(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
New technology transforms CO2
A high level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contributes to the generation of greenhouse gases and increased global warming. The biggest source of pollution comes from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and deforestation. At the University of York, researchers have developed a technology that combines North Sea water with scrap metal to capture the greenhouse gas. Dozens of tons of aluminum are not recycled annually and this material the team wanted to utilize, which they have succeeded with. Alternatively, they could also use iron. The researchers have used seawater from Whitby in North Yorkshire with garbage from aluminum foil that we use in the kitchen and other things we pack our food with, as well as electricity from solar panels, thus creating an efficient reactor. The greenhouse gas is transported from the atmosphere to the seawater inside the reactor. Using the electricity passing through the reactor, the aluminum converts dissolved carbon dioxide into the mineral dawsonite. Scientists believe that it will be possible to capture more than 850 million tonnes of unwanted carbon dioxide with the new technology.
Enemy companies have to pay dearly in New York
In The Guardian January 10 this year, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's environmental engagement was clearly expressed. De Blasio told the newspaper that the City Council is investigating how it can withhold just under NOK 5 billion, which is in the state pension fund and is investments in companies that use fossil fuels. At the same time, it is considered to sue oil companies because they also contribute to global warming. De Blasio believes that companies all the way knew that their work led to increased pollution, and that the companies deliberately withheld information and mislead the public, in order to protect their own interests. The five companies BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell are taken to court for their major contribution to the adverse climate change, including New York experienced floods and erosion. These large companies are now required to pay the costs of securing New York for future impacts of climate change.
Galtung about the harvest of life
February 13 at 19 p.m. XNUMX guests Professor and Peace Researcher Johan Galtung Literature House in Bergen. The theme of the meeting with Galtung is "How can we make peace with the aging process and live meaningful lives?". In the text that follows the posting we can read the following: «I am approaching 87, and with my hand on my heart: After a long and rich life, I am at my peak – aging, write Johan Galtung in New Time. His minutes from old age can make anyone and everyone long for the autumn of life. "
Journalist Anne Synnevåg Galtung interviews on stage.
Oil-free in the north and finally goodbye to fur
Ny Tid is happy and relieved that the new government has postponed oil drilling in the north in the future, and will close down the fur industry. It is no longer trendy to use fur, but more importantly: there is an ethical belief among more and more people that animals should not suffer in order for us to look good or keep warm. The 200 farms that make up the industry in Norway will receive a subsidy to wind up within seven years. Seven years is a long time, so it is to be hoped that the liquidation in practice will take place much faster than this.
Iceland at the forefront of equal pay between the sexes
From 1 January, a new law came into force in Iceland under the new Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdottír. For several years, the country has been a leader in the world when it comes to paying men and women roughly the same for equal work – the difference has been 14-18 percent, the Geographical website writes. From 1 January, it is statutory in Iceland that the difference should be zero; men and women should be paid the same for the same type of work. It is illegal if a man is paid better than a woman for similar work. No other country has a law that bans such a ban. This is true of companies with more than 25 employees.
When Katrín Jakobsdottír (41) won the election in Iceland on October 28 last year, gender equality was one of her struggles, as well as providing better treatment in morality cases, as there have been many on the island. Jakobsdottír will also ensure better LGBT rights, and wants Iceland to welcome more refugees. She will also work on important environmental issues in the wake of, among other things, the Paris Agreement.
Her predecessor Bjarni Benediktsson wanted to completely offset the pay gap by 2022, but Katrín Jakobsdottír started her progressive gender equality work right after she became prime minister. There is an energetic woman who now governs Iceland, which is also very popular far beyond her own party The Left Movement the Greens.
The Norwegian Oil Fund withdraws from the Norwegian shipping company
The Council on Ethics for the Government Pension Fund Global (the Petroleum Fund) provides information to Norges Bank on companies that violate ethical guidelines, or which, for good reasons, should be monitored. The Council on Ethics monitors human rights violations, gross corruption and serious environmental damage. As manager of the fund, Norges Bank decided in January 2018, on the basis of the Council on Ethics' recommendation in June 2017, to exclude, among other things, the company Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited (TTA) from the Petroleum Fund. The shipping company, which has Norwegian origins and was founded in 1904, has for years sent ships for scrapping on the beaches of Bangladesh «where working conditions are very poor and the pollution of the environment significant. The Council considers that the company, by disposing of ships for dismantling in this way, can be said to be contributing to serious human rights violations and serious environmental damage ", it is written in the Council on Ethics' report. Several international shipping companies are excluded for the same reason, as well as companies that supply "key components for nuclear weapons".
A greener oil fund?
In a comment on the Solberg II government's Jeløya platform, Anja Bakken Riise's leader in the future says in our organization's website: "That the government is now opening the door to invest the Oil Fund in renewable energy in line with the recommendations of a number of financial experts, is good. This makes sense financially and for the world that needs more clean energy. ”
