ECRI-NEWS
Topic outline
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Welcome at ECRI-NEWS!
We have created this area to help you, the students, during your study time. Here you will find interesting content, the latest updates and news about the ECRI.content is currently being updated and will move to the wiki
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International days offer us the opportunity to organise activities or just inform on the theme of the day. In this section you will find all posts to selected international days.-
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The project results of the joint project WANDEL show that strategies for transforming the energy system in the context of the energy transition should not only take into account the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but also water consumption. Water is essential for energy supply, for renewable energy as well as for coal, gas and nuclear power. In addition to direct energy production, for example from hydropower plants, this includes cooling power plants, irrigating energy crops, producing solar cells or extracting raw materials for batteries or fossil fuels through mining. This leads not only to conflicts of use but also to overexploitation. Risk and sustainability analyses show that energy supply is becoming more vulnerable with increasingly frequent water scarcity and drought under climate change conditions. Especially in arid regions, water is already a scarce resource and a limiting factor for economic growth and agricultural production.
Over-intensive use is a major problem especially in arid areas and in the use of non-renewable groundwater resources. Impacts of intensive water use due to global resource consumption can be seen at the Aral Sea and San Pedro de Atacama, among others.
Possible solutions include coordinated sharing of water resources, which usually also increases water use efficiency, and a general and permanent reduction in resource consumption. Because no, there is (almost) nothing that doesn't have a (virtual) water footprint at all - it's just unfortunate that the impact can't be seen currently and on our own doorstep.
For more information on water consumption and virtual water, feel free to check out our World Water Day post from March 22, 2022.
Impressive images of how mankind is changing the earth's surface are available from photographer Tom Hegen, who specializes in aerial photography projects. Interesting on the topic are for example the series on lithium mining in the Atacama Desert (https://www.tomhegen.com/collections/the-lithium-series-i), the series on copper mining (https://www.tomhegen.com/collections/the-copper-mine-series-i) or the series on sustainable dry farming in spain (https://www.tomhegen.com/collections/the-spanish-farmland-series).
Further information is available:
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- Instead of fish from the sea, it is better to eat locally farmed fish, in our region for example trout, char or carp. (Unfortunately, the overfishing of the oceans is partly supported by the feed. Quality seals can help here.)
- Omega-3 fat alternatives: spinach, linseed oil, rapeseed or nuts and seeds.
- Protein alternatives: soya, pulses or nuts.
- Vitamin B & protein alternatives: oyster mushrooms.
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The EU provides a guideline about how to respectfully write an e-mail and also DIT communication guide provides you with general communication guidelines.
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International Day of Families
Back to the roots: tips for happier and more sustainable gift giving
- Coordinate with family members, friends or the recipients themselves: especially for gifts for children and expensive gifts (e.g. for weddings or big birthday parties), this is important and prevents disappointment, duplicate gifts and conflicts
- Group gifts
- Meaningful gifts: What has the recipient been wanting for a long time or needs urgently?
- Fewer and rarer, instead more sustainable and of higher quality: many people are happier about a suitable gift than about ten "dust collectors“
- If you feel obliged to give a gift - remember the origins of gift giving: a symbolic gesture to please the other person - for this a gift does not have to be expensive, big or materialistic
- Go gift shopping together - sounds unusual and the surprise effect is lost, but at the same time this can be a great shared experience, especially for adults
Gift ideas
- Time together: e.g. a trip, going out for brunch, concert tickets, cooking together
- Homemade: e.g. a cake, jam, a photo album of the last vacation together, a self-made card
- Donations for charity or a sustainable project (especially for people who already own everything - if you count yourself as one of them, you can also note in the invitation which project or organization you would like to support)
- Small selection of fairly produced and traded chocolates and chocolate eggs instead of huge Easter nests
- Self-grown seedlings or flowers from the self-picking field instead of cut flowers (if it will be classic cut flowers: here, too, you can pay attention to regionality, seasonality and fairtrade)
- Gift cards for a drugstore, your favorite store or a café: kind of boring but (almost) always makes the recipient very happy
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World Press Freedom Day
All sessions of the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference are live streamed via an online plattform.
