Lakes choked with algae and marine “dead zones” result from too many nutrients in the water. The traditional culprit is agriculture, which relies on fertilizer to boost plant growth. But the production of consumer goods, like clothing, is also a major — and growing — contributor.
The filter will first be used to recover aircraft de-icing chemicals. In the future it will also be used in urban areas to remove environmental toxins, pollution and probably microplastics.
Global climate change is already affecting the globe, as demonstrated by the shrinking polar ice cap, melting glaciers and cities in the grips of longer, more intense heat waves. Now a team of researchers has conducted a radical thought experiment on how extreme land use changes could influence future climate.
A new database gives researchers — and potentially policymakers — the ability to see how global trade affects environmental impacts.
In order to maintain the leading position of Norwegian solar cell manufacture on the global stage, we need sensors that can see what humans can’t.
Many see cities as the new front lines of the climate change fight. Identifying the mayors and city councils in cities with the biggest carbon footprints, and the most power to make big changes, could mobilize a wave of reinforcements.
Capturing the greenhouse gas CO2 from industrial processes such as cement manufacture is a demanding and therefore expensive exercise. However, by introducing a renewable powered heat pump in the capture system, the energy required to capture CO2 is reduced by three quarters.
Fortunately, a new study indicates that heating with wood has a cooling effect.
Many people have tried to find ways of preventing hurricanes before they make landfall, resulting in the loss of human lives. Norwegian researchers believe that the answer lies in cold bubbles.
Experiments in SINTEF’s climate lab demonstrate that solar cells work very effectively in Norway in spite of the rain and cold. But there is one thing that owners should be aware of if they want to get the most from the sun’s energy.
Global warming and political decisions are opening the Arctic and its frosty seas to increased development. But what will happen if that expansion results in oil spills in the frozen ocean?
Waste heat and locally-produced renewable energy can be generated by compact, “urban power plants” that are efficient enough to supply heat to entire housing estates.
The gift-giving season is upon us, and perhaps you’re wondering how to give gifts that won’t wreck the climate. Help is on the way.
Computer games designed to make us more environmentally conscious need to be both entertaining and educational. Few game designers are good at both. NTNU researchers are creating a model that can bridge the gap between the two.
A remote field site in the Norwegian mountains is improving our understanding of carbon cycling in high-latitude alpine areas.
Trondheim: Norwegian researchers believe that it will be possible to make environmentally-friendly snow at above-zero temperatures. Now they have the backing of Europe and the skiing industry in their bid to save the sport from climate change.
SINTEF’s climate change ambassador Nils Røkke is on his way to Brussels looking forward to a new job and new assignments. He has been appointed as Chair of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA). This in a world in which the threats posed by climate change are increasingly being portrayed as “fake news”.
A series of first-ever maps shows regional-scale differences in carbon footprints in the EU. The maps can help guide local and regional policies designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
How does technology change people, and how do people change in response to technology? Sixteen people volunteered to live in a high-tech, zero-emission house to help researchers answer those exact questions.
Heavy-duty trucks will soon be driving around in Trondheim, Norway, fuelled by hydrogen created with solar power, and emitting only pure water vapour as “exhaust”. Not only will hydrogen technology revolutionize road transport, it will also enable ships and trains to run emission-free.
State-of-the-art solar cells are efficient – but are even more so when they are kept clean. A cleaning robot developed by Norwegian researchers enables solar panels to deliver at full capacity.
Science has made great strides since Svante Arrhenius, the Swedish Nobel Laureate who in 1896 first determined that carbon dioxide from human activity could warm the planet. The same progress hasn’t been made in increasing the number of women in the sciences.
Imagine breathing polluted New Delhi air. It’s a scorching 40 degrees and the humidity is high. But you’re not in New Delhi – you’re in an art installation, during the Starmus festival in Trondheim in June.
Nils Røkke, Director of Sustainability at SINTEF, is the new Chairman of the European Energy Research Alliance.