After reading the
passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and
grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank
with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that
best fits each blank.
Is
Hothouse Earth Avoidable?
Nearly 50 years ago, the Club of Rome's
report "Limits to Growth" warned that if economic growth continued
fast without regard for the environment, the world could face ecological and
economic collapse in the twenty-first century. Yet that is essentially {#blank#}1{#/blank#} has happened. As new research for the
Club of Rome shows — and the latest report from the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states — the world {#blank#}2{#/blank#} well be headed towards disaster.
Many wrongly {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(interpret) the "Limits to Growth"
as an attack on uncontrolled economic expansion. In fact, the report argued
that {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the unlimited-growth pathway was
chosen, it would require complementary policies (including funding) {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (preserve) the planet's limited
life-support systems.
This argument {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (ignore). Instead, the world has
continued to pursue fast growth, without regard for the environmental
consequences. This has enabled us to make enormous progress in reducing
poverty, increasing longevity, and increasing wealth. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} it has come at a high cost to the
formation of the society and the restoration of the planet.
As scientists have conclusively shown, in
the last decade, we have entered a new geological era, the Anthropocene, in
which human activity — in particular, economic activity — has been the dominant
factor {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(influence) Earth's climate and environment.
In the Anthropocene, our planet's life-support system is changing faster than
ever.
Climate change now represents a clear and present danger. If our planet becomes just 2℃ warmer than pre-industrial temperatures, we may be placed irreversibly on the path toward "Hothouse Earth" — a situation {#blank#}9{#/blank#} temperatures are many degrees warmer than today, sea levels are considerably higher, and extreme weather events are {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(common) — and more destructive — than ever.
