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Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Sam.
These days, our lives are filled with devices that were unimaginable only a few years ago.
The sorts of things you read about in science fiction novels that never thought you'd own.
Yes, like those robots that vacuum your floor or voice-activated lights.
We call many of these things smart tech.
But while they can help with the little tasks at home,
some people are wondering whether they can help fight climate change.
Yes, smart homes, regulating things like the temperature, are a step in the right direction.
Using AI to learn when the house is occupied and the optimal time to fire up the heating,
is one way to limit waste for use of resources.
The problem comes from the origin of the energy, which powers these home systems.
If it's fossil fuels, then digging them up and informal way of saying,
removing something from the earth and burning them creates carbon emissions.
I suppose that's why many people are trying to find more renewable forms of energy to reduce their carbon footprint.
Well, it's interesting that you mentioned carbon footprint because my question is about that today.
How many tons of carbon dioxide are humans responsible for emitting into the atmosphere every year?