ESP Reading Comprehension Environment

1st
Edition
1
EASY FLUENCY E.S.P.
first edition has been developed and put together by an ESL/EFL instructor over the necessity to
have a material that can be effective in the language acquiring skills by any student in a short
period of time.
This material has been put together for students with specific needs who are looking forward for
reading comprehension skills acquiring.
No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the
prior permission of the publisher or its authors.
Editor, Project Manager and Designer: Anderson Romanhuk
Dedication and Thanks
I would like to dedicate this work to my three children, Camila my little and eternal princess
(she will be forever), to my oldest, Rodrigo, who makes me so proud and my little one Nicholas
who came to change my life in so many ways. I love you all. And say thanks to God who has
given me the strength so many times when I thought about giving up, He has kept me strong to
go all the way.
Course components
Student Book and Workbook
A list of technical texts to work specific vocabulary and context related to Environmental issues.
A list of questions has been provided for comprehension, and also spaces for creative text
review writing.
Unit Contents
Each Unit/Lesson, in Easy Fluency English for Specific Purpose has a text followed by some
exercises in comprehension of the language and some free exercises to practice the skills over
the topic presented in that lesson, being also possible for the instructor to add on extra activities.
Boston – MA – USA – 2004/2007 Miami, FL – USA – 2008/2010
Goiânia - GO – BRAZIL – 2011
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ENGLISH WITH ANDERSON ANDERSLIZZ2000@YAHOO.COM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Order Description Page
1 But Why all the Butts? 04
2 Activities 06
3 Pollution and its negative effects 10
4 Activities 11
5 Climate change and global warming 13
6 Activities 14
6 7 ways to protect the environment 16
7 Activities 17
8 Sustainable development 19
9 Activities 20
10 World Water Day 22
11 Activities 22
12 Earth Day 24
13 Activities 24
14 Bio fuels and the environment 26
15 Activities 27
16 The disappearing Honeybee 29
17 Activities 30
18 Pollution: Water, Air and Soil contamination 31
19 Activities 32
20 Eco communities – Dockside Green 34
21 Activities 35
22 How to feed a hungry world 37
23 Activities 40
24 Massing life 41
25 Activities 49
26 Carbon free in the USA? 51
27 Activities 54
28 This is your Ocean on acid 56
29 Activities 57
30 A shellfish story 58
31 Activities 60
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32 Swallowing emissions 61
33 Activities 62
34 Coral collapse 63
35 Activities 66
36 Piecemeal solutions 67
37 Activities 70
38 Resistant to change 71
39 Activities 74
40 Rising waters and political wrangling 75
41 Activities 78
42 Geothermal Powerhouse Kenya maximizes its potential 80
43 Activities 81
44 Solar Skylight harnesses the power of daylight 83
45 Activities 84
46 Sunscreen in the sky? 86
47 Activities 89
48 Intl. Agency calls for action on natural gas safety 91
49 Activities 96
50 Groundwater Depletion accelerates sea level rise 98
51 Activities 101
52 Climate change linked to waterborne diseases on Inuit 103
53 Activities 106
54 Tiles may help shrink carbon footprint 108
55 Activities 111
56 Vocabulary - Environment 113
57 Vocabulary - Natural Disasters, Politics and Verbs 115
58 Vocabulary - Environment in Context 116
59 300 palavras Inglesas comuns em Português 124
60 Técnicas de Leitura em inglês 125
61 Falsos Cognatos 128
62 Sentence Structure 130
63 Phrasal Verbs 133
3
But Why All the Butts?
Cigarette butts are litter, right?

Apparently not enough people think so.
I have a confession to make.

About once a month I sneak away from
the office to play a round of disc golf.
Some people call it Frisbee golf, but to
those of us who play it seriously, it's disc
golf. Anyway, if it's a nice morning, I'll
head to a nearby park to play a round of
eighteen. You see, as a writer, I often need to brainstorm topics to write about. What has
become a tradition for me is to play a round of golf and in the course of playing, figure out and
sort out some ideas. Getting away from the office into the great wide open gives me the chance
to open up my mind and (hopefully) come up with something good to write about.
Recently the idea was right at my feet. I have a bone to pick. Every hole on the course
has a tee box that is littered with cigarette butts. You'd think that a public park, of all places,
would be free of litter. However, for some reason some people don't perceive cigarette butts as
litter. I've never understood why that's the case.
Many smokers flick their butts out of cars; squash them on sidewalks, dispose of them
among the pine trees in public parks, etc. Most of these same people, though, wouldn't think of
tossing a drink can out of a car or smashing one on a sidewalk. In the case of disc golf, I doubt
that many of the butt disposers would discard an empty can at the tee of the third hole,
especially since there is a trash can right there (and recycle bins in different parts of the park,
too)! But for some unknown reason, the squashed butts don't seem to make it to those trash
cans. What people may not realize is that cigarettes don't biodegrade quickly. The filters on the
end of cigarettes take a long time to be absorbed by Nature.
Similarly, I don't think that any of Nature's family puts the butts to use in the "Circle of
Life." Ants with their Herculean strength don’t carry them back to their colonies. Birds don?t pad
their nests with filters. And squirrels don’t bury them to store for the cold winter months. Instead,
animals ignore them.
4
It seems like we people ignore them too. Imagine if cigarette butts were bright pink
instead of white. Do you think we'd tolerate tons of pink garbage on our roads, on our sidewalks,
and in our parks? I don't think so. Not only would pink cigarette butts literally stick out on a
sidewalk, they would also stick out in most people's minds as litter. Because there isn't the
perception that they're pollution, white cigarette butts go unnoticed for the most part. We ignore
them because we don't see them. Once you notice them, however, it seems as if they are
everywhere. To me, white butts may not butt into my field of vision as much as pink butts would,
but they still scar the landscape. Hopefully you share that opinion. Something must be done,
however, to help others see cigarette butts as pollution.
I remember when I was a little kid there was a commercial that showed an elderly Native
American on a horse looking down into a valley polluted with all kinds of garbage. Then the
camera cut to a close-up of the old man to show a tear slowly roll down his face. Talk about
guilt! Talk about shame! Even though I never littered, I still felt guilty for what everyone had done
to spoil the land. I don't know how anyone who saw that commercial could have even
considered polluting.
Maybe a plan to decrease the butts should put guilt and shame to use. My apologies to
Hester Prynne (the protagonist in The Scarlet Letter who is shamed and humiliated in hopes of
teaching her and others a lesson), but sometimes guilt and shame can be a good thing.
Cigarette smokers have come under fire for secondhand smoke in public places. Guilt over the
health hazards and the discomfort to others worked, in part, to convince smokers to be
considerate of non-smokers. Many of the laws regarding smoking in public places have been
enacted in the last decade or so.
Similarly, public pressure on cigarette companies compelled them to admit to the

addictive nature of cigarettes. With that public pressure and shame building, the tobacco
companies negotiated a deal with many states to pay a hefty penalty with part of the money to
be used for youth anti-smoking campaigns. A lot has happened lately on the smoking side, so
maybe now something will happen on the disposing side of things. I don't think we need any
government action to take a bite out of the butts we see in public places. Instead, we need
awareness. We need to be aware that cigarette butts are litter - pollution - blight on our
landscape.
5
Maybe a sprinkle of guilt and shame will also help bring about a change in butt
perceptions. Those who flick and squash their butts in an improper place should at least feel
guilty about it. How we accomplish that depends on the people involved. Perhaps it'll take a
tear, or it might even require an elderly Native American.
Who knows - maybe next time I sneak away from the office to play disc golf, the squirrels
and I won't have to wonder what the park would look like without the butt factor.
Quiz Questions
1. Why does the author say that the idea for a subject to write about was right at his feet?
a) because there were butts on the ground next to his feet

b) because he plays disc golf to figure out what to write about
c) because he threw his cigarette butts down on the ground
d) because he always walks only looking down at his feet
2. How does the author say a drink can is different from a cigarette butt?
a) He says a can is often considered litter by people but a cigarette butt is not.
b) He says a can is able to be recycled and used again in the "Circle of Life."
c) He says that though a can can be smashed, a cigarette butt is still much smaller.
d) all of the above
3. Of the following, who is most likely to have Herculean strength?
a) someone who plays disc golf

b) having extraordinary power
c) the author of The Tales of Hercules
d) a professional football player
4. How did the commercial with the Native American in it affect the author?
a) It showed a Native American with a tear rolling down his face as he looked at pollution.
b) It made him feel horrible about the way in which people had spoiled the land with litter.
c) It changed the author's feelings on litter, making him stop littering in any more valleys.
d) all of the above
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5. Why does the author say that laws on smoking in public places have been enacted in the
last ten years?
a) because people became more concerned that secondhand smoke was unhealthy
b) because cigarette butts are not a concern in public places because of trash cans
c) because cigarette companies have had to pay fines and penalties to many states
d) because the 1990s was a decade that crime rates were down, so laws changed
6. The author's mood changes at the end of the essay. Which of the following statements
best describes the mood of the author at the end of the essay?
a) He is angry about all of the cigarette butts.

b) He is confused that butts are considered litter.
c) He is hopeful that the condition will change.
d) He is sad over the litter's effects on Nature.
Quiz Questions
1. Why does the author go to the park to play disc golf?
a) He noticed cigarette butts were on the ground near the tees.

b) The office is not the best environment to think creatively.
c) He goes to figure out why people don't think butts are litter.
d) The disc golf course is near his office, so it is a short drive.
2. Why does the author compare a cigarette butt to an aluminum can?
a) because both are located on the course in the park

b) because one biodegrades more quickly than the other
c) because both are forms of litter if they're on the ground
d) all of the above
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3. What does the "Circle of Life" mean in the context of the essay?
a) butts beginning as filters then travel full-circle and become waste

b) ants and squirrels all getting along with one another in the park
c) Mother Nature choosing not to notice certain types of pollution
d) things serving a purpose in Nature at all stages of their existence
4. What does the author mean when he says, "Not only would pink cigarette butts literally
stick out on a sidewalk; they would also stick out in most people's minds as litter"?
a) Pink cigarette butts would be an obvious form of litter to most people.

b) There aren't literally pink cigarettes, so they would obviously be litter.
c) If there were pink cigarette butts, people wouldn't like them to be pink.
d) The cigarette butts that he saw while playing disc golf were not pink.
5. Which of the following is a reason the author uses to explain the changes in laws about
smoking in public places?
a) many laws enacted in the last ten years

b) guilt over effects of secondhand smoke
c) harsh public reaction to cigarette butts
d) all the above
6. Which of the following best describes the mood of the author at the end of the essay?
a) He is angry about all of the cigarette butts.

b) He is confused that butts are considered litter.
c) He is hopeful that the condition will change.
d) He is sad over the litter's effects on Nature.
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Pollution and its Negative Effects
Pollution is the
degradation of natural
environment by external
substances introduced
directly or indirectly.
Human health, ecosystem
quality and aquatic and
terrestrial biodiversity may
be affected and altered
permanently by pollution.
Pollution occurs
when ecosystems cannot
get rid of substances
introduced into the environment. The critical threshold of its ability to naturally eliminate
substances is compromised and the balance of the ecosystem is broken.
The sources of pollution are numerous. The identification of these different pollutants and
their effects on ecosystems is complex. They can come from natural disasters or the result of
human activity, such as oil spills, chemical spills, nuclear accidents ... These can have terrible
consequences on people and the planet where they live: destruction of the biodiversity,
increased mortality of the human and animal species, destruction of natural habitat, damage
caused to the quality of soil, water and air ...
Preventing pollution and protecting the environment necessitate the application of the
principles of sustainable development. we have to consider to satisfy the needs of today without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This means that we should
remedy existing pollution, but also anticipate and prevent future pollution sources in order to
protect the environment and public health. Any environmental damage must be punishable by
law, and polluters should pay compensation for the damage caused to the environment.
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Comprehension
1. The damage caused by pollution might be irreversible:
a. True
b. False
2. The ecosystem
a. can always cope with pollutants
b. may not always be able to cope with pollution.
3. Pollution
a. is always caused by humans.
b. may sometimes be caused by natural disasters.
4. An ideal solution to prevent pollution would be to
a. refrain the development of some countries.
b. continue developmental projects.
c . take into consideration the future generations need to live in a healthy environment.
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Benefits of Fasting
Climate change and global warming
Climate encompasses the

statistics of temperature, humidity,
atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall,
atmospheric particle count and other
meteorological elements in a given
region over a long period of time.
Climate can be contrasted to
weather, which is the present
condition of these same elements
and their variations over shorter time
periods.
Climate may be inherently variable as evidenced by the irregularity of the seasons from
one year to another. This variability is normal and may remain partially understood. It is related
to changes in ocean currents, volcanic eruptions, solar radiation and other components of the
climate system. In addition, our climate also has its extremes (such as floods, droughts, hail,
tornadoes and hurricanes), which can be devastating. However, in recent decades, a number of
indicators and studies show more and more evidence of climate warming across the globe. A
disturbing phenomenon that challenges human habits and activities which are responsible for
greenhouse gases emissions.
The green house effect - The greenhouse effect is the process by which
absorption and emission of infrared radiation by gases in the atmosphere warm a planet's lower
atmosphere and surface. It was proposed by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated
quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59
°F). But Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radioactive forcing from CO2, methane,
troposphere ozone, CFCs (chlorofluorocarbon) and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2
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and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since 1750. These levels are much
higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has
been extracted from ice cores. Over the last three decades of the 20th century, GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) per capita and population growth were the main drivers of increases in
greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 emissions are continuing to rise due to the burning of fossil
fuels and land-use change.
Consequences of global warming
There are two major effects of global warming: the increase of temperature on the earth
by about 3° to 5° C (5.4° to 9° Fahrenheit) by the year 2100 and Rise of sea levels by at least 25
meters (82 feet) by the year 2100. Other consequences are listed below:
• Sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to melting of land
ice.
• Amounts and patterns of precipitation are changing.
• The total annual power of hurricanes has already increased markedly since 1975
because their average intensity and average duration have increased.
• Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns increase the frequency, duration, and
intensity of other extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and tornadoes.
• Higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows,
species extinctions.
• Diseases like malaria are returning into areas where they have been extinguished earlier.
Sources: Wikipedia | Time for change
Comprehension:
1. Climate is by definition variable.
a. True b. False
2. Climate change observed in the last decades is natural.
a. True b. False
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3. Global warming is caused by industrialization.
a. True b. False
4. Greenhouse effects have no impacts on our health.
a. True b. False
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7 ways to protect the environment
We all want to protect our planet,

but we're mostly too busy or too lazy to put
up big change that would improve our
lifestyle and save the environment.
These are 7 simple habits to

implement in your everyday life which will
make a difference. There is nothing new
here but if you follow at least some of
these tips, you can be proud of yourself
participating in the protection of the
environment.
1. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs: It is true that these bulbs are more
expensive, but they last much longer and they can save energy and in the long term your
electricity bill would be reduced.
2. Donate: You have tons of clothes or things you want to get rid of. If they are
still usable, give them to someone who needs them. You may also choose to give them to
associations. These associations may sell them and collect a little money. Not only will you
protect the environment, but you will also contribute to a good cause.
3. Turn off your devices: When you do not use a house device, turn it off. For
example, if you don't watch TV, turn it off. Turn off the light when you leave a room (even if you
intend to return.) It's an easy habit to take up which will help you save a lot of money.
4. Walk or cycle: Driving is one of the biggest causes of pollution. If you want to
use your car, ask yourself the following question: do I really need my car? Walk or use your bike
if the journey is a short one.
5. Detergent: Follow the recommended dose of detergent to wash your clothes or

dishes.
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6. leaky faucets: Watch leaky faucets which can cause a significant increase in
the water bill. An average of 120 liters of water can be wasted due to a dripping faucet.
7. Rainwater: Think of recovering rainwater. This water can be used for different
purposes.
This list is far from being exhaustive but in addition to saving the environment, all these
tips will help you save money.
Comprehension:
1. Fluorescent light bulbs waste more energy
a. True b. False
2. Donate means:
a. give. b. take.
3. The 7 tips suggested
a. to save money. b. protect the environment.
c. to save money and protect the environment.
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Sustainable Development
Sustainable development
means different things to different
people, but the most frequently
quoted definition is from the report
Our Common Future (also known
as the Brundtland Report):
"Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs
of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own
needs."
Sustainable development focuses on improving the quality of life for all of the Earth's
citizens without increasing the use of natural resources beyond the capacity of the environment
to supply them indefinitely. It requires an understanding that inaction has consequences and
that we must find innovative ways to change institutional structures and influence individual
behavior. It is about taking action, changing policy and practice at all levels, from the individual
to the international.
Sustainable development is not a new idea. Many cultures over the course of human
history have recognized the need for harmony between the environment, society and economy.
What is new is an articulation of these ideas in the context of a global industrial and information
society.
Progress on developing the concepts of sustainable development has been rapid since
the 1980s. In 1992 leaders at the Earth Summit built upon the framework of Brundtland Report
to create agreements and conventions on critical issues such as climate change, desertification
and deforestation. They also drafted a broad action strategy—Agenda 21—as the work plan for
environment and development issues for the coming decades. Throughout the rest of the 1990s,
regional and sectarian sustainability plans have been developed. A wide variety of groups—
ranging from businesses to municipal governments to international organizations such as the
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World Bank—have adopted the concept and given it their own particular interpretations. These
initiatives have increased our understanding of what sustainable development means within
many different contexts. Unfortunately, as the Earth Summit +5 review process demonstrated in
1997, progress on implementing sustainable development plans has been slow.
Around the world we see signs of severe stress on our interlocked global economic,
environmental and social systems. As the United Nations Environmental Programme's GEO-
2000 report points out, the "time for a rational, well-planned transition to a sustainable system is
running out fast." And yet we continue to adopt a business-as-usual approach to decision-
making, which increases the chance that our global systems will crack and begin to crumble.
Already we are faced with full-scale emergencies through freshwater shortages, tropical forest
destruction, species extinction, urban air pollution, and climate change.
How do we quickly reverse these trends? In 1987 the World Commission on Environment
and Development recommended seven critical actions needed to ensure a good quality of life
for people around the world:
• Revive growth
• Change the quality of growth
• Meet essential needs and aspirations for jobs, food, energy, water and sanitation
• Ensure a sustainable level of population
• Conserve and enhance the resource base
• Reorient technology and manage risk
• Include and combine environment and economics considerations in decision-making
These recommendations are as valid today as they were when first written. They are a
call to change our actions and to do things differently.
Comprehension:
1. Sustainable development is:
a. a new concept, b. based on old ideas

