Listening 4.1. Arctic Ocean ice could melt by 2013

Climate change

2. accumulation

3. to affect

4. agricultural zones

5. carbon dioxide

6. chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

7. climate change

8. climatic zone

9. concentration

10. crop (yields)

11. to cut down trees

12. deforestation

13. desertification

14. to degrade

15. to deplete

16. drought

17. ecosystem

18. environment

19. flood

20. fresh water supplies

21. glacier

22. global warming

23. greenhouse effect

24. greenhouse gases

25. lower atmosphere

26. mean surface temperature

27. to melt, melting

28. to perturb

29. polar ice caps

30. pole

31. potable water

32. precipitation

33. rainfall

34. raw water supplies

35. sanitation

36. sea level (rise)

37. shift

38. storms

39. vulnerability

Pollution

1. aerosol sprays

2. agricultural wastes

3. anthropogenic

4. buildup

5. to burn waste

6. to bury, burial

7. byproducts

8. chemical fertilizer

9. chemical reaction

10. chemicals

11. to classify

12. to compost

13. concern

14. container

15. contamination

16. DDT

17. to deposit

18. dump

19. to emit, emission

20. environmental movement

21. flammable

22. fumes

23. garbage

24. groundwater

25. harmful substances

26. hazardous

27. to incinerate, incinerator

28. industrial wastes

29. internal combustion engine

30. land pollution

31. landfill

32. to leak, leakage

33. motor vehicle

34. nuclear wastes

35. pests

36. pollutant

37. pollution control technologies

38. radioactive

39. to recycle wastes

40. refuse

41. to release

42. repository

43. respiratory disease

44. rubbish

45. sewage

46. sewage-treatment solids

47. sewer (systems)

48. solid wastes

49. to store waste

50. sulfur

51. toxic wastes

Species Extinction

1. to accelerate

2. ancestral

3. to become extinct, extinction

4. breeding programs

5. descendant

6. to die out

7. endangered species

8. evolution

9. game (species)

10. habitat

11. in the wild

12. line

13. living organism

14. national park

15. natural selection

16. overexploitation of biological resources

17. overhunting

18. poaching

19. preserve

20. Red Data Book

21. reintroduction

22. to reproduce

23. reserve

24. species

25. species loss

26. specimen

27. to be suited

28. to survive

29. viable population

30. wildlife

Alternative Sources of Energy

1. active volcanism

2. carbon dioxide

3. coal

4. coastal regions

5. coastal waters

6. combustion

7. electric power

8. exploit sources

9. fossil fuels

10. gasoline

11. generate electricity

12. generator

13. geothermal energy

14. geyser

15. hot springs

16. hydrocarbons

17. hydroelectric power

18. inexhaustible

19. land drainage

20. natural gas

21. nonpolluting

22. nuclear energy

23. oil

24. petroleum

25. pollution-free sources

26. power plant

27. power sources

28. to produce electric power

29. to radiate, radiation

30. to refine oil

31. renewable energy

32. solar batteries

33. solar energy

34. solar heating systems

35. steam

36. tidal power

37. uranium

38. utilization

39. water turbines

40. wave power

41. wind power

42. wind turbines

43. windmill

CLIMATE CHANGE

Before you read think over the following questions:

- What are the most important environmental problems nowadays?

- Why have all countries got concerned about climate change?

- What is being done bythe internationa community to prevent negative consequences of climate change for our planet?

Human societies over the ages have depleted natural resources and degraded their local environments. Populations have also modified their local climates by cutting down trees or building cities. It is now apparent that human activities are perturbing the climate system at the global scale. Climate change is likely to have wide-ranging and potentially serious health consequences.

Global climate change is caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere. The global concentration of these gases is increasing, mainly due to human activities, such as the combustion of fossil fuels (which release carbon dioxide) and deforestation (because forests remove carbon from the atmosphere). The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, has increased by 30 percent since preindustrial times. This phenomenon is traditionally called greenhouse effect.

It is estimated that global mean surface temperaturewill rise by 1.5° to 3.5° C by 2100. This rate of global warming is significant. Large changes in precipitation, both increases and decreases, are forecast, largely in the tropics. Climate change is very likely to affect the frequency and intensity of weather events, such as storms and floods, around the world. Climate change will also cause sea level rise due to the thermal expansion of the oceans and the melting of the mountain glaciers and polar ice caps. Global mean sea level is anticipated to rise by 15 to 95 centimeters by 2100. Sea level rise will increase vulnerability to coastal flooding and storm surges. The faster the climate change is, the greater will be the risk of damage to the environment. Climatic zones (and thus ecosystems and agricultural zones) could shifttoward the poles by 150 to 550 kilometers by 2100. Many ecosystems may decline or fragment, and individual species may become extinct.

Climate change will increase the risk of both floods and droughts. It may affect human health dramatically. Human health depends on an adequate supply of potable water. By reducing fresh water supplies, climate change may affect sanitation and lower the efficiency of local sewer systems, leading to increased concentrations of pathogens in raw water supplies. Climate change may also reduce the water available for drinking and washing. Current assessments of the impact of climate change indicate that some regions are likely to benefit from increased agricultural productivity while others may suffer reductions, according to their location and dependence on the agricultural sector. Substantial changes in crop yields under climate change are also predicted.

Listening 4.1. Arctic Ocean ice could melt by 2013

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 866