The environment - Englisch Kommunikationsprüfung

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gases from being released into the atmosphere, & form part of essential ecosystems and habitats for species which provide us with nutrition and medicines VOCABULARY: extinct to trap sth solar radiation to thrive drought endangered ausgestorben etw. ein fangen Sonneneinstrahlung gedeihen Dürre bedroht THE EVER-INCREASING NEED FOR ENERGY: Planet Earth is overpopulated & the human population is continuing to grow → ever-increasing need for energy VOCABULARY: fossil fuel to generate sth - to extract sth drilling for decades, burning fossil fuels has been the primary method of generating energy ->not only are many methods of extracting fossil fuels such as fracking or drilling harmful to the environment, burning them also pollutes the atmosphere & contributes to global warming pollination crops deforestation to store sth habitat > Fossil fuels = non-renewable energy source at some point they will run out to reduce global carbon footprint, we need to generate energy through renewable sources like solar, wind, geothermal, tidal energy & biofuels - fossiler Brennstoff etw. erzeugen etw. gewinnen - Bohren Bestäubung Anbaupflanzen Entwaldung etw. speichern Lebensraum harmful tidal energy biofuel - Schädlich - Gezeitenenergie Biokraftstoff NUCLEAR POWER: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD: alternative method of energy generation is nuclear energy, created by splitting uranium atoms ↳advantage: nuclear power stations don't produce any carbon dioxide but: waste they create is radioactive & extremely difficult to dispose of safely accidents (f.e. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, Japan) cause widespread damage 2011, an earthquake & tsunami caused reactor shutdowns, flooding & explosions, releasing radiation into the atmosphere & contamined water into the Pacific Ocean L> result: German government decided to immediately close down eight of its nuclear plants & being phasing out the operation of the remaining nine VOCABULARY: nuclear power - Atomkraft, -energie double-edged sword - Zweischneidiges Schwert uranium atom - Uranatom Kernkraftwerk nuclear power station OVERCONSUMPTION AND PLASTIC WASTE: humans are consuming so many natural resources, that nature cannot regenerate sufficiently →it's essential that we start to live more sustainable lives to dispose of sth radiation contaminated to phase out VOCABULARY: overconsumption - biodegradable garbage patch marine wildlife - ▷ possibilities: - use less packaging & more biodegradable products & less plastic most plastics can't be broken down → doesn't rot → stays in environment for 100 of years single-use plastic products are thrown away after they have been used, offen ending up in the oceans L> 'Great Pacific garbage patch' in the Pacific Ocean is thought to measure up to 15 000 000 km² überkonsum biologisch abbaubar Müllstrudel Meerestierwelt ▸ Marine wildlife can get trapped or get injured by the plastic, or mistake smaller pieces for food & eat them > microbeads are found in personal hygiene products such as soap or toothpaste & are washed down household drains L> can end up in rivers etc. & cause plastic particle pollution - etw entsorgen Stranlung verseucht auslaufen lassen microbead drain plastic particle etw. angehen, bewältigen jan beeinflussen Mikrokügelchen Abfluss Kunststoffpartikel TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE BEGINS AT HOME: ▸ much of the blame & responsibility for the climate emergency lies with multinational companies, whose factories pollute the atmosphere & whose advertising encourages us to consume much more than we need > BUT: we can put pressure on companies by not buying their products, or actively lobbying politicians and other leaders to ban the sale of substances which harm the planet →> f.e. increasing number of people are switching to plant-based diets to reduce the problems caused by factory farming & the meat industry which uses a large amount of resources, such as water, medicines & food L> large areas of land are being cleared in order to grow food for animals → particularly worrying in areas which are vital for the survival of the planet (f.e. Amazonas rainforest) ▸ eat less meat, buying single-use products & supporting climate activists won't solve climate crisis VOCABULARY: to tackle to lobby sb to clear sth hier: abholzen to change one's diet seine Ernährung umstellen EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL AWARD: - a lot of green spots like parks, trees,... - lot of garbage cans → people don't throw their garbage on the ground solar pannels on the roof->solar energy - public transport drive less with car - how does city deal with wastewater, noise & air quality GREEN CITIES: Green cities cities that are enacting climate-focused policies to reduce emissions & fight climate change. We seperate the common elements of a green city into three main categories: mobility, urban planning, resource management Examples: Singapore, copenhagen - bike lanes - bike/car sharing green shops