Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare

Convinced the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare. The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years. These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of green revolution meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is too late for that, seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and a faltering U.S. economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves.

Some are doing it quietly, giving few details of their preparations — afraid that revealing such information as the location of their supplies will endanger themselves and their loved ones. They envision a future in which the nation's cities will be filled with hungry, desperate refugees forced to go looking for food, shelter and water. These survivalists believe in "peak oil," the idea that world oil production is set to hit a high point and then decline. Scientists who support idea say the amount of oil produced in the world each year has already or will soon begin a downward slide, even amid increased demand. But many scientists say such a scenario will be avoided as other sources of energy come in to fill the void.

On the PeakOil.com Web site, where upward of 800 people gathered on recent evenings, believers engage in a debate about what kind of world awaits. Some members argue there will be no financial crash, but a slow slide into harder times. Some believe the federal government will respond to the loss of energy security with a clampdown on personal freedoms. Others simply don't trust that the government can maintain basic services in the face of an energy crisis. The powers that be, they've determined, will be largely powerless to stop what is to come.

 

Peter Laskowski stacks firewood at his remote home in Waitsfield. Living in a woodsy area outside of Montpelier, Vt., the 57-year-old retiree has become the local constable and a deputy sheriff for his county, as well as an emergency medical technician. "I decided there was nothing like getting the training myself to deal with insurrections, if that's a possibility," said the former executive recruiter. Laskowski is taking steps similar to environmentalists: conserving fuel, consuming less, studying global warming, and relying on local produce and craftsmen. Laskowski is powering his home with solar panels and is raising fish, geese, ducks and sheep. He has planted apple and pear trees and is growing lettuce, spinach and corn. Whenever possible, he uses his bicycle to get into town. "I remember the oil crisis in '73; I remember waiting in line for gas," Laskowski said.

 

A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear. Breault cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds. She sliced up her credit cards, banished her television and swore off plane travel. She began relying on a wood-burning stove."I was panic-stricken," the 50-year-old recalled, her voice shaking. "Devastated. Depressed. Breault said she hopes to someday band together with her neighbors to form a self-sufficient community. Women will always be having babies, she notes, and she imagines her skills as a midwife will always be in demand. For now, she is readying for the more immediate work ahead: There's a root cellar to dig, fruit trees and vegetable plots to plant.

 

Lynn-Marie believes cities could see a rise in violence as early as 2012. Lynn-Marie asked to be identified by her first name to protect her homestead in rural western Idaho. Determined to guard themselves from potentially harsh times ahead, Lynn-Marie and her husband have already planted an orchard of about 40 trees and built a greenhouse on their 7 1/2 acres. They have built their own irrigation system. They've begun to raise chickens and pigs, and they've learned to slaughter them.The couple have gotten rid of their TV and instead have been reading dusty old books published in their grandparents' era, books that explain the simpler lifestyle they are trying to revive. Lynn-Marie has been teaching herself how to make soap. Her husband, concerned about one day being unable to get medications, has been training to become an herbalist.By 2012, they expect to power their property with solar panels, and produce their own meat, milk and vegetables. When things start to fall apart, they expect their children and grandchildren will come back home and help them work the land.

 

UNIT 16

 

А.П. Миньяр-Белоручева, К.В. Миньяр-Белоручев. Английский язык. Учебник устного перевода. «Экзамен», Москва,2005.

 

UNIT 3.INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Упражнение 1. Переведите с листа на русский язык следующий текст.

 

NATO formally welcomed Russia as a participant - but not as a full-fledged member. The agreement signed at an extraordinary meeting of the leaders of NATO's member nations, marked another major step in its effort to lock in Moscow's shift toward the West. The accord will for the first time give Moscow a role from the outset in NATO discussions about a fixed va­riety of topics, including non-proliferation, crisis management, missile de­fence and counterterrorism. But in an indication that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's members are still not fully convinced that Russia has completely renounced aggression and cast its lot with Europe, Moscow will not be a member of the alliance or be bound by its collective defence pact, in which all members pledge to come to each other's defence if necessary. Nor will Russia have a veto over NATO decisions or a vote in the expansion of its membership, including NATO's plans to invite in new nations - almost all of them once part of the Soviet bloc. The new council does not replace the North Atlantic Council, the body where NATO usually makes its deci­sions.

