Eco

Lead-in

  • How has the environment been damaged or affected by human activities?
  • What can be done to better preserve and recover our environment?
  • What policies have you heard of that aim to improve our carbon footprint?
  • What can we do as individuals to contribute?

Presentation

Pre

  • How do individuals in your country protect the environment?
  • How does the government or NGOs (non-governmental organizations) contribute to the aforementioned cause?

Top Down

  • What topics are mentioned in the text?
  • Inflation
  • Deforestation
  • Agriculture
  • The jungle
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Global warming
  • The economy
  • Tropical forests
  • Inflation
  • Deforestation
  • Agriculture
  • The jungle
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Global warming
  • The economy
  • Tropical forests

     Deforestation is the purposeful clearing of forested land. Throughout history and into modern times, forests have been razed to make space for agriculture and animal grazing, and to obtain wood for fuel, manufacturing, and construction.

     Deforestation has greatly altered landscapes around the world. About 2,000 years ago, 80 percent of Western Europe was forested; today the figure is 34 percent. In North America, about half of the forests in the eastern part of the continent were cut down from the 1600s to the 1870s for timber and agriculture. China has lost great expanses of its forests over the past 4,000 years and now just over 20 percent of it is forested. Much of Earth’s farmland was once forests.

    Today, the greatest amount of deforestation is occurring in tropical rain forests, aided by extensive road construction into regions that were once almost inaccessible. Building or upgrading roads into forests make them more accessible for exploitation. Slash-and-burn agriculture is a big contributor to deforestation in the tropics. With this agricultural method, farmers burn large swaths of forest, allowing the ash to fertilize the land for crops. The land is only fertile for a few years, however, after which the farmers move on to repeat the process elsewhere. Tropical forests are also cleared to make way for logging, cattle ranching, and oil palm and rubber tree plantations.

     Deforestation can result in more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. That is because trees take in carbon dioxide from the air for photosynthesis, and carbon is locked chemically in their wood. When trees are burned, this carbon returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. With fewer trees around to take in the carbon dioxide, this greenhouse gas accumulates in the atmosphere and accelerates global warming.   

    Deforestation also threatens the world’s biodiversity. Tropical forests are home to great numbers of animal and plant species. When forests are logged or burned, it can drive many of those species into extinction. Some scientists say we are already in the midst of a mass extinction episode.

     More immediately, the loss of trees from a forest can leave soil more prone to erosion. This causes the remaining plants to become more vulnerable to fire as the forest shifts from being a closed, moist environment to an open, dry one. 

     While deforestation can be permanent, this is not always the case. In North America, for example, forests in many areas are returning thanks to conservation efforts.

Source

Bottom Up

  • True or False?

Example: Deforestation is the purposeful clearing of forested land. True

  1. Deforestation has greatly altered landscapes around the world.
  2. Deforestation can result in less carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.
  3. Tropical forests are home to great numbers of animals but not of plant species.
  4. Some scientists say we are already in the midst of a mass extinction episode.
  5. Tropical forests are also cleared to make way for logging, cattle ranching, and oil palm and rubber tree plantations.
  1. Deforestation has greatly altered landscapes around the world. True
  2. Deforestation can result in less carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. False
  3. Tropical forests are home to great numbers of animals but not of plant species. False
  4. Some scientists say we are already in the midst of a mass extinction episode. True
  5. Tropical forests are also cleared to make way for logging, cattle ranching, and oil palm and rubber tree plantations. True

Post

  • In your opinion, what are 3 major environmental problems and possible solutions?
  • What other problems do you know of that are not mentioned in the text and their possible solutions?

Target Language

Collocations: Verb + Noun

Farm Vocabulary

Controlled Practice

  • Match the expressions with their definitions. There is one example.

  1. Animal grazing

  2. Cattle ranching

  3. Logging

  4. Green House

  5. Expanse

  6. Crops

(   ) The process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport.

(   ) A plant such as a grain, vegetable, or fruit grown in large amounts on a farm.

