English: Reading Texts
page 112-134
Reading Text 1: The seed of the energy crisis lies in tomatoes
1. Summary
our lives = utterly entangled with natural gas
- logical to think of: heat & power at extraordinary expense
- odd to think of: tomatoes
tomatoes = domestic crop = bought from a supermarket – probably …
- grown in an enormous greenhouse
- sprouting from hydroponic substrate
- drenched in water and nitrogen-rich fertiliser
- air is kept at just over 20C and artificially enriched with carbon dioxide
- there are lamps for cloudy days or winter
RESULT: tomatoes photosynthesise & grow extraordinary fast
+ benefits:
1) a single acre in greenhouse can yield 400x that of a typical field => lower prices
2) growing with hydroponics => more forensic with fertiliser (fewer chemicals !!)
link with natural gas: tomato = fossil product because …
nitrogen-based fertiliser = made from natural gas (use of methane)
boilers keeping greenhouses warm = fuelled by natural gas
CO2 to aid photosynthesis = captured from the boiler’s flue
economists & official inflation data struck by …
1) how little is formally categorised as energy
2) energy prices account for 10% of inflation (electricity bills & petrol prices were totted up)
BUT: tomatoes = also energy products + anything else grown with fertilisers and transported in trucks
tomato inflation is running at 20%
economists missed the recent build-up of inflation – Why?
didn’t spend enough time thinking carefully about tomatoes
failed to understand that energy costs are not just a sub-category of inflation ~ they are everywhere: in
food, product and service prices
failed to notice that if the price of something goes up, people just buy an alternative product (=
conventional economics) ~ but you can’t substitute for energy
result: we were heading for such an economic cliff-edge (energy crisis ) – BUT: intervention
Liz Truss’s energy guarantee prevent a recession but that success will come at a price:
~ possible problems:
1) costs & lack of detail how this will work:
- no one can tell you quite what that price is
- probably the biggest peacetime splurge in modern history (± £100 billion, perhaps more)
- no idea because it depends on what Vladimir Putin does next
some Russian gas = still flowing to Europe
how soon until Russia cuts that supply of?
2) assumes that this will all be over in a couple of years:
- hole left in European markets by Russian gas will not be filled until the 2 nd half of this decade
- this very expensive subsidy could soon turn so costly threaten solvency of the nation
, 3) prudent to think how we could use less gas in the future
- growers (of tomatoes) can’t afford gas
- Truss’s measures: affordable to switch boilers back on but shouldn’t we be paying businesses
not to burn gas
final lesson: reducing our carbon emissions and getting to the much-vaunted zero not just replacing gas
boilers with heat pumps and power systems with wind turbines have to come up with new ways to make
fertilisers without natural gas
!!! disentangle 1.000.000 ways we are reliant on fossil fuels = reimagine every corner of industry
2. Vocabulary
English word Explanation Translation
entangled involved with something or someone in a way that makes verstrengeld
it difficult to escape
to cap to put a limit on the amount of money that can be charged beperken
or spent in connection with a particular activity
to indulge to allow yourself or another person to have something een plezier doen
enjoyable, especially more than is good for you
glistening to shine by reflecting light from a wet or smooth surface glanzende
crop he total amount collected of a plant such as a grain, fruit, gewas, oogst
or vegetable grown in large amounts
cavernous if something is cavernous, there is a very large open space spelonkachtig
inside it
vines the climbing plant that produces grapes as its fruit (wijn)stokken/ranken
to sprout ontkiemen
hydroponic hydroponic: grown using a method of growing plants in hydrocultuur voedingsbodem
substrate water, sand or gravel to which liquid chemical plant foods
are added, rather than growing them in earth
substrate: a substance or surface that an organism grows
and lives on and is supported by
nitrogen-rich rich of a chemical element that is a gas with no colour or stikstofrijk
taste
a fertiliser a natural or chemical substance that is spread on the land een meststof
or given to plants, to make plants grow well
the upshot the result het resultaat, het gevolg
a clip a speed hier: een snelheid
an acre a unit for measuring area een hectare
to yield to supply or produce something positive such as a profit, opleveren
an amount of food or information
hydroponics the method of growing plants in water to which special hydrocultuur
chemicals are added, rather than growing them in earth
forensic related to scientific methods of solving crimes, involving forensisch
