ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

 

1. Match the words (1-17) with the nouns (a-q) to make compound nouns. Use your dictionary to help you:

1. carbon a warming

2. fossil b countries

3. global c dioxide

4. greenhouse d effect

5. industrialized e fuel

6. climate f gases

7. endangered g caps

8. greenhouse h habitats

9. heat I levels

10. ice j waves

11. natural k species

12. sea l change

13. renewable m countries

14. developing n power

15. carbon o energy

16. solar p emissions

17. nuclear q power

2. Complete the text with compound words from above. Use 1-5 in the first paragraph, 6-12 in the second paragraph, and 13-17 in the third:

The biggest threat to life on Earth comes from 1 …... Rich 2 …… in the West have been burning 3 …… such as coal, oil and gas for about 150 years, pumping out vast quantities of the 4 …… in the atmosphere. The CO2 traps the heat from the Sun and causes the Earth and the atmosphere to get warmer. This is called the 5 …... The problem has been made worse by deforestation, the process of clearing forests in order to create land for growing crops or raising cattle and sheep.

Why is global warming a problem? High levels of 6 ….. in the atmosphere lead to 7 …... The oceans and seas are getting warmer and the polar 8 ….. are melting. This causes 9 ….. to rise, which threatens low coastal regions and islands. Furthermore, the weather is becoming more unpredictable, with severe storms and floods, or unexpected 10 ….. and droughts. Another effect of global warming is a rise in the number of 11 ….. Many animals and plants could become extinct if their 12 ….. are altered.

What can we do about it? The majority of scientists now agree that there is an urgent need to cut 13 ….. across the world. Countries in the West are still responsible for most of the CO2 emissions, but it won’t be long before 14 ….. such as China and India overtake the West. However, it is proving very difficult to reach an international agreement. As well as cutting carbon emissions we need to develop alternative sources of energy. Some scientists advocate 15 ….., while others stress the importance of 16 ….., such as wind, wave and 17 …..

3. Read and translate Text 1:

Air pollution is a major problem all over the world today. Probably the single biggest contributor to the problem is the motor vehicle. However, there are many other man-made sources, such as industrial factories, power stations, mining, building, and the burning of fossil fuels and wood in homes around the world. There are natural sources of air pollution too; volcanoes and forest fires produce a lot of pollutants. However, it is the increasing number and use of motor vehicles that is doing the most damage, and logically, where there are more cars, there is more pollution, that is, in the major cities of the world. Some of the most polluted cities include Beijing, Mexico City, Athens, Moscow and Mumbai.

Health problem

This problem of increased pollution in the major cities of the world has led to an increase in the number of studies done to look at the effects on our health. The results so far are not very reassuring. In fact, air pollution may be a much greater danger to our health than scientists believed before. A 20-year study of residents of a Cairo suburb shows that the tiny particles in polluted air could lead to three times as many long-term health problems as was previously thought. A connection between the number of particles in the air and health is suggested by Dr Razia of Cairo University. He and his colleagues collected data on 25,000 residents of Cairo over two decades. They found that as the number of tiny particles, those less than 2.5 microns in diameter increased, so did the risk of dying from health problems such as heart attacks and lung cancer.

Traffic and asthma

Other studies show a similar link between traffic pollution and ill health. A second group of researchers in Ottawa, Canada, reported that children living near busy roads were more likely to develop asthma. They studied the health of 250 children in different Canadian cities. The results suggest a strong connection between how close a child lives to traffic and the possibility of that child developing asthma and other similar diseases.

It is clear from these studies and others that the time has come to start reducing the levels of air pollution in our cities for the sake of our children and future generations.

 

4. Scan the report and answer the questions:

1. What is the main cause of air pollution?

2. What are two natural sources of air pollution?

3. Which are the most polluted cities in the world?

4. Where was the first study done?

5. What health problems did the first study look at?

6. Where was the second study done?

7. What health problems did the second study look at?