(   ) Structure enclosed (as by glass) and used for the cultivation or protection of tender plants.

(1) Method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetation.

(   ) A farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle).

(   ) An area of something, typically land or sea, presenting a wide continuous surface.

  1. Animal grazing

  2. Cattle ranching

  3. Logging

  4. Green House

  5. Expanse

  6. Crops

(3) The process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport.

(6) A plant such as a grain, vegetable, or fruit grown in large amounts on a farm.

(4) Structure enclosed (as by glass) and used for the cultivation or protection of tender plants.

(1) Method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetation.

(2) A farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle).

(5) An area of something, typically land or sea, presenting a wide continuous surface.

  • Fill in the gaps with the expressions from the Target Language.

greenhouse – cattle ranching – take a gap year – expanse – go tech free – crop

Example: I’m tired of studying and working, I should  ____. > I’m tired of studying and working, I should take a gap year.

  1. I feel annoyed by people who are on their phones all the time! I wish we all could ____.
  2. For more than 100 years the only human activity has been low-level ____.
  3. China, the world’s biggest emitter, was in 45th spot – one below the US, which is the world’s second largest emitter of ____ gases that cause climate change.
  4. Unlike my cousin, if I ever visit the Sahara or the Mediterranean it will be as a tourist, looking at the ____ of sand or sea without fear and with wonder at the beauty of this world.
  5. Bamboo produces an annual ____ of cane.
  1. I feel annoyed by people who are on their phones all the time! I wish we all could go tech free.
  2. For more than 100 years the only human activity has been low-level cattle ranching.
  3. China, the world’s biggest emitter, was in 45th spot – one below the US, which is the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
  4. Unlike my cousin, if I ever visit the Sahara or the Mediterranean it will be as a tourist, looking at the expanse of sand or sea without fear and with wonder at the beauty of this world.
  5. Bamboo produces an annual crop of cane.

Freer Practice

  • Complete the following sentences with your own ideas.
  1. In order for me to go green, I would have to …
  2. I’m for / against logging because …
  3. Getting a driver’s license is fundamental if you …
  4. The greenhouse effect can be minimized if we …
  1. Animal grazing can be a problem if …
  2. It’s important to make peace with someone who …
  3. I would have gone tech-free if …
  4. A good way for you to reduce your carbon footprint is to …

Production

  • What have you done or would like to do towards going green?
  • What do you think about people who go tech-free?
  • Will getting a driver’s license be a thing of the past in 20 years?
  • How much does recycling contribute to the environment?
  • How can recycling be counter-productive?
  • Have you ever had to make peace with someone you disagreed with regarding controversial issues like global warming?
  • How much do you agree with the quote below?

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and one another.” — Chris Maser

Homework

Match each expression to its meaning. There is one example.

  1. Go green

  2. Take a gap year

  3. Go tech-free

  4. Make peace

  5. Take a road trip

(   ) To settle a quarrel or dispute with someone in an amicable and peaceful fashion.

(   ) Take an extended trip in a motor vehicle.

(   ) Take a year between leaving school and starting university that is usually spent travelling or working.

(   ) Means not using any kind of technology.

(1) Means caring for the environment by making a deliberate effort to be part of the change.

  1. Go green

  2. Take a gap year

  3. Go tech-free

  4. Make peace

  5. Take a road trip

(4) To settle a quarrel or dispute with someone in an amicable and peaceful fashion.

(5) Take an extended trip in a motor vehicle.

(2) Take a year between leaving school and starting university that is usually spent travelling or working.

(3) Means not using any kind of technology.

(1) Means caring for the environment by making a deliberate effort to be part of the change.

Match the sentence halves. There is one example.

  1. Huge dunes flank a vast expanse 

  2. She lived and worked with a family of 

  3. In arid regions traditionally used for cattle 

  4. Six friends on a road trip stop 

  5. There are many easy ways to combat

(   ) peasants, cultivating the field, planting crops, reaping the harvest.

(   ) off in a small town in the middle of nowhere to spend the night.

(1) of sand that stretches for several miles.

