Solar powered vehicles in Africa

The air in Nairobi is heavily polluted by emissions from cars, buses and mopeds. The first solar-powered trucks and jeeps with electric motors have now started appearing in the city. While the energy is cheap, the vehicles themselves are not.

 

Vocabulary chunks to learn from the video :

• Poverty stricken districts
• It’s pouring with rain
• Climate change is affecting Kenya’s normal weather patters
• A solar powered e-bike
• The bike can reach a speed of 40km an hour
• The solar panel on the roof
• The battery keeps recharging
• It supplies pre-prepared staple food to street food vendors
• The number one drive
• Economically sustainable
• We use green energy
• The solar bikes
• The electric cargo bike
• Sustainable mobility is good for the environment
• The population will grow massively
• The number of vehicles driving on gasoline or diesel is on the rise
• Worsening air pollution and increasing carbon emissions
• Electric two and three wheelers
• The transport sector
• One of the biggest polluters
• The electricity derives from renewables such as solar and wind power and geothermal energy
• The main obstacle is inadequate infrastructure
• Hardly any charging stations
• Install solar charging stations
• The battery range of 100km
• Rural areas
• There is a demand for electric vehicles
• A major advantage
• Turn the engine on, turn it off
• Installs electric engines in cars
• Electro mobility has benefits not only for the environment but also for the economy
• A sustainable transport system
• Before they go mainstream
• The air quality improves

 

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Alone in Paradise

[Great Big Story]

Vocabulary chunks to learn after watching the video :

• The landscape is vast
• The wilderness is almost unlimited
• On foot
• It’s a  challenge in itself
• We are at the mercy of the weather
• Our day-to-day life
• It covers over 12.000 square  km
• We have solar panels for power lighting
• Satellite communications
• We have the freezer which keeps our food and our produce cold
• We rely on rainwater for drinking water
• We live off the land
• Harvest a deal or catch a fish
• Capture the menu
• Go sea fishing
• Go up the river for a kayak
• The harshness of the environment
• People have like-minded passion for the environment
• Snow-capped mountains
• Glacier shaped bays
• Pristine rivers and clear water
• Nature as it should be

 

I can’t imagine living any other way

[The Great Big Story]

Vocabulary chunks to learn after watching the video

• This is not a normal way of living
• This is my husband Wayne
• We live in a secluded cove
• No road accesses
• The water is our highway
• Everything is floating
• We are tied to shore with lines
• We are not anchored
• The dance floor
• The light house building
• 4 Greenhouses
• It’s about 500 tons, a million pounds
• Do you ever get seasick?
• No, when I go to town I get land sick
• On the West Coast of Vancouver island
• The richest biomass on earth
• Get into my canoe and paddle out
• Catch a fish
• Subsistence living
• Move away from the city
• 24 Years later we are still doing it
• I can’t imagine living any other way

 

 

 

I’m pretty sure I have the best job in the world

[The Great Big Story]

Vocabulary chunks to learn after watching the video

• Being in a Bald Eagle nest is surreal
• Take your time
• I’m a Forest Canopy Ecologist
• A Wild Life Biologist
• I’m pretty sure I have the best job in the world
• Capture and work with chicks
• Get blood samples
• Environment contaminants
• The Bald Eagle’s food source
• To grab a hold of you
• A whole 360 degree view
• Nesting on the sea cliffs
• A host of different sea birds
• Our research, it may look invasive
• Our primary concern is the safety of these young birds that we are handling
• We go to great lengths to ensure that we don’t injure them
• The Bald Eagles are national birds
• Take in the view
• For that moment in time

Want to work in the ‘green economy’?

There are many reasons why we should all keep an eye on the ‘green economy’. You could be passionate about environmental issues or just interested in which jobs might emerge in the coming years. Whether you’re a committed green or not, one thing’s for sure, over the coming years we’re going to hear more and more about environmental issues. But why are they important? And how will they affect your working life? We try to answer some of your questions below.

Why do we need a green economy?

There’s been lots of research into the effect that human activity is having on our planet. This includes:

• industries that use a lot of fossil fuels like coal and produce a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, which can bring about climate change
• continuing to extract and rely heavily on fuel sources that will eventually dry up – oil and coal, for example
• upsetting the natural balance of our ecosystem by destroying places where plants and animals live
• using up more fuel than we need to in activities like transporting food from one side of the world to the other.

Read more

Which jobs will grow and which skills will be in demand?

Here are some of the job opportunities that are predicted to come from the move towards a green economy.

Renewable & Sustainable Energy

The drive to find new ways of creating energy from resources that will not run out could create jobs for people involved in wind energy, solar power, fuel cells, biofuels, wave power, hydro power, geothermal energy.

Energy efficiency

As our natural fuel sources (such as oil) will eventually run out, we will need to make sure we don’t waste any of the energy they produce. This could mean jobs for people involved in energy-efficient lighting, voltage optimisation, energy management, low power electronic equipment, and insulation.

Resource efficiency

Every product we make, from a yoghurt carton to a wooden chair, takes resources and energy to produce it. So we need to make sure the production methods are efficient and that the product gets used again if possible. This could create jobs for people involved in recycling materials, less energy-intensive manufacturing methods, reducing packaging, sustainable agriculture, low-carbon materials.

But it’s not just jobs that are directly related to energy efficiency, renewable energy and cutting down on waste that will be in demand in the green economy. There are many existing jobs that will be needed in the green economy, such as PR officer, community liaison and jobs in administration or information technology.

Read more

[National Careers Service UK]