How Green Is Germany? Cars, Recycling And The Environment | Meet the Germans

Germany has a pretty green reputation, right? This week on Meet the Germans, Rachel takes a look at cars, energy, recycling and the Fridays for Future movement to find out just how environmentally friendly Germany really is.
Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic - from unusual bans to meaty cuisine or haunted castles. This week: Germany and the environment.
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[@dweuromaxx]

Any surprises here? And do you think Germany is on the right path when it comes to the environment?

[@appleslover]

Germany is shooting itself in the foot by dismantling its nuclear reactors. Nuclear, unironically, is one of the greenest and most efficient power sources and Germany is not the Soviet Union with the overt corruption that led to Chernobyl or sits at an edge of a tectonic plate which causes earthquakes (like Japan) in fact Europe is one of the safest places to build nuclear reactors because of the rarity of natural disasters. Please Germany, stop being foolishly idealist!

[@BalasielVOD]

Nice video, but a missed opportunity to talk about the not so near future in producing power, like with fusion. Germany has an experiment running with Wendelstein 7-X, and ITER is an international experiment in which Germany is also involved. They are actually making good progress.

[@WrUSasu]

@@BalasielVOD Not only Wendelstein, the Stellerator is very experimental while the Tokamak of the IPP is developing parts for ITER ;)

[@musafir_hun_yaro]

I was very surprised when i arrived in Berlin and I saw in the supermarket too much plastic usage, even for small things people use plastic, why it can't be stopped ?

[@jasonpereira4024]

@@appleslover it’s not even idealism, it’s all a result of misinformation and misconceptions about nuclear power.

[@captainsponge7825]

i'm not gonna lie, "Meet the Germans" with Rachel are so far my favourite videos on this channel

[@jessicak3377]

Agree! I'm married to a German and this series is helping me a lot with cultural differences.

[@dascz1]

Rachel is the best UK export we've ever got! Can we please keep her and hire her for national TV?

[@moritzrothacher2669]

You do know that DW is pretty much national TV, right?

[@hanshartfiel6394]

As long as she doesn't introduce English meals like Spotted Dick, Toad in the Hole, English sausages, bread or even warm beer

[@Nikioko]

@@moritzrothacher2669 Pretty much? DW is part of the ARD network.

[@moritzrothacher2669]

@@Nikioko True but it's not technically on tv it's online content only. Thats what I meant 🤷

[@Teo-fx9uo]

That's the best idea we need her back In UK.

[@gullals.cheema1487]

The first thing that I noticed was that my plastic usage atleast quadrupled after moving here from India. I expected it to be more but not by that much even though I try to buy stuff not packaged in plastic. Some things always and always come packaged in plastic in western countries and makes no sense whatsoever. Recycling or not, unless the shopping habits change, waste is not going to reduce.

[@quirky-smooths]

Same experience after living in 7 countries. I produce way more plastic in Germany than anywhere else and it's not because I became less responsible.

[@hanszimmer9224]

haha you made my day. You are from a country where 18% of all deaths are due to pollution and its rivers contain more rubbish than water - and you complain about other countries haha

[@gullals.cheema1487]

@@hanszimmer9224 What is wrong with you? I live in Germany and I love the country. Stop being a brute for no reason. I am only saying there is much more to being green and eco-friendly. Like for e.g. Rich west countries have been for decades sending/dumping tons and tons of plastic to south asian countries. Thats a fact. Ofcourse, it does not happen without diplomatic ties, but thats how things work. There is more to this stuff than meets the eye.

[@hanszimmer9224]

@@gullals.cheema1487 haha I know I know it's all the foreigners' fault that your country is the most polluted place in the world. Then stop talking nonsense and blaming the country for your mistakes. No one forces you to buy plastic crap from the supermarket. Buy your stuff from your local market or from a package free shop like everyone else

[@knusperhirsch7056]

@@gullals.cheema1487 let me explain what's wrong with him. If you're a foreigner (no matter how long you live in Germany, if your name sounds foreign you'll always be a foreigner no matter if your grand grand grandparents are even born here) you can't critize Germany not even in a very constructive way because there'll always be people like him who tell you to go back to your country if you don't like it here. Even if you like it here but still want to change some things to the better. But this is not limited to foreigners. Even as a german, if you criticize Germany and say for example country xy is better then you'll here "well, if you like it there so much, why don't you just move there." This weird thinking isn't limited to Germany btw.

[@martinguerre8220]

Excellent. I love the"Meet the Germans" videos by Rachel Stuart. Vielen Dank.

[@RachelStewart04]

Danke!

[@saveyourhero3307]

Ja, Deutschland ist sehr schön

[@crazydrifter13]

Stewart

[@martinguerre8220]

@@crazydrifter13 Thanks for this correction. Apologies to Rachel and the rest of the"Meet the Germans" community. Keep up the good work, guys.

[@crazydrifter13]

@@martinguerre8220 🤗

[@florianfeller9300]

I learn so much about my own country, thanks Rachel! Your pronounciation is awesome!

