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20

THE HEROPOLIS 3rd Year, issue No.4

Editoral staff:

Texts written by the Heropolis

project participants from Poland,

Belgium, Spain, and Lithuania.

Newspaper supervised

by Anna Gosek

Newspaper edited and printed in

Poland.

1

THE HEROPOLISTHE HEROPOLISTHE HEROPOLISTHE HEROPOLIS

The current

number

includes:

3rd Year, issue No.4 Autumn 2007

Belgian project meeting report

2

Kasia’s view on the project meeting in Gent

4

Belgian students’ view on the project meeting in Gent

5

Students’ reports on global warming

7

Global warming crossword

14

Building our hero

15

Kate’s diary– part four

16

Belgium Gaia 17

Heroes presentation

18

2


2nd May 2007, 9.30 a.m-

the front door of

Gimnazjum No.14 in

Katowice

Though it was a day out of

school, there were many

people waiting on the door

step of Gimnazjum. The

reason was going to

Belgium for the next

project meeting. This time

school was represented

by :

Dorota Serafin – the

principal

Magda Bierońska-

Dziamska – Polish teacher

Anna Gosek – English

teacher

Kasia Tomaszewska

Daria Włodarczyk

Agnieszka Chmielińska

Anna Bohm

Some of people were

really frightened, because

it was their first time

travel by the plane.

Anyway last kisses, last

advices and …. no way

back- the mini bus came

and took us to the airport.

2nd May 2007, 10.45 a.m

- The Balice airport in

Cracow

Everything was fine till

the check in. There was a

huge mess, because most

people (among them we)

didn’t know that no

liquids are allowed to be

taken on board of the

plane. So everybody was

drinking in a hurry as

much it was possible not

to waste water or juice by

throwing it to the bin.

…. and that awful sound

when you pass the gate

only because you have

some metal in your belt.

Finally we managed to get

to the waiting room.

Students were sitting

together, talking and

laughing, and me ( the

person in a yellow

sweater) was trying to

cheer my friend Magda up

before her first flight.

2nd May 2007, 1.20 p.m

….. off we go!

It was the worst ( so far)

flight in my life. It was so

bumpy that I felt like a

jelly on a birthday cake.

When the plane landed in

Brussels all passengers

went off, except Magda

and me. Even the flight

attendant came and

asked what had

happened to us. We

were simply not able to

move.

2nd May 2007, 3.58 p.m

We took a train to Gent

( by the way the ticket

inspectors in Belgium

are the most helpful ones-

special thanks for the

ticket clerk ).

2nd May 2007, 5.10 p.m

Happy faces of Tine and

Dirk appeared at the Gent

station to fetch us and take

us to the hotel.

BELGIAN REPORT

19

3rd Year, issue No.4 THE HEROPOLIS 3rd Year, issue No.4

Pope John Paul II

-His early reign was

marked by his opposition

to communism

- credited as one of the

forces which contributed

to its collapse in Central

and Eastern Europe

-notable for speaking

against war, fascism,

communism, dictatorship,

materialism, abortion,

contraception, relativism,

unrestrained capitalism,

and what he deemed the

"culture of death".

-one of the most-traveled

world leaders in history

Józef Piłsudski

-a Polish revolutionary

and statesman

- Field Marshal

- first Chief of State

(1918–1922) and dictator

(1926–1935) of the

Second Polish Republic,

as well as head of its

armed forces.

Napoleon Bonaparte - written down on

Europe’s history

- person who defeated

opponents

- made Europe belong to

one person-to him!

- a fantastic commander

and strategist

- a patriot, devoted to his

homeland

Janina Ochojska

- the author of the idea of

creating the humanitarian

aid called ‘EquiLibre’.

- provided convoys of aid

to Bosnia and Chechnya

by herself!

- runs aid programmes to

help children in need in

Poland

- managed to feed 4402

school children in rural

areas last year

Albert Einstein - synonymous with the

word “genius.”

- developed many

complex theories in

science and mathematics

- strived for world peace

and hated violence

- worked to ensure a better

life for his Jewish

community

-one of the greatest

thinkers of our century,

Albert Einstein is most

famous for developing the

formula E = mc2.

