mell scrie:
3.Damage of the environment is an inevitable consequence of worldwide improvements in the standard of living. Discuss.
"Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he has been given. But up to now he hasn't been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wild life has become extinct, the climate is ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day !" ( Anton Chekhov )
Introduction :
- for thousands of years , people hunted, fished and farmed the land for food;
- they used plants to make cloth, paper, dyes, and medicines;
- they made tools and weapons from stone and metals;
- in time, they invented machines which were driven by water;
- later, people learned how to power them with fuel, like coal, gas or oil;
- they put up factories where numerous products could be made ( such as new types of clothing, furniture and machines );
- and they built power stations to provide factories and homes with electricity;
- all these activities have been called improvements in the standard of our living;
Development :
A. Resources as Environment :
- but for a long time, no one realized that these improvements of our living were harming the earth;
- it was difficult to see just how quickly we were using up important natural resources ( like oil, coal, gas, and useful
minerals );
- few people worried about the spreading cities or about spoiling our surroundings;
- only in recent times people realized that the things used to provide means to satisfy wants become resources only when people are able to use them;
- but human wants are very diverse;
- and human wants can extend from very basic physical requirements ( such as food and shelter ) up to ill-defined aesthetic needs;
- that is why resources include a vast range of items;
- the intellectual resources of a society ( its ideas and technologies ) determine which aspects of the environment meet the society's needs, so that they could become resources;
- it was a time when minerals such as coal and iron cores tended to dominate the perception of resources;
- but in our very modern society, the concept of resources comes now to embrace also beautiful landscapes and pleasant climates as resources;
B. Environment, Exploited Chaotically and Cruelly Damaged :
- the natural world is under violent assault from man;
- the seas and the rivers are poisoned :
a). by radioactive wastes,
b). by chemical discharges
c). and by the dumping of dangerous toxines and raw sewage;
- the air we breathe is polluted by smoke and fumes or smogs from factories and motor vehicles;
- the rain is poisoned;
- governments and industries throughout the world are intensifying their efforts to extract the earth's mineral riches and to plunder its living resources;
- poisonous chemicals and gases released into the air by cars and factories cause serious air pollution; global warming; destruction of ozone layer; acid rain and changes in local climate; affect plant and animal life;
- uncontrolled fishing and hunting endanger animal life;
- chemicals from aerosol sprays and fridges cause the destruction of the ozone layer;
- pesticides and dangerous chemicals from factories, poured into the rivers, seas and oceans, cause water pollution;
- these pesticides and dangerous chemicals also endanger or kill animal life in the rivers, seas, and oceans;
- deforestation causes the spreading of the deserts;
- nuclear accidents cause the death of some vital points on the skin of our planet;
C. Environment's Slightly Perceptible Cry for Being Helped :
- man's so-called "improvements in the standard of living" should also take into consideration improvements in the environment ( which were totally neglected );
- nuclear plants should be supplied with high technology equipment and more strictly controlled ( thus improving the quality of the air we breathe );
- we should use bicycles instead of cars, thus participating in the race against air pollution;
- we should not leave TV or the electric lights on when we do not use them, thus diminishing the now prefigured energy shortage crisis;
- people should use litter bins, thus actively participating in the fight against garbaging modern towns and cities;
- we should plant more trees, thus participating in the health improvements of our planet's lungs;
- governments should encourage those industries that use cleaner methods of production;
- we should save as much paper as possible; thus saving as much plant life as possible;
- factories that pollute the soil or water should be severely punished;
- harsher punishments should be applied for illegal fishing and hunting;
- factories should be equipped with filters for their funnels;
- cars should use unleaded petrol;
- people should be educated about the importance of recycling;
- ecology should be a compulsory subject at school;
- governments should sponsor research into pollution prevention;
- public awareness about the protection of the environment should be raised;
Conclusion :
- if I do not know what is happening I can't influence the outcome;
- I read as much as I can about the environment, for there are new publications coming out all the time;
- I try and form a reading pool with my friends and exchange books and magazines;
- I looked into creating green groups at school, and I will look into creating them in university or my future working place;
- I will join as many green organizations as I can and I will get regular bulletins of their work;
- I tend to fancy the world begins at my front door;
- I also fancy the consequences of actions on my immediate surroundings fan out like ripples in a pool, and add to the total good or bad;
- the "Green Peace" is up to me !