1. VOCABULARY gross – Global warming may lead to a gross loss of life. extreme; large-scale environment – Earth’s environment supports many different kinds of life. the natural world in which people, animals, and plants live demolish – The hurricane may demolish everything in its path. to destroy completely urgent – It is urgent that we stop global warming. needing attention right away annoyance – Is global warming a simple annoyance or an emergency? something that bothers or causes mild anger

2. VOCABULARY pollute – Car exhaust can pollute the environment. to harm by making dirty boon – Clean energy is a boon for everyone. a good thing nonsense – The belief that fossil fuels will last forever is nonsense. foolish words or actions disprove – Unsupported ideas are easy to disprove. to show that something is untrue clutter – Do wind machines clutter or decorate the landscape? to crowd or litter

3. VOCABULARY considerate – Please be considerate of Planet Earth: put litter in its place. thoughtful of others discard – Let’s repair the DVD player rather than discard it. to throw away hazard – Very dry wood can be a fire hazard. something that may cause harm geologist – A geologist spoke to our class about soil and water pollution. a scientist who studies the _______

4. VOCABULARY sustain – It is hard to sustain a very fast running pace. to keep up biosphere – Riding a bike is one way to keep the biosphere healthy. the land and sea that cover the Earth, and all the ____ in them contaminate – Fumes from cars contaminate the air. to add something harmful embrace – We must embrace new ways of thinking about transportation. to take up willingly disregard – Don’t disregard the well-being of our planet; ride a bike! to ignore pamphlet – This pamphlet convinced me to use a bike instead of a car. a short printed work that gives information or supports a position