Hercules

- made to perform twelve

great tasks, called The

Twelve Labours of

Hercules, to cleanse

himself

- the greatest of the Greek

heroes

- a paragon of masculinity

-the ancestor of royal

clans and a champion of

the Olympian order

against chthonic monsters.

Mother Teresa - an Albanian Roman

Catholic nun who founded

the Missionary of Charity

- won the Nobel Peace

Prize in 1979 for her

humanitarian work

- for over forty years, she

operated a small hospice

in Calcutta where the

terminally ill were given a

place to die.

All in all, such common

characteristics of the

heroes should be listed:

Ingenuity,great strength,

courage,wisdom, charity,

diligence,sincerity,

justice, persistency,

honesty, self-confidence.

18


HEROES HEROES HEROES HEROES

Within the project

students were asked to

create a list of top ten

heroes and then to make a

list of values which

somehow suit to all chosen

people. The results were

presented during the

project meeting in Gent (2-

6 May 2007).

Here are the 21st century

heroes:

Martin Luther King

- Martin Luther King, Jr.,

(January 15, 1929 – April

4, 1968)

- one of the main leaders of

the American civil rights

movement

- a political activist

- one of America's greatest

orators

- Nobel Peace Prize

- promoting nonviolence

and equal treatment for

different races

- "I Have A Dream"

- on April 4, 1968, King

was assassinated in

Memphis, Tennessee.

Paul David Hewson - known as Bono

- is the lead singer and

principal lyricist of the

Irish rock band U2

- widely known for his

work as an activist

concerning Africa.

Father Damian - (Pater

Damiaan)

- Father Damien,

- also Blessed Damien of

Molokai and born Joseph

de Veuster (January 3,

1840 – April 15, 1889)

- a Roman Catholic priest

from Belgium

- devotion to caring and

ministering to people with

leprosy

- g r ea t e s t B e l g ia n

throughout Belgian history

Nelson Mandela - most widely known

figure in struggle against

apartheid

- a prominent anti-

apartheid activist

- cultural icon of freedom

and equality comparable

with Mahatma Gandhi

- lead the transition to

multi-racial democracy in

South Africa

- Nobel Peace Prize in

1993

Al Gore - American politician,

teacher, businessman, and

environmentalist.

- in 2006, he starred in the

controversial Academy

Award-winning

documentary

- An Inconvenient Truth,

discussing global warming

and the environment

- was one of the first

politicians to grasp the

seriousness of climate

change and to

- call for a reduction in

emissions of carbon

dioxide and other greenhou

Mahatma Gandhi - Mohandas Karamchand

Gandhi (October 2, 1869 –

January 30, 1948)

- a major political and

spiritual leader of India

and the Indian

independence movement.

- in India, he is recognized

as the Father of the Nation.

- he was the pioneer of

total non-violence

- inspired movements for

civil rights and freedom

3


2nd May 2007, 7.30 p.m

Supper at restaurant “The

Crypte”

After supper Magda and I

were lost in the darkness

of Gent.

That was not our fault.

We simply wanted to see

as much as possible and

the rest of the company

decided to go for a drink.

Of course we joined

them;)

2nd May 2007, midnight

In few hours time we

were supposed to carry

out two lessons for

Belgian students- what a

stress!

Later I found out that it

was nothing in

comparison with what I

experienced during having

those lessons.

3rd May 2007, 8.20 a.m

Arrival at school and

sightseeing around

campus.

3rd May2007 , 10.15 a.m

I had first lesson with

5EMT2 in the classroom

NE3. I was having the

lesson when suddenly

Tine entered the room and

told me:

‘ The TV will be here in a

moment. This is the

microphone for you’- and

this is how I became

famous abroad:D

3rd May2007 , high noon

After my spectacular

show we had dinner at

school. After that we went

sightseeing Gent.

3rd May 2007, 7.30 p.m

Supper in “t Oud

Clooster” ( the old

convent) and later what a

conspiracy!, but this is my

sweet secret ;)

4th May 2007, 8 a.m

All the participants went

to Antwerp with all the

students of the fifth year.

We were visiting the city

and Middelheim (=open-

air museum of modern

a r t . I

unders tood

there that

even I could

create so

called art.

5th May 2007, late

morning We thought we were

going to buy some

chocolates, but out of the

blue Belgian friends

announced that we would

participate in a contest.

