Only one planet

Future Earth: Part 1

2012-01-22T02:05:00.000-08:00

Magical medicine!

2011-12-11T05:24:00.000-08:00

I strongly recommend you to watch this! Health and climate are closely related. Walking, biking or running is beneficial for both yourself, your economy and the global climate!

2011-12-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

I´m currently revising for my next final exam: energy and environment. There are several fascinating, worrying and interesting subjects brought back to my attention! Among them the effect food production has on the environment.

For my international readers, the bar graph is in Norwegian, but I´ll explain:

The image to the left is taken from one of our energy and environment-lectures. The bar graph gives an overview of the amount of CO2 emissions produced by various types of food. The scale is measured in grams CO2 equivalents per kg of the product. Not surprisingly, vegetables give very little emissions, while meat from cattle is by far worst. Cheese is the third worst, and vegetables grown in greenhouses give very high emissions compared to vegetables and fruit growing outside.

In short: a low-carb diet is disastrous for the environment. A varied, balanced diet with lots of vegetables is the key to sustainability!

Intelligent thermostat saves energy

2011-12-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Now here´s something I like! The intelligent thermostat Nest is just what we need to increase the efficiency in energy consumption. By automatic, flexible systems it´s easier to reduce the need of energy for heating and cooling buildings.

In a global scale, an automatic, easily operated thermostat controlling the temperature isingenious, just like the iPhone- generation would expect. The user-friendly and esthetic design is, by the way, designed by none other than Tony Fadell. He´s the mind behind Apple´s iPod and iPhone! If revolutionizing the music industry is possible within a few years, I feel pretty confident the same should be possible in the energy sector.

Longlasting short-sightedness

2011-11-24T21:28:00.000-08:00

The ice levels in the Arctic Sea once again lie close to the year of historic minimum, 2007. This was the year we didn´t get snow in Norway until January. We´ve had the warmest November ever, and still the snow is delaying. I feel like emphasizing the depth of nature´s connected patterns yet again, though it should be obvious. See the National Snow and Ice Data Center for more info about Arctic ice levels here.

I´m still amazed by humans ability to think incredibly short-sighted. How is it possible to ignore scientific knowledge because we have comfortable and cheap solutions within reach? How can it be so difficult to understand the need of sustainability?

It´s quite logical really, the math is pretty straight-forward. I will repeat it, just in case. It all boils down to one thing: we don´t have more than one globe. The consequence is: we can´t use more than the limited resources accessible. One plus five never equals one.

So we should use the resources available to develop sustainable solutions, which will last despite of population growth. Renewable will deliver energy for years and years ahead because we already have an unlimited power supply: the sun. In my eyes, developing yet other methods for squeezing the last drops of oil out of the already exhausted soil is madness. What we need is to think further than profit next year or decade, steering towards the "plan ahead"- mentality. Use natural and human resources for constructive solutions, not to create new problems which will delay the process more than absolutely necessary.

Global sustainability and balance is required within several fields, but perhaps most importantly concerning environment and economy. The two are closely related, so regulating one in the right direction will have positive affects on the other.

Luna Solar Energy

2011-11-05T03:47:00.001-07:00

This is a visionary energy concept from the Japanese Luna Ring Shimizu Corporation´s researchers. The idea is to establish a giant ring of solar photovoltaic cells on the moon´s surface, to transport solar energy to the earth by microwave power transmission. I love their ability to think outside the box! Clean, concentrated energy transmitted directly from space seems like a comfortable solution to our global energy problems. 7 billion people definitely need clean energy.

There are lots of physical and ethical issues related to projects like the Luna Ring: among them the immense cost and technological challenges. Think about the initial amount of energy we would have to use for transporting all the resources and materials to the moon in the first place! And do we really trust ourselves enough to believe we would use the energy constructively where it´s needed, with no possibility of abusing the immense amounts of energy? A giant laser turned towards our own planet could lead to frightening possibilities. Who should be in charge of operating it? The richest, most populous, poorest or most prosperous country? All countries? How do we finance it, and which role would the contributors play afterwards? As in all cases where energy is involved, I believe thinking before acting would seem like a good idea.

You can read more about the Luna Ring project here.

Update: renewable energy in focus

2011-10-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Long time, no see. Well, I wanted to give you a little update again. As I said earlier, I´ve been busy studying for the past couple of months. It is a bit of a challenge, but I´m getting along all right. The best subject for me is without doubt energy and environment. It´s really exciting learning more about renewable energy! I realized I was on the right track when our professor told us Enovas book about renewable energy is part of the course. I read the book four years ago!

Take a look at the e-version of the booklet at renewable.no here

New website

2011-09-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Sorry for little activity lately. The studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology are indeed time consuming! I have also joined a student organization, Start NTNU. We work with innovation and entrepreneurship, great fun but quite demanding.

In addition I´ve been working on a new website together with a friend. The address is http://only1planet.info (only1planet.com and .no are also coming). It´s not finished, but in progress!

Fun Science: Light

2011-08-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this video by Charlie McDonnell. I just started studying industrial economics and energy & environmental engineering, so his humourous video about science seems appropriate for the occasion!

Thoughts after the attack

2011-07-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

I was asked to write an article about the tragic events in Norway for Youthkiwaaz.com, India´s largest online platform that enables youth to express themselves on critical issues. I would like to thank them for enlightening important events worldwide, and for sharing the message from the Norwegians after the attack. Hate has never solved conflicts, but open dialogue and love will never lose its power!

The Survivors´ Message: Love and Solidarity Is Our Answer

On Friday 22 July, Norway experienced the worst peacetime massacre in the modern history of our country. A massive bomb in the capital Oslo devastated governmental buildings. Then a shooting attack on the island Utøya with the governing Labour Party´s annual youth camp.

In the days since the attack, the strength, unity and clear message from the survivors leaves no trace for doubt: when disaster strikes, the importance of unity is vital.

The horrific stories after the sensless act of terror were numerous and shocking. Realizing the depth of the tragedy, it was difficult to grasp the comprehension. 76 people massacred. In Norway. A country that has been blessed with peace and political stability for the past seventy years. We have never experienced a terrorist attack.

The nightmare is like taken from the worst imaginable horror movie, with a plot too evil to see daylight. And yet this was the reality some days ago.

National grief

Since the youth at the summer camp were gathered from all over Norway, almost everybody knows someone directly or indirectly involved in the disaster. Having friends, family or acquaintances fighting for their lives in a nightmare brings the horror so close. Youth from eleven years old were shot by a desperate gunman seeking attention to his twisted perception of reality.

The grieving process has been a national event, bringing people together to an extent I have never witnessed. The warmth, support and unity shown by each and every person is overwhelming. Flowers, candles and cards in memory of the victims overflow the city centres of every town in Norway. Rose parades were arranged all over the country to demonstrate how we meet such a hateful attack.

Strong leadership

I admire how our governmental leaders, politicians and royal family have met the tragedy. Our Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has united the nation through his leadership, setting an example by saying «we are devasteted, but will not falter. With lanterns and roses we send the world a message. We will not let the fear destroy us or our values!». He held a speech right after the incident saying that terror and evil will be met with openness and democracy, emphasizing the importance of international solidarity. The heartbreaking but dignified grief is combined with a crystal clear message: our fight for democracy and humanity will continue with reinforced strength both nationally and internationally. Also, that the solution of conflicts lies in dialogue between people, religions and ideologies, not violence and hate.

The past days has left 4,9 million Norwegians in united perception: we will not let the grief destroy the pillars of our society. On the contrary, we will fight even harder for the good values we believe in.

A German newspaper described the situation like this: «Even in their deepest sorrow the Norwegians don't get hysterical. They resist the hate. It is amazing to see how politicians and the whole country reacts. They are sad to the deepest thread of their souls. They cry in dignity. But nobody swears to take revenge. Instead they want even more humanity and democracy. That is one of the most remarkable strengths of that little country»

Survivor´s message

I think one of the strongest impressions after the disaster is the way surviving youth tackled the situation. Young leaders and participants have supported each other, held moving speeches and interviews. Instead of lingering in hate, they have encouraged everyone to unite and focus on friendship, continue fighting for democracy and an open, humane society. The firm belief in humanitarian values combined with the strong leadership of our heads of state leaves no trace for doubt. The event is met with deep sorrow, but unwavering unity and increased efforts for human rights.

The message is that we cannot defeat hate with hate. As one 23 year-old survivor said: «I will not allow myself to sink to his level. Hate took the life of my best friends. With love and uncompromising solidarity we will defeat the ideologies of hate».

To protest against the terrorism and violence, the message from the survivors is also clear: use your right to vote. By doing so, we can use our chance to strengthen democracy. Open dialogue, human relations and human rights will increase the stability and understanding between nations and people.

The most powerful response

Evil exists in the world. When struck by tragic events, it is important to approach the grief with constructive response. One of the most powerful ways to reply is expressing love and continue fighting for the values we cherish by showing empathy, tolerance, unity, and respect for our fellow human beings. It´s vital to stand together in the grief, unite and comfort each other instead of tearing people further apart. Hate has never solved conflicts. As a sixteen-year old surviving girl from Utøya so beautifully expressed it: «if one man can show so much hate; think about all the love we can show together».

You can read the full article at Youthkiawaaz.com here.

Til minne om tragedien på Utøya og i Oslo.

2011-07-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Jeg ønsker å uttrykke min dypeste medfølelse og varmeste tanker til alle berørt av tragedien på Utøya og i Oslo. Ord kan ikke beskrive hvordan jeg føler, så I stedet vil jeg dele fotoserien min, "Hearts". Kjærlighet er det beste svaret vi har på et slikt meningsløst angrep. At vi står sammen i sorgen og fortsetter kampen for verdiene vi står for i Norge ved å vise empati, toleranse, samhold og respekt for våre medmennesker.

I would like to express my deepest compassion and warmest thoughts to everyone touched by the tragedy at Utøya and in Oslo. Words cannot describe how I feel, so instead I will post my photo series "Hearts". Love is the best answer to such a senslessly hateful act; that we stand together in the sorrow and continue fighting for the values we cherish in the Norwegian society by showing empathy, tolerance, unity, and respect for our fellow human beings.

St. Petersburg

2011-07-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

I´ve had a great time in Russia so far. Currently my location is St Petersburg! It´s a gorgeous city with lots of channels, historic sites, parks and museums. After nine hectic days in Seliger, it´s good to be a tourist again! I enjoy the company of some of my new friends; we still have a lot to talk about! To sum up our experiences from Seliger, it must be: the world is moving forward, and youth all over the world will be part of the change! Sustainability is the key word in both politics, economy, entrepreneurship and innovation. And the tendency of multiple, broad educations from several fields is more relevant than ever.

Soon in Russia!

2011-06-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

I got my Visa for Russia a couple of days ago! The main stop will be the International Youth Forum 2011 in Seliger. With areas of focus such as innovation and enterprise, sustainability and renewable energy, world politics, civil and social development and mass media, the result is certainly a perfect blend for useful learning! It will be wonderful to learn more and meet so many outstanding people from all over the world.

Altogether my stay lasts for three weeks, split between Moscow, Seliger and St. Petersburg. It will be an experience of a lifetime!

Photo: St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia. Photographer: dattho

Bamboo for sustainability

2011-06-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

Bamboo may be a major contributor to the development of sustainable materials. It´s actually a type of grass, with an extremely rapid growth. Incredibly, the length can increase with up to one meter per day! This is where the sustainability of bamboo comes in: where a common forest uses 60 years to re-vegetate, a similar area of bamboo is fully grown in only 60 days.

As a great alternative to tropical timber, bamboo can re-grow where the rainforests never grow back. Another great thing is the fact of the extreme durability: bamboo is three times stronger than oak!

To give you an idea of the volumes we´re speaking about; bamboo can grow as much as 40 meters high and 25 cm thick. The hues appear from yellow and green to dark brown and black, so the application ranges from houses, furniture, paper and tools.

Here in Norway, the company Northern Light Bamboo Centre distributes goods made of bamboo.

Solar Energy

2011-06-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

Do you know how a solar panel actually works? The way of exploiting the energy stored in photons is quite spectacular; seemingly simple, but very complicated in a microscopic level.

The effect of a photovoltaic cell is not even close to a hundred per cent, more like sixteen to twenty. There is still lots of work to be done! The dream scenario is reaching a hundred per cent. Whether it´s physically possible is another matter... I know scientists have reached fifty in laboratories here in Norway, so we´ll get closer every day. I´m positive we´ll find even better ways of extracting the energy from sun rays in the future!

Testing an EUV in the city centre!

