2. Here are the answers to some questions. Work out the questions:

1. Acid rain can damage crops, forests, soil.

2. Acid rain pollutans travel long distances .

3. Animals and plants used to living at low temperatures can be killed by heated water.

4. Solid wastes present a serious problem.

5. It took thousands of years to form the soil supporting crops.

6. Noises influence high blood pressure and can lead to ulcers and other illnesses.

7. Carbon dioxide allows sunlight to warm the earth.

8. The greenhouse effect permanently raises temperature on the earth.

9. High temperature of the atmosphere at global warming melts the polar icecaps and causes floods.

10. Winds blow pollutants off the land into the air.

3. Continue the list of causes of environmental pollution and explain the ways in which people pollute their surroundings:

1. Poor sanitation facilities

2. Bad carburettors

3. …

TEXT 9 C

1. Renewable sources of energy mean that the sources can be used forever to create energy; non-renewable means that the source is limited and that one day it will come to an end. Consider the following types of energy and decide whether they are renewable or non-renewable:

1. wind power	4. coal
2. water power	5. solar power (from the sun)
3. gas	6. oil

2. Skim the text and check your answers:

Energy and the environment

Energy and the environment are closely linked.

We hear so much these days about acid rain, smog, global warming, and the greenhouse effect that it can be overwhelming. But the fact is there are many things we can do as individuals which will make a significant difference. And remember, there are about 50 million of us in Ukraine who can make that difference.

Our atmosphere traps heat; some of the gases in our air prevent the heat that arrives from the sun from returning to space. But excess amounts of these heat-trapping gases could affect our climate by global warming. We add to greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, in our normal, everyday life by burning fossil fuels-gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas, coal and propane.

The more fuel we use, the more carbon dioxide we produce. Carbon dioxide is responsible for about half of global warming: (Carbon dioxide – 49%, nitrous oxide – 6%, methane – 18%, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – 14%; other gases – 13%).

Greenhouse gases are derived from human activity. We all can do a great deal to help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that we cause.

We can reduce emissions by conserving energy or using energy more efficiently in all of these areas. We can drive our cars less, use less energy to heat and cool our homes, use less electricity at peak hours.

Common sources of energy

Coal, petroleum and natural gas are called fossil fuels. These fuels come from plants and animals that died millions of years ago. In the ground, the carbon in these decayed plants and animals remains inert. However, when we burn fossil fuels to produce useful heat, we produce carbon dioxide and thus increase its presence in atmosphere.

Nuclear energy does not depend on fossil fuels. Uranium, the fuel used in nuclear reactors, is a metal. Atoms of uranium are split, producing heat that is used to make electricity. Uranium is non-renewable, but contains no carbon and gives off no carbon dioxide.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable: use them once and they are gone forever. There are alternative sources of energy that are renewable: the sun = solar energy, the wind = wind power, the earth = geothermal energy, water = hydropower, waste = biomass.

3. You have been invited to take part in the next session of the TV Discussion Club “Scientific and technological progress – for and against it.” You are: a) journalist, b) car designer, c) environmental engineer, d) representative of the Green Party, e) director of a power plant. Use the information of Unit 9 as well as other sources. Be sure your statements are supported with arguments, facts, figures and quotations.

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Text 9 D