The Carbon Dinosaur in Norway

Dates in Norway
>>	25 May 04 City of Oslo, main train station: protesting against oil drilling in the Barent Sea Activists collecting votes for worst climate killer in Norway.
>>	26 May 04 City of Trondheim, market square. The Trondheim local group of FoE Norway used the dinosaur to protest against a new but not needed fossil fuel based power plant. As the chairman of the regional parliament, Tore Sandvik, has been promoting to even subsidise the construction with taxpayers' money, he qualified for a climate killer oscar. First recepient of a climate killer oscar: Tore Sandvik, chair of the regional parliament, for directing taxpayers' money to a fossil fuel project that nobody needs.
>>	27+28 May 04 City of Bergen, premiere of "The Day after Tomorrow": A large coalition in Norway is fighting oil drilling in the sensitive Barent Sea. The launch of the climate chaos movie picture "The Day after Tomorrow" set the background for their action. Sven Sandvik from the Norwegian NGO Changemaker addressing the visitors of the premiere of "The Day after Tomorrow". Next day, the Dinosaur is set up in the central shopping area of Bergen.
>>	24 August 04 City of Stavanger Every second year, Stavanger witnesses Europe's biggest oil fair, with all the big guys that make their money in dirty oil business. Just outside the venue, our pet reminds them what they are: Carbon Dinosaurs, killing the global climate for the sake of profit.
To find out more about the Carbon Dinosaur in Norway and when and where to meet it, please refer to the contact details on the right.

Norwegians are on the top of the world with respect to energy consumption and energy production. Norway is one of the world's largest exporters of fossil fuels, while hydropower is another major energy source, supplying 99% of the domestic consumption of electricity.

Despite the huge supply of non-polluting hydropower, Norway still has a high per capita rate of CO2-emissions. More than 25 per cent of the Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions result from oil and gas extraction. Transportation provides another important share; air travel and private cars are central pillars of the Norwegian transportation system, while public transportation by train and bus is lagging behind. Oil and gas is also used extensively for heating and industrial purposes, causing large emissions.

Low electricity prices are the Norwegian equivalent of US' petrol prices. Attempts to reduce consumption by imposing higher taxes has been met with public reactions similar to the reaction from US consumers towards the proposal of higher gasoline taxes: in short: furious condemnation! Cheap and plentiful electricity has traditionally been considered a precondition for industry and a public good for Norwegian households. However, recent liberalisation of the Nordic electricity market has meant the entry of prices at international levels. This is a tough medicine for households and industry, which are, therefore, keen to look for alternative sources of energy. Gas-fired power plants have been proposed as a major solution. This is also promoted as a more stable source of energy compared to a domestic electricity production based exclusively on hydropower, which is susceptible to variations in rainfall. However, this debate often overlooks the huge potentials for saving energy through efficiency measures and using wind, waves, sun and biomass to supply energy. Furthermore, these plans are based on the impossible notion that energy consumption will continue to grow forever. A continuous growth of energy consumption is way beyond the carrying capacity of the planet, but politicians fail to adopt policies to reflect this elementary knowledge.

The continental shelf off the Norwegian coast is a major playground for a big state owned oil company, Statoil, as well as international oil companies. The activities are continuously expanding into new areas. As up to now, the northern waters have been spared, but recently the Barents Sea was opened for exploration. This is an important but vulnerable feeding ground for numerous marine mammals and seabirds. Some of the largest and most valuable bird-colonies breed here. Also, the Barents Sea is one of the biologically most productive in the world, and important for many of the European fish stocks, including cod, capelin and haddock. Oil accidents will have catastrophic consequences for birds, fish stock and thousands of people in coastal communities that are dependent on a clean Barents Sea. Oil-drilling projects in these waters will exacerbate emissions and drive Norway even further away from achieving its Kyoto targets. Prophetically, one of the major oil fields in the area has been named Goliath.

Friends of the Earth Norway is working closely with other environmental organisations to stop oil extraction in the Barents Sea. Avoiding the construction of gas power plants, and presenting opportunities for reducing emissions from the transportation sector, are other major issues. In the field of energy we have defined reduced consumption, improved energy efficiency and the development of alternative, renewable sources of energy as our three main goals. The Carbon Dinosaur will help us lift these issues on the public agenda.

The Dinosaur on its way to Bergen, Norway.

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