Why there is still hope for our planet
Is it too late to save our planet? Professor Jianguo Liu is the newest winner of The Gunnerus Award in Sustainability Science. He offers us some hope.
Climate
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How a plant from the USA invaded Europe
This invader can extend the pollen season to November, and it is heading towards Norway. For now, it has stopped in Denmark.
Is it really selfish to complain about electricity prices?
Norwegians are not necessarily being selfish by wanting to go back to the good old days of cheap electricity. Nor do people think it is acceptable to use the situation for some to enrich themselves at the expense of others, says the researcher.
Seeks to capture 1 million tons of CO2 from the air per year
In collaboration with SINTEF, the industrial company Removr aims to become a world leader in direct CO2 capture from air.
Climate-friendly metal production – why is it difficult?
Most people know that metals are made from ore, but how do we make gold from gravel? That’s the process we must understand to be able to make the metal industry climate friendly. Here are some alternatives for CO2-free metal production.
Eavesdropping on whales in the high Arctic
The Earth’s oceans are crisscrossed with roughly 1.2 million km of fibre optic telecommunication cables — enough to girdle the planet 30 times. Researchers have now succeeded in using fibre in a submarine cable as a passive listening system, enabling them to listen to and monitor whales.
Capturing CO2 from flue gases using a super membrane
As part of a six-year research project, researchers have succeeded in developing a membrane that captures CO2 in an entirely innovative way. Their work has resulted in an article published in the prestigious research periodical Science Magazine.
Climate change reveals unique artefacts in melting ice patches
Norwegian mountains are full of time capsules. Thousands of years of human and ecological history are preserved in remnant patches of ice. Now this treasure trove of information threatens to melt away, unless we take action.
Corrosion forecast technology can cut costs and reduce waste
High energy prices highlight the importance of the thousands of kilometres of insulated pipe networks and equipment in industrial plants. However, corrosion under the pipes’ insulation is hard to detect and can have severe consequences. New surveillance technology being developed by SINTEF can help combat this looming threat.
Want to save the planet? Cut coal use by 95 percent, oil by 60 percent by 2050, report says
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its third Working Group report on how humankind can mitigate the ecosystem and societal effects of climate change. Much can be done, but the challenges remain enormous, the report confirms.
Two Industrial Ecology professors named to international climate-related posts
Professor Edgar Hertwich has been named to the EU’s newly constituted European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, while Professor Francesco Cherubini has been asked to serve as a Lead Author for an upcoming assessment by The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
People over 60 are greenhouse gas emission bad guys
Baby boomers have a big climate footprint. In 2005, people over 60 accounted for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2015, that number jumped to nearly 33%.
Our arctic heritage is threatened by climate change
The cultural heritage of Svalbard is unique. It reflects human life and activity in a harsh and fragile environment. Researchers are now working to preserve it for posterity.
What plants need to withstand drought
When temperatures rise, it affects the plants that agriculture and we depend on. Now we know more about how plants resist drought.
Demand for rare minerals and metals creates eco-dilemma
The world is crying out for rare minerals for the manufacture of electric cars, wind turbines and other technologies that we simply need more of. But how can we guarantee access to these resources without threatening the natural world and mankind as we know it?
ERC grant on CO2 uptake by the oceans
NTNU Associate Professor Jason Hearst has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). He will investigate how turbulence affects the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2.
Is green growth possible?
Increases in economic growth contribute to one-for-one increases in carbon emissions. Energy system decarbonization and economic productivity gains are the most effective carbon emissions mitigation mechanisms for sustainable economic development.
Finding order in chaos wins the prize
The Nobel Prize in Physics is going to three individuals who found that the world isn’t always as chaotic as we think.
Another climate summit that changes almost nothing – again?
World leaders have gathered in Glasgow to discuss climate change. But the most likely outcome is that actions won’t extend beyond the talk.
New ultra-high material efficient, low-cost solar cells — using nanowires
A new method using nanowires can make solar panels much more efficient and much cheaper than today.
Map shows carbon dioxide emissions for more than 100,000 European cities
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions to meet climate goals won’t be easy, to put it mildly. But the job just got a little simpler for 34 European countries with the creation of a new interactive map that pinpoints emissions at a local level.
Glasgow climate talks and the fate of the planet
Just over two months after UN Secretary-General António Guterres described a new climate report on the state of the planet as “code red for humanity”, the nations of the world have the chance to do something about it. But will they?
A quick end to oil won’t save the climate
An abrupt halt to oil activities in the North Sea is not the solution to the climate crisis. The way forward is to establish alternatives to oil.
Moose appetite for deciduous trees counteracts warming effects
With the warming climate, forests are growing faster than before, and deciduous species are growing the fastest. Recent research illustrates just how much moose foraging limits this growth.