MODULE 2: The Greenhouse Effect

Table of Contents
MODULE 2: The Greenhouse Effect ...............................................................................................................................1
Module Overview ..........................................................................................................................................................2
Module 2 Key Vocabulary ..............................................................................................................................................4
Lesson 1: What is the Greenhouse Effect? ..................................................................................................................12
Lesson 2: Greenhouse Gases .......................................................................................................................................15
Intermediate Reading Practice: A Blanket Around the Earth ......................................................................................17
Advanced Reading Practice: A Blanket Around the Earth ...........................................................................................20
Lesson 3: Nature’s Role in the Greenhouse Effect ......................................................................................................23
Lesson 4: Language Focus: Present Progressive ..........................................................................................................26
Quiz 1: Present Simple vs. Present Progressive ...........................................................................................................28
Lesson 5: The Burning of Fossil Fuels...........................................................................................................................29
Lesson 6: Language Focus: Cause and Effect ...............................................................................................................31
Quiz 2: Cause and Effect ..............................................................................................................................................33
Intermediate Reading Practice: Need Strategies to Clear the Air? Ask a Megacity. ...................................................34
Advanced Reading Practice: Need Strategies to Clear the Air? Ask a Megacity. .........................................................37
Lesson 7: Deforestation and Farming ..........................................................................................................................39
Lesson 8: The Disposal of Waste .................................................................................................................................41
Optional Discussion: Human Sources of the Greenhouse Effect .................................................................................44
Module 2: Wrap-Up and Looking Ahead .....................................................................................................................45

© 2021 by FHI 360. “Module 2 Packet: The Greenhouse Effect” for the Online Professional English Network
(OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and
administered by FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of “Unit 2: The Greenhouse Effect”, by The University of
1
Pennsylvania licensed under the Creative Commons Share-Alike License. To view a copy of the license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Module Overview

This work is a derivative of "Untitled" by Benita5, "Untitled" by Medi2Go, and "Untitled" by FelixMittermeier under Pixabay license.
This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the Online Professional English Network, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State and administered by FHI 360

This Module Packet does not include quiz questions. You must complete all quizzes online. You must pass each
quiz with at least 70% to move to Module 3.

OVERVIEW
Welcome to Module 2 of the English for STEM MOOC!

In Module 1, you investigated why the Earth is getting warmer and learned about the topic of climate change. In
this module, you will examine the chemistry of climate change. Through readings and videos, you will explore how
different chemicals and gases affect the environment. We will focus on the greenhouse effect. We will also focus
on two language areas: the present progressive tense and the language of cause and effect. We will practice using
this language to explain climate change and its causes.

Learning Objectives:
• Become familiar with the greenhouse effect.
• Be able to identify several causes of climate change.
• Use the present progressive.
• Understand the language of cause and effect
• Define and accurately use content-related vocabulary in course activities and games
• Read, watch, and listen to a variety of texts and multimedia sources
• Demonstrate your understanding of these texts and key course ideas through participation in discussion
boards.

2
TO-DO LIST

In order to successfully complete Module 2, please do the following:

1. Review: Module 2 videos, presentations, and articles.

2. Discuss: Join your colleagues in a discussion forum (optional).

Describe a man-made source of Greenhouse Effect

3. Check-In: Complete the following quizzes:

1. Quiz 1: Present Simple vs. Present Progressive*
2. Reading Practice: A Blanket Around the Earth (Optional: Intermediate / Advanced)
3. Quiz 2: Cause and Effect*
4. Reading Practice: Need Strategies to Clear the Air? Ask a Megacity. (Optional: Intermediate /
Advanced)
5. Module 2 Check

*You must score at least 70% on all graded quizzes to receive your digital badge and certificate.

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Module 2 Key Vocabulary
Module 2 will feature the following key vocabulary words. They will be highlighted in bold. You can return to this
page to review as needed. These words may appear in quizzes throughout the course.

agriculture (n)

Definition: Agriculture is the practice of farming.

Sample sentence: The clearing of land for agriculture has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

an atom (n)

Definition: An atom is the smallest piece of an element.

Sample Sentence: Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

a cause (n)

Definition: A cause is a reason that something happens.

Sample Sentence: Heavy rain is a cause of flooding.

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composting (n)

Definition: Composting means breaking down organic matter such as plants and animals to provide more nutrients
for the soil.
Sample sentence: Through composting, organic waste is not sent to landfills. This means that less methane is
released into the atmosphere.

a connector (n)

Definition: A connector is something that joins two or more things together. In English, connectors are words that
tie two ideas together.
Sample Sentence: Examples of connectors are "so", "therefore", and "consequently".

To decompose (v)

Definition: To decompose is to destroy or break down into simpler compounds.

Sample Sentence: As organic matter decomposes; it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

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deforestation (n)

Definition: Deforestation is the destruction or clearing of forests to make land available for other uses.
Sample sentence: Deforestation happens so people can use the wood from trees to create fuel, paper, and other
commercial goods.

AN EFFECT (N)

Definition: An effect is the consequence of an action.

Sample sentence: Flooding is an effect of heavy rain.

an element (n)

Definition: An element is the simplest form of a substance.

Sample sentence: The two elements that make up water vapor are hydrogen and oxygen.

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to emit (v)

Definition: To emit something means to send out energy like light, heat, or sound.
Sample Sentence: The sun emits energy to the earth through sunlight.

evaporate (v)

Definition: To evaporate means to turn a liquid into a gas.

Sample Sentence: As the Earth gets warmer, more water evaporates into the atmosphere.

a fossil fuel (n)

Definition: A fossil fuel is a natural material such as oil, coal, or gas that is burned to create energy.
Sample Sentence: The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

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the greenhouse effect (n)

Definition: The greenhouse effect is when certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat created by the sun.
Sample Sentence: Nature plays a role in the greenhouse effect, because trees, soil, and oceans all release
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

incineration (n)

Definition: Incineration is a process involving the burning of waste.

Sample Sentence: Incineration releases harmful pollutants into the air, including greenhouse gases which are
breathed in by people or can cause problems for water, plants, wildlife, and the climate.

Infrared radiation (n)

Definition: Infrared radiation is a type of energy commonly known as heat.

Sample Sentence: Energy absorbed by the land and water heats up the Earth and is emitted or sent as infrared
radiation.

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a landfill (n)

Definition: A landfill is a place to bury waste.

Sample Sentence: Dangerous chemicals can contaminate both the soil and the groundwater in areas around a
landfill.

photosynthesis (v)

Definition: Photosynthesis is a chemical process by which plants make food.

Sample Sentence: Trees take carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into oxygen during photosynthesis.

to recycle (v)

Definition: When you recycle, you change waste into something useful.
Sample Sentence: When you recycle a metal can, it goes into a plant where it is cleaned and melted. It is then
rolled out and made into another aluminum product.

