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Compost

Date: Aug 11 2009

Themes: Food, Hobbies, News

Grammar: Verbs with "-ing"

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Intro

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Many of us want to do something to help protect the planet. But it’s hard to know what actions we can take to actually make a difference. Many people have started composting to help reduce the amount of waste they produce.

People who compost take their food waste, like banana peels, egg shells, and other meal scraps, and save it in a special container instead of throwing it away. Eventually, the compost turns into rich soil. This soil can be used in the garden to help make things grow.

Listen to Marni and Jason talk about composting. And find out which American city just passed a law that requires all of its citizens to compost!

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Jason

Marni: So I just read that San Francisco, in California, just made it a legal requirement to compost.

Jason: Yeah.

Marni: What do you think of that?

Jason: I really couldn’t believe it. I only started composting maybe six months ago or something. And so I was like, “Am I that behind the times, that they’re making a law to enforce something that I just started doing?” Like I thought of myself as kind of a green person in general.

Marni: Sure. But composting was relatively new to you?

Jason: Yeah. Are you a long-time composter?

Marni: I am. And I just…It’s kind of one of those things where once you start doing it you realize how easy it is to do.

Jason: Yeah.

Marni: And if you do like to do any sort of gardening then it’s kind of a no brainer, you know?

Jason: And it reduces the amount of waste I make by so much.

Marni: It’s pretty drastic.

Jason: Like half.

Marni: Yeah. Exactly.

Jason: It is kind of gross, though, keeping that little bit in the house until you take it out, and there’s like flies…

Marni: Yeah. I think you have to be pretty diligent about actually emptying it.

Jason: Yeah. I haven’t gotten into the gardening part though. Do you find that it makes the soil incredibly fertile?

Marni: Exactly. I mean, when I get in that compost and I see worms everywhere, you know that you have really good soil. So you put that in your vegetables, and it’s like…It’s amazing.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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San Francisco, California, has the strongest recycling and composting laws in the country. It now requires all homes and businesses to compost. The mayor of San Francisco wants his city to do its part to reduce pollution and protect the environment.

Jason has been composting for about six months. Marni has been doing it for a long time. She likes composting because it’s easy to do and it’s great for gardening. Jason thinks it’s a little gross saving his food scraps, but he’s impressed by how much less waste he produces now.

Do you compost, or do you know anyone who composts? Would you like your city to start a composting program like San Francisco’s? What else can we do to make a difference and help protect the planet?

To learn more about composting, read Marni’s blog on the subject!