8. Summarize the texts of the unit.

9. Comment on the following quotations.

• The greatness of nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Mohandas Gandhi

• Treat the Earth well. It wasn’t given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children.

Lee Talbot

• If a tree dies, plant another in its place.

Carolus Linnaeus

Unit 2 global warming

1. Read the texts and be ready to discuss the causes of global warming and the ways of solving this problem.

Our planet’s atmosphere is warming up rapidly. Researchers are certain that emissions from human activities have caused this unnatural change. Using the latest computer models, their forecasts are worry about of what might global warming mean to our planet. Fortunately, everyone can be a part of the solution in slowing down global warming. It requires strong commitment from big corporations down to everyday people. This combined effort can make a significant difference.

You can make many changes in your daily life some that seem small, some less so — that cut back on the carbon emissions for which you’re responsible. You’re probably already familiar with many of the little steps you can take to be more climate friendly:

For making your home more energy efficient: insulate your roof, basement, and walls; seal your windows; replace your old light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. For reducing the amount of garbage you produce: take a reusable bag with you when you have shopping, buy unpackaged goods, recycle and reuse materials. For using energy wisely: turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them, use the air conditioner less in summer, and turn down the heat in winter.

Causes of Global Warming

There is no question that everyone is feeling the effects of global warming. The government agencies are scrambling to find means to stop it from escalating into an uncontrollable situation that may see the total destruction of the planet. And so far, all possible solutions lead scientists and environmental experts to ask one important question – what is causing global warming? Finding out the source of the problem is the most effective way of solving it. In the case of global warming, it might be too late to stop it from happening or even reverse it but knowing what to avoid doing is essential nonetheless to efforts being done to save human lives. The last thing anyone would like to do is to aggravate the situation. This is why learning and studying facts that directly impacts the behavior of the environment are key elements in establishing these global warming causes.

Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels Coal powered plants emit 93% of the carbon dioxide generated from production of electricity in the US alone. And over 40% of the total carbon emission comes from power production which is vital to a highly industrialized country such as America. With technology becoming more efficient, more power hungry devices are expected to come out of factories in the near future which mean in order to avoid totally destroying the earth’s atmosphere, more environmentally friendly power source need to be found quickly. Failure would mean we can just stop right here in naming the lead to what is causing global warming.