Insect expert Frode Ødegaard is worried about bees, but not in the way you might think. He is not worried about honeybees dying out. “They’re domesticated animals,” he explained.

This article was written by Steinar Brandslet and first published on . It has been republished here with kind permission.

This means we humans more or less decide how many of them we should have. His worries about honeybees are not what you might think.

“Honeybees can outcompete wild bees. They often compete for the same flowers, which are only diminishing in number. They can also infect wild bees with diseases,” said Ødegaard, whose day job is as an associate professor at NTNU’s University Museum in Trondheim.

Numerous species of wild bees are endangered, and setting up beehives with honeybees can actually make the situation worse. This is because the wild bees may be forced to fight for the same food or be infected with previously unknown diseases.

Ødegaard has been trying to spread this message for years, but the myth of the imminent demise of the honeybee is proving hard to dispel. However, other species give him much greater cause for concern.

Fewer insects everywhere, including in Norway

“In recent years, we have seen a decline in the number of insects in Norway,” said Ødegaard.

This is in keeping with a global decline in insect numbers. From one year to the next, this may be due to random variations in the weather, but that’s not true over the long term.

Yet, the total number of insects does not give the whole picture either. It may be even worse.

“Some species may be doing so well that they are increasing in number, perhaps at the expense of certain other species. This may mask the fact that some species are struggling,” Ødegaard said.

The myth of the imminent demise of honeybees is proving hard to dispel.

In other words, there might be many more specimens of a handful of species, but fewer or even no specimens of another species. That is what is meant by ‘a decline in biodiversity’.

Some of the species that are struggling the most are bees.

How many species of bees are there, did you say?

Ødegaard knows what he is talking about. He even has two insect species named after him. He has personally given Norwegian names to several bee species, and has discovered many past and present species in Norway, either on his own or in collaboration with others.

“Around the year 2000, we thought we had about 180 bee species in Norway,” he said.

But this was not the case. Ødegaard was pivotal in the work of putting things straight.

Some species had been classified incorrectly and were not actually found here, while he and his colleagues found other species than had not previously been recorded in Norway.

Ødegaard is therefore not just anybody when it comes to bumblebees and other bees.

All bumblebees are bees, but not all bees are bumblebees.

What was that? Bumblebees and other bees?

“All bumblebees are bees, but not all bees are bumblebees,” Ødegaard said.

You learn something new every day!

212, approximately

As per 2025, the researchers estimate that there are 212 bee species in Norway. Some of these have only recently been observed for the first time.

“Three or four new species of bees have come to Norway in recent years, perhaps as a result of climate change,” Ødegaard said.

By contrast, other species are disappearing. In the hundred years leading up to 2015, around 10 species disappeared.

Over the past 10 years, Norway has probably lost another four species.

The downland furrow bee, four-spotted furrow bee, Kirby’s Nomad bee and the bear-clawed nomad bee have not been seen in Norway during this period.

It will probably never be possible to put a precise figure on the number of species that are present inside the country’s borders at any given time.  There are not that many bee experts in Norway, so it is not easy to keep track. However, the experts that are in Norway are often very enthusiastic.

Ødegaard and his wife Åslaug Viken recently went on an excursion to Northern Norway to do a survey of the situation in the Bodþ area.

Specialists struggling the most

Some of the species that are struggling the most have unusual diets and lifestyles. They may only feed from a single, specific flower, which may also be rare and must be situated within a reasonable distance of a habitat in which the bee thrives. In other words, a lot of different factors have to come together.

“The specialists are facing the biggest problems. The generalists are doing better,” Ødegaard said.

Another reason for the declining numbers may also be that Norway is at the very edge of the range for a number of bee species. Conditions in Norway can be challenging, and some species come and go. Fortunately, none of the species that have disappeared from Norway have become extinct everywhere else too. In other words, the species still exist, just not here.

The most important thing to do first is to provide emergency assistance for the species for which the situation is most dramatic.

Warmer climates are enabling some new species to come to Norway. Other species have been introduced intentionally. This includes the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).

“Although it’s a species we don’t want in nature, it has become one of the most common species in recent years,” Ødegaard said.

This species has been intentionally introduced for use in greenhouses in order to pollinate vegetables. It’s not difficult to escape from a greenhouse. As a result, they outcompete local species in the natural environment.

Some species are in need of emergency assistance

“The most important thing to do first is to provide emergency assistance for the species for which the situation is most dramatic,” said Ødegaard.

A few years ago, action plans were actually drawn up for the species that were struggling the most in Norway. The authorities allocated resources to saving the most vulnerable species.

“It worked. However, for the past ten years, no more action plans of this type have been drawn up,” he said.

This is because confrontations between bee needs and human needs were commonplace. The interests of insects do not necessarily always coincide with those of humans. And this brings us to another matter.

Why do the fortunes of insects fluctuate so much?

“There are three main reasons for the decline in insect numbers,” Ødegaard said.

1. Habitat loss

Loss of habitat is the most common reason why insect species struggle. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) holds that this is the world’s most pressing environmental problem.

Habitats are disappearing due to the development of new roads, residential areas and commercial areas. A wind farm here and an area cleared for holiday cabins there.

The most popular areas for humans are often in mild, sun-facing coastal districts. These are precisely the same areas that most bees like.

“Humans and insects often compete for the same areas. Habitats have probably never been declining as fast as they are at present,” Ødegaard said.

The planet’s eight billion people are taking up ever more space, especially since almost everyone now also wants a higher standard of living. Norway’s population long remained stable at around 4 million. The country has now passed 5.6 million in just a few years. As a result, other species often have to give way.

2. Use of poisons

People still use large quantities of poisons to control weeds and pests. Last year, Norway approved glyphosate for use for a further ten-year period. This chemical can be found in the notorious Roundup, which is known to harm biodiversity, not only where it is used, but also in surrounding areas.

“Agriculture still uses large quantities of insecticides,” said Ødegaard, and stopping using it in private gardens may actually not help that much.

Additionally, of course, people need food.

3. Climate

It can be difficult to interpret the impact that climate has on insects, Ødegaard admits.

“However, some species that are already on the brink may collapse during periods of drought or heavy rainfall,” he said.

For example, summers that start with a long drought, followed by a cold, rainy spell are very unfavourable. The drought makes the flowers fade faster, and most bees do not like the cold and the rain. Norway has experienced summers like this over the past couple of years.

So, what can you do?

It might be easy to despair. Is there any good news among all this doom and gloom?

“The good news is that many people have become more aware of the situation,” he said.

As a result, more people are willing to do something to help their six-legged friends. Here are some recommendations.

• Do not mow your lawn, or at least leave a corner of it for flowers. This must be the easiest measure for people who are not very keen on gardening!
• Plant local flowers in your pots and garden. Use local seed mixes that thrive in your particular area. These mixes have been developed by the 
• Leave roadside ditches alone. Plants that insects like can often be found in these ditches.
• Insect hotels are an excellent addition. If you want to help bees, the holes should have a diameter of between 4 and 8 millimetres. You can drill these yourself. Just make sure the holes are not too big. If you buy a readymade hotel, buy one without pine cones and twigs, because these are of no use in this context.
• The most enthusiastic people with the most space can set aside a corner of their land with felled trees and perhaps a sun-facing slope with sand, although this is not something most people will be able to do.

This article was written by Steinar Brandslet and first published on . It has been republished here with kind permission.

You can find out more about what you can do in  from Norwegian SciTech News from few years ago. Good luck!

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This article was written by Agnieszka Stefaniec, Lecturer in Management Science, University of Southampton, and Keyvan Hosseini, Enterprise Fellow, Sustainable Mobility, University of Southampton. It was first published by .

