From Tokyo, Japan and New Plymouth, New Zealand – this is Down to Business English. With your hosts Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega.
And here we are. Back with the very first episode of Down to Business English for 2025. Hi Samantha. Happy New Year to you.
It’s a little late, but I guess Happy New Year is still in order. Happy New Year to you too, Skip. Did you have a good break?
Yes, I did. I took it pretty easy. Just stayed around the house, cleaning up, and organizing a bit.
You didn’t attend any New Year’s parties?
Not to speak of, no. Just made my annual pilgrimage to the local shrine on New Year’s Eve.
You’re not a Buddhist.
No. But living in Japan for as long as I have, it has become a bit of a personal tradition. There also happens to be a nice little shrine conveniently located down the street from me. Only a five or six minute walk.
So you’re not put out too much by stopping by there.
Not in the least. In any case, I had a pretty quiet, and relaxing New Year’s. How was yours?
Pretty much the same.
You visited a shrine too?
No, I just meant it was quiet. On New Year’s Eve there were some local fireworks and then it was all over by 12:15 and it looked like everybody in the neighborhood just went to bed.
What about after New Year’s Eve? Did you do anything for your holidays?
Yes I’ve been spending lots of time outdoors, seeing that it’s the summer time here in New Zealand. Gardening, going on nature walks.
Nice. Well, speaking of the outdoors, today’s business report has a lot to do with nature and the environment — specifically, the Arctic.
The Arctic? As in the polar region that encompasses Canada, Northern Europe, Russia, and Greenland?
Oh, don’t forget about the US. Their biggest state, Alaska, is part of the Arctic.
Alaska. Of course. I really want to travel there someday. So, what are we reporting on that is connected to the outdoors?
Well, today on Down to Business English, we are going to look at a UK-based start-up company by the name of Real Ice. This company is working on a project to thicken Arctic sea ice.
Arctic ice has been receding for decades now. How exactly is Real Ice dealing with that?
Essentially they are pumping seawater onto the surface of existing ice, letting it freeze into additional layers.
And I’m guessing there’s a business angle here?
Absolutely — and we will get into all of that.
This sounds like an icy business topic that we should try to thaw out.
Very cute. So let’s do it. Let’s get D2B … Down to Business with Real Ice and their plan to save Arctic sea ice. To understand what Real Ice is doing, we first need to touch on the problem they are trying to solve — the decline of Arctic sea ice.
And that’s a big problem, isn’t it.
It is. Arctic sea ice has been receding at an alarming rate over the last twenty years or so. According to climate scientists, sea ice is on track to decrease 12% per decade moving forward. A much higher rate than in the past.
But of course the amount of ice in the Arctic ocean fluctuates between the winter and summer months.
Obviously, yes. The amount of sea ice is not a static amount. But apparently the month when there is the least amount is September.
At the end of September, just before winter sets in.
Right. It’s referred to as the ‘annual minimum extent’.
In other words it is the smallest amount of ice in the ocean for the year.
Correct. And last September the minimum extent in the Arctic ocean only measured 4.28 million km2.
Was that an all time record low?
No actually, it wasn’t. But it was the 7th lowest figure recorded in the 46 years they have been taking satellite images of arctic ice and measuring it.
And this loss of ice has serious consequences. Not only for the Arctic, but for the planet as a whole.
It does … because of something called the albedo effect?
The albedo effect? What is that exactly?
The albedo effect refers to how surfaces reflect sunlight. You know, light colored surfaces like snow and ice, they reflect more light back into space. Dark surfaces on the other hand absorb light and trap heat.
That’s why it is not a good idea to wear a black T-shirt outside on a hot, sunny day.
That is the albedo effect — and why it’s better to wear light-colored clothing to keep you cool in hot weather.
So basically, arctic ice helps keep the planet cool by reflecting sunlight back into space. When that ice melts, it exposes the dark ocean water, which absorbs the heat.
Hm, which accelerates warming which in turn melts more ice, which exposes more ocean water, which traps more heat, which leads to even more ice melting — you get the picture. It is a vicious cycle.
A very vicious cycle! Okay, that is the problem. What is Real Ice, this UK start up company, doing to restore arctic sea ice?
Their approach is quite simple and straightforward. They drill holes through the existing sea ice and then use pumps to bring seawater up onto the surface. Once on the surface, the seawater freezes and forms new layers of ice.
Reminds me how in the winter in Canada, people make skating rinks in their backyards.
Yes, it’s a very similar process I suppose.
How long has Real Ice been doing this?
Not so long. They have been testing their method in field trials for just under two years, and they have been getting promising results. Initial tests were done in Alaska, but more recently they have been working in Cambridge Bay in Canada.
And how efficient is it? I mean how much ice can they create?
Their latest trial covered 40 square kilometers of ice and increased thickness by 10 centimeters in just ten days.
Hmm. Well, the science seems solid. But what about their business model? How does Real Ice plan to make this start-up project financially sustainable?
They have several revenue streams in mind. One is to sell their re-icing machines and services. Another business model they are exploring is selling ‘cooling credits’.
Cooling credits?
Yes. Companies or governments would pay for ice-thickening projects as part of their climate commitments. Also, Real Ice wants to partner with local Arctic communities, who could operate these machines and earn income from selling those cooling credits.
Mm. Very interesting. Now, I am all for businesses who are fighting climate change, but honestly, this sounds very ambitious. There must be some significant challenges to overcome.
