Earth Week - Join in. Lead the way. Live consciously sustainable.

In the middle of a climate crisis, we must continue gaining knowledge about the effects of global warming on fragile ecosystems such as the polar regions, while at the same time moving from knowledge to action seeking to apply or knowledge to find ways to mitigate climate change. The ocean already provides biological feedstocks for carbon-rich products that can substitute fossil-derived products, and it also contributes to carbon dioxide removal through its physico-chemical and biological carbon pumps. Micro- and macroalgae play a crucial role in carbon sequestration in the ocean. To significantly mitigate catastrophic climate change, the latest IPCC reports indicate that both a rapid reduction in current emissions and additional net carbon dioxide removal is needed.

The open ocean provides the space and the resources required to scale up algal production and natural blue carbon sequestration to the quantities required to defossilize industry and mitigate climate change. Open ocean afforestation through seaweed aquafarming combined with artificial upwelling can be used for long-term carbon sequestration in the deep sea through enhanced sinking or for sustainable product development to reduce emissions. Our research at AWI focuses on optimizing the methods to monitor, report and verify carbon dioxide removal  and assess its environmental impacts in the ocean, as well as to contribute to the development of a sustainable and efficient open ocean aquaculture industry.

Videoconferenzlink: https://awi.webex.com/awi/j.php?MTID=m84cba33f14446d6069e9e821632933f5

We take a closer look at the concept of sustainability and present a simple philosophical analysis of the concept. To have fruitful discussions about sustainability, we argue, two levels need to be separated:

1. What is supposed to be sustained and how it is threatened to be undermined (Persistence Condition)
2. Why future generations depend on it (Dependence Condition)

To put our sustainability concept to work, we apply it to the problem of AI generated media: Such generated content threatens to undermine the public’s trust in digital images and recordings. 1. That trust is no longer sustainable due to realistic fake images and recordings that are cheap to generate. To address this problem, we also need to be clearer about 2. why trust in images and recordings are relevant for future generations (e.g., it underpins a fact-based public debate on current events and thereby contributes to a functioning democracy). Both the Persistence as well as the Dependence Condition need to be considered to address a sustainability problem.

Zoom Meeting: https://cispa-de.zoom-x.de/j/66814056234?pwd=ia2DLg5GbljastLQWzqa5D7DWbFOlH.1
Meeting ID: 668 1405 6234
Passcode: 6k^ixs

Humanitarian aid-distribution programs help bring physical goods to people in need. Traditional paper-based solutions to support aid distribution do not scale to large populations and are hard to secure. Existing digital solutions, on the other hand, risk creating serious harms to recipients by collecting large amount of personal information including sometimes biometric data.

In this talk, I will explain how, in collaboration with humanitarian organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross, we designed digital systems for aid-distribution systems with strong protection. We’ll see how we used privacy-enhancing technologies to prevent harm to vulnerable aid recipients; and touch on our experience working with humanitarian organizations.

Zoom Meeting: https://cispa-de.zoom-x.de/j/61876952067?pwd=KHZQBmDmf3CgVCRkoViAaqlLTm0xLF.1
Meeting ID: 618 7695 2067
Passcode: Q7TYp.

The ongoing digitalisation of many areas of life is not only valued as a technological innovation, but also embodies many hopes for the transition to sustainable ways of living and doing business. The presentation discusses the ecological opportunities and risks of digitalisation from different perspectives. It will focus on the application of digital technologies, particularly in the production and energy sectors. A special technological focus of the presentation is on current developments in artificial intelligence.

Take part in the Zoom meeting
https://gfz-de.zoom-x.de/j/63459253033?pwd=2sQFLbErkFtJ65bjOlYwEqp8TdYJTU.1 
Meeting ID: 634 5925 3033
Identification code: 864685

Did you know that every terabyte of data on Helmholtz servers costs more than €100 per year? As data volumes continue to grow, so does the ecological and financial impact of our research. In this workshop, IT experts from the DKFZ Heidelberg (Michael Cop) and the Max Delbrück Centre (Mathias Decker) will pool their experience and demonstrate practical approaches to resource-saving data management.

Participants will gain insights into best practices and learn about a tool that makes the often hidden costs of "data waste" visible and manageable. The event is aimed equally at scientists and IT experts who want to manage data more sustainably - and more efficiently.