Norway is set to make history by becoming the first nation to sell only zero emission vehicles by the end of 2025. While this doesn’t mean that fossil fuel-powered cars already on the road will suddenly disappear there, it marks a decisive shift towards their eventual obsolescence.

Imagine a world where petrol and diesel vehicles are no longer an option – a bold step towards a greener future. Norway is strikingly close to this goal. 

If it succeeds, this will redefine what’s possible in the green transition. Consider this: in 2024, fully electric cars accounted for a staggering 88.9% of all new vehicle sales in Norway. Every year, this number draws nearer to the elusive 100% target (the zero emission category includes a small fraction of hydrogen-powered vehicles, most are electric). 

Could Norway reach 100% by this year’s end? It’s a gripping challenge – but there is a barrier that it needs to address to achieve this. Among  zero emission cars sold last year, there are no small non-SUV vehicles. Can Norway, and other countries, reach their targets selling only large cars?

Why affordability is the missing piece

 shows that affordability is a tool to get everyone on board. When lower-income households face affordability barriers, it’s not just their problem – it’s the missing link to achieving 100%. Smaller, more affordable electric cars could be the game changer needed to bridge this gap.

For every 100 cars sold in Norway, nearly 90 are electric. In , the runner-up in this global ranking, it’s just over 50. Elsewhere, few countries have reached or are even approaching a one-third market share for electric vehicles (EVs).

Most of these are in Europe, with China also nearing that benchmark. The UK sits at just , falling short of the top ten.

Subsidies make the difference

Why is Norway so far ahead? A mix of policies, cultural attitudes and the sheer availability of EVs play a role. But one factor stands out: subsidies. Generous, comprehensive  are driving this change.

In Norway, buying an electric car isn’t just a green choice – it’s an affordable one. Subsidies and incentives bring electric car prices in line with, or below, those of petrol and diesel cars.

Substantial exemptions from purchase tax and VAT, along with other perks, make electric car ownership remarkably appealing. And it’s financed not only through taxes but by Norway’s oil and gas revenue. Even with some limits on luxury models, the support remains unmatched.

The UK’s missed opportunity

But what about the UK? With the  – a government scheme that helped reduce the cost of buying an electric car – scrapped, the remaining modest subsidies pale in comparison to Norway’s all-encompassing support. If there’s one takeaway from Norway’s success, it’s that half-measures won’t cut it.

The challenge lies in addressing the affordability gap. Subsidies don’t always reach those who need them most. In , our research reveals a troubling trend. Grants often end up in the hands of wealthier households – those who could afford an electric car without help.

Meanwhile, lower-income households, the ones who would benefit most, are left behind. The result? People buy the vehicles they can afford, which are often fossil fuel-powered.

The consequences are hard to ignore. In cities like London, low-emission zones penalise drivers of polluting vehicles. If you can’t afford an EV, you’re stuck paying more to drive or park in city centres. It’s a vicious cycle that disproportionately affects those with fewer resources.

Targets worth reaching

This isn’t just about fairness. It’s about meeting climate targets. Take , for example. To achieve its emissions goals, the country needs a significant increase in electric car adoption.

Falling short means penalties for the country and missed opportunities to reduce emissions. Relying on households to shoulder the burden of the green transition is neither fair nor effective.

The UK faces similar challenges. Slow adoption rates suggest cost is a barrier. The lack of strong leadership and a roadmap to 2035 only adds to the problem. It becomes clear that more targeted support is needed.

Smaller, more affordable vehicles could play a crucial role in meeting climate targets. Even in a wealthy country like , 77% of households cannot afford medium-sized electric cars, while 38% cannot afford smaller EVs when factoring in car loans.

Without price cuts or higher subsidies, larger EVs will stay out of reach and fail to drive the transition forward.

The problem with bigger EVs

So do we even need big, luxury EVs? The trend towards larger vehicles, , isn’t new – but it’s growing rapidly. In Europe,  have jumped from one-tenth to half of all EVs sold in just five years.

Larger cars are more expensive, more resource-intensive, and more wasteful. Smaller vehicles, by contrast, are lighter, require fewer materials and emit fewer harmful particles from . They’re also safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Smaller vehicles play a crucial role in clean and inclusive mobility. Achieving climate goals hinges on their adoption. Without them, meeting emissions targets – at least in Ireland – becomes far less likely. And if electric vehicles fail to deliver significant emissions reductions, their entire purpose in the transition to a greener future comes into question.

Smaller vehicles aren’t just practical; they are essential for meaningful progress. But electric cars – even the smaller ones – remain burdened by the  of private car ownership.

Ultimately, though, we also need fewer cars on our roads. A successful green transition must involve more car share schemes, improved access to public transport, and active travel such as walking and cycling.

This article was written by Agnieszka Stefaniec, Lecturer in Management Science, University of Southampton, and Keyvan Hosseini, Enterprise Fellow, Sustainable Mobility, University of Southampton. It was first published by .

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Norway lies at the doorstep of the Arctic, a region that plays a critical role in shaping global climate, weather patterns, and ecosystems.

While the Arctic may feel distant for many, its rapid transformation has profound implications, both for those who call it home and for people around the world.

The , released in December by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S. scientific agency, sheds light on the dramatic changes taking place in the region.

Compiled by 97 scientists from 11 countries, the report outlines the challenges faced by Arctic wildlife, communities, and ecosystems as the pace of environmental change accelerates.

The Arctic Is Changing Faster Than Ever

Over the past two decades, the Arctic has undergone nothing short of a stunning transformation.

Snow seasons are now one to two weeks shorter than they were historically, disrupting the delicate balance of ecosystems that depend on predictable seasonal changes.

A shorter snow season also means less water from snowmelt during spring and summer, increasing the risk of drought in some areas.

Sea ice, a crucial habitat for Arctic wildlife, has thinned and become mostly seasonal, a stark contrast to the thicker, more extensive ice of past decades.

Shorter ice seasons expose dark ocean surfaces that absorb more heat, intensifying air and ocean warming. This disruption forces ice-dependent animals ashore or into extended fasting periods.

It’s no surprise that the Arctic shipping season is growing longer, with more vessels navigating these once inaccessible waters.

The 2024 report highlights that this was the second-warmest year in the Arctic since records began in 1900, and the wettest summer on record.

From Carbon Sink to Carbon Source

For thousands of years, the Arctic tundra acted as a carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in frozen ground. But with permafrost thawing, this natural storage system is breaking down.

When permafrost thaws, it releases carbon dioxide and methane—powerful greenhouse gases—into the atmosphere, further fuelling global warming.

Wildfires in the Arctic are also becoming more frequent and intense, releasing additional carbon dioxide. These shifts mean the Arctic tundra has transitioned from a carbon sink to a carbon source, underscoring the urgency of reducing global emissions.

Regional Impacts and Wildlife Struggles

The Arctic Report Card, which looks at October through September each year, shows 2024 was the second-warmest year on record. However, people living in the Arctic often experience unpredictable weather that varies greatly by region or season.

For instance, while parts of North America and Eurasia saw more snow than usual last winter, the Canadian Arctic had its shortest snow season in 26 years. Losing snow earlier can reduce water supplies and increase the risk of wildfires.

Summer was the Arctic’s third warmest on record, with heat waves in Alaska and Canada causing record-high temperatures. At the same time, Greenland’s west coast had a cooler-than-normal spring and summer.

Although the Greenland Ice Sheet continued to lose ice for the 27th consecutive year, the loss was smaller than in recent years. These extremes make it hard for Arctic communities to plan and adapt to the rapidly changing environment.

Arctic wildlife is also feeling the effects. Ice seals, such as ringed and bearded seals, are adapting to changing diets as warming waters reduce the availability of Arctic cod, their preferred prey.

On land, caribou herds are declining due to climate change, habitat disruption, and human activity, raising concerns for Indigenous communities that rely on them for food and cultural traditions.

Norway and the Arctic

Norway has a unique connection to the Arctic. From the Svalbard archipelago to the northern mainland, the country’s economy, culture, and ecosystems are closely tied to this fragile region.

Changes in the Arctic also contribute to global challenges, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather, and pressure on food supplies.

As the Arctic changes, Norway has an important role to play in fostering sustainable development and supporting Indigenous knowledge, which has been vital in adapting to the region’s harsh conditions for centuries.

A Time for Action

The Arctic Report Card is a sobering reminder that the impacts of climate change are already here.

Natural systems that once helped mitigate global warming are now amplifying it. Cooperation to reduce emissions, adapt to changing conditions, and build resilience is more critical than ever.

Norway, as a gateway to the Arctic, has an opportunity to lead by example, championing efforts to protect this unique region and mitigate the far-reaching consequences of its transformation.

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Nobelmen and women, in fancy clothing and pearls – but with dragon wings and tails. A laughing man with a full head of curly hair. Lions biting the ears off a man whose mouth is full of writhing serpents.

This article was written by Nancy Bazilchuk and first published on . It has been republished here with kind permission.

These may sound like a weird combination of a gothic novel and a nightmare, but it’s something completely different – a description of some of the eerie and surprising sculptures in Nidaros Cathedral, the northernmost gothic cathedral in the world.

But what were the messages that stonemasons and religious leaders were trying to send visitors to the cathedral – and how do we interpret these messages hundreds of years later?

The Cult of St. Olav

Nidaros Cathedral’s long history is part of the reason it has been an attraction for both pilgrims and now, researchers.

The first stones for the cathedral were laid in the late 1100, when a church was built over the shrine of Saint Olav, the Norwegian Viking king who is generally credited with bringing Christianity to the country.

Olav was killed in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 and canonized a year later, in 1031.

“The high altar still today stands on the place, pointed out as where St. Olav was buried after he was killed in the battle of Stiklestad on the 29th of July 1030,” said Øystein Ekroll, chief archaeologist and researcher at the Nidaros Cathedral Restoration  Workshop, on the latest episode of.

The high altar is surrounded by the Octagon, an eight-sided structure that is quite unusual as gothic cathedrals go, Ekroll said.

“You can find parallels, especially in English cathedrals, and you can connect them, but the Octagon has no parallel. Not in Northern Europe, at least not north of the Alps. So there is something special about this. Why build an octagon? Why not a square or a circle? We have round churches, we have square churches, we have cruciform churches and so on. Why an octagon?” he said.

Ekroll thinks the Octagon was built – and subsequently re-constructed stone by numbered stone in the 1500s – as recognition that it was a martyrium, a place where St. Olav’s holy remains had been buried.

Pilgrims would come to the cathedral because of Olav, so the sculptures in and around the Octagon, where visitors would walk to be near the shrine, took on extra special significance.

It was a place where the most important messages would reach the greatest number of people – in theory, at least.

Dramatic Events Help Date Sculptures

But that’s not the only reason this special subset of sculptures is so interesting.

Margrete Syrstad AndĂ„s is an art historian and associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Art and Media Studies who is at work on a book about cathedral’s sculptures.

Unlike many other parts of the cathedral, she says, two dramatic events enable researchers to actually date the sculptures. So what happened?

“In 1328 disaster strikes,” AndĂ„s said on the podcast. “It’s a huge fire and it takes everything of wood inside, probably the shrine is damaged, bells are damaged. Letters are preserved where the bishop writes to other bishops to encourage them to send money because they need to redo his cathedral. And that’s when the restoration of the Octagon takes place. So it is originally 12th century, but then they start restoring in 1328.”

The importance of the cathedral, at the known limits of the Catholic world, was such that the Pope himself promised 100 days of indulgences to anyone who would contribute to the reconstruction.

The stone masons must have begun almost immediately to carve the intricate and weird sculptures around the Octagon. Because not long afterwards, in 1349


The Black Death

“Disaster really, really strikes because then the Black Death comes and 70% die in Trondheim. And we have a very defined period of time from 1328 when we know exactly when the sculptures here are done,” AndĂ„s said.

Read more: The Story of the Black Death in Norway

That makes the carvings a kind of snapshot in time, underscoring what religious leaders might think were the most important things people needed to know to save their souls, for example.

In this case, the person behind the messages was  At the time, AndĂ„s said, Nidaros Cathedral was seen as a remote but important outpost of the Catholic Church – so remote they called it Ultima Thule, meaning the farthest known reaches of the modern world.

“In the Catholic church, in the medieval times, Ultima Thule is this place,” she said.

“It’s the frontier against the north, against everything that is unknown and terrifying, and also not Christian. They talk about that themselves in Norse sermons, that’s where evil comes from, and it’s against the Samis, it’s against the unknown, those who are not Christianized. So they see themselves as a frontier as well, as part of the Catholic church.”

Souls of the Faithful

AndĂ„s said it’s hard to overestimate the importance of religion in medieval Europe.

“I don’t think we can quite imagine what that kind of a life was like, and how much more today, you don’t necessarily feel that you’re standing on the edge of death at all points in time. But I think within a society like that, you will be much more aware that you never know how much time you have,” AndĂ„s said.

“And I think that’s sort of a backdrop, when you look at the sculptures, reminding you about all the sins that you need to keep in mind right now, you can’t wait until tomorrow.”

So one thing these strange half-human, half mythical creatures do is to warn pilgrims and the clergy how not to behave.  To our 21st century eyes, these sculptures are puzzling – what message can they possibly send?

But AndĂ„s says the imagery, of a hybrid creature, was well known in medieval times.  And part of the message they were sending was about sex.

“Archbishop Eiliv, the guy who started the restoration works, has regulations for the lay people on how to behave. And the sin of sexuality is of course, a recurring theme,” she said.

“Of course they’re humorous and they’re playful, so they’re funny in a sense. But they’re also a sense that we are in a decayed moral state. You’re not this and you’re not that, which it ain’t good. And having a tail can never be good in medieval Christianity. It refers  to everything that is bad, essentially, the devil’s work,” AndĂ„s said.

To learn more about the sculptures and what they tell us about about life in the Middle Ages, listen to the .

This article was written by Nancy Bazilchuk and first published on . It has been republished here with kind permission.

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Solar storms are no joke. It may get cold and it may get very dark. Our mobile networks may be severely disrupted.

This article is written by and originally published by our friends at Gemini. It has been republished here with kind permission.

Such are the times we live in – we should be prepared for the worst and take adequate precautions. We should wear a helmet when out on our bikes, and knee braces if our feet can no longer support our weight. In winter, we must salt the pavements and preferably wear a scarf.

And to think that there are people in the world interested in things happening as far as 400,000 kilometres away! Kristian Solheim Thinn is one of them. He is a research scientist at SINTEF Energy Research working with . 

“The only real protection from solar storms is to switch off the electricity. Is that tabloid enough for you?”, he asks, before adding:

“If a major storm occurs, we must either live with it and hope that our distribution grids will not be severely damaged, or simply prepare for the fact that we will all be without electricity”, he says. These are the two extremes.

Vulnerable transformers

Solheim Thinn has been talking for some time and explaining the situation slowly and very patiently. He tells us how in 2019 he installed sensors in a transformer in Ogndal in TrĂžndelag county.

The intention was, and still is, to measure and analyse what happens when solar storms collide with the Earth’s magnetic field, creating problems for all of us – not least in northern latitudes where the field protects us far less than at the equator.

As Solheim Thinn puts it, the problems caused by solar storms are the result of what he calls geo-magnetically inducted currents (GICs).

