Globalwarmingmayormaynotbethegreatenvironmentalcrisisofthe21stcentury,but—regardlessofwhetheritisorisn’t—wewon’tdomuchaboutit.Wewillargueoveritandmayeven,asanation,makesomefairlysolemn-soundin

　　Globalwarmingmayormaynotbethegreatenvironmentalcrisisofthe21stcentury,but—regardlessofwhetheritisorisn’t—wewon’tdomuchaboutit.Wewillargueoveritandmayeven,asanation,makesomefairlysolemn-soundingcommitments(承诺)toavoidit.Butthemoredramaticandmeaningfulthesecommitmentsseem,thelesslikelytheyaretobeobserved.

　　AlGorecallsglobalwarmingan“inconvenienttruth,”asifmerelyrecognizingitcouldputusapathtoasolution.Buttherealtruthisthatwedon’tknowenoughtorelieveglobalwarming,and—withoutmajortechnologicalbreakthroughs—wecan’tdomuchaboutit.

　　From2003to2050,theworld’spopulationisprojectedtogrowfrom6.4billionto9.1billion,a42%increase.Ifenergyuseperpersonandtechnologyremainthesame,totalenergyuseandgreenhousegasemissions(排放)(mainly,CO2)willbe42%higherin2050.Butthat’stoolow,becausesocietiesthatgrowricherusemoreenergy.Weneedeconomicgrowthunlesswecondemntheworld’spoortotheirpresentpovertyandfreezeeveryoneelse’slivingstandards.Withmodestgrowth,energyuseandgreenhouseemissionsmorethandoubleby2050.

　　Nogovernmentwilladoptrigidrestrictionsoneconomicgrowthandpersonalfreedom(limitsonelectricityusage,drivingandtravel)thatmightcutbackglobalwarming.Still,politicianswanttoshowthey’re“doingsomething.”ConsidertheKyotoProtocol(京都议定书).Itallowedcountriesthatjoinedtopunishthosethatdidn’t.Butithasn’treducedCO2emissions(upabout25%since1990),andmanysignatories(签字国)didn’tadopttoughenoughpoliciestohittheir2008-2012targets.

　　Thepracticalconclusionisthatifglobalwarmingisapotentialdisaster,theonlysolutionisnewtechnology.Onlyanaggressiveresearchanddevelopmentprogrammightfindwaysofbreakingourdependenceonfossilfuelsordealingwithit.

　　Thetroublewiththeglobalwarmingdebateisthatithasbecomeamoralproblemwhenit’sreallyanengineeringone.Theinconvenienttruthisthatifwedon’tsolvetheengineeringproblem,we’rehelpless.

　　46.Whatissaidaboutglobalwarminginthefirstparagraph?

　　A.Itmaynotproveanenvironmentalcrisisatall.

　　B.Itisanissuerequiringworldwidecommitments.

　　C.Seriousstepshavebeentake