9
a sink (n)

Definition: A sink is something that absorbs greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and stores them.
Sample Sentence: Forests are a primary carbon sink in our environment.

a source (n)

Definition: A source is any process or activity that releases a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere
Sample Sentence: One natural source of carbon dioxide is animal and plant respiration.

waste disposal (n)

Definition: Waste disposal means throwing away something we do not want.

Sample Sentence: The four main methods of waste disposal are landfills, incineration, composting, and recycling.

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IMAGE CREDITS:
1. agriculture This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Marcus Spiske via Unsplash under the Unsplash license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
2. an atom Untitled Image by Memed_Nurrohmad via Pixabay is licensed under the Pixabay license.
3. a cause This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Benfe and an untitled image by Hans via Pixabay under the Pixabay
license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
4. composting This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Ben_Kerckx via PIxabay under the Pixabay license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
5. a connector This work is a derivative of an untitled image Efe Kurnaz via Unsplash under the Unsplash license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
6. to decompose This work is a derivative of an untitled image by adege via Pixabay under Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed
under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S.
government and administered by FHI 360.
7. deforestation This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Free-Photos via Pixabay under the Pixabay license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the
U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
8. an effect This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Benfe and an untitled image by Hans via Pixabay under the Pixabay
license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360
9. an element This work is a derivative of "The periodic table of chemical elements" by DoubleSharp via Wikimedia Commons. under
CC BY SA 4.0. This derivative is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
10. to emit This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Thomas Millot via Unsplash under Unsplash license. This derivative is
licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided
by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
11. to evaporate This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Ayaneshu Bhardwaj via Unsplash under Unsplash license. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with
funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
12. fossil fuels This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Chris Haws via Unsplash under Unsplash license, an untitled image by
PublicDomainPictures, an untitled image by Onze Creativijd, and an untitled image by jp26jp via Pixabay under Pixabay license This
derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with
funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
13. the greenhouse effect This work is a derivative of the "greenhouse effect" by A loose necktie via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY SA
4.0 This derivative is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
14. incineration This work is a derivative of " burn pile" by Bagoto via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY SA 4.0 This derivative is licensed
under CC BY SA 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the
U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
15. infrared radiation This work is a derivative of "171879main_LimbFlareJan12_lg" by NASA via Wikimedia Commons under Public
Domain / U.S. Government Works This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by
the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
16. a landfill This work is a derivative of an untitled image by PublicDomainImages via Pixabay under Pixabay License This derivative is
licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided
by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
17. photosynthesis This work is a derivative of Photosynthesis by Nefronus via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY SA 4.0 This derivative is
licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding
provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.
18. to recycle "Recycling Symbol" by Krdan via Wikimedia Commons is under Public Domain.
19. a sink This work is a derivative of "Carbon Cycle" by U.S. DOE, Biological and Environmental Research Information System via
Wikimedia Commons under Public Domain / U.S. Government Works. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in
the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by
FHI 360.
20. a source This work is a derivative of "Carbon Cycle" by U.S. DOE, Biological and Environmental Research Information System via
Wikimedia Commons under Public Domain / U.S. Government Works. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in
the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by
FHI 360.
21. waste disposal This work is a derivative of an untitled image by the blowup via Unsplash under the Unsplash license. This derivative
is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by
the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

11
Lesson 1: What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Hello, and welcome to Module Two. In this lesson, we're going to answer the question, "what is the greenhouse
effect?" We will learn how the greenhouse effect works, and how it affects the Earth.

W H A T I S T H E G R E E N H O U S E E FF E C T ?

a greenhouse (n.)

Before we get into the science behind how the greenhouse effect works, let's first look at a simple example. To do
this, we will look at a greenhouse. A greenhouse is a glass building used to protect plants from cold. It looks like
this. So how does it work?

A greenhouse is a small house made of glass, that allows sunlight to enter. When the sun enters the house, it
warms up the plants and air inside. Some of this heat is released or given away, and the rest gets trapped or held
inside by the glass building. During the daytime, the greenhouse heats up. And at night, when the sun sets, the
heat that is trapped inside keeps the temperature warm.

The Earth's atmosphere is just like this greenhouse.

On the Earth, certain gases in its atmosphere trap or hold the sun's heat, just like in a greenhouse. This is called the
greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is when certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap or hold heat
created by the sun.

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HOW DOES THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT WORK?

the greenhouse effect (n.)

To better understand how it works, let's look at a model of the greenhouse effect.

Look at the picture. In the picture, you see an image of the Earth. The sun in the picture is emitting or sending out
energy to Earth through sunlight. A lot of this energy is absorbed by the land and water. The rest of the energy is
reflected back to space, as you can see by the arrows.

The energy absorbed by the land and water heats up the Earth and is emitted or sent as infrared radiation.
Infrared radiation is a type of energy commonly known as heat.

Some of the infrared radiation is then trapped by greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere, while the rest is
reflected back to space. This heat trapped by greenhouse gases helps to keep the Earth's temperature warm.

IS THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT GOOD OR BAD?

The Moon above the Earth's atmosphere

So, is the greenhouse effect good or bad? Well, it's both. The greenhouse effect is good because it helps to keep
the earth warm enough for humans, plants, and animals to survive.

Think about this in comparison to the moon.

The moon almost has no atmosphere to trap heat. So, its dark side gets cold to negative 153 degrees Celsius.
Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth, like the moon, would be too cold for us to live. However, there's a
problem. Recently, greenhouse gases have been increasing on Earth, causing the Earth's temperature to rise.
Scientists have evidence that this increase in greenhouse gases is the cause of global warming.

As you remember, global warming is the long-term increase in the temperature of the Earth. And as we learned in
unit one, global warming causes climate change or the long-term changes of climates in different regions of the
world. These changes can cause extreme weather like hurricanes and tropical storms, and other problems we will
learn about later in this course.

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SUMMARY
In this video, we learned about how the greenhouse effect works, and how it affects the Earth.

WHAT NEXT?
Can you name the four main types of greenhouse gases? Do you know how they are made? We will answer these
questions in the next video.

IMAGE CREDITS:
1. A greenhouse: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Rafael Rex Felisida via Unsplash under the Unsplash
license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

2. The greenhouse effect: This work is a derivative of "greenhouse effect" by A loose necktie via Wikimedia Commons
under CC BY SA 4.0 This derivative is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored
by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

3. The moon above the Earth's atmosphere: This work is a derivative of "The waxing gibbous Moon above the South
China Sea" by NASA under the Public Domain / U.S. Government Works This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI
360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S.
government and administered by FHI 360.

