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Editorial

Lately, everybody has been talking about the pandemic. But apart from the virus, there are more problems the world has to deal with that should not be forgotten. In our online newspaper, our grade decided to address and give solutions for these global issues. This newspaper was produced as a project during distance learning. We got together in groups, wrote articles and opinion pieces, drew cartoons, and recorded interviews about certain topics. The main topics covered are racism, homophobia, gender equality, climate change, consumerism, and many more. These issues all have something in common. They revolve around equality and the future of humanity. Our generation is known for being more involved in politics than other generations. Gen Z is one of the most diverse and active generations, this commenced mainly through social media, where people have been connecting over important topics. You can see these kinds of actions develop into huge movements when looking at the Fridays-For-Future- and Black-Lives-Matter Protests for example.  

You all have probably heard about these issues before but do you actually know what you can do to make a difference? Everybody knows about climate change, but people still do not change anything about their behavior to stop it and politicians do not take enough action against harms that damage the environment. Many complain about the effects of climate change or low-quality clothing but they do not know that they are causing these problems themselves by buying cheap clothes and indirectly supporting poor working conditions. Racism is often talked about and almost everybody wants to stop racism, but some people do not even know when they are unconsciously offending POC. Many people think that there is no racism in Germany, but there are still flaws in the system that need to be fixed. The same goes for gender equality. There have been improvements in equal rights but there's a long way to go. Should families only have one child to prevent overpopulation? What causes internalized misogyny? What does Fairtrade actually mean? Is gender-neutral language worth it? What are the alternatives to fossil fuels?  
We all have dealt with important and also serious topics in order to discover the real causes of the problems. But by dealing with them we are able to find solutions for the future.
All these topics and furthermore the solutions are talked about in our articles. 

Table of contents

1. Consumerism and climate change 5-75
2. Gender equality 76-149
3. Racism 150-216

Consumerism and climate change

What can WE do in our everyday lives to SAVE THE EARTH? 

Click here to listen to my point of view!

by Anna Vogelsang
We all know that climate change does exist: The earth is getting dangerously hot and there is only little time to stop global warming until it is too late. But fortunately there are a few possibilities to prevent our planet from getting destroyed. 
First of all, experts from the German Society for Nutrition recommend to change our nutrition so that the impact of our nutritional behavior becomes easier to handle for our planet. Did you know that meat for example has a CO2 balance of 13.3%? In contrast to that, vegetables only have a CO2 balance of 0.1%. According to a study (1), we could reduce our CO2 footprint by 13% if we consumed less meat. That does not mean that we are not allowed to eat meat at all but we should focus on reducing our huge consumerism of meat and only eat it for example at the weekend. 
Another point is that we have to pay attention to the pollution of the environment. For instance, we should all collect our rubbish instead of throwing it away like an egoistic cock. That would help us to get the planet clean again. 
Furthermore, there are a lot of studies (2) which confirm that cycling by bike would help us to reach our climate targets faster. The Federal Environment Agency of Germany asks for everyone to use the bike as often as possible so that we save on our CO2-emissions. 

Source of the picture:
"sunset on the field" by Indigo Skies Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0