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2. Sustainable development stresses upon:
a. the relationship between man and b. a development that takes into

development, consideration the needs of future
generations.
3. action to implement the concept of sustainable development is:
a. slow, b. already taking place at a reasonable

pace.
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21
World Water Day
World Water Day is

observed on March 22 since 1993.
It was declared as such by the
United Nations General Assembly.
This day was first formally
proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992
United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development
(UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Observance began in 1993 and
has grown significantly ever since.
The UN and its member nations devote this day to implementing UN recommendations
and promoting concrete activities within their countries regarding the world's water resources.
Each year, one of various UN agencies involved in water issues takes the lead in promoting and
coordinating international activities for World Water Day.
In addition to the UN member states, a number of NGOs promoting clean water and
sustainable aquatic habitats have used World Day for Water as a time to focus public attention
on the critical water issues of our era. Every three years since 1997, for instance, the World
Water Council has drawn thousands to participate in its World Water Forum during the week of
World Day for Water. Participating agencies and NGOs have highlighted issues such as a billion
people being without access to safe water for drinking and the role of gender in family access to
safe water.
Source: Wikipedia
Comprehension:
1. World Water Day was first proposed in 1993 in Rio de Janeiro.
a. True b. False
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2. Only UN member states are involved in the promoting World Water Day.
a. True. b. False.
3. Not everybody has access to drinking water.
a. True b. False
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Earth Day
Many countries around

the world celebrate Earth
Day. It is a day that is meant
to raise awareness and
appreciation about the Earth's
natural environment.
The first Earth Day

was held in the USA. It was
founded by United States
Senator Gaylord Nelson as
an environmental teach-in - a
sort of general educational
forum or seminar. That was
on April 22, 1970. While this
first Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes,
who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized
events in 141 nations.
Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in
more than 175 countries every year. Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire
week of activities focused on environmental issues. In 2009, the United Nations designated April
22 International Mother Earth Day. - Source: Wikipedia
Comprehension:
1. The first Earth Day was celebrated around the world
a. True b. False
2. The celebration became international thanks to Senator Gaylord Nelson
a. True b. False
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3. A few countries celebrate the Day
a. True b. False
4. The day is now coordinated by The earth Day Network at the international level
a. True b. False.
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25
Bio-fuels and the Environment
Leading investors have joined

the growing chorus of concern about
governments and companies rushing
into producing bio-fuels as a solution
for global warming, saying that many
involved in the sector could be
jeopardizing future profits if they do
not consider the long-term impact of
what they are doing carefully.
It is essential to build
sustainability criteria into the supply
chain of any green fuel project in
order to ensure that there is no adverse effect on the surrounding environment and social
structures. The report produced by the investors expresses concern that many companies may
not be fully aware of the potential pitfalls in the bio-fuel sector.
Production of corn and soya beans has increased dramatically in the last years as an
eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuels but environmental and human rights campaigners are
worried that this will lead to destruction of rain forests. Food prices could also go up as there is
increased competition for crops as both foodstuffs and sources of fuel. Last week, the UN
warned that bio-fuels could have dangerous side effects and said that steps need to be taken to
make sure that land converted to grow bio-fuels does not damage the environment or cause civil
unrest. There is already great concern about palm oil, which is used in many foods in addition to
being an important bio-fuel, as rain forests are being cleared in some countries and people
driven from their homes to create palm oil plantations.
An analyst and author of the investors' report says that bio-fuels are not a cure for climate
change but they can play their part as long as governments and companies manage the social
and environmental impacts thoroughly.
There should also be greater measure taken to increase efficiency and reduce demand.
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Questions
1 - ____ are worried about the boom in bio-fuels.
a) Few people
b) Many people
c) Only these leading investors
2 – Bio-fuel producers ____ know about the possible problems.
a) do not
b) might not
c) must not
3 - Environmentalists believe that increased production of corn and soya
a) has destroyed rain forests.

b) may lead to the destruction of rain forests.
c) will lead to the destruction of rain forests.
4 – Bio-fuels might
a) drive food prices up.

b) drive food prices down.
c) have little or no impact on food prices.
5 - The increased production of palm oil
a) just affects the environment.

b) just affects people.
c) affects both people and the environment.
6 - The author of the report says that bio-fuels
a) have no role to play in fighting global warming.

b) can be effective in fighting global warming on their own.
c) should be part of a group of measures to fight global warming.
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The Disappearing Honeybee
Do you run away when you hear a bee

buzzing? Many people do. A bee sting hurts and
some people are allergic to bee venom. But did
you know that bees are very important to humans?
Honeybees do more than just make honey. They
fly around and pollinate flowers, plants, and trees.
Our fruits, nuts, and vegetables rely on these
pollinators. One third of America's food supply is
pollinated by the honeybee.
Honeybees pollinate plants that give us fruit and vegetables.
Have you seen or heard a honeybee lately? Bees are mysteriously disappearing in
many parts of the world. Most people don't know about this problem. It is called Colony Collapse
Disorder (CCD). Some North American beekeepers lost 80% of their hives from 2006-2008.
Bees in Italy and Australia are disappearing too.
The disappearance of the honeybee is a serious problem. Can you imagine never eating
another blueberry? What about almonds and cherries? Without honeybees food prices will
skyrocket. The poorest people always suffer the worst when there is a lack of food.
Without honeybees, food prices will skyrocket.
This problem affects other foods besides fresh produce. Imagine losing your favourite
ice cream! Haagen Daaz is a famous ice cream company. Many of their flavours rely on the
hard working honey bee. In 2008 Haagen Daaz began raising money for CCD. They also
created a website called helpthehoneybee.com.
Donating money to research is the most important thing humans can do to save the
honeybees. Scientists need money to investigate the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder.
Some scientists blame CCD on climate change. Others think pesticides are killing the bees.
Commercial bee migration may also cause CCD. Beekeepers transport their hives from place to
place in order to pollinate plants year round.
29
Scientists need money to research the causes of CCD.
Not everyone has money to donate regularly. There are other ways to help the
honeybee. Spread the word, by telling your friends and family about the problem. Tell your
teacher about the disappearing bees too. Maybe your class can write a letter to the government.
Reading Comprehension Quiz
1. According to the article, the disappearance of honeybees is called _________________ .
2. According to the article, which famous company is very worried about CCD?
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3. What is the most important thing people can do to help honeybees?
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4. Moving honeybees from place to place is called _______________________________ .
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Pollution: Water, Air and Soil Contamination
Pollution is an environmental concern for

people throughout the world. One university study
suggests that pollutants in the water, air, and soil
cause up to 40 percent of the premature deaths in
the world's population. The majority of these deaths
occur in developing countries.
Infants and young children are the most

susceptible to waterborne diseases.
Water in many third world countries is contaminated with toxic chemicals, also known
as toxins. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.1 billion people have little or
no access to clean water. In many of these regions the water that is used for drinking, cooking,
and washing is the same water that is used for dumping sewage and hazardous waste. Most
developing countries cannot afford water treatment facilities. Approximately 80% of infectious
diseases in the world are caused by contaminated water.
Open stoves cause lung cancer in many parts of the world.
Air pollution is a growing problem throughout the world. Indoor air pollution is one of the
leading causes of lung cancer. Families in developing countries use open stoves for cooking
and heating their homes. These homes do not have proper ventilation. The smoke, which is full
of chemicals and carcinogens, gets trapped inside where families eat and sleep. Outdoor
pollution also causes disease and illness, especially in industrial cities such as Beijing, China,
where cancer is the leading cause of death. China relies heavily on coal, which is considered
the dirtiest source of energy. According to the European Union, only 1% of urban dwellers in
China breathe clean air on an average day. Neighboring countries including Japan and Korea
receive much of China's pollution in the form of acid rain. This pollution results mainly from the
coal powered factories, which produce inexpensive goods for North American and European
consumers. Outdoor air pollution is also a concern in many wealthy countries. Those who live
31
and work in urban centers such as Los Angeles or Toronto experience many warm days
beneath a layer of smog.
16 of the world's most polluted cities are in China.
Soil pollution is also a major concern, both in industrial and developing countries.
Pollutants such as metals and pesticides seep into the earth's soil and contaminate the food
supply. Soil pollution causes major health risks to entire ecosystems. This type of pollution
reduces the amount of land suitable for agricultural production and contributes to global food
shortages. Dumping of industrial and domestic waste products produces much of the world's
soil pollution, though natural disasters can also add to the problem. In wealthy countries such as
the US, protection agencies monitor the food supply. The public is generally warned before
major health outbreaks occur. Developing countries do not have this luxury. Farmers in poor
nations grow food in contaminated soil both to earn a living and to avoid starvation.
As more people move to urban centers, premature deaths caused by pollution are
expected to increase worldwide. Today, the developed nations who achieved their wealth at the
expense of the environment will be held accountable for protecting the earth's resources for
future generations.
Reading Comprehension Quiz
1 According to the article, what causes 40% of the world's premature deaths?
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2 What is the main reason people die of waterborne illnesses?

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3 Which is the main cause of lung cancer in third world countries?

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4 According to the article, where is cancer the leading cause of death?

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Eco-Communities: Dockside Green
The Green
movement is catching on in
many pockets of the world.
This is especially true in the
construction industry.
Today's buzz words, which
include global warming
and zero emissions, are
causing everyday people
(not just celebrities) to look
for ways to reduce their
carbon footprint. Purchasing property that is environmentally responsible is a good investment
for those who are concerned about their own health and the well-being of the earth. Based on
this trend, entire districts, known as eco-communities, are being designed with green initiatives
in mind. Dockside Green in Victoria, BC is one of these communities. Its goal is to become the
world's first zero emissions neighborhood.
Everyday people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
If everything goes according to plan, Dockside Green will be a self sufficient community
along the harbor front of British Columbia's capital city. The community will be home to 2500
people and will consist of residential, office, and retail space. The plans describe a variety of
environmental features, some of which are unprecedented.
Bamboo grows quickly without any need for pesticides.
Builders of Dockside Green have the environment in mind with every choice they make.
They ensure proper ventilation, and guarantee residents 100% fresh indoor air. Interior and
exterior building materials, such as paints and wood, are natural and non-toxic. Eco-conscious
builders use bamboo wherever possible because it is durable and does not require pesticides
to grow.
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People use 20% less energy when billed for individual household usage.
Energy efficiency is one of the top priorities in eco-communities, such as Dockside

Green. Not only do energy efficient appliances and light fixtures reduce the environmental
impact of heating and hot water, they also save residents and business owners money.
Dockside Green claims that home owners will use 55% less energy than average residents in
Canada. Though they are sharing space by investing in condo-style living, residents will have
individual utility meters. Studies show that people use approximately 20% less energy when
they are billed for exactly what they use. In addition, water is treated at Dockside Green and
reused on site for flushing toilets.
Planners of eco-communities such as Dockside Green must take the future into account.
Dockside Green plans on reusing 90% of its construction waste. They also plan to continue
using local suppliers for all of their transport and maintenance needs. This is a great way to
reduce emissions. Dockside residents will be encouraged to make use of a mini transit system
and buy into the community's car share program. Finally, plans are in the works for a high-tech
heating system that will use renewable biomass instead of fossil fuels.
The first residents of Dockside Green have already moved in. Other eco-communities are
also in the works. By the year 2050, Dongtan, located near Shanghai, will be an eco-
community for approximately half a million people. This community is being built around an
important wetland area that is currently threatened by urban pollution. Abu Dhabi is also gearing
up for the future. The Masdar Institute was established in Abu Dhabi to encourage the nation's
most intelligent students to become involved in environmental research. The Masdar goal is to
create the first eco-city, which hopes to operate as a zero-waste, zero-carbon, car-free city.
Reading Comprehension Questions
1 What is Dockside Green?

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2 Why is bamboo an environmentally friendly choice for builders?

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3 According to the article, what percentage of energy savings is there in condos with single
unit utility meters?
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4 What major issue does Dockside Green hope to address in the future?
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5 Why will Dongtan be so important near Shanghai?

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How to feed a hungry world
With the world's

population expected to grow
from 6.8 billion today to 9.1
billion by 2050, a certain
Malthusian alarmism has set
in: how will all these extra
mouths be fed? The world's
population more than doubled
from 3 billion between 1961
and 2007, yet agricultural
output kept pace — and current projections suggest it will continue to do so. Admittedly, climate
change adds a large degree of uncertainty to projections of agricultural output, but that just
underlines the importance of monitoring and research to refine those predictions. That aside, in
the words of one official at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations,
the task of feeding the world's population in 2050 in itself seems “easily possible”.
Easy, that is, if the world brings into play swathes of extra land, spreads still more
fertilizers and pesticides, and further depletes already scarce groundwater supplies. But clearing
hundreds of millions of hectares of wild-lands — most of the land that would be brought into use
is in Latin America and Africa — while increasing today's brand of resource-intensive,
environmentally destructive agriculture is a poor option. Therein lies the real challenge in the
coming decades: how to expand agricultural output massively without increasing by much the
amount of land used.
What is needed is a second green revolution — an approach that Britain's Royal Society
aptly describes as the “sustainable intensification of global agriculture”. Such a revolution will
require a wholesale realignment of priorities in agricultural research. There is an urgent need for
new crop varieties that offer higher yields but use less water, fertilizers or other inputs —
created, for example, through long-neglected research on modifying roots — and for crops that
are more resistant to drought, heat, submersion and pests. Equally crucial is lower-tech
research into basics such as crop rotation, mixed farming of animals and plants on smallholder
37
farms, soil management and curbing waste. (Between one-quarter and one-third of the food
produced worldwide is lost or spoiled.)
Developing nations could score substantial gains in productivity by making better use of
modern technologies and practices. But that requires money: the FAO estimates that to meet
the 2050 challenge, investment throughout the agricultural chain in the developing world must
double to US$83 billion a year. Most of that money needs to go towards improving agricultural
infrastructure, from production to storage and processing. In Africa, the lack of roads also
hampers agricultural productivity, making it expensive and difficult for farmers to get synthetic
fertilizers. And research agendas need to be focused on the needs of the poorest and most
resource-limited countries, where the majority of the world's population lives and where
population growth over the next decades will be greatest. Above all, reinventing farming requires
a multidisciplinary approach that involves not just biologists, agronomists and farmers, but also
ecologists, policy-makers and social scientists.
To their credit, the world's agricultural scientists are embracing such a broad view. In
March, for example, they came together at the first Global Conference on Agricultural Research
for Development in Montpellier, France, to begin working out how to realign research agendas
to help meet the needs of farmers in poorer nations. But these plans will not bear fruit unless
they get considerably more support from policy-makers and funders.
The growth in public agricultural-research spending peaked in the 1970s and has been
withering ever since. Today it is largely flat in rich nations and is actually decreasing in some
countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where food needs are among the greatest. The big exceptions
are China, where spending has been exponential over the past decade, and, to a lesser extent,
India and Brazil. These three countries seem set to become the key suppliers of relevant
science and technology to poorer countries. But rich countries have a responsibility too, and
calls by scientists for large increases in public spending on agricultural research that is more
directly relevant to the developing world are more than justified.
The private sector also has an important part to play. In the past, agro-biotechnology
companies have focused mostly on the lucrative agriculture markets in rich countries, where
private-sector research accounts for more than half of all agricultural research. Recently,
38
however, they have begun to engage in public–private partnerships to generate crops that meet
the needs of poorer countries. This move mirrors the emergence more than a decade ago of
public partnerships with drug companies to tackle a similar market failure: the development of
drugs and vaccines for neglected diseases. As such, it is welcome, and should be greatly
expanded.
Genetically modified (GM) crops are an important part of the sustainable agriculture
toolkit, alongside traditional breeding techniques. But they are not a panacea for world hunger,
despite many assertions to the contrary by their proponents. In practice, the first generation of
GM crops has been largely irrelevant to poor countries. Overstating these benefits can only
increase public distrust of GM organisms, as it plays to concerns about the perceived
privatization and monopolization of agriculture, and a focus on profits.
Nor are science and technology by themselves a panacea for world hunger. Poverty, not
lack of food production, is the root cause. The world currently has more than enough food, but
some 1 billion people still go hungry because they cannot afford to pay for it. The 2008 food
crisis, which pushed around 100 million people into hunger, was not so much a result of a food
shortage as of a market volatility — with causes going far beyond supply and demand — that
sent prices through the roof and sparked riots in several countries. Economics can hit food
supply in other ways. The countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development pay subsidies to their farmers that total some US$1 billion a day. This makes it
very difficult for farmers in developing nations to gain a foothold in world markets.
Nonetheless, research can have a decisive impact by enabling sustainable and

productive agriculture — a proven recipe (as is treating neglected diseases) for creating a
virtuous circle that lifts communities out of poverty.
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40
Massing life
Research into biomass and food chains attracts increasing attention, given the
biosphere's capacity to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. Philip Hunter
Introduction
Research into biomass—the mass of living organisms in a given area or ecosystem—has

grown steadily during the past decade. This interest has been driven mainly by the need to
assess, predict and mitigate the ongoing impact of human activities on ecosystems at different
scales, particularly in light of anthropogenic climate change. Scientists, and to some extend
policy-makers, are increasingly interested in how organisms and whole ecosystems react to
environmental changes, and in whether the biosphere can sequester some of the carbon
dioxide that is the main cause of climate disruption. In addition, biomass research has gathered
momentum in its own right by shedding light on the long-range interactions in marine and
terrestrial food chains that underpin the global carbon cycle.
It therefore seems that viruses themselves make a solid contribution to global

