Nuclear energy by Chris Rose

šestiměsíční kurs angličtiny - professional english 26

Pre-reading task
1 What do you think of nuclear power?
2 Is nuclear power green?
Now read the article and compare your experiences with those outlined in the article.

There was a time when the divisions were simple: nuclear energy was a danger to the world and opposition to nuclear energy was the choice of every environment-loving, green-thinking person.

The process of nuclear fission and the consequent production of nuclear waste and the problems of storing that waste made a lot of people worry. Not to mention the possibility of accidents: the word 'Chernobyl' is now enough to worry many people.

Times have changed, however. Over the last ten years there has been a rapid growth in awareness of just how precarious our planetary situation is. The most recent UN report into climate change has made the situation frighteningly clear. Now people who deny climate change are only a few extremists - the threats facing us are real.

This has led to a number of environmentalists making a dramatic turnaround. Among these is James Lovelock. Lovelock has always been at the centre of controversy. He is perhaps best known for his book Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. This book explained the 'Gaia theory'. According to Gaia theory, the world is a self-regulating mechanism, not exactly a living being, but more like an engine that propels itself. Other life forms (including us humans) are only a part of this bigger, complex system. It's not surprising that a lot of people disagreed with Lovelock's ideas, but on the other hand his radical thinking has also won him a lot of fans, and admirers - people who don't always agree with him, but respect his ideas. In 2004 Lovelock started another controversy. This great environmentalist and alternative thinker said the unthinkable for many people in the Green movement: 'Only one immediately available source does not causeglobal warming and that is nuclear energy.' ('Nuclear power is the only green solution' in The Independent, May 2004)

Lovelock says he has never been against nuclear power, and thinks that alternative energy sources will not produce the energy necessary for the six billion people who live on the planet. He thinks that there is not enough time to research and develop alternative energy sources. We are facinga serious and urgent emergency, and nuclear power is the only solution. Lovelock acknowledges that nuclear power has its risks, but says that these risks are very small compared with the greater risk of global warming.

Lovelock says this important newspaper article and his recent book - The Revenge of Gaia - are 'a wake-up call', an urgent alarm that we must change our way of thinking not only about nuclear energy, but also about the way we conceive the environment in general.

In Britain, the Prime Minister says he plans to commission the building of several new nuclear power stations. This is good news for a politician, who can say he is being 'green' at the same time as keeping big business happy. Who knows if it is the best thing for the planet? Only time will tell - if we have enough time . . .

Exercise 1

Comprehension: True/False. Read the article and decide if the following statements are true or false:

1 'Chernobyl' is a word that many people associate with nuclear accidents.

2 Nuclear fission produces waste.

3 People who say climate change is not happening have ideas that most people think are extreme.

4 Gaia theory says the world is a living being.

5 Some people don't agree with Lovelock, but respect many of his ideas.

6 Lovelock didn't upset many people in the Green movement in 2004.

7 Lovelock has changed his ideas.

8 Lovelock thinks that nuclear power is not dangerous.

Exercise 2

Vocabulary: Matching. Match each word in the first column (1 to 9) with its definition in the second column (a to i):

1 green-thinking
2 growth in awareness
3 precarious
4 turnaround
5 centre of controversy
6 self-regulating
7 radical thinking
8 unthinkable
9 wake-up call

a very innovative approaches to something
b the main point of an argument
c something that tells you a situation must change immediately
d something that governs itself
e something difficult to conceive or comprehend
f someone who is very concerned about environmental issues
g dangerous
h an increasing amount of knowledge
i a change of direction

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The Ideas Factory

Word search

See if you can find these words in the grid. They can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal and backwards.

AC_IDENT
NUCLEAR
CLIMAT_
PRECARIO_S
CONTROV_RSY
T_REAT
ENER_Y
TURN_RO_ND
FIS_ION
_NTHINK_BLE