Britain’s energy

Everybody's task (E.T.): read to be prepared to answer the following questions:

What major sources are available to the UK to support its economy?

What had the situation been like before oil and gas were discovered in the North Sea?

What is the daily rate of mining oil? How does it get from oil wells tp the mainland?

At present there are fewer coal miners in Great Britain compared to the number of workers employed in this industry back in 1913. What are the major factors that have contributed to it?

Britain has the largest energy resources of any country in the European Union and is а major producer of oil, natural gas and coal. Other primary sources of energy are nuclear power and, to а lesser extent, water power.

Before the 1970s Britain depended on imports of oil from abroad but the discovery of large oil and gas reserves in the North Sea changed this dramatically: by 1986 about 2.2 million barrels of oil were extracted per day, making Britain the world's fifth largest producer. There are over thirty offshore oilfields from which oil and gas are piped to the mainland. Natural gas has replaced coal gas in the public supply system.

Britain has large reserves of coal, and coal mining played а very important part in the industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. By 1913 the coal industry employed over а million workers. Coal is still an important source of heat for both private houses and power stations, but in recent years the industry has greatly reduced the numbers of mines and miners while increasing efficiency. There was а long and bitter industrial dispute in 1984-85 as miners reacted to the beginning of this new phase in the development of the coal industry.

Nuclear power

E.T. Below you will find a number of quotations from the government as well as other views of nuclear power. Which of them are in favour of using nuclear energy and which are against it? What is your point of view? The words presented and interpreted below will help you to do it.

vital ['vaitəl] - very important for living requirements [rikwaiəmənts] - demands, needs

dispose of [dis'pouz] – to deal with; to get rid of undue – unnecessary

leak [li:k] – loss of liquid through a hole or a crack lack – shartage or absence of smth

'The government believes that nuclear power has а vital role in helping to meet Britain's long-term energy requirements.' (Central Office of Information)

‘We are in favour of а balanced energy programme for our country's future. Nuclear electricity is not the only answer - but it is a clean, reliable, economic piece of the electricity jigsaw [dgigso:].'

(Nuclear Energy Information Group)

‘Studies from many countries indicate that all radioactive wastes can be managed and disposed of without undue risk to man or the environment.'

(UK Atomic Energy Authority)

'Nuclear power is unsafe... and there is а long history of leaks and accidents.' (State оf the Nation)

'An accident on the scale of Chernobyl could happen here at any time.' (Greenpeace)

'We had to destroy sheep for two years after Chernobyl - here and in the Lake District. How do they know it was Chernobyl? We've got nuclear reactors on our doorsteps, and the radiation had never been measured before.' (А North Wales farmer)

E.T. Read the short article given below and collect necessary information to answer questions and do a task

Britain has fourteen nuclear power stations in operation. There are other nuclear installations too, such as reprocessing units and research centres. Since the original power stations started operations in 1956 there has been much discussion over the best design. Pressurised water reactors are planned for the future and the government's eventual aim is to have 20 per cent of Britain's electricity produced by nuclear power.

All proposals for new power stations meet with public opposition, and this has increased since the disaster at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986. There are fears that the reactors themselves are unsafe, and that the problems of waste disposal have not been solved. ……. those in favour of nuclear power claim that it is clean, safe and efficient, opponents argue that the dangers are too great and that other sources of energy have not been sufficiently researched because of lack of government funding or interest. The privatisation of the electricity industry has also raised the question of who should own and operate nuclear power stations.

E.T. In the article find synonyms to match these words:

eventual create

design suggestion

proposal catastrophe [kə'tæstrəfi]

disaster argue

claim final

E.T. Find derivatives of the following words:

Example: installation - to install

operate - oppose - solve - dispose - privatise -

E.T. Answer the questions:

1 What can you do in your own home to reduce damage to the global environment?

2 What does the government plan to do concerning nuclear energy?

3 Has the disaster in Chernobyl influenced the public opinion in the UK?

Reword prince Hamlet' s question to match the public concerns over nuclear energy.

E.T. In the table below write down the reasons which different people and organisations give in favour of using nuclear energy and against it:

P.T.. Be prepared to deliver a report on this subject and/or translate you colleague's report and expand on the subjects presented in the following questions

1 What similarities and differences are there between Britain's energy sources and those of your own country?

2 What are the most common forms of energy in your own country for home heating, cooking and the production of electricity?

3 In your opinion, what are the greatest threats to the environment in Britain? Are these threats present in your own country?

4 Which areas of your own country have the worst pollution problems?

5 What do you think about the possibility of using other forms of energy, which are not harmful to the environment?

6 List five household goods which you would classify as 'green', and describe how buying them would help the environment.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31