Zelensky or not Zelensky, maybe that’s not the issue. First of all there are the people, the citizens, the victims, millions of Ukrainians in dire straits, tens of thousands of Russian kids who are risking their lives. We can do something other than just participate in one manifestation occasionally or answer an opinion poll about shipping weapons. We can do something even if we don’t have the clear ideas and compacts on military aid.
Incidentally, I believe that Silvio Berlusconi’s outburst against Zelensky does not derive so much from senile incontinencebut from the awareness that many Italians do not recognize themselves in unconditional support for Ukrainian nationalism. It is a difference between Italian public opinion and that of most Europeans.
There is also an important issue that I could define as solidarity and environmental initiative towards Ukraine. L’environmentalism it is not a luxury good only for times of peace. Concretely, in the specific case of this war, with the Association Echo from the Cities we began to discover and practice it by adhering to an apparently minimalist request: the campaign by Zero Waste Lviv (Leopoli) to buy reusable containers for the canteens of refugees, avoiding the economic and environmental waste of disposable items.
Now with the appeal “Solar Aid for Ukraine” you try to make a qualitative leap. It is a campaign for the availability and use of small and medium-sized, grid-independent solar accumulators. For the avoidance of doubt, this is obviously not one ideological choice or snobbish, but of a necessity that can become a virtue. For over two months i black out electricity have become a constant in the lives of Ukrainians because Russia bombs the infrastructure. The repair work it is incessant, but goes through staggered times of interruption, or even new sudden blackouts. In fact, a lot has been focused, and immediately, on generators or generators to have energy when the grid is not working.
However, the generators require diesel or petrol and are a bit bulky. THE power bank solar, i.e. rechargeable batteries powered by solar panels, are not only ecological (a consideration that may seem idle in wartime), but they are light, easy to handle and universal. The small and medium-sized ones – which we deal with in the appeal – are not powerful, they cannot solve the heating, the lifts or even the cooking, but they can solve two major problems: the luce and the mobile recharge.
Of course, you can charge power bank accumulators even if only electric (like the ones we use as “external batteries” of mobile phones), therefore from the network, but then it depends on the blackouts. With the solar panels, on the other hand, you charge with daylight (not necessarily from the sun, even if it is cloudy) and furthermore you don’t weigh on the network, freeing gigawatts for other purposes.
It is a bit strange and a bit unfortunate that this part of the reasoning (that of lightening consumption and therefore the weight on the network) was made in the meetings between Ursula Von der Leyen and Zelensky for low-consumption light bulbs and solar power banks were not thought of. For low-consumption light bulbs – which were already quite present in Ukraine – a massive sending operation was carried out and they were distributed in the post offices: 5 new LEDs in exchange for 5 old incandescents.
The appeal “Solar aid for Ukraine” starts from some small concrete experiments carried out in the worst conditions, that is, on the shortest days of the year and without sun. Andrii in Kyev, not having the possibility to expose the panel on the balcony, made it more difficult to charge it with the light that arrives through the windows. Nadya in Lviv succeeded more. Now the longer the days get, even without the sun, the more these solar power banks charge and are useful.
The appeal was promoted by Italian and Ukrainian associations. In Ukraine there is still not much awareness of the need for this solar emergency, also because those who bought the super cheap and small Chinese solar banks were disappointed. You have to get some equipment a little more seriousbut we are still talking about tools (panel and battery) that mass-produced can also cost less than 60 euros.
If the idea of solar aid for Ukraine catches on (help us), it will be a formidable tool to reduce the hardships and vulnerabilities of the population and to intensify a international civil dialogue. I don’t know if in other wars there has been such a systematic damage to the electricity grid. But it is perhaps the first time that we can respond with tens of thousands of solar panels on balconies.
“A year later it is certainly clearer what it means to be men and women of pace. What it means to educate for peace and be artisans of peace. Whoever shouts slogans in favor of peace is not a pacifist, but whoever does something concrete to produce peace. Those who argue that Ukrainians have the right to defend themselves against the aggressor even with weapons are not warmongers, but those who think that weapons are the only way to react to Russian aggression.” (Riccardo BonacinaDirector of Vita).