English Unlimited HTL 4/5, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM

137 Climate 11 LANGUAGE SKILLS EXPLORE EXTRAS Look at these (other) words connected with global warming. What do they mean? Match the words with the definitions. a 6 Work in pairs. Cover the definitions a–l and take turns explaining the expressions 1–12. Write down things you can do to prevent or stop global warming. Try to use the words in 5 and 6. Compare your ideas in pairs. Do you have the same? The article below describes four ideas which could be used to fight global warming. Which involves:   reducing CO 2 levels?   absorbing the sun’s heat?   deflecting the sun’s rays? b a WRITIng 7 b REaDIng 8 Climate change is being experienced everywhere in the world, and just reducing carbon emissions may not be enough. Some scientists are now beginning to suggest more radical inventions that might save us from disaster by actually putting the greenhouse effect into reverse. One scientist is proposing (1) to put a huge glass sunshade in space which would orbit the Earth so that it would always face the sun. This would deflect some of the sun’s rays back into space, so the temperature of the atmosphere would be reduced. Another proposal is (2) to fire rockets loaded with sulphur into the stratosphere. The sulphur would be released and it would form a thin cloud-like layer around the Earth, which would block some of the sun’s rays. Another interesting idea is (3) to pump fine particles of sea water into the clouds. This would increase the thickness of the clouds, so the sun’s rays would be reflected. This could be done using remote-controlled yachts, so the energy cost would be zero. Another possibility would be (4) to create enclosed ‘plankton farms’ in the sea, where plankton could be fed huge quantities of fertiliser. This would make the plankton grow and absorb CO 2 from the air. Proposals like these may seem like science fiction, but some experts believe we may soon be forced to take them seriously, for the sake of our planet. 1 resources 2 carbon dioxide 3 fossil fuel 4 drought 5 deforestation 6 landfill (site) 7 carbon footprint 8 nuclear power 9 ozone hole 0 emission 1 species 2 renewable / alternative energy 1 1 1 a a period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water b the cutting down or burning of trees c money, materials, etc. that a country, person or organisation has and can use d the use of nuclear processes to generate heat and electricity e animals or plants grouped together based on similar characteristics f a gas breathed out by humans and animals or produced by burning fossil fuels g the amount of gas, heat, light that is discharged h a place where large amounts of waste are buried under the ground i the amount of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, produced by the activities of a person, company, organisation, etc. j a thinning of the layer of the upper atmosphere protecting the Earth k any naturally occurring source of energy, like biomass, solar, wind, tidal, wave, and hydroelectric power, that is not derived from fossil fuels l fuel, such as coal or gas, that was formed underground from plant and animal remains millions of years ago Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv