Green Options » norway

Gene Banks to Preserve World’s Crops from Climate Change

Michael Ricciardi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:12:21 +0000

Design of the Svalbard seed vault as of early 2007

In 1992, the Global Biodiversity Convention (GBC) was adopted in Rio de Janeiro, and which placed the biodiversity issue center stage–calling for the world-wide preservation of biodiversity and its equitable and sustainable use. The convention was established in response to both the increasing rate of plant extinction (through habitat loss), fears by poorer nations of “biopiracy”, and the increasing agricultural use of land for high-value crops, to the exclusion of lesser-value ones–a practice that diminishes crop biodiversity. These lesser-value crops are typically grown by independent and small farms in less economically advanced countries. Many of these so-called “orphan crops” risk becoming extinct. Further, many species of plant or tree that fall outside the conventional definition of agriculture–such as the sea-water tolerant mangrove tree–are being ignored, to the possible peril of future agriculture.

Recent warming trends pose the greatest threat to preserving global “agrobiodiversity” due to its predicted alterations in temperature, precipitation, and sea level (thus the intrusion of saline water into fresh water ecosystems). Also, computer models show that global warming will increase the frequency and duration of flood and drought cycles. To protect civilization’s long-term food supply (and to protect against the social chaos of food shortages from consequent crop failures) from these potentially calamitous effects, scientists and agricultural policy experts, in cooperation with various governments, have begun establishing cryogenic gene banks to preserve the seeds of various, valuable crops for future agricultural use. The most notable example of this is the International Rice Research institute (IRRI) in the Philippines which stores over 100,000 strains of rice.

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Economic Value of Ecosystems and Biodiversity — New Report

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:02:23 +0000

A new report, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), attempts to bring to the world’s attention the truly great economic value of ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as the benefits of taking these into account when making policies.

The value of the world’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity is something lacking in most economic analyses. Lack of value for what is truly priceless doesn’t just hurt the environment, however. It is also a sort of economic suicide. This new report, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme and supported by key EU, UK, German, Swedish, Dutch, and Norwegian bodies, attempts to bring all of this to our attention more and show some positive case studies of how taking the environment into consideration can actually save us money.

As the report says: “the failure of markets to adequately consider the value of ecosystem services is of concern not only to environment, development and climate change ministries but also to finance, economics and business ministries.”

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Norway 1st Rich Nation to Commit to 40% Reductions

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:53:59 +0000

Norway committed to cut their greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2020 this week. This is the most ambitious goal of any rich nation to date.

Norway’s prime minister Jens Stoltenberg (just re-elected) is meeting the requests of many developing nations and environmental NGOs with this commitment.

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Mazda Will Raise $1.1 Billion For Hybrid Research

Christopher DeMorro — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:55:33 +0000

Mazda, one of the few manufacturers to stay out of the hybrid car craze, has announced they will raise over $1 billion for hybrid research by issuing 315.2 million shares of their stock. As someone who questions the practicality of hybrids, this news is rather disappointing to me personally. You might call me a “hybrid hater.”

But what about hydrogen, Mazda? Le sigh…

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UN Speeches Ramp Up Rhetoric in US – China Climate Change Arms Race

Joe Walsh — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:40:42 +0000

After spending some time bringing together Israel and Palestine for a handshake photo-op in New York, President Obama turned his attention to a problem that may prove equally daunting: global cooperation on climate change.

In his first UN appearance since taking the Oval Office, Obama staked a lofty position for the US, promised that the US is “determined to act,” and that the US “will meet our responsibility to future generations.” Chinese President Hu Jintao matched Obama’s rhetoric, pledging that the Chinese would commit to a host of progressive steps around renewable energy and emissions reductions, but also cautioning that developing economies like China’s “should not … be asked to take on obligations that go beyond their development stage.”

The summer saw a lot of pre-positioning in advance of Copenhagen, and with today’s UN General Assembly marking the beginning of a series of mini-summits in the lead-up to December’s big climate change conference, the volume on those announcements will only increase along with their frequency and grandeur.

