Green Options » Italy http://greenoptions.com/tag/italy Posts tagged 'Italy' Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:00:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en TED Talks: Architecture in the Future that Repairs Itself? http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/11/23/ted-talks-architecture-in-the-future-that-repairs-itself/ http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/11/23/ted-talks-architecture-in-the-future-that-repairs-itself/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:00:30 +0000 Lucille Chi http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/11/23/ted-talks-architecture-in-the-future-that-repairs-itself/ This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

This short Technology and Entertainment Design Conference clip is by Rachel Armstrong who states :

“Scientists need to work outside their own areas of expertise to make new technologies that are pertinent to the 21st century and to collaborate, both with other scientific disciplines and the arts and humanities.”

“Metabolic materials” - is what TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong researches - construction materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to “grow” architecture.

Rachel thinks of this as we think about awesome parks or gardens because “metabolic materials” are made from terrestrial chemistry…

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]]> http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/11/23/ted-talks-architecture-in-the-future-that-repairs-itself/feed/ Spanish Solar Company SOLARIG Building 8 PV Parks in Italy http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/31/spanish-solar-company-solarig-building-8-pv-parks-in-italy/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/31/spanish-solar-company-solarig-building-8-pv-parks-in-italy/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:15:24 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/31/spanish-solar-company-solarig-building-8-pv-parks-in-italy/
SOLARIG, a company based in Spain that incorporated about four years ago, just began construction of eight photovoltaic parks in Italy this month. The parks will provide 8 MW of energy in total. Over the next few months, it plans to construct photovoltaic projects producing 30 MW throughout different regions of Italy.

But this is just the beginning. SOLARIG has a more global vision.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/31/spanish-solar-company-solarig-building-8-pv-parks-in-italy/feed/ Pininfarina CEO Says Electric Car Still on Track for 2011 Debut http://gas2.org/2009/10/12/pininfarina-ceo-says-electric-car-still-on-track-for-2011-debut/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/12/pininfarina-ceo-says-electric-car-still-on-track-for-2011-debut/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:16:51 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2009/10/12/pininfarina-ceo-says-electric-car-still-on-track-for-2011-debut/

Legendary Italian carmaker, Pininfarina, may yet have some surprises up its sleeves. Even with recent financial difficulties, Pininfarina’s CEO, Silvio Pietro Angori, told Italian newspaper, Il Sole 24, that the company’s Bluecar electric car venture with french investor Vincent Bollore is not simply a concept car and still on track for a 2011 market debut.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/10/12/pininfarina-ceo-says-electric-car-still-on-track-for-2011-debut/feed/ Italian Wind Farms, Golden Eagle Under Threat http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/31/italian-wind-farms-golden-eagle-under-threat/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/31/italian-wind-farms-golden-eagle-under-threat/#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:50:24 +0000 Eva Pratesi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/31/italian-wind-farms-golden-eagle-under-threat/

 

Wind farms in Italy threaten to wipe out the Golden Eagle, farmers` organisation Coldiretti and national environmental organisations declared recently. As concern about climate change and sustainable, eco-friendly alternative energy grows, it‘s surprising that an industry with so much potential – the wind industry – is under fire from environmental groups.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/31/italian-wind-farms-golden-eagle-under-threat/feed/ The EU and MTV Team Up: Copenhagen Prelude http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/29/the-eu-and-mtv-team-up-copenhagen-prelude/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/29/the-eu-and-mtv-team-up-copenhagen-prelude/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:16:59 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/29/the-eu-and-mtv-team-up-copenhagen-prelude/
The European Union (EU) and MTV are working together to get young people involved in the climate debate. The major entities started their “Play to Stop – Europe for Climate” campaign this month. Working with international music artists and other international celebrities, this is a major campaign to mobilize the youth around the topic of climate change, and especially for the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December.

