30 posts for 2025 registered in Nasjonalt Vitenarkiv (NVA)

I have now finished registering publications and academic activities in Nasjonalt Vitenarkiv (NVA), which has replaced Current Research Information System in Norway (CRIStin). For 2025 I registered 30 posts, which is a quite normal number of posts for me per year. Altogether, since 2012, I am registered with 417 posts, cf. my profile. Registrations for 2025 include 4 scientific conference presentations, 2 chronicles, 3 journal articles, 3 book chapters, 1 book review, 1 TV interview, and 1 encyclopedia article, among other entries.

Chapter proposal for Palgrave book "Creativity - Complexity - Intelligence"

I have just finished a chapter proposal titled "Ecosemiotic questions: Towards a comprehensive description of the complexity and creativity of life", and submitted it to the editors of the prospective book volume Creativity – Complexity – Intelligence, Semiotic Perspectives on the Emergence of Meaning (Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture). 

This concludes my academic writing in January, with a total of 3.186 words written.

Phenomenology paper accepted for 2026 NoSP conference (Tampere, Finland)

I have been informed by the organizers of the 2026 conference of the Nordic Society for Phenomenology (NoSP), to be held at Tampere University, in Tampere, Finland April 22–24, 2026 with the theme “Phenomenology in the Anthropocene”, that my paper “What characterizes a more-than-human phenomenology suitable for the Anthropocene?” has been accepted for oral presentation.

#10,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with CCS industry news and other climate news processed and researched. This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 10,5, including 4 book writing days.

Altogether in January I had 10,5 writing days.

Proposal submitted to 2026 IAEP organizers: "The ethical case against Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)"

I have just submitted the abstract and proposal below to the organisers of the 2026 digital conference of the International Association for Environmental Philosophy (IAEP).

***

The ethical case against Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)  

SHORT ABSTRACT  

Based on ethical considerations, this paper argues against the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation measure. CCS has become increasingly central as a proposed mitigation measure. However, despite the widespread claim and perception that CCS is a necessity, CCS as practiced to date has been found to be net CO2 additive, and the Net Zero goal has been misappropriated by fossil fuel interests. Key arguments against CCS are derived from the perspective of interspecies justice, and from the perspective of intergenerational justice and fairness. In the latter context, CCS exemplifies unfair intergenerational externalization of costs.  

PROPOSAL 

In the global discourse, CCS has become increasingly central as a proposed mitigation measure, particularly after Net Zero targets were added to the global agenda with full force with the Paris agreement. The Net Zero goal presupposes Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), which may involve the use of so-called negative emission technologies (NETs), which in turn in some cases involve CCS. The Net Zero goal has arguably been misappropriated by fossil fuel interests and their allies to promote an agenda that seeks to avoid rapidly phasing out fossil fuels. Despite the widespread claim and perception that CCS is a necessity, CCS as practiced to date has been found to be net CO2 additive (Sekera and Lichtenberger 2020). In the big picture emission reductions from CCS are uncertain, whereas research has established that CCS mitigation measures result in mitigation deterrence and climate delay.

Regrettably, CCS has not triggered much debate in climate ethics. On a general note, I find it disappointing that anthropocentric perspectives predominate in climate ethics given that some of the most prominent philosophers engaged with climate ethics, such as Dale Jamieson (2010) and Peter Singer (2009), are well-known for their work in animal ethics. Still, neither of them emphasize interspecies justice in the context of climate ethics (see also Callicott 2011). Interspecies justice is particularly relevant in ethical discussions about CCS in two ways: Firstly, in so far as CCS policies contribute to allowing continued greenhouse gas emissions and an overshoot in emissions, this will contribute to exacerbate the impact of climate change, including for non-humans. Secondly, in so far as non-humans are harmfully affected by the transportation of CO2 and long-term dedicated geological storage of CO2 in subsurface environments, this is a direct consequence of CCS policies. This point is particularly pertinent in light of recent scientific discoveries concerning life dwelling in deep-sea and subsurface environments, which include animal habitats in the subsurface (Bright, Gollner et al. 2024). Lastly, while future generations is a common concern in environmental ethics, this perspective have not received much attention in the context of CCS. With its required time horizon of at least 10,000 years for underground CO2 storages (Lindeberg 2003), CCS is a perfect example of intergenerational externalization of costs in a climate change context. This arguably makes CCS unacceptable from the perspective of intergenerational justice and fairness. In this context, the lacklustre climate effects of CCS to date, the widespread political willingness to rely on unproven technologies, and the lack of consensus among researchers on acceptable CO2 leakage rates, is especially concerning.   

