DENMARK HAS MANY PARTIES, FREQUENT NEGOTIATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS THAT OFTEN NEED HELP FROM OUTSIDE THEIR OWN CABINET. SOMEHOW THE LIGHTS REMAIN ON. The Folketing has 179 seats, including two elected in Greenland and two in the Faroe Islands. Danish elections…
A WELFARE STATE HAS A LOT OF POWER OVER ORDINARY LIFE. DENMARK’S ANSWER IS NOT “TRUST US.” IT INCLUDES A PLACE TO COMPLAIN WHEN THE STATE GETS IT WRONG. The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman is elected by the Folketing and investigates…
DENMARK SELLS ITSELF AS A GREEN-ENERGY PIONEER. DENMARK ALSO PUMPS OIL AND GAS FROM THE NORTH SEA. BOTH SENTENCES ARE TRUE. Danish offshore production began in 1972. The revenue, exports and jobs helped finance national prosperity and the welfare state.…
A CLIMATE TARGET IS EASY TO ANNOUNCE. DENMARK’S MORE INTERESTING DECISION WAS TO FORCE FUTURE GOVERNMENTS TO KEEP SHOWING THEIR WORK. The 2020 Climate Act made a 70 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030, compared with 1990, a legal…
DENMARK’S OFFSHORE WIND FARMS DID NOT FLOAT INTO THE NORTH SEA ON GOOD INTENTIONS. THE STATE CHOSE SITES, WROTE RULES, BUILT CONNECTIONS AND CREATED A MARKET. In Danish waters, the right to exploit wind belongs to the state. Most large…
DENMARK CLEANED UP MUCH OF ITS ELECTRICITY STORY FIRST. THE HARDER CHAPTER HAS FOUR LEGS, A DIESEL TRACTOR AND A LOT OF LAND. Denmark is a major agricultural exporter. Pork, dairy and crops are part of the national economy and…
GREENLAND HAS VAST RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIAL. THE TECHNOLOGY ALREADY DOING THE HEAVY LIFTING IS HYDROPOWER. Large towns including Nuuk use electricity from hydropower. Meltwater and precipitation collect in mountain catchments, and the height difference can drive turbines. In a place…
DENMARK HAS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS WHERE ADULTS STUDY POLITICS, MUSIC, SPORTS OR ART WITHOUT CHASING A DEGREE. THIS IS EDUCATION WITH THE CAREER PANIC TURNED DOWN. They are called folkehøjskoler—folk high schools—and they have existed since the 1840s. They were inspired…
BEFORE DENMARK BECAME A WELFARE-STATE CASE STUDY, FARMERS WERE ALREADY LEARNING TO SHARE MACHINERY, MARKETS AND POWER. The cooperative movement expanded rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Farmers pooled milk in cooperative dairies, organized slaughterhouses and purchased supplies together. One…
DANISH DESIGN IS OFTEN SOLD AS A CHAIR YOU CANNOT AFFORD. ITS BETTER IDEA IS THAT ORDINARY OBJECTS AND SHARED SPACES SHOULD RESPECT THE PEOPLE USING THEM. Mid-century Danish furniture made simplicity, craftsmanship and function internationally fashionable. Arne Jacobsen’s chairs…