The idea of issues that are truly global in scale is new ____ us. It emerged late _____ the twentieth century, perhaps when humans first saw images of the Earth from space - a small blue-green planet devoid of boundaries and arbitrary political divisions. The concept is still new enough to be ridiculed or resisted by individuals and institutions that see the world _____ the traditional perspective of state sovereignty.
Regardless ___ their novelty, global issues are so important that they may literally determine the future of the human species. Global issues impact all social, environmental, economic, health, and security concerns. And those concerns are, in themselves, global issues.
At this point, there seems to be only minimal agreement among nations and policymakers ______ the scope and scale of global issues. National perceptions and interests still drive most analyses of, and responses to, them. There is, in fact, no internationally agreed _____ definition of global issues, nor is there a concerted plan of action to deal with them.
We will define global issues as issues that: have significant impacts for large numbers of people, are trans-national, are persistent, or long-acting, are interconnected.
Some of the most critical global issues confronting us ____ the beginning of the 21st century: population, the rich - poor gap, food and water security, environment, health, economy, energy, peace and conflict, governance.
What is important to remember as we explore there issues is that while they may be daunting – and at times even frightening – they also provide us ____ rare opportunities. As Israeli statesman Abba Eban said, History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. As other alternatives disappear, and as the impacts of these issues multiply, the imperative and the opportunity _____ positive change increases.
11. You will read a piece of interview with Pr. M. Bartons, but the replies are to be matched with appropriate stimuli. So, restore the dialogue and reproduce it with your partner.
| - Nowadays people talk much about the problem of disappearing rain forests, stressing the global importance of this problem. What can you say about it? | - It may sound too categorical, but still, I would say rainforests are being destroyed because the value of rainforest land is perceived as only the value of its timber by short-sighted governments, multi-national logging companies, and land owners. |
| - I have heard, tropical rain forests are home to half the world's plant and animal species. It is something I can hardly imagine. | - I quite agree with them.. We are losing Earth's greatest biological treasures just as we are beginning to appreciate their true value. Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. |
| - Everybody knows that trees make the nature more beautiful but we often forget to stress the fact that they make the air we breath cleaner. So, rain forests turn to be of great importance from this point of view as well. | - Just think. Tropical rain forests give people food, new plant types, medicines, and climate control. The rain forest is host to 2,500 edible fruits (avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, turmeric, coffee and vanilla, nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews). In fact, 120,000 of the planet's 250,000 plant species live in the tropical rain forest. The diversity of life forms in a small area is greater in the rain forest than anywhere else. |
| - Professor, what are the rain forests being cut down for? | - Yes, you are right. It is high time to take our seats. |
| - Thank you very much, professor. The bell is ringing. Let’s join the other participants taking their seats at the meeting. I hope we shall hear a lot of interesting reports on many other environmental problems today. | - Absolutely right. I shall give you only one example. The Amazon Rainforest has been described by many ecologists as the “Lungs of our Planet” because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 percent of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. |
