Climate Change and the Environment | Easy English 113

You've got too many people,

you've got... you've got capitalism,

that always expects... gain/growth.

And erm...

so the whole... the whole thing's...

I haven't sworn yet.

Yeah, it grabs free energy from the outside.

Amazing.

Yeah, I don't police it, no.

I don't know if it actually works out cheaper.

Electricity is cheaper after 7pm.

And it's cheapest between 10pm and 5am.

Is it affordable, to be environmentally friendly?

It's very expensive.

The real question is;

do you really wanna damage the  environment that you live in?

You know, do you want to  pollute this place or not?

You don't have to get into agreeing or disagreeing

about climate studies and this and that.

It's like, do you want to pour  oil in this spot we're in now

or don't you?

D'you want to damage where you live or don't you?

And then, there's no argument.

Hello, welcome to Easy English.

Today, I want to know what the people of Brighton

are doing, to help protect the environment.

Anything specifically they might be doing,

or any cost efficient life-hacks

they might have up their sleeve.

Before we start, please don't  forget to like and subscribe,

here we go.

What do you do specifically, to  sort of, help the environment?

Okay well, recycling. - Yeah.

yeah, we recycle...

as much as we possibly can.

Don't drop any litter, that's...

that's pretty much.

I... I don't eat meat... maybe... - Oh really?

Half... half of the week;

not fully vegetarian or  vegan, but... - Flexitarian?

Yeah like, trying to be conscious about that.

In a more practical sort of, day-to-day sense.

Yeah and affordable, I guess.

Would you... what do you do?

Like, I've got blinds and curtains. - Right.

'Cos my windows are crappy.

So it keeps more of the heat in. - Ahh.

And I only boil as much water as I need

for a cup of tea or whatever. - That's a good one.

Which, saves on water and on... - Your leccy bill.

Electricity. - Yeah.

And, something I learnt recently,

is that electricity is cheaper after 7pm

and it's cheapest between 10pm and 5am.

So if I'm putting on the dishwasher

or I'm putting on a load of washing,

then I'll do it after 10pm.

What do you do for the environment, personally?

Well, recycling-wise and  all that lot is it, really.

You do sort of, the gener... - Yeah.

The general sort of, going to  your local recycling centre,

or do you have your recycling bin, or something?

We've got all our own bins, haven't we?

Yeah, we've got our own recycling bins,

but I also go down to a place  called the ''Green Centre''.

Right. - In Brighton, which is in the open market,

on the London Road.

And it's a sort of, charity organisation that,

takes in and recycles a lot of  things that the council won't take.

So they take... oh, I don't know odds  and ends like, you know, biro pens,

foil... - Oh right. - Food  pouches, baby food pouches,

pet food pouches. Just... a whole  range of things they're taking.

You know, there's a list of a couple  of dozen things that they take.

And, so we... we sort of,  keep our stuff in the garage

and then once a month, we hop down there

and take all our bits and  pieces down. - Oh nice, okay.

So that's... that's... I've found that quite good,

because this means there's a lot less things

going into our actual rubbish bin.

What is it that you do to help

with climate change or the environment?

Right, well I've been  supporting the ''Green Party''

for a long time and trying to do things

that are environmentally sound.

So like, I don't drive, I use  public transport, compost stuff.

In my old house, I had an air source heat pump,

for eleven months because we  then moved, which was a shame.

But that was brilliant. -  What... what did you have, sorry?

An air source heat pump. - Air source heat pump?

Yeah, to get rid of gas.

So that was... that was quite an  undertaking, but it was brilliant.

And I can highly recommend them,

despite all the bad press that they have.

And then we moved to Saltdean and we've just,

two weeks ago, got solar  panels, which is fascinating,

but it's a bit scary, 'cos I keep having alarms

going off at the minute.

So, they're sorting out something  that's wrong with them, so.

There's alarms going off!?

But, we're off-grid, for most  of the day now, so that's great.

Really? - Yeah.

I'm afraid... I have a bleak opinion.

Or... no, a bleak outlook, which is...

I don't think there is anything (you can do).

Or, I think that erm...

I believe the terms... what is it?

''Gesture politics'' falls into that,

Like; ''Oh, I'm... I don't eat  meat anymore'', alright, great.

And what about Africa? What about India?

And what about all these other places

that have huge amounts of resource needs?

And they look at us and go;

''well we want to have a slice of that''. - Yeah.

I just think it's a drop in the ocean, what...

I mean, that's very defeatist, I  do accept that, my point of view.