biomass…
There have been plenty of surprises, such as the recent discovery of biomass hotspots in
the so-called benthic zones at the bottom of oceans, where life had been thought to be relatively
sparse. Deep ocean research has also shown that viruses are crucial for the benthic ecosystem
and are responsible for the turnover of the organic matter on which bacteria—and ultimately all
life at depths below 1,000 m—depends (de Leo et al, 2010).
The study found that viruses killed more bacteria as depths increased and that they are
responsible for 80% of deaths at the very bottom. The result of this viral carnage is the release
of 0.37–0.63 gigatons (Gt; 1015 g) of carbon per year—a crucial source of nutrients for bacteria
in particular and deep-sea ecosystems as a whole. The authors of the paper argue that this
process actually sustains a large prokaryotic biomass and allows the whole ecosystem to cope
with the otherwise severe depletion of organic resources at great depths.
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…it was thought that plants make the largest contribution, particularly given the
huge biomass locked up in trees, but prokaryotes might account for an equal amount
Given this efficiency, bacteriophages must also be more abundant at great depths than
thought previously—a fact now confirmed by several studies. Parada et al (2007), for instance,
found that although there was a tenfold decline for picoplankton, including bacteria, at a depth of
4,000 m—roughly the average depth of the ocean floor—viral concentrations suffered only a
twofold reduction. It therefore seems that viruses themselves make a solid contribution to global
biomass, although some researchers dismiss this as irrelevant as viruses are not independent
living organisms. “Because viruses are not cellular, it is my opinion that they are part of the
organisms they infect,” said William Whitman, head of the department of microbiology at the
University of Georgia (Athens, GA, USA).
Yet, William Wiebe, also from the University of Georgia, suggested that viruses must
make a big contribution, especially in the oceans, because they exist at such a high density
throughout a huge volume of water. In fact, a recent study estimated that phage viruses beneath
the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean were around 26 times more numerous than the bacteria they
infected, and weighed about 0.02–0.05 g per m3, compared with the 0.27–0.85 g of their hosts
(Steward et al, 2007).
Discounting viruses, however, the two main components of biomass in terms of bulk are
plants and prokaryotes (Fig 1). Until a decade ago it was thought that plants make the largest
contribution, particularly given the huge biomass locked up in trees, but prokaryotes might
account for an equal amount. Whitman and Wiebe were two of the three authors of the first
paper that made a serious attempt to weigh the world's prokaryotes (Whitman et al, 1998). They
assumed that the preponderance of the world's prokaryotes resided in three habitats—
seawater, soil, and the sediment below the surface of both land and sea—and sampled areas
considered to be representative of each. By extrapolation they considered the total weight of
cellular carbon in prokaryotes was 350–550 Gt, and that this represented 60–100% of the total
carbon bound in plants at any one time.
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Carbon, of course, is not the only component, and biomass can be measured in different
ways, sometimes within individual ecosystems; for example, fish farms could be taken as the
complete total mass of all organisms in the water, but more commonly as the total dry weight
after discounting water. Biomass can also be presented as a portfolio of different
measurements, as some are most relevant in particular circumstances. Nitrogen content, for
example, is a particularly important component of biomass in soil because its presence is
essential for many plants, which lack the capability of sequestering it from the atmosphere and
therefore rely on soil bacteria to fix it for them. Indeed, the contribution of prokaryotes dominates
because they have a higher concentration of protein—and therefore nitrogen—than plants. The
same holds true for phosphorus, which is an important constituent of nucleic acids. These are
highly concentrated in bacteria, or indeed in any given cell, but plants have large intracellular
spaces low in phosphorus and therefore contribute less to this measure. Whitman et al
estimated that the earth's prokaryotes accounted for 85–130 Gt of nitrogen and 9–14 Gt of
phosphorus; in each case, about 10 times as much as plants.
43
…social insects account for just 2% of all insect species, but more than half the
total insect biomass
It would seem intuitive that primary producers account for the most biomass as each
‘trophic’ level relies on the one below for its carbon and other organic molecules. But this
assumption ignores the role of reproduction, the rate of which has an impact on the relative
mass of different trophic levels; indeed, in some aquatic and marine systems, primary producers
do not account for most biomass. The calculation also takes into account the relative sizes of
the primary producers and the animals that consume them. On land, herbivores tend to be
smaller or comparable in size to the plants they feed on; moreover, plants metabolize and
reproduce relatively slowly. In the oceans and some freshwater ecosystems, primary producers
are tiny phytoplankton with high rates of metabolism and reproduction. If their total biomass
were larger than the primary consumers, such as krill, shrimps and forage fish, their population
would explode. The dynamics of the ecosystem have therefore led to an expansion of
consumers and a decline in the number of producers to reach equilibrium. This leads to the
seemingly counter-intuitive inverted pyramid, where the mass of consumers is greater than that
of producers.
Intuition has also been proven wrong in the case of insects, which collectively are the
most successful animals both in terms of biomass and diversity. In the insect class, beetles
constitute the biggest and arguably most successful order, with more than 350,000 known
species—including the largest and smallest insects—colonizing almost all habitats. But in terms
of biomass, they are dwarfed by ‘social’ insects—notably termites, bees, wasps and ants. Social
insects have evolved the ability to live in colonies with much greater population densities than
beetles, often comprising many clones of genetically identical individuals. As Edward O. Wilson,
a US entomologist and conservationist, pointed out, social insects account for just 2% of all
insect species, but more than half the total insect biomass (Wilson, 1990).
In terms of generating biomass, sociality and community was the most

successful evolutionary strategy until humans came up with an even more effective
method…
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The evolution of sociality does not lead automatically to an increase in biomass, even if it
does enhance the prospect of survival for a species through cooperation and pooling of
resources. For biomass to increase, social insects need to husband resources more efficiently.
Among social insects this has been accomplished through the creation of communities, which
cooperate to gather food effectively from a wide area, whether this is nectar from plants or
detritus from both plants and animals.
…cattle continue to outweigh us in biomass, with 1.3 billion individuals scaling

about 130 million tonnes…
In terms of generating biomass, sociality and community was the most successful
evolutionary strategy until humans came up with an even more effective method around 10,000
years ago: agriculture. At that time the human population started to increase from its previously
stable level of around 1 million to between 170 million and 400 million 2,000 years ago. The next
significant growth spurt came with the industrial revolution in Europe where the population
doubled in both the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Finally, modern medicine has enabled
today's population of almost 7 billion, equating to a biomass of 100 million tonnes—far greater
than other mammals, with the exception of domesticated animals, the numbers of which have
increased in step with humans. Indeed, cattle continue to outweigh us in biomass, with 1.3
billion individuals scaling about 130 million tonnes and contributing to atmospheric greenhouse
gas concentration by producing methane.
Biomass calculations are also shedding light on another man-made impact on the
environment, namely the acidification of the oceans in response to rising levels of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. It recently became clear that fish have an important role alongside
marine plankton in sequestering carbon by absorbing calcium and then re-emitting it in their
faeces as various forms of carbonate. However, their contribution was not clear as the total
biomass of fish was previously unknown. Now, however, two independent studies have
calculated fish biomass and have produced results in the same range by using entirely different
methods to overcome the difficulty of directly measuring fish populations.
The first study, led by Simon Jennings from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and
Aquaculture Science in Lowestoft, UK, estimated total fish biomass at 0.9 billion tonnes
45
(Jennings et al, 2008). The authors combined remote sensing temperature data with existing
data on the underlying primary production of biomass, mostly through photosynthesis by
phytoplankton. The second study, led by Rod Wilson from Exeter University in the UK, came to
an estimate of two billion tonnes, based on the evaluation of fish catches, thus focusing on
outputs rather than inputs of the system (Wilson et al, 2009). “Given the errors and uncertainty
inherent in both methods it is impossible to say which is likely to be more accurate, but the
encouraging thing is that such different approaches can yield similar results,”Jennings
commented.
The second study computed biomass as a first step towards assessing the role of fish in
the global carbon cycle through their production of calcium carbonate. Before this, marine
plankton had been thought to account for nearly all oceanic carbonate production, but according
to Wilson, fish produce 3–15% as much and possibly up to 45%, depending on various
assumptions.
The study also indicated that, as the ocean becomes more acidic owing to anthropogenic
carbon dioxide emissions, the rate of carbonate production by fish will increase. This finding led
to a widely reported misconception when the study was published that fish could offset ocean
acidification, when in fact the opposite could well be the case, according to Wilson.
Biomass calculations are also shedding light on another man-made impact on

the environment, namely the acidification of the oceans…
As he pointed out, the immediate effect of producing calcium carbonate, whether by fish
or plankton, is an increase rather than decrease of ocean acidity, because alkaline calcium ions
are removed from the water. The ultimate impact on oceanic pH thus depends on whether that
carbonate redissolves so that the calcium ions are given back, or whether it sinks to the bottom,
in which case the calcium ions are in effect taken out of circulation. In the latter case, the effect
on fish or plankton metabolism would be a net increase in ocean acidity. “So yes, the question
becomes what is the fate of that carbonate,” Wilson said.
On this point Wilson has recently made progress with the finding that the carbonate
produced by fish has a high magnesium content, which makes it more soluble. This means it
could be that the fish carbonate dissolves in shallower waters than does some of the carbonate
46
produced by plankton, thus keeping acidity down at lesser depths—at higher temperatures and
lower pressures the capacity of the water to dissolve calcium salts is lower. However, the overall
implications are rather ambiguous as they suggest that because fish probably tend to increase
ocean acidity, overfishing could be said to be a good thing. But, as Wilson rightly pointed out,
doing so would have a disastrous impact on the whole marine ecosystem.
Biomass research has also focused on the effects of human activities on whole land-
based ecosystems and food chains. These systems are governed essentially by Liebig's law of
the minimum, which states that the one fundamental resource or nutrient that is in shortest
supply in a given place determines the rate of production. This resource could be oxygen,
carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water, temperature, light, or even some of the minor nutrients.
…trees should be photo-synthesizing about 12% faster than two centuries ago,
given the 70 ppm increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide since the industrial revolution
A major human effort in agriculture has been to increase the nitrogen content of soil by
adding fertilizers, whether organic or inorganic. This boosts crop growth, but the full impact on
other organisms in the soil was poorly understood until a 2006 study led by Pete Manning at
Imperial College in London, UK confirmed that soil nitrogen enrichment led to a biomass
increase rippling out from plants across the whole ecosystem (Manning et al, 2006). “Higher
plant biomass led to greater plant litter input to the soil, leading in turn to more fungal and
bacterial biomass and a higher abundance of Collembola [springtails], which are primitive
insects that feed on the fungal material,” Manning said. “Similar findings have now been seen in
field experiments where a greater diversity of plant species has produced a higher plant
biomass, and this has translated to increases in the biomass of both microbes and soil animals.”
Other ecosystems have different limiting factors constraining biomass increase in line
with Liebig's law. In forests, for example, it has been shown that the rate of growth has already
increased with elevated carbon dioxide levels. Evidence from field-grown trees suggests that a
300 parts per million (ppm) increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels boosts the rate of
photosynthesis in trees by 60% (Norby et al, 1999). If correct, trees should be photosynthesizing
47
about 12% faster than two centuries ago, given the 70 ppm increase in atmospheric carbon
dioxide since the industrial revolution.
…more biomass research is also important to direct policies that aim to mitigate
the damage to ecosystems and biodiversity
The accumulating results from biomass research are helping scientists to understand the
complex web of interactions in the global carbon cycle and the underlying food chains, and to
identify the impact of human activities. But much more needs to be done to integrate the
amassing knowledge into a more detailed picture of how carbon and other elements flow in
individual ecosystems and then on to the whole biosphere. In the light of ongoing anthropogenic
climate change and the ever increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
more biomass research is also important to direct policies that aim to mitigate the damage to
ecosystems and biodiversity.
References
de Leo FC, Smith CR, Rowden AA, Bowden DA, Clark MR (2010) Submarine canyons: hotspots
of benthic biomass and productivity in the deep sea. Proc Biol Sci [Epub 5 May] doi:
10.1098/rspb.2010.0462 | Article
Jennings S, Mélin F, Blanchard JL, Forster RM, Dulvy NK, Wilson RW (2008) Global-scale
predictions of community and ecosystem properties from simple ecological theory. Proc Biol Sci
275: 1375–1383 | Article | PubMed
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Carbon Free in the USA?
It Might Be Closer than You Think
April 22, 2012 | Ethan Goffman |
If every American family improved their

household energy performance and installed
solar panels, we’d go a long way toward zero
carbon emissions. Solar panels on a majority of
houses at one time seemed unattainable—it
was simply too great an investment, with too
long a payback time. But with new financial
instruments and plunging prices for solar
panels, we’re closer than most Americans
realize to drastically shifting our energy
usage—at least if we have the collective will. And, while such matters as improved insulation
might seem humdrum, they too may be accelerating toward widespread adoption. From there,
it’s not that far a reach to other renewable sources, and a near-zero carbon economy.
One must always be wary of rebound, the phenomenon that saving energy—and
money—may lead to careless use of energy, or spending the saved money in other ways that
are environmentally problematic. Yet too much worry about rebound can lead to paralysis.
What’s important is an environmental ethic in combination with a whole suite of changes,
beginning with individual behavior and ideals regarding consumption. Indeed, the push for
renewable and energy efficiency in Europe seems to have avoided a major rebound effect: “The
European Union succeeded in reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15.5% by 2010
from 1990 levels, while the economy grew during the same period by 41%, proving that it is
possible to decouple emissions and economic growth” . The U.S. needs to follow this path,
although in a less top-heavy way. Solar panels at the individual level may act as a visible sign of
the necessity of an environmental lifestyle, while improved insulation is an indicator that a new
ethic has spread to more ordinary parts of daily life. Such changes are now within easy reach.
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Saving Money with Efficiencies
The typical homeowner can save up to 25% with such measures as insulation, sealing air
leaks and selecting energy efficient appliances, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The best way to get started is to sign up for an energy audit, which includes such items as a
blower door test and an infrared thermal scan for energy leakage. However, even with
government subsidies, it has been difficult to get consumers to undertake such an audit and
make the various improvements recommended. The process can cost several thousand dollars
and the payback time can be five or ten years. Because savings after that are 100% and energy
prices are likely to rise, it’s still a smart investment, but individuals are reluctant to part with that
kind of money upfront. Psychology is central to why we spend money. Insulation isn’t sexy; you
can’t show it off to your friends. Plus, we’re in financially pressed times, so some people simply
can’t afford it.
Fortunately, the solution is at hand, as recently touted by Bill Clinton —an innovative
finance system in which the customer pays zero down. Instead, the cost is amortized through a
monthly charge on the energy bill, which is less than the money saved for that month. With no
cash up front, homeowners have no reason not to implement major energy-saving measures.
And finance companies are practically guaranteed a profit. Indeed, such a system is already
being implemented at the state level in Nebraska and New York. Jobs are created, and energy
use goes down. All that’s needed is for this system to become more widespread.
The Solar Leasing and Falling Prices
A similar mechanism is already in place for solar panels. It’s called solar leasing, and
again the consumer is not required to pay anything upfront. The leasing company makes money
via a monthly lease payment—less than the consumer saves on her electric bill—as well as
through bundling and selling tax incentives. So why not do it? In the long run, the individual who
buys the system outright will save more money, but the leasing concept enables individuals who
can’t afford the upfront costs to go solar, breaking down financial and psychological barriers
about the technology’s high initial costs.
Speaking of photovoltaic (PVs), the price of the equipment has plummeted in recent
years. The cost per watt of solar energy has dropped from $22 thirty years ago to under $3
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today—and can be as low as $1.49. Prices are expected to keep dropping, although not as
much as the whopping 70% reduction that has taken place from 2008 to 2011. Much of this
decline is due to an increase in the manufacture of silicon and the production of inexpensive
solar modules in China. The technology could become a huge part of our electrical generation.
According to the International Energy Agency, “PV installed on appropriate rooftops, facades,
and building envelopes in the United States could meet about 55 percent of U.S. electricity
demand.” Although this would mean changing the “face” of America, with ubiquitous PV
clusters, it’s not as though technological changes haven’t altered the landscape before; look
only at the advent of the automobile. For PV, the results would only be beneficial.
Upgrades Across America
A similar logic works for businesses, public buildings, apartment buildings, and so forth.
Such financial mechanisms simply need to be applied at a larger scale to allow buildings to
upgrade their energy efficiency and increase their capacity for generating solar power. If there is
money to be made—and there is—the more widespread deployment becomes, the more rapidly
it will become even more widespread.
Yet energy efficiency and PVs on individual buildings will not solve all our electricity
needs. The big problem with PVs, of course, is intermittency—the sun doesn’t shine all of the
time. Still, solar energy mostly coincides with peak electrical usage, although evenings are a
problem (albeit less of a problem if electric cars come to be used as local power-storage
devices). However, two types of renewable energy don’t suffer from intermittency: geothermal
and concentrated solar, the latter of which uses molten salt to store power. These can provide
baseload power 24 hours a day. Yet another solution is a comprehensive electrical grid that can
switch power over a large geographic area. Google is among the funders of one such system, a
transmission backbone along the Atlantic coast that will allow energy to be switched among a
variety of wind farms—if it’s not windy in one location, it will be elsewhere. Similar plans are
being developed for Europe in the North Sea, while a major solar grid for North Africa and the
Mediterranean is also in the works .
The point is the technology exists, there is money to be made, albeit over a long time
period, and investment plans aimed at the individual can provide guideposts for larger-scale
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projects. We can, indeed, obtain a zero-carbon electrical system (transportation is more difficult,
but still viable, but that’s a topic for another blog). The Obama administration
(http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/opinion/obamas-pitch-on-energy.html?_r=3) has already
proposed the first step: eliminating $4 billion in tax breaks to the oil and natural gas industries.
We are effectively subsidizing emissions that put our collective future at risk; we simply need to
stop. The next step is a tax on carbon; those who endanger our future should pay for the harm
they cause. Subsidies for renewable need to continue during a transition phase, allowing them
to catch up to the existing dirty fuel infrastructure; however, once renewable are competitive with
fossil fuels the subventions can be retired. Unfortunately, removal of harmful subsidies faces
furious opposition by powerful fossil-fuel lobbyists intent on putting their short-term profits before
the interests of the planet.
In a true, well-regulated, capitalist system, one in which government sets fair rules,
charges polluters for the damage they do, and lets innovative companies innovate, renewable
will win. Unfortunately, what we’ve got at present is crony capitalism in which government is
often on the wrong side. Until that changes, individuals should not fall victim to “what can one
person do” syndrome. We can take advantage of new financing mechanisms to begin to build a
renewable, energy-efficient economy.
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This Is Your Ocean on Acid
As Emissions Continue to Rise, the World’s Oceans Are Becoming Corrosive,

Threatening Shellfish, Corals and the Entire Ocean Food Web
May 1, 2012 | Brita Belli |
Dead coral rubble off the Pearl Islands

in Panama. Ocean acidification
contributes to bleaching and coral
death. © Davey Kline.
On most days, Bill Dewey can be found

wearing waist-high waders and
inspecting Manila clams—the West
Coast version of the littleneck—at his
Washington clam farm, Chuckanut
Shellfish. Under an arrangement that’s
unique to the state, Dewey owns 32 acres of tidelands. Unlike land-based farms, he can only
harvest when the tide recedes, leaving over a mile of mudflats, and shellfish, exposed. He
gathers the clams with the help of a former tulip-bulb harvesting machine that’s carried out
aboard his boat, the Clamdango!
Working on the mudflats, often with his son and dog in tow, is the fulfillment of a dream for
Dewey, a shellfish farmer for more than 30 years who is also the public policy and
communications director for Taylor Shellfish Company. Taylor’s operations—which include
growing oysters, clams, mussels and geoduck (giant clams whose necks can reach more than
three feet long)—span some 1,900 acres of the same tidelands. All told, there are about 47,000
acres of oceanic land that have that special designation in the state, and, he says, “It’s
fundamental as to why Washington leads the country in farmed shellfish production. In other
parts of country, you typically have to lease the land from the state. Banks are less apt to loan
money to businesses that have to lease.”
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Commercial shell fishing makes up the lion’s share—two-thirds—of the nation’s aquaculture
industry. So reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Fisheries
Service which makes a case for boosting domestic seafood production, noting that Americans
eat a lot of seafood, and import 86% of it, creating a U.S. seafood trade deficit that now exceeds
$10.4 billion annually, second only to oil when it comes to natural resources. In the Pacific
Northwest, the shellfish industry contributes $270 million per year to the regional economy and
employs more than 3,200 people. And when oyster cultivation fails at the top Northwest
hatcheries and farms, the effects on the industry are devastating.
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A SHELLFISH STORY
Oyster harvesting in Willapa