The significance of this meeting is difficult to overestimate. The idea of Russia sitting at NATO councils would have been, simply, unthinkable. Two former foes are now joined as partners, overcoming decades of division and uncertainty. Co-operation with the world's second largest nuclear power is more likely to be achieved by welcoming Russia west. Some NATO officials have voiced concern that the new council is not substantive enough for Russia. Meeting with reporters this afternoon, US Secretary of State said that while Russia and the United States were reducing their nuclear arsenals drastically, and co-operating in NATO, each country was maintaining a hedge. "We'll always have a hedge against uncertainty in the future, in our military forces in the nuclear weapons that the United States will continue to retain," he said. "It's a hedge against the future, because there are other nations that possess nuclear weapons or might come to possess nuclear weapons."

 

Упражнение 2 Подберите из правой колонки русские эквиваленты к английским словосочетаниям, помещенным в левой колонке.

 

1. full-fledged member 2. extraordinary meeting 3. member nations 4. major steps 5. shift toward the West 6. hedge against the future 7. non-proliferation 8. nuclear arsenals 9. missile defence 10. collective defence pact 11. decades of division and uncertainty 12. nuclear power 13. crisis management 14. uncertainty in the fu­ture 15. fixed variety of topics

a. нераспространение ядерного оружия b. ядерная держава c. сближение с Западом d. противоракетная оборона e. государства, состоящие в организации f. строго очерченный круг вопросов g. договор о коллективной безопасности h. «управление кризисами» i. ядерное оружие j. полноправный участник к. неуверенность по поводу будущего 1. основные шаги т. внеочередная встреча п. десятилетия разногласий и неуверен­ности о. предосторожности на случай будущей опасности

 

Упражнение 3. Переведите на русский язык следующие словосочетания и выучите их наизусть.

 

to come to one's defence..................................................................................

to have a veto over smth...................................................................................

to have a vote....................................................................................................

to join as partners.............................................................................................

to maintain a hedge...........................................................................................

to possess nuclear weapons..............................................................................

to renounce aggression.....................................................................................

to voice concern

Упражнение 4. Переведите письменно на русский язык текст упражне­ния 1, обращая внимание на употребление слов и выражений из упражне­ний 2 и 3.

Упражнение 5. Замените слова и словосочетания их русскими синони­мами и описательными оборотами.

 

Глава Соединенных Штатов - обеспечивать безопасность - захват власти - совещание представителей двух стран - министр иностранных дел - вносить вклад - передовые части - канцлер - встреча на высшем уровне - обострение отношений между государствами - внешняя по­литика - принципы нейтрализма - международный форум - придержи­ваться достигнутых договоренностей - кабинет министров - видный политический деятель - ограничение гонки вооружений - представите­ли государства - неприкрытая интервенция - система международных отношений - открывать огонь - совершить акт агрессии - обмен лич­ными посланиями - выступить против проводимого курса - заблокиро­вать решение - принимать меры - подписать договор -высший законо­дательный орган России - список обсуждаемых вопросов - озвучить заявление.

 

 

Упражнение 6. Переведите письменно следующий текст после его не­однократного прослушивания.

Серьезные неопределенности, существующие в ходе эволюции но­вой модели международных отношений, препятствуют утверждению четкой иерархии проблем, которые предстоит решать основным «дей­ствующим лицам». Поскольку в вопросе о характере нового мирового порядка до сих пор имеются многочисленные неясности, сложно оп­ределить ту повестку дня, вокруг которой и развернется борьба ос­новных центров силы в обозримом будущем. Важные последствия вытекают и из вполне очевидного фактора - безусловного лидерства США на данной стадии развития международных отношений. Соеди­ненные Штаты не скрывают своего стремления добиваться превра­щения XXI в. в «Американский век», когда весь мир будет обустроен по образу и подобию США, когда американские ценности приобретут универсальный характер. Подобные устремления вступают в явное и весьма жесткое противоречие с набирающим все больший размах процессом плюрализации мирового сообщества. Американское руко­водство готово всеми способами утверждать свои планы установле­ния нового мирового порядка. В связи с этим возникает вопрос: хва­тит ли у США ресурсов для того, чтобы, хотя бы в относительной мере, надолго закрепиться на позициях мирового гегемона? А если не хватит, то каким образом это скажется на состоянии системы между­народных отношений?