[@RachelStewart04]

You're very welcome 😀

[@DemonicGoblin-mv4ob]

Out of all the videos produced in this series, I think this one is the most revealing about Germany and also the most concerning for the long term future.

[@k.s.5228]

Dear Rachel, as a German I love to watch your videos and discover our quirky sides or background stories I had never heard about. Since I was having a discussion with a friend today about the German Fahrradführerschein, kind of a driving license that children pass in school at the age of 9-10, maybe this would be an interesting topic for a video :)

[@RachelStewart04]

Thanks Katja! That's a cool idea 🚴‍♀️😊

[@appleslover]

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word "Germany" in my mother language is Heidi, mountain villages, castles, greenery, shepherds and natural beauty ❤️🇩🇪

[@appleslover]

Also I noticed that it's not the case in English, "Germany" doesn't have that of a positive connotation, it mostly reminds of the cold war the refugee crisis

[@hydro6683]

Well Heidi is actually Switzerland produced in Japan

[@jackybraun2705]

Don't know where that comes from. Heidi is Swiss, Germans don't eat mutton or lamb - sheep are not very common - and only a small proportion of the country is mountainous.

[@mstrmren]

@@jackybraun2705 Heidi lives in Switzerland, but it is a German Produdtion

[@mstrmren]

@@hydro6683 No, it’s produced by ZDF in Germany and Studio100 in Belgium

[@tunca9709]

I literally LOVE the content Rachel is creating here! :)

[@itslikerufus]

these videos are always so high quality, well presented and well researched! love it so much

[@RachelStewart04]

Glad you're enjoying them! :)

[@angarcii]

Love this whole series! Thank you Rachel for being so informative

[@happydog4929]

This show is very good and the presenter is also very good, interesting and informative. More please. Paducah, Kentucky

[@duncanreid9351]

I love these videos by Rachel. Great stuff 👍 Should present full length documentaries 👍

[@a.m.sanchez3746]

Behold, a new era of Meet the Germans. Wow. Fantastic episode, personally my favorite produced episode thus far. Keep. It. Going, Rachel and Team !!!:)

[@pulkitgera8509]

I planned on watching a few videos, ended up binging all of them. Rachel is an amazing host

[@charlesmorgan8440]

Back in 2019 I was driving a hire car in Germany. I gave a lift to two hitchhikers at a service station. They turned out to be two students who were coming back from the Heimbach forest protests. After discussing this and the need to reduce lignite usage, the two young men wanted to find out how fast my Mercedes hire car could go. I don't think such a disconnect is uniquely German, but it was a classic case of Western wanting your cake and eating it. Oh, and my mild hybrid 1.5 litre hire car did far worse mileage than my 3 litre BMW back at home...

[@stevenhuckaby2902]

Germany sucks

[@blubberdignubber]

Hybrid cars usually have a bad milage, except driving in cities. Hybrid cars on long distances are nonsense. A small underpowered turbo engine need to work near its limits which consumes enomous amount of gas plus the additional wheight of the battery and the electric motor that need to be moved. Hybrid cars are only good for green washing the manufacturers fleet consumption which isn't worth the paper it is written on.

[@simonportlock2235]

After living Germany, I think you are getting it right. There will always be room for improvement, but you are giving the population the tools to help to reduce the 'Greenhouse effect'. I think us Brit's in the UK have a long way to go before we come anywhere close to the standard of Germany. We have no standardised system throughout the country with each council having their own individual system for recycling. We are a country surrounded by the sea and wind, and we do not tap into these resources enough. I am all for wind farms out at sea, tidal generators. Us Brit's, I really think at times we are so shortsighted with things.

[@mizapf]

The problem with the Yellow Bin (formerly yellow sack) is that its contents do not depend on their material, but on their origin or usage. The other bins define their content by the material (organic, glass, paper, remaining stuff). The Yellow Bin must only be filled with stuff that has the "green dot" printed on it (Grüner Punkt) or that are used as wrapping. In consequence, if you buy a fast food meal served on plastic plate with a plastic fork which may be of the same material, the plate is a means of packaging and goes into the Yellow Bin, while the fork is not, and goes into the black bin.

[@Vangienator]

It is actually about the materials. The green dot is just an indicator that the manufacturer has paid the license fee to put the dot on their product(s). The general rule is that a green dot means you should throw this into the yellow bin/sack. But, you can usually throw any recyclable material into the sack/bin -- this depends on region and also their sorting capabilities.

[@roshanantony64]

I've long been thinking of immigrating to another country, and MTG is the reason why I'm seriously thinking of Germany! Great work Rachel!

[@randycastillo4530]

You should seriously first watch the episode on taxes.

[@roshanantony64]

@@randycastillo4530 it's mostly for the quality of life and engineering education, a bit of tax is bearable. I've got friends who moved from Canada to Germany for jobs so🤞

[@roshanantony64]

@@randycastillo4530 anyways thanks for the advice, language and taxes are some of the reasons due to which I'm a little hesitant about Germany. On the other hand, no pain no gain!

