INSTRUCTIONS TO WORK ON THE VIDEO :

When I was about eight years old, I first heard about something called climate change or global warming. Apparently, that was something humans had created by our way of living. I was told to turn off the lights to save energy and to recycle paper to save resources. I remember thinking that it was very strange that humans, who are an animal species among others, could be capable of changing the Earth's climate. Because if we were, and if it was really happening, we wouldn't be talking about anything else. As soon as you'd turn on the TV, everything would be about that. Headlines, radio, newspapers, you would never read or hear about anything else, as if there was a world war going on. But no one ever talked about it. If burning fossil fuels was so bad that it threatened our very existence, how could we just continue like before? Why were there no restrictions? Why wasn't it made illegal? 

To me, that did not add up. It was too unreal. So when I was 11, I became ill. I fell into depression, I stopped talking, and I stopped eating. In two months, I lost about 10 kilos of weight. Later on, I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, OCD and selective mutism. That basically means I only speak when I think it's necessary - now is one of those moments. 

For those of us who are on the spectrum, almost everything is black or white. We aren't very good at lying, and we usually don't enjoy participating in this social game that the rest of you seem so fond of. 

I think in many ways that we autistic are the normal ones, and the rest of the people are pretty strange, 

especially when it comes to the sustainability crisis, where everyone keeps saying climate change is an existential threat and the most important issue of all, and yet they just carry on like before. I don't understand that, because if the emissions have to stop, then we must stop the emissions. To me that is black or white. There are no gray areas when it comes to survival. Either we go on as a civilization or we don't. We have to change. 

Rich countries like Sweden need to start reducing emissions by at least 15 percent every year. And that is so that we can stay below a two-degree warming target. Yet, as the IPCC have recently demonstrated, aiming instead for 1.5 degrees Celsius would significantly reduce the climate impacts. But we can only imagine what that means for reducing emissions. You would think the media and every one of our leaders would be talking about nothing else, but they never even mention it. Nor does anyone ever mention the greenhouse gases already locked in the system. Nor that air pollution is hiding a warming so that when we stop burning fossil fuels, we already have an extra level of warming perhaps as high as 0.5 to 1.1 degrees Celsius. Furthermore does hardly anyone speak about the fact that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, with up to 200 species going extinct every single day, that the extinction rate today is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than what is seen as normal. Nor does hardly anyone ever speak about the aspect of equity or climate justice, clearly stated everywhere in the Paris Agreement, which is absolutely necessary to make it work on a global scale. That means that rich countries need to get down to zero emissions within 6 to 12 years, with today's emission speed. And that is so that people in poorer countries can have a chance to heighten their standard of living by building some of the infrastructure that we have already built, such as roads, schools, hospitals, clean drinking water, electricity, and so on. Because how can we expect countries like India or Nigeria to care about the climate crisis if we who already have everything don't care even a second about it or our actual commitments to the Paris Agreement? 

So, why are we not reducing our emissions? Why are they in fact still increasing? Are we knowingly causing a mass extinction? Are we evil? No, of course not. People keep doing what they do because the vast majority doesn't have a clue about the actual consequences of our everyday life, and they don't know that rapid change is required. We all think we know, and we all think everybody knows, but we don't. Because how could we? If there really was a crisis, and if this crisis was caused by our emissions, you would at least see some signs. Not just flooded cities, tens of thousands of dead people, and whole nations leveled to piles of torn down buildings. You would see some restrictions. But no. And no one talks about it. There are no emergency meetings, no headlines, no breaking news. No one is acting as if we were in a crisis. Even most climate scientists or green politicians keep on flying around the world, eating meat and dairy. If I live to be 100, I will be alive in the year 2103. When you think about the future today, you don't think beyond the year 2050. By then, I will, in the best case, not even have lived half of my life. 

What happens next? The year 2078, I will celebrate my 75th birthday. If I have children or grandchildren, maybe they will spend that day with me. Maybe they will ask me about you, the people who were around, back in 2018. Maybe they will ask why you didn't do anything while there still was time to act. What we do or don't do right now will affect my entire life and the lives of my children and grandchildren. What we do or don't do right now, me and my generation can't undo in the future. So when school started in August of this year, I decided that this was enough. I set myself down on the ground outside the Swedish parliament. I school striked for the climate. Some people say that I should be in school instead. Some people say that I should study to become a climate scientist so that I can "solve the climate crisis." But the climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change. And why should I be studying for a future that soon will be no more when no one is doing anything whatsoever to save that future? And what is the point of learning facts in the school system when the most important facts given by the finest science of that same school system clearly means nothing to our politicians and our society. Some people say that Sweden is just a small country, and that it doesn't matter what we do, but I think that if a few children can get headlines all over the world just by not coming to school for a few weeks, imagine what we could all do together if you wanted to. 

Now we're almost at the end of my talk, and this is where people usually start talking about hope, solar panels, wind power, circular economy, and so on, but I'm not going to do that. We've had 30 years of pep-talking and selling positive ideas. And I'm sorry, but it doesn't work. Because if it would have, the emissions would have gone down by now. They haven't. And yes, we do need hope, of course we do. But the one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. 

So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come. 

Today, we use 100 million barrels of oil every single day. There are no politics to change that. There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground. So we can't save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. 

Everything needs to change -- and it has to start today. 

Thank you. 

Questions: According to the video, are the following statements true or false? Explain why and give details.

