Renewable energies, CO2 emissions, the Kyoto Protocol. These are the current watchwords, especially for those working in the environment. But who truly gives the right weight to words, without leaving empty simulacra of good intentions? Who truly grasps - and locally above all - the importance of changing our habits towards making virtuous use of all and not just energy resources? A mere few, of course, because here again, selfish and special interests prevail. But some have also grasped the opportunity to continue doing best what they have been doing so excellently for centuries: producing wine and oil.

In the heart of Umbria, just a few kilometres from Perugia, the Castello di Monte Vibiano farm made a wager this past 11 October: to become carbon neutral before the end of 2009. How will it do this? Ten thousand newly planted trees, building integrated photovoltaic panels to produce electric energy, electric vehicles, an electrical fuelling station using a latest-generation storage battery (no lead acids), second-generation biomass fuels (under the direct supervision of Perugia's Centro Nazionale di Ricerca sulle Biomasse, led by Franco Cotana) to prevent competition with food production, organic fertilizers, chip boilers producing heat (methane dependent no longer), and even a special white paint to increase albedo - the power to reflect sunlight (another of Cotana's ingenious ideas). The entire productive chain has been involved in the project, which has been rightly referred to as an all-round Green Revolution. A revolution it certainly is, and a serious one at that: everything has been thoroughly checked by DNV (Det Norske Veritas), one of the most prestigious international monitoring outfits, which measured emissions from 2003 through 2007 in accordance with universally recognized parameters. So we are looking forward to 2009 to show everyone that passion for the land and its fruits cannot be considered apart from love for the whole planet. The Fasola Bologna family is doing its part. Are others doing the same?