The brainers
Giovanni Paoloni – Professor of history
Giovanni Paoloni is full professor at the “Sapienza” – Università di Roma, where he teaches “archival theory” and “history and politics of science and research”. He was also Director of the Graduate School of Library Science and Archiving (2014-2020). His research focuses on the history and archives of technology companies and scientific research institutions, from Italian unification to the end of the 20th century. Principal investigator of the project “Anguana – A museum of man and the mountains” (Istituto per la ricerca scientifica sulla montagna – IMONT, 2005-2008), he is currently principal investigator of the website www.archividellascienza.org, a joint initiative of the Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL and the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ (Milan). Since 2014, he has been a member of the Comité d’Histoire de l’Électricité et de l’Énergie (EdF Foundation, Paris): in 2017, he organized the international meeting Transitions in Energy History: State of theArt and New Perspectives (Milan, November 29 – December 1, 2017). Currently a member of the Accademia delle Scienze dell’Istituto di Bologna, and of the Accademia Nazionale di Scienze Lettere e Arti di Palermo, Visiting Senior Member of Linacre College (Oxford University), and Visiting Scholar at the Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte (Berlin).
This brainer takes part in round-table discussions, offers improvisation sessions and the following solo talks:
How green is green energy?
The term “green” is generally used to define “non-fossil” fuels for energy production. It is sometimes considered to be the equivalent of “renewable”, although this assumption is rather questionable. Fossil fuels (gas, coal, oil) are considered to be the main contributors to the acceleration of climate change. The scientific community broadly agrees on the need for a transition to green energy production. However, no energy production can take place without environmental costs, and the current transition is neither the first nor the only one in world history. The transition envisaged includes both technical and cultural aspects. This presentation discusses the role that history can play in shaping future energy policies through a better understanding of past transitions in the industrial era.