1. People are not trying to reduce their carbon emissions because they don’t care about the environment..
2. Hope is the most important thing for solving the climate crisis.
3. Greta Thurnberg first heard about climate change when she was a teenager.
4. Greta Thurnberg thought that people were responding appropriately to climate change.
5. Talking about climate change is an effective method to combat it.
6. To prevent warming of over 2 degrees, countries like Sweden must reduce emissions by 15 %.
7. Aiming for an increase of 1.5 degrees or less wouldn’t make a big difference to the climate impact.
8. Even if emissions stopped today, we would still experience global warming.
9. Today’s extinction rate is considered normal.
10. People are not aware of the consequences of their lifestyles.
11. Greta Thurnberg would like to study to become a climate scientist.
12. Breaking rules is necessary for solving the climate crisis.

Answers

1. False. People are not acting because they are not aware of the consequences of their lifestyles.
2. False. Hope on its own is insufficient. Action is the most important thing, After which hope will come.
3. False. She heard about climate change when she was eight years old.
4. False. Greta was shocked that people were not reacting with more urgency.
5. False. People have been talking about climate change for thirty years and very little has changed.
6. True.
7. False. Aiming for an increase of 1.5 degrees instead of 2 degrees would make a significant impact according to the IPCC.
8. True. Due to greenhouse gases locked into the atmosphere and the warming hidden by air pollution, we could still experience up to 1.1 degrees of warming.
9. False.The extinction rate today is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than what is seen as normal.
10. True.
11. False. This is what people tell her she should do.
12. True.

Look at the following two sentences from the video;

“I was told to turn off the lights”, “Why wasn't it made illegal?”.

These are both examples of the passive.

When we use an active verb, we say what the subject does:

• My grandfather was a builder. He built this house in 1961.
• lt's a big company. lt employs two hundred people.

When we use a passive verb, we say what happens to the subject:

• 'How old is this house?' 'lt was built in 1961.'
• Two hundred people are employed by the company.

It is constructed using be(is/was etc.) + the past participle.

Exercise

Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in the correct form, present or past:

cause overtake damage show hold surround invite translate make write

1 Many accidents ………………………………. by dangerous driving.

2 Cheese ……………………………………... from milk.

3 The roof of the building ……………………………………….. in a storm a few days ago.

4 You…………………………………………………... to the wedding. Why didn't you go?

5 A cinema is a place where films………………………………………...

6 In the United States, elections for president …………………………………..every four years.

7 Originally the book ………………………………………... in Spanish, and a few years ago it

…………………………………... into English.

8 Although we were driving fast, we ………………………………….... by a lot of other cars.

9 You can't see the house from the road. It ………………………………………………. by trees.

Exercise:

1. are caused
2. is made
3. was damaged
4. were invited
5. are shown
6. are held
7. was written/ was translated
8. were overtaken
9. is surrounded

Traduire les phrases suivantes en anglais, issues du texte, puis retrouver ces phrases dans les deux premiers paragraphes du texte en anglais:

1. Apparament, tres different, si different que mes collegues et moi avons du mal à comprendre le fonctionnement de ce cerveau.

2. Vous avez peut-etre deja vu cela auparavant, mais nous sommes derriere une barriere de corail, et il y a un rocher ici, beaucoup de sable, quelques poissons en train de nager....

Essential Grammar in use p 195-196

Unit 94     still yet already

Write questions with yet.

1. You and Sue are going out together. You are waiting for her to get ready. Perhaps she is ready now.       You ask her : ........
2. You are waiting for Ann to arrive. She wasn't here ten minutes ago. Perhaps she is here now.       You ask somebody : ..................... Ann ................
3. Mary did an exam and is waiting for the results. Perhaps she has her results now.           You ask her: ...................
4. A few days ago you spoke to Tom. He wasn't sure where to go on holiday. Perhaps he has decided now.          You ask him : .............

1. Are you ready yet ?
2. Is Ann here yet ? or Has Ann arrived/come yet?
3. Have you got your (exam) results yet ? / Have you had your ... / Have you received your ..........
4. Have you decided where to go yet ? / Do you know where you're going yet?

Turn off phrasal verb - To stop a piece of machinery

Turn on phrasal verb - To start a piece of machinery

Fossil fuels noun- Sources of energy such as coal, oil, shale gas and peat

Diagnose verb – To recognize and name a disease, problem or disorder

Spectrum noun- A range of similar things between two extreme positions, a continuum.

Carry on phrasal verb - To continue to do something

Greenhouse gases noun- Gases such as C02 and methane, which cause the earth to warm up

Equity noun equal treatment, fairness.

Agreement noun When two or more people approve or accept a situation or decision.

Knowingly adverb In full possession of the facts and relevant knowledge

Headlines noun- Introductory sentence, usually in large letters, at the top of a newspaper or magazine article

to Strike verb To stop working as a means of protest.

Go down phrasal verb - To decrease

barrel noun A large container, usually made of wood or metal.

Peseshet is a doctor and a teacher. The video describes a typical day of her life.

Now it is you turn. Write a text :

- Present yourself.

- Describe your profession.

- Tell what you did to get this job.

- Describe a typical day of your life : what usually happens when you are at work?

You can book a one to one class with a teacher who will correct your writing exercise.  One to one classes can be online, with a video call, anytime of the day. 

This gives you full flexibility for your timetable.

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