One Week of saving water, saving electricity and lowering emissions

For one week, we tried to save water and electricity. Often, there are a lot of lights burning while nobody is in the room, and computers consume a lot of energy in standby mode. Water is also a widely used resource and a lot of times, you leave the water running while doing something else. Another issue is the use of cars, which produce very many emissions. Therefore, we also tried to use cars less than usual during our project.

It was easy to travel by public transport and by bike. But we realized how huge the amount of water and electricity is which we use and waste every day. It was not easy to use less water, but we could easily save electricity by turning off electric devices which we were not using at that moment.
It was difficult to see our own difference because of our families: With a big family, the amount of used electricity and water is enormous and also hard to track. 
But we think that we saved a lot of energy in the last week and hopefully a good amount of water. We realized that the environment and the world would be a nicer place, especially for the next generations, if we all tried to save some water and electricity every day. 
It was not easy in some moments, to use as little as possible and less than usual, but we think that we got it. We could also imagine doing this for a longer time, because it is not that difficult but gives a lot to our future children. We did not make a big difference, but as B. Reese said: “if you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito”. Furthermore, if we all do something, it will have a big impact and with everyone joining, the difference will be bigger. 

Some Facts:

• In Germany, everybody uses an average of 130 litres of water every day
• A family with two children uses around 4430kwh (with this electricity, we could watch TV for 3,5 years or 31.010 hours)
• The amount of water used every day can be up to 500 litres in Dubai
• The United States have the biggest release of emissions

Sources:

http://www.stromerzeugung-stromverbrauch.de/Stromverbrauch/Stromverbrauch-Haushalt-Deutschland.html

http://www.hydrologie.uni-oldenburg.de/ein-bit/11686.html

http://www.verivox.de/themen/wasserverbrauch/

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattstunde

http://www.co2-emissionen-vergleichen.de/Klimabilanz/Laendervergleich/weltweite-co2-emissionen.html 

Vegan experiences give a lot of people a new awareness of life

1)What did you do for your project and why?

To make a difference, L. and I followed a vegan diet that consisted of only plant-derived foods for one week. The reasons for this decision were to prevent the exploitation of animals, to protect the environment and to improve our health. Well-planned vegan food is rich in protein, iron,calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals.
We asked ourselves what our bodies needed if we left out eggs, meat and dairy products.
Vitamin  B12 keeps the body's nerves and blood cells healthy, but it only occurs naturally in animal products, so we needed a Vitamin B12 supplement. Good vegan iron sources are for example sunflower seeds, raisins, and dark, leafy greens. Vitamin C-rich foods  (red peppers, citrus, and broccoli) aid iron absorption. 

 

2) What was easy?

The first day was easy, because I like fruits and vegetables. For breakfast I drank a fruit smoothie with bananas, pineapple and coconut. For lunch I ate a delicious veggie pizza with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and corn  (http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/specialdiets/vegan/#PMxs4gyMjBdhKEeE.97).  In the evening I made a salad consisting of lettuce, cucumber, corn, onions, red beans and leek.

 

3) What was difficult?

For me, the hardest thing was to live without milk and eggs. I like eating cheese, yogurt and drinking milk for breakfast. I don't eat many eggs, but I learned that they are hidden in other foods. For example eggs are sometimes ingredients in pasta, bread and cookies. Even gummi bears were not allowed, because the gelatin is of animal origin. Soy milk as a substitute is expensive.

 

4) What were the results of your project and what were your personal insights?

We enjoyed eating vegan food. It made us happy to protect animals and the environment. The colors of the ingredients are nice looking, but it was difficult for us to buy all of these things. I don`t like tofu and soy milk very much and they are rather expensive, so I will continue eating butter and milk. Vegan food certainly helps the animals, but you should also remember that many clothes as down jackets, shoes, handbags etc. are made from material derived from animals as well. If possible you should not use these materials either.

 

5) Would you do it again?

 

Yes, we would do it again, but only for some weeks.

 

6) Finally, how did it make a difference?

The project made me think. Before, I had not been aware that animal products were included almost everywhere. Now I'm more aware of what I eat and what I wear. I will think about it in the future..

 

Recipe: Wraps with fruit and vegetables

These are easy to make. A wrap encloses the food, so you can include more things than in a sandwich. Heat the tortilla in a pan, if you`d like it warm. Whatever tortilla you use, lay it on a plate or on a clean cutting board. Divide the wrap into three dough sheet parts. Place the fillings in the middle of each part and fold it to a "bag".

Fillings you can use:

vegetables:

• lettuce of all kinds

• spinach

• sprouts

• pepper

• broccoli

• tomatoes

• olives

• mushrooms

 fruits:

• bits of pear

• apples

• grapes

• raisins

• and anything else you like.

   

  

   

Salt and pepper are common choices, but don`t forget other fresh or dried herbs and spices, like basil, oregano, cinnamon or chili powder.

  For a restaurant look, slice the wrap in half diagonally.