14
Lesson 2: Greenhouse Gases

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

In the last lesson, we learned about the greenhouse effect. In particular, we learned how it works and how it
affects the Earth. In this lesson, we are going to learn about four of the main greenhouse gases that contribute to
the greenhouse effect.

Remember, greenhouse gases trap or hold heat created by the Sun. The four gases we will look at in this video are
water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

WATER VAPOR

an atom (n.)

Let's start by looking at water vapor, the most common of all the greenhouse gases. Water vapor is made of two
elements. An element is the simplest form of a substance.

The two elements that make up water vapor are hydrogen and oxygen. There are two hydrogen atoms and one
oxygen atom in water vapor. An atom is the smallest piece of an element.
How is water vapor made?

evaporation (n.)

Water vapor is made through evaporation. Evaporation is the process of a liquid turning into a gas.

Water vapor is a natural part of our atmosphere and plays a big role in weather and climate. Water vapor is
directly connected to evaporation. That means, that the warmer the Earth gets, the more water vapor there is in
the atmosphere. As water vapor increases, it traps more heat in the Earth's atmosphere. This causes temperatures
to get warmer. This is called a positive feedback loop.

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CARBON DIOXIDE
The second most common greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is made up of two elements, carbon,
and oxygen. There is one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms in carbon dioxide.
How is carbon dioxide made?
Carbon dioxide is made by natural processes such as breathing, the decomposition or decay of living things, and
volcanic eruptions. It is also made by humans through actions like the cutting down of trees, known as
deforestation, and the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are natural materials such as oil, coal, or gas that are
burned to create energy.

There has been a large increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere over the past several decades
because of human activity. Such as making electricity and driving cars. This increase in carbon dioxide has been
identified as a main factor of global warming and climate change.

METHANE
The third most common greenhouse gas is methane. Methane is made up of two elements, carbon, and hydrogen.
There is one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms in methane.
How is methane made?
Methane is created by natural things such as wetlands, termites, and oceans. It is also made by humans through
things like fossil fuel production, agriculture or farming, and waste. Although there is less methane in the
atmosphere, it traps more heat than other greenhouse gases.

NITROUS OXIDE
The last greenhouse gas we will learn about is nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is made up of two elements, nitrogen,
and oxygen. There are two nitrogen atoms and one oxygen atom in nitrous oxide.

How is nitrous oxide made?

Nitrous oxide is created by natural things such as soil and the oceans. Natural sources create the majority of
nitrous oxide in our environment. Like many of the greenhouse gases, human activity also creates nitrous oxide.
These activities include things like agriculture, the burning of fossil fuels, and industrial processes.
As we know, the greenhouse effect is a good thing because it makes the Earth warm enough for us to live.
However, recently, these greenhouse gases have increased in the environment because of human activity. This
increase in these greenhouse gases is the main cause of climate change.

SUMMARY
In this video, we learned about four of the main greenhouse gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect.

WHAT NEXT?
In the next video, we will learn more about the natural causes of the greenhouse effect and how the Earth's
environment tries to get rid of greenhouse gases through something called natural sinks.

IMAGE CREDITS
1. An atom: Untitled Image by Memed_Nurrohmad via Pixabay is licensed under the Pixabay license.

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 2. Evaporation: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Ayaneshu Bhardwaj via Unsplash under Unsplash
license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government.

Intermediate Reading Practice: A Blanket Around the

Earth
>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

This reading quiz is targeted to intermediate learners. If you would like to read a more difficult article, you can skip
this quiz and take the Advanced Reading Practice quiz that follows. This is an optional practice quiz.

INSTRUCTIONS:
All questions in this quiz refer to the reading below.

"Untitled Image" by Martin Eklund is licensed under Pixabay license

The causes of climate change

Since the 1950s, scientists have noticed a global warming trend. They say that this warming trend is due to the
human expansion of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect happens when the atmosphere traps the
Earth’s heat.

Some gases in the atmosphere stop heat from escaping. A portion of these gases remain in the atmosphere. They
do not respond to changes in temperature. Scientists say these gases are "forcing" climate change.

Other gases, such as water vapor, respond to changes in temperature. Scientists call these "feedbacks."
Greenhouse gases
Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:

• Water vapor. Water vapor is the most common greenhouse gas. It also acts as a feedback to the climate.
Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms. It also increases the possibility of clouds and
rain. These are some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.

17
 • Carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is a minor but important part of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is released
through natural processes and human activities. Examples of natural processes are breathing and volcano
eruptions. Examples of human activities are deforestation, land-use changes, and burning fossil fuels.
Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by 47% since the Industrial Revolution began.
This is the most important "forcing" of climate change.
• Methane. Methane is a hydrocarbon gas. Like CO2, it is produced both through natural sources and
human activities. Landfill waste is an example of a human source of methane. Agriculture is another
human source of methane. For example, rice farming produces significant amounts of methane. Domestic
livestock, such as cows and sheep, are also significant sources of methane. Methane is a far more active
greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. But there is also much less of it in the atmosphere.
• Nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas. It comes from soil cultivation practices in
farming, such as commercial and organic fertilizers. Burning fossil fuels and biomass also produce large
amounts of nitrous oxide.
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs are synthetic compounds. This means they are not natural at all. They
are completely manmade and very powerful. CFCs are so powerful that they can destroy the ozone layer.

Human activities
Human activities are changing the Earth's natural greenhouse. Humans burn fossil fuels like coal and oil. These are
a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The process of burning coal and oil combines carbon
with oxygen in the air to make CO2.

Deforestation has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases. Deforestation is the clearing of land for
agriculture, industry, and other human activities. This has less of an impact than fossil fuels, but the amount of
deforestation is increasing.

The consequences of climate change

The consequences of climate change are difficult to predict. But some effects seem likely:
• The Earth will become warmer.
o Some regions will become wetter. Warmer conditions will lead to more evaporation and rain
around the world.
o Some regions will become dryer. Warmer conditions will lead to more droughts.
• The ocean will become warmer.
o Glaciers and ice sheets will melt.
o Warm ocean water will expand.
o Sea levels will rise
• Crop yields will be affected. "Crop yields" are the number of grains, fruits, and vegetables that farmers
can grow.
o If it gets too hot, crop yields may be smaller.
o Droughts, floods, and extreme temperatures can cause crop losses.
o Crop losses can threaten farmers' livelihoods and the food security of communities worldwide.
o Warmer temperatures, wetter climates, and increased CO2 levels increase weeds, pests, and
fungi. These can also reduce crop yields.
o Rising CO2 can increase plant growth, but it can also reduce nutritional value. More CO2 will
reduce the amount of protein and essential minerals in most plant species.
• There will be new patterns of pests and diseases. This affects plants, animals, and humans. It poses new
risks for food security, food safety, and human health.

