Learning Objectives

In this module you will learn how:

• to make use of diagrams and flowcharts to describe processes, steps and stages

• to express purpose

• to express cause-effect relationships

• learn how to write a letter of inquiry

• to talk about various environmental problems, their causes, consequences and solutions

• to revisit relative clauses

Unit 1 Our Home – Planet Earth

Lead In

1. Work in teams. Brainstorm all the words and phrases you know related to the word environment. Present your mind map to the rest of the class and explain how the ideas are connected.

2. Work in small groups. Which of the environmental problems listed below are the most serious? Put them in order, 1-7 (1 = the most serious, 7 = the least serious). Give reasons for your choice.

• global warming/climate change

• air/water/soil pollution

• shrinking habitats and loss of bio-diversity

• acid rain

• ozone layer depletion

• deforestation

• natural disasters: floods, heavy rainfalls, violent storms, droughts, etc.

3. Match the environmental problems with the factors that cause them. Some factors may go with more than one problem. Choose to write about three problems and their factors.

Functional language: Cause and effect

… is a result of …	… results/ed in	… is/are due to …
… is the consequence of...	… leads to …	… is responsible for …
… is the main reason for	… affects …	… is affected by…
The cause of … is …	… causes/ed	… is caused by …

Reading

1. Look at the definition. Which environmental problem does it refer to?

2. Look at the picture below. With a partner brainstorm your ideas about acid rain. What causes acid rain? How can it harm the environment?

3. Look through the text about the acid rain problem and check your predictions.

Acid rain is strongly acidic rain that absorbs microscopic particles of nitric

acid or sulfuric acid as it falls towards the ground. But why do we have acid

Study help

The meaning of a word or expression can often be worked out from the rest of the context of the sentence, e.g. “sulfur and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere.” From the context, to release must mean something like to throw out or emit.

rain? The reason lies in atmospheric pollution. As human beings developed their economic behavior, they began to use huge amounts of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. When fossil fuel is burned, sulfur and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere. These pollutants are affected by ultraviolet rays and combine with atmospheric water vapor to form tiny particles of nitric acid and sulfuric acid that float in the atmosphere. When these particles dissolve into rain, it falls to the ground as acid rain. This process is called "wet deposition". At other times these pollutants are absorbed into fog or mist in a gas or particle form, are deposited on

forests, and eventually return to the soil; this is called "dry deposition."

Chemical substances released from chemical plant chimneys are a major factor in the contamination of the atmosphere and lead to the formation of acid rain.

Many of us have our own “private factories” for producing modern acid rain - cars. Vehicle exhausts contain NOx (nitrogen oxides), hydrocarbons and other chemicals.

The damage caused by acid rain first appears in rivers, lakes and marshes. When the water of a lake or marsh declines to pH5 or so, at first the plankton and aquatic vegetation disappear. Needless to say, the fish that feed on these living things also decline in number and even die out.

Then, as the acidity level of soil increases, aluminum and other harmful metals contained in the soil begin to dissolve, which also contributes to the death of aquatic life. Eventually the lakes cannot support life at all.

Acid rain makes soil highly acidic, which leads to the drying and death of forests. Soil naturally contains many metallic ions such as calcium and magnesium, and these help to neutralize acid to a certain extent, even in the case of acid rain. However, when this neutralization power is exhausted, the acidity of the soil increases, killing microorganisms and worms. There are also cases when acid rain enters directly into the leaves, trunks, and branches of plants and damages trees.

The damage created by acid rain in Europe and North America is truly grave. It is reported that in many European countries about one half of the total area of forests has been damaged.

Countries like Sweden, Norway, and other Scandinavian countries do not contribute much to atmospheric pollution, but they are suffering extensive damage from atmospheric pollutants carried there from other countries. For example, it has been reported that fish have disappeared from one-third of the lakes and marshes of Norway.

In Asia, acid rain is having truly serious consequences in China, which is the second largest producer of coal in the world. Furthermore, with the expansion of industry and the spread of the automobile, acid rain is becoming a serious issue even in developing countries.

Historical sites and buildings are also damaged by acid rain, especially in Europe with its many historical buildings made of marble and copper. The chemical reaction between marble and sulfuric acid changes the marble into plaster. Therefore, ancient sculptural works made of marble often crumble after contact with acid rain. Copper items also break down in contact with acid rain. For example, the copper plates of the United States' Statue of Liberty were eaten away to a dangerous degree by acid rain, and needed large-scale reconstruction. Historical structures and buildings, which have been handed down as cultural heritage for centuries, have been in danger of being lost in the past several decades simply because of acid rain.

Acid rain is no longer someone else’s problem: it’s happening here.

