Saving the environment

People are becoming (1) …….. worried about	INCREASE
the (2) …….. of the environment,	POLLUTE
(3) …….. the burning of fossil fuel, which contributes to	PARTICULAR
(4) …….. warming. Indeed, if the Earth was to warm by as little as 2°C, many parts of the world	GLOBE
would become (5) …….. due to flooding.	INHABITABLE
There would also be massive (6) …….. problems as farmers	AGRICULTURE
tried to feed the growing (7) …….. in a changing climate.	POPULATE
(8) …….. agree that urgent measures have to be taken to prevent a world-wide catastrophe. They have drawn up a list	SCIENCE
of (9) …….. which have been issued to	RECOMMEND
(10) …….. in the hope that they will bring about	GOVERN
the (11) …….. that are urgently needed.	DISCUSS

2.11. Read the text Recycling Britain and answer the questions after it.

Recycling britain

By 2000, half the recoverable material in Britain’s dustbins will be recycled – that, at least, was the target set by Chris Patten, Secretary of State for the Environment. But he gave no clues as to how we should go about achieving it. While recycling enthusiasts debate the relative merits of different collection systems, it will largely be new technology, and the opening up of new markets, that makes Patten’s target attainable: a recycling scheme is successful only if manufacturers use the recovered materials in new products that people want to buy.

About half, by weight, of the contents of the typical British dustbin is made up of combustible (capable of burning) materials. These materials comprise 33% paper, 7% plastics (a growing proportion), 4% textiles and 8% miscellaneous combustibles.

Of the rest, hard non-combustibles (metals and glass) each make up another 10%, and ‘putrescibles’, such as potato peelings and cabbage stalks, account for 20%, although this proportion is decreasing as people eat more pre-prepared foods. This final fraction is ‘fines’ – nameless dust. This mixture is useless to industry, and in Britain most of it is disposed of in landfill sites – suitable holes, such as worked-out quarries, in which the waste is buried under layers of soil and clay. That still leaves about 40% of the mixture – glass containers, plastics, and some paper and metal containers – as relatively clean when discarded. This clean element is the main target for Britain’s recyclers.

The first question, then, is how best to separate the clean element from the rest. The method of collection is important because manufacturers will not reuse collected material unless it is clean and available in sufficient quantities. A bewildering assortment of different collection schemes operates in the rest of Europe, and pilot schemes are now under way in many British cities including Leeds, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Cardiff. Sheffield, Cardiff and Dundee are testing out alternatives as part of a government-monitored recycling project initiated last year by Friends of the Earth.

A realistic target for recycling mixed refuse is somewhere between 15 and 25% by weight, according to researchers at the Department of Trade and Industry’s Warren Spring Laboratory. This proportion would include metals and perhaps some glass. Statistics compiled by researchers at the University of East Anglia show that we could almost halve the total weight of domestic waste going to landfill by a combination of ‘collect’ schemes (such as doorstep collections for newspapers), ‘bring’ schemes (such as bottle banks) and plants for extracting metals.

This estimate makes two important assumptions. One is that the government will bring in legislation to encourage the creation of markets for products made from recycled materials, especially glass, paper and plastics. The other is that industry will continue to introduce new technology that will improve both the products and the techniques used to separate recoverable materials from mixed refuse.

► 1. In paragraph 1, the writer suggests that the Secretary of State for the Environment has:

a) created an impossible target.

b) provided a target without a method.

c) given clear details of how to achieve a target.

d) given manufacturers a target to aim for.

2. Correspond the facts with the following numbers in paragraph 2: 33%, 7%, 4%. Which proportion is growing?

3. ‘This mixture is useless to industry’ (paragraph 3). This statement is:

a) true for Britain but not for other countries.

b) a matter of disagreement.

c) the opinion of the author.

d) an established fact.

4. Look at paragraph 4 and

a) find British cities mentioned in it;

b) explain the phrases a pilot project, a recycling project.

5. Look at paragraph 5 and say which words have the opposite meaning to:

a) industrial waste b) part c) probably

6. Look at paragraph 6 and say whether these statements are true (T) or false (F).

a) The government wants to reduce recycling things like paper and plastic.

b) Industry is encouraged to create new technological processes to create new technological processes for recycling.

7. According to the text, recycling is only possible when:

a) there is enough clean material.

b) there is a small amount of clean material.

c) it is monitored by the government.

d) different collection schemes operate.

2.12. The following text will introduce you to the topic of tropical rainforests. The words are given in the order in which they appear in the passage. The definitions are also given. Check that you know what they mean.

wealth – richness

habitat – place where animals and plants normally live

species – a kind of an animal or plant

layer – one thickness of material laid over a surface

merge – join together

birds of prey – birds that kill animals for food

canopy – the leaves and branches of trees, that make a kind of roof in a forest

abundant – plentiful

sparse – rare

shrub – a small bush

herb – a small plant

elusive – illusory

ash – grey powder remaining after burning

vital – very important for life

raw materials – natural substances such as coal, iron, oil, gas

aid – help