We were divided into two

groups, given an envelope

with instructions and

some money, and left

alone it the middle of the

city.

Gosh! We were running

through the city, from one

place to another trying to

find all the answers. It was

worth trying so hard. My

group consisting of Rosa,

Miguel, Agne and me

won!

6th May 2007, 8 a.m

Breakfast (the last one

there), shopping to buy

some souvenirs for our

families…

… and last kisses, some

tears, and going back

home, but the flight was a

perfect one. None of us

felt sick .

Ania Gosek

4


Few months ago, four

girls from Poland were

trying to conquer

Belgium (and

they almost did it).

I was lucky to be one of

them so I will try to

report on our adventure.

(Of course, I won’t tell

everything. It is top

secret!)

The first part of our

adventure was flying.

Most of us had never

done it

before:]. In fact there

was no need being

frightened. I thought

flying

would be something

terrifying but it wasn’t.

It was exciting. Very

exciting:).

After the long journey I

got home. Of course,

Yati’s home. We ate

supper (which was

delicious just like other

meals that I was able to

taste) and then I went

sightseeing surrounding

area.

Next few days were

even more exciting than

flying. We visited

prison-

school (prison- that’s

because of the grating).

It was huge! Really

huge!:) We were able

to take part in some

lessons.

One of them was with

the most handsome man

at

school;) The teacher

gave us a test.

Unfortunately, we

weren’t prepared for it.

What a shame!:(

To tell the truth, the

best lesson was

German. The teacher

was dancing for

us:). Also, we had to

answer some weird

questions. We met

the girl who could say ‘

kocham cię ‘and

something else

but I would better not

say what exactly it

was.;)

We went sightseeing

Ghent and Antwerp.

What a pity that I

hadn’t seen any

diamonds! Maybe next

time. But diamonds

were not the most

important. We saw

many more interesting

things,

beautiful churches,

monuments, statues.

In Belgium I had a

lovely time. I met many

fantastic people, I did

many

exciting things and I

improved my English.

By the way, as it was

last year I participated

in Heropolis project, I

would like to thank

everybody:)

Yati, Yati’s parents and

sister- Kim, my

teachers, headmaster

and all participants.

17

3rd Year, issue No.4

BELGIUM

GAIA-Ethics in

action for animal rights GAIA (Global Action in

the Interest of Animals),

founded in 1992, stands up

for the rights of all animals

through non-violent action

against organized and

structural forms of sentient

animal abuse and gives

advice on prevention and/

or how to tackle individual

animal abuse. The

Belgian animal rights

organisation GAIA has

20000 members.

Please mail entries to

GAIA.

Contact

Emeline Proot, Design

Against Fur Coordinator,

GAIA, Galerie Ravenstein,

27/3, 1000 Bruxelles

Tel: +32 2 245 29 50

e-mail:

[email protected]

(French and English)

web: www.gaia.be

_____________________


for the alarm

that goes off

in the early morning hours

because it means I am alive.

Thank you Sara! - my

hero!

7th July 2007

That’s great idea!

I mean the concert.

Concerts are concerts,

but that ones have

message- CLIMATE IS

IN CRISIS- DO

SOMETHING!

The concerts brought

together more than 150

musical acts in eleven

locations around the

world and were broadcast

to a mass global audience

through radio, television,

and the Internet.

Hope, it will change

something, or at least it

will make people thing how

to live not to ruin the

environment.

I segregate the rubbish ,

use public transport, try

to save water and energy.

Let’s give back life to

the Earth!

8th July 2007

When I read what I have

written above I thought

that maybe we need to

grow up first, to

experience many things in

order to understand

something else.

How many young people

consider environment as

an important part of life?

Not many I think. Why ?

because there are not

many those who can show

them that fact. Where

are good people? Worth

imitating heroes? Finally,

where are all good values?

I hear or watch the news

everyday, but bad news.

It is hard to find

something positive among

negative announcements.

Everyday heroes are not

visible in the crowd.

Where is the crazy girl

who gave mother sleeping

pills to go for a date ?;)

Bye my diary!

P.s I’m going for a date

today!

kate

16


21st June, 2007

You know what, life is

hard, but nobody has said

it would be easy. The

truth is that we complain

a b o u t e v e r y t h i n g .

