 2007, there wasn’t even a single mass-market battery electric vehicle (BEV) on the road. That wouldn’t happen until 2010, when Nissan sold a total of 50 LEAFs worldwide.
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released its 'Climate Change 2022' report. It’s the first major update from the UN’s climate science body since 2014 and reflects the latest research on the impacts of climate change on people and the planet.
Tanya Sinclair shares ChargePoint's outlook for developments this year around charging infrastructure, equitable access and the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Global chip shortages sent vehicle sales plummeting in the final months of 2021. In the UK, new car registrations in October were at their lowest level in three decades, with one notable exception.
Due to ongoing supply chain issues, the UK automotive market had its weakest October in 30 years in 2021. That, following a nearly 30% year-on-year (YoY) drop in 2020 might seem a foreboding sign of an industry in terminal decline. But is it?
Tanya Sinclair, policy director UK & Ireland at ChargePoint tells Air Quality News how a pay-per-mile charge scheme could replace fuel duty and help to accelerate electric vehicle uptake.
There's no longer any doubt that electric vehicles represent the future of transport. Based on strong sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe so far in 2021, strategic research firm BloombergNEF (BNEF) revised its previous sales forecast for the year up 14%, for a total of 2.2 million units sold.
With the recent passage of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, the conversation around electric vehicles (EVs) has largely focused on passenger vehicles and school buses, but electric military vehicles are also an imperative. Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum ranked climate change among the top five perceived global risks.
Tanya Sinclair argues that a ZEV mandate will prove pivotal in increasing EV sales, particularly for the UK in light of its coming ICE ban Last year the UK government announced plans to end the sale of all new diesel and gasoline cars and vans by 2030, five years earlier than planned.
The Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG) is the regional transportation planning agency for Mendocino County, including the cities of Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Willits and Point Arena in Northern California. Among MCOG's goals is to provide regional, community and intercommunity transportation planning and develop transportation projects for future funding to the region.
Last but not least in our three-part series on EV charging in North Dakota, we travel to the state capital Bismarck to find out how the city used its share of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust (Schedule D) to purchase a pair of ChargePoint Express Plus DC fast chargers.
In part two of our three-part series on North Dakota, we travel to the small community of Hillsboro to find out why Mayor Terry Sando believes that ChargePoint EV charging will be a boon for economic development in the area.
What comes to mind when you think of North Dakota? For folks who haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting, it might be cold winters with plenty of snow, affable residents with a quirky dialect or the 1996 Coen Brothers' film "Fargo." What people don't usually think of is technological innovation, vibrant communities and plenty of sunshine.
SUPPORTED BY SUPPORTED BY This is part of a series of influencer blogs for Economist Impact's rEV Index. Today, the electrification of transport is as inevitable as it is necessary. In Europe, road transport is responsible for more than two-thirds of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the sector.
Austin, Texas-based Dover Fueling Solutions (DFS), an operating company within the Dover Corporation, has been providing energy management packages to its global customer base of fueling retailers for more than 130 years. Most recently, the company partnered with ChargePoint to help power the next era of transportation.
Global road freight is expected to explode in the coming years, with BloombergNEF's (BNEF) new "Electric Vehicle Outlook 2021" report predicting demand will increase by close to two-thirds by 2040. To satisfy that growth, the market for commercial vehicles will more than double over that time.
Bound by water on three sides and nestled beneath towering snow-covered peaks, Vancouver, British Columbia is a city like no other. One reason Vancouver consistently ranks among the world's most livable cities is its stunning metropolitan cityscape set against the backdrop of the scenic Pacific Northwest.
At ChargePoint, we're committed to protecting the privacy and data of all of our customers and drivers. We know people rely on us for the most convenient, dependable and safest electric vehicle (EV) charging experience possible.
Speaking to a group of visa applicants in 2013, then-Vice President Joe Biden said, "Innovation can only occur where you can breathe free." Back then, he meant it metaphorically but, today, less than a decade later, now-President Biden could very well mean it literally.
In December 2019, the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Division of Measurement Standards (DMS) finalized rules for measuring and verifying meter tolerance in electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. As of this month, ChargePoint is among the first EV charging companies to be awarded the California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) approval for publicly accessible Level 2 charging stations.
In an effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in the fight against climate change, the European Parliament is set to approve the Commission's Euro 7 emission standards later this year. Euro 7, which is expected to come into force in 2025, will likely be the final emissions standards before fossil fuel vehicles are phased out entirely.
