Farmville really exists! Be a Cyber-farmer

by Annalisa Tancredi

Once in his life anyone thought of leaving everyday life to start a new one in the country, growing sweet plants in his own garden. How many people would prefer to pick fruits and seed tomatoes rather than wriggle out of shelves and shopping carts to the rhythm of cash beeping?

Grow the Planet is a new social network, the Farmville of the real world, bound to become the new mean for sharing experiences among agriculture’s lovers and among those who want to transform a balcony into a mini-greenhouse for vegetables. The project is made in Italy and has been already approved by H-Farm, italian venture incubator, which has invested 70 thousand dollars in it. The portal was launched during TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, the most important competition for web startups.

Users can improve agricultural skills using a set of tools: on-line planning their garden, consulting vegs information sheets, exchanging tips and sharing demo video; they can also monitor the climate for protecting their greens in case of occasional showers.

In addition, the geolocalization of the garden has an added value for cyber farmers because it allows them not only to cultivate friendships and join in local communities to exchange seeds and vegetables, but also to get closer to potential customers, promoting the direct producer-consumer relationship, and facilitating the creation of joint purchasing groups.

"Grow the Planet is all about helping the home farmer, either expert or beginner, to build up their own garden. We would like to show how fun and easy is for everyone to grow organic vegetables on their own, in order to enjoy better food while doing something good for the environment" explains Gianni Gaggiani, the founder.

Grow the Planet highlights the need for the social networks for an evolutionary leap towards qualification in sector: users targeted, specialized contents and greater connection to real life. Eating healthy food "made in my garden", in fact, is good both for people’s health and for safeguarding the food chain and the biodiversity of our planet.

“It’s time to grow up and make a better world”… with rakes and mouse!

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INFOPO: a river to navigate on!

by Eleonora Anello

These days rivers seem to have been forgotten by citizens, except for when they make a comeback due to their levels rising dangerously or black oil spills staining their fresh water.

So the rivers which cross many urban centers, become the protagonists of different environmental communication campaigns (some of them clearly fanciful such as the Big Jump). There are also initiatives that contribute little less spectacularly to rivers’ revival and to their promotion as public spaces to be exploited in a sustainable way. As the Infopo internet portal, opened in June 2009 and completely renovated this year in July.

Conceived and designed as an instrument of information and analysis on river’s life and places, its pages provide information, data, photos and movies, book reviews and references.

We ask Daniele di Domenico, head of the project, how are the things going...
«From the mails and comments we have received, we notice that Infopo has aroused much interest among the people even not using up the whole Web interactivity. We had peaks of interest during the environmental disaster which struck the Lambro river (and thus the Po) last year, because of the oil spill. Typically, these events raise a lot the population’s attention, making them demanding clear answers».

Why do you choose a website?
«CIDIEP, the structure which promotes the project, is in the field of information and education on environmental issues affecting the Po basin. From 2007 we promote projects in partnership with schools and local governments in order to encourage citizens’ participation to local governments’ decision processes. Working on such a big area (from Piedmont to the Delta of the Po river) we thought that a website could facilitate movements of information and help sharing experiences between far realities. Moreover, by a web-based analysis, we noticed that there were no spaces for grouping simple environmental information for public. There were just sites and portals managed by technical organizations and then professionals addressed. So we tried to work through the portal as CIDIEP used to do in field: we translated into plain and accessible language the information we obtained directly from authoritative sources such as authorities, environmental agencies, local governments, etc…».

Are you satisfied of your work?
«Well ... There is still much to do. It takes time before the network is aware that you exist and recognizes the website as a reference point, as a place where you can find information and ask questions and instances. Despite the crisis which is sweeping our country and considering the means at our disposal, we are pleased of the results we are getting».

A preview for our readers?
«At the moment we can just say that we are using Infopo as a support tool for concrete actions to activate across the territory».

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Envi.info joined Facebook

The environmental communication and the social networks have changed our interpersonal relationships. Constantly looking for new solutions for spreading out its editorial contents, even the Italian version of Envi.info landed on Facebook. The new social version enables visitors to read the news of the journal on our the Facebook page.

If you want to keep yourself updated, just visit our Fanpage and click "I like". You can do it straight from the side. So you’ll become a fan and you will not miss any news! You will also meet other enthusiasts about environmental communication and environment and take part in our discussions!

Stay up to date. Put in the network editorial contents, best practices, images and video. Propose us environmental initiatives and communication campaigns. Help us to grow up our community with a lot of click on "I like" and suggesting Envi.info page to your contacts! See you there!

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Movie stars for UN

by Annalisa Tancredi

It's hard not to hear a humanitarian appeal when its deliverer is a Hollywood star. What celebrities say or do seems to be more authoritative and truthfully and is able to effectively inspire selective attention and to influence people’s behaviours. This time Antonio Banderas, actor and leading personality of the international movie scene, appears on the screen playing the part of Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), to deliver an urgent appeal on food crisis in the Horn of Africa.

On July 29 the UN raised alert to all nations over the worst famine of the last 60 years. In Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia people are forced to flee towards camps because of drought, famine, conflict and prices rising. 20% of families is facing a serious food shortage, more than 30% of people suffer from severe malnutrition and the daily mortality rate is about 2 over 10,000. Children are dying of starvation and thirst and the UN Deputy Secretary Asha-Rose Migiro stated that "The future of an entire generation is at risk."

One of the causes of thirst is global warming, that affects oceans’ temperatures and changes the pattern of rainfall (ENSO - El Niño-Southern Oscillation). It’s a matter of fact that the warming of the Indian Ocean, due to greenhouse gases emissions, caused the decrease of rainfall in the Horn of Africa areas.

