FOOD FOR THOUGHT: THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Before discussing any topic, it´s important to reinforce the vocabulary on the topic and read a number of articles or texts on the topic. I think that the film HOME can also help us see things better as we can visualise what´s happening in different parts of our planet. Thus, let´s prepare ourselves.

READING COMPREHENSION

How much does the environment matter?

Four people give us their views on environmental issues

A. TERESA STANLEY, 47, HOUSEWIFE

I´ve always been keen on environmental matters, but in the seventies, when I was growing up, the subject wasn´t discussed as much as it is today. Perhaps the problem was just as bad then, but fewer people understood the implications of what was going on or realised something ought to be done about it. I remember being pleased when laws restricting the use of certain pesticides came in. They appeared to signal the start of a vast movement to improve the environment, an acknowledgement that all human beings had a right to clean air and water. With hindsight, I think we were naive. There is much greater public awareness of environmental issues these days, but I still don´t think enough is being done about the problem. And since it´s a global issue, individual countries can´t tackle it by themselves. Reducing damage to the environment really must be an international effort. In a paradoxical way, the more we discover about the extent of the problem, the less we do about it. This is because problems like global warming are so huge that ordinary individuals don´t feel they could possibly make any difference. I think that´s the real danger facing us today - that we´ll succumb to a feeling of helplessness instead of making a concerted effort to make our planet a safer and cleaner place for future generations.

B. STAN BINGLEY, 20, STUDENT

I must say I´m pessimistic about the extent to which we can make a real difference to the conservation of our environment. Take the problem of air pollution, for instance. So much of the waste is produced by big industry, which has tremendous financial clout and a lobby that can put pressure on governments to pass laws in its favour. I´ve read somewhere that it would be a relatively easy matter to mass-produce cars that run on non-polluting fuels like hydrogen or natural gas, but the oil companies are so strong they block any real progress in that direction. And in the meantime, factories and power stations add to the problem by continuing to spew out tons of poisonous gases into the atmosphere.

I know many people are under the impression that they are helping in their own little way; recycling glass, plastic and paper in the household and so on. But then you often see the same people driving huge cars that guzzle petrol. They also think nothing of flying around the world for a holiday, polluting the atmosphere with the exhaust emissions from commercial planes. They don´t seem to realise that you can recycle waste paper for years to save trees being cut down, but your good deeds can be cancelled out by a single plane flight!

C. MEG DARCY, 32, SENIOR EXECUTIVE

I think people get worked up unnecessarily about these things, to be perfectly honest. Naturally, I´m all in favour of preserving the environment, but you have to take a balanced view of the situation. You can´t simply pass laws to discourage people driving large vehicles and force them to change to tiny fuel-economical cars. People have to be allowed to make choices of their own - responsible choices, of course - on such matters. And I suspect the scientists who keep preaching doom and gloom are probably exaggerating. The other day I saw a documentary about trains, and it seems that at the dawn of the railway age, scientists confidently stated that human beings could not possibly survive a journey on one of the new steam engines: they would not be able to breathe if they travelled at such unnatural speeds! They were wrong about that, so why should we assume they are right about globalwarming and the rest of the doomsday scenarios? As for the so-called energy crisis, I cannot take that very seriously, either. In the next few decades scientists are bound to find viable alternative sources of energy to fossil fuels. After all, we are already using inventions like solar panels to generate 'clean' electricity. One has to be optimistic about these things.

D. SYD BAYLE, 56, DENTIST

Environmental issues are important, but I don´t agree with people who become aggressive about the subject. No matter how right your ideas are, there´s no justification for becoming rude or violent. You have to take the long view and persuade people by reasoned argument and by setting a good example. Besides, attitudes have changed over the years. Not so long ago people thought you were eccentric if you recycled your household waste, but these days it´s common practice. I also feel that if everyone were responsible and organised about relatively little things like that, it would make a huge difference in the end. That´s how we have to approach the problem, by being very conscientious and painstaking.

Of course, we also need accurate information about the real situation, and this is where voluntary groups can make a valuable contribution - by monitoring the amount of pollution all over the country. A lot of people feel they can´t really trust government figures to be accurate, so it´s important to be able to double-check information against an independent source. I think this applies in particular to places like moors, forests and heathland - isolated regions where wildlife is under threat. People often forget about the rare birds and other species that suffer because of the way we humans are affecting the environment, which is a great pity.