Talking about the Climate Crisis, Part 2

On Yabla German, you can find many videos featuring German-speaking scientists, environmentalists, and citizens who are very concerned about the Earth's future:

Das Eis am Nord- und Südpol schmilzt, der Meeresspiegel steigt.

The ice at the North and South Pole is melting, the sea level is rising.

Caption 31, OroVerde - Regenwald schützen: CO₂, Regenwald und Klimaschutz
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Willi, machst du dir auch manchmal Gedanken darüber, ob unsere wertvolle Natur irgendwann Opfer einer immer intensiveren Landwirtschaft, ausgerichtet auf Gewinnmaximierung wird?

Willi, do you ever worry about whether our precious nature will eventually become the victim of increasingly intensive agriculture geared towards maximizing profit?

Captions 60-63, Umwelt und Natur: Wo sind all die Bienen hin?
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To engage with a German perspective on the situation, you will need specific vocabulary related to problems like those mentioned above, but also related to steps we can take individually and collectively. First of all, there are the acts of recycling and paying attention to what we as individuals eat and consume:

In Heidelberg wird der Müll in verschiedene Gruppen getrennt, damit das, was recycelt werden kann, wiederverwertet werden kann, auch wieder wirklich wiederverwertet wird.

In Heidelberg, the garbage is separated into different groups, so that that which can be recycled, can be re-used, also really gets re-used.

Captions 14-16, Mülltrennung in Heidelberg
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Bio statt Agrarindustrie. Umweltschonend angebaut ohne Chemie mit niedrigem Energieverbrauch und gentechfrei.

Organic instead of the agriculture industry. Environmentally friendly without chemicals, with low energy use and free of genetic engineering.

Captions 33-34, Nachhaltige Ernährung: Animation
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Then there are the investments that need to be made in green energy by cities and countries:

Um etwas gegen die Klimaerwärmung zu tun, müssen wir in Deutschland aus der Braunkohle aussteigen.

In order to do something against global warming, we have to phase out brown coal in Germany.

Caption 36, WWF Deutschland Klimawandel hautnah: Was sind die Auswirkungen?
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Wir müssen jetzt in erneuerbare Energien, in... in Energieeffizienz investieren.

We must now invest in renewable energies, in... in energy efficiency.

Caption 19, Die Insel Fehmarn - Schlauchboote gegen den Atom-Irrsinn
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Also, hundert Prozent Ökostrom, können wir das hinkriegen? Das geht.

So, one hundred percent green electricity, can we do that? It's possible.

Caption 11, Terra X - Ohne Kohle und Atom - Geht uns der Strom aus?
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In all of this, the concept of "sustainability" remains the guiding principle. While the word is sometimes misused or even exploited, it is still the central focus of many concerted efforts.

Heute wird Nachhaltigkeit als ein Gesamtkonzept angesehen.

Today, sustainability is seen as a global concept.

Caption 17, Erklärvideos - Nachhaltigkeit einfach erklärt
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Further Learning
If you didn't catch our previous newsletter on vocabulary related to the climate crisis, have a look on our lessons page. Watch any of the videos above in their entirety on Yabla German, or select the category "Environment" to learn even more!