The role of human activity

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a group of 1,300 scientists. They say that is very likely that
recent human activities have warmed our planet. In fact, they say the possibility is more than 95 percent. In the
past 150 years, human activities have raised C02 levels from 280 to 414 parts per million.

The role of solar activity

The Sun drives our climate system. We call energy from the sun "solar activity".

You might have heard that changes in solar activity are causing the climate to change. In fact, studies show that
changes in solar activity have changed the climate in the past.

For example, the Earth experienced a Little Ice Age between 1650 and 1850. Some seas froze and glaciers
advanced. This was likely caused by a decrease in solar activity and an increase in volcanic activity.

But changes in solar activity cannot explain the current global warming trend.

Since 1750, the average amount of energy coming from the Sun has not changed much at all. It has remained
constant or only increased.

Only the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere are warming. The upper atmosphere is cooling. That's because
greenhouse gases are trapping heat in the lower atmosphere. Increased solar activity would create warmer
temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere.

Climate models that include changes in solar activity can’t reproduce the current warming trend without including
a rise in greenhouse gases.

19
Advanced Reading Practice: A Blanket Around the
Earth
>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

This reading quiz is targeted to advanced learners. If you would like to read an easier article, you can skip this quiz
and take the Intermediate Reading Practice quiz. This is an optional practice quiz.

INSTRUCTIONS:
All questions in this quiz refer to the reading below.

The Causes of Climate Change

"Untitled Image" by Martin Eklund is licensed under Pixabay license

Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human expansion of the
"greenhouse effect"1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.

Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-permanently in the
atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as "forcing"
climate change. Gases, such as water vapor, which respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are
seen as "feedbacks."

Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include:

• Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the climate.
Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and
precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.

• Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is
released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human

20
 activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased
atmospheric CO2 concentration by 47% since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important
long-lived "forcing" of climate change.

• Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the
decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant
digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a molecule-for-molecule basis,
methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less
abundant in the atmosphere.

• Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of
commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.

• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a number of

applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international
agreement for their ability to contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer. They are also greenhouse
gases.

On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century, the burning of fossil fuels
like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2). This happens because the
coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO 2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of
land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

The consequences of changing the natural atmospheric greenhouse are difficult to predict, but some effects seem
likely:

• On average, Earth will become warmer. Some regions may welcome warmer temperatures, but others
may not.

• Warmer conditions will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation overall, but individual
regions will vary, some becoming wetter and others dryer.

• A stronger greenhouse effect will warm the ocean and partially melt glaciers and ice sheets, increasing
sea level. Ocean water also will expand if it warms, contributing further to sea-level rise.

Outside of a greenhouse, higher atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2) levels can have both positive and negative
effects on crop yields. Some laboratory experiments suggest that elevated CO 2 levels can increase plant growth.
However, other factors, such as changing temperatures, ozone, and water and nutrient constraints, may more
than counteract any potential increase in yield. If optimal temperature ranges for some crops are exceeded, earlier
possible gains in yield may be reduced or reversed altogether.

Climate extremes, such as droughts, floods, and extreme temperatures, can lead to crop losses and threaten the
livelihoods of agricultural producers and the food security of communities worldwide. Depending on the crop and
ecosystem, weeds, pests, and fungi can also thrive under warmer temperatures, wetter climates, and increased
CO2 levels, and climate change will likely increase weeds and pests.

Finally, although rising CO2 can stimulate plant growth, research has shown that it can also reduce the nutritional
value of most food crops by reducing the concentrations of protein and essential minerals in most plant species.
Climate change can cause new patterns of pests and diseases to emerge, affecting plants, animals, and humans,
and posing new risks for food security, food safety and human health. 2

21
The role of human activity
In its Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of 1,300 independent
scientific experts from countries all over the world under the auspices of the United Nations, concluded there's a
more than 95 percent probability that human activities over the past 50 years have warmed our planet.

The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels
from 280 parts per million to 414 parts per million in the last 150 years. The panel also concluded there's a better
than 95 percent probability that human-produced greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide have caused much of the observed increase in Earth's temperatures over the past 50 years.

Solar irradiance
It's reasonable to assume that changes in the Sun's energy output would cause the climate to change since the Sun
is the fundamental source of energy that drives our climate system.

Indeed, studies show that solar variability has played a role in past climate changes. For example, a decrease in
solar activity coupled with an increase in volcanic activity is thought to have helped trigger the Little Ice Age
between approximately 1650 and 1850, when Greenland cooled from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers advanced in
the Alps.

But several lines of evidence show that current global warming cannot be explained by changes in energy from the
Sun:

• Since 1750, the average amount of energy coming from the Sun either remained constant or increased
slightly.

• If the warming were caused by a more active Sun, then scientists would expect to see warmer
temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere. Instead, they have observed a cooling in the upper
atmosphere, and a warming at the surface and in the lower parts of the atmosphere. That's because
greenhouse gases are trapping heat in the lower atmosphere.

• Climate models that include solar irradiance changes can’t reproduce the observed temperature trend
over the past century or more without including a rise in greenhouse gases.

References
1. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014; United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts
in the United States," Cambridge University Press, 2009; Naomi Oreskes, "The Scientific Consensus on Climate
Change," Science 3 December 2004: Vol. 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI: 10.1126/science.1103618

2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: "Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply"

3. Mike Lockwood, “Solar Change and Climate: an update in the light of the current exceptional solar
minimum,” Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 2 December 2009, doi 10.1098/rspa.2009.0519; Judith Lean, “Cycles
and trends in solar irradiance and climate,” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, vol. 1, January/February
2010, 111-122.

Source: © 2020 by FHI 360. "Advanced Reading Practice: A Blanket Around the Earth" for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by
FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of "The Causes of Climate Change", by NASA licensed under public domain / U.S. Government Works.
Adapted content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted. To view a copy of this
license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

22
Lesson 3: Nature’s Role in the Greenhouse Effect

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

In the last lesson, we learned about greenhouse gases: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
In this lesson, we will learn how nature plays a role in either increasing or decreasing the amount of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere. We will look specifically at the carbon cycle and what we call sources and sinks.

W H A T R O L E D O E S N AT U R E P LA Y I N T H E G R EE N H O U S E
EFFECT?
Nature plays a role in the greenhouse effect because trees, soil, and oceans all release greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere. Nature also stores elements or compounds of greenhouse gases in different parts of the earth.
What are carbon sources?

carbon sources (n.)

Any process or activity that releases a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere is called a source. Let's look at some of
the natural sources of carbon dioxide. One source is animal and plant respiration. What's that? Well, for animals
and people, that's breathing. We take in oxygen and we breathe out carbon dioxide. For plants, it's not breathing
the same way humans do, but it does involve taking in oxygen and letting out carbon dioxide in order to release
stored energy.