[@krischezockt1916]

I’m from Germany, if you have any specific questions go ahead! And language wise: most Germans speak English and don’t mind doing so either, but we like when foreigners at least give German a good go ;)

[@RachelStewart04]

Oh wow, thanks Roshan!

[@touficjammoul4482]

Well amazed of how much the German youth are intellectual they are and aware to the actual dangers and problems compared to other countries.

[@niherrm]

Rachel is just the kind of person you could listen to or watch talking about any topic really, all day long - irrespective of wheter it's something you're interested in normally or not. :D

[@RachelStewart04]

😆 well thanks!

[@dominik6375]

I think Germany is exactly as Green as I expected. That could have to do with the fact that I lived there and belong to the young generation challenging climate politics. However I recently started studying in the Netherlands and have to say it taught me a lot about my footprint. Whilst NL is definitely not better in many regards, here I learnt that life without a car is definitely possible if a cities infrastructure policies are focussed bikes, then public transport and at the very end cars. Growing up in Germany it seemed inevitable that at some point in my life I would have to get a car, to do groceries, buy furniture or visit family further away. Before moving here I was already only using public transport. But it was moving here that showed me that in 98% of your trips you do not need a car nor public transport. I moved go everywhere with my bike, to friends, lakes, parties, groceries and even moved incl. furniture a few times all months bike. And the best part was it was quicker, cheaper and easier than with a car. Reason for that was that you mostly can’t park a car where you have to move and have to drive huge detours. It really showed me and proved me that I can live without a car and it’s my goal to avoid purchasing one as long as I can even tho I have a license. In Germany culture really planted this idea in my head that cars are a must have sign of wealth and simplifying life to the fullest extent. I was always worried about the climate aspect and avoided using one as best as I could. Still I thought in big cities you just cannot solely use a bike, you have to use at least public transport at some point. Now I can say no that is not true! The infrastructure makes all the difference!

[@Suburp212]

Great video. Thanks!

[@mrkokolore6187]

We are so green, that we first shut down carbon free nuclear plants till 2022 and leave the coal plants running till 2038.

[@AB8511]

Actually I am quite impressed by this video. Public bradcaster in germany let some guy say that nuclear phase out was nonsense. I must admit that for years I have thought, that once you speak german you are incapable to have a resonable opinion about nuclear power.

[@mrkokolore6187]

@@AB8511 I haven´t watched the whole thing as I expected it to be 100% renewable nonsense. The perception has shifted and we are on a good way to returning to nuclear energy but I don´t know if it will be fast enough to stop the nuclear exit till 2022 or in the best case before the end of 2021. Stupidly the "greens" and the Fridays for Future movement are both anti-nuclear still blindly believing in the 100% renewable Utopia.

[@Nikioko]

Did I miss that the problem with the nuclear waste has finally been resolved? Otherwise, I would say that nuclear power is free of CO2 emissions but cause a lot of other problems for which there is no solution so far.

[@mrkokolore6187]

@@Nikioko Ever heard of the Onkalo nuclear waste storage and the BN fast breeder reactors. The newest one has 800 MW and is able to use 97% of the spent fuel as new fuel while converting the long living radioactive materials within remaining 3% byproducts into short living ones so that the waste only has to be stored for three hundred years. There are also some videos withing my playlist if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3i1fnqjhdxmgdk kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXK5dJSLpNOlmKc

[@MTobias]

@@Nikioko Nucleas plants produce very small amounts of waste compared to coal power plants. Coal waste is full of heavy metals like mercury and lead, so it also has to be stored and sealed away forever. Compared to that, nuclear waste which there is a relatively small amount of and can also be converted to completely harmless substances whenever we can get around to fusion technology or whatever is a relatively minor problem, even though it's much sexier to scaremonger about it in the media. Now in the context of todays's problems where we absolutely don't have any time anymore to drastically reduce carbon emissions, a relatively small amount of waste that *might* be a problem in a couple of thousand years because some unlucky cave explorer stumbles onto them is just really not the priority. But no, people still vote for the greens that caused this climatic desaster, and then even vetoed carbon capture technology which would have at least miigated that somewhat....

[@thisandthat5969]

I have just moved to Germany, its green but lets make it greener

[@RachelStewart04]

That sounds good!

[@chriss.642]

Thank you very much for showing Germans from your perspective, Rachel! I'm german and I love your show! Maybe you could make an episode about how Germans tell time. I'm living in southern Germany and most of my northern Colleagues won't understand which time to meet when I say viertel acht. So it's not even easy for some Germans ;)

[@Lxodl_1234ga]

In Rheinland-Pfalz (I don't know the english word) you have to buy extra when the black bin gets emptied. As long as I know it's not the case in NRW. So you try to put as less as possible in the black bin and instead try to recycle everything as good as possible.

