Start your week end informed with the most important environmental news

Norway becomes the first country to sell more electric cars than gasoline

According to figures from the Road Traffic Information Council (OFV for its acronym in Norwegian), the share of electric car sales in Norway during 2020 increased by 54%, exceeding the 42% reached in 2019.

In order to bring this figure to 100% by 2025, Norway has used tax incentives, such as the use of bus lanes and reduced fares on state ferries and toll roads. For Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, executive director of OFV, the record of electric car sales for 2020 means that the country is getting ahead of schedule; the figure is expected to exceed 60% by 2021.

Considering that Norway is the Western European country with the highest crude oil production and is now opting for renewable and environmentally friendly energy, this news is a historic milestone.

Colombian Environmental Movement draws attention to the environmental outlook for 2021

Recently the Colombian Environmental Movement (MAC) drew attention to the worrying environmental outlook for 2021. For Camilo Pietro Valderrama, MAC director, the balance to reach the Paris Agreements is discouraging even “when one thinks of 2020, the year of pandemic, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is confinement, cars, motorcycles as they were stored at home, along with a transportation system operating at mid-gear, ideal elements to give the planet a break ", as reported to Infobae.

In Latin America, 2020 was especially difficult on environmental issues due to the systematic assassinations of environmental leaders, so Valderrama assures that “the post-COVID19 recovery must then be seen as an opportunity for us to hopefully modify our relationship with the planet and with ourselves".

Read also: Brazil, the world's largest meat exporter, has more and more vegetarians

The MAC pointed out through the magazine Dinero that “the 2020 balance is worrying, with deforestation out of control, greenhouse gases raging and the assassination of leaders in the eyes of all, it is necessary to set off all the alarms that attract attention on the immediate effects of the environmental issues of the world, since it is everyone's problem ”.

Fender guitars may be threatened by climate change

The green ash, the tree from which the iconic Fender guitars are made, is threatened by climate change, so the brand is looking for another type of wood to continue its production.

This tree is found in swampy areas, but due to climate change, floods are increasing in both frequency and quantity, so the population of this species is rapidly declining.

That is why Fender is looking for a substitute , but this implies a decrease in quality, so this solution has only been chosen for the most affordable models. Also, this is a problem that not only affects this specific brand, but a considerable amount.

Native shallow water species in Israel are being destroyed by climate change

According to a study by the Institute of Paleontology at the University of Vienna, global warming is directly affecting the temperature of the shallow waters of the Israeli Mediterranean, reducing the region's native species by 95%. This is due to the migration of tropical species that generates a reorganization of the ecosystem and, according to the study, may cause migrations to increase significantly in the coming years.

In addition, the study also reveals that of the 5% of the remaining species that have managed to survive in the area, 60% reduced their size significantly. According to Paolo G. Albano, director of the research, this means that these species die very young before reproducing. Albano also draws attention to the alert that this means since the deeper waters of the Israeli Mediterranean can still be protected.