CLIMATE CHANGE: global warming is, at least partly man-made main cause: greenhouse gases, particularly CO₂ that we are releasing into the atmosphere if we don't act quickly: changing weather patterns will lead to an increase i natural disasters such as typhoons. hurricanes, floodings & drought also: strong impact on human life ->heatwaves, desertification of farmland cause food shortages, water shortages, melting glaciers will cause rising sea levels → costal land & low-lying islands will disappear → creating climate-change refugees VOCABULARY: man-made desertification von Menschen verursacht Wüstenbildung Þ WATER SUPPLY: ▸ Global warming is not the only reason why the threat to global water supply is increasing global urban population is exploding, so more water is needed to irrigate land to provide food, particularly grain for the megacities -> many countries are overpumping their groundwater supply, causing problems for billions of people who lack clean drinking water & proper sanitation ► droughts & water rationing will be the consequence unless we raise awareness that water is a finite natural resource VOCABULARY: water supply - Wasservers jung urban population - Städtische Bevölkerung irrigate sth etw. bewässern grain getreide melting of glaciers climate change refugees- VOCABULARY: exhaust - Abgas(e) acid rain - saurer Regen pollutant - Schadstoff overpump sth water rationing finite natural resource POLLUTION: ▸ industry & transport main sources of air & water pollution ->exhaust from our cars is one example of a polluntant which creates smog in cities & causes acid rain ► agribusiness is another source of pollutants → farmers use pesticides & herbicides that contaminate the soil & the ground water along with vast quantities of animal waste sewage all of these pollutants are toxic/ poisonous in some way Ls in the oceans, there are millions of tons of plastic garbage that are a danger to sea birds & marine life herbicide - Unkraut bekämpfungsmittel contaminate the soil den Erdboden verseuchen sewage - Abwasser/Schmutzwasser Gletscherschmelze klimaflüchtlinge rubbish sent to landfill sites takes very long to break down other disposal method: incineration, which pollutes air VOCABULARY: organic waste - Biomüll landfill site biodegradable - biologisch abbaubar incineration | WASTE DISPOSAL: ▷ humans are producing more rubbish/trash than ever, and it all has to go somewhere -> some of it gets reused or recycled ▸ Organic waste is biodegradable & can be composed etw. trockenpumpen Wasserrationierung begrenzte Naturressource Mülldeponie Abfallverbrennung ENERGY SOURCES: the climate crisis is forcing us to re-examine how we generate our energy ▸our dependence on oil is not sustainable →we will run out of it someday & fossil fuel emissions are damaging the environment the use of nuclear energy is controversial: cheap & clean compared to fossil fuels, but the risk of radioactive fallout & radiation is high (f.e. Tokushima) & the long-term problem of disposing of nuclear waste has not yet been solved ▸ the search for ways to conserve energy and the search for alternatives sources of energy, such as wind and solar power & other kinds of renewable energy, are creating new economic opportunities VOCABULARY: generate sth - etw. erzeugen radiation Strahlung BIOFUELS: typical biofuels are made from crops like corn & palm oil ->they only release as much carbon into the atmosphere as they absorb when they grow the West's current demand for biofuels to supplement diesel has increased the rate of deforestation farmers (and others) have been cutting down forests at an unsustainable rate for a long time → deforestation causes global warming, because forests, particularly tropical rainforests, absorb CO₂; without the forests carbon dioxide levels increase nuclear waste - Atommüll conserve sth etw. sparen the destruction of these ecosystems also has other catastrophic consequences: animal habitats are destroyed, which can lead to the extinction of species biosphere integrity is not only vital for animals, as the examples of the oceans, rivers and forests clearly show VOCABULARY: crops Anbaupflanzen absorb sth etw. aufnehmen extinction of species - Artensterben WHAT IS A GYRE: enormous areas where the ocean circulates in a slow current & vast patches of floating plastic rubbish collect in the centre, turning the ocean into a sort of plastic trash soup bcs of the influence of sunlight and the waves, a gyre acts like a gigantic washing machine where the plastic rub together & break up into smaller pieces gyre = Kreisel NEW INNOVATIONS EXAMPLE: vertical forest/ gardening: a new generation of high-rise urban buildings completely covered by the leaves of trees and plants "Living Towers" ->planting trees without expanding the city ▸ plants increase biodiversity (conolized by birds/insects) plants absorb CO₂ & dust produce oxygen protection against sun light & noise critic: caring for the trees & plants costs a lot of money & planting them costs a lot of time Funfact: The fact that something is damaged through ordinary use is called wear & tear S CO2