Oil and gas will run out too fast for doomsday global warming scenarios to materialize, according to a controversial new analysis presented this week at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. The authors warn that all the fuel will be burnt before there is enough carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to realize predictions of melting ice caps and searing temperatures. Defending their predictions, scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say they considered a range of estimates of oil and gas reserves, and point out that coal-burning could easily make up the shortfall. But all agree that burning coal would be even worse for the planet.
The IPCC’s predictions of global meltdown pushed forward the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an agreement obliging signatory nations to cut CO₂ emissions. The IPCC considered a range of future scenarios, from unlimited burning of fossil-fuels to a fast transition towards greener energy sources. But geologists Anders Sivertsson, Kjell Aleklett and Colin Campbell of Uppsala University say there is not enough oil and gas left even the most conservative of the 40 IPCC scenarios to come to pass.
Although estimates of oil and gas reserves vary widely, the researchers are part of a growing group of experts who believe that oil supplies will peak as soon as 2010, and gas soon after. Their analysis suggests that oil and gas reserves combined about to the equivalent of about 3,500 billion barrels of oil considerably less than the 5,000 billion barrels estimated in the most optimistic model envisaged by the IPCC. Even the average forecast of about 8,000 billion barrels is more than twice the Swedish estimate of the world’s remaining reserves.
Nebojsa Nakicenovic, an energy economist at the University of Vienna, Austria who headed the 80-strong IPCC team that produced the forecasts, says the panel’s work still stands. He says they factored in a much broader and internationally accepted range of oil and gas estimates than the "conservative" Swedes.
Even if oil and gas run out, "there’s a huge amount of coal underground that could be exploited", he says that burning coal could make the IPCC scenarios come true, but points out that such a switch would be disastrous. Coal is dirtier than oil and gas and produces more CO₂ for each unit of energy, as well as releasing large amounts of particulates. He says the latest analysis is a "shot across the bows" for policy makers.

In the last paragraph, what does the word "switch" stand for（　）

A:Coal-burning to replace the oil and gas. B:Fossil fuels to replace the oil and gas. C:Green fuels to replace the oil and gas. D:The oil and gas to replace the coal-burning.

Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically, coal-burning furnaces (火炉) fueled the early systems. Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960. Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses. Because it comes primarily from U.S. and Canadian fields, natural gas is also less vulnerable (脆弱的) than oil is to War. Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas, such as New England.
Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity, including the South and the Northwest. It was made popular at least in the South by the low cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air-conditioning. Bottled gas, which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas, is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines. Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties.
Home heating, which accounts for less than 7 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S., has had a commendable (值得赞扬的) efficiency record: from 1978 to 1997, the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size. The U.S. Department of Energy, however, forecasts that energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades. That rise is small considering an expected 21 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses.
Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades. Solar (太阳的) heating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas; in 2000 only 47,000 homes relied on it.
What fuel is the dominant fuel in New England

A:Gas. B:Electricity. C:Wood. D:Oil.

Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically, coal-burning furnaces (火炉) fueled the early systems. Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960. Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses. Because it comes primarily from U.S. and Canadian fields, natural gas is also less vulnerable (脆弱的) than oil is to War. Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas, such as New England.
Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity, including the South and the Northwest. It was made popular at least in the South by the low cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air-conditioning. Bottled gas, which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas, is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines. Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties.
Home heating, which accounts for less than 7 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S., has had a commendable (值得赞扬的) efficiency record: from 1978 to 1997, the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size. The U.S. Department of Energy, however, forecasts that energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades. That rise is small considering an expected 21 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses.
Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades. Solar (太阳的) heating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas; in 2000 only 47,000 homes relied on it.
Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the article

A:Natural gas comes partly from Canadian fields. B:Bottled gas is more expensive than utility gas. C:Equipment for home heating has been considerably improved. D:Solar heating dominated America in 2000.

