Several years ago, Yabla published a two-part lesson about the climate crisis (die Klimakrise). The situation since then has gotten even worse, so let's revisit the topic today.
The term "climate change" (der Klimawandel) is generally used to describe how mankind's activities are affecting our climate today in ways that have a serious impact on our environment, our economy, and our lives.
Und da sieht man ganz klar: Der Klimawandel ist „real“.
And you can see very clearly that climate change is real.
Caption 13, WWF Deutschland Klimawandel hautnah: Was sind die Auswirkungen?
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Beim Strom haben wir den Vorteil zu anderen erneuerbaren Energieträgern.
With electricity we have the advantage over other renewable energy carriers.
Caption 27, Agrarmesse: Grüne Woche in Berlin
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Other sources of electricity, such as dams and wind turbines, may have a negative effect on the landscape, but they are relatively green compared to energy sources such as fossil fuels (fossile Energieträger). Wikipedia describes a fossil fuel as a substance "such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals, that is extracted and burned as a fuel."
Die globale Klimaerwärmung hinterlässt Spuren.
Global warming is leaving its mark.
Caption 24, Die letzten Paradiese: Schätze der Natur: Südtirol
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The air pollution caused by fossil fuels causes global warming (die globale Erwärmung). Global warming is the largely human-caused increase of our planet's temperatures over the last decades.
Seit 1850 hat sich die Gletscherfläche bereits halbiert.
Since 1850, the glacial area has already been halved.
Caption 32, Alpenseen: Kühle Schönheiten
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As the glaciers (der Gletscher, plural die Gletscher) and the icebergs (der Eisberg, plural die Eisberge) melt due to fossil fuels causing global warming, rivers are overfilled with water, and the sea rises.
Das Eis am Nord- und Südpol schmilzt, der Meeresspiegel steigt, es kommt zu schlimmen Überschwemmungen und woanders zu schlimmen Dürren.
The ice at the North and South Pole is melting, the sea level is rising, terrible floods are occurring and elsewhere terrible droughts.
Captions 31-32, OroVerde - Regenwald schützen: CO2, Regenwald und Klimaschutz
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A drought (die Dürre) is the opposite of a flood (die Überschwemmung): instead of too much water, there isn't enough. Without enough water, farmers are unable to grow the kinds of food that they used to in the past. Property, crops, and even human lives are lost as a direct result of storms, floods, and droughts caused by global warming.
Hilf also mit, die Wälder zu schützen, rette den Regenwald!
So help protect the forests, save the rainforest!
Caption 46, OroVerde - Regenwald schützen: CO2, Regenwald und Klimaschutz
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By protecting the rainforest (der Regenwald), global warming is reduced, because trees absorb the heat from sunlight and turn carbon dioxide into oxygen—which we also need to breathe! King Charles of Great Britain has a rainforests project, and has stated that stopping the destruction of rainforests would help slow climate change. However, it's only going to change if wealthy people like King Charles and large profit-driven corporations are made to take financial and moral responsibility for the destruction they are causing.
Die Gewinne sind ja auch dementsprechend hoch.
The profits are accordingly high.
Caption 8, Ball des Weines: Tombola
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As long as the burning of fossil fuels continues to create windfall profits for the ultra wealthy and corporations, there is little chance of slowing global warming and climate change. A carbon tax (die CO2-Steuer or die Kohlenstoffsteuer), which would tax products that damage the environment according to the costs of repairing the damages they cause, could help solve the problem by forcing manufacturers to seek greener energy sources. But in many western democratic countries, this is seen as a danger to profits, and stands very little chance with politicians, whose campaigns are often heavily financed by some of the world's worst polluters.
As individuals, the best that most of us can manage (including voting!) is to continue to do our small part in reducing our consumption of products that directly lead to global warming!
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and watch some of the videos above that deal with this topic. You can also search for some of the highlighted words to find more German videos related to climate change.
This basic expression of gratitude can be written in three different ways: 1. Upper case as Dankeschön, one word; 2. Two words upper case Danke and lower case schön; or 3. as two words danke schön in lower case. But which of these are correct?
The uppercase single word Dankeschön is a neuter noun, and should actually only be written thus when clearly used as a noun in a sentence:
Das Lied ist ein Dankeschön an Menschen,
The song is a thank-you to people
die die Sporties inspiriert haben.
who have inspired the "Sporties."
Captions 26-27, Sportfreunde Stiller - Neues Album
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Und ganz herzliches Dankeschön auf jeden Fall.
And very heartfelt thanks in any case.
Caption 20, Tierfreund Mario Barth - Der Tätowierer der Stars
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The more common greeting of Danke schön / danke schön is written as two words, and in most cases is written lower case (except when starting a sentence, of course):
Das bestelle ich später, danke schön.
I'll order that later, thank you.
Caption 17, Abendessen - mit Marko
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The upper case exception Danke schön, which is recommended (but not required), can be used when expressions of gratitude are referred to with the verb sagen in a sentence, in which case the expression is handled grammatically as a noun phrase:
Nächste Woche geht es wieder weiter
We'll continue next week,
und ich sage Danke schön und Auf Wiedersehen.
and I'd like to say thank you and goodbye.
Captions 28-29, Ball des Weines - Tombola
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Note that even the Auf in Auf Wiedersehen is upper case, but this rather complicated rule is not of great concern, since lower case is also an acceptable form. Remember too that danke can also be the first person singular form of the verb danken, "to thank," and is therefore always written in lower case. Ich danke euch herzlich!
Further Learning
Find some more ways to express thanks in German and look for these expressions on Yabla German to see them used in a real world context.
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