Category Archives: Papers

Redirecting Technological Progress: Contribution to Bolsa Amazônia

The global environment is endangered. We are losing some fifty plant and animal species every day. The global climate is beginning to become hotter. Unpredictable changes may hit countries both in the temperate and tropical zones. Theoretically even the sea water table is unstable. more…

Sustaining Our Environment to Promote Our Development

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is the third event in a row. The first was the UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 1972. In its wake, the UN Environment Programme, UNEP, was founded in Nairobi, and some UN agencies made some moves towards an ecological significance of their programmes. more…

The Decarbonization Challenge — U.S. and European Perspectives

This piece was written by a European and an American both deeply engaged in efforts to moderate global warming. We give a perspective on the present situation regarding climate change in Europe; a parallel perspective on the situation in the U.S.; and then close with a series of recommendations and policy opportunities. more…

Resource efficiency can be more vital than digitization

Everybody talks about digitization. Some 4 out of 5 start-ups are pure digitizers. Disruptive technologies typically mean replacing physical work by digital operations. At first glance, you can assume that such substitution also saves energy and minerals. But then some surprising news can surface. The famous bitcoins, electronic currencies, eat a huge lot of energy. […] more…