Sometimes we are even

right to feel sorry. But in

most cases we forget the

most important thing- we

are alive and we should

t a k e a n

advantage ofit!

I forgot about

it as well, and

you will never

guess who managed to

remind me this simple

thing. It was my little

neighbour Sara. She was

having fun in the park

when I came there to

make up my mind, to

breathe a bit. She came

to me and asked if I had

read ‘Pollyanna’, the novel

by Eleanor H. Porter. I

answered ’yes’ and asked

why she was so curious

about it. With a smile on

her face she told me that

Pollyanna was her heroine

because she always made

people happy and could

find a positive aspect in

everything.

I came back home and

realised that little Sara

was a genius. So I started

to see some things in a

completely different

light.

I decided to be happy and

thankful about

everything. Some

examples? Here you are:

I AM THANKFUL

:

for the boyfriend

who sometimes is

a chair potato and does

nothing, because he is

home with me and not out

at the bars.

for the taxes i pay

because it means

I am employed.

for the mess to clean

after a party

because it means I have

been surrounded by

friends.

for the clothes that fit a

little too snug

because it means

I have enough to eat.

for my shadow that

watches me work

because it means

I am out in the sunshine

for a lawn that needs

mowing,

windows that need

cleaning,

and gutters that need

fixing

because it means I have a

home.

for the parking spot

I find at the far end of

the parking lot

because it means i am

capable of walking.

for my huge heating bill

because it means

I am warm.

for the lady behind me in

church who sings off key

because it means I can

hear.

for the pile of laundry

and ironing because it

means I have clothes to

wear.

5


On Wednesday evening

I picked up my Polish

gues t . The next

morning we gave our

guests a guided tour of

o u r s c h o o l , w e

introduced our heroes to

each other. We got

Spanish lesson from the

Spanish teachers and

our teachers taught

English and French to

the guests. We ate

French fries, the nr.1

meal in Belgium! One

of the things we are

famous for and proud

of.

After school we showed

them our city: Ghent.

Our famous towers, the

churches, the different

squares and all the other

beautiful places. After a

pizza we went to the

cinema to watch

Spiderman 3.

On Friday we went to

Antwerp, we visited an

open air museum and

admired the modern art.

And we did a little

shopping in the

shopping streets of

Antwerp.

On Saturday we went to

our Belgian coast. We

visited Oostende, we

drove a go cart and

walked a lot. We

returned to Ghent in the

evening and ate Spare

Ribs in a typical

Belgian authent ic

restaurant. We said

go odb ye t o ou r

Lithuanian guest and

returned home for a

well deserved and

necessary sleep.

On Sunday morning we

said goodbye to our

Polish guests. It was the

end of an interesting

week!

Conclusion: after 5 days

we learned a lot –

d e s p i t e s o m e

c o m m u n i c a t i o n

problems- about the

Polish, Lithuanian

and Spanish culture.

Together with the

Polish and Lithuanian

guest we had an

unforgettable week!

Michaël

When I came back

from Poland in October,

I was little bit afraid

that I wouldn’t see

Kasia again. So when

she wrote me that she

had won the selection

contest for the project

meeting, I was really

relieved. We both

couldn’t wait to see

each other again .

Months, weeks and

days went by, until she

6


The communication at our

home went very smoothly.

In Poland that was a little

bit different, because

Kasia’s parents couldn’t

speak or understand

English . Now it was

possible to leave Kasia

alone with my parents and

sister,because they can

speak English too. In

Poland I could only try to

explain with signs and

drawings , but it is

completely different when

you can hold a normal

conversation with

someone. Another reason

why it went smoothly,

was that Kasia and I

already knew each other.

It’s more difficult to start

a conversation when you

don’t know each other.

The first evening we made

a walk in Destelbergen.

We haven’t done more

after the walk because

Kasia was too tired.

Our school is rather large

in comparison to hers. Her

school counts only 300

students and each year

that number reduces. In

the morning we made a

tour through the school

and the Polish and

Spanish teachers gave

some lessons . I found the

Spanish lesson very

amusing. In the afternoon

Kasia followed maths,

geography and German.

She found the German

lesson very pleasant. In

the evening we played

Jenga and Uno. It was

very pleasant . On

television we looked to

the AVS-news , because

they had filmed in the

school. Kasia found it

amusing to see herself on

television.

