A Message of Life

CLICK ON THE ARROW TO WATCH THE VIDEO.
Tasks after watching:

I. Discuss with your partner:
a. how the young man changes through different phases of his life;
b. a viewpoint of yours that has changed as you were becoming older.

II. Consider the following:
1. What is that that makes this video clip a commercial?
2. Do you think it is effective?
3. How can commercials influence those who watch them?
4. Are commercials more powerful on TV or in the print?

Say your opinion:
1. Do the young people today face more problems in the world than the older generations?
2. Does the individual behaviour impact the future of the world?
3. Does the technology make people happier?
4. What could be disastrous consequences of using too much technology?
5. Have you changed anything in your life that is now more environment friendly?

III. Compare:
1. the way people lived before and after the 4th (internet) technological revolution;
2. the way people communicated in the past and now;

IV. Speculate how people will live in the future if we don't stop the environmental degradation. In a group write a warning message to your Prime Minister.

IV. Listening comprehension / writing / reading
1. Write down the scrypt of this commercial. Ask your teacher for help in difficult spots. Print it out.
2. Cut the text in smaller segments and have your partner re-compose it.

Ocean Acid Test by Oceana

CLICK ON THE ARROW TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

I. Comprehension task during listening:
Circle the right answer:
1. Ocean acidification is due to a. carbon dioxide b. dead fish c.garbage.
2. Eco systems of the oceans are a. fine b. in danger c. dead.
3. Oceans absorb about a. 15% b. 30% c. 50% of CO2.
4. Added carbon reduces a. water b. light c. carbonate in the ocean.
5. Carbonate is a building block of a. ocean water b. ocean ships c. shells.
6. If acidification keeps growing, it could a. grow b. decrease c. disolve shells.
7. Calcification is formation of a. shells b. pebbles c. fish eggs.
8. An eco system is in danger if any one species a. lives b. thrives c. dies.
9. The content of CO2 in the atmosphere should not exceed 450 ppm (parts per million).
10. If it continues at the current rate, at the end of the century the ocean acidity will a. double b. triple c. remain the same.

II. Share your thoughts and information with your group:
1. Why are alternative energy sources good for the oceans?
2. Make a list of everyday things that are carbon dependent.
3. Come up with a list of changes in your life style that can reduce carbon emissions.
4. Find on the internet how you can measure your "carbon footprint". Go to www.carbonfootprint.com

Plant trees for change with Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai

Official Google Blog: Plant trees for change with Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai

1. Discuss about:
a) benefits of forests
b) harms of deforestation.

2. Find facts about Canadian forests and the forests in your country. Write a report and bring it to the class.

3. Find more information about the first African Nobel Prize winner, Wangari Maathai. Bring the facts to your group and write a short biography together.

3. Draw a poster for the International Year of Forests, 2011.

Polar Bears in Jeopardy

Global warming is melting the polar ice caps, robbing the bears of the ice floes they need to hunt prey. Forced to fast for longer periods, polar bears will become too thin to reproduce and many scientists predict they could become extinct by the end of this century. At the same time, their natural habitat is under increasing assault from expanded development

TASKS

1. Discuss:

• What are the consequences of global warming on the polar bear?
• The polar bear is the most polluted animal. What do you think, is the reason for that?
• What is the "development" that harms the polar bear habitat?
• If the polar bear went extinct, what would be the consequences?

2.

Rewrite the first two sentences using relative clauses instead of the participles.

Teaching ESL for Sustainability

Click here to view our slides at the workshop Teaching ESL for Sustainability at the 2009 TESL Ontario Conference.

Teaching about and Appreciating Nature

Click here to view my slide presentation at the TESL Ontario Conference in October 2010.

Endangered Species in Canada

Visit this website to find an updated information and degrees of risk for animal and plant species in Canada:
www.sararegistry.gc.ca/default_e.cfm

We are what we buy

Make your buying decisions on the following questions:
1. Is this purchase something I need?
2. Do I already own something that will serve the same purpose?
3. Can I make or borrow something that will do the same thing?
4. Is my purchase locally made?
5. Is the product made with environmentally sustainable materials?
6. Was it produced by workers who are treated fairly under safe and healthy working conditions?
7. Can I easily compost or recycle the product when I'm finished with it?

