Norway refuses to drill for billions of barrels of oil in Arctic

The Northern Lights over Hamnoya, a fishing village in Norway’s Lofoten Islands

Harry Cockburn reports for the Independent

‘What we do in the next 20 years will determine the future for all life on Earth,’ the famed naturalist saysThe largest party in Norway’s parliament has delivered a significant blow to the country’s huge oil industry after withdrawing support for explorative drilling off the Lofoten islands in the Arctic, which are considered a natural wonder.

The move, by the opposition Labour party, creates a large parliamentary majority against oil exploration in the sensitive offshore area, illustrating growing opposition to the polluting fossil fuel, which has made the country one of the world’s most affluent.

The country currently pumps out over 1.6 million barrels of oil a day from its offshore operations.

Norway’s largest oil producer, the state-controlled company Equinor ASA, has said gaining access to oil supplies in Lofoten is essential for the country to maintain production levels.

It is thought there are between 1 billion to 3 billion barrels of oil beneath the seabed off the Lofoten archipelago. The area had already been kept off limits for years by Norway’s coalition government through various political deals.

“The whole industry is surprised and disappointed,” Karl Eirik Schjott-Pedersen, head of the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association told Bloomberg. “It does not provide the predictability we depend on.”

Labour’s opposition, announced by its leader, Jonas Gahr Store, exposes a rift in the party as the leadership tries to reflect the population’s rising environmental concerns, while also aiming to support workers’ unions in the oil industry, which have been major backers of the party.


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Mr Store said his party would continue to support the oil industry, but has also said he wants oil firms in the country to commit to a deadline for making all operations emissions free.

Norway’s biggest oil union, Industry Energy, which has been a long-time ally of Labour, has attacked the party’s new stance on drilling in Lofoten, which comes less than two years after an internal party compromise on the issue.

“It creates imbalances in the policy discussions for an industry that’s dependent on a long-term perspective and we can’t accept that,” Frode Alfheim, the union’s leader, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“There’s probably a lot of people in the industry who are wondering what Labour actually stands for.”

The move comes days after Norway’s government gave the go-ahead on Friday for its $1trillion (£760bn) oil fund – the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund – to invest in renewable energy projects not listed on stock markets.

Billions are expected to be spent on wind and solar power projects.

It is the latest indication that wealth accumulated through fossil fuels is being redirected towards future profits in renewable energy. Greater numbers of industries and countries have begun fossil fuel divestment strategies, citing future risks to their business and economic models.

Last month Norway’s oil fund said it would no longer invest in 134 companies which explore for oil and gas, but would retain stakes in large oil firms including BP and Shell, which have renewable energy divisions.

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David Attenborough gave the natural world a voice. Now he’s talking about climate change like never before.

‘What we do in the next 20 years will determine the future for all life on Earth,’ the famed naturalist says

David Attenborough, narrator of the Netflix series “Our Planet,” spoke about the impacts of climate change on the natural world. (Alice Li/The Washington Post)

Brady Dennis reports for the Washington Post April 11

Sir David Attenborough has been documenting nature for more than six decades. His various television series — such as “Life on Earth,” “The Living Planet” and “Planet Earth” — have taken viewers to every corner of the globe, capturing the beauty and complexity of the natural world.

At 92, the renowned British naturalist is hardly finished.

In recent years, Attenborough increasingly has used his spellbinding whisper of a voice not only to describe the courtship rituals of birds of paradise or the mass migration of millions of Christmas Island red crabs, but also to repeatedly sound the alarm about climate change.

Last fall at a global climate conference in Poland, he told world leaders that “if we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilization and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.” Earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Attenborough again pushed for action, warning, “The Garden of Eden is no more.”

“The only conditions modern humans have ever known are changing and changing fast,” he said at the time, adding, “It is tempting and understandable to ignore the evidence and carry on as usual or to be filled with doom and gloom. … We need to move beyond guilt or blame and get on with the practical tasks at hand.”

Attenborough’s latest project, an eight-part Netflix series produced in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, is full of sobering reminders about how climate change is threatening significant parts of the natural world, coupled with the hope that humans might find the collective willpower to avert the most catastrophic consequences.

“Our Planet” was filmed over four years and across every continent, taking viewers to the remote Arctic wilderness, the vast plains of Africa and the depths of the world’s oceans to explore how much of nature is changing — and, in many ways, vanishing — in the age of climate change. Its central message is one of urgency.

“What we do in the next 20 years will determine the future for all life on Earth,” Attenborough intones in the first episode of “Our Planet.”

Before a screening this week at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Attenborough spoke with The Post about the project, his reasons for optimism and what keeps him motivated. What follows has been edited for length and clarity

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NYC drops plastic in stand against ‘Big Oil’

NYC Mayor Bill deBlasio showing executive order banning single-use plastic foodware

Rina Li reports for Waste Dive

Enjoy those plastic forks while you still can, NYC government employees. Per an executive order signed Thursday by Mayor Bill de Blasio, agencies will now be required to end approximately 95% of single-use plastic foodware purchases in favor of compostable or recyclable alternatives. It’s a big deal for a city that purchases at least 1.1 million pounds of single-use plastic foodware each year — in addition to decreasing plastic pollution and reducing risks to wildlife​, the administration estimates Executive Order 42 will cut down New York’s carbon emissions by approximately 500 tons per year. 