2011-06-03T23:52:00.000-07:00

I have arranged an event where people can test drive an EUV (Electric Urban Vehicle, an Electric Vehicle specially adapted to urban driving) in the city centre of Trondheim. Starting twelve o´clock this Saturday and next!

The idea is to give people a chance to test an EUV in a convenient way downtown. That way people can get information about practical and environmentally friendly alternatives in everyday life, without having to take a great initiative themselves. Accessibility is the key word!

The fact that Norwegian EVs and EUVs are run by 100 % renewable energy makes them a great alternative to vehicles run by fossil fuels. With the economical advantages the Norwegian government have promoted, the total situation is in favor of the environmentally friendly alternative for transport.

Clean energy isn´t flawless

2011-05-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

Clean energy requires an environmental cost during production of the technology. China is one of the countries suffering most, being a major exporter resources, material and parts used in renewable energy technology for extracting wind, hydro and solar power. I was not so happy after reading an article about this issue on dailymail.com....

Conference coming up!

2011-05-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

I have been selected as a delegate for the International Youth Forum in Russia! The event is a nine days long conference in Seliger, half way between Moscow and St Petersburg. I am a first-time visitor, so I´m thrilled at the thought of going to Russia!

The theme I chose from the conference is innovation and enterprise, with focus on sustainability and renewable energy. World politics, Civil and Social Development and Mass Media were other options.

There will be 700 students gathered from all over the world. Thanks to Facebook, we already have a discussion going. It´ll be great to meet peers with resourceful minds and ambitions for making positive change!

Visit Seliger´s website here.

The Sahara Forest Project

2011-05-08T02:13:00.000-07:00

I read a very interesting article about the collaboration between Norway and Jordan through the Sahara Forest recently. This is an example of why I have so strong belief in international collaboration!

The Bellona Foundation, an international environmental NGO based in Norway, is involved in the project run by solar energy from the Sahara desert. The location is by the Red Sea in Aqaba, Jordan.

The target is revegetation (planting trees and greenery), water and clean electricity production. The network of natural windstoppers and roots from the plants will stop erosion and uncontrolled spreading of the desert. Simultaneously the Sahara Forest Project will produce fresh water using seawater greenhouses for destillation. The combination of concentrated solar energy and water production will provide a sustainable alternative for agriculture and biomass production.

The test- and demonstration centre is planned to be finished by 2012, and a large scale production site will be ready by 2015.

It's a very fascinating project, and a good indicator of how a green economy can be built. Industrial processes can make large-scale projects come to life in a shift towards sustainable solutions!

For more information you can click here to read Bellona's article, or visit the Sahara Forest Project's website here.

A greener everyday life

2011-05-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

Many people ask me how to live a greener everyday life. I feel confused sometimes myself, as there's a jungle of different opinions and more or less acknowledged truths out there. What is right today might turn out to be false tomorrow, but there are some common features you can look out for and implement for a greener everyday life. Remember that the simple solutions are often the best! So this is my top five list:

1) Choose renewable energy, recycle and re-use.

- You know why. The greenest energy is the energy we don't use!

2) Travel green

- Make something useful out of your traveling. Networking and linking sustainability to traveling makes the experience so much more meaningful!
- Make international communication become global cooperation!
- Use trains, subway, local buses, environmentally certified hotels.
- Be an eco- tourist. Full time or as much as possible. Try hiking in the forests or mountains!

3) Eat green

- Vegetables, chicken and fish leave a considerably smaller ecological footprint than meat, palm oil etc. Homemade food with pure ingredients is great both for you and the environment. Want to try delicious vegetarian dishes? Try Indian or Moroccan recipes!
- Try using ecological, and/ or short- traveled food. Or maybe cultivate your own?

4) Support environmental organizations.

- I am a Rainforest Guard for instance, giving a set amount each month for preserving rainforests through the Rainforest Foundation.

5) Be creative!

- Common sense usually works. Any product, activity, or means of transport that requires energy leaves an ecological footprint. The more complex and grand, the more resources are used. Go for the simple solutions!
- Use ordinary (or organic) cooking oil mixed with lemon juice (30:1) for maintaining the
veranda, furniture etc instead of the toxic versions you can buy in stores. I tried, and it works!
- Support, live and share attitudes. Involvment is everything!

If you look at the list, notice how often an environmental approach can lead to good health and better economy. We get a tripple win situation, as everything is interlinked!

Development accelerates for Electric Vehicles

2011-04-24T00:35:00.001-07:00

The Danish magazine "Engineer" recently announced that charging an Electric Vehicle (EV) could take only five minutes in close future. A new production method makes it possible to manufacture battery electrodes that recharges several hundred times faster than today. This makes EVs a competitive alternative to today´s refilling of gas or diesel. Development is definitely in fast progress!

Researchers in Illinois, USA, recently published an article in Nature Nanotechnology. They have discovered a new manufacturing process that allows recharging 400-1000 times faster than today. 90 % full batteries would thereby take two minutes. If this technology is integrated in the commercial market, the competitiveness of the EVs have reached a new level.

I think the battle of vehicles run by hydrogen vs electricity will stand or fall on the capacity of the batteries, how quick they can recharge and the availability of raw material. I´m looking forward to seeing the progress over the next few years!

Both the Electric Vehicles I have tried are brilliant in their respective ways. Buddy (up left) is a Norwegain Electric Urban Vehicle (EUV), meaning it´s compact, energy efficient and very practical for use in cities. Tesla Roadster (right) is an EV suitable for long distance driving as well, with a range up to 340 kilometers. It originates from California, USA. The esthetic sports car is one of the world´s fastest accelerating cars, going from 0-100 km/h in 3,7 seconds. A little like sitting in a jet airplane....

Read more about the development in Nature Nanotechnology here. If you want to go deeper, you can read the story behind some central researchers here.

Solar energy power plants

2011-04-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable resources available. The potential is enormous, exceeding any other energy resource by far, including fossil fuels. The challenge is finding a way to utilize the energy to a greater extent; today, the efficiency is only 20- 25 % of the potential. I think nano technology will contribute for new and better ways to utilize the energy from photons. Both through dust- repelling films to cover the mirrors or solar panels, and more advanced technology changes within the materials.

For quick development, it´s evident that investments in solar energy is necessary: both within research, technology test sites, production and power plants. Several countries are doing a great job to make progress. Among them are Spain and Germany, having done a great job when it comes to governmental strategies for increasing solar energy utilization. For instance the project on the image; the world´s second largest photovoltaic solar power plant. It is situated

in a former military base in Germany and was completed in 2009.

With a price tag exceeding 180 million dollars, the need of governmental subsidies are self-explanatory. However, the enormous advantages more than pay back the investments: clean energy meets the electricity needs of 10,000 households annually. The ecological footprint is low, and doesn´t increase over the decades of energy production.

Spiderman inspires

2011-04-12T01:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write about the French climber Alain Robert, aka Spiderman. As a part of the Education Without Borders conference, he climbed the world´s tallest building Burj Khalifa for the Guinness World Record! He climbed during the opening ceremony of EWB, so that we could follow his way towards the top from our seats. When nighttime came, we could barely glimpse the tiny figure as he started closing in on the top, 828 meter above the ground. He completed the climb in windy conditions using only six hours, when the limit was set to nine.

His climb towards the top was a great inspiration. Not just the fact that he decided to go for it in the first place. It´s a typical example of setting goals everyone else find amusing because it´s got to be impossible, right? Not to mention dangerous! I admire the way he shrugs off skepticism, plans well, trusts his capabilities and reaches the target. Up left is a photo from the President´s Palace in Abu Dhabi. I was lucky enough to meet Spiderman in person during the gala dinner!

In my eyes, the climbing works as a symbol of what human beings are capable of doing. It shows that through ambitious goals, hard work, experience and never giving up, you can follow your dreams and make it happen. The principles from so many of the great presenters during the conference also went through these stages on their way towards humanitarian projects, establishing companies based on sustainability and renewable energy technologies or spreading solar energy- based lamps across Africa.

I´m aware of the stages you have to go through, the work you have to put into it and the

passion that needs to lie behind the project. The effort might seem too much to handle sometimes, but the rewards you get in the end are so much worth it! I got an impression of what Spiderman saw at midnight after completing his climb from the viewing point of the Burj Khalifa. But imagine the feeling of sitting at the 828th meter, at the very top of the world after having climbed all the way? Or the knowledge that your work has led to a better life for humans around you. That sustainability is within reach because of projects you lead, or new inventions you come up with.

I know for a fact that outstanding people all over the globe are working on global challenges every second as I write. That is maybe the greatest inspiration of all; the knowledge that we can solve problems together. We all have different qualities, so my vision is that everyone can use their strengths for positive change.

Education Without Borders

2011-04-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

For the past week I have attended the international student conference Education Without Borders (EWB) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

I never imagined it was possible to meet so many extraordinary people at once! The level of social and technical competence was awe- striking. Both students, organizers and presenters made a deep impression, giving me knowledge I will remember for the rest of my life.

I had an uncountable number of valuable conversations, both one by one and in groups with up to ten different nationalities. The great diversity added a dimension to the discussions I have never experienced before! With different historical, religious and cultural backgrounds, we all had a different approach to problems. We discussed the immense comprehension of the global problems we are facing, from poverty to pollution and climate change. In the end, we actually found some unbelievably creative solutions! The challenge now is to take a new step, and make these solutions become reality. So, as we leared during EWB: bless naivety and make it happen!

The students I met are hard workers, intelligent, ambitious, talkative and genuinely interested in making change for a better world. It´s been fantastic to meet so many openminded people with similar interests! I have made new friends from all over the world. 131 nations were represented at the conference, and out of 1000 students I managed to talk with maybe 300. We are already friends on Facebook, where we will keep in touch so that change becomes reality! It´s a great privilege to have access to technology that allows us to stay in touch with people accross continents so easily.

I would like to thank Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, the Higher Colleges of Technology and the organizers for hosting this outstanding event. Reaching out a hand to the world and bringing so many brilliant minds together from accross the globe is a fantastic initiative that can change the lives of thousands. It will definitely lead to innovative solutions to global challenges, just like targeted. I believe events like EWB can strengthen understanding and tolerence between nations and build bridges between religions. It inspires to working harder, reaching higher and pushing limits. But most of all, EWB has opened my eyes for the true value of comprehensive international communication and cooperation accross borders. I strongly recommend students worldwide to apply for EWB 2013, so you can experience the same!

Home Trailer

2011-03-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

When I became a Rainforest Guard through the Rainforest Foundation, I received this beautiful and thought- provoking film. "Home" is a brilliant movie, and I suggest you to take some time off to watch it.

"Home" is in the same category as Leonardo DiCaprio´s "11th hour" and Al Gore´s "An inconvenient Truth" (a great tip if you haven´t seen those either).

Seeing such films are necessary to get an overview of the global situation, which can be hard on a day-to-day basis. It´s easy to get lost in a narrow maze of chores and everyday routines.

It is indeed a wonderful world we live in. Watching the beautiful nature scenes makes me want to fight even harder to preserve the vulnerable ecosystems and natural habitats. For me, "Home" is a great inspiration, and I intend to make use of it.

If you would like to become a Rainforest Guard, you can go to the Norwegian Rainforest Foundation´s site here (in Norwegian mind you, I haven´t found an English version yet).

Watch the complete version of "Home" on YouTube here. It´s free, HD quality, lasts 1.33 hours.... Wow. I must say I love the web sometimes!

Etikken: green grocery store

2011-03-21T04:16:00.000-07:00

"Etikken" is a non- profit concept store in Trondheim, focusing on social and ecological sustainability. They provide a broad range of ecological, Fairtrade and low-environment impact articles within groceries, clothing and household items.

As one of the largest and best green concept stores in Norway, I recommend you to visit Etikken if you get the chance. It´s located in the lower level in Kjøpmannsgata 51, between the two bridges across the river Nidelven.

Visit their Facebook profile here. Norwegian- speaking can also go tho their website.

Heroic efforts in Japan

2011-03-15T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am deeply impressed by the way people in Japan have tackled the immense damages following the earthquake. Everyone are playing their part to make the best out of the situation, whether by action or patient contribution in any way possible. Just the fact that people choose to work instead of fleeing the cities tells you so much about the Japanese spirit. In the affected areas people walk for up to three hours to get to their work, due to the collapse in transport infrastructure. The society would crash completely and disaster relief would have been so much slower if people didn't keep going like now.

Some of the most extreme heroes still on post in their job are the 180 employees at the nuclear energy power plant in Fukushima. They are risking their lives to prevent the worst nuclear catastrophy in recent time. An ecological disaster will affect and ruin thousands of lives for decades. Balancing on the edge of a knife, the pressure on these men is extraordinarily intense. Not only regarding the fate of Japan, the global economy and natural inhabitant; but the constant threat of facing sudden death or lifelong injuries.