In these dire situations, Goodwill Ambassadors use their fame to boost the requests for help and to highlight these issues to media and public. The popularity of the Ambassadors and the consideration the target has placed in them help to make the message effective. The more popular they are, the more powerful the message will be.

The social and environmental communication campaigns, aimed at raising awareness and mobilizing the masses on public interest issues, need ambassadors for winning a dual challenge: to field all possible creative resources to awaken a general public who is accustomed to alarmist media and to introduce attractive means to communicate social plans.

This is Antonio Banderas’ appeal: «Across the Horn of Africa, is taking place the worst food crisis in the world. Drought, conflicts and high food prices have left people starving. Hundreds of thousands of them have left their homes, walking for weeks in search of food. More than 12 million people are in desperate needs and the number grows by the day. The United Nations are working to save their lives and to help them to get back to their lands. We too are working to make people more prepared to face this kind of crisis. So life is not lost yet and they can keep making a living. Me even, as Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Development Programme I am getting involved in this plan and I hope you will do the same. By responding now we can make the difference».

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The future? Renewable

by Eleonora Anello

Today the Google’s Doodle in Italy is dedicated to renewable energy. The six letters which compose the name of the most famous search engine in the world have been transformed in green energy’s symbols. Its authors are students of Borgo Rosselli’s Primary School in Porto San Giorgio (Centre Italy), winners of “L’Italia tra 150 anni” art contest.

With more than 20.000 votes “Avanti con energia!” won the contest, focusing on sustainable energetic technologies like wind and solar power, that are weel-adapted to our country’s features. We hope they can be used for more than 150 years and over. In the meanwhile we save this hopeful Doddle on our pc!

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“A piedi nudi nel verde”: an interesting book against the deficit of environmental policy

by Silvia Musso

Are you local administrators, educators or simply parents? Do you think the city where you live is not human-sized? Do you think your children need green spaces where playing and being free? In brief, do you feel a "nature deficit" and would you like to know how to change this reality toward more sustainable urban forms?

A piedi nudi nel verde. Giocare per imparare a vivere (“Barefoot in nature. Playing to learn to live” by Giunti Editore) is a book where you can find useful insights, interesting examples and an extensive bibliography and site links on the relationship between childhood play and nature.

The two authors, the philosopher of science Albertina Oliverio and developmental psychologist Anna Oliverio Ferraris, have been engaged years in the defence of urban environments to meet the needs of any citizen, especially children. We contacted them to figure out through their observations what the book specifically is.

Which is the aim of the book and its main target?
«These days lifestyle is not suitable for children growing needs. While activity is essential to children wellness, obesity among youths is dramatically increasing due to sedentariness. Children are exposed to several stimuli that accelerate their growth preventing them to spontaneously develop their mental attitude through games. There is a relationship, scientifically proven, between the lack of free playing in childhood and anxiety and depression in adolescence. If these days children play much less than a few decades ago, is because meeting spaces have slowly disappeared, roads have become very dangerous, parents are more concerned and anxious than their grandparents were and in consumer society children are considered just like small adults rather than kids. With this book, we speak to teachers, administrators and citizens. It is important to give children back those spaces and those times they need. Too many children today are overweight because they move little and obesity is increasing among adolescents. Too many children are not engaged in anything could give them pleasure and which contribute to the development of sociability and intelligence. Children build up their personality interacting with peers, taking initiatives and using imagination. Playing together is learning to make decisions, solve problems, exercise self-control, regulate emotions, respect the rules, find compromises, all in a cheerful and optimistic atmosphere».

In the book you refer to a kind of commercial communication that often degrades outdoor life, play and movement. Are there special forms of communication and media which may convey environmental sustainable messages concerning childhood and education?
«Media could send this kind of messages. If they do not, it is because they just follow business. Think of the incredible number of commercials broadcasted every day, even in children programs. It is good to know that in several European countries inserting commercial advertisements in children programs (from Norway to Greece ...) is not permitted because of the power of persuasion and manipulation that may have commercial messages. But advertising is not the only guilty. Many entertainment programs send messages morally harmful or full of anxiety trying to keep viewers "glued" to the screen. Gossip broadcasts are offensive to children: many, however, watch them with their parents».

Among the numerous stimuli and examples presented throughout chapters, in several occasions you refer to the importance of citizens involvement in cities administrative life. What do you mean by that?
«Children are citizens like anybody else, even if they do not vote. But they cannot defend their rights, so adults have to be strongly involved in their welfare, women in particular. Experience teaches us that when women have public administrations roles, children's civil rights are safeguarded. Northern European countries, where women hold political offices as an equal to men, we find the highest attention to children and adolescents as well as the largest number of initiatives to make cities more "green" and livable. Even in Italy we have some good cases, but there is still not a widespread awareness of these issues».

Envi strongly recommends reading this book we can call "militant": it is a text full of relevant messages for a sustainable present and future of our children, that we hope can be spread as much as possible.

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U4energy, schools compete to save energy!

by Francesca Morra

Can you teach students good habits in terms of saving energy? Can they learn to respect the environment by implementing small or big tricks? Can pupils and teachers together strengthen efforts in raising awareness of who is in and around schools? These are the challenges met by U4energy, pan-European contest devoted to energy education, organized by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme and managed by Europan Schoolnet.

The competition involved 27 European Union member states, including Norway, Croatia, Iceland and Liechtenstein, with a total enrollment of 1,489 schools with 477 initiatives spread throughout Europe. In Italy were 3 schools for category A (students had the opportunity to design and implement an energy saving plan to reduce energy consumption in their schools); 9 for category B (this category is only intended for teachers, they have had the opportunity to present their lessons on energy efficiency at school having available methods, educational materials and teaching resources); and 10 for category C (led by teachers students have organized a campaign to increase awareness in their school making videos, posters, postcards and other communication material).

