• Energy Research
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The objective of Meglio Muoversi [Better Moving] is the pursuing of the sustainable mobility in its variations of social, economic and environmental sustainability, through the realization of a process of planning, integrated management and monitoring, of advanced mobility services, aimed at thickening tangible and intangible networks of connection (accessibility), changing the travel behaviours of users to discourage the use of private cars and foster the integration between various modes of transport (safety and environmental impacts, efficiency and efficacy). Two services of advanced mobility flexible in space and time have been activated: Chiamabus and C’Entro. Chiamabus is a service on demand, C'Entro is a Car-sharing service and provides for the promotion of the Car-pooling.

The focus of this work is to outline the actions that in the next years, at international and national level, will be implemented as a tool to contrast climate change and reduce the contribution of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These actions go through an important transformation of the energy sector, with the progressive decrease in the use of fossil fuels for the energy production, starting with coal which is the most polluting. This conversion process can represent a possibility of a technological renewal of the current plants operating in Italy and an opportunity for an employment growth with reference to the construction of the new plants and to the decommissioning of the existing plants which will close in the future.

The limited scientific knowledge on relationship between exposure and health effects in relation to geothermal activity motivated an epidemiologic investigation in Tuscan geothermal area. The study aims to describe the health status of populations living in Tuscany municipalities where concessions for exploitation of geothermal resources were granted.This is an ecological study, so it is not useful to produce evidence to sustain a judgment on the cause-effect link. The major limits of this type of study are the use of the residence at municipal level as a proxy of exposure to both environmental and socioeconomic factors and the use of aggregated data of health outcomes that can lead to the well-known ecological fallacy.Sixteen municipalities were included in the study area: eight are part of the so-called "traditional" geothermal area, defined as Northern Geothermal Area (NGA) and eight located in the Amiata Mountain defined as Southern Geothermal Area (SGA). In 2000-2006, the average resident population in the overall area was approximately 43,000 inhabitants. Thirty-one geothermal power plants were active, with a production capacity of 811 MW, 5 of them with 88 MW located in the SGA. Statistical analyses on the entire geothermal area, NGA and SGA subareas, and the sixteen municipalities were performed.Mortality data were obtained from Tuscany Regional Mortality Registry for the 1971-2006 period, analysing 60 causes of death, of interest for population health status or consistent with "Project SENTIERI" criteria. Hospital discharge records of residents in Tuscany Region in 2004-2006, anywhere admitted to hospital, were analyzed considering only the main diagnosis, excluding repeated admissions for the same cause. The causes taken into account are the same analysed for mortality were considered. Age-standardized mortality rates (TSDM) and the temporal trends of TSDM for four periods (1971-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2006) were computed. Age-standardized mortality/hospitalization ratios (SMR/SHR), with and without adjustment for the deprivation index based on 2001 census data, were calculated: mortality in the years 2000-2006 and hospitalization in 2004-2006. The expected number of events were computed using rates of residents in neighbouring municipalities (municipalities included in 50 km radius circle centred on the study area). Bayesian estimates of mortality/hospitalization ratios (BMR/BHR) at municipal level only and relating maps of the Bayesian risk estimators were elaborated. Congenital malformations (MC) were analysed using data from Tuscan Registry of Birth Defect in 1992-2006 period, relative to outcomes of pregnancies in women resident in the municipalities of study area, wherever the birth or termination of pregnancy occurred. The ratio between observed and expected cases (O/A), with expected defined according to regional rate, were calculated and O/A Bayesian estimates (BMR) are showed only at municipal level. The low weight and the males/females ratio at birth were analysed using data from Tuscany Birth Certificates, covering period 2001-2007, excluding births occurred in facilities outside Tuscany Region. For Low birth weight ( 64 years). Among females resident in SGA a mortality excess from digestive system diseases was observed (72 observed, 55 expected). The hospitalization in the overall Geothermal Area did not show any excess for all causes and all tumours in both genders. Statistically significant excesses for hospital admission from stomach cancer among males (49 observed, 38 expected) and females (42 observed, 28 expected), and from lymphohematopoietic tumours among females, particularly from lymphatic leukaemia (15 observed, 5 expected), were observed. As mortality analysis highlighted, also hospital admissions by geothermal areas and gender showed a worst picture in SGA than in NGA. In the latter, a significant excess of hospital admissions from all causes among females (1,357 observed, 1,284 expected) but not among males (1,193 observed, 1,141 expected) and an excess - close to statistical significance - from all tumours only among females (297 observed; 272 expected) were observed. Furthermore, statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions from digestive system diseases in both genders (M: 392 observed, 350 expected; F: 300 observed, 268 expected), from dementias (16 observed, 8 expected) and from lympho hematopoietic cancers among females, particularly from lymphatic leukaemia (9 observed, 2 expected), were observed. In the SGA, statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions for stomach cancer (M: 32 observed, 21 expected, not significant after adjusting by DI; F: 29 observed, 18 expected), for respiratory diseases (M: 408 observed, 351 expected; F: 339 observed, 277 expected) and for renal failure (M: 61 observed, 41 expected; F: 52 observed, 34 expected) were observed in both genders. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

In the past economics ignored the limits of natural resources. In the last few years a new methodological approach comes into economics improving the comprehension of the economic phenomena linked to the satisfaction of the needs of modern man that basic considers the quality of life. The objective of this research is to define the theoretical and methodological aspects of a sustainable economy pointing out the reasons and the grounds on which to build an environmental policy. This one has to consider either the economic matters or the environmental sensitivity of people. This research is divided into three parts. The first one defines the outlines of the sustainable economy and its characteristic features. The second one emphasizes the necessity of replacing the concept of sustainable development instead of development and growth. At last, the third part identifies the basic lines into which the environmental policy has to be realized defining its reasons, its foundations and its valuation systems. Aestimum, Aestimum 47 (2005)