Sacrifice for the greater good has seldom been more visible and moving than scenes fra Japan right now. If you would like to make a donation for the cause, I recommend calling the Norwegian Red Cross at +47 820 44 00. After five seconds, 200 NOK will go directly to the Japanese Red Cross.

Earthquake and tsunami in Japan

2011-03-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

My deepest sympathies go to the people of Japan, where a devastating earthquake hit this morning. The number of casualties passed several hundred, with thousands missing or injured. The damages are immense, both due to the earthquake itself and the following tsunami.

Such natural disasters are terribly powerful, making human lives and infrastructure seem fragile like matches in comparison. It makes me think of how vulnerable we really are; the powerlessness of the whole situation is staggering.

How do you outrun a massive ten-meter wall of solid water? How do you flee from the blocks of rock and concrete crashing over your head as the building you´re in collapses?

How do you seek refuge when everything in a ten kilometer radius will be swept clean by massive amounts of water?

The sadness of it all is that you can´t. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time will lead to an impossible trap. Only the sheer luck of a miracle is the only thing that can save you from certain death.

I hope the people in the areas that are hit will find hope in this dark situation, and glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel. My thoughts are with you!

Read more about the earthquake on BBC´s website here.

If you would like to support the disaster relief, you can call the Norwegian Red Cross at +47 820 44 000 to donate 200 NOK for the cause.

Solar airplanes going global

2011-03-08T03:19:00.000-08:00

I wrote a post about solar airplanes two weeks ago. The concept is up and going with Solar Impulse, but is it possible for the airplanes to go intercontinental? As of today, the answer is: depends. In close future, I believe it is an overwhelming yes!

In order to make solar flights between continents possible, infrastructure has to be in place. Intercontinental air traffic would definitely require one or more stops with today´s battery capacity.

I imagine a

global network of solar- wind- and wave- based energy power plants placed underneath the air traffic channels between the continents. With landing spots at sea, airplanes in need of fuel (or should we say power) could make a stop to recharge the batteries with fast- charging cables.

The power plants can work independently, or be used by both ships and aircrafts. Domestic or international flights over land would recharge by using existing airports. They can produce their own renewable energy such as solar, wind or geothermal energy.

That being said, there is a little way to go before full- scale aircrafts are commercially available. The best would of course be solar panels so effective that landing would be unnecessary. Even more so because solar energy is more efficient at high altitudes, since the photons in sunlight don´t have to go through the atmosphere before they hit the solar panel. Going directly into the solar cells, a larger percentage of the photons are generating electricity.

Let´s find a way of utilizing this energy more efficiently! I´m on my way, just need a little more advanced education first...

Future power survey and competition!

2011-02-26T02:41:00.001-08:00

I would like to ask a favor of all readers interested in energy end environment. Would you like to contribute to changing the future? Here´s a chance I strongly advise you to grasp. Whether your background is technical or not, reading this document and answering the survey can help you making decisions regarding future studies or careers. You can even win an iPad in the process!

In Stavanger, I met Leon Prebeau-Menezes and Dan Zilnik at Statoil headquarters. Representing the World Petroleum Council Youth Committee, they are both distinguished personalities within their fields. I am deeply impressed by their knowledge, insight and ability to catalyze change in a what may be perceived as a conservative industry. They are the leading minds behind an excellent pre- read summary of possible future scenarios, followed by a survey sent out to provident and ambitious people worldwide. The results are to be presented at the World Heavy Oil Congress held in Canada in March.

The World Petroleum Council Youth Committee are making a huge effort to get a youth perspective into the congress. They will present the results of a survey they are running at the congress. With meaningful results, this could contribute in the process of influencing the future of the energy industry!

The target group of the survey is people studying or working in the petroleum sector. If you don´t, like me, I challenge you to fill in the survey based on the possibility of a future job within the industry. On my behalf, that would be possible if it means I would be able to contribute, working with projects that will influence the future to the better.

It takes about 20-30 minutes to read the pre-read and fill in the survey. Please take your time, enjoy the reading and let your thoughts come through in the survey. For anyone concerned or curious about the future, this is really great stuff to read. I found it amazingly interesting!

You can read and fill in the survey here (try copy-pasting the complete URL if you can´t access it directly: "http://www.worldheavyoilcongress.com/wp-content/uploads/CAWPC-IEA-Scenarios-Pre-Read_.pdf").

We hold the future in our hands. Use your chance to make it a good one! Good luck, and fingers crossed the iPad goes to you.

Statoil: sustainable company number one!

2011-02-26T01:50:00.000-08:00

Forbes.com has recently published a list of the world´s most sustainable companies. Guess who ended up in the first place? Statoil! I´m a little surprised because Statoil is a Norwegian oil company. However, I´m not so surprised because I´ve been lucky enough to visit Statoil´s headquarters in Stavanger. I´ve seen some of the focus areas they lead aiming to improve the environment impact of the company and oil industry as a whole.

I came to realize that oil companies aren´t necessarily as black and white as people might think. After attending a meeting with two fantastic personalities in Statoil headquarters, I got a brief insight in the possibilities they get for working with environment related project. Working in the extractive industries can help understanding and improving the environmental and socio-economic impacts of developing natural resources.

In short: the energy sector will be dominated by hydrocarbons, even in decades to come with transition to cleaner energy. We need the immense competence and experience from people within engineering, finance and corporate strategy to be able to cope with comprehensive global challenges.

The human resources now working in the oil sector

will be part of the great effort of changing the course of the future. Even more so, some are already role models and lead the way into a more sustainable future. Both on a personal level like some of the wonderful people I met in Stavanger, and in larger scales like companies and whole industries, working hard to improve the environmental impact of energy production.

That being said, I think this attitude should be the rule, not the exception! Massive challenges are linked with production of fossil fuels, I suppose there´s no need to point at the emissions of greenhouse gases. The point is to face reality, accept where the world is headed and DO something to regain balance. We´re on the way already, but need to take some giant leaps to reach the final target.

Read more about Forbes.com´s rating here.

Solar energy airplanes

2011-02-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

Air traffic provides significant emissions of greenhouse gases. Because the aircraft is outstanding over long distances, I don´t think the traffic will slow down unless... we get another Eyjafjallajökull.

However, the change has already begun. Experiments with biofuels and solar airplanes like the solar airplane "Impulse" (photos) are some examples. I think we will witness an environmental revolution in the air traffic within a few decades!

I imagine that future aircraft fuel will be a hybrid of solar power and energy stored in batteries. As of today, solar cells and batteries are neither light nor efficient enough. The challenge is mainly to make batteries lightweight, with an excellent capacity for storing energy over time. The "fuel" will be both the excess energy from the solar cells and energy that is stored in the batteries before the start.

In the transition from gasoline to electricity, planes can be built as hybrid models in the same way as the hybrid cars are made today.

If enough resources and effort being put in the work of environmental technology in aircrafts, we could witness giant leaps forward in a short span of time. Just think about how fast the reduction of the computer's size and capacity developed!

Climate= Health

2011-02-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

Climate=Health is a brilliant initiative run by the Norwegian Medical Association. It is a campaign focusing on how climate change will impact health, both worldwide and locally.

From January to March they are arranging a comprehensive competition with great prices for the winners! Suitable for everyone who has a good idea about how to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Globally or locally! Or maybe both?

If you're not so steady in Norwegian, I suggest you send in your idea in English or use Google Translate. Visit Climate=Health's website (in Norwegian) here!

Going to Dubai!

2011-02-08T16:48:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to be attending the biennial conference Education Without Borders in Dubai. It´s a great honor to be chosen as a delegate for the conference, which aims to find innovative solutions to global challenges.

I have been fortunate enough to work with three excellent engineers from the University of Calgary in Canada: Zakir, Krispin and Leon. Our paper is called "Rapid Disaster Relief Through Artificial Intelligence and Innovative Energy Supply Networks". In short, it´s about solving challenges related to disaster relief.

My expectations before my first meeting with the United Arab Emirates are high, and I have a feeling they are not exaggerated. From the start the organizers have been thoroughly professional; I´m impressed by their efficiency, quick response and elegant handling of the massive influx of requests and paper submissions for the conference.

Stor konkurranse med Klima= Helse!

2011-02-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Klima= Helse er et strålende initiativ drevet av Norsk Medisinstudentforening. Kampanjen fokuserer spesielt på klimaendringenes effekt på global helse. Fra januar til mars holder de en stor konkurranse med masse spennende premier! DU kan vinne et unikt brekurs, tur til Klimaparken på Galdhøpiggen, utstyr fra North Face, kino- og operabilletter.

Både grupper og personer kan delta. Oppgaven? Finn et kreativt forslag som kan redusere utslippene av CO2. Les mer om konkurransen og innlevering her.

Det er bare å kaste seg på! Send inn et bidrag og bli med i kampen om å velges ut som månedsvinner og kanskje til og med hovedvinner. Kunnskapsrike og erfarne dommere står klare til å evaluere DITT bidrag: Einar Håndlykken (daglig leder miljøstiftelsen Zero), Hege Gjessing (leder Yngre Legers Forening), miljø- og utviklingsminister Erik Solheim og forfatter Jostein Gaarder vil kåre de endelige vinnerne.

Klima= Helse skaper engasjement rundt globale klimaendringer som får lokale konsekvenser i samfunnet. Dette er en gylden mulighet for at nettopp DINE ideer når ut til verden! Masse lykke til alle sammen. Jeg gleder meg til å se forslagene som kommer inn!

Og dere? Be the change you want to see in the world.

Earthquakes: sudden and severe devastation

2011-01-24T07:41:00.000-08:00

Earthquakes are some of the most devastating kinds of natural disasters. They have the potential to cause major devastation, both regarding human lives and damage to infrastructure. An example is the catastrophic scenario of the Haiti earthquake of 12 January 2010. It affected three million people. The mortality was estimated to 230,000. As much as 300,000 were reported injured and one million made homeless (MSNBC, 2010). As the epic center hit close to the capital, the densely populated Port-au-Prince and nearby areas

were caused major destruction. Massive collapses of buildings, roads, bridges and electricity networks made the help relief extremely difficult. The infrastructural damages slowed the process dramatically. Communication was difficult, making the help relief even harder to organize.

To avoid problems when infrastructure is severely damaged, a fast and flexible system for help relief is needed. A system based on an alternate energy network and artificial intelligence can prove to be of invaluable help in extreme situations as earthquakes.

The paper Leon, Krispin, Zakir and I sent in to Education Without Borders is about rapid help relief, which can prove invaluable in situations like the one we witnessed in Haiti. I hope we will be able to discuss the ideas with people at the conference!

More consequences of climate change

2011-01-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

Deforestation leads to erosion. Avalanches and mudslides occur more frequently since the roots no longer bind the soil. The danger of building collapse is increased by the unstable ground (Center for International Ferestry Research, 2008). Right now we see the tragic examples of mudslides in Brazil following heavy rain and deforestation in densely inhabited areas.

Parasitic diseases will become more widespread with a warmer and moister climate. These climatic conditions lead to an increased number of mosquitoes, and enables them to settle in previously untouched areas (Henson, R. 2008). The consequence is increased danger of widespread diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

Several major studies and statistics show that tropical cyclones worldwide are getting both stronger and more numerous over the past decade (Henson, R. 2008). Hurricanes are most likely reinforced by a warmer climate, as warm ocean waters are the main criteria for the birth and growth of tropical cyclones (Henson, R. 2008). Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere cause disturbances in the air currents, making extreme weather such as coastal storms, unusual heat or cold weather (Henson, R. 2008).

Some effects of climate change

2011-01-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

According to the 2007 IPCC assessment, a warmer climate influences precipitation patterns and ecosystems. An alarming consequence of this is the reinforced effect on natural disasters, that are predicted to increase in quantity and extent accross the globe (UN Environment Programme IPCC, 2009). Warmer weather reinforces both extreme cold and heat waves, causing severe problems for established societies worldwide (UN Environment Programme IPCC, 2009).

Some of the challenges linked with climate change are extreme heat, floods, draughts, hurricanes and tornadoes, parasitic diseases, melting glaciers, deforestation and erosion.

Floods and draughts are some of the most common natural disasters caused by global warming. Changes in precipitation leads to increased or decreased rainfall in certain areas on the globe. Both floods and draughts can lead to crop failures, famine and high tolls.

The most noticable changes lie in abnormal precipitation intensity. Both regarding human lives and damage to infrastructure, rainfall can cause major destruction. Flash floods are more probable to occur in highly populated areas such as cities due to large areas covered by infrastructure such as roads and buildings. An example is the recent disaster in Pakistan, which affected twenty million people (ReliefWeb, 2010). Water covered up to one-fifth of the country, and 1,2 million homes were damaged or destroyed (British Red Cross, 2010).

