“We found ourselves waiting almost one year until someone was hired to decide if our project could go forward or not”

We continue the interview with Professor Chalvatzis PART 1: https://steamgreen.unibo.it/2017/10/09/changes-happening-rapidly-regulators-not-managing-catch/ PART 2: https://steamgreen.unibo.it/2017/10/13/nobody-tells-people-plan-produce-renewable-energy-30-years/ Now that you mention Greece, even though you are saying is not such a business-friendly country, you chose it to develop a project recently. Could you tell us something more about it? Somehow it was a bit of a stupid ambition of […]

“Nobody tells people that the plan is to produce only renewable energy in 30 years”

We continue the interview with Professor Chalvatzis PART 1: https://steamgreen.unibo.it/2017/10/09/changes-happening-rapidly-regulators-not-managing-catch/ Which level of importance would you attribute on the necessary social change in terms of conception and understanding of the renewable energies? Pretty high. And one of the main reasons why in reality you have lot of investments being blocked, at a planning level, asking […]

“Changes are happening so rapidly regulators are not managing to catch up”

As an interdisciplinary academic with background in management, environmental sciences and energy engineering, Dr. Konstantinos Chalvatzis is a trust-worthy voice in the renewable energy studies. He is an associate Professor in Business and Climate Change at Norwich Business School, and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. Besides, he holds lectures at the University of […]

Ever heard about Earthship?

Michael Reynolds is an American architect internationally recognized as a pioneer of self-sustainable building designs. He developed a new way of building that perfectly meets human needs and preserves the environment, avoiding an extensive use of natural exhaustible resources. These buildings are called Earthships and are intended to be “off-the-grid” homes, with minimal reliance on […]

Decarbonise Italy, at what cost?

The new National Energy Strategy for Italy, presented last week by the government, has set new targets that will transform the Italian energy sector, which will reduce the gaps with the other EU countries. At 2015, renewable energies accounted for 23% of national energy mix, which still sees natural gas accounting for a large share, 40% […]

International Workshop on the Economy of Climate Change and Sustainability

Today we are glad to report some impressions by our 1st year student Federico about the International Workshop on the Economy of Climate Change and Sustainability. On April 28-29, a singular event took place in Rimini: the International Workshop on the Economy of Climate Change and Sustainability. The main objective of this event, hosted by the […]

Why is the 1.5°C objective so important for Italy?

2015 has been a very important year in regards to the fight against climate change, a sort of year zero. In November of this year, indeed, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known also as COP21 or Conference of the Parties, was held in Paris and during this conference the Paris Agreement was negotiated. The […]

Cleaning up the oceans with style? Yes, we can

Humanity has been able to create thousands of new materials during its (relatively short with respect to the world’s) history. Some of them have such incredible properties that allowed us to develop like we have never done before, to the point than now we cannot imagine our lives without them. Think, for instance, about plastic. […]

The Economy for The Common Good

What is the goal of economic activities? Money! Profit! This is the common answer that students give at business schools or at university economics departments, and it is as well the goal of the majority of CEOs. However, as Christian Felber clearly points out, nowhere in the democratic constitutions we can find evidence of this rule. […]

Good news for biodiversity

After the Industrial Revolution, by exploiting the environmental resources more than in any comparable period of human history, humans have changed ecosystems irreversibly, thus causing an alarming number of extinctions. Indeed, in regard to biodiversity loss, it has been calculated that the rate of known extinction in the XX century was from 50 to 500 […]

TETRA PAK ITALIA – REDEFINING SUSTAINABILITY 

An amazing article by our second year student Rohit Conudula, as we comeback from a beautiful experience at Tetra Pak Italia. We, the students of RESD, got the privilege to visit Tetra Pak Italia in Modena on the 2nd of March and it reaped wonderful results. Our experience with them was wonderful and a great […]

M’illumino di Meno day!

Today all over Italy people celebrate the 13th edition of M’illumino di Meno! A nation wide event promoting energy saving! It is well known that the biggest energy dispersion is caused by the energy wastage; a serious issue affecting every sector of our economy: food industry, transportation, communication, just to cite few. Only in the […]

Fast fashion and the Environment: what are we really buying?

Today an article written by our fellow RESD student Anna Verones! Enjoy it as much as we do! Fast fashion is a contemporary term used to define a phenomenon in the fashion industry whereby the production process is expedited to get new trends out on the market as quickly and cheaply as possible. Businesses have aggressively cut costs […]

Better Life Index

An interactive and smart tool to rank how a region or a state perform according to 11 topic that make better life. The OECD Better Life Index aims at identifying the best way to measure the progress of societies, going beyond GDP and examining the areas that impact people’s lives. The OECD has identified 11 […]

The RAIN Project

Climate change is challenging the world with more extreme weather events. As we keep altering the environment and its fragile equilibrium we will face heavier rainfalls, storms and fires. These events contribute to damage the human activities that directly rely on the environment, like agriculture. Additionally, energy transport and communication infrastructures are at serious risk […]