[@Yohan5]

love this series

[@julianpostertz9150]

I think the biggest problem with car usage is that there aren't any alternatives. I live 5-6 km outside of a city with ruffly 20.000 to 25.000 inhabitants. Even in the city you can't really get around by bus reliably. And where I live you can just go to school once a day and come back twice at noon by bus. Although we have a train station here, the same train only leaves every hour. And you have to be very lucky that it arrives on time and runs through to the end.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

And here I have 3 supermarkets, 2 gas stations, 3 streetfood joints and 3 drugstores within walking distance. Also within walking distance are 2 bus, 1 tram, and 2 train stations that will take me to the city center within 20 minutes. In a city of roughly 600,000

[@bigernie9433]

Compared to where we come from (think of former East Germany and its air polluted by coal heating especially in winter) a lot has improved but a long trajectory ist still ahead. What you have (possibly deliberately) left out is the massive change in political attitudes towards renewable energy. Today, only some AfD loonies are arguing against moving away from fossil fuels whereas in the not-so-distant past, only the Green party would have been in favour of this.

[@6Oko6Demona6]

Well, actually i do believe that it's the loonies who protested nuclear, which led to switching them of and moving energy production towards brown coal (which is the dirtiest energy source there is) are the actual loonies (and that'd be the green party itself) but whatever suits your beliefs.

[@bigernie9433]

@@6Oko6Demona6 As far as facts are concerned, the decision to accelerate the shutdown of all nuclear reactors was taken by the CDU/FDP government in 2011....

[@6Oko6Demona6]

@@bigernie9433 as far as facts are concerned it was done after antinuclear protests organized in the whole Germany by the greens, so the government did under the pressure produced by the greens. So, yeah, facts are facts but deliberately leaving out facts is nothing short of lying.

[@felicious6384]

@@6Oko6Demona6 The CDU/CSU/FDP government only rolled back their own decision to extend the lifetime of the nuclear reactors. Without their law in 2010, all the nuclear power plants would've shut down last year anyways due to the governmental agreement with the nuclear power industry from 2000.

[@deathgun3110]

@@6Oko6Demona6 But they aren´t fans of fossil fuels either and they can´t really do anything when the CDU decides to stick with brown coal and gas, even after a slow transition is deemed unconstitutionell.

[@peterschmidt5583]

Before moving to Germany in 2016, I saw a lot of memes and news articles showcasing how green Germany is but at least compared to the part of the US I had previously lived and the rural part of Germany I currently live, I wouldn't actually saw my expectations were met at all.

[@RachelStewart04]

Interesting - which things in particular suprised you the most?

[@peterschmidt5583]

@@RachelStewart04 Since it was nearly 5 years ago that I moved I can't remember everything but one thing that stands out is energy. There were a lot of memes and such at the time alluding to how much renewable energy Germany produces and how it makes up some majority of the energy used, but if that is ever true it is only a few days in the summer maybe. I didn't really anticipate the coal consumption. I was also surprised by the lack of selection in the grocery store for fresh fruits and vegetables. I've bought way more produce that is nearly rotten already in Germany. I would also say I expected more organic food, and cheaper organic food. There are some cheap organic foods but it seems comparatively less than how much is now available back in the US. I find the selection to often be better when I ride my bike over to the Netherlands, though it may often be more expensive depending on the product. I was a bit disappointed with the public transit as well but part of that was my unfamiliarity with German and the concept of a "taxi bus". But the train that comes to my city is also extremely unreliable. It is always late, except when I am, and there were times where it never even came or instead of going to where it was supposed to (Düsseldorf) it went instead to Duisburg. And the train was WAY more expensive than what I excepted. To go two stops with a bike seemed outrageously expensive to me when I arrived. It is much cheaper to drive (by car) actually. Speaking of cars, I really expected more electric cars to be used, or produced, in Germany. Overall, I expected things to be more progressive, politically or otherwise. Instead, I was met with the rise of AfD and a lot of people who seem much more resistant to change or new things than I anticipated. That is pretty much all I can think of that is at least somewhat related to the topic. I appreciate the interaction though.

[@RachelStewart04]

@@peterschmidt5583 I can definitely relate to some of those disappointments. I think that is often the most frustrating thing here: the feeling that things SHOULD be further ahead than they are in this area. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@ecshepherd9798]

Am I the only one that noticed that she was on the wrong side of the ladder at 1:38? Safety People!!!

[@berndstromberg5692]

Ein großes Lob das diese wirklich schöne Dokureihe aus NRW heraus produziert wird, dort Bürger interviewt werden und dicht aus diesem völlig aus den Fugen und unkontrolliert geratenen Berlin.

[@mari.libiii]

Love this

[@asherzhangy8330]

thanks for your videos

[@dweuromaxx]

Glad you like them!

[@georg3607]

6:18 We need to say that Germany has really high rules for emissions, not even this scandal wouldn't be severe for any other country apart from Europe

[@derorje2035]

uhm actually, no VW cheated by the standard of any country. The scandal was about a program that recognized that there was a check up and during this, it produced far less emissions compared to the real environment on the street. That would be a scandal everywhere in the industrialized world. And even the emissions which accumulate between the buildings of a city aren't standards set by Germany but the European Union. But that is a completely different story.