Just like some parts of the globe experiences increased percipitation, other areas will get decreased rainfall. The result is draught, with water shortage and failed crops. Predictions by IPCCshow that the subtropics will be most severely hit in the future. In addition, melting glaciers make rivers decrease in volume or disappear completely, forcing inhabitants to move or seek other sources.

Photos: Up right: Leon Prebeau-Menezez and I presenting in India. Hopefully we will get to do another presentation in March, this time in Dubai. Up left: Result of increased precipitation. Floods occur with intensified strength, and also in new areas.

New conference coming up?

2010-12-31T05:30:00.000-08:00

Three co-authors and I have submitted a paper together for Education Without Borders, which is a conference in Dubai in March 2011. Zakir, Krispin and Leon are students at University of Calgary in Canada, and I´m representing NTNU.

Our paper is called "Rapid Disaster Relief Through Artificial Intelligence and Innovative Energy Supply Networks". So our paper is about solving challenges related to disaster relief. It´s a great concept!

In the process, I´ve written a text about climate change and increased risks of natural disasters. I´ll share some of my findings with you here, reciting what I wrote in some of my first drafts. It´s a good thing to think it through!

Natural disasters have challenged humanity throughout history. Industrialization has given us astonishing opportunities, but also responsibility and unforeseen challenges. Following the increased mobility and technological access, we risk a reinforced effect from natural disasters, escalating the frequency of occurrences, vulnerability of electronic equipment and widening the extent of the devastation (UN Environment Programme IPCC, 2009). In addition, we face disasters originated directly from man-made technology, such as trains or airlines crashing in remote areas, armed conflicts and war.

The photo is from the conference Leon and I attended in New Delhi, giving a presentation of our paper on geothermal energy.

LED in Trondheim

2010-12-22T00:52:00.000-08:00

Trondheim has become a good city for spotting LED- diodes in public use. I want to give my thumbs up to the minds behind the projects for choosing the energy- saving technology instead of the traditional incandescent lamps. As much as 95 % of the energy sent into the old-fashioned lamps can be lost to the surroundings! So much heat is produced by the electric circuit that most is used for meaningless heat production instead of light.

LED- lights are much more efficient, as no heat is produced. Since all energy put into the system is used for producing light, great amounts of energy is saved. In Trondheim, LED- diodes are used in the new museum Rockheim (left), and from this year also in the Christmas decorations in the city centre. According to the local newspaper Adresseavisen it saves hundreds of thousands NOK in electricity bills. Thinking of the energy saved, it must be called a win-win situation!

And remember: the energy most friendly to the environment is the energy that is not used in the first place.

Green transport by sea and river

2010-12-15T07:55:00.000-08:00

Transport by sea contributes to a large part of greenhouse gas pollution. There are several ways of avoiding this though: better planning, alternate fuels and a more efficient global network at sea. As consumers, there are also several steps you can take to go green at sea. Here are some examples:

Did you know that electric speed boats are quite popular? In Norway they´re still quite rare, but in warmer waters the use expands quickly. for more information, visit a speed boat site here.

The same principle goes for electric boats as electric vehicles: they move noiselessly forwards, contribute with no pollution in use and are very easy to navigate. The running costs are low due to the absence of gas bills.

The complete silent experience of navigating

through the waves makes a boat trip more

enjoyable than ever! Being able to listen to the waves instead of the motor is a bit like skiing instead of using a motorized snowmobile.

For the "real deal" experience, I still prefer rowing, which is even more friendly to the environment. Or the human body, for that matter. You might not get as far, but the experience is great! To the right is me on one of my special rowing trips. This time on the Ganges River in India!

End of term exam

2010-12-09T09:46:00.001-08:00

I´ve got an exam coming up soon, so I´m currently deep into the world of philosophy. It varies from extraordinary interesting to frustratingly complex, but I´ve come over a lot of valuable theories. I especially love Aristotle´s philosophy regarding the golden mean. This will be the desirable middle between two extreme opposites, and works for just about anything in life.

Just think about it. Too much or too little of something is bound to go wrong. Wether we´re talking about exercising, food, work, studying, consumption and utilizing resources: balance works best. Too little leads to serious problems one way or another. And overdoing it is never good for anything!

Green advent calendar

2010-12-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

I found a great advent calendar on the internet! Being run by an environment- related site, the questions will offer some interesting information. Go directly to the calendar here. It only exists in Norwegian, but don´t despair! Here is some help by the phenomenal Norwegian- English section of Google Translate!

The site environment.no is run by the environmental authorities of Norway. It´s a

great website for finding relevant, reliable information about environmental issues, based on facts and scientific research. I recommend you to take a look around!

The photo is from a skiing trip (cross country) in Bymarka. Love the sparkling snow in the moonlight!

Green Christmas

2010-11-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner, and many still need to find suitable presents. If you want a meaningful present with a green twist, I suggest buying a gift from the Rainforest Foundation!

See the Rainforest Foundation Norway´s selection of environment friendly presents here.

You can help protecting the rainforest by purchasing diplomas, calendars, books or photos. Or become a permanent Rainforest Guard, giving a set sum per month. It´s brilliant! You bring it closer somehow, getting a more personal relationship with the forests. It feels good to contribute, especially when you know the organization is reliable and deliver tangible results. Which is the case with the Rainforest Foundation. They do a marvellous job to coordinate, protect and maintain the unique climate and biological diversity found in the vulnerable rainforests. Just see the cute beauty up right, immortalized in the middle of breakfast by Thomas Marent´s lens.

Other tips for a greener Christmas

is to give away services! Give a gift card for shoveling snow, cooking, cleaning, painting, babysitting... the list is endless.

Finally, you can arrange a social event. For example an ice hockey tournament on a lake in the woods, a snow rugby match in the moonlight with freshly baked buns and hot chocolate afterwards. Use your

imagination and the surroundings in the area nearby!

If you have the opportunity to go outside to enjoy nature, you can witness fantastic treasures. All free of charge! No artificial sources for the lighting, just pure solar energy, directly or indirectly. A star for the Christmas tree, sparkling diamonds in the snow or hazy spotlights illuminating the emerald

branches. Enjoy nature´s wonders!

Conference and new project

2010-11-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

I just realized I haven´t written too much about the conference in New Delhi. After the presentation, Leon and I ended up in third place out of eighty contributions worldwide! So much happened both during and after the presentation, and with scarce internet connection it sort of disappeared.

Anyways: we got some great feedback and tips for improving our concept, so we´ll work a bit more on it and see where it ends.

I think it´s a great idea using current infrastructure from oil and gas production for extracting geothermal energy. It´s all about getting the right calculations, include every variable and maybe get a prototype in order.

Leon and I are now working on another project for Education Without Borders. We´re joined by two wonderful colleagues of Leon: Zak from Russia and Krispin from Canada. It´ll be great! Totally different concept this time, with combining mobile electric vehicles and artificial intelligence to organize rapid disaster relief. We´re working by the same method as before: e-mail and Facebook.

It´s been great working with them so far, and I look forward to the rest! I´m excited to see what we can achieve, and hope it will prove useful.

Tidal wave power in Lofoten

2010-11-23T12:22:00.000-08:00

The renewable energy from tidal waves are now one step closer to being commercially available on the energy market. The world´s largest tidal wave power plant opened in Norway today! Located in Lofoten, we see a much safer and greener production of energy than fossil fuels. It´s great to see that green technology is being tested in Norway for better development of renewable energy.

The concept is a little similar to underwater windmills. Huge mills tread the water when it flows through a natural passage. The movement is transferred to a generator which provides the local grid with electricity.

The constant flow provides energy 24 hours a day, regardless of the weather! It is therefore a highly predictable and reliable energy resource.

The prototype is part of a test- project for tidal wave energy. With 5 GWh per year, meaning the power plant will provide 200 households with electricity.

For more information, you can read a (Norwegian) article here.

Green Christmas

2010-11-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner, and many still need to find suitable presents. If you want a meaningful present with a green twist, I suggest buying a gift from the Rainforest Foundation!

See the Rainforest Foundation´s selection of

environment friendly presents here.

You can help protecting the rainforest by purchasing diplomas, calendars, books or photos. Or become a permanent Rainforest Guard, giving a set sum per month. It´s brilliant! You bring it closer somehow, getting a more personal relationship with the forests. It feels good to contribute, especially when you know the organization is reliable and deliver tangible results. Which is the case with the Rainforest Foundation. The Rainforest Foundation does a marvellous job to coordinate, protect and maintain the unique climate and biological diversity found in the vulnerable rainforests. Just see the cute beauty to the right, immortalized in the middle of breakfast by star photographer Thomas Marent´s lens.

Other tips for a greener Christmas

is to give away services. Give a gift card for shoveling snow, cooking, cleaning, painting, babysitting... the list is as long as imagination goes.

imagination and the surroundings in the area nearby!

If you have the opportunity

to go outside to enjoy nature, you can witness fantastic treasures. All free of charge! No artificial sources for the lighting, just pure solar energy, directly or indirectly. A star for the Christmas tree, sparkling diamonds in the snow or hazy spotlights illuminating the emerald

branches. Enjoy nature´s wonders!

Tesla: Electric Vehicle for change

2010-11-13T00:06:00.001-08:00

Electric Vehicles (EV) are no longer what they used to be. Streamlined design, comfort, excellent driving range and high performance are not necessarily words giving associations to Electric Vehicles. Thanks to companies like Tesla Motors, this has changed!

The aerodynamic beauty of the sports car Tesla Roadster has pushed the limits beyond what was believed to be possible. Tesla Motors from Silicon Valley in California has challenged the entire transport sector by providing a competitive alternative to

the classical cars fuelled by petrol.

With a top speed of 209 km/h, the battery weighing half a tonne reaches it´s full potential. It makes Tesla a tough competitor on the race track! The range also beats most of the electric vehicles on the market today: during normal driving you can go as far as 340 kilometres.

The powerful engine secures excellent performance and acceleration. The lithium-ion battery is one of the most efficient o

n the market today. Only 3.9 seconds is needed to reach 100 km/h! I have experienced the amazing acceleration myself: the contact with the vehicle is fantastic! It felt like the intersection between a rollercoaster and a takeoff in a jet plane.

The feeling is hard to describe, so I would recommend actually experiencing it. In Trondheim, Lars Henrik Morset runs www.teslademo.com, were you can make appointments for test driving or hiring a Tesla for events. Morset combines the silent EV with his company Morset Akustikk, working with measuring and reducing noise in homes and at work. Too much noise is disturbing, so a good place to start is removing the source completely! The silence while driving an EV gives a wonderful feeling. It reminds you of the fact that you release zero emissions while driving.

The governmental incentives on EVs in Norway makes it possible for more and more people to afford an EV. Going electric gives several advantages: a very low annual fee, legal driving in bus lanes, free pass through car toll stations and free parking are some of them. Inexpensive or free fuel is another. The rest is pure mathematics, so depending on use you can actually finance the investment of an EV within a few years.

As the costs related to usage of Electric Vehicels are so low, the main expense is the actual price of buying the Tesla. Thanks to the governmental incentives, the price is nowhere near as deterrent or unacceptable as one might expect. Starting at 679.000 NOK, Carpoint can deliver a Tesla directly to Trondheim at short notice.

A little fun fact before finishing: the aluminum frame in Tesla is developed at the Centre for Research-based Innovation at NTNU in Trondheim. This is a huge compliment to NTNU, as top level competence at all levels is characteristic for Tesla to secure the best possibile product.

For more information about Tesla, you can check out Tesla Motor´s website.

Driving a electric equals driving into the future. If the opportunity occurs, you can help pushing the limits on the way towards a greener society based on sustainable energy.

Thanks to winmls.com.

Conference completed!

2010-11-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

Leon and I ended in third place at the Mind Odyssey competition. It was a great experience to participate with such skilled and competent competitors! I´m impressed by their knowledge and innovative ideas.

It was a close race, where judges commented on the performance and the audience decided the outcome. We ended in third place! There were over eighty contributions worldwide.

I didn´t get to speak much with the others after the presentation. But luckily we stumbled into Adit (number three from the right) during the evening dinner!

We met so many outstanding personalities during the conference. I hope to stay in touch and meet them again!

First day in Delhi

2010-10-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

I´m safe and sound in India! We´re staying at Hotel Lalit, which is a beautiful, central hotel in the heart of the capitol city.

Today I have had a look at our presentation, before going sightseeing with a new friend. She was the most wonderful guide and traveling companion in Delhi´s busy streets!

