Customer service: China’s quick EV battery swaps, and sidewalk story time in Pakistan

Voting access in the United States has expanded since 2000

Some states in recent years have sought to tighten rules surrounding early and mail-in voting. But a recent study by the Center for Election Innovation & Research found that 97% of voting-age Americans can cast early ballots, and the number of people voting by mail has steadily increased.

The report found that 46 states and Washington, D.C., offer early in-person voting, and 37 of those jurisdictions allow mail-in ballots without an excuse. New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts increased voting accessibility in response to the pandemic and have made some or all of the changes permanent. Voting access is especially high in the West.

Despite gains in accessibility, voting remains hardest in the South. David Becker, who founded The Center for Election Innovation & Research, said that having more voting options makes voting less susceptible to human error and “all kinds of circumstances.”

Sources: NPR, Fivethirtyeight

The University of Cambridge added 438 solar panels to an iconic late-medieval chapel

The new panels on the roof of the King’s College building are expected to generate about 123,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year, which, combined with panels on nearby buildings, would lower the college’s electricity demand by 5.5%.
Workers welded the photovoltaic panels to the 500-year-old chapel’s recently added lead roof, taking care to avoid sparking fire in the timbers underneath. Other ancient cathedrals in Salisbury and Gloucester have installed solar panels in the last decade.

The chapel is a renowned architectural marvel, with soaring stained-glass windows and the world’s largest fan-vault ceiling. Critics have called the project “virtue signaling” and decried the alteration to the church’s aesthetics. But administrators have stood firm. “It’s not so much signaling virtue as signaling a clarion call for change,” Gillian Tett, the college’s provost, said. “Symbols reinforce what’s normal, and we’re trying to change what’s thought of as normal.”
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times

Benin invests in museums and culture to boost economic growth

The 10-year plan includes a new cultural quarter in the country’s largest city, Contonou, and three additional museums across the country. The investment aims to make culture the second-largest share of the economy after agriculture.

One museum will address the history of slavery in the city of Ouidah, where the last recorded shipment of enslaved Africans headed for the United States departed in 1860. The museum in Porto Novo, the capital, will explore the culture and religion of Vodou. Another museum will explore the history of Dahomey, a kingdom that ruled what is now Benin from 1600 to 1904.

Benin hopes to build on the success of a 2022 exhibition of 26 artifacts that attracted 230,000 attendees. The government is also funding arts education and encouraging more private investment in arts institutions.
Source: The Art Newspaper

Roving storytellers boost children’s literacy in Karachi

Though the government provides tuition-free, mandatory schooling for children ages 5 to 16, Pakistan has the second-highest school absentee rate in the world, according to the United Nations. The cost of books and uniforms can be prohibitively expensive for some families.

Kahaani Sawaari (School on Wheels), a program run by the nonprofit GoRead.pk, sends storytellers throughout underprivileged neighborhoods in Pakistan’s largest city. In alleyways, courtyards, and other outdoor spaces, they read aloud to any children who wish to listen. Since its inception in 2021, the program has reached more than 21,000 children.

The storytellers leave behind books for children to borrow, and GoRead also has volunteers who read aloud inside schools. Nusser Sayeed, GoRead’s director, said that “purposeful storytelling builds a child’s character and brings out the traits for success in life.”
Source: The Guardian

Battery swapping is making electric vehicles more convenient

China represents three-fifths of global demand for EVs. But drivers may endure long lines at charging stations and then 50-minute waits for a full charge – major factors deterring new buyers. At special swap stations, EVs made by the Shanghai-based company Nio allow drivers to exchange a drained battery for a full one in as little as five minutes. Nio reported 40 million swaps in March, compared with 37 million charges at its public stations.

Nio customers choose between owning a battery or renting. Analysts say that battery leasing could appeal to commercial fleets by avoiding battery replacement costs, but that wider adoption of swapping is dependent on developing compatibility among brands.
Swapping stations cost between $200,000 and $500,000 to build. Last June, Beijing directed regional governments to improve charging infrastructure across the board.
Sources: Rest of World, Semafor, CNBC