4 USA America seeks
4 USA America seeks harmony with answer to Eurovision SONG CONTEST The Eurovision-inspired American Song Contest heads to the nation’s television screens. mit Übungen | Sprechen By Keiran Southern 1 FOR MOREthan 50 years, European countries have been able to settle their differences by awarding their enemies “nul points”. Now American states could have the chance to do the same. US citizens will soon have a new outlet through which to air their grievances with each other, as the Eurovision-inspired American Song Contest heads to the nation’s television screens. 2 Presented by the rapper Snoop Dogg and the pop star Kelly Clarkson, the show will feature artists from all 50 states, as well as Washington DC and five overseas territories. The American Song Contest will last eight weeks and will premiere on the NBC network in March, with a grand final set for May. American rapper Flo Rida performing with Senhit for San Marino at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. | Photo: Getty Images 3 Fans intimate with the geopolitical posturing at Eurovision may hope for similar fireworks in the US version. Viewers will be keenly watching the votes from states which have enjoyed friendly rivalries – for example California and Texas, two giants of the union, which have markedly different cultures and customs. 4 Country music could go head to head with hip-hop, according to the preference of each state, while the Trump-supporting red states of the Midwest could band together against the coastal blue states. However, Ben Silverman, executive producer of the American Song Contest, is hopeful that the series will help to heal American divides. He told the ‘NME’: “When America is more factionalised than ever and we are dealing with so many issues that divide us, the one [thing] that truly unites us is our culture ... It can unite [us] by celebrating its diversity, its distinctions, and in pulling everyone [together] around its love of music and its love of song.” 5 NBC is yet to reveal the exact format of the show. Eurovision is decided partly by music industry professionals and partly by a public vote. The European contest has been held annually since 1956. The 2020 edition was cancelled during the pandemic, but its most recent event last year drew 183 million viewers worldwide. 6 Clarkson, who found fame on the TV show ‘American Idol’, May 1 2022 | World and Press said: “I have been a fan and love the concept of Eurovision and am thrilled to bring the musical phenomenon to America. I’m so excited to work with Snoop and can’t wait to see every state and territory represented.” Snoop Dogg, who won widespread acclaim for his performance during the Super Bowl half-time show on Sunday, said: “I am honoured to host American Song Contest alongside my lil sis Kelly Clarkson, aka Miss Texas.” © The Times, London/News Licensing This article originally appeared in The Times, London. Jetzt neu! 0 – 3 TO HEAD TOh.: bald zu sehen sein auf — to settle s.th. etw. beilegen — outlet Ventil — to air one’s grievances “"gri…v´nsIz‘ seinem Ärger Luft machen — to be intimate with “"IntIm´t‘ vertraut sein mit — posturing “"pÅstS´rIN‘ Gehabe — rivalry “"raIv´lri‘ Konkurrenzkampf — markedly “"mA…kIdli‘ ausgesprochen 4 – 6 to band together s. verbünden — executive producer “Ig"zekj´tIv‘ leitende(r) Produzent(in) — divide Spaltung — NME = New Musical Express brit. Online-Musikmagazin — factionalised “"fœkS´n´laIzd‘ zersplittert — to win acclaim “´"kleIm‘ Anerkennung ernten — widespread vielerorts — to host moderieren — aka = also known as alias Biden chooses Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court SUPREME COURT If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. By Katie Rogers 1 PRESIDENT Joe Biden on Friday nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, elevating a well-regarded federal appeals court judge who, if confirmed, would make history by becoming the first Black woman to serve as a justice. 2 Biden’s decision, made after a month-long search, fulfilled a campaign vow to nominate a Black woman to the bench and set into motion a confirmation battle that will play out in an evenly divided Senate. “For too long our government, our courts, haven’t looked like America,” Biden said. “I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation.” 3 In Jackson, 51, Biden selected a liberal-leaning jurist who earned a measure of Republican support Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Photo: | Picture Alliance/AP when he nominated her to a federal appeals court last summer. If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace Justice Stephen Breyer, the senior member of the court’s three-member liberal wing, who announced last month that he would retire at the end of the current court term this summer if his successor was in place. 4 While her confirmation would not change the court’s ideological balance – conservatives appointed by Republicans would retain their 6–3 majority – it would achieve another first: all three justices appointed by Democratic presidents would be women. 