The campaign targets 11 EU countries — Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The campaign will involve celebrities from the various participating countries.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/29/the-eu-and-mtv-team-up-copenhagen-prelude/feed/ Ice Cap to Ice Cap, Which Countries Lead the World in Global Warming Emissions? http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/26/ice-cap-to-ice-cap-which-countries-lead-the-world-in-global-warming-emissions/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/26/ice-cap-to-ice-cap-which-countries-lead-the-world-in-global-warming-emissions/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:30:21 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/26/ice-cap-to-ice-cap-which-countries-lead-the-world-in-global-warming-emissions/ Ever wonder who leads the world in global warming emissions? And by how much? A report released this month by the New Zealand government gives us this information.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/26/ice-cap-to-ice-cap-which-countries-lead-the-world-in-global-warming-emissions/feed/ Italy to Get Largest Rooftop Solar Power Plant in the World http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/25/italy-to-get-largest-rooftop-solar-power-plant-in-the-world/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/25/italy-to-get-largest-rooftop-solar-power-plant-in-the-world/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:53:08 +0000 Andrew Williams http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/25/italy-to-get-largest-rooftop-solar-power-plant-in-the-world/

An Italian company has announced plans to install the world’s largest rooftop solar photovoltaic plant, with an energy capacity equivalent to the power needs of 5,000 households.

Solon SE will establish the facility at its Padua warehouse and truck-loading complex, generating an output of up to 15 megawatts when the sun is at its brightest.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/25/italy-to-get-largest-rooftop-solar-power-plant-in-the-world/feed/ An Italian Laser Finds how to Produce Hydrogen from Water http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/17/an-italian-laser-produces-hydrogen-from-water/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/17/an-italian-laser-produces-hydrogen-from-water/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:49:16 +0000 Eva Pratesi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/17/an-italian-laser-produces-hydrogen-from-water/

An Italian research team has developed a technique that could be used to make clean fuel from water. The method discovered by researcher Roberto Bini and his team from the European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy - University of Florence, uses lasers to produce hydrogen from water under high pressure.

”There is no other chemical agent involved in the process - not solvents, catalysts or radial initiators,” said Roberto Bini. “This is extremely important because it means that at the end of the process there are no substances left to separate, treat or dispose of. In effect, the costs are reduced and there is zero-impact on the environment”.

The starting point for the technique is irradiating the water with a laser: ”The light excites the water molecules, which produce hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen atoms,” Roberto Bini explained. This separation usually lasts only a few quadrillionths of a second before the parts recombine but the Florence team found a way around this problem. They realized that by applying the laser in high-pressure conditions - around 1,000 atmospheres - the separation lasts far longer. This means that large-volume pressurized irradiation reactors could be used for a number of chemical processes, including the generation of hydrogen for use as fuel.

According to Bini, because the laser uses near-ultraviolet radiation, sunlight could in theory eventually be used to obtain the same result. ”Currently, about 96% of hydrogen comes from non-renewable sources, such as carbon and hydrocarbon, and just 4% from water,” said Bini. He admitted the process still needed work but said he was optimistic about future developments.

”A great many more studies will be needed to verify the system but there is the real prospect that one day we will be able to produce clean fuel, hydrogen, using nothing more than sunlight and damp air as raw materials,” he said.

Image courtesy of Elijah85’s photostream on Flickr under Creative Commons

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/17/an-italian-laser-produces-hydrogen-from-water/feed/ Italy Returns to Nuclear Power While the World Looks Ahead http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/10/italy-returns-to-nuclear-power-while-the-world-looks-ahead/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/10/italy-returns-to-nuclear-power-while-the-world-looks-ahead/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:26:32 +0000 Eva Pratesi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/10/italy-returns-to-nuclear-power-while-the-world-looks-ahead/

Italy definitively approved the return of nuclear energy after 22 years as part of a new development strategy. Italy abandoned nuclear energy after a 1987 referendum, whose result was strongly influenced by the Chernobyl disaster in Russia the previous year.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/10/italy-returns-to-nuclear-power-while-the-world-looks-ahead/feed/ Breaking: Greenpeace Occupy Four Italian Coal Power Stations http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/08/breaking-greenpeace-occupy-four-italian-coal-power-stations/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/08/breaking-greenpeace-occupy-four-italian-coal-power-stations/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:53:49 +0000 Andrew Williams http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/08/breaking-greenpeace-occupy-four-italian-coal-power-stations/

More than 100 Greenpeace activists from around the world have occupied four coal-fired power stations across Italy (live stream and twitter feed).  The action is aimed at forcing the Heads of State to take leadership on climate change as top politicians from the world’s most powerful nations arrive at the G8 Summit today.

Early this morning, an international team of Greenpeace activists occupied key positions at the site of four current and planned Italian power stations in Brindisi, Marghera (just outside of Venice), Vado Ligure, (near Genoa) and Porto Tolle.