Bay, Washington. © Photo By David
Kline
For centuries, shellfish farmers

have cultivated oysters in
Washington’s Willapa Bay, a massive,
shallow estuary separated from the
Pacific Ocean by the Long Beach
Peninsula. The bay’s warm waters are
particularly suited for growing Pacific
oysters, identified by their rough, fluted shells marked with purple streaks, and a white interior
bearing “a single muscle scar that is sometimes dark, but never purple or black,” according to a
Biological Report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The oyster was imported from Japan
to the western U.S. coast in 1903. “Puget Sound and Washington waters are a little bit cold
compared to what the oyster had in Japan,” says Dewey. “So it doesn’t reproduce particularly
well here. Except for a few areas—Willapa Bay is one of them. There’s dependable natural
reproduction from one year to the next. The water basically has to get up to 72 degrees and stay
there for three weeks for the oysters to spawn.”
Beginning in 2005, these oysters in the bay, known as natural sets, stopped reproducing.
They have never successfully reproduced since. In 2006, the hatchery-produced Pacific oysters
followed suit. In the hatcheries, spawning happens year-round in conditioning tanks where water
temperature and algae levels (for food) are closely controlled.
Both Taylor Shellfish and Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Tillamook, Oregon,
witnessed oyster larvae die-offs that they couldn’t explain and that continued for years. Initially,
they suspected a bacteria known as Vibrio tubiashii was to blame. But even after Whiskey
Creek installed an expensive filtration system, the oyster larvae continued to die. By 2008,
Whiskey Creek, which alone accounts for 75% of all oyster seedlings used by West Coast
oyster farmers, had lost 80% of its oyster larvae. Taylor Shellfish had lost 60%. Despite the
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controlled environment, the ocean water they were pumping into their hatcheries was corrosive.
Upwelling—or deep ocean water rising to the surface following north winds off the Washington
coast—was carrying acidic water to the surface. The shellfish farmers were experiencing the
devastating impacts of ocean acidification sooner than researchers had anticipated. With
support from Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ocean acidification sensors were set up in 2010
near Washington’s hatcheries. Combined with Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)
buoys from NOAA measuring wind velocity, they track ocean acidity—and predict the upwelling
events that cause increased acidity—in real time.
Mark Wiegardt, co-owner of Whiskey Creek said: “Putting an IOOS buoy in the water is
like putting headlights on a car.” Adds Dewey: “All of a sudden we could see all aspects of this
water that was coming in our intake pipes. And it was quite eye-opening. We were seeing pH
levels down as low as 7.5. Normally it’s 8.2.” To oyster larvae, it’s the difference between life
and death.
Washington shellfish farmer Bill Dewey. ©

Bill Dewey/NOAA
When that acidic water entered the

hatcheries, it caused oyster shells in their critical
formative period to dissolve. Oysters and other
shellfish, including clams and lobsters, and a host of
sea creatures that include plankton and corals, need calcium carbonate minerals to form their
shells and skeletons. Normally ocean water is full of these minerals, but as carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions have climbed across the globe, the ocean has absorbed increasing levels of
CO2, causing ocean acidification to rise and the availability of these minerals to fall
“A lot of things we like to eat have these calcium carbonate shells and they’re very
sensitive to acidification,” says Richard Feely, Ph.D., a senior scientist with NOAA and its Pacific
Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). “Just a small drop in pH can cause the shells to
begin to dissolve. It turns out that for many of these species, the larval and juvenile stages are
much more sensitive than the adults. And we’re finding that they can die off quite rapidly even
with the kinds of changes that we’re seeing right now.”
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SWALLOWING EMISSIONS
Over the past 100 years, levels of carbon in the atmosphere have risen 30%—to 393
parts per million. And the oceans absorb a third of that carbon dioxide, or approximately 22
million tons per day, in a process that Feely likens to adding carbon to water to make soda.
Once it sinks into the water, the carbon dioxide reacts with water molecules to form carbonic
acid; the carbonic acid then releases hydrogen ions which in turn combine with carbonate ions
(the ones that shellfish and other creatures need) removing them from the water. Normally the
process of oceans soaking up our excess CO2 is a beneficial one—keeping global warming in
check. “Eventually, over a very long time, thousands of years, the ocean will take up 85-90% of
all the carbon that’s released,” says Feely. “We thought that was a good thing.” But acidification
is now happening at an accelerated pace, and it’s already changing the ocean in profound ways.
A healthy living coral right next to

a dead bleached coral. © Bill Dewey
A study published in Science in

March 2012 found that ocean acidity
may be increasing faster today than it
has during four major extinctions in the
last 300 million years. The only time
period that remotely resembles the
ocean changes happening today, based
on geologic records, was 56 million years ago when carbon mysteriously doubled in the
atmosphere, global temperatures rose by approximately six degrees and ocean pH dropped
sharply, driving up ocean acidity and causing a mass extinction among single-celled ocean
organisms. It’s likely, researchers surmise, that higher organisms also disappeared as a result.
During that extinction period, ocean pH levels fell by up to 4.5 units. In the last 100 years, ocean
pH today has already fallen by .1 unit—10 times faster than during that extinction period—and
could drop another .3 units by the end of the century if predictions from the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change are correct. Such a drop in pH, says Feely, “would increase the
acidity of the ocean by about 100% to 150%. That’s a dramatic change.”
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The oyster die-offs are likely just the first sign of significant impacts to come if carbon
emissions aren’t reined in. Take, for example, the pteropod or sea butterfly. These tiny marine
snails that appear winged and beautifully translucent in close-ups are essential to the ocean
food web. Ocean acidification threatens the ability of pteropods to form their fragile shells,
putting a range of commercially important fish at risk that depend on the small snails for food,
including salmon, herring and yellow-fin tuna as well as mammals like baleen whales, ringed
seals and marine birds. Scientist Gretchen Hofmann of the University of California Santa
Barbara said of pteropods to United Press International: “These animals are not charismatic, but
they are talking to us just as much as penguins or polar bears. They are harbingers of change.
It’s possible by 2050 they may not be able to make a shell anymore. If we lose these organisms,
the impact on the food chain will be catastrophic.”
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CORAL COLLAPSE
Corals, too, face direct threat from ocean acidification, which, as it robs ocean water of
carbonate ions, impedes their ability to form skeletons. Davey Kline, Ph.D., a coral reef ecology
expert at the University of Queensland in Australia, first began diving in the Caribbean in 1997
and says at that time, “there were still really beautiful, elaborate reefs with really high coral
coverage. Corals bigger than me that looked like giant trees forming a forest. But in the 10 years
I’ve been working in the Caribbean, I saw those once really incredible reefs completely crash
and disappear. And what were once these really diverse, three-dimensional reef structures
became seaweed beds. Where the corals were gone, most of the fish were gone and all that
was left was a lot of stinging, nasty algae.”
Davey Kline, Ph.D., a coral reef

ecology expert at the University of
Queensland in Australia. © David Kline
It’s not just ocean acidification

threatening these reefs, it’s a number of
factors including overfishing, disease,
development and warming waters. But the
falling pH has a very specific impact on the
corals’ ability to grow, making it that much
more difficult for them to withstand other stressors. Kline describes the growth and erosion of
coral reefs as “a really delicate balance.” Corals are built by polyps—tiny anemone-like
creatures that produce calcium carbonate crystals, stacking them in intricate, interconnected
branches faster than the sea can erode their skeletons. “There have been a lot of studies
showing that under ocean acidification scenarios that corals and other organisms on the reef
calcify at a slower rate,” Kline says. “Even with just a little less growth, the corals can be tipped
into these situations where they’re getting eroded faster than they can grow and the reefs start
to dissolve.”
It is nearly impossible to quantify the importance of coral reefs to people and the planet.
In monetary figures, corals have been valued at $29.8 billion per year in net global economic
value because they support fisheries, tourism and all the associated businesses, from hotels to
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restaurants. Reefs also protect shorelines from damaging storm waters and prevent erosion;
they are the rainforests of the sea that provide a home for one million species; and they are “the
medicine cabinets of the 21st century” according to NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program,
providing new sources of medicine to treat cancer, HIV, heart disease, arthritis and other
diseases. Reefs are thriving underwater metropolises where fish spawn and hide from predators
and bigger fish cruise looking for food.
Sponges, the most primitive reef animals, house tiny fish in their cavernous tubes and
vases as they draw seawater into their pores. The critically endangered hawksbill turtle, with its
almond eyes, black spots and hooked beak, rests on the reefs feeding on these sponges while
the vulnerable dugong, a flabby mammal with a wide snout and dolphin-esque tail, circles
lagoons, feeding on the reef’s sea grasses. Shrimp and crabs are ubiquitous in coral reef
environments around the world, hiding in crevices, providing cleaning services and enjoying the
ready food supply. And of course the fish, of every hue and size and shape, with bodies
designed to quickly maneuver through reef structures, fend off predators with scalpel-like
spines, scrape algae and avoid stinging tentacles, all coexist in these incredible habitats.
“If we lose coral reefs we lose a substantial source of seafood for coastal countries in the
tropics in particular,” says Mark Spalding, president of the Ocean Foundation. “You’re
threatening the basic productivity of the ocean.”
And the potential for a world without coral reefs is not

far-fetched or far off. The most recent report on reef health—
Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008—found that 19% of
coral reefs were already lost, 15% were seriously threatened
within a decade or two, and 20% could be lost in 20 to 40
years. “If we continue on the trajectory that we’re currently
at,” says Kline, referring to unchecked global emissions, “we
will lose reefs as we know them. We’ll probably see a
transition from really diverse reefs to reefs with fewer species
that are tougher, weedier species that can deal with these
dramatic conditions. Associated with the loss of diversity of
corals will be the loss of millions of species that use corals as
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their homes. A lot of the fish and seafood that we eat, the most critical part of their life stages
are on coral reefs. So there will be huge economic impacts in terms of loss of fisheries, loss of
sustenance for all the cultural communities and loss of tourism…These changes could all
happen within the next 30 or 40 years—by 2050, at the current rate of change.”
Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere not only alters the ocean’s chemistry, it’s
increasing the temperature of the atmosphere and warming waters, too. As ocean temperatures
rise, a very important algae called zooxanthellae (zoo-zan-thel-y) that provides food for corals—
and contributes to their remarkable colors—can no longer make food. That’s when corals
bleach. “The reason the corals become bright white is because most of their color is coming
from these algae,” says Kline. “And when they lose the algae because the water is too warm
and they can’t keep up this relationship anymore, you see the bare skeleton.”
Sometimes bleaching happens en masse as when 95% of corals in the Philippines

bleached in 2010 after an El Niño event that raised ocean temperatures. Increased ocean
temperatures also make the waters more stratified—preventing nutrient-rich water from below
from rising to the surface and oxygen-rich water from reaching the middle layers. This can lead
to more widespread losses. The Center for Ocean Solutions writes: “Between 1951 and 1993
zooplankton biomass off Southern California decreased by 80% as a result of warming surface
waters.” Less oxygen reaching the interior, meanwhile, a product of both this increased
stratification and significant nutrient runoff from farms, creates dead zones, a massive threat to
marine life. And unlike nutrient runoff, which can be brought under control rather quickly, oxygen
depletion that happens as a result of global warming can’t be easily reversed.
“Ocean warming, acidification and de-

oxygenation are essentially irreversible on
centennial time scales,” found the Royal Society,
a London-based group specializing in scientific
research, in a 2011 paper, “Once these changes
have occurred, it will take centuries for the ocean
to recover. With the emission of CO2 being the
primary driver behind all three stressors, the
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primary mitigation strategy is to reduce these emissions.”
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PIECEMEAL SOLUTIONS
It would be hard to find an ocean expert who does not agree that global carbon dioxide
emissions must be brought under control—and quickly—if we are to prevent the wholesale
deterioration of our oceans. Most also recognize that such global agreements are the most
difficult to come by, and that local protection strategies and efforts to reduce stressors on corals
and marine life are important steps in at least staving off the impacts of ocean acidification and
global warming.
When it comes to reefs, designating reef environments as marine protected areas

(MPAs)—and enforcing that designation—is essential to protecting habitat. But, notes the World
Resources Institute, of the 400 or more MPAs in more than 65 countries and territories, there
are only a handful that are truly large in scope—notably the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Ras Mohammed Park Complex in Egypt.
Outside of these massive sites, they write “it is likely that less than 3% of the world’s coral reefs
are protected.” And in many cases, such protections are on paper only. They cite the example of
Johnston Atoll west of Hawaii, which was designated a federal bird refuge in 1926, and became
the Pacific Marine National Monument under President George W. Bush in 2009. “Probably
among the earliest designations of a coral reef protected area, this site has been subjected to
massive military development, high atmospheric nuclear testing, chemical waste disposal, and
other threats,” the institute notes.
Lizard Island, Great Barrier

Reef, Australia. © Scripps
At the Great Barrier Reef, the

world’s largest coral reef ecosystem at
approximately 133,000 square miles
(about the size of New Zealand),
establishing the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park in 1975 was a first step,
but not until the park was rezoned
between 1999 and 2003 was the reef
given the protection needed to rebound from threats that include shipping, dredging, commercial
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fishing, nutrient and pesticide runoff, coastal development and diving. Some 33% of the Great
Barrier Reef is designated as a Green Zone, or no-take zone, where any activity beyond diving
and underwater photography is prohibited or requires a permit. There are seven zones in total,
which allow varying degrees of fishing, aquaculture, trawling and other activities, keeping them
within managed limits. The restrictions have led to major recoveries of reef fish—including the
coral trout and stripy sea perch—and declines in the crown-of-thorns starfish, a large starfish
with up to 21 arms that lives and preys on corals, killing them in the process. The crown-of-
thorns starfish proliferates in nutrient-rich water which comes as a result of unchecked runoff.
“As much of the stress as you can remove from reefs you’re really going to increase the
chance that more of the reefs can make it,” says Kline. “Setting up marine reserves and
managing marine reserves well; minimizing pollution and development near reefs; and using
reefs in a sustainable way. Corals are living animals and when people step on them or kick them
with their fins it can cause damage to the reefs. All these different factors can have an impact on
the overall future of coral reefs.”
Shellfish farmers with controlled hatchery environments can take some precautions to
prevent corrosive, acidic water from entering their breeding tanks. Thanks to ocean buoys and
sensors monitoring acidity and wind velocity, farmers at Whiskey Creek now know that they
have 24 hours following a north wind before corrosive water wells up and enters their intake
pipes. “When they see [a north wind] happening,” says Dewey, “they fill all their tanks and they
don’t change their water as frequently as they should to avoid bringing corrosive water in that
would harm the larvae. They’ve adapted management protocols to get around those corrosive
events that are somewhat effective.”
But in order to track and manage ocean acidification more monitoring is needed, and the
federal 2013 budget cuts $2.5 million in funding for obtaining and delivering data from the buoys
in Washington state. That led Sen. Cantwell—who sits on the Energy and Natural Resources
Committee—to confront NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco at a March 7, 2012 hearing,
saying: “Cutting back on science that is important for jobs and the economy can’t be
substituted.” Lubchenco admitted during the hearing that cutting the funding for ocean
acidification monitoring “is one of those choices that I’m not happy about because it’s a program
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that is very, very important. We will continue to do monitoring; it’s not that we’re not doing
anything. We won’t be able to do it at the scale we would like to do it.”
Other fixes shellfish hatcheries can employ include filling the tanks later in the day, when
the water has warmed and the pH has increased, and running the water over clam or oyster
shells before filling tanks, which also increases pH. It’s an imperfect process, but workable, for
now.
What is critical to reducing the effects of ocean acidification surrounding coasts, says
Spalding, is to protect and restore sea grass. Florida’s coasts, for example, have lost significant
sea grass, in large part from dredge and fill operations. This sea grass is not only essential to
provide habitat for fish, but the plants store CO2 in their roots, lowering the ocean’s pH.
Mangroves, which are “forested wetlands,” serve the same function, and are similarly
threatened, particularly by shrimp aquaculture. Since the 1980s, 20% of the world’s mangroves
have been destroyed, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N.
“One solution [to ocean acidification] is to make sure that we do everything we can to
preserve and protect salt marshes, sea grasses and mangroves in particular,” Spalding says,
“and be aggressive about restoring those that we’ve lost to recreate the carbon sink potential of
the ocean.” If this restoration happened on a global level, it could help lower the pH overall; and
there’s speculation, Spalding adds, that such strategies might work to control the pH of
individual areas.
As the Royal Society noted, however, the only real, overarching solution to ocean
acidification is setting significant global targets for reducing CO2 emissions and sticking to them.
In lieu of that, it means local communities—particularly coastal “hotspots”—must adopt ways to
address ocean acidification using existing laws, according to a May 2011 report by Feely and
other experts. That includes enforcing the federal Clean Water Act which requires the control of
pollutants and runoff (both of which increase acidification), enacting zoning policies that address
runoff and emissions and enforcing federal laws on emission limits.
These local strategies, Feely says, may offer the only immediate possibility for mitigating
ocean acidification. In terms of setting reduced targets for worldwide carbon dioxide emissions,
he says, we’ll almost certainly pass the “safe” point from the oceans’ perspective. “One of the
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problems we’re faced with is trying to figure out what’s a safe level for CO2,” Feely says. “And
many folks have suggested that we would like to keep global warming below a level of total
increased temperature of 2°C. To do that, you have to have CO2 levels in the atmosphere
below 450-500 parts per million. A CO2 concentration of 450-500 ppm means the Arctic Ocean
and good portions of the Antarctic Ocean would become corrosive to all calcifying organisms
from surface to bottom. In fact, from the retrospect of ocean acidification, we’ll reach thresholds
long before we get to those levels.”
BRITA BELLI is editor of E and author of The Autism Puzzle: Connecting the Dots
Between Environmental Toxins and Rising Autism Rates (Seven Stories Press).
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Resistant To Change
Ocean Acidification Is a Product of Our Emissions, but There’s Little Will to Change Our
Ways
May 1, 2012 | Brita Belli | Rob Jackson
Rob Jackson, Ph.D., is the Nicholas

