Сланцевий газ: чи буде Україна енергонезалежною

За найближче десятиліття Україна зможе відмовитися від більшої частини імпортного блакитного палива за рахунок видобутку власного сланцевого та вугільного газу.

За попередніми оцінками покладів нетрадиційних видів газу, Україні їх мало б вистачити на декілька тисячоліть, стверджують геологи. Натомість незалежні експерти констатують, що на сьогодні уряд не створив умов для залучення інвестицій та сучасних технологій, потрібних для видобутку сланцевого газу.

В Україні триває оцінка покладів сланцевого, вугільного та інших альтернативних видів газу з залученням українських та закордонних фахівців. Вона передбачена Меморандумом про взаєморозуміння стосовно нетрадиційних джерел газу, який на початку року підписали уряди України та США.

Для детальнішого вивчення своїх надр Україна найближчим часом придбає у європейських виробників сучасну техніку для дослідного буріння, заявив Радіо Свобода міністр екології та природних ресурсів Микола Злочевський. Однак уже зараз, за його словами, підтверджені запаси газу дозволяють говорити про енергетичну незалежність України.

Сланцевий газ – не єдиний альтернативний вид блакитного палива, поклади якого вивчаються, пояснює заступник голови Державної геологічної служби України Дмитро Гурський. За його словами, українські та зарубіжні фахівці оцінили лише частину української території, але й уже віднайдені запаси в десятки тисяч разів більші за річний обсяг споживання газу в Україні.

«Попередня оцінка території Поділля, Полісся та Західної України свідчить про ресурсний потенціал у 8–10 трильйонів кубометрів сланцевого газу. Наші оцінки збігаються з розрахунками норвезьких, італійських, американських компаній. У Донецько-Придніпровському регіоні – така ж кількість сланцевого газу. Газ метан, який міститься у цьому регіоні у вугільних пластах та поруч із ними, – ще 11,5 трильйонів кубометрів. Проект із вивчення родовищ триває», – каже фахівець.

Геолог стверджує, що швидкість розробки віднайдених родовищ залежатиме від компаній, які виграють аукціони на користування надрами. За його оцінками, перші кубометри сланцевого газу Україна отримає не раніше, аніж через 5 років.

А от вугільний газ, метан, за його словами, вже видобувають, зокрема, на шахті імені Засядька в Донецьку. «Видобудок метану іде, і ми можемо його нарощувати. Можливості для цього передбачає закон про розвиток мінерально-сировинної бази.

Влада поки що не створила належних умов для видобутку нетрадиційного разу а відтак і для енергетичної незалежності. «Щоб видобувати сланцевий газ зараз, Сполучені Штати, для прикладу, ішли до цього декілька десятиліть, а в Україні немає технологій горизонтального буріння та відповідних інвестицій, для них не створені умови. Видобуток нетрадиційного газу в заявлені владою терміни можливий лише за умови системних та ефективних дій уряду.

UNIT 7

Gender problems

Part I

Women and work

PRE-LISTENING SECTION

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions be guided by the information below.

1. How can you define the meaning of the words GENDER and SEX?

2. What are the main gender role tendencies in the contemporary society?

Gender is the wide set of characteristics that are seen to distinguish between male and female. It can extend from sex to social role or gender identity. As a word, "gender" has more than one valid definition. In ordinary speech, it is used interchangeably with "sex" to denote the condition of being male or female. In the social sciences, however, it refers specifically to socially constructed and institutionalized differences such as gender roles. The World Health Organization (WHO), for example, uses "gender" to refer to "the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women". Some cultures have distinct gender-related social roles that can be considered distinct from male and female, such as the hijra of India and Pakistan.

While the social sciences and gender studies approach gender as a social construct, the natural sciences, regard biological and behavioral differences in males and females as influencing the development of gender in humans; both inform debate about how far biological differences influence gender identity formation. Biologist and feminist academic Anne Fausto-Sterling rejects the discourse of biological versus social determinism and advocates a deeper analysis of how interactions between the biological being and the social environment influence individuals' capacities.

