Task: Question Generation
Input (English): The Green Revolution has brought enormous impacts to the planet. Natural landscapes have been altered to create farmland and cities. Already, half of the ice-free lands have been converted to human uses. Estimates are that by 2030, that number will be more than 70%. Forests and other landscapes have been cleared for farming or urban areas. Rivers have been dammed and the water is transported by canals for irrigation and domestic uses. Ecologically sensitive areas have been altered: wetlands are now drained and coastlines are developed. Modern agricultural practices produce a lot of pollution (Figure 1.1). Some pesticides are toxic. Dead zones grow as fertilizers drain off farmland and introduce nutrients into lakes and coastal areas. Farm machines and vehicles used to transport crops produce air pollutants. Pollutants enter the air, water, or are spilled onto the land. Moreover, many types of pollution easily move between air, water, and land. As a result, no location or organism not even polar bears in the remote Arctic is free from pollution. The increased numbers of people have other impacts on the planet. Humans do not just need food. They also need clean water, secure shelter, and a safe place for their wastes. These needs are met to different degrees in different nations and among different socioeconomic classes of people. For example, about 1.2 billion of the worlds people do not have enough clean water for drinking and washing each day (Figure 1.2). The addition of more people has not just resulted in more poor people. A large percentage of people expect much more than to have their basic needs met. For about one-quarter of people there is an abundance of food, plenty of water, and a secure home. Comfortable temperatures are made possible by heating and cooling systems, rapid trans- portation is available by motor vehicles or a well-developed public transportation system, instant communication takes place by phones and email, and many other luxuries are available that were not even dreamed of only a few The percentage of people in the world that live in abject poverty is decreasing some- what globally, but increasing in some re- gions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa. decades ago. All of these require resources in order to be produced, and fossil fuels in order to be powered (Figure Many people refer to the abundance of luxury items in these peoples lives as over-consumption. People in developed nations use 32 times more resources than people in the developing countries of the world. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL:
Output (English): which of these regions is experiencing an increase in abject poverty?