Latest news with #Norwegian-based
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
I'm a ‘water sommelier'… which supermarket sells the best sparkling H2O & key detail if you're thirsty in a heatwave
The 'Bearded Water Sommelier' is on a mission to educate the world on water BOTTLE JOB I'm a 'water sommelier'… which supermarket sells the best sparkling H2O & key detail if you're thirsty in a heatwave Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHEN it comes to drinking water, for most of us the hardest decision is still or sparkling. But there is a growing trend among the privileged for high-end H2O. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 'Bearded Water Sommelier' Doran Binder serves hundreds of different types of water at his Crag Inn Water Bar Credit: PP. 7 Ronaldo's Urus9 claims its alkaline natural mineral water helps your organs 7 Borjomi has a volcanic origin in Georgia Credit: Borjomi Reality star Kim Kardashian has a fridge filled with only Norwegian-based Voss, singer Mary J Blige insisted on Fiji water in her rider and tennis ace Serena Williams eulogised about bathing in a tub of Evian. Footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard and Superman actor Henry Cavill have all invested in bottled water brands in recent years. And the world's most-expensive ever water, Acqua di Cristallo, was sourced from springs in Fiji and France and a glacier in Iceland, came in a 24-carat gold bottle, and sold for £42,000 a time. But this liquid craze is no surprise to 'Bearded Water Sommelier' Doran Binder, from Macclesfield in Cheshire. He serves hundreds of different types at his Crag Inn Water Bar. READ MORE ON WATER THAT'S MINT 10p hack to get taps sparkling - it banishes even hard water stains in seconds Doran, 52, is on a mission to educate the world on water, insisting it varies in taste just like wine and some will leave you more hydrated than others. 'Liquid goldmine' He says: 'People are always telling me 'water is water, Beardy,' but I'm out to show them that it isn't. 'There are all kinds of different water from around the world and they each have a different taste. 'I also drink different types of water according to what I'm doing. 'Some are good for rehydration, others for the gym and some for tasting with different types of food.' The type of H20 you should drink and how you should consume it generates fierce debate in more obscure corners of social media. Can drinking nothing but fizzy water for two weeks really help me shed my excess weight Father-of-five Doran has gained a huge following on TikTok and Instagram from posting about its differences including tap versus bottled, filtered or natural, and water's various sources. He has a business interest in the subject, too, because in 2016 he discovered that the pub he had bought in the Peak District national park was sitting on 'some of the best' natural spring water. Since then he has been collecting Crag Spring Water from the aquifer, and shifts 1,200 bottles in reusable glass each day. 7 Doran shifts 1,200 bottles of Crag Spring Water in reusable glass bottles each day 7 On the very high end of the mineral scale is Donat, from Slovenia Until I went to one of Doran's two-hour tasting sessions at his bar, I was one of those people who believed 'water is water.' I wouldn't give any thought to which bottle I picked from the supermarket fridge and I normally just ask for tap when I'm in a restaurant. But with the bottled water market in the UK worth over £1.6billion — and a third of us preferring the taste to tap — there are clearly plenty who side with Doran. After trying a range of natural spring waters from his collection, I too had to conclude that water is not just water. HIS RULES WHEN tasting water it should be drunk at room temperature rather than chilled. Swill it round your mouth for four or five seconds before swallowing. Drink from a wine glass. Don't add ice or lemon. Water from a glass bottle tastes better, but choose glass, which has been recycled. Total Dissolved Solids, indicated as milligrams per liter (mg/l) on a bottle, tells you how many minerals are in the water, with 100-200 best for rehydration. And some of it really can change the flavour of your food. A mouthful of mineral-rich Vichy Catalan did make cheese and chocolate taste more creamy. He says: 'You can season your mouth with water.' Doran, who used to 'do hair' in the fashion industry, even claims to have lost 22lb by increasing his daily water intake from two litres to four, as it helped to reduce his appetite. Surprisingly, he is neither 'for or against' local authorities adding fluoride to drinking water, to help prevent tooth decay, but argues that natural spring is better for you. Bottled water is not all overpriced and overhyped either — as Doran reveals he is a fan of Lidl's San Celestino sparkling. 7 Kim Kardashian has a fridge filled with only Norwegian-based Voss Credit: Instagram/kimkardashian 7 Serena Williams eulogised about bathing in a tub of Evian Credit: Getty His unusual water career came about by 'accident'. Doran moved to a farm close to Shutlingsloe hill in the Peak District in 2012, to be close to the three children from his first marriage. Soon after, he gave up drinking tap water in favour of the local source. Four years later, he brought the nearby 300-year-old Crag Inn pub, and had the water tested as part of an annual water safety inspection. A local expert informed him that he had a 'liquid goldmine' coming from a natural spring under its car park. Having got a taste for the natural stuff, he closed the pub and trained as a certified water sommelier. Doran concludes: 'It is exciting to be at the forefront of this water movement.' But while I agree with Doran that water deserves more appreciation, I will not be giving up tap any time soon.
