Smart tech and climate change - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.

And I’m Sam.

These days, our lives are filled with

devices that were unimaginable only

a few years ago – the sorts of things

you read about in science-fiction novels,

but never thought you’d own.

Yes, like those robots that vacuum your

floor or voice-activated lights –

we call many of these things ‘smart tech’.

But while they can help with the little

tasks at home, some people are

wondering whether they can help

fight climate change.

Yes, smart homes, regulating things

like the temperature, are a step in the

right direction. Using AI to learn when

the house is occupied and the optimal

time to fire up the heating, is one way

to limit wasteful use of resources.

The problem comes from the origin

of the energy which powers these home

systems. If it’s fossil fuels, then digging

them up – an informal way of saying

removing something from the earth -

and burning them creates carbon

emissions.

I suppose that’s why many people

are trying to find more renewable

forms of energy to reduce their

carbon footprint.

Well, it’s interesting that you

mentioned carbon footprint,

because my question is about that

today. How many tonnes of carbon dioxide

are humans responsible for emitting into

the atmosphere every year? Is it more than:

a) 30 billion

b) 40 billion; or

c) 50 billion?

Well, Neil, that all sounds like a lot to

me, but I’ll go straight down the middle

and say b – 40 billion tonnes.

OK, Sam, we’ll find out the correct

answer at the end of the programme.

So you mentioned earlier that people

are looking into ways to use more

renewable energy, but there are also

some problems with that form

of energy production.

Yes – for example many of these

technologies rely on certain weather

conditions, which affect the level

of energy production.

Dr Enass Abo-Hamed, CEO of H2go,

is working on a project on Orkney,

an island off the coast of Scotland,

testing ways of storing renewable

forms of energy. Here she is on BBC

World Service programme Crowd Science,

speaking with Graihagh Jackson, talking

about the limitations of renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy is intermittent by

its nature because it’s dependant

and relying on the weather. When

the Sun shines and when the wind blows,

and these by nature are not

24-hour 7 reliable constant.

And that means that demand doesn’t

always meet supply of renewables –

it can mean that we get blackouts,

but on the other hand, when the Sun

is up and we are producing all that

power or when the wind is blowing

and were producing that power, we

might not be able to use that energy -

There’s no demand for it and so it’s wasted.

So, Dr Enass Abo-Hamed said the

renewable energy is intermittent,

which means that something is

not continuous and has many breaks.

She also said that because there

isn’t always a steady stream of energy,

we can get blackouts –

periods of time without energy.

People like Dr Enass Abo-Hamed

are trying to find solutions to make

renewable energy storage devices –

which would make the supply

of energy more constant.

Smart tech can also help with this

problem with renewable sources.

Now, of course, not only can computers

be used to design efficient models,

but smart tech can also be used to

improve performance after things like

wind turbines have been installed.

Here is Graihagh Jackson, science broadcaster

and podcaster, speaking about how

smart tech can improve efficiency

on BBC World Service programme, Crowd Science:

Some engineers use something

called a digital twin. This is really

interesting, actually. This is where

lots of sensors are attached to the

wind turbine, so it can be modelled

on a computer in real time. And then,

using machine learning, you can then

simulate what’s happening to the wind

turbine in specific weather conditions.

And this is important because it means

they can make sure they’re

performing their best.

Graihagh Jackson used the expression

in real time, which means without delay or live.

She also mentioned machine learning,

which is the way computers change their

behaviour based on data they collected.

And she also said simulate –

produce a computer model of something.

So, while there are issues with

the reliability of the source of

renewable energy, it’s clear that

people are working on solutions

such as energy storage to make

sure there is always a supply.

And that computers can be used to

design and operate technology

as efficiently as possible.

Much in the same way that AI can

be used in your home to make it

run as efficiently as possible.

Yes – all in the hope of

reducing your carbon footprint.

Which reminds me of your quiz question, Neil.

Yes, in my quiz question I asked Sam

how many tonnes of carbon dioxide

humans produce each year!

I went for b) 40 billion tonnes.

Which is… the correct answer!

Well done, Sam!

Wow – I guessed right – but all three

of those numbers sound really high!

Let’s recap the vocabulary from today’s

programme about smart tech and

climate change, starting with

dig something up – an informal expression

which means to remove something from the ground.

Intermittent is used to describe something

that is not continuous or steady.

Blackouts are periods of time without

energy, for example electricity.

In real time means without delay or live.

Machine learning is the process by which

computers learn and change

behaviour based on data.

And finally, simulate means

produce a computer model.

That’s all for this programme.

Bye for now!

Goodbye!