While we won’t be able to stop global warming immediately or over the next few decades, we can reduce the rate and reduce the amount of heating by lowering human emissions of gases and carbon. The temperature of the Earth would stabilise after the extra heat is dissipated into space.
Read more about it in this topic “Reducing the effect of climate change” and learn how to address the questions based on the topic.
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change IELTS
In this article, you will find a topic of reading with multiple sections and two sets of solved questions. Read carefully to understand how to score well in this segment.
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Answers Passage A
Such is our dependence on fossil fuels, and such is the volume of carbon dioxide already released into the atmosphere, that many experts agree that significant global warming is now inevitable. They believe that the best we can do is keep it at a reasonable level, and at present, the only serious option for doing this is cutting back on our carbon emissions. But while a few countries are making major strides in this regard, the majority are having great difficulty even stemming the rate of increase, let alone reversing it. Consequently, an increasing number of scientists are beginning to explore the alternative of geo-engineering — a term that generally refers to the intentional large-scale manipulation of the environment. According to its proponents, geo-engineering is the equivalent of a backup generator: if Plan A – reducing our dependency on fossil fuels – fails, we require a Plan B, employing grand schemes to slow down or reverse the process of global warming.
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Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Passage B
Geo-engineering has been shown to work, at least on a small localised scale. For decades, MayDay parades in Moscow have taken place under clear blue skies, aircraft having deposited dry ice, silver iodide and cement powder to disperse clouds. Many of the schemes now suggested look to do the opposite, and reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the planet. The most eye-catching idea of all is suggested by Professor Roger Angel of the University of Arizona. His scheme would employ up to 16 trillion minute spacecraft, each weighing about one gram, to form a transparent, sunlight-refracting sunshade in an orbit 1.5 million km above the Earth. This could, argues Angel, reduce the amount of light reaching the Earth by two per cent.
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Passage C
The majority of geoengineering projects so far carried out — which include planting forests in deserts and depositing iron in the ocean to stimulate the growth of algae – have focused on achieving a general cooling of the Earth. But some look specifically at reversing the melting at the poles, particularly the Arctic. The reasoning is that if you replenish the ice sheets and frozen waters of the high latitudes, more light will be reflected back into space, so reducing the warming of the oceans and atmosphere.
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Passage D
The concept of releasing aerosol sprays into the stratosphere above the Arctic has been proposed by several scientists. This would involve using sulphur or hydrogen sulphide aerosols so that sulphur dioxide would form clouds, which would, in turn, lead to global dimming. The idea is modelled on historic volcanic explosions, such as that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which led to a short-term cooling of global temperatures by 0.5 °C.
Scientists have also scrutinised whether it’s possible to preserve the ice sheets of Greenland with reinforced high-tension cables, preventing icebergs from moving into the sea. Meanwhile, in the Russian Arctic, geoengineering plans include the planting of millions of birch trees. Whereas the -regions native evergreen pines shade the snow and absorb radiation, birches would shed their leaves in winter, thus enabling radiation to be reflected by the snow. Re-routing Russian rivers to increase cold water flow to ice-forming areas could also be used to slow down warming, say some climate scientists.
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Passage E
But will such schemes ever be implemented? Generally speaking, those who are most cautious about geoengineering are the scientists involved in the research. Angel says that his plan is ‘no substitute for developing renewable energy: the only permanent solution’.
And Dr Phil Rasch of the US-based Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is equally guarded about the role of geoengineering: ‘I think all of us agree that if we were to end geoengineering on a given day, then the planet would return to its pre-engineered condition very rapidly, and probably within ten to twenty years. That’s certainly something to worry about.
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Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Passage F
The US National Center for Atmospheric Research has already suggested that the proposal to inject sulphur into the atmosphere might affect rainfall patterns across the tropics and the Southern Ocean. ‘Geo-engineering plans to inject stratospheric aerosols or to seed clouds would act to cool the planet, and act to increase the extent of sea ice,’ says Rasch. ‘But all the models suggest some impact on the distribution of precipitation.’
