Over 10 days 18 volunteers of Greenpeace from Switzerland,
Moscow, Irkutsk and Omsk improved the thermal insulation of a
school in the village of Khuzhir. It's the first time the work of
such scale was carried out in Russia. 86 windows with total area of
270 m2 were insulated, about 1000 special heat-reflecting screens
were set behind the radiators; 50 m2 of windowpane were replaced.
Both traditional materials like glazing bead, silicone joint
sealant and new materials like various sealers for window frames
and special reflecting heat layer were used.
According to calculations, the school will be able to save up to
20 percent of fuel necessary for heating - coal at the sum of 60
thousand roubles. Moreover, pollutant emissions will be greatly
reduced. The emissions will be reduced 140 tons per year!
Besides modern energy saving technologies the participants of
the camp demonstrated modern methods of alternative energy
production to local residents, tourists and journalists. Sun panels
and accumulators could be seen each day in front of the central
entrance to the school. They were used to recharge accumulators for
cameras, mobile telephones and other household appliances. The
"solar stove", in which volunteers of Greenpeace cooked meal for
visitors, provoked a great interest of tourists and
journalists.
On August 5 the participants of the camp together with local
inhabitants cleared up the litter on shore. About 50 bags (100
litres each) were collected in a few hours and then taken to the
village for further transportation to the continent.
The coming heating season will show how effective the project on
improving the thermal insulation of the school was. If the results
are positive, Greenpeace will extend this experience to the other
regions in Russia. This can make great contribution to
environmental protection as the housing complex is one of the main
pollutants.