3 simple suggestions

After 1999 Oscar Prize won by Roberto Benigni "Life is Beautiful" (La vita è Bella), Italy won another one this year.
"The great Beauty" (La grande bellezza) managed to bring back the little golden Oscar after 15 years. In reality I am not a big Cinema fan. The last movies I watched were cartoons and I was obliged to go with my children but there's always a certain "Italian pride" when we win something regardless is a Football word championship or a friendly Curling match against Samoa Island (That, for obvious reasons, I hope we will win...).

But having a look a the two titles I think there must be a reason if in both cases the word "Beauty" is mentioned.
A movie coming from the "Bel Paese" the Beautiful Country as old poets used to call Italy winning the Oscar Prize must talk about Beauty. In whichever sense you can mean it.
Beauty of the place
Beauty of the arts
Beauty of the design
Beauty of the people
Even an ironic and often cynical showman like Jeremy Clarkson (I like him a lot though), always considered our cars and our places as among the best in the world.

I had already posted this link but I want to do it again... I am always touched when I see it.

So, being surrounded by all this Beauty, that is the normal environment for us make us losing the real importance of it.
The RESPONSIBILITY we have to preserve this and, possibly to improve it (see also my post People always get used to beauty though). This is a real responsibility, both for the country but also for the world as Italy has got the highest number of UNESCO world heritage sites.
That's part of the legacy, part of our DNA and culture that cannot be taken away unless we REALLY WANT TO.
It's our treasure that we are not fully exploiting, that we are even spoiling and ruining.

But we often do not realize that we have this incredible treasure and opportunity. We always look outside forgetting our beauty and not looking after this. "Bel Paese" is often used in ironic sense and used as an excuse to destroy everything.
STOP! Breath deeply and start looking around. Start looking outside and, with a clear and open mind, try to be objective.

THEN....
Time for the 3 points i would like to give to our colleagues managing our tourism to implement to try and go back to "beauty". It may look too simplistic but I am convinced that we should start from simple ideas and develop them.

1) COMMUNICATE!

I find incredible that in today's world, people cannot communicate in English. English has undoubtedly become THE LANGUAGE and not being able to communicate will simply cut you out of everything. If you do not tell people you exist, people will not know. And, most of all, nobody will listen to you. Everybody in Italy MUST learn English and be able to communicate.
This BLOG is the proof that, if you think you have something to say, you will find someone ready to listen.
Communication is making guest's life simple. Nobody wants to go where their life will be difficult.

2) PREPARE YOURSELF

It's like when you are dated, you must be prepared to always look GOOD and TIDY. We must have a plan to keep our treasures ok and always ready to be visited and appreciated.
Sad to say that, if we do not have the funds to do this (and I cannot really believe we do not have funds to look after what's extremely important for our country) we have to choose what MUST be looked after. It is better to have something great that everything bad.
Show people how to do things, where to do things and guide them. You are dating someone and nobody wants to end the story after the first date.

3) BE KIND WITH PEOPLE AND UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES

Why people come here? Because they like Italy, a place that is DIFFERENT from where they live. The difference is the reason why they are here and if there was no difference they would simply stay home.
Difference is an opportunity, not a burden to be carried and pointed out every time you see things you do not understand. Listen and learn, you will be a better man afterwards.

Then you will be ready for that...

A presto
Have a nice week end 

GET OFFGRID

I personally think that the best way to save the resources is not to use them.

There are infact very few resources that are considered inexhaustible (will not run out in foreseeable future) – these are solar radiation, geothermal energy (that must be managed with care though), and air (though access to clean air may not be). The vast majority of resources are exhaustible, which means they have a finite quantity, and can be depleted if managed improperly.

The only solution is to use them when it is REALLY NECESSARY and to increase our overall efficiency.

I like the increased sense of "recycling" that is growing more and more in Italy and I am proud of Belluno, the province where I live, being the best Province in Italy.
However, even though the recycling is good, the energy required to re-use the products (glass, plastics, paper) is relatively high and the quality of the recycled component is normally low.

As it is a mountain area though, we have a lot to improve. We are still using a lot of wood and biomasses in general to heat our houses. But too many of them have a poor insulation.

Improving the Energy class from the typical values today (Primary energy required of about 250-300kWh/m2) to much efficient values (150 kWh/m2 can be achieved by insulating and changing the heating and domestic hot water system with a heat pump) would help reducing even the consumption of these biomasses and gas.

