Climate change is a familiar topic to us for decades. There is little doubt     1     Earth is getting warmer and warmer. A lot of evidence     2     (indicate) a dramatic change in the global climate.

The increase in temperature has     3     impact on Earth’s ecology. In 2013, a news photo of a dead polar bear which     4     (find) on Norway’s Arctic island of Svalbard made a lot of people     5     (shock). In addition, there is strong and comprehensive evidence that the rise in temperature has led to an increase in extreme weather and natural disasters worldwide,     6     (cause) great loss of life and property. Climate scientists have warned that this warming trend will probably continue and there will be a     7     (high) price to pay, if we do not take appropriate actions.

“Greenhouse effect” is a key factor in clime change. Continued greenhouse gas emissions will result     8     further warming and long-lasting changes to the global climate. Governments should make     9     (policy) and take appropriate actions and measures. Individuals can reduce our “carbon footprint” by restricting the amount of carbon dioxide our lifestyles produce. It is our responsibility to seize every opportunity     10     (educate) everyone about global warming.

3 . Several art projects are on show to warn people of the climate change happening around us.

Video on the walls

Photographer Camille Seaman has traveled to both the North Pole and the South Pole, where she has captured the disappearing ice in photographs and video. Camille Seaman made a video with some of her most powerful photos of melting ice for people in four coastal cities to display on their buildings. The video ends with a prediction that sea level will rise by 2050 without relative action.

Mural (壁画)changing color

Temperatures in Austin, Texas, are on the rise, and climate change will put the city at higher risk of extended drought, wildfires, intense rain and flooding. Artist Lope Gutiérrez-Ruiz designed a unique mural that changes color as it gets hotter. This art work calls for people to change the world and change climate change, underlining the importance of individual actions to the collective future.

Public billboard   (广告牌)

Artist Christine Sun Kim released a public billboard on the 710 Freeway called The Sound of Temperature Rising. It points to the reality of climate disaster that has become all too clear on the West Coast and the need for significant change now. The illustration features a graph (图表) of music notes that get progressively longer and redder.

Anti-Extinction Library

Globally, species are disappearing at an unheard-of rate. In response, architect Mitchell Joachim created The Anti-Extinction Library in New York. The sculptural piece is not only beautiful but also functional. Their unique egg-shaped library has a special freezer storing test tubes with the frozen cells and DNA of rare animals and plants. It’s important for people to realize we must quickly work to protect the rights of different species in our area.

5 . When it comes to global warming, we know that the real problem is not just fossil fuels — it is the logic of endless growth that is built into our economic system. If we don't keep the global economy growing by at least 3% per year, it will get into crisis. That means we have to double the size of the economy every 20 years, just to stay afloat. It doesn't take much to realise that this need for fast growth makes little sense given the limits of our planet.

Rapid climate change is the most obvious symptom of this contradiction, but we're also seeing it in the form of deforestation (滥伐森林) and mass extinction, with species dying as a result of the loss of their habitats. It was unthinkable to say this even 10 years ago.

The question is what to do about it. How can we redesign the global economy to bring it in line with the principles of ecology? The most obvious answer is to stop using GDP to measure economic progress and replace it with a more thoughtful measure-one that accounts for the ecological and social impact of economic activity. Outstanding economists like Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz have been calling for such changes for years and it's time we listened.

But replacing GDP is only the first step. While it might help refocus economic policies on what really matters, it doesn't address the main driver of growth: debt. Debt is the reason that the economy has to grow in the first place. Because debt always comes with interest, it grows fast — so if a person, a business, or a country wants to pay down debt over the long term, they have to grow enough to at least match the growth of their debt. Without growth, debt piles up and eventually lead to an economic crisis.