REFERENCES 

Bright, M., S. Gollner et al. (2024), ‘Animal life in the shallow subseafloor crust at deep-sea hydrothermal vents’, Nature Communications, 15: 8466. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52631-9  

Callicott, J. B. (2011), ‘The temporal and spatial scales of global climate change and the limits of individualistic and rationalistic ethics’, Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement, 69: 101–16. 

Jamieson, D. (2010), ‘Climate change, responsibility, and justice’, Science and Engineering Ethics, 16: 431–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-009-9174-x  

Lindeberg, E. (2003), ‘The quality of a CO2 repository: What is the sufficient retention time of CO2 stored underground’, in J. Gale and Y. Kaya (eds), Proceedings of Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies 6th International Conference (GHGT-6), 255–60, Elsevier Science Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008044276-1/50041-6  

Sekera, J. and A. Lichtenberger (2020), ‘Assessing carbon capture: Public policy, science, and societal need: Review of the literature on industrial carbon removal’, Biophysical Economics and Sustainability, 5: 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41247-020-00080-5  

Singer, P. (2009), ‘Climate change as an ethical issue’, in J. Moss (ed), Climate Change and Social Justice, 39–51, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

#9,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, with a work meeting attended in relation to the refugee-themed article I am co-writing with Maren Sagvaag Retland, "The rights and living conditions of unaccompanied minor migrants in the Schengen Area". This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 9,5, including 6,5 article writing days.

#9

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 700 words written in the process of writing most of a chapter proposal, work-titled "Ecosemiotic questions: Towards a general description of the creativity of life". This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 9, including 6 article writing days.

#8

Today I have had what ended up as half an article writing day, with some 350 words including a table added to the refugee-themed article I am co-writing with Maren Sagvaag Retland, which is work-titled "The rights and living conditions of unaccompanied minor migrants in the Schengen Area". This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 8, including 5 article writing days.

#7,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with research done on current industry news and other news related to carbon capture and more generally the climate issue. This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 7,5, including 3 book writing days.

#6,5

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 100 words added to the article "Når gode råd er plagsomme" (When good advice is bothersome) which I co-write with Svein Tuastad. Most importantly, I continued conducting the media search and analysis related to the article´s climate policy case study.

This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 6,5, including 4,5 article writing days.

Umwelt theory and phenomenology article lauded in 2024 semiotics review article

In the article "Technological futures in semiotics: The year 2024 in review", published in Sign Systems Studies, Auli Viidalepp and Alin Olteanu have some kind words about my research related to Umwelt theory and its relevance for phenomenology. The article they refer to is "Applied umwelt theory in the context of phenomenological triangulation and descriptive phenomenology", which is openly available online.

Excerpt:

Drawing on umwelt theory, Morten Tønnessen (2024) takes new steps towards a more-than-human descriptive phenomenology. The value of his contribution as an integral and transdisciplinary framework cannot be overestimated. Tønnessen also indicates potential further applicability of the applied umwelt theory across 17 fields of research that study the perception and behaviour of humans and/or animals. To name a few less common perspectives, this framework could help in behavioural reframing of human ecology, address Anthropocene discourses in environmental humanities, model potential lifeworlds for astrobiology, or enrich psychological lifeworld studies, especially in “socio-ecological contexts and settings that involve human–animal interaction” (Tønnessen 2024: 334). The theory is also relevant for well-established epistemic communities such as the fields of sociology, political science, anthropology, (behavioural) economics, speculative and futures studies, and many others (Tønnessen 2024). In similar lines, we note Anton Markoš and Jana Švorcová’s (2024) theoretical development of the umwelt theory in regard to symbiosis.

#5,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 100 words written on my scientific monograph in spe Being and Sign, and - more importantly - some readings done. This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 5,5, including 2 book writing days.

#4,5

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 600 words written in the process of composing an extended abstract for the article now titled "Climate economics imaginaries and the contested future of economic growth", which I have submitted to a special issue on the history of climate economics of the journal Œconomia – History / Methodology / Philosophy. This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 4,5, including 3,5 article writing days.

Program council now featured on Wonderful World festival´s homepage

The program council for Wonderful World - Den nordiske festivalen for filosofi og vitenskap is now featured on the festival´s homepage.

