Witnesses at the front of a huge pileup near Montreal that killed two people on Wednesday describe a terrifying scene with vehicles slamming into each other as blowing snow made it impossible to see.

"There was just pure white snow like a whiteout getting blown onto the roads. We couldn't see anything," Spencer Jacob told CTV News.

Jacob and four friends had been visiting Montreal and were driving home to upstate New York when the whiteout began. They pulled over but another vehicle clipped their car. The men called police and soon after an ambulance arrived.

"Another car came down and just flew into the back of the ambulance. That blocked up two lanes and then another 18-wheeler came and just slammed into that car," Jacob said. "That's when we were like 'this is bad,' and we need to get out of the car. Our doors were pressed against the snow so we had to get out of the windows and run up onto the snowbank and we were just watching."

(MORE: Here's Why Snow Squalls Are Dangerous)

By the time everyone got stopped, the pileup had ensnared nearly 200 vehicles on Highway 15 in La Prairie, Quebec, Canada. Hours after the pileup, which happened about 12:30 p.m. local time, Quebec police confirmed the two deaths, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Reports of the number of injured people varied, with the Gazette saying at least 40 people were hurt and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporting at least 60 with 20 of those being seriously injured.

Emergency personnel gather at the scene following a multi-vehicle crash on the south shore of Montreal in La Prairie, Quebec, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020.

The two who died were in the same vehicle, police said. Emergency personnel worked until 6 p.m. to free the bodies from the wreckage.

"We know that these people were involved in a collision with a tank truck, which made the rescue operation more difficult for first responders," said Stphane Tremblay, spokesperson for the Sret du Qubec.

Firefighters had to extricate victims from at least nine vehicles. Shuttle buses took about 150 people to a nearby community center. There, health officials continued to evaluate them and sent some to the hospital.

"As I was driving along going about (55 to 60 mph), all I saw was red lights, brake lights, cars just hitting each other, trying to swerve out of the way," a driver who identified himself as Kyle told CTV News. "I tried to do the same myself, and I got hit by another bus, smacked into the retaining wall."

Emergency personnel gather at the scene after a multi-vehicle crash on the south shore of Montreal in La Prairie, Quebec, Wednesday, February 19, 2020.

The incident closed a six-mile stretch of Highway 15 in both directions. The northbound lanes were reopened as of midnight Wednesday, but the southbound lanes remain closed, CTV News reported.

The part of the highway where the pileup happened is vulnerable to southwesterly winds coming off the St. Lawrence River, CTV News reported. Wind can toss snow into the air on the exposed patch of road, obscuring visibility. A chain-link fence runs along the highway to help block the blowing snow.

Quebec's Transport Minister Franois Bonnardel confirmed there were whiteout conditions at the time of the crash, as snow and high winds reduced visibility to zero.

Snow-clearing vehicles had passed through the area twice in the hour before the collisions took place, Bonnardel said at an afternoon news conference.

The conditions were nice, but the high winds caused the zero-visibility situation, he said.

Jacob, the American tourist, and his friends tried to warn approaching vehicles of the crash.

"They couldn't see," he said.

"I turned my back to it," Jacob said. "I just couldn't watch it or hear it any more because it's just so horrific that people don't know where they're going and they just crash into a car."

About 50 of the 200 vehicles involved were able to drive away on their own, a police spokesperson told CTV News. Another 75 have to be towed, the spokesperson added. A dozen large trucks and a school bus, whose passengers were uninjured, were also among the vehicles involved.

The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

See the rest here:
'We Couldn't See Anything': Deadly 200-Vehicle Pileup Near Montreal, Canada, Preceded by Whiteout - The Weather Channel

On Wednesday, a feat some viewed as miraculous happened: NASCAR driver Ryan Newman walked out of Halifax Medical Center less than 48 hours after a dramatic crash in the season-opening Daytona 500:

On Monday evening, on the last lap of a rain-delayed race that originally began on Sunday, Newmans car got turned by Ryan Blaney, whereupon it flipped over and was struck head-on by Corey Lajoie. The contact with Lajoie launched Newmans car into the air, where it contacted the outside retaining wall and slid on its roof before coming (mercifully) to a stop upside-down.

