* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download The Great Meltdown 2011/02/07 As global warming becomes a hit
Climatic Research Unit documents wikipedia , lookup
Climate change adaptation wikipedia , lookup
Climate change denial wikipedia , lookup
Citizens' Climate Lobby wikipedia , lookup
Climate engineering wikipedia , lookup
Climate governance wikipedia , lookup
Economics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate sensitivity wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and agriculture wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on human health wikipedia , lookup
Fred Singer wikipedia , lookup
Global warming controversy wikipedia , lookup
Snowball Earth wikipedia , lookup
General circulation model wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Tuvalu wikipedia , lookup
Media coverage of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Mitigation of global warming in Australia wikipedia , lookup
John D. Hamaker wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on humans wikipedia , lookup
Global warming hiatus wikipedia , lookup
Scientific opinion on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Solar radiation management wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in the United States wikipedia , lookup
Instrumental temperature record wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and poverty wikipedia , lookup
Attribution of recent climate change wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Global warming wikipedia , lookup
Politics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Surveys of scientists' views on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Climate change, industry and society wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in the Arctic wikipedia , lookup
Public opinion on global warming wikipedia , lookup
Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment wikipedia , lookup
Future sea level wikipedia , lookup
The Great Meltdown 2011/02/07 As global warming becomes a hit issue where environmentalists confront economists with the evidence that the monstrous polar ice sheets once ground across the continents are vanishing, it is time to call a spade a spade, clarifying why we are experiencing drastic climate change and, thanks to Hollywood, whether we are to face the end of the world. Is it the Industrialization that leads us on the path to another ice age termination? Or is it nothing but a commercial trick of the green industry coaxing consumers into buying their products? Without doubt, we are to make every effort to protect our planet since we have only one Earth, while our green consumption is not only for the sake of saving our environment but also for the sake of our health. Curbing the greenhouse gas emissions by using alternative energy, taking the place of fossil fuels might be our final resort to tackle the problem of global warming; however, it plays an important role in decelerating the speed we deplete natural resources but in stopping the great meltdown. In fact, there seems to be nothing we can do about it. Climate scientists have long suspected these glacial cycles are triggered by changes in our planet’s orbit. According to orbital theories, periodic changes in Earth’s orbit alter the amount of sunshine different parts of the planet receive. The tilt of Earth’s axis increases and decreases every 41,000 years, making summers hotter and winters colder. Ice sheets will grow in colder summers as the snow that falls during winter does not melt completely and shrink in warmer summers. That is to say, the greatest ice sheets of the past are remarkably vulnerable, melting away when there is just a glimmer of extra sunlight. What’s more, small changes in sunshine might be greatly amplified by rises in CO₂ levels. As the melting of the ice sheets pours more fresh water into the Atlantic, shutting down the overturning circulation---- the great ocean current that carries heat north, then sinks and flows back along the bottom of the ocean. The southern oceans get warmer, pumping CO₂ into the atmosphere as it is less soluble in warm water, if less heat is carried north. The entire planet therefore gets warmer, leading to further melting and CO₂ release, triggering the end of the ice age. Inevitably, it is such a cycle we are going through. The melting of the ice sheets alters ocean circulation, producing drastic regional changes in climate in addition to natural phenomena like El Niño or La Niña. Along with all plausible measurements including alternative energy and green consumption we are to take delaying the due date, we should make hay while the sun shines, cherishing every breath we take, in the hope that some of our descendants can survive in the great meltdown. ( ( ( ) 1. According to this passage, which of the following is NOT true? (A) The great meltdown is inevitable. (B) Global warming results in the great meltdown. (C) We can use alternative energy to terminate the great meltdown. (D) The melting of polar ice helps the climate change drastically. ) 2. According to this passage, we know that El Niño . (A) is a natural phenomenon (B) means drastic climate change (C) has nothing to do with the great meltdown (D) produces drastic climate change globally ) 3. The least likely meaning of the word “plausible” is (A) possible (B) workable (C) sensible (D) incredible .