Another natural source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere is soil respiration and decomposition. What do we
mean by soil respiration or soil breathing? Well, when we mention soil respiration, the dirt itself doesn't breathe.
But all the living things in the dirt do, things like plant roots, or tiny, little insects, bugs, and bacteria. When they
are alive and respire in the soil, we have soil respiration. When they die in the soil, they begin decomposition.

To decompose is to be destroyed or broken down into simpler compounds by microbes, worms, and insects. One
of the products of decomposition is carbon dioxide.

Animal and plant respiration accounts for almost 29% of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Soil respiration and decomposition also account for about 29% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But the
largest natural source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, at about 43%, is the ocean-atmosphere exchange.

23
Exchange is when you give one thing and receive another in return for it. In the ocean-atmosphere exchange, the
oceans and the atmosphere continuously exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen with each other.

That means they both give carbon dioxide and oxygen to each other and take carbon dioxide and oxygen from
each other. In the oceans, like in the soil, a lot of carbon dioxide is produced from the plants and animals that live
beneath the waters.

What is a carbon sink?

Carbon sinks (n.)

We've just reviewed the natural sources of carbon dioxide. What are the sinks? A sink is something that absorbs or
takes in the greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and stores it.

One example of a sink would be trees absorbing carbon dioxide and then releasing oxygen. It is the reverse of
respiration. We call this photosynthesis.

THE CARBON CYCLE: SOURCES AND SINKS WORKING

TOGETHER

"Carbon Cycle" by NASA, adapted from U.S. DOE, Biological and Environmental Information System via earthobservatory.nasa.gov is under
Public Domain / U.S. Government Works.

24
As you can see, things can be sources and sinks. We mentioned earlier that trees and plants were sources. They
are, they are both sources and sinks. They put some carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at night, but they absorb
much more of it during the day.

You can say the same thing about the oceans, they are both sources and sinks. As we explained in describing the
ocean atmosphere exchange, the oceans not only produce some of the carbon dioxide that goes into the
atmosphere, they also store a massive amount of carbon dioxide in the water in the plants that live in it.

This exchange of carbon dioxide between the sources and sinks is called the carbon cycle.

The climate that we and all other living things on Earth are now comfortable with is created in part by this
exchange.

But now experts say the climate is changing because humans are putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
than what occurs naturally between the sources and the sinks.

We will learn that even small changes to these natural cycles can cause large impacts.

SUMMARY
In this lesson, we learned how nature plays a role in both increasing or decreasing the amount of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere. We specifically looked at the carbon cycle in what we call sources and sinks.

WHAT'S NEXT?
In the next video, we will look at how the human activity of burning fossil fuels can threaten the balance of the
carbon cycle.

Reference: The images above, "Carbon Sources" and "Carbon Sinks" are derivatives of "Carbon Cycle" by U.S. DOE, Biological
and Environmental Research Information System via Wikimedia Commons under Public Domain / U.S. Government Works.
These derivatives are licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State with funding provided by the United States government and administered by FHI 360.

25
Lesson 4: Language Focus: Present Progressive

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

In this lesson, we are going to look at two verb tenses, the present simple and the present progressive which is also
sometimes called present continuous. We will examine each of these tenses when we use them and practice their
forms.

THE PRESENT SIMPLE

Let's begin by looking at the present simple.

Use: We use the present simple to say if something happens all the time or is a usual activity. We also use it for
stating facts.

Examples:
I am an English language instructor.
I teach English.
A source releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
A sink absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

You can see that we're using the present simple because we're speaking about things that happen all the time for
me and are usual activities, I teach. In the last two examples, we stated scientific facts. Sources release carbon
dioxide and sinks absorb it. We also used present simple in those sentences.

Form: Okay, so how do we form the present simple? Well, it's not called the present simple for no reason. It's
actually pretty simple to form. You take the base verb and that's it.

Examples:
I teach English.
You teach English.
We teach English.
They teach English.

“Teach” is the base form of the verb “to teach.” The only exception here is the third person singular-- that's he,
she, Alyssa, the teacher, it. In this case, we add an -s or an -es to the end of the base verb.

Example:
Alyssa teaches English.
The factory burns fossil fuel to make electricity.

26
THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
Next, let's look at the present progressive.
Use: This tense is used to speak about actions that are happening right now or right about now.

Examples:
Right now, I am speaking about the present progressive tense.
You are learning how to use it correctly.

Notice how, in this sentence, we used the present progressive. I am speaking and you are learning. I am using the
present progressive because this is happening right now. I am doing it and you are doing it right now. So, we use
the present progressive to talk about an action that is happening right now.

Form:
What is Alyssa doing right now?
Alyssa is reading a text about climate change and is planning a lesson for a new video.
We formed the present progressive by using the verb "be" in the present form. I am, you are, we are, they are,
and he is, she is, it is, then adding the base verb plus -ing. For example:

Alyssa is reading a text.

She is planning a lesson

Subject Be Verb Main Verb + ing

I am speaking

You are listening

Alyssa is reading

She is planning

He is studying

It is raining

We are watching

They are dancing

SUMMARY
In this video we've looked at two tenses, the present simple and the present progressive which is also called
present continuous. If we compare these two tenses, we can see that the present simple is used to speak about
actions that happened all the time or are facts. And the present progressive is used to speak about actions
happening right now.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Take a short quiz to practice the present simple and present progressive.

27
Quiz 1: Present Simple vs. Present Progressive
DIRECTIONS:
Choose the best answer to complete the sentence.

You can take this quiz as many times as you want, and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70%
to pass this quiz.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

28
Lesson 5: The Burning of Fossil Fuels

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

In the last lesson, we learned about the carbon cycle and how sources release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
and sinks absorb or take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it. In this lesson, we will look at one of
the largest sources of carbon dioxide -- fossil fuels. We will learn how fossil fuels were formed and how they're
used to provide heat, energy, and transportation. And finally, we will learn about the impact of burning fossil fuels
on the greenhouse effect.

WHAT ARE FOSSIL FUELS?

In an earlier lesson, we introduced the term fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are natural materials, such as oil, coal, or gas,
that are burned to create energy. You may know the word fossil; fossils are what remains of plants or animals that
lived long, long ago. One example is the impression of a leaf or a small animal from millions of years ago that we
see in a rock today. Fossil fuels are also what remains from living things from millions and millions of years ago.

H O W A R E F O S SI L F U E L S MA D E ?
Fossil fuels are formed from the decomposition of living organisms. The most common examples are oil, natural
gas, and coal. Oil and natural gas were created when plants and animals that died sank to the bottom of the
oceans and rivers and were buried by sediment. Those sediments would have been things like stones in sand that
washed into the water and then sink to the bottom. After time, there were many layers of sediment, and a great
deal of pressure and heat were created. In this intense environment, the remains were decomposed.