NASCAR fans have seen many similar wrecks like these over the years, particularly on the sports two largest tracks: The Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. At these two superspeedways, NASCAR uses restrictions on enginesup until last year, restrictor plates on engine carburetorsand other aerodynamic rules that bunch cars up in large packs.

Ironically, NASCAR began using restrictor plates following a 1987 crash by driver Bobby Allison, who upon blowing a tire slammed into the metal catch-fencing at more than 200 miles per hourand right in front of thousands of spectators. NASCAR, fearing that ever-climbing speeds at Talladega and Daytona meant drivers would lose control of their vehicles, demanded changes to slow the race pace.

But in slowing the cars, NASCAR also created the modern era of pack racing, where virtually the entire field of 40 cars race within a second or two of each other. These bunched-up fields all but guarantee that races at Daytona and Talladega will feature a Big Onea wreck where one spinning car collects dozens of others, turning the speedway into a de facto demolition derby. (In Mondays race, contact between Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski sparked a huge wreck with 17 laps remaining in the race; announcer Mike Joy responded, Well, there goes half the field.)

The close-pack racing makes big wrecks a fact of life in NASCAR, particularly at superspeedways. No one blamed Ryan Blaney for the contact that flipped Newmans car, nor Lajoie for launching him airborne. Blaney was racing hard for the win on the last lap of NASCARs biggest race, and Lajoie had no time to react before hitting Newman. The incident was, as drivers are wont to claim, Just one of them racin deals.

Paradoxically, because big wrecks have become a part of superspeedway racing for more than three decades, drivers have a greater likelihood of surviving them. NASCAR has gone to great lengths to try and improve safety, often in the wake of prior incidents.

Rusty Wallaces crash at Talladega in 1993 (from which he walked away) led the series to develop roof flaps, designed to deploy to keep cars from getting airborne when spinning. They have worked in many cases, but didnt help much during Newmans crash, because Lajoies vehicle punted Newmans car into the air.

Following Dale Earnhardts tragic death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR developed the head-and-neck support (HANS) device, designed to prevent basilar skull fractures. Prior to the HANS device, drivers seat belts would keep their bodies in their seats, but momentum would keep the head moving forward, causing the kind of brain trauma that killed Earnhardt (and others).

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway developed a Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier in 2002, designed to absorb and dissipate much of the impact from collisions, so that drivers do not plow directly into concrete walls. Its widespread adoption across NASCAR and other series does not make racing completely safe, but increases the likelihood of surviving incidents.

While NASCAR has not seen a fatality in its three national touring series since Earnhardts death in 2001, it does not mean racing does not have costs. Most notably, Earnhardts son and namesake retired to a role as a broadcaster after the 2017 season, in large part due to repeated concussions, and fear about the consequences should he suffer additional brain trauma. In 2016, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pledged upon his death to donate his brain for concussion research.

For NASCAR, the Newman incident again raised the question of whether superspeedway racing at Daytona and Talladegaat which the likelihood of multi-car pileups approaches 100 percentrepresents an acceptable risk to drivers and teams. Ironically enough, while the Daytona 500 represents the sports biggest race, the Daytona International Speedway also serves as NASCARs deadliest track, with eight of the 28 fatalities from the sports premier series coming on Daytonas high banks.

NASCAR fans either love or hate superspeedway racing. Some love the drama, excitement, and close finishes, while others become jaded by the wreck-fests that inevitably result. And while some fans will cite Newmans horrific incident as a wake-up call to re-evaluate superspeedway racing entirely, the fact that Dale Earnhardt, Sr.s death failed to prompt such a re-evaluation suggests the Daytona and Talladega races will continue.

At minimum, however, the fact that Newman could survive his Daytona wreck shows the strides that NASCAR continues to make regarding driver safety, in a sport that all drivers admit brings inherent risk.

Read more:
Why Ryan Newman CrashedAnd Why He Survived - The Federalist

There is parking, for those that can find an open space, along Main Street in Ridgefield, Wednesday, February 17, 2016.

There is parking, for those that can find an open space, along Main Street in Ridgefield, Wednesday, February 17, 2016.

