What if highlighting solutions and telling positive stories was the best way to solve the ecological, economic, and social problems our countries are grappling with?
In 2012, Cyril Dion learned about a study carried out by twenty-two scientists from around the world that forecasts the extinction of multiple forms of life, and possibly a large part of humanity, by the year 2100. This news barely received any media coverage at all. Convinced that spreading catastrophic news is not effective, Dion decided to explore, along with actress and director Mélanie Laurent and a small film crew, what our world could look like if we brought together some of the best solutions to date in agriculture, energy, economics, education, and democracy.
What they found were men and women changing the world: cities that produce their own food and energy, zero-waste systems, businesspeople and towns creating their own currency to prevent speculation and the appropriation of wealth, citizens rewriting their own constitution, and pioneering educational systems.
By linking these initiatives together, Dion and his crew bring to light a new philosophy, a community of thought among people who often don't know each other. New blueprints for society. Cyril Dion is the co-founder of Colibris, a movement launched by Pierre Rabhi, and of the magazine Kaizen. He is also a poet, author, and director. Before writing and co-directing Tomorrow, he co-produced and acted as advisor for Coline Serreau's Think Global, Act Rural.
Avec presque 600 millions d'habitants exclus de tout service énergétique en Afrique subsaharienne, l'électrification rurale représente un enjeu majeur pour le développement du continent.
Ce Livre Blanc a étudié 25 projets d énergie durable développés actuellement en Afrique et propose une analyse de leurs bonnes pratiques, pour comprendre quels sont les facteurs-clés de succès de ce type de projets.
Cette version numérique est offerte par la Fondation Schneider Electric.
This book has been published by Allenvi (French National Alliance for Environmental Research) to coincide with the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) in Marrakesh. It is the outcome of work by academic researchers on both sides of the Mediterranean and provides a remarkable scientific review of the mechanisms of climate change and its impacts on the environment, the economy, health and Mediterranean societies. It will also be valuable in developing responses that draw on "scientific evidence" to address the issues of adaptation, resource conservation, solutions and risk prevention. Reflecting the full complexity of the Mediterranean environment, the book is a major scientific contribution to the climate issue, where various scientific considerations converge to break down the boundaries between disciplines.
This book explores zoonoses - the diseases exchanged between animals and humans. Within its pages, the authors describe the nature and transmission of zoonoses, discuss the diseases of greatest concern, detail different protective measures, and examine the factors responsible for zoonosis emergence and evolution.
Urbanization is the one of the most evident forms of anthropization. With most of the world population living in cities, the need of thinking about a more sustainable urban lifestyle has become an imperative. This is why present and future generations of scholars, urban managers and policy makers should be prepared to work together to support the reduction of impacts generated by urban activities, while pursuing the goal of an equitable and sustainable well-being within the planetary boundaries. In this respect, the use of different methods and tools can support the implementation of roadmaps and policies. Besides that, different communication languages can be used to enhance the development of a shared reflective vision about the future of cities among citizens, as major actors of the urban life and its transformation.
This book provides an accessible overview of some key methods to deal holistically with the analysis of urban resources flows to readers with an interest in the academic or professional reference of the different approaches for studying urban metabolism. It presents some of the most important tools along with relevant case studies to illustrate their potential application. Experts in the field and holding the belief that visions and hopes trigger decisions and behaviors beyond the knowledge, the authors introduce readers to the use of different art-based methods to engage with citizens towards a common outlook on the future of our cities. The book also offers an enhanced reading experience by featuring a soundtrack composed by one of the authors and available through the QR code at the beginning of each chapter.
The must-read summary of Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston's book: "Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage".
This complete summary of the ideas from Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston's book "Green to Gold" shows how the environment is no longer a fringe interest - it has now moved to center stage in terms of developing and executing a solid, sustainable business strategy. In their book, the authors explain how environmentalism is now an essential element of business strategy and companies are not acting because they are forced by law, but because there is actual potential to monetise society's interest in eco-friendly products and companies. This summary will teach you how to build a profitable and stronger business by helping to create a healthier planet.
