005_Foppa_Pedretti(567)_35

___________ 1 A Google search for "renewable energy" (with the string in inverted commas in order to search for the words in this sequence) yields more than 17 million (M) hits; a search for "energy" produces more than 350 M hits, placing it in reassuring competition with "food" (over 600 m hits). However, when limited to PDF files (i.e. documents available for download, which are likely to be reports of a certain value), the search yields more than 3 M hits for "renewable energy" and less than 55 M for "food". These data, confined to the English language, are partial but highlight various questions, in particular the huge amount of material available on the Web. Its sheer quantity would require a summarizing effort directed at identifying relevant material for teaching purposes and for spreading research results. 2 This view is widely held, with Hubbert a major points of reference (http://www.hubbertpeak.com). Given the scarcity of fossil resources, some authors propose focusing EU university curricula on "renewable energy sources" and "agricultural engineering". 3 This view has a narrower following but the literature is usually highly qualified. 4 Among various actions, one in particular deserves to be mentioned -the setting up of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), whose remit is to study climate change and its causes. At the EU level the IPCC reports have led to an articulated body of rules aimed at reducing CO 2 emissions that will become increasingly restrictive over time