Abbiamo di fronte a noi, con la crescita della “Sharing Economy” (anche denominata economia della condivisione), un “nuovo paradigma economico”: una visione e un approccio nuovi per comprendere l’economia e il mondo. Per i bibliotecari, la sharing economy investe proprio tutte le ragioni e i compiti della loro professione, con particolare riguardo alle caratteristiche di mutualità, di rafforzamento del tessuto relazionale della comunità, di aumento delle possibilità di accesso alla educazione e alla cultura. Nel contesto attuale bisogna sottolineare questo approccio economico per guadagnare efficienza nel consumo dei beni e per una migliore gestione dei beni comuni, che s’intreccia con quello oggi tanto importante della tutela dell’ambiente. La biblioteca deve sviluppare nuove capacità con l’obiettivo di fornire risposte tempestive e puntuali sia ai cittadini che alle istituzioni, soprattutto quando si tratta di risolvere i problemi della comunità. We have before us, with the growth of the "Sharing Economy" (also called the sharing economy), a "new economic paradigm": a new vision and approach to understand the economy and the world. For librarians, the sharing economy involves all the reasons and tasks of their profession, with particular regard to the characteristics of mutuality, strengthening the relational fabric of the community, increasing the possibilities of access to education and culture. In the current context, it is necessary to emphasize this economic approach to gain efficiency in the consumption of goods and for better management of common goods, which is intertwined with the one that is so important today of environmental protection. The library must develop new capabilities with the aim of providing timely responses to both citizens and institutions, especially when it comes to solving community problems. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement n°734855.

An internship period spent in the north of Morocco kingdom (Tetouan) gave a contribute to the organization activity in promoting sustainable development in the rural areas under the Kyoto Protocol. The multitasking project will increase biodiversity planting trees for wood, forage and fruits productions. The paper show a first step study to evaluate the possibility to reach an agreement with the propriety and the manager of these areas in a multifunctional reforestation project. The eligible site suitable for reforestation in accordance with the CDM international scheme is a large plateau (more than 5000 hectares) 600 meters high on the sea level far from the Cannabis crops area. The evaluation of the project costs and of the social benefits for the population consider (using different species) the indigenous communities necessity. The evaluation of carbon sequestration show the small scale of the reforestation project on behalf of the Kyoto Protocol, but give also an idea about the people rights and necessities. The normal afforestation and reforestation projects, under the Kyoto Protocol, try to maximize the CO2 sequestration in a short time, than business laws usually require. A small scale project could be self-managing, less expensive (international certification costs) and more interesting for local communities.

The research moves from the current global and local context and from shared development strategies. From the observation and the analysis of contemporary environmental and energy issues and redefined directions of growth of human activity, it is addressing the question of environmental sustainability and energy conservation of building hospital systems. The work has developed a field survey relating the specific topic of energy saving and efficiency of the Park Hospital in the Italian Lombardy Region. This has been articulated in a diagnosis of technology and efficiency of regional hospitals, implemented through a census, and in a subsequent identification of interventional cases, in order to show its economic, environmental and health performance of the energy efficiency consumption and the environmentally sound.

This work was carried out by a consortium of agencies and research institutes, in order to obtain indications on water demand and adaptation of irrigation management of important Italian crops in the coming decades, in the light of climatic scenarios provided by the Agroscenari project. The main results obtained regard integration and improvement of the Criteria crop water balance model and its use to evaluate future irrigation needs of crops like permanent meadows, maize, wheat, tomato, kiwifruit and citrus crops in diverse northern and southern Italy environments. We also developed and implemented an example of "climate service" for early crop classification and seasonal summer irrigation need forecasting in Emilia-Romagna.

The model of co-operative development, which has been the leading idea in the 80s, is now going through a crisis because of its bad results. As a consequence it gives room to more complex and integrated models, such as those of human, participative and sustainable development. Some assumptions underliying it are still valuable, however a major role is now supposed to be played by the interested people, in the framework of Programs suitable to each country. This should be integrated, coherent, well coordinate and must have well defined goals. The interplay between the ideas of development and co-operation will give rise to the way to governance and democracy to be followed. Such process must promote justice and equity and set high value to the people. L’idea di cooperazione allo sviluppo prevalente negli anni Ottanta è entrata in crisi a seguito dei disastrosi risultati conseguiti, lasciando spazio a concetti più articolati e integrati quali quelli di sviluppo umano, partecipativo, sostenibile... Benché restino ancora validi alcuni presupposti strategici di quella visione, un ruolo fondamentale spetta alla partecipazione della popolazione interessata all’interno di auspicati Programmi Paese integrati, coerenti, ben coordinati e finalizzati negli obiettivi. Nella declinazione dei concetti di sviluppo e di cooperazione determinante risulterà l’opzione di governance e di democrazia che si vorranno perseguire all’interno di processi che effettivamente promuovano la persona, la giustizia e l’equità. La idea de cooperación al desarrollo que prevaleció en los años Ochenta ha entrado en crisis después de los desastrosos resultados, dando paso a conceptos más complejos e integrados, tales como el desarrollo humano, participativo, sostenible. Aunque sean validos algunos de los supuestos estratégicos de aquella visión, juega un papel fundamental la participación de la población interesada dentro de Programas País, integrados, coherentes, bien organizados y finalizados en los objetivos. En la declinación de los conceptos de desarrollo y de cooperación será fundamental la opción de la gobernabilidad y de la democracia que se quieren seguir dentro de los procesos que en realidad promueven a la persona, la justicia y la equidad.