Still, with Obama facing an uphill battle on domestic climate change legislation and China hiding behind their “developing” status, Copenhagen is threatening to become little more than a public relations event with little real concerted action. The US will have to avoid making the push for global leadership on climate change into a new breed of arms race that would find Obama and US policymakers at a significant disadvantage against the Chinese in the following ways:

Paying Lip Service is Costly – China, India and other developing countries want the US-led West to subsidize their carbon reduction efforts. If the West balks and no comprehensive global agreement emerges, the US could still find itself saddled with costly commitments made in going toe-to-toe with China as a demonstration of leadership and willingness to cooperate. For example, at the UN, President Jintao made the headline-grabbing promise to plant enough new trees in China to cover the area of Norway. Jintao also promised to get China to 15% renewable energy within 10 years, a much more ambitious timeline than any US plan. While it may not represent the kind of economy-crippling commitment that China fears will result from a global agreement, these programs will be costly, and Obama has his hands full just trying to pay for health care.

Democracy’s Dilemma - Not only is Obama hamstrung by health care, an increasingly troublesome war in Afghanistan, and an economy that is still teetering; but, he also has the mettlesome matters of bipartisanship, political pressure and budget restraints. While a strongly Democratic House could barely pass a weakened climate bill, Jintao and the Chinese have a one-party system overseeing a command economy that gives the Chinese a lot more adaptability as circumstances dictate in Copenhagen, in the world press, and on the geopolitical landscape.

The World Won’t Grade on a Curve - The Chinese are already crying foul over efforts to stifle their economy for the sake of climate change action and the world community is not expecting much from the world’s fastest growing economy and most voluminous emitter. Commitments like those above are enough to make a splash and convince the world that China really is trying. By contrast, Senators from Obama’s own party are refusing to discuss the prospect of domestic climate change legislation unless it includes trade protections. That kind of opposition in his own party makes a lot of his words ring hollow while the Chinese will certainly be able to deliver on whatever proposals they float. There are no handicaps in this game, so even if they overshoot on a much lower standard, the Chinese promise to steal Obama’s thunder.

Conventional wisdom says you should never enter a land war in Asia. The same might be said for wars of words.

Flickr photo.

Safest & Least Safe Countries to Live in

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:28:50 +0000

A new report by Maplecroft, a world leader in global risk assesment, lists the countries at the greatest and the least risk of climate change problems.

The new study examined 166 countries in total. With climate change, it is hard to guess who will be hit the worst, but here is one scientific attempt at ranking the countries’ vulnerability to climate change.

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Hyrdogen-Powered RX-8s Make Their Way to Norway

Christopher DeMorro — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:45:58 +0000

The Scandanavians are a resourceful lot, and they have to be, having inhabited one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth for centuries. They have given us Vikings, demonically infused death metal, and of course, Nokia. But hydrogen-powered sports cars? Well technically, those are coming from Mazda, in the form of their rotary-powered RX-8 sport coupes. But the first examples of these wunderkin are being shipped off to Norway for field testing, as Norway is the first country to have built an extended hydrogen-based infrastructure to support these cars.

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Norway May Ban Gas Cars After 2015

Nick Chambers — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:17:56 +0000

Norwegian Finance Minister, Kristin Halvorsen, and her Socialist Left Party have put forth a plan that would disallow the sale of new cars that run solely on gasoline after 2015.

Under the plan new cars such as hybrids, that run partially on gas, would still be allowed to be sold in the country, but any cars that only use gas as their power source would be illegal. Cars already on the road would be unaffected.

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Will Tata Indica EV be Europe’s First Serious Electric Car?

Andrew Williams — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:38:34 +0000

Ambitious Indian car company Tata has revealed that it may launch its Indica Vista EV all-electric car in Europe by the end of the year, making it the first ‘mainstream’ company to bid for a slice of the continent’s potentially lucrative zero-emission vehicles market.

The move is likely to ruffle a few feathers amongst GM executives, who had grand plans that the Opel Ampera (the Chevy Volt’s European cousin) would become the first major player in the region, following its launch in 2011.

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Bellona Launches CCS (CO2 Capture and Storage) Web

Keith Rockmael — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:35:12 +0000

Perhaps bloggers need to be more visual and less wordy. Those were some of the first thoughts that crept into my head when I got wind of this new CCS (CO2 capture and storage) Web and interactive map from the Bellona Foundation.

Before even going further I had to check out Bellona, which we discovered is an Oslo, Norway based NGO that primarily functions as a nuclear watchdog focusing on developments in Russia. More recently they have moved into other sectors including technology and the environment. That’s where the colorful and helpful new CCS Web comes into play.

