1. Read the text thoroughly and point out the most important facts.

American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, another member of the famous family, did a lot for the protection of land and its resources. Roosevelt administration after two terms made a fine record in conservation. During the Depression Roosevelt created the agency called Civilian Conservation Corps. Three hundred thousand young men were employed by the agency to plant trees, to build forest roads and recreational areas on public lands. Roosevelt regarded the parks as a vital place for the tired city people. When the Depression was over, the number of tourists who traveled to national parks and monuments increased from 6.3 million in 1934 to 16.2 million in 1938.

The 1960s were the time of awakening of environmental conscience of the nation. With automobile boom the ear became the main source of pollution. Smog as a new phenomenon was first noticed in Los Angeles in 1943. In 1957 it was well known that the main source of smog was car exhausts.

The man himself was not a part of the conservation movement concerns. The situation changed in the 60s, when people realized that man could become an endangered species himself. As soon as everybody realized that the Man is an inseparable part of a life circle on our planet, the conservation movement changed dramatically. The new term environmentalism came into being stressing the fact that everything should be studied in connection with surrounding. Environmentalism is defined as a movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use.

In 1962 Rachel Carson published the book called "Silent Spring". The book sold half a million copies and became a bible of modern environmental movement. The book told the public about the damage done to the natural environment by the synthetic pesticides. Carson found facts confirming that pesticides had genetic and carcinogenic implications. The circle was closed, humans struggle to control the environment fired back. President Kennedy met Carson, and instructed the President's Science Advisory Committee to study the pesticide problem. In May 1963, the Committee reported that the chemicals had done extensive damage to fish, birds, and other wildlife and that traces of toxic chemicals had been found in humans. The report recommended elimination of toxic pesticides. But the pesticide manufactures opposed the recommendation. Only seven years later the new Environmental Protec­tion Agency banned the use of DDT.

After the publication of this book conservation movement underwent a unique transformation — within a couple of years it suddenly and irreversibly transformed itself into environmental movement. Environmental movement swallowed all the is­sues of the conservation movement adding to them Man himself and his interrelations with environment. Conservation became everybody's concern. Environmental movement appealed to all the groups of population which by the middle 1970s be­came aware of the environmental crisis. Thousands of environmental groups and clubs appeared all over the country.

Water pollution became a big public issue during the environmental crises of the late 1960s. Industrialization and indoor plumbing brought a lot of by-products into the waters. Uncontrolled industrial discharges, raw sewage and soil erosion threatened to destroy many of the nation's most productive waterways.

Environmental Protection Agency was established in 1970 to assure federal protection of the environment by controlling pollution on a systematic basis. EPA is responsible for a variety of research, standard-setting, and enforcement of activities related to pollution. The Agency also supports and coordinates antipollution activities carried out by states and local governments, private and public groups, individuals and educational institutions. EPA is responsible for water and air quality standards, pesticide, radiation, and solid-waste management programs.

Public support of environmental issues culminated in the Earth day demonstrations of 1970. The new goal was established — to preserve life on our planet. People started talking about sustainable development and the need to balance environmentalism with economic development. Environmental groups were everywhere. In the 1970s and 1980s a lot of laws passed the Congress regulating the quality of water, air, noise, laws regulating ocean dumping, the use of pesticides, etc.

Another important transformation concerning environmental issues also happened in the 1970s. The former nature and outdoor education turned into environmental education. The subject of environmental education is to teach people how to maintain a good quality of life on Earth. You can protect something only if you know what to protect and why you need to protect it. Knowledge is the first step to action. Studies of environmental problems were incorporated in other courses, rather than taught as a separate subject. This interdisciplinary approach to environmental education was very important because the object was too wide and the results of human impact on the environment concerned physics and biology, chemistry and math, zoology and history.

A lot of emphasis is put on teaching students to take responsibility for what they do, to teach them means of helping environment.

In 1970, Congress passed an Environmental Education Act, which established an office of environmental education and funded local projects such as teacher training and community-related programs. In 1975 the United Nations started a program to promote environmental education internationally.

exhausts выхлопы

exhaust выхлопной

endangered вымирающий

species endangered вымирающий(ие) вид(ы)

species list Красная книга

elimination ликвидация, устранение

interrelation by-product взаимосвязь, побочный продукт

discharge выделять, выбрасывать

sewage сточные воды, нечистоты

soil erosion эрозия почвы

sustainable development устойчивое развитие

dump выбрасывать, сваливать

dumping site свалка