#3,5

Today I have had an article writing day, with some 100 words added to the article "Når gode råd er plagsomme" (When good advice is bothersome) which I co-write with Svein Tuastad. Most importantly, I started conducting the media search and analysis related to the article´s climate policy case study.

I also communicated with Store Norske Leksikon editorial staff on my assignments for 2026, and read and assessed peer-reviews (organised by Residential Treatment for Children & Youth) of the article "Friluftsliv in therapeutic residential care: When staff take youth out to find a way in", which I co-write with Joakim Jiri Haaland.

This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 3,5, including 2,5 article writing days. 

#2,5

Today I have had a book writing day, with some 800 words added to the manuscript of my scientific monograph in spe Being and Sign. This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 2,5, including 1 book writing day.

#1,5

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some 200 words added to the article "Når gode råd er plagsomme" (When good advice is bothersome) which I co-write with Svein Tuastad. Moreover, I looked into a revised version of a Live Better article manuscript. Finally; I prepared and submitted the manuscript "Kan velferd og miljø måles i forlengelsen av BNP?", which I have co-written with Jan Karlstrøm, to Samfunn og økonomi.

This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 1,5.

#1

Today I have had half an article writing day, with some 150 words added to the article "Når gode råd er plagsomme" (When good advice is bothersome) which I co-write with Svein Tuastad. This brings the number of writing days so far this Spring up to 1.

91 exam papers graded

Over the last few weeks I have graded 91 exam papers in Ex.phil. at University of Stavanger´s Department of social studies. The course is tailored for the university´s bachelor in psychology.

Online semiotics workshop for University of Oran1 – Algeria scheduled, then delayed

I was scheduled to present a paper titled «Semiotics, animals, environment – Umwelt theory in the tradition of the Tartu-Copenhagen school of biosemiotics» online for University of Oran1 – Algeria, on Thursday January 8th, but pending formal approval this workshop has now been indeterminately delayed.

Writing plan for Spring 2026 completed

I have now completed my writing plan for Spring 2026. I plan for a total of 59,5 writing days, including 45 article writing days (76%) and 14,5 book writing days (24%). This is somewhat less than last Spring (68,5 writing days initially planned) but more than Spring 2024 (47,5 writing days initially planned).

See also:

#0,5; writing plan for Spring 2025 almost finished

Book review on research methododology now online

My book review "Kritisk realisme for viderekomne samfunnsvitere", which appeared in issue 2, 2025 of Fontene Forskning, is now also available as an online article.

See also:

Book review on critical realism published in Fontene Forskning

#0,5; writing plan for Spring 2025 almost finished

Yesterday, on my way back from New Year festivities with friends in Oslo, I had half an article writing day devoted to making a writing plan for Spring 2026 (January to June). I had previously made plans for January, and now made further plans for February until early June. I have to finish up today. 

This brings the number of writing days this Spring up to 0,5 (thus the title "#0,5").

Summing up the work year 2025

I have just summed up my work year in 2025 based on my log of working hours. 2025 was my second shortest work year in living memory (with my work log going back to 2009), with an average work week of 46,2 hours all weeks in the year included. This amounts to 2409 work hours, which compares to 143% of an ordinary work year. 

This year I also summed up my work/life balance, focused on sleeplessness, karate training and meditation.

Overall, the work year was characterized by making room for finishing the manuscript for my book originally titled Captured: CCS and the fight for the soul of the environmental movement and now titled Carbon Capture and the Future of Environmentalism. I so did, in early August 2025. In my work log, this is reflected in the fact that book projects had the highest share of total work on record, and ended up as the largest category of work for the first time. Moreover, the share of my work time I spent on research plus book projects was the highest ever. Book projects was also the category whose share of all work hours increased the most from 2024. 

See also:

Summing up the work year 2022

2024: Shortest work year in living memory, at "only" 138% of normal work year

Academic readings 2025; most read authors

Over the last year I have logged academic readings amounting to 5.357,5 pages. This is somewhat less than in 2024, but somewhat more than what I read in 2023. Altogether I logged texts written by 350 different authors. On the 40 most read authors, 27 were duty-related (related to teaching, supervision, committee work etc (including 12 of the 20 most read authors). Among the most read authors were Martin Bech Holthe, Krystof Kasprzak and Thomas Hylland Eriksen.