6. Use these words to complete the sentences:

1. During the last hundred years we have done great ………to the environment.

2. There’s a large chemical ………in our town which polluted the river twice in the last year.

3. The Government is very worried about the ………of our rivers and beaches.

4. A lot of household ………like bottles and newspapers can be ………and used again.

5. ………are furious with the American Government for delaying measures which will reduce greenhouse gas ………

6. There lots of things we can all do to ………the environment.

7. List of problems

• Water pollution

• Air pollution

• Litter

• Destruction of the rainforests

• Drought

• Ozone layer destruction

• Radiation

• Acid rains

• Global warming

8. What causes the damage? Brainstorm ideas!

9. Match the beginnings of the sentences with their endings. Highlight the things that damage the environment.

1. The Government is introducing strict new rules

2. Farmers contribute to environmental damage

3. Emissions from factories in northern Germany

4. Tropical rainforests have always helped to keep the environment in balance

5. Exhaust fumes from cars and other vehicles cause

1. but recent deforestation means they no longer absorb as much carbon dioxide as they used to.

2. by spraying crops with pesticides.

3. affect the environment in large parts of Scandinavia.

4. on the dumping of toxic waste by industry.

5. a great deal of damage to the environment.

10. Use these words in the sentences of your own, concerning your city.

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

global

greenhouse

ozone

acid

rain

warming

effect

layer

12. Now use the phrases in the following sentences:

1. The gradual rise in the earth temperature is known as ………

2. When heat gets trapped in the earth atmosphere, it is known as the ………

3. Scientists have found holes in the ………, particularly over Antarctica.

4. Rain mixed with toxic chemicals from factories is known as ………

13. Look at the pictures in 14. What do they make you think of?

14. Read the title of the text. What do you think it is about? Write two questions you expect to be answered in the text.

Introduction: Planet Under Pressure

Planet Under Pressure is a six-part BBC News Online series looking at some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the human race today.

By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent

We are a successful breed. Our advance from our hominid origins has brought us near-dominance of the world, and a rapidly accelerating understanding of it.

Scientists now say we are in a new stage of the Earth's history, the Anthropocene Epoch, when we ourselves have become the globe's principal force. Pic. 26

But several eminent scientists are concerned that we have become too successful - that the unprecedented human pressure on the Earth's ecosystems threatens our future as a species.

We confront problems more intractable than any previous generation, some of them at the moment apparently insoluble.