E4S Conversation club
Practice makes fluent!
Do you want to speak English more fluently? Are you a sustainability professional or enthusiast?
Join us for some practice!
E4S Conversation club
Do you want to speak English more fluently? Are you a sustainability professional or enthusiast? Join us for some practice!
Hosted by English for Sustainability, E4S Conversation Club meetings are open to all sustainability professionals and enthusiasts from around the world who want to have the opportunity to practice speaking English with other people.
Topics will be focused around sustainability, and small-group conversations are polite and friendly.
Be ready to take notes since you might learn new vocabulary, find out about other opportunities to improve your spoken English and fluency, or meet other people.
Depending on the number of attendees, we can have up to three conversations during each event, so make sure that you have a good internet connection and be ready to speak.
E4S Conversation Club meets monthly, usually on the final Thursday of each month at 12:00 PM EST. To find out when this is in your local time and where to connect, sign up using the link below.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
What do we do at Convo Club?
We exchange ideas with each other through conversation (not monologues).
Ask people what they think!
🗣️ "Why?"
🗣️ "Can you give an example?"
🗣️ "How about you?"
Build off of what others have said!
Why E4S Conversation Club?
Everyone needs a safe place to practice speaking and listening with speakers from around the world.
Talking about sustainability-related topics can expand our consciousness and inspire actions that will help us to do our part in the fight against climate change.
The Format of Conversations
You will have 2 or 3 conversations during this hour with different groups in breakout rooms.
Each conversation will be 10-20 minutes.
The host will give you a minute to wrap up before returning to the main room.
Guidelines for Successful Conversation
Be polite and professional
Speak as much as you listen
Try to understand: ask for clarification, spelling, and more
Make note of new words and interesting ideas
Use the chat for questions and help
How Much it Costs
E4S Conversation Club is free! There is no cost at all to join the event.
The Meetup app and website is also free to join.
Please arrive on time and make sure that your audio quality is good so that everyone can hear you.
Click below to join us for our next event!
February 26th's Topic & Questions
AI Data Centers' Water Problem
It's no secret that when we use ChatGPT or other AI tools, we use a LOT of electricity. Not as commonly known is that large quantities of clean water is required to keep AI data centers cool and running as well. The Kapor Foundation published a report on how these data centers impact the environment and public health.
From the Kapor Foundation's report, "The Unequal Burden of Data Centers:
An Examination of the Environmental and Public Health Impacts on Communities in California"
The UN sounded the alarm about this back in May 2024 with their policy brief, "AI’s excessive water consumption threatens to drown out its environmental contributions" (Gupta and van Vliet), projecting that "Technology firms using water to run and cool these data centres potentially require water withdrawals of 4.2 to 6.6 billion cubic metres by 2027."
You might wonder why potable (drinkable) water is used, rather than treated water. Jacobs, in her article "Why are AI data centres using fresh drinking water instead of recycled water?" explored this. The main reason seems to be that potable water is cheap and available. Using treated water introduces problems that could negatively affect the equipment, such as corrosion or the build up of biofilm. As well, water evaporates out of the cooling towers, not to be recaptured.
Yet there may be solutions. One solution is the Nautilus Data Technologies Stockton 1 Data Center, a floating data center that claims to work without water consumption or polluting the river in which it floats.
In this Conversation Club, we will talk about this water problem and possible solutions.
Let's talk about it!
How easy is it to access potable (drinkable) water?
Can you turn on a tap? Is it affordable? What limits are on how much you can use?Have you ever experienced a time when water was unavailable? What caused this lack of availability?
How did you get drinking water during this time? Do you have any techniques to prepare for water outages or boil orders?In what ways do you use AI in your everyday life?
Is it possible for you to cut back on (reduce) your use of AI? If so, what might you do?Does your community or somewhere nearby host an AI data center? Or are there plans to build one?
If so, what do people say about it?What do you think needs to happen so that the benefits of AI and its data centers are greater than the environmental risks they pose?
Laws? Culture change? Incentives? Protections?
Here's a waterfall I recently visited in Athens, Ohio.
Check back here a day or two before the next event for a preview of the topic and questions!
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Here's What People Are Saying About Conversation Club
Lara, incredible efforts in promoting effective conversation! Your commitment to helping individuals develop their English communication skills is truly remarkable. Through your programs and resources, you are empowering countless individuals to express themselves with clarity and confidence. Thank you for making a difference in the world of communication!
-Vaibhav Joshi
Thanks, Lara! I love learning about how other cultures deal with sustainability challenges, so it was definitely worthwhile.
-Alex Herridge
For me, the Meetup was a really nice experience. Even though this was my first time, it felt like a meeting of old friends. The topics were interesting and I loved how multicultural the meetup was.
-Aditya Pai
- Togonon