Chair of Global Environmental Change at
Duke University and a professor in the
Biology Department. He is also a co-chair
of the Carbon Cycle Science Working
Group—a group of researchers who
recommend carbon cycle priorities for the
coming decades—as expressed in the
document A U.S. Carbon Cycle Science
Plan. It is only in the most recent 2011
version of the plan, Jackson notes, that researchers have recommended treating humans as
central to the Earth’s carbon cycle, to address emissions issues from cities and industrial
activities and to better study the impact of the carbon cycle on species and ecosystems—
including oceans. Below, Jackson talks about ocean acidification, hypothetical fixes and the
world’s serious emissions problem.
E Magazine: How serious is ocean acidification?
Rob Jackson: It’s extremely serious. It’s insidious. It affects all of the oceans. We have a
good understanding of the physical part of acidification, but we don’t have a good handle on the
ecology surrounding it. Which species are most vulnerable. Which species will be better able to
adapt to the changing pH. We know ocean acidification affects corals, shellfish, phytoplankton—
the base of the food chain in the ocean. It could change everything we know about the way our
oceans work.
E: Is there anything that can be done to reverse acidification?
R.J.: The oceans have absorbed about one-third of all fossil fuel emissions from human
activity already. The only way to counterbalance that in the oceans as a whole would be to lime
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the oceans the way we lime a farmer’s field to reduce acidity. You’d have to mine lime and apply
lime in a scale that’s larger than what we do for coal mining. You’re talking billions and billions of
tons. It’s just not feasible.
E: Is it possible to institute changes on a local level that can address acidification?
R.J.: Local strategies can make a big difference, but at some point you have to think
regionally and globally on this issue. That’s one of the sticking points in this. We can’t seem to
get past the idea that the U.S. shouldn’t have to lead on this issue when emissions come from
other places in the world, too. It is absolutely true now that China is the world’s biggest emitter
of carbon dioxide. The notion of a Kyoto Protocol-type agreement where countries like China
and India aren’t included is outdated. That model no longer works. But on a per capita
emissions basis China and India are still far below the United States. Those countries and other
countries around the world look not just at emissions today, they look at cumulative emissions.
They say, “Most of that carbon in the ocean is your carbon, even though our emissions are
approaching yours today.” The U.S. alone cannot solve this problem, but U.S. leadership on this
problem would go a long way to jumpstarting the rest of the world toward a solution.
E: What are the big strategies that the U.S. would need to put in place to seriously
curtail emissions?
R.J.: If you could tackle two things in this country you would tackle vehicle emissions and
power generation. And it doesn’t have to be 100% renewable in 10 years—that’s not possible.
It’s a series of incremental choices that we make over the next few decades. Whether we’re
going to build a wind farm or a new coal plant that will be on the ground for 30, 40 or 50 years.
Each of those decisions individually has a many-decades effect on our carbon emissions.
E: Do you see public resistance against fracking and the Keystone XL tar sands
pipeline as positive signs that people want to move away from fossil fuels?
R.J.: I don’t necessarily think so. I think the resistance to fracking is a concern about
human health. The tar sands perhaps, because tar sands extraction is environmentally
destructive. I testified in a committee in the European Parliament and one of the questions from
somebody in the audience to an industry person on the panel was: “If we exploit most of our
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shale gas in Europe that will put us well beyond the 450 or 500 parts per million target that we
have. How can we consider doing that?” You never hear that kind of discussion in this country.
We’re still fighting over whether increased gas mileage is a good thing.
E: You’ve worked on emissions reductions with energy and utility companies.

Have you found these companies to be receptive?
R.J.: My first job was with the Dow Chemical Company where I was an engineer before I
became an environmental scientist. I do have an understanding of the corporate world and
some of the pressures that companies are up against. There are consequences of changing our
energy infrastructure for utilities. A distributed network of solar and wind is harder for them to
administer. For oil and gas companies, the idea that there could be a cap on carbon emissions
is a threat to their business model. We really can’t pretend that it’s not.
E: Will addressing emissions reduction be stalled until after the election?
R.J.: I think it will be stalled after the election, too. I don’t see a political environment in
this country where we’re close to any kind of comprehensive greenhouse gas or carbon bill,
whether that’s cap-and-trade or a tax. I think we’re stuck tackling pieces of it through a
transportation bill, an energy bill, a farm bill. You whittle away chunks of the issue through that. I
don’t see any outcome for the 2012 election that would lead us towards a national greenhouse
gas bill in this country.
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Rising Waters and Political Wrangling
Virginia’s Middle Peninsula is a Microcosm of Climate Change Impacts and Skepticism
May 1, 2012 | Joan Hennessy |
Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve in

Mathews County, Virginia. © Joan
Hennessy;
Growing up on Virginia’s Middle

Peninsula, Lewis Lawrence remembers an
island in the middle of the Ware River with
tree trunks the size of five-gallon buckets.
That island has long since vanished beneath
the sea. The patch of six counties jutting into
the Chesapeake Bay and bordered by rivers north and south is unmarred by the skyscrapers
and ubiquitous tattoo parlors of Virginia Beach, 60 miles south. But the Middle Peninsula is
changing.
As acting director of regional planning for the Middle Peninsula Planning District
Commission, Lawrence helps local governments tackle development issues, including the triple
threat of erosion, storm water and sea-level rise. The commission brainstorms the worst-case
scenarios: Who will evacuate the elderly when the storm hits? Where will vulnerable families
find shelter? How will emergency workers navigate flooded roads?
Tea Party-affiliated groups say local planners

and government officials are allowing climate-
change concerns to dictate such things as tree
removal and building allowances on their private
property. They accept that sea level is rising; they do
not accept that human industry fuels global warming
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and contributes to sea-level rise.
New Point Comfort Light on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. Tourists reach the lighthouse by
canoe. © Ohkayeor/Flickr
“What troubles us is that we’re seeing property rights infringed upon by bad science,”
says David Rector, president and founder of the Essex [County] Tea Party on the Middle
Peninsula. “The science is agenda-driven and coming from government agencies.”
Rector and others see any actions related to curtailing personal freedom in favor of
environmental progress as part of a larger government strategy to advance Agenda 21, a plan
aimed at encouraging sustainable development adopted at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development in 1992. At the Middle District Planning Commission, Lawrence
said he had never heard of it until Tea Party members raised the issue.
This is a microcosm of the politics of climate change, a narrative playing out in various
communities nationwide. Activists complain about political agendas while waves lap at the
coastline and puddles settle in the road. But in southeastern Virginia, sea-level rise is only part
of the problem.
Scientists are not only measuring sea-level rise in the Chesapeake Bay area, they are
also examining the rate at which the land is sinking. Southeastern Virginia is still suffering
repercussions from glacial movement during the ice age. In addition, scientists believe a
meteorite hit the area 35 million years ago. As a result, coastal Virginia may be sinking faster
than sea level is rising.
These studies are taking place at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), a
premier research institution and marine science graduate school for the College of William &
Mary located right on the Middle Peninsula. But when one group, Concerned Citizens of the
Middle Peninsula, sponsored a forum on global warming titled “The Great Global Warming
Swindle,” they invited outside experts.
Featured speakers described global warming as a fad. One was S. Fred Singer, a
physicist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia. Singer,
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who is a widely quoted global warming skeptic, said he expects sea levels to rise about eight
inches by the year 2100.
Sea-level rise can vary by region. Singer’s estimates were not specific to southeastern
Virginia, and other scientists hold different views. Last year, in fact, University of Arizona
scientists said Virginia Beach was among four cities—along with New Orleans, Miami and
Tampa, Florida—that could lose 10% of its land area by 2100.
Although John Boon, a marine scientist and professor emeritus at VIMS, has written a
book about sea-level rise, he avoids 100-year predictions. Boon prefers evidence from the past.
Taking both sea level and land subsidence into account, a gauge measuring the tide at
Gloucester Point, Virginia, has registered a rise of 1.4 feet during the past 100 years.
“The inference is that we should be very concerned about what is going to be unfolding
over the next 100 years,” he says. “How could anyone turn around and say there is no
problem?”
Warm water drives storms. If more storms strike in a place where sea level is higher, the
storm damage will be greater, explains Roger Mann, director of research and advisory services
for VIMS.
A 1933 storm swamped land around New Point Comfort Light, a lighthouse on the
peninsula. To this day, tourists see the lighthouse by canoe. That storm was a Category 2
hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Although the
1933 hurricane produced a storm surge one foot greater than Hurricane Isabel in 2003, the high
water mark was comparable in 1933 and 2003, according to a VIMS fact sheet
Planners and county officials grapple with the cost of protecting coastal residents. But in
the small pond of Middle Peninsula politics, activists make waves, packing meetings to
complain, publishing letters likening one county’s comprehensive plans to “Soviet style central
planning.” At a Middle Peninsula Planning Commission meeting earlier this year, the crowd was
so rowdy that police were called to maintain order, Lawrence says.
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“As the political discourse un-folds…significantly more time is spent talking, and so policy
decisions are not advancing forward as they used to,” he says. “It is almost as if an anchor had
been thrown off the stern.”
At the end of the day, he hopes one message is clear. “Think critically before you spend
another $2 million to build that McMansion on the waterfront, because that road floods,” he
says. “It used to flood once a year—now it floods 10 times a year.”
JOAN HENNESSY is a writer and editor in the Washington, D.C., area. Her articles have
appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Magazine, Virginia Living and other publications.
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Geothermal powerhouse Kenya maximizes its potential
21st May, 2012 by Roger East
Energy harnessed from hot steam in East Africa’s Rift Valley could power Kenya many
times over.
For the geothermal power industry, the best natural steam is found nice and close to the
Earth's surface. Which helps explain the current buzz around hot prospects in East Africa's Rift
Valley: a giant trench stretching 6,000 km from the Red Sea to Mozambique, where two tectonic
plates are slowly drifting apart.
The potential for geothermal in this region is massive – estimated to exceed 15,000MW,
according to a report backed by the UN University Geothermal Training Program. Among those
starting to see it as a big part of their energy future is Kenya, which has just leapfrogged into the
list of the world's top ten geothermal power producers. Kenya plans to treble its output in the
next five years, on the way to achieving an installed capacity of 5,000MW by 2030. This drive
towards a reliable and affordable source of electricity is an integral part of the Government's
ambition to become a mid-income economy in the next 20 years, as set out in its 'Vision 2030'
development plan.
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The big hurdle is the high cost of exploration and drilling. The Kenyan Government
accepts that it will have to cover some of the initial costs, and has set up the state-owned
Geothermal Development Company (GDC), which aims to attract further capital by opening up
opportunities for private sector participation. The UN's Global Environment Fund is putting $18
million into a regional support network known as the African Rift Geothermal Development
Facility, providing technical assistance to Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Tanzania – as
well as Kenya – and helping them create a clear regulatory framework for the industry.
It will be a high risk business, but well-connected UK startup Cluff Geothermal is one
company that's convinced it's worthwhile. "The resource, by all indications, is fantastic", says
Managing Director George Percy, "and we certainly believe that in time East Africa really could
become a global leader in geothermal output." With Kenya's economy growing rapidly, Percy
says, the country's Government is spearheading a drive to attract serious investment in an
energy source that's theoretically capable of meeting all the country's requirements many times
over.
The heat that drives this technology is there, underground, all round the globe. It's low
carbon (though not quite zero, with some subterranean greenhouse gases coming up in the
steam). And it won't run out any time soon. If you know a good place to tap into it, and you've
got the capital, then a geothermal power station may well be a cost-effective proposition. The
Philippines and Iceland get as much as 30% of their power from it, but California currently leads
the world, with the world's largest geothermal steam turbine plant at The Geysers. More than 20
other countries, on every continent, generate some electricity this way.
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Solar skylight harnesses the power of daylight
16th May, 2012 by Roger East
Californian start-up Enfocus brings a new design to market which combines photovoltaic
with cool natural light, in a cost effective way.
Is it a skylight, or a solar panel? A Californian outfit called Enfocus has come up with
something to combine the merits of both – but bring in far more usable light than an ordinary
skylight. Better still, especially in California, it'll keep out all that nasty solar heat gain too. The
engineering company's patented Diamond-Power panels have impressed the guys at Google so
much, that they're putting in a prototype version at one of their Silicon Valley offices.
Each 45-kilo unit consists essentially of a rectangle of aluminum and glass, about 1.5
square meters in size, holding a series of lenses that can track the sun. These concentrate the
light that falls on them by a factor of 400, and throw 80% of it onto an array of high efficiency
gallium arsenic photovoltaic cells. The other 20% provides a cool stream of natural light into the
building, illuminating it so attractively that nobody would feel the need to switch artificial lights on
at the same time. Each panel should have an average power output of 288 watts, and Enfocus
reckons they'll yield around 720 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
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The big plus, though, is getting nearly 1,500kWh worth of natural light too – without
converting it to electricity and back again, and suffering the associated efficiency losses in both
directions. The sales pitch suggests offices could make savings of as much as 50% on
electricity during daylight hours, with a payback on outlay within about five years. The pilot
project at Google will be key in determining whether this combined technology (to give both
natural light and electricity) is in fact more cost-effective than the alternative: solar on the roof,
and a skylight.
Unlike the kind of PV panels that you retrofit to an existing roof, Enfocus's current design
has to be integrated at the building stage – part of a trend that has architects thinking about
energy generation from the first drafts. So far, its plan is to concentrate on commercial
customers who want to illuminate cool offices, rather than householders looking to bring daylight
into dingy corridors. But with ever more people seeing solar as an attractive element in the
home energy mix, you could imagine this technology being a big hit there too – a medley of
"power to the people" and "let the sunshine in". – Roger East
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85
Sunscreen in the Sky? Reflective Particles May Combat Warming
Titanium dioxide could scatter sunlight and cool Earth, scientist says.
Titanium dioxide, as seen through a scanning electron microscope. Image from Eye of
Science/Photo Researchers. Ker Than for National Geographic News. Published May 29, 2012
Spritzing a sunscreen ingredient into the stratosphere could help counteract the
effects of global warming, according to scientists behind an ambitious new geo-
engineering project.
The plan involves using high-altitude balloons to disperse millions of tons of titanium
dioxide—a nontoxic chemical found in sunscreen as well as in paints, inks, and even food.
Once in the atmosphere, the particles would spread around the planet and reflect some
of the sun's rays back into space.
About three million tons of titanium dioxide—spread into a layer around a millionth of a
millimeter thick—would be enough to offset the warming effects caused by a doubling of today's
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atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, according to project leader and chemical engineer Peter
Davidson.
The idea was inspired by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, a volcano in the
Philippines, said Davidson, head of the U.K. consulting firm Davidson Technology.
That eruption spewed 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, which formed
a fine mist of sulfuric acid that reduced global temperatures by about a quarter of a degree
Fahrenheit (half a degree Celsius) for two years.
But sulfuric acid degrades the ozone layer and may trigger droughts, because it absorbs
as well as scatters light, lowering temperatures enough to possibly disrupt circulation in the
stratosphere, Davidson said.
By contrast, titanium dioxide is seven times more effective at scattering light. That means
much less would be needed to achieve the desired effects, he said, and so "there will be a much
lower impact on atmospheric circulation."
Pump Up the Slurry
For Davidson's project, a slurry containing titanium dioxide would be pumped skyward via
flexible pipes, which would be hoisted aboard unmanned balloons flying about 12 miles (20
kilometers) high. A "hypersonic nozzle" would then spray the slurry as fine particles into Earth's
upper atmosphere.
The balloons would be launched from ships or islands located in equatorial regions where
storms are infrequent, to reduce the risk of lightning strikes and strong winds damaging the
balloons, Davidson said.
Other people have proposed similar projects to cool Earth by intentionally scattering
particles high in the air. (See "Extreme Global Warming Fix Proposed: Fill the Skies With
Sulfur.")
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What's new about Davidson's plan is the use of titanium dioxide and the balloon-dispersal
system, which could make the effort cheaper than using previously suggested aircraft or
rockets, said Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist at Duke University in North Carolina.
In any particle-dispersion system, "the biggest expense is getting the chemical up into the
stratosphere," said Jackson, who is not involved in the new project.
And if such a project is deployed, it will need to be kept running for as long as
atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, remain high.
"We have to keep doing this until we go carbon negative," Jackson said. Considering the
rate at which greenhouse gas emissions are being reduced, "we could be in this business for
centuries."
Project leader Davidson estimates that his balloon dispersal system would cost between
U.S. $800 million and $950 million a year, plus $2 billion to $3 billion annually for the titanium
dioxide.
Risks of Spraying Still Uncertain?
Davidson adds that the environmental impacts of spraying titanium dioxide would be
minimal.
And "many tests on exposure to titanium dioxide dusts have been done," he said in an
email. "No evidence has been found for health hazards that I am aware of, and at these minute
concentrations, issues are most unlikely."
Still, history has shown that "anytime we've injected chemicals into the atmosphere,
we've been surprised by the chemistry that results," Duke's Jackson said.
Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are prime examples, he said. Those chemicals were

widely used as refrigerants and propellants during the 20th century, and they spread through
Earth's atmosphere.
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But CFCs were eventually phased out due to their unforeseen harmful effects on the
ozone layer.
Particle Plan an Insurance Policy
Both Davidson and Jackson say that it will likely be several decades before the titanium
dioxide spraying could be safely enacted.
"We shouldn't, in my view, be doing it at large scales until we know a lot more about it,"
Jackson said. "And perhaps we shouldn't be doing it at all."
Some scientists worry, for instance, that geo-engineering solutions such as chemical
dispersal could distract from the real problem: increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
"If policy makers see an easy fix, they might be less likely to do the hard work," Jackson
said. "I don't want to see us whitewash this problem, and I think that's what this scheme could
do."
Project leader Davidson argues that humanity needs an insurance policy against the
possible catastrophic effects of global warming.
"It would be short-sighted," he said, "to put off research of such a safety device—like
trying to develop a life jacket when you're swept out to sea and struggling in the water."
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International Agency Calls for Action on Natural Gas Safety
A worker in Texas unloads water into a treatment plant that separates oil, sediment and
water mixed during the hydraulic fracturing process. The International Energy Agency urges
tougher rules to prevent contamination of surface and groundwater during production of
unconventional gas.
Photograph by Jason Janik, Bloomberg/Getty Images - Mason Inman - For National

