Norway鈥檚 situation is complex. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 a good story.
Almost a year ago, the Monitor鈥檚 senior global correspondent, Mark Sappenfield, and I began talking about whether there was a story he might report from Norway about that country鈥檚 widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
We were both interested in how and why this wintry Nordic country, an oil exporter, had transformed its transportation sector. And we were interested in what that showed 鈥� or didn鈥檛 鈥� for other nations grappling with questions over EVs and gas prices.
Last month, as the conflict in Iran pushed up fuel costs around the world, Mark finally made his trip. I expected a piece about affordability and electrification. But the story he found wasn鈥檛 straightforward.
Why We Wrote This
Our reporting often reveals that stories are more complex than we had expected. That鈥檚 usually a sign we鈥檙e writing about something worthwhile.
Norway, he discovered, was able to make huge investments in EV infrastructure because of its oil wealth. It was also able to sidestep electricity constraints because of seemingly inexhaustible hydropower resources. This combination of finances and power had turned the country into a renowned 鈥� if hard to replicate 鈥� model.
But a huge swell in electricity demand is putting a new strain on Norway. And some worry whether the country is still able to coalesce around solutions.
Still, Norway has shown it can take big, bold, and unified steps. In 2017, it promised that 100% of passenger cars and light vans sold in the country would be electric by 2025. It developed charging networks and a suite of economic incentives and met that goal. The questions about what comes next are emblematic. Globally, there is a growing power demand, rising costs, and conflicting opinions about what it means to offer stewardship to the Earth.
What Norway does next, Mark found, might hold important lessons.
As an editor, I love this sort of complex story 鈥� when the predicted narrative turns out to be something more nuanced, more insightful, and more thought-provoking than expected.
Our other stories this week show similar depth.
Scott Peterson and Caitlin Babcock, for instance, look at how even the young Iranian media producers creating 鈥渟lopaganda鈥� are surprised at how well their message has reached audiences across the world. Meanwhile, Harry Bruinius kicks off what will be a summerlong series from his journey along U.S. Route 66, the 鈥淢ain Street of America鈥� that runs some 2,400 miles across eight states, from Chicago to Santa Monica, California. Harry will be reporting, he writes, 鈥渙n the wider regions that Route 66 passes through, covering the news and writing stories about the lives of people who live, or are simply traveling, along its way.鈥�
What he finds, readers can expect, will be complex, illustrative, and expansive 鈥� like this first report about the road itself.