We went to the old parts of the city, including the impressive Red Fort. India is so full of history, beauty and literary pulsing with life. And you never have to wait more than three minutes for the Metro :)

One of the things I noticed at once with Delhi, is all the greenness. There are trees and grass everywhere! I wouldn´t have expected this in such a large city (ten million inhabitants, double of Norway all together...), so it was a really pleasant surprise. I love it here!

Questions for the Conference

2010-10-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

I´ve been discussing the conference in New Dehli with a good friend. He came up with some questions, so I would like to look for some answers during the days we have in Dehli:

1) Is the trend shifting more towards clean

energy generation (sustainable power plants) or efficient energy usage (efficient vehicles, low energy houses etc.)?

2) Are we predominantly thinking in terms of medium range (cleaner and more efficient use of fossil fuels) or long range (totally sustainable sources like sun, wind and water)?

3) Are most of the plans focussed on political reform (new legislation for promoting marketing, distribution and implementation of existing technology) or on technological reform (more aggressive R&D)?

4) How is the techno-economic feasibility of the front-running candidate technologies promising to keep satisfying the world’s insatiable thirst for energy?

I will do my best to get more knowledge during the conference, so hopefully I´ll be able to answer these questions. They´re simple, but currently the simple solutions are hard to find. Let´s hope we can bring them to the surface soon!

Skiing in October!

2010-10-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Snow arrived in Trondheim three days ago! I got a wonderful, almost mid- March feeling. I´ve been skiing three days in a row, and I don´t plan to stop until the snow melts.

It will be fantastic if we get a snowy winter! Not like the much talked- about season three winters ago, when the snow arrived on the 12th of February...

I took this photo on my way back from one of my skiing trips (skating, just in case someone wondered). It was just as beautiful as it seems!

Going to India!!

2010-10-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

I can´t believe it! My friend Leon Prebeau Menezes from Canada and I got to the finals in Mind Odyssey! We´re going to the WPC- Petrotech Youth Forum conference in India next week.

The conference is about solving the energy crisis and securing energy in the future, emphasizing clean power and innovative ideas. The conference will be held in New Dehli from 1st of November.

We got to the finals for our paper about the intersecting geothermal energy and the oil industry. In short, it´s about the transformation of the oil industry; from drilling after fossil fuels to producing renewable energy.

Right now, I´m absolutely thrilled! I would love to go to India, learning more about the energy future and presenting our idea. A great opportunity!

I´ve got one concern though: I need a VISA! It´s got to be fast, so I really hope it works out. I´ll get up at 6:00 am tomorrow to call the embassy.

Solar Thermal Energy

2010-10-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here is another way of exploiting solar energy. Using the heat from the photons to produce steam is even more effective than using photovoltaic cells. That´s why this technology is used for most solar power plants. For now it´s the best solution, but I´m positive we´ll find even better ways of extracting the energy from sun rays in the future!

How Solar Energy Panels Work

2010-10-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

I´m deeply fascinated by solar energy. There are several ways of exploiting the energy from the sun, some more effective than others. It´s great to know how things work. I think this is a good (though quite simplified) explanation!

Thoughts about energy

2010-10-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

In general: human attempts to tame the nature tend to give a backlash. We create more problems than we solve, hurting ecosystems (and thereby ourselves) rather than helping. The frightening thing is that we often don´t realize the damage until it´s too late, and so we have to put out the fire instead of treading carefully and avoiding it in the first place. Preventing problems is always better than mending.

No energy source is without complications, so it´s not easy finding the perfect solution. Maybe there is none; maybe we have to pick "the best of the worst options" That´s a little pessimistic, but it´s obvious we can´t keep going like the western countries have done since the industrialization.

It´s really hard, isn´t it? There´s no way we can find all the raw material needed for renewable energy constructions in a sustainable way. The technology used for covering all our energy consumption is complex, no matter what energy source is used. Also, they often demand rare and/ or valuable raw materials.

I guess the best option is to NOT waste energy in the first place. Increased efficiency, saving energy and recycling might be the best ways to reduce emissions. The less we use, the less energy we need, and a larger part can be covered by renewable energy.

Geothermal energy revolution?

2010-09-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons why I wanted to visit Iceland was the volcanic activity. The island is located on the crack between the tectonic plates of America and Europe, making the geography ideal for using geothermal energy. As a matter of fact, sixty per cent of Iceland´s inhabitants use energy from communal geothermal power plants, and in total as much as eighty per cent use the heat from the ground.

Geothermal heat is pure, renewable energy. As 99 per cent of the earth has a temperature above 1000 degrees celsius, the potential is enormous. Think about the immense opportunities!

For the best results in geothermal energy, we´re looking for the so-called "super critical water", which is found at almost four hundred degrees celsius and 10 000 meters plus. Energy

extracted from these resources can be compared with nuclear energy, but without any waste problems. It´s all natural energy!

But wait; 10 000 meters. That´s deep! But not unaccessible. I know an industry that has specialized in deep drilling...

I think the oil industry could be of invaluable help for geothermal energy; just think about it. They can, with some upgrades, provide the technology for utilizing geothermal heat resources. The industry has money, power and technical knowledge of how to drill to such depths and bring liquids up to the surface. Some oil test sites actually operate down to 12 000 m. Meaning

they know how to calculate and operate the equipment at the immense pressure and

temperature down there.

We need the financial and technical power behind the oil industry, and the industry itself needs to adapt to a green future. Isn´t geothermal energy ideal

for the case?

Geothermal heat can be extracted directly outside cities and energy intensive industry, so transportation problems for the electricity are limited. You can also produce it anywhere on earth, as long as you get deep enough into the ground.

To get geothermal energy cheaper and more available, we need a strategy. My idea is a cooperation project for exchanging knowledge, financial power and technology accross borders and academic fields.

The pictures are from my visits to Geysir and the geothermal power plant producing energy to all of Reykjavik. Impressive indeed! One last fun fact: did you know that they transport the hot water underneath the roads to keep them free of ice during the winter?

2010-09-23T03:22:00.000-07:00

I just arrived home from my wonderful trip to Iceland. The diving course in Silfra was great, so I really want to keep up my progression! It´s like discovering a new world. And to think about all the amazing possibilities! I´m seriously going to enjoy visiting new diving sites in the coming years.

The fact that we used dry suits in 2 degrees cold water is great, because I feel like I became comfortable with diving in really tough conditions. Going to dive in 25 degrees in Indonesia doesn´t seem so frightening any more...

Rapport fra Islandsfareren

2010-08-31T02:47:00.000-07:00

Jeg har vært på Island en god stund nå, så her kommer en liten oppdatering.

Nå bor jeg på en gård ved Selfoss, 20 km øst for Reykjavik. Det er gjennom HelpX, som betyr at jeg bor der og får mat mot at jeg hjelper til med oppgaver på gården. De driver med produksjon av rabarbrasyltetøy, chutney og karameller som sendes ut til 40 ulike steder på Island, så akkurat nå går det i rabarbrainnhøsting, og tilberedning av varene. Hestene må holdes i form (les: rideturer!), blåbær plukkes og jordbærplanter plantes. Og selvfølgelig: sightseeing! Har sett masse allerede, og flere planer er på gang.

Kjartan og Dorothee, vertene på Langamyri, har gitt meg et nytt syn på hva som er mulig å få til med tiden man har disponibelt. De har en datter å ta hånd om, hver sin "vanlige" jobb pluss en gård med 15 hester, 100 sauer, 2 gjess, 17 høner, 10 katter, en kanin og en hund. Full produksjon av rabarbrakaramell, syltetøy, chutney og sirup som sendes til 40 ulike plasser på Island. Økologiske ingredienser, selvfølgelig. Jeg er superimponert, og virkelig blitt inspirert! Vi har helt klart tid og mulighet til å gjøre ekstremt mye, så "å ikke ha tid" til noe er egentlig en grov feilformulering. Det er vel heller "ikke prioriteringsvilje" vi mener! Men det har seg jo sånn at vi ønsker å leve forskjellige liv, så det som passer for noen passer ikke for andre. Poenget er at jeg synes det er viktig å bruke livet på noe man liker å holde på med, og at man har tid til å følge drømmene sine!

Det føles helt vidunderlig å benytte seg av hundre prosent naturlig geotermisk varme. Nesten alle husene på Island får strøm fra jordens naturlige varmekilder, og på fjellturer kan man lett ta en dukkert i naturlig oppvarmede badebasseng gjennom varme kilder og elver. Det føles helt fantastisk å vite at alt sammen er en kontinuerlig, naturlig prosess! Ingen skadelig energiproduksjon, bare ren gevinst.

De er svært gode på resirkulering her. De har åtte forskjellige sorteringsmuligheter! I praksis blir nesten alt gjenbrukt eller lagt i kompost. Forbilde!

Norway: eco example?

2010-08-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

A good friend gave me a link to an article called "Norway has set an eco example". I must say I was a little surprised, because in my eyes, we have... well. Room for improvement, to say it nicely.

Don´t get me wrong; many of the fields in Norway are at top level internationally. With our numerous waterfalls, clean energy is easily accessible. We´re good at technology, recycling, subsidizing science (sometimes, at least) and electrical vehicles and financing rainforest protection. But to be Europe´s leading example?

How about Germany and Spain´s focus on solar energy, Sweden´s bio fuel, Iceland´s geothermal energy and Denmark´s wind? There are many good examples out there. The thing is to spin them together in a sustainable web of renewable energy! Let´s not forget that every country should try contributing in the best and most effective way possible, taking into account financial history, geography, population and international impact.

Norway has done many good things. But with the decades of oil production on our consciousness, I would say we could have done quite a bit more for the environment than we do now. We should always seek improvement. Particularly now, where things should go faster than ever! We need speed in order to restore the balance, so we shouldn´t hesitate for longer than necessary.

See the article about Norway as a good example here.

A short update on the World Orienteering Championship...

2010-08-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

The start has gone better than expected, as the weather has been perfect! This is the Green Point. This is the base for our Environment Team, and everyone who wants to recycle or have questions can go there.
Interests for Buddy from both spectators, athletes, organisers and coaches...There has been a lot of interest in our green focus, particularly for the electric vehicles. People absolutely love them!
Here I´m painting the Green Point, one day before I attached the blue signs. Luckily, it dried...

White Flag ceremony for WOC 2010

2010-08-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the ceremony of hoising the White Flag. This is the proof of our environment certification!

Top right: President of the Organizing Committee, Lars Skrøvseth, me and municipal chief of environment, Marianne Langedal.

Right: the ceremony opened and ended with cello musician Valentine Ash.

I was a little nervous that the flag would turn upside down or something, which of course it didn´t. Everything went smoothly!

All in all, it was a very nice pre- opening for the World Championship. Now we´re prepared for the real thing, which starts tomorrow. We´re all really excited!

To find the program, you can visit the WOC website here.

World Championship with green twist

2010-08-05T01:49:00.000-07:00

I´ve been working night and day with the World Orienteering Championship (WOC) recently. There´s a lot of organizing work to be done! I´ve also arranged the two electric vehicles we use before and during WOC. It´s fantastic! See the cars to the right (you can just see the green one behind the white car).

The EUVs (Electric Urban Vehicles) are made in Norway! They´re called Buddy, and really live up to the name. I feel like we´re best friends already! You can read more about them here.

I´ll get back to you with more pictures of the things we´ve done for the environment during WOC when it starts. Fingers crossed for a great World Championship!

See the link to our environment- pages at WOC´s website here.

Unexpected meeting in Bymarka!

2010-07-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

After requests, I´ll give you an English version of the post about today´s meeting in Bymarka.

As earlier indicated, you can stumble into unusual sights when hiking in Bymarka. Usually, I run into a moose or a beaver when I see something out of the ordinary. But today, I met someone slightly more unexpected!

It happened during a jogging trip together with a friend earlier this morning. At Lian, we met the Crown Princess, the Crown Prince and Jonas Gahr Støre, the Foreign Minister! They were walking the Pilgrim Trail from Skaun, enjoying the sun and mentally preparing for the conversation Mette-Marit and Jonas Gahr Støre are having tonight in Nidaros Cathedral. It´s related to Olavfestdagene, which started today.

We stopped at the top of the hill, where they were taking a rest and had some lunch. It was amazing! During a ten minute long conversation, we spoke about lots of things. Starting with the weather (universal icebreaker), we moved on to exercising, work and education. When I said I´m planning to study energy and environment at NTNU, the topic quickly moved on to environmental issues. I was completely taken aback when the Crown Prince said he´d heard about me because of my climate blog! I´d never expected such a level of up-datedness. How fantastic isn´t that?

