Green Options » Denmark

SAS Cuts Emissions by Flying Slower

Pem Charnley — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:05:43 +0000

SAS flies slower to save fuel and lower carbon emissions.

Well, when I read this headline, conflicting views sprang to mind.

Firstly of course, being an Englishman with no sense of irony, I immediately leapt to my feet and saluted my queen and her armed forces.

Then I faltered slightly, and thought, if a crack team of SAS marines were being air dropped into some war-torn despotic state, surely, speed is of the essence, to ensure that the paras can be in and out again with time for a cup of tea a mere hours later.

And of course, well, I thought the SAS were used relatively infrequently – as a last resort. Surely the carbon savings are going to be miniscule.

Also, come to think of it, is it politic to announce slower-moving troops to the enemy…?

As you can tell, my mind by this time was racing with all the possibilities, all the negatives surrounding this piece of news. And I still hadn’t clicked on the link!

So I did so to find the opening paragraph reads:

“Scandinavian airline SAS is flying slower to save on sky-rocketing fuel costs and curb emissions of carbon dioxide in a new push to green up its image.”

Oh.

Oh, I see.

Relief all round I’d say. The full story can be found here detailing real positives surrounding Scandinavia’s decision to try and get a grip on air travel’s dreadful CO2 emissions.

Please also read: Fly Me to The Moon, But not via Heathrow – written by EcoWorldly’s Zurich correspondent, Mark Seal. Particularly relevant as it details the UK’s own lacklustre approach to the skies.

(I also found it interesting to learn about the story behind the image I decided to use. Rather fun and informative link here.)

Image credit: ladyb at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Depletion of Cold North Could Spark New Cold War

Joshua S Hill — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:53:21 +0000

We’ve written often recently off the challenges soon to be faced by the continuing melt of the Arctic. Without a doubt, there are resources up there that someone will attempt to get their grubby little hands on. And, with the price of oil continuing to skyrocket with each passing month, if oil is found in the north – not an unexpected possibility considering the nearby reservoirs – all hell is going to break loose.

Scott Borgerson of the Council on Foreign Relations, a former U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant commander, has just gone on record as saying that we could be facing a new cold war.

The analogy is both apt and humorously fitting, but is it in any way true? Instead of the historic face-off between the world’s two superpowers, we could be looking at something far different. Instead of just America and Russia, Arctic powers include Canada, Denmark and Norway, in addition to the original two.

Already tensions are rising, in a way that is eerily familiar. Russia is sending submarines and science ships north to investigate how far their continental shelf extends. They’ve planted a flag on the seabed underneath the North Pole, and for the first time since the Cold War, they’ve sent strategic bomber flights over the Arctic.

And yet a US official, who went on record under anonymity, believes that “There’s no ice cold war.”

Borgerson said in a telephone interview recently that “…planting a flag on the sea bottom and renewing strategic bomber flights is provocative,” and added that “I don’t think we’re [the United States] scrambling. We’re sleepwalking … I think the Russians are scrambling and I think the Norwegians and Canadians and Danes are keenly aware.”

Everyone’s scrambling for the best view. Russia isn’t the only one conducting scientific research. All of the Arctic powers are looking at just how far their continental shelves reach. Russia seems to have stepped on toes, and while they aren’t necessarily in direct conflict with the US as of yet, Norway and Denmark definitely have some issues with what Russia is claiming as hers.

Coastal nations, like the 5 involved, are generally happy with the 200 nautical miles that extend from their coastline as sovereign territory. But recent research coming out of the University of New Hampshire and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggests that the US shelf might extend an extra 100 nautical miles further than previously thought.

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea is what gives the sovereign rights to coastal nations. And many believe that the US should sign the treaty soon. In addition, if a country can meet a set of conditions – scientific, etc – then their coastal boundaries can extend.

“Of course we need to be at the table as ocean law develops,” the U.S. official said. “It’s not like ocean law is going to stop developing if we’re not in there. It’s just going to develop without us.”

What saddens me the most is that you can get your bottom dollar that this does not bode well for the environment. Ask yourself what’s causing the melting of the Arctic, and then look at what they hope to extract. The answer to both questions, is fossil fuel.

Photo Courtesy of arcticroute.com via Flickr

What Happens When A Wind Turbine Goes Wild?

Max Lindberg — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:25:46 +0000

This wind turbine in Denmark went out of control when it’s safety mechanism failed to operate. And the blades went round, and round, and round…until…..

