Making Conservation Profitable

The situation seems hopeless. But, as ecological expert, Paul Hawken, points out, if business is not only about making money, but also about sustaining life, then perhaps it really can make conservation profitable, productive and possible. And some say that, if they wanted to, the commercial powers could actually halt environmental degradation within as little as 20 years. For why must what is good for business always be bad for nature?

Short-Term Goals

The simple answer to that is that big business is, by definition, antagonistic to nature. Business is designed to break through limits, not respect them. It is about exploring, discovering, mining, extracting, and exploiting. It is quite definitely not about putting things back. Although, in the long term, a living rain forest is more profitable than a dead one, the goals of big business are notoriously short-term. And, contrary to popular belief, big business is not in decline. The largest one thousand companies in the United States still account for over 60 % of GNP, with modern telecommunications their global reach is almost complete. And what can the environmentalists do when our planet's greatest enemy turns out to be the only force strong enough to save it?

 

Read and translate the text.

2. Look back at the text. Find the words and expressions which mean:

 

1. making our contribution

2. past performance

3. destroy jobs, means of living

4. persuading people to do what you want by illegal payment

5. illegal manipulation of share price

6. opposed, hostile to

 

3. Match the words and phrases on the left with their definitions on the right and translate them into Russian:

1) ethics 2) integrity 3) liability 4) livelihood/s 5) assets 6) pollution 7) to ran aground 8) to recycle 9) antiquated 10) conservation

a) to get stuck in water that is not very deep. b) damage caused to the environment by harmful chemicals and waste. c) the study of morals, values and choices an individual makes in relation to other people; rales or standards of conduct. d) the quality of being honest and having high moral principles. e) old-fashioned and not suitable for modern needs or conditions. f) what you do to earn money in order to live. g) something that a company owns, that can be sold to pay debts. h) legal responsibility for injury, damage or a debt, i) the protection of natural things such as wild animals, forests or beaches, j) to put used objects or materials through a process so that they can be used again.

 

 

Comprehension check

a) Which of the following viewpoints support those expressed in the article?

1. Environmental awareness is greater now than it used to be.

2. People are still largely unaware of the scale of the environmental problem.

3. Domestic recycling is a waste of time.

4. Without government support, the business community can do little to protect the environment.

5. The corporations of the world only step in to put things right after the disasters have already happened.

6. Green politics need not be a hopeless cause.

7. Commercial gain and ecological balance are incompatible.

8. As our business culture changes, the environment will be given a higher priority.

 

b) Do yon find yourself mostly agreeing or disagreeing with the article? Indicate it by:

I totally agree!

There's some truth in it.

It's rubbish!

 

Because of these problems, there are many groups of people whose aim is conservation (the protection of natural things, e.g. plants and animals). They are often reffered to as grees, e.g. «Greenpeace» and «Friends of the Earth». Where do you stand on green issues? Read the list of the Worst Dangers facing the planet, translate them into Russian and decide what, in your view, are the four major industrially created dangers facing the environment?

• nuclear reactors

• industrial emissions

• the destruction of the rainforest

• industrial waste

• nuclear waste

• carbon monoxide fumes from vehicles

• oil spills at sea

• chemical effluent

• the greenhouse effect

• the consumption of non-renewable energy

• the use of non-biodegradable materials

• car exhaust fumes

• aerosol cans (usually called sprays)

• cutting down tropical rainforestd (e. g. the Amazon) which increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

1..................................

2..................................

3..................................

4..................................

Compare your views with those of your groupmates.