It´s brilliant that they were so genuinely interested! I´ve kept my eyes open, and both the Crown Princess and Jonas Gahr Støre are very updated with excellent knowledge of environmental issues.

I have the utmost respect for the Foreign Minister, who is one of Norway´s best known politicians. I can understand why only by the firmness of his handshake and the sincere presence in his eyes. The same applies to the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince. They were just as warm, friendly and interested as I´d gotten the impression of! Norway couldn´t have had better representatives for the monarchy.

It´s great to have prominent people in key positions showing that they care about fellow human beings and the society. Not only locally, but globally as well. That´s what it´s all about. Caring means you think about others, and act accordingly. From an environmental angle; our shared environment and climate is essential for everyone´s survival. Therefore, I think taking care of the environment is a good place to begin.

Møte med Kronprinsparet og Jonas Gahr Støre

2010-07-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

Under en totimers joggetur i dag møtte Espen Vedlog og jeg et følge på Lian med Kronprinsparet og Jonas Gahr Støre i spissen. Jeg er veldig imponert, ettersom de hadde gått Pilgrimsleden helt fra Skaun!

Vi slo av en prat, og dreide raskt inn på klima da de fikk høre at jeg har planer om å begynne på sivilutdanning med energi og miljø på NTNU. Det er fantastisk at de var så oppriktig interessert! Jeg har jo fulgt med, og både Kronprinsparet og Jonas Gahr Støre er oppdaterte med svært gode kunnskaper om miljø og klima. Det var jo ekstra morsomt at Kronprinsen har gått tre år på Berkely i California: jeg kommer jo rett derfra etter studieturen til San Francisco!

Jeg har stor respekt for Støre, som er en av Norges mest profilerte

politikere. Det forstår man bare ved det faste håndtrykket. Det samme gjelder Kronprinsparet; de var like vennlige og oppriktige som jeg har fått inntrykk av. Norge kunne ikke hatt bedre representanter for monarkiet!

Det er fantastisk å ha framtredende personer i viktige stillinger som viser at de bryr seg om medmennesker og samfunnet. Ikke bare lokalt, men globalt. Og det er det alt dreier seg om. Bryr man seg, er vårt felles miljø og klima en god plass å starte.

Elastic water: the next plastic?

2010-07-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Japanese researchers have managed to create an elastic, rubber-like material made of ninety-five percent water. The rest is clay and organic matter. Think about it! It´s amazing; with these harmless ingredients, the transparent substance gets extremely elastic and useful qualities.

The hope is that the elastic water can replace the plastic. Hard, soft, bendy, stiff... anything will work! An organic, biodegradable alternative to plastic will obviously mean a lot for the environment. Not just in the process of production, but in the entire cycle of usage. Not to mention the easiness of it´s decomposition.

It´s also going to be possible to use the new material in medical treatment, such as a "patch" that is not repelled by the body's own tissues. This is indeed a promising material, I´m looking forward to getting it to the stores!

Success for solar energy airplane!

2010-07-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

The single manned airplane Solar Impulse successfully landed after it´s first 26- hour flight! This is a world record, making the outlook for a greener future in the air considerably closer. Using only solar power as energy source, the airplane does not pollute the atmosphere while airborne. The challenge until now has been to collect and store enough energy without making the planes too heavy. Now, the fact that this technology exists, works and is tested with success is a major leap forwards for the possibilities of expanding.

Visit Solar Impulse´s website here. Also, Wikipedia has an informative text about the project.

Miljøsertifisering av VM i boks!

2010-06-17T01:13:00.000-07:00

Etter flere måneders arbeid med miljøsertifisering av VM i orientering, har jeg endelig fått sendt inn den ferdige søknaden. Etter et par dager kom beskjeden: den ble godkjent! VM er dermed et offisielt miljøgodkjent arrangement. Vi har laget en egen seksjon for miljø på hjemmesidene, se her. For å se presentasjonen jeg har laget i forbindelse med miljøsatsningen kan du klikke her.

Når det er sagt, er planene klare. Vårt første miljømøte for hele staben går i kveld! Alt er dermed klart for et prikkfritt arrangement med minst mulig påvirkning på miljøet.

Bevar regnskogen på 1-2-3!

2010-06-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

Dette bildet tok jeg i et regnskogmuseum i California. Jeg synes det viser hvor vakkert det er! Fugl, trær og planter i skjønn forening. Det er flere måter å hjelpe til i kampen for å ta vare på regnskogene som er igjen. Blir alle med kan mye gjøres!

1) Støtt Regnskogfondet her.

2) Unngå produkter som inneholder palmeolje

3) Kjøp regnskogfrie treprodukter

Regnskogfondet er en seriøs og pålitelig organisasjon som leder en rekke prosjekter over hele verden i samarbeid med lokalbefolkningen. Ved å donere penger dit vet man at de brukes til noe nyttig og konkret!

Vi bør unngå palmeolje fordi dette dyrkes på plantasjer i tropiske områder, som oftest på plasser hvor det tidligere vokste regnskog. Når man hugger ned eller brenner den opprinnelige regnskogen for å dyrke palmeolje, vil det være effektivt å vise motstand mot prosessen ved å la være å kjøpe slike produkter. Palmeolje brukes ofte i enkelte typer nøtter, sjokolade, snacks og ferdigfabrikert fastfood. Svært ofte betyr "vegetabilsk olje" egentlig palmeolje, som er negativt for helsen i tillegg til miljøet. Hvorfor kan du lese her.

Bruk av regnskogtømmer i treprodukter er en mer konkret og lett forståelig forklaring på avskoging. Vær oppmerksom ved kjøp av hagemøbler, kjøkkeninnredning, parkettgulv, byggevarer eller fritidsbåter. Her er det muligheter for å trå feil, selv om man ikke er klar over det. En kjapp bakgrunnssjekk gjør mye! De mest kjente typene med regnskogtre er akasie, mahogni, teak, rosewood, eukalyptus og hardtre. Fullstendig liste og mer info finner du her.

Miljøfilm fra California

2010-06-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Her er filmen vi ladge under studieturen til California! Den er satt sammen av film og bilder jeg har tatt underveis, pluss et par klipp fra Jonas Erslands kamera. Jeg er ikke så utrolig proff på filmredigering enda, men jeg lærte utrolig mye underveis. Så det går nok kjappere neste gang! Takk til Jonas Ersland og Jonas Romsbotn for medvirkning.

Sykkeltur over Golden Gate

2010-06-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Her er et bilde tatt under en sykkeltur over Golden Gate Bridge. Det var en stor opplevelse! For å oppmuntre folk til å sykle/ gå over broen var den ene siden reservert for gående og den andre for syklende. Fin måte å unngå kollisjoner på!

Det som var litt artig var at jeg bestemte meg for å "bevise" miljøbevisstheten til innbyggerne i California. San Francisco har svært høy tetthet av hybridbiler, så hvorfor ikke sjekke det ut i praksis? Gjennom hele oppholdet har vi sett hybridbiler overalt i byen, så det stemmer for så vidt med det vi har sett. Men det var moro å tallfeste det i en liten stikktest!

Jeg telte hvor mange Toyota Prius hybridbiler som kjørte forbi mens vi syklet fra den ene siden til den andre. På én langside av broen, ca. fire minutters sykkeltur, telte jeg 23 hybridbilder! Det er en god del mer enn jeg er vant med. Kjempebra!

Møte med professor og miljøspesialist på Stanford University

2010-06-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

I dag besøkte vi Stanford University rett utenfor San Fransisco. Vi fikk møte en storhet innen fornybar energi, Margot Gerritsen (rosa genser). Hun fortalte om svært mye innen feltet, blandt annet om hvorfor hun var optimistisk med tanke på fremtiden og hvordan hun mente klimakrisen vil bli løst. Det interessante er at hun var i mot både en internasjonal forpliktende miljøavtale (Kyoto og København var dermed ikke fiaskoer), og CO2- kvotesystemet. Og jeg er faktisk helt enig etter at hun forklarte hvorfor.

Saken er at en global miljøavtale vil bli så full av kompromisser og dermed bli så svak, at det umulig blir bra nok for miljøet totalt sett. Landene som faktisk oppfyller de svake kravene vil lene seg tilbake og bli fornøyd fordi de har nådd de uambisiøse målene, og de totale utslippene vil fortsatt bli svært store. I stedet bør man lage lokale mål som er tilpasset hvert enkelt land og by, fordi det er så mye lettere å ta ting lokalt. Akkurat det samme mente hun om CO2- kvotesystemet. Det kunne kanskje funke for byer og land, men ikke hele verden. Saken er at det dreier seg om virtuelle verdier, som svært sjelden fører til konkrete resultater. Ikke minst målbare resulteter. Derfor mente Margot at vi heller skulle bruke pengene på investering i reelle verdier gjennom prosjekter i fornybar energi, som faktisk bidrar med å gjøre prisene konkurransedyktige og gir avkastning direkte.

Det samme gjaldt atomkraft kontra det å heller investere i tradisjonell fornybar energi. Vind og spesielt solenergi var i følge Margot fremtiden. Det stemmer jo veldig bra med min oppfatning! Helt siden skoleprosjektet mitt i 10. klasse har jeg vært overbevist om at solenergi er veien å gå, så det var moro å få det bekreftet av en fremtredende spesialist og professor i nesten alle felter innen fornybar energi!

Kort om regnskogen

2010-06-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

Her er et bilde fra regnskogen på museet vi besøkte i går. Vi gikk gjennom fem av verdens regnskoger, representert med planter, dyr og sommerfugler. Nydelige farger og vakre blomster, trær og dyr! Vi fikk en påminner om hva vi faktisk mister for alltid ved å hugge ned regnskogen. Det er gull verdt for hver kvadratmeter vi klarer å redde! Gå hit for å gi et bidrag for å verne regnskog.

California: museumsbesøk

2010-06-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

Nå har vi vært i California i to dager! Studieturen var som tidligere nevnt premie for en klimakonkurranse som ble arrangert i høst. På grunn av dårlig internettforbindelse går ting litt tregt, men det kommer etter hvert!

I går navigerte vi oss litt rundt i byen og besøkte museet California Academy of Sciences. Det var helt genialt! Et nydelig museum med bredt sammensatte utstilinger og en pedagogisk fremtoning. Det var mye spennend å se! En regnskog i et megastort drivhus over fire etasjer, utstilling om global oppvarming og et planetarium for å få ting i perspektiv. Blandt oppfinnelsene i utstillingen likte jeg spesielt solkokeren, som kan gjøre det stort i solrike områder med dårlig infrastruktur.

Budskapet til utstillingen om global oppvarming var tydelig: vi må gjøre noe for å endre kursen, både av hensyn til å snu klimaendringene og med tanke på å skåne de sårbare økosystemene på kloden. Folk flest kan gjøre mye! Helt fra de små valgene til investering i større prosjekter med fornybar energi, samt det å legge press på politikere kan føre til store resulteter!

Metro Buddy

2010-05-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

Norge er store på elbiler, ettersom vi faktisk produserer to biler: Buddy og Think. Her ser dere den nye MetroBuddy bli inspisert av samferdselsministeren! Ganske lang video, men det kommer fram mye nyttig. Verdt å merke seg for alle miljøbevisste lesere!

Miljøbidrag i Melodi Grand Prix

2010-05-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

I kveld er det finale i Melodi Grand Prix! Med medienes fokus skulle man nesten tro det var snakk om månelanding 2.0. Men, men; det skjer jo tross alt i Norge! Av bidragene i år er det nok Ukrainas Alyosha som har det mest miljørelevante bidraget. Hun er miljøverner, og utmerker seg med sangen "Sweet People", som handler om klimakrisen og viktigheten av å bevare miljøet. Alyosha vet å skape oppmerksomhet, og organiserte blandt annet en fotballkamp for miljøet før dagens hektiske finale!

Norge støtter regnskog i Indonesia!

2010-05-27T02:14:00.000-07:00

I disse dager er Oslo vert for for et stort, internasjonalt skogmøte. Med statsministeren i spissen skal forhandlinger og planer for bevaring av verdes (regn)skoger legges. Bra jobb, Stoltenberg! I går inngikk han en avtale med Indonesia for et samarbeid mot avskoging av den Indonesiske regnskogen. Seks milliarder kroner skal Norge bidra med, mot at dokumentasjon om virkelig reduksjon i avskoging fremlegges. Det er fantastisk å se at Norge faktisk kan gå litt foran, og bruke en liten del av formuen vår (vi har opparbeidet oss på oljeutvinning). på noe fornuftig. Beløpet på seks milliarder er dobbelt så mye som allerede er brukt til et fond for regnskogbevaring i Brasil, så ni milliarder på regnskogbevaring er et STORT skritt i riktig retning. Det sender kraftige signaler til omverdenen at Norge tør å satse såpass!

