Unit 08 Active Reader
Vocabulary Lens
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Where there's smoke... Luckily for me, the winds shifted and the smoke from the Rim Fire is now blowing into someone else’s neighborhood. But Yosemite still burns; over a month in, over $100 million spent fighting the fire, and 400 square miles of forest up in flames, and still it burns. Over the last decade, devastating wildfires like this have exploded across the American west:
2002: Largest fire in Arizona history 2003: Largest single fire in California history; multiple CA fires together burn 800,000 acres, destroy 4,000 homes, kill 24 2004: Worst fire season ever in Alaska burns 5 million acres 2006: More than 200 fires in a single day kill 10,000 cows and horses and burn 200,000 acres in Texas 2007: Sixteen wildfires in southern California burn 1300 homes and kill three people 2011: Worst wildfire in Texas history kills two and destroys 1700 homes; largest single fire ever in the continental U.S. burns 540,000 acres in Arizona and New Mexico 2012: Worst fire season in Colorado history 2013: Nineteen firefighters die in Arizona wildfire
There is a clear trend developing in the western U.S. of larger and more damaging wildfires. These are spurred on by three effects of global warming that combine to make forests more likely to burn: drier winters, hotter summers, and increasingly severe, long-term droughts. A large, slowly melting snowpack keeps a forest cool, lush, and moist well into the summer. A small snowpack that disappears by early spring leads to the build up of dry, highly flammable fuel. Long-lasting droughts kill vegetation and increase wildfire fuel supply, so that wildfires spread more easily and burn more intensely. Ecosystems already stressed by drought will also be less able to survive the added pressures of even small fires. |
shifted (verb): Changed, moved.; synonym: changed direction; prompts: unknown word
decade (noun): A period of ten years.; synonyms: n/a; prompts: unknown word
devastating (adjective): Causing great damage.; synonyms: highly destructive, traumatic; prompts: unknown word
continental U.S. (proper noun): The 48 states between Canada and Mexico, plus the District of Columbia.; synonyms: lower 48, contiguous United States; prompts: unknown proper noun
trend (noun): A pattern that moves in a fairly constant direction.; synonym: tendency: prompts: unknown word
western U.S. (noun): An informal name for the western part of the United States, running from about the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast.; synonym: American West; prompts: unknown term
spurred on (verb): To make something happen faster.; synonyms: encouraged, accelerated; prompts: unknown word
droughts (plural noun): Long periods of unusually dry conditions caused by less than normal rain or snow fall.; synonym: dryness; prompts: unknown word
snowpack (noun): The layer of snow that builds up on a mountain range during winter.; synonym: snowfall; prompts: unknown word
build up (noun): An accumulation, an increase over time.; synonym: development; prompts: unknown phrase
flammable (adjective): Describes something that is easy to set on fire.; synonym: burnable; prompts: unknown word
vegetation (noun): All the plants in an area.; synonyms: plants; prompts: unknown word
wildfire fuel (noun): The material in a natural area that will burn the fastest and hottest in a fire, such as dead trees and dry leaves.; synonym: dry brush; prompts: unknown term
intensely (adverb): Describes something that is happening with great force or power.; synonym: strongly; prompts: unknown word
ecosystems (plural noun): Systems made up of all the organisms living in an area plus their physical surroundings.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown word
stressed (adjective): Describes something that has been harmed, experiencing pressure or force.; synonym: strained; prompts: unknown word |
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In the 1950s, mosquito control efforts and public health campaigns eradicated the misery of dengue fever from the U.S. Now, sixty years later, it's back. Carried by mosquitoes, new strains of the disease have appeared in Florida, Texas, and Hawaii, and they are spreading. Sometimes called breakbone fever because of the extreme joint pain it causes, dengue also brings rashes, blistering fever, and sometimes bleeding, organ failure, and shock. Although it's usually not fatal, there is no vaccine or cure. The World Health Organization reports that dengue fever is now the fastest spreading mosquito-borne viral disease worldwide, infecting 100 million new victims every year. A 2012 study of the illness concluded that "Dengue fever most likely will become a disease the United States must learn to live with as climate change creates opportunities for the disease to gain a foothold." Dengue fever is not alone. Infectious disease cases are rising in step with the temperature. Milder winters and wetter springs in many parts of the warming world have led to mosquito and tick population booms. These insects can be active during more months of the year, and in some areas are now able to survive where winter freezes used to kill them off. As they have spread, so have the diseases they carry - Lyme disease, malaria, encephalitis, yellow fever, and West Nile virus. In other regions, fungal spores carried on drier, gustier summer winds are blowing once rare lung and brain diseases, like Valley Fever, into new areas. We're going to need a bigger boat...
Kiribati is a small country in the equatorial Pacific, made up of 100,000 people, 32 atolls, and a single island. But not for long. Kiribati is predicted to be the first country to be lost to climate change, when rising sea level submerges the island nation. Several of the country's atolls are already disappearing beneath the waves. The rest are only one or two meters above sea level. Even areas that are still dry are becoming uninhabitable as seawater encroaches into the ground and contaminates the fresh water supply. In 2008, Kiribati President Anote Tong asked neighboring countries to accept his people as permanent refugees, saying, "We may be beyond redemption. We may be at the point of no return, where the emissions in the atmosphere will carry on contributing to climate change, to produce a sea-level change so in time our small nation will be submerged. .... To plan for the day when you no longer have a country is indeed painful but I think we have to do that." Kiribati could see the first large-scale migration of modern times driven by climate change, but it won't be the last. Sea level is on the rise worldwide, up seven to ten inches on average in just the past century. Warming air is melting mountain glaciers, sending their water into the sea. And warming oceans are simply taking up more space, because water expands as it heats up. Although sea level has gone up and down many times during the Ice Ages, the current change is substantially faster than before, and it's speeding up. Most current models predict an additional rise of at least two to six feet by 2100, enough to put some of the most populated coastal areas on earth at risk of flooding, storm surge damage, salt-water incursion, and increased erosion.
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mosquito (noun): A type of small, blood-eating insect.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown word
public health campaigns (plural noun): An organized effort to prevent disease and improve the health of a population.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown term
eradicated (verb): To remove completely.; synonym: destroyed; prompts: unknown word
misery (noun): Extreme pain and discomfort.; synonym: suffering; prompts: unknown word
dengue fever (noun): A disease that causes joint pain and other symptoms. It is carried by mosquitoes and is most common in warm climates.; synonym: breakbone fever; prompts: unknown term
strains (plural noun): In this case, a group of related but slightly different organisms, such as a family of viruses that cause similar diseases.; synonyms: types, kinds; prompts: unknown word
organ failure (noun): A condition that occurs when one or more or the major internal parts of the body (heart, lungs, kidneys, for example) stop working.; synonym: n/a: prompts: unknown term
shock (noun): A sudden failure of the blood-moving system in the body, caused by injury or disease.; synonyms: trauma, collapse; prompts: unknown word
fatal (adjective): Something that can cause death.; synonym: deadly; prompts: unknown word
vaccine (noun): A compound that can prevent a disease when given before exposure to a particular virus or bacteria.; synonym: immunization, inoculation; prompts: unknown word
viral (adjective): Describes a disease that is caused by a type of microorganism called a virus.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown word
victims (plural noun): People who catch an illness.; synonym: sufferers; prompts: unknown word
foothold (noun): A starting place from which to spread.; synonym: base; prompts: unknown word
infectious disease (noun): A sickness that is caused by microorganisms like viruses and bacteria that can spread from one person to another.; synonym: contagious disease; prompts: unknown word
milder (adjective): Less severe than usual.; synonym: gentler; prompts: unknown word
population booms (plural noun): Sudden, large increases in the number of animals or people who live in a particular area; synonyms: rise in number, prompts: unknown word
Lyme disease (proper noun): An illness spread by ticks that causes joint and heart problems.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown proper noun
malaria (noun): An occasionally fatal illness spread to humans by mosquitoes causing fever and headaches.; synonym: jungle fever; prompts: unknown noun
encephalitis (noun): Swelling of the brain caused by a viral infection.; synonym: water on the brain; prompts: unknown noun
yellow fever (noun): A viral disease spread by mosquitoes that causes fever and liver damage.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown noun
West Nile virus (proper noun): An infectious disease spread by mosquitoes that can cause flu-like symptoms and damage to the nervous system.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown proper noun
fungal spores (plural noun): Tiny seed-like particles released by fungi as part of their reproduction.; synonym: seeds; prompts: unknown word
gustier (adjective): Blowing in faster bursts.; synonyms: stronger, windier; prompts: unknown word
Valley Fever (proper noun): A sickness caused by breathing in fungal spores that cause fever and breathing trouble. Most common in hot, dry areas.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown proper noun
equatorial (adjective): Found close to the equator.; synonym: tropical; prompts: unknown word
atoll (noun): Tropical island made of a ring of coral reefs.; synonym: island; prompts: unknown word
submerges (verb): Covers with water.; synonyms: engulfs, floods, immerses; prompts: unknown word
nation (noun): A piece of land and all the people living on it, controlled by its own government.; synonym: country; prompts: unknown word
meters (plural noun): A measure of length in the metric system, equal to a little more than three feet in the U.S. system.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown word
uninhabitable (adjective): A place that cannot be lived in for more than a short time.; synonyms: unlivable, hostile; prompts: unknown word
encroaches (verb): To move into an area uninvited and threaten someone or something’s rights or territories.; synonyms: spreads, intrudes; prompts: unknown word
contaminates (verb): To ruin with an unwanted substance.; synonym: pollutes: prompts: unknown word
permanent refugees (plural noun): People who have been forced from their homeland and cannot return.; synonym: exiles; prompts: unknown term
redemption (noun): Rescue or recovery to an earlier condition.; synonym: saving; prompts: unknown word
emissions (plural noun): Gases released by burning fuel.; synonym: air pollution; prompts: unknown word
carry on (phrasal verb): To continue doing something.; synonym: keep on, go on; prompts: unknown phrase
contributing to (gerund): Helping to make something happen.; synonym: causing; prompts: unknown phrase
migration (noun): Leaving one country to live in another.; synonym: moving; prompts: unknown word
glaciers (plural noun): A mass of ice that builds up when more snow falls in the winter than melts in the summer, then refreezes.; synonym: ice sheet; prompts: unknown word
expands (verb): To increase in size or amount.; synonym: enlarges, swells; prompts: unknown word
substantially (adverb): Describes a change that is easily noticeable.; synonym: significantly; prompts: unknown word
predict (verb): To use past and present events and information to guess what will happen in the future.; synonym: foresee; prompts: unknown word
populated (adjective): An area with people living on it.; synonym: inhabited; prompts: unknown word
storm surge (noun): A mass of seawater pushed on shore by the winds of a large storm or hurricane.; synonym: storm tide; prompts: unknown term
incursion (noun): The act of moving into an area where something wasn’t present before.; synonym: invade; prompts: unknown word
erosion (noun): The process of wearing away rocks and soil by wind, water, and chemical activity.; synonym: weathering; prompts: unknown word
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Yeah, so? What do you want me to do about it? Global warming is here, and it's happening. We've had the data for a long time, and now we also have the evidence of our own experiences. It's making us sick and costing us money. The good news is that there are things we can do about it, besides writing indignant blog posts. First of all, we can support government and business initiatives to limit emissions, develop non-fossil fuel technology, and increase energy efficiency. Global warming is a complex, difficult problem, and it's going to take a lot of effort, technology, and muscle to address it. Second, we can each reduce our personal carbon footprint. A ‘carbon footprint’ is the amount of greenhouse gas produced by a person or an activity. It includes what we produce directly, by driving a car or turning on the stove, and also what we are indirectly responsible for, like the emissions that were given off in manufacturing and shipping the jeans and t-shirts we're wearing. The average American produces a whopping twenty tons of CO2 every year. The good news is that means we don’t need to live in a cave and eat twigs to make a difference. Here are a few ideas to shrink your carbon footprint: Reduce CO2 and ozone emissions by walking or taking the bus just a little more often, turning your water heater down a few degrees, and switching off the lights when you leave the room. Drink water from the tap instead of a bottle. Producing just one year’s worth of plastic bottles in the U.S. uses the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, and gives off more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. Want to know more about your footprint and how to make it smaller? Head on over to the EPA website and its carbon footprint calculator.
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data (noun): Measurements, observations, and other factual information.; synonyms: facts, statistics; prompts: unknown word
indignant (adjective): Upset over an unfair or offensive situation.; synonyms: outraged, angry; prompts: unknown word
initiatives (plural noun): Starting actions or first steps meant to trigger larger and more widespread change.; synonym: plans; prompts: unknown word
non-fossil fuel technology (noun): Energy sources other than oil, coal, and natural gas, and the equipment needed to use them, such as a windmill to create wind power.; synonym: green energy; prompts: unknown word
muscle (noun, figurative): Hard work, strength.; synonym: power; prompts: unknown word
indirectly (adverb): Unintended or accidental.; synonym: not done on purpose: prompts: unknown word
manufacturing (verb): Making goods using machines or systems.; synonym: producing; prompts: unknown word
whopping (adjective): Describes something of a very large amount.; synonyms: huge, enormous; prompts: unknown word
ozone (noun): A type of oxygen gas that forms in the lower atmosphere when sunlight reacts with car exhaust, trapping heat and causing areas to warm up. Not to be confused with the ozone layer, which forms in the upper atmosphere and protects the earth from ultraviolet light.; synonym: smog; prompts: unknown word
equivalent (adjective): Describes two items, amounts, or states of being as the same.; synonym: equal; prompts: unknown word
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COMMENTS
Joe Peshtigo…
Come off it. The Rim Fire was started by an idiot with a campfire, not carbon dioxide!
TheSkyAintFalling… I just read in the Daily Mail that there is 60% more ice cover in the Arctic Ocean than there was at this time last year. Kind of shoots down your whole “we’re melting!” hysteria, don’t it?
Sticks and Stones... There is more ice in the Arctic this year, but only compared to last year, which was the all time record low! This year the ice recovered a little, but it was still the sixth smallest ice cap ever.
Anonymous… I live in Cali...actually very close to the Rim Fire.... and I know what I'm talking about. You probably don't like the fact that chemtrails are responsible for the death of Stanislaus Forest. You might prefer to blame 'global warming'...but if you dig a little deeper you will find global warming is caused by chemtrails and govt weather modification. Wake Up! This is all done in the name of Agenda 21 and our Cap and Trade here in CA. Anything they can do to make global warming a reality they will do.
GoBears… Diseases are not any worse than they used to be, but we now have 24-hour news and money-hungry bloggers that will puff up any bad thing over and over to get people to tune-in. If it scares, it sells. What’s your next blog about, zombies? Madison Wan… Good blog! When are people going to wake up and see what’s right in front of them? Sure, climate has changed before, but the here and now is what matters to us. Who cares if it was even hotter during dinosaur times?? This is bad for people!!
Missy1990… Pffft! Another "climate change" article full of "mights" and "maybes." When do we admit this "climate change" mythology is a full-fledged religion?
Smokey... The biggest reason for all these wildfires is 100+ years of misguided forest management. Take a walk through the sequoia groves in Yosemite, and you'll see that all the big old trees have lots of fire scars. It was natural for lightning to start lots of small fires, and they cleared the debris and undergrowth off the forest floor before it could build up. The fires wouldn't get too hot or burn up into the tree crowns because there wasn't much fuel lying around. But when Yosemite was set aside in 1860, the government decided it had to step in and put out every little blaze. Dead wood piled up and after a while the open forest was overgrown with dense stands of smaller, more flammable shrubs and trees. Is it any wonder that fires are bigger, hotter, and more damaging now? Look at all that extra fuel!
Give the Park Service some credit. By the 1970s they wised up and realized their management practices were creating unhealthy forests and dangerous conditions. They've tried to get things back on track by carrying out controlled burns to clear out some of the fuel load and restore the ecological balance. But the environmental lobby sues every time they try to do a little logging or put in an access road or firebreak. The tourists complain when they do any burning because they want to see pretty views, not nasty smoke. The bureaucrats back in Washington who don't know squat about the West keep cutting the USFS budget. So the forest is still a long way from back to normal. Under natural conditions, about 16,000 acres would have burned every year in Yosemite. Under "controlled" conditions, we've managed to clear out about 14,000 acres a decade. It looks to me like Mother Nature has just gotten tired of waiting.
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hysteria (noun): Unreasonable or uncontrollable panic, fear, or excitement.; synonym: frenzy; prompts: unknown word
recovered (verb): To gain back what was lost.; synonym: improved; prompts: unknown word
chemtrails (plural noun): The white cloud trails left in the sky by airplanes.; synonyms: n/a; prompts: unknown word
Stanislaus Forest (proper noun): A national forest located in the Sierra Nevada, on the north and west sides of Yosemite National Park.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown proper noun
govt (noun): A shortened version of the word government.; synonym: government; prompts: unknown colloquialism
modification (noun): A change in something.; synonym: alteration; prompts: unknown word
Cap and Trade (noun): A plan for controlling air pollution by making it more profitable to pollute less.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown term
reality (noun): An actual event or condition.; synonyms: real life, actuality; prompts: unknown word
money-hungry (adjective): Wanting money.; synonym: greedy; prompts: unknown colloquialism
tune-in (verb): To listen to, view, or read a report or story.; synonym: pay attention; prompts: unknown colloquialism
zombies (plural noun): Fictional monsters, dead people who have come back to life through various ways.; synonym: walking dead; prompts: unknown word
mythology (noun): Popular but untrue stories or ideas believed by many people.; synonyms: fable, legend; prompts: unknown word
full-fledged (adjective): Fully developed.; synonym: complete; prompts: unknown word
misguided (adjective): Based on wrong ideas or poor goals.; synonyms: unsound, erroneous; prompts: unknown word
sequoia groves (plural noun): A type of coniferous tree found only in California and Oregon, sequoias are the largest and tallest trees on Earth.; synonym: redwoods; prompts: unknown word
debris (noun): In this case, the dead remains of trees and other plants that fall to the ground.; synonym: forest litter; prompts: unknown word
undergrowth (noun): Small trees and bushes that grow around the base of large trees in a forest.; synonyms: shrubbery, underbrush; prompts: unknown word
tree crowns (plural noun): The branches and leaves at the top of a tree.; synonym: canopy; prompts: unknown word
blaze (noun): A fire.; synonym: mass of flames; prompts: unknown word
overgrown (adjective): Thickly covered in plant growth.; synonyms: uncontrolled, dense; prompts: unknown word
dense (adjective): Tightly packed.; synonym: crowded; prompts: unknown word
stands (plural noun): A group of the same kind of plants growing together.; synonym: groves; prompts: unknown word
Park Service (proper noun): The U.S. National Park Service is an agency of the federal government. Its purpose is to manage and protect national parks and monuments.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown proper noun
unhealthy (adjective): In a weak or unnatural condition.; synonym: sickly; prompts: unknown word
controlled burns (plural noun): A fire set on purpose in order to clear out debris and encourage healthy plant growth.; synonym: prescribed burn; prompts: unknown word
ecological balance (noun): The natural relationship between organisms and their environment.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown term
environmental lobby (noun): People who urge governments, businesses, and the public to act in the best interests of the environment.; synonym: environmentalists; prompts: unknown term
sues (verb): To file a lawsuit.; synonym: take to court; prompts: unknown word
logging (verb): Cutting down trees for construction or manufacturing purposes.; synonym: tree harvesting; prompts: unknown word
access road (noun): In this case, a road built to provide a way in and out of a specific area.; synonym: frontage road: prompts: unknown term
firebreak (noun): A strip of land cleared of plants and fuel in order to stop a fire.; synonym: fire line; prompts: unknown word
tourists (plural noun): People travelling for fun.; synonym: sightseers; prompts: unknown word
bureaucrats (plural noun): Government employees, especially ones who follow rules very closely.; synonym: civil servants; prompts: unknown word
don't know squat (colloquialism): A slang phrase that means a person knows very little about a subject.; synonym: knowing nothing; prompts: unknown colloquialism
USFS (acronym, proper noun): An acronym for the United States Forest Service, a government agency that manages the country's national forests and grasslands.; synonym: n/a; prompts: unknown proper noun |