[@georg3607]

@@derorje2035 what about the US?

[@sanSDI]

Ja klar, deswegen dürfen zum Beispiel Betonfabriken ja auch Müll verbrennen ,mit ganz gewöhnlichen Filtern die fast nix filtern XD Wir mögen auf dem richtigen Weg sein, so halbwegs, aber Geld bestimmt immer noch, und die Wirtschaft weiss wo sie ihr Geld einsetzen muss um gewisse Regelungen zu umgehen.

[@peterschmidt5583]

@@georg3607 There was actually a huge lawsuit in the US against Volkswagen for their emissions scandal. I think the penalties against Volkswagen were the strongest in the US of any country. The US may not have the strongest environmental regulations at the moment but Volkswagen still violated them.

[@Thytos]

@@georg3607 Afaik the VW scandal even started in the US.

[@youtubekommentar5494]

Well, when looking on the internet, you'll still find very many social media profiles of young people with many photos of many long distance travels like to America or Asia. You could save much energy by don't traveling so far and often. What wasn't mentioned here: E.g. France it's still very common to have a house without heat insulation but with electrical heating. In winter time, the power grid is very often very short before blackout - or worse. In Germany, also very many older building got heat insulation. At least one from the late 1970s when there were the first laws for that (also at houses from like die 1950s). On the other hands, in France everything outside Paris is province for them (maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit ;-)). So people usually live more likely in big cities, so the public transportation is easier to provide. In Germany, the population is more spread over the area. So public transportation is more difficult. But when you're at the German border near to France, you'll quite often find especially cars with French license plates somewhere beside the road for weeks until they're removed by the authorities - although in the whole EU the car every manufacturer must provide recycling for its products :-(

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I agree that France is basically Paris and rural. In Paris you can get amazing transport and broadband connections, while everywhere else you can be lucky if things are even close to rural Germany.

[@deathgun3110]

At 4:30 when he says innovation, the video buffered.

[@salihin4472]

I've always love Germany Technology, fussball, etc etc etc. Wunderbar 🇩🇪

[@florianj6490]

Where are you from?

[@Demonetization_Symbol]

I hope they are green. I want to move to Germany one day.

[@anja6983]

We are, but our youth want to involve more into it… And I’m pretty damn proud.

[@Demonetization_Symbol]

@@anja6983 the environment is one of my main priorities. I want to move to Europe, and Germany is my first choice. Seeing how much they care about the environment helps with that dream.

[@zockercam8122]

@@Demonetization_Symbol We still cause a lot of pollution tbh, but we're working on it :)

[@faultier1158]

The German constitutional court recently ruled that not taking proper climate action is unconstitutional because the consequences would hurt people's basic freedom in the future. And it ruled that the then current plan was not enough and demanded a more fleshed out and less vague plan of how to actually achieve the goals. That was *super big*, because it was the first time the court had confirmed some kind of generational responsibility when it comes to ensuring people's freedom.

[@michelbruns]

@@Demonetization_Symbol why would you want come here?

[@the_kings_sergeant4476]

Can you maybe do a Video about the 16 States of Germany and their special traditions and dialects?

[@dweuromaxx]

@ZeroFalcon What a wonderful suggestion...Rachel did you hear that?

[@anuragsharma961]

Vielen Dank.. from India

[@RachelStewart04]

Thanks for watching!

[@herschellpacheco7582]

hey Anurag, i love India and have always wanted to invest there. write back so we can discuss more

[@anuragsharma961]

@@RachelStewart04 Honestly, your content has been addictive. I've watched all in a single day! Thanks to YT Algorithm, got your videos in recommendations :)

[@RachelStewart04]

@@anuragsharma961 oh that's a lot for one day haha! But I appreciate it :) And hooray for the YT algorithm 🎉

[@PascalausEssen]

Rachel erklärt alles einfach immer super sympathisch. 👍

[@Ferinya]

One thing with the car problem is transit travel. Cars and trucks that drive through. With 9 neighbouring countries and extremely high fees in f.e. switzerland most of the western europe - eastern europe travel goes through germany.

[@dirkk.1381]

Great, this very sympathetic and gorgeous woman which shows the Germans how the Germans are seen in the world is still alive. Really enjoying every contribution is well researched and it is pretty interesting how many things are seen from a different point of view. Keep up the good work and greetings to the staff behind all this aswell.

[@ardiris2715]

I would not consider any major reliance on Russia to be a long term solution, particularly natural gas.

[@adalbertschwafel2587]

It would be ok as a transitional solution, but since the construction of renewable energy production is hindered more and more, it really seems to become long term. So buckle up, I guess

[@OstapVasilevschi]

Any reliance on Russia, Russia may use against you.

[@peter_meyer]

You do know that (west) germany has imported gas from russia for almost 5 decades?

[@ardiris2715]

@@peter_meyer Yes, and all the more reason to be guarded.

[@peter_meyer]

@@ardiris2715 By whom?

[@Suburp212]

Cool video.

[@Ukiyo-e-sama]

On minute 2:11 , where did you get those numbers? A source would be nice.

