Norway

Tony Blair downplays the importance of political will in the U.S.

Tony Blair, oddly, just downplayed the importance of political will in the United States, and then, in an aside, said he thinks "the political will is there."

I think he's been talking to George Bush too much. Building American political will is the key challenge facing us if we want to see a global mitigation regime emerge.

Still, the topic of the plenary is "Economic Growth in the Face of Resource Scarcity and Climate Change," and on that point, Blair pointed out that the U.K.'s economy has grown en route to meeting its Kyoto goals. Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former prime minister of Norway, explained how such growth has also happened in her own country. Both encouraged government action in the United States and worldwide. So there is good news to report.

Norway bans generic green terms from auto advertising

This is funny and kind of awesome: No car can be “green,” “clean” or “environmentally friendly,” according to some of the world’s strictest advertising guidelines set to enter into force in Norway next month. “Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than others,” Bente Oeverli, a senior official at the office […]

Ah, to live in Norway

Billions with a B:

OSLO - Norway is setting up a 20 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.24 billion) fund to promote renewable energy such as wind and hydropower while spurring energy savings, the government said on Monday.

It said the cash would help Norway achieve a goal of raising available power by 30 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2016, compared with 2001, from renewable energy sources and by greater efficiency. Its previous goal was a saving of 12 TWh by 2010 versus 2001.

Norway's total power output, mostly from hydropower, is about 120 TWh a year.

"Bioenergy, windpower, hydropower, and energy efficiency will contribute to new possibilities, new jobs and new optimism over the whole country," Oil and Energy Minister Odd Roger Enoksen said in a statement.

Sigh.

Japanese, Norwegians, and Icelanders spout off in favor of whaling

If you’re into eating whales, Kouji Shingru’s shop is the place for you. Located on a pedestrian-only street in Tokyo’s bustling Asakusa neighborhood, Shingru’s compact establishment has it all: deep red whale steaks and fillets in vacuum-sealed packages, cured whale on a stick, snack-sized bags of whale jerky, and a wide selection of canned whale […]

Porn activists go all the way to save the rainforest

Warning: The following article contains naughty words — but we can’t help it, as they’re the whole subject of the story. It also contains links to websites that are, as they say, “not safe for work.” So all you kids, go play Pokemon or whatever it is you do these days. The rest of you, […]

Turning the Tide

The world’s most northerly town, will soon be the first to take advantage of ocean tides to create electricity with a sub-sea power station. Similar tidal projects are also underway in Australia and Britain, but none has begun selling power. Later this month or early in December, tidal currents on the seabed near Kvalsund, at […]

Notes on the Underground

The February issue of Scientific American tells of a new technology that makes me both rejoice and worry. It looks so great, so likely to relieve a massive environmental problem that there’s no way I could oppose it. But on second, third, and fourth thought, I have some doubts. The technology is called carbon sequestration. […]