Geographic News. Published May 30, 2012
Forcing natural gas out of shale rock through hydraulic fracturing is riskier than
conventional gas development and requires tougher rules than those now in place, the
International Energy Agency (IEA) says in a new report.
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The IEA says such measures are entirely feasible, adding at most 7 percent to the
costs of drilling. And the agency says they are necessary.
"There is a very real possibility that public opposition to drilling for shale gas and other
types of unconventional gas will halt the unconventional gas revolution in its tracks," said IEA
Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven in a statement. "The industry must win public
confidence by demonstrating exemplary performance."
Among the standards IEA advocates: Full, mandatory disclosure of "fracking" chemicals,
"robust rules" on well construction and design to prevent groundwater pollution, and an aim for
zero venting and minimal flaring of methane. Methane, the major component of natural gas, is a
potent greenhouse gas.
To prepare the report, the Paris-based agency obtained input from more than 50 industry
experts, environmental groups and government agencies around the world.
"Golden" Rules
Last year, the IEA declared the advance of a "golden age of gas," and the agency in its
new report expands on its projection that natural gas is on track to overtake coal as the world's
number two fuel (second only to oil).
In that "golden age" scenario, the IEA said, production of unconventional gas, mainly
shale gas, would more than triple by 2035, and the United States would move ahead of Russia
as the largest global producer of natural gas. Shale gas technology was developed in the United
States, and that is where most activity is taking place, but deposits are found all over the world.
China, with large reserves, would be the next most important producer in IEA's scenario. The
IEA also foresees large unconventional natural gas production in Australia, India, Canada,
Indonesia, and Poland.
The IEA, which was established after the 1973 Arab oil embargo to focus on issues of
energy security, views the development as beneficial, improving and expanding the world's
energy choices. But the agency stresses that the industry must do more to gain public
acceptance.
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Even though the process of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," has been used in the
industry for decades, the volumes of water used and the potential impact are much greater in
the process as it has been modified over the past decade to force gas from shale rock.
"Unconventional developments occur at a scale that inevitably increases the risk of

incidents occurring," the IEA said. "Producing unconventional gas is an intensive industrial
process, generally imposing a larger environmental footprint than conventional gas
development. More wells are often needed and techniques such as hydraulic fracturing are
usually required to boost the flow of gas from the well."
"The scale of development can have major implications for local communities, land use
and water resources," the report said. "Serious hazards, including the potential for air pollution
and for contamination of surface and groundwater, must be successfully addressed."
Already, in response to concerns that have been raised in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and
other shale-drilling hot spots, moratoriums have been enacted by the state of New York, part of
Delaware, and the province of Quebec. France and Belgium have banned fracking.
Best Practices
The report's golden rules encourage transparency and call for more environmental
measurement and monitoring, as well as more engagement with citizens to build trust and earn
a "social license to operate," as the report puts it.
One of the main concerns with fracking has been contamination of water supplies-both
groundwater and rivers. Methane has shown up in water supplies, sometimes enough to make
tap water flammable, and studies have linked the phenomenon to nearby shale gas
development and faulty well construction.
To prevent such problems, the IEA recommends strong regulations to ensure "complete
isolation" of wells from groundwater, with "multiple measures in place to prevent leaks."
Baseline measurements of water quality should be made before a natural gas operation is
started, the report suggests, and monitoring should continue after operations have begun.
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The IEA's "golden rules" also addressed the issue of "flow-back," wastewater that returns
to the surface after fracking.The wastewater that is brought to the surface is a bigger risk to
water supplies than leaky wells, the IEA report argued. "It should be feasible to reuse and
recycle significant volumes of the flow-back water."
Some natural gas companies are reusing and recycling the wastewater, but there is no
consistent practice or regulation in the United States.
A Chilling Effect?
The IEA's recommendations echo others issued recently. Earlier this month, the National
Resources Defense Council, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit, recommended actions that shale
gas companies should take because "federal and state regulations have not kept up with the
dramatic growth in the practice and must be significantly strengthened."
Also this month, a trio of socially active investment groups—Boston Common Asset
Management, the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN), and the Interfaith Center on
Corporate Responsibility-representing nearly $1 trillion in assets, came together to back a list of
recommendations similar to those made by the IEA.
"Regulators are frequently playing catch-up," argued Richard Liroff, director of IEHN and
lead author of the investment groups' report, "Extracting the Facts."
"The best practices are often way beyond what regulations require," he added. Their
report, like the IEA's, encourages shale gas operators to be more transparent, and to engage
with communities.
However, Raymond Orbach, director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at
Austin, which has studied fracking and its environmental impact, argues that many of the IEA
report's recommendations are covered by regulations in the United States."It gives a sense that
things are out of control, which is not the case, I think," he added. "It sounds heavily weighted
toward a very strong oversight that could in some cases really have a chilling effect on hydraulic
fracturing."
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The IEA, though, argues that industry needs "to go beyond minimally satisfying legal
requirements," and should be sensitive to communities' concerns.
Need "a more substantial shift"
Besides water contamination, another concern about fracking is leakage of natural gas
into the atmosphere. The gas is mostly methane, a greenhouse gas at least 25 times more
potent than carbon dioxide (CO2). The IEA calls for public authorities to consider imposing
restrictions on venting and flaring of methane, with specific requirements for installing equipment
to capture emissions. The agency also called for better measures of the extent of leaking and
the values that should be used when assessing the global warming potential of emissions from
these operations.
But even if leakage is curbed, the IEA report stresses that boosting use of natural gas
instead of coal is not a complete solution to the world's climate-change problem.
Even in the IEA's scenario where natural gas fracking triples by 2035, greenhouse gas
emissions would be just 1.3 percent lower than in a scenario with limited expansion of fracking
and natural gas development.
"Greater reliance on natural gas alone cannot realize the international goal of limiting the
long-term increase in the global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius [3.6°F] above pre-
industrial levels," the report concluded. "Achieving this climate target will require a much more
substantial shift in global energy use."
The IEA's report undercuts both some of the most positive and most negative
assessments of the shale gas boom, says Armond Cohen, executive director of the U.S.-based
environmental group, the Clean Air Task Force. The new supply has been called "one of the
world's best weapons in the fight against climate change, or an unprecedented environmental
menace that will inevitably destroy drinking water supplies and pollute local air quality," Cohen
said in a statement. The IEA report "suggests that both assertions are greatly exaggerated."
He said the report spells out how local and global air and water impacts of new natural
gas development can be minimized at low cost. But at the same time, without technology to
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capture and store carbon, and other zero-carbon strategies, "Expanded gas supplies alone . . .
will make little difference to world CO2 emissions," he said.
This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The
Great Energy Challenge.
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Groundwater Depletion Accelerates Sea-Level Rise
As aquifers are pumped out around the world, the water ultimately makes it to the
oceans.
A Tanzanian teenager scoops up muddy water from a well. Many of the world's aquifers
are being pumped out faster than they can replenish, a process that will increase sea level rise.
Photograph by Lynn Johnson, National Geographic - Richard Lovett - For National

Geographic News. - Published May 31, 2012
Groundwater depletion will soon be as important a factor in contributing to sea-

level rise as the melting of glaciers other than those in Greenland and Antarctica,
scientists say.
That's because water pumped out of the ground for irrigation, industrial uses, and even
drinking must go somewhere after it's used—and, whether it runs directly into streams and rivers
or evaporates and falls elsewhere as rain, one likely place for it to end up is the ocean.
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To find out how much of an effect this has on sea level, a team of Dutch scientists led by
hydrologist Yoshihide Wada, a graduate student at Utrecht University, divided the Earth's land
surface into 31-by-31-mile (50-by-50 kilometer) squares on a grid to calculate present and future
groundwater usage.
To make the calculation as precise as possible, they used not only current water-use
statistics from each country, but also economic growth and development projections. They also
took into account the impact of climate change on regional water needs, considering "all the
major factors that contribute," Wada said.
Because aquifers can be refilled, the scientists also used climate, rainfall, and
hydrological models to calculate the rate of groundwater recharge for each region. From this,
they projected the net rate of groundwater depletion.
The Reservoir Connection
Newly constructed reservoirs above ground can offset the net loss of water underground.
These, Wada said, trap water that would otherwise reach the sea.
Before 1990 or so, he added, that offset was large enough that the United Nations'
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change never took groundwater depletion into account in
predicting 21st-century sea-level rise.
But that offset is no longer as significant as it once was, Wada said. "There are not so
many places where people can build new reservoirs," he said. "They are already built."
Already, he and his colleagues have found, groundwater depletion is adding about 0.6
millimeters per year (about one-fortieth of an inch) to the Earth's sea level. By 2050, he said, the
triple pressures of growing population, economic development, and higher irrigation needs due
to a warming climate will increase that to 0.82 millimeters per year—enough to raise sea levels
by 31 millimeters (1.2 inches) above 1990 levels. Between 2050 and 2100, according to some
estimates, sea levels would rise even faster.
To put that in perspective, he said, groundwater depletion adds about 25 percent to

projected rates of sea-level rise, making it the largest contributor to sea-level rise other than the
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melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Even the melting of glaciers in the world's
high mountains won't contribute as much to rising sea levels, Wada said.
Multiple Challenges
What's more, groundwater depletion isn't the only way in which water now stored on land
can find its way into the sea. The draining of wetlands, Wada said, has the same effect, as do
declining water levels in bodies of water from the Dead Sea to Asia's giant Caspian Sea.
Even deforestation adds to the effect, he said, because trees hold large quantities of
water that evaporates when the wood is used for lumber, paper, and other manufactured goods.
"This water goes to the oceans, as well," Wada said.
Overall, he calculated, these minor factors add nearly another 6 percent to the total effect
from non-ice, land-based sources.
The Bigger Picture
Other scientists are skeptical. "This is an interesting study," said Ken Caldeira, a climate
scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Global Ecology, in Stanford,
California.
In an email, he said, the researchers might have overstated their findings by failing to
realize that groundwater feeds springs, which in turn feed rivers. Lowering the groundwater
table will reduce spring flow, he said, partially offsetting the effect by reducing the amount of
river water reaching the sea.
Also, he noted, the study projects that groundwater depletion and related effects will
produce as much as a 4-inch (10-centimeter) rise in sea level by 2100.
"Since land covers only about 30 percent of the planet, this means that you would need
to deplete an average of 33 centimeters (about 13 inches) of water from all the land on our
planet. This is a huge amount of water."
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Another problem is that the study does not take into account the increasing difficulty of
pumping water from depleted aquifers, said Leonard Konikow, a hydro-geologist at the U.S.
Geological Survey's office in Reston, Virginia. "The rate of pumping will have to decrease."
Wada agrees this is a potential problem in the study. "We don't have good data on [that],"
he said. "If the groundwater table becomes too low, the farmer with low technology might not be
able to pump anymore."
But, Konikow said, his own research (published in Geophysical Research Letters)
suggests that Wada's team's estimates are still too high by about 30 to 35 percent.
"Their method of estimating depletion is based on indirect calculations based on global

climate models," he said. "My own estimates are based on volumetric analyses of aquifer
systems throughout the world, in which we're actually looking at water-level changes in as many
aquifers as possible."
Still, he noted, it's an important effect. "I think it has to be considered in predicting future
sea level," he said.
Wada said the solution is to find ways of improving the efficiency of water in agriculture:
in essence learning to grow more, with less.
Caldeira agreed. "I think this says more about the mismanagement of our land than it
does about the threat from sea-level rise," he said.
The new research was published earlier this month in Geophysical Research Letters.
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Climate Change Linked to Waterborne Diseases in Inuit Communities
A recent study may warn of more widespread threats to water quality.
Inuit hunter Jayko Apak waits for seals on an ice floe. Photograph by Gordon Wiltsie,
National Geographic. Ker Than For National Geographic News. Published April 5, 2012
As global warming triggers heavier rainfall and faster snowmelt in the Arctic, Inuit
communities in Canada are reporting more cases of illness attributed to pathogens that
have washed into surface water and groundwater, according to a new study.
The findings corroborate past research that suggests indigenous people worldwide are
being disproportionately affected by climate change. This is because many of them live in
regions where the effects are felt first and most strongly, and they might come into closer
contact with the natural environment on a daily basis. For example, some indigenous
communities lack access to treated water because they are far from urban areas.
"In the north, a lot of [Inuit] communities prefer to drink brook water instead of treated tap
water. It's just a preference," explained study lead author Sherilee Harper, a Vanier Canada
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graduate scholar in epidemiology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. "Also, when
they're out on the land and hunting or fishing, they don't have access to tap water, so they drink
brook water."
The experiences of the Inuit and other indigenous communities as they struggle to adapt
to changing climate conditions could help guide humanity in the coming years when the effects
of climate change are felt universally, scientists say.
"These societies are like crystal balls for understanding what could happen when these
changes start materializing over the next few decades down south, as they surely will," said
James Ford of McGill University, an expert in indigenous adaptation to climate change who was
not involved in the study.
"Scientists often talk about how if global temperature increases by 4 degrees Celsius
[7°F], there will be catastrophic climate change effects, Ford said, "but where I work in the
Arctic, we've already seen that 4-degree Celsius change."
Weather and Illness
Ford said the new study is the first to draw a link between climate change and disease in
Canadian Arctic communities. "Water issues have been largely neglected in the [climate
change] scholarship," he said.
"Before this study, there was very little understanding of the burden of illness of
waterborne disease in the Arctic . . . The baseline that we have from this study will allow us to
track whether changes in behavior make a difference in the future," said Ford.
Harper's Inuit research, published in a recent issue of the journal Eco-Health, is part of a
multiyear comparative study of how extreme weather events affect waterborne disease
outbreaks in aboriginal communities around the globe.
The team is conducting similar studies among the Batwa pygmies in Uganda and the
Shipibo people in Peru. The trials are still under way, but preliminary results suggest that, like
the Inuits, these groups are also starting to feel the health effects of climate change-related
weather patterns.
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Boosting Native Health Systems
For each of the communities studied, Harper and her team documented the local weather
patterns using weather stations; conducted weekly water tests; and searched clinical records for
reports of vomiting and diarrhea. The team also conducted surveys to gather information about
local lifestyles.
Combining and analyzing these various data together uncovered some interesting
patterns. For example, "our research found that after periods of heavy rainfall or rapid snowmelt,
there is an increase of bacteria [such as E. coli] in the water, and about two to four weeks later
there is an increase in diarrhea and vomiting," Harper said.
In Uganda, the team found that families that don't keep their animals in shelters are about
three times more likely to get sick after periods of heavy rain. The team suspects pathogens
from the animal feces are getting washed into the drinking water.
Harper's studies are part of a larger endeavor—the Indigenous Health Adaptation to

Climate Change, or IHACC, project. It aims to combine science and traditional knowledge to
strengthen health systems in indigenous communities.
One of the IHACC project goals is to use data from the studies to advise local
policymakers and help develop ways to improve the health of those in the affected communities.
Strategies for reducing waterborne disease, for example, might be as simple as building animal
enclosures or establishing protected sources of water for drinking, Harper said.
Widespread Changes
In Rigolet, a small Inuit town studied by Harper’s team, the findings from the study have
already led to changes in the community, said Charlotte Wolfrey, mayor of the town.
“We’re asking people when they go to their cabin not to drink brook water and instead
take water that has been chlorinated to eliminate bacteria,” Wolfrey said. “We also have posters
around town reminding people that if they’re going to drink [untreated] water, they need to boil it
first.”
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Wolfrey, who has spent nearly 40 years of her life in Rigolet, says that climate change
has forced the people in her town to question things that were once taken for granted, such as
places in the ice where one can safely cross, or seasonal water routes for boats.
“With climate change, that knowledge that was passed down from generation to
generation doesn’t count anymore,” she said. “We can’t trust it.”
The lessons learned in Rigolet and other indigenous communities could someday benefit
humanity as a whole because their problems could soon become global problems. According to
the World Health Organization (WHO), for example, most of the climate change-related disease
burden in the 21st century will be due to diarrheal diseases.
"The climate change impact on waterborne disease is not just an Arctic issue, or just an
indigenous issue," Harper said.
McGill University's Ford agreed. "If we look at what happens in the Arctic and how
climate change plays out with its societies and people, we'll increase our understanding of how
as a globe we are going to respond to climate change," he said.
Ford says his time among the Inuit has made him "cautiously optimistic" that climate
change is a problem that humans will be able to adapt to, if not solve.
"When I first went to work up north more than ten years ago, there were all sorts of news
reports about how climate change was going to threaten the Inuit. But when I started working
with them, the thing that struck me is that many people said, 'We're resilient. We'll adapt.' So I
think we'll stand a good chance of weathering whatever changes might happen," Ford said.
But, he added, "Things will have to be done to get there. We can't just wait and hope we
adapt. We have to be proactive."
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Tiles May Help Shrink Carbon Footprint by Harnessing Pedestrian Power
At Simon Langton Grammar School near Canterbury, England, specially designed floor
tiles translate student footfalls to electricity that powers the corridor's lighting.
Photograph courtesy Matilda Delves, Pavegen - Thomas K. Grose in London For