5 “If I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Jackson said, “I could only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans.” … Blinker: Das Workbook zur Lektüre! • Spielerische Übungen zu Wortschatz, Grammatik und Leseverstehen • Niveau A1 • Lehrermaterialien und Lösungen als PDF zum Download Blinker Workbook 48 Seiten, DIN A4, Softcover ¤ 6,90 [D] ISBN 978-3-7961-1152-5 www.sprachzeitungen.de 6 Jackson was born in Washington and grew up in Miami, and graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She went on to clerk for Breyer during the 1999–2000 Supreme Court term. She has been twice confirmed as a judge by the Senate, including last year, when three Republicans voted to approve her elevation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. © 2022 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times. 0 – 2 SUPREME COURT“su…Æpri…m "kO…t‘ Oberster Gerichtshof — to elevate “"elIveIt‘ erheben; h.: berufen; s.w.u. elevation — well-regarded angesehen — federal appeals court Bundesberufungsgericht — justice “"dZøstIs‘ Richter(in) am Obersten Gerichtshof — to fulfill einlösen — campaign vow “vaU‘ Wahlversprechen — the bench Gericht — to set into motion in Bewegung setzen — to play out s. abspielen — evenly gleichmäßig 3 – 4 liberal-leaning liberal eingestellt — to earn erhalten — a measure of “"meZ´‘ ein gewisses Maß an — court term Sitzungsperiode — successor “s´k"ses´‘ Nachfolger(in) — to be in place h.: feststehen — to appoint ernennen — to retain behalten 5 – 6 associate justice “´"s´Usi´t‘ Beisitzende(r) Richter(in) — Constitution “ÆkÅnstI"tSu…S´n‘ Verfassung — to uphold wahren — rule of law Rechtsstaatlichkeit — sacred “"seIkrId‘ unverbrüchlich — law school juristische Fakultät — to clerk for s.o. “klA…k‘ (AE) für jdn. als Angestellte(r) arbeiten — circuit “"s‰…kIt‘ Gerichtsbezirk
World and Press | May 1 2022 USA 5 The Greenidge Generation Bitcoin mining facility in Dresden, NY, which is housed in a former coal plant. | Photo: Picture Alliance/AP Bitcoin miners revived a dying coal plant – then CO 2 emissions soared CRYPTOCURRENCY Critics say the enormous electricity consumption needed to sustain cryptocurrency is fuelling the climate crisis. By Oliver Milman 1 ENVIRONMENTALISTS in Montana called it the “death watch”. Following years of financial losses, one of the handful of remaining coal-fired power plants in the state appeared doomed, its likely fate offering a small but noteworthy victory in the effort to avoid disastrous climate change. But then a Bitcoin mining company stepped in to resurrect it. 2 The Hardin Generating Station, a 115-megawatt coal plant located a dozen miles from the historic site of the famous Battle of Little Big Horn in southern Montana, was slated for closure in 2018 due to a lack of customers only to somehow limp on, operating on just 46 days in 2020. “We were just waiting for this thing to die,” said Anne Hedges, co-director of the Montana Environmental Information Center. “They were struggling and looking to close. It was on the brink. And then this cryptocurrency company came along.” 3 In a deal struck in late 2020, Marathon, a Bitcoin “mining” company, became the sole recipient of the power station’s electricity. It established an elongated data centre on 20 acres of land beside the facility that is packed with more than 30,000 Antminer S19 units, a specialized computer that mines for Bitcoin. Such thirst for power is common in crypto – globally, Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity than Norway, a country of 5.3 million people. 4 As the Bitcoin miners moved in last year, Hardin roared back to life. In the first nine months of 2021 alone, the plant’s boilers fired up on 236 separate days. Planetheating emissions from the burning of Hardin’s coal soared too, with 187,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted in the second quarter of last year, more than 5000% more than was expelled in the same period in 2020. ... 5 “I was horrified to see it all happen, it was a terrible turn of events,” said Hedges, who took to visiting the plant and photographing the new data centre as it took shape, fans perched on its roof to help cool the humming computer hardware. “This isn’t helping old ladies from freezing to death, it’s to enrich a few people while destroying our climate for all of us.” 6 Hardin is part of a wave of America’s “zombie” fossil fuel plants that have been brought back from the dead by cryptocurrency companies looking to feed the insatiable energy demands of their mining operations. China, formerly the epicentre of the Bitcoin industry, effectively banished around half of the world’s currency miners last year, and the resulting search for cheap power has seen companies eye struggling US power stations. … 7 In western Pennsylvania, thousands of Bitcoin mining computers have been packed in shipping containers alongside the Scrubgrass plant, which burns waste coal and was set to close before pivoting to Bitcoin. And in Kentucky, a new Bitcoin facility is being built next to the Big Rivers Electric Corporation, which owns and operates four coal-fired power plants. 