Sky News AU
13-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Energy company threatens to pull plug on wind farm off the coast of New York as Trump review sparks $78 million a week in losses
The energy company behind a partially completed wind farm off Long Island's coast warned it will scrap the project 'within days' if it's kept in limbo by the Trump administration. Norwegian-based Equinor said it's losing a whopping $50 million (AUD$78 million) a week since Trump's Department of the Interior halted construction on the controversial project that is expected to deliver energy to 500,000 homes in New York City, its leaders told The Post. 'We will have to terminate the program within days if we don't have a resolution with the federal government,' said Molly Morris, Equinor's president of Renewables in America. 'This situation is unsustainable.' The loss of the Empire Wind project would be a blow to New York state's green energy push and also mean the loss of as many as thousands of jobs needed for building the sprawling wind farm. The project is supported by city Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul and had received all the necessary permits from the prior Biden Administration last year. Morris said the suspension of the project is 'unlawful' and Equinor has not ruled out filing a lawsuit to undo the freeze as 11 vessels have been left waiting on standby. Empire Wind is more than 30% complete and construction at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal — the substation where the wind power would be delivered to connect to Con Edison's grid — is more than 50% done, the company said. More than $2.5 billion has already been spent, Morris said. Construction for the project created 1,500 jobs and as many as 4,000 total jobs were in the works, not just in New York but also in Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas. The 54-turbine wind farm, 15 miles off the Long Island coast, is opposed by Long Island beach communities, commercial fishermen and Republican allies of President Trump — including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. Trump's Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum stepped in last month to pull the plug on the project, claiming its approval was 'rushed through' by the lame duck Biden administration in its final days. 'Staff of the Department of the Interior has obtained information that raises serious issues with respect to the project approvals for the Empire Wind Project,' Burgum said in a statement at the time. 'This halt is to remain in effect until further review is completed to address these serious deficiencies.' But Equinor said it signed its federal lease for Empire Wind with the first Trump administration in 2017. Empire Wind had undergone years of rigorous review and secured all necessary federal, state and local approvals and permits to begin construction last year, the company said. And the Big Apple's mayor said spoke up in support of the project when he met with Trump at the White House last Friday in a bid to save the project 'It's a great project,' Adams said following an unrelated press conference Monday. 'When I was in DC, I shared that with the president. 'We're going to continue to push forward to get [Empire Wind] across the finish line.' It may be a tough sell for the president, who has been an opponent of wind power — criticizing the renewable energy source as unreliable, costly and harmful to wildlife. Upon taking office again in January, he issued an executive order to block or pause all new offshore wind projects. The president's order did not explicitly halt projects that had already been approved with federal leases and permits, as was the case with Equinor's wind farm. Originally published as Energy company threatens to pull plug on wind farm off the coast of New York as Trump review sparks $78 million a week in losses
New York Post
12-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Energy company threatens to pull plug on wind farm off Long Island shore as Trump review sparks $50M a week in losses
The energy company behind a partially completed wind farm off Long Island's coast warned it will scrap the project 'within days' if it's kept in limbo by the Trump administration. Norwegian-based Equinor said it's losing a whopping $50 million a week since Trump's Department of the Interior halted construction on the controversial project that is expected to deliver energy to 500,000 homes in New York City, its leaders told The Post. 'We will have to terminate the program within days if we don't have a resolution with the federal government,' said Molly Morris, Equinor's president of Renewables in America. 