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Carbon dioxide (CO₂) reached an average daily concentration of 422.06 ppm on April 26, 2022, at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Furthermore, very high methane  (CH₄) concentrations were recorded recently at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, with surface flask readings appearing to be as high as 1955 ppb.   Clouds tipping point A methane concentration of 1955 ppb corresponds, at a  Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 200 , with a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) of 391 ppm. Together with the above daily average CO₂ concentration of 422.06 ppm this adds up to a joint CO₂e of 813.06 ppm, i.e. less than 387 ppm away from the clouds tipping point  (at 1200 ppm CO₂e) that on its own could raise the global temperature by 8°C. Such a 387 ppm CO₂e could be added almost immediately by a burst of seafloor methane less than the size of the methane that is currently in the atmosphere (about 5 Gt). There is plenty of potential for such an abrupt release, given the rising ocean heat and the vast amounts of methane present in vu

Earth Day is a worldwide initiative to raise awareness and take action to help the environment. Here you can find a lesson plan for a speaking and listening class for B2 students, which discusses environmental issues based on some of the materials published on the website of earthday.org. In this class students are likely to activate words like:  climate change, greenhouse effect, waste, pollution, overpopulation, ozone-layer depletion, consumerism, extinction of endangered species, deforestation, destruction of habitats, nature reserves, breeding areas, conservationism, fossil fuels, renewable energy, non-renewable sources of energy, harmful, toxic, overfishing, to raise awareness, water management, landfills, solar panels, wind turbines, to tackle the problem, threats to the environment. Whereas in the video "Plogging Paul" below, they will come across words like trash, plogger, windy (winding) roads, country lanes, bushes, to make the biggest impact, to create a ripple [

Professor Wolf Reik from the Babraham Institute in Cambridge , has led a group of scientists to find a technique that rejuvenates skin cells by 30 years. BBC News recently reported about this breakthrough, a step forward in regenerative medicine research, which eventually might help in the treatment of diabetes, heart disease or neurological disorders, although there is still a great deal of work to be done, because some of the chemicals involved in the process of cell reprogramming can cause cancer, and clinical application are still "a long way off" , according to Prof. Robin Lovell-Badge of the Francis Crick Institute in London .   The BBC News article and the video below are suitable for C1 students and above.  You will find interesting words like: to tackle, ageing, tissues, age-related disease, disorders, to build on [a technique], to clone, super [exciting], to stress that, [scientific] issues to overcome, a critical step forward, to stem from, embryo, [human embryon

March 2022 temperature anomaly The NASA image below shows the March 2022 temperature anomaly. The Arctic is heating up strongly.  The above image shows a temperature rise for March 2022 of 1.06°C, which is the rise from 1951-1980. The image below shows a temperature rise from 1900 for March 2022 of 1.36°C.  [ click on images to enlarge ] The box on above image shows that, when including further adjustment, the temperature rise from pre-industrial to March 2022 could be as much as 2.35°C. Details of the adjustment are described at the  pre-industrial page . A 2.35°C rise is only 0.65°C away from a 3°C rise and, as described before , a 3°C rise will likely drive humans (and many other species) into extinction.  Note that the March 2022 temperature is suppressed, as we're currently in the depth of a persistent La Niña, as illustrated by the NOAA image on the right.  [ click on images to enlarge ] The above NOAA image shows that the difference between the top of El Niño and the bo

by Andrew Glikson Enrico Fermi, Physicist , 1901-1953 According to  Fermi’s Paradox , the failure to date to achieve radio communication between Earth and extraterrestrial civilizations can be attributed to their inevitable short-term self-destruction, a consequence of uncontrolled dispersion of toxic substances, contamination of air, water and land, and construction of deadly weapons. On Earth this includes saturation of the atmosphere by greenhouse gases and production of nuclear weapons.  The most extensive mass extinction event in the history of Earth, represented by the Permian-Triassic boundary 251 million years-ago, involved warming, acidification and oxygen depletion of the oceans, with consequent emanations of toxic H₂S and CH₄, leading to a loss of some 57% of biological families, 83% of genera and 81% of marine species . If the history of the 21st century is  ever written  it would report that, while large parts of the planet were becoming uninhabitable, the extreme  rate

In the video below,  U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres comments on the launch of the  IPCC AR6 WGIII SPM Mitigation  report.  [ U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres ] The  report has severe shortcomings, including:  The IPCC makes it look as if the temperature rise could be restricted to 1.5°C above pre-industrial and insists there was a carbon budget left, to be divided by using monetary analysis.  This narrative results in a failure to highlight in the SPM some key drivers of change (such as heat pumps in buildings and air taxis in transport) and in inappropriately referring to such key drivers of change as 'options', while failing to mention the best policies to achieve the necessary changes, i.e. through local feebates. The agenda behind this narrative becomes further evident in phrases such as “CCS could allow fossil fuels to be used longer, reducing stranded assets” and “oil and gas assets are projected to be more at risk of being stranded toward mid-century”. 

The invasion of Ukraine has lasted for over a month now. On March 2, the BBC reported on the ongoing battles for Kharkiv, Kherson and Kyiv: the chaos, the rubble, the dispair of peaceful Ukrainians in the bomb shelters, the tears of refugee families parting into exile...  This distressing report, which is introduced by Clive Myrie, an experienced BBC foreign correspondent and TV presenter, is suitable for B2 students and above.   You will come across interesting expressions like: " in broad daylight, to leave a trail of destruction, the aftermath of a deadly missile attack, the target [is] an airbase, in the rubble, to keep myself together, shooting, to have captured, sirens wail, [deserted streets] echo fear and dread, [the children made] pistols [to kill the enemy], as war closes in, to put on a brave face in, the national anthem, hit by sustained rocket fire, airborne troops, [planes] shot down, distressing images, [calm] in the wreckage [of people's homes], to hide in base