United Nations Discussion

Today we did an interesting assignment in class which was not directly part of our study, but our teacher proposed it and we gladly chose to do it. We were divided into three different groups, developed countries, well developing and bad developing countries, according to the amount of people living in these areas. Each group recieved some basic information about their collective of countries. The goal was to discuss on a global scale what each type of country is able to accomplish to prevent climate change and stay under the targeted 2°C level.
We did have some time in our groups to discuss the possibilities of our regions in the following categories: year in which the peak emissions are reached, year in which the emissions will start to reduce, rate of emission reduction, rate of decreaseing deforestation and amount of money we can afford for the target $100 billion /year fund against climate change.
After each group agreed on their data the elected a representative of each group held a short presentation on what will be done and with a short reasoning. In the following we entered the data in a special program online (Simulation Tool). The tool we used is a simplified model, which calculates the future emissions, the increase in temperature and the sea level rise. Sadly we missed the 2°C goal in our first try. Nevertheless, we think we did good for the first try.
To improve we took a step back in the groups and discussed if we maybe can adapt our goals. After an exchange of arguments every area was more ambitious. After presenting the new targets we had a very intense discussion between the representatives backed up by their teams. The strongest disagreement was between the richest and the poorest people.
As a result we did not manage to reach the target on the second try either. We did better, but not good enough. From our opinion, the rich countries and the poor countires had very good to  very strong ambitions, but the good developing countries could do much better. They defended their right on prosperity for their own people, since the first world countries did the majr part in pollution.
In the end we did not reach our target and had over one meter in sea level rise. It became clear to us, that it is very hard to negotiate this topic inbetween almost 200 nations, but also that with better preparation and more time we probably could have reached the goal.
Let us hope the leaders in Marakech are having everything they need to reach an solid agreement.

Assignment 6: Reflecting on SSC solutions

Assignment 6 was to reflect on the three most interesting SSC solutions found by the other groups. These are our top three products or concepts:

Source: Switch to Zero

Solution 1: Hybrid Solar Panel (Group Switch to Zero)

In our opinion the idea of hybrid solar panels is very good. First there is a short introduction about the idea. Afterwards you explained the idea more and explained how it works. It is really nice to hear about the advantages of the idea and the new concept of these solar panels.
Also we like that you abut a link to get more information about the topic.
For almost everything there is also a negative side and to compare what you need it would be nice to mention them. Maybe only to see that the negative part is in comparison to the positive part very small.

Switch to Zero - Research on existing SSC solutions


Solution 2: Powerwall: The Tesla Home Battery (Group Switch to Zero)

Source: Switch to Zero

All of us are Tesla's fans, so we think this kind of innovations are necessary for progress. The way to expose the idea is clear. It is important to clarify, that if there is more energy needed, a connection to the grid must be maintained, good point!
Furthermore, the official web page indicates use solar panels (like you), but we would like to know if it is possible to use another kind of renewable source.
Finally, we know the many advantages Powerwall has, but we guess it has some disadvantages and that is important to know, for applying this technology in the right place and to give it the correct use.

See link above


Solution 3: ShareDesk (Group SHARING SKANSSI PROJECT)

The group of the “Sharing Skanssi Project“ introduced “ShareDesk”, an online platform to rent offices all over the world for a part of a day. This is a fresh new idea, that has high value concerning their project, since the goal is to share spaces in the area. But also for other cities and projects it should be taken into account, because sharing spaces has influence on many different areas. We could benefit from this kind of ideas as well. Sharing spaces to live and work throughout a city can decrease the use of transport, since you can use a place near your location instead of having to move to the other side of the city. The website makes it more easy to do this.
Furthermore, the group points out other benefits of this concept, like greater flexibility, no need to sign a year lease term for an office, co-working and reuse of old buildings. But as for the other solutions it would have been nice to also mention potential disadvantages of the website or the idea in general.

Source: https://www.sharedesk.net/

Sharing Skanssi Project - ShareDesk

Who is new in the world of electric vehicles?

This is Sion from Sono Motors

The Sion is a very special car. In my opinion it is what many little children think of when they are playing. The idea is simple, the implementation most likely rather not. If you have an electric car there is at some point the urgent need to charge your batteries, in Germany this is called range anxiety (Reichweitenangst). That can take 20 minutes for 80% with fast-charging or take hours at the normal outlet of one's home. But just imagine your car would be charge at any daylight time while parking outside. Sounds crazy? How about the charge is free? Impossible!

Not quite! The main advantage of Sono Motors' Sion are the 7.5 square meters of solar panels that cover the outside body of the car, which charges the batteries up anytime the car is parked outside. Every day it will gives you an extra charge of averaged 30 kilometers a day. Most people drive an average of 50 kilometers a day, so you can imagine that most people using this car, which is designed for urban purposes, will drive to work for free or at least very, very cheap.
Sono Motors is a small, young, crowdfunded start-up from Munich in Germany. They created their car in a long developement process in their own garage and put a lot of lifeblood into their work. Starting at 12.000€, with a clear and nice design this car is a real newcomer on the EV market. The Urban version will go for 120 km in one charge and the Extender up to 250 km.
But it is not only designed for driving to work or the grocerystore, the Sion is an adventurer. With his trailer hitch it is strong enough to explore the nature and pull a caravan at the same time. While your are enjoying the outside the Sion will charge his battery for you and all your electric devices. You will be free in nature but stay connected to anything you fell like connecting to.
Test drives start in mid 2017.
Furthermore, reSono will be launched. It is an easy to use repair service, where Sono Motors will send you spare parts and anyone can build them in with online videos. That saves carbon emissions and money for the costumer.

In my opinion this is an awesome idea made by real visionairs. The car is perfect for urban areas, determined by size and range. The daily free charge is a real game changer for people who are afraid they will strand somewhere without energy in the battery. For the city of Alcoi this is a fantastic solution. Alcoi is not very big so the range is definitley enough, for the Extender it is even enough for a trip to Valencia and back. The Spanish sun will make the final point for my argument.

https://www.sonomotors.com/

- Lennart