Klimawandel
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007 01:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mothwing... uh-hu? Since when?
Must have happened after we left, because while we were still living in Glasgow, we barely needed to put the heating on at all during the coldest months because the warmth coming from the neighbouring flats was enough to keep the flat comfortably warm. Judging from what Colin, the best landlord in the world, told us when we arrived, Glaswegians put on the telly when they come home like a lamp, and the water bills are huge. He was absolutely dumbfounded when we told him and a prospective tenant how much, well, how little we spent on electricity, which was about a quarter of what previous tenants (one of whom had been living ALONE) used to spend. (Our secret: no telly, no unnecessary heating and not leaving the light on in unoccupied rooms. The sheer brilliance of it!)
They did make an effort at the University, but that might have been due to the untiring efforts of the environmental officer on the SRC. They had motion detectors in the library and buildings, and I wish we had those over here (The Humboldt Universität in Berlin did get a little overzealous in their efforts - they put motion detectors in their classrooms, so the light keeps going out when people are not wildly gesticulating while they speak or the professor keeps walking up and down in the room. Hehe).
I hope that what they say is true, though. Glasgow is not exactly environmentally conscious, and it'd be good to hear that that's different in other parts of Britain.
Things to do today: (Bold = things my family needs to do)
01_ Warmwasserhahn beim Zähneputzen zudrehen:3 kg
(Turn off the warm water while brushing your teeth)
02_ Zähne nicht elektrisch putzen: 7 kg
(Don't use electrict tooth brush) (But Iove mine! It's one of the best inventions ever, my teeth were never cleaner and my brother needs his with his braces)
03_ Nur wirklich wichtige Dokumente drucken: 7 kg
(Print important documents only) (Guilty. I often print things once, see the typo, and print it again)
04_ Eine Energiesparlampe nutzen: 22 kg
(Use an energy saving light bulb)
05_ Nur so viel Teewasser kochen wie benötigt: 25 kg
(Boil only the amount of water you actually need)
06_ Nur volle Waschmaschinen anstellen: 45 kg
(Turn on only full washing machines)
07_ 10 % der Jahresstrecke mit 90 statt 110 km/h fahren:55 kg
(Travel at 90km/h instead of 110km/h on 10% of the year's journeys. Man, that's an awkward translation.)
08_ Reifendruck kontrollieren und optimieren: 140 kg
(Check and optimize the tyre pressure)
09_ Wäsche an der Luft trocknen lassen: 200 kg
(Leave clothes to dry on the air) (Depending on our house-keeping situation and how much time I have to let the clothes dry I do confess I use the tumble dryer more than necessarily necessary)
10_ Temperatur im Haus um ein Grad drosseln: 300 kg
(Lower the temperature in a house by one degree)
Morgen erledigen
(Things to do tomorrow)
01_ Tropfende Warmwasserhähne reparieren: 20 kg
(Repair dripping taps)
02_ Kühlschrank an einen kühlen Ort verlegen: 150 kg
(Move the fridge to a cool place) (The kitchen is not really that cool, is it?)
03_ Wassersparenden Brausekopf einbauen: 230 kg
(Instal a water-saving shower head)
04_ Klimaanlage täglich vier Stunden ausschalten: 300 kg
(Switch off the air conditioning system for four hours a day)
05_ Regionale Produkte kaufen (Transport!): 300 kg
(Buy local products)
06_ Vorausschauend Auto fahren, früh schalten: 330 kg
(Change gears early)
07_ Überall Energiesparlampen eindrehen: 330 kg
(Use energy saving light bulbs everywhere)
08_ Türen und Fenster besser abdichten: 400 kg
(Isolate doors and windows)
09_ Wand hinter den Heizkörpern isolieren: 430 kg
(Isolate the wall behind the radiators)
10_ Einen Kurztrip streichen (hier: Köln–Mallorca) 720 kg
(Cancel a short trip (i.e. Cologne - Mallorca)
Für übermorgen
(Things to do the day after tomorrow)
01_ Energiesparkühlschrank (A++) kaufen: 100 kg
(Buy an energy saving fridge)
02_ 1000 km im Jahr Bahn statt Auto fahren: 100 kg
(Take the train instead of the car for 1000km a year) (Although I am not sure whether my parents already do that or not.)
03_ E-Herd gegen Gasherd austauschen: 250 kg
(Buy a gas stove instead of an electric one) (Too dangerous with my grandma and my brother around)
04_ Thermostat für Heizanlage einbauen: 430 kg
(Add a thermostat to heating system)
05_ Solarzellen aufs Dach montieren: 500 kg
(Put up solar cells on the roof)
06_ Wärmeschutzfenster einbauen: 500 kg
(Buy double glazed windows with thermal isolation)
07_ Hauswände, Decken und Böden dämmen: 900 kg
(Isolate the walls, ceilings and floors of the house) (No clue, to be honest)
08_ Auf einen Ökostromtarif umsteigen: 1930 kg
(Change to green electricity tariff) (?)
09_ Haus auf Niedrigenergiestandard umrüsten: 3600 kg
(Retool the house to be energy-conscious) (Too expensive)
10_ Eine Fernreise Frankfurt–New York streichen: 4000 kg
(Cancel a long-distance trip (i.e. Frankfurt - NY)
I really like that all of these steps (except for the very last four) are so very easy to do for everyone. They're barely any effort at all, and that makes it more likely that everyone does it.
I wonder what happened to walking and taking the bike instead of the car. I know that that's not possible in rural areas, but in the cities it is. Strange they shouldn't mention it at all. To be honest, I was thinking along those lines rather than in the "let's put solar cells up on the roof"-terms. Also, I wonder what became of "do not leave the telly on while you are not in the room" and "switch off the lights when you leave a room", because I know that that's a problem in many households.
