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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

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

ECO-FACT 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.

Different factors have caused the rapid increase in the production of goods which at the same time concluded in the growth of wastes, and concidering the situation globally now the mankind consume more natural resources than can be replaced.

1. 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 ………………………………overflow переполнение……

fishing ………………overfishing чрезмерный отлов рыбы…………………

exploitation ………………………… overexploition чрезмерное использование ресурсов

use ……………………………………overuse злоупотребление…

hunting …………………………………overhunting чрезмерный промысел

1) Contamination of rivers is higher after heavy rains due to the ………………overflow………. 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. …………overfishing…………….. 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 …oveexploitaition……………………. 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 ……overuse……………………..of many resources.

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

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

Biodiversity nears 'point of no return'

The decline in the world's biodiversity is approaching a point of no return, warns Hilary Benn, the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 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 (экологический след) - what we take out of the planet - is now 1.3 times the biological capacity(биологический контроль) 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(поддерживать) 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(заболоченная местстность, торфяники) 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(вырубка леса) every single year. British woodlands are less biologically distinctive(различимый) than they were 70 years ago. The use of fertilizers in farming had increased soil fertility(плодородие почв), 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 homogenization(гомогенизация) of biodiversity in British woodlands," said Professor James Bullock, an ecologist from CEH. "These two issues must be addressed in the future if we wish to restore the diverse woodland (лесной массив) communities (общины) 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 (восстанавливать, возобновлять связь между) 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(извращенный испорченный) 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(малозатратный) 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(бороться с кризисом). While the 2010 targets have not been met, more than 160 countries now have national biodiversity action plans. Mechanisms now exist for research, monitoring(контроль) and scientific assessment of biodiversity(оценка разнообразия видов), 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 3. Answer the questions to the text using the key vocabulary:

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

Task 4. Reframe the sentences using the vocabulary form the text:

1. Ecosystems also keep us and our economies alive.

2. Seven million hectares disappear because of clearing every year.

3. Woodlands are less biologically diverse than they were 70 years ago.

4. Poor countryside management has led to the increased dominance of specific species and extinction of others.

5. We have to deal with these issues.

6. Inadequate subsidies and the lack of value are factors contributing to the loss of ecosystems.

7. Much greater coordinated work is needed to stop the depredation of our ecosystems.

8. The renewing, returning and developing of our ecosystems must be seen as a sensible and profitable investment

9. Talking about the danger of climate change, it has brought with it opportunities to try to resolvethe biodiversity crisis.

10. The reduction in the world's biodiversity will be soon impossible to stop.

Task 5. Find English equivalents for the underlined expressions in the text and translate the sentences from Russian into English:

1.Специалисты объясняют, что сегодняшний уровень потребления ресурсов уже превышает экологический потенциал Земли, т.е. среднемировой экологический следпревышает биологические способности земли к восстановлению. 2. Флора и фаунаподдерживают хрупкий жизненный баланс на нашей планете. 3. Миллионы гектар леса 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 привело 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 субсидирование соответствующих программ, которое сейчас 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.

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Russian equivalents

Natural (adj.) – occurring naturally within environments

that exist relatively undisturbed in a natural form. ………………………

Pristine/Virgin/Untapped (adj.) – undisturbed, not yet used

or taken advantage of by mankind. ………………………

Finite/Non-renewable (adj.) – consumed much faster

than nature can create (e.g. fossil fuels, nuclear) ………………………

Shrinking/Dwindling (adj.) – becoming smaller in size or amount

and fewer in number ………………………

Infinite/Renewable/Inexhaustible (adj.) – regenerative,

replenishing naturally with the passage of time and ………………………

produced at rates comparable with its rate of consumption.

Verbs and expressions commonly used: to tap/ to exploit ~, to exert severe pressure on ~, to husband ~, to protect~, to conserve~, to restore ~, sustainable use of ~.

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