Saving the planet can
Saturday the UN celebrates Environment Day. After the failure in Copenhagen, a flash of optimism. Three ideas to clean up the world from our correspondent Federico Rampini
NEW YORK - Artificial Life, microsensors, algorithms-governmental facilities: three technological innovations will save the earth. With us. The Green Economy is already a reality. Behind the prophets of the Apocalypse environment - Cassandre essential to awaken our consciences - moves an army of revolutionaries "positive" they are building the antidotes to environmental disaster. Our ways of life are evolving. Even the ruling classes (some) are less sclerotized than it looks. Behind the failures of global governance as the Copenhagen summit, behind the strength of lobby groups that seem to paralyze the government, glimpsed three alternative options towards sustainable development: America, China, Germany, with recipes completely different point toward the same goal.
VIDEO SPOT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 1
HOPE FROM NANOTECHNOLOGY 2
And the competition between these systems will advance the world. A frontier of scientific research that promises great benefits to the environment has just opened two weeks ago. And 'the creation of a living organism (a bacterium) by the American biologists Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith. Its potential is huge and so Venter is exploring the different directions. The generation of artificial life forms, for example, can materialize in new algae biofuel of the future will be: able to absorb carbon emissions and then convert it back into energy, just as do the trees. Using the ocean surface, much larger than the Earth's crust, the "good algae" will give the planet a lung replacement. Another challenge of biogenetic which received accelerated by the work of Venter and Smith is the creation of new species of cereal legumes and the cultivation of which consume a fraction of the water needed today. Agriculture is the largest dewatering of the planet, the crops consume 70% of water resources in the world, the creation of new species offers hope especially crucial for the most populous nations, China and India. In addition, the artificial creation of life can get an answer to the most serious environmental disasters like oil spills reversed by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. "Already in nature - says oceanographer Ken Lee of the Bedford Institute in Nova Scotia, Canada - there are bacteria that eat oil and crumble into organic cellular components. Albert Venosa, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, showed which helps with "condiments" on the basis of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, "the work of these bacteria accelerates miraculously, manage to destroy one summer in the crude oil that normally would remove five or six years." Now there is a real hope was born in the valley of genome research. After the first artificial bacterium Craig Venter, could be built in the laboratory of micro-killer of oil, capable of attacking and clean up oil spills with a voracious power.
The second edge of innovation does not come from the laboratories, but those of Polytechnics biogenetic computer. The development of nanotechnology has already given birth to new applications of microsensors that are formidable allies nature. One of the leading experts in this field is the American Robert Atkinson, president of Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. "From the labs of Georgia Tech - Atkinson says - out of microsensors that can distinguish more than 100 chemicals in the water or air, and to exchange information between them." Some applications are encouraging. In Australia, the Springbrook National Park botanical scientists have shed the virgin forest of solar-powered microsensors. They are "eyes, ears and noses" invisible guardians of the delicate ecosystem of the immense forest, ready to transmit alarms videoacustici to report any damage to the natural environment. In Tokyo and San Francisco the same microsensors are being used in the new urban traffic control systems such SmartWay: their "intelligence" will eliminate traffic jams, redirect traffic, significantly reducing smog from urban transport. The Japanese version will link the network of microsensors to the onboard computers of cars, directing the driver towards more rational paths that reduce fuel consumption.
The third invests the urban revolution. Converge to favor changes of various kinds: technological, organizational, but also demographic changes, new lifestyles and value systems. A pioneer who designed the city "green" future is an American scientist that has formed on the theories of statistical mathematics, Charles Komanoff. He was born from his mind "the algorithm Komanoff, a system of equations more complicated than those used by NASA to explore Mars. His algorithm is used to decrypt and make govern all complex variables that feed traffic in Manhattan. On the one hand Komanoff data as part of the working population, the percentage of commuters, their geographical distribution, the opening hours of offices and shops. On the other introduces fuel prices, tolls for highways and bridges, the subway fare and parking. The algorithm operates on these variables, reprograms the flows and movements, and produces results drugs. Less congestion, cleaner air, and measurable economic benefits. "Almost 3 billion dollars earned - Komanoff says - including the removal of CO2 emissions, reduction of motor vehicle accident victims, the time saved in travel."