Compounds are composed of two or more separate elements. So, to make a compound simpler, you take them
apart, so that each compound has fewer elements. Millions of years later, these compounds became oil or natural
gas.

Coal is created in a similar way. For coal, it was trees or other plants that were buried in wet swamplands. When
the plants died, they fell into the bottom of the swamps. As time went by, more plants died, and they formed a
thick layer at the bottom of the water. These layers were then buried by dirt and water. The heat and pressure
under, at the bottom of the piles, cause chemical reactions. In the end, after the oxygen was pushed out and
mostly carbon remained, the materials that were left became coal. Oil, natural gases, and coal have all played an
important part in helping the world develop since the Industrial Revolution, when modern machines were
invented to make our lives better.

29
H O W A R E F O S SI L F U E L S US E D ?
In modern society, many places in the world get their electricity so easily by simply plugging in a cord into a wall,
but that electricity must be created somewhere. The largest share of greenhouse gas emissions come from burning
fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gases, to make electricity.

In modern society, it is also very convenient and easy to get from one place to another. You can visit another city
or another country in one day, but most forms of transportation also depend on fossil fuels. Planes, trains, cars,
trucks, ships -- they burn oil products, such as gasoline, petrol, or diesel, to make them run. Factories that make
everything that we fill our stores with, such as clothes, toys, electronics, and cars, all use the burning of fossil fuels
to make their machines work and to heat their buildings.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF FOSSIL FUELS?

As we can see, most of us depend on burning fossil fuels for making almost everything we use and taking us almost
everywhere we go. But burning so many fossil fuels does have an impact on the environment. It pushes all the
carbon dioxide that was stored in the Earth up into the atmosphere in a way that would not happen naturally in
the carbon cycle. And as we learned before, carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. So, when there is more of it
floating around the atmosphere, that means more heat is trapped from escaping our greenhouse -- the Earth's
atmosphere.

SUMMARY
In this video, we learned more about fossil fuels: how they were formed and how they are used to provide heat,
energy, and transportation. And finally, we looked at the impact of burning fossil fuels on the greenhouse effect.

WHAT'S NEXT?
In the next lesson, we will look at the language of cause and effect. This will help us talk about the connection
between fossil fuels and the greenhouse effect.

Image Credit: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Chris Haws via Unsplash under Unsplash license, an
untitled image by PublicDomainPictures, an untitled image by Onze Creativijd, and an untitled image by jp26jp via
Pixabay under Pixabay license This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored
by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

30
Lesson 6: Language Focus: Cause and Effect

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

In the previous lesson, you looked at the burning of fossil fuels. In this language focus video, we are going to look
at how to talk about cause and effect. We'll look at different words and phrases, called connectors, that show
cause and effect and we'll look at some examples of each. Why don't we start by defining these two terms,
“cause” and “effect”?

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CAUSE AND EFFECT?

"Cause" means the reason that something happens. So, in the sentence, "the rainstorm was the cause of the
flooding". The rainstorm is the reason why the flooding happened.

"Effect", on the other hand, means the consequence of an action. So, if we take our earlier sentence, and look at it
in another way, we can say the flooding was the effect of the rainstorm, meaning that the flooding was the result
of the action.

With the topic of climate change, it is very important to understand the relationship between different events to
know which actions or events cause the others. The things we can see are often effects, but it is too late to change
anything at that point. Only by changing the cause of an action can we prevent an effect from happening.

H O W C A N W E SH O W T H E R E L A T I O N S H I P B ET W E E N C A U S E
AND EFFECT?

Okay, so now that we know the difference between a cause and an effect, let's look at some of the ways that we
can show this relationship. The words that we use to show these relationships are called "connectors". A
connector is something that joins two or more things together. In this case, we're joining clauses together.

In earlier lessons, we looked at the causes of global warming. We saw that more carbon dioxide or CO2 in the
atmosphere causes clouds that trap the sun's heat making the Earth warmer. So, there is a relationship between
more CO2 in the atmosphere, the cause, and more of the sun's heat being trapped, the effect.

31
U S I N G C O N N E CT O R S A N D P U T T I N G T H E C A U S E F I R S T

Let's talk about that relationship using connectors and putting the cause first.

We can say this in a few different ways:

• There is more CO2 in the atmosphere so more of the sun's heat is trapped.
• There is more CO2 in the atmosphere; therefore, more of the sun's heat is trapped.
• There is more CO2 in the atmosphere, consequently, more of the sun's heat is trapped.

So, we can make a sentence by talking about the cause followed by so, therefore, or consequently, and then the
effect.

U S I N G C O N N E CT O R S A N D P U T T I N G T H E E F F E C T F I R S T

We can make sentences by putting the effect first as well. Let's look at a few examples of this. We'll use the same
situation with CO2 in the atmosphere, and the heat trapped, and use different connectors. We can say:

• More of the sun's heat is trapped because of more CO2 in the atmosphere.
• More of the sun's heat is trapped as a result of more CO2 in the atmosphere.
• More of the sun's heat is trapped due to more CO2 in the atmosphere.

So, we can construct the sentence by talking about the effect followed by because of, as a result, or due to, and
then the cause.

SUMMARY

In this video, we looked at the relationship between a cause and an effect. We saw that you can use connectors to
accurately show this relationship. We can talk about the first followed by the connectors so, therefore, or
consequently. Or we can talk about the effect followed by the connectors because of, as a result of, or due to.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next, you're going to read about the ways that leaders of cities are working to clean the air.

Image Credit: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Benfe and an untitled image by Hans via Pixabay under the
Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

32
Quiz 2: Cause and Effect
DIRECTIONS :
Choose the most appropriate connector to fill the gap.

You can take this quiz as many times as you want, and your highest score will be kept. You must score at least 70%
to pass this quiz.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

33
Intermediate Reading Practice: Need Strategies to
Clear the Air? Ask a Megacity.
>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

This reading quiz is targeted to intermediate learners. If you would like to read a more difficult article, you can skip
this quiz and take the Advanced Reading Practice quiz that follows. This is an optional practice quiz.

INSTRUCTIONS:
All questions in this quiz refer to the reading below.

Image by jplenio from Pixabay is under the Pixabay license

THE CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Much of the world’s air pollution comes from large cities. This pollution can be carried thousands of miles away. It
affects the health and livelihoods of people who live far away from large cities. City governments around the world
are developing new strategies to control air pollution.

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a group of 96 cities around the world. They share ideas and resources
for solving environmental problems common to many cities. The C40 says that air pollution is the most important
shared environmental problem.

The C40 works to support projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 17 cities. These projects aim to reduce
emissions from transportation, energy generation, and waste disposal (throwing things away). The projects use a
variety of high- and low-tech approaches. Examples of C40 projects include the following: planting more trees and
putting gardens on roofs, requiring low-emissions vehicles and fuels, increasing efficient, sustainable energy
production.