A gender role is a theoretical construct in the social sciences and humanities that refers to a set of social and behavioral norms that, within a specific culture, are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific gender. Proponents of gender role theory assert that observed gender differences in behavior and personality characteristics are, at least in part, socially constructed, and therefore, the product of socialization experiences; this contrasts with other models of gender that assert that gender differences are "essential" to biological sex. Research supports this theory, finding gender differences in almost all societies, but with differences in the norms adopted, suggesting that gender differences are, at least partly, influenced by culture.

Gender has several controversial definitions but it here refers to an individual's inner sex or psychological sense of being a male or female irrespective of one's (outer) sex identity as determined by one's sexual organs. There are two main genders: masculine (male), or feminine (female). Gender identity refers to the options available to members of a society to choose from a set of social identities, based on the combination of one's sex identity on the one hand, and one's natural gender, interests and social experiences on the other. Some ancient tribes have more than five human genders. Some non-Western societies have three human genders – man, woman and third gender. Gender roles refers to the set of attitudes and behaviors socially expected from the members of a particular gender identity. Gender roles are socially constructed which are often politicised and manipulated, which then result in the oppression of people.

In the modern West, this essential requirement has been changed to a heterosexual desire, resulting in the Western concepts of 'homosexual' and 'heterosexual,' instead of the usual gender identities for males. Researchers recognize that the concrete behavior of individuals is a consequence of both socially enforced rules and values, and individual disposition, whether genetic, unconscious, or conscious. Some researchers emphasize the objective social system and others emphasize subjective orientations and dispositions. Creativity may cause the rules and values to change over time. Cultures and societies are dynamic and ever-changing, but there has been extensive debate as to how, and how fast, they may change. Such debates are especially contentious when they involve the gender/sex system, as people have widely differing views about how much gender depends on biological sex.

Exercise 2. Match these words and collocations to their definitions (synonyms). Translate them into Ukrainian.

1	arguably	a	bother, trouble
2	modicum	b	ease, reduce, relieve
3	sting	c	humbug, nonsense
4	juggle	d	powerful , mighty
5	momentum	e	gentleness; moderation
6	alleviate	f	keep (more than two activities, for example) in motion or progress at one time
7	bunk	g	a heavy long-handled hammer used to drive stakes or wedges
8	hefty	h	driving power or strength
9	light hand	i	a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder
10	plague	j	including or applying to all categories or members
11	across-the-board	k	to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful
12	stigmatise	l	possibly, plausibly
13	put off	m	a small or moderate or token amount
14	sledgehammer	n	persuade to delay further action

Exercise 3. Tell what you know about the proper names OECD, PepsiCo, AREVA, Rosie the Riveter.

Explain the meaning of the expression glass ceiling. Translate it into your native language.

Be guided by the following information.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, in French: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, OCDE) is an international economic organisation of 32 countries. It defines itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a setting to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identifying good practices, and co-ordinating domestic and international policies of its members.

The OECD originated in 1948 as the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), led by Robert Marjolin of France, to help administer the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Later, its membership was extended to non-European states. In 1961, it was reformed into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Most OECD members are high-income economies with a high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries (with Chile being the only OECD member which is also a member in the organisation of developing countries, the Group of 77).

The OECD's headquarters are at the Château de la Muette in Paris, France.

PepsiCo, Incorporated is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, with interests in manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, as well as salty, sweet and cereal-based snacks, and other foods. Besides the Pepsi brands, the company owns the brands Quaker Oats, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, SoBe, Naked, Tropicana, Copella, Mountain Dew, Mirinda and 7 Up (outside the USA).

Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi has been the chief executive of PepsiCo since 2006. During her time, healthier snacks have been marketed and the company is striving for a net-zero impact on the environment. This focus on healthier foods and lifestyles is part of Nooyi's "Performance With Purpose" philosophy.

AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie. Areva is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome (now AREVA NP), Cogema (now AREVA NC) and Technicatome (now AREVA TA). Its main shareholder is the French public-sector company, the CEA, which owns 78.9%. The CEA's brief is similar to that of the US Department of Energy. But the German company Siemens also retains 34% of the shares of AREVA's subsidiary, AREVA NP, in charge of building the EPR Reactor, an advanced Generation III+ nuclear reactor.

The parent company is incorporated under French law as a société anonyme (SA: public corporation) and is also recognized as a public limited company in Britain and a corporation in American jurisdictions. The French State (including the shares owned by the CEA) owns more than 90%. The corporate name AREVA is inspired by Arevalo Abbey in Spain. Anne Lauvergeon is the Chairman of the Executive Board (equivalent to President and CEO).