It was, of course, no coincidence that the transformer at Ogndal was chosen. Since the distance between neighbouring transformers is so great, it is easier for the solar storms to create problems.

After two hours, the batteries at the base stations supporting the mobile network will run out. We will then lose mobile coverage and things will really begin to go downhill. First of all, it will start to get cold.

“We are currently as well prepared as we can be”, says Solheim Thinn. “Overhead cables are resilient in the face of solar storms, but we have to consider the transformers because they represent the weak link in the chain.

In Norway, our transformers are connected to the main distribution grid, operated for the most part by Statnett, and it is these that are the problem.

– Why is this?

“They are connected to earth, which means that any current induced in the cables passes through the transformers and onward to ground. This creates no problems at lower voltages. However, things are very different during solar storms.

Solheim Thinn explains that our transformers are designed for alternating current. So, when direct current is geomagnetically induced during solar storms, they may start to generate internal heat.

This results in increased, or so-called reactive, power consumption that disrupts the distribution grid. This then causes high frequency noise that may result in problems for the control system. Eventually, the transformer cores may become what is known as ‘saturated’.  

This in turn causes safety mechanisms to cut in, hopefully disconnecting the transformer before it is badly damaged.

But it doesn’t end there. If one transformer is in trouble, the next in line has to take over. But this means that the second transformer must carry twice the load. This may be more than enough to cause it to throw in the towel as well – and in this way a domino effect will develop.

 â€œIn the worst case, we’re talking about a total blackout”, says Solheim Thinn.

First of all, it will start to get cold

This is why the grid operates under a number of precautions. In 2019, the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB) compiled a list of ‘things that can go wrong’ here in Norway.

The list includes issues such as the impacts of extreme weather events, flooding, pandemics, cyberattacks, and not forgetting the mother of all catastrophes – solar storms, which were classified as a real threat.

Petrol pumps also rely on electricity

It’s patently obvious that there isn’t a lot we can do about solar storms. When they arrive, we have anything from between 18 and 72 hours to prepare ourselves for something that cannot be stopped.

Let me explain. We will only find out how big a solar storm is one or two hours before it strikes the Earth. They can arrive very suddenly.

A recent SINTEF report reveals that there is currently no Norwegian system for solar storm warnings.

“The upside is that during the most intense storms we will get to see some fantastic displays of the northern lights, even as far south as Florida”, explains Solheim Thinn.

The downside is that the impact will be felt for many long months afterwards, and the researcher has no shortage of issues on his list. Disruptions to satellite navigation systems will make things very difficult, even for ordinary vehicle traffic.

The vessels that we rely on to maintain oil and gas production in the North Sea will not be able to operate as they should. Excavators that depend on GPS guidance systems will grind to a halt.

Both high and low frequency radio transmissions will cease, and you will not be able to fill your car with fuel. “Petrol pumps also rely on electricity”, says Solheim Thinn.

“After two hours, the batteries at the base stations supporting the mobile network will run out. We will then lose mobile coverage and things will really begin to go downhill”, he says.

First of all, it will start to get cold. And when this happens, it will be up to us ordinary folk to have done our homework in advance. The DSB has compiled a for households.

Nine litres of water, two packets of crispbread, a packet of porridge oats, three packets of dried foods, or tins, per person, as well as warm clothes, blankets, sleeping bags and a battery-powered DAB radio.

The solar storm of 1859

One of the most famous solar storms in recorded history was the Carrington event of 1859, named after the British astronomer Richard Carrington, who was observing some intense sunspots.

“The event occurred during one of the famous Californian gold rushes, and one urban myth suggested that the light was so intense that miners were able to pan for gold at night”, says Solheim Thinn. “The telegraph lines glowed red in the dark and the terminals caught fire”, he says.

In 1921, we saw evidence that solar storms could create problems even when technological infrastructure was in its infancy. For the three days during which this storm continued, electrical fires were started all across the world. The worst examples were in New York. Trains were brought to a standstill, so the storm became known as the ‘New York Railroad Storm’.

In 1972, a solar storm detonated several thousand sea mines along the coast of Vietnam. “This was the first occasion on which problems were reported with satellites”, says Solheim Thinn.

In 1982, problems with as many as four transformers and 15 power lines were recorded in Sweden. This event also caused disruptions in Norway, but no blackouts occurred. In 1989 a solar storm caused a nine-hour outage in Quebec.

“We also experienced solar storms in 2003, 2017 and most recently in 2022, when the company Space X lost 40 of its satellites”, says Solheim Thinn.

According to the , the storm cost Elon Musk more than one billion kroner.

Things could have been much worse. In 2012 the planet experienced a near miss.  It is calculated that if this storm had struck the USA, it would have caused in the region of 20 trillion dollars of damage.

This is equivalent to twice the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, and would have been as catastrophic, in financial terms, as a large asteroid colliding with the planet, less the social and human costs and loss of life.

But enough of these horror stories. Let’s get back to Ogndal in Trþndelag, and what has been discovered there.

The unpredictability of space

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t prove that it exists”, says Solheim Thinn. â€œWe’ve installed sensors in the transformer at Ogndal in order to take measurements and calibrate our data models”, he says.

Several factors have to be considered, one of which is solar activity, which is not too difficult to monitor. The US Space Weather Prediction Center () is a mine of information, but there is one problem – the difficulty of making reliable long-term predictions.

The Tromsþ Geophysical Observatory has deployed several magnetometers with the aim of measuring the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field. One of them is in Rþyrvik, which is between 150 and 160 kilometres away. The magnetometers measure both the natural geomagnetic field and the magnetic perturbations generated by solar storms.

Naturally, these measurements are in real time, but they can also help us to understand how the geomagnetic field is influenced by events in space, including the solar storms that induce currents in our distribution grids and transformers.

We expect to see four G5 solar storm events during every 11-year cycle. The current cycle is expected to display its highest levels of activity in 2024 and 2025.

“We also have to know about the electrical conductivity at depths of several hundred kilometres below the Earth’s surface”, says Solheim Thinn. This is because the geo-magnetically inducted currents also penetrate deep into the Earth’s crust, and in turn impact on the inducted currents flowing through the transformers”, he says.

Solheim Thinn explains that it is difficult to construct reliable predictive models because electrical conductivity in the different geological layers within the crust is very variable. It is especially difficult to assess electrical conductivity at the transition between the sea and land. The ocean exhibits relatively high conductivity, while the opposite is true for land areas.

“On the other hand, it is not difficult to identify correlations between magnetic field measurements and actual geo-magnetically inducted currents in our distribution grids, provided that both are being measured at the same time”, says Solheim Thinn. It is possible to calculate a ratio that describes their inter-relationship”, he says.

Long seabed cables installed on the continental shelf are very vulnerable to solar storms.

One of the studies cited in the SINTEF report focused on the influence of the conductivity of shallow offshore continental shelves, similar to the situation in the North Sea. It demonstrated that the geo-magnetically inducted current would be three times as strong if the ocean had not been there.

Solheim Thinn has also made a couple of other finds. The ionospheric electrojets that circle the Earth’s magnetic poles travel for the most part in an east-west direction.

Researchers have believed for some time that solar storms impact on electrical power lines in different ways, depending on the direction from which the current is travelling. But this has now been shown to be untrue.

“It makes no difference at all whether power lines are oriented in a northerly, southerly, easterly or westerly direction”, says Solheim Thinn. They still remain just as vulnerable”, he says.

During moderate effect activity, our transformers will remain resilient, but this may not necessarily apply to the grid.

Solheim Thinn also believes that there are differences in resilience between different transformers. In recent years, transformers have been purchased that are resilient to solar storms for a given period because they are designed not to overheat too quickly. It has been shown that three-phase transformers installed with five-limbed iron cores become saturated more quickly than the three-limbed type.

