Can floating solar islands meet the world’s future energy needs?
Covering less than ten per cent of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with floating solar panels would yield as much energy as all hydropower does today, one researcher says.
Faculty of Engineering (IV)
LOADING CONTENT
World’s food production footprint on climate and environment
Cattle farming has often been portrayed as having the most detrimental environmental impact because it takes the most grazing land, uses a lot of water and has large methane emissions. But it’s not the worst. And is locally produced food always best for the environment?
Now we know which airline routes pollute the most
Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions from air traffic are more than twice as high as the worldwide average.
More efficient ocean mapping and monitoring
Australia has a seafloor monitoring program where they can precisely surveil the changes in the environment. NTNU has attracted one of the key researchers from this project. Oscar Pizarro’s research goal is to find tools to facilitate continuous observation with less resources.
Wax, wood and CO2 — tools that can combat climate change
How scientists and engineers across the globe — and at NTNU — are harnessing unlikely materials to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The EU’s climate law is an important milestone. But it’s not enough.
Tremendous floods in Pakistan earlier this year forced 600,000 pregnant women to leave their homes for safer ground. It was just one in a series of nearly unthinkable happenings caused by climate change — and a clear message that humankind has to do more to stop it.
Half of the data deficient species may be threatened with extinction
We know very little about very many species. Unfortunately, that’s often not a good sign.
Offshore wind power gains international momentum
Norway needs to take proactive steps to retain its lead in developing floating offshore wind, says NTNU professor.
Companies need to report their climate risks
Regulators across the globe regularly require publicly traded companies to tell their stockholders about potential financial risks. A March proposal from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would require companies to disclose the risks that climate change poses to their financial health. Adopting the rule is an important step for the climate, researchers say.
NTNU trials world’s first urban autonomous passenger ferry
In earlier times, cities like Trondheim and Bergen had a ferryman who rowed people from place to place. They were the taxi drivers of the waterways. Now, a new, future-oriented form of water transport will be available to the public.
Never set your heat pump to Auto
Show us your heat pump, and we’ll tell you if you’re using it right. Researchers provide advice that can save you both energy and money.
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.
Observing Arctic marine life — from the seabed to space
NTNU researchers from AMOS, the Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems, used small satellites and subsea robots — and everything in between — to study marine life in Svalbard’s Kongsfjorden in a first-ever experiment in May.
Better cyber security at sea
Drug dealers have tricked shipping cargo tracking systems to think drugs are “bananas” and unknown actors have jammed GPS signals in northern Norwegian waters. Fixing these problems requires understanding how seafarers themselves perceive cyber risks — so they can do a better job protecting themselves and their vessels.
The worst polluters in the Arctic are not what you think
More than 600 fishing vessels sail the icy waters of the Arctic. But just over two dozen big tankers are the worst offenders when it comes to air pollution in this vulnerable region.
The Alchemists: Turning wild water into white coal
How Norwegian scientists and engineers harnessed the country’s wild waterfalls by developing super efficient turbines — and how advances in turbine technology being developed now may be the future in a zero-carbon world.
Can lightweight metal help the green shift?
The climate will benefit if we shift to using aluminium in more and more construction. Buyers need to look past the procurement costs and consider the total life cycle costs instead.
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.
A policy that can increase the windfall profit of energy producers — like Russia
While former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg steered Norway according to the logic of economics, today’s politicians seem to lack a basic understanding of markets. The result is a policy that amplifies energy scarcity and drives up energy prices – without policymakers recognizing this unintended consequence.
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).
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.
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?