Når det er sagt, kan manmed dette prosjektet se hva klimakvoter kan brukes til. Dette prosjektet vil tilsvare 700 ganger så store utslippskutt som fullskal arensing på Mongstad. At utslippskuttene i Indonesia blir småpenger i forhold til Mongstad, sier litt om at det lønner seg både økonomisk og klimamessig å investere pengene der de gir størt utslippskutt. At dette skjer i U- land er på mange måter positivt. Økonomisk støtte er en nødvendighet for at fattige land skal ha noen mulighet til å kutte og/ eller forebygge utslipp. MEN: det må ikke bli slik at I- land derfor skal dure videre med samme utslippsnivå. Klimakvoter må aldri bli vår tids avlatsbrev, for da forsvinner all troverdighet og rettferdighet umiddelbart.

Les mer om klimaavtalen hos NRK her eller Regnskogfondet her.

Statoil i skittent oljesandprosjekt

2010-05-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hvordan kan Norge, som selvutnevnt foregangsland i klimapolitikk, forsvare at Statoil er tungt inne i utvinning av oljesand i Canada? Å trekke ut olje fra sand er nok den verste av av alle måter å utvinne olje på. Det slippes ut ti ganger mer CO2 gjennom oljesandutvinning enn på norsk sokkel! Det er horribel statistikk. I tillegg kommer de omfattende inngrepene i naturområdene der det finnes ojlesand.

Hvordan hadde det vært å investere de TOLV milliardene anlegget kostet i miljøteknologi i stedet? Og da har vi ikke tatt med hva det koster i drift engang! Mulig det bare er jeg som er naiv, men jeg mener at oljesand er et langt skritt tilbake; det er et prosjekt med svært kortsiktig gevinst og store miljø- og klimaødeleggelser. Bildet viser det totalruinerte landskapet i et oljesandfelt, med et enorm, men likevel lite protestbanner i venstre hjørne.

Det er sikkert ikke lett å sitte på toppen i et oljeselskap, men hvis jeg skulle ha kommet med et råd så måtte det være: tenk langsiktig og alltid på total miljøbelastning. Jeg er for å begrense bruken av fossilt brensel. Spesielt bør vi begrense den skitneste delen av oljeindustrien så lenge vi har alternativer! På sikt er det ikke alltid de mest lettevinte løsningene som lønner seg. Tenk bærekraft og totalbelastning!

Les mer om Statoils oljesandprosjekt her.

Ferdig russ klar for California!

2010-05-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hei! Etter en hektisk russetid har det blitt lite blogging. Men nå er russestrekene unnagjort, og turen til California nærmer seg! For de som ikke vet hva det dreier seg om, så vant jeg en studietur til California gjennom en klimakonkurranse før jul. Vi skal få en omreise i et av verdens ledende miljøsenter, med base i San Fransisco. Det blir utrolig spennende! Vi drar 4. juni. Vi er sju ungdommer som reiser sammen med støtteapparat. Vi skal blogge og lage film der nede, så det kommer masse artig stoff fremover. Jeg gleder meg masse!

Kina topper grønn industri- liste

2010-05-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

Visste dere at Kina investerte 34,6 milliarder dollar i såkalt grønn industri i 2009? Dette er verdens høyeste investreing i miljøvennlige løsninger i industrien. På andreplass kommer USA, som investerte 18,6 milliarder dollar. Det vil si at Kina brukte nesten dobbelt så mye som amerikanerne på grønn industri! Dragen i øst er altså ikka bare miljøversting med kullkraftverk.

Bildet viser en smart løsning for gatelykter: vind- og solcellehybrid! Det viser seg at miljøteknologi fint kan erstatte løsninger basert på fossilt brenstoff. Spesielt hvis man kombinerer flere teknologier på en gang!

Oljekatastrofe i Mexicogulfen

2010-05-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

Her er en av grunnene til at jeg gleder meg intenst til vi slipper helt fri fra det oljebaserte samfunnet. Ikke nok med at bruken av olje fører til store ødeleggelser på miljø og klima, men uttaket av oljen er risikosport på høyt nivå. Oljesøl er en katastrofe for hele økosystemer i både hav og langs kysten!

Akkurat nå lekker det store mengder olje fra brønnen i Mexicogulfen hvor en oljerigg sank til bunns etter å ha brent sammenhengende siden den ble rammet av en eksplosjon tirsdag. Plattformen lekker 1.000 fat per dag fra oljebrønnen som ligger på 1.500 meters dyp. Det er ekstremt vanskelig å håndtere/ stanse lekkasjen på så dypt vann.

Klimaendringer og U- land

2010-04-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Klimaet påvirker i aller høyeste grad de fattige. Det er veldig urettferdig, for det er jo i første rekke industrialiseringen fra de rike landene som har ført til klimakrisen. Problemet er at de fleste U- land ligger nettopp i de delene av verden som merker klimaendringene best. I et bredt belte rundt ekvator har det skjedd en rekke endringer i vær og nedbørsmengder som påvirker landene dramatisk. For eksempel tørker elver inn fordi isbreer forsvinner og nedbør forsvinner i Asia og Afrika slik at tilgangen til vann blir borte. De har heller ikke nok penger til å bygge ut nødvendige mottiltak for å beskytte seg mot klimakonsekvensene: blandt annet ekstremvær som flom, tørke og orkaner. Økt havnivå vil også ramme millioner av fattige som er bosatt ved sjøen og ikke har kapasitet til å bygge demninger og pumpesystemer som for eksempel Nederland. Et forsøk på å rette opp i skjevhetene, er kvotehandel og det såkalte REDD- programmet som skal verne regnskog. Her er ideen at rike land skal betale fattige for å kunne gjøre noe med ulikhetene.

Svar til skoleprosjekt om klima og miljø

2010-04-27T00:29:00.000-07:00

Etter en veldig hyggelig henvendelse om ideer til et skoleprosjekt skal jeg gå litt inn på fornybar energi og miljøspørsmål for fremtiden:

Globalt sett har jeg klokketro på solenergi. Nesten alle fornybare energikilder på jorden har opprinnelse i solenergi: vind, vann, bølger, bioenergi... For hver gang energi omdannes vil mye energi gå tapt, så jeg mener det beste må være om vi kunne utvunnet energien direkte fra solen uten å gå omveien om andre energiformer. I tillegg er det globale potensialet for solenergi enormt. Mengden energi som treffer jorden gjennom solstråler hvert år tilsvarer over ti tusen ganger verdens totale energibruk. Dette overskygger totalt alle andre energiformer i bruk per i dag. Foreløpig begrensninger knyttet til solenergi er utnyttelsesgrad og kapasitet (solceller kontra solspeil osv), perioder uten sol (natt, overskyet) og ulik innstråling fordelt på verdensdelene.

Når det gjelder miljø og fornybar energi kan det også være interessant å skrive om framtidsenergien. Per dags dato er vindmøller veldig spennende for Norge sin del, fordi vi har begynt å forske på havmøller. Disse får inn 50 % mer energi enn møller på land, og Norge har med sin bakgrunn som oljenasjon store kunnskaper og erfaringer med bygging av solide stålkonstruksjoner til havs gjennom oljeplattformer. De må være så robuste og stødige at de tåler storm, saltvann og hundreårsbølger, så overføringsveriden til vindmøller er superrelevant. Jeg tror det er kjempeviktig å bruke kunnskapen vi allerede har opparbeidet oss til konstruksjon av ny miljøteknologi! En veldig fin artikkel om dette finnes hos Gemini.

For å få til en bærekraftig utvikling, er det enkel matematikk som ligger bak: vi kan ikke ta ut mer resursser enn det som kommer tilbake gjennom nytilførsel. Enten det gjelder uttak av vann, fisk, skog eller energi: det må hele tiden komme igjen i et balansert kretsløp. Når det gjelder råvarer kan vi til en viss grad sørge for å holde kretsløpet i gang gjennom gjenvinning. Metall kan for eksempel brukes igjen og igjen, så lenge det behandles på riktig måte. I "bærekraft" ligger også den globale totalbelastningen. Økosystemer tåler ikke all verden, og for å sikre at balansen og samspillet i naturen opprettholdes, må vi sørge for å bevare det biologiske mangfoldet og respektere naturen. Det gjelder å bygge opp samfunn som i høyest mulig grad lever ved siden av, ikke i stedet for naturens økosystemer. Vi er tross alt avhengige av mat og vann fra økosystemene for å overleve, så det er direkte uklokt å prøve å utkonkurrere naturen.

Politisk sett må vi finne et system for å finansiere klimatiltak. Klimakvoter kan være redningen, forutsatt at det IKKE fungerer som avlatsbrev hvor de med penger kan fortsette å forurense. Ideen er at rike land som forurenser må betale U- land for å bevare regnskog og bygge bærekraftig infrastruktur. Slik vil alle bli motivert til å gå over til miljøvennlige løsninger. Som kjent går alt så mye lettere når man oppnår økonomisk gevinst. Kan dette brukes til noe positivt globalt sett mener jeg det vil være en stor fordel. Hvis kvotesystemet fungerer som pisk/ gulrot vil det oppstå konkurranse om å bli mest miljøvennlig fordi det lønner seg. Slik verden er knyttet sammen øknonomisk sett vil det ta kortere tid å få på plass løsningene.

Ellers anbefaler jeg å søke litt i innleggene mine: jeg har skrevet litt om alt, så bare bruk Pax- søkeren opp til høyre og skriv inn det du vil finne. For eksempel "Vannkraft".

Håper du finner noe du kan bruke. Lykke til med prosjektet!

Sunniva =)

Fint innlegg om miljø fra Voe!

2010-04-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Jeg ble veldig glad da jeg leste dette innlegget til Norges mest populære blogger, Voe. Supert med alle bloggere som tar et tak for miljøet! All oppmerksomhet rundt klima og miljø kan bidra til å forbedre situasjonen. Jo flere som vet, jo bedre! Det gjelder å samle kunnskaper, spre dem og bruke det vi vet til å skape konstruktive løsninger. Det fine er at alle kan gjøre noe; fra kildesortering til innsamlingsaksjoner til sparing av strøm. Alle monner drar!

Damutbygging i Amazonas utsatt!

2010-04-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Utbyggingen av det som kan bli verdens tredje største damanlegg i Belo Monte i Brasil er midlertidig utsatt. Heldigvis! For bare noen uker siden skrev jeg innlegget om James Cameron som kjempet for å stanse utbyggingen. Etter at saken ble kjent har oppmerksomheten som blusset opp, og press fra flere hold har ført til at dommere har gått inn og stanset utbyggingen. Good work! Det er moro å se at det faktisk hjelper å kjempe i mot de sterke kreftene som går inn for ødeleggelse av regnskogen. Håper bare det holder videre også!

Askesky fra Island: bra for klimaet?

2010-04-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Jeg har fått et veldig bra tips fra venninnen min Kristin om å skrive om vulkanutbruddet på Island. So here goes:

Asken som velter opp i atmosfæren fra Island påvirker klimaet. Partikler fra utbruddet legger seg som et lokk over kloden, og på samme måter som skyer reflekteres en stor del av solstrålene tilbake til rommet før de når jordens overflate. Derfor vil mindre varme nå bakken, og temperaturen synker. Asken virker altså nedkjølende på kloden. Og det kan være positivt når vi sliter med global oppvarming!

Videre er vulkansk aske veldig næringsrik, så når den faller til bakken vil den virke positivt på vegetasjon, som vil vokse raskere og bli større. Dermed trekkes mer CO2 ut fra atmosfæren.

Det som er litt mindre positivt er hvis svovel fra asken danner sur nedbør. Det vil forsure jord, elver og innsjøer, og altså påvirke miljøet på en måte vi sloss for å unngå ved å redusere utslipp av svovel fra for eksempel fabrikker.

En effekt til er at store deler av Europas flytrafikk er lammet. Det er kjempekjedelig for alle som blir hindret i å reise dit de skal. Likevel er det en positiv bieffekt i at verdens CO2- utslippe reduseres merkbart.

Vi får oss en liten vekker når slike situasjoner oppstår. Det viser hvor sårbare vi er, og hvor lite vi egentlig har å si i den store sammenhengen. Målt opp mot naturens krefter og rekkevidde har ikke vår teknologi mye å stille opp med.

Tenk over hvor avhengige vi har blitt av å fly! Internasjonal handel, kommunikasjon og transport generelt går plutselig som sirup i forhold til hva vi er vant til. Milliarder blir tapt hver dag.

