Energy is a precious commodity these days. This can be seen in the continuously rising global demand for energy and the year-on-year increase in prices for heating energy and electricity. Saving energy is therefore the general credo. But what does saving energy actually mean in concrete terms?? And why is energy saving so important?

Studies have shown that global energy consumption has almost doubled in the last 40 years. Reasons can be found on the one hand in the increase in technical devices that we all use in everyday life, increased mobility, a higher standard of living as well as more living space with fewer people per household at the same time. The latter reason also explains why buildings alone account for 40 percent of total energy consumption in Europe. Buildings have to be heated, no matter how big, no matter how many people live in them. But the good news is that where a lot of energy is consumed, a lot of energy can also be saved. And there are three very good reasons for this.

Table of contents

Reason 1: Climate protection

Climate change is underway and will be difficult to stop. In order to stop climate change and its consequences for nature, the environment and people, greenhouse gas emissions, above all carbon dioxide (CO2), would have to be drastically reduced.

Working hours through the ages Working in the Middle Ages: Was there really so much toil back then??

Hardly any era struggles with prejudices as much as the Middle Ages. Dark dungeons where supposed witches awaited judgment. God-fearing people who still believed in the world as a disc. And, of course, hard-working people who did a lot of physical labor without the advances of technology – and, of course, had to work much longer hours than an employee does today.

But is this true? If you take all part-time and full-time employees in Germany together, everyone works an average of 35 hours a week. At least on paper. Because overtime is part of the job in many professions. 2.1 billion hours: That’s how much more German employees worked in 2017. So the end result is a working week of 38.6 hours.

Home office makes lonely, researchers believe

How to build a small bomb

Seed bombs are small balls of clay powder, soil and seeds. They are used to green and beautify fallow land. After throwing the seed bombs need only a first rain shower and soon the seeds begin to germinate.

2. WHAT IS GUERRILLA GARDENING?

Guerrilla Gardening is a worldwide movement and refers to gardening that is not allowed on public land or on land that does not belong to oneself. The motivations of the active guerrilla gardeners are of different nature. Some people want to make a political protest with their planting actions. Such actions then usually take place in a night and fog action. But there are also people like Richard Reynolds from London, who is very well known in the movement, who started gardening simply for the joy of it. Especially in cities, where most people do not have a garden of their own, guerrilla gardening is a good idea.

"Have courage to use your own mind!"

"Sapere aude!", or in German: "Have courage to use your own mind!" – that was the motto of the Enlightenment. This sounds quite logical to us today, of course you should use your common sense! However, the Age of Enlightenment was an epoch that brought about many changes and upheavals and set the course for the "modern world" posed. What characterized this period and who should be enlightened by whom at all?

Enlightenment - the age of reason

The philosophical enlighteners wanted to fight prejudices and superstitions by means of reason. Image: Illustration in the "Encyclopedia" 1772, the "truth revealed in the circle of the arts and sciences represents

The Age of Enlightenment, or simply the Enlightenment, was a period between the 17th century and the present. and 18. The nineteenth century, which was characterized by certain ideas and intellectual developments. The Enlightenment started in England, France, the Netherlands, and later in Germany, and then spread to North America. In Germany, the Enlightenment movement was particularly effective in the period between 1720 and 1800.

Building material from waste - gypsum substitute saves costs and energy

An international research team has developed an artificial substitute for natural gypsum for use in construction projects. It consists of waste products of industrial processes. This gypsum substitute can help improve the supply of gypsum binders to construction sites in countries without their own gypsum reserves. But the gypsum substitute also comes into question elsewhere due to various advantages, as it can be produced relatively inexpensively and with reduced energy input.

On the one hand, the gypsum substitute is produced with sulfuric acid. It is produced as a waste product during the production of heat-resistant fibers. In addition, there are limestone and carbonate components, which are also produced as residual materials in industrial processes. The new material produced in this way contained at least 95 percent gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate), making it ideal for use as a gypsum substitute. Variations in the manufacturing process can produce high-strength gypsum as well as building plaster or anhydrite. The latter material is used as an aggregate in the production of cement and as a material for the production of ceramics. The synthetic building gypsum was produced in the usual way using a kiln as part of the research project. Synthetic anhydrite is also produced in the traditional way by firing and subsequent cooling. And the high-strength gypsum substitute was produced with the help of an autoclave, a gas-tight sealable pressure vessel.

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Many forests are damaged by drought and bark beetle infestation – reforestation can also provide more rainfall.

(Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa central image)

A mind map refers to a special technique of visualization. It is suitable to open up any topic, to structure it and to present it pictorially.

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What is a mindmap?

Mindmapping is the name of the process in which a mind map is developed. Behind mindmapping is a cognitive-associative memory model. The mindmap combines different memory skills: Pictorial, logical and linguistic thought processes are brought together. This facilitates understanding and memorizing.

In order to achieve maximum training success, strength training must be adapted to the goals of the trainee. To achieve your goal, there are 10 important factors that will make your strength training a success:

1. Choose the right training weight

The weight is one of the most important parameters in strength training. The weight should be chosen so that a maximum of 1-2 more repetitions are possible with the given number of repetitions. In the ideal case the indicated number of repetitions represents the maximum.

Choosing the right training weight

TV test 2022: Stiftung Warentest selects the test winners - one manufacturer beats them all. TVs on test: Stiftung Warentest has tested 80 TVs. Which models are cheap, great and good? (Source: Getty Images/skynesher)

What equipment is important, does it always have to be the most expensive model and how big should the TV be?? Stiftung Warentest shows the best models from 2021 and 2022. One manufacturer dominates the best list. We present the test results.

Overview

One answer in advance: Yes, even for little money there are TVs with good picture to buy. However, some devices are weak in terms of sound, which can be compensated for with a good soundbar. Expensive smart TVs often convince with better features and a brilliant OLED screen, LCD models are less expensive. Stiftung Warentest shows in its "test"-Issue 12/2021 the best tested televisions. No one can get past one manufacturer. We take a closer look at the test results.

Outdoor thermometer best sellers give an idea of what is often purchased.Thus, they provide a good guide for their own shortlist and ultimately for the purchase decision for an outdoor thermometer.

Author Emilia Schneider

I come from the foothills of the Alps and love to spend every free second together with my two dogs in the fresh air. My private ‘animal park’ at home also includes rabbits, several aquariums, 4 budgies and a cat. As a testing editor, I focus on outdoor and pet products.