34
R E D U C I N G E M IS S I O N S F R O M T H E G R O U N D U P

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash under Unsplash license

The goal is ambitious: creating cities that are "net carbon-negative". To be net carbon-negative, a city must do two
things. It must reduce existing atmospheric carbon dioxide and offset new emissions. "To offset" means to balance
out, counteract, or neutralize.

A city can offset its carbon emissions in two ways. They can capture the greenhouse gases they emit. Or they can
use credits for emissions eliminated elsewhere.

Tomas Gustafson is a sustainability advisor to the city of Stockholm, Sweden, a member of the C40. He says that
smart, low-carbon solutions are a practical way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An example of a low-carbon
solution is solar power. Solar power produces energy with far lower carbon dioxide emissions than fossil fuels.

The C40 monitors projects from beginning to end in clearly defined phases. Mahindra World City was the first
Asian city to complete phase 2. Mahindra World City is in Jaipur, India. It is a partnership between Mahindra Group
and the government of the state of Rajasthan. Mahindra group is a large multinational corporation. Mahindra
World City is a newly constructed city. It combines residential (living), commercial (business), and other needs into
a single, sustainable environment. By 2025, it will house and employ almost 300,000.

Other C40 projects have also reached the second phase. These include projects in Sydney and Melbourne,
Australia; Sønderborg, Denmark; London, UKI and Oberlin, Ohio, in the United States.

35
COLLABORATING TO GET IT RIGHT

Image by (Joenomias) Menno de Jong from Pixabay is under Pixabay license

Every city requires its own specific solutions. Through the C40 network, each city receives support. The C40 also
analyzes each city's solutions and approaches. They carefully review and evaluate these solutions. The C40 looks
for strategies that can be replicated in different settings. They share these in the C40 network so that other cities
can try the same approaches.

Mahindra World City is an example of a brand new C40 city. From the beginning, it was built to be net carbon
negative. Other cities such as London, Mexico City, and Delhi, India are very old. These older cities must work to
retrofit old neighborhoods. Retrofitting is the process of adding new technology or features to an old system.
Older C40 cities must do two things at once. They must retrofit their old neighborhoods and also develop new,
sustainable ones.

The C40 facilitates partnerships for creating zero-emissions cities. It also maintains databases of case studies and
an interactive open-data portal. Open access to data allows the cities to collaborate and learn from each other.

36
Advanced Reading Practice: Need Strategies to Clear
the Air? Ask a Megacity.
>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

This reading quiz is targeted to advanced learners. If you would like to read a more difficult article, you can skip
this quiz and take the Intermediate Reading Practice quiz. This is an optional practice quiz.

" Image by jplenio from Pixabay is under the Pixabay license

THE CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Much of the world’s air pollution originates in large cities, and their smog can be carried thousands of miles,
affecting the health and livelihoods of people who live outside urban areas. But big-city mayors around the world
are stepping up to develop new strategies to control air pollution.

In 2005 the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group brought together leaders from major cities around the world to
pool ideas and resources for solving environmental problems all cities share. Air pollution tops the list.

The 75-member C40 group leads a Climate Positive Development network that supports projects in 17 cities. Each
project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, energy generation, and waste disposal
through a variety of high- and low-tech approaches. Solutions include planting more trees and putting gardens on
roofs, requiring low-emissions vehicles and fuels, and boosting efficient, sustainable energy production.

R E D U C I N G E M IS S I O N S F R O M T H E G R O U N D U P

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash under Unsplash license

The goal is ambitious: Creating cities that are net carbon negative. This means they not only ensure emissions of
greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are offset by equal amounts captured, or by credits for emissions eliminated
elsewhere, but also take steps to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

37
“Our experiences already show that smart, low-carbon solutions cut greenhouse gas emissions in cost-effective
ways,” said Tomas Gustafsson, sustainability advisor to the city of Stockholm.

Each project is monitored from beginning to completion in clearly defined phases. Among the six projects that
have reached the second phase — with plans, partnerships, and milestones in place — is Mahindra World City in
Jaipur, India. A partnership between the multinational conglomerate Mahindra Group and the government of the
state of Rajasthan, Mahindra World City sustainably integrates residential, commercial, and other needs into an
environment that will house and employ nearly 300,000 people by 2025. Other projects that have reached the
second phase are in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia; Sønderborg, Denmark; London; and Oberlin, Ohio, in the
United States.

C O L L A B O R A T I N G T O G ET I T R I G H T

Image by (Joenomias) Menno de Jong from Pixabay is under Pixabay license

Cities such as London, Mexico City, or Delhi, India, embody centuries of history, so retrofitting old neighborhoods
happens alongside new, sustainable construction. Besides facilitating partnerships for creating zero-emissions
cities, the C40 group maintains databases of case studies and an interactive open-data portal.

A partnership initiative with the Climate & Clean Air Coalition announced in July will support efforts to clear the air
in 50 C40 cities, including Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Jakarta, Indonesia;
Lagos, Nigeria; Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo; and Stockholm.

38
Lesson 7: Deforestation and Farming

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

So far in this module, we've learned about the greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, and the main sources that
create greenhouse gases. Remember, greenhouse gases hold, or trap, heat created by the sun. We've looked at
natural causes and some human causes like the burning of fossil fuels. In this lesson, we are going to learn about
two more human activities that create greenhouse gases: deforestation and farming. First, let's look at
deforestation.

WHAT IS DEFORESTATION?

Deforestation is the destruction or clearing of forests to make land available for other uses. Deforestation
happens for many reasons. Sometimes deforestation happens so people can use the wood from trees to create
fuel, paper, and other commercial goods. Most often though, deforestation happens so people can use the land
for things like farming and housing.

WHY IS DEFORESTATION A PROBLEM?

So why is this a problem? Well, as you learned earlier, there are things in our environment called carbon sinks.
Carbon sinks absorb greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere and store them.

Trees are important to our environment

Forests are a primary carbon sink in our environment. Trees take carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into
oxygen during photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a chemical process by which plants make food using sunlight to
turn carbon dioxide, water, and certain salts into sugar or carbohydrates.

So basically, trees absorb the carbon dioxide in the air to make food and release oxygen for us to breathe. By
destroying the forests, we are destroying trees and these very important carbon sinks.

39
Deforestation increases the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Furthermore, when we cut down trees, they release the carbon that is stored inside them. Each year,
deforestation is the cause of about one billion tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Overall,
deforestation creates about 15% of our greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.

In addition to this, deforestation limits the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. A fully grown tree releases
about 1,000 liters of water vapor a day. When we cut down forests, we are losing this very important source of
water vapor that creates clouds and rain, leading to dry weather and other severe climate effects.