Add your own question based on the experience from your home country.

Discuss with your group which of these tips have priority.

HOW MAPLE SYRUP __________ (MAKE)

1. Use passive forms of the verbs in parentheses:

First, a hole __________ (drill) in the trunk of a maple tree.
A spout, called a spile, __________ (hammer) into the hole.
The sap from the tree __________ (collect).
Then the sap __________ (boil) into maple syrup.
The water __________ (evaporate) by boiling for a long time.
The hot syrup __________ (pour) into bottles and __________ (seal).
Maple candy can also __________ (make)
Maple syrup __________ (use) for cooking and baking.


2.
Cut stripes with one sentence on each and have students order them in a paragraph.

Gorillas and cell Phones

Toronto Zoo has a cell phone drop off program called "Phone Apes". If you decide to take your class for a visit there,maybe you'll find this material useful not only to teach the language, but to instill some Earth watcher's ideas along.
Conservationists point out that recycling cell phones protects landfills from the many potentially hazardous chemicals found in the phones, including antimony, arsenic, copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc.

But cell phones also include coltan, a mineral extracted in the deep forests of Congo in central Africa, home to the world's endangered lowland gorillas.

Fueled by the worldwide cell phone boom, Congo's out-of-control coltan mining business has in recent years led to a dramatic reduction of animal habitat and the rampant slaughter of great apes for the illegal bush-meat trade.

"Most people don't know that there's a connection between this metal in their cell phones and the well-being of wildlife in the area where it's mined," said Karen Killmar, the associate curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo.

TREES

Match the trees with their parts:

OAK TREE - ACORN
PINE - CONE
MAPLE - KEY
HAZEL - CATKINS
CHESTNUT - SPINES
LOCUST - PODS
BASSWOOD - LEAFY BRACT

Mystery Things

1.
They are called "monarchs of the mist".
They are the highest of all living things on earth although they grow from seeds not larger than tomato seeds.
They were far more spread during the age of dinosaurs. Their fossils have been found in Asia,Europe and North America. Now their natural range is reduced to a belt 35 miles wide and 450 miles long, from extreme southern Oregon to Monterey County, California.


2. It looks like a mass of dead leaves, moldy fungus or a termite's nest when you see it high up in a tree,hanging upside down. It lives only in Central America, where it is very rare. It has long, coarse hair and four long limbs. It has three long claws that look like hooks. Its face looks like it is always smiling.It moves extremely slowly because it drags its body as its legs do not support it. It spends 18 out of 24 hours sleeping.

ANSWERS: 1. redwoods (sequoias); 2. three-toe sloth

Walking in High Park

We are going to High Park to explore and enjoy the sights. Complete the following tasks:
1. Look around and find:

3 types of deciduous trees
2 types of conifers
3 types of birds
a prairie
a slope
a path
a monument
a sculpture
a flower bed
a pond
fish
a bridge

2. Find some information about Colborne Lodge and write a paragraph to read in your class.
3. Look for the memorial to John and Joanna Howard. Describe the way how you got there. Find out about the Howards and share with your class.
4. Finish the sentence with appropriate verb forms:
If you ___________ (come) to the pond in 1837, you ___________ (find) yourself virtually standing on the shore of Lake Ontario.
5. Describe people's activities in the Park.

Awareness Walk

Walking in nature can be so much more than hurrying to a destination.Walking is a doorway to being in your body instead of your head, experiencing instead of thinking.When you walk with awareness, you can regroup and return to your centre, clear your thoughts and feelings, and align your inner and outer worlds.It can be a time when you regain your perspective and experience yourself as healthy, integrated and alive. Nature around you, breathing cleaner air and relaxed mood, will replenish your energy and relieve stress from over-committed life.

BIODIVERSITY

Fill in words that fit in the text:

It is essential that we do all we can to help protect ____________. Biodiversity is responsible for the ____________ of the air we breathe, and the water we ____________. We rely on biodiversity to provide us with ____________, both animal and vegetable, as many of the plants we eat require animals to ____________ them. We also have biodiversity to thank for fertile ____________ to plant our crops in, the regulation of ____________ on earth, and also as the source of many of our ____________ for healing. In short, biodiversity provides us with everything we need to ____________.

