Environmental Science: Two World Views. 1. The problem is making the changeover

1. The problem is making the changeover. Surveys in the United States show that a large majority of people profess to be environmentalists. Yet, we are all part of a society that has developed and continues to function according to cornucopian assumption. For example, although we profess to be environmentalists, we continue to drive cars, which burn fuels that contribute to the global warming effect, because we are part of a society that has created virtually no practical alternatives for everyday transportation.

2. The changeover to sustainable alternatives will involve much more than simple "Band-aid" measures; it will involve basic changes throughout society in the ways we transport ourselves and our products, in the ways we heat and cool our homes and workplaces, in the ways we produce crops, in the way we manufacture products, handle wastes, and so on.

3. In other words, assuming that we do make a changeover to become a sustainable society, this current period will be looked back on in a history as a major revolution — the environmental revolution — and you will have been players in this "absolutely unique time in humanity's stay on earth". You all will have been players, yeas, but some as part of the solution and success of the revolution and others as part of the problem very nearly causing the revolution to fail. The thought is scary, but the challenge also provides an opportunity that few (perhaps no other) generations have ever had or will have.

4. In accepting the challenge to work toward a sustainable society, you will not be alone. You will be joining millions of people around the world in all walks of life who have already made a similar commitment. Individually and through thousands of organizations, they are mounting actions to protect the natural environment. Actions range from the radical to the highly professional and scientific. For example,

Unit Two

members of Earth First have chained themselves to trees to prevent their cutting. Members and leaders of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, and other groups focus their efforts on promoting legislation for environmental protection, much of U.S. pollution control legislation is in no small part a result of their efforts. Organizations such as World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International are working in cooperation with governments in many countries around the world to set up and manage biological reserves, areas of natural habitat expressly for the purpose of saving particular species from extinction.

5. Even labor unions, which traditionally have been anti-environment because of fear that environmentalism would lead to the loss of jobs, are beginning to change. For example, a 1990 report of the United Steelworkers of America included the statement: "In the long run, the real choice is not jobs or environment. It's both or neither. What kind of jobs will be possible in a world of depleted resources, poisoned water and foul air, a world where ozone depletion and greenhouse warming make it difficult even to survive?"

6. In June 1992 the United Nations held a Conference in Rio de Janeiro on the Environment and Development, at which leaders of all member nations pledged to work toward making environmental protection an integral part of furthering development.

7. While the fact that world leaders and organizations recognize the seriousness of environmental issues is an encouraging sign, leaders and organizations cannot solve the problem by themselves. As noted above, the changes must ultimately involve all of us and the way we conduct our daily life. Furthermore, "this change will have to be a fully conscious operation, guided by the best foresight that science can provide."

8. This is where environmental science enters the picture. Environmental science is the science of looking at the cause-and-effect relationships underlying environmental issues. In short, it is the science of understanding how the world works on the level of the natural environment - how the natural environment regenerates natural resources and how this generative capacity is being affected by human activities. Armed with this understanding, the objective of environmental science is to provide the foresight required to make changes toward a sustainable society.

Environmental Science: Two World Views

USEFUL WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
paragraph 1	challenge	depleted resources
changeover	generations	poisoned water
surveys profess to be	paragraph 4	foul air greenhouse warming
global warming effect environmentalists fuels	similar commitment Earth First Natural Resources De-	survive paragraph 6
fense Council	pledged
paragraph 2	Environmental Defense	integral part
much more	Fund	furthering development
"band-aid" measures basic changes workplaces handle wastes	legislation for environmental protection pollution control legislation	paragraph 7 encouraging sign
World Wildlife Fund Conservation International	best foresight
crops	manage biological reserves	paragraph 8
paragraph 3	areas of natural habitat	environmental science
solution	extinction	cause-and-effect relationships
success	paragraph5	on the level of
scary	anti-environment EXERCISES	generative capacity