Going back to the discussion about decentralization that I made on my on of my recent Posts There always the sun.

The reduction of the requirements and the possibility to relocate the production of heating, electrical energy and every other need close to the area where it will be used will help improving the overall distibution efficiency.

A great idea, that seems coming out from an 80s post nuclear war scenario but is quite suitable to meet the above targets, is the OFFGRID BOX.

This container includes all the components to be self sufficient, or almost self sufficient, for:
1) Electricity
2) Domestic Hot water
3) Water

A DELOCALIZATION concept brought to the maximum level.

Check this video and see how it looks like.

Maybe not the solution to all the problems but a good start.
From Italy...

A Greataly idea!

Have a nice week end

 

 

 

There's always the sun

It is known to everybody. Questa è la terra del sole! This is the land of sun, as an old song says.

And sun, with wind and water, has allowed Italy to reach a good percentage of renewable energy production.

In total 13,6% was deriving from hydroelectric and 10% from Geothermal, Photovoltaic and Wind.

 

 

The Photovoltaic percentage is growing and, even though I always thought this was not going to be an option for the production of energy, it looks like I was wrong. The fact is that I grew up with some prejudices.

1) a sustainable technology is the one that does not need financial help

2) a good energy source is what is available when you need it

3) a good energy source can be stored

In reality photovoltaic is not ticking any of these boxes.

 

The first one is probably the quicker to achieve but mainly because the oil extraction is becoming more expensive and less efficient, the oil price is leveled relatively high and the solar cells are produced in a low cost country that, maybe, is giving some help to become the main (I wanted to say the sole) manufactorer.

But who cares... Machiavelli said "the end justifies the means" and our target is to increase the renewable energy production.

Target achieved.

Now some other challenges open before us.

1) we still need to increase the energy efficiency of our system. Starting from the houses (in western Europe 70% of the buildings are built before 1980) and going to the transports.

2) we need to find a way to store the solar energy.

I know about new batteries for PV being developed.

Is there anybody having some information?

I always thought that fuel cells could have been the solution. Store solar energy by generating Hydrogen. I am probably too optimistic though.

This is the key issue. Solving this limit will further boost the solar generation and will also change completely the energy production strategy. Decentralization. Istead of having power plants serving big areas, we will have local plants serving cities, towns, blocks. Less transport losses. Better control.

Clearly we will not be able to generate this

 

 

 

but it will be sufficient for a more sustainable development.

But then, another big challenge starts.

What are we doing with the current powerplants?

 

We are already facing this as, due to the crisis and to the unexpected quick raise of the renewable, the italian thermal power plants are woriking below the "phisiological level". This level is the one that allows to be repaid whithin the budgeted period and therefore to repay who has financed the structure.

 

Less need, less energy, less money.

 

The solution that has been put forward is simple... Let us put the burden on the enrgy bill as an extra tax. So in our bills we should pay for the Nuclear powerplants that have been discontinued, to sustain the renewable energy and also to sustain the non renewable that have been replaced by the renewable sustained by ourselves. Isn't that silly?

What about turning our life from being oil driven to be electricity driven?

What about replacing the gas burners with heatpumps? What about increase the electric transport?

Maybe someone will tell me "yes, but you have signed contracts saying that you must buy a certain minimum quantity of oil and gas". Maybe. Maybe not. But in this case we need to plan for our future. Possibily more sustainable.

 

Have a nice week end. Hopefully with a lot of sun

 

 

2...000 is the magic number

It is a fact that today we are consuming more resources than what we have available.

This has been the effect of a 150 years development that has used the fossil resources to an extent that made everything EASY AND APPARENTLY COST FREE (at least in this part of the world).

August 20th 2013 was this year's OVERSHOOT DAY, marking the date when humanity exhausted nature’s budget for the year. We are now operating in overdraft. For the rest of the year, we will maintain our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
As this condition is a result of more than 150 years development, we cannot expect to change it overnight.
It would be like braking a car running at 350km/h in 1 meter... without seatbelts.

Clearly it is a process that will be long. Hopefully not too long as time is not infinite.

The main point is to reduce our energy need and, finally, try and limit our fossil fuels dependence.
As I highlighted on my last blog

1) EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SAVING (starting from buildings)
2) USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY both electrical (like photovoltaic) and Thermal (like heat pumps)
are two key points that would allow our energy footprint to reduce.