 

                                                         Enjoy your meal                              

A vegan week - Eating vivid, eating variable, eating vegan

I have been a vegetarian for over one year now, but I had never eaten much meat in general. Apart from that I have always followed a healthy diet. So when the question came up of what project I could do to make a difference, I thought of leaving out animal products completely and eating vegan for one week. I read about it in some books, for example VEGAN FOR YOUTH by Attila Hildmann, or in blogs like “Healthy Happy Life“ (http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com) and it didn’t sound that complicated.

I wanted to do this project because you make a difference for yourself (you do your body a favor) and you do something for the environment and the animals. I watched some videos about this topic as well, and I couldn’t believe how unhealthy milk is and how (as everybody knows) the animals from which our breakfast eggs come from, are treated horribly. Moreover their meat is full of hormones.

It was important to me to eat vegan and healthy, because of course you have to make sure your body has enough vitamins and nutrients and you don’t have a deficiency. So during my vegan week I ate a lot of legumes like lentils, beans and chickpeas. I also tried a lot of unusual cereals like quinoa and millet and didn’t eat any wheat but spelt. I ate minced soy and tofu as well. Instead of having milk in my coffee I drank oat milk and I tried a lot of vegan spreads instead of having cheese and butter on my bread, for example with pepper, mushrooms or hummus. 

For me it wasn’t very difficult to eat vegan. I liked most dishes, e.g. pizza with potatoes (it’s been my absolute favorite pizza for many years) and I love oat milk in my Sunday morning coffee - I actually prefer it over soy milk. The only thing I really missed was a slice of bread with butter and salt, because after a few days the spreads became very annoying. :-)

My result is: I can’t imagine eating vegan all of the time, but I will do it once or twice a year to cleanse my body, because you do really feel fresher. And I would recommend a vegan week to anybody who wants to make a small difference, because as I said you change your way of living and do something good!

One of my favorite recipes: Self-made wraps with vegetables and chili con soy

8 wraps

320 g spelt flour

45 ml olive oil

a pinch of salt

150 ml warm water

Mix the flour, the salt and the olive oil and add some water to it. You should get a soft pastry. Then you have to put the pastry into the fridge for 30 minutes or longer. After this, you have to form eight balls and try to make eight round and very thin wraps out of it. In the end: fry the wraps without any more oil or butter in a pan. You have to wait until some bubbles are produced. Then turn it and fry from the other side.

Chili con soy

150 g minced soy

tomato sugo

2 onions

garlic

olive oil

thyme

pepper & salt

Steep the minced soy in hot water for 10 minutes and saute the garlic and the onions in the olive oil. Then roast the soy and add the tomato sugo. Put the thyme, the pepper and the salt into it. The whole sauce has to be cooked for 10 minutes. It’s a wonderful filling for the wraps.

During your waiting time you can prepare some salad, tomatoes, beans, peppers or whatever you like.

Have fun and enjoy your meal!

Emma Watson's UN speech on gender inequality

Hello everyone!
On Wednesday we watched Emma Watson's speech on gender inequality, which she gave in front of the United Nations last year, thereby launching the HeForShe campaign. If you are interested in more information, check out the official website at http://www.heforshe.org/ or follow them on twitter at https://twitter.com/heforshe/.

"Home" by Warsan Shire

Today we read a very moving poem called "Home" by Warsan Shire, which has now frequently been quoted in the course of the current refugee crisis. Born in Kenya in 1988, Warsan Shire emigrated to the United Kingdom at the age of 1, where she still lives and works as a poet, writer and educator. Here is the full version of the poem for you to re-read and share:

no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well

your neighbors running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home
when home won’t let you stay.

no one leaves home unless home chases you
fire under feet
hot blood in your belly
it’s not something you ever thought of doing
until the blade burnt threats into
your neck
and even then you carried the anthem under
your breath
only tearing up your passport in an airport toilets
sobbing as each mouthful of paper
made it clear that you wouldn’t be going back.

you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied

no one chooses refugee camps
or strip searches where your
body is left aching
or prison,
because prison is safer
than a city of fire
and one prison guard
in the night
is better than a truckload
of men who look like your father
no one could take it
no one could stomach it
no one skin would be tough enough

the
go home blacks
refugees
dirty immigrants
asylum seekers
sucking our country dry
niggers with their hands out
they smell strange
savage
messed up their country and now they want
to mess ours up
how do the words
the dirty looks
roll off your backs
maybe because the blow is softer
than a limb torn off

or the words are more tender
than fourteen men between
your legs
or the insults are easier
to swallow
than rubble
than bone
than your child body
in pieces.
i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important

no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
i dont know what i’ve become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here

image source: http://www.itv.com/news/2015-11-09/new-arrivals-in-the-past-week-of-the-refugee-crisis/

See you soon!

Great class today. Enjoy your fall holidays, everyone!

Everything's awesome!

Hey there everybody! Last week we watched a video by the amazing Kid President, titled "How to change the world", which was as funny as it was inspiring. For all of you who'd like to watch it again, here it is:

Enjoy and see you next week! :-)