Pollution - no easy answers
It's not hard to find examples of pollution in our society. But it is hard to define exactly what pollution is. For example, is a can tossed on the ground pollution? How about an unsightly billboard? The noise from a nearby airport?
According to experts, all of these examples can be types of pollution. Broadly defined, pollution is any human-caused change in the environment that creates an undesirable effect on living and nonliving things. Most types of pollution cause some type of physical harm. But some don't. Noise, for example, often creates more psychological damage than physical damage, but it's still considered a type of pollution. In short, pollution is bad stuff—for the environment and for people and other living things.
From Manure to Monoxide: As long as people lived in scattered settlements and the world's human population was relatively small, pollution wasn't much of a problem. But once people began to live in cities and to invent machines and synthetic chemicals, pollution started taking its toll. Pollution has been linked to the fall of Rome (lead in the pipes); the cholera epidemic in 19th-century London (garbage in the streets); and many other significant events throughout history.
Though pollution has been around for thousands of years, the sources of our pollution problems have changed, and the amount of pollution has increased dramatically. A century ago, people were dealing with pollution from animal waste, coal ash, and open dumps. Today, pesticides, fertilizers, radiation, carbon monoxide, acid rain, and a lot of other «new» and toxic pollutants are the troublemakers. This increase in the number, and toxicity of pollutants, combined with an ever-increasing human population, has made pollution worse than ever before — threatening the very integrity of earth's life-support systems.
Hard to Pin Down: In this issue, we focus on air, water, and land pollution. However, in many cases the categories overlap. For example, pesticides can contaminate air, water and land, depending on how they are manufactured, used, and disposed of. Many pollutants also travel great distances and can change form, making it hard to pin down exactly where they came from.
Pollutants can affect different people in different ways. People with respiratory problems and allergies, for example, are often more sensitive to air pollution than people without these problems. Pollution does more than affect human health. It also limits our activities, harms wildlife and habitat, defaces buildings, and damages the planet's natural systems, including global climate patterns.
No Single Cause: Almost every human activity creates some type of pollution. And a combination of factors, from economics to politics, further complicates pollution problems.
Technological advances designed to make our lives easier, such as the internal combustion engine and plastics, have created some of our most pressing pollution problems. The lack of economic incentives to produce pollution-free products, as well as the fear that pollution controls will reduce jobs, lower our standard of living, and keep us from competing in foreign markets, are part of the problem too.
Not understanding the consequences of pollution is also part of the problem. For years, people thought that they could safely get rid of garbage, exhaust, and other waste products by throwing them away or releasing them into the air. But we're now realizing that the waste we dispose of can come back to do harm in a variety of forms.
Poverty and Pollution: Pollution is directly linked to social problems, such as poverty and overpopulation. In many cases, people on limited incomes cannot just move away from a chemical dump site or a smog-filled city. They can't afford to drink bottled water or pay for organically grown vegetables.
Weighing the Risks: We know that some pollution will always exist. But how much pollution is acceptable? What are the short- and long-term risks of a polluted environment to individuals, communities, and society as a whole? To deal with questions like these, policymakers are starting to rely on a relatively new process called risk assessment. Risk assessment helps people understand and quantify the risks caused by using certain technologies. But determining and evaluating risks is often extremely difficult. In many cases, data on the risks involved with new technologies don't exist.
A Question of ValuesIn the past, we've spent most of our efforts cleaning up pollution rather than preventing it. First of all, preventing pollution saves money, protects resources, prevents health problems, and improves the overall quality of life.
But making the decision to prevent pollution involves values. Taking into account both short- and long-term risks, people must rely on their own value systems to decide how important it is to prevent pollution.
3. Read the text again and answer the following questions.
1. What causes pollution?
2. What effect does pollution have on a) people, b) wildlife, c) environment?
3. Do you see any link between poverty and pollution?
4.What human activities lead to environment contamination?
5.What’s your pollution IQ? How do you contribute to pollution?
4.Decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. Pollution has the worst effect on living and nonliving things.
2. Pollution is not caused by the growth of population.
3. Some pollutants contaminate water, air, land and can travel over long distances.
4. Pollution was a serious problem when people lived in scattered settlements.
5. People with respiratory health problems prefer living in polluted areas.
6. Pollution damages the planet and causes global climate changes.
7. Pollution isn’t linked to such a social problem as poverty.
5.Match the words from the text with the corresponding definitions.
