GLOBAL WARMING: Text

Our text deals with one of the most important issues regarding Global Warming, the Ice melting in the Arctic.



Global warming threatens Arctic

The Arctic ice cap is melting so rapidly it may completely disappear by the end of the century, US scientists have warned. Experts at America’s National Snow and Ice Data Centre* (NSIDC) have reported that recent satellite images revealed the volume of sea ice was the lowest figure on record. The polar ice pack has shrunk by 30 percent since 1978. An area five times larger than the UK has vanished and the Arctic’s disappearing act is quickening. This year saw the warmest Arctic summer in 400 years. Dr. Mark Serreze from the NSIDC said: “The year 2005 puts an exclamation point on the pattern of Arctic warming.” He attributes the worrying trend of melting ice caps to global warming.
The NSIDC’s leader Dr. Ted Scambos said the Arctic Circle is receding at such a rate that it is now close to a “tipping point” from which it may never recover. He said the Arctic is caught in a vicious circle, which, within a century, may lead to high temperatures not seen for a million years. Less sea ice means the planet cannot reflect the suns rays and cool itself. Warmer seas and oceans absorb more of the sun’s heat, which in turn melts more ice. The loss of sea ice is a self-perpetuating recipe for climate disaster. Current shrinkage is estimated at eight percent per decade, which means there may be no ice at all during the Arctic summer of 2060. Dr. Scambos issued a dire warning that it is “pretty certain a long-term decline is underway”.

ACTIVITY ONE:

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ACTIVITY TWO:

Arrange the following sentence so it can make sense.

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ACTIVITY THREE:

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TheArcticicecapismeltingsorapidlyitmaycompletelydisappear
bytheendofthecentury,USscientistshavewarned



by Claudio Soto, Jorge Suárez & Randy Urtubia.