The European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger underlined the importance of these issues in his speech duruìing the opening of the competition, which took place in September: “I am sure that through their commitment, their innovative spirit and creativity, students and teachers make U4energy an excellent platform to share skills and knowledge in the field of education and intelligent use of energy in Europe ". He also showed how students and teachers have a critical role when it comes to awareness. This, together with an extensive communicative action, makes the project a great place for kids to communicate energy saving when they facing a world increasingly energy-intensive, needing a deep awareness of the impact that the immoderate consumption have on the planet.

The winners of each category were selected by a jury composed of competent persons in the field of environmental issues and energy saving. The awards ceremony will be held in October in conjunction with the "3 days for school" with the participation of other five countries: Austria, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia, Czechoslovakia. Other ceremonies will be organized in multinational Lithuania, Bulgaria and Portugal; in Europe, the winners will gain international visibility in a high-level awards ceremony to be held in Brussels, where students and teachers will also visit the headquarters of the European Parliament. Waiting to see the winners we can keep in touch with schools and organizers by visiting the Facebook page.

This is a way of teaching good environmental practices, that start and arrive from schools to overcome the energy challenges of next years!

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New look for Envi.info

After some weeks of vacation, Envi.info is back with many interesting innovations for its readers. We spent our holiday changing in appearance and adjusting our layout. Now we hope our long-standing friends appreciate all this novelties. Notwithstanding we liked our “old version”, we modified it trying to make it cooler and up-to-date, like our articles though. Besides the homepage didn’t change: on the left you can find as usual the editorial, and in that section during the next weeks we’ll post also many environmental-communication leaders’ new articles and opinions. In the center section there are the latest news on environmental communication and in-depth reports of the most recent events of the autumn, like Ecomondo in Ravenna (from November 9 to 12), ACR+ General Assembly (in Genoa for the first time on the 26 and 27 of October) and the European Week for Waste Reduction (from November 19 to 27). What else? Enjoy Envi.info!

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The drama and the fight against asbestos between cinema and the web

by Eleonora Anello

3000 deaths among former workers and ordinary citizens. 20 years in prison each requested by the prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello charged to the senior executives of the multinational Eternit, accused of "intentional disaster and lack of safety measures and precautions". This is the tragic story of one of the greatest environmental crimes at the hands of an industry that knew but kept quiet in the name of profit.

Those of us who take care of daily environmental communication have been very impressed by the fervour and the social cohesion arisen, after 30 years of silence, among the population of the affected areas.

In the intense wish of justice that meanders among the public opinion, art, in its various forms, plead the case, especially since there was the certainty that there are civilian casualties involved, meaning people that have never set foot in 63 Oggero Street, the base of Eternit in Casale. It has thus been seen an unprecedented explosion in information and communication, with the hope that the issue would have gained the proper visibility. And so it was.

One of the pieces most appreciated by audiences and critics is Polvere (dust), whose central theme is the asbestos,. The video-documentary by Niccolò Bruna and Andrea Prandstraller was awarded 2 prizes at the International Festival of Cinemambiente and, in recent days, one prize at the Euganea Film Festival.

The documentary film has drawn by “Asbestos in the dock”, a social networking project born in parallel and operated by Niccolò Bruna for the Association of Asbestos Victims (Afeva) of Casale Monferrato, aiming at highlighting all the heritage of information generated by research and enhancing and extending the message of the international civil battle. «The history of the process is a collective story - the author explains - a story where many people contribute to information and, through their narrative, complement the story. The pristine idea was to make a weekly report about the process and also to collect useful information for the documentary. In a short time, Asbestos in the dock was able to mobilize people who would not have been reached by the mainstream media, because their coverage is limited to the highlights of the process. Internet not only has been instrumental in helping to spread beyond the Italian borders the information needed to keep alive the international mobilization (on 2009 April 6th, the first day of the hearing, many foreign associations were present) but it has also encouraged the participation of the members. Thanks to the web there is indeed the possibility that a different kind of information will reach a better quality and a higher coverage than traditional media. The strength of the project is that it deals with a very specific and local issue; however, that attracts global interest. The media look at the spectacular side and not at the substantial one, but in Turin there is a process that can become a milestone for the issue of corporate social responsibility: it is a symbolic issue even more important than the process itself».

To repeat the eloquent words of the three prosecutors who are handling the case in Turin, it is a "huge disaster" that sees “as main allegorical accused asbestos", but whose devastating effects on workers and citizens are due to the conscious conduct of the two accused, which for years has been based on a single vile and despicable strategy: the non-communication of risks.
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Cambio Climático 2011: Argentina gives hospitality to the thrid Internation Congress on climte changes and sustainbility

by Silvia Musso

Since 8th to 11th August will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the third international conference on climate change, organized by UNLP, the Unidad de Comunicación Institucional Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.

Among the experts who will participate as speakers there will also be Erik Balzaretti, coordinator of the Italian Master in Communication of Sustainability and member of the Scientific Committee of AICA presenting a paper with a certainly intriguing title, "El Calent global, entre el Apocalipsis y el marketing" ("Global warming, between apocalypse and marketing). Envi stuff reached and asked him some questions.

What do you expect from this conference and from the dialogue with other experts?
«Firstly I want to say that the call as an expert in this international conference is an evidence that my work and AICA activity in these years were not in vain but rather of a certain value. Then, you always hope in some new ideas or at least some new points of view that that let the research to advance or to find some partners to work on issues of our interest. My paper, dedicated to the relationship between the media and climate change, is part of a strand devoted to issues of communication and culture and education. Now it seems clear that global warming is real and we need to find "the words to say it" and to prepare a quantitative and qualitative turnaround into the use of energy resources».