“For this reason, it is now recommended to install three-limbed three-phase transformers in the most important and most vulnerable substation facilities.

Approaching a solar maximum

Most people are aware that the sun exhibits periods of greater and lesser activity, defined within an 11-year cycle. Solheim Thinn explains that during the first two years after the sensors were installed at Ogndal, only very low levels of activity were recorded. However, starting in 2021, and during the remainder of that year, six measurements were made indicating so-called moderate effect activity.

“During moderate effect activity, our transformers will remain resilient, but this may not necessarily apply to the grid”, says Solheim Thinn.

On 4 November 2021, a transformer went down at a neighbouring substation in Namsos, about 70 kilometres from Ogndal.

“The safety mechanism was tripped, and this disconnected the transformer”, says Solheim Thinn. “Our findings indicate that there is a connection between reactive power consumption, geo-magnetically inducted current, and changes in the magnetic field as recorded by space meteorology instruments. In other words, when we measure strong currents, we observe a simultaneous and major peak in reactive power consumption. If we exceed the safety mechanism threshold value, this trips the transformer’s circuit breaker”, he says.

However, even if a transformer takes a time-out and goes down, as happened in Namsos on that late autumn day, this was hardly noticeable to electricity consumers. This was because other transformers stepped in to do the job. The electricity grid operates with a so-called ‘buffer’, or reserve capacity, which in this case kicked in to avert a crisis.   

“However, it was a close call and a stroke of luck that the Ogndal transformer remained in operation”, says Solheim Thinn.

“In 2024 we will be entering a period in the cycle when solar activity is at its highest. Solar storms are classified on the basis of their intensity. A G1 storm is a small one, while the most intense is classified as G5. 

“We expect to see four G5 solar storm events during every 11-year cycle”, says Solheim Thinn. “The current cycle is expected to display its highest levels of activity in 2024 and 2025”, he says.

– What will this mean?

“We will most likely experience control and safety issues in the electricity grid”, says Solheim Thinn. “We may experience a collapse or blackout of the grid, and some transformers may be damaged. We will also experience problems with satellite navigation”, he says.

We can in fact only hope that the worst doesn’t really come to the worst.

This article is written by and originally published by our friends at Gemini. It has been republished here with kind permission.

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This article was written by Nora Ward, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Galway. It was first published by our friends at .

Europe’s “wolf problem” is fast becoming a source of social and political tension. Relative  across the continent has led to calls for action from worried politicians and farming and hunting groups. And the European Commission has now proposed a , from “strictly protected” to “protected”, which could allow people to hunt wolves.

However, changing the protection status may not be the best solution, especially as only  in the EU have reached .

Instead, perhaps the time is ripe for a renewed focus on learning to live – again – with wolves. Proven prevention strategies, such as fencing and the use of guard dogs, play a critical role in this.

But the question may be fundamentally philosophical. Namely, it boils down to how to coexist – and the cultivation of ethical principles and values which undergird a successful coexistence.

‘Deep ecology’ and the equal right to exist

In this task, the work of Norwegian environmental philosopher Arne Néss (1912-2009) might be of help. Néss is known as the father of “deep ecology”, an ethical theory that contends that all life has intrinsic value.

Néss argued that all beings, whether human or nonhuman, have an equal right to exist and flourish, a principle he called “biospherical egalitarianism”.

As this applies to wolves, NĂŠss was clear: wolves have just as much a right to be here as we do.

NĂŠss wrote an  with biologist Ivar Mysterud stating: “The well-being of the species wolf as part of human and nonhuman life on Earth has value in itself!” As a result, they argued, “humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity, including wolf habitats and races, except to satisfy vital needs!”

Despite this ostensibly radical challenge to human-centred ethical norms, NĂŠss demonstrated a pragmatic approach in how the principle of biospherical egalitarianism was applied in practice. For example, he considered the important contextual factors of local wolf-human interactions, writing:

For some sheep holders, the need to protect their sheep from wolves or to be in some way compensated is today vital. It means protecting the basis of their economy and home where they have lived for generations.

In addition to human interests, he also took seriously the moral obligation to reduce the suffering of sheep and other domestic animals. This is especially salient as humans have reduced the capacity of these species to evade wolves.

Mouflon, the wild ancestor of domestic sheep, do their best to avoid large predators by fleeing into mountains. In contrast, after thousands of years of selective breeding, modern livestock have fewer genetic defences and are left to fend for themselves in fenced-in fields. 

Man has a heart, not just a brain

NÊss avoided a one-size-fits-all answer to the question of wolves (a position other scholars ). But his focus on articulating general ethical principles to serve as a backdrop for contextual decisions may have importance in the increasingly heated and political nature of this rewilding debate.

For example, Néss used the term  to denote places which comprise humans and those species who play a clear role in human affairs. Challenging the tendency to define community only in human terms, Néss contended that this framing helps to “break down some of the barriers commonly erected between humans and any other forms of life within our common space”.

In doing so, this can open pathways for increased identification and empathy for nonhuman others – a capacity Néss believed all humans have, stemming from an inherent continuity between human and nonhuman life.

Indeed, as the pioneering American conservationist  similarly maintained, perceiving ourselves in a community with others is a prerequisite for moral action. In this case, it helps to make concrete the idea of a wolf’s right to exist – they are members of the community just like us.

Applying this ethical framework of “mixed communities” to current EU deliberations can have some benefits. For example, it may inspire the further development of creative, mutually beneficial solutions such as economic compensation for livestock losses – a move which Néss called for – as well as improving wolf-attack prevention. It may also play an effective role in countering the often-baseless fear and hysteria around wolves (Néss blamed the brothers Grimm for the animals’ bad public image).

Perhaps most important of all, though, is the potential for connecting with our emotional elements. As NĂŠss said: “Man has a heart, not only a brain.” 

To move towards a sustainable coexistence, it is not enough to appeal to abstractions about scientific benefits or devise perfectly efficient compensation schemes. This must also derive from a sense of solidarity with other species – a full recognition that, in Néss’s words: “Humans are not alone on this planet.”

Interestingly, as a  showed, most people living in rural communities in the EU already believe that wolves have a right to exist, corresponding with Néss’s relative optimism about the possibility of mixed communities. This is all the more important to remember in light of the worrying political divisiveness in relation to Europe’s so-called wolf problem.

This article was written by Nora Ward, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Galway. It was first published by our friends at .

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Gemini has been quizzing doctor Sigurd Mydske and Øystein Wiggen, a research scientist at SINTEF and a cold temperature physiologist, all about what you need to know if you have an accident in the mountains during your Easter holidays, out on the road or in other cold situations.

As a physiologist, Wiggen conducts research into what the human body can tolerate under low-temperature stress. Mydske is a doctor and researcher at the Mountain Medicine Research Cluster at the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation (SNLA). The research cluster is a joint undertaking involving the Bergen Health Trust, the University of Bergen and the SNLA.  

Together with their colleagues, Mydske and Wiggen are carrying out important work looking into finding the most optimal way of treating patients suffering from hypothermia.

Mountain medicine involves the prevention and treatment of medical issues that may arise in mountainous terrain. It is based on the premise that in the mountains, external conditions create challenges that can make even simple medical examinations and interventions very challenging.

Mountain medicine skills may be useful for a number of specialists, but are particularly applicable to physicians working outside hospitals such as municipal doctors, anaesthesiologists or those simply taking part in day trips or longer expeditions.

Medical conditions subject to research in this context may include hypothermia, frostbite, altitude sickness and physiological issues related to altitude, as well as topics such as expedition medicine, avalanches, anaesthesia and analgesia under primitive conditions, toxicology and traumatology.

In international terms, research and development topics linked to mountain medicine are brought together under two organisations in particular – the International Society for Mountain Medicine, and the Medical Committee of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue ().