Photo: Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media

There is parking, for those that can find an open space, along Main Street in Ridgefield, Wednesday, February 17, 2016.

There is parking, for those that can find an open space, along Main Street in Ridgefield, Wednesday, February 17, 2016.

Ridgefield parking lot expansion approved

More village parking!

Reduced from 56 spaces down to 38 but he towns long-planned parking lot expansion is all approved. The plans now head into an estimate-and-bidding process that First Selectman Rudy Marconi hopes will have the project ready for bulldozers and workers in hard hats by the coming of the warm weather construction season.

I would say in a couple of months wed start, 30 to 60 days, Marconi said.

Of course, we want it done as soon as possible 38 spots are 38 spots we dont have now.

The 38 new parking spaces now planned to be added at the north end of the Governor Street parking lot are fewer than the 50 or 60 town officials had envisioned when they got voters to approve $570,000 for the project back in the 2018-19 budget referendum.

Its been reduced through several conceptual plans, Town Facilities Director Jake Muller told the Planning and Zoning Commission. Were now down to 38 total spaces 36 in the expansion, and were looking to pick up two in the existing parking lot.

Still, the commission approved the plans on a 7-to-2 vote Tuesday night, Feb. 11, after a public hearing at which one neighbor spoke, raising concerns that ranged from flooding to the impact on village wildlife.

We have hawks, we have foxes, we have rabbits, all sorts of unusual birds, said Gina Carey of 107 East Ridge.

Removing that last half-acre of woodlands in the downtown area, Im concerned what its going to do.

She also worried that converting woodlands to blacktop would aggravate stormwater problems that already trouble the neighborhood.

When it rains, Im telling you, it all floods, Carey said.

The design engineer on the project, Steve Sullivan of CCA engineering, said the new lot shouldnt add to the drainage difficulties.

We provided a detention system that significantly reduces peak flows off this site, Sullivan said.

Before going to the Planning and Zoning Commission, the plans were approved by the new independent Inland Wetlands Board.

The board was principally concerned with the loss of the wooded buffer adjacent to the stream, wetlands board Chairwoman Patricia Sesto said later. In accordance with the state statutes, we pressed the applicant to demonstrate the alternative they preferred was the most feasible and prudent with the least impact to the stream.

The applicant did a good job of justifying the need for additional parking, the alternative locations explored, and then they made adjustments to the initial proposal in response to the boards directive to minimize impacts to the wooded buffer.

Marconi wants to add a step to the towns usual bidding process, seeking a professional estimators opinion.

Weve sent it out to get a professional estimate on the cost and see where were at and that would relate to a cost per spot, and whether its worth the investment, because there will be more blasting, Marconi said.

We want to be sure we have a good number, before we move forward, so thats why were hiring an outside professional estimating firm to take a look at this.

Then I can tell the board this is what the approximate cost is going to be, and were moving forward so everyone is aware what were spending for these 38 spots, he said.

The permit procedure was longer, and more costly, than initially anticipated.

We had to spend extra money to do all of the permit process, and I want to be sure the money we have left covers the cost of installing 38 parking spaces and getting the job done, Marconi said.

Marconi was fairly confident the cost estimate would be acceptable, and the town could just move forward with the parking lot.

Its obviously a smaller project its not 50 to 60 spots, its 38. And the area being impacted is being reduced significantly, so were hoping well be absolutely fine. But I want to be sure, he said.

What would happen if the estimate or the bids that followed came in high and exceeded the money available?

That would be up to the Board of Selectmen, Marconi said.

Were going to take it one step at a time.

The new parking lot will be a northward expansion of the existing lot parking lot off Governor Street, between the RVNA and the Boys and Girls Club. It will take up land behind the Casey Fuel building.

This is a one-way, loop parking lot, with angled parking, Steve Sullivan, the design engineer, told the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing.

Sullivan said the plan would involve a four-foot retaining wall.

The plans also show 25 sizable trees, many of them trees that are already there.

We were able to save a lot of trees, Sullivan said.

An effort was made to minimize bulldozing and earth-moving work.

It is less than an acre of total disturbance on the site, Sullivan said.

He said he expects the disturbed area will be just over eight tenths of an acre, he said.

