Задание №16371 ЕГЭ по Английскому языку

Disappearing Island Nations: Sinking Feelings and Global Warming

It seems that every time I turn on the TV or open a newspaper or magazine, I see another story about global warming. It’s not only the big environmental issue of the day, it’s one of the big issues, period. Naturally, I’m incensed at this, especially when I read stories about the apparently imminent disappearance of several entire island nations due to the rising sea levels that are, in turn, a result of global warming. So I thought it would be interesting to look briefly at some of the facts and controversies surrounding the islands that appear to be sinking into oblivion.

The islands most frequently mentioned as being at risk are those closest to sea level. Take the Maldives, for instance — an island nation in the Indian ocean. The highest point in the entire chain of islands is only 2.4 metres, and most of the land is much lower. So it doesn’t take much of a change in sea level to wipe out vast amounts of land, and if there’s a bad storm or an unusually high tide, the resulting floods can be devastating—covering the vast majority of the land, fouling fresh water supplies, and wiping out crops. Unfortunately, such floods have been occurring more and more frequently in recent years. The nation’s government has for several years been working on the construction of an artificial island nearby, called Hulhumale, which will be able to serve as a new home for many of the residents if an evacuation becomes necessary.

There’s also Tuvalu, in the Pacific ocean between Hawaii and Australia, with a maximum elevation of 4.6 meters. Although the nation has fewer than 11,000 citizens, they are sufficiently convinced of its imminent disappearance that they have already begun to evacuate. New Zealand has agreed to grant “environmental refugee” status to 75 Tuvaluans per year, but according to some estimates, the nation may be entirely covered with water in as little as 50 years.

For one thing, even granting that global warming can and does increase sea level to some extent, measuring sea level is a difficult and inexact science — partly because the sea doesn’t like to stay put very long, and partly because any measurement requires a fixed frame of reference (such as land). But the land itself can rise or fall for various reasons, including seismic activity and subsidence due to water table depletion — meaning the appearance of a rising sea level may be due partially to the fact that an island is actually sinking.

As for the carbon dioxide connection, that’s also in dispute. Yes, carbon dioxide levels are higher now than in the past; yes, average global temperatures are also higher now than in the past; yes, increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can raise the temperature; and yes, human activity produces an enormous amount of carbon dioxide. But some people say that the average global temperature also rose in centuries past when cars and factories could not have been to blame (and then fell again) — causing doubt that human activity is responsible for our current problems.

The whole situation is rather depressing — especially if you happen to live on one of the islands that is most seriously affected by flooding. By the time the world’s luminaries have reached a unanimous agreement as to whether the planet really is warming up, whether carbon dioxide emissions really are responsible for this problem, and whether we’re collectively willing or able to do anything about it, some of the nations in question may already be long gone.