Nearly half of every T-shirt goes to waste before you even buy it
The global consumption of clothing is enormous. However, a significant portion of the textile fibres is lost before the garments even reach the market.
Sustainability
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Researchers are harvesting green energy from ground vibrations
Vibrations in the ground are found everywhere. They occur when cars pass by, when machines are operating, or when the earth’s crust moves. For most of us, these are invisible forces. For researchers, however, they represent something far more exciting: an untapped source of clean energy.
Is it possible to cut CO2 emissions from European agriculture by 40 per cent?
Research shows that allowing natural vegetation to grow back in mountainous areas and on steep slopes and moving production to more fertile areas will both reduce climate emissions and increase biodiversity.
Eliminating plastic consumption by using agricultural residues
“That’s the dream,” says researcher Hanne Dalsvåg. If the researchers succeed, in the future you might be able to buy vegetables wrapped in packaging made from waste carrot or potato residues.
Old rules do not work for reindeer husbandry
The Norwegian ‘rules of use’ for Sámi reindeer husbandry were intended to help keep reindeer husbandry sustainable and allow for self-governance. But “sustainability” and “self-governance” can mean something completely different for authorities than reindeer herders.
ERC grants totalling NOK 48 million for projects on ecojustice and a more efficent power grid
The European Research Council has awarded two grants to NTNU researchers for very different projects related to the environment.
No, we don’t need more and more data about nature. We need more people to use the data.
Norwegian municipalities are collecting more and more data on how what they do affects the natural world, but do not always know what to do with it. They wade in green facts, but continue to sacrifice the environment, colouring the landscapes grey.
Want to cut your carbon footprint? Move out of your house
There’s no getting around it: downsizing the kind of housing you live in is the best thing you can do for the environment.
Solving a dirty problem with sunlight and oil
Wastewater can contain many harmful substances, but a new method enables researchers to purify this water using sunlight and droplets of oil.
Fully possible to make residential construction more environmentally friendly
Greenhouse gas emissions from residential construction in West Asia and North Africa can be significantly reduced.
New study flags hazardous plastic chemicals and charts course to safer products
A new study provides a comprehensive catalogue of more than 16,000 known plastic chemicals, with their properties, uses and hazards. The goal is to enable safer plastic production.
Green and compact is the recipe for climate-friendly cities
How climate-friendly is the urban development in your municipality? A new tool helps planners compare alternatives.
COP29 resulted in a crisis of confidence – the last thing the world needs
An ineffective negotiation system was the main impression people left with from the climate summit in Baku. Restoring trust in this system must be the top priority for the next conference.
Making the world’s fastest skis
They won’t feature at this year’s World Championships in Trondheim, but NTNU researchers believe the world’s fastest and most flexible cross-country skis will be ready for the 2027 World Championships in Falun.
Trump wants Greenland – but here’s what the people of Greenland want
Donald Trump used a 2018 survey on Greenlandic preferences for national independence to bolster his argument for annexing the autonomous territory.
The secrets of small droplets can offer smelters substantial benefits
It’s been a mystery for many years: Every day, tonnes of ferromanganese – an important additive in steel – are “locked” in slag on their way out of the furnaces. We are now getting close to solving this problem.
Boardroom diversity affects carbon emissions – but not in the way you think
Forget gender, ethnic background, and age. When it comes to cutting carbon emissions, it’s the board’s diversity in skills, expertise, experience and insider/outsidership that matters.
Fossil fuels help us grow food. That’s good for food production but bad for the planet.
By now, most people know that a regular diet of animal-based products isn’t a good choice for the planet. But how bad are these foods, really?
Former airport is now an ‘eco-town’
It is essential that Norwegian towns and cities become climate-neutral. But how do we get this done? On the site of the old Oslo airport at Fornebu, researchers are demonstrating how real transformation can be implemented in practice.
Collected climate data from Nigeria that researchers need
Climate scientists often lack the information they need for their climate models. A master’s student helped to find important figures from Africa’s most populous country – Nigeria.
Three pieces of advice for politicians about plastic
Plastic, and plastic pollution, are a huge problem for both human health and the environment. An interdisciplinary panel of experts suggests that politicians take three concrete steps to better understand and rein in this growing problem.
Research is helping us to develop healthier and more climate-friendly protective footwear
Protective shoes are stiff and heavy and made primarily for protection. Many people feel they’re more trouble than they’re worth. But research is coming to the rescue, with better ergonomics and a reduced climate footprint.
Artificial geysers can compensate for our mineral shortages
By imitating nature, it may be possible to recover seabed minerals by extracting hot water from the Earth’s crust. We can harvest green energy and be sensitive to the environment – all at the same time.
Climate emissions from air travel 50 per cent higher than reported
A new study that looked at nearly 40 million flights in 2019 was able to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions from air travel for nearly every country on the planet. At 911 million tonnes, the total emissions from aviation are 50 per cent higher the 604 million tonnes reported to the United Nations for that year.