It won't be business as usual for many companies emerging from the global pandemic. In a year that saw some industries shrink by as much as 90% in the early months of the crisis, others have fared much better.
Change is inevitable. New technologies have made our lives easier, more convenient and arguably better than they were even two decades ago. You may remember being tethered to a landline telephone for hours while awaiting an important call. Perhaps you still cringe at memories of using paper and pencil to make calculations during past tax seasons.
While today's internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles have gotten more advanced in recent years, driving one still feels a bit like piloting a modern device bolted onto 19th century technology.
Steve Jobs once said, "Great things in business are never done by one person." Sure, going it alone can sometimes lead toward prosperity, but to go the distance, you really need a team. For instance, back in 2007, ChargePoint's founders started an electric vehicle (EV) charging company before there was a single mass market EV on the road.
Time flies when you love what you do. 2021 marks my 10th anniversary with ChargePoint. It's sometimes hard to believe because, in terms of the maturation of the EV market, we're still in the early days. Today, the electrification of mobility is certain. Not one, but several EV commercials aired during this year's Super Bowl.
Passenger cars receive outsized attention when discussing a future free from fossil fuel. And whilst personal vehicles are undeniably an important step toward the mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), it will be fleets that ultimately lead the e-mobility revolution. Often unnoticed, fleet vehicles are central to all our lives-especially today.
ChargePoint partner SP+ helps its clients, including airports, event venues, offices and multifamily communities, facilitate "the efficient movement of people, vehicles and personal belongings." The company provides technology-driven mobility solutions for ground transport, event logistics, parking management and more for its business and government clients across North America.
CleanBC includes a number of critical transportation-related regulations and programs that make it easier for people to both purchase an electric vehicle (EV) and charge it up, whether at home or on the road. As Simon Fraser University professor Mark Jaccard has noted, one of the top actions British Columbians can take to reduce their individual carbon footprint is to switch to an EV.
Change is in the air-and it isn't only because of the cooler weather and falling leaves. As we near the end of this challenging year, hope seems just around the corner. Encouraging new COVID-19 vaccines are on the horizon and U.S. election results promise renewed focus on the environment.
Joe Gorman Director UK, Ireland and Nordics at ChargePoint It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a challenging year for UK companies. When COVID-19 first sent the country into lockdown last spring, business leaders acted quickly to ensure their organisations would be able to weather the pandemic.
Editor's note: Written by David Peterson, director of fleet solutions, ChargePoint. This is one in a series of periodic guest columns by industry thought leaders. There's no doubt that 2020 has been a challenging year for businesses. But, just as many companies have scaled back operations and investments to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, fleets are having the opposite problem.
Fleet electrification is already aligned with UK climate goals. The Government had previously identified the rapid adoption of electric vehicles as the "least cost pathway" to achieving the nation's goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Will pandemic accelerate fleet electrification?
Drive along Highway 41 in Marietta, Georgia and you'll see something unexpected: a 6,000 square foot garden containing three 18-foot tall "Smartflowers." It's a stunning display that could easily be mistaken for modern art. But these flowers are as much function as they are form.
Albany, New York-based Plugin Stations Online (PISO) installs, sells and services electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the Northeastern United States. The company was founded in 2011 by educator-turned-electrician, John Doran. As a ChargePoint premier partner, PISO is an operations and maintenance (O&M) channel partner for ChargePoint solutions throughout New York state.
Recently, global businesses worth $2 trillion dollars "added their voice to a growing chorus" for a green recovery. From the United Nations (UN) calling on governments to " build back better" to drivers choosing to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) even during an economic downturn, it seems everyone is suddenly serious about sustainability.
Pilot programs and public opinion drive demand for EVs
André ten Bloemendal, VP Europe for ChargePoint, discusses the outlook for electric transport being more promising than ever despite the impacts of COVID-19, its potential to be the driving force in recovery and the important role fleets have to play.
With oil prices at multi-year lows, conventional wisdom suggests an interest in electric vehicles (EVs) will wane. Perhaps surprisingly, the opposite is happening. Whilst registrations for diesel and petrol vehicles have plunged in the UK year on year, registrations for electric vehicles have more than doubled in the midst of the global pandemic.
Let's talk money. Throughout history it's been described in a lot of different, and mostly contradictory, ways. The Apostle Paul famously described the love of money as "the root of all evil," while Mark Twain said the lack of it was. One thing is for sure though: it's vital to the success of any business.
