Superquark - Preparing for the Future S1:E2

Introduction

Piero Angela, recognizing the urgent ecological emergency of our times, decided in the last period of his life to dedicate to the new generations, to the young people who today attend Italian schools and who one day will be responsible for the society of the future, a series of "lessons" to explain, as he himself says in the presentation: "in a simple and hopefully not boring way, the problems that humanity must face, linked to climate change and the search for new energy sources, but also the role of science and technology in modern society.

Clean Energy

How much energy can be obtained from so-called "clean sources", i.e. those that do not generate carbon dioxide, the infamous CO2, responsible for the greenhouse effect? It is the theme of the new appointment with "Preparing for the future", the Rai Cultura series created and written by Piero Angela and dedicated to the new generations. Piero Angela, together with a team of experts, analyzes the advantages, but also the limits, of "clean" resources and the role of so-called energy cannibalism.

Wind and Solar

What stage is new research on wind and solar energy at? If on the one hand new technologies are increasingly efficient, on the other the growing need for energy forces us to continue to use massive amounts of polluting sources. It is the theme of the new appointment with "Preparing for the future". What stage is new research on wind and solar energy at?

Energy Efficiency

How much energy could be recovered from waste and greater technological efficiency? Very eloquent examples of savings, for example in the insulation of buildings. How much mobile phones and chats consume. How a company can vertically reduce its energy consumption.

The Ecological Footprint

How profound is the imprint left on the environment today. The differences between countries and between areas of the world. The increase in consumption but also in consumers, which have multiplied dramatically in just a few decades. Delays in addressing the ecological issue.

The New Agriculture

New crops to cope with climate change. The water problem. Excessive consumption and waste: new technologies. How much water is needed to make any object. The costs of desalination.

The Economic Transition

How the economy and the environment are connected. The economy has always had to transform, following technological evolution. Today he has to do it even faster. New problems and new opportunities. The digital revolution.

The Scientific Method

What are the rules of research. You always have to prove what you say. Anyone who does not submit to this rule is outside of science. The long battle against pseudo-medicines and their supporters.

Science and Technology

How their roles intertwine. Science discovers, technology invents. Everything we see around us is the result of this dual action of research and development. Even energy resources are in reality not material wealth, but the fruit of technological inventions.

The Wealth Machine

How inventions, over the last two centuries, have changed the world, increasing income, length of life, decreasing fatigue and working hours. And moving from mass illiteracy to school for all.

The Transition of Companies and Work

To adapt to the changing world, everyone must do their part: businesses, which must be able to compete in a rapidly changing economy; and individuals who will live in a new society that will require new skills, new professions and adequate preparation.

Artificial Intelligence

The new frontiers of artificial intelligence and its applications in every field: from medical diagnoses to self-driving cars, from robots to business management. Advanced research to imitate brain processes: similarities and differences with the human brain.

Public Debt and Productivity

Getting into debt is not a bad thing, as long as you use loans to develop. Italy has a very high public debt: one solution to reduce it is to increase the country's productivity and efficiency, in every aspect. This is exactly what Europe is asking of us with the gigantic Recovery Fund loan.

Demography

How the sharp decline in births and the lengthening of lifespan will create situations never seen in the past in Italy. Few young people and many old people will mean a society that will need many immigrants. And it will be necessary to create an adequate welcome for them.

Balances and Imbalances

As Archimedes' principle says, if you immerse a body in a liquid, it causes a push from the bottom upwards. It is the modern principle of feedback, of retraction, much more complex when the system in which changes are caused sets cross-feedbacks in motion. Thus, imbalances are created in search of new balances, that is, new problems in search of adequate solutions.