About Pollution and Global Warming

UNIT 15

Cars: Convenience or Problem?

How often do you drive or ride in a car?
Do you think cars are essential in today’s world? Why?
How much do you know about cars? Match the following.

Indianapolis 500

Henry Ford

pollution

buses and trains

Mercedes-Benz

1903

Toyota

a car-related problem

a time when the price of a car was under $900

an expensive car

a car company in Japan

a car race in the United States

an early producer of cars

public transportation

*****

For some people, the car is a convenient form of transportation. But for others, the car is an exciting hobby. Some people spend their lives collecting valuable cars. Others drive them in races such as the world famous Indianapolis 500. For many people, cars are more than transportation: they are a source of pleasure. Yet cars can also be a source of many problems.

In 1903, Henry Ford began selling the Model T car for $825. His company, Ford Motors, was the first to produce cars in large numbers. This made the car available to large numbers of people and helped them to travel long distances quickly and easily. The car has brought people much closer to places of work, study, and entertainment. Many people also work in car-related industries: fixing cars, washing cars, advertising cars, and selling car products.

Some environmentalists believe that forms of public transportation such as buses and trains have not been fully developed. They try to teach others that public transportation saves fuel and helps to protect the environment. Many people are unhappy with car traffic and pollution, as well as with the use of beautiful land for building new roads. One environmentalist, Jan Lundberg, left his Mercedes-Benz in Los Angeles and moved to the forests of northern California. There he works on the Auto-Free Times, a newspaper that teaches people how to live without driving. Lundberg travels on foot, on bicycle, or by bus.

Lundberg and other environmentalists dream of turning parking lots into parks and replacing cars with bicycles, but most people around the world believe that a car is a necessary part of life in today’s world. Still, there is an important question that must be answered. What kind of fuel will we use when gasoline is no longer available? Lundberg believes that by the year 2021, there will no longer be oil for gasoline makers to use. To solve this problem, car companies in Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States are trying to develop an electric car that will not require gasoline at all.

The electric car is not a new idea. It had success in America in the early 1900s. People liked electric cars because they were quiet and did not pollute the air. Electric cars were also easier to start than gasoline-powered ones. But gasoline-powered cars were faster, and in the 1920s they became much more popular. The electric car was not used again until the 1970s, when there were serious problems with the availability of oil. Car companies began to plan for a future without gasoline. The General Motors Company had plans to develop an electric car by 1980; however, oil became available again, and this car was never produced.

Today there is a new interest in the electric car, which is partly related to a passion for speed and new technology. In 1977, engineer Paul MacCready designed a human-powered airplane that successfully completed a three-mile flight. A similar airplane crossed the English Channel in 1979, followed by a solar-powered airplane. In 1987, the Sunraycer, a solar-powered car, won a 2000-mile race in Australia. As a result of this success, the General Motors Company began new work on the development of the electric car. The Toyota Company recently decided to spend $8oo million a year on the development of new car technology. Many engineers believe that the electric car will lead to other forms of technology being used for transportation.

Cars may change, but their importance will not. Cars are important to nearly everyone, including engineers, businesspeople, environmentalists, even poets. According to poet Curt Brown, this “very, very comfortable flying chair” will continue to bring us travel and adventure, no matter how it changes in the future.

Number the following main ideas in the order they appear in the text.

1. ______ Soon there will be no oil to fuel cars.

2. ______ Cars, whether gasoline or electric powered, will always be important.

3. ______ Cars can cause problems.

4. ______ To some people, cars are more than transportation.

5. ______ Some environmentalists teach people how to live without cars.

Are the following statements True or False? If there is no information in the text, write Not Given.

6. Cars were first produced in large numbers by Ford Motors.

7. There are more cars than people in the world today.

8. Cars have made changes in the environment.

9. The first electric cars were faster than gasoline-powered cars.

10. Car companies are planning to develop the electric car.

11. Many people need cars in their lives.

12. Complete the following lists with information from the text.

Advantages of the Car

Some people enjoy ...

People can travel ...

People are closer to ...

Some people make money by ...

Disadvantages of the Car

Lots of traffic and ...

Cars use more fuel than ...

Beautiful land is replaced with ...

Gasoline may no longer be ...

Is Global Warming Destroying Mount Everest?

What do you know about global warming?
What are the dangers of global warming?
How does global warming affect the world around us?

*****

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to successfully summit Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth. Now their sons are warning the world about the damage that global warming is doing to the mountain. Peter Hillary and Jamling Tenzing say that global warming is changing the appearance, ecology and climate of Mount Everest and the surrounding area of Tibet.

Peter Hillary said that base camp at Everest has reduced from a height of 5320 meters to 5280 meters and continues to sink each year. He also warned of glacial lakes bursting.

Forty thousand Sherpas live at the base of the mountain. There are 9,000 glacial lakes in the Himalayas, 200 of which face possible floods.

Most of the glaciers covering the Himalayas could melt within the next 50 years. Some of these glaciers are three miles long. The glacier used as Hillary and Norgay's original base camp has moved three miles in 20 years. Climbers are now warned to be on the lookout for rockslides and avalanches caused by increased snowmelt.

The glaciers of the Himalayas have worldwide importance. They contain 40 percent of the world's fresh water, feed nine large rivers and provide one-sixth of the world's drinking water. The rise and fall in the local water supply has caused desertification in some areas, which makes it difficult for farmers to irrigate their crops.

Other Dangers to Mount Everest

The Sherpa community living near Everest depends on income from tourism. The increase in tourism and climbers has upset the area's environmental balance. The search for firewood has caused deforestation and loss of rare vegetation.

But the biggest problem may be trash. It is estimated that more than 100,000 pounds of trash has built up on Everest. There is no waste treatment or recycling facility around Everest, and every year, 36.5 million tons of waste water flow into the Lhasa River.

Some efforts to save Everest and the surrounding area are underway. It has been a national park and a Natural World Heritage site for more than two decades. The gathering of firewood is illegal. Tibetan officials and the Chinese government are making efforts to improve Lhasa's waste-disposal capabilities.

Individuals and private groups are helping, too. Ken Noguchi, a Japanese climber, has gathered almost 10 tons of trash on five trips to Everest. The Indian Mountaineering Federation no longer assists groups of more than 12 people in order to encourage smaller expeditions.

Peter Hillary, Jamling Tenzing and others say that there's still time to prevent the complete destruction of Mount Everest's ecosystem and the Tibetan people's way of life, but serious action must begin immediately.

Decide if each statement is a Fact or an Opinion.

1. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Mount Everest in 1953.

2. The glaciers covering the mountains will melt in the next 50 years.

3. The rise and fall in the local water supply has made some areas deserts.

4. The glaciers in the Himalayas provide one-sixth of the world’s drinking water.

5. There is more than 100,000 pounds of trash on Mount Everest.

Answer the following questions.

6. Name the first two people to climb Mount Everest.

7. How is global warming destroying the mountain?

8. Why are glaciers important worldwide?

9. Has tourism had a positive or a negative effect on Mount Everest? Give reasons for your answer.

10. What is being done to save the Everest area?

Sources:

Barton, L. & Sardinas, C.D. 2007, North Star: Reading and Writing, Intermediate, Pearson Education, Inc., U.S.A.

Silverman, J. 2007, ‘Is Global Warming Destroying Mount Everest’, viewed 10 September 2007, <http://science.howstuffworks.com/everest-global-warming.htm>