The Arctic Quandry

Joshua S Hill — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:01:28 +0000

I know some of you may be disappointed by a return to the despondent and depressed Josh, but I do try and keep a bit of variety. Just keep in mind my last two posts: a greener Google [1] and a larger, more efficient wind farm [2]. Keep those in mind as we discuss the top end of our planet. There's no need to rehash what we already know. The Arctic is melting. It's a fact that we are going to have to come to grips with. Shipping lanes are being changed, animals and natives are being displaced, and ice is disappearing faster than my friends when I attempt to swing the conversation away from bodily functions to politics. So it's no surprise to see five of the nations likely to be hardest hit up north — Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland — come together and issue a cry for help. "The Arctic and the world cannot wait any longer," environmental ministers from the five nations said in a joint statement after talks in Oslo. "The climate is hurtling towards a turning point after which irreversible processes will have been set in motion." The Arctic thaw to which they are referring is blamed on heat-trapping gasses emitted by the use and burning of fossil fuels, according to the U.N. Climate Panel. The five Nordic nations fear that we are closing in on, if we haven't already passed it, a point of no return. A point in our history's timeline where once we cross it, there is nothing we can do to reverse the damages that global warming will wreak on our planet. The five nations also urged other nations to accept a new Kyoto-style agreement before the end of 2009. With only a month to go before many of the world's nations meet in Bali, Indonesia, to discuss such a plan, this cry for help can only bolster the efforts of people like Al Gore and organizations like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They asked these leaders to agree on "tangible measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases." And though Norway is the fifth highest exporter of oils, the Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim defended their outspoken words on global warming. "We have a special responsibility to be at the technological forefront…" he said, of curbing pollution from oil. And if the cries of help aren't enough to underscore the problem at hand, a recent scientific discovery should at the very least bolster the issue. An inadvertent benefit — loosely termed of course — of global warming is the unearthing of oil and gas reserves in the Arctic Circle. The United States, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Iceland are all vying for further control of the north [3], so that access to these valuable resources can be safely secured. Stories have abound over the northern summer, with Russian ministers, Canadian and Denmark ice-breakers and US submarines all traversing the Arctic seas as if it was a debutante ball. The latest such story is that of a rocky outcropping that was spotted in July of this year. Located of the coast of Greenland — a territory of Denmark – the outcropping dubbed Stray Dog West is further evidence in Denmark's eyes of legal claim to the North Pole. For a long time, the search for the northernmost point of land has consumed these Arctic residents, in efforts to narrow down ownership. Russia has attempted to assert its right by evidence of undersea ledges and plates, extending from the Russian motherland. But the answer may not be undersea... at least, not for long. "This little island could have a wide international significance," said Stefan Talmon, professor of international law at Oxford University in Britain. "With the ice melting, more and more of these islands could emerge and play a role in maritime delimitations." The basic scientific goal is to prove that the seabed is a natural extension of one's own land territory. If this is managed, then that country immediately acquires all right to exploit the natural resources found therein. "Five potential claim areas have been identified off the Faroe Islands and Greenland, potentially including the North Pole," says Denmark's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The planting of the Russian flag on the seabed at the theoretical North Pole angered officials in Ottawa and Washington. Canada has since announced that they will be mapping the entirety of their seabed, with plans to later build a deep sea port. The hope is to have patrol boats within ranging distance of the eastern entrance to the fabled Northwest Passage, the same passage that, for the first time in recorded history, has become open to travel. Denmark’s attempt to use Stray Dog West as their foothold in the Arctic all comes down to one tiny issue: whether it is an island or a rock. If it is just a rock — proven by whether it manages to stay above high tide or not — then there are no obligatory fishing rights. As it is only 12 feet above sea level at the moment, rising waters may do in the Danish claims. The Arctic. For so long it has been — to me at least — a fabled geographical location, like my closer neighbor the Antarctic. But now, just as I'm passing in to a life of hard work, it seems to be disappearing right beneath our proverbial feet. All the more reason to act I say, if for no other reason than for Michael Palin to make a second Pole to Pole journey! ENN — Nordic nations sound alarm over melting Arctic [4] MSNBC — Rocky outcrop surfaces in Arctic tug-of-war [5] Photo Credit — Jeff Shea / Reuters [6] [1] http://joshuashill.greenoptions.com/2007/10/30/google_going_greener [2] http://joshuashill.greenoptions.com/2007/10/29/world_s_largest_wind_farm_growing_up_in_south_dakota [3] http://joshuashill.greenoptions.com/2007/08/14/red_green_blue_will_polar_oil_race_launch_a_new_cold_war [4] http://www.enn.com/business/article/24187 [5] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21559075/ [6] http://www.enn.com/business/article/24187

Global Warming Not All Bad?