Det er ganske nytt å måtte ta buss, tog eller bil i stedet for å fly. At den kollektive transporten øker er jo veldig bra. Over lengre avstander kan det fort gå litt mye tid. Men innen Norge er det jo veldig praktisk. Så er det kanskje flere som oppdager hvor praktisk det er med videokonferanser eller nattoget mellom Trondheim og Oslo? Der er jo ganske behagelig å våkne 08:00 i Oslo fremfor å stå opp 05:00 for å nå flyet.

For min del kan det spøke for miljøteknologi- studieturen til California i kommende uke. Vi får se hvordan det går, men blir det ikke er jeg sikker på at jeg skal klare å ta det igjen en eller annen gang. Miljøteknologi skal jeg lære mer om uansett hva som skjer!

Avatar- regissør kjemper for Amazonas

2010-04-11T02:22:00.000-07:00

James Cameron, som regisserte den geniale og miljøriktige storfilmen "Avatar", har besøkt Amazonas for å lytte til indianernes bekymringer. Det gjelder den svært omstridte Belo Monte damutbyggingen, som vil være katastrofal for regnskogen og rundt 40 000 indianere.

Utbyggingen av den gigantiske dammen vil føre til overvømmelse av store områder med regnskog. Dette fører til tap av verdifull skog, dyrearter og landsbyer. Samtidig vil Brasils CO2- utslipp skyte i været som følge av forråtnelse av trevirke.

Cameron har bedt president Lula revurdere godkjenningen av prosjektet. Med oppmerksomheten han har skapt rundt regnskog og urbefolkning er det absolutt håp tilstede for at hans støtte får betydning! Så det er bare å krysse fingrene og håpe på det beste.

Les mer om saken hos Regnskogfondet.

2010-04-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sånn, da var påskepanten til Røde Kors i boks! Supert at vi har fått en pante- container ikke langt fra hytten vår. Den fyltes ganske kjapt i løpet av ferien!

Det er kjempefint å kunne gi pantepengene til Røde Kors. De gjorde en fantastisk innsats i påsken, hvor stor skredfare og usikkert føre gjorde arbeidsforholdene vanskelige. Flinke og erfarne fjellfolk trengs i et vinterland hvor farlige situasjoner kan oppstå! Da er det genialt at også vanlige folk kan bidra litt for arbeidet deres på en så lettvint måte.

Husk å pante i påsken!

2010-03-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

Som alltid gjelder det å ta med seg de gode pantevanene til påskefjellet. En veldig lett måte å spare både kroner og miljø! Man kan også velge å gi bort pengene til Røde Kors, som gjør en fantastisk innsats og virkelig fortjener pantepengene. Husk at man sparer 90- 95 % av energien som må til for å lage en ny flaske hvis man panter i stedet for å lage en helt ny!

Sjekk pant.no for påskekonkurranser og mer info!

Hva er det egentlig vi driver med?

2010-03-30T02:54:00.000-07:00

National Geographic har laget en bildeserie med rekonstruksjon av Manhattan slik det var før landskapet ble gjenbygget. Jeg merker at jeg får litt vondt når jeg ser sånne bilder. Det er ikke tvil om hvilket som er vakrest? Endeløse grønne skoger med krystallklart vann og farger, med et mangfold av dyrearter. En lett røykstrimle stiger fra et bål laget av indianere som lever i pakt med naturen. Kontra... en grå storbytilværelse med forurenset vann og luft, stress og bråk?

Det er skremmende, men en vestlig levemåte har i mange tilfeller gått på bekostning av naturen. Det må ikke bli sånn! Det hadde vel vært mye bedre å inngå et kompromiss? At vi slo oss ned og brukte naturen, men til gjengjeld drev samfunnet på en bærekraftig måte som ikke skadet miljøet rundt oss? Høy levestandard er ikke ensbetydende med overforbruk. Og materiell velstand er heller ikke synonymt med lykke. Så det hadde kanskje ikke vært så dumt å stoppe opp og tenke litt over hvilken verden vi egentlig ønsker å leve i. Selv om mye kan se grått og trist ut, er det som kjent ingen skam å snu. Heller ikke i klimaspørsmål!

Vellykket Earth Hour!

2010-03-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Det ble en vellykket markering av Earth Hour i går! Bare i Norge sparte vi seks millioner lyspærer.

Det er under en måned til jeg drar til California på miljøteknologi- studietur, så for å sette stemningen tok jeg med et bilde fra Earth Hour i San Fransisco i går.

Sjekk en kul serie med før/ etter- bilder fra Earth Hour her.

2010-03-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Husk Earth Hour i kveld klokken 20.30! Skru av lyset i en time og bidra i markeringen for et bedre klima. Hovedhensikten er å bidra til en verdensomspennende aksjon for miljøet; ved deltakelsen sender man et kraftig signal til verdens politikere om at vi er mange som vil at de skal ta klimaproblemene på alvor. Poenget er derfor at så mange som mulig slår av lyset. Det ventes faktisk at en milliard mennesker skal slukke lyset samtidig!

Nytt økologisk matmerke

2010-03-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

For å rydde opp i jungelen av økologiske matvarer har EU/ EØS innført et nytt merke som skal gjelde i hele Europa. Merket taes i bruk i juli, men blir ikke obligatorisk før i 2012. Overgangsperioden vil dermed ta noen år, men det er vel verdt ventetiden når man får på plass en felles merking som kan guide forbrukerne til godkjente miljøprodukter.

Romfart: sløsing av ressurser eller riktig investering?

2010-03-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Jeg har mange ganger spurt meg selv om det er riktig å bruke så mye penger på romfart. Det er ufattelig kostbart å forske på, bygge instrumenter og sende ut romsonder eller raketter til verdensrommet. Ikke bare koster det penger, men man bruker også ressurser i form av råvarer og menneskelig kompetanse.

Spørsmålet mitt er om det er etisk riktig å bruke så mye ressurser på områder vi strengt tatt ikke trenger for å overleve. Man kan se for seg at det kunne vært mer konstruktivt å bruke kreftene på å rydde opp i kriser som rammer oss direkte på kloden. Sult- og naturkatastrofer, klimakrisen og vannmangel er bare begynnelsen.

Da gjelder det å spørre seg: hva tjener vi egentlig på romforskning? Tenker man etter, er det ikke så rent lite. For det første: Kunnskap. Ikke bare om universet, men om fysiske fenomener. Nye teorier utprøves med romteknologi, og fysikken bringes hakket videre. Det kan gi uante konsekvenser, også for teknologi på jorden. Noen av de viktigste teknologiene vi har for fornybar energi og nullutslipp av CO2 ble oppfunnet som et direkte resultat av romforskning. Solceller og atomkraft er gode eksempler.

I årene framover planlegegs en bemannet tur til Mars. Hovedmålet til ingeniørene i NASA er å lage løsninger som er hundre prosent gjenvinnbart. Teknologien må ha langvarig levetid og være lettest mulig. Noen andre enn meg som tenker "miljøvennlig"?

Hvis morgendagens miljøteknologi kommer som et biprodukt av romforskning, kan det absolutt være verdt det.

Redusert avskoging i Brasil!

2010-03-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

Det er utrolig gledelig at Brasils miljøminister Carlos Minc nylig gikk ut og fortalte at avskogingen i Amazonas har sunket med 46 prosent det siste året. Det er en fantastisk utvikling som bekreftes av satelittbilder. Det varmer å se at målrettet innsats hjelper!

Brasil blir dermed et godt bilde på at en kombinasjon av økonomisk støtte og politisk vilje både internasjonalt og lokalt fører fram. Det krever tøffe og uredde politikere for å stå i mot de sterke interessene som ønsker å ødelegge regnskogene.

Økonomien har blandt annet Norge bidratt med: store deler av de tre milliardene vi bevilget til bevaring av regnskog i fjor har gått til tiltak i Amazonas. Også internasjonale organisasjoner som Regnskogfondet sørger for at penger fra privatpersoner havner på riktig sted, så tiltakene faktisk hjelper. Gå til http://www.regnskog.no/Redd+regnskog+du+ogsaa/Bli+Regnskogvokter for å gi din støtte!

Thorium- ren kjerneenergi for framtiden?

2010-03-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

Jeg er i utgangspunktet skeptisk til kjerneenergi, av to grunner. For det første er det helt absurd å tenke seg det radioaktive avfallet som har en halveringstid på en halv milliard år. Det andre er faren for katastrofale ulykker (selv om den ligger på 0,1 promille er det fortsatt en viss risiko) á la Tsjernobyl.

Derfor ser jeg på thorium som et spennende alternativ til uran, som brukes i dagens reaktorer. Med thorium som basis vil risikoen for ulykker elimineres. Ettersom thorium ikke spalter seg uten hjelp, har ikke kjernereaksjonene mulighet til å løpe løpsk. I tillegg vil thorium faktisk kunne bruke farlig avfall fra nåværende kjernekraftverk. Videre er det uegnet å lage atomvåpen av teknologien.

Norge har verdens fjerde største forekomster av thorium. (At det er mulig for et land å ha så flaks med beliggenhet og naturressurser, er for øvrig utenfor min fatteevne...). Hvis det skal regnes om til penger, vil det kunne bli vårt sorte gull nummer to- og vel så det. Verdien av thoriumet vil i følge Forskning. no komme opp i svimlende 1,5 millioner milliarder kroner! I praksis er dette tusen ganger mer enn oljefondet.

Med solid backing fra forskere i CERN, har thoriumkraftverk seilt opp som en het kandidat i løsningen på energikrisen. Når nobelprisvinnere i fysikk har uttalt seg positive til thorium må det vel ha noe for seg? Stjerneforskere fra CERN har sagt at de kommer til Norge umiddelbart for å bidra i utviklingen av en prototyp hvis finansieringen kommer på plass. Kompetansen er der, muligheten finnes og den som er først ute med teknologien vil bli verdensledende. Så det kan være verdt å diskutere om dette er noe Norge bør satse på?

En veldig god artikkel ligger på Forskning.no: http://www.forskning.no/artikler/2006/november/1162459085.68

Søta bror slår oss!

2010-03-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

Det er en vedtatt sannhet at svenskene ligger milevis foran oss klimasinker med nisselue. Mens våre naboer har redusert sine klimagassutslipp med 9,1 prosent siden 1990, har Norge økt sine utslipp med 11 prosent! Det er sørgelig dårlig.

All honnør til svenskenes politiske og sosiale vilje og handlekraft i miljøspørsmål! Det er en bra prestasjon å redusere utslipp av klimagasser i tider hvor tendensen er stikk motsatt. Dette er et resultat av målrettet og effektivt klimaarbeid over mange år. Her har definitivt norske politikere noe å lære!

Litt vennskapelig kniving om førsteplassen i miljøvennlighet er definitivt av det gode, så jeg håper inderlig at vi nordmenn klarer å ta inn på forspranget litt kvikt. Alt annet vil være direkte pinlig! Det at vi har olje bør være en åpenbar grunn til å sette i gang storstilte klimatiltak, ikke en unnskyldning for ikke å gjøre det.

Oppvaskmaskin uten vann

2010-03-06T06:17:00.000-08:00

Det forbrukes store mengder ressurser i vanlige husholdninger. Det er tross alt her vi tilbringer mesteparten av tiden vår. De fleste har en rekke elektriske apparater, som er gull verdt i en travel hverdag, men som dessverre sluker både strøm og vann. Nå begynner det å bli lenge siden de vanligste oppfinnelsene i hjemmet inntok markedene verden over. Så det er kanskje på tide å tenke nytt?

Derfor har et fransk forskerteam funnet opp det vi har ventet på lenge: en oppvaskmaskin som ikke bruker vann! Men hvordan er dette mulig? Jo; den bruker nemlig ultralyd for å danne mikroskopiske bobler som fjrener skittent belegg fra tallerkener og bestikk.

Miljøvennligheten stopper ikke der: oppvaskmaskinen bruker ekstremt lite energi, nesten ikke såpe og er i tillegg lydløs. Fiffig!

Indisk miljøavgift på kull

2010-02-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

Jeg vil gi et klapp på skulderen til Indias regjering, som har bestemt seg for å innføre en miljøavgift på kull, CO2- versting nummer én. Avgiften vil gi penger som skal settes i et miljøfond for utvikling av ren energi.

Ettersom India vil produsere 570 millioner tonn kull neste år, vil avgiften på seks kroner per tonn gi milliardinntekter, noe som er kjempegode nyheter for utviklingen av indisk miljøteknologi. Forhåpentligvis vil også avgiften redusere etterspørselen etter kull.

Det kan bli kjempespennende hvis de klarer å utnytte kompetansen som allerede finnes i India. Når inderne allerede er verdensledende innen for eksempel datateknikk, er det spennende hva som kan skje med et miljøfond i milliardklassen.