 

 

Solutions: biodiversity, purification, drink, food, pollinate,
soils,
climate,
medicines,
live.

Mountain Top Removals in West Virginia

Put the verbs in parentheses into the right form:


Last week, the state of West Virginia announced that it _________ (sue) both the Environmental Protection Agency and the the Army Corps of Engineers over mountain top removal mining regulations. It said they ___________ (be) "unlawful" and "based on inadequate science."

West Virginia's Gov. Joe Manchin accused the government that they purposefully__________ (delay) 23 pending mountain top removal mining permits and ___________ (harm) the state's economy in the process.

Manchin alleged that no specific law or government regulation __________ (keep) the permits from passing.

Solutions: would sue, were, delayed, harmed, had kept

Saving South African Leopards with Fake Fur

(adapted from www.care2.com)

Use the active or passive form of the verbs in parentheses:

 

This is one example of a major conservation blind spot in southern Africa right now: the widespread and rapid loss of leopard populations to an illegal yet culturally entrenched skin trade. The most frightening thing is not the rate at which these magnificent big cats ___________ (hunt), but just how little the public___________ (know) about the trade.

The major demand for skins ___________ (create) by the four million strong religious group known as the Shembe church. The Shembe ___________ (adopt) leopard skins into their ceremonial life from their traditional place in Zulu culture where for hundreds of years the skins ___________ (serve) as a sign of the royal family. Now, what was once the reserve of the elite ___________ (search) after by millions of people, and at a single gathering upward of 600 leopards skins can ___________ (see). In a country highly sensitive about race and culture, stopping a practice like this -- however illegal -- through the use of the law, is almost impossible. It is an accepted norm for too many people.

 

are being hunted, knows, is created, have adopted, served, is sought, be seen

Ocean Storm

Put connectors on the blanks:

(This is a modified passage from Rachel Carson's book "The Sense of Wonder")

One stormy autumn night ________ my nephew was about twenty months old I wrapped him in a blanket ________ carried him down to the beach in the rainy darkness. Out there, just at the edge of where-we-couldn't-see, big waves were thundering in, dimly seen white shapes _________ boomed ________ shouted _______ threw great handfuls of froth at us. Together we laughed for pure joy - he a baby meeting for the first time the wild tumult of Oceanus, I with the salt of half a lifetime of sea love in me. ____ I think we felt the same response to the vast, roaring ocean _______ the wild night around us.

Solutions: when, and, that, and,and, But, and.

A Bike Tour in North Toronto

Read the directions and trace the route on the map

 

Start from the Broadview subway station on the Danforth-Bloor line and ride north on Broadview Avenue. Turn left onto Pottery Road. Turn left on Bayview Avenue and ride to the Moore Park Ravine. Ride the path north through the maples and willows of the ravine to Moore Avenue.

At Moore Avenue you can ride into the Mount Pleasant Cemetery from dawn to dusk. Follow the marked route through the cemetery. Ride across the bridge over Yonge Street and the Davisville subway car yards. Follow the path through Forest Hill. Cross Oriole Parkway and Avenue Road. Go under the Eglinton West bridge and cross Bathurst Street. Ride to Allen Expressway, turn left and walk to Eglinton West subway station on the Spadina line.
MAP

To create your own map, you must have a Google account. If you don't, work with a friend who does, or your teacher. Open Google Maps, click on My Maps and watch the tutorial how to make your own map. Then trace the bike route as described in the text above. Print the map and compare with others in your class. You can also do a search about places that interest you on this route (e.g. restaurants, because you will get hungry after the ride).

