Humanity is facing one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. In a world that needs more and more energy in the form of electricity, heat and fuel, there is an urgent need to save energy. Why? Because we currently obtain most of the energy we need from burning coal, oil and natural gas (fossil fuels). These, in turn, are raw materials that are only available to us in limited quantities. In addition, their CO₂ emissions are accelerating climate change intensively, as their combustion is also the main cause. A solution is needed!
The growing global hunger for energy
The global demand for energy is growing constantly and incessantly. Why is this the case?
In our modern society, we need - perhaps without realizing it - a lot of energy for the things we do every day. You only have to think about your own daily routine, so many of our activities require electricity and fuel. But not only that, our constant supply of food, clothing and all the "normal" things of daily life also require a great deal of energy in their production and transportation.
As the world's population continues to grow, so does the demand for energy.
The challenges
Climate change
Climate change is fueled by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). The so-called greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide CO₂, methane, nitrous oxide and F-gases) are released into the atmosphere and stored there. You can think of it as a shield or a glass dome, like in a greenhouse, through which the heat produced by the earth cannot escape. This creates the phenomenon of global warming, which causes glaciers to melt and the oceans to become warmer and warmer, thus depriving many animals of their habitat, for example. This sets in motion a chain reaction of immeasurable proportions.
Scarcity of resources
In this context, resources are understood to mean raw materials such as coal - it cannot be produced artificially and is created from the earth.
Resource scarcity means that we are consuming resources on earth faster than they can be replenished. This means, for example, that we could use up the oil reserves that have "grown" over thousands of years in just a few decades.
Energy poverty
If a person has to spend more than a tenth of their monthly income on energy costs, they are considered "energy poor". In fact, it is a challenge for many people to be able to afford heating in winter.
Furthermore, there are still millions of people who have no access at all to reliable and affordable energy. This naturally affects their quality of life and their ability to develop.
Opportunities and solutions
Renewable energies
Renewable energy sources are understood to be "infinitely" available energy producers such as the sun (in the form of solar energy), but wind energy and hydropower also offer a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.
Energy efficiency
The less energy is lost and the more intelligently we use the available energy, the more efficiently we work with it. A simple example of this is that if we want to bring water to the boil in a pot with a lid, we can achieve our goal much faster with less energy consumption than without a lid.
Energy efficiency is an important topic in many areas, such as buildings, transportation and industry.
Energy storage
Energy generated from the sun, wind and water is always subject to certain irregularities. To ensure that we don't only have electricity when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, it is important to somehow store the surplus energy from hot summer days, for example, so that we can charge our cell phones, use the washing machine and run the heating at night or on cloudy days.
Energy for all
Energy is needed everywhere and by everyone in the world. Ensuring that everyone around the world can afford it is a major challenge for our time.
This can be achieved if both renewable energy sources are expanded and attention is paid to improving overall energy efficiency.
If all people were well supplied with energy, there would be less reason for wars and everyone would have the same opportunities for development.
Welcome to Saving energy at school. Here you will find detailed information on the topics from our Metaverse room.
The Metaverse room consists of 7 rooms:
- Entrance
- Energy
- Energy saving
- Future
- Auditorium
- Cinema
- Tasks
In the rooms you will find various articles that you can open on the Internet by clicking on "View".
Start your puzzle rally in the task room. You can also download the game instructions here.
Travel through three different levels and solve all the tasks. Each answer has a code number that you need to unlock the final quiz. Enter all the code numbers in your game instructions!
Once you have completed all the tasks, travel through the final quiz portal in the task room and enter your solution password there to check whether you have solved all the tasks correctly.
Your certificate is waiting for you! Have fun!