The Brindisi facility is Italy’s biggest coal-fired power station and the country’s largest single C02 polluter. The Greenpeace sabotage operation will entail blocking the coal conveyor belts and preventing coal from going into the plant.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/08/breaking-greenpeace-occupy-four-italian-coal-power-stations/feed/ Gas-filled Railway Tanks Explode in Italy: Who’s Responsible? http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/03/gas-filled-railway-tanks-explode-in-italy-whos-responsible/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/03/gas-filled-railway-tanks-explode-in-italy-whos-responsible/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:00:53 +0000 Eva Pratesi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/03/gas-filled-railway-tanks-explode-in-italy-whos-responsible/

Last Monday, 29th of June, in Viareggio: Axle failure on a wagon carrying liquid gas caused a rail disaster in central Italy.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/07/03/gas-filled-railway-tanks-explode-in-italy-whos-responsible/feed/ San Jose Inches Closer to Reaching Goal of 100 Percent Energy Independence http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/06/17/san-jose-inches-closer-to-reaching-goal-of-100-percent-energy-independence/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/06/17/san-jose-inches-closer-to-reaching-goal-of-100-percent-energy-independence/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:59:10 +0000 Ruedigar Matthes http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/06/17/san-jose-inches-closer-to-reaching-goal-of-100-percent-energy-independence/

San Jose, CA - Achieving a goal of 100 percent energy independence is a little closer for San Jose thanks to a momentous move by the City Council today. The City Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop potential lease terms and guidelines for developing an organics-to energy bio-gas facility.

The bio-gas facility, planned to be constructed and operated by Zanker Road Biogas, will be based on a 40-acre site near the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plan. The proposed facility would also be bound on either side by two solid waste recovery and recycling facilities owned and operated by Zanker Road Resource Management, Ltd.

The MOU, which was authorized today, will set forth the guidelines and work-plan for the potential lease terms of the bio-gas project. Pending successful negotiations for the MOU, San Jose will issue a lease to Zero Waste Energy Development Company, Inc., a partnership between GreenWaste Recovery and their sister company, Zanker Road Resource Management.

This project would also see the cooperation of GreenWaste and Harvest Power, Inc., a company that provides leading technology and project development capabilities for harnessing the renewable energy in organic waste.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/06/17/san-jose-inches-closer-to-reaching-goal-of-100-percent-energy-independence/feed/ Electric Superbike Uses iPhone For Its Dashboard http://gas2.org/2009/06/09/electric-superbike-uses-iphone-for-its-dashboard/ http://gas2.org/2009/06/09/electric-superbike-uses-iphone-for-its-dashboard/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:42:35 +0000 Jerry James Stone http://gas2.org/2009/06/09/electric-superbike-uses-iphone-for-its-dashboard/

Apple fanboys might still be drooling from yesterday’s iPhone 3Gs announcement, but I bet they never saw this coming: an electric superbike with an iPhone for all its instrumentation!

Heck, I was happy to finally get MMS support!

The MotoCzysz E1pc is one of the many entries in the TTXGP race this Friday. How the iPhone is integrated into the bike is still a mystery but features like its native GPS will surely be used. And whether it wins or loses, it definitely gets points for creamy white geeky goodness.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/06/09/electric-superbike-uses-iphone-for-its-dashboard/feed/ Geothermal Delivers Free Energy to 200,000 in Italian City http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/10/bye-bye-billing-an-italian-example-of-zero-cost-house/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/10/bye-bye-billing-an-italian-example-of-zero-cost-house/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:49:00 +0000 Eva Pratesi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/10/bye-bye-billing-an-italian-example-of-zero-cost-house/

In the heart of Tuscany the city of Grosseto has recently presented an important eco-building project, the first in Italy that will allow residents to forget completely house bills.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/10/bye-bye-billing-an-italian-example-of-zero-cost-house/feed/ Biofuel from Canal Algae to Power Venice by 2011 http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:19:56 +0000 Eva Pratesi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/

It’s plentiful, it’s homegrown, and it could help clean up the environment while powering our cities. The idea of transforming algae into a fuel is a reality. Nowadays there are numerous implementations of algae into the renewable energy market.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/feed/ New Pininfarina is First Car Ever With iPhone Remote Control http://gas2.org/2009/03/24/new-pininfarina-is-first-car-ever-with-iphone-remote-control/ http://gas2.org/2009/03/24/new-pininfarina-is-first-car-ever-with-iphone-remote-control/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:58:49 +0000 Andrew Williams http://gas2.org/2009/03/24/new-pininfarina-is-first-car-ever-with-iphone-remote-control/

Italian car company Pininfarina have announced plans to launch the first car in the world to use an iPhone as a remote control.