Farming increases the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

As mentioned earlier, the land cleared from deforestation is often used for farming or agriculture. That sounds like
a good thing, right? After all, we need food to survive. Well, most farming today uses chemicals and fossil fuels
that add even more carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide to our atmosphere. In fact, according to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agricultural land use creates 12% of greenhouse gases globally. So
not only does the process of deforestation cause greenhouse emissions to be released. But the use of the land for
farming afterward also adds greenhouse gases to our atmosphere.

SUMMARY

In this lesson, we learned about deforestation and farming. We learned how important trees are to our
environment and how deforestation can increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We also
learned about farming and how the use of land and chemicals in farming add greenhouse gases to our
atmosphere.

WHAT'S NEXT?

In the next video, we will learn about different ways of disposing of waste, and how each one affects the
environment.

Image Credit: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Free-Photos via Pixabay under the Pixabay license. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with
funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

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Lesson 8: The Disposal of Waste

The video for this lesson is available online. Please find the transcript for the lesson below.

Disposal of waste

In the previous lesson, we looked at deforestation and farming. In this lesson, we're going to look at the disposal,
or throwing away, of waste. We'll look at some of the most popular ways to dispose of waste and talk about what
each one means for the environment and the greenhouse effect.

First of all, let's make sure we understand the meaning of the term. Disposal of waste means removing, throwing
away something that we do not want. Examples of this might be the box and the other packaging that your mobile
phone came in, the can that is left after you drink your soda, or the peel of a banana after you eat it.

Think about what you might do with the waste. Do you throw it in the garbage can or a recycling container? What
happens to it after that? We're going to look at four ways to dispose of waste: landfill, incineration, composting,
and recycling.

WASTE DISPOSAL METHODS

Landfill

Let's look at a landfill first. The definition of a landfill is a place to dispose of waste material by burying it and
covering the waste with soil. This method does have the benefit of creating more usable land which can be used
for other purposes. However, there are many disadvantages to landfills. Dangerous chemicals can contaminate
both the soil and the groundwater in areas around a landfill site. Also, landfills produce large amounts of methane
gas, CH4 which contributes to global warming.

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Incineration

A second method of waste disposal is incineration. This is a process that involves the burning of waste materials.
People all over the world have been burning waste for centuries. Its disadvantages are that it releases harmful
pollutants into the air, including greenhouse gases which are breathed in by people or can cause problems for
water, plants, wildlife, and the climate. Recently, some countries have created very large incineration plants.
These places can keep in the harmful pollutants caused by burning waste. Also, the heat created by burning the
waste is turned into steam which then produces power.
Composting

Another method of waste disposal that has been going on for a long time is composting. Composting is the
process of decomposing, breaking down into separate parts, organic matter like plants to provide more nutrients
for the soil. In other words, over a period of time, the waste is broken down into separate parts. These parts then
help the soil become richer which means that plants can grow more easily. More composting also means less
waste is sent to landfill, which means that less methane is in the atmosphere.
Recycling

The last method of waste disposal we're going to look at today is recycling which as you probably know means to
change waste into something useful. The best example might be the soda can, we talked about at the beginning of
the video. When you recycle this, it goes into a plant where it is cleaned and melted. It is then rolled out and made
into another aluminum product. While workers in the recycling industry run a small risk of exposure to harmful
materials, the benefits of recycling strongly outweigh the disadvantages. It reduces the amount of waste sent to
landfills, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and stops the pollution created by finding and processing new raw
materials.
SUMMARY
In this lesson, we looked at different ways of disposing of waste. We looked at landfill, incineration, composting,
and recycling. Each of these has its own impact on the greenhouse effect.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Next, you're going to complete a discussion post about the impacts of climate change.

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IMAGE CREDITS:
1. The Disposal of Waste: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by the blowup via Unsplash under the
Unsplash license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the
U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

2. Landfill: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by PublicDomainImages via Pixabay under Pixabay
License This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

3. Incineration: This work is a derivative of "burn pile" by Bagoto via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY SA 4.0 This
derivative is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0 by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department
of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

4. Composting: This work is a derivative of an untitled image by Ben_Kerckx via PIxabay under the Pixabay license.
This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

5. Recycling: This work is a derivative of photo by Alfonso Navarro on Unsplash under Unsplash license. This
derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for use in the OPEN program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360.

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Optional Discussion: Human Sources of the
Greenhouse Effect
Choose one human source of the greenhouse effect and describe one or two ways it is contributing to climate
change in our world.
DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS:
Review the content discussed in Module Two. Choose a human source of the greenhouse effect that you want to
discuss.
You may choose from:
• the burning of fossil fuels,
• farming
• the disposal of waste.
First, introduce the human source and define it. Then give one to two examples of how it is contributing to climate
change in our world. Your post should include:
1. A clear definition of the source of the greenhouse effect.
2. One or two specific examples of how this source is contributing to climate change.
3. Accurate use of the present progressive.
4. Cause and effect language (so, therefore, consequently, because of, as a result of, due to)
You should write a paragraph. Maximum length 125 words.
Model (Deforestation) :
There are many things that humans are doing in our world today that are contributing to the greenhouse effect.
One thing humans are doing that is having a big impact on the environment is deforestation. Deforestation is the
destruction or clearing of forests to make land available for other uses. People want land for things like farming
and housing, therefore deforestation is happening more. Trees release carbon dioxide when they are cut
down. Because of deforestation, more trees are being cut down. As a result, more carbon dioxide is
being released into the atmosphere. This extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere created by humans is adding to
the problem of climate change.

Criteria
Provide a clear definition of a source
of the greenhouse effect.
Accurately use the present
progressive.
Accurately use cause-and-effect
language.
Self-Assessment Rubric
Meets Expectations
I defined a source of the
greenhouse effect
I used the present progressive at
least once.
I used cause-and-effect
language at least once.
Does Not Meet Expectations
I did not define a source of the
greenhouse effect.
I did not use the present progressive.
I did not use cause-and-effect
language.

Length: Write one paragraph. 75 - 125 My post is between 75 and 125 My post is less than 75 words or more
words words than 125 words.

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Module 2: Wrap-Up and Looking Ahead
WRAP-UP
Congratulations! You have completed Module 2: The Greenhouse Effect
In this module:
• We identified several causes of climate change.
• We practiced using the present simple to talk about scientific facts and the present progressive tense to
talk about changes to the climate that are happening now.
• We read two articles
• We practiced using the language of cause and effect.

LOOKING AHEAD
In Module 3, we will look at the biology of climate change.
• We will explore the impact of climate change on people, animals, and ecosystems.
• We will review intensifiers.
• We will practice reading for details.

You have completed Module 2! To receive your certificate and digital badge, complete Modules 3 - 5. Keep up the
good work!

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