Home Heating
Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically, coal-burning furnaces (火炉) fueled the early systems. Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960. Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses. Because it comes primarily from U.S. and Canadian fields, natural gas is also less vulnerable (脆弱的) than oil is to war. Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas, such as New England.
Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity, including the South and the Northwest. It was made popular at least in the South by the Iow cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air-conditioning. Bottled gas, which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas, is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines. Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties.
Home heating, which accounts for less than 7 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S., has had a commendable (值得赞扬的) efficiency record: from 1978 to 1997, the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size. The U. S. Department of Energy, however, forecasts that energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades. That rise is small considering an expected 21 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses.
Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades. Solar (太阳的) heating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas; in 2000 only 47, 000 homes relied on it.
What fuel is the dominant fuel in New England

A:Gas. B:Electricity. C:Wood. D:Oil.

Home Heating
Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically, coal-burning furnaces (火炉) fueled the early systems. Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960. Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses. Because it comes primarily from U.S. and Canadian fields, natural gas is also less vulnerable (脆弱的) than oil is to war. Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas, such as New England.
Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity, including the South and the Northwest. It was made popular at least in the South by the Iow cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air-conditioning. Bottled gas, which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas, is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines. Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties.
Home heating, which accounts for less than 7 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S., has had a commendable (值得赞扬的) efficiency record: from 1978 to 1997, the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size. The U. S. Department of Energy, however, forecasts that energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades. That rise is small considering an expected 21 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses.
Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades. Solar (太阳的) heating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas; in 2000 only 47, 000 homes relied on it.
Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the article

A:Natural gas comes partly from Canadian fields. B:Bottled gas is more expensive than utility gas. C:Equipment for home heating has been considerably improved. D:Solar heating dominated America in 2000.

{{B}}第二篇{{/B}}

What fuel is the dominant fuel in New England?

A:Gas. B:Electricity. C:Wood. D:Oil.

{{B}}第二篇{{/B}}

Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the article?

A:Natural gas comes partly from Canadian fields. B:Bottled gas is more expensive than utility gas. C:Equipment for home heating has been considerably improved. D:Solar heating dominated America in 2000.

第二篇 Home Heating Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically, coal—burning furnaces(火炉)fueled the early systems．Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960.Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses．Because it comes primarily from U．S．and Canadian fields，natural gas is also less vulnerable(脆弱的)than oil is to War．Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas．such as New England． Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity, including the South and the Northwest．It was made popular at least in the South by the low cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air．conditioning．Bottled gas．which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas，is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines．Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties． Home heating，which accounts for less than 7 percent of a11 energy consumed in the U．S．，has had a commendable(值得赞扬的)efficiency record：from 1978 to 1997，the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size．The U．S．Department of Energy。however, forecasts mat energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades．That rise is small considering an expected 2 1 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses． Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades．Solar(太阳的)heating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas；in 2000 only 47.000 homes relied on it． What fuel is the dominant fuel in New England?

A:Gas． B:Electricity． C:Wood． D:Oil．

第二篇 Home Heating Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically, coal—burning furnaces(火炉)fueled the early systems．Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960.Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses．Because it comes primarily from U．S．and Canadian fields，natural gas is also less vulnerable(脆弱的)than oil is to War．Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas．such as New England． Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity, including the South and the Northwest．It was made popular at least in the South by the low cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air．conditioning．Bottled gas．which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas，is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines．Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties． Home heating，which accounts for less than 7 percent of a11 energy consumed in the U．S．，has had a commendable(值得赞扬的)efficiency record：from 1978 to 1997，the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size．The U．S．Department of Energy。however, forecasts mat energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades．That rise is small considering an expected 2 1 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses． Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades．Solar(太阳的)heating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas；in 2000 only 47.000 homes relied on it． Which of the following statements is NOT true，according to the article?

A:Natural gas comes partly from Canadian fields． B:Bottled gas is more expensive than utility gas． C:Equipment for home heating has been considerably improved． D:Solar heating dominated America in 2000．