Track your carbon emissions and go green is now possible thanks to several Iphone Apps! These apps help us calculate the impact of our consumptions on the environment. The following are only some of them…

Carbon Footprint allows you to track fuel usage for multiple cars. By entering a few pieces of data every time you put fuel in your tank, Carbon Footprint provide you with a number of useful statistics.

Carbon Tracker help you to determine the approximate distance of each leg of your trip, select the mode of transportation and calculate your footprint.

Zero Carbon is the personnel accounting and carbon offsetting tool, developed by Fundación Chile.

Focusing on road travellers, Extra mile is also available for iPod touch and Ipad.

As SWOMM we wish you a happy footprint calculation… and emissions reduction!!

Related Articles

• http://iphone-apps.toptenreviews.com/green/green-up-your-life-with-iphone-apps.html
• http://eventiquattro.ilsole24ore.com/eventi-e-altro/ict/notizie/2012/03/18/trasporti-elettricita-cibo-misura-l.aspx

Inter-muni​cipal Commercial Location Developmen​t in the Alpine Space

8th March 2012 – EURAC research, Viale Druso 1 – Bolzano (Italy)

On 8 March 2012, the International Final Conference of the “COMUNIS” Project will take place in Bolzano (Italy), in the premises of the EURAC Convention Centre, Viale Druso 1. The event is organized by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea in cooperation with the institute for Timber Plants and the Environment, and with the logistic support of EURAC research.

Having recognized the economic competition existing among adjacent municipalities in the Alpine Space, the COMUNIS Project, launched in the framework of the “ETC Alpine Space Programme 2007- 2013”, has aimed at developing cooperative strategies for inter-municipal Commercial Location Development (CLD) in mountain areas.
To this end, it has developed guidelines for devising and applying these strategies that can be adapted to the challenges, conditions and potentials of its pilot regions in particular and to the typical features of mountain regions in general. The project outputs will be presented and publicly discussed by project partners and a panel of international experts on the occasion of the project´s Final Conference.

To join the Conference, please fill the on-line registration form.

]]> http://www.swomm.info/2012/03/comunis-conference-8-march-2012-%e2%80%93-eurac/feed/ 0 http://www.swomm.info/2012/02/autolib%e2%80%99-the-new-car-sharing-service-in-paris/ http://www.swomm.info/2012/02/autolib%e2%80%99-the-new-car-sharing-service-in-paris/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:11:33 +0000 RaffaeleV http://www.swomm.info/?p=2172

Autolib’ cars during their charging in Paris/Porte d’Issy and Boulogne-Billancourt’s stations (©R. Vergnani)

On 5 December 2011, the Autolib’ service was officially launched in Paris, after two months of tests throughout the city. Autolib’ is the first public service plan with electric vehicles to be developed in a large European metropolis.

Cars are equipped with polymer lithium batteries, which have an autonomy of 250 km and need 4 hours to be recharged. The system is spread not only in the 20 arrondissements of the French capital, but also in 46 other Municipalities located close to Paris.

The BlueCar models are produced by Bolloré Group in collaboration with the Italian designer Pininfarina and are built up in the Italian plant located in Bairo Canavese (Turin). The current number of 250 available cars is expected to grow up to 3000 vehicles by the end of 2012.

The new service is conceived as complementary to Vélib’, the self-service bike rental launched in 2007.  The intention was to “invent a new mobility concept in the urban environment”, Mayor Bertrand Delanoë said. According to INRIX (http://www.inrix.com/pressrelease.asp?ID=106), the leading provider of traffic information, the French capital, is the most congested city on the European continent. The Municipality of Paris has therefore decided to get involved in the construction of a set of various and effective solutions for a new and sustainable urban mobility.

Critics from the French green party Europe Ecologie – Les Verts, focus on the enormous cost of the operation (25 millions of euro is the total amount spent only by the municipality of Paris) and on the fact that the initiative is based on a wrong assumption: increasing the cars instead than trying to boost citizens to take public transports.