“Big Oil has been pushing single use plastics for too long — and it stops here,” de Blasio said in a statement. “They litter our beaches and parks, jam our recycling machines, and contribute to climate change. Our actions today will help us build a fairer city for all New Yorkers.”

The city will be permitted to maintain a sufficient supply of plastic items for anyone who requests them — including individuals with disabilities — as well as for emergency and medical purposes. All agencies are directed to begin cutting out single-use plastics immediately and to prepare a reduction plan within 120 days, with full implementation slated for the end of the year.

De Blasio also announced Thursday his support for pending legislation to reduce single-use plastic foodware in private establishments — and his intent to work with the New York City Council to ensure the legislation includes appropriate accommodations for individuals who are unable to use non-plastic options.

The directive represents New York’s latest effort to tamp down on petroleum-based products. In addition to banning single-use foam products, the city is currently divesting its pension funds from fossil fuel reserve owners and suing five fossil fuel companies for the billions of dollars that will be spent to protect New Yorkers from the effects of climate change. It’s also committed to doubling pension fund investments in climate change solutions to $4 billion by 2021 — roughly 2% of the city’s $195 billion pension portfolio — and reducing carbon emissions at least 80% by 2050.

“New York City is doing everything it can to end our reliance on fossil fuels and that means tackling the pervasive problem of single-use plastics,” said Daniel A. Zarrilli, NYC’s chief climate policy advisor and OneNYC director, in a statement. “Today’s Executive Order will end the unnecessary use of single-use plastic foodware in City government operations by setting smart, inclusive standards that respect the needs of people with disabilities.”

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5G is about to get a big boost from Trump and the FCC

TBrian Fung reports for the Washington Post

The Trump administration and government regulators unveiled a major push Friday afternoon at the White House to accelerate the rollout of the high-speed, next-generation mobile data technology known as 5G.

Under the plan, the Federal Communications Commission will release a wide swath of high-frequency airwaves for cellular use in what will be the largest trove of U.S. wireless spectrum ever to be auctioned off. As much as 3.4 gigahertz of “millimeter-wave” spectrum could be sold to wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon in the sale, which will begin Dec. 10, according to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

The FCC also proposed a $20 billion fund to expand broadband in rural America over the coming decade, connecting up to 4 million households and small businesses to high-speed Internet, Pai said. The “Rural Digital Opportunity Fund” could launch later this year, after a period of public notice and comment.

Speaking at the White House, Trump argued that the United States could not allow “any other country to outcompete the United States” in the race to 5G, and vowed that it is a race America would win.

“No matter where you are, you will have access very quickly to 5G, and it’s going to be a different life,” he said in remarks at the White House. “I don’t know if it’s going to be better — maybe you’re happy right now — but I’m going to say, technologically, it won’t even be close.”

The two proposals reflect the most intensive effort of the Trump era to close the so-called “digital divide” and gain an edge in the global race to build a fully functioning, nationwide 5G network. Proponents say the advances that 5G offers over 4G LTE will enable mobile download speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second — roughly 100 times faster than the standard — and pave the way for new technologies such as self-driving cars and virtual reality.

Despite Pai’s focus on auctioning spectrum, his critics say his 5G strategy has overlooked or even caused setbacks in other areas of policy.

“So far this Administration’s interventions on 5G have done more harm than good,” Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democratic FCC commissioner, tweeted Friday. “From imposing tariffs on 5G equipment to alienating allies on 5G security to falling behind the rest of the world on critical mid-band spectrum, it has yet to offer a workable plan for US leadership.”

Friday’s announcement comes in the face of rising competition from China and other nations that are moving swiftly to develop 5G technology.

Whichever country succeeds at deploying 5G early and on a massive scale will reap dividends and shape the global economy for years, analysts say. A head start by the United States, for example, could allow American firms to gain a dominant footing in the burgeoning market for smart devices and the next-generation of digital services.

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Did these two Jeep guys start 11,000-acre Pinelands fire? Can you ID them?

Detectives believe that the two men pictured below may have information about the fire that began on March 30 and consumed more than 11,000 acres of forest in Washington and Woodland Townships.

Image may contain: tree, sky, outdoor and nature
Image may contain: cloud, mountain, sky, outdoor and nature

By Chris Sheldon | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Two men are wanted for questioning in connection with the massive forest fire that burned through over 11,000 acres of the Pine Barrens earlier this month.

The New Jersey State Police released a photo of two men standing next to Jeeps with a huge plume of smoke rising in the background and said they “may have information about the fire.”

Investigators have said the blaze, which began on March 30 in the Penn State Forest, was likely caused by human activity in an area of the forest known for illegal bonfires.

The New Jersey State Police is seeking the public’s assistance with identifying two men wanted in connection to the Spring Hill wildfire in Burlington County.

Officials have declined to say whether they thought the fire was intentional or accidental.

The fire was contained on April 1 after it scorched 11,638 acres and was one of the larger forest fires New Jersey has seen in recent years.

Anyone who could help identify the men was asked to contact New Jersey State Police Detective Sgt. First Class Shaun Georgeson of Tuckerton Station at 609-296-3132. Anonymous tips are welcomed.

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