National Geographic News. Published May 18, 2012
This summer at the largest urban mall in Europe, visitors may notice something
different at their feet. Twenty bright green rubber tiles will adorn one of the outdoor
walkways at the Westfield Stratford City Mall, which abuts the new Olympic stadium in
east London.
The squares aren't just ornamental. They are designed to collect the kinetic energy
created by the estimated 40 million pedestrians who will use that walkway in a year,
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generating several hundred kilowatt-hours of electricity from their footsteps. That's
enough to power half the mall's outdoor lighting.
The slabs are produced by Pavegen Systems, a London startup launched in 2009 by
Laurence Kemball-Cook, a fresh-faced, 26-year-old Londoner who developed his clean energy
idea while earning a degree in industrial design and technology at Loughborough University.
The 17.7-by-23.6-inch (45-by-60-centimeter) tiles are designed to be used wherever pedestrians
congregate en masse: transportation hubs such as train, subway, and bus stations; airports;
schools; malls; bustling shopping avenues. The power generated from millions of footfalls can
be used to operate a range of low-power applications, including lighting, signs, digital ads, and
Wi-Fi zones.
Nearly 30 permanent and temporary Pavegen projects have been installed in the U.K.
and Europe. For two years now, four of its tiles have lined a hallway at the Simon Langton
Grammar School for Boys near Canterbury, capturing energy from footfalls of its 1,100 students
to keep the corridor lit. Pavegen has also harnessed music festival attendees' foot-stamping to
charge cell phones and power LED lights.
But higher profile gigs loom. Pavegen has partnered with Siemens, the German
technology company, to install five tiles in Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia, to power
lighting there. And large, sponsored installations are planned for a major London train station
and an Athens shopping mall this summer. Interest in the technology is also growing in the
United States. Several American schools are planning to install Pavegen tiles, and Kemball-
Cook says federal government agencies have expressed an interest in the technology as well.
People Power
Kemball-Cook got the idea for the slabs while working for a power company as part of his
Loughborough studies. He was tasked with looking into solar and wind energy technologies for
cities, but concluded that neither technology was suitable for urban areas. That's when it hit him
that it would be better to take advantage of people-generated power.
In 2009, he showed a prototype at a design and tech show and received a lot of media
attention, which prompted him to launch the company. An early investment of about £500,000
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($800,000) came from family, friends, and the investment bank Renaissance Capital Partners.
Pavegen has since gotten additional funding from London Business Angels, an investment
network.
Once a Pavegen tile converts energy to electricity, 5 percent of it is used to light the
round LED-lighted logo in the center of each tile. The other 95 percent is either directly fed to
the application or stored in a battery for later use. Pavegen is also working on a new system that
will feed the power directly into a grid. The tiles are completely waterproof, so they can endure
rain, snow, and ice. Mechanical testing of the tiles to destruction proved that they would last at
least five years, but Kemball-Cook said ideally they would survive for 20.
Pavegen's tiles are designed to have a minimal carbon footprint. All of the rubber comes
from recycled truck tires, and about 80 percent of the polymers used for the other components
can be recycled. On average, one footstep generates 7 watts of electricity, though the amount
varies depending on a person's weight. Each step pushes the rubber down a mere 5
millimeters, or a fraction of an inch. The difference underfoot is "pretty much imperceptible to
users," Kemball-Cook said.
Old Concept, New Applications
The harvesting of energy produced from footfalls is not a new idea. Other companies,
such as the Netherlands-based Sustainable Dance Club and POWERleap in Michigan, make
similar products using piezoelectric materials. First discovered in the 1880s by Pierre and
Jacques Curie, piezoelectricity is generated when certain crystals, such as quartz, topaz, and
cane sugar, are squeezed or otherwise put under stress. It is the basis of sonar technology,
quartz watches, and some sensors, including those for safety airbags in cars.
Kemball-Cook considers Pavegen's technology to be proprietary information, so he won't

say whether his tiles rely on piezoelectricity, or describe in detail how they work. It's a hybrid
technology, he said, "and there's nothing else like it." That's why he also boasts that his tiles are
200 times more efficient at producing power than any rival product. While this claim can't be
verified, Pavegen tiles have impressed judges at several competitions. The company has won a
slew of accolades, including being a finalist for the Shell* LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Award last
year, and an Observer Ethical Award in 2011.
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The tiles have also impressed Matthew Baxter, the head teacher (principal) at Langton
Grammar—Kemball-Cook's alma mater—who said his 1,100 "boisterous boys" have truly put
them to a punishing test over the past two years. "They've taken a pummeling, but they're fine."
While initially a novelty that students delighted in jumping on, the slabs have since become a
normal part of the school—albeit one that's encouraged the boys to think about clean energy.
"They've sparked an interest in sustainable technology in a number of our students," Baxter
said.
High costs are a hurdle, however. Like a lot of green technologies, early iterations of
Pavegen tiles weren't cheap. Kemball-Cook said the price of the tiles has dropped 70 percent in
the past year, but he was not willing to publicly divulge the current price because it's changing
so rapidly. As production ramps up—Pavegen has partnered with a manufacturer near Brighton,
England, and is looking to add production partners elsewhere in Europe—and economies of
scale kick in, Kemball-Cook is convinced he can get the price down to $50 a tile.
Pavegen is initially targeting low-power applications, but Kemball-Cook envisions larger

installations that could handle greater power demands. For instance, he said, there's no reason
why the tiles couldn't power an entire music festival, heavy-duty amps and all. Ultimately,
Kemball-Cook wants to see thousands of Pavegen tiles permanently embedded in urban areas
worldwide, turning cities into power plants.
"That's my dream," he said. He hopes to accomplish it one step at a time.
*Shell is sponsor of the Great Energy Challenge initiative. National Geographic retains
autonomy over content.
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Environment
The words below are some of the most important used when talking about the Environment.
Environment - Important Issues
acid rain ________________________________________
aerosol________________________________________
animal welfare________________________________________
carbon monoxide________________________________________
climate________________________________________
conservation________________________________________
endangered species________________________________________
energy________________________________________
nuclear energy________________________________________
solar energy________________________________________
exhaust fumes________________________________________
fertilizers________________________________________
forest fires________________________________________
global warming________________________________________
greenhouse effect________________________________________
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(non)-renewable resources________________________________________
nuclear________________________________________
nuclear fallout________________________________________
nuclear reactor________________________________________
oil-slick________________________________________
ozone layer________________________________________
pesticide________________________________________
pollution________________________________________
protected animal________________________________________
rain forest________________________________________
unleaded petrol________________________________________
waste________________________________________
nuclear waste________________________________________
radio-active waste________________________________________
wildlife________________________________________
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Environment - Natural Disasters
drought________________________________________
earthquake________________________________________
flood________________________________________
tidal wave________________________________________
typhoon________________________________________
volcanic eruption________________________________________
Environment - Politics
environmental group________________________________________
green issues________________________________________
pressure group________________________________________
Environment - Verbs
cut down________________________________________
destroy________________________________________
dispose (of) ________________________________________
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dump________________________________________
protect________________________________________
pollute________________________________________
recycle________________________________________
save________________________________________
throw away________________________________________
use up________________________________________
Environment
Phrase Example
acid rain Acid rain is very harmful to the environment.
aerosol, spray Aerosol sprays are the worst cause of pollution in the home.
to affect This area was affected by the flood.
to ail The huge trees had been ailing for years before they were cut down.
The Earth's atmosphere is a thin layer of gases that surrounds the

atmosphere
Earth.
to be aware I think my neighbor isn't aware of polluting the environment.
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balance Nature's balance might be disturbed.
biodegradable All our products are biodegradable.
biodiversity What about an evening stroll to look at the biodiversity in our park?
The biosphere is the part of the earth's atmosphere and surface in

biosphere
which animals and plants can live.
carbon Carbon is a chemical substance contained in all plants and animals.
carbon dioxide The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is low.
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide is emitted by cars.
catalytic converter Since 1993 catalytic converters have been compulsory in Britain.
The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) was created in

catastrophe
November 1993.
to chop down Poor people often chop down trees for firewood.
climate The Mediterranean climate is good for growing citrus fruits.
Many bays and coastal waters have been contaminated with heavy
coastal waters
metals.
cooling agent Cooling agents are expensive.
to combat There should be stricter laws to combat air pollution.
to contaminate The soil has been contaminated.
creature Is there a sea creature or not?
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death of the forests The death of the forests is a big problem in Europe.
to destroy The house was completely destroyed by fire.
The use of renewable sources could stop the destruction of the

destruction
rainforests.
detergent Try to use detergents that are perfume free.
to die out Animals are dying out far more often than you might think.
to diminish The people try to diminish the pollution of the water.
dirt The dirt has been removed from the ground.
to disappear Many species disappeared in the last century.
disaster The recent earthquake in India is a disaster.
disposal Unfortunately, less people know of the disposal of hazardous waste.
drought Drought had ruined the crops year after year.
to dry up, to parch During the long time of drought many rivers have dried up/parched.
to dump Old washing machines have been dumped near the beach.
dumping ground City canals are often used as dumping grounds.
dust Do not inhale the dust, it's dangerous.
On April 18, 1906, shortly after 5:00 am, a great earthquake struck
earthquake
San Francisco.
ecology Oil pollution could damage the ecology of the costs.
ecosystem Jordan appealed for assistance to

help save the ecosystem of the Dead Sea, whose water level is
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dropping.
emission The organization calls for stricter controls on emissions.
to emit Sulphur gases were emitted by the spewing volcano.
endangered The sea turtle is an endangered species.
energy conservation Energy conservation is a process of saving energy.
energy source Space energy is one of the energy sources of the future.
energy-efficient Energy-efficient windows help to lower your heating costs.
environment We must protect the environment.
environmentalist Environmentalists are people who love the natural world.
to erode It took about 67,000 years to erode the Grand Canyon.
erosion Wind and water are the main agents of soil erosion.
evolution The introduction of cloned plants will effect evolution.
Over the past month officers have been stopping vehicles in

exhaust fumes
Manchester to test exhaust fumes.
to be exposed to You risk skin cancer if you are often exposed to strong sunlight.
extinct Hawaii is home to a great many extinct species.
factory farming Is factory farming a way of animal abuse?
The Irish Famine of 1846-50 took as many as a million lives from

famine
hunger and disease.
fertile Fertile land is land where things grow easily.
119
Fertilizers are chemicals given to plants with the intention of promoting
fertilizer
growth.
fume Workers are exposed to fumes from asphalt.
The lava gives off clouds of toxic fumes as it flows into the Pacific
fumes
Ocean.
geothermal The first geothermal power station was built in Landrella, Italy.
global warming They started a campaign to slow down the process of global warming.
The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature caused by gases in

greenhouse effect
the atmosphere.
hardest hit Our town was hardest hit by last year's earthquake.
to harm Pollution can harm animals and the environment.
to be harmful Air pollution is harmful to everyone.
heat wave Slow down and avoid strenuous activity if a heat wave is happening.
Less heavy metal has been introduced by air into the Baltic Sea since
heavy metal
the 1990s.
hydrocarbon Various hydrocarbons have been found in Jupiter's atmosphere.
industrial waste Industrial waste can contain small amounts of radioactive materials.
insulation Often glass fiber is used as roof insulation.
120
to leak Oil leaked out of the tank.
The owners of the local factories are loaded with new environmental
to load
laws.
Phrase Example
M
Around the islands marine life is seriously threatened by oil
marine life
slick.
to menace Hurricane Hugo menaced the US coast for seven days.
61 percent of US households used natural gas for heating in

natural gas
2002.
oil slick Large oil slicks were found near the coast.
Over-fertilization Over-fertilization is a common problem.
oxygen The cells need oxygen to survive.
The ozone layer screens out the sun's harmful ultraviolet

ozone layer
radiation.
permission Ask permission for the privilege to cross private land.
poison The cat was killed by rat poison.
poisonous She has lots of poisonous plants in her garden.
the polar ice caps If the polar ice caps melt, the ocean levels rise.
to pollute Please do not pollute the air.
pollution Air pollution is a problem for all of us.
121
power station Power stations are only about 40 per cent efficient.
precipitation Rain, snow, hail and sleet are types of precipitation.
preservation He is interested in historic preservation.
prevention The prevention of litter is very important.
to protect Russia wants to protect the environment in the Baltic region.
You can purify water with two chemicals: chlorine bleach and
to purify
iodine.
radiation Radiation is used for medical reasons.
rainforest Tropical rainforests are the Earth's oldest living ecosystems.
to recycle This carton is made from recycled paper.
The Great Lakes Remedial Action Plan Program was created

remedial action
in 1987.
A renewable energy system converts the energy found in

renewable sunlight, wind, falling water, waves, geothermal heat, or
biomass.
There are two kinds of plastic bottles: reusable bottles and

reusable
single-service bottles.
You should screen your eyes from the sun when hiking in the
to screen from
mountains.
sea level Death Valley lies 86 meters (282 feet) below sea level.
sewage Sewage, used water, comes from factories and households.
sewage plant The city needs to have a sewage plant.
sludge Sludge is often used on agricultural land.
122
soil Soil is the top layer of the earth in which trees, plant etc. grow.
solvent Benzene and turpentine are solvents.
starvation Starvation is the most severe form of malnutrition.
stratosphere The ozone layer is within the stratosphere.
surface About 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water.
to threaten Toxic chemical substances threaten sea turtles.
tide The tide is in/out.
timber Timber is wood for building ships and houses.
toxic waste A ship with toxic waste sank.
toxic waste dump The toxic waste dump was built.
trawler Trawlers, are not permitted on the lake.
unleaded Unleaded petrol is less harmful to the environment.
untreated Coastal cities often dump their untreated wastes into the sea.
urbanization The urbanization is a world-wide trend.
waste paper Recycling waste paper is a favorable method.
waste separation Do you know how to do waste separation?
123
Sentence Structure
There are 5 basic patterns around which most English sentences are built. They are as follows:
Paul sleeps.
S-V Subject-Verb Anne is eating.
Jen will arrive next week.
I like beans.
S-V-O Subject-Verb-Object She likes her job.
He's eating a peach.
He is awesome.
S-V-Adj Subject-Verb-Adjective The workers are strong.
Karen seems hungry.
Jimmy is here.
S-V-Adv Subject-Verb-Adverb Flowers are beautiful.
No one was here.
She is my aunt.
S-V-N Subject-Verb-Noun The men are teachers.
Mr. Johnny is the boss.
The big man did not work randomly with his wonderful girlfriend.
The – Article Randomly – Adverb to show the

change in the action of the verb
Big – Adjective
With – Preposition
Man – Subject Noun
His – Possessive Pronoun or
Did – Auxiliar to show past tense
Adjective
Not – negative
Wonderful – Adjective for the object
Work – Verb of the sentence
Girlfriend – Object Noun

130
VERB TENSE AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE YES / NO WH
QUESTIONS QUESTIONS
I STUDY ENGLISH I DON´T STUDY DO I STUDY WHY DO I STUDY
SIMPLE ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
PRESENT
I STUDIED I DIDN´T STUDY DID I STUDY WHY DID I
SIMPLE PAST ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH? STUDY ENGLISH?
I WILL STUDY I WILL NOT WILL I STUDY WHY WILL I

ENGLISH STUDY ENGLISH ENGLISH? STUDY ENGLISH?
SIMPLE I AM GOING TO I AM NOT GOING AM I GOING WHY AM I
FUTURE STUDY ENGLISH TO STUDY TO STUDY GOING TO
ENGLISH ENGLISH? STUDY ENGLISH?
I AM STUDYING I AM NOT AM I WHY AM I

PRESENT
ENGLISH STUDYING STUDYING STUDYING
PROGRESSIVE ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
I WAS STUDYING I WAS NOT WAS I WHY WAS I
PAST
ENGLISH STUDYING STUDYING STUDYING
PROGRESSIVE ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
I WILL BE I WILL NOT BE WILL I BE WHY WILL I BE
STUDYING STUDYING STUDYING STUDYING
FUTURE ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
PROGRESSIVE I AM GOING TO I AM NOT GOING AM I GOING WHY AM I
BE STUDYING TO BE STUDYING TO BE GOING TO BE
ENGLISH
I HAVE STUDIED ENGLISH
I HAVE NOT STUDYING
HAVE I STUDYING
WHY HAVE I
PRESENT ENGLISH STUDIED ENGLISH?
STUDIED ENGLISH?
STUDIED
PERFECT ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
I HAD STUDIED I HAD NOT HAD I WHY HAD I
PAST PERFECT ENGLISH STUDIED STUDIED STUDIED
ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
I WILL HAVE I WILL NOT HAVE WILL I HAVE WHY WILL I
STUDIED ENGLISH STUDIED STUDIED HAVE STUDIED
FUTURE I AM GOING TO ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
PERFECT HAVE STUDIED I AM NOT GOING AM I GOING WHY AM I
ENGLISH TO HAVE TO HAVE GOING TO HAVE
STUDIED STUDIED STUDIED
PRESENT I HAVE BEEN I HAVE NOT HAVE I BEEN WHY HAVE I
STUDYING ENGLISH
BEEN STUDYING ENGLISH?
STUDYING ENGLISH?
BEEN STUDYING
PERFECT
ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
PROGRESSIVE
I HAD BEEN I HAD NOT BEEN HAD I BEEN WHY HAD I BEEN
PAST PERFECT
STUDYING STUDYING STUDYING STUDYING
PROGRESSIVE ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
I WILL HAVE BEEN I WILL NOT HAVE WILL I HAVE WHY WILL I
FUTURE STUDYING BEEN STUDYING BEEN HAVE BEEN
PERFECT ENGLISH ENGLISH STUDYING STUDYING
PROGRESSIVE I AM GOING TO I AM NOT GOING ENGLISH? ENGLISH?
HAVE BEEN TO HAVE BEEN AM I GOING WHY AM I
STUDYING STUDYING TO HAVE GOING TO HAVE
131
ENGLISH ENGLISH BEEN BEEN STUDYING
STUDYING ENGLISH?
ENGLISH?
PARTS OF NOUNS
SPEECH
IT´S THE NAME OF A PERSON, PLACE, THING OR IDEA. ANYTHING THAT CAN BE NAME IS A
NOUN
PROPER WASHINGTON, ANTHONY, JIMMY, LAURA, PARIS, NEW YORK, MOUNT
KILIMANJARO
COMMON TABLE, PEN, RICE, BEENS, WATER, OIL, FIELD
COUNT BOOKS, CARS, CITIES, PENS, COMPUTERS, PRINTERS
NON-COUNT OIL, JUICE, SODA, SUGAR, FLOUR, POWDER, SPAGHETTY
ABSTRACT DREAM, PEACE, LOVE, KINDNESS, JUSTICE
SINGULAR MAN, WOMAN, FOOT,TV, BALL, BOY, CHILD, PERSON, POTATO
PLURAL MEN, WOMEN, FEET, TVS, BALLS, BOYS, CHILDREN, PEOPLE, POTATOES
COLLECTIVE BAND, FAMILY, TEAM, GROUP, FLOCK, HERD
PARTS OF PRONOUNS
SPEECH
IT´S THE WORD THAT TAKES THE PLACE OF A NOUN THAT WAS MADE CLEAR EARLIER IN THE TEXT.
SUBJECT I YOU HE SHE IT WE YOU THEY
OBJECT ME YOU HIM HER IT US YOU THEM
POSSESSIVE MINE YOURS HIS HERS ITS OURS YOURS THEIRS
REFLEXIVE MYSELF YOURSELF HIMSELF HERSELF ITSELF OURSELVES YOURSELVES THEMSELVES
DEMONSTRATIVE NEAR - THIS AND THESE FAR THAT AND THOSE

INTERROGATIVE WHAT - WHERE - WHEN - WHY - WHO - HOW - WHICH - HOW - WHOSE
SOMEBODY – SOMEONE – ANYBODY – ANYONE – EVERYBODY – EVERYONE – EACH – NONE –
INDEFINITE ONE - ALL
RELATIVE WHO, WHICH, THAT, WHERE, WHOEVER, WHATEVER