In December 2019, the California Division of Measurement Standards (DMS) finalized rules for measuring and verifying meter tolerance in electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), i.e., EV charging stations. I'd like to take the opportunity to explain the code, clarify the timeline for implementation and to highlight ChargePoint's position. First, a little background.
On a recent morning run, I noticed something was different. There were more cars on the road than usual. Strike that, there were more trucks and vans. Since the shelter-in-place orders came down in March, like most of us I'd become used to the conspicuous lack of traffic.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that everything we once took for granted can be upended overnight. As we've experienced, global change can be sudden, unexpected and disorienting but often it is entirely predictable - which means it's also manageable. Consider the evolving relationship between cities and mobility.
By: André ten Bloemendal is VP - Europe for ChargePoint Today, Software as a Service (SaaS) is a well-established and proven business model. Although it seems like a lifetime ago, cloud services and networked computing weren't always ubiquitous. Far from it. In those technological dark ages, software upgrades were a painstaking process that usually resulted [...]
Today, 4.1 billion of the world's 7.8 billion people live in cities. The United Nations predicts that number will rise to 6.7 billion over the next three decades-from 55% of the current global population to 68% by 2050.
Here André ten Bloemendal is VP - Europe for ChargePoint explains that the volte-face is being driven by climate policies such as stricter CO2 emissions standards and upcoming fossil fuel bans in European city centres including London, Paris and Rome; as well as changing consumer preferences and intense competition from electric-only rival Tesla.
Author: André ten Bloemendal, VP Europe at ChargePoint . MYTH #1: EVs Don't Have Enough Range In 2018, transport represented 33% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the UK-the highest percent of any sector. According to the Government, electric vehicles (EVs) provide the " least cost pathway" to meet its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050.
That's one of the reasons you'll be seeing a lot more electric vehicle (EV)models on UK roads in the coming years. According to the Government, EVs offer the "least cost pathway" to achieving the country's goal of net zero GHGs by 2050. EV adoption will require massive expansion of the necessary charging infrastructure.
By André ten Bloemendal, Vice President of Commercial Sales Europe, at ChargePoint The personal tech we take for granted today would have been unimaginable even to the astronauts, engineers and scientists who achieved the historic Apollo 11 moon landing a half century ago. In fact, the phone in your pocket packs 100,000 times the processing [...]
Nearly 24 centuries ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote that the purpose of society "is to allow every individual to attain a higher and better life by the mutual exchange of their different services." As we now know, those exchanges largely determine not only individual achievements, but whether or not a society itself will flourish.
At the dawn of the era of human-powered flight, Amelia Earhart marveled at her good fortune to have "popped into existence at a period so interesting." Today, with new technological advancements popping into existence every day, the awe-inspiring can sometimes feel downright mundane.
There are few things in life better than hanging out with old friends over beers. Even if you haven't chatted in ages, the years melt away as you reminisce about good times, past experiences and professional triumphs. It's made more gratifying when you share the same values. You know what's even better?
There's much to love about Utah. Whenever I visit, I'm frequently so struck by the state's stunning landscapes, I have to pause to catch my breath. Not only is Utah home to some of the most epic scenery in the country, it's a top destination for outdoor enthusiasts from around the globe.
Why is it we romanticize painful past experiences like finishing a grueling half-marathon on wobbly, aching legs or passing an important test after enduring an exhausting all-nighter, but we never idealize old technology? I'm pretty sure no one has ever waxed poetic about the good old days of landlines after closing a deal on their phone from a tropical beach.
Way back in 1799, a French soldier in Napoleon's army in Egypt stumbled upon what would eventually become one of the most important discoveries of all time. The Rosetta Stone is a nearly one ton text-covered stele that resides in the British Museum in London.
Tech According to Gallup, 21 percent of U.S. adults cite dissatisfaction with Government as the top problem facing the nation today. That's more than double the percentage who believe second-place healthcare (9%) is the biggest challenge.
By now you've heard that Artificial Intelligence is poised to either destroy civilization as we know it or miraculously solve all of society's problems. If you're a fan of films like 2015's or the HBO series , you'll be forgiven for believing that intelligent machines will inevitably lead to a dystopian nightmare.
For the car business, the road ahead will be winding, rocky and fraught with obstacles - much as it has always been. But with new challenges such as a globally-dispersed supply chain, tightening regulatory controls, geopolitical uncertainties, shifting demographics and increased threats from unexpected competitors, it is also likely to become all but unrecognisable in just a few short years.
