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Circularity for all? "There is a real risk of it becoming a privilege for the rich".
Circularity for all? "There is a real risk of it becoming a privilege for the rich".
“If I just look at my courtyard , three of my neighbors have an electric car" , says Christian Patermann, long-time program director at the European Commission and now internationally known as the “father of the bioeconomy”.
How the pandemic highlighted bioplastic benefits
How the pandemic highlighted bioplastic benefits
Even though people increasingly recognise the plastic pollution threat, we have used more plastic since the covid-19 pandemic began .
Back to nature: how green solutions are reshaping city landscapes
Back to nature: how green solutions are reshaping city landscapes
In his song ‘ Concrete Jungle ’, the reggae legend Bob Marley sang wistfully about being trapped in a dense and oppressive urban environment ‘where the living is hardest’, all the while longing for the ‘sweet life’.
Passports to defend the rights of the building materials
Passports to defend the rights of the building materials
What if the house of the future could be built, dissasembled and rebuilt, as if it were made of LEGO? This is one of the solutions that experts in the building sector have imagined in order to fight climate change.
Recycled construction waste: building a more sustainable future
Recycled construction waste: building a more sustainable future
In the southern Belgian province of Namur, concrete and bricks from demolished buildings are being turned into eco-friendly road surfaces.
Bioplastics: use and misuse
Bioplastics: use and misuse
When dealing with bioplastics, definitions like “biobased”, “biodegradable” and “compostable” can generate confusion among consumers : this affects the way these materials are dealt with after use, resulting in a problematic waste management process.
High-tech and low-cost solutions to handle urban waste
High-tech and low-cost solutions to handle urban waste
Low-cost interventions, big data analysis and new regulations on landfills are key factors for the smart management of waste in cities.
The cost of blackouts in Europe
The cost of blackouts in Europe
In January 2005, a severe storm swept across Northern Europe, from Ireland to Russia. More than 500,000 homes were left without power, with Denmark and Southern Sweden being particularly hard-hit.
Alan O’Connor - Taming nature’s wild character
Alan O’Connor - Taming nature’s wild character
Flash floods in Central Europe in 2002 damaged hundreds of roads, caused electricity failures, contaminated clean water and cost an estimated €150 billion in damage .
Greater granularity on anthropogenic emission
Greater granularity on anthropogenic emission
Anthropogenic emissions have, until now, been collected, but not harmonised . These consist, for example, of data of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, smog, methane, CO 2 and even pollen and dust produced, among others by heavy industry and power plants.
Bitumen roofing can be recycled… but isn’t
Bitumen roofing can be recycled… but isn’t
Bitumen, the sticky, gooey black stuff you sometimes see oozing out of hot road surfaces, is a valuable binding agent. Not only in road building. But also in construction and in the production of roofing materials.
More forest biodiversity for less money?
More forest biodiversity for less money?
Making decisions related to forest conservation is no mean feat. Particularly, when a cost/benefit analysis is combined with integrating social and institutional impact at local and national scale.
When recycling equates with quality raw materials
When recycling equates with quality raw materials
Twenty five years ago, the German chemist Michael Braungart developed a new approach to recycling, now called "Cradle to Cradle" or "C2C" after the book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, which he and the American architect William McDonough published in 2002.
Sheltering rising population from storm water
Sheltering rising population from storm water
Storm water is a critical consideration in managing urban water , as it influences the risks of flooding. Unfortunately, a global rise in urban population means that water management in urban areas is now under strain.
More Crops per Drop!
More Crops per Drop!
A solution is much needed to fight droughts and preserve crops. Researchers have now developed a device capable of checking the humidity in the soil, and releasing irrigation water as needed – just enough without wasting it .
Could gamification enhance biodiversity decision making tools?
Could gamification enhance biodiversity decision making tools?
Making decision that may affect the environment is not that simple. For example, if a EU policy maker believes that biofuels can reduce CO 2 emissions.
Sorting plastic waste: a magnetic game
Sorting plastic waste: a magnetic game
More than one third of the total plastic production in Europe—about 14 million tonnes per year—are polyolefins, also known as polyalkenes.
Climate proof sea defences with a green twist
Climate proof sea defences with a green twist
Coastal areas offer great challenges when balancing the need to protect natural habitats, with the requirement of human and economic activities . Dikes, for example, may not constitute the solutions of the future.
Floor Brouwer: gathering environmental scientists and land use policy makers
Floor Brouwer: gathering environmental scientists and land use policy makers
Floor Brouwer is a researcher at the LEI research institute of Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands. The institute develops economic expertise and gives political advice in the agrofood sector and the living environment.
Strong resistance to making people think green
Strong resistance to making people think green
How can policymakers change the way people think? This is what the InContext project, funded by the EU, hopes to answer. Leading European research institutions in the fields of transition, behaviour and sustainable development are trying to create a manual for change.
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