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.
Cities and towns
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People in the Nordic Region are more satisfied than other EU citizens with big city life
Are you young, female, well-educated, in a job, and live in a big city in a rich EU country? If you answer yes to all these questions, you’re probably among people who are most satisfied with your life.
It’s a short distance to a policy for buildings that strengthens the climate issue
Greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for buildings is an effective tool for achieving climate targets. The requirements must now be followed up with policy in Norway as well.
What can we learn from a 100-year-old housing experiment?
More than 100 years ago, visionary and socially engaged individuals were at the forefront of a groundbreaking cooperative housing project in Trondheim. Trondhjems Kooperative Boligselskap at Rosenborg is a relatively unknown gem.
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.
This is how to cut your car commute to work
Many people can manage very well by using their cars less. But for this to happen, housing developments must be planned to make it easier. Astrid Bjørgen has been studying how this can be achieved.
Professor wants to involve children in work
“A sense of community between generations will be key to ensuring sustainable coastal communities. The importance of children’s learning through work is underestimated,” says Professor Anne Trine Kjørholt.
Advanced simulation of air currents can result in more habitable cities
Densely-packed housing makes urban areas vulnerable to overheating, pollution and dangerous wind gusts. The effects of climate change can aggravate these problems, but we can also work to prevent them. This can be done by simulating microclimates.
What type of paths do we need to encourage more people to cycle all year round?
Even in Norway, more people than ever are cycling in winter. But what types of cycle paths are best for the cyclist, the bike, the path itself and the environment?
New concrete from old buildings
Christian John Engelsen at SINTEF is teaching the world to recycle demolition rubble to make new concrete. Anything and everything can be recycled, he says. What takes time is getting people on board.
Fjord ice can have a great impact on local communities
Norwegian fjord and coastal ice represent a potential security threat, as it may cut off entire communities from the outside world.
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.
Thousands of environmental bombs under Norwegian homes
Heating with oil in homes and commercial buildings is now banned in Norway. The storage tanks are supposed to be removed from buildings, but many people choose not to get rid of these environmental time bombs.
Labour migration brings greater inequality to rural life
Income differences in small Norwegian towns have increased since 2004, when several former Eastern Bloc countries joined the EU.
CyborGoats find their way into Norwegian villages
Goats are smart animals. A new technology takes advantage of their intelligence — so they longer need physical fences. More than 2400 Norwegian farmers are already using the technology to herd their animals.
Which species will be our urban neighbours?
All over the world, people are moving out of rural areas, and cities are growing. What will be the impact on resident species that live in these cities? Which will be our new plant and animal neighbours, which will have to leave town, and what does that mean for us humans?
London introduced car charge in city centre – and saw most harmful pollution increase
In 2003, the average traffic speed in central London was less than 14 km/h. The congestion charge improved the flow of traffic but also had unwanted effects.
How are the busiest among us dealing with COVID-19?
COVID-19 has created an extra workload for people in socially critical professions. How does this added strain affect them and how do they handle it?
Making future transport more climate friendly
The world’s transportation network is constantly growing. “Green asphalt” and sustainable bus transportation will ease the environmental impact of future transport routes.
Buy less, be happier and build a healthy planet
You may feel like you can’t do anything to stop climate change. But climate activists who joined in grassroots movements managed to cut their carbon footprints and were still happier than their non-activist peers, new research shows.
What is community, really?
A community can be anything from people gathered at the same type of music festival to commuters who recognize each other on the train, a quick meeting with colleagues in the cafeteria or an online chat group.
Salmon delivered by hyperloop and mail by drone?
Research scientists have been gazing into their crystal balls. These are the technological trends that will affect the transport systems of the future.
An Italian agricultural community seen through a 50-year-old looking glass
Fifty years ago an anthropologist studied and described an Italian agricultural community that was characterized by poverty, the Mafia and vendettas. Now his anthropological dissertation has been translated into Italian and is helping the community to understand themselves better.
Hacking Trondheim to cut greenhouse gas emissions
NTNU and Norway’s technological capital—Trondheim—hosted a Climathon to give the city the tools it needs to make ambitious greenhouse gas cuts. The results might be helpful to other cities around the globe that face the same problem.