The Horse 2019/20

Technology & Environment

Wind energy

27. February 2020 Emanuela-DAndrea M17a Zurich, SHARING (0)

Besides the natural resources, sun and water there is also the air.

Wind energy can be used to generate renewable energy. Wind energy can optimally complement hydropower (Wasserkraft) and solar energy.

The advantages:

  • The greenhouse effect is reduced and thus the ecosystem can be supported
  • When using regenerative energy, no harmful fuels (Brennstoffe) are needed, thus preventing damage to the environment and health.
  • By using wind power plants, the energy from nuclear power plants (Kernkraftanlagen) will become unnecessary.

For more informations about the advantages of wind energy click:
https://www.suisse-eole.ch/de/windenergie/gute-grunde/

 

Emanuela D'Andrea

 

Solar energy - project "sharing"

26. February 2020 Noemie-Kaeser Project ideas, M17a Zurich, SHARING (0)

I'm sure that you all have heard from solar energy before! ðŸŒž

People have always made use of solar energy, for example when they let their laundry dry outdoors. Today, the word "solar energy" mainly brings to mind that people can make electricity from it. However, this requires solar cells that take up a lot of space. The sun's rays are converted directly into electricity. Such solar cells can already be seen on many house and factory roofs. More...

Project idea: Oil

26. February 2020 Julia-Hartmann SHARING (0)

Nowadays, so much oil is used, for example to refuel the car but also for the production of plastic and other materials. I would be interested in the possibillities for reducing oil consumption. What we are more aware of is that possible alternatives can be solar energy or wind turbines. What other options are there? What else can oil be replaced by? What are the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the oil with the corresponding alternative? How would the environment react to these alternatives? Before I answer all of these questions I would likte to research current oil consumption and give a list of how much oil is used per year, per month and per day. So first of all I get an overview and after that I can find out what possible alternatives are.

Maybe you have any other ideas for my project idea? Don't hesitate to write a comment with your suggestions! Thanks!

Best wishes,

Julia

 

Gold mining and its social & economical impact

26. February 2020 Luca-Napolitano Mineral resouces, VZ19A (3)

Team: Jan Tall & Luca Napolitano

Audio

Introduction: In our presentation we talked about the different methods gold is being mined and what social & economical impact it has on certain cultures.

There are many methods in order to mine gold. It depends wether the gold is already loose and can just be seperated from the dirt and rocks (by washing) or if the gold has to be loosened from within the rocks. The most popular method is gold panning, also known as gold washing.

Old and used gold is not being thrown away! It is finite and consequently valuable. Gold can be molten and formed into brand new gold bricks. There is absolutely no degradation in quality.

Gold mining impacts the world we live in, in various ways. The only winners in this business are the big corporations, which own the gold mines. But sadly if there is a winner, there has to be a loser aswell. The losers are the countries with gold occurance, mother nature and the people/workers in those countries. 

Quiz question: Which of the following country has the most gold occurance?
1. Russia
2. Australia
3. South Africa

Vocabulary:
consequently - somit
degradation - Verlust
occurance - Vorkommen

Sources:
gold mining
gold recycling
social and ecological impact of gold mining

 

What is embodied energy and why is this such a big problem?

25. February 2020 Matteo-Lazzarotto Mineral resouces, VZ19A (4)

The direct energy, which we all see and know about only makes one third of the whole energy. The rest is embodied energy, which we don't see in a product. It is the hidden energy, the energy used in making the product and it is one of the biggest problems if we want to talk about climate change. This is why we have to get educated in this issue.

Audio: 

Embodied Energy

More...

Breakdown of sulfur

25. February 2020 Devin-Stettler Mineral resouces, VZ19A (1)

Introduction

Sprache 003.m4a (273,86 kb)

The breakdown of sulfur is a very challenging and hard work. It is extracted out of highly toxic gases in acid lakes or out of volcano mines. The workers have a big lack of equipment and their life expectancy is at 50 years, coughing blood is normal for them. 

The mineworkers who breakdown sulfur on the Java island in Indonesia are working on the most difficult and dangerous conditions. But what are their lives worth and what is sulfur used for?

Find out in our presentation below! More...