Nature Protection

Nature Protection Text for reading and discussion: Why Must Technology Apologize to Ecology?

To answer this question we must first of all learn the meaning of the word "ecology". Ecology is a science, which studies the relationship between all forms of life on our planet with its environment. This word came from the Greek "oikos" which means "home". The idea of home includes the whole planet of ours, its population, the nature, animals, birds, fish, insects, all living beings and even the atmosphere around our planet. Do all of them live a happy and healthy life in our home nowadays? Unfortunately, it is not so. Indeed, many territories, water basins, lakes, rivers, seas, oceans, and the atmosphere are polluted with all kinds of technological, agricultural, chemical, nuclear and other wastes. The intensive development of sciences, industry and chemistry in the 20^th century has made the pollution of our environment a global problem, which should be solved by all means.

Besides, rapid growth of our population (there are about 6 billion people living on our planet now) needs more and more land, food, goods and modern conveniences for newly born people. The production of these in large amounts will greatly increase the pollution of the environment. And what to say about the awful harm caused by nuclear tests, atom bombs and accidents at out atomic power stations? Isn't it high time to start solving this global problem and to make our life in our home happy and healthy?

Now, you know the answer to the question why technology must bring apologies to ecology: it has polluted and is still badly polluting our environment.

And in conclusion all of us should always remember the wise advice of a great English writer John Galsworthy who said: "If you don't think about the future you will not have it."

Text for reading and discussion: Keep Our Environment Clean

About two hundred years ago man lived in greater harmony with his environment because industry was not much developed. Today the situation is quite different. People all over the world are worried about what is happening to the environment because of modern industry and the need for more and more energy. Newspapers and magazines write about water pollution, air pollution and land pollution.

Why is there so much discussion about pollution? After all, people have been polluting the world around them for thousands and thousands of years. But in the past, there were not so many people and lots of room in the world so they could move to another place when their settlements became dirty.

Now, however, many parts of the world are crowded, people live in big cities and much of our waste, especially waste from factories, electric power stations, the chemical industry is very dangerous. Fish dies in the lakes, rivers, and seas, forest frees die, too. Much of this dangerous waste goes into the air and is carried by winds for great distances.

The Earth is our home. We must take care of it, for ourselves and for the next generations. This means keeping our environment clean.

The importance of this task is pointed out by ecologists, the scientists who study the relation between living things and their environment. However, each of us must do everything possible to keep the land, air and water clean.

Text for reading and discussion: Environmental Protection

What is environment? It is everything that surrounds a person: atmosphere, flora, fauna, and all kinds of birds, beasts, insects, and earth with its animals and so on. All kinds of living and dead nature are closely connected with each other - they are necessary to each other. Man must not only take things from nature, but also try to be its rational master, enrich the surrounding world and take care of animals, birds and all kinds of plants.

People are becoming more and more worried about their environment. We all face the environmental problems:

• - as the population of large cities continues to grow the pollution problems get worse;

• - the air in many cities and towns has been polluted by traffic and industry;

• - acid rains which pollute water supplies, damage crops, forests and buildings, they may also affect people's health;

• - water pollution has been a serious problem in many lakes, rivers and seas;

• - we waste a great deal of valuable material: paper, glass, metal, and plastics can all be recycled;

• - the number of cars and trucks is growing all the time. They need bigger, better and more expensive roads, which often ruin the countryside. Traffic in our cities is getting worse and worse.

Water pollution is becoming an international problem nowadays. Oil and shipping companies throw thousands of tons of oil every year. They are interested only in profits. If measures are not taken the oceans will soon become biological deserts. The people of the world must unite their efforts to protect the environment.

The Greenpeace organization exists to draw the people's attention to the destruction of wildlife (whales, seals, etc.) by hunters and the pollution of oceans by nuclear waste turning them into nuclear dustbins. If the barrels ever leak, nuclear contamination would quickly spread through water and present a serious threat to many countries. Greenpeace believes that actions speak louder than words.

The Environment: Problems and Solutions

1. Should anyone attempt a brief characterization of present-day environmental problems, he would find it beyond the competence of an individual scientist. For the environmental situation has long become a subject of separate and joint research efforts of biologists, chemists, and biochemists who have to combine their knowledge with the information supplied by students of geology, oceanography and meteorology, with experts in sociology, psychology and philosophy hurriedly joining in. Yet, if stated briefly, one of the causes of the present-day environmental situation should be sought in the lack of a balanced development of particular fields of knowledge, and of an adequate picture of the intricately operating whole which is our planet. The rapid and ever-growing advances in certain highly specialized fields have brought mankind far ahead of our general fundamental knowledge of the long-range effect of some technological developments, spectacular though they may appear, especially of their interplay and interdependence. It is man's intervention in nature that has singled him out from the rest of the animal world since his early days. It is this very intervention that has landed him nowadays in this highly technological world of ours, with the rate of progress in particular applied fields being faster than that in our fundamental knowledge of the general operation of the Earth. It is precisely this discrepancy between the two rates which seems to be at the root of most of today's problems. This is by no means an exhaustive explanation, ignoring as it does, the social factor.

