📘 Part 3: Environmental Protection and Conservation

This episode's vocabulary

Killing two birds with one stone (idiom) – to achieve two things with a single action. → The podcast is useful for both speaking and essays, so we are killing two birds with one stone.

Afford to do something (phrasal verb) – to be able to do something without it causing problems. → We could definitely afford to recycle more and use a lot less plastic.

Fund the conservation (collocation) – to provide money for the protection of something, especially the natural world. → We could use taxpayer money to fund the conservation of areas under threat.

Grasp (verb) – to understand something completely, especially something difficult. → Educating pupils about these issues could help them grasp how to resolve them.

Traffic congestion (compound noun) – a condition on road networks characterized by slower speeds and longer trip times. → Cities have a lot of traffic congestion, and the country is far away from them.

Urbanized areas (noun phrase) – areas that have become towns or cities. → It's not easy to find a place with greenery in urbanized areas.

Formulated (verb) – created or prepared something carefully. → If the laws had been better formulated, I doubt there would be a problem.

Punitive measures (collocation) – actions intended as a punishment. → Punitive measures tend to engender panic and pessimism by contrast.

Engender (verb) – to cause or give rise to a feeling, situation, or condition. → Punitive measures tend to engender panic and pessimism.

Track record (noun) – all the past achievements or failures of a person or organization. → We don't have a very good track record on that front because the creation of solar panels actually destroys locations.

Rare earth minerals (compound noun) – a set of seventeen metallic elements which are often difficult to extract. → Solar panels are made using rare earth minerals.

Psychological hurdle (collocation) – a mental or emotional barrier that must be overcome. → Consuming less is a psychological hurdle that we need to overcome.

Questions and Answers

Maria: What can people do to protect the natural world?

Rory: Well, I suppose at least practically, we could definitely afford to recycle more and use a lot less plastic, which would keep the environment clear for our animals and use up fewer resources. It might not be possible everywhere, but something we could do in this country is use taxpayer money to fund the conservation of areas under threat and maybe help the ecology there cope with various issues.

Maria: Is it important to teach students environmental protection at school?

Rory: Well, it certainly seems so, since these days we can see and hear a lot of bad news related to the environment and educating pupils about these issues could help them grasp how to resolve them more effectively. The only alternative might be asking parents to do it and that's highly unlikely since they're often so busy with their own work.

Maria: Is it easy for children in cities to get close to the natural world?

Rory: Generally, no, because cities have a lot of traffic, or at least traffic congestion, and the country is far away from them. So it's not an easy place to reach, despite being all around the urbanized areas of the country. Of course, we have zoos and things, like parks nearby, but it's nothing like being out in the wild.

Maria: What laws about the environment are effective in your country?

Rory: Unfortunately, I honestly don't think they're that effective in general, since we seem to have a lot of problems in that area at the moment and these statutes have been around for a long time without having any obvious positive effect or impact on the situation. If they'd been better formulated, I doubt there would be, well, anything like that posing a problem.

Maria: Which do you think people prefer: rewards or punishment when it comes to government intervention in environmental protection?

Rory: Well, from a psychological perspective, it certainly seems people would respond better to being rewarded, since it's much more pleasant compared to being punished. And it seems much more encouraging and positive, and maybe it sends a better message to the public at large. Punitive measures tend to engender panic and pessimism by contrast, and nobody wants that, do they?

Maria: What technological innovations could the world develop to protect the environment?

Rory: I don't know. It's tempting to talk about things like alternative energy, but we don't have a very good track record on that front because the creation of solar panels actually destroys the locations where rare earth minerals, which are used to create them are located. So that's not great. I don't really think there is a technological solution. I think people will just have to get used to the idea of consuming less and living in a way that's more in balance with the natural world. But that's not a technological thing. That's a psychological hurdle that we need to overcome.