examining the objects or substances that are involved in
the crime
to budge to move slightly verroeren, bewegen
nitrogen- based on a chemical element that is a gas with no colour op stikstof gebaseerd
based or taste
to aid to help, to support behelpen, ondersteunen
to aggregate to combine into a single group or total samenvoegen
an inflation a general, continuous increase in prices een inflatie
to tot up add numbers to find the total sum optellen
the headline the basic rate of inflation before distorting factors have
rate been removed
the FT the Financial Times (= newspaper) een Britse krant
, to ponder to think carefully about something nadenken over
a bug a mistake or problem in the way something works een fout
conventional traditional and ordinary conventioneel, traditioneel
blithely happily and without feeling or showing any worry, zorgeloos
especially when there is a reason to be worried
to presume to suppose, to believe something to be true because it is veronderstellen
very likely, although you are not certain
instinctive instinctive behaviour or reactions are not thought about or instinctief, gevoelsmatig
planned
a libertarian a person who believes that people should be free to think een libertijn, een vrijdenker
and behave as they want and should not have limits put
on them by governments
a legislation a law or a set of laws een wetgeving
The Treasury Het Ministerie van Financiën
to infuriate to make someone extremely angry woedend maken
a splurge an occasion when someone spends a lot of money buying een uitspatting, een
something expensive verkwisting
frankly eerlijk gezegd
to have the to not know or understand something at all niet het flauwste/minste idee
foggiest hebben
to confect to create something, especially in a way that seems confecteren, hier: verzinnen
artificial or false
forthcoming happening soon komende, aanstaande
solvency he ability to pay all the money that is owed solvabiliteit, vermogen
a wee bit a little bit een klein beetje
prudent careful and avoiding risks voorzichtig, verstandig
affordable able to be bought, not expensive betaalbaar
a smack bang een knal
vaunted highly or widely praised veelbesproken
to disentangle to separate things that have become joined or confused ontwarren
mere not large or important simpel, schamper
3. Pronunciation
utterly
entangled
extraordinary
glistening
enormous
cavernous
nitrogen-rich
fertiliser
enriched
photosynthesise
an acre
nitrogen-based
methane
fuelled
aggregated
suspicion
blithely
a libertarian
a legislation
a splurge
foggiest
page 112-134
Reading Text 1: The seed of the energy crisis lies in tomatoes
1. Summary
our lives = utterly entangled with natural gas
- logical to think of: heat & power at extraordinary expense
- odd to think of: tomatoes
tomatoes = domestic crop = bought from a supermarket – probably …
- grown in an enormous greenhouse
- sprouting from hydroponic substrate
- drenched in water and nitrogen-rich fertiliser
- air is kept at just over 20C and artificially enriched with carbon dioxide
- there are lamps for cloudy days or winter
RESULT: tomatoes photosynthesise & grow extraordinary fast
+ benefits:
1) a single acre in greenhouse can yield 400x that of a typical field => lower prices
2) growing with hydroponics => more forensic with fertiliser (fewer chemicals !!)
link with natural gas: tomato = fossil product because …
nitrogen-based fertiliser = made from natural gas (use of methane)
boilers keeping greenhouses warm = fuelled by natural gas
CO2 to aid photosynthesis = captured from the boiler’s flue
economists & official inflation data struck by …
1) how little is formally categorised as energy
2) energy prices account for 10% of inflation (electricity bills & petrol prices were totted up)
BUT: tomatoes = also energy products + anything else grown with fertilisers and transported in trucks
tomato inflation is running at 20%
economists missed the recent build-up of inflation – Why?
didn’t spend enough time thinking carefully about tomatoes
failed to understand that energy costs are not just a sub-category of inflation ~ they are everywhere: in
food, product and service prices
failed to notice that if the price of something goes up, people just buy an alternative product (=
conventional economics) ~ but you can’t substitute for energy
result: we were heading for such an economic cliff-edge (energy crisis ) – BUT: intervention
Liz Truss’s energy guarantee prevent a recession but that success will come at a price:
~ possible problems:
1) costs & lack of detail how this will work:
- no one can tell you quite what that price is
- probably the biggest peacetime splurge in modern history (± £100 billion, perhaps more)
- no idea because it depends on what Vladimir Putin does next
some Russian gas = still flowing to Europe
how soon until Russia cuts that supply of?
