Regional Actions Add Up to Global Solutions

Any action to reduce or eliminate the release of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere helps slow the rate of warming and, likely, the pace and severity of change at any given hot spot. Local sources of carbon emissions vary from region to region, suggesting that solutions are often decided at the community level. Some regions, however, must rely upon global solutions such as international agreements to reduce the carbon overload in the atmosphere that threatens them. Small islands, for example, are a paltry source of carbon emissions and yet are disproportionately affected by the consequences of global carbon overload as accelerated sea level rise threatens the very existence of low-lying islands.

Individual, regional, and national actions can all add up to global solutions, slowing and eventually halting the upward climb of CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere.

3. Provide English equivalents for the following words and word-combinations. Use them in sentences of your own.

Глобальное потепление (global warming), необитаемый (uninhabitable), парниковые газы (greenhouse gases), парниковый эффект (greenhouse effect), поглощать (to absorb), коротковолновое излучение (short wave radioation), длинноволновое излучение (long wave radiation), ископаемое топливо (fossil fuel), накапливаться в атмосфере (to accumulate in the atmosphere), выбросы (emissions), засуха [au] (drought), ледник (glacier), повышение уровня моря (to increase sea levels).

4. Answer the following questions.

1)What is the greenhouse effect? - a natural and essential feature of our atmosphere without which our planet would be uninhabitable

2) What causes global warming? - Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide the atmosphere. As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for energy or cut down forests to create pastures and plantations, carbon builds up and overloads our atmosphere.

3) What are the proofs that global warming is taking place? -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

4) What countries would suffer the most severe consequences of global climate change? Why? - 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

5) What can be done to slow down global warming? -

6) How might climate change affect your life and the life of any children and grandchildren you might have? - 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.

5. Search the Internet and prepare a talk on one of the following topics.

1) Climate change may not be caused by human activity.

2) Natural causes of climate change.

3) The Kyoto Protocol.

4) Climate modeling.

5) Projected climate change could have severe consequences.

6) El Niño weather disturbances.

7) Renewable energy sources – a way to combat global warming.

8) Reducing population growth can help to slow the rate of projected climate change.

6. You can reduce your ‘carbon footprint’(углеродный след) - emissions of CO₂ that you create. Which of these steps, if any, do you take now or plan to take?

· Drive a fuel-efficient car, walk, bike, carpool (совместно эксплутировать автомобиль), and use mass transit (использовать общественный транспорт)

· Use energy-efficient windows (энергосберегающие окна)

· Use energy-efficient appliances and lights (бытовые приборы)

· Heavily insulate your house  (изолировать дом) and seal all air leaks (затыкивать дырки в окнах)

· Reduce garbage by recycling and reusing more items

· Insulate your hot water heater

· Use compact fluorescent lightbulbs

· Plant trees to shade your house during summer

· Set your water heater no higher than 49°C

· Wash laundry in warm or cold water

· Dry your laundry naturally

· Use a low-flow showerhead (использовать лейку для душа с малым расходом воды)

· Buy products from, or invest in, companies that are trying to reduce their impact on climate

Which 3 steps in the list above do you think are the most important? Why?

Revision

7. Translate into English.

1) Часто большей опасностью обладает не сам пестицид, попадающий в почву, а продукты его разложения, продолжительность жизни которых в почве колеблется от 6 до 36 лет. – More often than not, the degradation products of the pesticide which may stay in the soil from 6 till 36 years are more harmful than the pesticide itself.

2) Большая часть ученых придерживается антропогенной теории, считая виновником глобального потепления так называемый "парниковый эффект" - результат хозяйственной деятельности человечества. – The biggest part of scientists holds to the anthropogenic theory which is considered the offender of the global warming process. Another name for it is «the greenhouse effect» which is the result of a human-being’s activity.

3) Парниковые газы (углекислый газ, водяной пар, метан, фреоны) имеют свойство накапливаться в верхних слоях атмосферы и препятствовать длинноволновому тепловому излучению с поверхности Земли. – Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane, freons) tend to accumulate in the upper layers of the atmosphere thus they don’t allow short wave radiation from the sun to pass through.

