9.Read the text and give its main idea:

MAN AND ENVIRONMENT

(part 1)

Human progress has reached the stage of intensive exploration of nuclear and solar energy., the World Ocean and outer space. It is evident now, however, that often man is adversely affecting the environment and his activity is sometimes fraught with fatal consequences.

It is becoming increasingly clear that man cannot and must not use his tremendous power so carelessly, infinitely interfere in nature and radically try to change it, without tacing into account possible negative effects of his economic activity. The more material wealth people create, the more they realize that they cannot but be concerned about how the biosphere is changing as a result of productive activity. Current ecological research shows, that man, when overconcerned with technicism, far from turning deserts into oases, can turn oases into deserts, threatening to destroy everything on earth, if he continues exerting mostly uncontrolled impact on the biosphere.

IN the 19^th century and even in the first half of the 20^th century, material production did not require taking into accont the consequences which man’s interference in nature may have in the distant future, and it was not considered an objectively essntial condition for the existence of the whole of mankind, whereas, in the second half of the 20^th century such a consideration is becoming vitelly important.

Hence man should carefully study the impact of his activity on various components of the surrounding nature. It is not only possible but necessary to transform the wild natural environment, which often has a disastrouseffect on man ( earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, floods, droughts, magnetic and solar storms, as well as radioactivity, cosmic radiation, etc.) into a safe environment suitable for man and meeting his needs. This means that the ecological problem is not simply the problem of environmental pollution and other adverse effects of man’s economic activity, but the problem of turning man’s uncontrolled impact on nature into a purposeful and planned interaction with the latter.

Ofcourse, the biosphere as a complex system also possesses enormous possibilities for self-regulation. Despite the fact that certain biological species, i.e., individual elements of the biosphere, may become extinct as a result of various impacts thereon, it is still capable on the whole of existing and developing . The impact of industry on the biosphere is compensated for by the inner resources of homeostatic self-organization.

Today, however, this impact has reached such proportions that the biosphere’s inner resources can no longer compensate for society’s harmful influence on the environment, both on individual species and on all of life onearth without help from the outside. Many ecologists consider that the disappirance of particular living species constitutes the main ecological and social problem of the day. The world’s famous biologists warn that the present situation is fraught with the extinction of animals and plants on a scale much greater than their both natural and man-caused extinction during the preceding millions of years.

If this massive biologicaldepletion of the Earth’s resources goes on uncontrolled for several decades to come,the world environment will change irreversibly.

All this means that at present there has arisen a pressing necessity to change the character of the interaction between man and nature.

cannot but – не можуть не

overconcerned (with ) – дуже занятий(стурбований)

far from – далеко не

on the whole – в цілому

homeostatic – гомеостатичний

(від homeostatic – гомеостаз – рівноважний стан, наприклад, організму, екосистеми)

no longer – більш не

fraught with – чреватий, здатний викликати (що)

massive – сильний, великий