A biodegradable
credit card Una tarjeta de crédito biodegradable
May be
your credit card, your store card, your ID card, your debit card, your
phone card, or your membership card are all made of plastic. Read about
plastic cards and how dangerous they may become.
In recent years, more and more people have been paying
for things with credit cards. There are now 565 million credit cards
worldwide, but it doesn't stop there. Debit cards are being issued by banks,
and store cards are being offered by many department stores. Bills and coins
are gradually being replaced by "plastic money."
In many countries, phone cards have been introduced
for people to use in pay phones. In addition, cards made of paper are being
replaced by plastic ones by many organizations and clubs. For example, if
you belong to a sports club, your membership card may well be made of
plastic.
How safe is the plastic used to make these cards,
though? Until now, most cards have been made from a plastic called PVC.
While PVC is being produced, harmful chemicals are released into the
atmosphere. One of the most dangerous chemicals that is released is dioxin,
which is known to cause cancer in humans.
A further problem is that, when a PVC card is thrown
away, it is not biodegradable; this means that it does not "break down" and
cannot be recycled. Obviously, recycling reduces pollution of the
environment.
The executive director of the environmental
organization and charity Greenpeace, Peter Melchett, says, "If there is a
solution to this – and an alternative – then it would be madness not to use
it." Greenpeace has found a solution and an alternative.
Their new credit card is made entirely from a
biodegradable plastic that uses plants. The card breaks down in around three
months in special soil called compost; in this way, it is recycled. In
contrast, a PVC card lasts for centuries. Greenpeace hopes that many
organizations will soon follow their example and issue cards that do not
threaten the public health.
VOCABULARY
ID card:
cédula de identidad;
membership:
membresía; worldwide: en todo el mundo; issued by banks:
emitidas por los bancos; department stores: tiendas por
departamentos; bills and coins:
los billetes y las monedas; pay phones: teléfonos públicos; may well be made of:
bien podría estar fabricada con; though: sin embargo; PVC (polyvinyl
chloride): cloruro de vinilo; harmful chemicals: substancias
químicas dañinas; released: liberadas; dioxin: dioxina (carbohidrato
que se usa para fabricación de distintos productos); a further problem: un
problema adicional; thrown
away: descartada; not biodegradable:
no biodegradable; break down: descomponerse mediante la acción de
microorganismos; recycled: reciclado/a; charity:
beneficiencia; madness: locura, demencia; soil: suelo;
compost: abono; lasts for centuries: se mantiene durante
siglos; that do not
threaten: que no pongan en peligro; public health: la salud
pública.
Activity 111: Basándote en
los comentarios anteriores controla los siguientes comentarios y
selecciona del menú la opción más adecuada: TRUE(verdadero)
o FALSE (falso). Verifica luego las
respuestas correctas.
1.
Fewer and fewer credit cards are made of paper,
2.
The plastic used in credit cards is fairly safe.
3.
Most credit cards are biodegradable.
4.
The new credit card introduced by Greenpeace is not
made of plastic.
5.
The new Greenpeace card breaks down in a few months.
¡¡ FELICITACIONES
!! Has finalizado la
LECCION 10
del curso Avanzado conversacional. Antes de pasar a la siguiente lección, por favor asegúrate de
repasar todo lo que has aprendido aquí.