BUT BEWARE!!!

This does not mean to worsen our life quality. Innovation must develop to help us doing this.
We must simply reduce what is thrown away.

There is a great project ongoing in Switzerland in this respect.
It's called 2000W society (http://www.2000watt.ch/). It targets to reduce the energy requirement per person from the actual 6000W to 2000W that is the energy level that would be sustaionable for an equal and even distribution Worldwide.

It will be a long process. I am sure we will be able to go there and we cannot stop going that direction.

Whichever different thought would mean that we think it's over and...

There are small things that we can start doing though.

One exemple is the bottled water.

Not disputing the taste and the quality of the water that, normally, are good both for bottled water and for tap water, I invite you to follow me in this quick calculation.

Italy is drinking an average 184 liters of bottled water per year i.e. 123 bottles of 1,5 liters.
Every bottle weights 0,04 kg so we need an average of 5kg plastic per year per person that we throw away. Everyone of us.

Now the point.

To produce 5kg of plastic we need:

1) 10 kg of oil (63kWh of primary energy)
2) 87,5 liters of water (every kg of PET needs 17,5 kg of water)

And I am not counting what is required to transport them.
Then we throw it away

This video will probably be more explanatory...

Cheers
Have a nice week end
 

IT COULD WORK!!!

It is true.

People living in small towns or villages are spoiled. It is easy to reach everything. And, even though we always complain, we are not wasting so much time commuting.

India is the maximum exemple of this. Time is not measured in minutes. It is measured in hours. Whichever distance you have to cover in a big town, regardless is 8am or 11pm, will take hours. One two three... Nobody knows.

Unfortunately, this is also happening in Europe. My last trip to Paris was a good example. 6km. I can run 6km in less than 30min.

But I was well equipped. A VW golf, a good navi system, traffic control to suggest the best routes to reach the goal. 6,5km.

Departure time 18.00.

Go.......

I have been given thousands of info, of suggestions that I have followed precisely. 6,5km. C'mon.

And looking around me there were hundreds (probably thousands) of cars going moving like in rails. 20km/h. Stop. Change line. 20km/h. Stop.

I reached the goal at 19.10.

1hour and 10 min. If I'd run I could have taken also a shower.

 

Yes the result was very nice (not so much the food) but it needed some energy.

 

 

In a scarcity society (that is a concept that should be well developed), TIME is today one of the most important resources.
How many of you are not able to do something "because I do not have time". How many are staying in the office longer because time is never enough?
This will probably need a post on its own. There are hundreds of "time thieves" every day. We need to properly use our time.

 

Is it queing in a motorway the right way?

Is it good to waste liters of fuel and hours of life in your car, maybe alone, talking with your hands free device?

Accepting this means that we do not realize how important is to reduce the energy consumptions and maximize our efficiency.

I am not commenting the SUVs stuck in the traffic or the big engines car that were slower than myself running. I was impressed though when I read that the average speed for a car during its life is around 50km/h and I was wondering about the real need of these. But this is part of the personal happiness and there are some nice muscled cars that I would like to drive.

I am commenting the huge waste of energy and of resources that are burnt every working day queing and doing nothing. Human energy, fossil energy, mental energy.

 

Not renewable energies

This is probably not sustainable for very long time. Probably it is not sustainable already. We need to start thinking about how to be more efficient.

Starting from everybody's house . It is probably the simplest thing. And is does not mean to live like into a monastry. I think that technology today must be used to improve the efficiency of your life and of things around your life.

- Insulation

- clever use of energy

- use of heat pumps and Photovoltaics/Thermal solar

are some of the possibilities we have to reduce our CO2 impact. And have a modern, confortable and long lasting home whose value will be high for long time.

Are these too expensive? Is it something only Rich people can afford?

Well no. If we properly value the time and the energy that we are daily wasting.

We must start doing something before it is too late.

 

Technology is available. Knowledge as well.

 

 

 

Now it is up to everybody to suggest how to make it.

That is all for today. Maybe I have been slightly negative. But I was "kidnapped" in an airport for 8 hours after having been trapped in the traffic.

Far too much for a mountain guy. Looking forward arriving to his small and quiet village among the mountains.

I would appreciate you input this time.

What can we do to make our life less "energy eater"?

Have a nice week end

People always get used to beauty, though.

I always thought that people get used to beauty. And today, surfing the internet, I found that also a good writer, John Green has the same idea.

