ARE YOU GREEN?

READING.

Before reading.

1. Work in pairs. Make brief notes on two environmental problems the world is facing at the moment (e.g. the world is getting warmer.).

2. In some countries there is political party called the ‘’Green Party’’ or ‘’The Greens’’. What is its purpose? Discuss with your partner.

Reading.

1. Read the text. Match each of the paragraphs with one of the items in the pictures (e.g. paragraph 1. refers to f ). You should be able to word out most of the more difficult words from the context.

ARE THESE PEOPLE CRIMINALS?

1. For a start, Julia Moore’s not just killing flies with that spray. By using it, she is helping to create a hole in the ozone layer – the “gas screen” which helps to protect us from dangerous rays of the sun. The spray is fan of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that eat up the ozone gas. There are no huge holes in the ozone layer, which is why CFCs should be banned.

2. The cooking pots are boiling over a wasting power. This means that more and more oil and coal has to be burned and this causes pollution and “acid rain”. “Acid rain” has already killed more than half Germany’s trees.

3. The vegetables you can see have probably been treated with pesticides – chemicals which kill the small animals and insects that live of them. They have also been treated with fertilizers/ which can exhaust the soil and kill wild animals. The pesticides and fertilizers end up in our water which is then polluted by them. You can now buy organic fruit and vegetables in many shops which are not treated with chemicals.

4. The eggs which Emma is eating come from battery farms which cause great cruelty to millions of hens kept in confirmed spaces. Free-range eggs are more expensive but are healthier and not as cruel to hens.

5. The hardwood which the kitchen furniture is made of comes from the tropical rain forests, which are disappearing as they are cut down to provided hardwood for the western world. Fewer trees means more carbon dioxide in the air and this traps the sun’s heat and leads to the “greenhouse effect “- a hotter climate which melts ice, causes floods and drought and changes our climate.

6. The fridge is full of meat. Tropical rain forests are often cut down to provide space to breed cattle to provide our hamburgers.

7. Julia doesn’t always save her plastic shopping bags. Yet it is impossible to recycle them and plastic can harm animals.

8. the Moores throw a lot of rubbish out without recycling.


2.- Work in pairs to see how “green you are. Fill in the questionnaire yourself and then compare your answers and final score with your partner.
Yes No Sometimes



YES NO SOMETIMES

1.Do you re-use plastic carrier bags?
2.Do you buy organically grown vegetables?
3.Do you buy glass (not plastic) bottles?
4.Do you take empty bottles to a bottle bank?
5.Do you buy CFC-free sprays?
6.Do you buy vegetables and fruit loose rather than
in plastic packets?
7.Do you buy white tissues rather than coloured ones?
8.Do you buy free-range eggs?
9. Do you buy rechargeable batteries?
10. Do you buy soap and cosmetics not tested on
animals?
11. Do you try to save energy in the home?
12.If you have a car do you use unleashed petrol?
13. Do you try to use public transport or ride a bicycle
as much as possible?
14. Do you try to avoid using chemicals to kill garden
pests?
15. Do you keep paper or aluminium cans for recycling?