Urban Forest

Put the verbs in parentheses either in an active or a passive form:

Toronto is a city of trees. More than three million trees ____________ (dominate) our ravines, ____________ (line) our boulevards and ____________ (beautify) our parks. Millions more trees____________ (locate) on private property.
Trees are the lifelines of our city. Trees____________ (beautify) neighbourhoods. The harsh texture of concrete buildings ____________ (soften) by trees. Trees ____________ (offer) privacy screens and ____________ (protect) people from the sun’s burning rays. Harmful gases and other pollutants____________ (absorb) by trees. Soils __________ (protect) from erosion. Trees ____________ (provide) a natural habitat for birds and wildlife, ____________ (cool) streets and homes in the summer, and ____________ (protect) us from winds in the winter.
Trees are the predominant contributor to Toronto’s image as a “green” and beautiful city.
Toronto’s trees along city streets, in parks, ravines and natural areas, in the front and back yards of homes, and in landscaped open spaces are collectively known as the city’s “urban forest”. It must ____________ (protect) and ____________ (grow) as a natural legacy for future generations to enjoy.

Green Heroes

AIR

Fill in these adjectives on the blanks:
invisible, diffuse, controllable, ecological, understood, shared, mysterious

Respiration is an ______________ act. We inhale a pint of atmosphere with every breath. And yet, of all the component aspects of our environment, air remains ______________.
Air is the element most ________________, most __________, most _____________, least _____________, least _______________.

This passage is from Sandra Steingraber's book "Living Downstream" (Da Capo Press 2010)

SOLUTIONS: ecological, mysterious, diffuse, shared, invisible, controllable, understood.

The Last Trapper, a movie

“The Last Trapper” (2005 NFB, available at Blockbuster), by Nicolas Vanier
A feature movie about Norman Winther, played by himself
Here are some while-watching and post-watching tasks by the scene:

SCENE 1

{from the beginning to the kayak on a cascade}

Questions:
1. Find words that best describe the landscape.
2. Give your opinion on what a man’s life in this wilderness looks like.
3. Write down names of 5 animals that have been shown.
4. What makes Norman attracted to this way of living?
5. What is Norman’s fear? How do human activities in the area impact wild life?


SCENE 2

{grizzly bear, horses}

Questions:
1. What is a trap line? When is the trapping season? What does Norman do?
2. Describe the scene when Norman comes across a grizzly bear.
3. How does Norman interact with the animals he depends on?
4. How does he relate with the environment. Discuss different scenes you’ve seen in the movie.


SCENE 3

{cabin building, town, dog’s death}

Questions:
1. Describe the process of building a cabin.
2. What does Norman need from the city? What makes him return to his lifestyle?



SCENE 4

{Apache, hunting a moose)

Questions:
1. Norman and Nebraska call their new dog _____________.
2. According to Norman, man’s role is ___________________________________.
3. He is _____________ for killing an animal.
4. Nebraska goes back with a ___________ to get the meat.

SCENE 5

{trapping, sinking in ice}

Questions:
1. How would you describe sleighing dogs?
2. What is a role of a trapper, according to Norman?


SCENE 6

How does Norman relate to his dogs? What is their interdependence?


SCENE 7

{Alex and Norman, accident on a rock, wolves, Northern lights}

Questions:
1. In which way do Norman and Alex agree, and what are the differences between them?


SCENE 8

Questions:
1. What could be possible answers to Nebraska’s last question?
2. Consider life in that area 50 years from now.
3. Complete the sentences:
a) Norman Winther is ______________________________.
b) He lives _______________________________________
c) He loves ______________________________________
d) He thinks ___________________________________
e) He would like _________________________________
f) He says __________________________________
g) He fears _________________________________

4. Learn more about World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

UN Secretary General Introduction for the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity

UN Secretary General Welcome Message for the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity from CBD on Vimeo.

Listen to the speech and fill in the blanks:

Our lives depend on biological ____________. Species and eco systems are disappearing at an unsustainable ____________. We humans are the ____________. We start to lose a wider variety of ____________ goods and services that we take for granted. The consequences for economies and people will be ____________, especially for the world poorest people.

In 2002 world leaders agreed to substantially ____________ the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

We know already that the biodiversity ____________ will not be met.

We need a new vision and new efforts. To be as usual is not an ____________.

For this year of biodiversity I call on every country and each ____________ on our planet to join together in the global alliance to protect life on Earth.

Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is ____________ life.

Solutions: diversity, rate, cause, environmental, profound, reduce, target, option, citizen, our.