And this is also what I thought last week, when, unfortunately , it was everything but a beautiful day.
It was raining and that was one of the typical days in which you start understanding that summer's over and now it is time to start wearing your raincoat.
We decided to go to a new museum. The MUSE in Trento.
Designed by a great Italian architect, Renzo Piano, this is part of a bigger former industrial area that has been completely transformed called Le Albere.

This is at the foothill of the mountains and, in its modern development, it is designed not to take the scene to the majesty of the Dolomites (the mountains that are in that area) but to properly mix with the nature thanks also to the high quality of the finishing that is minimising the consumptions.
It is using local materials, the same wood that you can use in the old houses built in that area. And the same wood that was used in the Paganini's violins and in this fantastic speaker set.

Everything was build with the same concept:

-use local materials
-create something that is not "shouting" but that is well placed in the environement.

Everything not to take the attention out from the natural beauty that is all around and that, after a while, people do not see anymore.

This is where I live. That's what I can see (almost) every morning. (Not today... unfortunately it's raining for the week end, again!)
There is no artifact, no human product that will be able to compete with the natural beauty of these mountains.
So, the only possibility is to produce, to build, to create things that are helping the natural beauty to be well appreciated.
This is normal for me. I often do not even see what's around as I am also used to that beauty.
But I am lucky enough to have guest from all the world and they are opening my eyes, often closed and looking at the daily problems.

And thank to the people that give respect to this natural masterpiece, people like me should remember that we need to always give the importance to this.

Is this art? It probably is. Not the art as we commonly think about but still art. Something that we must take inspiration from and not destroy.

And most of all, art that we must Always remember to properly appreciate.
This year is the 50th anniversary of one of the most tragic events that happened in this area. The flooding of a massive area on the Piave river. This is the tragedy of the Vajont Dam. You can have a look at the story clicking on this link.

On 12 February 2008 UNESCO cited the Vajont Dam tragedy as one of five "cautionary tales", caused by "the failure of engineers and geologists".

We should always remember this.

Never try to win the Nature. Just help the Nature being appreciated.


That's all for today. I just want to finish with a link to a TOP GEAR episode. This is my favourite one. Jeremy Clarkson is presenting one of the most Amazing Italian Cars. The ALFA ROMEO 8C. Pure art.

 

Who is gonna save the world?

During last years the "disaster theory" has been growing bigger and bigger.
We are threatening the world and we must behave properly in order to avoid the worst.

"Sustainability", "Environment friendly" all these words have been bubbling in all the normal things that we are using and buying every day.

What has happened then? Well, not very much.
We have simply done the USUAL THINGS a little better.
Is it the right way?

"If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got"

This quote is clearly not mine. Actually I do not know who said this and even Internet is quite confused on this.
However explains quite well the point. By doing always the same things, even a little better, we will NOT be able to take a great step forward. A step forward as great as we would need.

So what... you would say.

The secret is SPECIALIZATION. That's the key word.

Quite a strange word though.

To try and explain what I mean I usually think about this picture that was an old (time's running fast) ad by Pirelli.

Carl Lewis is wearing a great pair of shoes! They are surely shoes but are they the BEST ONES for what he's supposed to do?
Are we in the position to use equipments, whichever equipment we are talking about, that are the same EVERYWHERE in the world and for EVERY USE?

The answer is...
NO!
And even though it is clear that we cannot multiply all equipments taking into consideration all the uses and users, we must try to optimize them.

In a word, we must change something.

Recently, a Crowdspeaking program called Phoneblocks was launched.

 

 

This is a great idea, that has also been linked to environmental issues (I am not so convinced that there is a real envioronmental reason for that).

But the key point is, let us have a device that is doing exactly what I need and I like.
A phone that is SPECIALIZED in doing what I need and that I like.

In my working life I am dealing with hundreds of salesmen, engineers, of consultants and users that understand that what they are currently doing is not the best solution.

They are understanding the different solutions that I am giving them but then, when we are trying to see if this can be used according to the "normal" rules, we are not able to find a way to fit them. And then, going the "usual way" is the simplest, quickest and safest way.

After several years I spent trying to be a "missionary" and proposing something different to:

1) save a lot of money
2) save a lot of energy

I finally found the answer to the question "Who is gonna save the world".

Who dares to change the "usual way" to do things.

Difficult, time consuming, dangerous but incredibly effective.