(   ) climate change and go green in general and in your daily routine.

(   ) ranching, farms could be a maximum of 2000 hectares.

  1. Huge dunes flank a vast expanse 

  2. She lived and worked with a family of 

  3. In arid regions traditionally used for cattle 

  4. Six friends on a road trip stop 

  5. There are many easy ways to combat

(2) peasants, cultivating the field, planting crops, reaping the harvest.

(4) off in a small town in the middle of nowhere to spend the night.

(1) of sand that stretches for several miles.

(5) climate change and go green in general and in your daily routine.

(3) ranching, farms could be a maximum of 2000 hectares.

Complete the blank spaces using expressions from the target language.

Example:Last year, Tanzania’s farmers produced one of the biggest maize ____ the country has ever seen. > Last year, Tanzania’s farmers produced one of the biggest maize crops the country has ever seen.

  1. It ran through their properties and, they claim, caused serious damage to their land, _____ and animals.
  2. This was achieved after improved park management contained the destructive annual fires and reduced livestock ____ and poaching.
  3. The decline of butterfly populations is attributed to the loss of milkweed habitat in the US and Canada, illegal ____ in Michoacan and Mexico state, and climate change.
  4. A modern variation on the porch is the sunroom or sunspace, conservatory, ____, or solarium.
  5. It is another of those tiny groups of dots that punctuate the vast ____ of the Pacific Ocean.
  1. It ran through their properties and, they claim, caused serious damage to their land, crops and animals.
  2. This was achieved after improved park management contained the destructive annual fires and reduced livestock grazing and poaching.
  3. The decline of butterfly populations is attributed to the loss of milkweed habitat in the US and Canada, illegal logging in Michoacan and Mexico state, and climate change.
  4. A modern variation on the porch is the sunroom or sunspace, conservatory, greenhouse, or solarium.
  5. It is another of those tiny groups of dots that punctuate the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

Put the words in the correct order.

Example: restaurants / institute / that / “coldspots” / tech-free / and / also / cafes / will / other / Mr. Felix / hopes > Mr. Felix also hopes that other restaurants and cafes will institute tech–free “coldspots”.

  1. dinner / certain / must / Identify / household / your / remain / tech-free / like / times / when
  2. The / the / Ural / Mountains / which / to / forest / the / refers / Pacific. / stretches / the / from / the / that / great / taiga, / of / expanse / to / area / called / is
  3. in / greenhouse / wide / specimens. / come / to / very / shrubs / ranging / fragile / Fuchsias / from / tall / varieties
  4. for / machines / logging / in / are / and / main / extraction / these / tree / Chainsaw / and / cable / felling / skidder / forests. / two / timber
  5. in / rights / Forest. / the / of / They / with / responsibility / grazing / the / commoners / are
  1. Identify certain times, like dinner, when your household must remain tech–free.
  2. The area is called the taiga, which refers to the great expanse of forest that stretches from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific.
  3. Fuchsias come in wide varieties ranging from tall shrubs to very fragile greenhouse specimens.
  4. Chainsaw and cable skidder are two main logging machines for tree felling and timber extraction in these forests.
  5. They are the responsibility of commoners with grazing rights in the Forest.

Find and correct the mistakes.

Example: They realy enjoy going to the movies. > They really enjoy going to the movies.

  1. My teacher is going to do a speach tomorrow. 
  2. My sister and my brother didn’t make peace yet.
  3. My hotel is going a green. They’re interested on protecting the environment.
  4. The lighthouse effect is getting worse every year.
  5. Lumberjacks are an endangered species with an expected 9% decline in animal grazing industry employment.
  1. My teacher is going to make a speech tomorrow. 
  2. My sister and my brother haven’t made peace yet.
  3. My hotel is going green. They’re interested on protecting the environment.
  4. The greenhouse effect is getting worse every year.
  5. Lumberjacks are an endangered species with an expected 9% decline in logging industry employment.

Writing

Write about 5 things that can be done to help the environment. Use the Target Language.

Example: The first thing that comes to mind is a policy that ensures …