Director, National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

Friends of the Earth is one of the leading environmental pressure organizations in the UK, and a major force behind today's growing green movement.

Our message is a simple one: it is only in protecting the earth that we^-:can protect ourselves - against pollution, the destruction of our urban and rural environment, mass unemployment and the horrors of global famine and war.

This is a message which - at last - is beginning to be taken seriously by politicians and economists. Their concern is genuine. But their readiness to act is still very limited.

And that's where Friends of the Earth comes into it. It is our role to put the pressure on politicians and decision-makers at every level. Changes in the law and public opinion are testimony to our successes.

Such pressure is vital if we are ever to learn to live in harmony with the earth, and thus to improve standards of living and the real quality of lives everywhere.

Organisation

Friends of the Earth is a national campaigning organisation (Friends of the Earth Ltd) established in Britain in 1971, with a network of 250 local groups. Each group is financially independent and decides its own policies and priorities. In practice, groups support national campaigns, organised by Friends of the Earth Ltd, and also initiate campaigns on local issues.

In 1981 Friends of the Earth Trust was set up as a charity to do non-political and-research work. Friends of the Earth Ltd. has a Board of Directors the majority of whom are elected by local groups, which is responsible for the overall running of the organisation. The staff run the campaigns and handle the finances and administration. In addition, there are a number of consultants with specialist knowledge and a team of enthusiastic volunteers who provide invaluable support. Hundreds of people are employed by locale groups on environmental community projects funded by the Manpower Services Commission and the Inner City Partnership programme.

There are Friends of the Earth groups in thirty-five countries in. four continents, all linked under the umbrella of: Friends of the Earth International. A small secretariat is based in the Netherlands.

Finance

There are about 50,000 registered Friends of the Earth supporters who provide about 40 per cent of the annual income. Special fundraising events raise 25 per cent and another-15 per cent is received as donations. Campaign appeals and trading operations each contribute about 10 per cent.

Campaign Methods

Friends of the Earth first hit the headlines in 1971 by dumping 1500 throwaway bottles on the doorstep of Schweppes, the soft drinks people. With no money or public support Friends of the Earth had hit on one of the best ways of reaching a wide audience. Since then they used various of methods to get the environmental message across and to influence decision makers. Thousands of people have participated in consumer pressure campaigns, protest against acid rain, direct action to stop the destruction of irreplaceable wildlife sites, public meetings to stop nuclear waste dumps, cycle rallies and other events. Friends of the Earth has published reports, promoted legislation in Parliament and participated in public inquiries.

Friends of the Earth staff and groups are constantly addressing public meetings; giving radio, TV and newspaper interviews. They are politically impartial and work with all political parties and other organizations wherever there are areas of agreement.

Recently, we have:

· revealedsecret plans to import American nuclear waste into the UK.

· helped to pass no fewer than 5 Acts of parliament

· helpedto stop over 250 unnecessary new trunks road projects

· exposed Britain’s biggest industrial polluters

· pressured Government to introduce plans for a tough new wildlife bill and

· persuaded supermarkets to ban GM ingredients from their own-brand products

The Guardian

WORD STUDY

COMPREHENSION

I. Answer the questions

1.What is Friends the Earth? Specify the message and the role. What are the methods to get this message across?

2.What testifies to the success of Friends of the Earth?

3.Describe its structure: how is it organized, elected, directed and financed?

4. What are the activities / events / campaigns / protests organized by its volunteers?

5. How can you campaign for the concerns of Friends of the Earth?

6. what do you know about other Nature Organisations? Read the leaflet about Greenpeace and tell about its concern.

Greenpeace It is an international organization which campaigns against threats to environment. It calls for volunteers. Greenpeace exists to defend the environment; Tries to come up with solutions to environmental problems; Will always do everything it can to protect our world and the creatures we share with us. Think about it for a moment! If Greenpeacecan’t take action to protect our world, who do you think will do it? You can’t do it on your own no matter how much you care about the environment. But we can do nothing without people like you. That’s why we need you to join us today!

Contact us for more information: Greenpeace Canohbury Villas, London, N 1 2 PN

Environmental projects for Russia (Investment cycle, about 10 years)   1. Creation and maintenance of specially protected territories in Russia (preservation zones, national parks) 400 million $ 2. Protection of Russian forests (including against fires) 1 billion $ 3. Implementation of integrated programs to protect rare and disappearing species (tiger, Amur leopard, snow leopard etc.) 70 million$ 4. Monitoring and control over the use the marine bio-resources 800 million 5. Enhancing energy efficiency and introduction of renewable energy sources 500 million $ 6. Fighting environmental pollution by industrial enterprises 500 million $ 7. A set of projects designed to protect especially important ecological regions(the southern part of the Far East, 300 million $ Altai-Sayany, the Caucasus) per region