Plants as energy source
At present, a large part of man’s energy requirements is covered by products of vegetal origin. Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) have formed from the partial decomposition of organisms – mainly vegetal – that lived over one hundred millions years ago (see the Section on ENERGY). When petrol burns in a car engine or methane burns in the kitchen stove, some of the solar energy trapped by the plants in distant times through photosynthesis is released. Talking of fuels, let’s not forget firewood, which now is no longer used in industrialised countries, but which in developing countries is still one of the main energy sources for the home (cooking and heating).
Special reports
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2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
10 April 2020
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
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8 March 2022
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
27 February 2022
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
12 February 2022
A naturalist’s voyage around the world
Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when he set sail on board HMS Beagle...
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18 December 2021
The Christmas Star Tradition
Let's discover together stories and legends about the Christmas Star...
15 September 2021
Can you be intelligent without a brain?
Can you be intelligent without a brain? The answer is "in a certain sense, yes" and this is demonstrated by…
26 July 2021
Japanese beetles and other alien species
There is a beetle that has been invading the Italian countryside and cities for some time now, a small insect…
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2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
-
10 April 2020
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
8 March 2022
8 March. We remember Rosalind Franklin, the great female DNA scientist.
DNA was first isolated by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist in 1869. It was a brilliant, but not complicated operation:…
-
27 February 2022
In search of the riders of icebergs
International Polar Bear Day, set up by Polar Bears International, a non-profit organisation, was held on 27 February. The aim…
12 February 2022
A naturalist’s voyage around the world
Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when he set sail on board HMS Beagle...
-
2 July 2014
A hoax? No thank you, I prefer to find out myself!
In Italian, bufala: a hoax, also means a female buffalo...
-
30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
-
10 April 2020
What language does science speak?
Do you remember the game called “Chinese whispers”? All the participants had to stand in line and the game started…
From the Multimedia section
Facts
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The Christmas tree tradition
People tell that in Germany, at Christmas Eve, Saint Boniface cut an oak and in that place...
Flour from forests
Bread and flour are staple foods for many cultures around the world. It is possible to produce flour from cereals…
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CO2 “eating” trees
If a tree “eats” CO2 and produces oxygen it is easy to understand the importance it has in reducing the…
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Energy from palm trees
Oils that are obtained from palm trees can be used as alternatives to fossil fuels and their use is about…
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13 May 2011
The Christmas tree tradition
People tell that in Germany, at Christmas Eve, Saint Boniface cut an oak and in that place...
17 May 2011
Flour from forests
Bread and flour are staple foods for many cultures around the world. It is possible to produce flour from cereals…
-
16 May 2011
The forest has its own seasons
Even if the temperature of this ecosystem is stable all...
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23 February 2012
CO2 “eating” trees
If a tree “eats” CO2 and produces oxygen it is easy to understand the importance it has in reducing the…
-
13 May 2011
The Christmas tree tradition
People tell that in Germany, at Christmas Eve, Saint Boniface cut an oak and in that place...
-
17 May 2011
Flour from forests
Bread and flour are staple foods for many cultures around the world. It is possible to produce flour from cereals…