Sunday, August 24, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Study: Money the biggest motivator for reducing food waste

Published 4 October 2024
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

Saving money is a far more important driver for most people when it comes to reducing food waste than trying to avoid a perceived impact on the global climate, according to a study by the University of Copenhagen.

The study involved 1,948 Danes who were asked about food waste and what would make them change their habits around it. 27% said that the most important reason for them to reduce food waste was to save money. About 10% answered that they wanted to protect the climate.

– One explanation could be that it is more urgent to prioritise one’s finances than the climate, Camilla Falk Rønne Nissen, one of the researchers behind the study, told Danish national broadcaster DR.

Of the total amount of waste from Danish households, food waste accounts for about 507,000 tonnes, including both regular food waste and leftovers, i.e. food that could have been eaten. Of the total amount of waste, food waste accounts for about 235,000 tonnes.

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Swedish postal service halts US deliveries amid regulatory uncertainty

Published today 10:47
– By Editorial Staff
Private individuals can still send gifts up to 100 dollars duty-free.
2 minute read

Package shipments from Sweden to the USA have now been stopped. PostNord, Sweden’s postal service, has been waiting for information from US customs authorities for almost two months – but for now deliveries are paused and packages are being returned to senders.

The decision follows the US’s tightened customs rules introduced this summer. The previous $800 limit for duty-free goods has been abolished for commercial shipments, but the exact rules for how packages should be handled remain unclear.

— This is worldwide and affects all countries. For PostNord, a smaller portion of our volumes is affected, but it is of course very important for those customers who previously sent goods duty-free, says Björn Bergman, communications director at the PostNord Group, to Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

According to Bergman, it is primarily small and medium-sized e-commerce companies that are affected by the halt. For private individuals there is an exception – they can still send gifts up to $100 duty-free.

PostNord does not want to specify how many shipments are affected by the decision.

— But every shipment is important for customers and consumers, of course, Bergman continues.

No information

The reason for pausing shipments is to avoid unnecessary transport. Without clear customs procedures, packages risk being sent back across the Atlantic immediately upon arrival.

It remains unclear when deliveries will resume.

PostNord has requested information from US authorities since June 30, but important details about the new customs procedures are still missing.

— We are working very closely with all postal operators in Europe to get all information from the US authorities about how we should clear customs. This is information we have requested since June 30, but we haven’t received the complete picture yet, explains the communications director.

Regular letter shipments without goods are not affected by the decision, nor are packages sent from the USA to Sweden.

Several postal companies follow suit

In addition to PostNord, Bring and DHL have also announced temporary halts for package deliveries to the USA.

According to Matilda Adelborg, press manager for Bring in Sweden and Denmark, no Nordic country is sending packages under the $800 limit to the USA because functioning solutions are lacking.

“Postal companies around the world are waiting for important clarifications from the customs authority in the USA, so that they can develop and implement the solutions required”, she writes in a comment.

DHL states in a press release that the new customs regulations come from the Trump administration and that postal companies from Scandinavia, Austria and Belgium have also paused their deliveries to the USA.

Record high unemployment among university graduates in Sweden

The destruction of the European economy

Published 20 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Unemployment among Swedish university graduates has increased by 55 percent in just two years.
2 minute read

Over 19,000 university graduates were unemployed in July, the highest figure in two decades. Unemployment among highly educated workers has increased by 55 percent in two years, and nothing suggests the trend will be broken, according to new statistics from Akademikernas a-kassa (the Swedish unemployment insurance fund for university graduates).

A total of 19,231 university graduates were unemployed in July, which is 826 more than the previous month. This is the highest figure in 20 years. Compared to July last year, the number of unemployed university graduates has increased by 17 percent.

— We are used to unemployment rising during the summer, so the increase is not really a surprise, but we are not used to having such high total figures, says Alexandra Oljans Ahlin, communications strategist at Akademikernas (the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations).

The development has been particularly dramatic over the past two years. Since July 2023, unemployment among university graduates has increased by a full 55 percent – and it is expected to continue rising in the coming years as well.

— Right now we see no signs of a decrease. It will continue to be many people who need this financial security, says Oljans Ahlin.

Of the unemployed university graduates, 13,299 people received compensation from the unemployment insurance fund in July, an increase of almost 1,000 people in one month. An additional 5,932 people received compensation from Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency) for participating in labor market policy programs.

More trapped in long-term unemployment

A particularly worrying trend is that more and more university graduates are becoming trapped in long-term unemployment. In July, 5,230 people had been without work for more than a year – an increase of 24 percent compared to July last year. This means that more than every fourth unemployed university graduate is now long-term unemployed.

— Many members we talk to testify that it is difficult and takes a long time to get a new job, and the statistics unfortunately confirm this. Short periods of unemployment are rarely a problem, but when it becomes longer, it gets increasingly tough, she explains.