Facilities Director Jake Muller said the town was also seeking approval to use a rock crushing machine on the site, which would allow rocks excavated to be reused and would reduce the number of trucks coming and going during construction.

Lighting fixtures would be a maximum of 14 feet high, and would be similar to those the town used on the outdoor lighting put in at the Schlumberger property. The plan also calls for replacing the lighting fixtures in the existing roughly 60-car lot, so they all match.

Planning and Zoning Director Richard Baldelli said the commissions staff supported the project, since the shortage of parking had for years been a source of concern among Central Business District merchants and landlords.

The staff is in favor, Baldelli said, referring to the positive impact this would have in the CBD zone, in terms of parking.

Baldellis written staff report says:

The Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), supported by the 2009 Ridgefield Center Study by Milone & MacBroom, offers recommendations for downtown Ridgefield which include reconfiguring and expanding parking and upgrading municipal parking lots with lighting.

In the POCD public survey, Baldellis report adds, 61% of residents felt that the town should find ways to add more parking downtown for employees and visitors.

The 2009 Ridgefield Center Study had put the number of parking spaces in the village at just over 1,500. Parking has increased some but not substantially since then.

Planning and Zoning Commission Chairwoman Rebecca Mucchetti said that while the official reduction in the number of spaces during the many changes to the plan was 18 from 56 to 38 the original hope was for something like 66 spaces.

This is, I believe, the seventh revision since we started back in 2018, Muller said.

Mucchetti also told commissioners that since the project had previously been approved by the new independent Inland Wetlands Board, any changes the commission required to the design of the lot would mean the town would have to take the plans back for another wetlands approval.

The commission obliged by approving the plans without changes.

Its a hell of a lot better than the plan that first came to us, said Commissioner John Katz.

The review process took longer and cost more, and the town ended up with fewer new parking spaces than were initially envisioned.

A lot of work, Marconi said. Originally, the hope was maybe to get 60-plus, 65, but when the plans came out it was at 56. Right now, after the Inland Wetlands Board review were down to 38.

But the first selectman wasnt complaining.

The Inland Wetlands Board, it was the first permit to be presented and they did a good job, Marconi said. They did the job we elected them to do, and well move forward.

Did it take longer? Probably. But there was not an immediacy to the project.

Should we have had more parking spaces years ago? Thats been a debate, Marconi said. But we do have 38 coming on, and thats the important thing. And all the boards and commissions did a good job.

Go here to see the original:
Ridgefield parking lot expansion approved - The Ridgefield Press

The final phase of work on the Spruce Railroad Trail at Lake Crescent is set to begin in early March and be completed by November 2020.

During this phase, the entire four-mile trail along Lake Crescent will be closed to all use for public safety due to the heavy equipment and truck traffic involved in construction.

Upcoming work will include restoring the Daley Rankin Tunnel, rockfall mitigation, retaining wall construction, and finishing the remaining trail improvements. Paving the length of the trail and the Lyre River Trailhead parking area will complete the multi-year collaborative project.

During construction, East Beach Road will be closed to the public at the intersection with Joyce-Piedmont Road. Camp David Jr. Road will be closed to the public beyond the North Shore Picnic Area. Devils Punchbowl will only be accessible by boat until this final phase is complete. The westbound portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail and Pyramid Peak Trail will remain accessible from the North Shore Picnic Area on Camp David Jr. Road.

We understand visitors will miss getting out on the trail while it is under construction and we look forward to its reopening and the creation of nearly ten miles of universally accessible trail, said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. This would not have been possible without the continued collaboration with Clallam County and the Federal Highway Administration.

The $5 million contract for this final phase was recently awarded to Bruch & Bruch Construction of Port Angeles. Clallam County and Olympic National Park are jointly funding the project. The park obtained close to $1 million for this contract through the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 which provides cost-sharing funds to the National Park Service (NPS) to improve infrastructure. Clallam County is funding the remainder of the contract. Federal Highway Administration staff provide construction management and general contract oversight.

The Spruce Railroad Trail improvements are part of a multi-year collaborative project to establish the entire 10-mile length of the trail as a 12-wide universally accessible, multipurpose trail to be shared by hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, and people traveling in wheelchairs. Restoration of the 450-foot long McFee Tunnel was completed in summer 2017. Previous contracts also included bank stabilization, culvert installation, and demolition and removal of a park-owned structure to allow for construction of a new 33-car parking lot at the Lyre River Trailhead with additional parking for oversized vehicles and a horse trailer turn-around.

The Spruce Railroad Trail follows the historic railroad grade of the Spruce Railroad, built in 1918 and abandoned in 1951. When the project is completed in fall 2020 it will become a signature piece of the 134-mile long Olympic Discovery Trail that will eventually connect Port Townsend to La Push Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean.

For current trail, road and travel information, visitors should consult the park website at http://www.nps.gov/olym or call the recorded Road and Weather Hotline at 360-565-3131.

More:
Final Phase of Construction on Spruce Railroad Trail to Begin in Early... - Forks Forum

DARTS ace Gerwyn Price has won a battle with a neighbour who claims his boozy pals peed over her wall.

Mary Smith, 89, complained to the council about a practice room the world No3 is having built in his back garden.

1

Her son Jeffrey, 59, says she has been crying weekly over rowdy behaviour and 5,000 damage to a retaining wall.

He added: Its not a practice room, its a man cave where he goes with mates to get drunk and celebrate winning."

Theyre there until the early hours. My mother doesnt sleep well and one night shes looked out and theres these two mates peeing over her wall."

"Shes a church-going woman and does not want to see that.

He added: When they started this structure, I told him to stop and he just ploughed on. The retaining wall is now going in different directions.

Price, 34, known as The Iceman, bought the 84,000 semi in Blackwood, South Wales, in 2018.

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He dismissed the Smiths claims as garbage.

He told the council: I said Id replace the wall. As for the issues about noise it is not true. I use this for my livelihood as a practice room.

Caerphilly Council said he could finish the building and put up a 1.8 metre fence.

Read the rest here:
Darts ace Gerwin Price wins legal battle with neighbour who claims his boozy pals peed over her wall - The Sun

A homeowners bid to overturn a year-long stop-work order hit a wall Feb. 10 as West Vancouver councillors noted the difference between what was allowed on a waterfront property and what got built.

The district approved a two-storey house on a rectangular site at 3742 Marine Dr. in 2016, as well as subsequent variances.

But during a site inspection, district staff noted an extension to the building and roof, a wing-wall and retaining walls that hadnt been approved.

The owner is asking for four new variances.

If we do approve this, were just asking for other people to sin and beg forgiveness later, said Coun. Craig Cameron.

Requested changes include shrinking the side yard setbacks by a total of nine metres and increasing site coverage from 42 to 58 per cent.

We thought the changes we made to the exterior of the house were minor and did not require staff approval, Pinnacle International senior project manager Carlo Meola wrote in a letter to council. I am asking that you excuse my lack of judgment in not asking staff before I made the changes that I am now proposing.

Stuck between waterfront bedrock and Marine Drive, the property is 55 metres wide and 8.5 metres deep at its narrowest point.

Explaining the lot was likely created prior to the construction of Marine Drive, West Vancouver director of planning Jim Bailey told council that if the owner had asked for those exceptions in advance they would have got what they asked for.

If youre looking for a pound of flesh I think the fact that theyve been inactive ... theres a measure of punishment in that, he said.

Cameron, however, was concerned that granting the variances would encourage other homeowners to push the envelope.

We need to be flexible, but this is playing us for fools, he said.

While questioning Meola as well as landscape architect Peter Kreuk, Coun. Nora Gambioli asked why a patio was built without permits, seemingly intentionally.

The concrete patio was an existing slab, thats where the existing garage used to sit, Meola told her.

Cameron took issue with that explanation.

This wasnt an existing slab. This is a brand new slab, Cameron said.

The walls were existing, Meola replied. The slab was existing but it collapsed.

Cameron seemed unimpressed with that reasoning.

At some point in the construction there was an audible that was called and you decided, Screw it, lets just pour this, he said.

That is a newly poured slab, Kreuk clarified. The idea was to position the slab beneath terraced landscaping on the steeply sloping property, Kreuk told council.

