Конспект урока-конференции по английскому языку на тему Проблемы экологии 8 класс

Host: - Dear guests, you are welcomed to today's scientific conference. The problems we are going to discuss today are How can people save the Earth? And where should we put the trash? As you know progress makes life easier and faster. People invent more and more cars, medical equipment, technical tools, weapon and chemical materials. With the help of these intentions we can do more things in everyday life, we can fight some dangerous illnesses, we can even travel through space. But do these inventions ruin our life and the Earth's life? What should we do with waste? And what should we do to save our planet? Our guests in our lecture hall will help us to answer these questions. And will help us to find solutions.

Today our guests are:

1) Sarah Moore (the head physician of State Hospital) ,

2) Bruce Green (biologist and member of Greenpeace society),

3) Howard Fredrickson (minister of Finance),

4) Michael Finn (the owner of recycling center),

6) Christine Bale (the owner of the center of nature sources researching),

7) Felicia Taylor (the head teacher of local school)

and some volunteers of our scientific center.

The activity of many public organizations is directed to protect the environment. One of the most known organizations is "Greenpeace", whose purpose is to prevent environmental degradation. And my first question is to Mr. Bruce Green. Mr. Green, what are the main environmental problems nowadays? How do people destroy the Earth?

Mr.Green: - Good afternoon! As you know, we have a lot of ecological problems today such as global warming, pollution of land, air and water, extinction of animals and so on. There are different kinds of environmental pollution: air pollution, water pollution, land pollution.

Sadly, not all human beings realize that we are the ones who cause these problems and we should be the first to stop them and protect our environment. Because of the industrial revolution the air is polluted with awful chemicals; seas and oceans are poisoned with oil spills. But one of the most serious problems is pollution of the planet with litter. It causes all the problems I have already named.

Volunteers :- Hello! My name is ………………………………And how does litter damage the environment?

Mr.Green: - Many of the problems facing the animal world today are caused by humans. All kinds of waste and trash produced by people penetrate into people's and animals' lives. Animals can eat some parts of plastic bags and die. They can suffocate because of plastic fisherman nets. People and animals can just drink polluted water and become sick.

Host: - Thank you, Mr. Green. It is very sad to hear that. Dear volunteers, are you interested in this information?

Volunteers: - Yes, We are.

Host: - Maybe you have some questions to our experts?

Volunteers : - Hello, my name is Julia Smith. I would like to know how people can suffer from litter.

Host : - This is a very good question. I think Mrs. Sarah Moore can give us some information.

Mrs. Moore : -Of course I can! As the head physician I see a lot of sick people who become ill not because of some infections or traumas, but because of different ecological problems. For example, people who often eat food in plastic containers and drink water in plastic bottles can have some problems with body's natural hormonal messaging system and even suffer from cancer. Water polluted by chemicals such as heavy metals and pesticides [ ] can cause hormonal and reproductive problems, damage to the nervous system and liver .The doze of harmful chemicals can be very small, but anyway it influences the organism in different ways. Also, air pollution can cause lung cancer. Breathing polluted air puts you at a higher risk for asthma and other diseases. For example, in Beijing, the number of lung cancer patients has increased by 60 percent in the last ten years.

Volunteers : - My name is ………………………….. How can people save their health in case of air pollution? Is it possible to breathe fresh air?

Mrs. Moore : - I can't be sure if it is possible. To improve the air quality, the Beijing government has taken some emergency measures, including closing more than 100 factories. And people lost their jobs. We need a lot of time and money to change the factories.

Host: - Thank you very much. I think your speech will make people think more about their health and be more attentive.

Now, I would like to talk about the financial side of the environmental problem. Mr. Fredrickson, we know that the biggest polluters are, like in most countries, the industry.

And a great amount of people work on the factories and plants. And they depend on it.

Mr. Fredrickson: - One of the popular examples is Lake Baikal with its local cellulose plant. It was built in the 1960s. Here, toxic substances are getting into the lake through a leaking tank, damaging the whole ecosystem.

In 2010, the plant was allowed to become operational again contrary to all protests of environmental activists. The 10,000 citizens are dependent on the plant. In this case it was not the usual conflict between environmental protection and the economic efficiency of a company, but rather environmental protection as a supposed threat to the social existence of a whole city.

You know, a lot of money should be spent on the environment. Once, we tried to burn trash. At the first time everything was ok. The building was safe and reliable and a special filter was bought for it. But one day, this filter broke. We bought a new one. But it also had its working life. After several times this filter had been changed we stopped using this incinerator because we couldn't afford it.

Volunteers : - And what can you say about natural recourses and economy? How do they depend on people's lifestyle?

Mr. Fredrickson : - Nations are losing more from pollution than they are gaining from progress. China is a perfect example. Twenty years of uncontrolled economic development have created serious, chronic air and water pollution. This has increased health problems and resulted in losses of billions of dollars. So uncontrolled growth is not only bad for the environment, it is also makes no economic sense.

Host : - Thanks a lot, Mr. Fredrickson! Well, we've got to know about problems that exist nowadays. But what should we do? What are the solutions to these problems?