The visit to Antwerp was

very nice. In the afternoon

we could explore on our

own. We also visited the

Middelheim-museum . In

the evening we played

bowling with the whole

group. Kasia knew the

game, but didn’t play it

before.

We let Kasia choose what

she wanted to do on

Saturday : to the sea or

Brussels. She really

wanted to visit Brussels.

It was by surprise the day

of the European

Parliament. We got a lot

of information about the

European Union. We also

visited a large room where

you could experience how

it is to be an interpreter.

We saw all the most

important curiosities of

Brussels:

Mannenken Pis ( Kasia

found it very funny that he

was dressed), Atomium,

Jubelpark, Paleizenpark,

and the royal palace. In

the end we visited Mini-

Europe. She found it very

funny to see the fountain

of Brabo in small because

the day before we stood

by the real fountain at our

visit to Antwerp. Also of

Poland we saw a

miniature monument:

Gdansk.

In the evening we ate with

the whole group in the

Amadeus. We laughed a

lot and taught each other

some Polish an Dutch

words.

On Sunday we made a

small walk trough Ghent

and then, unfortunately, it

was time to say farewell.

We agreed that we will

certainly see each other

again. Meanwhile we stay

in contact with mails and

MSN.

This was again a really

interesting and nice

15


Approximate date (month/year)

DESCRIPTION OF DESCRIPTION OF DESCRIPTION OF DESCRIPTION OF RESULTS RESULTS RESULTS RESULTS

OCTOBER 2007

NEW MAILING GROUPS PROJECT MEETING IN SAN FERNANDO

OCTOBER 2007 – MAY 2008

BUILDING HERO-COMIC BOOK

LITHUANIA October- November

SPAIN November – January

POLAND January– March

BELGIUM March — May

PUBLICATION OF THE COMIC BOOK

5 TH EDITION OF THE HEROPOLIS NEWSPAPER

PROJECT MEETING IN GENT

MAY 2008

Building our hero Building our hero Building our hero Building our hero ---- comic bookcomic bookcomic bookcomic book

We, the participants of the Heropolis

project are going to tell you one story.

The story of a hero. The hero was

creating by us during the last two years.

First we were searching, then

discussing, and finally we found the

perfect one.

We chose the second figure of the

Heropolis logo as main character.

The most important thing of a comic

figure is the face: it should be easy to

draw and the same in each country.

That’s why it was created first. The

clothes, etc. can be different from

school to school, though the European

flag should be on his breast. In that

way the schools can influence each

other. The figure can have different

props according to the country he is in

at the moment.

The starting point of the story is

Europe threatened by global warming.

Each school can find problems and

solutions in their own country – the

hero actually will deal with real

problems we’re facing everyday.

The name of the hero was another

challenge. Different proposals were

given such as: HP, Siloporeh, Polis,

Helis (originally he was called

Heropolis, but as it was too long for his

parents they shortened it to Helis), but

the winner was: 4U (four schools plus

the philosophy of doing things for you

– everyone). 4U is a person, not male

nor female, just a hero.

Each school will write 10 pages.

You will see the results soon. Ania Gosek


4U’s face

happy angry dissatisfied

14

GLOBAL WARMING CROSSWORD


3. 1. 7.

1. 5.

2.

8.

3. 6.

2. 4.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Across

1. a large, hot, dry area of land with

very few plants

2. how hot or cold something is

3. the name of HEROPOLIS project

hero

4. the weather conditions that an area

usually has

5. "the … effect" (= the gradual

warming of the Earth's surface caused by

an increase in pollution and gases in the

air)

6. someone who does something brave

or good which people respect or admire

him for

7.water that falls from the sky in small

drops

Down

1. very bad weather with a lot of rain,

snow, wind etc.

2. a large area of trees growing closely

together

3. a vehicle with 4 wheels and engine

for a small number of passengers

4. one of the first car models with

hybrid engine

5. the layer of gases around the Earth

6. a vehicle with 2 wheels that you sit

on and move by turning the two pedals

7. a … source of energy such as wind

power

7


Global Warming

Global warming is a

specific example of the

broader term climate

change. These changes can

be caused by processes

internal to the Earth,

external forces (e.g.

variations in sunlight

intensity, greenhouse gas

concentrations) or, more

recently, human activities.

