Up in the Air

Summer vacation is coming up. Good times for airline companies.
Travelling by plane has never been more popular. But flying contributes to climate change.
Now what?

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• a significant number - very many; so many that it really makes a difference
• carbon footprint - a measurement of the amount of carbon dioxide that your activities produce
• fuel - a material (such as coal, oil, or gas) that is burned to produce heat or power
• via another airport - by departing from another airport
• to offset - to cancel or reduce the effect of something
• online calculators - websites that do the math for you
• to tackle a problem - to deal with a problem
• to reduce the impact of flying - to make the (negative) effect of flying smaller

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. When you think of flying, what is the best thing you can do to help our climate?


2. Laura Foster explains what you can do to reduce the carbon footprint of your flight.
   How many things does she name?


3. Name three or more of these things you could do yourself.


4. How does “Offset your flight” work?


5. Do all these things really reduce the impact of flying on climate change?

The Thing About Biodiversity

Hundreds of thousands of different species of animals and plants are facing extinction. The United Nations says that this is all because of human activity: all sorts of things we humans are doing.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• biodiversity - the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in a particular area or in the world generally
• variety of all life - all the many different sorts of life on earth
• immense - very large
• secure - safe
• towering forests - forest with very tall trees
• pollinator - something, such as an insect, that carries pollen from one plant or part of a plant to another
• to keep in supply - to store something; to make sure there is enough of something
• coral reefs - larger areas of coral that can be found in warmer parts of the ocean
• mangrove swamps - an area of very wet, soft land where mangroves (tropical trees) grow
• to drop - to go down in number, to become less
• catastrophic - as bad as a big catastrophe or disaster

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. Complete the statement: The more biodiversity the more .......


2. Why do we humans need forests?


3. Why do we humans need pollinators, soil organisms and plankton?


4. Why do we humans need strange plants deep in jungles?


5. What is happening with biodiversity? It is:
   a. dropping,
   b. increasing,
   c. staying the same everywhere.

Nature's Vanishing Trick

Biodiversity refers to all the different kinds of living organisms (animals and plants) in a place on earth. The UN just published a study warning that biodiversity is in decline (aan het afnemen). Teenager Lily Macfarlane made a short video to try and explain why the loss of biodiversity, extinction and vanishing species really matter.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• tansy beetle - groot goudhaantje (een keversoort)
• banks of a river - the higher ground along the edge of a river
• far from it - almost the opposite is true
• species - a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants
• extinction - a situation in which something no longer exists
• abroad - in foreign countries
• Shifting Baseline Syndrome - het syndroom van de verschuivende ijkpunten: For example, winters used to be much colder in the Netherlands. This has been changing for years, so we start to forget the colder winters and use the higher temperatures as the new normal. Result: the baseline has shifted from colder to warmer temperatures.
• decline - a change to a lower number or amount
• bleak - not hopeful or encouraging
• enriched - better, more beautiful, of a higher quality
• reversed - turned around

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. How many species in Britain are currently in decline?


2. Name two or more animals that are threatened to disappear.


3. Is the decline of biodiversty irreversible (onomkeerbaar)?

Extra questions for more advanced listeners:

1. Explain what Lily means with the expression “the vanishing trick”.


2. Why should you care about the disappearance of a beetle or a bird?

House on Fire

Last week, world leaders and business chiefs met in Davos to talk about global issues and solutions. 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden was there too. She presented her point of view on climate action.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• lack of effective change - not enough action to make real changes
• price tag - the amount of money that something costs
• to acknowledge - to admit; to say that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of something
• broad public awareness - the situation that many people know that something exists or is happening
• homo sapiens - the human race; all human beings
• to gain notoriety - to become well-known for things you do or say
• mature - having the mental and emotional qualities of an adult and acting like that
• to uphold an agreement - to give support to an agreement and stick to it
• to adhere to environmental regulations - to act in the way that is required by the rules for making and keeping the world healthy
• unspoken sufferings - physical or mental pain which is understood without being directly said aloud

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. What does Greta mean when she suggests that ‘the house is on fire’?


2. What does Greta want of the world leaders?


3. Greta says: ‘Their financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag.’ What is this ‘price tag’ she is talking about?


4. According to Greta, is it too late to do anything? Explain your answer.


5. Does Greta think it will be an easy task to solve the climate crisis? Explain your answer.

- Watch Greta’s full speech here.
- Also listen to Greta’s message to Davos before leaving by train from Stockholm to Switzerland.
- Children all over the world are concerned about climate change. Check out this earlier video with students in Australia.