Your speech focuses on the collective imagination in the Environmental Communication of climate change. Can you explain briefly what it is?
«At the heart of our society there is not the people but the media. They, through various forms of narration, have taken the task of building our opinions, our hopes, our denials. The social and economic system through the media constructs the identity of each of us and of us all together. A good rhetoric to push for change must keep in mind the collective imagination and act on it if it wants to achieve effective communication. This is valid for climate change, better to say global warming because also the words have a more or less impactful meaning, as with all environmental issues».

In the paper you are presenting , you talk about "Cassandra syndrome that characterizes the environmental information". What do you mean by that?
«How you know Cassandra had received as a gift from Apollo, the ability to predict, but after he had broken his promise the Greek god had revoked the ability to be believed. Information firstly, but also environmental communication in general, suffers from this syndrome: you carry data, and it is expected that the future of humankind will be difficult if you don not decide to change the development system, but the citizens and the institutions find it hard to believe and to take action despite signs are getting stronger».

What should the Environmental Communication linked to climate change do to avoid an ideological interpretation of the data?
«Get out of the impasse of rationality and logic that allows the interpretation of data and relates to the citizen as a clenched fist that forces you to believe and stand up for working with the rhetoric, poetics, and the paradigm of desirability that instead is perceived by citizens as an open hand that caresses and persuades. In this sense, to act on imaginary, even through the most catastrophic one, allows the movements of consciousness and introjection of the subject that does not always you can get on a scientific-rational level. Ours is a society of mass consumption used to be flattered by the rhetoric of goods, including cultural ones, through the language of marketing and advertising. We need to develop emotions, as the rationality is not working».

Environmental communication and climate change: the thems to reflect are definitely numerous. While we are waiting to receive the report of the Professor Balzaretti on his participation at the congress, the debate can be also opened on these pages.
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Go green, but with an eye to the wallet

by Anna de Polo

A recent survey conducted by Accenture ("Revealing the Energy Values ​​of the New Consumer") revealed that 80% of Italians are in favour of choosing an alternative provider for the supply of electricity and energy efficiency programs, as long as this will translate into savings on their bill. Not that there was need for a statistical survey to find out that virtually we all agree to reduce the personal impact on the environment, but in practice we are committed to do so only if it reduces, or at least does not increase, the family costs. For this reason there are many Internet portals that offer practical advices to consumers to direct their purchases towards products that maximize value for money and, at the same time, comply with standards of environment quality.

Among these, one is Topten, an online search tool that allows you to compare various types of electrical equipments and choose the best from the point of view of not only energy efficiency but also the energy cost of the product in its entire lifecycle, as well as of the price, the brand and the aesthetic. The different products are classified into categories (e.g. cars, household appliances, lighting and office equipment) and are selected according to the criteria of energy efficiency, quality and the impact on the environment and health. This allows on one hand to raise consumers awareness about the impact of their energy consumption on climate change, and on the other to encourage companies to improve their energy standards.

Nothing really new in reality: just think of the energy labelling scheme (eco-labelling), which has so far proved to be a useful tool for consumers and effective for the environment, thanks to its high potential for energy savings. The new EU directive on eco-label has introduced several new novelties, including the requirement for energy labelling of TVs. The eco-label also becomes mandatory in case of direct sales, rental and also in distance selling, i.e. on internet. This legislation is part of the energy plan of the European Union, which is introducing more and more rules to achieve the target of 20% for energy efficiency by 2020. On 22nd June they proposed a new European directive that combines into a single legal instrument the earlier directives on the management of energy supply and final energy consumption. "Our proposal aims to make more efficient the ways to use energy in our daily lives - said Gϋnther Oetinger, European Commissioner for Energy - and to help citizens, public authorities and industry to improve managing energy consumption. This should also lead to reduced energy bills".

In conclusion, if on one side consumers are proving willing to engage more '"green" behaviours, on the other the energy suppliers and manufacturers are more and more stimulated, precisely because of this trend, to improve the energy efficiency of their products, thanks also to EU incentives. It remains to be seen whether this situation will trigger a virtuous cycle that will allow achieving the goal of 2020, from which for now Europe is still far away.
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Greenpeace viral campaign with not very virile testimonials

by Eleonora Anello



A banner unfurled on the facade of the Mattel headquarters in El Segundo (California) and 6 arrests were the highlights of the new global campaign against deforestation, Greenpeace signed. With that billboard the activists have voiced Ken, who said "I give up. I don’t date girls that are accomplice in deforestation." The accusations are directed to the multinational company of toy and especially to Barbie, one of the best-selling dolls in the world, guilty of being marketed with packaging supplied by the industries responsible for the environmental disaster that is hitting especially Indonesia.

The blitz has officially broken the famous “plastic couple” and was preceded by the publication by the environmental organization (nearly 3 million members in 41 countries worldwide) of the report "Toying in extinctions", where it is shown that Mattel has established commercial relationships in the supply of packaging with Asia Pulp & Paper, a Singapore company of the Sinar Mas Group, which bought large areas of rainforest to get paper to sell at cheap prices. The APP defends itself saying that the packaging is produced with 96% recycled material, with the goal of reaching 100% by 2015.

The Greenpeace action is carried out on several fronts, preferring Internet and social media. In the first three days of the campaign, more than 700,000 people have seen the video interview, translated into 18 languages, where an unmanly Ken learns with dismay about the activities of his girlfriend and decides to break up with her.

