Student’s worksheet American Chemical Society, October 07 Article: Carbon capture Fill in the gaps! Start time : 2’13 End time : 4’20 Thanks to a new gadget that _________ carbon dioxide pollution right out of the air, scientists may be able to reduce the environmental _________ caused by hundreds of millions of cars worldwide. Cars and electric _________ release billions of tons of carbon dioxide or CO2 into the air every year. The amounts of this colorless, _________ gas have been increasing and contributing to _________ _________. Unusual amounts of CO2 have been _________ in the atmosphere for a long time. Now, CO2 acts like a huge invisible blanket, trapping the sun’s heat so that the earth’s climate gets warmer and levels of CO2 in the air may double in the years ahead. About half of the carbon dioxide pollution comes from the _________ of electric powerplants that burn coal. Scientists are working hard on technology that can capture and store that CO2 before it gets into the air. Unfortunately, there is no good way of catching CO2 that’s already in the air from other sources including the _________ of cars and trucks. Once CO2 gets into the air, it spreads out like a drop of food _________ in a swimming pool full of water. If you removed all the CO2 from the air inside a huge _________ box car for instance, you’d wind up with only 2 _________ of CO2. A New York Scientist, Dr Frank Zeman may have a solution to this big problem. Dr Zeman’s machine _________ up carbon dioxide that’s spread out in the air around us. His so-called “air _________ systems” could be installed anywhere outdoors trapping _________ CO2 from cars, forest fires and other sources like a big _________ _________! Dr Zeman figured out a way of using natural _________, or air currents, to bring gigantic amounts of air into the machine without using a lot of energy. By spreading these machines all over the _________, Zeman’s Carbon Vacuum could be an enormous help at lowering the earth’s carbon dioxide levels. For our _________ planet, this could be very cool news indeed! ☺ Cécile CANU - Emilangues 2010 1 New vocabulary and expressions Find a translation for the following: English To slurp up damage worlwide Electric powerplants billions Global warming Have been collecting in the atmosphere.. Huge blanket trapping smokestacks coal Tailpipes of trucks To spread out Food coloring A railroad box car To wind up with An ounce outdoors To trap A vacuum cleaner To figure out a way of using Natural draughts French Questions and debate : -Where do carbon dioxide emissions come from ? -What does Dr Zeman’s machine do ? -Does this recording help you understand how the machine works ? -Does this miraculous invention need energy ? Where would you find such an amount ? Cécile CANU - Emilangues 2010 2
