Chinese pedestrian crossings turn green

by Sofia Lorenzini

Chinese cars market is still the biggest in the world, with more than 500 million cars that congestion streets e make air unbreathable, with consequences on environment, given that 40% of carbon dioxide comes from cars.

China Environmental Protection Foundation decided to create the campaign “Green Pedestrian Crossing - More Walking, Less Driving”, to make Chinese citizens aware on environmental issues connected to car traffic, inviting them to do something, in their own way, walking more and driving less.

Jody Xiong, creative director of design agency DDB Group China, created some installations made of giant canvases, 12.6 meters long by 7 meters wide, laid across the pedestrian crossing of 132 streets in 15 cities, in the middle of busy crossroads, places where pedestrians and cars meet. On the canvases Xiong drew big trees without leaves, and on every corner of the pedestrian crossing he placed sponge cushions soaked in green environmentally friendly washable and quick dry paint.

Xiong explained: "As pedestrians walked towards the crossing, they would step onto the green sponge and as they walked, the soles of their feet would make foot imprints onto the tree on the ground. Each green footprint added to the canvas like leaves growing on a bare tree, which made people feel that by walking they could create a greener environment."

Also Deputy Mayor of Shanghai participated to the campaign, which caused a lot of curiosity between the pedestrians, who went on the crossing just to walk on the artwork, and the campaign got the media attention, that brought out the news. By the end of the campaign, 3,920,000 people had contributed to the paintings.

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Natural Graffiti

by Emanuele Biestro

 The graffitis have always been disputed among the public opinion: who loves them, and consider them as a piece of art, and who hates them, stressing the chaos and the dirt they cause. Others think that they are only a communication tool: you write something that another people, walking absent-mindedly,read. From this comes the brilliant insight of Green Graffiti, which since 2007 use this communication tool.. in a sustainable way! The idea of this communication agency, coming from the Netherlands and then spread all over the world (so far it works in 12 States) is to use only low impact tools in the communication campaigns.  “We realize messages on squares and sidewalks using only natural materials, without adding solvents or other chemical products: reverse-graffitis created only with high-pressured water, chalk-graffitis with nebulized chalk, sand-graffitis with sand and natural glue, messages using musk and grass; in addition, we organize branded gardening events, giving new life to those green areas left abandoned”, Lorenzo Fabbri’s speaking, Green Graffiti Italia project manager. The graffitis are realized through an iron or aluminium template (like the one used by the roadmen to write on the roads, for instance), using a unique cast to reproduce the message, cast that then is completely recycled!
“The technique we use the most is the reverse-graffiti” says Lorenzo. “This method allow a relevant save of resources if compared to the paper posters, highly environmental relevant both for paper consumption and because of the water used during the production process. It is worth stressing that the water we use comes from the rain, collected through storage tanks or wells. One of our reverse-graffiti 1,50x1,50 m needs 12 liters of water, it does not produce wastes and it erases itself naturally, because it is sufficient to walk over it and the surface get dirty once again”. 
But it is not enough: indeed Green Graffiti uses two kinds of compensation, the hydric one, delivering for every graffiti 1 € to GreenAdsBlue, and the CO2 one, delivering 0,5 eurocent for every km travelled during the campaign to groenbalans, agency specialized on the CO2 compensation. 

>Concerning the communication topics, the targets are extremely various, but they could be brought back to those who attend the streets, such as pedestrians and vehicles: you can make a course, repeated messages, puns,.. Lorenzo confesses that during their jobs they get often in touch with people interested in what they are doing, notably street art or in general curious about what they are doing: at that stage we can also teach people something, mainly about sustainability! 

No doubt: graffitis have never been much greener!

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Back to the Earth Hour: on March 31 an hour in the dark for the earth!

by Francesca Morra

In the year that the United Nations has dedicated to Accessing Sustainable Energy and the approach of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, has begun the countdown to Earth Hour 2012: on March 31 from 20.30 to 21.30 will be turning off the lights around the world for the sixth consecutive year! The WWF's famous campaign to fight climate change and sustainable, resulting in an exciting trip around the world in the dark, through all time zones, making use of their global network involving people, cities, institutions and businesses.

The Italian national rugby inaugurated the roundup of Italian ambassador with their video for the campaign. It was projected on large screens in the Olympic pre-match of the Six Nations. The team of the testimonial is very large: you can find, among others, the names of Paola Saluzzi, Beppe Braida, Francesco Totti, Marco Mengoni, Massimiliano Rosolino, Paola Maugeri, Camila Raznovich, Francesco Facchinetti and the children mascot Pocoyo.

The government will be involved with the initiative City Challenge WWF, the international challenge that will reward the good practices of urban sustainability at 360°: are more than 170 large and small Italian municipalities participating. Even companies will give their contribution in reducing its CO2 emissions by joining the "Business Travel Free Week", an interesting initiative that from 26 to 30 March will see the participants make remote and audio conferences in place of long travels around the world.

