What Is Being Done?

The first global agreement to restrict CFCs came with the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 ultimately aiming to reduce them by half by the year 2000. Two revisions of this agreement have been made in the light of advances in scientific understanding, the latest being in 1992. Agreement has been reached on the control of industrial production of many halocarbons until the year 2030. The main CFCs will not be produced by any of the signatories after the end of 1995, except for a limited amount for essential uses, such as for medical sprays.

The countries of the European Community have adopted even stricter measures than are required under the Montreal Protocol agreements. Recognising their responsibility to the global environment they have agreed to halt production of the main CFCs from the beginning of 1995. Tighter deadlines for use of the other ozone-depleting compounds are also being adopted.

It was anticipated that these limitations would lead to a recovery of the ozone layer within 50 years of 2000; the World Meteorological Organisation estimated 2045 (WMO reports 25, 37), but recent investigations suggest the problem is perhaps on a much larger scale than anticipated.

Montreal Protocol

The crucial first step in limiting further damage to the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The Montreal Protocol was a convention signed in 1987 by many countries to greatly reduce the production and use of CFCs which had been shown to be responsible for damage to the ozone layer. Since 1987, further amendments to the protocol have imposed even greater restrictions of the production and use of potentially damaging compounds.

Appendix 6

Keys and Tapescripts

Unit 1

GEOECOLOGY

Exercise 5. Suggest as many word combinations as possible.

This exercise may be performed with translation of the suggested word combinations.

It is also can be done on the form of competition between two groups of students. The team which do the task quicker and suggest some more collocations will be the winner.

4. Thick layer, layer of water, the layer around the Earth, layer of gas, outer layer, thin layer, the layer containing living matter;

5. Clear environment, physical environment, parts of environment, modified environment, healthy environment, biotic environment, damaged environment, intact environment;

6. interactions between humankind and nature, stable interactions, interaction of communities, global interaction, constant interaction, living organisms interaction, interaction with environment.

Exercise 6. Say it in English.

The sentences are not just from the text, but they are slightly changed to make Ss translate them by themselves.

a). The present-day concept (idea) of biosphere was developed by the Russian scientist V. I. Vernadsky more than 50 years ago.

Biosphere is a layer around the Earth containing living organisms, transformed by living organisms.

Biosphere is a layer around the Earth containing all living organisms on our globe (planet).

The life emerged about and 3.8 billion years ago.

b). The biosphere is a complex system of energy transformation and material cycling.

Biosphere runs on energy flowing to it from the Sun.

The thickness of layer containing the highest concentration of living matter varies from a few meters hundreds of meters.

c). Geoecology is an interdisciplinary science based on ecology, geology, biology and many other sciences.

Interaction of a man with the nature is of global and constant character.

Man affects on the environment and changes it.

Biosphere reacts to these actions.

d). Today environment is radically transformed as a result of human activity.

About 60 % of land surface ecosystems is to some extent damaged by agricultural, industrial, and other human activities.

No more than 40 % of land remains intact.

Exercise 7. Read the text below, use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.

Example: 0 – impossible.

These days it is (0) … to open a newspaper without reading about the damage we are doing to the environment.	possible
The Earth is being (1) threatened and the future looks bad. What can each of us do?	threat
We cannot clean up our (2) polluted rivers and seas overnight.	pollution
Nor can we stop the (3) disappearance of plants and animals.	appear
But we can stop adding to the problem while (4) scientists search for answers, and laws are passed in nature’s (5) defence.	science defend
It may not be easy to change your lifestyle (6) completely, but some steps are easy to take: cut down the amount of (7) drivings you do, or use as little plastic as possible.	complete drive
It is also easy to save energy, which also reduces (8) housing bills.	house
We must all make a personal (9) decision to work for the future of our planet if we want to (10) ensure a better world for our grandchildren.	decide ensure

Exercise 9. Here are some definitions. What are they? Complete the sentences.

Biosphere is the layer around the Earth in which all living organisms exist.

Hydrosphere is the sum total of all liquid and frozen water on or near the Earth’s surface.

Atmosphere is a region of gases, airborne particles, and water vapour enveloping the Earth.

Lithosphere is the solid Earth with rocks, soils, and sediments on its crust.

Exercise 10. Answer the questions.

