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The Guardian •

24-hour parks and alcohol bans: what cities could learn from Paris’s ‘heatwave mode’

Over the weekend, as evening fell on the hilly (and, crucially, shady) Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, one of Paris’s most popular green spaces, the joyfully chaotic Fête de la musique – a summer solstice celebration of music in all its forms – got under way, with competing DJs starting their sets in nearby cafes.It was stiflingly hot and picnickers were cooling down with water, juice or alcohol-free beer – or at least, they should have been.
Horizon Magazine •

Pushing out plastic in consumer-goods packaging

Attention supermarket shoppers in Belgium, France and Luxembourg: a test to cut waste from plastic packaging of foods is coming to nearby stores.

Retailers Carrefour and U-Group plan to sell yoghurts, cheeses, fruit juices, biscuits and other items in packaging made of cellulose fibres, which come from wood or other plant-based materials.

In total, 30 to 60 stores in the three countries will start featuring the environmentally friendly wrappings on 13 types of food by the end of this year.

Ca
Food Matters Live •

Is the baguette under threat? How UNESCO could save the popular bread

“Two hundred and fifty grams of magic and perfection in our daily lives” – that’s how French President Emmanuel Macron summed up the baguette, as it took its place on UNESCO’s list of world intangible cultural heritage last November, after a years-long campaign led by France’s politicians and bakers.

The French delegates in the room at the UNESCO meeting in Rabat, Morocco, cheered and waved baguettes in celebration, and back home, (most) bakers have welcomed the decision, but the good news come
The Local France •

Crèche to cafés: How to make friends with other parents in France

I have often read descriptions of new arrivals in France struggling to break down the reserve of chilly French neighbours and colleagues or finding the parents at their children’s schools snobbish and even hostile. Perhaps I have just been very lucky, but this hasn’t been my experience at all.

There are plenty of opportunities to connect and make friends – both for you and for your children – but when you’re newly arrived it can be hard to know where to start.

The early weeks and months of a n
Discover Cleantech •

How zero emission technologies are taking flight | Discover CleanTech

Modern air travel has expanded the world and its possibilities – but, it has come at a cost. Before the pandemic, the global aviation industry accounted for about two to three per cent of man-made CO2 emissions; fortunately, industry leaders are hard at work to reduce emissions. Aviation specialist Helen Massy-Beresford investigates the possible future of zero emission flight.

After two years of unprecedented crisis, the aviation sector is enjoying its recovery: holidaymakers and business trave
Discover Cleantech •

Paris: The City of Light is going green

Often referred to as the world’s fashion capital, gastronomic capital or cultural capital, Paris now has big plans to become known as its sustainable tourism capital too. From more efficient and more accessible public transport to restaurants serving locally sourced food, the entire tourist sector – and beyond – is involved in working towards that ambitious green goal.

As France works towards its long-term sustainability target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the tourism sector of one o
Al Jazeera •

Fashion turns to technology to tailor sustainable solutions

At the cutting edge of fashion and science, innovators are setting a new trend with a circular model of consumption.

Paris, France – Highlighting the growth of fast fashion – at least in the form of increasing volumes of cheap and disposable clothing – TRAID’s warehouse in London was receiving around 3,000 tonnes of donated clothes every year before coronavirus hit.

“We’re sorting through more volume and finding less that can go into our shops than a few years ago,” said Leigh McAlea, head of
Horizon Magazine •

Non-invasive tests to provide quicker diagnosis of endometriosis

Non-surgical ways of detecting endometriosis, such as blood tests, could reduce the time taken for a diagnosis, and researchers hope it will have a significant impact on the quality of life of women who live with the complex and painful condition.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting an estimated 10% of women of reproductive age in which pieces of endometrium – the lining of the uterus – grow elsewhere in the pelvis. This can cause pelvic and period pain, painful sexual int
Horizon Magazine •

Smart autopilot promises to keep flying safe

Intelligent autopilot and cockpits designed by virtual reality could ease the burden on pilots and make flying safer for Europe’s airline passengers.

Figures show that 918 million passengers travelled by air in the EU in 2015 – a 4.7% increase on the previous year – and passenger numbers are still growing.

Flight safety is a key priority and now researchers have developed a digital co-pilot that can help to analyse risks and offer in-flight advice to the human pilots on board, while also monit
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