D. Deforestation

Now, when we have learned to fly in the air like a bird,

swim under water like a fish, we lack only one thing:

To learn to live on earth as humans.

G.B. Shaw

A. Study the paragraph and find the reasons which make Environmental Protection a global problem. Write a one-sentence summary of it.

Where do global problems come from?Until relatively recently in humanity's history, where pollution has existed, it has been primarily a local problem. The industrialization of society, the introduction of motorized vehicles, and the explosion of the human population, however, have caused an exponential growth in the production of goods and services. Coupled with this growth has been a tremendous increase in waste by-products. Inevitably, the processes of that global modernization lead to the over-use of natural resources which means that nowadays people consume more than can be replaced naturally.

B. Ecologists warn that we are living beyond the Earth's regenerative capacity and must reduce our ecological footprint urgently to protect the planet. In this context, ‘OVER’-words have become synonymous with the human activity and its impact on Earth.

OVER-

The prefix over- means “too,” “too much,” or “too many.”

Add the prefix over- to each word. Then choose the best word for each sentence.

flow ……………………………………

fishing …………………………………

exploitation …………………………

use ………………………………………

hunting …………………………………

1) Contamination of rivers is higher after heavy rains due to the ………………………. of rivers and sewage tanks.

2) Excessive exploitation of fisheries by subsistence, artisanal, recreational and commercial fishing can result in the mortality of target and non-target species. ……………………….. must be curbed.

3) A study published in the journal Nature shows that 90 percent of all large fishes have disappeared from the world's oceans in the past half century. Obviously ………………………. exerts one of the most severe impacts on both the environment and society

4) The meat industry itself, as well as the human consumption of meat, have become environmental contentions, as they involve the ………………………………..of many resources.

5) …………………………. exerts severe pressure on ecosystems. Many endangered animal species face the possibility of extinction from………………………………………..

C. Human societies derive many essential goods from natural ecosystems. Read the text about the world’s biodiversity.

Biodiversity nears 'point of no return'

Hilary Benn, the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The decline in the world's biodiversity is approaching a point of no return, warns Hilary Benn. In this week's Green Room, the UK's environment secretary urges the international community to seize the chance to act before it is too late.

In 2002, the world's governments made a commitment to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. Although it is hard to measure how much biodiversity we have, we do know these targets have not been met. Our ecological footprint - what we take out of the planet - is now 1.3 times the biological capacity of the Earth.

So the action we take in the next couple of decades will determine whether the stable environment on which human civilization has depended since the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago will continue. To do this, we need to widen the nature of the debate about biodiversity. Flora and fauna matter for their own sake; they lift our spirits and nurture our souls. But our ecosystems also sustain us and our economies - purifying our drinking water, producing our food and regulating our climate.

Statistics show thatoverfishing has reduced blue fin tuna numbers to 18% of what they were in the mid-1970s. The burning of Indonesia's peat lands and forests for palm oil plantations generates 1.8bn tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, and demand is predicted to double by 2020 compared to 2000. More than seven million hectares are lost worldwide to deforestation every single year. British woodlands are less biologically distinctive than they were 70 years ago. The use of fertilizers in farming had increased soil fertility, while tree canopies had grown thicker and cut light levels. As a result, the woodlands were becoming home to the same species, resulting in the unique characteristics of individual sites being lost. "This study shows that increased pollution and poor countryside management have led to increasing homogenisation of biodiversity in British woodlands," said co-author Professor James Bullock, an ecologist from CEH. "These two issues must be addressed in future if we wish to restore the diverse woodland communities of the past." The number of species facing extinction continues to grow. World wildlife is in danger.

It’s notorious that economics and ecology are interdependent. So when it comes to biodiversity, we desperately need to start restoring links between science and policy, between taking action and evaluating it and between economies and ecosystems. The big challenge will be for the real benefits of biodiversity and the hard costs of its loss to be included in our economic systems and markets. Perverse subsidies and the lack of value attached to the services provided by ecosystems have been factors contributing to their loss. What we cannot cost, we don't value - until it has gone.

Much greater concerted effort is needed to stop the plunder of our ecosystems. The restoration of our ecosystems must be seen as a sensible and cost-effective investment in this planet's economic survival and growth. Talking about the danger of climate change, it has brought with it opportunities to tackle the biodiversity crisis. While the 2010 targets have not been met, more than 160 countries now have national biodiversity action plans. Mechanisms now exist for research, monitoring and scientific assessment of biodiversity, although we now need an Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to oversee progress in the same way the IPCC does for climate change.

Task 1. Answer the questions:

1. Why is global biodiversity approaching a point of no return? 2. Why do Flora and Fauna matter? 3. What is our ecological footprint? 4. How can people tackle this issue?

5. Do you agree with Hilary Benn? How hopeful are you that we will be able to halt the rate of species loss? Are you optimistic about the future state of the Earth?

6. How do you feel about the state of biodiversity in your country? Is it healthy or something that of concern?

Task 2. Translate the sentences from Russian into English:

1.Специалисты объясняют, что сегодняшний уровень потребления ресурсов уже превышает экологический потенциал Земли, т.е. среднемировой экологический след превышает биологические способности земли к восстановлению. 2. Флора и фаунаподдерживают хрупкий жизненный баланс на нашей планете. 3. Миллионы гектар лесов уже утеряны из-за неконтролируемой вырубки и атмосферных загрязнений, вызванных сжиганием ископаемого топлива и торфяными пожарами. 4. Искусственное улучшение плодородия почвы делает лесные чащи менее биологически разнообразными и способствует гомогенизации всей биосферы. 5. Опустошение экосистем привели к значительным изменениям климата. 6. Согласно самым оптимистичным прогнозам, если в ближайшие годы не перейти «точку невозврата», экологической катастрофы удастся избежать. 7. Необходима согласованная, напряженная работа для осуществления охраны животного мира и восстановления разнообразия лесных экосистем (=биотических сообществ). 8. Требуется в десятки раз увеличить финансирование соответствующих программ, которое сейчас, мягко говоря, не отвечает масштабам проблемы. 9. Согласно стратегическому плану "Цели-2010" значительное сокращение скорости исчезновения видов в глобальном, региональном и местном масштабах должно было быть достигнуто к 2010 году. 10. На 13 конференции Конвенции ООН обсудят новый стратегический план по сохранению разнообразия видов на Земле, включающий: исследование, контроль и научную оценку состояния экосистем.

D. Deforestation

Water reserves, lakes, rivers, seas and oceans make up ‘the circulatory system’ of the planet. The Blue Heart of Earth soaks up around one third of all of human carbon emissions. The plant life functions as ‘the lungs’ of the planet. Trees that grow in our communities provide us with many benefits, but they face many life-threatening challenges, both from the environment and from people.

"I'm not a stick! Why can't you see,

I'm Stick Man, that's me,

And I want to go home to the family tree!"

Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler

Do you remember the story of Stick Man? How did people try to use him? [URL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=swKDQR9fFs4 ] How do people make use of wood? What is its value?

E. Read Tree Facts and summarize them in your own words by writing a short paragraph about the importance of trees on the planet.

Tree Facts

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