If you live in Norway, an all-electric future is likely closer than you think. The country's four leading political parties have
agreed to a plan to stop selling gas-powered cars by 2025, according to a report. Electrek reports:
The four main political parties, both from the right and the left, have agreed on a new energy policy that will include a ban on new gasoline-powered car sales as soon as 2025 -- making it one of the most aggressive timeline of its kind for such a policy. What's probably most remarkable here is that Norway is currently one of the world's largest Oil exporters.Tesla CEO Elon Musk was rather pleased with the announcement. He said, "Just heard that Norway will ban new sales of fuel cars in 2025. What an
amazingly awesome country. You guys rock!!"
Re:WTF
By tomhath
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2016-Jun-4 19:41
• Score: 4, Interesting
• Thread
All that's happened is that some of the political parties have agreed to discuss a plan banning new sales as early as 2025.
Somehow that translated to "Norway will ban new sales of fuel cars in 2025"
Re:Winter?
By Rei
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2016-Jun-4 20:02
• Score: 5, Informative
• Thread
You're thinking of the Sami ;)
As far as the Nordics go, Norwegians are the "nouveau riche". They weren't very wealthy, then happened to come into a lot of money and aren't always clear on what they should do with it. The sort of people who would break from lunch in a boardroom to go cross-country skiing. I live in Iceland and it seems everyone here has some sort of story about how they or a friend or a company or NGO or whatever were just given things by Norway for some reason or another - ambulences, a helicopter, boots, you name it.It seems everyone, except some Swedes, likes the Norwegians.
For the others:
Sweden has the reputation of being trendy, extremely liberal to the point of social experimentation, and a bit metrosexual. The sort of place where even if you got mugged by a Hell's Ångel, it'd be by someone named Sven who makes his own scented beard oil, wielding a designer knife and riding on a Husqvarna because it's better for the environment than a Harley and, you know, they make the best sewing machines....
Danes tend to fit German stereotypes better than the Germans do. They also have a reputation for cheap beer (by Nordic standards - although it tends to be the Nordic equivalent of Budweiser) and casual (if sometimes unintended) racism.
The Finnish stereotype is often of someone who's depressed, tough, and loves vodka and saunas. But not knowing any Finns, I have no clue as to the accuracy of the stereotype.
Icelanders tend to be like your laid back cousin who is always coming up with these crazy schemes to make money and dismissing any criticism of them as needless pessimism, constantly getting in trouble, but picking himself up and trying again. Icelanders throughout history have wavered between "We're proud and independent, don't even think of trying to control us!" and "Um, hey, could someone, um, come and help us fix this giant mess we've made for ourselves?" The whole country was founded based on the concept of achieving independence from Norwegian rule, then a couple hundred years later basically invited Norway in to stop them from killing each other.
The Faroes... everyone seems to forget that they exist, even Danes (they're a country in the Danish realm). When Danes remember that they exist, it's usually in the context of debt. To Icelanders, the Faroe Islands are that place where a family would put their trampoline on the roof because it's the only land flat enough for it, and where the signs are so hilarious that it seems that the language was intentionally designed as a prank. For example, read as Icelandic, this sign tells people it's permissible for them to utilize vaginas after October 15th and, while it might be tempting to use them earlier, not to; this one asks if you're a penis; while this one offers cultural "fucking tours" led by "Skúli the Fucker".
Greenland often fits in lists of Nordics because it's in the Danish realm, but it has little in common culturally. Greenland seems to want little to do with Denmark, while Denmark seems to have the primary goal of dragging out any independence movement as long as possible so it can profit as much from Greenland's resources in the interrim.
Anyway, that's your stereotype guide to the Nordics.
Re:Winter?
By MightyMartian
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2016-Jun-4 20:05
• Score: 5, Insightful
• Thread
They're doing what the Saudis are doing, laying the groundwork for the post-fossil fuel age. The Koch Brothers may be funding psuedoskepticism, and there may be lots of people who believe AGW is an evil lie designed by Satan and/or Communists, but countries like Norway and Saudi Arabia, major oil producers that they are, know very well that sooner or later, and likely sometime after the middle of this century, the Age of Oil is going to come to an end.
Norway is also one of those smarter states who has been stowing away oil revenues, unlike, say Venezuela and Alberta, and the Saudis are following suit with their own sovereign wealth fund, the largest in history.
Re:WTF
By lgw
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2016-Jun-4 21:28
• Score: 4, Informative
• Thread
Admittedly Finland's debt to GDP is better than the US, but that's not saying much. In the past 30 years it has grown from 10% of GDP to over 60%. Socialism always looks nice until you run our of other people's money (then it looks like Venezuela). Still, enjoy it while it lasts.
Re:Winter?
By Firethorn
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2016-Jun-4 23:50
• Score: 4, Insightful
• Thread
I'm willing to bet that the 'resolution' is like a lot of resolutions - full of sound and fury, but set so far in the future that it can be quietly 'forgotten' by everybody but a few extremists, and the new administration, not feeling bound by what their predecessors promised, can either disclaim the resolution or push it back. "Sorry, technology didn't progress quite as fast as they hoped".
There will probably also be huge gaping loopholes. To use the USA as an example, "commercial trucks" were, and in many cases still are, exempt from some of the more stringent pollution and mileage requirements.
One problem that this caused is that the mileage requirements actually drove more people to drive trucks - that could have the abilities they were looking for. So in some ways, the EPA requirements actually drove increased gasoline usage, because the different layers of regulation drove some people to drive less fuel efficient vehicles.