'This situation is unsustainable.' Advertisement 3 The wind farm off Long Island's coast is expected to deliver energy to 500,000 homes in New York City. Empire Wind The loss of the Empire Wind project would be a blow to New York state's green energy push and also mean the loss of as many as thousands of jobs needed for building the sprawling wind farm. The project is supported by city Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul and had received all the necessary permits from the prior Biden Administration last year. Advertisement Morris said the suspension of the project is 'unlawful' and Equinor has not ruled out filing a lawsuit to undo the freeze as 11 vessels have been left waiting on standby. Empire Wind is more than 30% complete and construction at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal — the substation where the wind power would be delivered to connect to Con Edison's grid — is more than 50% done, the company said. More than $2.5 billion has already been spent, Morris said. Construction for the project created 1,500 jobs and as many as 4,000 total jobs total were in the works, not just in New York but also in Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas. Advertisement The 54-turbine wind farm, 15 miles off the Long Island coast, is opposed by Long Island beach communities, commercial fishermen and Republican allies of President Trump — including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. 3 Norwegian-based Equinor said it's losing a whopping $50 million a week since Trump's Department of the Interior halted construction on the controversial project. AP Trump's Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum stepped in last month to pull the plug on the project, claiming its approval was 'rushed through' by the lame duck Biden administration in its final days. 'Staff of the Department of the Interior has obtained information that raises serious issues with respect to the project approvals for the Empire Wind Project,' Burgum said in a statement at the time. 'This halt is to remain in effect until further review is completed to address these serious deficiencies.' Advertisement But Equinor said it signed its federal lease for Empire Wind with the first Trump administration in 2017. Empire Wind had undergone years of rigorous review and secured all necessary federal, state and local approvals and permits to begin construction last year, the company said. And the Big Apple's mayor said spoke up in support of the project when he met with Trump at the White House last Friday in a bid to save the project 'It's a great project,' Adams said following an unrelated press conference Monday. 'When I was in DC I shared that with the president. 'We're going to continue to push forward to get [Empire Wind] across the finish line.' 3 Empire Wind is more than 30% complete and construction at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal is more than 50% done. Equinor/YouTube It may be a tough sell for the president, who has been an opponent of wind power — criticizing the renewable energy source as unreliable, costly and harmful to wildlife. Upon taking office again in January, he issued an executive order to block or pause all new offshore wind projects. The president's order did not explicitly halt projects that had already been approved with federal leases and permits, as was the case with Equinor's wind farm.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Historic deal pushes sweeping reform across commercial shipping: 'The first industry in the world with internationally mandated targets'
For the first time, commercial shipping companies will be required to transition to cleaner fuels or they will face fines. According to the BBC, after nearly a decade of negotiations, countries in the UN's International Maritime Organization agreed on a way to combat polluting gases from ships. The deal passed on April 11. The deal requires large international vessels to adopt less toxic fuel sources and increase their use or face fines of "up to $380 per ton" of polluting gases released from burning the fuel, per the BBC. The BBC said, "The agreement means it is now the first industry in the world with internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions." Jesse Fahnestock, director of decarbonisation at the Global Maritime Forum, said, "[It] is to be celebrated." So what kind of fuels could these ships use? According to the European Maritime Safety Agency, there are many options available for vessels that could "enter the market relatively quickly," including "e-ammonia, e-hydrogen, e-diesel, e-methane, and e-methanol." Companies are working on these alternatives. For example, a Norwegian-based shipping company, Yara, created the first container ship to run on clean ammonia. It's expected to set sail in 2026 and travel between Norway and Germany. Another Norwegian company, Purus Maritime, purchased hydrogen fuel worth $2.75 million for a hybrid ship it commissioned. In addition to hydrogen, it will also run on e-methanol, and it features