The cause of Global

warming

When sunlight reaches the

surface of the Earth, they

will be transformed into

heat energy. This is called

the "greenhouse effect."

This functioning is good.

But human activities

reinforce the greenhouse

effect. And that is not

good.

Greenhouse effect is

caused by the present of

some gases in our

atmosphere. The major

greenhouse gases are water

vapor; carbon dioxide;

methane and ozone.

Other factors, which are

caused by human activities

and raise the greenhouse

effect, are: the energy

supply: the people want

more energy to warm their

houses, the traffic and

deforestation.

The consequences

One of the visible

consequences is the

climate change. The

temperatures are rising.

Another is the evaporation

of water. If the

temperatures rise, the

water will be evaporated

into the atmosphere. This

leads to more hurricanes,

water floods…

The solution

We can use other energy

resources like:

waterpower, wind energy,

solar energy, biomass

energy, geothermal energy

and wave energy.

Liesbet Decraemer

Biggest Solar Energy

Installation on roof of

distributioncenter

Colruyt

Belgian supermarket

Colruyt installed 8000m²

of solar cells on the roof

of their distribution-center

in Halle, near Brussels.

The whole solar system is

the biggest in Belgium for

the moment. It consists of

1200 panels with a surface

area similar to a football

field! The company

expects to produce 250 000

kWh/year or the

equivalence of a yearly

expenditure of 80 normal

households!

Colruyt invested 1 400 000

euro in this project. The

electricity, produced by the

solar cells, will be

immediately used by the

company’s

distributioncenter. The

solar system will be

operational from

November 2007.

STUDENTS’ REPORTS

8


Always Green Energy!

Thanks to the solar cells

and a windmill (in used

from 1999) Colruyt can

appeal to ‘green’ energy

the whole year! Both

installations are

complementary.

In winter, the

windmill has the

highest yield

because of the

high number of

wind hours.

(average year-

yield: 1 800 000

kWh)

In summer, the

Solar System

reaches the

highest yield.

The installation

has an

equivalence of a

CO2-emission

of 78 ton a year.

So, less harmful

gases into

Belgian air!

Thin panels

Colruyt chose for ultra-

thin solar panels with

amorf silicium, 2mm

thick, following the

form of the roof. This

kind of solar cells is

easy to install because

they can glue it on the

roof! The yield is a bit

less than polycristaline

silicium panels but

because of the big

avealabe surface area, a

high power capacity

could be reached!!!

Source: De Morgen,

Belga

Simon Van Acker

Changes in the air

(Volvo CO2 free

production)

The main approach for

CO2 free production is

to gradually switch to

wind power and

alternative energy

sources for electricity

and heating. Before the

end of year 2008, our

plants in Ghent, (in

Belgium), Tuve and

Umeà (in Sweden), will

have reduced their CO2

remissions to as close to

zero as technically

possible. But we will

continue until all our

plants are CO2 free.

The world’s first carbon

dioxide-neutral vehicle

factory:

1) Working together The future is not a one

company effort. By

working together with

for example energy

companies and

authorities we can

benefit from each

other’s expertise;

optimising the

technology and

distributing surplus

energy.

2) Growing resources By using bio fuel or

pallets we can produce

energy

without adding CO2 to

the world’s atmosphere.

A bio fuel plant can heat

water and produce

electricity

that can be used by

society and our own

production plant.

13


not fully factor in the

potential for high impact

events with greater levels

of current uncertainty such

as the melt ing of

Greenland's ice , melting

permafrost rainforest die-

back and/or melting ocean

methane to cause abrupt,

r u n - a w a y c l i m a t e

changes .Global warming's

impact is expected to be

like a nuclear war, yet

where is the urgent policy

response.

P r e s i d e n t L e c h

Kaczynski on global

warming 2007-09-25,

Polish President

Lech Kaczynski has called

for international solidarity

with poorer countries in

the struggle against global

warming. Poland, along

with Indonesia, Kenya and

Denmark, has been

authorized by the UN

secretary general to

prepare a report on the

meeting of more than 70

heads of state and

government devoted to

climate change.

Studuents in Gimnazjum

No 14th take an action on

global warming as well.

Every year we arrange the

Day of the Earth during

which we provide some

happenings, do different

projects, or we collect

things which can be

recycled, eg, batteries,

paper, bottles. Everything

to make us more aware of

the danger of global

warming, greenhouse

effect and the ozon layer

hole.