After a month, Autolib’ has reached more than 7500 total subscribers. As SWOMM we wish success to the Ville Lumière for this and all the other initiatives which could help to build a more sustainable urban transport.

Link:  www.autolib.eu

Related articles

• Paris to Launch Electric Car Share Program (the2012scenario.com)
• Paris to launch electric car sharing program (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Share a car in Paris (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Autolib’ initiative starts in the city of love (travelnews.britishairways.com)
• Paris to launch electric car share program (news.smh.com.au)

This year’s conference focused on big ideas to scale up sustainable transport best practices in cities worldwide. Past successes and ongoing challenges were be presented.

Rome, 13 December 2011 – The issue of traffic flows in mountain areas and, in particular, in the Alps, goes beyond national borders and needs to be thought again with a view to sustainable development and international cooperation. The Kyoto Protocol and the recent developments occurred in Durban, the policies of the European Union (EU) and the existing agreements between EU and Switzerland in the field of transport give a boost to States looking for new solutions, including a renewed attention to the railway sector and to the integration of different transport modes.

These themes have been analyzed during the Seventh Scientific Workshop on Mountain Mobility and Transport (SWOMM), which was held on 13 December 2011 at the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructures of Italy in Rome, to mark the celebrations for the International Mountain Day. The workshop SWOMM 2011 was promoted by the Italian Ministries for the Environment and for Transports, organized in cooperation with the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC) with the support of Transalpine Transport Architects (TRANSITECTS), the project on freight rail traffic in the Alps, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the “Alpine Space” Programme.

The panellist included a number of experts and the discussion was held under the auspices of the new Minister for the Environment of Italy Corrado Clini, who has sustained the SWOMM related initiatives since the very beginning in 2005. The speakers illustrated viable solutions aimed at addressing common problems such as the poor economic return on several rail lines and the lack of connections with other localities and regions: more effective planning of transport systems in national policies (Frey, Vescovi), increase in the use of innovative technologies (Senesi), improvements of the logistics in particular for freight transport (Ciochetta, Di Patrizi, Piccoli). In the afternoon important representatives of the secondary railways of the Alpine arch, gathered together in Rome for the first time, presented to the public a series of initiatives adopted by their companies to attract tourists and commuters, from all inclusive packages coupled with sport activities (ski pass, jumping, biking, canyoning, ect.) to trips made at the rhythm of blues and swing or inside carriages recognized as part of the world’s heritage by UNESCO.

The publication SWOMM 2010 – Transport and Environment in Mountain Areas was also launched during the workshop. Find it at this link: SWOMM 2010 or please send a request for hard copies to: info@swomm.info.

To find out more please see at this link the SUMMARY:

• SWOMM 2011_summary&agenda_EN
• SWOMM 2011_resoconto&programma_IT

and please find the PRESENTATIONS of the speakers here below.

Related articles

• transitects.org
• cipra.org
• clickmobility.it
• provincia.bz.it
• ferpress.it
• confindustriaroma.it

Photo: Andrea Bianchini

Tuesday 13^th December 2011

Ministry for Infrastructures and Transport of Italy

The Scientific Workshop on Mountain Mobility and Transport

The seventh Scientific Workshop on Mountain Mobility and Transport (SWOMM) will take place on 13 December in Rome, at the Ministry for Infrastructures and Transport, EUR Headquarters (Viale dell’Arte N. 16). SWOMM 2011 is promoted by the Italian Ministries for the Environment and Transport and organized with the support of EURAC and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat.

The event is organized within the framework of Transalpine Transport Architects (TRANSITECTS), the project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, through the “Alpine Space” Programme. With a partnership of sixteen public and private bodies from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia, TRANSITECTS is aiming at favouring intermodal solutions for the passage of freight traffics from road to rail, by improving the accessibility, the logistics and the existing infrastructures within the alpine area.