1. to pollute a. substances that pollute the environment
2. pollution b. something that stimulates
3. pollutant c. progress
4. to contaminate d. to make dirty or harmful
5. incentive e. to make water, air or land dirty and dangerous for
people
6. advance f. the importance or worth of something
7. consequence g. result or effect
8. value h. the process of polluting air, water or land with
chemicals
6. Choose the word to match with the translation into Russian:
1. чувствительный, восприимчивый к a) incentive to b) sensitive to c) to contribute to
2. быть в состоянии, позволить себе a) to afford b) to prevent c) to involve
3. полагаться на что-либо a) to depend on b) to rely on c) to exist on
4. устранять загрязнение a) to prevent b) to deface c) to clear up
5.избавиться a) to consist of b) to accuse of c) to get rid of
6. принимать во внимание a) to take into account b) to count c) to accept
7. оценивать, определять степень риска a) to take risks b) to face a risk c) to assess a risk
7.Find the odd word out
1. throw away, dump, dispose of, discard, disregard
2. waste, garbage, litter, rubbish, trash, pollution
3. recycle, reuse, redo, reprocess
4. toxin, poison, venom, garbage
5. pollute, contaminate, poison, delude
6.combustible, flammable, contaminated, incinerated, burnt
8.In pairs replace the underlined words with the words used in the text.
1. Pollution began to have a negative effect ( to t--- its t--- ) when people started to produce synthetic chemicals.
2. It’s hard to define exactly ( to p-- d--- ) what pollution is.
3. More and more companies produce environmentally friendly (p------n f---) products.
4. Some politicians (p-----m----s) rely on the method of risk assessment.
5.The toxicity level increased sharply (d----------y).
Grammar Focus: Future with will or to be going to
| To talk about the future we use will for: predictions –e.g. The new airport will be finished by2009. future intentions– e.g. I’ll start tomorrow. promises –e.g. I’ll pay you back on Thursday. spontaneous decisions –e.g. Do you want another cup of coffee? I’ll make it for you. We use to be going to for future plans –e.g. Next year we are going to India. predictions fromwhat you can see e.g. Look at the sky – it’s going to rain. |
9.Choose either willor going to in these sentences.
1. If we don’t start protecting the environment now, the planet will/is going to die.
2. What will you/are you going to do to protect the environment?
3. I will/am going to take plastic bottles to the recycling point today. Do you want me to take yours?
4. That’s a good idea, I will/am going to go with you.
5. I think that by the year 2000, everybody will/is going to have more efficient cars.
6. I will/am going to change my car next year – this one doesn’t take unleaded petrol.
7. This river has got so much rubbish in it. It looks like it will/ is going to die.
10.Complete these dialogues with willor to be going to and the verbs in the box.
| do build put have a rest launch be finished do harm die contaminate |
1. A:There is nothing we can do about the environment: eventually the earth will die.
B:Don’t be so pessimistic I----- ------ all my old newspapers in the paper bank- that’s a start.
2. A:What ----- you ------- tomorrow ?
B: I ------- ----------in the forest not far from our town.
A:I’m afraid you can’t, there’s a construction site now.
B:What ------ they ------ here?
A:A plant producing fertilizers. It ---------- --------- by 2010.
B:Bad news. Pollutants ----- ----- the soil and water and ----- ----- to the wildlife and habitat.
A:We------- ----------- the campaign against building the plant in our neighbourhood.
10.Translate from Russian into English.
Планета Земля на грани уничтожения. Деревья засыхают, редкие виды животных и растений исчезают, воздух загрязнен вредными химическими веществами, а реки и моря отходами, урожаи гибнут, и люди страдают от тяжелых заболеваний. Следовательно, загрязнение окружающей среды - одна из важнейших проблем. Люди должны срочно принять меры по спасению человечества. Так как такие природные нарушения приводят к значительным климатическим изменениям на планете.
11.Skim through the text to define: a) pollutants, b) causes of pollution, c) harmful effect of pollution. Complete the diagrams given below:
TEXT B
Vocabulary
decade – десятилетие; десятидневка
device– электронный прибор
gadget – механическое приспособление/устройство
appliances – электроприборы
casing – корпус
component – компонент, часть электронного устройства
insulation – изоляция
out of date – устаревший, несовременный
turnover – товарооборот
to cover disposal cost – покрывать затраты на устранение/ вывоз мусора
at the time of purchase – с момента покупки
scrap heap – мусорная свалка/куча
uphill struggle – трудная, напряженная борьба
fault – неисправность/дефект/ошибка
faulty equipment – неисправное/поврежденное/бракованное оборудование
to confine to – ограничивать
vast majority – основное большинство
legal – легальный, законный
to charge – 1.обвинять 2. брать плату
to lease – сдавать в наем/ в аренду/ сдавать во временное пользование
leased – выданный напрокат/ во временное пользование
to hire – брать напрокат
to monitor – управлять, контролировать
to govern – управлять, руководить
municipal authorities – городские власти
bromine – бром
to incinerate – сжигать
extremely toxic dioxide – сверх-токсичная двуокись
toxic flame retardant – ингибитор; огнезащитное, вещество препятствующее воспламенению; плохо воспламеняющееся вещество
eco-visionaries – эксперты по решению и предсказанию экологических проблем
opposed to – в противопоставление
to come into force – войти в силу, в действие
1. You are going to read a newspaper article about pollution.
a) Work in groups of three and answer the following questions:
What do you think high tech pollution is?
