The Future of the Earth Student ’s notes You’re hungry, so you buy a packet of crisps You eat the crisps ands throw away the packet No problem, right? Wrong! The disposal of rubbish has been a social and environmental problem for thousands of years The first landfill site in history was opened by the Greeks in about 2.500 BC They realised they had a problem with rubbish in Athens, so they dug a big hole several kilometres outside town where all the rubbish was thrown And we still generally use the same solution today Statistics say that next year, over 80% of Europe’s rubbish will be dumped in landfill sites and less than 20 % will be recycled So what’s the problem with that ? Landfill Sites The main problem is that we’re producing a huge amount of rubbish each year- millions and millions of tones of it – and the existing landfill sites are nearly full Where are we going to put all our rubbish in the future? Unless we reduce the amount of rubbish we throw away, there will be no room for more rubbish in the Earth, already thinking of setting landfills in the moon or even in a faraway planet Who knows? Unless we find an alternative, the environment and, of course all of us, will suffer the consequences Finding new sites isn’t easy Farmland and the country site have to be destroyed – and that’s bad for the environment and for the farming industry And, remember that crisp packet that was thrown away? That’s made of plastic Plastic takes about 450 years to degrade In other words, a crisps packet takes hundreds of years to disappear That’s also bad for the environment And, we can’t burn a lot of it either If we burn it the gases that are given off will pollute the air extremely So what can we do? Remember the Rs We can our bit to help solve the problem by remembering the Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle Reduce Reuse Recycle Reduce : We’ve all got to try to reduce the amount of rubbish we throw away We can that buy buying unpackaged goods, like fruit and vegetables, rather than goods which are wrapped and packaged in plastic Also, try not to buy disposable products like single-use cameras and non-rechargeable batteries The less that’s thrown away, the more we help the environment Reuse : Try to use things as many times as possible before you throw them away For example, you are given some plastic bags at the supermarket to carry your food home in Do you use them again? Most people don’t It would be much better for the environment if they did Your kids have grown out of their old clothes Don’t just put them in the bin- think about giving them to charity Somebody probably wants them Recycle : Glass, paper, plastic, they can all be recycled If everybody recycled the waste going to landfill sites would be cut down considerably and factories would need to produce fewer new bottles and packets and paper That also means that less pollution would go into the atmosphere from the factories and fewer trees would cut down to make paper Protecting the environment is not a load of old rubbish! For further information on your nearest Recycling Centre and Bottle Bank Phone 0808 1234567 free of charge NOW! The Future of the Earth Student ’s notes Read the leaflet quickly and check if the text includes any of your suggestions Were you right? Now read the leaflet again carefully and answer the questions a) b) c) d) e) f) When was the world’s first landfill site opened? How much European rubbish will be put in the ground next year? How much European rubbish will be recycled next year? How long does it take for plastic to degrade? What are the Rs ? What number can you call for more information? Look at these examples from the leaflet Then, circle the correct answer in the rule Ex: Unless we reduce the amount of rubbish we throw away, there will be no room for more rubbish in the Earth Ex: Unless we find an alternative, the environment and, of course all of us, will suffer the consequences Rule Unless we reduce the amount of rubbish = If we reduce / If we don’t reduce Now match the two parts of the sentences Unless we leave now 2.We don’t understand I won’t have any money 4.Unless he studies harder 5.Nobody will know our secret a) unless my dad gives me some b) he’ll fail his exams c) if you don’t tell anyone d) we’ll be late e) unless our teacher explains The Future of the Earth Student ’s notes 5.Now look at this example from the text Is it about a real or imagined situation? Ex :Do you use them again? Most people don’t It would be much better for the environment if they did Find more examples of the second conditional in the text and underline them Then complete the rule Rule Condition clause Result clause If + simple + _/ wouldn’t (would not) + verb Now write your own sentences using the second conditional The Future of the Earth Student ’s notes Now write your own examples about the way we protect the environment or not with the first and second conditional ( two examples of each ) Ex: If factories burn too much oil they will pollute the air Ex: If everybody reduced the amount of packaged goods they buy the environment would be cleaner The Future of the Earth Student ’s notes How green are you?1 Do this quick quiz to find out how much you help to protect the environment 1.Do you recycle all your used bottles, packets, boxes and paper? Do you just throw your rubbish in the bin (or on the floor! And not worry about it ? Do you buy environmentally friendly products, even if they are a bit more expensive? Do you frequently buy disposable razors, cameras, etc? Do you care about the rainforests being cut down? Do you think that an urban environment is always better than a rural one? Do you think that cars pollute the atmosphere with their exhaust fumes? Do you think that the car is the best invention ever ? If your partner answers “yes” to most of the green questions, he /she is a real friend of the Earth If he/ she answers “ yes” to the red ones, he/she has a lot to learn Adapted from: MANN (2008) Laser B1 Student’s Book Macmillan Hellas SA The Future of the Earth Student ’s notes 1.Write a word or phrase from the box in each gap to complete the sentences CFCs environmentally green rural surroundings urban If you are , you care about the environment If you live in beautiful , you live in a beautiful place If you live in a (n) _ environment, you live in the countryside If you live in a (n) _ environment, you live in a town or city If a product is friendly, it’s designed to damage the environment _ are a type of gas which can damage the ozone layer Listening You are going to listen to five people talking about the environment As you listen decide if the speakers make these points Circle YES/ NO People are now much more aware Speaker 1: YES / NO People are trying to keep the area clean Speaker 4: YES / NO Many adults don’t know enough about it Each person can make a big difference Speaker : YES / NO Speaker 3: YES / NO We are not so close to nature Speaker : YES / NO The Future of the Earth Student ’s notes Listening Now listen again Match each speaker to a question Each person can make a big difference We are not so closet o nature People are trying to keep the area clean c a b Each person can make a big difference Each person can make a big difference d Speaker 1… Speaker 5… e Speaker 2… Speaker 3… Speaker 4…