Add to favorites Business as usual is over. Today, the explosion of technology choices means that your company is battling for the attention of digitally-adept customers against nimble startups determined to knock you out of the race. To win at digital transformation, you must keep your eyes focused on the road ahead and your foot firmly planted on the accelerator.
Remember when siloed email was the biggest problem enterprise collaboration tools tried to solve? That seems almost quaint in the face of the current onslaught of team messaging apps in the enterprise. With all the buzz surrounding Slack, Microsoft Teams and Workplaceby Facebook, you'd think the challenges of productivity, engagement and fragmentation were all but solved.
According to some of the top HR professionals in Silicon Valley-they've seen the future and that future is choice.
In last week's Future of Work in a Connected World blog post, we discussed how the 9 to 5 workday is becoming an outdated concept and technology is supporting this transformation to being "always on." This week, we are taking a look at how companies can attain and retain top talent.
The top-down hierarchical organizational structure that dominated 20th century business no longer works. In the information age, value is created by
When Slack introduced its new Enterprise Grid product in January, it pledged to bring "much of the same day-to-day Slack experience that users have come to know and love" to large organizations. Similarly, CRM giant Salesforce unveiled its new Einstein artificial intelligence service this past fall to great fanfare, touting it as "AI for everyone."
Since our prehistoric ancestors first scrawled images of animals on cave walls more than 40,000 years ago, storytelling has been the preeminent way for human beings to convey our needs, desires and beliefs to others. For millennia, it has been building communities by bringing people together around campfires and in theatres, pubs and coffeehouses around the globe.
John Steinbeck once said, "Anything that just costs money is cheap." That time-tested adage has never been more true-especially when it's applied to the modern US healthcare industry. Imagine being forced to spend millions of dollars on technology that promises to increase efficiency and profitability only to find yourself spending two to three additional hours each day on data entry, while also enduring 30 percent reductions in both pay and initial productivity.
Now relatively old fashioned, emails are increasingly considered to be time consuming, stressful and an obstacle to productivity. Social networks and other collaborative tools are taking advantage of the humble email's negative image, and are stepping in to replace them. But old habits die hard.
The old saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know that matters" is in desperate need of a 21st-century makeover. In today's digital workplace, a more appropriate adage might be, "What you know depends on who you know."
Technology and Business
In the last installment of our annual Year in Review and a Look Ahead we discussed how the 1989 film Back to the Future II was eerily prescient when it imagined a fictional 2015. Despite all of things the movie got right (electronic pay, personal drones and even hoverboards to name a few), it missed one of its biggest predictions...by a single year.
We'll be looking forward with a series of blog posts in which we throw down our predictions for 2016.
Explore ways to manage your online reputation management to get more positive reviews, silence negative ones and even turn serial complainers into loyal cheerleaders.
These enterprising founders prove you don't need a ton of money to begin building your technology empire. Start with loads of talent and a great idea, throw in some grit and perseverance and heed the advice from those who've gone before and, who knows, you may be the next next big thing.
While manufacturing jobs have been migrating overseas for decades, there's been a revival of DIY and craft culture here at home. As Americans become increasingly nostalgic for handcrafted this and small batch that, it is, ironically, new technologies that are filling the void in their souls.
A digital uprising in medicine has meant unprecedented changes to the U.S. healthcare system in recent years. With hastily-scrawled prescriptions and handwritten patient charts now having the life expectancy of a major character on Game of Thrones (translation: "not long for this world"), you may soon find yourself relying on new technology trends to increase the odds of your own survival.
Although she is a 20-something, Lucy Stonehill is hardly the picture of the awkward, bespectacled technology entrepreneur hunched over a keyboard. In fact, Stonehill, 27, admits to knowing nothing about information technology when she came up with the idea for her business in 2012.
When I was a kid, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was going to be the next Boris Vallejo! (You know, the famous fantasy and sci-fi artist who always painted ripped, shirtless men and buxom, bikini-clad women atop flying dragons and Pegasuses...
Healthcare is rapidly changing and, while it's still the EMTs, nurses and physicians who save lives, IT is affecting patient outcomes in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. When it comes to patient outcomes, Dr. Colin A. Banas, M.D., the Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) for the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center, is...
Social media is big. How big? Facebook alone has 1.28 billion active monthly users as of March 2014. Turning just a tiny fraction of those eyeballs into sales would be like finding the Holy Grail for most businesses.