2. The threat to his environment is a second major problem man is faced with in the mid-20th century, the first being a menace of a nuclear catastrophe. What is so peculiar about the environmental problem when compared to the other one? Surely not its global character and everybody's involvement. A nuclear catastrophe, as seen nowadays by practically everybody everywhere, would inevitably involve every country, no matter how small or big it is, and would concern every individual, whatever secluded life he might be living. Should it happen, its inescapability is too obvious to be disputed. So is its explosive character. In contrast to this, the environmental crisis is of a cumulative nature. It is just the obscure and intricate pattern of the interaction of all factors that makes it so dangerous. For no single action taken, or decision made, can bring about an immediate catastrophe, nor could there be the last straw or the last step that would set in motion an avalanche of irreversible and immediate events leading to the ultimate gloomy end. It is only step by step that we approach the critical point, were there such a thing as "point" in this context.

3. Consequently, what is needed first and foremost is that we realize the possible adverse impact of the long-range effects of our actions, however noble the motives may seem to us at present, on the entire human race. Out of this realization may come an entirely new approach to the problem, the new approach as proclaimed by Vernadsky of the biosphere governed and operated in accordance with the laws of the human mind. Next comes the urgent need for basic research to get more profound knowledge of the cause-effect relationship, the time factor necessarily taken into account, in the whole realm of human environment, both natural, man-disturbed and man-initiated. Fundamental and irreversible as they may often be, the changes in our environment are not likely to bring mankind to the brink of annihilation overnight. It would take us some time yet to reach there. So let us use the time for learning how to preserve our planet in good shape and in running order for an indefinitely long time.

The Biosphere: Its Definition, Evolution and Possible Future

1. The idea of the biosphere was introduced into science rather casually almost a century ago by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess, who first used the term in a discussion of the various envelopes of the earth in the last and most general chapter of a short book on the genesis of the Alps published in 1875. The concept played little part in scientific thought, however, until the publication, first in Russian in 1926 and later in French in 1929 (under the title "La Biosphere"), of two lectures by the Russian mineralogist Vladimir Ivanovitch Vernadsky. It is essentially Vernadsky's concept of the biosphere, developed about 50 years after Suess wrote, that we accept today. Vernadsky considered

that the idea ultimately was derived from the French naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck, whose geochemistry, although archaically expressed, was often quite penetrating.

2. The biosphere is defined as that part of the earth in which life exists, but this definition immediately raises some problems and demands some qualifications. At considerable altitudes above the earth's surface the spores of bacteria and fungi can be obtained by passing air through filters. In general, however, such "aero-plankton" do not appear to be engaged in active metabolism. Even on the surface of the earth there are areas too dry, too cold or too hot to support metabolizing organisms, the only exception being technically equipped human explorers, but in such places also spores are commonly found. Thus, when viewed as a terrestrial envelope, the biosphere obviously has a somewhat irregular shape, inasmuch as it is surrounded by an indefinite "parabiospheric" region in which some dormant forms of life are present. Today, of course, life can exist in a space capsule or a space suit far outside the natural biosphere. Such artificial environments may best be regarded as small volumes of the biosphere nipped off and projected temporarily into space.

3. What is it that is so special about the biosphere as a terrestrial envelope? The answer seems to have three parts. First, it is a region in which liquid water can exist in substantial quantities. Second, it receives an ample supply of energy from an external source, ultimately from the sun. And third, within it are interfaces between the liquid, the solid and the gaseous states of matter. Important as these three conditions for the existence of a biosphere may be in terms of historical evolution it is not the history that we are concerned with at this point but rather what the future developments are likely to be. . .

4. Without taking too seriously any of the estimates that have been made of the expectation of the life of the sun and the solar system it is evident that the biosphere could remain habitable for a very long time, many times the estimated length of the history of the genus Homo, which might be two million years old. As inhabitants of the biosphere we should regard ourselves as being in our infancy. Many people, however, are concluding on the basis of mounting and reasonably objective evidence that the length of life of the biosphere as an inhabitable region for organisms is to be measured in decades rather than in hundreds of millions of years, with the fault being entirely that of our own species. It would seem not unlikely that we are approaching a crisis that is comparable to the one that occurred when free oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere.

5. Admittedly there are differences. The first photosynthetic organisms that produced oxygen were probably already immune to the lethal effects of the new poison gas we now breathe. On the other hand, our machines may be immune to carbon monoxide, lead and DDT. But we are not. Apart from a slight rise in agricultural productivity caused by an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is difficult to see how the various contaminants we are polluting the biosphere with could form the basis for a revolutionary step forward. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that when the eucaryotic cell¹ evolved in the middle Precambrian period² the process very likely involved an unprecedented new kind of evolutionary development. Presumably if we do want to continue living in the biosphere we must also introduce unprecedented processes.

