Disasters and Public Health: Part 1 Causes: How Natural Are “Natural Disasters”?

http://www.albany.edu/talkinghistory/phradio/phr57.mp3

(Part 1 7:55-34:05; Part 2 35:50-59:32)

 

Vocabulary

combustion – a process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to give heat and light

sulfur dioxide – a colourless toxic gas (SO2) that occurs in the gases from volcanoes; used in many manufacturing processes and present in industrial emissions; causes acid rain (сернистый газ, двуокись серы)

carbon dioxide – a heavy odourless colourless gas formed during respiration and by the decomposition of organic substances; absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis (углекислый газ)

airborne – moved or conveyed by or through air

deforestation – the removal of trees (вырубка леса, обеслесивание)

dehydration – dryness resulting from the removal of water

greenhouse gas – a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation

intestinal infection – infection of the part of the alimentary canal between the stomach and the anus

post-traumatic stress disorder – an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as survivor guilt, reliving the trauma in dreams, numbness and lack of involvement with reality, or recurrent thoughts and images

barrier island – a long narrow sandy island (wider than a reef) running parallel to the shore

levee – an embankment that is built in order to prevent a body of water from overflowing (дамба, плотина)

albedo – the extent to which it diffusely reflects light from the sun

methane – a colourless odourless gas used as a fuel, it is a relatively potent greenhouse gas with a high global warming potential

vicious cycle – the situation when one trouble leads to another that aggravates the first

bread basket region – a geographic region serving as the principal source of grain

snow pack – a cover of snow on top of the mountains

Catskills – a natural area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are sometimes considered an extension of the Appalachian Mountains into Upstate New York, although they are not geologically related

high-mileage vehicle – a car that allows to use less fuel (высокоэкономичный автомобиль)

Kyoto Accord - a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations. The treaty is intended to achieve "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."

Answer the questions:

 

Part 1

· What was the main topic of the previous programme in July 2001?

· What makes carbon dioxide as a combustion product so dangerous even if it has no direct toxic effect on humans?

· What were the consequences of hurricane Katrina of 2004?

· What is the main focus of the today’s show?

· Who are the people being interviewed by profession? What are the spheres of their interest?

· What was the human impact role in the damage of recent hurricanes:

a) locally, because of coastal management (eg. in Mississippi and Alabama; in Louisiana)?

b) globally, because of global warming?

· Are there reliable meteorological models that can predict the development of weather conditions in different parts of the world because of global warming?

· What are the factors that lead to the increase of greenhouse effect?

· What example of new kinds of extreme weather events is given?

· Are there any predictions as to how global warming may affect agriculture and food supply?

· What may happen and should be done in California if global warming continues?

· What are advantages and disadvantages of private forms of transportaion discussed? What are the best solutions about transportation for the USA and world-wide?

· What are the diffences between heavy and light rails? What are advantages and disadvantages of both, according to your opinion?

 

Part 2

· How does our use of forests influence global warming and natural disasters such as droughts and flooding?

· Speak about an example of forest conservation in the Catskills. What practical considerations made New York City sign an agreement about forest conservation?

· Are there any models of the importance of deforestation on droughts and floods?

· Are there any human impacts on earthquakes? How different they are in different places? What was the example of Managua about?

· Why do poor regions add to the greenhouse effect? Is their influence as serious as the influence of the developed countries? Is there any model of development that may allow to get energy in a safer way for ecology?

· What should be done by the governments of wealthy nations and big corporations to improve the situation?

· What are the achievements and problems of Kyoto Accord?