The Pininfarina Bluecar is an all-electric vehicle capable of travelling 155 miles on a single charge and a top speed of 80 mph. But get this - drivers will be able to use their iPhone to remotely check up on battery charge levels and ‘pre-heat the car’s electric drive system,’ very swish (more pics after the jump).

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/03/24/new-pininfarina-is-first-car-ever-with-iphone-remote-control/feed/ Contrary to Reports, the ALF Did Not Kill 40 Birds in Italy http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/02/28/contrary-to-reports-the-alf-did-not-kill-40-birds-in-italy/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/02/28/contrary-to-reports-the-alf-did-not-kill-40-birds-in-italy/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:43:27 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/02/28/contrary-to-reports-the-alf-did-not-kill-40-birds-in-italy/

A syndicated news story made its way into multiple English papers earlier this week claiming that arsonists with the Animal Liberation Front inadvertently killed dozens of birds in an attack on a zoo in Italy. Now the New York Times has reported that this may not be the case:

“A recent such protest in Italy turned nasty: so-called ecoterrorists attacked a bird sanctuary about 20 miles from Turin this week with Molotov cocktails, burning down structures and setting dozens of birds free.”

This sentence, buried in a somewhat-related story in today’s paper, directly contradicts the other report’s claim that activists burned down an aviary with 40 birds inside. Even more odd, however, is this report from an Italian paper that while claiming that 40 birds died, also includes two dozen photos of the damage — without a single photo of a dead bird.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/02/28/contrary-to-reports-the-alf-did-not-kill-40-birds-in-italy/feed/ Mafia Blows Rivals Away, Muscles Into Wind Power Industry http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/19/mafia-blows-rivals-away-muscles-into-wind-power-industry/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/19/mafia-blows-rivals-away-muscles-into-wind-power-industry/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:48:47 +0000 Andrew Williams http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/19/mafia-blows-rivals-away-muscles-into-wind-power-industry/

Police in southern Italy have this week launched a major crackdown on mafia activities following serious allegations of corruption over the awarding of building contracts for a Sicilian wind farm.

According to organized crime investigators, government officials were lavished with bribes, including luxury cars and cash, in an effort to ensure the contract — worth hundreds of thousands of Euros –was awarded to Mafia-backed businesses.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/19/mafia-blows-rivals-away-muscles-into-wind-power-industry/feed/ China Benefits from Economic Stimulus Bill Created Debt http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/02/16/china-benefits-from-economic-stimulus-bill-created-debt/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/02/16/china-benefits-from-economic-stimulus-bill-created-debt/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:29:12 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/02/16/china-benefits-from-economic-stimulus-bill-created-debt/ China owns the US debtThe $787 billion Economic Stimulus Bill will create about $6,700 per US household of new debt.  Who will benefit from this increased debt?

Hopefully the US economy will be strengthened from the increased government spending included in the Economic Stimulus Bill, but it is important to look beyond our borders whenever debt is incurred.

Anyone responsible for their personal finances knows the burden of debt, and world leaders are cautioning Obama on borrowing more money to fund the Economic Stimulus Bill. Italy’s finance minister Giulio Tremont (Italy is one of the most indebted countries in Europe) warned, “If the problem is an excess of debt, the cure is not adding more debt, whether that debt is public or private.”  So what country will benefit from the increase of US debt incurred by the Economic Stimulus Bill?

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/02/16/china-benefits-from-economic-stimulus-bill-created-debt/feed/ World’s First Fuel Cell Tractor Debuts in Italy http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/11/worlds-first-fuel-cell-tractor-debuts-in-italy/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/11/worlds-first-fuel-cell-tractor-debuts-in-italy/#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:33:54 +0000 Ariel Schwartz http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/11/worlds-first-fuel-cell-tractor-debuts-in-italy/

Attention, farmers: New Holland introduced the world’s first fuel cell tractor today in Turin, Italy, and it looks like a fun ride. The tractor’s fuel cell generates 106hp, and its hydrogen tank can hold enough to power the tractor for 1.5 to 2 hours.

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