Sure, there are plenty of reasons to be terrified about the future of the planet: melting ice sheets, intensifying heat waves, vanishing rainforests,falling temperature records, dying elephants, bleached out coral and kids in China don’t know the sky is blue.
This stuff is serious. It’s real. It’s bad.
But — know what? — it’s not the full picture.
In celebration of Earth Day, a day on which more than 155 countries were signing a landmark U.N. agreement on climate change, here are five reasons Earth is not as doomed as you think.
1. 195 countries have agreed to fight pollution
2. Solar energy has gotten waaaaay cheaper
3. The world invested twice as much in clean energy last year as in coal and gas
4. Electric cars are getting popular
5. China finally is starting to clean up its act
I – Word Understanding
Landmark – turning point / an important stage
Doomed – in a very bad situation / facing ruin or death
II – Have Your Say
1. December 2015 is when 195 countries agreed to tackle the Earth’s most pressing crisis: climate change. As a part of it, what do you think Japan can contribute in dealing with climate change?
2. Have you heard about the Carbon Dioxide Tax? To avoid carbon dioxide tax, it is expected that there will be gradual shift to cleaner energy sources. However, there are controversies about it including:
* It means higher gas prices, electric bill and even airplane ticket
* What will the government do with the taxes collected?
3. Aside from electric cars, can you think of other ways to lessen pollution
from transportation?
4. What can China do to clean up?
