Prime Time 8. Coursebook plus Semester Self-checks, Schulbuch

Our environmental footprint a) Read the quotations on these two pages and talk about them with a partner. • State the focus of each statement. • Discuss how these people might have come to their conclusions. • Whose point of view can you understand best and why? b) • Compare and contrast the second and third picture on this page. • Discuss what has changed in human behaviour over the last few decades. • Suggest measures to imporove the situation. 1 Word bank acid rain • cause • caution • contamination • disposal • erosion • harmful • reckless • regulation • restriction • sewage • troublesome • upset W According to a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), if every individual and company globally doesn’t reduce their carbon footprint, in less than 30 years two planet Earths will be needed to support life on Earth. “Individuals can take action by pressuring their government to do something, but I don’t think my turning off the lights or driving less will do anything.” Fang Jie (27-year-old in Shanghai, China) In addition to his work as an actor, director and producer, Robert Redford has been a noted environmentalist and activist since the early 1970s. He has been involved in many pieces of environmental legislation. “I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as impor- tant as defense abroad. Otherwise, what is there to defend?” Robert Redford (*1936, US actor and environmentalist) 20 Unit Internet resources ap4658 Saving the planet 2 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv