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the rest of the group, you are residents (you will have to prepare some questions to the speakers).

The information below can be helpful.

Climate change: Uncharted waters?

By Alex Kirby

BBC News Online environment correspondent

Pic. 32. Many water-scarce regions now will probably become thirstier

As part of Planet Under Pressure, a BBC News series looking at some of the biggest environmental problems facing humanity, Alex Kirby explores the implications of climate change.

Climate change is our biggest environmental challenge said the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair. His chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, called it a far greater global threat than international terrorism.

It is certainly possible that warming temperatures could take the Earth into uncharted waters, even though nobody can say exactly how fast it may happen and who will be most affected.

Life on Earth exists only because of the natural greenhouse effect, the ability of the atmosphere to retain enough heat for species to thrive (and no more).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a consortium of several thousand independent scientists, says rising levels of industrial pollution are unnaturally enhancing this effect, with increasing amounts of heat trapped near the Earth instead of escaping into space.

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The main culprits, it says, are the burning of fossil fuels - oil, coal and gas - and changes in land use.

The chief greenhouse gas from human activities is carbon dioxide (CO2). Before the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were about 270-280 parts per million (ppm).

They now stand at almost 380ppm, and have been rising at about 1.5ppm annually.

Rising temperatures

The consequence of increasing CO2 and other pollutant levels will be higher average global temperatures, meaning unpredictable weather, rising sea levels, and perhaps runaway heating as the whole climate system slips out of gear.

Scientists predict that if we go on as we are, by 2100 global sea levels will probably have risen by 9 to 88cm and average temperatures will be between 1.5 and 5.5C higher than now.

That may not sound very much - but the last Ice Age was only 4-5C colder than today.

The sceptics are unmoved. Some say the human influence on the climate is negligible, and that isolating one small variable, CO2 and other greenhouse gas levels, in an immensely complex natural system is meaningless.

Others insist such measurements are flawed and the predictions unreliable. Yet others believe a warmer world would be better for most of us.

They are entirely right to argue that there are still many uncertainties about the climate and any influence we may have on it.

Sobering facts

But many who were once sceptics now accept that enhanced climate change is happening, and that we have to respond - not necessarily by trying to reduce its extent but by adapting to its effects.

Part of the problem is that climate change is now part of the stuff of science fiction, with Hollywood and some campaign groups alike feeding scare stories that owe little, if anything, to scientific fact.

But the facts are sobering enough. We know that average global surface temperatures have risen by 0.6C in the last 140 years.

All of the 10 warmest years have occurred since 1990, including each year since

1997. The possibilities are sobering too.

Many water-scarce regions now will probably become thirstier.

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Some countries may be able to produce bigger harvests, but in others yields will drop. Sea level rise may make many coastal areas uninhabitable.

Weather patterns may change, producing more heat waves, droughts, floods and violent storms.

Aid agencies are warning that these combined effects could seriously jeopardise attempts to lift the world's poorest people out of poverty. Furthermore, there is also the possibility of "positive feedbacks"- for example, higher temperatures may release more methane from the Arctic tundra and CO2 from peat bogs, which will themselves speed up the warming process.

Then there is the inertia of the atmosphere and the oceans.

Pic. 33. If we could halt all greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow, the heating would continue for decades or more

Delayed effect

If somehow we could halt all greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow, the heating would continue for decades or centuries.

What we do today may literally determine how long the Greenland icecap survives - even though, at fastest, it will still take a good few centuries to disappear.

And wildlife, less equipped to adapt than humans, could be hit hard. One estimate suggests hundreds of thousands of species may be at risk of extinction by 2050 because of climate change.

Creating worldwide consensus on this global problem is difficult, not least because of the economic cost of cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.

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The Kyoto Protocol, which commits rich countries to reducing emissions, is a small but necessary start on building an international system for tackling climate change, its proponents believe.

But the country responsible for about a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, the US, has refused to sign up to it.

The protocol does not require developing countries to cut their emissions, although fast-industrialising countries like China will soon be significant contributors as those in poor nations increasingly demand rich world lifestyles.

For them, emissions cuts could have significant social costs in slowing the growth that feeds economic development, creates jobs and helps lift the poor out of poverty.

A prudent look at the evidence, preliminary though it is, suggests we shall be wise to err on the side of caution.

Dr Geoff Jenkins, of the UK Met Office's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, said recently: "Over the last few decades there's been much more evidence for the human influence on climate.

"We've reached the point where it's only by including human activity that we can explain what's happening."