Find more on www.en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldpressfreedomday
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World Tuna Day
Find more about the International Year for Artisanal Fisheries and Agriculture here: www.fao.org/artisanal-fisheries-aquaculture-2022And if you are interested in the tuna, find more information on www.worldwildlife.org/species/tuna
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The app buycott shows you just by scanning the bar code whether the product is fairly produced or not.
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At ECRI and the DIT, several courses of study deal with the topics of energy supply and thus a responsibility for the future: https://www.th-deg.de/ecri-en
More information: https://www.un.org/en/observances/chernobyl-remembrance-day
Film Tipp: The TV production HBO created a series based on this disaster called Chernobyl. You can stream it on several platforms.
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More information about:
Spanish language day: https://www.un.org/es/observances/spanish-language-day
English language day: https://www.un.org/en/observances/english-language-day -
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The next one will take place on Tuesday, April 26 from 13:15 - 14:00. You can find more events of the Startup Campus here: https://www.th-deg.de/de/studierende/existenzgruendung/veranstaltungskalenderYou can also subscribe to the Startup Campus newsletter, then you won't miss any news. Just send an email to startupcampus@th-deg.de
General information about the Startup Campus can be found here: https://www.th-deg.de/starting-a-business
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If you want to know what you can do to protect our planet and our health, find some inspiration here: www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2022/recommended-actions-to-protect-our-planet-our-health
Find here an example how global warming can harm our health: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krrr9uq313Q&t=1s
And if you‘re now interested in the health courses at ECRI find more information here: https://www.th-deg.de/ecri -
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Find more about the working conditions on Cobalt mining for lithium ion batteries has a high human cost - Washington Post
How can I get rid of electronic waste?
There are many ways to sell used electronic devices in good condition, especially smartphones. Examples: rebuy, ebay Kleinanzeigen or even some electronics shops.
Or during the Environmental Week of the Studentenwerk at ECRI from 27.06. to 03.07.22. There will be boxes where you can hand in old mobile phones that will be recycled and donated. We will give you a reminder and information shortly before the campaign.Where can you buy recycled items?
For example, at backmarket or from the manufacturers themselves.Film Tip
Welcome to Sodom - Your Smartphone is already here
The film documentary "Welcome to Sodom" shows us the immense extent of illegal electronic waste disposal - as a humanly touching portrait of the workers of an electronic waste dump in Ghana.
It sounds so good, so clean, so problem-solving: disposing of electronic waste. But the truth is much dirtier - and can be visited in Ghana, for example. This is what the directors Florian Weigensamer and Christian Krönes did for us.In the film documentary "Welcome to Sodom" they and their team show us the west of the capital Accra: There, in the district of Agbogbloshie, there is a site that was voted "one of the dirtiest places in the world" years ago - the electronic waste dump.
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Find more about human rights violations today here: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/united-states -
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Differentiation between types of virtual water:
Blue Water Footprint: The amount of surface water and groundwater required (evaporated or used directly) to produce an item.
Green Water Footprint: The amount of rainwater required (evaporated or used directly) to make an item.
Grey Water Footprint: The amount of freshwater required to dilute the wastewater generated in manufacturing, in order to maintain water quality, as determined by state and local standards.Further information: Waterfootprint & UN World Water Day
These numbers are averages. There are large fluctuations depending on size, transport and origin of the product.
Sources:
https://waterfootprint.org/en/resources/interactive-tools/product-gallery/
https://www.watercalculator.org/footprint/the-hidden-water-in-everyday-products/
https://klassewasser.de/content/language1/downloads/klassewasser_Info%20virtuelles%20wasser_produktgalerie.pdf -
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Film tip: Disney Pixar’s Inside Out. A funny movie about five personified emotions of a 11-year-old girl getting in trouble and perusing happiness.
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