Added-value of this summary:
o Save time
o Understand key concepts
o Expand your knowledge
To learn more, read "Green to Gold" and discover how you can make your company greener and make bigger profits at the same time.
Food and nutritional security refers to the challenge of providing sustainable, healthy and accessible food to all people. From 2014 to 2020, CIRAD and INRAE led an ambitious interdisciplinary flagship programme on the transitions for global food security called GloFoodS.
This book explores issues such as food system governance, balance and discrepancies between agricultural supply and food needs, the role of innovations in providing high-quality foods and promoting resilient value chains, and the role of local resource management in achieving food security.
The must-read summary of Joel Barker and Scott Erikson's book: "Five Regions of the Future: Preparing Your Business for Tomorrow's Technology Revolution".
This complete summary of the ideas from Joel Barker and Scott Erikson's book "Five Regions of the Future" shows that new technology falls into one of five well-defined regions. In their book, the authors explain how you can make smart decisions about which technologies will ultimately transform your industry and generate the best growth opportunities by mapping the advancements in each of the five fields. This summary is essential for anyone who is baffled by today's rapidly evolving technologies or anyone who wants to take advantage of technology to further their business.
Added-value of this summary:
o Save time
o Understand key concepts
o Expand your knowledge
To learn more, read "Five Regions of the Future" and discover how you can make use of technological advancements to take your business to the next level.
The must-read summary of Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn's book: "Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming".
This complete summary of the ideas from Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn's book "Earth: The Sequel" explains how capitalism, as the most powerful economic force in the world, is the only engine of change that has the strength to stop global warming. In their book, the authors demonstrate how this can be achieved by installing a cap-and-trade initiative, providing genuine economic incentives for companies and reducing their carbon footprint. This summary explains their theory in detail and exactly how it can be used to stop global warming once and for all.
Added-value of this summary:
o Save time
o Understand key concepts
o Expand your knowledge
To learn more, read "Earth: The Sequel" and discover what really needs to be done to make a change to global warming and who needs to take on the task.
EcoSD network is a French association whose main objective is to encourage collaboration between academic and industrial researchers so they may create and spread advanced multidisciplinary knowledge in the eco-design fields at national and international levels. Among other actions, EcoSD organizes an annual thematic
workshop to enhance collaborative discussions. The present workshop was organized in that frame. It was held in Nantes in 2014. It gathered around 50 participants.
The notion of function in eco-design can have different meanings, according to the discipline (engineering, economy, sociology), and according to the life cycle step. When a product is conceived, eco-designing imposes to foresee the use and end-of-life phases. However, there are differences between the "expected functions", and the actual "usage" of products, that could be compared by analogy to the difference between "supply" and "demand" in economy. This gap between function and usage could be explored to improve environmental performances of products because adjusting the function is a performance axis by itself, as well as to better define comparison basis between similar (but different because multi-functional) products. This problematic is transversal to eco-design: eco-usage, functional economy, Life Cycle Assessment (functional unit and consequential LCA)... It can be resumed by the following key questions: How to define functions? How to predict and quantify functions, utilities and usages? How to compare complex objects?
The objectives of the workshop were to cross different visions from different disciplines gathering the most recent researches in France. Researchers from various research domains such as design for innovation, mechanical design, life cycle assessment (LCA), functional economy or market economy, were invited to present their work in various application fields: agricultural and food industries, waste management, construction, mechanical engineering and transports. Industrial from the automotive and buildings sectors were also invited to explain how they consider functions in their actual practices.
Metabolic Ecology Most of ecology is about metabolism, the ways that organisms use energy and materials. The energy requirements of individuals (their metabolic rates) vary predictably with their body size and temperature. Ecological interactions are exchanges of energy and materials between organisms and their environments. Therefore, metabolic rate affects ecological processes at all levels: individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems. Each chapter focuses on a different process, level of organization, or kind of organism. It lays a conceptual foundation and presents empirical examples. Together, the chapters provide an integrated framework that holds the promise for a unified theory of ecology. The book is intended to be accessible to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, but also of interest to senior scientists. Its easy-to-read chapters and clear illustrations can be used in lecture and seminar courses. This is an authoritative treatment that will inspire future generations to study metabolic ecology.
