Home Trailer

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

"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

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

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

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...