1. How do you define biosphere? - Biosphere is a relatively thin life-supporting layer around the Earth containing living organisms, which is strongly influenced in its composition, structure and energetic by the living organisms.

2. What is biota? – Biota is the biotic part of the biosphere consisting of fauna and flora.

3. When did the first living cells appear on the planet? - The first living cell emerged between 4 billion and 3.8 billion years ago.

4. What are the limits of the “film of life”? - “Film of life” varies from a few meters in deserts and tundra to a hundred meters in a tropical forest region and oceans.

5. What does modern ecology deal with? - Modern ecology deals with environmental problems caused by human activities.

6. What is geoecology? - Geoecology is an interdisciplinary science studying the interactions and interrelations abundant in our environment.

7. What fields can geologist work in? - Geoecologists can work in such fields as environmental analytics, waste disposal, contaminated sites remediation as well as agriculture and forestry.

8. What major factor has increased the intensity and scale of the biosphere transformations over the past two centuries? - The population growth along with the industrial world economy over the past two centuries has increased the magnitude and scale of biosphere transformations.

9. Do you think the biosphere transformations caused by human activity are reversible?

Exercise 11. 9 Listen to the interview with a senior research engineer called Dr. Michael Blomberg. Dr. Blomberg gives his opinions on future trends in science and technology.

Tapescript:

Dr. Blomberg: Good evening.

Interviewer: … and welcome.

Dr. Blomberg: Thank you.

Interviewer: Dr. Blomberg, in your column in Engineering Weekly, you frequently express some rather unconventional ideas. For example, a few months ago, you wrote that the Age of Technology is about to come to an end. Can you explain what you mean by that?

Dr. Blomberg: Well, yes. As everyone knows, science and technology have made some very remarkable leaps forward in the last few decades. Progress has accelerated – and is still accelerating – at a rate which could never have been predicted. But it’s my firm belief that this acceleration of progress will soon start to slow down.

Interviewer: And what makes you think that?

Dr. Blomberg: Well, the reasons are partly economic, of course. Research has to be funded, and without the necessary funds, it cannot take place. I think that research programmes will become more needs-oriented. As our population grow, and as people become more demanding of a good standard of living, new technology is going to have to concentrate on solving our everyday problems. How to save energy, how to provide enough energy for the future, how to make the world a safer place – free from the hazards of pollution, radiation, weather, disease and so on. How to produce enough food for everyone.

Interviewer: Don’t you think that these needs will lead to more intensive research and therefore continue to fuel the rate of progress?

Dr. Blomberg: Well, not in the same way, perhaps. For example, I don’t think the exploration of space will be as intensive. The superpowers have already cut their spending in this area. We are focusing much more on research work close to home; work which is more likely to bring immediate benefits to the population.

Interviewer: Dr. Blomberg, can I ask what new developments you foresee during the next thirty to fifty years?

Dr. Blomberg: Well, I don’t foresee any very great surprises. We are working, as you know, on nuclear fusion as a sfer alternative to nuclear fission, and it’s possible there could be a breakthrough there. I think there will continue to be developments in computer technology, but I believe these will be less dramatic and will affect our everyday lives less than the developments in the last ten or twenty years. I think there could be new applications of the existing technology. I think new developments will be in engineering rather than in pure science. I think we’ll find new ways to use the resources that are plentiful. We’ll make more use of the waste that is produced by industries and by everyday living. We’ll find better way to utilize those natural resources which have been too difficult or too expensive to recover up to now. And I suppose we might also produce some new materials – new kinds of fibres for making clothes, for instance. Maybe we’ll find ways to produce food from substances that are inedible in their natural state – like sawdust or coal …

Key:

1 and 2. The list should look like this:

BELIEF

• research programs will become more need-oriented;

• exploration of space will not be as intensive;

• development in computer technology will continue;

• developments in engineering rather than pure science;

• new ways to use our resources will be developed;

• there will be better use of waste.

STRONG BELIEF

• acceleration of progress will start to slow down;

UNCERTAIN

• a breakthrough in development of nuclear fission;

• might produce new materials;

• might produce food from inedible substances.

3. Can you explain what you mean by …?

What makes you think that?

Don’t you think …?

Can I ask what new developments you foresee …?

4 and 5. No key is possible.