(Adapted from http://www.virtualglobe.org/en/info/env/)

4. Read the text again and complete the cause and result chart for acid rain.

ACID RAIN

What causes it? What are the consequences?

exhaust gases from cars increase the amount of

dangerous gases in the

atmosphere

…………………… kill(s) fish

…………………… pollutes the soil

…………………… …………………..

Comprehension check

1. Look back in the text and find words that have similar meaning to

enormous (adj)	degree (n)
influenced (past participle)	completely finished (past
very small (adj)	participle.)
melt (v)	serious (adj)
main (adj)	whole (adj)
pollution (n)	widespread (adj)
harm (n)	result (n)
leads to (v)	problem (n)
deactivate (v)	fall into pieces (v)

2. In the text find and translate into your native language the words that:

1. refer to a means of transport

2. can be used to describe the movement up and down

3. are the names of chemical elements and compounds

Focus on language

1. Complete the table. Turn the words given in the table into verbs, nouns and adjectives. Use a dictionary if necessary.

VERB		NOUN		ADJECTIVE
		damage
exhaust
		increase
		emission
absorb
			industrial
	extinction
			developing/developed
contaminate
contribute
	pollutant
decline
		harm
endanger
				expansive
		reaction

2. Fill in the gaps with the right form of the words in capitals.

Floods and droughts are serious issues in ……… countries.	DEVELOP
We are worried by the ……… amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.	INCREASE
There should be laws to protect ……… species from poaching.	DANGER
d) By the year 2030, 25% of all animals, birds, fish and insects may be ……….	EXTINCTION
Vehicle exhausts are the major ……… of the air.	CONTAMINATE
The ……… effect of deforestation on wildlife is growing bigger every year.	HARM
The ……… number of whales in the oceans is one of the major concerns for marine biologists,	DECLINE
I have never worked with such highly ……………. substances!	REACTION
It is very costly to restore historical structures and buildings ……… by acid rain.	DAMAGE

3. Read these sentences. What grammar rule do they follow?

• Acid rain is strongly acidic rain which/that absorbs microscopic particles of nitric acid or sulfuric acid as it falls towards the ground.

• In Asia, acid rain is having truly serious consequences in China, which is the second largest producer of coal in the world.

• As the acidity level of soil increases, aluminum and other harmful metals contained in the soil begin to dissolve, which also contributes to the death of aquatic life.

Relative clauses with which, that, who, whose and where

• If relative clauses give essential information they do not have commas.

e.g. A good lab assistant is one whose equipment works well.

• If relative clauses give extra information, and can be left out, they have a

comma before the clause and a comma or a full stop after it.

e.g. My junior brother wants to study in Boston university, where I did my postgraduate course.

• Which/that can be omitted if they are the object in a relative clause.

e.g. The book (that/which) he is reading now is about great maritime explores.

• Which can be used in a relative clause to refer to the whole sentence.

e.g. Acid rain makes soil highly acidic, which leads to the drying and death of forests.

• What is used in relative clauses to mean the thing that.

e.g. What the lecturer said about the consequences of acid rain was shocking.

4. Put in which, what or that. Put comma if necessary.

1. She cycles to work every day, which makes her healthy.

2. Everything ………… he told us about water pollution made me upset.

3. Graffiti is vandalism. This is ……… we need to understand.

4. The world’s population is growing very fast ……… makes the world critically short for food and water.

5. Even with just an A-level in Biology I could understand ……… they were doing.

6. Planting trees is a great thing ……… also makes us feel better and encourage less littering.

7. I did everything ……… I could to save an entangled seal.

8. She joined a Girl Scout team ………… surprised us all.

9. Our modern lifestyle is destroying the fragile environment ………leads to the environmental catastrophe.

Get real

Search the environmental websites or specialized magazines to get information about the ways to solve the acid rain problem. Make notes on what you have found and report back to the class.

Listening

1. W ork with a partner. Brainstorm as many environmental problems typical for big cities as you can. Compare your ideas as a class.

2. You are going to listen to an environmentalist talking to the students about the pollution of the environment. The words below are all to do with different types of litter. Explain the difference in their meaning. Use a dictionary if necessary.

What sources of pollution can you name? Which of them are the most/least harmful?

3. Listen to the talk and answer the questions.

1. What kind of pollution is the main focus of the talk?

2. Why aquatic pollution is such a serious environmental problem?

3. What types of pollution does the environmentalist mention?

4. What are the main sources of water pollution?

5. Why plastic litter is so harmful?

6. Why entanglement and indigestion are the two major problems for the wildlife in waterways?

7. How does debris contaminate water?

8. What is the purpose of the talk?