That is not an illusion, as demonstrated by the fact that its algorithm is currently studied by two cities of similar size in New York, Paris and Guangzhou (Canton). Its efficiency will be enhanced with the coming into operation of the new GPS (24 satellites controlled by the second generation) which will come to centimeter accuracy. The urban revolution is not just technology. The American who invented the shopping mall and residential neighborhoods in the suburbs, that is the pattern of housing and most energy consumer in the world, is heading back. The new trend is called Lifestyle Center: the rediscovery of what we call the historical center, pedestrian-based, small shops, family businesses on a human scale, local services. "It is linked to the dominant values \u200b\u200bin the Millennium generation - explains the sociodemographic Arthur Nelson of the University of Utah - because in their twenties and thirties today prefer the lifestyle of urban centers, universities want to walk to museums and theaters."
The environmental impact? A drastic 50% cut in energy consumption for transport. Main highways clogged with commuters, most subway and bicycle paths. Economies of scale that make it easier recycling. Another innovation is self-financing planning that is gaining momentum thanks to Arthur Rosenfeld, a scientist that America has won the Enrico Fermi Award and the founder of the California Energy Commission. He is promoting a worldwide campaign "white roofs." "Simply repainting the white roofs of the buildings - says Rosenfeld - the sunlight is reflected and returned to the atmosphere. This reduces the consumption of air conditioning from 10 to 20 percent. From Chicago to Sydney in 15 years, this means eliminating 15 billion tons of CO2, the equivalent a reduction of 40 percent in traffic. "It is the rediscovery of an ancient wisdom, since white is the dominant color in many hot spots of civilization, Aztec or Mediterranean.
to channel the resources of science and technology to foster positive changes in lifestyle collective political strategies apparently diverge. Obama's America relies on the model Silicon Valley: a mix of public research, incentives to private capital, entrepreneurial spirit. One hundred billion dollars of investment and two million jobs "is the promise of Obama's Green Economy. China is the challenge of incorporating environmental concerns into the planning of its ruling class, authoritarian and technocratic. It is a centralized model that is already able to invest $ 34 billion in renewable energy: the double of the United States. Germany, and with it the Northern Europe and Scandinavia, has opted for an approach to taxation "punitive", with the highest taxes in the world consumption of fossil fuels. And also made in Germany is the most advanced race on the frontiers of green technologies. It is a virtuous competition, in which we all have to gain. How do scientists explain the Massachusetts Robert Pollin and James Heintz, Green Recovery report's authors, all of a sudden "all the world's governments must recognize that there is no other area capable of leading the recovery and create jobs, how can do it the new economy environment. "
VIDEO SPOT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 1
HOPE FROM NANOTECHNOLOGY 2
And the competition between these systems will advance the world. A frontier of scientific research that promises great benefits to the environment has just opened two weeks ago. And 'the creation of a living organism (a bacterium) by the American biologists Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith. Its potential is huge and so Venter is exploring the different directions. The generation of artificial life forms, for example, can materialize in new algae biofuel of the future will be: able to absorb carbon emissions and then convert it back into energy, just as do the trees. Using the ocean surface, much larger than the Earth's crust, the "good algae" will give the planet a lung replacement. Another challenge of biogenetic which received accelerated by the work of Venter and Smith is the creation of new species of cereal legumes and the cultivation of which consume a fraction of the water needed today. Agriculture is the largest dewatering of the planet, the crops consume 70% of water resources in the world, the creation of new species offers hope especially crucial for the most populous nations, China and India. In addition, the artificial creation of life can get an answer to the most serious environmental disasters like oil spills reversed by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. "Already in nature - says oceanographer Ken Lee of the Bedford Institute in Nova Scotia, Canada - there are bacteria that eat oil and crumble into organic cellular components. Albert Venosa, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, showed which helps with "condiments" on the basis of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, "the work of these bacteria accelerates miraculously, manage to destroy one summer in the crude oil that normally would remove five or six years." Now there is a real hope was born in the valley of genome research. After the first artificial bacterium Craig Venter, could be built in the laboratory of micro-killer of oil, capable of attacking and clean up oil spills with a voracious power.
