In contrast to combustion engines, the amount of energy required to manufacture the batteries plays a greater role in electric cars. According to the Heidelberg IFEU Institute, one kWh of battery capacity can save around 125 kg of CO2-emissions. The production of an electricity storage system with 24 kWh therefore produces around three tonnes of CO2 emissions. In contrast, the emissions produced when building an electric motor are lower. As a result, the e-car has to reduce its driving emissions by around 2.74 tonnes of CO2 offset. This means that if we concentrate too much on the emission of greenhouse gases, we could end up reducing CO2-The overall balance of a product should not be lost sight of. The latest, most economical model is not always the best choice and the frugal use of an existing product is the better way. In short, a vehicle should not be purchased as long as the CO2-backpack has not been emptied.
The popular ESA dormitory on the campus of the TU Kaiserslautern (TUK) is in great need of renovation. The foundation's renovation concept for TUK envisions the former experimental building becoming a CO2-neutral building. The estimated costs for the work have not yet been fully raised. Therefore, the ESA residents are participating with a crowdfunding campaign, which has been available on the Startnext platform since September 13.
"We are all grateful that we can continue to live in the ESA and contribute to the building's continued existence. There is a unique atmosphere here," says resident Marcel Meyer. At the end of May, the dormitory was finally handed over to its new owner, the TUK Foundation. Now the renovation work, worth a total of two million euros, is to get underway quickly. The remaining cost share of 700,000 euros is currently being raised by the foundation through fundraising. The ESA housing association's crowdfunding campaign is intended to generate further publicity and finance a modern solar system and insulation for the listed building.
On the campaign website at www.startnext.com/ein-haus-im-gruenen a pitch video and further information are available. "So that potential supporters can learn even more about us and life in the dormitory, we are also posting self-made video clips and a virtual tour of the building on the ESA website and on Facebook," explains Meyer.
Inviting people to the ESA via video as part of the crowdfunding campaign: (from left to right) Matthias Kremer, Tabea Lang, Marcel Meyer and Anna Avagyan - representing the entire residential community. Photo: TUK
Renovated all around, the dormitory will act as a gateway between the university campus and the Palatinate Forest in the future. "TU Kaiserslautern is proud to present such a unique building on its campus. With the energy-saving architecture, the builders have created a dormitory that has not lost its relevance today after 35 years. This is one reason why it was the first building on our campus to be listed at the end of last year," says Prof. Dr. Arnd Poetzsch-Heffter, President of TUK.
Annette Mechel, board member of the foundation, adds: "As the new owner of the dormitory, the TUK Foundation is pleased to be able to accompany this exciting project. The commitment and willingness of the residents to cooperate are helping us enormously to implement the not so easy renovation.
The crowdfunding campaign is expected to be available on Startnext for three months. The TUK Foundation and the ESA housing community are happy about every small donation that contributes to the preservation of the unique building. On the campaign website, supporters can receive a thank-you gift in return and request a donation receipt.
Further information is available at: esa.dormitory.uni-kl.de. On Facebook, the page of the ESA dormitory can be found under "@esakaiserslautern".
The TU Kaiserslautern is the only university in Rhineland-Palatinate with a technical and scientific orientation. Future-oriented study programs, practical training and a modern infrastructure are the framework conditions that students find at the campus university. The TU Kaiserslautern was awarded the Excellence Prize for Studies and Teaching in the nationwide competition "Excellent Teaching". With this award, the TU demonstrates the high value of its study programs. In addition, students and scientists benefit from the numerous internationally renowned research institutions that cooperate closely with the TU Kaiserslautern in the field of applied research.
Source: Press release of TU Kaiserslautern from 9.9.2020
Hamburg (8 July 2017). In Hamburg, 19 heads of government from the largest economies jointly reaffirmed their commitment to the swift implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and rejected US President Trump's attempt to undermine the Paris Agreement.
According to the leaked results, the final declaration sets out the differences between the USA and the other 19 partners on climate protection. The 19 emphasise the irreversibility of the agreement, commit to rapid implementation and adopt a detailed climate and energy action plan. "The action plan is the most concrete result on climate policy that the G20 has ever produced," explains Christoph Bals, Political Director of Germanwatch. "It shows that it is no longer just about reaffirming the Paris Agreement, but about taking steps to implement it."
In the document, the 18 states plus the EU emphasise, among other things, the importance of long-term climate protection strategies, which are to be presented by 2020. They commit to aligning development aid and infrastructure investments with climate targets and specify steps that can be taken to encourage companies and investors to disclose their climate strategies. Bals: "We welcome the fact that the 19 partners are also recognising their responsibility for the poor and those particularly vulnerable to climate change and are launching a global partnership for financing and climate insurance solutions."
