Environmentalism and
Global Issues
Spoken English II, Class 1 & 3
Dr. Janet Sio
Fujian Normal University
Movie Trailer
By: Ed Burtynsky,
Industrial photographer
Video: Interpretation Exercise
In an interview, the photographer says,
“There is no simple right or wrong. It needs a whole new way of
thinking.”
“ An environmentalist will look at it one way, an industrialist will look
at it another way….There’s these readings that people can enter into it
(the photo) and that there are multiple readings. It’s not necessarily
just to be read one way.”
What are your opinions, ideas or thoughts about these photos?
Where did you first learn about
environmentalism?
Woody, the owl.
“Give a hoot, don’t pollute”
FNU Language Enhancement 20122013
Brainstorm: Types of Pollution
• air pollution
• water pollution
• litter/solid waste pollution
• noise pollution
Types of Pollution
• air pollution (car exhaust, coal dust, sand, smoking, carbon
emissions)
• water pollution (industrial waste, sewage, acid rain)
• litter/solid waste pollution (plastic bags, styrofoam boxes,
disposable chopsticks, landfill)
• noise pollution (traffic, construction)
• greenhouse effect/global warming (温室效应, 全球变暖)
Complaining Constructively
Complaints can be helpful if you can provide reasons why
something doesn’t work or is unliked
problem 
root cause 
“Too much/many”
solution
“Not enough”
Much (non count words)
Many (count words)
Eg. I don’t like this classroom.
There’s too much organized activity and not enough time to practice
“Too many/much and not enough”
Pollution type Too much/many
Air
Water
Solid Waste
Noise
Not enough
“Too many/much and not enough”
Pollution
type
Air
Too much/many
Not enough
Too many factories
Too much car exhaust
Trees, industry
restrictions
Water
Too many people
throwing garbage
Too much sewage
Too many plastic bags
Too much waste
Too many people
Too much construction
Water treatment plants
Protection laws
Solid Waste
Noise
Recycling centers
Recycling education
Restricted times
Consideration
What is sustainability? (可持续)
“the capacity and ability to support, maintain or endure”
Natural?
Natural Capital?
Capital?
Autumn Maple Trees,
Toronto
Summer Banyan Trees,
Fuzhou
Natural Capital Resources
• Resources are anything obtained from the
environment to meet plant, animal and
human needs.
• Primary resources are: air, water, soil,
energy and minerals.
Resources: Perpetual and
Renewable
• Perpetual: renewed
continuously on a
human scale
Changjiang Ao Windfarm,
Pingtan
Resources: Perpetual and
Renewable
• Renewable: can be
replenished fairly
quickly on a human
scale
Christmas tree farm
Resources: Non-renewable
• Non-renewable: exist in essentially fixed
quantities on the earth;
Open pit mine, Australia
Natural Capital Resources
• Perpetual
• Renewable
• Non-Renewable
Using the following photographs, state which kind of resource
each of these are:
Solar Power: perpetual
Coal: non renewable
Natural Capital Resources
• Perpetual
• Renewable
• Non-Renewable
Oil: non-renewable
Wind Power: perpetual
Forests: renewable
Natural Capital Resources
• Perpetual
• Renewable
• Non-Renewable
Natural gas: non-renewable
Geothermal: perpetual
Hydro power: renewable
Sustainable living
• Sustainable living does not use nonrenewable resources.
• Sustainable living uses renewable
resources only at the rate at which they
can be replaced.
Tiger Leaping Gorge:
“Waking the Green Tiger”
China Environmental Protection Foundation
http://www.cepf.org.cn
曲 格平 (Qu GePing, Former Environment Protection Minister of
China)
• Green Earth Volunteers: http://eng.greensos.cn
Green Watershed: http://www.greenwatershed.org/
THE DIRECTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS & ENVIRONMENTAL
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN CHINA
http://earthdirectory.net/china
What’s that Nationality?
USA
Canada
Germany
Switzerland
Thailand
Vietnam
France
Brazil
Mexico
England
Russia
Indonesia
Israel
Poland
American
Canadian
German
Swiss
Thai
Vietnamese
French
Brazilian
Mexican
English
Russian
Indonesian
Israeli
Poland
Malaysia
Egypt
Italy
Portugal
Australia
Austria
South Africa
Mongolia
Korea
Japan
Philippines
Spain
Pakistan
Sweden
Malaysian
Egyptian
Italian
Portuguese
Australian
Austrian
South African
Mongolian
Korean
Japanese
Philippino
Spanish
Pakistani
Swedish
Gapminder.org
Stockholm Sweden
a modern “museum” on the internet
promoting sustainable global development and
achievement of the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals
Homework: Lab
1. Look up www.gapminder.org
2. See “Gapminder World” and answer the following
questions:
•
•
•
•
•
What colour are the Asian countries?
What countries have the longest life expectancy?
What countries are the richest?
What continent is the poorest?
What does the size of each circle represent?
3. Press “Play”
4. Review the names of countries and nationalities
Homework:
The Language of Peace
•
•
•
•
What does it mean?
Where is it found?
How do we learn it?
What is the opposite of peace?
Final Exam
Date:
Monday June 10, 2013
(the 2nd last class of the semester, depending on 端午节)
Format:
Four people enter each time in 15 minute slots
Part 1:
Pronunciation: Green Eggs and Ham
Part 2:
Sentence Pattern Question and Answer (3)
Past/Present/Future tense
conditionals, adverbs of probability
asking and expressing opinion
complaining constructively
Part 3:
Creative Visualization, 1 slide.
Use language of comparisons