Online newspaper about global issues

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

Nevertheless, a lot of people think that driving a car is a more comfortable means of transport and often it is a faster way to reach your destination. Even if this might be true, cycling by bike has a lot of advantages: It is not only environmentally friendly but it also helps you to stay healthy and sport active. Especially young people can use a bike more easily than a car, because it is less expensive and you do not need to be 18 to be allowed to use it on your own.
In addition to that, there is one thing all students can do: buying workbooks, which are made of ecologically compatible paper. According to experts (3), this would definitely help our endangered environment.
Some people might say that ecologically compatible paper is often very thin so that it tears easily and it is hard to write on. But it is equally important to note that workbooks, which are made of ecologically compatible paper, are often less expensive than others.

However, we should think about what is more important: writing on thick expensive paper or saving the planet?
Finally, as a student of our school, the OHG, you are welcome to join our Environment-Club and of course to support our projects, which deal with climate change. Just together we can make a difference.
To sum up, it is really time to start acting now and doing some easy things in our everyday lives to prevent the earth from getting destroyed. Only if we stick together and focus on our climate targets, we can still stop global warming and prevent our wonderful planet from dangerous consequences.

Click here to listen to the summary!

1 “Wie Ernährung unsere Zukunft gestaltet: Fleisch und das Klima“ Zurich. Machtfit, 2021. https://www.zurich.machtfit.de/content/magazin/essen-der-zukunft-fleisch-und-das-klima/
2 “Fahrrad und Radeln“ Umweltbundesamt, 2020. https://www.umweltbundesamt.de
3 “Woran erkennt man umweltfreundliches Papier“ Greenpeace, 2014. https://www.greenpeace.de

Source of the picture:
"Trek 520 Touring Bike and Barley Field" by Greg Peterson in Japan is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

What our school does against the climate change
by Victoria Schneider
Climate change is a big problem especially today. And this problem has to be tackled by all of us right now. Our school, the Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium in Bensberg, is a very good and positive example of schools contributing to fighting climate change.
Here are some examples: During lessons, students and teachers use less paper because of advanced digitalisation. To sensitize the students, the teachers talk about this topic in many kinds of ways. Lessons deal with the causes and effects of global warming as well as many the different steps that have to be taken against climate change.
Due to the school's MINT label standing for its distinctive profile in Mathematics, Computer Science, Science and Technology, the school is able to promote the talent of the students in the subjects mentioned above. Students do not only have a scientific approach to the subject while learning in class, there are also extracurricular activities in which they get to know the possible ways of acting against climate change. Students are recommended to pay attention to labels like the blue angel when buying notebooks.
Another example is that students are requested to sort waste. Every classroom of our new school building has three different garbage cans to separate waste.
Students are obliged to participate in cleaning the schoolyard during the breaks.

Here you can hear the beginning of the Article

source of the picture:
selfmade ;)

Here you can hear the ending of the Article

source of the picture:
selfmade ;)

Also, the cafeteria is really environmentally friendly. The packaging for wraps, for example, consists of baking paper and not aluminum foil any more. And when you want something to drink during your break, you can fill up your own bottle at the water dispenser. Here you can get cool water for free, still water and also sparkling water if you bring your bottle, which helps to reduce the waste of plastic bottles.
Apart from work done on climate change in classes, Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium organizes collection campaigns for a good cause. Last year, our school collected old phones to separate the ingredients, to recycle them, and turn them into money. This money was aimed at financially supporting human rights projects like 'Brot für die Welt' or like the 'Vereinte Evangelische Mission'. Last but definitely not least, our environmental club has to be mentioned, because they make students aware of environmental problems and help organize projects.
To conclude, we can say that our school shows a lot of commitment when it comes to solving environmental problems, showing what we all can do to act against climate change. But even if we can be proud, we also have to continue thinking about new ways to act in environmentally-friendly ways in the future. So maybe it will be you having the next innovative idea.

The overall problem

Belegt (Eric, Max, Jonas)

So, trash is in the sea. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean or anywhere else thousands of miles away. You’ve probably heard about all of that. But you may underestimate this problem because it is a huge problem that doesn’t get enough attention. The thing is that plastic does not decay. It takes many years for it to split up into microplastic, which is at average less than 5mm small. It even got to the point where 93% of all petrels (a kind of birds) have an unhealthy and often lethal dose of plastic in their stomach of which they may die. This example shows that we may potentially cause a mass extinction of animal species by the power of satisfying our needs. You may think that the extinction of some birds is completely irrelevant for us humans. Life is a competition after all. Fish is the second most consumed animal on the planet. The demand of fish also increases. If we lose fish because of plastic, we lose a huge source of food. Microplastic is even in our water. We do not do much to stop the ridiculously high production and consume of plastic and produced trash. You are probably sitting on a hunk of plastic while reading this. The very device I used to research and the pencil I wrote this all of them made from plastic. In the following podcasts you’re going to learn about this problem in detail.

Source: https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/fall-2019/articles/plastic-in-the-ocean