Pietro Monticone Profile picture
Mathematics @UniTrento || Formalising in @LeanProver || Developing in @JuliaLanguage || Modelling @In_Phy_T || Forecasting @Metaculus || Reading @Goodreads.
Apr 10, 2020 6 tweets 6 min read
The Italy's #COVID19 testing page by @OurWorldInData has been updated (thank you @JoeHasell)
ourworldindata.org/covid-testing#…

@RValperga and I have updated our @github page with new propositions w/ subjective confidence levels (low, medium, high) and references. pitmonticone.github.io/covid-italy/ow… I've called @MinisteroSalute: they explicitly told us that "tamponi" refers to "total performed tests including those that are pending result."

@OurWorldInData @JoeHasell @RValperga @MatteoParadisi @Furno_Francesco @beriapaolo @DellAnnaLuca @fdelprato @emmevilla
Nov 11, 2019 21 tweets 8 min read
The Social Costs of Electricity Generation: Categorising Different Types of Costs and Evaluating Their Respective Relevance

Source: mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/3… Social costs

1. Private costs: those types of opportunity costs that are accrued by the market player who produces the good

2. External costs: the costs arising from human activity that are not accounted for by the market player causing the externality.
Oct 29, 2019 20 tweets 8 min read
Estimated Mortality in Japan caused by the Geophysical, Psychological, Social & Economic Disaster in Fukushima

1. Earthquake & Tsunami
2. Radiation Exposure
3. Evacuation Procedures
4. Air Pollution
5. Electricity Price
6. Visual Summary
7. References 1. Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

• Date: 11 March 2011
• Richter intensity: 9.0
• Duration: 6 min
• Depth: 24.4 km
• Epicentre: 130 km east of Sendai City.
• Waves Height: up to 14 m
• Mortality: 15,898 (1,614 in Fukushima)

Sources: from [1] to [7]
Oct 8, 2019 9 tweets 4 min read
Potentials, Costs and Environmental Assessment of Switzerland Power Generation Technologies

• 2017 psi.ch/sites/default/…
• 2019 Update psi.ch/sites/default/…

1. Performance indicators are provided for today, 2020, 2035 and 2050.
2. No system-level assessment. Evaluated technologies :
• Large hydro (LHP)
• Small hydro (SHP)
• Wind (onshore & offshore)
• Solar photovoltaics (PV)
• Biomass
• Deep geothermal
• Wave and tidal
• Solar thermal (CSP)
• Nuclear
• Natural gas & coal
• Fuel cells
• Novel technologies
Oct 6, 2019 12 tweets 13 min read
1. "Global warming, air pollution & energy insecurity, the cause of conflicts all over the world, are 3 of the biggest challenges we face"

Yes, they are very important sustainability indicators:
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1153804…
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1159119…
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1173355… 2. "Renewables are THE solution."

This might be a very powerful moral principle, ideological premise or even a sacred dogma, but I honestly find very hard to argue that it's a techno-scientifically informed conclusion of a logically consistent ethical argument.
Oct 3, 2019 4 tweets 15 min read
@EnergyJvd @EnzoDiependaal @Kaikenhuippu @6point626 @Daniel_W_See @BNW_Ben @thiesbeckers @energi_adam @DanieleVisioni @YDesbazeille @QvistStaffan @kirstygogan @CarloStagnaro @AdamBlazowski @nuclearkatie @TedNordhaus I sincerely can’t understand how someone could say "If you look at the table in the Summary for Policymakers where the data relative to the [IMPs], you can see that there is not a great importance for nuclear energy.” with that data table in front of us. @EnergyJvd @EnzoDiependaal @Kaikenhuippu @6point626 @Daniel_W_See @BNW_Ben @thiesbeckers @energi_adam @DanieleVisioni @YDesbazeille @QvistStaffan @kirstygogan @CarloStagnaro @AdamBlazowski @nuclearkatie @TedNordhaus Leaving aside all the more or less obvious considerations about system costs which are effectively summarized by these 2 simple diagrams from in the last OECD-NEA “The Costs Of Decarbonization” report oecd-nea.org/ndd/pubs/2019/… .
Sep 27, 2019 16 tweets 7 min read
Health Effects of Power Generation Technologies:

• Normal Operation
• Severe Accidents
• Terrorist Threat

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… The goals of sustainability include minimization of power systems' negative health impacts due to
• emissions of pollutants from the normal operation of power plants and the associated fuel cycles
• accidents
thus contributing to increased mortality and morbidity.
Sep 19, 2019 13 tweets 6 min read
Life cycle assessment demonstrates environmental co-benefits and trade- offs of low-carbon electricity supply options

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… Electricity production is the most important contributor to anthropogenic climate change (25% of GHG emissions in 2010).

A stabilization of the global temperature can only be achieved when CO2 emissions from electricity production are radically reduced and eventually go to zero.
Sep 15, 2019 11 tweets 5 min read
External Costs of Energy : How
Much Is Clean Energy Worth ?

asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/solarenergyeng… Air pollution causes significant damage to human health, flora and fauna, agriculture, and materials. The damage costs are said to be external if they are external to the market. Here you can find the damage cost per kg of emitted pollutant.
Sep 15, 2019 8 tweets 2 min read
Power Generation and Human Health

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… Contaminants emitted over the electricity life cycle can have
• short-term effects: those that occur in the days and weeks immediately following exposure (e.g. respiratory impacts)
• long-term effects: typically occur at lower levels over time (e.g. cancer)
Sep 13, 2019 4 tweets 6 min read
With the short time slot available to me, I asked one of Italy's most famous climatologists (environmentalist & tv personality) about the role that nuclear could play in decarbonising the🇮🇹 (and 🇪🇺) power sector mentioning data from @IPCC_CH, UNSCEAR, @IEA. Here is the video (June 2019) with eng sub:
Unfortunately, logically inconsistent and empirically unfounded "arguments" tend to prevail. After the Q&A session I debated for another 30/40 mins with further data and analyses but it's been a failure.
Sep 3, 2019 5 tweets 4 min read
Life-Cycle Analysis of Thermoelectric Power Generation in the United States

#LCA #EnergyPolicy

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… Current and Advanced Coal-Fired Power Generation with and without CCS
Aug 22, 2019 4 tweets 7 min read
• 2011 birth defects: Fukushima 2.85% vs. Japan 3%

• 2017 birth defects: Fukushima 2.38%

• 2017 premature births: Fukushima 5.4% vs. Japan 5.6%

• 2017 low weight newborns: Fukushima 9.4% vs. Japan 9.4%

the-japan-news.com/news/article/0… Who would have thought it ? Well, anyone who

• understands the basics of nuclear/medical/health physics

• is minimally intellectually honest

• have studied at least one of the dose/dose rate data published in the following official reports
Aug 7, 2019 7 tweets 10 min read
This is what I mean when I say "Let's talk about issues X,Y,Z within the proper context" :

Sustainability Assessment for Energy Technologies

#EnergyPolicy #MCDA

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.100… Environmental dimension:
• carbon intensity
• potentially damaged fraction of species
• wastes stored in underground repositories
• external environmental costs
Aug 5, 2019 6 tweets 3 min read
Electricity generation technologies: Comparison of materials use, energy return on investment, jobs creation and CO2 emissions reduction

sciencedirect.com/science/articl… #EnergyPolicy Life cycle
• material intensity
• primary energy input
• job generation
• GHG emissions
Jul 23, 2019 7 tweets 9 min read
Life Cycle Assessment of Power Systems

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

#EnergyPolicy #LCA Abiotic depletion Potential :

Wind vs. Hydro vs. Solar vs. Nuclear
Jun 20, 2019 5 tweets 2 min read
Implications of energy and CO2 emission changes in Japan and Germany after the Fukushima accident.

Source: Pushker A. Kharecha et al., Energy Policy (2019) dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpo… 1. Drastic cuts in nuclear power (NP) in Japan and Germany led to increased CO2 emissions in the first 3 years after Fukushima due to higher fossil fuel (FF) usage to compensate for lower NP output.