Net Green against Greenwashing

Hi Steamgreener! Enjoy today’s article by our fellow student Lucia Ibanez Aldecoa! Credibility is one of the main reasons for consumers to reject green products and they have good reasons to distrust. Greenwashing is the dark side of green marketing and it is difficult for consumers to differentiate companies that have a real commitment with sustainability from those ones that […]

Recycling: A lesson from Taiwan

Back in the days Taiwan used to be called the Garbage Island, but today is internationally praised for achieving the highest recycling rate, 55% in 2015. In 2015 the island generated 26.2 millions tons of total waste. Moreover, trash per capita production has fallen from 1.143Kg in 1998 down to 0.387Kg in 2013. The great results are […]

RESD’s students at EcoMondo

On 8th November RESD students participated at ECOMONDO, the annual largest showcase for green and sustainable technology in the Euro-Mediterranean area, taking place in Rimini. The fifth international exhibition focused on the Circular Economy, promoted at European level through the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy. (You may remember our post about Circular Economy https://steamgreen.unibo.it/2016/06/18/closing-the-loop-the-new-circle-starts-now/)     […]

Water scarcity and property rights

Recently on The Economist has been published an article about water scarcity. In details the author asserts that water is scarce because it is badly managed. China for example uses 10 times more water for its industries than the average developed countries. Moreover, the farming sector, as we well know, uses 70% of the water […]

Climategate: Why we need more media support

Today the power of the media is so strong than ever before. Thanks to social networks, podcasts and off-line streaming services we are constantly hit by news from everywhere. We can not deny the fact that the media have the power to shape people’s opinions about a certain fact. Moreover, the media coverage around an […]

Google Invest in new biggest African windfarm!

Google announced a 12$ million in the new Lake Turkana Wind Power Project; this will be Google’s second investment in the continent. Previously, the company from from MountainView took part in a large investment in the Jasper Power Project, a mega-solar farm that supplies many cities in South Africa. Now, the Lake Turkana Project will supply power for up to 80,000 […]

We need a new transport system

We often speak about decarbonizing our economies. We are increasing the amount of Energy from renewable sources, we are developing better recycling systems, we invest in environmental services and so on. However, the trickiest part of decarbonizing our economy is that we are carrying on the transition to a low-carbon or carbon free economy thanks […]

Paris Agreement: how we reached a milestone

On the 5th of October the Paris agreement has entered into force, as enough countries has ratified the document. As India, China and United States ratified the agreement, the participating nations went well above the 55% threshold of emissions, mandatory for the agreement to take effect. The Paris agreement often as “the most comprehensive international agreement ever […]

Demain… a movie for the Earth!

On the 6th of this month be free, a new documentary is coming out, and is about the environment. Demain (Tomorrow, in english) is a non fiction movie directed by Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent. We don’t want to give too much spoilers, but you should know that the movie takes place in 10 different countries […]

Soil storage and capture: we must deal with new numbers!

Carbon capture and storage into soils has always been thought to be one of the best way to reduce the quantity of Co2 in the atmosphere. The Earth’s soil works as a carbon sink and is a good reservoir in the medium -long term and contains the biggest amount of Co2. However, we have been […]

European Mobility Week

On the 16th of September was lunched the European Mobility Week! This year EU will focus on ‘Smart and sustainable mobility’, focusing on the link between transport and economics. The main idea is that having a smarter mobility across our society,  from the public to the private sector, benefits the entire economy. In 2016 there are […]

We all are in ecological debt!

One month ago we already reached the amount of natural resources that the Earth can replenish annually. Basically, we are demanding more resources as the Earth can give. We are creating ourselves an ecological debt. Additionally, the alarm sounds stronger than in the past as earlier and earlier we are reaching the point of no […]

How far EnergieWende has come?

Since 2010 Germany has paved its road to be a clean and sustainable country. The transition is supported by the Energiewede project, German for Energy transition, an ambitious plan to switch to a low carbon and environmentally sustainable economy. The main goals are the reductions of GHG of 80% by 2050; increase the energy supply […]

Earthquakes and Climate Change: could they be connected?

