The environment & the Individual

Song: Schöne neue Welt (Culcha Candela)

Lyrics (first link) and video (second link) of the song Schöne neue Welt by the German band Culcha Candela. The song criticises the egoistic way people live and its consequences on the environment (first and third verse).

http://www.songtexte.com/songtext/culcha

http://www.myvideo.de/watch/6722017/

Environmental protection

Go to this online magazine for young people to find tips for environmental protection in everyday life. Content-wise , the text is accessible; however, since it is written in an informal style, it might contain expressions that you do not know. Some of them you'll be able to guess from the context. It might be a good exercise in class to try to find synonyms for colloquial words like Grünzeug.

•  Click on the red underlined hier in the section Kein Stand-by to read more about stand-by buttons.

http://www.checked4you.de/UNIQ117967017701109/doc132993A.html

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions in everyday life

Tips for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in everyday life on this site designed for children (PDF file, one page).

http://www.wdr.de/tv/neuneinhalb/downloads/neuneinhalb_klimaschutz.pdf

Saving energy in your school

Read this accessible article (written for children) for tips of how to save energy in your school.

http://www.jolinchen.de/rd/2281.php

Saving water and energy

Go to this PDF file for 6 nice pages containing a 'test' about saving water and energy in everyday life. The site is designed for children and very accessible. In the leftmost column you find a category from the field of environment, water and energy, as for example Licht ausmachen. You are given three statements: choose the statement that is most appropriate for you and write down your score (which is given after each statement). On page 4 you are then given a table to analyse your answers (you can also give your own tips for saving water/energy here); page 5 gives you tips for saving energy and water (in the test you are given – in the rightmost column – hints to this section). On page 6 you are given the results of the test after you've reckoned your points.

Note the following mistakes:

•  In the section Zieht euch warm an!: (1) im Haus/Wohnung should be im Haus/in der Wohnung (occurs twice); (2) Jahrezeiten (in the column B) should be Jahreszeiten. (3) Unsrer Wohnräume should be Unsere Wohnräume.

•  In the section Wasser ahoi: in die Badewanne should be in der Badewanne.

•  There is no name for the category after Wasserverbrauch bei der WC-Spülung.

•  In the section Technik an und aus: Unser technischen Geräte should be Unsere technischen Geräte.

•  In the section Tipps: in tip number 3: im an kalten Tagen should be an kalten Tagen.

Despite these mistakes the site is well worth visiting!

•  Note that the sentence Steter Tropfen kostet viel! in the last line of the second page is phrased according to the proverb Steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein.

http://www.bmu-kids.de/Basteln/Umweltcheck/umweltcheck.pdf

Saving electricity

On this site for children you will find a short text with information about how to save electricity in everyday life.

http://www.jolinchen.de/rd/619.php

Travel, transport and the environment

Seven tips for how to travel environmentally friendly.

http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/ius/tipps/index.htm#1

Tips for saving energy

Tips for saving energy (directly as well as indirectly) on this site for children.

http://www.geo.de/GEOlino/natur/52566.html

Song: the world and the individual

Song by the popular German band Die Ärzte. They sing about each individual's responsibility towards the world. As you watch the video and listen, see if you can fill in the gaps with the missing words. You can pause or rewind if you need to. When you get to the end, click on Score to see how you've done. Any incorrect answers will be corrected. There are three levels of the gap-filling exercise. Why not try the advanced level first, and if it's too difficult, then go down a level?

Beginner:

http://www.lyricsgaps.com/exercises/view/925/Beginner

Intermediate:

http://www.lyricsgaps.com/exercises/view/925/Intermediate

Advanced:

http://www.lyricsgaps.com/exercises/view/925/Expert

When you've listened to the song a few times, you can try singing along with it here:

http://www.lyricsgaps.com/exercises/view/925/Karaoke