To put pressure on the big U.S. brand in order to force it to revise his choices in the packaging industry, Greenpeace used mail bombing. On its site you can send a message to the CEO of Mattel with few simple clicks. And users seem to have appreciated: Mattel said it has received 83,000 e-mails of protest, but Greenpeace says that the mails sent from its servers were 200,000.

The war is viral and therefore runs mainly through the social media and the boycott has taken on such a vast scale that Mattel was forced to lock the comments and deleted any reference of the rainforests on the Facebook page of Barbie, more than 2 million followers. Those who want to join the protest are invited to take away "like" Barbie from the page and change the image of their profile with that of a sulky Ken.

On the Twitter front, in a short time, Barbie and Ken have become Trending Topics, and there are also parody-profiles of @Barbie and @Ken_talks arguing about deforestation.

In fact, Greenpeace has played on the recent reconciliation of the couple who monopolizes the games of millions of children. Has Ken made the right choice? And will Barbie stop deforesting the world? At present Mattel said it would immediately change its supplies, while Greenpeace expects an official document.

The campaign is brilliant and very funny; the media from all over the world talked about it, but, despite the great success, there is someone who just can not get a laugh. They are the feminist and gay committees who accused of sexism the action of Greenpeace. Besides, even Ken comes wrapped with the same materials of Barbie and he too is represented as a bit hysterical and booby gay. This part of the public does nothing but asking a legitimate question: can a campaign on environmental protection rely on a sexist message?
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Right information: the class action against Italian public TV

by Silvia Musso

Although it is not strictly environmental communication, it is still a right to information. For this reason Envi’s editorial staff has decided to talk about the initiative launched by Altroconsumo: a compensation action against RAI, Italian public TV.

Altroconsumo, the most common association of consumers in Italy, whose aim is the consumers’ information and protection, is asking in favour of those who paid the yearly fee for the 2010, a compensation of 500 euros for the damage caused by RAI behavior.

In 2010, according to Altroconsumo, Rai has not fulfilled its obligations, recruited through the Public Service Agreement and imposed by law, to give an objective, impartial and balanced information. During the election campaign that preceded the vote in local elections of 28 and 29 March 2010, for example, Rai has some of the main programs of political information and analysis, as Ballarò, Porta a Porta, Anno Zero, Ultima Parola. So one of the main tasks of public service broadcasting - to allow the aware formation of every citizen of their political will - failed.

At the same time, Rai, betraying its role as concessionaire of public service broadcasting, with the primary objective of achieving balanced and impartial information, has recognized some parties spaces greatly superior to those granted to other political formations which have also took part in the election. Behaviour repeatedly sanctioned by Agcom.

Also this year, Rai, near to the last local elections on May, has been repeatedly sanctioned by AGCOM (the last fee to the Tg1 - the television news on first channel - was 258,230 euros, the maximum extent permitted by law as a recurrence) for violation of par condicio law because of the continuing imbalance of time spent by political parties majority than the opposition.

The information campaign to collect membership is quite simple and is based on press releases, interviews and participation in events. On 9th May, for example, a meeting, organized by the National Council of Consumers, was held during the PA Forum at the New Fair of Rome, on the problems and prospects of the "Italian-style class action" to a year and a half after the entry into force of Article 140 bis of Consumer Code.

Specifically Marco Pierani of Altroconsumo spoke of the collective action against the public television and the class action as a means of protection of a wide variety of subjects, but also about the general interest to safeguard the primary right to free, plural and objective information.

Information and news on the class action are available on the website of Altroconsumo. To join you need to call a toll free number. An operator answers and explain how the action works. This first call is used to pre-join. You can give your references and after June 22, the date set for the Judge meeting, those who gave their references will be contacted to explain how to proceed.

The campaign from the communication point of view is not very elaborate and certainly has not used those many innovative diffusion channels that we have seen for the recent environmental campaigns before and after the Italian referendum vote. In any case the initiative promoted by Altroconsumo is having a good result likely thanks to both the theme itself of the class action - the inalienable right to information - and the economic aspect - the compensation of 500 euros.

The success is demonstrated by the number of subscribers who continue to adhere and that appears in the Association home page: more than 40,000. But the number is rapidly growing!
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Referendum campaigns teach bottom up environmental communication

by Silvia Musso

If the institutional public communication does not do its work, people move from the bottom.

In these weeks before the Italian referendum vote of the next 12th and 13th June, in fact it is possible to see real participatory democracy demonstrations.

While the broadcasters and the national media send only some confused message on the next roll, the web is a river full of links, video messages, images, websites etc. aimed at promoting the only instrument of direct democracy that we have in Italy.

If you look a bit, you’ll find a world of various initiatives throughout Italy.

We start from the WWF video campaign “Non farti prendere per il naso. Sono tutte bugie. Sconfiggile andando a votare”("Do not get caught by the nose. They are all lies. Defeat them going to vote"). There are three video messages ("Let's vote yes"; "The lies about the water"; "The lies about nuclear") characterized by the symbol of a long Pinocchio nose. The aim is, in addition to promoting the referendum, "unmask the lies on the water and nuclear" as stated by Stefano Leoni, National President of the Italian WWF in the first video.

On the issue of water privatization, over the referendum campaign "2 yes" for water as common good", launched by the Italian Forum for Public Water, whose Envi has already reported, at the local level have hundreds of initiatives developed. As the one launched by the City of Capannori that has designed and published a video on You Tube. The video has had many views and has attracted strong interest, as evidenced by the comments left by visitors themselves. Some are very appreciative, others, however, stress that it is too populist and naive. But everyone agrees on the importance of communicating the right and duty to vote.