Over the alpine arch, due to the presence of steep slopes and narrow road corridors, the polluting emissions produced by vehicles for passenger and freight traffics are considerable, particularly in the valleys, and they cause damages to the vulnerable alpine ecosystems and the local population. The issue of alpine traffic overcomes the national borders and the EU countries are oriented towards the transfer, where possible, of transports from road to rail.

Inspired by the themes of the TRANSITECTS project, the SWOMM 2011 is aiming at examining the topic of rail transport in mountain areas and in particular in the Alps, by making reference not only to the freight but also to the passenger movements. The speakers, including managing directors of railway companies and experts coming from research centers as well as from administrations involved in the management of traffic flows and railways infrastructures in mountain regions, will meet to discuss and share their knowledge and experiences on the theme.

The SWOMM represents since 2005 an international occasion of exchange on themes related to transport in mountain areas. As every year, the event is organized in December to mark the celebration of the International Mountain Day (11 December) designated by the United Nations General Assembly.

The registration is compulsory for all attending participants.

Please fill in this registration form by 12 December at 12 a.m..

Furthermore, we kindly ask you to bring a valid identity document.

The MIT headquarters are close to the Metro Station EUR-Fermi (map). To get there by metro from Termini Station please take the B line towards the direction Laurentina.

Contacts:

SWOMM SCIENTIFIC SECRETARIAT

info@swomm.info

Agenda_SWOMM 2011_EN – (Final)

Programma_SWOMM 2011_IT – (Final)

Related articles

• Sustainable Mobility in Mountain Areas Swomm Side Event at the CSD18/
• SWOMM 2010 Transport Environment in Mountain Areas 14 December 2010 FAO Rome
• SWOMM 2010 Transport and Environment in Mountain areas/

Focusing on “Efficiency and sustainability: from research to market”, the event this year was organized with the support of the Inter-University Centre for Sustainable Development of the “Sapienza” University of Rome (CIRPS), by the National Research Council (CNR) – Department for Energy and Transport, the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA).

Renewed speakers took part in the two days while in the exhibition area, Green Expo, new environmental friendly technologies, with prototypes and cars with zero or near zero emissions were offered to the public, who could also make some drive test on eco-friendly vehicles on-board.

With a view to contribute to the Kyoto goals, H2Roma has joined the project Impatto Zero®, promoted by LifeGate. The CO₂ emissions generated by the organization of the event, including the electricity used, the mobility of participants, as well as the promotional material produced, will be evaluated by Lifegate and their negative impact on earth will be reduced by contributing to the creation and protection of over 9,000 square metres of growing forest in Costa Rica. A concrete initiative for the environment, contributing to the preservation of one of the most important natural heritage of the planet. From 2002 until now, more than 40 million square metres of forest in Italy and abroad have been regenerated and conserved.

Fabio Orecchini, H2Roma scientific coordinator, stated during the press conference presenting the event: “What awaits us is a future made by small, powerful and efficient engines and growing electrification with different fuels (petrol, natural gas/biomethane, LPG, diesel hydrogen), powered by lightweight and efficient on-board batteries”.

Related articles

http://www.h2roma.org/

http://www.sifconference.com/h2roma-energymobility-show-2011-dieci-anni-di-futuro/5180

Bike messenger is the more and more not simply seen as a job like many others, while it’s also becoming a cultural and sociologic phenomenon. In its Urban Flow, Jeffrey L. Kidder (a sociologist who spent several years working as a bike messenger) introduces readers to this “unknown world”, showing its appeal and their benefits, without forgetting to mention their disadvantages, uncertainties and dangers. The contribution of bike messengers is not meaningless as they realise no carbon emissions transfers and they contribute to the overall improvement of the transport system efficiency. Their successful and easy-to-replicate example may be a further incentive to renounce using private transportation, even just for short distances and without carrying any item. Despite the work is generally intense and difficult, and often even not well paid, the link between people and bikes is often so strong that the messengers’ after-hours are characterized by the emersion of new life-styles and subcultures inextricably linked to their job and to the urban environment.

