Renewables

There are several benefits to building more nuclear power stations. Firstly, nuclear power is
a relatively sustainable energy source, meaning that it can be used to produce electricity without
wasting limited natural resources like coal, oil or gas. Secondly, nuclear power stations are
cleaner than fossil fuel power stations, and could help to reduce carbon emissions that cause
global warming. With improvements in nuclear technology, the risks of accidents are being
reduced. As a result, many countries are now considering nuclear power as a solution to high oil
and gas prices, increasing demand for electricity, and worries about pollution and climate
change.

There are good reasons for believing that nuclear technology is generally advantageous. The
first of these is that it is relatively sustainable, in that it can be used to produce electricity free
from waste associated with fossil fuels. While there have been accidents, technological
improvements have made the risk of accidents much lower, leading to renewed interest in
nuclear power as a solution to demand for energy and concerns over the negative effects of
fossil fuel use.

Read, analyse and use the paragraph:

● How many sentences are there, and what does each sentence do?
● Note the main ideas and collocations (e.g. sustainable energy source).
● Try to rewrite the paragraph using only your notes.

-ing underline all the gerunds in the above passage - why are they being used?

There are several benefits to building more nuclear power stations. Firstly, nuclear power is a
relatively sustainable energy source, meaning that it can be used to produce electricity without
wasting limited natural resources like coal, oil or gas. Secondly, nuclear power stations are
cleaner than fossil fuel power stations, and could help to reduce carbon emissions that cause
global warming. With improvements in nuclear technology, the risks of accidents are being
reduced. As a result, many countries are now considering nuclear power as a solution to high
oil and gas prices, increasing demand for electricity, and worries about pollution and climate
change.

● there’s a benefit to doing

● which means = meaning
● without doing
● warming=noun
● be considering = now
● increasing - adjective - now

Useful sentences:
There are several benefits to building more nuclear power stations.
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/games/whos_got_what.aspx

the topic sentence:

could you write about the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources using this
kind of topic sentence?

http://chotard.frederic.free.fr/animations/environment/greener_home/green_house.swf

http://www.onestopenglish.com/clil/secondary/english-across-the-curriculum/geography-and-
the-environment/pdf-content/renewable-energy-technologies-lesson-plan/500510.article

1) Does your country need a lot of energy?

2) How can you save the amount of energy you use every day?

3) Do you think scientists will solve the world’s energy problems?

4) What happens if we run out of energy?

5) Does your country use a lot of renewable energy?

6) What do you think of a future in which we totally rely on nuclear energy?

7) What are biofuels and what harm do they cause the environment?

8) Have you started buying energy-efficient appliances for your house?

9) Do you think its possible to get our future energy from some source we
don’t yet know of?

10) What do you think when multinational energy and oil companies say they
care about the environment?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student A)

1) How much energy do you use every day?

2) Do you try to save energy?

3) What do you think of the world’s hugely increasing energy needs?

4) Do you think solar cells, wind farms, tidal power, hydropower and thermal
energy will solve our future energy needs?
5) How would the would be a better place if we used only clean energies?

6) What have you done today that has used your country’s energy

7) Do you think it’s possible for there to be energy wars, started by countries
who have run out of energy?

8) What do you think low energy houses of the future will be like?

9) Does your government have/need an energy conservation policy?

10) Do you think our energy demands are sustainable?