About the question on the nuclear issue, the experience that seems more effective from the communication point of view, is that of 7 young people who have chosen to deprive of liberty for a month and living locked up in a shelter under clear radiation protection rules. Fully sealed and isolated they cannot eat fresh vegetables, cheese, milk, meat or fish. They live according to strict rules of radiation protection protocol provided in the event of a nuclear accident with release of radiation and have only the Internet to communicate with the rest of the world.

«It's an extreme act - as they themselves show on the site - to stress their No to nuclear power and defending the future of all. They will not get out until the referendum will cancel the nightmare of a return to nuclear power in Italy».

Their project, supported by Greenpeace, is called "You are the crazy people" and this slogan does not certainly need further explanation.

The website contains a logbook, ie messages, videos and daily reflections of these young people.
The countdown, day by day, reminds those who visit the site that the date of June 12 is coming and that all responsible citizens are called to answer.

Looking at the world of Facebook and YouTube music videos are multiplying. One of the most effective is "12th June" which some members of famous groups such as Mellow Mood and Africa Unite cooperated.

The refrain "on June, the 12th of June" is almost a mantra that gets in the head and does not let you anymore. A real subliminal message that reminds the listener that on June 12 we can express our right and duty to vote.

The thousands of people who use the social networks can, in addition to share links and videos, change their profile picture with specific messages that invite to vote as "I do not abstain - Battiquorum".

Then, if the quorum will be reached what better occasion to celebrate? Look in your city the barsa, clubs etc. that have joined the initiative “Vuoto a rendere”. On the evenings of the referendum (Sunday 12 and Monday, June 13), to those who will be in the possession of voting card special offers or discounts (amounts and details are at the discretion of managers) will be guaranteed. To obtain the discount you can simply show the stamp that shows the voter turnout.

The organizers of the initiative say: «We and managers of businesses do not care whether the X was put on the yes or no. Their decision to vote is free and confidential. This initiative is not related to any political party or referendum committee, nor does it give instructions to vote: it only aims to bring more people to the polls and encourage participation in Italian political life».

Where, in fact, public communication lacks, environmental communication is spreading from the bottom using new, innovative and effective channels that have a disruptive force and a skill to reach a large number of people.
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How do the young environmental journalists see our planet?

di Silvia Musso

The fifth edition of “Giornalisti nell’erba” Prize (Budding joirnalists) will take place next 27th May in Frascati (Centre Italy). It is a competition for young environmental journalists, from 5 to 21 years, that during the last few months have worked to interviews, articles, photographs, reports, videos, pictures, drawings on topics related to environmental protection.

The project, open to individuals, groups and school classes, was born by an idea of the association “Il Refuso” and has received patronage by the Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry of Environment, the National Order of Journalists, National Federation of Printing, and has the partnership of Ansa agency and European Space Agency (ESA-ESRIN).

This year's theme is "Living Planet" and is inspired by the worldwide campaign of WWF's Living Planet, which every two years examines the ecological footprint of humankind and provides analysis on the health of the Earth and the global environment. This general theme has been applied in three different ways depending on age: "The planet that gives us life" (5 to 10 years), "The dangers of living planet" - eruptions, floods, natural hazards and the effects on human life - (from 10 to 15 years); "We enemies of the living planet" - human action "against" the living planet, climate change, consumption, biodiversity loss, deforestation - (15 to 21 years).

The designs of the children were sent by 15 February and at the moment the jury, chaired by the Director of ANSA Luigi Contu and divided into three committees, is selecting the winners.

Paola Bolaffio, journalist and founder of Giornalisti Nell’Erba, was achieved by our editorial staff by answering the following questions.

From what the necessity to create an award specifically for young journalists, environmentalists was born?
«In all sincerity, the need was that of a mother of four daughters to be educated. Add to this that this mother is a journalist. The language the profession teaches us is that of someone who must mediate between the sources of information and the general public, but in the field of ecology, the situation does not always work. In 2006, when the prize was born, a very funny book was just published, "How to defend against environmentalists" by Tullio Berlengi, ironic book to survive on how to communicate to those who want to raise awareness of environmental protection. The situation was this: pseudo-scientific disclosure moralizing people, and bright promoters of green washing. In recent years, things are changing. A professione and a certain quality begins to exist also for environmental information. The prize wanted to give the opportunity to young people to engage in all forms of communication to tell and to denounce, to take control of their rights to an healthy environment that are still not recognized. It wants to give voice to imagination and experimentation in a field, that of communication, which is changing minute by minute, which gives more space to participate and where everyone can be together reader and media».

The environmental journalism as well as environmental communication sectors are very specific and not always recognized. The prize Giornalisti nell’Erba may contribute to the development of these branches of communication?
«We hope so, really. It is one of the reasons that persuaded us to start this year with another prize, the one the young journalists will give to adult and “real” journalists. This new initiative, under development, will be inaugurated on May 27th giving this first year only one award. From September, all the thousands of budding journalists may give their votes to the journalists who communicate the environment».

The project involves, through the jury and sponsors, a high number of Italian journalists. How in recent years the attention of various media - print, radio, TV, web - has developed in relation to environmental issues?
«The environment, alas, is most often on the front page. But just for the disasters that increasingly merit the headlines. We do not want to believe that we want the escorts to the conference on climate in order to see pages about the decisions that affect the planet. Seriously, we are still far from the correct media attention to environmental issues. However, some of our jury members in recent years, has learned a lot from young budding journalists…»

What attitude is shown by the younger generation towards the environment?
«The new generations are more careful. They look at you wrong if you don’t close the water, they are also able to tell you some bad word if they see you leave the residual waste next to the pape container. Not everyone, of course. At least the budding environmental journalists. Thousands, who enjoy telling the environment and to live it respecfullyt. Without too much philosophy, thay strongly ask the adults what is normal for them: a planet with a future. There is a girl of 5 years in Bologna, who did and sent a drawing for the competition: a living planet. The mother wrote to me that that image, even today after two months, "changes every day, there are additions, other details are erased. Today the world outside is colored blue. The world changes. Continuously».

