Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Convegno 2025 della Divisione Didattica

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2026): Chimica nella Scuola n. 2 2026

C’è qualcosa di nuovo sotto il Sole, anzi d’antico

  • Alessandra Bonoli
Submitted
16 June 2026
Published
16 June 2026

Abstract

The only solution to the ecological and climate crises of our time is now the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions and a complete transition to producing electricity solely from renewable sources. In the shortest possible time.
Wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, biomass. Extraordinary solar and photovoltaic technologies guarantee excellent efficiencies in converting the sun’s rays—rays that are evenly spread and distributed, low cost, and particularly abundant in the poorest countries of Africa or the Far East. And wind farms on land or offshore designed to set up large power plants on windy ridges or in marine parks.
Sun, earth, water, air, wind, fire: these are our energy sources for the future. But weren’t these the archè, the principle and driving force of life according to the ancient philosophers?
The very same elements we can now harness thanks to advanced technologies that have to be guided by political, social, and environmental awareness: innovative technologies that allow decentralized and low-cost energy production and energy communities with high added social value—important tools in the fight against global and widespread energy poverty. Technologies to produce clean and renewable energy, in light of the knowledge accumulated over centuries about the functioning of the Earth system.

References

  1. [1] J. Mc Neill, Qualcosa di nuovo sotto il Sole: Storia dell’ambiente nel XX secolo, Einaudi, Torino, 2022.
  2. [2] J. R. McNeill, P. Engelke, La grande accelerazione. Una storia ambientale dell’Antropocene dopo il 1945, Einaudi, Torino, 2018.
  3. [3] P. J. Crutzen, E. F. Stoermer, W. Steffen, The Anthropocene. The Future of Nature, Yale University Press, 2000 (http://www.jstor.com/stable/j.ctt5vm5bn.52).
  4. [4] P. J. Crutzen, Geology of mankind, Nature, 2002, 415(6867), 23-23 (doi 10.1038/415023).
  5. [5] https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html.
  6. [6] P. Govoni, G. Belcastro, A. Bonoli, G. Guerzoni, Ripensare l’Antropocene, Carocci editore, Roma, 2024.
  7. [7] I. Wallimann-Helmer, S. Kräuchi. Adaptation limits as sufficiency entitlements of justice, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2025, 73, 101507 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2024.101507).
  8. [8] La Transizione Energetica in Italia, a cura di Energia per l’Italia, 2025 (https://www.energiaperlitalia.it/libro/la-transizione-energetica-in-italia/).
  9. [9] A. Gargano, Introduzione alla filosofia greca. Da Talete A Parmenide, Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici, 1995 (https://www.iisf.it/scuola/int_fil_greca/parmenide.htm).
  10. [10] https://www.mercatoelettrico.org/it-it/Home/Esiti/Elettricita/MGP/Statistiche/SintesiMGP
  11. [11] https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/europe-environment-2025/countries/norway/renewable-energy-sources
  12. [12] GSE, Rapporto energia da FER in Italia. 2024 (https://www.rinnovabili.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Solare-Fotovoltaico-Rapporto-Statistico-2024.pdf).
  13. [13] Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica (MASE), Piano Nazionale Integrato per l’Energia e il Clima, versione definitiva, luglio 2024 (https://www.mase.gov.it/portale/documents/d/guest/pniec_2024_revfin_01072024-pdf).
  14. [14] https://www.terna.it/it/sistema-elettrico/statistiche
  15. [15] Decreto “Aree Idonee”, DM 21 giugno 2024 (https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2024/07/02/24A03360/SG).
  16. [16] K. Bond, Carbon Tracker Initiative Report 2021, The Sky’s the Limit: Solar and wind energy potential is 100 times as much as global energy demand.
  17. [17] E. Larson et al., NetZero America, Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, 2020 (https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/img/Princeton_NZA_Interim_Report_15_Dec_2020_FINAL.pdf).
  18. [18] J. M. Weinand, T. Pelser, M. Kleinebrahm, D. Stolten, Countries across the world use more land for golf courses than wind or solar energy, Environmental Research Communications, 2025, 7, 021012 (https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.15376).
  19. [19] https://www.vaticannews.va/it/mondo/news/2025-11/leader-mondiali-riuniti-a-belem-per-la-cop30-pesa-assenza-usa.html
  20. [20] IRENA, The geopolitical benefits of the energy transition e Future of Solar PV (https://www.irena.org/).
  21. [21] https://lightbox.terna.it/it/insight/hvdc-tecnologia-corrente-continua
  22. [22] L. M. Pastore, L. de Santoli, Socio-economic implications of implementing a carbon-neutral energy system: a green new deal for Italy, Energy, 2025, 322, 135682 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.135682).
  23. [23] https://www.iea.org/search/charts?q=LCOE
  24. [24] https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2023/12/05/benefits-of-accelerating-the-climate-transition-outweigh-the-costs

Most read articles by the same author(s)