原版英语RAZ 教案Groundwater.pdf

《原版英语RAZ 教案Groundwater.pdf》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《原版英语RAZ 教案Groundwater.pdf（9页珍藏版）》请在淘文阁 - 分享文档赚钱的网站上搜索。

1、Visit www.readinga- for thousands of books and materials.GroundwaterA Reading AZ Level Y Leveled BookWord Count:1,553WritingWrite an acrostic poem about groundwater.Use the word groundwater as the acrostic.Begin each line of your poem with the letters in the word.Science and Social StudiesWrite a pu

2、blic service announcement persuading members of your community to conserve water.Include why conserving water is important and what can be done to help.Connectionswww.readinga-Written by Sean McCollumGroundwaterwww.readinga-Written by Sean McCollumSVYLEVELED BOOK Ywww.readinga-Why is groundwater imp

3、ortant?Focus QuestionWritten by Sean McCollumGroundwateraquifersclimate changeconservationcrisisdepleteddroughtgroundwaterirrigateper capitapercolatesensorsunsustainableWords to KnowCorrelationLEVEL YT4040Fountas&PinnellReading RecoveryDRAGroundwaterLevel Y Leveled Book Learning AZWritten by Sean Mc

4、CollumAll rights reserved.www.readinga-Page 3:Ten days after her well dried up in August 2014,a California woman receives 300 gallons(1,136 L)of drinking water.Photo Credits:Front cover:RCarner/iStock/Thinkstock;title page:TREVOR SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images;page 3:Chieko Hara/Porterville Recorder/AP Ima

5、ges;page 7(main):modified from McGuire,V.L.,2014,Water-level changes and change in water in storage in the High Plains aquifer,predevelopment to 2013 and 201113:U.S.Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 20145218,14 p.;page 7(windmill icon):iStock/Kathy Konkle;page 8:Jupiterimages/PHOTOS

6、.com/Thinkstock;page 10:Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images;page 12:S847/iStock/Thinkstock;page 13:courtesy of UC Irvine/NASA/JPL-CaltechIllustration Credit:Page 4:Laszlo Veres3Table of ContentsWhen the Water Runs Out .4What and Where Is Groundwater?.5Too Many Straws .7Water Fights .9Staying Out of Trouble

7、 .11Farming Smarter .12Future Focus .14Glossary .16Groundwater Level Y4When the Water Runs OutPicture getting up one morning,turning on the faucet,and getting nothing but a gurgle.This happened in 2014 in a part of California famous for producing fruits and vegetables.Years of drought there meant li

8、ttle rainfall,so to irrigate their crops,farmers pumped massive amounts of groundwater from under the land.The result?Some two thousand dry wells.In response,the county government set up centers where people could get drinking water and take showers.Even with rain,though,experts warn the shortage of

9、 groundwater there will not end soon.Unfortunately,California isnt the only place with a water crisis.Groundwater fills the spaces and cracks between rocks,sand,and soil underground.Water in the Ground=Groundwater5What and Where Is Groundwater?Many of us glance at a globe and are fooled into thinkin

10、g the planet holds plenty of water for all our needs.However,97 percent of Earths water is in our oceans,and its salt content makes it undrinkable and useless for watering crops.Freshwater keeps us alive by quenching our thirst and allowing us to grow food.Less than 3 percent of Earths water is fres

11、hwater.Of that small percentage,polar ice caps and glaciers lock up almost 70 percent.Although surface waterthe freshwater in our rivers,lakes,and pondsis often the most visible,it makes up just 0.3 percent of our freshwater supply.Scientists estimate that a whopping 99 percent of Earths usable wate

12、r is groundwater.All water on EarthUsable 1%Unusable 99%Water We Can UseSource:U.S.Geological SurveySurface water 0.3%Ground ice and permafrost 0.7%Groundwater 99%Groundwater Level Y6Groundwater is freshwater that flows slowly underground.Most of it is stored beneath land in aquifers,underground lay

13、ers of rock,gravel,and sand that retain groundwater like colossal sponges.Rain and melting snow,called recharge water,percolate very slowly into the surface soil and rock.This water feeds the aquifers,which can reach down thousands of feet and extend for thousands of miles.Aquifers in turn feed our

14、rivers,lakes,and wetlands.They also irrigate the best farming regions in the world.For more than a century,people have been pumping billions of gallons of water from underground to drink,grow crops,and meet other needs.Even during droughts,communities and farms located above aquifers can draw ground

15、water to survive and thrive.This water source keeps much of humanity from going hungry and thirsty.The trouble is that people are pumping water much faster than nature can replace it,and researchers are tracking an alarming trend:groundwater levels are falling fast.Water crises threaten food supplie

