English Audio Request

We have been talking about pollution and now I would like to ask you some more general questions relating to this topic.

DESCRIBE causes of pollution

Obviously, there are various types of pollution. Some of the major ones are air, water and noise. It’s probably simplest to say that these forms of contamination are caused by the early twenty-first century, modern life, the human species, whatever you want to call it. There are specific causes like the increased use of cars and other forms of transport, heavy industry and manufacturing. But it probably isn’t fair to blame the producers. Levels of consumption are at the heart of the problem. Our modern way of living requires automobiles and air travel, huge quantities of mass produced consumer durables, vast amounts of electricity and gas. It’s hardly surprising that we are causing more and more pollution. The problem is that nobody seems to have thought of a solution yet and the situation is becoming intolerable.

EXPLAIN why some people take the problem of pollution so seriously

Well, as I’ve already suggested, those who worry about it are probably right. Most scientists agree that our planet has never faced such a massive increase in carbon dioxide levels, for example, and this is having serious consequences for all of us. Even worse, the potential consequences, what scientists are predicting over the next half century or so, sound disastrous and although some people might say I’m being alarmist, it isn’t too unlikely that human civilisation will come to an end soon unless we really address the problems. So many things are already going wrong. Rivers are so polluted that fish die out; the oceans are becoming increasingly acidic and that threatens marine life; life for humans and animals, particularly in large metropolitan cities and conurbations, is increasingly difficult. If nothing is done immediately the situation is likely to get beyond our control. It’s something I’m genuinely scared about. I don’t feel at all optimistic about the future.

EXPLAIN what can or should be done to reduce pollution

That’s an extremely difficult question. Of course there are solutions but nobody wants to take the difficult decisions. Probably the easiest thing to do would be to ban all non-essential travel, make people use public transport, ration the amount of energy they can use and increase prices of things like consumer durables so much that most people just wouldn’t be able to afford them. Although that would work, it would leave millions without a job and have long-term implications for all of us. In any case, it is completely impractical and I doubt whether even one government would be willing to do it. Certainly the major governments wouldn’t. A watered-down version might be effective. You could try to cut the use of cars and try not to use so much energy, but it is probably already too late for a few minor alterations. The real problem is that most of us have got used to a high standard of living and we’re not willing to give up all those modern conveniences and gadgets.

SPECULATE on whether the planet will be a cleaner or dirtier place in fifty years’ time

I don’t know about in fifty years’ time, but in a hundred and fifty years’ time it might be considerably cleaner because humans might have been wiped out altogether. I’m not very confident in our ability as a species to deal with this issue and I’m afraid we will just keep acting irresponsibly until it is too late. I know some people believe that we are clever enough to find technological solutions which will enable us to keep burning fossil fuels and destroying non-renewable resources but I seriously doubt it. I think the most likely outcome is that we will destroy ourselves.