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Romain Leroy-Castillo's blog

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Jul 29, 2024

Innovation and environment : batteries made of sugar and paper

15 billion batteries are disposed of each year worldwide and only 3% of their components are recycled. 400 liters of water, or 3 m3 of Earth, can be contaminated for 50 years by the mercury contained in one single battery. One of them is for me particularly impressive: the French startup has come up with a paper-based biofuel cell !

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Jul 04, 2024

AI at the service of humanity: can AI contribute to "greening" the maritime sector?

At a time when environmental issues are increasing, could AI help us preserve resources, while promoting the continued progress of humanity? The maritime sector is a vital player in the global economic system, with a total value of goods transported estimated at $14 trillion in 2023 according to UNCTAD. But it also represents around 2 to 3% of global CO2 emissions and contributes significantly to marine pollution. We must therefore manage the dilemma which requires that our societies continue to participate in global economic exchanges while preserving our environment.

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Jul 04, 2024

“GreenAI”: now we start to get the figures of AI’s ecological footprint

There is no doubt that AI brings a lot of opportunities to support humanity’s efforts to address the ecological challenges of our time, mostly through efficiency gains. But AI’s very obvious ecological drawback is, of course, its energy consumption, and the balance we need to strike between its potential ecological benefits and its expected ecological harms. Recent sustainability reports of large American companies give us insights to finally start estimating this ecological impact concretely.

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Jun 15, 2024

Ecologie: comment concilier urgence et désir d'agir?

Le nouvel exemplaire de la revue de Up4Hu, "Pour un monde plus humain" est sorti! Nous sommes en 2024: tout le monde est écolo… Tout le monde? Non! Un petit nombre d’irrésistibles climato-sceptiques résiste encore et toujours à l’alerte globale. Il faut dire que le message ne donne pas envie d’être entendu, parfois culpabilisant, si vertigineux qu’il conduit souvent au sentiment d’impuissance et à l’immobilisme. Alors, comment donner à chacun l’envie d’agir pour la planète ? Comment envisager une écologie de l’émerveillement, humaine, non punitive?

Article

Mar 17, 2024

The ecological challenge: reconciling progress and care for posterity

"Grandpa! Have you any idea of the CO2 footprint of your huge rib steak here ? You should eat less meat!" Laura says reproachfully and with a slightly smug air. Despite all the love he has for his granddaughter, Edouard immediately takes on the colour of the generous rib steak in front of him. Soon the tone rises: "postmodern!", "anthropocentric!", "anti-speciesist!", "cartesian!". If ecological engagement sometimes unleashes passions, it is because it does not call into question only a few consumption habits, but rather some of our fundamental representations of the world and humanity.

Quote

Jusqu'ici nous avons plutôt insisté sur les exploits qui permettaient la transformation de la nature, mais ne convient-il pas d'apprendre d'abord à la conserver? Est-ce compatible et peut-on unir à la fois l'innovation, la croissance et cette "garde" qui, dans ses recommandations extrêmes, nous vaudrait le retour à la bougie et au bateau à voile? Nous entrons dans l'inévitable examen de la question de l'écologie.

François Dagognet

La Raison d'agir

Quote of the Day

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.

Hannah Arendt