Confronting Global Issues - Unit 11

B2 First · Multiple Matching · Ready for B2 First 4th Edition, Macmillan Education Limited

You are going to read an article about four procedures being used to tackle some of our global problems. For questions 1–10, choose from the procedures (A–D). The procedures may be chosen more than once.

Land Reclamation

With a rapidly growing world population, one way for a country to increase the amount of land available for housing is to reclaim it from the sea. Shorelines can be extended, natural islands can be joined to the coastline, and artificial islands can be built from nothing. Some Asian countries have been reclaiming land for the past two centuries – Singapore’s land area has expanded by 25 per cent in that time – but the last few years have seen a huge explosion in the number of land reclamation projects. There are numerous examples on China’s 14,500 kilometre coastline, including the brand-new city of Nanhua, built on 133 square kilometres of land, almost half of which was reclaimed from the sea. There may be a price to pay, though. Land reclamation can put enormous pressure on the environment, polluting the sea and destroying habitats for marine life. In some areas fish stocks have been drastically reduced, putting the livelihoods of local fishermen at risk.

Cloud Seeding

Some countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, respond to increasing water scarcity with a procedure called cloud seeding, whereby chemicals such as silver iodide or dry ice are released by aircraft or fired from the ground into clouds in order to increase the chance of rain or snowfall. With the UN predicting water shortages for 40 per cent of the world’s population by 2030, cloud seeding is receiving an increasing amount of press attention. But what many people don’t realise is that it’s been around for several decades and has been employed in over fifty countries. Whether it works or not is still open to debate; as yet, there is no definitive scientific evidence that it does, although the six-year Wyoming Weather Modification Pilot Project concluded in 2013 that cloud seeding can increase precipitation by between 5 and 15 per cent. On the downside, it’s thought to have been the cause of serious flooding in some of the countries where it’s been used.

Underwater Farming

Growing vegetables under the sea may seem like something out of a science fiction novel, but Nemo’s Garden, situated off the coast of Noli on the Italian Riviera, is very much a reality, producing anything from lettuce and tomatoes to peas, beans, and even flowers. Sergio Gamberini, a scuba diver and amateur gardener, came up with the concept whilst on a diving holiday in the area in 2012. He started off growing basil in a miniature version of the 2,000 litre biospheres currently in use, and over the next five years the underwater habitat just got bigger and bigger as more money was put into the project. The temperature inside the biospheres is stable, no pests can wander in, so there’s no need for pesticides, and sea water inside the structures evaporates, condenses on the roof and then drips back down as fresh water to feed the plants. Although still in its early stages, there is optimism that this sustainable form of agriculture could be extended and put to use on a larger scale, offering a possible solution to the shortage of farmland.

Recycling Dog Waste

A streetlamp powered by dog waste is helping to keep the streets clean, as well as lighting up the area outside the UK home of its inventor, Brian Harper. Dog walkers pick up their pet’s mess in a free paper bag, place it into a container and turn a handle to move the mess into a biodigester. Here it is broken down by microorganisms to produce methane, which fuels the light. Harper ran trials on the lamp for over five years before it was put into full working operation at the end of 2017. Ten bags of waste can power the light for two hours, which won’t put an end to the world’s energy crisis, but it should serve to teach people how waste can be useful. Schemes using dog and other animal waste as a fuel source are being adopted in a number of other countries, from Canada to India.

Confronting Global Issues

We look at four procedures being used to tackle some of our global problems.

the gradual growth in its use from small beginnings

a general lack of awareness of how long it has been in use

the place where the idea for it was first thought of

the threat it poses to some people’s jobs

uncertainty about its effectiveness

its value as an educational tool

the belief that it has potential for wider application

the fact that tests were carried out before it became functional

growing interest in it from the media

the recent dramatic rise in its use

Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.

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