Look at the image that was not mentioned in the article. What do you think it shows and how might it work? Read more about it on p. 213. After could and would, we can use an active or a passive infinitive. Complete the gap. Language focus Active and passive infinitives 4 a b Active: The apparatus would extract carbon dioxide. Passive: Carbon dioxide would The article below describes four of the ideas. Which involves: ■■ reducing CO2 levels? ■■ absorbing the sun’s heat? ■■ deflecting the sun’s rays? b Climate change is being experienced everywhere in the world, and just reducing carbon emissions – even if it finally happens – will not be enough anymore. More and more companies and start-ups are beginning to invest in more radical inventions that might save us from disaster by actually putting the greenhouse effect into reverse. One scientist is proposing 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 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 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 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 CO2 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. Find more examples of each type in the article on p. 213. Cover the article above and complete the sentences. Choose an active or passive infinitive, using the verbs on the right. 1 Giant sunshade: the sunshades would , so the temperature of the atmosphere would . 2 Sulphur rockets: the sulphur would , and it would . 3 Pumping sea water: this would . The sun’s rays would . 4 Plankton farms: plankton would . The plankton could . Read the article again. Did it use the verbs you chose? Consider each of the five proposals to fight global warming in turn. 1 Do you think it is likely to work? 2 Do you think it would help combat global warming? 3 In which proposals would cost or energy consumption be a problem? c 5 a release reflect block absorb deflect reduce form feed increase deflect a small percentage of the sun’s rays back into space b Speaking 6 98 Language skills Extras Explore 8 Saving the world Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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