Zoom (German with English subtitles): https://mdc-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/66807061154 

How can we increase energy efficiency in our working environment - without compromising the quality or safety of research? The energy scouts at the FZJ address this question in regular network meetings. In addition to potential savings for offices and communal areas, the focus is also on working as energy-efficiently as possible in the laboratory. Last year, the Helmholtz Competence Network for Climate-Friendly Building (HKB) published a working aid on the topic of "Air exchange rates in laboratories". Michael Hinz from the HKB presents the guide in his online lecture and reports on his own experiences at the Max Delbrück Centre in Berlin.

Link to the presentation via MS Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/35908685281025?p=pBCtVzOE7j383kBOxI

How can we embed sustainability into research without slowing down scientific work? SPARKHub is a new open-access platform designed to do exactly that. It aims to provide a practical, science-based tool for all types of laboratories, from biomedical sciences, to physics to high-performance computing. SPARKHub is developed in collaboration with the international research and sustainability community.

Philipp Weber, Sustainability Officer at EMBO and one of the initiators behind SPARKHub, will introduce the platform and invite the Helmholtz community to explore and test it.

Zoom (English with German subtitles): https://mdc-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/61347899046

Join us from 4:00 to 5:00 PM for the Helmholtz Sustainability Online Pub Quiz—an easygoing, interactive session on Zoom where you can challenge yourself, share some laughs, and maybe even win big. We’ve lined up five rounds packed with surprising sustainability facts, brain-teasing picture puzzles, and a music round. Whether you prefer to compete solo or team up with colleagues, there’s a spot for you. And here’s the highlight: the winning team takes home the legendary Golden Microscope trophy from MDC and the Golden Sextupol trophy from DESY.

How to join:

• Playing as a team? Just gather around one screen or hop into a conference room together.
• Pick a team name in Zoom so we can track your points.
• No registration needed - just join the call and jump right in!

Zoom (German with English subtitles): https://mdc-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/69439088466

The accelerated anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases is changing our planet's climate at an increasingly rapid pace. The basic mechanisms and most important effects are presented here, mainly with reference to the current assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The latter comprises several thousand pages and is therefore rarely read in its entirety. The presentation will therefore focus on the key scientific findings and, finally, on the options for shaping the future.

Link to the lecture via MS Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/34241231947069?p=qMKaaBUXrqTdMLTI0M

An expedition in the North Atlantic, deep-sea samples and a clear goal: sustainable processes for recycling plastics. The focus is on enzymes from microorganisms that have adapted to plastics under the extreme conditions of the ocean depths - and thus enable new biotechnological approaches for plastics recycling.

More information here: link

Link to the appointment via ZOOM: https://go.fzj.de/cTknX

Every fortnight on Thursday at 8:30 pm live on YouTube, we scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and our guests from other institutions report on our current, real and climate-relevant research in a cosy atmosphere. We bring the polar bear into your living room, the whale into the aquarium and the permafrost into your front garden. Make yourself comfortable on the sofa with a suitable drink and join us on a short, exciting research trip. You'll get to know us and learn a few fascinating things about our planet along the way. Afterwards, we'll be happy to answer any snack-related questions you may have.

Lecture by Prof. Dr. Helmut Hillebrand

Prof. Dr. Helmut Hillebrand is Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) in Oldenburg and will give a lecture on the importance of plankton biodiversity in the oceans.
 

Phytoplankton comprises an impressive variety of photosynthetically active microorganisms. They are more diverse amongst themselves than land plants. This diversity enables them to cope with rapid changes in the marine environment. Their biodiversity is therefore a significant component of ocean biogeochemistry and is thus particularly important for the balance and health of our oceans.  
In episode 193, we delve deep into the colourful world of the smallest plants in our oceans. 

Link to the event:https://www.youtube.com/live/SpdrqXCM-q8?si=klieChQXPgMrYFBH

 

In order to stop fuelling the climate crisis, humanity's greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to zero. This presentation will discuss how this can be achieved and the role that renewable energies can play. A particular focus will be on the role of solar energy.

Registration at: https://helmholtz-berlin-de.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/xMhNnwl8Sfay-ju-Gi9JYw