solar panels and batteries. According to the BBC, shipping accounts for about 3% of global heat-trapping gases, but the industry has had a hard time cutting its pollution because of costs. However, the fines in this deal will go into a fund for more environmentally friendly fuel. The shipping industry currently has a negative impact on human health. The World Resource Institute said toxic gases affect the respiratory system and put people at risk of heart and lung disease. Should the government be able to control how we heat our homes? Definitely Only if it saves money I'm not sure No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Adopting cleaner fuel sources will protect human health and the ocean's health. Economist Impact said reducing polluting gases "will help preserve marine biodiversity [and] restore degraded ecosystems." While this deal is the first of its kind, Fahnestock believes more needs to be done. You can use your voice to let your representatives know you want stricter rules in the shipping industry to reduce the risk of human and ocean health effects. Additionally, you could invest in companies working on alternative fuel sources and ships run by them. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eric Adams pleads with Trump to revive wind farm off NY coast for energy boost, 1,000 good paying jobs
Eric Adams is running with the wind. The mayor is pleading with President Trump to revive a wind farm off Long Island's coast that was halted by the administration in the middle of construction last week. Resuscitating the Empire Wind Project would feed power into the 'long-underutilized' South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, juice up to 500,000 homes and create more than 1,000 good paying jobs, Adams said. 'This project reinvests in Brooklyn's working waterfront and advances a more dependable electricity grid to meet our city's increased energy demands,' the mayor told The Post of the project, which had already received lease and permit approvals prior to Trump's return to office in January. 'Our administration is also in touch with the US Department of Interior to engage with them directly on this,' Adams said. Critics have accused Adams of cozying up to Trump while his Justice Department moved to withdraw a criminal corruption case against the mayor, which led to its dismissal. But Hizzoner, a Democrat who is running for re-election as an independent, differs with Trump on wind power. Trump issued an executive order in January to block all pending offshore windshore projects and review current ones. Meanwhile Adams has backed the wind project since before he was elected as mayor, when he served as Brooklyn borough president. After the Interior department shut down Empire Wind, Adams met with Jens Økland, acting executive vice president for renewables with Norwegian-based developer Equinor, the developer that had already started construction of the foundation to erect 54 wind turbines some 15 miles off the Long Island coast. An Equinor spokesperson said the project would invest $1.6 billion into the state's economy. 'The United States fully approved the project in early 2024 and construction is more than 30 percent complete,' the spokesperson said. 'We will engage directly with all relevant stakeholders to understand the questions raised by the federal government about the permits we have received from authorities.' The company said construction continues at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where work is more than 50 percent complete. Still, the project is seeing blowback from the Long Island commercial fishing industry and Republicans with ties to Trump, including Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. They have argued turbines would harm marine life. And the president has shown no signs of softening his stance on the industry and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had said there were 'serious issues' with the Biden administration's approval of the wind farm which he claimed were completed 'without sufficient analysis or consultation.' The Interior Department had no immediate comment on Adams' appeal to revive the sprawling win to boost renewable energy. The suspension of Empire Wind — even temporarily — is a setback for the mandates in New York's green energy law. Under the Climate Act, New York must reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and have 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040. Rules also require the Empire State to generate 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, 6,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2025 and build 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030. US Environmental Protection Administrator Lee Zeldin called the timetables in New York's law 'delusional' and a 'left-wing recipe for an energy and economic catastrophe.'
