Today we're talking climate change.
Or, more precisely, the differences that I've noticed in the reaction to climate change
in Germany and the U.S.
Hey everyone! I'm Dana and you're watching Wanted Adventure Living Abroad.
Let's open up the discussion by talking about the elephant in the room: the question
about does climate change even exist.
Is it even happening?
So, yes, scientists have agreed that climate change is a thing, it exists and it's happening.
We can see it happening in big visible, trackable ways that have been documented by scientists,
like sea level rise, glaciers melting away, ocean temperatures getting warmer.
And scientists have also agreed that humans activities are very likely the cause.
But what do the politicians think?
In Germany the two major political parties on both the conservative and the liberal side
of the spectrum are in agreement that climate change is a thing, it's happening and it's a danger.
The stance of the major conservative party in Germany, the CDU, is that: "The increased
greenhouse gas emissions and the associated climate warming have far-reaching consequences
for humans and nature."
That's the stance of the major conservative party in Germany.
So the major politics here in Germany surrounding climate change is not whether or not it exists,
but what should be done about it.
Whereas in the U.S. the very existence of climate change itself is a political topic,
with the Democrats saying that climate change is happening, it's happening now and we
need to do something about it, and the politicians in the Republican party either saying it's
a hoax, there's actually no evidence for climate change at all, or downplaying the
need for people and for the country to lower greenhouse-gas emissions or really do anything
about the changing climate.
But actually while doing my research for this video, I learned that this is apparently not
so much a difference between the U.S. and Germany, as it is a differences between
the U.S and the rest of the world.
According to an article in New York magazine, which I will link to down below, the Republican
party in the U.S. is the only major conservative party in the democratic world that denies
climate science.
So where is the energy coming from in each country?
While both countries invest in renewable energy, such wind turbines and solar energy,
both countries do also still rely heavily on fossil fuels - coal and natural gas - for energy.
In Germany the political discussion seems to be going toward how the country can bring
itself to rely less on coal and use more renewable energy, while in the U.S. the current president
has promised to revive the coal industry in America and bring more jobs to coal.
As far as day to day life goes, I've also noticed some differences there.
So, Germany as a country has a lot of measures in place that encourage the people to treat
the environment better.
Gasoline, for example, is a lot more expensive in Germany than in the U.S. Gas is kept cheap
in the U.S., but in Germany it costs more, so the people living here are encouraged to
drive less, use public transportation, ride their bikes more and buy smaller cars.
All things that are better for the environment.
Another example: many of the bottles here in Germany have a recycling deposit on them,
encouraging people to bring the bottles back to the store and recycle them, something that
only exists in some states in the U.S. Bag fees are another one.
Bags cost something at the grocery store everywhere in Germany, whereas in the U.S., again, this
is only the case in some places.
And one last example of this, at the apartments where I've lived here in Germany, there
have always been separate bins for trash, paper, and compost.
And I've seen it happen that if people don't separate out the paper and cardboard from
the trash, the trash collectors will refuse to take it.
They'll just leave the trash there, so you better separate it out.
In the U.S., when I lived at my parents' house, we did have different bins for recycle, and
we recycled in our family, but it wasn't mandatory.
And when I moved away from my parents' house, I lived in several apartments and none of
them provided anything else besides a trash can.
So everything just went into the trash.
So yeah, those are just a few ways that in daily life people in Germany are sort of
pushed toward doing things that are overall better for the environment, whether each individual
person actually cares about the environment or not, the country as a whole has a lot of
measures and kind of incentives in place that push people into doing things that are better
for the planet.
When I bring my bag of bottles back to the supermarket for 25 cents each, right in that
particular moment I'm thinking about that money, not necessarily the environment, but
when I step back and look at it, I am glad that I live in a country that kind of nudges
me into a more environmentally responsible direction.
But something that I have noticed in both countries, as far the reaction to climate
change goes by the people.
In both countries there are a lot of individual people who are very passionate about the environment,
and very passionate about doing something before it's too late.
Figuring out what they can do to make a difference, save energy, and help the planet.
So my question for you is: Please give me your feedback.
Climate change is of course a gigantic topic, and it's impossible to squeeze everything
into this kind of a video, so it would be really great if the conversation could continue
down in the comments.
What kind of signs of climate change have you seen where you live and what actions have
the people or the government taken to help the environment?
Also what are some of the little things that you maybe try to do every day to save energy
or just help the planet in general?
I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
Please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching!
I really hope that you enjoyed this video.
There are a bunch of links to articles and videos down in the description box below,
so you can get more information down there.
Thank you again for watching.
And a really big thank you so much to our patrons on Patreon,
who help make these videos possible. Thank you so much for your support.
If you would like to check out our Patreon page, there's also a link to that down in
the description box below.
Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
Thanks so much for watching!
I really hope that you enjoyed this video...there's a bunch of links.
Those are just a few ways that daily life people...daily life people!
There have always been separate bins for trash, paper and...
In Germany the political discussion dsss...dseems?
Dseems to be.
Both countries do also still rely heavily on fossil fluels...
Where is the energy...
Big visible, trackable ways, that...
Let's open up the discwussion...the discussion.
Climate change. Did I say it right?
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