The web gaves its contribute with many initiatives: "Shirt-hour" on Facebook, through four slogan T-shirts will be voted and therefore, the most votes, printed on special Earth Hour 2012 T-shirt. Who will give his vote will also participate in the extraction of five t-shirts with the winning slogan. I will if you will is a challenge between friends, colleagues and followers around the world in taking concrete action towards sustainability.

In Italy offices, shops, private homes and institutional settings will turn off the light, and in many cities will be organized dinners by candlelight, street events, special events and visits in the evening Oasis WWF to bring citizens the idea of a sustainable future, but possible urgent. Will be in the dark the Scala of Milan, Piazza San Marco and Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, the Duomo and the Baptistery of Florence as well as some of the main assets of FAI - Italian Environmental Fund. Also turn off their lights as a symbol of the event places the dome of San Pietro, the Torre di Pisa, Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Mole Antonelliana of Turin, the Pirelli Tower in Milan, the Aquarium of Genoa, the Sassi of Matera and many other.

The Earth Hour campaign is especially useful to remember how a small action, coupled with many others, may be a step towards a possible change. So turn off the light!

For further information visit the official site and the Italian one, the Facebook page and Twitter.

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They are black, black pissed off, like coal

by Annalisa Tancredi

With boldness and an audacious word pun, Fermiamo il Carbone (Let’s stop coal) coalition launched a new spontaneous mobilization campaign against the most hated fossil fuel by ecologist.

The 38 promoter associations declared on national media they are rather furious about italian government energy policy and, without mincing words, they launched the manifest “We’re black-pissed off. Black like coal”, a slogan clear and illustrative of sentiments leading the protest against the “oldest and dirtiest energy source”.
Largely used like fossil fuel in electrical power stations, coal is the most polluting fossil energy source and, because of the elevate carbonic composition, it’s the main cause of Co2 emissions, climate change and acid rain. Until today, in Italy there are 13 coal-fired power and one of those – in Brindisi - is among the 20 most polluting coal-fired power stations in Europe. Furthermore, it is in progress the conversion of Porto Tolle from oil-fired to coal-fired and another station is under construction in Saline Joniche.

"This decision is against every policy about carbon dioxide emissions reducing – say the coalition in press release – it’s against health, agriculture, tourism, fisheries and occupation development".
"Coal is deadly to humans, environment and dangerous to climate. After the slap on the nuclear (with the referendum wins NO coalition, ndr), energy lobby has decided to invest in coal. They say it’s good. But for who? – is written on the official page of "pissed off" – They do not tell that coal is the main cause of climate change. They don’t consider fatalities in Monterosso and Genova, the flood damage and the fines for unconformity on reducing emissions commitments".

Joining and participating to the campaign is free for everyone and during the first action launched on Carnival, a large number of people step foot in main italian places with black faces dirty of coal. Moreover connecting on official website www.incazzatineri.it it is possible to “flash your pissed off” and create a custom image and, if that's not enough to appease your anger, you can download “pissed kit” containing a selection of stickers, flyer, T-shirt, banner or poster in pdf format.

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Go North

by Emanuele Biestro

Sometimes it happens even to the best communicators to stumble across complicated notions to be explained to the mainstream. This is not surely the situation of the Kairòs Studio, a group of people who aim to talk in a simple, funny and pro way mankind's challenges towards a sustainable future. Indeed, they have been called to create a cartoon movie explaining how the CO2 capture and storage technology works, a project carried on by some researchers at the University Centre in Longyearbyen, on the isle of Svalbard (Norway).

«When they contacted us to create a flash animation featuring the Longyearbyen CO2 lab's carbon capture project we jumped at the idea, but we were also conscious of the difficulties and hard work involved: to explain a complex scientific/technical project to groups of school children would be challenging» say on the project website Daniele Di Domenico and Simone Cau, who take care respectively of the video and multimedia section and of the animation within the Kairòs Studio.

Concerning this, the employees of the Kairòs Studio had the perfect intuition about creating a story featuring a little molecule of carbon dioxide named Dioxy, set first in a coal mine, then through the mineral mining and the combustion until the CO2 storage cave, where the setting is composed by an arena in which all the other CO2 molecules are entertained by a show lasting 12 thousand years: this is how long it takes for the CO2 to be stored!

«Working for a public composed almost entirely by 10 year old children really helped us because it is necessary to simplify a lot of things in order to communicate to children and let the fantasy go», says Daniele, who stressed also the work on the soundtrack «entirely original and of our own, with pieces and songs, very catchy, to impress the audience». The result is a 23 minute lasting video, divided into 8 episodes, published two by two each Monday, starting from February, the 6th.

