The Horse 2020/21

Environment & Technology

Water Erosion – Its true scale and power

11. May 2021 Lukas-Wyss Team Zurich M18a, Soil4Life (0)

Were you aware that:

  • China and India are losing soil 30 to 40 times faster than the natural soil replenishment rate allows it
  • 400 billion Dollars per year is the estimated damage of soil erosion worldwide
  • 30% of the world's arable land has become unproductive due to soil erosion over the past 40 years
  • About 60% of soil that is washed away ends up in rivers, streams and lakes
    • This increases the danger of waterways overflooding

Together, wind and water erosion account for 84% of all land degradation making them the biggest danger for future food planting.

[in progress]

ARA – Pfäffikon

30. March 2021 Lukas-Wyss Team Zurich M18a, WWTP (0)

Here are some quick facts about the ARA Pfäffikon, which is my residential WWTP.

Name: ARA Pfäffikon
Size: It sustains about 17 000 People
Serves these villages: Pfäffikon, Bäretswil, Hittnau, Fehraltolf
Location: Schanzweg 2, 8330 Pfäffikon (See map below)
Fun Fact: The ARA is located opposite of the "Schanz" which is our "Wertstoff-Sammelstelle"

Source: züriost

Source: map.geo.admin

My heat source at home

7. March 2021 Lukas-Wyss Heat sources, Team Zurich M18a (0)

Sadly, our heating source is very energy-consuming and not sustainable, as we are heating with oil. Ever so popular and cheap, oil heating has been around since the second world war. However, it's a fossil fuel and therefore not renewable. On top of that, the process of creating heating oil creates tons of CO2 with all the drilling and refining. It's an environmental mess.

I was not able to get access to the heater itself, but I was able to photograph the control unit. I am sorry for the image quality, but it's extremely moisty in there.

Lukas Wyss

We got an answer from one of our specialists

1. December 2020 Lukas-Wyss Measures of CityClimate, Step 3 Experience, Communication, Team Zurich M18a (0)

We finally got an answer from the speciaist, Mrs Probst to the following question: "Where do you think most costs arise if you do nothing about our climate?"

Here's what she wrote:

"Ich habe eure Umfrage gestern ausgefüllt. Die Frage bezüglich der Kosten ist schwierig zu beantworten. Solche Voraussagen werden mit Hilfe von Modellen berechnet, die Ergebnisse sind aber nicht gleich je nach Studie, da unterschiedliche Faktoren berücksichtigt werden. 

Ich gebe euch aber absolut recht, dass erhöhte Kosten für das Gesundheitssystem (zunehmende Hitze in Städten belastet speziell ältere Leute), bei der Infrastruktur (Schäden infolge von Starkniederschlägen, die zunehmen werden oder Felsstürzen, weil der Permafrost auftaut, etc.), in der Landwirtschaft (Ernteausfälle infolge von Dürreperioden) anfallen werden. Es sind aber erhöhte Kosten in fast allen Sektoren zu erwarten, wenn nicht frühzeitig Massnahmen ergriffen werden. Ich habe euch noch zwei Artikel verlinkt, die für eure Arbeit interessant sein könnten:"

https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/kosten-der-klimaerwaermung-klimawandel-wird-infrastruktur-massiv-stressen

https://www.umweltnetz-schweiz.ch/themen/klima/2706-kosten-klimawandel.html

Imagination of Survey on climate-changing measures

27. October 2020 Lukas-Wyss Measures of CityClimate, Project planning, Step 1 Imagination, Team Zurich M18a, IDAF20 (0)

We hope to get a lot of data from our survey and to get people to care about these things. The survey should have more than 10 questions. We will make two versions. One in German and one in English to get more international participants. Our goal is to at least get 100 participants.

Surely we will be able to find some participants, which aren't from Switzerland.

We want to find a person, which is able to calculate us, how much it'd cost if we don't do anything about the environment.

Lost a lot of Progress, because it didn't save the post. Will have to write it again...

 

[In progress]