The Blue Planet

Speech 1 (by Emily Waltermann):

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Did you ever think about our environment in general?
Let me ask you some questions:
Do you feel guilty every time you start your car even if you know that you could also take your bike to get to the supermarket?
Do you feel guilty every time you watch TV and see impoverished and thin children in Africa or Asia searching for something to eat in the rubbish while you are sitting on the couch eating just what you want and this all the time?
And do you feel guilty every time you throw away something and pollute the environment?

I think nearly everyone of us would answer with NO – and that is exactly the problem we have.
Everyone knows that we cause all the problems in the world, but does that matter?
Is a single person able to change the world? Most people would say NO. But if everyone thinks so, it is impossible to stop what we are doing right now to our environment – to our future.

In my opinion the scale of all this is not known:
The emission of greenhouse-gases like carbon dioxide is higher than ever before. They cause the damage of the ozone layer, also the global warming and the climate change.
But is that really a problem? Well, did you know that the danger to suffer from skin cancer becomes higher and higher? The constantly rising temperature even of the ocean causes warm winters and ice melting, so not only contaminated seas and rivers destroy the natural area of many species. Moreover we pollute our environment with toxic substances and many species become extinct and die every day, because of our waste. We destroy the rain forest with its animals and cornfields actually needed for the harvest, to build up a world of industry and factories.
And what about us?
We need clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and untreated food to eat. But will that still be possible in the near future? We shouldn't forget that we are also polluting the ground water with toxins...

All of these current problems stand close to each other and I think you know that there are a lot more – and they are becoming bigger and worse.

By talking to you right now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have to remind you that we all have to raise awareness of the consequences of our lifestyle!
There are solutions – start to ride your bike more often instead of taking the car, do not use plastic that much, pay attention to natural resources or avoid to travel by plane because of the high emissions. So as a first step – why not try to improve oneself?

We all have to work on improving the situation or we and our future will suffer more and more.

Thank you for your attention!

Speech 3 (by Sophia Dorenkamp):

How many of you have ever flown to another city in Germany?
Now what if I told you that a Jumbo-Jet emisses 940 kg CO2 each start...? Of course inland-flights are not spend in a Jumbo-Jet but those short-time-flights almost only consist of start and landing which are the phases the plane needs the most kerosene.
A lot of you may think now: “What does that have to do with me?”
Well, I think most of us watch football, right?
But did you know that almost every football team flies to where the matches take place ..? I can assure you, they do!
And I asked myself a lot of times why they can’t just take the bus. I’ll tell you why!
It’s already full with their baggage going the whole way anyway.
Of course that is nothing we can change first-hand, but I’d like you to just take a second and think about that.
So what can we do? Let me give you an example of a trip from Hamburg to Berlin.
An average flight will take 3 to 5 hours while an ICE only needs 2.3 hours.
In this time the plane emissions make up about circa 72 kg carbon dioxide for each person. The train only holds an average of 9kg.
And if that was not enough, let me give you one last information:
Today the whole air traffic produces more than two times as much carbon dioxide as the entire Indian population.
Let’s change our traffic-culture together!

Thank you for your attention!

Speech 4 (by Mona Müller):

Do you know what the common ground between a fish and your jeans is? In both  chemicals and poisons are contained!

The reason is that in textile factories toxins like washing powder are used. Some of them are carcinogen and hormonal effective. This chemicals lead into rivers, seas and also in our drinking water. Furthermore in our clothes there are dangerous chemicals. By washing them the toxic chemicals lead their way into the sewage system, which cannot stop the spread of toxins. This all happens because of weak laws and economic lobbies.
But this abuse is also encouraged by the costumers!
Are you thinking of the consequences by buying your sixth jeans?
Of consequences like: pollution of water and nature and the dying of fish..?
We also do not think of ourselves, of the chemicals on our skin and of the chemicals in the fish on our plate. We all have to stop the abuse of nature, water, animals and to show responsibility!
Fashion is not allowed to cost our world!
It is time to detox!