Human rights.

A rightmay be defined  as something to which an individual has a just claim. The American Declaration of Independence states that “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienableRights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This is a brief statement about human rights in contrast to civil rights. Human rights are those that individuals have by virtue of their existence as human beings. The right to life itself and the basic necessities of food and clothing may be considered fundamental human rights. Civil, or legal, rights are those granted by a government. The right to vote at age 18 is a civil right, not a human right.

The term human rightscame into common use only after World War II. It was made current by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, published in 1948. As a term human rights replaced natural rights, a very old concept, and the related phrase rights of man, which did not necessarily include the rights of women.

If the concept of human rights is very old, the general recognition of their validity is not. Throughout most of history, governments failed to accept the notion that people have rights independent of the state. This is called statism. Germany under Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union during the rule of Joseph Stalin are prime examples, and there are other equally valid instances that still exist.

It is agreed that human rights are not always absolute: they may be limited or restrainedfor the sake of the common good or to secure the rights of others.

Human rights is not an umbrella term to cover all personal desires.

Historically the debate has been carried on about three categories: individual, social, and collective.

Individual rights: the rights to life, liberty, privacy, the security of the individual, freedom of speech and press, freedom of worship, the right to own property, freedom from slavery, freedom from torture and unusual punishment.

Social rights make demands on government for such things as quality education, jobs, adequate medical care, social-insurance programs, housing, and other benefits. Basically they call for a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and the family.

Collective, or solidarity, rights hascome into prominence since the end of World War II, the collapse of old colonial empires, and the emergence of many new nation-states.

Women rights.

Throughout most of history women generally have hadfewer legal rights and career opportunities than men. Wifehood and motherhood were regarded as women's most significant professions. In the 20th century, however, women in most nations won the right to vote and increased their educational and job opportunities. Women were long considered naturally weaker than men, and unable to perform work requiring muscular or intellectual development. This ignored the fact that caring for children and doing such tasks as milking cows and washing clothes also required heavy, sustained labor. But physiological tests now suggest that women have a greater tolerancefor pain, and statistics reveal that women live longer and are more resistant to many diseases. Maternity, the natural biological role of women, has traditionally been regarded as their major social role as well. The resulting stereotype that “a woman's place is in the home” has largely determined the ways in which women have expressed themselves.

Today the cultural pressure for women to become wives and mothers still prevents many talented women fromfinishing college or pursuing careers. Working women often faced discrimination on the mistaken belief that, because they were married or would most likely get married, they would not be permanent workers. But married women generally continued on their jobs for many years and were not a transient, temporary, or undependable work force. From 1960 to the early 1970s the influx of married women workers accounted for almost half of the increase in the total labor force, and working wives were staying on their jobs longer before starting families. The number of elderly working also increased markedly.

Biosphere and ecological problems.

The biosphere is the layer of the Earth in which all life exists. It was Vladimir Vernadsky who recognized its ecological importance in 1929. He believed that all living organisms together with their environments make up the biosphere. These environments include the air (the atmosphere), land (the geosphere), rocks (the lithosphere) and water (the hydrosphere).

The biosphere is important because it is all of life. Without the biosphere Earth would be a lifeless planet like all the others in our solar system. Also, the biosphere could not exist without water. Water is essential for all living organisms on Earth and has played a very important role in the evolution of life on our planet.

The biosphere is what keeps us alive. Everything we need in order to grow and survive comes directly from the biosphere, so it is important to protect it; however, humans have not always done that.

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.

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables on.

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 burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result we have acid rains, global warming. Some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up. Polluted air can cause illness, and even death. Polluted water kills fish and other marine life. On polluted soil, food can not be grown. In addition environmental pollution spoils the natural beauty of our planet.

Pollution is as complicated as serious problem. Automobiles are polluting the air but they provide transportation for the people. Factories pollute the air and the water but they provide jobs for people and produce necessary goods. Pesticides are important for growing crops but they can ruin soil.

Thus, people would have to stop using many useful things if they wanted to end pollution immediately. Most people do not want that of course. But pollution can be reduced gradually.

Scientists are very concerned about the future, particularly how people will affect the environment in harmful ways. It is very important to try to prevent any permanent damage, or we will destroy ourselves.

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

Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries — members of the UNO — have set up environmental protection agencies. Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss problems facing ecologically poor regions. The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment.

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

Fortunately, it's not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and even the technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and safer place. Scientists and engineers can find the ways to reduce pollution from automobiles and factories. Government can pass the laws that would make enterprises take measures for reducing of pollution. Individuals and groups of people can plant trees, recycle wastes and create parks for endangered animals, work together to persuade enterprises to stop polluting activities.

Family affairs in different nations.

In different countries the traditions of creation families and bringing up children are quite different. In Russia for example we used to get married in the age of 20-25, and it’s normal. For Europeans the appropriate age of getting married is 30-35. And I believe this fact influenced on people and their future life. When you are 20 and you are in love it is easy to make up a decision to share your life with your beloved, it seems not so difficult to burn two or three children and still filling yourself young, happy and free. When you are 30 the situation is not the same. You feel yourself self-confident, calm, you are sure about your future and it’s so difficult to share your space with somebody else, and not only space, but you are to think about somebody’s interests…It’s really hard to break your useful way of life…Children now seem to be something that will be always disturbing you. And by the way you should earn enough to keep them. All these facts speak against marriage. People prefer not to get married, but live free and independent.

It’s not easy for me to speak about differences of bringing up children, because I’ve never saw it, but I suppose European and American children feel more freedom. It is forbidden to “break their rights” and for example to make them eat soup instead of chocolate. In some countries teachers can’t give a bad mark to a student, because he may be suspected in unfair attitude to him or her. Families are nuclear – only parents and their children, it means that the relations between generations are not very sensitive and warm. They exist like relatives not like a family.

In Russia the authority of parents is obvious. Grannies and Daddies are involved in the process of bringing up children and they are always ready to help and support. For me such relations are priceless. I don’t want to be free from family and from obligations; I want to be a part of it. This is the only way for me to be happy.