Encouraging her colleagues to support the variances, Mayor Mary-Ann Booth suggested one year spent in development purgatory is quite a penalty.

The year-long stop-work order isnt necessarily the districts fault, Bailey said.

While he didnt realize it had been a year, Bailey noted that variance permits often involve back-and-forth between the applicant and the municipality.

Even so, denying the permit will waste councils, staffs, and the neighbourhoods time, according to Booth.

Personally, I dont want to see a bunch of concrete being jackhammered and put in a landfill, the mayor said.

Jackhammering would be entirely appropriate, Coun. Bill Soprovich countered.

They can jackhammer out the concrete and put in a slope-down landscape. That would satisfy me, Soprovich said. I cant understand why you have professional men going against the bylaw.

Coun. Peter Lambur noted that the homeowner has already paid permit fees for each variance.

I think this is just adding more unnecessary work on top of unnecessary work, Lambur said.

Lambur also suggested deterrence may not be required.

I think the applicant knows what they have done, Lambur said.

The variances probably should have been included in the first application, said Coun. Sharon Thompson.

While the owner is guilty of a misstep, Thompson suggested council approve the application.

We want you to be able to enjoy your home, she said.

Council voted 4-3 to defer approving the variance permit while staff explore deterrents. Cameron, Soprovich, Gambioli, and Coun. Marcus Wong supported the motion while Booth, Thompson and Lambur opposed it.

Read the original post:
West Van withholds building permit; accuses owner of asking forgiveness instead of permission - North Shore News

WHEELING, W. Va. (WTRF) Architect and designer Elena DAngelo, originally of Rome, has brought her old-world style to Wheeling, while creating spaces tailored to modern families.She says in Europe, they never tear down and build new.

We just believe in preservation and restoration so we try to blend in the new with the old, she said.

Shes currently working on a 1937 two-story frame home at 306 Jefferson Avenue, Wheeling, where she loves the woodwork and the clean square lines.

She says Americans watch home renovation shows and believe we can do it ourselves, but thats often not accurate.

Even the professionals get surprised, finding decades and layers of wall coverings and paint.

Elenas company, Advanced Design, and Remodeling discovered one paint with a glassy surface that cant be painted over.

It just dries and peels right back off, said Debbie Wilkinson, painter and creative advisor. So weve had to do some research and weve had to talk and weve had to figure out how to work with tha surface.

Elena leaves one piece of her artwork in every house she rehabs, usually painted on a door.And she says an open floor plan doesnt work in every house.

Like every European woman, I think that the house is the mirror of your personality, so if somebody steps in my house, I dont want that person to see the mess in the sink, she said. So that kitchen needs a door!

She prefers hard floors to carpets all through the house, with one exception.

I do carpet the bedrooms because I believe it brings warmth to the room because, you know, when you wake up in the morning, you dont want to put your feet on the icy floor, she explained.

They say Elena is not a house flipper looking for a quick turnaround.

She walks into a place and she enhances the design of the house, said Wilkinson.

She sees the modern familys desire for extra spaces like a man cave or a home office.

In the house on Jefferson Avenue, she created rooms in a charming unfinished attic.

And we add rooms in the basement that can be used for a gym or a family room, Wilkinson noted.

They believe a house should be hospitable to guests, all the way down to the floor.

I always think its not very nice when people come to visit and the homeowner tells them to take their shoes off so they dont get the carpet dirty, Elena said.

She said the house on Jefferson Avenue will be finished by early March.

Go here to read the rest:
Spring edition of In Wheeling magazine focuses on the renovation of older homes - WTRF

Dublin, Feb. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Lawn Mower Market by Type End User and Fuel Type: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global lawn mower market was valued at $9,746 million in 2018, and is projected to reach $14,595.3 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2019 to 2026.

In 2018, by type, the ride-on mowers segment accrued the largest share in the lawn mower market. In addition, disposable income throughout the world has increased especially in emerging nations such as China and India. China's per capita income increased by 9% from 2016 to 2017. Moreover, India's disposable personal income increased approximately by 9.4% from 2016 to 2017. Therefore, these factors have led to the increase in buying power of people, enabling them to use advanced products, which, in turn, is expected to drive the growth of the market.

