Entries by Lorenzo Barbieri

12 Years Later: the Ghost of Fukushima's Water

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Lorenzo Barbieri
2011: an earthquake and a tsunami provoked a nuclear accident in Japan. To cool down the reactor was used seawater. 2023: that seawater is now coming back to the ocean. Is it safe for humans, flora and fauna?

Drinking Water from the Sea: the World's Next Edge?

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Lorenzo Barbieri
Desalination by reverse osmosis is the most common method of obtaining potable water from the sea. Already widely used in the Middle East, the Pacific Countries, America and even Europe, it ensures water security in many countries. However, it is too early to call this method "what will save us from global water shortage" because it is still too energy inefficient.

A Pinnacle Crumbles in the Alps: Hydrogeological Safety in Veneto and Trentino

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Lorenzo Barbieri
Two iconic pinnacles on the Veneto-Trentino border give way after a week of thunderstorms. Funding and technical knowledge are needed to prevent hydrogeological risk and strategic choices are needed to best guide the course of nature.

Drought in Italy: Perception and Reality

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Lorenzo Barbieri
The severe winter drought left most of Italy with critically low levels of water. Yet, for most Italians droughts are still seen as a temporary problem.

Extreme Environmentalism: The Other Side of the Coin

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Lorenzo Barbieri
Clashing with art is the new controversial form of environmentalism.

The (Long) Way to Recycle Photovoltaic Panels

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Lorenzo Barbieri
Some innovations from Australia and Italy can offer a way to handle the tons of photovoltaic panels in use right now before they become waste.

Extreme events happen. What can we do about it?

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Lorenzo Barbieri
In the Anthropocene, natural and human-induced extreme events are hitting the world more frequently than in the past. How can we handle them?”

8 billion. Are we not too many?

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Lorenzo Barbieri
By 2050 there will probably be 10 billion people living on Earth. Without any development plan focused on energy and natural resources regeneration, aren’t we too many?

A hungry game: climate change, COVID-19, and the Ukraine war

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Lorenzo Barbieri
With the climate crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine the risk of a global food crisis has become very real.

War in Ukraine. What about the environment?

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Lorenzo Barbieri
The environment is the silent casualty of war. What are the effects of the war in Ukraine on the environment?

With the Russian-Ukrainian war natural gas is out of the game. Is the European Union's Green Deal derailing?

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Lorenzo Barbieri
Renewables are not yet enough to help the EU reach total energy independence. In January, the Parliament decided to bet on nuclear power. How green is this bet?

A European proposal: nuclear and natural gas labeled as "green energy". Is it greenwashing?

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Lorenzo Barbieri
To drop coal Europe needs new ways to generate green energy. Is labelling nuclear and natural gas as green energy a greenwashing or sustainable strategy?

The climate crisis and the floods in Central Europe

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Lorenzo Barbieri
Looking back at last summer’s dramatic floods in Central Europe, it is clear that natural disasters linked to the climate crisis are no longer events of only Mediterranean regions.

The Loneliness of Face Masks

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Lorenzo Barbieri
Face masks against Covid-19 must be used to protect the public health. Yet they can threaten the health of oceans and drylands if littered.