“Recent and robust knowledge in this field may have life-saving significance for patients who become involved in anything from avalanches to traffic accidents, as well as those who find themselves injured and unable to move on a cold cellar floor”, says Wiggen.

Life saving FAQ

However, there is already a lot that doctors and researchers are certain about when it comes to applying know-how to save lives in cold environments.

How cold do we have to be before we can say it is dangerous?

“A person can be said to be hypothermic when his or her body temperature falls below 35°C”, says Øystein Wiggen. “To be precise, our core temperature is defined as that of the blood in our right cardiac ventricle. Hypothermia can develop into something very dangerous, but it usually takes some time before our core temperature becomes so low”, he says.

Why can it be so dangerous to get cold? After all, some people swear by a cold bath.

According to Sigurd Mydske, a large drop in body temperature can be dangerous for many reasons.

Firstly, our blood platelets cease to function normally when our bodies become hypothermic. This makes it difficult to stop both external and internal bleeding. No wonder that sustaining an injury in cold conditions can be very serious.

Secondly, low temperatures can be harmful in their own right. In the event of an accident, keeping the injured person warm is one of the most important things you can do.

“Even a drop in core temperature from 36 to 35 degrees may have serious consequences”, says Mydske. “Our body temperature helps to control the speed of all the chemical processes taking place in our bodies. When we become hypothermic, everything begins to slow down. Our vital organs such as the heart, lungs and brain function less efficiently, and the blood’s ability to coagulate is impaired.  There is also a significant increase in the risk of cardiac arrest”, he says.

So, what is really happening in a hypothermic body?

Researcher Øystein Wiggen explains: “Firstly, the body has built-in mechanisms that work to prevent it from becoming seriously hypothermic. These include reducing blood supply to the peripheral parts of the body while increasing supply to the internal organs. The most important parts of the body are thus kept warm and continue to receive oxygen and nutrients.”

Read more: Understanding Avalanche Risk in Norway

“This also means that we feel the cold first in our noses, hands and feet. Secondly, the body starts to shiver. Shivering stimulates energy use and leads to increased heat production,” he adds.

“Shivering in itself is not dangerous. It is in fact a sign that the body is doing its job”, says Mydske. “Danger arises when a person has become so cold that he or she stopsshivering”, he says.

“Our temperature controls most of the processes that take place in our bodies”, says Mydske.

“When we get very cold, our heartbeat and breathing slow down and become less stable. This also applies to the brain and our levels of consciousness. The brain gradually functions less effectively, and we become confused, lethargic, aggressive in part, and eventually unconscious. Our rate of metabolism, which uses oxygen to convert our food and drink into energy, declines. Our blood platelets become less viscid and stick together less well, which increases the risk of bleeding. This is why, after ensuring that a patient’s airways are clear and applying CPR, the most important thing is to keep her warm”, he says.

How long does it take to become dangerously cold?

“It’s impossible to say”, says Øystein Wiggen. “It depends on so many factors such as air temperature, wind conditions, your clothing, age and body shape. So, together with your first aid kit, it’s just as important to carry a good insulating mat, extra clothes and a bivouac bag in your pack”, he says.

“A good rule of thumb for a healthy person is that if you fall into cold water and manage to keep your head above the surface, you will have about 30 minutes before you become hypothermic (where your body temperature falls below 35° C)”, says Wiggen  “This is why it is so important to be accompanied, and to carry a rope, ice safety picks and warm clothes when skiing or skating across a frozen river or lake. In the spring, when the snow and ice are starting to melt, it makes sense to bear these things in mind”, he says.

Some say that you shouldn’t try to warm up hypothermic patients. Others say the opposite. What is the right thing to do?

“The established idea that you shouldn’t try to warm up hypothermic patients goes back to the 1950s”, says Mydske. “This so-called knowledge is derived from old myths for which there is no scientific evidence. Unfortunately though, many people still believe this to be true”, he says.

According to Wiggen, contemporary advice is to adhere to the following drill:

1. Insulate the patient from the cold by removing him or her from contact with any snow or ice. Use a rucksack or a mat as insulation. Everything helps. 
2. Place a moisture barrier as close against the patient as possible. In practice: Place the patient in a zipped-up wind sack to prevent losing moisture from the body.  Evaporation cools the body down. This is why we sweat when we become too hot. Then get the patient into a sleeping bag or under a wind sack. The more insulation you can provide, the better. 
3. In all situations you must try to provide the patient with ‘active warming’.  Active warming means providing warmth using devices such as heating mats. However, we still do not know exactly what effect this has. But, because it is normal for the body to be warm, we should always be looking to insulate the patient and provide active warmth. 

“But be careful. A patient being warmed in this way must be closely monitored in order to prevent burns”, says Mydske.

“If you’re caught in bad weather in the mountains and are becoming hypothermic, you may only need a couple of rubbish bags to save your life. Jump into a bag, pull it over your head and make a hole to breathe through. Plastic bags can withstand harsh conditions much better than thin rescue blankets. They are windproof and cost next to nothing. Doing this will prevent heat loss due to evaporation and will have a big impact on your temperature”, he adds.

“If we can keep the wind out, we can create a safe microclimate in the bag”, says Wiggen. “A lot will then have to happen before you freeze to death”, explains Wiggen. “A bivouac bag can save your life. Be aware that thin foil emergency blankets do not have the same effect. They are difficult to use both as a moisture barrier and as protection against the elements because they tend to become caught by the wind.

“Foil blankets may be effective in reflecting radiated heat, but when we are clothed the amount of heat we lose by radiation is very small, so the effect is minimal”, says Wiggen. “This is why more and more rescue services are no longer using the foil blankets that we commonly see in the news coverage of disasters such as the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. However, specially-designed bags are available that are well suited to this purpose. They are light, thin and moisture-proof, and reflect the heat radiated from the body. They are sold in sports retailers that offer a good selection of mountain equipment”, he says.

“But, remember”, says Mydske. “We doctors always say that a patient isn’t dead before he or she is both warm and dead. If a patient is becoming hypothermic, but the heart is still beating on its own, it is important to provide him or her with as much warmth as possible. If the patient’s heart has stopped beating, then you must start CPR. It is important not to give up before the patient has arrived at the hospital. In any event, it will not be possible to warm up such patients outside a hospital, so it is less important to make the effort to provide them with warmth.

Why is it that some people survive because of the cold?

“Paradoxically, it can happen that cold temperatures actually contribute towards a person surviving, for example in cases of falling into cold water”, says Wiggen. “When our bodies are cooled down, all our internal processes function more slowly. Our brains are able to tolerate long periods starved of oxygen before our condition becomes critical. However, in spite of the fact that the cold can save us in some situations, most incidences of prolonged submergence in cold water will result in unfortunate outcomes”, he says.

Is there anything we don’t know about the treatment of hypothermic patients?

“We can’t say for certain that we have identified the optimal treatment approach to so-called pre-hospital warming of hypothermic patients”, says Wiggen.  â€œWe are aware of the basic principles, but we need better equipment to facilitate active warming and, not least, methods for the easy and accurate measurement of body temperature out in the field. This is exactly what we are currently working on. In a few years’ time, we hope that it will be possible for mountain rescue personnel to reverse hypothermia even more effectively so that they can deliver warm patients to our hospitals”, he says.

Why do we sometimes feel warm immediately before we actually die of cold?

“Our brain controls the body’s physiological processes”, says Mydske. “It regulates the dilation of our arteries when we are hot, and their contraction when we are cold. But when this centre in our brains becomes cold, this mechanism stops working. In a seriously hypothermic body, the ‘sluices are opened’ and blood flows out into the hands and feet. Tense muscles are allowed to relax. The patient experiences this phenomenon as warmth, but in fact the body is losing heat. This, in combination with loss of brain function, explains why some people who have frozen to death have been found with their clothes  removed”, he says.