And what's happening now could lead to a world beyond our experience

Pic. 34. Hundreds of thousands of species may be at risk of extinction by 2050

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Economy

1.The Russian Federation

1.Study the following country profile and make up as many questions as you can:

Full name: Russian Federation Population: 142.5 million (UN, 2007)

Capital: Moscow

Area: 17 million sq km (6.6 million sq miles)

Major language: Russian

Major religions:Christianity, Islam

Life expectancy: 59 years (men), 73 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 rouble = 100 kopecks

Main exports: Oil and oil products, natural gas, wood and wood prod-

ucts, metals, chemicals, weapons and military equipment GNI per capita: US $4,460 (World Bank, 2006)

Internet domain: .ru International dialling code: +7

President: Dmitry Medvedev (2008)

2. Make up sentences using the information above and the words in the box:

ex. The full name of our country is the Russian Federation.

3.Make a dialogue about our country profile with your partner using your own sentences and questions from the previous exercises.

4.Choose the words concerning the geographical location of some country:

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5.Use these words to complete the sentences:

1)Russia is the largest … in the world.

2)The … in Russia is very rich.

3)Russia is extremely rich in … .

4)The country impresses with its … and size.

5)The climate ranges from the Arctic north to the generally ... south.

6)The Russian Federation occupies the first place in the world for its

….

7)Most of Russia consists of vast stretches of … that are predominantly

…to the south and heavily forested to the north, with … along the northern coast.

6.Match a word on the left with a word on the right to make common expressions:

7.Now use the phrases in the following sentences:

1.The Russian Federation is a ... extending over much of northern Eurasia.

2.It is a ... comprising 83 … .

3.Russia has the world's greatest reserves of mineral and …, and is considered an … .

4.Russia has the world's largest … and its lakes contain unfrozen … .

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5.Russian … are a major contributor to the world's fish supply.

6.Russia possesses 10% of the world's … .

7.The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of … is Lake Baikal.

8.Read the text, translate it and check up your answers.

Pic. 35

The Russian Federation is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia. Russia shares land borders with the following countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It also borders the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Caspian Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea. Russia is close to the United States (Alaska) and Japan.

At 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. Russia has the world's greatest reserves of mineral and energy resources, and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's unfrozen fresh water.

The Russian Federation with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broadleaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate.

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Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,642 m / 18,511 ft) and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes on Kamchatka. The Ural Mountains form a north-south range that divides Europe and Asia, rich in mineral resources. Russia possesses 10% of the world's arable land.

Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water, providing it with one of the world's largest surface water resources. The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world's deepest, purest, most ancient and most capacious freshwater lake. Other major lakes include Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, two largest lakes in Europe. Of Russia's 100,000 rivers, The Volga is the most famous—not only because it is the longest river in Europe but also because of its major role in Russian history. Europe's biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers (the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena) flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.

On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate. It ranges from the Arctic north to the generally temperate south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.

9. Answer the questions:

1)Where is the Russian Federation situated?

2)What oceans is our country washed by?

3)Can you name any seas, which Russia is washed by?

4)What is the total area of the country?

5)What countries does the Russian Federation border on in the west (in the east)?

6)What can you say about the relief in Russia?

7)What mountain chains are there on the territory of our country?

8)What sea does the Europe's biggest river flow into?

9)What is the world's deepest lake famous for?

10)What types of climate are there in Russia?

11)What mineral resources is Russia rich in?

10. Tell about geographical location and mineral resources of our country using your answers.

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11. Match a word on the left with a word on the right to make common expressions and translate them:

12. Match these expressions with their definitions.

1)competition and mutual restraint among the various branches of government;

2)submission of an issue of public importance to the direct vote of the electorate;

3)an agreement, entered into by individuals, that results in the formation of the state or of organized society, the prime motive being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some or all personal liberties;

4)a formal agreement or contract between two or more states, such as an alliance or trade arrangement;

5)to assign officially, as for a position, responsibility.

13. Study the following words from the text: adopt – (официально) принимать (что-л.); bicameral – двухпалатный;

branch – ветвь; chamber – палата;

checks and balances – сдержки и противовесы; constitutional crisis – кризис конституционной власти; declare war – объявить войну;

deem – книжн. полагать, считать; executive power – исполнительная власть; legal document – юридический документ; legislative power – законодательная власть; overturn – опровергать;

power of the purse – право кошелька;

representative democracy – представительная демократия; supreme – верховный, высший;

wherein – книжн. где.

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