“Think clean, go green”

Comenius projectSchool year 2010-2011

Technical Institute “ L. Einaudi”

Manduria

Manduria The other face of our land!

Here is our school in Manduria, an ancient

town in the province of Taranto, in the South-

East of Italy. Manduria occupies

the Northern area of the Salento and it is at

about the same distance from Taranto,

Lecce and Brindisi. It is famous for its strong red wine, the “Primitivo” and its

clear sandy beaches.

Our territory Our territory is

typically Mediterranean with dry and hot summers and mild winters. Moreover, we have a typical warm and humid wind always blowing from the South-West called sirocco

Problems

Our economy is mainly based on agriculture and tourism but we have some environmental problems too.

This is a steel

industry in Taranto,

only 40 Km far from

Manduria. It is a

Limited Company ,

the largest plant in

Europe, with its 3

operating blast

furnaces, 2

steelworks, 23,000

workers and a

turnover of 11 bln

Euros.

.

The “ILVA” in Taranto

In particular, ILVA ore parks, blast furnaces and chimneys are considered

particularly polluting.Dioxin, hydrocarbon and fine particles are

maybe the most dangerous.The causes of the air pollution are

several. They are mainly due to industries but house heating and cars, too, release

harmful gases in the air. As a consequence of these emissions we

have:- the greenhouse effect

-the ozone hole -acid rain

To try to solve air pollution we should:

-use public transport-ride bikes-go on foot.

Our local authorities should: - -take measures to regulate

traffic-find measures to reduce

domestic heating emissions.Governments should:

-invest money in: education and research for the use of

fuels with low environmental impact and renewable energy

sources,--new technologies to increase energy efficiency and to lower

environmental impact

Proposals

Among the causes of

environmental degradation,

fire is no doubt one of the

most important problems in

our region as well as in all

Mediterranean area. Fires

are almost always

fraudulent, that is they are

set intentionally by people,

to destroy the macchia

Mediterranea or woods.

This usually happens in

summer, when the weather is

particularly dry, especially

in our region.

Fire and environment

Fires are very

dangerous to the

environment. The soil

becomes poorer and it

isn’t able to keep water,

which tends to slip

away. Both important

organic substances

and roots of trees or

bushes disappear. All

this may cause erosion

and landslides, and in

these last years, such

catastrophic events

have already happened

in Italy, causing death

and despair.

We think that better controls,

the creation of more protected

areas and education should do

a lot.

We should try to replace burnt

trees and vegetation with other

trees to recreate the same

habitat as soon as possible.

Moreover, as everybody knows,

plants and trees transform

carbon dioxide and water into

oxygen and organic substances,

that is just the two things that

allow us to live.

These are the reasons for plants

to become our best friends.

Our proposals

Water is a vital element for

human life but it is a serious

problem in our region,

because of the persistent

drought that usually affects

our area, especially in spring

and summer. We have neither

rivers nor lakes nor desalter .

So water is supplied by The

waterworks, a system of pipes

and canals that convey and

distribute water from some

rivers ( such as the Ofanto, the

Sele and the Fortore) to our

region, with the intent to solve

our age-old problem of water

scarcity.

Water supply

Water is necessary to our

survival , to drink,to wash , to

cook, to produce food and

make objects that we use every

day in every moment of our

life.

Its supply is always decreasing,

in the world and here in

particular. Sources are more

and more often polluted.

This precious element isn’t

perpetual and we should always

remember that!

Our system of pipelines

is often old and in bad

condition . This provokes

serious water losses.

Therefore it’s necessary a

better management of our

water supply system.

Our Government should

invest much more money

in restructuring to avoid

wasting water. Our

authorities should check

better with a more

intensive and frequent

monitoring.

Our proposals

As to common people, we

should not use drinkable water

to wash our cars, to water

plants and our gardens; the

rain, collected and stored in

appropriate tanks, is a good

source for outdoor activities

that do not require potable

water.

We should choose to have a

shower rather than a bath, or

install flow reducers to our

faucets or turn the tap off

while brushing our teeth, or

shaving.

We should buy low-

consumption dishwashers if we

need one, and use washing

machines only with a full load

to reduce wasted water and

energy.

Classes involved: IE, IIA, IIB, IIC, IID, IIA iter, IIIAc

Teachers involved: Mele G., D’Uggento L., Capogrosso M., Mastrovito A., Greco S., Valentini M.