Another day, another good talk with Learn English Podcast channel.
It feels good to be back with our lovely listeners again.
If you're new here, this is the 8 -Minute English Podcast series hosted by me, Nathan.
In this series, we'll have fun learning English together by listening to all kinds of topics.
From education, economy, health, fashion, to everything in the world that you care about, today's focus will be the environment.
When it comes to the word environment, what do you think about?
Maybe fresh air, green forests, or clean water.
All these things are super important for our lives, right?
But nowadays, problems are happening to our lovely planet Earth.
Pollutions are everywhere, making it harder for us to live in.
People are coming up with new ways to protect the environment.
So in today's episode, we'll explore some easy solutions we can all try to help stop pollution together.
Alright? In the next part, you will listen to a meeting of the Green Leaves Club, in which people discuss on ways to protect the environment.
For this episode, we've prepared a free PDF full of vocabulary and helpful tips for your learning journey.
Make sure to check it out.
And now, are you ready?
Let's dive in. Hi, everyone.
It's nice to see you all here.
As nature lovers, we always try our best to keep the environment green and clean.
I appreciate all your efforts, which is why today I want to have a small discussion on ways to protect the environment.
All opinions are welcome and will be heard.
Thanks, Luke. May I start first?
Sure, Nikki. Go ahead.
Earth is our only home.
It gives us clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe and soil to grow food.
But our planet is getting sick.
We need to take better care of it.
Yeah, I know. I saw a video showing how the ocean is full of plastic.
It's so sad. That's right.
Plastic is a big problem.
We use too much plastic every day.
It ends up in our oceans and harms sea animals.
We need to use less plastic.
Does anyone have ideas on how we can do that?
I've started bringing a reusable bag when I go shopping.
It's easy. And now I don't need plastic bags anymore.
I also always carry a reusable water bottle.
It's better than buying plastic bottles every time.
That's a great idea, Mia.
I've also switched to metal straws instead of plastic ones.
They're reusable and I don't throw them away after one use.
Great ideas. Let's try to buy things that come with less plastic packaging.
All about saving energy.
We can help the planet by using less electricity.
That's a good point.
I've been trying to save energy by turning off the lights when I leave a room.
It's a small thing but if everyone did it, we could save a lot of energy.
I also switched to lead bulbs.
They last longer and use less electricity.
I do the same, Nadia.
And I also try not to use the air conditioner too much.
Instead, I use a fan or open the windows to let in fresh air.
It's cooler and saves a lot of energy.
Oh guys, I just watched a video about composting.
It's pretty simple to do.
You just need to sort your waste.
Put recyclable materials like paper and plastic in one bin and food scraps in another.
The food scraps can turn into compost which is great for the garden.
I've started doing that and it's amazing how much less trash I have now.
The compost makes my plants grow better too.
And recycling helps reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
That's fantastic, Toby.
Let's also talk about supporting local and sustainable products.
When we buy food from local farmers or choose organic products, we're helping the environment.
It's because these products don't have to travel far, which means less pollution.
Plus, they're usually healthier.
We should try to buy local produce when we can.
It's fresher and we know we are supporting the local community.
I also avoid products with harmful chemicals because they're bad for us and the environment.
Thanks, Ben and Nadia, for the suggestions.
What about transportation, guys?
People are using too many cars these days and the pollution is making me mad.
Instead of driving everywhere, we should use more public transportation, walk or ride bikes.
It not only reduces pollution but also benefits our health.
I started riding my bike to work three years ago and it always feels great.
Me too. Biking is fun and it helps reduce air pollution too.
And let's not forget about saving water.
Simple things like turning off the tap when brushing your teeth or fixing leaky faucets can make a big difference.
Do any of you use rainwater to water your plants?
I'm sure most of us do, Lucas.
Yeah, I use it too.
It's free and helps me save more water.
Amazing. These small actions really add up.
If we all do our part, we can make a big difference for the planet.
Let's make Mother Earth a better place to live.
Now, let's talk about some important words in this episode.
The first word is pollution.
Pollution is when harmful things like smoke or trash make our air, water, or land dirty.
It can harm plants, animals, and people.
For example, smoke from cars causes air pollution.
The next word is reuse.
Reuse means using something again instead of throwing it away.
For example, you can reuse a glass jar to store things.
Next, we have composting.
Composting is turning food scraps and garden waste into rich soil.
This helps plants grow and reduces trash.
Now, let's talk about recycling.
Recycling means turning used things like paper or plastic into new products.
This helps save resources and reduce waste.
Local produce is the last word.
Local produce is food grown near where you live.
It is usually fresher and helps support local farmers.
Now, let's look at three questions about our topic.
The first one is, why is it important to protect the environment?
It is important because a healthy environment gives us clean air, water, and food.
It also helps plants and animals live well.
The second question is, what are some ways we can reduce waste?
We can reduce waste by recycling using less plastic and reusing items like bags and bottles.
Please leave your comments below and let us know what you think.
Before we end the podcast, let's look at some fun facts about nature and the environment.
First up, did you know that air is mostly made of gases we can't see?
It's like a secret mix.
About 78 % of the air is nitrogen and 21 % is oxygen with tiny amounts of other gases like carbon dioxide and neon.
Now, let's talk about water.
Most of the earth's water is salty, 97 % of it.
Only 3 % is fresh and even less just 1 % is safe to drink.
That means glaciers and ice caps hold most of our fresh water.
Speaking of large numbers, let's talk about ants.
Believe it or not, ants weigh more than all humans together.
Here's another mind -blowing fact.
There are more trees on earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
Scientists say there are about 3 trillion trees on our planet.
Even with all these trees on earth, it's still very important that we protect our forests and plant more trees.
And did you know trees can talk to each other?
They use a special network of fungi called the Wood Wide Web to share nutrients and warn each other about pests.
It's like a tree social network.
The environment around us is really amazing, right?
It not only gives us everything we need to survive, but it's also full of surprises.
I always feel so lucky to live on our big planet earth.
Let's be grateful for what Mother Earth has done for us.
And let's take bigger steps to protect the environment.
This is the end of our podcast.
Thank you listeners for sticking with us until the end.
Don't forget to check out our PDF and review it.
Goodbye, and we'll see you in the next episode.
