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Total energy failure due to a catastrophe: suddenly the heating stays cold or the apartment is dark. The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance reveals how you can proceed in a guide.

Total power failure: The Federal Office for Civil Protection gives tips

If you suddenly run out of energy, there are a few ways to compensate. If the heating fails in the cold season, this quickly leads to unpleasant situations that can also be dangerous. The BKK recommends wrapping yourself in warm clothing. If you have a stove or fireplace at home, you should definitely use it to warm yourself. It is particularly helpful if you have a sufficient supply of firewood, charcoal and briquettes available.

Total power failure: basic information

The BKK gives basic tips that will help you to act correctly in an emergency. You can also make preparations to protect yourself in the event of a crisis. This is how you should make sure that all the batteries of your important technical devices are always charged. This includes, for example, your smartphone, laptop or computer or even telephones.

A battery-powered radio* should also be available so that you can be informed in the event of a disaster. An alternative to this are practical crank radios*, which you can drive yourself – without an additional energy source. It’s also important to keep enough cash around the house at all times, since a power outage can also affect ATMs and other systems.

Conclusion: failure of electricity, gas and oil – you can do that

A catastrophe can lead to a longer outage of electricity, gas and oil – the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance reveals in a guide how best to proceed.

It is always advisable to have a sufficient supply of flashlights, candles, matches and spare batteries in case of a power failure. Solar and crank-powered lights and flashlights are also helpful. If the heating fails, the only thing that helps is to wrap up in warm clothing – if you have a stove or fireplace and enough fuel at home, you have an advantage.

Anyone who eats vegan does something for the climate – and not a little: An ecologist from Oxford University has calculated how much greenhouse gas a single vegan person saves each year. The amount corresponds to several flights.

The meat industry is one of the most polluting sectors of all – this has been known for a long time. Livestock breeding and animal husbandry cause high greenhouse gas emissions, and an extremely large amount of agricultural land is lost for animal feed and animal farms. No wonder, then, that a diet without meat, milk, eggs and other animal products is more sustainable.

How much the vegan lifestyle actually brings, however, may surprise many. In 2019, the ecologist Joseph Poore from the British Oxford University calculated for the Spiegel magazine how many greenhouse gases a vegan in Germany is responsible for per year.

Vegans save eight flights

According to Poore, every person in Europe produces an average of eleven tons of greenhouse gases every year. Anyone who lives vegan saves two tons every year, including 670 kilograms of CO2. According to Der Spiegel, two tons of greenhouse gases correspond to about eight economy class flights between London and Berlin.

In his calculation, Poore assumed, among other things, that the production of vegan food requires significantly less agricultural land. Plants and trees that bind carbon dioxide can grow on the area, which is free thanks to Veganer:innen.

It is worth giving up animal products

The British ecologist and his colleagues published a comprehensive study on the subject last year. For the analysis, the research team evaluated data from 40,000 farms in 119 countries. According to the study, giving up meat and dairy has the biggest impact on our carbon footprint.

Even the animal products that have the least impact on the environment still cause more environmental degradation than the most unsustainable vegetables and grains. (More details from the study here).

The current calculation of the greenhouse gas savings of vegans shows once again why it is worth eating fewer or no animal products. However, for those who are used to eating a lot of meat or dairy products, the transition can be difficult.