Norway is really awesome

Norway is strengthening their border patrol along the Russian border:


PS> Serving here is not for the faint hearted, or if you cannot take the cold.

Norway pays attention to their borders? Who woulda thunk it?

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Next thing we know Norway will be building a wall. A Great Wall of ice, a la Game of Thrones. Tourism, American tourists, coming to see the Wall will become Norway’s largest industry. Most Norwegians will be employed as Game of Thrones battle re-enactors.

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Well, anybody that knows anything about the political reality in Europe (or the world?) should know that the Norway/Russia boarder is the northern flank of NATO and the northernmost entry into the passport free Schengen Zone.

Norway is thus the custodian of a VERY important function for both the NATO alliance and the integrity of Europe, which they do take seriously, but without getting paranoid or stupid about it.

BTW; No Wall of Ice. It would be a wasted effort,since it would melt in the summer.
Tourist of all nationalities come to Northern Norway to see the beautiful scenery, the midnight sun or the northern lights. Some cross the border through the open checkpoints to visit Murmansk as well.

PS> Amerikans mostly just visit the checkpoint at Storskogen/Boris Gleb so they can brag that they have seen Russia when they get home:

Having the last word is closely associated with ego. Egomaniacs always have to have the last word. Hey, I get it.

Thank Norway for doing their part. A very important part say some.

If you think that having a secure border is stupid I don’t know what else there is to be said.

No, having a secure border is not stupid, but the way to go about it may be.
You can be safe without being paranoid, or building walls. (of whatever material)

Hm. Why not take the ferry from Tallinn (or Helsinki?) to St. Petersburg and actually go to Russia? No visa required that way.

Maybe because they are on a trip in Northern Norway and cannot just nip over to Helsinki to take the ferry with St Peter Line to St. Petersburg:
http://www.saint-petersburg.com/russian-visa/visa-free-travel/

From Kirkenes it is only a short bus ride to the crossing.

Norway may make amends for it’s oil & gas export by becoming the storage battery for European excess renewable power production in the future:
https://www.politico.eu/article/norways-glaciers-could-fill-europes-energy-gap-green-battery-renewables/

B[quote=“ombugge, post:200, topic:46127”]
New source of energy is needed to maintain viable settlements in Longyearbyen and Ny-Aalesund. Any proposal?
[/quote]

Coal shipped in from West Virginia, shipped on new American bottoms purpose built for the trade by act of Congress for construction loans and with ODS to the winning operator. Hey if Iowa can suck billions out of the US tresurary to grow corn for ethanol why not the maritime industry.

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We ARE talking about a settlement of a bit over 2000 people here, so it would have to be maybe one small ship with ice braking ability to keep it working year around.

It would probably be cheaper to keep a few miners working to bring out the few tonnes of coal required from the existing mines.

BTW; Solar panels from China is out.

Giant fuel cell demonstrator project. Waste heat could no doubt be put to good use up there.

Yes Fuel cells are a distinct possibility and it doesn’t have to be a “giant” stack.
I’m sure that will be one of the suggestions, since hydrogen is all the rage in Norway these days.

But the problem is where to get the hydrogen from? Wind power maybe??
Solar power is feasible for half the year only.

Transporting hydrogen made with hydropower on the mainland is possible, but it require enough storage capacity for the winter season. (Until the fjord become ice free year around)

There are shale gas in the near vicinity:


But that would mean CO2 emission. While the rest of the world look at gas as a clean fuel, it is a swear word in Norway. (At least when used in Norway. Exporting it is OK)

It will be interesting to see the many innovative options that will be proposed.

PS> The solution will NOT be coal from Virginia, I guarantee you!!!
If they wanted to continue burning coal they could get it from the Russian mine at Barentsburg, which is only a few Km. away:

Any Geothermal prospects? Drilling may reveal some and modern installations are pollution free. Iceland does OK.

Apparently it is one of the possibilities under consideration:


The same goes for the research settlement of Ny-Aalesund, even further north:

If you thought that Sunnmore was only about Marine Industry, Fisheries and Furniture, you have to think again:

84 Norwegian Plumbers On Board And They Still Had to Turn The Plane Around.

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I can see how they could land in Skagerak, (it’s nearly as flat as the Hudson river, most of the time) but how did they manage to take off again and return to Gardermoen??

Could it be another example of Google Translate??

Crappy position to be in.

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In another thread some time ago the case of Frode Berg being arrested and accused of spying was mentioned, but totally OT.
I don’t know if this is a better thread but here is an article from Washington Post a few days ago: