scarcely that (Para. 3) means______A.just like thatB.almost not like thatC.more than thatD
scarcely that (Para. 3) means______
A.just like that
B.almost not like that
C.more than that
D.not at all like that
scarcely that (Para. 3) means______
A.just like that
B.almost not like that
C.more than that
D.not at all like that
One group, led by Gerald Meehl at NCAR, used two state-of-the-art climate models to explore what could happen if the world had held atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases steady since 2000. The results: Even if the world had slammed on the brakes five years ago, global average temperatures would rise by about 1 degree Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century. Sea levels would rise by another 4 inches over 20th-century increases. Rising sea-levels would continue well beyond 2100, even without adding water from melting glaciers and ice sheets. The rise highlights the oceans' enormous capacity to absorb heat and its slow reaction to changes in atmospheric conditions.
The team ran each model several times with a range of "what if" concentrations, as well as ob served concentrations, for comparison. Temperatures eventually level out, Dr. Meehl says in reviewing his team's results. "But sea-level increases keep ongoing. The relentless nature of sea-level rise is pretty daunting." Dr. Wigley took a slightly different approach with a simpler model. He ran simulations that capped concentrations, at 2000 levels. If concentrations are held constant, warming could exceed 1.8 degrees F. by 2400. The two researchers add that far from holding steady, concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to rise. Thus, at best, the results point to the least change people can expect, they say.
The idea that some level of global climate change from human activities is inevitable is not new. But the word has been slow to make its way into the broader debate. "Many people don't realize we are committed right now to a significant amount of global warming and sea-level rise. The longer we wait, the more climate change we are committed to in the future," Meehl says.
While the concept of climate-change commitment isn't new, these fresh results "tell us what's possible and what's realistic" and that for the immediate future, "prevention is not on the table," says Roger Pielke Jr., director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research. To Pielke and others, this means adaptation should be given a much higher priority that it's received to date. "There's a cultural bias in favor of prevention," he says. But any sound policy includes preparation as well, he adds. "We have the scientific and technological knowledge we need to improve adaptation and apply that knowledge globally."
According to the research of NCAR, if the concentrations were held steady at 2000 levels,
A.the ocean's capacity to absorb heat would decline.
B.the sea-level would keep on increasing.
C.the global average temperature would decrease.
D.significant climate change would not take place.
A.the Business eliminates the unbalance of people's life.
B.it's hard to please people's various desires.
C.the Business is sophisticated in luring customers.
D.the diverse demands for remote working are being met.
A.it may have negative effects on related studies.
B.it is unreliable so far.
C.it may provide an excuse for nicotine addicts.
D.it could undermine the anti-smoking movement.
When enthusiasts talk of sustainable development, the eyes of most people glaze over. There is a whiff of sack-cloth and ashes about their arguments, which usually depend on people giving up the comforts of a modern economy to achieve some debatable greater good. Yet there is a serious point at issue. Modern industry pollutes, and it also seems to cause significant changes to the climate. What is needed is an industry that delivers the benefits without the costs. And the glimmerings of just such an industry can now be discerned.
That industry is based on biotechnology. At the moment, biotech's main uses are in medicine and agriculture. But its biggest long-term impact may be industrial. Here, it will diminish demand for oil by taking the cheapest raw materials imaginable, carbon dioxide and water, and using them to make fuel and plastics.
Plastics and fuels made in this way would have several advantages. They could accurately be called "renewables", since nothing is depleted to make them. They would be part of the natural carbon cycle, borrowing that element from the atmosphere for a few months, and returning it when they were burned or dumped. That means they could not possibly contribute to global warming. And they would be environmentally friendly in other ways. Bioplastics are biodegradable, since bacteria understand their chemistry and can therefore digest them. Biofuels, while not quite "zero emission" from the exhaust pipe (though a lot cleaner than petrol and diesel), would be cleaner overall even than the fuel-cell technology now being touted as an alternative to the internal-combustion engine. That is because making the hydrogen that fuel cells use is not an environmentally friendly process, and never will be—unless it, too, uses biotechnology.
All this will, in the end, depend on costs. But these do not look unfavorable. Already, the price of bioplastics overlaps the top end of the petroleum-based plastics market. Bulk production should bring prices down, particularly when the raw materials are free. Meanwhile, ethanol would be a lot easier to introduce than fuel cells. Existing engines will run on it with minor tweaking, so there is no need to change the way cars are made. And since, unlike hydrogen, it is a liquid, the fuel-distribution infrastructure would not need radical change.
The future could be green in ways that traditional environmentalists had not expected. Whether they will embrace that possibility, or stick to sack-cloth, remains to be seen.
According to the author, applying biotechnology to industry
A.has brought about sustainable development.
B.proves to be nothing but an imagination.
C.will deprive most people of modern comforts.
D.contributes to the environmentally sound development.
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