 

Упражнение 7. Соотнесите названия следующих международных орга­низаций с их функциями. Переведите устно на русский язык названия и функ­ции следующих организаций.

 

1. Greenpeace     2. World Council of Churches   2. International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol)   4. International Ice Patrol   5. International As­sociation of Uni­versities   6. International Committee of the Red Cross     7.International Or­ganisation for In­formation and Documentation     8. International Atomic Energy Agency

a. Organisation aimed at locating icebergs in the North Atlantic, following and predicting their drift, and issuing warnings to ships in the vicin­ity.   b. Nongovernmental educational organisation founded to promote co-operation at the interna­tional level among the universities of all coun­tries as well as among other bodies concerned with higher education and research.   с Association which is concerned with problems in the organisation, storage, retrieval, dissemina­tion, and evaluation of information by both me­chanical and electronic means.   d. Ecumenical organisation that works for the unity and renewal of the Christian denominations and offers them a forum in which they may work to­gether in the spirit of tolerance and mutual un­derstanding.   e. Large nongovernmental organisation interested primarily in environmental issues.   f. Autonomous intergovernmental organisation dedicated to increasing the contribution of atomic energy to the world's peace and well-being and ensuring that agency assistance is not used for military purposes.   g. Organisation aimed at promoting the widest pos­sible mutual assistance between all the criminal police authorities within the limits of the laws ex­isting in the affiliated countries.   h. Organisation that acts to help all victims of war and internal violence, attempting to ensure the implementation of humanitarian rules and re­stricting armed violence.

 

Упражнение 8. Подберите устно английские эквиваленты к следующим выражениям.

 

Межправительственная организация - проблемы защиты окружаю­щей среды - жертвы войны - ограничение вооруженного насилия - экуменистическая организация - региональная безопасность - надна­циональные органы - неправительственная организация - органы ис­полнительной, законодательной и судебной власти - взаимопомощь -вопросы защиты окружающей среды - решение спорных проблем мир­ными средствами - медицинское обслуживание высокого уровня - ме­ждународное сотрудничество - хранение, поиск, распространение и оценка информации.

Упражнение 9. Ознакомьтесь самостоятельно со следующими между­народными организациями, Подберите русские эквиваленты к полным назва­ниям данных организаций и их аббревиатурам.

 

United Nations (UN)

UN is an international organisation established by charter on October 24, 1945, with the purposes of maintaining international peace and security, de­veloping friendly relations among nations on the principle of equal rights and self-determination, and encouraging international co-operation in solv­ing international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems. The United Nations' headquarters are now located at the UN Building in New York City.

 

The General Assembly includes representatives of all members of the UN. A nation may send up to five representatives but still has only one vote. Decisions are reached either by majority or by two-thirds vote, depending upon the subject matter. The General Assembly works through the commit-tee system and receives reports from the various councils. It is convened yearly or by special session when necessary.

 

The Security Council consists of 5 permanent members - United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China - and 10 nonpermanent members. The council functions continuously and is mainly con­cerned with the maintenance of international security. The presidency is rotated among members each month. Nonpermanent members are chosen from groups and regions in the most equitable fashion possible. Nine votes (including those of all five permanent members) are sufficient to carry a Security Council decision, but any permanent member may exercise a veto over any substantive proposal. Any state, even if it is not a member of the United Nations, may bring a dispute to which it is a party to the notice of the Security Council.

 

The Secretariat is the administrative department of the UN, headed by the secretary-general, who functions in a position of political importance and is appointed for a five-year term by both the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Secretariat influences the work of the United Nations to a degree much greater than indicated in the UN Charter.