According to the company official website, Areva realized €13.16 billion in sales revenue in 2008 and €417 million in operating income. However, Areva had 6.2 billion euros of net debt at the end of 2009. In June 2010, Standard & Poor's downgraded Areva’s debt rating to BBB+ due to weakened profitability following a further € 400 million provision for the Olkiluoto-3 over-running European Pressurized Reactor build. In July 2010, the French government authorised a 15% capital increase at Areva, in which Électricité de France (EDF) could raise its stake from 2.4% to 7%.

Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the American women who worked in factories during World War II, many of whom worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs replacing the male workers who were in the military. The character is considered a feminist icon in the US.

In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to situations where the advancement of a qualified person within the hierarchy of an organization is stopped at a lower level because of some form of discrimination, most commonly sexism or racism. However, since the term was coined, "glass ceiling" has also come to describe the limited advancement of the deaf, blind, disabled, and aged.

LISTENING SECTION

Exercise 1. Listen to the recording and decide if the following statements are true or false.

1. Women make up 50% of university graduates in the OECD countries and professional workers in several rich countries, including the United States.

2. Women run many of the world’s great companies, from PepsiCo in America to Areva in France.

3. Just a generation ago millions of women were routinely subjected to casual sexism but today they are running some of the organisations that once treated them as second-class citizens.

4. The Arab countries, Japan and some southern European countries admit that their gender policy will result in paying a heavy price in the form of wasted talent and frustrated citizens.

5. Women are under-represented at the top of companies because they can’t meet the needs of the developing society - juggling work and child-rearing is difficult.

6. Many women claim sexism the main issue of their social failure.

7. New technology is making it easier to redesign work in all sorts of family-friendly ways.

8. The shift towards women is likely to continue: by 2011 there will be 4.6m more female than male university students in America.

9. Most Swedish women work in the public sector and Sweden has a lower proportion of women in management than America does.

10. Welfare states don’t need to change the way they operate as they meet nowadays needs.

11. Today the tough lives of many working women and their children have improved but the glass ceilings still remain.

Exercise 2. Listen again and answer the questions below.

1. What is the biggest social change of our time?

2. Which societies try to resist the trend and what can the consequences be?

3. What are the “stings” of the positive changes in the gender situation?

4. How does the change in the present life help to alleviate the problems?

5. How can the governments improve the lives of working women?

DISCUSSION SECTION

Exercise 1. Express your opinion on the following and answer the questions.

1. Motherhood, not sexism, is the issue.

2. Some of the new theories about warm-hearted women making inherently superior workers are bunk.

3. How can you characterize gender situation in Ukraine. What are the peculiarities of the local glass ceiling? What should be done to to alleviate the problems and improve the lives of working women?

Exercise 2. Comment on the statements below.

1. Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their opressors.

2. Man endures pain as an undeserved punishment; woman accepts it as a natural heritage.

3. Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.

4. Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths.

5. Several men I can think of are as capable, as smart, as funny, as compassionate, and as confused - as remarkable you might say - as most women.

6. Easy is an adjective used to describe a woman who has the sexual morals of a man.

7. Nobody objects to a woman being a good writer or sculptor or geneticist if at the same time she manages to be a good wife, a good mother, good-looking, good-tempered, well-dressed, well-groomed, and unaggressive.

TRANSLATION SECTION

Exercise 1. Make a transcript of the recording, translate it into Ukrainian.

Exercise 2. Present a translation-oriented analysis of the text.

Exercise 3. Translate the information below into Ukrainian and analyze the basic transformations.

1. A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

2. Women never have anything to wear. Don't question the racks of clothes in the closet; you 'just don't understand'.

3. Women will always ask questions that have no right answer, in an effort to trap you into feeling guilty.

4. Women love to talk. Silence intimidates them and they feel a need to fill it, even if they have nothing to say.

5. If a man goes on a seven-day trip, he'll pack five days worth of clothes and will wear some things twice; if a woman goes on a seven-day trip she'll pack 21 outfits because she doesn't know what she'll feel like wearing each day.

6. The phrase "working mother" is redundant.