But, I mean, I like to recycle stuff,

but I mean, (it) probably  gets burnt in in Newhaven,

in the... in the... in the power station, there.

So, it's like, oh I'm... I  can go; oh, I'm recycling,

but it's getting burnt.

And how long have you been flexitarian?

Maybe a year.

And you do this for environmental purposes?

Yeah, yeah. For health, environmental, you know.

My friend's a... a full on vegan,

so he's kind of imparting on me, a little bit.

So, I'm trying to... do a bit...

I can't fully commit to it, but...

He's inspired you a bit? -  He's inspired me a bit, yeah.

And what about like, food waste?

Do you have any like, clever food waste stuff?

Unfortunately not.

I mean, I've got a dog,

that helps with most things.

That's a bin, right there.

Yeah, and I try and cook in big batches,

so that then, I can like, portion it up

and put some portions in the freezer. - Great.

That's... that's a good one is;  putting portions in the freezer,

because then, if you don't want to eat

the same thing for a whole  week, you don't have to.

Yeah, yeah. - You can cook something else,

but you're not wasting the food.

We try to use environmentally friendly products,

for sort of, cleaning. And stuff like that.

I've... I got oh.... I dunno, a few years ago now,

I got into using a sort of,  vinegar and lemon mixture

for doing a lot of cleaning around the house.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of that. - Yeah, erm...

We try to buy things that have  got less plastic packaging.

Those sorts of things.

And the lemon and vinegar thing;  is like, an alternative to bleach?

Is that what you'd say, or?

It's a general cleaner.

It's... I mean it's great on glass  and mirrors and things like that.

Tiles, those sort of things,

but it's also a natural  disinfectant and antibacterial.

So it's... it's good for like,  cleaning your bathroom basins,

kitchen worktops, things like  that. So yeah, it's good.

It seems like, you do a lot. - Yeah.

And, my question is; is it affordable,  to be environmentally friendly?

It's very expensive.

I got a grant towards the heat pump. - Oh right.

But that was... that was the green homes grant

that the government really screwed up on.

But, until more people use them,  the price isn't going to come down.

So you need more people to start using them

and then the manufacturers would  be able to produce more in bulk.

And ideally, that... that would  be cheaper, then. - Exactly.

And then what if... let's say, for example,

you have to give a recommendation to someone,

who maybe doesn't have like,  sufficient funds? - Yes.

What is like, what's the thing

that you really recommended them doing to help?

Use public transport.

Yeah? - And walk.

And yeah, I just... I think,

just being conscious of energy is, quite honestly.

I mean, you know, my sons will have  the heating up and wear shorts.

And you think, put clothes  on and turn the heating off.

Mrs. Scrooge.

Yeah, I think we... we're just...

we're profligate with the use of, you know...

stuff that's important, really.

Here's maybe a fun one, then;

give us a... give us like, a positive...

like a positive... positive summary.

A positive summary of...

anything?

Listen to more music and go clubbing.

That's what I would say.

But in terms of climate or environment?

Is... is there a positive outlook?

I'll tell you, I'll be serious now.

The way out is nuclear fusion. - Right, okay.

That's the way out.

This is the big gesture that needs to happen now?

This will... this is the only way out.

You know, you can have your wind farms,

you can have all that.

And, of course it is... it is useful. - Yeah.

But it's not going to deal with 7 billion people

and nuclear fusion is the route out of this.

It will remove our reliance on fossil fuels.

It will completely unburden us.

It will probably unburden us from

all of the geopolitical issues  that we're currently facing.

So... and you know, with the Manhattan Project,

I don't know how many hundreds  of people were involved

and I don't know what... what the equivalent costs

would be in today's terms. - Right.

But I bet... I bet if we spent  the same amount, collectively,

or even if it was just the west;

Europe, UK, Japan, US, if we  all put our heads together

and said; right! This...

it's a technological problem,  not a scientific problem,

it's just... just technology.

then we could find a way  to actually get it working.

I mean, we're getting closer all the time.

But if we really put money into it, in a big way.

And that's a no-brainer.

But, it's got the word nuclear,

people don't like that either. - They do not.

Even... even if they are ignorant  and stupid about... about...

I mean, this is just... it's just the sun,

harnessing the sun.

It's just... it's so elegant, as well.

Anyway, that's the positive thing;

fusion! Write to your MP.

Thanks for watching this weeks video.

Let us know in the comments below,

anything that you're doing to  help protect the environment

And any tips and tricks that you might have.

And we'll see you next week,

bye!