Extra speaking assignment
Greta Thunberg started the climate strike movement, young people skipping school to draw attention to the issue of climate change.
1. How do you feel about going on a school strike because of climate change?
2. Split the class in two.
3. One side thinks of arguments for striking, the other against striking.
4. Have a class discussion.

School Strike

It’s in the news more and more: Kids all over the world going on strike from school.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• to go on strike - to stop work or anything else you should do in order to force a change
• carbon footprint - the amount of greenhouse gases (broeikasgas) someone or something leaves behind
• to head (somewhere) - to go in a specific direction
• obvious - easy to see or understand
• to make a difference - to help change a situation
• to recognize - to accept or be aware that something is true
• to take action - to do something
• bush fire - a fire burning in the bush (= a wild area of land) that is difficult to control and sometimes spreads quickly
• drought - a long period of time when there is very little or no rain
• to have a say - to have the power to help decide something

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. How old are the girls?


2. Why are the girls planning to go on strike?


3. On what date are the girls planning to go on strike?


4. Where will they be going on strike?

Watch the video once more. Answer these more advanced questions:

1. What do the girls want to happen with the carbon footprint?


2. Harriet says that ‘that everyone can make a difference but particularly our politicians’.
   Why particularly the politicians?


3. Milou says that she’s ‘concerned about climate change because ...’.
   Name the reasons she gives.

In Deep Water

It’s still September, but the first autumn storms of the season have already rattled our windows. High winds can bring high water. The Weather Channel has made a neat graphic to show what an extreme storm surge looks like.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• destructive - causing a large amount of damage
• worst-case scenario - a description of what could happen in the worst possible situation
• storm surge - an unusual rise in sea level on a coast because of high winds
• impacts - effects
• high tide - the tide when the water is at its highest level
• shins - the front part of your legs below the knee
• waist - the middle part of your body between the hips and chest
• power lines - electrical wires or cables
• to heed someone’s advice - to listen to and follow up suggestions about what you should do

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. How high could the storm surge go in the worst case?


2. The weather reporter says: “It's not just going to be a coastal event.” What does this mean?


3. How many high-level scenarios does the weather reporter describe?


4. Name 2 or more things that could happen in each high-level scenario.


5. What final advice does the weather reporter give?

Climate Change

You can’t have missed it: the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
So what’s climate change really about? We know it is happening. But what does that mean to the average joe?
The video touches on some of the day to day problems climate change will likely cause.

Read the following words and expressions and their definitions.

• a cause: something that produces an effect, result, or condition; something that makes something happen or exist
• hard to grasp: difficult to understand
• to put something in perspective: to look at something in relation to similar things in order to get a clearer, more accurate idea
• syrup: a sweet, thick liquid made from the juice of a fruit or plant
• pancake: a thin, flat, round cake that is made by cooking batter on both sides in a frying pan or on a hot surface
• to sour: to lose freshness and get an unpleasant taste or smell
• runway: a long strip of ground where airplanes take off and land

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Make notes to help you do the assignment.

1. How does Trace say: “Laten we er geen ruzie om gaan maken”?


2. What is Greenland losing every year?


3. Name two or more day-to-day changes that you might experience as the climate shifts.
   Pick the one change you dislike most. Explain your pick.


4. What connects our luxury problems with the big chunk of ice in Antarctica Trace is talking about?

Extra writing assignment

1. At the end of the video, Trace says: “Can you think of some other things that might be affected by the warming of our planet?”
2. Write a comment in response to Trace. 50~100 words

Climate Change Conference

Why does the Paris climate change conference matter?
Watch the video to find out.

Read the following words and expressions and their definitions.

• representative: someone who acts or speaks for or in support of another person or group
• negotiation: a formal discussion between people who are trying to reach an agreement
• to secure: to make sure or guarantee that something is achieved
• to farm: to use land for growing food or raising animals
• long-term goal: a goal for the future, for a lasting change
• significant: very important

Read the assignment, then watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. Why is the conference called COP21?


2. When is the conference taking place?


3. How many countries are represented at the conference?


4. One hoped for goal of the conference is “a new deal on climate change that will limit emissions of carbon dioxide that scientists say are really driving temperature rises around the planet.”
   Explain what the underlined phrase means.


5. Listen carefully and fill in the missing words:
   “The other thing it aims to do is to change the nature of how we do business on this planet, which is how we ........., how we farm, how we ......... ........... and how we consume.”
   
   Explain what this means in your own words.