Moreover, busy lifestyles due to globalization and longer working hours tend to affect the leisure time and household work. Hence, this has encouraged people to find alternative ways to spare more leisure time by reducing or eliminating the time required to do household work, which is expected to boost the demand for household automation for daily chores such as cleaning, lawn mowing, and many more. Thus, leads to the rise in demand for lawn mower market globally.

Smartphone penetration throughout the world has increased drastically over the years. Rise in number of smartphones and other mobile devices leads to the development of robotic lawn mower and aids the adoption and growth of lawn mowers. However, the utilization of turfs for sports activities and residential lawns hinders the market growth.

Furthermore, the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology has helped mobile robots to evolve past their limitations and perform their tasks at a greater efficiency. Thus, such greater efficiency coupled with the convenience of applying less human effort has led to widespread adoption of mobile robots such as robotic lawn mowers.

On the basis of end-user, the residential segment dominated the market with the largest share in 2018 and the non-residential segment is expected to exhibit significant growth during the forecast period. Proliferation of new residential and commercial properties in developing countries is expected to propel the demand for landscaping services, which, in turn, is anticipated to fuel the growth of the global lawn mower market. In addition, growth in retail infrastructure across developing nations is anticipated to boost the sales of lawn mowers and other lawn mowing equipment, especially through hypermarkets, specialty stores, and other channels.

In terms of value, North America and Europe collectively contributed around 82.5% in the lawn mower market 2018. For instance, in August 2018, Bosch launched New ProSilence Rotak series of cordless high-performance mowers. These new mowers feature 60% reduction in noise and have three models which have 550 to 750 square meters output. The leading players in the global lawn mower industry have focused on product launch and acquisition as their key strategy to gain a significant robotic lawn mower market share.

The key players profiled in the report include Andreas Stihl AG & Co. KG, Deere & Company, Hitachi, Ltd., Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Husqvarna Group, MTD Products, Robert Bosch GmbH, Stiga S.p.A, The Toro Company, and Textron.

Many players have adopted product development as their key developmental strategy to improve their product portfolio. For instance, in February 2019, Husqvarna launched new Automower 435X AWD, the Automower is AI enabled, robotic mower and features all-wheel drive. The mower has smart home connectivity and can work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and could be integrated with API for smart home applications. It can also be used on rough terrains and slopes with an inclination of up to 70%.

Scope & Key Findings

Key Topics Covered

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Executive Summary

Chapter 3: Market Overview3.1. Market Definition and Scope3.2. Key Findings3.2.1. Top Investment Pockets3.2.2. Top Winning Strategies3.3. Porter's Five Forces Analysis3.4. Market Share Analysis of Top Players, 2018 (%)3.5. Market Dynamics3.5.1. Drivers3.5.1.1. Rise in Consumer Interest in Gardening Activities3.5.1.2. Usage of Lawn Mowers Equipment to Maintain Public Facilities3.5.1.3. Increase in Adoption of Cordless Lawn Mowers3.5.2. Restraints3.5.2.1. High Adoption of Artificial Turf3.5.3. Opportunity3.5.3.1. Emergence of Remote-Controlled and GPS-Equipped Products

Chapter 4: Lawn Mowers Market, By Type4.1. Overview4.2. Ride-On Mowers4.3. Push Mowers4.4. Robotic Mowers

Chapter 5: Lawn Mowers Market, By End-user5.1. Overview5.2. Residential5.3. Non-Residential

Chapter 6: Lawn Mowers Market, By Fuel6.1. Overview6.2. Electric Lawn Mowers6.3. Non-Electronic Lawn Mowers

Chapter 7: Lawn Mowers Market, By Region7.1. Overview7.2. North America7.3. Europe7.4. Asia-Pacific7.5. LAMEA

Chapter 8: Company Profiles8.1. Stihl Holding AG & Co. KG8.2. Deere & Company8.3. Hitachi Ltd.8.4. Honda Motor Co. Ltd.8.5. Husqvarna AB8.6. MTD Products Inc.8.7. Robert Bosch GmbH8.8. Stiga Group8.9. Textron Inc.8.10. The Toro Company

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Outlook on the World's $14.5B+ Lawn Mower Market to 2026 - Yahoo Finance

"The current [insect] extinction crisis is deeply worrisome," say experts / Boing Boing

Twenty-five experts have issued a warning about the potentially cataclysmic consequences of the rapidly shrinking insect population, reports The Guardian.