Speaking about pollution, first of all, we think about the litter people produce. I would like you to watch a video about the process of recycling and say what are the ways not to waste the garbage? ВИДЕО (5 min)

Volunteers : - We can reuse some things more than one time!

• People can recycle the trash to have more new products!

Host : - Yes, you are right! Let's look at this problem more attentively!

Mr. Finn you are the owner of the recycling center. Could you tell us about your organization? How do you recycle different types of trash? What recycling means?

Mr.Finn: - First of all, recycling is the process of taking up of old materials and waste products and using them to make another product instead of just throwing it way. Trash is made of boxes, bags, paper, cans, plastics, clothing and bottles. It is also made up of old food called garbage. Some trash gets burned. When plastics and some other man-made things are burned, gases are given off. Too much of these gases can make people and animals sick.

Volunteers:- (rise hands) Hi, my name is Nick Carter. Could you tell us please, what types of waste can be recycled?

Mrs. Finn:- Yes, sure. Much of products used for packaging today like paper, plastic, glass, cans are already recycled. And it is good for the environment . In this way we save recourses and sent less trash to the landfills, it helps in reducing air and water pollution.

Host:- Girls and boys, I see that you very interested in this information. Do you have more questions?

Volunteers:- My name is James McFly. You've just said that recycling saves recourses. And how can it save our money?

Mr. Finn:- I think not only recycling but all the next action will help you save money and the Earth.

1) Before you throw anything away, stop and think. Might someone else have use for it?

2) Take as much rubbish as you can to local recycling center.

3) If you have a choice avoid buying packaged goods.

4) Don't waste paper.

5) Before you buy anything, ask yourself if you really need it.

6) And you can help our center by making your own home center by separating the trash.

Host: -Thank you very much, Mr.Finn. It is very useful advice!

My next question is to Miss.Bale. Miss Bale, you are the specialist of the center of nature sources researching. Let's speak about natural resources. What should we understand under this notion?

Miss Bale : - Natural resources are those resources that occur within the environment in their original and natural form, undisturbed by humanity. They take years to form without the intervention of humans.

Host : - It is known that transport satisfies the need of passenger traffic, and is an essential element of many manufacturing processes. But it is a major source of pollution.

Miss Bale : - Yes, it is. More than that, the number of cars has grown, so the amount of fumes of cars has grown too. Also, a lot of poisonous air goes out from the chimneys of factories and power plants.

Volunteers : - …………………………………………………And how does it affect the nature?

Miss Bale: - In particular, the burning of oil and gas, brings dioxide into the atmosphere that the Earth will start to heat up rather quickly because of the greenhouse effect. Global warming could melt the polar ice so much that sea levels will rise by 1 meter. In this case, some of the land, such as part of the Netherlands, will be flooded.

Volunteers: - ………………………………………………………….And what about the big cities?

Miss Bale: - World capitals, such as Tokyo, Los Angeles, Athens, always shrouded in mist. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is very high because of gases and fumes which contain a lot of toxic chemicals.

But there is good news. People began to think about natural resources and started to search for alternative types of energy. They also invented electric cars which work on solar energy. These models you can see on the screen. They don't need to use petrol or gas. They work on special batteries and you can find charger unit in the streets. I think it is a good way to make our life better and save natural resources.

Host : - Yes, fortunately people understood their harmful influence on the environment and day by day they try to invent something new to save nature. It's very important to take actions in time and not to waste this time.

We have one more important person in our auditorium. Mrs. Taylor, you are the head of local school, how do you and your students help our environment? Do you have any special program?

Mrs. Taylor : - Of course. Every month our pupils go outside and clean the rubbish away. We try to separate waste.

Moreover, we have our own scientific laboratory where children can do experiments and invent different devices.

Volunteers : - ………………………………………..And have you already invented something?

Mrs. Taylor: - Yes, we have. Our invention helps solve the problem of deforestation. Our machine plants bigger, better trees with ease! This machine attaches to a tree stump remover and can be used after you cut a tree. So when whole forests are cut of their trees, this machine can be used to automatically replant them for the future. The machine comes preprogrammed to create a variety of trees through genetic engineering. By choosing the proper options indicated by buttons on the machine, you could create your own tree that will be stronger, live longer, grow to be wider in diameter to produce more wood.

Inside the machine are chemicals and seeds that are altered to your specifications at the time of planting. And that's all. Simple, isn't it?

Host : - Wow! It is a very useful and simple device! I think it will help people maintain the balance in the environment and make the air cleaner!

And now, girls and boys, I would like you to make a list of rules we should follow to keep our planet clean and green! You will have about 5 minutes to make you list and after it you will present them to our guests. Start, please.

(presentations of students' lists)

Host : - Good job! Well done! Thank you!

(video about the Earth) (фоном)

We should be proud to live on our wonderful planet and understand that the consequences of pollution might be terrible and affect us and our children later.

I was glad to work with you today! I hope that our conference helped you understand all the serious environmental problems and find the way you can solve them! See you next year! Good bye!