Fighting Climate Change - Advanced News Article .pdf

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2021.
Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS
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Warmer
a. With a partner or in small groups, briefly discuss your answers to these questions:
• What extreme or unusual weather events have you experienced or read about in the past couple
of months?
• Where were they? What happened? How did they affect the people who live there?
• Do you do anything to reduce your environmental impact? What is it?
Key words
a. Write the correct word(s) from the wordpool next to the definitions below. Then find and
highlight them in the article to read them in context.
attributed to awareness baby boomer clinch consciousness
latter legacy limit nutters perceived
policymakers reckoning rhetoric speculated wrought by
1. caused or damaged by something
2. knowledge or understanding of a subject, issue, or situation
3. when you are made aware of the potential results of your actions
4. a style of speaking or writing that is intended to influence people
5. prevent a number, amount, or effect from increasing past a particular point
6. manage to achieve something by doing one final thing that makes it certain
7. a problem that exists as a result of something that happened in the past
8. the knowledge or understanding that something exists or is important
9. understood or thought about in a particular way
10. common expression for “crazy” people (note: not to be used for mental illnesses)
11. someone who was born in the years immediately after the Second World War
‘We need to become the solution’: older New Zealanders join climate change fight
Level: Advanced
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12. the second of two things that have just been mentioned
13. considered or discussed as why something has happened or might happen
14. when it is believed that something is the result of a particular situation, event, or person’s actions
15. people who develop laws, rules, or regulations
b. Use some of the key words above to complete these sentences.
1. The residents’ main demand is to the amount of heavy traffic
using the street.
2. Scientists have about the possibility of parallel universes.
3. We want to increase students’ of health issues.
4. Tomorrow is the day of , when I find out how much back tax I
have to pay.
5. His poor exam results maybe the long illness he had earlier in
the year.
6. He flew to Paris to the deal.
Level: Advanced

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Younger people have been more
aware of the risks compared
with older groups, but over the
past decade that has changed
Eva Corlett in Waikanae
Tue 6 Jul 2021
On his early morning bike rides to school,
David Yockney would deliberately seek out
the crunch and splash of the ice-hardened
puddles. It was a winter joy he loved, and one
he took for granted. Now, 60 years later, he
is surprised when ice forms a thin crust in the
bird bath at his home on the Kāpiti coast, north
of Wellington.
The 74-year-old climate activist has become
increasingly disturbed by the changes to his
environment wrought by global heating and
he is not the only one. New research from the
University of Waikato shows that younger and
older New Zealanders are becoming concerned
about the climate emergency.
As part of the New Zealand Attitudes and
Values Survey, the 10 year study asked 56,000
citizens across different age groups two main
questions – whether they believe climate
change is real, and whether they believe it is
caused by humans.
The data shows that from the outset, younger
people had more awareness of the risks of
climate change compared with older groups.
But in the past 10 years, that awareness is
increasing at a comparable rate between both
young and old, and now more than ever, New
Zealanders believe climate change is real and
caused by humans.
Understanding the risks of the climate
emergency came slowly to Yockney. The
former teacher and video producer remembers
hearing early discussions about the climate
in the 1990s. His first ethical reckoning
came when a scientist from a coal company
approached him to make an advertisement
“extolling the joys of coal”. At that stage, he
did not have a strict set of values on the issue
and the coal company were convincing in their
rhetoric. He abandoned the project but it would
be another 25 years before Yockney would
become convinced climate change is real and
caused by human activity.
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In his retirement, he began reading extensively
on the topic and with that came a chance to
reflect both on the changes he needed to make
personally, and the changes he wanted to see
in society.
“You have to make changes. You can’t sit on
the sideline. I’m not an angel – I would like to
fly around the world and do whatever retired
people do – but we do limit ourselves.”
That includes riding his bicycle for short
journeys, cutting back on meat and limiting his
gas heater use, even in winter.
But for Yockney, making personal changes was
“essential but not sufficient”. He joined Low
Carbon Kāpiti, a group that lobbies the local
council on climate change. The group’s petition
to urge the Kāpiti District Coast Council into
becoming carbon neutral by 2050 helped clinch
the council’s commitment to that target.
Ultimately, Yockney wants to leave behind
a healthy world for his grandchildren. “Our
legacy will be a burning-up world and that’s not
something I’m particularly proud of.
Nearly 30% of the population on the Kāpiti
coast is over 65, compared with roughly 15%
for the whole of New Zealand. Former Kāpiti
coast mayor and now chair of the Kāpiti Coast
Climate Action Group, Jenny Rowan, said a
growing number of older people in the region
are rolling up their sleeves to get involved.
The group is made up of predominantly
over-60s, many of whom were once
policymakers in nearby Wellington.
Rowan, 71, became interested in the
environment early on, but from a different
angle. After spending 16 years working as a
commissioner in the environmental court, she
became the district mayor for the Kāpiti coast
for two terms.
Rowan had an existing understanding of
environmental problems, but after attending
a 2019 conference in Scotland about climate
change and consciousness, she knew she
needed to move to direct action.
“I came home to a group of people who had
got very fired up. They were ready and willing
to work with the local council to see how much
influence we could have in bringing the climate
change issues, that relate to our part of New
Zealand, into our policies.”
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Level: Advanced

