Neil Welcome back, Feifei! Good holiday?
Feifei The best, Neil! We flew to Mexico, then up to California, and then drove all the way across the States from LA to New York.
Neil Incredible. All in one week?
Feifei Yes. It’s just that…
Neil What?
Feifei I can’t help thinking… all that travelling can’t be great for the environment.
Neil I know. You must have a pretty big carbon footprint right now.
Feifei Enormous.**
Neil** Let’s take a moment to explain this phrase ‘carbon footprint’. Then plan what to do about it.
Feifei Carbon dioxide is a gas that contributes to climate change.
Neil And your ‘carbon footprint’ is the amount of carbon dioxide you produce through your activities – things like how much electricity you use…
Feifei How much oil and gas you use…
Neil What you eat is another factor. And of course your trips by car, plane and so on…
Feifei If you take a lot of flights, then you have a large carbon footprint! Like me.
Neil And me. And the people in these examples.
Examples I used the air conditioning non-stop all summer. My carbon footprint must be huge.
Martina has the highest carbon footprint of all her colleagues. She drives everywhere, flies every weekend, and eats nothing but red meat.
I downloaded an app to calculate my carbon footprint. The results are pretty shocking.
Feifei You’re listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. The expression we’re looking at in this programme is ‘carbon footprint’. OK, we’ve heard the examples. And Neil, I have a plan. It’s time to reduce my footprint.
Neil Great. That’s the verb we normally use: reduce. We talk about reducing our carbon footprint, by changing the way we live. So, what’s the plan?
Feifei I’m going to cycle to work, use less heating in winter, and… I’ve got these new shoes.
Neil Great. But, shoes?
Feifei They’re made of recycled plastic. Fantastic, aren’t they?
Neil Well, that’s one way to reduce your footprint!
Feifei I even brought you a pair – a little present from my trip LA.
Neil You’re so kind. I can wear them when I’m in Tokyo this weekend. And Paris next week. Oh, and Iceland tomorrow. Only kidding!
Feifei Yes, I want to hear your plan to reduce your carbon footprint, Neil!
Both Bye.