16、s and peace.Worldwide,experts are warning about the dangers of exhausting this life-giving resource.7Too Many StrawsResearch now shows people are using up groundwater at unsustainable rates.According to the U.S.Geological Survey,water levels have declined in almost two-thirds of the wells across the

17、 United States since 1995.Experts predict that the Ogallala Aquifer,below the Great Plains,could be 70 percent depleted by the year 2060.The Ogallala(a.k.a.High Plains)Aquifer waters the wheat fields of Americabut that water cant last forever.This map shows state-by-state changes in the water level

18、of the Ogallala Aquifer over a span of about sixty years.In some places,water levels are largely unchanged today;in others,they have declined dramatically.Wyoming-0.4 ft.(-0.12 m)Nebraska-0.9 ft(-.027 m)S.Dakota 0 ft.(0 m)New Mexico-15.1 ft.(-4.6 m)1952 1958 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2

19、012Ground level 020406080100120140Feet undergroundColorado-13.2 ft.(-4.02 m)Kansas-22.8 ft.(-6.95 m)Texas-36.7 ft.(-11.19 m)Oklahoma-12.3 ft.(-3.75 m)Water-level changes in the aquifer,1950 to 2010Source:U.S.Geological SurveyThe water level in one Texas well has plunged more than 120 feet(36.6 m).Up

20、s and(Mostly)Downs:The Ogallala AquiferGroundwater Level Y8Competition for groundwater is causing conflict in some farming areas.In Northern California,for example,winemakers grow acres of grapes.Grapes require large amounts of water to grow.Many of these growers have drilled deep wells to make sure

21、 they can get the groundwater they need.Without it,they might go out of business.Many smaller farmers and homeowners nearby,though,are concerned by what they consider“water grabbing.”They blame these vineyards for sucking up too much of the groundwater they all share,while their shallower wells go d

22、ry.In many cases,these smaller property owners cannot afford to drill deeper wells for themselves.Its as if everyone has their straws in the same drink,but some farms and businesses can pay for more and longer straws.This situation raises big questions:Who owns groundwater?How much usage is fair?Son

23、oma Valley in California is famous for its vineyards.9India China United States PakistanWater FightsHalfway around the world,Pakistans available water has dropped by almost 75 percent in the last sixty years.Many in Pakistan put the blame on India,their neighbor to the south.They accuse India of bui

24、lding dams that block river water that would normally flow to them.This situation,Pakistani farmers argue,has forced them to pump more groundwater.Indian officials say Pakistan itself is to blame,due to poor management of the water it has.Today,both countrieslongtime rivals that have fought four war

25、s in the pastface water shortages and increasing competition for freshwater.Top Four Global Water Users112 km3 year251 km3/year1,225 million1,341 million310 million174 million 112 km3 year65 km3 yearCompare Chinas population to the United States.Now compare their water use.Per person,which country i

26、s using more water?One cubic kilometer(km3)=1,000,000,000,000 liters(264,172,052,358 gal.).That would fill about 400,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.KEYIrrigationDomestic usePopulationIndustrySource:Margat,J.,and J.van der Gun.2013.Groundwater around the World.CRC Press/BalkemaGroundwater Level Y10T

27、he United Nations predicts such water crises will only grow worse.United Nations officials estimate that if nothing changes,the world will fall 40 percent short of its water needs by the year 2030.Nearly two billion people worldwide could face severe water shortages,leading to food shortages and fam

28、ine.Such water crises can contribute to conflict and war,experts warn.In some places,lack of water has already forced large numbers of people to leave their homes and lands.In Syria,for example,drought drove rural people into cities.Evidence suggests that this movement,in turn,helped start a civil w

29、ar in 2011 in which many Syrians have died.In many places,groundwater is that importantthe difference between green farms or dusty fields,a matter of life or death.Developing safe,reliable water supplies for as many people as possible needs to be an international priority.Failing to address the wate

30、r crisis leads to clashes,violence,and great suffering that threatens to spread as people continue to fight for water resources.A Syrian refugee girl arrives in Jordan in 2013.11Staying Out of TroubleThere is an old saying:“It is easier to stay out of trouble than get out of trouble.”This is true ab

31、out the worlds supply of groundwater.Dealing with this crisis now will be much easier than dealing with it after aquifers are depleted.Maintaining our groundwater supply requires us to plan ahead,however,while carefully managing how we use water today.Many experts predict the challenges will only be

32、come more difficult.One growing threat to the worlds groundwater supply is climate change.Almost all scientists who study the Earth now agree that its average temperature is rising,with the ten hottest years on record all hitting since the year 2000.Climate change may also mean large-scale changes i

33、n weather patterns.For example,climatologists predict regions that rely on regular rainy seasons may see those seasons shift or the amount of precipitation they deliver change.Major disruptions in water availability would likely result.Another huge challenge is population growth.Currently,more than

34、seven billion people live on our planet.That figure is expected to reach eleven billion by the year 2100.All of these people will need water to drink and grow food.We must manage our groundwater now,and we can.Groundwater Level Y12Farming SmarterConservation of water is the best hope for ensuring su

35、stainable water supplies.This means developing and practicing ways to reduce water usage and keep more groundwater in the ground.Improving our farming practices is by far the most important action we can take to conserve groundwater.According to the U.S.Geological Survey,about 65 percent of the fres

36、h groundwater Americans pump to the surface is used to irrigate crops.Studies indicate many forms of irrigation are wasteful.They spray and sprinkle water on the surface,where much of it is lost to evaporation.More farmers now accept that they cannot keep pumping so much groundwater.They are adoptin

37、g new ideas and technologies to make sure every drop counts.For example,some farms now use tensiometers.These sensors monitor moisture in the soil and turn the irrigation on and off automatically,wasting less water.Many fruit and nut orchards are also changing their practices.They now bury irrigatio

38、n pipes to deliver water closer to the tree roots,reducing water waste.Almond trees in bloom13Planting different crops is another major change that can help conserve groundwater.In states such as Kansas and Iowa,some farms are switching from corn to wheat and sorghum.Corn requires a lot more water t

39、han the other two,but corn crops earn more money,so other farmers remain reluctant to change.Still,if farms do not conserve water voluntarily,exhausted aquifers will eventually force them to.The View from SpaceOn the scale,deep-red aquifers are those that have been depleted most rapidly;deep-blue aq

40、uifers are those gaining the most water,usually by weather events such as floods.ATLANTIC OCEANINDIAN OCEANAFRICAASIASince 2002,NASA has been monitoring changes in groundwater from space.Called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment(GRACE),its two satellites respond to Earths gravity field.They

41、 can measure shifts in water volume on and under the planets surface.NASA data gathered over a ten-year period(20032013)shows trends for Earths largest aquifers.About one-third of these aquifers are dangerously depleted.Groundwater Level Y14Future FocusRecord drought forced California to conserve wa

42、ter.Lawmakers there passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014,which required the monitoring of water levels in aquifers.It gave the state authority to enforce stronger water-conservation measures if communities did not come up with their own plans.For instance,cities could fine peopl

43、e five hundred dollars a day if they violated restrictions on washing cars and watering lawns.Restrictions like these worked.From June 2014 until December 2014,per capita water use plummeted.On average,Californians went from using as much as 140 gallons(530 L)per person daily to just 67 gallons(254

44、L).Nationwide,57 percent of American households rely on groundwater.In rural areas,that figure is more than 90 percent.Fortunately,small changes in plumbing and water-use habits can save hundreds of gallons in the average American home each week.By installing low-flush toilets and taking shorter sho

45、wers,we can contribute to groundwater conservation.Another small effort that can save gallons is running only full loads in washing machines and dishwashers.15In addition,property owners can save large volumes of water by replacing thirsty grass lawns with landscaping that needs less watering.The mo

46、tto in California for letting lawns die is pretty catchy:“Brown is the New Green.”There is no quick,easy fix for preserving groundwater.People need to drink.Farmers need to irrigate crops to grow our food.Still,we can be smarter about how we use this resource,both now and far into the future.Did you

47、 know that toilets use more water than anything else in your house?They do,according to a 2016 study of water use inside 23,749 homes spread throughout the United Statesbut not as much as they did in a similar 1999 study.Newer,more efficient toilets help send less water into the sewer.Some families

48、also practice selective flushing.That means they dont flush the toilet each time they use it.The Trouble with ToiletsGallons per household per daytoiletshower,bathfaucetclothes washerdishwasher,leaks,otherSource:DeOreo,W.B.,P.Mayer,B.Dziegelewski,and J.Kiefer.2016.ResidentialEnd Uses of Water,Versio

49、n 2.Project#4309A.Denver,Colo:Water ResearchFoundation.2016 Water ResearchFoundation.Reprinted with permission.33.1(125.3 L)31.7(120 L)26.3(99.6 L)22.7(86 L)23.9(90.5 L)Groundwater Level Y16Glossaryaquifers(n.)underground layers of rock,sand,and other material that can hold and absorb groundwater(p.

50、6)climate change the long-term,lasting changes in (n.)Earths weather patterns or the weather patterns of a region(p.11)conservation the careful use of resources to protect(n.)them from being wasted,completely used up,or destroyed(p.12)crisis(n.)a dangerous or unstable time or situation that demands