The rising unemployment is also visible in the unemployment fund’s payouts. In July, Akademikernas a-kassa paid out a total of €26.2 million in compensation, compared to €18.3 million in the same month last year.

The proportion of unemployed among university graduates now stands at 2.4 percent, which is 0.3 percentage points higher than a year ago. Akademikernas a-kassa has nearly 800,000 members in total.

Halted nuclear power sends Swedish electricity prices soaring

The energy crisis in Europe

Published 20 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
One-sixth of the electricity consumed in Sweden comes from the three reactors at Forsmark, a nuclear power plant located north of Stockholm.
3 minute read

Electricity prices in southern Sweden are now approaching winter price levels in the middle of summer. With three of six nuclear reactors out of service and calm weather conditions, August is expected to be the year’s second most expensive month for electricity consumers.

Despite low summer consumption, electricity prices in electricity area 4, which covers southern Sweden, have surged to levels normally only seen during the winter months. The average price so far during August stands at 0.63 SEK (€0.056) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) – the highest level since February, according to the Nord Pool electricity exchange.

Forecasts point to even higher prices ahead. According to Bixia’s electricity market analyst Johan Sigvardsson, dry and calm weather conditions are expected to drive prices toward nearly 1 SEK per kWh in southern Sweden during the rest of the month.

“August looks set to become the second most expensive month of the year (so far) after February”, Sigvardsson states in a written comment to the Swedish news agency TT.

Large regional differences

The price differences between the country’s various electricity areas are remarkably large. While southern Sweden struggles with high prices, northern Sweden (electricity areas 1 and 2) remains at extremely low levels – only 0.06-0.07 SEK per kWh on average during August. Central Sweden and northern Götaland (electricity area 3) fall between these extremes at around 0.34 SEK.

Christian Holtz, electricity analyst at consulting firm Merlin&Metis, explains that the extensive nuclear power shutdown is a main cause of the price differences.

— It affects partly because there is less available capacity. And then it often becomes more difficult to handle large transmission of electricity from north to south when you shut down these reactors, says Holtz.

With limited nuclear power production, southern Sweden ends up at practically the same price levels as Germany and the rest of continental Europe. There, prices have been high at times during the summer when French nuclear power was forced to run at reduced capacity due to cooling water that was too warm.

The high temperatures have also led to increased electricity consumption as air conditioning systems have been running at full capacity, according to Christian Holtz.

Worrying parallels to 2022

Another factor that could drive up prices is the declining water levels in Nordic hydropower dams. After a period with levels above normal during spring and early summer, Norwegian water reservoirs now lie clearly below average.

“It’s starting to resemble 2022 when low Norwegian water reservoirs were a strongly contributing cause to the high prices. If it continues to be dry, we will see higher prices this autumn than we’ve become accustomed to in recent years”, warns Johan Sigvardsson.

For consumers, the high exchange prices represent a significant cost. In addition to the actual electricity price, electricity companies’ markups, electricity tax, VAT and grid fees are added, which together amount to well over 1 SEK per kWh.

Sweden has a total of six nuclear reactors: three at Forsmark, two at Ringhals and one at Oskarshamn. Currently, three reactors are shut down: Oskarshamn 3 is out of service until preliminarily September 17, Ringhals 4 is undergoing annual revision until September 14, and Forsmark 1 is stopped due to damaged piping with preliminary restart on August 24.

Danish students build drone that flies and swims

Published 18 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Four students at Aalborg University in Denmark have developed a revolutionary drone that seamlessly transitions between air and water. The prototype uses innovative rotor technology that automatically adapts to different environments.

Four students at Aalborg University in Denmark have created something that sounds like science fiction – a drone that can literally fly down into water, swim around and then jump back up into the air to continue flying, reports Tom’s Hardware.

Students Andrei Copaci, Pawel Kowalczyk, Krzysztof Sierocki and Mikolaj Dzwigalo have developed a prototype as their thesis project that demonstrates how future amphibious drones could function. The project has attracted attention from technology media after a demonstration video showed the drone flying over a pool, crashing down into the water, navigating underwater and then taking off into the air again.

Intelligent rotor technology solves the challenge

The secret behind the impressive performance lies in what the team calls a “variable rotor system”. The individual rotor blades can automatically adjust their pitch angle depending on whether the drone is in air or water.

When the drone flies through the air, the rotor blades work at a higher angle for optimal lift capacity. Underwater, the blade pitch is lowered to reduce resistance and improve efficiency during navigation. The system can also reverse thrust to increase maneuverability when the drone moves through tight passages underwater.

Most components in the prototype have been manufactured by the students themselves using 3D printers, since equivalent parts were not available on the market.

Although the project is still in an early concept stage and exists only as a single prototype, it demonstrates the possibilities for future amphibious vehicles. The technology could have applications in everything from rescue operations to environmental monitoring where vehicles need to move both above and below the water surface.

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