The second edge of innovation does not come from the laboratories, but those of Polytechnics biogenetic computer. The development of nanotechnology has already given birth to new applications of microsensors that are formidable allies nature. One of the leading experts in this field is the American Robert Atkinson, president of Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. "From the labs of Georgia Tech - Atkinson says - out of microsensors that can distinguish more than 100 chemicals in the water or air, and to exchange information between them." Some applications are encouraging. In Australia, the Springbrook National Park botanical scientists have shed the virgin forest of solar-powered microsensors. They are "eyes, ears and noses" invisible guardians of the delicate ecosystem of the immense forest, ready to transmit alarms videoacustici to report any damage to the natural environment. In Tokyo and San Francisco the same microsensors are being used in the new urban traffic control systems such SmartWay: their "intelligence" will eliminate traffic jams, redirect traffic, significantly reducing smog from urban transport. The Japanese version will link the network of microsensors to the onboard computers of cars, directing the driver towards more rational paths that reduce fuel consumption.
The third invests the urban revolution. Converge to favor changes of various kinds: technological, organizational, but also demographic changes, new lifestyles and value systems. A pioneer who designed the city "green" future is an American scientist that has formed on the theories of statistical mathematics, Charles Komanoff. He was born from his mind "the algorithm Komanoff, a system of equations more complicated than those used by NASA to explore Mars. His algorithm is used to decrypt and make govern all complex variables that feed traffic in Manhattan. On the one hand Komanoff data as part of the working population, the percentage of commuters, their geographical distribution, the opening hours of offices and shops. On the other introduces fuel prices, tolls for highways and bridges, the subway fare and parking. The algorithm operates on these variables, reprograms the flows and movements, and produces results drugs. Less congestion, cleaner air, and measurable economic benefits. "Almost 3 billion dollars earned - Komanoff says - including the removal of CO2 emissions, reduction of motor vehicle accident victims, the time saved in travel."
That is not an illusion, as demonstrated by the fact that its algorithm is currently studied by two cities of similar size in New York, Paris and Guangzhou (Canton). Its efficiency will be enhanced with the coming into operation of the new GPS (24 satellites controlled by the second generation) which will come to centimeter accuracy. The urban revolution is not just technology. The American who invented the shopping mall and residential neighborhoods in the suburbs, that is the pattern of housing and most energy consumer in the world, is heading back. The new trend is called Lifestyle Center: the rediscovery of what we call the historical center, pedestrian-based, small shops, family businesses on a human scale, local services. "It is linked to the dominant values \u200b\u200bin the Millennium generation - explains the sociodemographic Arthur Nelson of the University of Utah - because in their twenties and thirties today prefer the lifestyle of urban centers, universities want to walk to museums and theaters."
The environmental impact? A drastic 50% cut in energy consumption for transport. Main highways clogged with commuters, most subway and bicycle paths. Economies of scale that make it easier recycling. Another innovation is self-financing planning that is gaining momentum thanks to Arthur Rosenfeld, a scientist that America has won the Enrico Fermi Award and the founder of the California Energy Commission. He is promoting a worldwide campaign "white roofs." "Simply repainting the white roofs of the buildings - says Rosenfeld - the sunlight is reflected and returned to the atmosphere. This reduces the consumption of air conditioning from 10 to 20 percent. From Chicago to Sydney in 15 years, this means eliminating 15 billion tons of CO2, the equivalent a reduction of 40 percent in traffic. "It is the rediscovery of an ancient wisdom, since white is the dominant color in many hot spots of civilization, Aztec or Mediterranean.
to channel the resources of science and technology to foster positive changes in lifestyle collective political strategies apparently diverge. Obama's America relies on the model Silicon Valley: a mix of public research, incentives to private capital, entrepreneurial spirit. One hundred billion dollars of investment and two million jobs "is the promise of Obama's Green Economy. China is the challenge of incorporating environmental concerns into the planning of its ruling class, authoritarian and technocratic. It is a centralized model that is already able to invest $ 34 billion in renewable energy: the double of the United States. Germany, and with it the Northern Europe and Scandinavia, has opted for an approach to taxation "punitive", with the highest taxes in the world consumption of fossil fuels. And also made in Germany is the most advanced race on the frontiers of green technologies. It is a virtuous competition, in which we all have to gain. How do scientists explain the Massachusetts Robert Pollin and James Heintz, Green Recovery report's authors, all of a sudden "all the world's governments must recognize that there is no other area capable of leading the recovery and create jobs, how can do it the new economy environment. "
(03 June 2010)
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