Just few days ago central Italy has been struck by a strong earthquake of 6.4 magnitude causing hundreds causalities and millions of euro of damages, destroying to the ground villages in the affected area. The central part of Italy is a high risk zone for earthquakes, however, earthquakes are more frequent than before. The idea […]

Synergic Agriculture : Having more doing less

In 1975 in a small village on the Japanese hills a man started the so-called One-Straw Revolution. Masanobu Fukuoka was a farmer and a philosopher, and understood that nature does not need any human input to provide fruits and vegetables to the mankind. Fukuoka discovered the true natural way of farming, letting to the nature […]

Climate Change vs. Sports

We have been speaking about sustainability in Rio Olympic Games. Sustainability-in-Rio Today we want to open your eyes on another issue, the inside competition atlethes are conducting against climate change. No one else more than olympians and their performances is being affected by climate change. Extreeme temperature is crtical to every sport, mostly outodoor ones. Atlethes are […]

The Happy Planet Index

GDP is a good index when it comes to measure nations’ production but is a not good measure of their wealth. One of the most important thing GDP does not account for is sustainability. Although, including environmental impacts in the measurements still is not enough. Moreover, we can not just rely upon the economic growth […]

Masdar City: A Carbon-free oasis

  Few kilometres from Abu-Dhabi airport in the middle of the desert a new city rises: is Masdar, literally the rising city. Thanks to a conspicuous US$ 22 billion investment, it is the first world’s 100% sustainable city. Started in the 2006, the city spreads for 6 square kilometres wide and it can host up to […]

Climate Change: A potential new financial crisis?

Can the Climate Change Crisis lead to a new financial crisis? It must be clear climate change will affect every aspect of our society and economy! This includes the stock market as well! According to a study conducted by the Economist there is a huge cost associated with climate change for the financial players. The […]

The Sustainable Community! Let’s go Apes

We all well know how much time you like spending on Facebook! Posting pictures of your amazing vacation, or sharing videos and posts! It has been estimated that the global average of time spent on your favourite social network is more than 20 minutes per day! Today the green column wants to give you an […]

Well done Montreal!

Montreal 1989, does it remeber anything to you? Back in that year “Perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date” (Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations) was signed. Today 27 years later its effects are visible to everyone. Yes! The Protocol (for who does not remeber) banned the use of CFC, chlorofluorocarbons, and […]

El Nino… a kid actor in the Climate Change

Between 2015 and 2016 the world has witnessed the strongest El Nino since 65 years. The effects have been catastrophic, producing massive drought in Africa and Australia and destructive floods in South America. Step by step…What El Nino is?  The Peruvian fishermen gave name to this climate phenomena, calling it El Nino (the kid); exactly […]

Environmental bonds – When the Apple becomes green

Last month Apple announced its $1.5bn green bond, to achieve the company’s conversion to 100% renewable energy, using biodegradable material, installing more efficient air system. Surely, many other will follow the initiative, reflecting the growing concern of a large number of companies about reducing their climate impact. What exactly green bonds are? How can they […]

It is time for Time Banking

The only thing we can not buy is time! It is a scarce and valuable resource. Moreover we can not know exactly how much of it we have left, therefore it would be impossible to give a price to our time! Time is priceless! So we better not waste it! Carpe diem, someone said long […]

We have a dream…100% renewable!

As more countries are expanding their supply of clean energy, a fundamental question comes into our mind: would it be possible to run the entire world on renewable energy? Someone at Stanford University think so! Professor Mark Z. Jacobson, a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University and director of the school’s Atmosphere and Energy […]

Look at the stars… Whoops we can’t!

You may find yourself looking at the sky during these summer nights, but where are the stars at? Light pollution in our cities is a serious issue. In a recent study conducted by an Italian and American research team, it has been found out that more than 83% of the world’s population experiences light-polluted night […]

Closing the Loop – The new circle starts now!

The Council of the European Union has just presented its draft conclusions to take the circular economy plan a step further. In the report it stresses the need for more funding in research and innovation that “are essential for developing necessary sustainable and resource efficient industrial, economic and societal processes to stimulate the transition to the circular […]

Green Vacations – Sustainability in the summertime

Spring has gone, and summer is coming on… There are few exams left and you are already thinking where to spend the weeks ahead, right? Maybe visiting an European capital, maybe an on the road-trip, or maybe you will spend the summer in your hometown! Whatever you choose, relax but not on the environmental impact […]

Flydende By – Copenhagen Floating City

North-west Copenhagen, a huge warehouse. Tons of material, iron sheets, old clothes, an electric organs. Add a creative and highly motivated bunch of people and what you have is the Floating City. Fydende By, translated in Floating city, is a climate project started in 2008 in a scrapped candy factory. Less than one year ago this […]

Getting Pacha Mama Rights

Shall Mother Earth be entitled of legal rights and be considered as a human being? According to the traditional environmental regulatory system the natural ecosystem is defined as a property. This did not help to prevent the massive exploitation and damages that are leading us into a catastrophic state never experienced before. A new approach […]

RESD’s escape in the Sinis Protected Area

As the plane takes off, there is only one word in my mind to express what we have witnessed in those days; paradise! The marine protected Area of Sinis peninsula and Isola di Mal di Ventre is one of the most beautiful place you can find on earth. Located in the gulf of Oristano, the […]

Old Business Paradigm vs. New Business Paradigm

During the last couple of month we RESD Students had an interesting time while following our course in Green Strategy and Sustainable Innovation. In this course we talked a lot about generic stuff like “What is sustainability for a company?!”, and we were surprised that it is not so easy to answer this question. In […]