Экология сегодня. Макеева М.Н - 20 стр.

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LESSON 4
Grammar:
1. Местоимение (The Pronoun). Личные местоимения (The Personal Pronouns).
2. Притяжательные местоимения (The Possessive Pronouns). Указательные местоимения (The De-
monstrative Pronouns).
3. Вопросительные местоимения (The Interrogative Pronouns). Неопределенные местоимения (The
Indefinite Pronouns). Отрицательное местоимение (The Negative Pronoun).
Text:
FOSSILS VS. RENEWABLES: ENERGY’S FUTURE TODAY
There is a great deal of information and enthusiasm today about the development and increased production
of our global energy needs from alternative energy sources. Solar energy, wind power and moving water are all
traditional sources of alternative energy that are making progress. The enthusiasm everyone shares for these
developments has in many ways created a sense of complacency that our future energy demands will easily be
met.
Alternative energy is an interesting concept when you think about it. In our global society, it simply means
energy that is produced from sources other than our primary energy supply: fossil fuels. Coal, oil and natural
gas are the three kinds of fossil fuels that we have mostly depended on for our energy needs, from home heating
and electricity to fuel for our automobiles and mass transportation.
The problem is, fossil fuels are non-renewable. They are limited in supply and will one day be depleted.
There is no escaping this conclusion. Fossil fuels formed from plants and animals that lived hundreds of mil-
lions of years ago and became buried way underneath the Earth’s surface where their remains collectively trans-
formed into the combustible materials we use for fuel.
In fact, the earliest known fossil fuel deposits are from the Cambrian Period about 500 million years ago,
way before the dinosaurs emerged onto the scene. This is when most of the major groups of animals first ap-
peared on Earth. The later fossil fuels – which provide more substandard fuels like peat or lignite coal (soft
coal) – began forming as late as five million years ago in the Pliocene Period. At our rate of consumption, these
fuels cannot occur fast enough to meet our current or future energy demands.
Despite the promise of alternative energy sources – more appropriately called Renewable energy, collec-
tively they provide only about seven percent (7 %) of the world’s energy needs. This means that fossil fuels,
along with nuclear energy – a controversial, non-renewable energy source – are supplying 93 % of the world’s
energy resources.
Nuclear energy, which is primarily generated by splitting atoms, only provides six percent (6 %) of the
world’s energy supplies. And it is not likely to be a major source of world energy consumption because of pub-
lic pressure and the relative dangers associated with unleashing the power of the atom. Yet, governments such
as the United States see its vast potential and are placing pressure on the further exploitation of nuclear energy.
The total world energy demand is for about 400 quadrillion British Thermal Units – or BTUs – each year.
That is 400,000,000,000,000,000 BTUs! A BTU is roughly equal to the energy and heat generated by a match.
Oil, coal and natural gas supply nearly 88 % of the world’s energy needs, or about 350 quadrillion BTUs. Of
this amount, oil is king, providing about
41 percent of the world’s total energy supplies, or about 164 quadrillion BTUs. Coal provides 24 % of the
world’s energy, or 96 quadrillion BTUs, and natural gas provides the remaining 22 %, or 88 quadrillion BTUs.
It is not so much that we mine fossil fuels for our consumption any more than it is to mine salt or tap water
supplies way underground. The problems occur when we destroy ecosystems while mining it and while using it.
Certainly, if there were a way that fossil fuels can be mined and used in ways that do not harm our ecology,
then everything will be okay... in a perfect world. What makes our world perfect is that, it really is not perfect
according to definition. It is natural, with all things interdependent on each other to live, grow and produce.
Fossil fuel mining and oil production can and has caused irreparable damage to our environment.
Fossil fuels exist, and they provide a valuable service. It is not so much that we use fossil fuels for energy
that is problematic, but it is the side effects of using them that causes all of the problems. Burning fossil fuels
creates carbon dioxide, the number one greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Combustion of these
fossil fuels is considered to be the largest contributing factor to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmos-
phere. In the 20th century, the average temperature of Earth rose one degree Fahrenheit (1°F). This was a pe-

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