There are indeed several hurdles Real Ice needs to address.
I'm guessing cost is one of those hurdles? It can’t be cheap to operate in extreme environments like the Arctic.
Definitely not. Real Ice estimates that full-scale implementation could cost anywhere between $5 to $6 billion annually.
Yeah, that’s not cheap.
Which leads to another challenge — securing long-term funding. While they are currently self-funded they will need substantial financial backing in order to scale up.
I can see why they're exploring those ‘cooling credits’ you mentioned.
Exactly. They're hoping to create a market similar to carbon credits, where companies can invest in ice restoration to offset their environmental impact.
Like the carbon capture business model we reported on last year in D2B 298.
There are similarities, yes.
Assuming they can secure enough financial backing, there must be technical challenges they're facing as well.
Yes, quite a few. They need to ensure their equipment can withstand the harsh Arctic conditions. Plus, they're working on automating the process using underwater drones, which is no small feat.
Well, I can imagine.
And then there are the environmental concerns?
What?! The whole point is to protect the environment. Why would there be environmental concerns?
Some scientists are worried about the impact of interfering with natural ice formation and they caution against large-scale interference with natural processes in the Arctic ecosystem.
Well, I suppose it is wise to be cautious. It would not be good if they did more harm to the environment while they’re trying to save the planet.
No, that definitely would not be good.
So, what's next for Real Ice moving forward?
Moving forward they are planning more extensive tests this winter. These tests are crucial in demonstrating whether or not their approach can effectively counteract ice loss on a seasonal basis. If they can successfully demonstrate that, it just might open doors to the financial backing they need to scale up their operations.
It sounds like Real Ice has a lot of work ahead of them.
They certainly do. And we will definitely be keeping an eye on their progress.
And on that note, I think it's time for us to get D2V ... Down to Vocabulary.
The first item on our D2V list today is the noun pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a journey to a place that in some way is special to the person or to the people traveling there.
People often make pilgrimages for some kind of religious or spiritual reason.
There is that connotation with this word, that’s true. But a pilgrimage doesn’t necessarily need to be for a religious reason.
It could just be that the place has some kind of special meaning.
In the introduction to today’s report, I told Samantha that I had made my annual pilgrimage to the local shrine on New Year's Eve.
Skip was saying that visiting the shrine every New Year’s Eve was a special trip that was important to him.
Mm. That’s right. And even though my pilgrimage was to a shrine, it was not for religious reasons in my case. It was more of a personal tradition that I have started while living in Japan. Samantha, can you give us a business-related example using ‘pilgrimage’?
I sure can. It’s January, so you know what that means in the tech industry?
No, what does that mean?
It’s time for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Of course, CES.
That’s right. Every year in early January, tech entrepreneurs from around the world make a pilgrimage or go on a pilgrimage to CES which is held in Las Vegas.
An excellent example. Everyone, notice that pilgrimage is used with the verbs make or go on. We either make a pilgrimage or go on a pilgrimage somewhere. What's next on our D2V list, Samantha?
Next we have the phrasal verb ‘to be put out’. When you are put out by something, it means you are annoyed or inconvenienced by it. I used this verb in a negative statement when I commented to Skip that he was not put out by stopping by his local shrine, because it’s near his home.
In other words, Samantha was commenting that it was convenient for me to visit the shrine on New Year’s Eve since it is so close to my house.
Exactly. Skip, can you give us an example from the business world using ‘to be put out’?
A hot business topic the last couple of days has been about Facebook and Instagram users being extremely put out by Meta's plan to introduce AI-generated profiles on those social media platforms. Did you hear about that?
Yes, I did. What a terrible idea. Users are very, very annoyed. If Meta goes through with that, users will have no idea if the people they are connected with are actual human beings.
Not to mention the businesses who are buying advertisements on Facebook or Instagram. They will have no idea if the likes their products are getting are real or are from AI bots. They are not very happy about the idea either.
If I was advertising on Facebook or Instagram, I would be very put out by that too.
Our final word on D2V today is the verb ‘to recede.’ When something recedes, it moves back or retreats slowly.
It can also have the nuance of gradually losing power or strength.
In our discussion about Arctic sea ice, both Samantha and I mentioned that sea ice has been receding for decades now. We were saying that sea ice is gradually shrinking or moving back.
In a business context, you might see a headline like: "Consumer confidence recedes as inflation concerns grow." In other words, people's trust in the economy is decreasing or becoming weaker because they are worried about inflation and rising prices.
Which is the leading cause of an economic recession.
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And that brings us to the end of the first episode of Down to Business English for 2025.
We hope you enjoyed it and found it useful in your English studies.
If you are a D2B Member or Apple Podcast Subscriber, the bonus Down to Vocabulary episode for today’s report will be released in the next 48 hours or so. So keep an eye out for that.
The words and phrases we will be looking at in that bonus episode will
to touch on something, to fluctuate, to be static, to be straightforward, and the idiomatic expression ‘no small feat’.
So if you are a D2B Member, be sure you have copied and pasted your Member-only URL from your D2B Members Account into the podcast app of your choice, so that you don’t miss that episode.
And Apple Podcast Subscribers, you don’t need to do anything. The bonus D2V episode will automatically show up in your Apple Podcast app as soon as it is released.
Thanks for listening everyone. See you next time.
Take care.
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