The US government's attempt to obtain a free pass for fossil fuel exports was curbed as the US accepted the UN's global Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for the energy transformation in the joint section of the G20. "This means they accept that the share of renewable energies will grow substantially by 2030 and that the pace of energy efficiency improvements will double," explains Bals.
Chancellor Merkel is criticised. She cannot "put the phase-out of coal, oil and gas on the international agenda by the middle of the century and refuse a plan at home for the rapid, socially acceptable phase-out of coal," emphasises Bals. "It cannot push ahead with plans to accelerate the international climate transition and at the same time have no strategy in Germany for the transport sector, which still has emissions as high today as they were in 1990."
Environment Minister Heinen-Esser: "The protection of the starry night sky serves health, species and climate protection and enables fascinating nature experiences at night".
A fascinating natural spectacle: The Eifel National Park is one of few places in Germany where you can see the Milky Way with your naked eyes. Now the International Star Park Eifel National Park has received the final and so far unique recognition in western Germany. (Photo: Maximilian Kaiser)
Schleiden-Gemünd / Nettersheim, 05.04.2019. Experiencing the starry sky at night with twinkling celestial bodies is a special experience for many people that is now only possible in a few places in Germany - one of these places is the Eifel National Park. Since 2010, a regional initiative has been successfully campaigning for the protection of the night sky and the preservation of the natural night landscape - in 2014, this was followed by the provisional designation as the first "International Dark Sky Park" in Germany. Now this initiative can look forward to the final recognition as International Star Park Eifel National Park. On the grounds of the observatory of the astronomy workshop "Stars without Borders" in the Eifel National Park, Dr. Andreas Hänel, highest representative of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) in Germany, presented the certificate of recognition to Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser and the head of the Eifel National Park Administration Dr. Michael Röös. The distinction of being a protected area of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is a title that only a few regions worldwide can use to promote themselves, in Germany there are only four. For the Eifel National Park, which turned 15 this year, this recognition is a nice "birthday present".
The Eifel National Park is a refuge of undisturbed night skies and has been recognised as a star park since 2014. "Rarely does a topic offer so many win-win situations," said Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser when handing over the certificate. She emphasised the many benefits of protecting the starry night sky: "Dark nights have a positive effect on health, conserve resources and thus help to protect the climate. Darkness is important for many nocturnal animal species, especially insects. Artificial light at night can be a serious threat to them." For North Rhine-Westphalia, he said, the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as the only star park in the entire western half of Germany was an outstanding honour. "The final recognition of the Eifel National Park as a star park helps to raise the profile of our state as a nature destination as well," the state environment minister summed up.
The initiative goes back to the astronomer and lighting consultant Harald Bardenhagen from Cologne, who managed to convince the region of the value of the starry sky. Initially, Bardenhagen found enthusiastic comrades-in-arms in the administration of the Eifel National Park, the district administration of Euskirchen, the national park towns of Schleiden and Heimbach, and those responsible for the Vogelsang property. However, until the final recognition as a Dark Sky Park, further efforts on different levels were necessary: In the design of the outdoor lighting to reduce the artificial light in the National Park and the directly surrounding villages or in the development of tourist offers for stargazing for the general public. The North Eifel Nature Park, in which the Eifel National Park is embedded, has also been intensively involved in this process.
Dr. Michael Röös, Head of the Eifel National Park Authority, thanked Mr. Bardenhagen for his unprecedented commitment against light pollution and his dedication to protecting the night sky and making it possible to experience it. "With the final recognition of the Eifel National Park as an International Star Park, we have reached an important milestone with the region and at the same time taken a pioneering role in the protection of darkness in North Rhine-Westphalia."
"Together we will significantly expand this unique selling point", Manfred Poth, Chairman of the North Eifel Nature Park, was pleased to say. With the innovative project application "Under the Tent of Stars - Eifel by Night", the nature park was able to prevail in the "Nature Park Competition.2021.NRW" of the NRW Ministry of the Environment and, for the first time in its history, took first place. "With the associated 400,000 euros in funding, the protection of darkness through public relations work, through educational offers of sustainable development and tourist infrastructure projects in the Eifel will experience a significant further development," explained Poth. More than 40 project partners, including the Eifel National Park Authority, want to participate in the realisation.
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Hamburg (8 July 2017). In Hamburg, 19 heads of government from the largest economies jointly reaffirmed their commitment to the swift implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and rejected US President Trump's attempt to undermine the Paris Agreement.