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Passage G
A further risk with geoengineering projects is that you can “overshoot Y says Dr Dan Hunt, from the University of Bristol’s School of Geophysical Sciences, who has studied the likely impacts of the sunshade and aerosol schemes on the climate. ‘You may bring global temperatures back to pre-industrial levels, but the risk is that the poles will still be warmer than they should be and the tropics will be cooler than before industrialisation.’To avoid such a scenario,” Hunt says, “Angel’s project would have to operate at half strength; all of which reinforces his view that the best option is to avoid the need for geoengineering altogether.”
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Reading Passage H
The main reason why geo-engineering is supported by many in the scientific community is that most researchers have little faith in the ability of politicians to agree – and then bring in — the necessary carbon cuts. Even leading conservation organisations see the value of investigating the potential of geoengineering. According to Dr Martin Sommerkorn, climate change advisor for the World Wildlife Fund’s International Arctic Programme, ‘Human-induced climate change has brought humanity to a position where we shouldn’t exclude thinking thoroughly about this topic and its possibilities.’
Reducing The Effect of Climate Change Solved Questions for IELTS Preparation
IELTS Preparation Questions: Vocabulary
Q. What is the synonym of reliance?
Ans. Dependence
Q. What is the synonym of bulk?
Ans. Volume
Q. What is the synonym of reducing?
Ans. Lessen
Q. What is the synonym of the extent?
Ans. Stretch
Q. What is the synonym of an implement?
Ans. Execute
Q. What is the synonym of an implement?
Ans. Effect
Q. What is the antonym of favour?
Ans. Disagree
Q. What is the antonym of boost?
Ans. Hinder
Q. What is the antonym of belief?
Ans. Disbelieve
Q. What is the antonym of delay?
Ans. Dispatch
Q. What is the antonym of lasting?
Ans. Short-lived
Q. What is the antonym of potential?
Ans. Unlikely
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IELTS Preparation Questions: Fill in The Gaps
Q. The bulk of ___ to date have concentrated on attaining a general cooling of the Earth.
Ans. geoengineering operations.
Q. While a few nations are making significant progress in this area, the majority are having difficulties simply ___ the pace of rise, let alone reversing it.
Ans. slowing.
Q. Scientists have also investigated if it is feasible to protect ___ ice sheets using strengthened high-tension wires
Ans. Greenland’s
Q. Many of the new proposals aim to accomplish the reverse, ___ the quantity of sunlight reaching the globe.
Ans. reducing.
Q. His plan calls for up to ____ aircraft, each weighing around one gramme, to build a transparent, sunlight-refracting parasol 1.5 million kilometres above Earth.
Ans. 16 trillion minute.
How to Solve Reading Answers?
Things to Read
We cannot, as much as we would like to, convince you to read any topic you like. Fiction or amusement do not work well for the methods you must practise for the IELTS reading part. Publications from journal articles, periodicals, novels, and newspapers are the most prevalent and should be practised reading.
The basic reading topics for the IELTS might be anything connected to science, environment, technology innovation, culture, or notable discoveries. Look for articles with more than 500 words to practise long-form reading.
Improving Your Reading Speed
Speed is a very crucial talent in reading that is underappreciated. The sooner you grasp the concept of a passage, the faster you will be able to answer questions. Learn the skill of skimming by highlighting keywords in a phrase. The terms in bold will give you a good idea of what the text is about. To test whether it helps you boost, try reading every fourth word.
Using Annotations
Make a note of any paragraphs that stand out to you. This is known as annotating. Annotating will assist you in rapidly locating the appropriate section to read for a certain response. It’ll be nearly like your own index. Don’t read and annotate paragraphs for longer than 3 to 4 minutes. Practice putting the appropriate comments or subheadings next to the appropriate text.
Conclusion
We hope that this article helped you in understanding the format of the passages and how to answer the questions related to the topic. There are different types of questions that can be formed from these passages. Therefore, it is important for you to practice a lot of reading passages and question types.
If you don’t have a clue where to look for more reading passages, visit IELTS Ninja and click on the blog section.
Also Read: What is a Good IELTS Score? Is 7.5 a Good IELTS Score? Here’s All You Need to Know
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