SC agenda BY THE NUMBERS
    When lightning strikes
June 24–30 is Lightning Safety Awareness Week, a reminder that 70 percent of all lightning strikes occur in the months of June, July and August. If you’re outdoors and hear thunder or see lightning bolts, seek safe shelter immediately because the danger of death and serious injury is real. Check out these shocking statistics from the National Weather Service.
30
Average annual number of lightning deaths reported from 2007 to 2016, according to the National Weather Service.
270
Average number of annual lightning injuries reported from 2007 to 2016.
1 in 1,083,000
Odds of being struck by lightning in any given year in the United States.
1 in 13,500
Odds of being struck by lightning in the span of an 80-year life.
1 in 292,201,338
Odds of hitting the Powerball lottery jackpot, just for comparison.
300 million/30,000
Estimated volts/amps in a typical lightning strike—enough energy to power a 100-watt incandescent lightbulb for about three months.
80/20
Male/female ratio of reported lightning fatalities between 2006 and 2017, according to the National Weather Service.
For safety tips, visit lightningsafetycouncil.org and weather.gov/safety/lightning.
SOURCES: WEATHER.GOV AND POWERBALL.COM
PLOWING NEW GROUND John Deere introduced the world’s first fully battery-powered tractor in 2017. Nicknamed SESAM, for Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery, this all-electric prototype is built on a standard John Deere 6R chassis.
Meet the electric John Deere
In rural America, green and yellow are arguably the second-most American set of colors, right behind red, white and blue, so when John Deere unveiled the world’s  rst fully battery-powered tractor in 2017, it got people’s attention.
Nicknamed SESAM, for Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery, this all-electric prototype is built on John Deere’s 6R chassis, and according to the company, it has “all the features and functionality of a ‘conventional’ tractor while offering the bene ts of electric power.”
Pop the hood and you’ll  nd the traditional internal combustion engine has been replaced by a massive battery pack. This emissions-free machine produces less noise than traditional tractors and operates using two inde- pendent electric motors with a combined peak output of 400 horsepower, according to Farm-Equipment.com. The website claims the tractor takes three hours to fully charge and can run up to four hours in the  eld at speeds ranging from 2 to 30 mph.
Although SESAM’s battery capacity can’t yet handle a full day of sun- rise-to-sunset farming, the arrival of an all-electric tractor is the  rst step toward electrifying a wide range of agricultural machinery. As energy storage technology improves, experts predict it’s only a matter of time before John Deere manufactures tractors that will stay powered up for a long day’s work.
The push toward electric farm machinery is part of the growing “envi- ronmentally bene cial electri cation” movement, which seeks new ways to use electricity in daily activities as an alternative to fossil fuels. Frequently promoted as a means to reduce greenhouse gases, bene cial electri cation also helps consumers by providing products that are cleaner, quieter and easier to maintain. — KALEY LOCKWOOD
6 SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2018 | SCLIVING.COOP