In short, the planet is really living. Not only to win the prize.
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Environment and web: the Arpa Lombardia projects

by Eleonora Anello

The potential of Internet, a channel that can reach the public effectively and efficiently, to create and disseminate environmental information through educational products. Thus Arpa Lombardia intends to continue its path of improvement in developing the most suitable forms of dissemination of environmental culture, in the belief that the use of the Web is today the most effective way to create awareness of environmental considerations in the citizens of tomorrow.

The project started on March 22, 2009, on the occasion of World Water Day launched by the United Nations. Then, for each occurrence and in the belief that the World Days represent a mean of raising public awareness on environmental issues, have been developed a series of mini-sites designed in such a way that, over time, not only the deepening of environmental issues among their different, but also for different aspects of the same environmental issue.

«The implementation was entrusted to experts within the institution that, to achieve educational goals, developed each mini-site along two lines - said ARPA Lombardia - the horizontal, time to discuss the various specialized components of the environment, and that vertical, to gradually deepen the various specialized components, with particular emphasis on interrelationships between humans and the environment. The thematic sites can be reached from the homepage through the Earthgate, a virtual port that, by invoking the Stargate film, intends to attract a target audience of young people on the basis of which are currently also considering to revise graphics and content of landing pages».

However the mini-sites embody a learning tool that interested an heterogeneous user, as distributed across a wide age range. It offered a variety of content and information that attempt to represent as fully as possible topics ranging from water to climate change, meteorology, biodiversity, offering a range of content that is enhanced periodically.

The ARPA wants to increase as possible the "traffic" of users on their pages. For this it has taken several actions: from the mailing, to a series of measures aimed to optimize the visibility of the theme sites in the results offered by search engines.

In the same spirit that animates the United Nations, also ARPA Lombardia asks its target to stop and reflect on the role everyone can play in improving the environment, aware that only by knowing all the facets that make up an environmental issue, it can be become informed citizens.
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A royal yes environmental friendly?

by Eleonora Anello

The media of all the world, especially those dealing with environment, presented them as environmental friendly. But the wedding celebrated on Friday, April 29, 2011 between the Prince William and Kate Middleton have been so attentive to the environment?

Apart from the rivers of ink that have been paid to obtain the maximum media coverage, we start from the crowds of London. The long wait has produced a flood of waste into sugar-coated almonds, flags and food consumed, so it took a team of 130 people to collect 140 tons of rubbish left. Perhaps less impact, the 2 billion of people not physically present, who have followed the ceremony in front of the TV or computer.

It’s likely that the press has given too much credit to the proverb: "Like father, like son". And Prince Charles, in fact, seems to have been the only member of the Royal Family who didn’t disappoint the environmental expectations. So, he was able to impose sustainability on the wedding party in which they were served "zero-miles" food and biological canapés, with ingredients coming from his farms. The bride and groom on their side were concerned to print menu and press kits on FSC certified recycled paper.

The ecofriendly choices are then involved the floral arrangements thanks to Shane Connolly, floral designer from the sustainable approach, made of plants and seasonal flowers from organic farming, which prefers potted plants rather than cut flowers.

Even for the rings they gave priority to re-use. For the engagement, Prince William has recycled the ring with sapphire and diamond ring that his father gave to Diana, a gift symbolically very powerful. The gold of the wedding ring, gift from Queen Elizabeth, came from UK mines. Still on the subject of reuse, Kate’s dress was decorated with jewels in part on loan again from the Queen.

To reduce the environmental footprint also the guests were bothered. They could choose to make donations to thirty organizations, including some dedicated to protecting the environment, avoiding unnecessary gifts. In addition, the newlyweds have asked them to plant trees to offset CO2 emissions, more than a little irrelevant as they are from all over the world will fly in most cases private.

So the media are focused on these particulars that if compared to everything else appear to be marginal. Only The Telegraph has expressed criticism of the management of the environmental impact by publishing a rough calculation of the carbon footprint of the international event, carried out by Landcare Research. The results are devastating for the environment. The CO2 generated from the ceremony is the total produced by Buckingham Palace in a whole year. There is around 6765 tons of CO2, 12 times the annual emissions from the palace in London, 1230 times the annual emissions of an average English family.

We can console with the fact that the green choices are not confined to the day when the royal couple gave their yes. The house of 789 square meters in the countryside of Cornwall where William and Kate will live, will be highly energy efficient in part using renewable sources.

Although some choices reward the Royal Family, also the communication of the event didn’t fully respect the most basic sustainable principles. Low impacting the announcement of the engagement on Twitter and Facebook and the sending of the first invitation to the crowned heads by fax, evidently considered more effective by the Windsor for passing information on major events and certainly much more environmental friendly then the invitations printed on paper and adorned with gold delivered in 1900 invited the following month.

Judge for yourself if you can talk about a green wedding or a glitzy show in which the respect for the environment has had a contained part. We recognize the merit of the Royal Family that have mobilized a lot of money for this global event that triggered mass-appeal, seeking to promote exemplary environmental and giving visibility to some best practices that will leave intangibles and materials legacy for the environment. One thing is certain, though less glamorous, the common marriages are much more environmental friendly.
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The TV teach ecology

by Silvia Musso

The ecology can be taught in TV programs? The answer is yes. The example comes from Canada, where the program of TVA network, “Testé sur des humains“, has promoted the waste sorting and recycle thanks to a candid camera that involved hundreds of peolpe.