This article was originally published by . It has been republished here with kind permission.

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Many glaciers around the world are melting because of rising global temperatures. This is especially bad for places with fewer glaciers, like Scandinavia and the European Alps.

If global warming reaches 2.7 degrees by 2100, Scandinavia may lose around 90% of its ice and glaciers.

Perhaps even more alarming is the scenario in which the world manages to stay within the 1.5-degree warming target. Even in this scenario (which seems increasingly unlikely), the ice loss is estimated to be between 70%-80%.

A global study

Bigger glaciers in Norway will last longer, but they will also shrink a lot. Researchers have made new calculations to understand how glaciers will change as they melt.

They have found that about half of the world's glaciers will be lost if we don't limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. If global warming reaches 2.7 degrees or more, things will be much worse.

The impact of glacial melting

Melting glaciers will cause the sea level to rise and affect many people. There's already a lot of concern about melting ice caps in Antarctica and Greenland, but from the year 2100 melting glaciers are expected to contribute to the problem at least as much.

Glaciers are also important for water supply and culture, especially in high mountain areas. Over a billion people in Asia depend on freshwater from glaciers.

Read more: Jostedalsbreen Glacier in Norway

Melting glaciers will also impact hydropower plants that use water from them. As glaciers disappear, there may be more landslides and rockfalls because the ground becomes less stable.

How Norway will be impacted

In an article published by the , Regine Hock highlighted the importance of glaciers for the production of hydropower in Norway. The water that melts from the glaciers in the summer is used by power plants further down the water stream.

“Right now we have an infinite supply of water for the hydropower plants in the glaciers,” she said. And in fact, during the coming decades when the glaciers melt, runoff will actually increase.

Read more: How Climate Change is Going to Impact Norway

“But at one point we want to reach the top. When the extra water is no longer there, we will have a decline, and that will have a direct effect on the hydropower plants,” she said.

She also highlighted the dangers associated with disappearing glaciers. “When the glaciers retreat, we may have more landslides and rockfalls because the ground is no longer frozen and because it becomes more unstable without the glacier on top.”

Cultural heritage

The impact of melting glaciers is already being felt in central Norway. For the past few years, a research project has been finding and documenting newly-revealed glacial archaeological sites.

Finds so far include arrowheads and the oldest pair of skis known to have been discovered anywhere in the world.

Svalbard

The Arctic archipelago Svalbard is already one of the first places on Earth to feel the impact of our changing climate. Despite its vast quantity of ice, it too will suffer from the loss of glaciers.

“If the temperature rises by 1.5 degrees, Svalbard will retain around 80% of its ice, but for every degree of warming there is a massive increase in how much ice disappears. At 4 or 5 degrees, there will be nothing left,” said Hock.

Read more: Svalbard's Cultural Heritage Threatened by Climate Change

“Every degree counts for Svalbard, and any reduction in emissions will help preserve glaciers on Svalbard,” she added.

The post Norway’s Glaciers Could Disappear by 2100 appeared first on șŁœÇֱȄ.

This article was written by IngebjĂžrg Hestvik and first published on . It has been republished here with kind permission.

Since 2017, nearly 3000 young people aged 17 to 20 have shared in their own words what they consider important in Norwegian society, and whom they regard as good role models.

The survey showed a clear shift in Norwegian youth in autumn 2019, when Greta Thunberg received extensive media attention, and the “Fridays for future” movement spread with school strikes in several countries.

“What we see is that Greta Thunberg has been very important in uniting young people who were already concerned about the climate,” says researcher Jan Frode Haugseth, an associate professor in pedagogy at NTNU’s Department of Teacher Education. He heads the research programme that investigates commitment and values among young people in Norway.

Read more: Norway Bets Big on Future Hydrogen Economy

“She also helped to make more young people climate aware, especially in 2019,” he said.

Study of young people’s engagement

Haugseth and his colleague Eli Smeplass have written ‘The Greta Thunberg Effect: A Study of Norwegian Youth’s Reflexivity on Climate Change.'

“Everyone has the opportunity to do what they want, just like everyone can choose to study or do whatever work they want. The most important challenge in society for me is the climate debate, which I believe we really need to tackle.” (Female, age 19, 2017 survey)

“When we started these surveys in 2017, we had no particular ambition to look at climate awareness. We wanted to know what young people think about our times and what inspires them,” Haugseth said.

“When we observed how the responses changed in autumn 2019, and that young people themselves were mentioning Greta Thunberg and the importance of addressing climate and nature issues, we thought this would be an interesting object of study,” he said.

Let young people speak freely

One problem with regular surveys is that it is difficult to gauge how engaged the respondents really are. The match between what young people claim is important and how they actually behave is ambiguous.

In fact, some research suggests that even if young people answer that the climate threat is serious in surveys, they still live lives that involve lots of consumption and relatively high emissions.

“I’m really inspired by Greta Thunberg now. She is enormously resourceful, and I greatly admire her efforts. She is brave and uses her voice to fight for something she believes in. And she’s humble at the same time. The focus shouldn’t be on her” (Male, age 20, 2019 survey).

In other words, young people are aware of climate issues on a theoretical and overall level. But they seem to lack what the researchers call climate change reflexivity when it comes to their personal actions.

“We wanted a method to be able to measure young people’s awareness of these issues. We found that we had the opportunity to study what young people tell us about the climate threat by simply asking them to speak freely, rather than posing questions. This ensures deeper reflection than survey questions, which are often answered quickly and without reflecting much,” Haugseth said.

Before and after 2019

The surveys contained open text fields for respondents to express what they thought was important in society and to define their role models in their own words.

“We found that in 2019 a lot more young people wrote that the climate threat was important, and they were concerned with the transition to a sustainable economy, restructuring and climate solidarity,” Haugseth said.

“The answers from 2017 were less detailed. Youth were becoming concerned that other ways of managing society had to be found. We could see that after 2019 they argued in a more holistic way,” he said.

This tendency applied to young people across geographical and social affiliations.

“We have to start thinking about the Earth and not just ourselves, and we have to start doing things that benefit the Earth – and not just making sure that we have the best possible time and prioritize economic stability so highly when we’re facing such a big crisis.” (Female, age 18, 2019 survey)

“Research often shows that social belonging, like the parents’ level of education and occupation, affects what young people are interested in. But here we see that Greta Thunberg managed to mobilize young people in a broader sense,” Smeplass said.

Listen: Norway’s CO2 Storage Explained

“We also found that climate-conscious young people in 2019-2020-2021 described themselves as ‘we’ to a greater extent than in 2017. They come from different places and don’t know each other, but have nevertheless developed a kind of community. They’ve become aware of each other, that there are more people than themselves who are concerned about the climate, and that more versatile solutions are needed than what the adult generation has come up with,” she said.

Youth mention Thunberg – not climate reports

The researchers can’t rule out that increased media attention to climate issues could also have influenced young people’s consciousness around the topic – without Thunberg’s influence.

“But Thunberg reached young people to a much greater extent than the UN climate panel managed to do. None of the young people mention the climate reports in their answers,” Smeplass said.

Young people are engaged with their peers. They’re looking to their age cohorts, not upwards to what their parents are involved with.

“Norway should take advantage of the fact that the country is already in a transition period to switch to green and climate-friendly alternatives.” (Female, age 19, 2020 survey)

“Greta Thunberg represents the young generation. She managed to challenge world leaders and the elite and set the agenda. She is quite simply a young person who managed to back the elite against the wall, and a number of young people write that they admire her for this,” Smeplass said.

In the pandemic years 2020 and 2021, fewer young people mentioned Thunberg and climate commitment than in 2019. Could COVID have caused young people to become less concerned about climate issues again?