[@peter_meyer]

Search for "energy-charts"

[@marshagreen]

Can we get more info on what happens to the contents in the yellow bins please?

[@dweuromaxx]

@marshagreen Yellow bags or yellow bins are part of the Dual System in the German waste management industry. Any waste made of plastic, metal or composite materials can be handed in! 👉🗑👈

[@KamathVaishali]

00:36 to 00:40: The fastest German speaker on the planet.

[@RachelStewart04]

Right?! Must be all that coffee he's buying...

[@myeramimclerie7869]

Sorry to disappoint you, but he's actually speaking quite normal. Us Millennials tend to speak a little faster with our peers

[@RachelStewart04]

@@myeramimclerie7869 I mean I can't complain, I talk way too fast in English 🤷

[@KamathVaishali]

@@RachelStewart04 LOL

[@jeffrp8388]

I was surprised that you began to cross the street on your bike without slowing down to be sure the car turning right noticed you. Having the "right of way" (AmE) will not do you so much good when you lying in the (AmE) hospital! Be careful/cautious/alert Ms Stewart! Afterall, you are irreplaceable for Meet the Germans! :}

[@RachelStewart04]

I promise I am very alert on my bike in real life 😀

[@jeffrp8388]

@@RachelStewart04 LOL, glad to hear it.:} Keep up the great work.

[@RachelStewart04]

@@jeffrp8388 Thanks!!

[@jaystark841]

@@RachelStewart04 Yeah, I thought that was a setup! I like your presentations. Our daughter's significant other is German, and these videos help us understand him a bit more.

[@derorje2035]

wait, when "lying in the hospital" is American English what is the British way to say/write it?

[@ko_watanabe]

Nice 👍

[@hansc8433]

Like in many other countries, the mentality of quite a number of people is moving in the right (greener) direction. There is however a stubborn, short-sighted, self-centered (larger) piece of society that is just not going to cooperate. The notion that the only way to (re)create a sustainable world economy is to reduce our energy (and other) consumption, is quite alien to the hardcore conservative person. As long people keep saying that they are not willing to pay (for) their share in the energy transition, we are only moving closer to a point of no return, beyond which our habitat will become increasingly hostile for us humans (with more extreme droughts, more extreme rainfall, more extreme (i.e. higher) temperatures, higher sea levels, less fresh water, less arable land), AND, a lot more people who will be migrating from the equator to the periphery, from the heat and the drought to milder climates.

[@mazkraut9776]

It would be good if people realised that paying more for their energy is not really "paying more", but that it would just be no longer shirking paying the actual price...

[@samkhpak]

So confusing to find which bottle goes to which store, Alnatura or Edeka? that's a question.

[@MellonVegan]

Bottles? As in Pfand? Most places should have to accept most bottles by now. That said, I never shop at Alnatura. But regular old bottles and cans are accepted across the board.

[@frauanndirr15]

What I like here in Germany is the discipline in dealing with garbage. Garbage segregation is very impressive. In our home we separated papers/cartons, glass bottles (segregated per color when you put them in container bin), plastic/styro/cans in one garbage bag and bio or kitchen trash. Here in Baden-Württemberg the government distributed a yearly calendar where they put the dates to pick up garbage per category.

[@herrnkniebolo1180]

Facts on the mining problem in areas close to Dresden are seriously contrary to what one Inland would expect.

[@shenyifan9420]

Germans seem like great people!

[@Edmo96]

It always depends... trust me XD

[@appleslover]

Everywhere there are great and not so great people, just don't follow stereotypes!

[@Yeemand]

@@Edmo96 yeeee xD

[@mari.libiii]

So cool

[@buxxi90]

Great video :) it's sad that the car lobby has such a grip on people's mind without them realising it. My grandma has voted green for decades, her son/my dad had always been open to it. But particularly in social media times, he has turned anti-Greens to quickly and aggressively. Now his timeline is full of videos and reshared posts "disproving" those who fight for climate change. And he's not alone, it affects so many middle aged+ Germans, it's scary. Americans saw this radicalisation with Trump, Britons with Brexit, now it's Germans and their lobbyists with climate change deniers / anti green policies. It's maddening.

[@alexandrugheorghe5610]

I'm close to finishing reading the book "Why the Germans do it better", and, even if slow, I believe Germany will come out the other end victoriously. It's just a matter of time. 👍🏻🙌🏻😌☀️

[@fermintenava5911]

If we keep improving... yes. I WANT TO believe that we never face such a pushback in our efforts like the US did with Donald Trump.

[@evenskial1063]

Love this show but why the subtitles? Better to let people choose via KZbin 'CC' button themselves.

[@dweuromaxx]

@evens kial We pre-produce the subtitles because unfortunately many do not use the "CC" youtube function. And we want to make sure that every non-native speaker can cope with Rachel's amazing speaking speed....😁

[@Simonb1977]

2021: "high gas and electricity prices..." 2022: "hold my beer"

[@dweuromaxx]

🤪😢

[@thegonza1976]

Love this girl...