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Human Sewage to Power Buses in Norway

The Guardian Environment Network — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:45:43 +0000

Free, friendly and non-fossil – biomethane from human waste will soon power public transport in Oslo, the capital city of Norway.

It is available for free in huge quantities, is not owned by Saudi Arabia and it contributes minimally towards climate change. The latest green fuel might seem like the dream answer to climate crisis, but until recently raw sewage has been seen as a waste disposal problem rather than a power source. Now Norway’s capital city is proving that its citizens can contribute to the city’s green credentials without even realising it.

In Oslo, air pollution from public and private transport has increased by approximately 10% since 2000, contributing to more than 50% of total CO2 emissions in the city. With Norway’s ambitious target of being carbon neutral by 2050 Oslo City Council began investigating alternatives to fossil fuel-powered public transport and decided on biomethane.

Biomethane is a by-product of treated sewage. Microbes break down the raw material and release the gas, which can then be used in slightly modified engines. Previously at one of the sewage plants in the city half of the gas was flared off, emitting 17,00 tonnes of CO2. From September 2009, this gas will be trapped and converted into biomethane to run 200 of the city’s public buses.

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Omnivore’s Dilemma Author and Monsanto CEO Chat with Google in the Defense of Food

Jerry James Stone — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:39:45 +0000

Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant and author Michael Pollan agree to disagree over the world’s food crisis…kinda.

This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

In an unlikely pairing, both Michael Pollan and Monsanto’s CEO Hugh Grant sat down with Google.org and YouTube for a discussion on the world’s food crisis. The two had met and became friends upon visiting the Doomsday Seed Vault in Norway.

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Japan Says We are Witnessing the Death of the International Whaling Commission

Levi Novey — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:01:37 +0000

On Friday, the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting came to a close with a whimper. This year’s gathering was held in Chile, and the meeting’s chairperson, United States delegate William Hogarth, made a gutsy and stupid decision. Hogarth wanted to avoid confrontations at this year’s meeting, with the hope of creating good will among countries. He pontificated that this good will could be used to find solutions in the future (not now). Translation: he pleaded for member countries not to vote on or discuss important issues that concern whales. Based on what happened (or more accurately, did not happen), the meeting was very unsuccessful.

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Chile Declares Permanent Ban on Whaling, Japan Pressured to Follow Suit

Levi Novey — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:22:21 +0000

Starting things off with a bang, Chile declared a permanent ban on whaling on the opening day of the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting. The Pacific Ocean-bordering country is playing host to the conference, where tensions are running high. One goal of the conference is to get enough countries to vote affirmatively to create a new whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic Ocean. But this plan might be stymied by the meeting’s own chair person.

In an effort to build consensus, the chair person of the conference urged for there to be little debate and no voting at the meeting this year. The goal is to “pay it forward,” and use any additional good will that is created this year at next year’s meeting with the hope that more can be accomplished. Many environmentalists find the chairman’s plan to be intolerable, as they claim that Japan is using “scientific research” as an excuse to hunt approximately 1,000 whales each year. But Japan isn’t the only country ignoring a 1986 ban on commercial whaling that was agreed upon by the commission.

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First Full-Scale Floating Wind Mill

Sarah Lozanova — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:06:23 +0000

StatoilHydro, a state-run oil company in Norway, recently announced a 2 year test of a floating 2.3 MW wind turbine off the coast of Norway.

Cables will be used to transmit the power to shore for this $80 million pilot project. The turbine has a height of 65 meters above the sea surface and a weighs 138 tons and will be mounted on a buoy 6 miles off shore.

This technology is unique because the turbine will not be stationary. Three anchors will secure the turbine to the sea floor and can be used at depths ranging from 120 to 700 meters.

“We have drawn on our offshore expertise from the oil and gas industry to develop wind power offshore,” says Alexandra Bech Gjørv, head of New Energy for StatoilHydro.

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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.

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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
Mazda Builds First RX-8 Hydrogen RE for Norway

HIROSHIMA, Japan-Mazda Motor Corporation today announced that it has built the first Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicle with Norwegian specifications, developed specifically for participation in HyNor, Norway’s national hydrogen project. The first unit will take part in ceremonies marking the official opening of HyNor’s hydrogen filling stations. The initial opening ceremony will be held in Oslo on May 11, 2009. The RX-8 Hydrogen RE will then undergo certification to meet local standards and will be used for maintenance staff training. Mazda plans to commence leasing of Norwegian specification RX-8 Hydrogen RE models in Norway in summer 2009.