Level: Advanced
Rowan has noticed a substantial shift
in attitudes from the local community
towards people speaking out publicly about
climate change.
“We’re not perceived as nutters anymore. I am
a baby boomer. We are part of the problem.
Now we need to become part of the solution
and I’m seeing that happen here.”
Dr Taciano Milfont, the lead author of the
University of Waikato study, was inspired
to look at intergenerational attitudes to
climate change after witnessing the 2019
school strikes.
Although all age groups have become more
concerned about climate change, a divide
still exists between the number of people who
believe it is real, and those who believe it is
caused by human activity. Fewer people overall
believe the latter.
“In psychology we talk about the theory of
responsibility. If we believe we are not causing
it, then we will keep doing what we are doing,”
Milfont said.
He speculated that the growing understanding
of climate change overall, however, could
be attributed to better science and climate
communication.
There has also been a positive cultural shift, he
said. “Not long ago, in the political discourse in
New Zealand, the reality of climate change was
the point of discussion. But no political party
denies climate change.”
Milfont hopes the research will prove to
policymakers that climate change is an issue
New Zealanders care about deeply, and that in
turn will generate urgent action at the top level.
© Guardian News and Media 2021
First published in The Guardian, 06/07/2021
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Comprehension check
a. Are these statements true or false according to the information in the article? Rewrite any that
are false to make them correct.
1. On average, winters in New Zealand are now colder than they were when David Yockney was
a boy.
2. A 10-year NZ study aimed to find out whether people of all age groups believe that climate change
is a direct result of human actions.
3. In the past, young people were generally more aware of climate changes than older people were.
4. The study showed that older people are now equally as aware of climate change as younger
people are.
5. David Yockney first learnt about climate change from his grandson.
6. While on a round-the-world trip, he realized that he should make changes to his way of living.
7. One of these changes was to give up meat and become a vegetarian.
8. David Yockney decided to start a climate change action group for the over-60s in his area.
9. Being close to the country’s capital, many members of Kāpiti Coast climate change groups have
experience on how authorities and government work.
10. The study found out that nearly everyone who believes climate change is real also believes that
humans are responsible for it.
Key language
a. Find the multi-word phrases from the article that mean the following. The paragraph numbers
will help you find them.
1. expect something always to happen or exist in a particular way and to think about any possible
problems or difficulties (para 1)
2. right from the start of something (para 4)
3. saying how good something is; praising it greatly (para 5)
4. rules and moral beliefs you follow closely (para 5)
5. watch passively but excitedly as something happens (para 7)
6. preparing to do a lot of hard work (para 11)
7. become very enthusiastic (about something) (para 15)
8. a big change in the way you see something and relate to it (para 16)
Level: Advanced