8 This tactic, crypto firms argue, generates local jobs – Kentucky aimed to lure currency miners by passing a law that exempts them from an electricity sales tax – and uses up excess power without straining the grid for homes and businesses. But critics point out that the enormous electricity consumption needed to sustain the virtual currency is fuelling the climate crisis and now threatens a partial resurrection of coal in the US. 9 “Coal and natural gas power plants used for crypto mining that would otherwise be sunsetting as we decarbonize adds yet more carbon to the atmosphere in an era when we should be cutting such emissions,” said Benjamin Jones, a specialist in natural resource economics at the University of New Mexico. “Crypto’s continued or expanding use of fossil fuel sourced electricity imposes significant environmental economic costs on society.” 10 Jones said it is “troubling” to see that Bitcoin’s already huge energy consumption is increasing and that most of this is coming from fossil fuels, despite some efforts by mining companies to increase the amount of clean energy they use – Marathon, the company that draws power from Hardin, has struck a separate agreement in Texas to take power from a wind farm. … 11 A little more than a decade ago, it was possible to mine Bitcoins with a single computer at home, using a negligible amount of electricity. The ultimate supply of Bitcoins was limited, and new Bitcoins were awarded to those who could help validate transactions – the miners. 12 The process of validation essentially involves playing a giant guessing game that gets more difficult the more miners participate. As interest in Bitcoin has soared, fast, powerful computers, packed in warehouses, now have a better chance of winning the guessing game and being rewarded with several Bitcoins, which are currently worth around ,000 each. … 13 While this usage has been criticized by climate activists, Bitcoin miners claim it should be put in a different context. Fred Thiel, chief executive of Marathon, said that the movement of physical goods around the world, and even the use of washing machines in the US, uses more energy than Bitcoin. “I understand the desire for some people to point Bitcoin mining as the big bad boy, but on a comparison with every other industry out there, it’s insignificant,” he said in an interview. 14 Thiel likens Bitcoin mining to the transactions processed in data centres by companies such as Amazon and Google and claimed that the industry is moving quickly towards renewable energy – Marathon plans to phase out its use of coal next year – after finding its options were limited when miners had to quickly shift away from China. … © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd Bitcoin mining machines at the Whinstone US Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, TX. | Photo: Getty Images 0 TO REVIVE; s.w.u. to resurrect “Ærez´r"ekt‘ wieder beleben; h.: wieder aktivieren — coal(-fired power) plant Kohlekraftwerk — to soar “sO…‘ in die Höhe schnellen — cryptocurrency “"krIpt´UÆkør´nsi‘ Kryptowährung — electricity consumption Stromverbrauch — to sustain aufrechterhalten — to fuel schüren 1 – 2 environmentalist Umweltschützer(in) — death watch Totenwache — doomed dem Untergang geweiht — noteworthy “"-Æw‰…Di‘ beachtenswert — to step in s. einschalten — generating station Kraftwerk — slated for vorgesehen sein für — closure “"kl´UZ´‘ Schließung — to limp on (fig) s. dahinschleppen — to operate “"Åp´reIt‘ in Betrieb sein — on the brink h.: kurz vor dem Aus 3 – 4 to strike a deal ein Abkommen treffen — to mine schürfen — sole einzige(r,s) — recipient “rI"sIpi´nt‘ Empfänger(in) — elongated “"i…lÅNgeItId‘ lang gestreckt — 20 acres “"eIk´z‘ ca. 8,1 ha — facility “f´"sIl´ti‘ Anlage — thirst Durst; (fig) Hunger — to roar back to life (fig) mit voller Wucht wieder aktiviert werden — boiler Kessel — carbon dioxide “ÆkA…b´n daI"ÅksaId‘ CO 2 — to expel “Ik"spel‘ ausstoßen 5 – 6 horrified “"hÅrIfaId‘ entsetzt — to take shape Gestalt annehmen — fan Ventilator — to perch “p‰…tS‘ (fig) thronen — humming summend — to enrich “-"-‘ bereichern — fossil fuel plant fossil befeuertes Kraftwerk — insatiable “In"seIS´b´l‘ unersättlich — effectively praktisch — to banish verbannen — to eye ins Visier nehmen 7 – 8 shipping container Container — alongside “-Æ-"-‘ neben — waste coal Abfallkohle — to pivot to s.th. “"pIv´t‘ auf etw. umschwenken — to generate schaffen — to lure “lU´‘ anlocken — to pass a law ein Gesetz verabschieden — to exempt from s.th. “Ig"zempt‘ von etw. befreien — electricity sales tax Stromsteuer — excess power “Ik"ses‘ Stromüberschuss — to strain belasten — resurrection “Ærez´r"ekS´n‘ Wiederaufleben 9 – 11 natural gas power plant Gaskraftwerk — to sunset h.: abgeschaltet werden — to decarbonize “Ædi…"kA…b´naIz‘ kohlenstoffhaltige Emissionen reduzieren — to source gewinnen — to impose auferlegen — troubling beunruhigend — negligible “"neglIdZ´b´l‘ geringfügig — supply Angebot — to validate prüfen; bestätigen; s.w.u. validation 12 – 14 guessing game Ratespiel — to participate “pA…"tIsIpeIt‘ s. beteiligen — warehouse Lagerhalle — usage “"ju…sIdZ‘ Nutzung — chief executive “Æ-Ig"zekj´tIv‘ Firmenchef(in) — comparison Vergleich — insignificant “ÆInsIg"nIfIk´nt‘ unerheblich — to liken vergleichen — to process verarbeiten — renewable “rI"nju…´b´l‘ erneuerbar — to phase out auslaufen lassen — to shift away h.: verlassen