Unlike the RX-8 Hydrogen RE currently being leased in Japan, the HyNor-specification Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE is based on the latest European-specification Mazda RX-8 with left-hand drive and a manual transmission.

The HyNor project aims to enable hydrogen vehicles to travel along a 580-kilometer stretch of highway by establishing a chain of hydrogen stations between Stavanger and Oslo in Norway. Mazda agreed to collaborate with HyNor on the project in November 2007 and began validation of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE’s driving performance on Norwegian public roads in October 2008.

History of Mazda’s hydrogen vehicle development
1991 Developed first hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X
1992 Conducted test drive of golf cart equipped with fuel cell
1993 Developed second hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, HR-X2
Developed MX-5 test vehicle equipped with hydrogen rotary engine
1995 Conducted Japan’s first public road tests of a hydrogen rotary engine vehicle, Capella Cargo
1997 Developed Demio FC-EV
2001 Developed Premacy FC-EV, conducted first public road test in Japan
2003 Announced RX-8 Hydrogen RE prototype
2004 Received MLIT approval for public road testing of RX-8 Hydrogen RE
2006 Started commercial leasing of RX-8 Hydrogen RE in Japan (eight models have been delivered to date)
2007 Signed agreement to provide RX-8 Hydrogen REs to Hynor, a Norwegian national project
2008 Commenced public road tests in Norway with RX-8 Hydrogen RE validation vehicle
2009 Commenced commercial leasing of Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid in Japan
Produced the first Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE with Norwegian specifications

For more information on Mazda’s hydrogen rotary engine vehicles, please visit:
http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/env/

Singapore Lands Largest Solar Production Complex

Maria Surma Manka — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:52:40 +0000

Renewable energy is big, big, big: Josh just wrote about the world’s largest wind farm possibly going up in South Dakota (yahoo!), California could see the world’s largest solar power plant, and now Singapore is in the foray with landing the largest solar manufacturing facility the world’s ever seen.

A Norwegian company called Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) will build the complex, which will be completed in different stages to incorporate wafer, cell, and module production. REC already operates the world’s current largest solar plant in Norway, which produces about 650 megawatts of energy annually.

A solar manufacturing plant would be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, and REC looked at 200 locations before settling on Singapore. A combination of tax incentives, grants, and a skilled workforce were some of the reasons REC liked it. Likewise, Singapore officials are thrilled about playing center stage in the world’s rush to clean technology. Ko Kheng Hwa of the Economic Development Board explained:

The project will be a ‘queen bee’ to attract a hive of solar activities to Singapore — big companies and young start-ups engaged in research and development, manufacturing and innovation, as well as the supplier ecosystem… This investment will be a tremendous boost to our national drive to develop the solar industry.

Once completed in 2010, the capacity of all the products the plant produces will generate up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of energy each year — that’s compared to the total global industry output of 2 GW in 2006. That large of an impact, combined with the 3,000 expected jobs, shines a new light on an emerging area of the world hungry for innovative and clean technology.

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Mazda Builds First RX-8 Hydrogen RE for Norway

For more information on Mazda’s hydrogen rotary engine vehicles, please visit:
http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/env/

The Norwegian Bicycle Lift

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 20:55:07 +0000

When I started bicycling a few months ago on a regular basis, I learned my neighborhood topography quickly! It doesn't take much of a rise to get a cyclist straining and sweating (at least not this one!), and that likely accounts for the relatively low share of bicycles on the streets in hilly cities. The city of Trondheim, Norway, has figured out a way to increase that percentage: in 1993, they installed a Trampe bicycle lift on one of the steepest hills in the city's center. Despite hills, the city now has the highest share of cycling in any Norwegian city.

Want to get a look at the lift? Trampe has posted a promotional video on their site. If you're really interested in details of the Trondheim lift, a project report is also available (in MS Word). While the slopes in my neighborhood likely don't justify such an investment, this technology (which looks relatively simple) could help get people out of there cars and onto their bikes.

The Bicycle Lift Trampe

Mazda Builds First RX-8 Hydrogen RE for Norway

For more information on Mazda’s hydrogen rotary engine vehicles, please visit:
http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/env/