Exercise 7. Discuss the following point. Give your opinion.

 

Concern about the way people are damaging the environment is not new. In the USA, for instance, one of the first environmentalists was Henry David Thoreau, who spent several years living in a small hut on the shore of an isolated pond. He wrote a famous book, Walden, about his experience. In his book, Thoreau recommended that men and women learn to live more simply. While Thoreau's book was praised by many people, few actually followed his advice.

Another man named John Muir helped launch the first major conservation movement. He urged that Americans set aside some parts of the country so that they would never be farmed. One of such places was one of the first national parks 'in the U.S. — the Yosemite Valley.

 

Chapter 9 161

Exercise 8. One result of the U.S. Environmental Protection agency (EPA) activities is labeling all products made with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). Do you think such labeling is necessary for our country? Do you think special return and recycle programs (e.g for batteries) are a must? Discuss these points with your colleagues.	WARNING Manufactured with CFC — 113 and/or l,l,l,Trichloroethane; these substances harm public health and environment by destroying ozone in the upper atmosphere.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Exercise 9. Organize a round-table discussion «Put the Earth First». Use the materials provided below as possible guidelines for your discussion.

A.

Scientists are ethically obligated to make sure that his or her work is environmentally sound. It is not possible for a scientist to hide behind the claim that scientists only create things, and others determine when and how they are used. If they can damage our environment, someone may use them to the misfortune of us all. Thus, the scientists have the obligation not to create things that are harmful to the environment.

 

B.

Every scientist is the «end user» of some other scientist's work. Sooner or later, we all are going to realize that «we» are «they». Why not begin at the environment in the design phase of the project?

 

C.

We not only have a responsibility to protect the environment but to attempt to improve the world we live in through technology development. We should contribute to society in a beneficial way, and take responsibility for what we create.

D.

Scientists have a very strong ethical obligation to make sure that their work, at the "Very least, minimizes damage on the environment, and, if possible, helps protect the environment.

E.

It seems that each design or product a scientist makes can be characterized as safe or not safe. However, impacts on environment are extremely varied. For example, wind and hydropower are supposed to be environmentally benign, but we now know that they may be dangerous to birds and fish.

F.

Why stop at scientists? Everyone has an obligation to protect our environment. We all use it, we all live in it. However, scientists tend to be more educated than the average populace and therefore must consider how our creations will benefit not only humanity, but the environment as well.

 

G.

We should talk not of human AGAINST nature, but of human AND nature.

 

Chapter 9

Exercise 10.

importance important

 

1. He is one of the ____ people in our company.

2. The real _____ of this invention is hard to overestimate.

3. It's ____to learn foreign languages.

 

(to) recycle recycled recyclable

 

4. This bag is made of _____ paper.

5. It's possible _____ glass.

6. This plastic is ______.

 

reliable reliably (un) reliability

 

7. He may forget about it, he is not very____.

8. I'm _____ informed of it.

9. You can depend only on _____ source of information.

10. _____ is opposite to reliability.

 

possible possibility possibly

 

11. They have many ____ to improve the system.

12. This is only one of many ____ answers.

13. Please, do it as soon as ____.

14. It's _____ that the store is still open.

15. Could you _____ lend me 20 dollars?

16. There is strong____ that they won't come.

17. Let's consider another ____.

 

responsible responsibility

 

18. Who is ____ for this work?

19. He is very ____.

20. I take full ____ for this work.

21. It's his _____ to make the decision.