“The best thing about Norway is our beautiful nature that we can all experience freely. We have to solve global warming so that young people can all have a future.” (Male, age 19, 2020 survey)

“We believe we now have evidence to say that we can demonstrate a deeper form of reflection, with a more clearly pronounced ‘we’ and a ‘deeper’ climate reflexivity, one year into the pandemic (spring 2021). At the same time, fewer survey respondents are reporting that they think the climate threat is as serious,” Haugseth said.

“It’s difficult for researchers to predict the future. The broad Greta Thunberg effect that we described in 2019 has been less visible during the pandemic. But the relevancy of her message for young people is a sign that their climate engagement hasn’t disappeared,” Smeplass said.

Down-to-earth argumentation

The researchers believe that young people connect their climate commitment to issues like environmental protection, education, restructuring and solidarity.

“This is a down-to-earth argument that is adapted to the sustainability focus in modern business development, and that we think will become important in the years to come. And a lot of young people still report that they take the climate threat seriously, even if they don’t necessarily talk much about it. This is also a corrective to the notion that the most effective climate resistance is being organized by climate activists who stop traffic and sabotage art,” Haugseth said.

“
in the future, Norway needs to find a new way to make good money other than oil – it’s going to run out faster than we think.” (Male, age 19, 2021 survey)

The fact that Greta Thunberg is not participating in this year’s COP27 climate conference COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh does not necessarily mean that she will have any less influence on young people’s climate commitment.

“What we’re interested in is how young people argue for the importance of their climate commitment. Because that tells us something about what they’re really demanding and expecting from the future. In other words, climate summits aren’t necessarily the most effective hotbeds for youth climate engagement going forward,” Smeplass said.

Reference: Jan Frode Haugseth og Eli Smeplass:  Sociology, First published online November 17, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385221122416

This article was written by IngebjĂžrg Hestvik and first published on . It has been republished here with kind permission.

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Long ago, Norway was a frontrunner in polar exploration. Fridtjof Nansen's polar drift expedition aboard the Fram from 1893 to 1896 and Roald Amundsen's dash to the South Pole in 1911 were two high points.

Then things got quiet for a while. The Arctic was explored by the Russians, the Americans, the Canadians, the Germans, and others
 but Norway directed its attention elsewhere.

Norwegian research in the Arctic

Research ship Kronprins Haakon was launched in 2018 to change this. It is a “polar class 3” icebreaker, which means it is suited for year-round operation in second-year ice which may include multi-year ice inclusions.

I joined the together with representatives from ten research groups from Norwegian universities and research institutes. We headed for the Nansen Basin and the northern part of the Knipovich Ridge to pursue a wide-ranging and cross-disciplinary scientific program.

Introducing the Kronprins Haakon

The ship is equipped with top-modern laboratories, insanely powerful engines, and comfortable accommodation for about 35 scientists.

Accommodation onboard is basic but comfortable. In addition to the bunk beds, the cabin includes a desk and chair, a small sofa and table, a television, a wardrobe and a toilet and shower.

Scientists on board have pointed out that other research ships they have been on have had much smaller cabins. The top bunk is used as a storage space for my suitcase because I was one of the lucky few who did not have to share.

Experiencing the true polar night

The start of the polar night is like a very long sunset. Followed by an even longer night. And then the next day a slightly shorter sunset (or is it a sunrise? Who knows). This continues until the sun stops makes an appearance altogether.

In Longyearbyen, Svalbard's main town, the transition between seven hours of daylight and no sunrise at all takes just two weeks.

Life onboard

A normal day on the Kronprins Haakon starts at 7.30am – if you want breakfast, that is. Meals are served at specific times and you are expected to be punctual.

This is because the crew manning the kitchen has to work efficiently to get to its other unrelated tasks. Kronprins Haakon has a crew of 15-17, spread between the bridge, the machine room, the outside decks and the living accommodations.

The days are long for the crew, who typically work twelve-hour shifts for five weeks in a row, and then get five weeks off. Scientists also have long days.

This is because ship time is expensive and has to be used as efficiently as possible. Sometimes you have to take water samples or fish for plankton at a specific spot and the ship reaches that spot at 3am.

The fact that day and night kind of melt into each other helps, to a degree. Night shift and day shift are not so different when it's dark all day.

Icebreaking 

An icebreaker breaks ice. Not by colliding with it directly, but by sliding over it and crushing it with its enormous weight. This is a noisy process. And a shaky one.

As I am writing these lines, we are making our way south through the ice, at 82° North. I am sitting in the ship's conference room, at a conference table just like the ones you find in office buildings.

The difference is that I have been experiencing a relatively non-stop “earthquake” for the last half hour. The conference room is quite far up, on deck seven, so things are relatively quiet.

On lower decks, the vibrations, shakes, and jerky movements are accompanied by very loud noises.

The noises are a mix of low rumblings, loud thuds and, sometimes, the blood-freezing screech of a large, cold block of ice rubbing against the hull. Surprisingly, sleeping through all that racket is not too much of a problem, most nights. It does trigger some very odd, “disaster movie” dreams though.

The engine room

The ship is like a small power plant. It has four diesel engines capable of generating a whopping 17 megawatts of electricity. Generally, the ship just needs a fraction of that power.

But pushing through ice requires a lot of energy. The ship's fuel tank has a capacity of nearly 1.5 million litres.

To make use of the energy generated as efficiently as possible, the heat from the off gas is used to warm up water. The generators themselves need cooling, which is provided by sea water which cools down fresh water through a heat exchanger.

The hot freshwater is then used to heat the various rooms of the ship, and to prevent ice from accumulating in the ship's moonpool.

The moonpool

The moonpool is a trapdoor in the ship's main hangar that leads directly to the ocean. It opens much more slowly than similar trapdoors in James Bond movies, and there are no piranhas below.

On this trip, the moonpool was used to launch ÆGIR 6000, the expedition's ROV (remotely operated vehicle), capable of reaching depths of 6000 metres.

The food

A nice surprise for a research expedition novice such as myself was how incredibly delicious the food is.

The honour for that goes for the most part to the chef Kenneth Reece, a friendly Swedish guy who became a chef in his forties, training at the Cordon Bleu school in Bangkok. Yes, he is a Swedish chef and has been made aware of how funny that is…

Lamb shanks were served with a red wine sauce and garnished with a gremolata – a mix of fresh parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. “I add parmesan to mine”, Kenneth says.

The meat fell off the bone and the combination of flavours was on par with what you would expect at a fine restaurant.

His actual title is Chief Steward. This means that in addition to preparing the food, he is responsible for ordering and managing the ship's stocks of food and other supplies such as toilet paper, hand soap, laundry detergent and such.

The ship sails for weeks on end with no possibility of resupply, and both crew and scientists need to be well-fed the whole time. Kenneth needs to send in his orders a couple of weeks in advance, so careful planning is crucial to make sure not to run out of anything while avoiding overspending.

Once the ship is at sea, his priority is to prepare varied and delicious menus, but also to minimise waste as much as possible. He monitors the state of his produce daily and makes sure to serve his fruits and vegetables before they go bad.

At the time of writing this, we have been at sea for two weeks and we still have fresh fruit and vegetables. I don't know how he does it.

The mission

The ship's mission this time around is to gather information about the area just north of Svalbard, which was designated as Norwegian in 2009, by the UN's Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Topics range from biology to ice research, but the main focus is on geophysics – namely seismic profiles.

This is when a ship uses air cannons to send sound waves to the bottom of the ocean to discover what lies beneath.

This area of the Arctic Ocean has been the subject of few such investigations, due to the difficult conditions caused by the sea ice. You can read more about the science taking place onboard on the project's website: .

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