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5
b. Now use these expressions to talk about the article.
c. Finally, choose the ones you would most like to learn to use well and write one or two example
sentences for each.
Discussion
a. Discuss these questions.
• Is climate change real? And if it is, is it caused by humans? What makes you sure that your
answer is true?
• What changes could you make personally to reduce your carbon footprint?
• What (climate-related) legacy would you like to leave to your grandchildren?
In your own words
a. Work in pairs or small groups.
• You’ve joined a climate action group and have noticed that the majority of the group members are
under 50.
• Discuss ways that you could get older people – that is, anyone aged 50 and up– interested in
joining your group and becoming active.
• Think of different ways to grab these people’s attention and to encourage them to join your climate
action group.
• Choose one you think will work and write, record, film, or create it.
• Present your ideas to the other students.
Level: Advanced

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Level: Advanced – Teacher’s notes
Key:
1. limit
2. speculated
3. consciousness
4. reckoning
5. attributed to
6. clinch
3. Comprehension check
a. Students decide whether the statements are true or
false according to the information they read in the
article. They should rewrite any that are incorrect
to make them true. This will leave them with a
10-sentence summary of the article.
Key:
1.
False. Winters these days are warmer than
60 years ago. He hardly ever gets ice on his
bird bath.
2. True.
3. True.
4.
False. The awareness of climate change has
increased in both groups, however, younger
people are still more aware in general.
5.
False. He first heard discussions about climate
change in the 1990s; then, in his retirement, he
began reading more about it.
6.
False. He didn’t take the round-the-world trip
like many other retirees as he realized that he
had to limit his contribution to climate change.
7.
False. One of these changes was to cut back
on the amount of meat he eats, but he didn’t
become a vegetarian.
8.
False. He joined a local climate change action
group called Low Carbon Kāpiti (he didn’t start it
and it’s not only for the over 60s).
9. True.
10.
False. Although many believe climate change
to be real, fewer people overall believe that it is
caused by human activity.
4. Key language
a. Students find the multi-word verbal phrases from
the article.
1. Warmer
a. Students share their answers to the questions with
a partner or in small groups to introduce the topic of
climate change and its effects on the weather and
people’s lives, livelihoods and living conditions.
2. Key words
a. Students write the correct word from the word pool
next to the definitions on the lines provided. Then
they should find and highlight them in the article to
read them in context.
Key:
1. wrought by
2. awareness
3. reckoning
4. rhetoric
5. limit
6. clinch
7. legacy
8. consciousness
9. perceived as
10. nutters
11. baby boomer
12. latter
13. speculated
14. attributed to
15. policymakers
b. Before reading the article carefully, students use
some of the key words to fill the gaps in the
sentences to ensure that they understand and know
how the words are used in other contexts.
Article summary: Taking action against
climate change is no longer just something
that young people do. The results of a
10-year study show that older people are
getting involved, too.
Time: 90 minutes, plus extra time
for presentations
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
Language focus: Vocabulary
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student

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Home Adults General English NEWS LESSONS
Level: Advanced – Teacher’s notes
Key:
1. take (something or someone) for granted
2. from the outset
3. extolling the joys of
4. a strict set of values
5. sit on the sideline
6. rolling up their sleeves
7. get fired up (about something)
8. a substantial shift in attitudes
b. Next, they use them to talk about the article.
c. Students choose the expressions they would
most like to learn to use well, and write one or two
example sentences for each one.
5. Discussion
a. Students discuss the questions directly from, or
connected to, the article.
6. In your own words
a. Whatever their age group, students work in pairs
or small groups and do the task on the worksheet.
They should present their final product – this might
be a radio or TV spot, a newspaper ad, posters
for around town, a sketch that could be acted out,
etc., whatever they think will work best – to the rest
of the class. Finally, the students could discuss
which method they think will be most effective at
encouraging older people to become active against
climate change.

Fighting Climate Change - Advanced News Article .pdf

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