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Wearing wood for a low-carbon life
Wearing wood for a low-carbon life
“Wood may be present in people’s life more than we think”, says Mariana Hassegawa, a researcher at the European Forest Institute . She is one of the authors of a case study on new wood-based products by the BioMonitor EU project.
What about GMOs in our homes?
What about GMOs in our homes?
One of the main contributors of CO 2 emissions are the homes we live in. In the EU, buildings are responsible for 36% of CO 2 emissions and 40% of energy consumption.
Energy back in local hands
Energy back in local hands
Across Europe, town and city councils are becoming increasingly interested in energy decentralisation , i.e. in producing power closer to where it is consumed.
Social, green, but primarily as an investment: all the features of energy crowdfunding
Social, green, but primarily as an investment: all the features of energy crowdfunding
There are three ways a crowdfunding project can be financed. Lending: the entrepreneurs borrow money and pay interest; equity: investors in the project become its shareholders; donations: no reward is to be expected (there is a fourth way, a mix of equity and lending called “hybrid”).
Smart grid: A grid suitable for renewable energy
Smart grid: A grid suitable for renewable energy
Traditionally our electricity grids were designed to move power from large nuclear and fossil fuel power plants to consumers, but renewable energy will see changes to allow smaller power generation from wind and solar to be hooked up to the grid.
Organic by-product derived biochar, a greener option
Organic by-product derived biochar, a greener option
Biochar and compost are of interest to agriculture. Particularly, when it comes to meet the goal of reducing mineral fertilisers and chemicals use.
When energy-saving becomes a game
When energy-saving becomes a game
Householders do not always know how much energy they consume. To help improve their awareness, the EnergyLife app was developed through BeAware , a EU funded project, led by the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT), in Finland.
Heat trading warms up
Heat trading warms up
Liberalising the heat market is, in theory, possible. It would operate in the same way that enables owners of domestic-scale wind turbines, or any other electricity producer, to sell surplus into the grid and draw power from the network.
Ridding our diet of noxious substances
Ridding our diet of noxious substances
British porridge, Dutch pea soup snert, Italian risotto or Spanish paella are only a small sample of the diversity of diets across Europe .
Specialized invisible needles make us see surfaces at the nanoscale
Specialized invisible needles make us see surfaces at the nanoscale
A cantilever is a very thin single needle currently used for quality control at the nanoscale, but to improve and speed up the process scientists are developing an array of needles, a cantilever array, functioning simultaneously.
Will the fuel cell vehicle live up to all the hype?
Will the fuel cell vehicle live up to all the hype?
To reduce the vehicle impact on the environment many companies are introducing new technology. Fuel cells came into the spotlight last year when leading vehicle manufacturers said they expect to introduce a few hundred thousand fuel cell vehicles (FCV’s) to the market beginning in 2015.