Last time we focused on

telling about global

warming effects on our

life. We started with a

definition.

‘The term global warming

refers to the rise of global

temperatures caused by

increased amounts of

greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere. As the sun’s

energy enters the Earth’s

a t m o s p h e r e , t h e s e

greenhouse gases block

heat reflected from the

Earth’s surface, which

would normally travel

back into space. The result

is an increase in global

temperatures. As the

amount of greenhouse

gases increase in the

atmosphere, the Earth’s

surface becomes warmer.’

Yet, these are only words,

and words don’t speak to

our mind. That’s why we

prepared the show. By

dancing we managed to

draw the attention on the

causes of global warming.

Don’t you thing that it was

a great idea?

THE DESTRUCTIVE

HURRICANE

In addit ion, school

cooperates with many

e n v i r o n m e n t a l

organisations such as The

Green Academy PKE, The

Polish Foundation for

Energy Efficiency and

Gaja Club.

II d group;) (poland)

12


-And the most important

thing is raising our voice to

show our politicians we

really care and we need

new laws to find important

solutions to global

warming.

[email protected]

(Lithuania)

WE WORRY ABOUT

THE PLANET

In our highschool we know

very well what the global

warming means. That´s

because our teachers are

concerned about showing

us the causes and

consequencies of the

pollution, the carency of

trees or the lack of people

w h o w o r r y a b o u t

recycling. In addition, we

are registered as one of the

highschools of the Solar

Schools Net of Green

Peace.

And because of the danger

which is affecting our

planet is that we have

dedicated a whole week to

encourage and remind

people to do something not

just for the planet but for

all of us.We must save

energy, use less cars and

more public transport,

administer central heating

and air conditioning or use

the electricity properly.

We have organised many

lectures in our assembly

hall about global warming,

solar energy,environmental

voluntary service and

natural parks which are in

our region.

Then, we have watched the

films Àn uncomfortable

truthánd `The esmerald

rainforestín order to know

the details of the wave of

pollution damages which

are devastating in a low

but strong way the

terrestrial atmosphere,

causing a fatal climate

change.

We have also done some

contests among the

students about making

science posters or creating

solar inventions.

At the end of the week we

organized a bicycle

excursion through a

Natural Park so that we

could check that it is

possible to have fun and

help the planet at the same

time.

Helping to stop global

warming is a task for all of

us and if we all use some

determination we can have

a great result. It doesn´t

take too much work to

pledge, so pay attention,

the result is in our hands.

Begoña Ariza (Spain)

No Time for Further

Climate Change

Dithering

Scientists at Britain's

MetOffice Hadley Centre

have confirmed what many

of us suspected. Given

continuing delays in real

effor ts to decrease

greenhouse gas emissions,

the world will almost

certainly exceed two

degrees Cels ius o f

warming above pre-

industrial levels, the point

near where it is generally

9


3) Saving energy

We have analysed our

entire production to

make sure we use

as little energy as

possible. In 2003 we

decided to cut energy

consumption by an

average of 29% per

plant within 3 years.

The target was met in

2005. The new target is

24% per produced unit

by the end of year 2008.

In Ghent the reduction

equals 3.5 tonnes CO2 a

year, equivalent to the

annual CO2 emissions

of 318 Europeans.

4) Power from water

Water is a clean source

of renewable energy

that supplies almost a

fifth of the world’s

electricity

today. We get the

hydropower and other

forms of

green electricity from

local energy companies.

5) The wind is energy

The breeze in your hair

is energy; two

megawatts for every

wind turbine to be

exact. 90 meter high,

with a 90 meter rotor

diameter, the turbines

provide enough

electricity to run our

factories. At our plants

in Ghent they reduce

CO2 with 3.45 tonnes a

year, equivalent to the

annual CO2 emissions

of 314 Europeans.

6) Power of the sun

The sun is the greatest

source of energy

we have on this planet.

In Ghent we use solar

energy to heat up water

and to produce

electricity

for our faculties. The

solar panels are being

tested

for future expansions in

places where the sun is

a reliable renewable

resource.

There are no fixed

solutions;

we adapt our production

to local conditions.