RECIPROCAL EACH OTHER - ONE ANOTHER
132
Verb Meaning Example
blow up explode The terrorists tried to blow up the railroad station.
My mother brought up that little matter of my prison record

bring up mention a topic
again.
bring up raise children It isn't easy to bring up children nowadays.
call off cancel They called off this afternoon's meeting
do over repeat a job Do this homework over.
fill out complete a form Fill out this application form and mail it in.
fill up fill to capacity She filled up the grocery cart with free food.
My sister found out that her husband had been planning a

find out discover
surprise party for her.
give something to
give
someone else for The filling station was giving away free gas.
away
free
My brother borrowed my car. I have a feeling he's not

give back return an object
about to give it back.
submit something
hand in The students handed in their papers and left the room.
(assignment)
put something on
hang up She hung up the phone before she hung up her clothes.
hook or receiver
I hate to hold up the meeting, but I have to go to the

hold up delay
bathroom.
hold up Three masked gunmen held up the Security Bank this

rob
(2) afternoon.
You left out the part about the police chase down Asylum
leave out omit
Avenue.
The lawyers looked over the papers carefully before

look over examine, check
questioning the witness. (They looked them over carefully.)
look up search in a list You've misspelled this word again. You'd better look it up.
She knew she was in trouble, so she made up a story

make up invent a story or lie
about going to the movies with her friends.
133
He was so far away, we couldn't make out what he was
make out hear, understand
saying.
There were three men in the line-up. She picked out the
pick out choose
guy she thought had stolen her purse.
lift something off The crane picked up the entire house. (Watch them pick it
pick up
something else up.)
As we drove through Paris, Francoise pointed out the

point out call attention to
major historical sites.
We put away money for our retirement. She put away the
put away save or store
cereal boxes.
We asked the boss to put off the meeting until tomorrow.

put off postpone
(Please put it off for another day.)
put clothing on the

put on I put on a sweater and a jacket. (I put them on quickly.)
body
The firefighters put out the house fire before it could

put out extinguish
spread. (They put it out quickly.)
I read over the homework, but couldn't make any sense of

read over peruse
it.
My wife set up the living room exactly the way she wanted
set up to arrange, begin
it. She set it up.
take These are your instructions. Write them down before you
make a written note
down forget.
take off remove clothing It was so hot that I had to take off my shirt.
We have serious problems here. Let's talk them over like

talk over discuss
adults.
throw
discard That's a lot of money! Don't just throw it away.
away
put clothing on to see She tried on fifteen dresses before she found one she
try on
if it fits liked.
try out test I tried out four cars before I could find one that pleased me.
turn
lower volume Your radio is driving me crazy! Please turn it down.
down
turn reject He applied for a promotion twice this year, but he was
134
down (2) turned down both times.
turn up raise the volume Grandpa couldn't hear, so he turned up his hearing aid.
turn off switch off electricity We turned off the lights before anyone could see us.
turn off
repulse It was a disgusting movie. It really turned me off.
(2)
switch on the
turn on Turn on the CD player so we can dance.
electricity
exhaust, use The gang members used up all the money and went out to
use up
completely rob some more banks.

call on ask to recite in class The teacher called on students in the back row.
The old minister continued to call on his sick

call on (2) visit
parishioners.
recover from sickness or I got over the flu, but I don't know if I'll ever get
get over
disappointment over my broken heart.
The students went over the material before the

go over review
exam. They should have gone over it twice.
They country went through most of its coal

go through use up; consume reserves in one year. Did he go through all his
money already?
My mother promised to look after my dog while I

look after take care of
was gone.
The police will look into the possibilities of

look into investigate
embezzlement.
I ran across my old roommate at the college

run across find by chance
reunion.
Carlos ran into his English professor in the

run into meet
hallway.
take after resemble My second son seems to take after his mother.
It seemed strange to see my old boss wait on

wait on serve
tables.
135
interrupt (a I was talking to Mom on the phone when the operator
break in on
conversation) broke in on our call.
After our month-long trip, it was time to catch up with

catch up with keep abreast
the neighbors and the news around town.
The boys promised to check up on the condition of

check up on examine, investigate
the summer house from time to time.
to contribute After years of giving nothing, the old parishioner was

come up with
(suggestion, money) able to come up with a thousand-dollar donation.
We tried to cut down on the money we were

cut down on curtail (expenses)
spending on entertainment.
I hope none of my students drop out of school this

drop out of leave school
semester.
have a good I found it very hard to get along with my brother when
get along with
relationship with we were young.
Janik cheated on the exam and then tried to get away

get away with escape blame
with it.
The citizens tried to get rid of their corrupt mayor in

get rid of eliminate
the recent election.
get through with finish When will you ever get through with that program?
It's hard to keep up with the Joneses when you lose

keep up with maintain pace with
your job!
anticipate with I always look forward to the beginning of a new

look forward to
pleasure semester.
It's typical of a jingoistic country that the citizens look

look down on despise
down on their geographical neighbors.
We were going to look in on my brother-in-law, but he

look in on visit (somebody)
wasn't home.
Good instructors will look out for early signs of failure

look out for be careful, anticipate
in their students
look up to respect First-graders really look up to their teachers.
Make sure of the student's identity before you let him

make sure of verify
into the classroom.
136
The teacher had to put up with a great deal of
put up with tolerate
nonsense from the new students.
The runners ran out of energy before the end of the

run out of exhaust supply
race.
My oldest sister took care of us younger children after

take care of be responsible for
Mom died.
The star player talked back to the coach and was

talk back to answer impolitely
thrown off the team.
I often think back on my childhood with great

think back on recall
pleasure.
Her husband walked out on her and their three

walk out on abandon
children.
Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend;

you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left. Aldo Leopold
If people destroy something replaceable made by mankind,

they are called vandals;
if they destroy something irreplaceable made by God,
they are called developers. Joseph Wood Krutch
It is absolutely imperative that we protect,

preserve and pass on this genetic heritage for man
and every other living thing in as good a condition as we received it.
David R. Brower
137
But why all the butts? – Responda a estas perguntas em Português
1. What do many smokers do with their cigarette butts?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What would they do if it was a can instead of a butt?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. What were some examples of no use for the butts by the “circle of life”?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What is the idea of the author about changing the color of the butts?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. What was the message of the Native American in the commercial?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
6. What did the public pressure do to the cigarette companies?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Pollution and its negative effects – Responda a estas perguntas em Português
1. What is pollution according to the article?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. When does pollution occur?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. What are the sources of pollution?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What is necessary to prevent pollution?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Climate change and global warming - Responda em Português.
1. What does Climate mean in the text?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. How does climate differ from weather?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What are some of the evidences in normal variability or irregularity on climate?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Lately, what are some of the indicators for the evidence of climate warming across
the globe?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. What are some of the major consequences for global warming?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

7 Ways to protect the environment - Responda em Português.
1. We all want to protect our planet, but why don´t we do that?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the 7 simple habits that could make a difference?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What does it say about the 1st habit?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What does it say about the 2nd habit?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. What does it say about the 3rd habit?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. What does it say about the 4th habit?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Sustainable Development - Responda em Português.
1. What is the definition of Sustainable Development?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the focus of Sustainable Development?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the consequences of inaction?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Is Sustainable Development a new idea? Explain it.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. What does the UN GEO-2000 point out and what is our reaction to it?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. What are the 7 critical actions needed to ensure good quality of life?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
World Water Day - Responda em Português.
1. When was World Water Day observation declared and by whom?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. What do they (UN and its members) devote this day to?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. Who else does promote World Water Day and why do they do that?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. How often do the World Water Council get together and what´s the highlight of it?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Earth Day
Responda em Portugues
What is the main purpose for the Earth Day?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
When and by whom was Earth Day founded?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Who coordinates Earth Day and where is it celebrated?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Bio-Fuels and the Environment
What are some of the concerns about investors in bio-fuels?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What is essential to the supply chain of any green fuel project?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What are some of the alternatives for fossil fuel that has increased and what are the
consequences of it?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What does the investors´ report say about the bio-fuels?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

The Disappearing Honeybee
Why are honeybees important to humans?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What is happening to honeybees lately?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What are some of the consequences of honeybees disappearing?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What is the most import thing humans can do to save them and why?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Pollution: Water, Air and Soil Contamination – Responda em Português
1. How much of the population die at a young age due to pollutants in the water, soil and air? Where do
these deaths occur?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. How many people in the world do not have access to clean water? What are some of the characteristics
of the water these people drink?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are some of the sources for indoor air pollution? What is the problem with that?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some of sources of outdoor air pollution and what are some of the consequences of it?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. What are some of the main sources of soil pollution? What are the consequences of it?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

Eco-Communities - Dockside Green – Responda em Português
1. What are some of the new trends of the Green Movement?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the primary plan for the Dockside Green Community?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are some of the environmental choices the builders are making in the Dockside Green
Community?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some of the top priorities in Eco-Communities in relation to Energy Efficiency ?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. What are some of the future concerns the planners of Dockside Green have in mind?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
6. What are some of the other Eco-Communities in work around the world?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

How to Feed a Hungry World – Responda em Português
1. What are some of the uncertainties when it comes to food production in the world?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. One Official from FAO-UN says that it is easily possible to feed the world in the future. That would be
possible based on what prospective?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the second green revolution? What are some of the requirements for this to come about?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some of the things developing countries can do to improve productivity?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

5. What are some of the reasons for what scientists came together at the Global Conference on
Agricultural Research for Development?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
6. What are some of the particularities of the agricultural research in 1970 and since then?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the importance of GM (Genetically Modified) crops for agriculture?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
8. According to the article, the hunger problem in the world is not due to Food shortage, but rather the
poverty. What are some of the examples for that?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

MASSING LIFE 2 – Responda as perguntas em Português
1. What are some of the different ways you can measure Biomass?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the role of Primary Producers on Biomass?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. What are some assumptions from insects in Biomass?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4. What is the influence of sociality in Biomass?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

5. What was the most successful method of generating Biomass in the past?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
6. What is the most effective method created by humans?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
What is the other man-made impact on Biomass Calculations in the environment?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

MASSING LIFE 3 – Responda as perguntas em Português
1. What was the finding on the first study on fish Biomass?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What has the second study on fish Biomass found?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. How was the assessing of Biomass before fish - what are the numbers found after that?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What causes and what is the result of the oceans becoming more acidic?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

5. What is the immediate impact of producing calcium carbonate?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. What are some of the progresses made recently by Wilson on what is the fate of
carbonate in the oceans?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the different focus of Biomass research?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the result of the usage of fertilizers to the soil in order to increase the nitrogen for
agriculture by humans?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

9. What are some of the limiting factors constraining Biomass in other ecosystems?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
10. What has the accumulating results of Biomass research done to scientists in the field?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

MASSING LIFE – Responda as perguntas em Português
1. What is Biomass?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. What has driven the interest in the research of Biomass?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What have been some of the plenty surprises described in the text?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. What has the study done in biomass, viruses and bacteria found?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. What has been the fact confirmed by the study on biomass efficiency?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6. What did William Whitman say about viruses?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

7. What did William Wiebe say about the same topic (viruses)?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
8. What are the two main components of biomass in terms of bulk, discounting the viruses?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
9. What does it say about Plants in the picture in relation to photosynthesis?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
10. What does it say about Prokaryotes in the picture in relation to photosynthesis?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
11. What about the Viruses in the same context?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
12. What about the Necromass?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Carbon Free in the USA
Responda as perguntas em Português
1. Why was the usage of Solar Panels seemed unattainable in the past and now it doesn´t?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the rebound?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What are some examples given by Europe to avoid the rebound effect?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some of the measures that can be done by homeowners to save energy?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the solution at hand touted by Bill Clinton?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. What are some of the characteristics of Solar Leasing?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. What has been the drop in prices for Photovoltaic?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the big problem with PV (on individual buildings)?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

9. What is the proposal made by the Obama´s Administration on energy?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
10. What are the problems and what could be the solution for renewable, energy-efficient
program to be put in place?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

This Is Your Ocean on Acid
1. What is the difference between Dewey´s tidelands and land-based farms?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Who is Dewey?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What does the Taylor Shellfish Company operates on?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What does the report from NOAA Fisheries Service on seafood production say?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

A Shellfish Story
1. What is the Willapa Bay?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What kind of Oyster is the Bay especially suited for growing?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What happened to the Oyster production in the Bay by 2005?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What did both Taylor Shellfish and Whiskey Shellfish witness in Tillamook-Oregon?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

5. What was the support received by shellfish farmers from Senator Maria Cantwell?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. What did Mark Wiegardt said on the IOOS?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. What did Richard Feely said about Calcium Carbonate?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Swallowing Emissions - Responda as perguntas em Português
1. What has happened to the levels of carbon in atmosphere in the last 100 years and why
has that happened?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What has a study published in Science on ocean acidity found in 2012?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What are some other examples of significant impact of carbon emissions besides oyster
die-offs?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

CORAL COLLAPSE - Responda a estas perguntas em Português
1. What did David Kline say about the coral reefs?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. What are some other things threatening the coral reefs besides ocean acidification?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. What did David say about the erosion of coral reefs?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are some of the numbers showing the importance of coral for the economy?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. What are some of the sea animals that use and feed on the reefs?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
6. What did Mark Spalding say about the coral reefs?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
7. What did the report from Status of Coral Reefs of the World find in 2008?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
8. What are some of the effects of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
9. What are the effects of warm ocean waters?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
10. What are some of the changes occurring in the oceans that are irreversible for centuries?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Piecemeal Solutions – Responda a estas perguntas em Português
1. What is the main agreement in between ocean experts?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Outside of Massive sites, what is the amount of coral reefs that are protected and what
are some examples of them?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. What was said about the Great Barrier Reef in the text?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What does Kline say about Coral Reefs?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. What are some of the precautions some Shellfish Farmers can take to prevent
corrosive, acidic water from entering their breeding tanks?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

6. What did Jane Luchenco say to Senator Cantwell about cutting the funding for ocean
acidification monitoring?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
7. What are some other measurements shellfish hatcheries can employ to avoid acidic
sea water?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
8. When it comes to protect and restore sea grass, what has happened to Florida´s
coast?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
9. What are some of the strategies Spalding adds to control the pH of individual areas?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
10. In order to set reduced targets for worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, what should
we do according to Feely?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Resistant to Change – Responda a estas perguntas em Português
1. Who is Rob Jackson?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. What did researchers recommend on the U.S. Carbon Science Plan in its latest
version from 2011?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. How serious is ocean acidification?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4. Is there anything that can be done to reverse it?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
5. Is it possible to institute changes on a local level to address acidification?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

6. What are the big strategies that the U.S. would need to put in place to curtail
emissions?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
7. What are Jackson´s opinions on the public resistance on tar sands pipeline?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
8. In Jackson´s opinion, are the companies receptive to emission reductions?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
9. Does Jackson think that addressing emissions be stalled until after elections?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Rising Waters and Political Wrangling – Responda a estas perguntas em Português
1. Who is Lewis Lawrence? What does He do?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. What does Tea Party affiliated groups say about local planners and government?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. Who is David Rector? What does he say about it??
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4. What is the Agenda 21?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
5. What else besides measuring sea-level rise are scientists doing in the Chesapeake
Bay?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

6. Where are these studies(besides sea-level rise) taking place?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the opinion of S. Fred Singer on sea-rise level?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the opinion of John Boon on it?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
9. What happened when a storm hit the peninsula in 1933?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
10. What does Lawrence say to investors in the area ?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Geothermal Powerhouse Kenya maximizes its potential
Responda a estas perguntas em Português
1. For Geothermal power industry, where is the best natural steam found?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the potential for geothermal power in Kenya and what are the plans for 2030?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the biggest problem with it?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
4. What does George Percy, the managing director from Cluff Geothermal say about this
high risk business?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
5. What does the text say about this type of energy generation?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Solar Skylight harnesses the Power of daylight
1. What has Enfocus come up with?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
2. What are the company´s patented Diamond-Power panels?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
3. What does the sales pitch suggest about it?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
4. What makes the Diamond-Power panels different from those PV panels that you
retrofit to an existing roof?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Sunscreen in the Sky? Reflective Particles May Combat Warming
1. What is the idea behind the new geo-engineering project to counteract the effects of
global warming?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
2. Where was the idea inspired from and why?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
3. What is the idea behind the Davidson´s project?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
4. What is it new about Davidson´s idea?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

5. What does Jackson say about the project?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
6. What is Davidson´s opinion on the risks of spraying?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
7. What do both, Jackson and Davidson, say about this project?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

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1st

Editor, Project Manager and Designer: Anderson Romanhuk

Dedication and Thanks

Student Book and Workbook

Boston – MA – USA – 2004/2007 Miami, FL – USA – 2008/2010

Goiânia - GO – BRAZIL – 2011

Cigarette butts are litter, right?

I have a confession to make.

Similarly, public pressure on cigarette companies compelled them to admit to the

a) because there were butts on the ground next to his feet

3. Of the following, who is most likely to have Herculean strength?

a) someone who plays disc golf

a) He is angry about all of the cigarette butts.

1. Why does the author go to the park to play disc golf?

a) He noticed cigarette butts were on the ground near the tees.

2. Why does the author compare a cigarette butt to an aluminum can?

a) because both are located on the course in the park

a) butts beginning as filters then travel full-circle and become waste

a) Pink cigarette butts would be an obvious form of litter to most people.

a) many laws enacted in the last ten years

a) He is angry about all of the cigarette butts.

1. The damage caused by pollution might be irreversible:

a. can always cope with pollutants

b. may not always be able to cope with pollution.

a. is always caused by humans.

b. may sometimes be caused by natural disasters.

4. An ideal solution to prevent pollution would be to

a. refrain the development of some countries.

b. continue developmental projects.

Write a review for the article above.

Climate encompasses the

Consequences of global warming

• Amounts and patterns of precipitation are changing.

1. Climate is by definition variable.

2. Climate change observed in the last decades is natural.

4. Greenhouse effects have no impacts on our health.

Write a review for the article above.

We all want to protect our planet,

These are 7 simple habits to

5. Detergent: Follow the recommended dose of detergent to wash your clothes or

1. Fluorescent light bulbs waste more energy

3. The 7 tips suggested

a. to save money. b. protect the environment.

c. to save money and protect the environment.

Write a review for the article above.

• Change the quality of growth

• Ensure a sustainable level of population

• Conserve and enhance the resource base

• Reorient technology and manage risk

• Include and combine environment and economics considerations in decision-making

1. Sustainable development is:

a. a new concept, b. based on old ideas

a. the relationship between man and b. a development that takes into

3. action to implement the concept of sustainable development is:

a. slow, b. already taking place at a reasonable

Write a review for the article above.

World Water Day is

1. World Water Day was first proposed in 1993 in Rio de Janeiro.

3. Not everybody has access to drinking water.

Write a review for the article above.

Many countries around

The first Earth Day

1. The first Earth Day was celebrated around the world

2. The celebration became international thanks to Senator Gaylord Nelson