This is the scene: we are in a mall in Montreal (Quebec), a man is walking leaves a plastic bottle on the ground a few steps from the bin for recycling. Many people pass by, go up and down, some even see the bottle, but all continue to walk. At one point a girl stops, picks up the waste and throw it into the right container. In that exact moment everyone in the mall, which had been previously warned, clap their hands to the girl who welcomes the acclaim visibly embarrassed for her simple act of civility.

The video is on TV today, the 4th of April. During the showing will pass overlay some messages aimed to lead the viewer to reflect: «Every year we produce 671 million kg of plastic; in every square mile of ocean float 18 000 plastic bottles; each year 400 million delivered containers are not recycled in Quebec; 91% of the population of Quebec is concerned about the environment. And you?».

We believe that television programs can be an important channel for dissemination of environmental sustainability. A fast and direct way to reach large numbers of people.
In Italy a similar experience was dropped from "Un posto al sole", the TV series produced by Rai Fiction, Grundy Italy, CPTV Rai of Naples. In the episode aired on September 17, 2008, and which can be viewed for free on the website, the Italian actor Patrizio Rispo in the role of Raffaele Giordano, the concierge of Palace Palladini, location of the soap opera, told two tenants how to make the right waste collection.

We are amazed by how the task of sending a clear environmental message on the right waste management has been entrusted to a soap opera set in the city of Naples, which unfortunately is again facing another waste "emergency".

While surfing the web and collecting the opinions of fans of the Neapolitan soap it seemed interesting what Federico Valerio, a careful and responsible citizen, wrote in his blog "Concerned Scientist". He give some suggestions to the soap opera’s editorial staff. The character can for example use reusable bags and organize a collective composting initiative in the garden.
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Let's play?

by Eleonora Anello

At the end, even the IPA (the Italian Institute that disciplines the advertising) decided that the chess game was rigged! Maybe the verdict was not sufficiently widespread, but the spot of the Italian Nuclear Forum, that we had talked about during its broadcast, it was deemed misleading.

The authority called to monitor the advertisements says: «The ad aims to the public in the style of a neutral communication and information, as if it were a social communication. Precisely because of this, the message is flawed for lack of transparency about its promotional, about the product it aims to promote (nuclear energy and its choice), about the identity of the advertiser and its communication part. Thanks to an apparent show of impartiality with respect to the interests involved, the message uses an extremely effective persuasive technique, which is however very unfair, putting themselves therefore contrary to Article 2 of the Code, as it carries statements and representations that may mislead the public in relation to the real identity of the advertiser, and then press the promotional purposes».

To remedy this, the Forum was added enough "We are in favour”, the final words that reveal the true intentions.

Rigged or not, we consider it a Pyrrhic victory. A win all in all useless. The control machine that monitors the communication has worked, but It has been emitted when the campaign of the Forum was no longer on the air and had the opportunity to show visible its effects. The corrected and amended version of the video, can be viewed only online. In short, the sentence seems a bit 'too small compared to the effect that the spot, disguised as a social campaign, has had on target.

For this Greenpeace, an association that has fought for the campaign for nuclear to be postponed, waiting for the sentence, has not been watching. It responded with another campaign, made up of a site and a video, though very clicks on the web, did not have the space and the planning of Nuclear Forum. Salvatore Barbera, head of the anti-nuclear campaign of Greenpeace Italy, aware of the imbalance, made his request: «Given the decision of the jury, asking to broadcast our commercials on television for a true balance in the discussion on the return of nuclear in Italy. We fear, however, that will apply the strategy of silence so as not to say that in a few months there will be a referendum on nuclear power also».

The approach of the referendum has sparked a lively and tough competition in communication between the different factions. This is the case, again, to hope to win the best?
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The eco-film that comes from the web

by Eleonora Anello

Itali@mbiente is the new project of Avoicomunicare, Telecom Italy's blog dedicated to dialogue and exchange on issues crucial to the future of society. At the heart of discussions between users and experts: the environment and sustainable development, the balance between possible worlds and cultures, integration, peace-building. The active community, always at the center of attention of Telecom, is working to make the first documentary produced, written and directed entirely by the network.

That is Mario Tozzi’s idea, geologist and known science popularizer, who is the curator and the guarantor of the scientific activity as well as the person in charge, with the Avoicomunicare team, of the structuring and contributions from the network.Each user can in fact make his contribution on a topic, also selected by the community, which is the environmental discomfort in all its meanings. Specifically, so any reporter can be dedicated to the consumption of soil, or biodiversity, urban traffic, industrial plants or waste.

Anyone who wants to denounce some situations but not necessarily alarming risk to the environment, can avail themselves of the instruments and the reputation by a big telecommunications company and the cooperation of all those who wish to join the work group. What is expressed in the Manifesto of the project, the aim is to document in a scientific way, coming to build a rational map, the environmental problems in Italy. The intention is not merely a complaint. It will also give voice to positive examples of ecological conversion.

You can send any kind of contribution: video, photographs, drawings and written or spoken texts. Particular attention will be given to the documentation of the past.

Participants will be received a special box with the DVD documentary and a small space in the project web site in which to present them.

To participate in the implementation of eco-film, every environmental reporter can also be presented directly on the site where you can view the papers already submitted and which contribute to the selection.

The film will be launched on June 5th, 2011, World Environment Day. Initially it will be distributed on the Internet circuit, downloaded or streamed, only then will land in cinema and television.

We are curious to see Itali@biente, a collaboration network. We believe that the dissemination of information would be a preferred instrument to achieve positive goals in the environmental field too.
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