When I was starting out in business I was naïve. Strike that-I was clueless. In fact, I knew less than nothing about running a business, and I didn't even know that. Back then, in my 20s, I dove headfirst into everything I did, arms and legs flailing.
Blogging
When it comes to the daily humiliations of freelancing, I'm a pro. I've been taken in by the promise of exposure, dealt with the frustrations of something called "payment upon publication" and been burned by editors I considered friends.
Whether interviews are your bread-and-butter or you simply grit your teeth and bear them, they are an inevitable part of every freelance writer's life. But these tools can help you streamline the interview process so you can get back to doing what you do best - writing your piece.
Several years ago, when I was just starting out as an entrepreneur, a friend introduced me to a concept he called "Serengeti Management." His premise was that, as a new employer, I was going to have to deal with any number of different personalities, each represented by a creature you might find roaming the plains...
I have been working with artists for a long time. As a gallery owner, I interacted with artists every day. They were my customers, my employees and my partners. I have, quite purposely, surrounded myself with them for my entire adult life. I love artists. Nearly all of my close friends are artists.
"Melancholia Minus Its Charms" Depression - not to be confused with normal sadness - has been called many things since Hippocrates first described the disease back in the 5th century BC. In fact, it may have been Hippocrates himself who first coined the term melancholy, which literally translates as "black bile."
If you build it, they will come. That's what I believed, when I was first starting out. I assumed that if I opened a business, customers would just show up-no major marketing effort required.
Healthcare
Posted 5/13/2015 by UHBlog In America, sports is a national pastime like, well, baseball and apple pie - and football and basketball and hockey. Each week, millions of Americans flood stadiums and tune in on TV to watch and, depending on the outcome, celebrate or mourn the performance of their favorite teams and athletes.
Posted 4/28/2015 by UHBlog Are you one of those guys who hasn't visited your doctor in years? You are not alone. Even though early detection saves lives, one-fourth of all men blow off seeing their doctors each year.
Posted 5/26/2015 by UHBlog It's only natural to want to take advantage of the warm weather by getting in some extra training outside. But with temperatures on the rise, your favorite outdoor activities may be detrimental to your health. Exercising or participating in sports in extreme heat can lead to serious conditions, such as heat illness or heatstroke.
Posted 5/5/2015 by UHBlog The days are getting longer and, as another winter quickly recedes into memory, summer is so close you can almost taste it - along with all of those delicious foods you will be cooking up on your outdoor grill.
Transition of Care program helps kids with chronic illnesses move from Children's Health into adult treatment.
Meaningful Use has meant big changes and even bigger challenges for many healthcare providers. But, for those organizations committed to health technology, there's no going back. "Meaningful Use is a bit of a double-edged sword," says Dr. Colin A. Banas, M.D., the Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) for the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center....
When the body's immune system reacts abnormally to something a person eats or drinks, it's known as a food allergy. Food allergies may affect as many as 220 to 520 million people worldwide, with the majority of those sufferers being children. It is estimated that more than 12 million Americans have diagnosed food allergies.
Posted 4/2/2015 by UHBlog If you have questions about your cognitive function, ask us. So you've forgotten why you went into the dining room or you've misplaced your car keys - again. How do you know if your absentmindedness is normal or a sign of something more serious?
Posted 4/10/2015 by UHBlog For most of us, bad breath is a sign that we need to brush or floss regularly or more often. However, for many elderly people, that may be easier said than done.
Posted 4/6/2015 by UHBlog There's a new game in town. Some runners are choosing to not only test their athletic skills, but their alcohol tolerance by competing in an event known as the "Beer Mile." The sport has been gaining in popularity in recent years, especially among young athletes.
The car seat program is part of The Children's Health Trust, dedicated to making life better-and safer-for kids.
Creative Nonfiction
On the morning of December 1, 1948, the dead body of a well-dressed man was found slumped against a sea wall near Somerton Beach in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The man carried no identification. He had an unlit cigarette behind one ear and another one, half-smoked, pinned between his cheek and the collar of his jacket.
In the summer between my fifth and sixth grade years, my parents moved our family to a small farm in Southern Oregon. My initial distress at being separated from lifelong friends and the only home I'd ever known quickly vanished as I realized there was one overwhelming advantage to farm life I hadn't anticipated-almost anywhere I went, I was out of sight of my overprotective mother.
"How attached are you to this puppy?" the veterinarian asked my then-girlfriend, Nikki."We love him," she sobbed. We had only had Poe for two days."He has a hole in his heart," the vet said. "He probably won't live long.""What can we do?""There's not much to do."