4) Экологи утверждают, что повышение температуры поверхностных вод озера Байкал может уничтожить уникальную экосистему. – Environmentalists claim that the rise in temperature of the lake Baikal surface water may kill off the unique ecosystem.

5) За последние 5 лет уровень сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний показал стойкую динамику в сторону увеличения и, безусловно, отчасти этому способствует шумовое загрязнение в городах. – For the last 5 years the level of the cardiovascular diseases have increased. Noise pollution contributes to it to a greater extent.

6) Москва «производит» примерно 5 млн. тонн твердых бытовых отходов в год и всегда испытывала трудности с их утилизацией. – Moscow produces about 5 million tones of solid houselhold waste and has always had difficulty in desposing it.

7) Традиционно мусор захоранивался на полигонах в Подмосковье, и лишь очень небольшая часть его перерабатывалась и сжигалась (сейчас в городе действуют 2 мусоросжигательных завода). – Refuse (garbage, litter) has always been buried in Moscow vicinities landfields. Only the smallest part of refuse has been recycled and burnt. Presently there are two incinirators in the city.

8) Мы не можем продолжать жечь все доступное нам сейчас ископаемое топливо, при этом не спровоцировав резких перемен климата. – We can’t keep on burning all available fossil fuels not making harmful impact on the climate.

9) Загрязнение воздуха – одна из главных проблем развитых стран с мощной индустриальной базой. Источников загрязнения множество – от электростанций, сжигающих ископаемое топливо, до выхлопных газов автомобилей и процесса биологического разложения органической материи.  – Air pollution is one of the primary problems which are common for those developed countries with powerful industrial capacity. There are plenty of pollution sources starting with power plants which burn fossil fuels and ending with car exhaust emissions and the process of biological decomposition of organic matter.

10) Высокие дымовые трубы заводов и коммунальных сооружений не устраняют загрязнение, а просто выбрасывают вредные химикаты в высокие слои атмосферы. Переносясь на большие расстояния, такие выбросы могут вызвать кислотные дожди в других странах. – High chimneys of plants and community facilities don’t eliminate pollution but emit harmful chemicals into the upper layers of the atmosphere. Going on long distances these emissions may cause acid rains in other countries.

11) Слив канализационных стоков в море ведет к увеличению опасности инфекционных заболеваний. – Sewage spilled into the sea may lead to the increasing of infectious diseases.

12) Радиоактивное заражение – это загрязнение местности и находящихся на ней объектов радиоактивными веществами. – Radioactive contamination is the contamination of an area and its objects with radioactive substances.

13) Местные жители не были осведомлены о том, что вблизи территории их населенного пункта располагается место свалки радиоактивных отходов. – The locals had no idea that there was a radioactive waste dump near their residential area.

14) Тепловое загрязнение – это выброс тепла в атмосферу и в водные ресурсы, вызванный техногенной деятельностью человека. – Thermal pollution is the emission of heat both into the atmosphere and water bodies which is caused by anthropogenic activity.

15) Угольные электростанции в Китае сильно загрязняют воздух и ежегодно уносят тысячи жизней. – Coal power plants of China pollute the air greatly and take thousands of lives annually.

16) Технология переработки отходов, работающая во многих странах мира, которая позволяет получать биотопливо и вторичное сырье для химической промышленности, в России используется сравнительно недавно. – The technology of waste recycling which is widely spread in many countries over the globe, allows to get biofuel and secondary raw materials for the purposes of chemical industry, is a relatevily new trand in Russia.

Jigsaw reading

1. Work in two groups.

Group 1 read Text A

Group 2 read Text B

Read your article and (a) put 3 questions to it and (b) find in your text words and word combinations that have these meanings.

2. Team up with a student from the other group and swap information. Before you summarize your text, dictate the 3 questions you prepared to your partner and let him/her answer these questions after listening to your summary. Remember to pre-teach the vocabulary from your column in the previous exercise to your partner before making the summary.