Philipp Steiner's Blog – May 2012 Archive (8)

I imagine the world water day to be similar to the earth day:

For one hour every person in the developed (!) world should stop using any sort of water in any thinkable way (drinking, showering, handwashing...). As there are thousands of activities where people are using water without even realizing it, this event would create an enormous awareness for how we are using water and how much of it. There should be huge information campaigns accompanying the event creating even more…

I am following the organization Global Water Challenge on Facebook and ecouraged my friends to do so too as I think the first step to create support for an issue of such importance is to create awareness. GWC brings together leading organizations in the water and sanitation sector as well as governments, foundations and nongovernmental organizations to jointly address the issue of water security through partnerships and innovative approaches. GWC already has a long project history reaching…

While searching the Internet I came across a highly interesting project a team of engineers without borders of the University of Illinois started in order to help a Mayan community in Guatemala to filter their drinkin water at a very low cost level. As a basis the students used a biosand filtration system (BSFs). What makes the project so special is that they had to cope with the problem of extreme virus contamination of the water which cannot be solved with standard filter systems. Even…

I havent been home for quite a while as my job has been keeping me busy in the last months. Therefore I was really lookin forward to going to my parents place this weekend. Back in the days when I was a student we often had BBQ together in my parents` big garden. As the weather is really nice this weekend (probably a bit too hot but we are getting used to it since the average temperatures in August have been rising since years) my parents have prepared a surprise welcome-party for me -…

I think dinner in 2020 wont be too different from today, at least not at first sight. But taking a closer look at it, one will find some significant differences... but starting with the menu:

We are having:

- Salad as an appetizer

- Spaghetti Bolognese as main course

- fruit salad as dessert

Here are the differences compared to the same dinner in 2012:

- with transportation costs constantly rising over the last century, "standard" fruits and vegetables soon…

My idea is to create small power devices that can be adjusted at the lower leg of a person. Similar to a mechanical clock that can be "charged" through shaking it, these devices include a magnet that moves relative to a wire spool as soon as triggered by the movement of the legs. Through this movement of the magnet, induction-electricity is created. This energy can be used to e.g. charge the batteries of mobile phones, tablet computers or GPS devices. The only neccessity for this device to…

It is always hard to take a step back from the lifestyle we are used to. But there are quite some easy ways enabling every one of us to contribute to global food security. Here are 3 steps that I have already taken and that are easy to follow for everyone of us:

1. Do not use Biodiesel for your cars. Biodiesel is being made from rapeseed and soy, plants that could also be used as food for those who hunger instead of fueling cars with them.

2. Grow your own salad, fruits and…

Living in a developed country and especially in a country like Germany means belonging to the those fortunate who (under normal circ**stances) will never be confronted with the danger of food insecurity. Social frameworks like the German one make sure that no citizen has to starve or even die from hunger. It therefore is our responsibility, the responsibility of the fortunate, to care for those less lucky who experience hunger every single day of their lives. With ever-growing populations…