[@johnraggett7147]

Greetings Rachel, from Green Leipzig. And don't forget, the environment is not something we inherit from our parents, it is something we borrow from our children.

[@yurisimon7581]

Pls make a video where u try to understand german hip hop double time parts 🙏.

[@lukasf.3665]

@6:33 :D

[@Rasta8889]

You oversimplified a lot here. There's projects going on for chemical recycling of plastic waste, improvement on the way we add new solar power, electricity usage and storage, getting rid of obsolete heating systems, incentivising house owners to use their own solar electricity and requiring them to adhere to low energy consumption standards when building new houses. All of that is going to pay off hugely starting in about 15 years. But that lady in the park, she wants her utility bills low, her flat warm, her pension royal, the pidgeons well fed and all of that until she dies at which point she'll no longer care. Or as we say: "Nach uns die Sintflut".

[@TheyCalledMeT]

recycling is nice and stuff .. but if you want to make a difference .. take the bike or public transport for anything below 30km on regular basis, that makes a huge difference, better don't buy a car the first place. one car less to be build (which makes a huge chunck of the co2 production of a car's life) and if you need one .. buy a used car, with a not too strong motor

[@surf71]

Importing gas from Russia may not work out as planned now. That's the problem with relying on one specific fuel source as your prime or 'stop-gap' option.

[@krateproductions4872]

I feel the city councils should hire people who can separate garbage instead of creating complicated rules. Since most of the public doesn’t follow/understand the rules. People who are hired to do this will do a much better job (If the tech if feasible even machines can do this)

[@krateproductions4872]

@Ann_the Snowowl exactly. The recycling Industry can sort through all the waste instead of giving the troubles to people who anyways don’t do it properly.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

That would be pretty much what the 1€ jobs would lead to. low-paid side jobs to support the welfare system.

[@simonhofmann4946]

Rachel's german is very very perfect! Better than some Germans😀

[@dontbothermeimjust12]

I wanna know Rachel's take on the England x Germany game from yesterday. As a German it was fun, although not as much fun as the English had. I wanna know if the British have a different relation to football than Germans. Because the English seem to get a bit too "excited" about it, let's say. It seems they go very nationalistic in comparison to the German way.

[@mookrage]

I love Germany. We can learn a lot from them

[@marcogoth4543]

Watch this unfortunately only in german but the pictures say it all. the recycling lie because most of the garbage ends up. we only export our rubbish. nice greetings from Germany kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGHIZWNubLeBrrM

[@mookrage]

@@marcogoth4543 my comment related to many other aspects, not just trash. No country is perfect but Germany is closer than most in my opinion.

[@jonathanwatkins222]

Reality bites. Moving forward needs the participation of all segments of society. Politics is difficult for having to always try to make the right decisions for moving into the future, while taking into account the differeing views and needs of the various segments of society. The average german is hard working and willing to participate in the society. They also want to live a good life without feeling that they are the only ones being required to pay. Large businesses and corportions naturally want to keep their money and continously make more. Their moral catch phase for the government is, "Think of the economy! Without us it will suffer." Life is never easy, but the challenge is our future as a species.

[@prateekyadav9811]

1:30 Psycho lady talking to trash can

[@RachelStewart04]

👀

[@ravga9237]

Why do i like to watch these Videos as a German?

[@harryvanrijn6366]

To hear Rachel speak impeccable English and German.

[@Eagle-yt3bd]

If there were subtitles in different languages, for example, Turkish, energetic news.

[@hblaub]

I especially like the German car manufacturers and government to declare hybrid SUVs as being electric - while their batteries are staying virgin.

[@ErokLobotomist]

Thumbnail had me messed up. I thought this was talking about Magic The Gathering and how Germans prefer to play the colour Green lol

[@ncuco]

I thought this was a Magic the Gathering video

[@myllis3807]

I think it's really stupid that they closed nuclear and replaced it with coal in the short term. Nuclear is pretty safe if done properly and not in an earthquake heavy area.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Yup. Would've been better to keep them running until we can go fully renewable.

[@Bud_Terence]

There's so much to do. Not only Germany, global. The limiting Factor are those who make the big Money with Fossils. Politicians are often on the Paylist of such Companies, sou ... make your own Thoughts how fast the Transition to Renewables can progress.😌

[@AB-gw6uf]

I do hope that cycle stunt wasn't intentionally filmed haha

[@RachelStewart04]

👀😀

[@altaykaan]

Green energy is essential but we shoudnt give up from diversity of all kind energy sources.

[@gouravpattnaik7593]

They should stop packaging vegetables and stop sending out redundant advertisements on paper and leaflets. Most of the German administrative works still needs me to drop them a hand written or typed letter on physical paper. I didn't know when was the last time I had been in a post office before coming to Germany. Go electronic.

