Reducing exposure to pesticides

· Grow some of your own food using organic methods

· Buy organic food

· Wash and scrub all fresh fruits, vegetables, and wild foods you pick

· Eat less meat or no meat

· Trim the fat from meat

15. Search the Internet and prepare a 3-5 minute talk on one of the types of pollution mentioned in Text 1. Be prepared to answer your groupmates’ questions about your topic.(Soil Pollution)

REPORT

Soil pollution

Soil pollution occurs when a chemical is introduced into the soil in higher than normal quantities. Soil pollution may result in water pollution through leaking down into the groundwater. And after that it will run off to lakes and rivers. It may also lead to air pollution when toxins are released into the air, for example, after extreme heat of rain. There was a study done by the University of Minnesota. The researchers found that grass clippings and fallen leaves left in the street contributed to phosphorus pollution. Plant leaves contain phosphorus that they extract from the soil and then it goes into the air. Thus such organic methods as composting and crop rotation are strongly advised to gardeners and farmers because they tend to pollute soil less.

Text 2. GLOBAL WARMING IS URGENT AND CAN BE ADDRESSED

1. What do you think when you hear that human activities are projected to make the earth’s climate warmer? Are you skeptical, indifferent, sad, helpless, guilty, concerned, or outraged? Which of these feelings help to perpetuate the problem, and which can help to solve it?

2. Read the text below, define its main idea and single out the topic sentence in each paragraph.

When we talk about global warming, we talk about the 'greenhouse effect'. This is actually a natural and essential feature of our atmosphere without which our planet would be uninhabitable. This process works by the principle that certain atmospheric gases, (or greenhouse gases) allow short wave radiation from the sun to pass through them unabsorbed, while at the same time absorbing some of the long wave radiation reflected back to space. The net result (конечный результат) is that more heat is received from the sun than is lost back to space, keeping the earth's surface some 30 to 35°C warmer than it would otherwise be.

The problem is that man is adding to and changing the levels of the gases responsible for the greenhouse effect and is therefore enhancing this warming.

Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide  (углекислый газ) (CO₂) in the atmosphere. As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for energy or cut down and burn forests to create pastures and plantations, carbon (углерод) builds up (скапливаться) and overloads our atmosphere. Certain waste management and agricultural practices aggravate (усугублять) the problem by releasing other potent global warming gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide. 

CO₂ survives in the atmosphere for a long time—up to many centuries—so its heat-trapping (удерживающий тепло) effects are compounded over time. Of the many heat-trapping gases, CO₂ puts us at the greatest risk of irreversible changes if it continues to accumulate una`bated in the atmosphere—as it is likely to do if the global economy remains dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs. To put this in perspective, the carbon we put in the atmosphere today will literally determine not only our climate future but that of future generations as well.

Substantial scientific evidence indicates that an increase in the global average temperature of more than 2 degrees Celsius (°C) above pre-industrial levels poses severe risks to natural systems and to human health and well-being (здоровье). The good news is that, because we as humans caused global warming, we can also do something about it. To avoid this level of warming, large emitters such as the United States need to greatly reduce heat-trapping gas emissions by mid century. Delay in taking such action means the prospect of much steeper cuts later if there is any hope of staying below the 2°C temperature goal. Delayed action is also likely to make it more difficult and costly to not only make these reductions, but also address the climate consequences that occur in the meantime.

The Consequences of a Warming World

Over the last century, global average temperature has increased by more than 0.7°C. The 2001-2010 decade was the warmest since 1880—the earliest year for which comprehensive global temperature records were available. In fact, nine of the warmest years on record have occurred in just the last 10 years. This warming has been accompanied by a decrease in very cold days and nights and an increase in extremely hot days and warm nights. While the record shows that some parts of the world are warming faster than others, the long-term global upward trend is unambiguous.

Of course, land and ocean temperature is only one way to measure the effects of climate change. A warming world also has the potential to change rainfall and snow patterns, increase droughts and severe storms, reduce lake ice cover, melt glaciers, increase sea levels, and change plant and animal behavior.