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Dirty Streaming: The Carbon Footprint of the Internet
Any activity we carry out on the Internet has its environmental footprint, a footprint that grows with more intensive data consumption such as watching series or movies or online gaming. All this requires the support of data centers that consume a large amount of energy that, at the moment, is obtained mainly from fossil fuels….
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The insurrection of the establishment
The need to include a new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), that of “attitudinal change”, has been mentioned for some time. Change of attitude regarding coexistence, values, the development model, and, ultimately, about any human action that ends up having an impact on the Environment. It seems that the 18th ODS has arrived in a somewhat…
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Mortality from COVID-19 in relation to NO2 concentration
Until now, the available data linking air pollution to increased mortality from COVID-19 was limited. However, a recent investigation has shown the percentage of deaths from COVID-19 based on the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in different regions of Spain, Italy, France and Germany. The study reveals that 78% of deaths from COVID-19 have occurred in…
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Tactical urban planning: materializing the right to the city
The right to the city is a basic concept that claims the right to make use of a public space, sufficient and safe for all citizens. A space that is accessible in an inclusive way and can meet the needs of different population groups, whether they are young people, infants, the elderly, migrants and other…
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The Donut Economy
British economist Kate Raworth (Oxford Environmental Institute) has proposed an alternative approach to the idea of impossibly infinite growth that has prevailed since the 20th century: the Donut Economy. In the Donut Economy, the challenge is to figure out how to meet the needs of all people—from food and housing to access to health or…
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How has the air quality of our cities improved due to the state of alarm?
This graph shows how the concentrations of NO2 in the atmosphere of four Basque capitals have been reduced due to the confinement. The stations directed to traffic (blue) and the average of all the stations are analyzed network of measuring stations (green). All capitals reduce their average NO2 concentration between 40 and 54%. Gasteiz is…
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Rediscovering the right to the city in times of coronavirus
As if it were a Kafkaesque novel, one day you wake up and you look out over the open street from the balcony. The rustling of the leaves is heard of the trees and the chirping of sparrows. Not a car. Not a bustle in the city. You take a breath of fresh air to…
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Post-coronavirus society: rebound or decoupling effect?
Jevons paradox or rebound effect: An increase in the efficiency of the consumption of a resource may not decrease the consumption of that resource, but rather increase it. Economic intuition tells us that the improvement of efficiency (for example, energy) allows people to use less of that resource. However, the Jevons paradox – so named…
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European capital of innovation award
The European Commission has opened the deadline to present nomination for the European Capital of Innovation Award 2020. The purpose of the prize is to reward the most innovative urban ecosystem whose practices serve as a reference model. Cities that have developed and implemented innovative policies; they have facilitated citizen participation in the search for…
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Earth Hour in the coronavirus crisis
The WWF invites us today, as every last Saturday in March, to participate in Earth Hour, symbolically turning off the lights to reflect on our carbon footprint and what it means for the health of the Earth and those of us who inhabit it in her. The appointment comes this year, as is evident, in…