Reading. Listen to the rest of the conversation and see whether your guesses were right

Pre-reading

Listen to the rest of the conversation and see whether your guesses were right.

II. Guess what else Greener World has accomplished in their city.

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

UNIT 11

Full name

Final Paragraph

Conclusion

Paragraphs 4-5

Paragraphs 2-3

Main Body

Introduction

Paragraph 1

state reason(s) for writing

give opinion

make suggestions and comment on the expected results

closing remarks

Environmental problems and solutions

World ecological movements

Functions practised: stating the problem, exemplifying.

Vocabulary Area: fine, tax, logging, treaty, packaging, whaling, oil drilling, economical, efficient, renewable, to seek, to dump, to prevent, to persuade, to reuse, to recycle, to melt down, to grind, to mould.

I. Listen to the conversation between Andy and Carla about the activity of Greener World. What programs are they developing?

III. Are you a member of an organization like Greener World? If not, would you like to join one? Give your reasons.

READING

“Ecological problems can be solved by means of local, national, global, scientific and individual efforts and also through cooperation with business, industry and agriculture.” How do you understand this statement? In the texts you will find evidence supporting it.

Read the text given by the teacher and do the tasks that follow. Share the information derived from the text with your group mates.

Text 1: World environmental problems and their solutions

One of the major environmental problems is pollution. Controlling pollution depends on the efforts of governments, scientists, business and industry, agriculture, environmental organizations, and individuals.

Governments’ strategy to help control pollution is to fine companies for polluting. Australia and a number of European countries fine businesses that pollute waterways. Such fines encourage companies to invest in pollution control equipment or to develop less polluting methods of operation. Governments may also place taxes on products that pollute.

Governments also create national parks to guard their natural treasures from the harmful effects of farming, hunting, logging, mining, and other economic development. National parks serve important purposes. Parks help save endangered animals and plants, and they 10

provide natural laboratories for scientists seeking to understand relationships of animals and plants to their environment. Another goal of many parks is to protect the area's biodiversity (variety of plant and animal species). In this way, parks help maintain a healthy balance among species and help preserve the natural processes that support life on the earth.

Many types of environmental pollution have been difficult to control because no single person or nation owns the earth's global resources--that is, its oceans and atmosphere. To control pollution, the people of the world must work together. Since the 1970's, representatives of many nations have met to discuss ways of limiting the pollution that affects air and water. These nations have created environmental treaties to help control such problems as acid rain, the thinning of the ozone layer, and the dumping of waste into oceans. The UN members 20

signed agreements on the prevention of global warming, the preservation of forests and endangered species, and other issues.

Increasing concern over the environment has caused scientists and engineers to look for technological solutions. Some research seeks ways to clean up or manage pollution. The goal of other research is to prevent pollution. Many industrial researchers are finding more economical ways to use fuels and other raw materials. As a result of their research, some European cities now use waste heat from power plants or trash incinerators to warm homes. New automobile engines burn gasoline much more cleanly and efficiently than older engines. Scientists and engineers are also researching ways to generate electricity more cheaply from such renewable energy sources as the wind and sun, causing little or no pollution. 30

Many companies have discovered that it makes good business sense to pollute less. Some have found that reducing pollution gives them a better public image and saves money. Others have developed environmentally safe products or packaging to satisfy consumer demands. Still others develop pollution control systems because they believe that laws will soon force them to do so anyway. And some companies limit pollution because the people running them choose to do so.

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