[@dweuromaxx]

Fair comment! There's an awful lot of paperwork still going on in Germany 😅

I think they are doing a lot of things right, but they are too stubborn to make other changes. For example, digitalizing so much documentation and paperwork in general. I know they are reluctant for diverse reason (espionage even (!)), but it s crazy the amount of paper they use. Also, and even I LOVE Germany, socially speaking there is this thing that EVERYBODY buys from Amazon all the time, and it is crazy the amount of plastic you get. I mean, it is ok you want to reduce the plastic waste and more, but at least, be consequent.

[@MrEyescream]

Cant get green energy when there are people who are against clean air and affordable energy. There was a letter in the local newpaper from a reader/person who explained how wind turbines would couse: wide destruction to citys, flora and founa, would couse the neighborhood to transform into an industrial area and we would still need a lot of coal-fired power stations when there is no wind. i head a headache from reading and facepalming.

[@mendrinoz]

She is so beautiful. Wow. What a woman ❤

[@seanmcerlean]

Very interesting Rachel. No i am a little surprised even having witnessed all the recycling that goes on. I think the austrians & swiss do much better. Then again as you say they love their cars & the Ruhr needs cleaning up. Liebe Gruß

[@seanmcerlean]

@@mucsalto8377 Actually no in modern times as recently as 2019. Granted it is better than it was but everytime we get an easterly high pressure in the UK we get the murk that comes with it.

[@stratman9449]

Rachel tells her (german) audience in a 5 minute video, more than they ever knew before......but of course (as the interviews showed) most of them think (as allways) that they know IT ALL anyway.....

[@MrGoodbook]

The whole idea of "Green Energy" needs to be re-thought. I live in an area that has hundreds of huge windmills spread over 50 miles. At any given time, less than half are working. It costs more to make, operate, and replace these huge windmills than any traditionally powered energy plant. The sum-energy spent on the windmills is more than that used to operate traditional plants.

[@dweuromaxx]

@Mr. Nelson The carbon footprint and efficiency of wind turbines end up being positive. Otherwise, they would not be built.

[@MellonVegan]

Coal power is so inefficient, it's only still around bc of the huge tax breaks they get from the government (which is on RWE's payroll. Make of that connection what you will). And even then, some coal power producers are still going bankrupt. Meanwhile, the government is defunding research on renewables (they cut 100.000 jobs in the sector) while they claim to simply be protecting jobs in the coal industry (which is 20.000 jobs in total). Corruption. It's just corruption. The evidence is there.

[@FantasKanal]

In the black goes what i am to lazy to sort. In the yellow goes plastics and small metal bits. Blue is for paper. Brown is for Biodegradeble.

[@rockyblacksmith]

Brown/Green depending on where you live.

[@marletschkotho6994]

me, a german living in germany: "interesting"

[@tadeoguerrero7892]

There is a high consciousness about the problem but at the same time many Germans are still super-consumers. Even people who is very much into environmentalism. They move mainly by car, they have their houses full of stuff imported from the other side of the planet (including the so contaminating cow meat) and travel a lot by plane, even inside Germany. Many people are just not so willing to change their lifestyle, and it's a shame. Of course the main problem should be solved by big companies and governments, but it would help if people keep more consistent with their ideals.

[@RachelStewart04]

Yes there does seem to be a lot of public support for "green" ideas, but then also a lot of contradictory day-to-day habits!

[@theunknownunknowns5168]

Ummm. 2021 that Russian gas might become a problem in 2022. 😬

[@barrylane4164]

Scary!!!! Already paying the highest prices for electricity and now more dependent on Russian Oligarch's for gas! I am really disillusioned. But thanks Rachel for informing us as always!!!

[@crypto9999999]

still having a cold war in your mind he? good luck on a new view...stuck in a temporal chain? wow really? so long? hope you got new clothes marty.

[@barrylane4164]

@@crypto9999999 You are very poorly informed my "fellow traveler"

[@natalieeis9284]

Germany also loves bicycles, most Germans own one, but strangely it is not used for the daily commute, but for free time activities or exercise. 🚴‍♀️

[@AlexanderGoeres]

this is wrong. how come you say this? how do you know what i am doing with my bike?

[@RachelStewart04]

There's definitely a lot of cycling going on here, but it could still be increased the the infrastructure was better. I cycle around Cologne and I'm constantly dodging tree roots and cars parked half on the cycle lanes!

[@natalieeis9284]

@@RachelStewart04 that is very true. If the infrastructure was improved there would be even more cycling going on. Compared to the UK it is still a bike paradise though.

[@RachelStewart04]

@@natalieeis9284 Yes what I like here is how confident the cyclists are - the road definitely belongs to them as well as the cars!

[@drcfgonzo4961]

Well, you know 2/3 of the year it's constantly wet and cold. Not really the weather you want to commute 20km by bike, which is a typical distance to work for most people.

[@ciaracevedo1747]

Does any one else has an issue with the excess of printed documents??

[@hassanaithaida5805]

Your bieautufl girl Ciara 😄❤️

[@qizj.a4398]

Malaysian should do this protest! Build tree house, that's so cool! But, the cons will get sued and shut or something idk hahh. We're losing so much tree in just span of 1 year. Ughh.