In a two-part article for Biological Conservation, the scientists wrote: The current [insect] extinction crisis is deeply worrisome. Yet, what we know is only the tip of the iceberg.We know enough to act immediately. Solutions are now available we must act upon them.

From The Guardian:

The researchers said solutions were available and must be implemented immediately. These range from bigger nature reserves and a crackdown on harmful pesticides to individual action such as not mowing the lawn and leaving dead wood in gardens. They also said invertebrates must no longer be neglected by conservation efforts, which tend to focus on mammals and birds.

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Originally posted here:
"The current [insect] extinction crisis is deeply worrisome," say experts - Boing Boing

The fates of humans and insects are intertwined, scientists have said, with the huge declines reported in some places only the tip of the iceberg.

The warning has been issued by 25 experts from around the world, who acknowledge that little is known about most of the estimated 5.5 million insect species. However, enough was understood to warrant immediate action, they said, because waiting for better data would risk irreversible damage.

The researchers said solutions were available and must be implemented immediately. These range from bigger nature reserves and a crackdown on harmful pesticides to individual action such as not mowing the lawn and leaving dead wood in gardens. They also said invertebrates must no longer be neglected by conservation efforts, which tend to focus on mammals and birds.

The alert has been published as two articles in the Biological Conservation journal.

The current [insect] extinction crisis is deeply worrisome. Yet, what we know is only the tip of the iceberg, the scientists write. We know enough to act immediately. Solutions are now available we must act upon them.

Insect declines lead to the loss of essential, irreplaceable services to humanity. Human activity is responsible for almost all current insect population declines and extinctions.

Insect population collapses have been reported in Germany, Puerto Rico and elsewhere. The first global scientific review, published in February 2019, said widespread declines threatened to cause a catastrophic collapse of natures ecosystems. Insects pollinate three-quarters of crops, and another recent study showed widespread losses of such insects across Britain.

The report notes that only about a fifth of the worlds insect species have even been named, mostly from only single specimens.

Many insect species are going extinct even before being described, the researchers said. It is likely that insect extinctions since the industrial era are around 5-10%, ie 250,000 to 500,000 species.

This estimate is based on the extinctions of land snails. Prof Pedro Cardoso, at the Finnish Museum of Natural History and the lead author of the latest report, said: It is the best estimate we have. There is no reason to think the trends are different between insects and land snails, but snails leave their shells behind as evidence.

The paper also notes that British butterfly and beetle populations were said to be fast disappearing in the 1870s by the entomologist Archibald Swinton.

Long-term data on insect populations is rare. We dont know everything in fact we know very little but if we wait until we have better information to act it might be too late to recover many species, Cardoso said.

Many species are declining, probably the majority, and overall it seems the trend is for a large decline. But there are of course some species that are benefitting, for example the swarms of locusts currently in east Africa.

Matt Shardlow, the chief executive of the conservation group Buglife, said a key report in 2016 told world governments that declines in wild pollinators presented risks to societies and ecosystems.

However, in a repeat of the failure of politicians to respond to scientific warnings about climate change, the cautious, scientific language used has not produced an appropriate response from governments, he said.

Scientists are now turning up the heat on insect declines in the hope that politicians will understand the urgency and the link to human survival, and will take action before it is too late.

The key causes of insect losses, according to the scientists, are the destruction of natural habitat for farming and buildings; the intensive use of pesticides; industrial pollution and light pollution; and invasive alien species; and the climate crisis.

As well as large-scale solutions, Cardoso said insect-friendly gardens could help halt the decline. When lots of people implement these small solutions, it can make a big difference to many insect populations. Even a couple of gardens could be a big thing for a species.

He said a change of mindset was also needed because many people had learned to dislike insects. Ive never seen any small children two, three or four years old who were afraid of insects or spiders. It is cultural.

Read the original post:
Fates of humans and insects intertwined, warn scientists - The Guardian