What are major causes of pollution in general?
b) Suggest six words you would expect to find in the article.
2.Read the text, check your suggestions and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part of the article. There is one extra heading which you don’t need to use.
A.A slow and expensive process.
B.A very short life time.
C.Longer-lasting technology.
D.All TV parts are recycled.
E.Trying to determine what they’re made of.
F.An idea packed with problem.
G.Hurrying to purchase new technology.
H.Who is responsible?
I.Discarding toxic parts and breaking the rules.
HIGH TECH POLLUTION
The recycling of high-tech garbage is becoming a pressing problem. In the last few decadeswe‘ve been like children in the toy shop trying to get the latest electronic gadgets. Manufactures bring new toys faster than we can buy. And the more we buy the more we throw them away.
| I |
The speed of turnover is very high. Anyone who has ever bought a computer will be sure that a PC is out of dateas soon as you buy it. If a computer has a faultit is more economical to throw it away and buy another than mend it.
| II |
This trend isn’t confined to computers either. Germany, Europe’s richest nation, discards 1.5 million tons of electrical appliances every year. Only about 100.000 tons of units are recycled. The vast majority are burnt or thrown on the scrap-heap. And this causes serious problems. One of the country’s major recycling firm has been chargedwith dumping toxic waste containing the substance PCB once widely used in TVs and computer as insulation. Since 1985 its production has been illegal and disposal is governed by strict rules. But these rules aren’t being followed.
| I III |
Klaus Brodersen of Erlangen University is trying to produce a definite classification what chemicals should and should not be used in production of high-tech equipment. But it is an uphill struggle. It costs up to $ 7.000 to analyze a single component, and so far Brodersen has examined only 200 of the 100.000 most common.
| I IV |
Siemens Nixdorf, which runs a very expensive recycling programme for its old equipment, says there are more than 100 different plastics in its computer casings. No one knows precisely what went into each model. The only certainty is that all the casings contain bromine a kind of toxic flame retardant. It is also impossible to recycle and to incinerate it. If you are able to burn the casing, you’ll produce extremely toxic dioxins.
| V |
So what is to be done about electronic waste? Eco-visionaries propose a future in which appliances not bought but leased.This would be a tricky practice. Who would be responsible for faulty and toxic equipment? Who would take back the equipment – the dealer, manufacturer or importer? Who is going to monitor manufactures? And, of course, in the long run it is more expensive to hirea TV or a computer than it is to buy one.
| I VI |
The Swiss have solved the problem by making charge to cover all disposal costs at the time of purchase. There is chaos in Germany where this system has yet to come into force. Some firms make you pay, some collect without charge, some take all goods, others refuse to have anything to do with it. Municipal authorities are disorganized.
| VII |
The answer to all problems lies in intelligentconstruction which are aimed at economy, ease of disposaland increasing life expectancy of products. The manufacturer Loewe has developed a green TV which contains only 39 grams of plastic as opposed to the standard 6.7 kilos and 50 grams of toxic materials against 5 kilos. It is expected to last up to 30 years, twice as long as other TVs. Companies like this show the way forward.
2.Families disposing garbage can divide it into two categories:
| 1. The waste that can be recycled and burnt | 2.The waste that can’t be recycled or incinerated |
a) Which of these categories would these items be placed in? Complete the table.
…old newspapers … aluminum beer cans … acids and chemicals … broken plates, cups … glass bottles … electric appliances: irons, kettles, hair dryers, blenders …an old color TV … a faulty computer …electronic components … outdated cassette-recorders and telephones …torn woolen sweater …metal tin opener …plastic casings …PCB containing insulators
b) Which from the above mentioned discarded items could be referred to high-tech garbage or electronic waste ?
c) What is the average life span or expectancy for: a mobile phone, a washing machine, color TV set?
4.Match the words in bold from the text with the corresponding definitions.
1. turnover a. to dump
2. discard b. to repair
3. incinerate c. period ending in ten years