2) assumes that this will all be over in a couple of years:
- hole left in European markets by Russian gas will not be filled until the 2 nd half of this decade
- this very expensive subsidy could soon turn so costly threaten solvency of the nation
, 3) prudent to think how we could use less gas in the future
- growers (of tomatoes) can’t afford gas
- Truss’s measures: affordable to switch boilers back on but shouldn’t we be paying businesses
not to burn gas
final lesson: reducing our carbon emissions and getting to the much-vaunted zero not just replacing gas
boilers with heat pumps and power systems with wind turbines have to come up with new ways to make
fertilisers without natural gas
!!! disentangle 1.000.000 ways we are reliant on fossil fuels = reimagine every corner of industry
2. Vocabulary
English word Explanation Translation
entangled involved with something or someone in a way that makes verstrengeld
it difficult to escape
to cap to put a limit on the amount of money that can be charged beperken
or spent in connection with a particular activity
to indulge to allow yourself or another person to have something een plezier doen
enjoyable, especially more than is good for you
glistening to shine by reflecting light from a wet or smooth surface glanzende
crop he total amount collected of a plant such as a grain, fruit, gewas, oogst
or vegetable grown in large amounts
cavernous if something is cavernous, there is a very large open space spelonkachtig
inside it
vines the climbing plant that produces grapes as its fruit (wijn)stokken/ranken
to sprout ontkiemen
hydroponic hydroponic: grown using a method of growing plants in hydrocultuur voedingsbodem
substrate water, sand or gravel to which liquid chemical plant foods
are added, rather than growing them in earth
substrate: a substance or surface that an organism grows
and lives on and is supported by
nitrogen-rich rich of a chemical element that is a gas with no colour or stikstofrijk
taste
a fertiliser a natural or chemical substance that is spread on the land een meststof
or given to plants, to make plants grow well
the upshot the result het resultaat, het gevolg
a clip a speed hier: een snelheid
an acre a unit for measuring area een hectare
to yield to supply or produce something positive such as a profit, opleveren
an amount of food or information
hydroponics the method of growing plants in water to which special hydrocultuur
chemicals are added, rather than growing them in earth
forensic related to scientific methods of solving crimes, involving forensisch
examining the objects or substances that are involved in
the crime
to budge to move slightly verroeren, bewegen
nitrogen- based on a chemical element that is a gas with no colour op stikstof gebaseerd
based or taste
to aid to help, to support behelpen, ondersteunen
to aggregate to combine into a single group or total samenvoegen
an inflation a general, continuous increase in prices een inflatie
to tot up add numbers to find the total sum optellen
the headline the basic rate of inflation before distorting factors have
rate been removed
the FT the Financial Times (= newspaper) een Britse krant
, to ponder to think carefully about something nadenken over
a bug a mistake or problem in the way something works een fout
conventional traditional and ordinary conventioneel, traditioneel
blithely happily and without feeling or showing any worry, zorgeloos
especially when there is a reason to be worried
to presume to suppose, to believe something to be true because it is veronderstellen
very likely, although you are not certain
instinctive instinctive behaviour or reactions are not thought about or instinctief, gevoelsmatig
planned
a libertarian a person who believes that people should be free to think een libertijn, een vrijdenker
and behave as they want and should not have limits put
on them by governments
a legislation a law or a set of laws een wetgeving
The Treasury Het Ministerie van Financiën
to infuriate to make someone extremely angry woedend maken
a splurge an occasion when someone spends a lot of money buying een uitspatting, een
something expensive verkwisting
frankly eerlijk gezegd
to have the to not know or understand something at all niet het flauwste/minste idee
foggiest hebben
to confect to create something, especially in a way that seems confecteren, hier: verzinnen
artificial or false
forthcoming happening soon komende, aanstaande
solvency he ability to pay all the money that is owed solvabiliteit, vermogen
a wee bit a little bit een klein beetje
prudent careful and avoiding risks voorzichtig, verstandig
affordable able to be bought, not expensive betaalbaar
a smack bang een knal
vaunted highly or widely praised veelbesproken
to disentangle to separate things that have become joined or confused ontwarren
mere not large or important simpel, schamper
3. Pronunciation
utterly
entangled
extraordinary
glistening
enormous
cavernous
nitrogen-rich
fertiliser
enriched
photosynthesise
an acre
nitrogen-based
methane
fuelled
aggregated
suspicion
blithely
a libertarian
a legislation
a splurge
foggiest
