环球英语 — 115：Sign One: Disappearing Glacial Ice
Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Rebekah Schipper. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In September 2006 scientists pulled a large column, or core, up from the ground in Antarctica . It was over three [3] kilometres long. It is the longest, largest piece of ice that scientists have ever pulled from the icy Earth.
Voice 2
The scientists have been studying the ice. They are looking for evidence of climate change. And the evidence they have already found concerns them. One scientist, Dr. Eric Wolff, had this to say.
Voice 3
“My point would be that there is nothing in the ice core that gives us any cause for feeling at ease.”
Voice 1
The scientists believe that the ice core lets them look at eight thousand [8,000] years of climate history. You see, in the ice there are small spaces of air. The air is oldest in the ice that was closest to the Earth’s centre. Each level of the ice records a different period of Earth history. So, the scientists can measure past environmental conditions.
Voice 2
The scientists have found that levels of harmful gas, like carbon dioxide, are higher now than at any other time in history. They have also found that the rise in carbon dioxide levels affects the Earth’s temperature. The problem is that human activity has increased the rate of gas being sent into the atmosphere. People are putting more carbon dioxide into the air than ever before.
Voice 3
“Over the last two hundred [200] years human activity has increased carbon dioxide to well outside the natural range. …There is nothing that suggests that the Earth will take care of the increase in carbon dioxide. The ice core suggests that the increase in gas will surely give us a climate change that will be dangerous.”
Voice 1
People all over the world are already seeing evidence of this ‘dangerous’ climate change. Today’s Spotlight will start a new series on early signs of climate change. These are physical affects of Global Warming. Take a look around. Do you see any of these signs where you live?
Voice 2
Today’s sign: Disappearing Glacial Ice.
Voice 1
In general, global warming works like this. The sun shines on the Earth. Most of the sun’s rays pass through the Earth’s atmosphere. The surface of the Earth takes in the heat energy. Some of that energy goes back up into the air. It travels back up into the atmosphere. There, gases trap the heat. Some of the gases are natural gases. These gases are needed to keep the Earth warm. Without natural gas the Earth’s temperature would be about thirty-three [33] degrees colder than it is now.
Voice 2
But people can create gases too. Burning oil creates this kind of gas. Burning oil, as well as natural events like volcano eruptions, send carbon dioxide into the air. Many scientists say that increasing temperatures is linked to the increase of carbon dioxide.
Voice 1
It is true that global warming can cause an increase of temperatures in some areas. However, in other areas global warming can cause a decrease in temperature. The important thing to remember is that global warming causes changes in climate.
Voice 2
For example, Mount Kilimanjaro rises over six thousand [6,000] metres above the valleys of Tanzania, Africa. It is the tallest mountain in Africa. And, it is one of the only places where people in Africa can see snow! Writer Ernest Hemingway made this snow famous in his book “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” But the snow and ice of Mount Kilimanjaro are quickly disappearing.
Voice 1
Glaciers exist on every continent. They are like rivers of flowing ice. They cut their way through mountain valleys. Usually, during warmer seasons, glaciers will melt just a small amount. People living below the mountains use this water. It fills their rivers. It helps their crops grow. They drink it. But, in colder seasons the glaciers will build up again. Snow and rain on the mountains help glacier growth stay constant. But, mountain glaciers are shrinking at too fast a rate. People all over the world are watching it happen.
Voice 2
Professor Lonnie Thompson lives and works in Tanzania. He says that eighty-two percent [82%] of the glacial ice on Mount Kilimanjaro is gone. At the current rate, the glacier will be gone before the year 2020.
Voice 4
“Ice is very much a threshold system. If the temperature is minus one [-1] degree Celsius, it is perfectly happy. But, once you reach zero [0] and it starts to melt, the ice will disappear much more rapidly. And there is evidence since 2000 that there have been lakes that have burst out the sides of the glaciers. So melting has taken place.”
Voice 1
But Tanzania is not the only place experiencing the loss of glaciers. Glacial ice is melting all over the world. Scientists believe that this could be dangerous in the future. First, melting glaciers could lead to floods. For example, in the Himalayan Mountains the flood risk is severe. There are many glaciers here. If they melted the rivers would fill. And they would flood the small villages surrounding the mountains.
Voice 2
Second, glacial melt may cause water shortages for millions of people. Glaciers often provide the only supply of water for people during dry seasons. Many people in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia use water from glaciers all year. What will they do if this supply disappears? Glaciers provide water to one-third [1/3] of the world’s population.
Voice 1
Third, melting glaciers will cause sea levels to rise. This will threaten the people who live near the sea. It could also destroy sea animals’ homes. This danger especially threatens small island nations. For example Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands are already starting to lose land. Water covers their low-lands. And salt from the sea is starting to sink into their fresh water supplies. Their fresh water supply is low.
Voice 2
Climate change is affecting many parts of our world. We can find signs in the mountains, deep in the waters, in the behaviour of animals, and in the lives of people. In the next few weeks please listen for more programs about the early signs of climate change. Let them remind you that the earth is ours to care for.
Voice 5
“Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy.” [Psalm 98]
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