«From the very beginning we conceived the video as a double-faced tool, very flexible. Indeed, it could be seen as a movie during conferences, shows and similar "live" events, otherwise it could be web broadcast through the episodes» says Daniele. The episodes will be available on the Kairòs studio YouTube channel and on the Facebook page.

The belief is to have done a great job for the children, hoping this would be the same for the adults asking to learn more.

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I click "I like" and save a forest

by Silvia Musso

Thousands of peopl use social networks every day, so what better tool to give your messages the widest echo possible? From this simple but true observation the campaign "One like One forest" by Lifegate, launched on December 14th, has derived. For each Facebook user who clicks on "I Like", a square meter of forest in Argentina, is saved helping to preserve an area rich in biodiversity. Today there are nearly 19,000 users who have clicked "I like", number that is equivalent to as many square meters of saveguarded forest.

«With this initiative we want to share the idea that doing something concrete for the environment is simple and requires no great sacrifice or effort - says Enea Roveda, Marketing Director of LifeGate - in this case, to contribute to the protection of a forest a click is enough».

While the campaign is having a great success, it is also true that Facbook users spend several hours a day to post messages, make comments, report links and chat, and "I Like" "I do not like" is the fastest, but sadly superficial way, to share your opinion: it is not the best way to create environmental awareness about an issue. Often, those who click on the thumb icon do not take an active part in discussions and shy express their opinion without exposing themselves.

But perhaps the goal justifies the means, considering the thousands of collected "I like", that are as many square meters of forest saved, but the work of communication to create a common and widespread awareness to save the forests can not be reduced to this.

Lifegate is surely aware of this, as shown by its many initiatives. LifeGate is in fact the first network for sustainable development that througout different communication channels – magazine, radio, web – promotes a new way of life and an economic model "People, Planet and Profit" where people, planet and profit live in harmony.

Among the many initiatives, we stress "Zero Impact", the first Italian project that since 2002 realized the intent of Kyoto Protocol alongside people and companies on a path of reducing and offsetting their CO2 emissions by contributing to the creation and protection of forests in Italy and worldwide, and the recent "Zero Impact Web" that will reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions arising from the use of the Internet.

Original is, finally, the "Second day of sustainable beauty". Monday, February 13th hairdressing salons and wellness centers offer some bueaty services. The contribution is free and will go to forest conservation projects in Italy and Madagascar.

"One like one forest"is part of the Lifegate's largest communication project and aims to remember that every little gesture, in everyday life, counts and is useful for the planet's salvation as to turn off the water while soaping under the shower, turn off the monitors' LEDs, turn down the temperature by one degree.

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To save energy has never been as easy as now: bet you

by Marzia Fialdini

Energy is valuable and we have to safeguard it. Within the domestic life, in everyday routine, we can reduce energy wastage through simple tricks, achieving consumption cut. On these bases, in 2009 was created Energy Neighbourhoods, a European initiative which put in competition hundreds of families in Ireland, England, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany and Belgium. They had to prove they were able to reduce energy consumption without investments or comfort loss.It’s the third edition of the initiative in France and several families living in Alpine regions have experienced an energetic consumption reduction by 8%: for example, switching off electronic devices or heating houses at no more than 19 degrees. During the six-months contest, participants received suitable technical support achieving an energy consumption reduction by 17% on average, saving 270 euros per family.

In Italy the initiative has been renamed Famiglie SalvaEnergia, and it’s spreading across several cities, in particular in the Genoa Province, in which it involves the municipalities of Lavagna, Serra Riccò and Arenzano in an energetic bet with their citizens. Groups of families engaged in reducing as much energy consumption as possible, in terms of electric and thermic consumption, just changing their habits and correcting their behaviors. From February to April, 2011, the Provincial Government committed itself to survey the event, and families achieved to reduce their consumption by 7%. FamiglieSalvaEnergia is one of the first standard actions promoted by the Province to its municipalities and has been included in every SEAP (Action Plan for Sustainable Energy) approved up to now. On December 1, the second edition of the initiative will start. The goal is saving by 9% of electricity bills, and has to be carried out between December 2011 and March 2012: the most virtuous families will be publicly awarded in May 2012.

The Genoa Province promoted the initiative after receiving a report on CO2 emissions on its territory: 45% of the emissions is due to buildings, and 60% of it comes from houses. Actually it’s possible to dramatically cut off CO2 emissions just changing our routine habits. Lowering by one degree the heating temperature or switching off stand-by pcs or televisions can enable to save energy, money and polluting emissions.

The three municipalities involved in the Famiglie SalvaEnergia program signed the “Patto dei Sindaci (Mayor’s Agreement)”, an EU’s initiative the accession to which is spontaneous. Signatories bind themselves to reduce by 20% by 2020 the CO2 emissions on their territories (main cause of the climate change), according to the EU policy.

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