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Cities & Coasts

Yes. You can feel one degree

The human body can perceive a one-degree difference in air temperature, although most of us not aware of this sensitivity. Experiments conducted in EURAC climatic chambers contributes sheding light on the reasons why climate change awareness is so hard to reach and how psychology can offer new strategies to moderate heat stress. Because “we cannot talk about problems involving humans without understanding how humans work”. An interview with psychologist Laura Battistel.

green city

The cities of the future

Skyscrapers made of bamboo. Green roofs. Smart glass. Houses that are cool in summer and warm in winter without burning through loads of energy. All around the world, the future of cities and urbanization looks to bring smarter, more energy-efficient, healthier buildings to the urban environment. An unattainable utopia or simply a necessity in a rapidly urbanizing world that needs to find sustainable solutions to the cities of the future?

Information saves lives

Accurate, timely, and reliable: the availability and management of information in an emergency are crucial to reduce damages and improve recovery efforts. With Chiara Menchise, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, we explore the world of information technologies applied to disaster risk reduction, including social media, remote sensing, satellite imageries and Artificial Intelligence.

Moving mining back to Europe

EU clean energy targets will need 35 times more lithium and seven to 26 times the amount of rare earth metals in 2050 compared with today. Critical raw materials are a key ingredient in any green transition, but now the question is: can mining go hand in hand with nature protection laws?

What is environmental intelligence?

It can leverage new technologies including artificial intelligence and machine learning to greatly improve the selection, processing and use of the vast amounts of climate data we currently have. The result? More informed and effective decision making from the local to the global level. Scientists, startuppers and representatives of EU institutions dialogue on funding opportunities, innovation and applications.

Artificial Intelligence: the future of the science-policy interface is here

“When you are involved in making decisions on critical issues, such as managing a given climate emergency, operational value of forecasts guides you towards more impactful decisions.” Andrea Castelletti walks us through some of the most exciting developments in climate science and how Artificial Intelligence is opening a new frontier in the scientific process.

An explosive affair: volcanoes and climate

The year without a summer showed the world how volcanoes can affect climate with severe consequences on human societies and economies. Today – while climate deniers use eruptions as a tool with which to cloud the truth about anthropogenic causes of climate change – volcanoes remain important monitors of “our impacts on the climate (which) are so large they even have the potential to affect volcanic eruptions themselves”.

Growing the new green commons

Urbanization has altered the way cities and the people that inhabit them interact with nature. In countries such as Japan, where high levels of urbanization and a rapidly aging population is leading to abandoned spaces in cities, there is a unique chance to reimagine the role of urban green spaces. “How we design green urban spaces is key for both human and planetary wellbeing,” says urban ecosystem development expert Juan Pastor Ivars.

vertical farming

Is the future of farming vertical?

Efficient, resilient and future proof or wasteful, energy intensive and prohibitively expensive? To some the future of food production lies in indoor vertical farms, where food is grown locally and in controlled environments that are resilient to the fast changing outside world. Others are not buying into the hype.

Heatwave

Are we ready for Europe’s winter warmland?

The news is record-breaking temperature. Media coverage swings from talk of “astonishing luck”, to alarm and concern from those who look at the bigger picture, identifying heatwave’s impacts on health, ecosystems and the economy. The point is: are we able to connect the dots between the energy crisis, climate change and increasing extreme events? From the New York Times to the Washington Post, from the Guardian to the most influential scientists on social media, a review of the temperature anomalies affecting Europe and beyond.

Flood and drought: Two sides of the same coin

From mid-June to the end of August 2022, Pakistan experienced record-breaking rainfall which led to unprecedented flooding in much of the country. This came off the back of a deadly heatwave just months before with peak temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius. What do these seemingly contrasting events have in common? “Extreme event attribution” helps scientists identify if there are human fingerprints on these extreme events.