Being aware of the economic and social aspects of innovation in mobility represented by these new “urban eco-friendly delivery boys”, we believe Kidder’s original analysis of the phenomenon and the profound cultural and sociological influences he highlights are really worth reading.

Source:

• cornellpress.cornell.edu/

The world’s mountains were included in the global development agenda at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, by introducing a specific Chapter 13 into Agenda 21. Twenty years later, sustainable mountain development (SMD) matters more than ever, and it is important to take stock of what has been achieved so far, and what has not.

On the occasion of the 47th Permanent Committee of the Alpine Convention, hold under the Swiss Presidency, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) are organizing the “Lucerne World Mountain Conference”. The event will take place on 11 and 12 October 2011 in Lucerne, Switzerland, organized within the framework of the Mountain Partnership, with the support of the Mountain Partnership Consortium members and UNESCO.

In the months before the Conference expert groups drafted regional reports and a report on global aspects of SMD since Rio 1992, including the theme of green economy and institutional frameworks for sustainable development and poverty alleviation in mountains. The Conference will serve to present, discuss, and revise  these reports, with a view to identify challenges and opportunities for the future of global sustainable mountain development.

The results of the Conference will feed into various efforts and international processes (i.e. the UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP), the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20), and the CSD biennial cycle 20/21 in 2013 and 2014). SWOMM also aims to contribute to these international processes and discussions on SMD, focusing on sustainable transport in the mountain. In particular, in 2010, a special side event was organized during the CSD session on transport (swomm-side-event-12th-may-2010-at-the-commission-on-sustainable-development-csd; the-united-nations-transport-policies).

During the conference the Italian National Focal point of the Alpine Convention Mr. Paolo Angelini will announce the initiative for Rio +20, which is being jointly developed by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mountain partnership/FAO and UNEP.

Participation in the conference is on invitation only.

For more information on the conference:

• mountainslucerne2011.mtnforum.org/
• mountainpartnership.org

Photo: Flavio Scarpacci

“This agreement on fuel standards represents the single most important step we’ve ever taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said President Obama. According to some unrevealed sources, the agreement would require for the period 2017 – 2025 a reduction of 40% on fuel consumption (reaching an average of 54,5 miles per gallon) and a 50% cut in greenhouse gases emission (163 grams per mile of dioxide carbon). This targets would require a 5% annual improvement rate for cars and a 3,5% for light trucks between 2017 and 2025. The oil savings and the environmental benefits of this comprehensive program are showed in a new report entitled Driving Efficiency:  Cutting Costs for Families at the Pump and Slashing Dependence on Oil, which the Administration released the same day during the press conference.

In order to achieve better standards, automakers are expected to boost their use of advanced technologies as a fundamental element to improve the vehicles fleet. Incentives on this matter are more likely to be implemented to encourage early adoption and a more favourable introduction into the market, including e.g. aids for further develop electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cells vehicles and aids for advanced technology packages for large pickups (hybridization and other performance-based strategies).

Great efforts will be surely necessary to reach such an ambitious program. Potential economic advantages for the environment and the population are undeniable, however it is not obvious that politics and industrial lobbies will maintain in the upcoming years the same approach, in consideration also of the current difficult economic conditions and many other financial aspects that may influence the decision assumed.

Related articles:

• Automakers, Obama administration agree on fuel efficiency standards through 2025 (washingtonpost.com)
• President Obama announced 54.5 mpg fuel efficiency standard (abc12.com)

• Higher Fuel Economy Standards Will Increase Clean Diesel Car & Truck Choices for Consumers (prweb.com)
• New Fuel Economy Standard: 54.5 mpg by 2025 (blogher.com)
• Cleaner Air and a Stronger Economy – A Record of Success (ynative77.wordpress.com)
• Challenge President to Adopt Energy Measure with Double the Impact of Improved Auto Fuel Efficiency Standards at Fraction of the Cost (prweb.com)