6. The necessity of quite a new approach to the biosphere was realized by Vernadsky as early as the mid-forties. For not only was he the founder of modern biogeochemistry but he was also a man of deep scientific penetration and insight who could foresee the unavoidable long-range impact of production activities of man on the biosphere. According to him man has become a geological and biological factor by far exceeding everything that proceeded him throughout evolution, the rate of his intervention in nature steadily increasing. Yet it was with optimism that he looked ahead when he wrote: "I think we undergo not only a historical but also a planetary change as well. We live in a transition to the noosphere." By "noosphere" Vernadsky meant the envelope of mind that was to supersede the biosphere, the envelope of life. Unfortunately the quarter-century since those words were written has shown how mindless most of the changes wrought by man on the biosphere have been. Nevertheless Vernadsky's transition in its deepest sense is the only alternative to man's cutting his life-time short by millions of years.

8.4. ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

Since ancient times Nature has served Man being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase.

In the 20th century with the rapid growth of science and technology human achievements in conquering nature became so great that man's economic activities began to produce an increasingly negative effect on the biosphere.

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breath, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burnt in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

Environmental pollution has become a significant obstacle to economic growth. The discharge of dust and gas into the atmosphere returns to the Earth in the form of "acid rain" and affects crops, the quality of forests, the amount offish. To this we can add the rise of chemicals, radioactivity, noise and other types of pollution.

Economic, social, technological and biological processes have become so interdependent that modem production must be seen as a complex economic system. It is wrong to see economy and ecology as diametrically opposed such an approach inevitably leads to one extreme or the other.

The most horrible ecological disaster befell Belarus and its people as a result of the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1986. About 18 per cent of the territory of Belarus were polluted with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the republic's agriculture, forests and people's health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power station are tragic for the Belorussian nation.

Environmental protection is a universal concern, that is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.

Some progress has already been made in this direction. As many as 159 countries -members of the UNO - have set up environmental protection agencies. To discuss questions of ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. The international environmental research center has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment.

But these are only the initial steps and they must be carried forward to protect nature to save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generation.

DEVELOPING A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

All projects require resources, from the smallest to the largest. Resources in this case does not mean just people; it means all the physical resources required to complete the project. This includes people, equipment, supplies, materials, software, hardware - and the list goes on depending on the project you're working on. Resource Planning is the process of determining what physical resources are needed, and in what quantity, to perform project activities.

Developing a resource management plan encompasses several processes including Resource Planning, Organizational Planning, Staff Acquisition, Solicitation Planning, and Procurement Planning. The combined outputs from these processes will comprise your resource management plan. We'll cover Solicitation Planning and Procurement Planning in the next chapter.

RESOURCE INPUT

The Resource Planning process has several inputs you are already familiar with, one of which is the WBS. Three inputs are new to this process; they are the resource pool description, organizational policies, and activity duration estimates.

The resource pool description lists the types of resources that might be needed for the project. For example, if you are working on a project that requires the use of specialized equipment during the course of the project, the resource pool description should contain the details concerning this resource, and the specific knowledge or skills needed to use the equipment. The same is true for human resources. Suppose you need an expert in thermodynamics in one or several phases of your project. The resource pool description should list this specific resource requirement. List all the materials, equipment, skills, or special talents you might need during any part of your project in this document.

Organizational policies regarding materials purchases, hiring processes, leases, vendor relationships, and so on should be taken into consideration when performing Resource Planning. Don't confuse this input with the Organizational Planning process, which we'll discuss in the next section. Organizational policies in this case are merely how the company handles obtaining supplies and resources. Are there policies and procedures in place that should be followed? If so, you should take note of the procedures and adhere to them when ordering supplies, hiring staff, and so on.

Activity duration estimates are an estimate of the number of work periods needed to complete the activities listed on the WBS. They are an output of the Activity Duration Estimating process. We'll cover this process in more detail a little later in this chapter.

DOCUMENTING RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

The resource pool description and organizational policies, along with the other inputs and tools and techniques in this process, will be used to produce the resource requirements output. The resource requirements document is a detailed description of

the kinds of resources needed for the project and the quantity needed of each resource. Resource needs and resource quantity should be listed for each element in the WBS.

Staffing requirements are a subset of resource requirements. Remember that the resource requirements document details for all the resources required for the project, not just staffing resources. The staffing requirements list should identify the kinds of skills required and the individuals or groups who might provide these skills to the project. The staffing requirements list should also document the time frames during the project when these skills will be needed. For example, the thermodynamics expert might be needed only during the design phase, so be certain to note where and when on the WBS this expert is needed.

A strange thing happens here. Resource requirements become an input to other Planning processes. But so do staffing requirements, which are a subset of resource requirements. This is the only process where an output is split into two pieces and each piece becomes an input to other processes.

DEVELOPING AN ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

The Organizational Planning process focuses on the human resources aspect of project planning. Its purpose is to document the roles and responsibilities of individuals or groups for various project elements and then document the reporting relationships for each. Communications Planning goes hand in hand with Organizational Planning as the organizational structure will affect the way communications are carried out among project participants and the project interfaces.

Organizational Planning has three inputs: project interfaces, staffing requirements, and constraints. We covered staffing requirements in the last section and don't need to add anything here. Constraints were covered in previous chapters, but there is some new information to introduce after we define project interfaces.