In Ghent the solar

panels reduce CO2

remissions

with 8.4 tonnes a year.


10


ARTICLE IN A

JOURNAL/

NEWSPAPER

Volvo’s plant in Ghent

first in the world with

carbon-dioxide-free

vehicle production

The Volvo Group can now

present the first vehicle

plant in the world that

is completely free from

carbon dioxide (CO2),

Volvo Trucks’ plant

in Ghent, Belgium. The

Volvo Group’s efforts

pertaining to CO2-free

plants are fully in line

with EU’s goal for

reducing carbon-dioxide

emissions by 20% in

Europe by 2020.

“Our ambition is to make

all our plants CO2-free

plants and Ghent is the

first,” says Volvo CEO

Leif Johansson. “It is not

an easy undertaking, but

we are prepared to try

different alternatives to

achieve our goal for CO2-

free production in our

plants.”

Already in 2005, the

Volvo Group decided to

transform the Volvo

Trucks plant in Tuve,

Sweden into a CO2-free

vehicle plant and work is

currently in progress on

the completion of the local

planning and an

application for

environmental permits has

been prepared. The Volvo

Trucks plant in Umeå,

Sweden is also

undergoing transformation

to become CO2-free.

For Ghent, this will entail

investments in wind

power and bio fuel to

provide the plant with

electricity and heat that

does not add any carbon

dioxide to the atmosphere.

The Ghent plant decided

to construct three wind

power plants on the site,

which will cover half of

the plant’s electricity

requirements. The

remaining electricity

consists of certified green

energy supplied by the

Belgium energy company,

Electrabel. A new pellet-

fired biomass plant

supplies 70% of the

heating requirements for

the Ghent plant and

energy for the combustion

process is provided by

solar cells on the roof. The

remaining 30% is

provided by an oil-fired

boiler that was converted

to burn bio oil. The Ghent

plant has an annual

production of 35,000

trucks. The number of

employees is 2,500.

September 20, 2007

Yentl Deprost

ACT ON GLOBAL ACT ON GLOBAL ACT ON GLOBAL ACT ON GLOBAL

WARMING NOW!WARMING NOW!WARMING NOW!WARMING NOW!

Everybody knows that

global warming is caused

by so-called greenhouse

effect. The temperature at

the Earth’s surface is

increasing every year

because of the high

emissions of carbon

dioxide (CO2) in the

atmosphere due to the

human activity. Though

we are living in the 21st

century we are still using

a lot of fossil fuel. Global

warming is a very serious

problem nowadays and it

affects every person living

on our planet. Even in

such small country like

11


Lithuania because it doesn’t depend on

one nation nor pays attention to the state

borders. The winters and springs warmed

up in Lithuania in the last few years

while summer and autumn temperatures

have changed just insignificantly.

The climate becomes

more mar i t ime in

character. There is more

cyclonic activity above

the Baltic Sea. It means

more storms in the winter

time. Big storms are not only destroying

private and state property but also sand

dunes and beaches on the Baltic coast.

Every year a lot of sand is being brought

by ships to the coast to rebuild the dunes.

Because of high temperatures in winter a

lot of pests stay alive and do much harm

to gardens and forests. Some years ago

large areas of fir forests had to be cut

down because of that. These are only a

few examples how global warming is

influencing the living in Lithuania. But

even if we can not observe big climate

changes in our country yet it doesn’t

mean we should just sit and wait.

To meet its increasing

energy needs and to reduce the emissions

of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Lithuania plans to build a new nuclear

power plant. There are already some

wind farms on the Baltic coast producing

renewable energy, too.

Finally the problem of

global warming should be solved not

only on national level. We don’t only

have to be aware of it. We should start

from ourselves with some actions. So

what can we do to help

the environment?

-Drive less, when possible

choose alternatives to

driving (public transport,

biking, walking etc.);

-Drive smart by getting the engine tuned

up and always keeping tires inflated;

-When buying some new equipment for

home look for energy-efficient models

with lower power consumption (even if

it’s more expensive);

-Replace the old light bulbs with compact

fluorescent bulbs;

-Seal drafts around windows and doors

(especially in older buildings) to cut

heating expenses and reduce the burning

of fossil fuels;

-Buy a new efficient car (which is

expensive, of course). There are already

some with hybrid engines on the market.

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