Joshua S Hill — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:22:22 +0000

Almost every day I find yet another story alerting the world to the fact that the Arctic didn't fair too well this past northern summer. Now, I’m relatively certain we’ve all got the idea. And trust me, I’m a huge supporter of needing to make such a piece of information known; but even I’ve got a limit to when I’ll keep pouring it down our throats. Today is not a day about looking at the dangers of the Arctic ice-melt, or how the world is going downhill so fast Eddie the Eagle couldn’t keep up. Today we look at what could very well be the sole benefit of the global warming phenomenon in the northern hemisphere, and possibly, the world. They call it the largest island in the world, but I know that that’s not true, because I’m living on the largest island in the world. I just happen to also be living on the smallest continent in the world, so Australia seems to be disqualified as largest island for having too many geographical records. So to step up to fill our gold medal place (continuing our Olympic theme) is Greenland, some 5,469,200 km² smaller than Australia. Those rising temperatures that are causing the Greenland ice-sheet (amongst others) to melt is also responsible for what scientists believe will be a boom for the economy. "The warmer climate will have a definite positive effect on Greenland's economic possibilities and development," said a report conducted by WWF Denmark (Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark). In a country where in the south some 23,500 sheep and lambs are slaughtered annually, the grass-growing season continues to extend each year. This subsequently is boosting the productivity for some 60 farms across the region. For many school children one of the tougher geological lessons to learn is that Iceland has no ice, and that Greenland is actually very rarely green at all. This lack of green has hampered vegetable production in the country. However, locally grown potatoes broccoli and other vegetables that have never before been cultivated are making their landmark appearances on Greenland supermarket shelves (or wherever there veggies are sold). And for the fishing industry, with warming waters supplies of cod – still too small to be commercially beneficial – are making their way north to Greenland waters. With time, they will grow larger as they are more accustomed to the waters, as the halibut supplies are already doing. Other economic boons are being uncovered, literally, as once ice-covered mineral deposits reveal supplies of gold, diamond, oil and natural gasses. Added economic input from hydroelectricity supplied by abundant meltwater could soon make independence from Denmark – whom they are financially dependent upon – affordable for Greenland. All of that being said, and forming a nice case for anyone looking to beat on global warming advocates, there are numerous negatives as well that come with such economic growth. Native Inuit subsistence hunters are suffering with the fluctuations in their landscapes. "The warming of the ocean is making the ice so thin that people living from hunting are not able to follow the routes that they used to," said Lene Kielsen Holm, sustainable development advisor for the Greenland arm of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Nuuk.. "They are seeing more and more accidents." The Inuit’s used to hunt seals, walruses, and other animals along the sea-ice, but with it forming ever later and disappearing two months earlier, their futures become even more uncertain. The Qaanaaq region of northwestern Greenland was scene to a near escape, after storms broke up the sea-ice causing the loss of their hunting gear and their sled dogs. "If they can't go hunting, they can't feed their dogs," she added. What’s worse for natives to Greenland is that with a population only 57,000 in size, they lack the infrastructure to support multinational oil and mining companies. "Foreigners would have to be invited to come here, and maybe in the near future we could be in the situation of being the minority in our own country." Other uncertainties plague the large northern island, including the disturbance to the scenery and its more native inhabitants. For example, ringed seals—which depend on summer sea-ice for breeding and were once common throughout Greenland—are moving farther north. And possibly the most famous animal to be suffering at the moment is the polar bear who, according to a WWF report, "within the next 50 years … will probably only be found in the very northwest corner of Greenland." Will people try and use Greenland’s chance at economic freedom and growth as a rallying point for those opposed to effecting global change? We can hardly think otherwise, considering the cynicism and fervor with which some people view our own points of view on the matter. Some may say that this is a silver lining for Greenland, but the problem with silver linings is that there are usually bigger clouds behind them. National Geographic - Global Warming Good for Greenland? [1] Photo Courtesy of National Geographic [1] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071017-greenland-warming.html