New Ways

Pollution affects everyone. Nobody escapes. The soil must heal. The atmosphere has to improve. Smog must go. The oceans have to be protected. All water needs to be pure. Clean energy sources can and must be found. Biodiversity has to be maintained. Forests will be planted. More forests must be planted. And the trees will smile their oxygen again in the dawn of a brand-new day.

From the book "Global Forest" by Diana Beresford-Kroeger (Viking 2010)


TASK:
Find different words for expressing obligation and necessity. Check your grammar book to find nuances in the meaning.

Green Canadian Future

This is an abridged excerpt from the article by Sidney Ribaux and Rick Smith from Toronto Star of June 2010.

There is a new and exciting story that Quebec and Ontario have just begun to tell, and one that we really have no choice but to fill out and embrace.A new low carbon economy is not only possible, but essential. With tremendous potential in renewable energy, an innovative workforce and good policy design, Quebec and Ontario can lead this story and invite others in.Ontario's Green Energy Act has already resulted in billions of dollars of new investments in renewable energy, with the promise of thousands jobs. The two provinces have signed a memorandum of understanding to co-operate on battling greenhouse gas pollution.
We have to stop sending billions of dollars to oil companies and instead create jobs at home by supplying electric vehicles manufactured here with renewable energy that we have produced ourselves.
This story will also tell about what kind of people we are, and about what really matters. It is a story about showing leadership in the world and about restoring Canada's reputation. It is a story about doing right for our children and grandchildren by building them a brighter future. It is a story about responsibility and caring for others.

Enviro Inventions

Please click on this link to find the printable document.

Chemicals in your Home

Click on this link for an interactive quiz about the chemical burden in your home.Discus your results with those of your classmates.

Click on this link to find more about harmful chemicals in cleaning products.

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

This is an abridged article from Toronto Star of May 2010, "Secret ingredients found in perfumes" by Noor Javed

They make you smell like an exotic flower, but popular perfumes and body sprays may also be dousing you with small amounts of chemicals and trigger allergic reactions and disrupt hormones.
Toronto based Environmental Defence and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in the US tested 17 popular fragrance products and found they contained a total of 38 secret chemicals not listed on the label. On average, each product had 14 of those chemicals.10 of them are known to cause allergies and 4 have a potential to disrupt the hormone system. Many of them are classified as allergens by the European Union, says Rick Smith of the Environmental Defence. "The problem is that they are listed under a generic name "fragrance" and Canadian laws do not oblige the cosmetic manufacturers to be transparent."
People with chemical sensitivities may suffer from nausea, headaches and skin reactions if exposed to strong scents. That's why they are limited even in staying in places with other people, such as theatres and street cars.

TASK: Check this website and discuss about your findings.


LANGUAGE TASK:

Find the past participles in the text and decide which of them are used as:
1. passive forms
2. adjectives.

Teddy Bear in One Hand, Lipliner in the Other

This is an abridged article by Douglas Quenqua from Toronto Star of 3 May 2010

The choice between prohibition and harm reduction has long divided parents on pricky issues: forbid alcohol or supervise the inevitable kegger? Preach abstinence or buy condoms?
Now the struggle shows signs of coming to a new front: the cosmetic counter.
Regular use of cosmetics is rising sharply among tween girls, according to a new report from NPD Group, a US consumer company.
Meanwhile, women of all other age groups, including teenagers, report using less makeup, according to NPD. The economy seems to be playing the role, says karen Grant, senior beauty analyst with NPD, with women cutting back on beauty products to save money and unemployed women feeling less compelled to do their face every morning.
"They're not sneaking any of this stuff", Grant said. "They're doing the shopping with their moms, they're getting the money from their moms and families. It's becoming almost part of the family exercise."
Poor adult judgement or progressive parenting?
As with most such issues, it depends on whom you ask. Stacy Malkan, author of "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry" said that parents have been fighting a losing battle with the beauty industry, which now aggressively markets to children.

Discussion questions:

1. How do you feel about the fact that children before teen years ("tweens") are using make up?
2. What could be possible consequences of premature aging?
3. In your opinion, what is "progressive parenting"?
4. What could be drawbacks of "conservative parenting"?
5. From a cultural point of view, how does raising children in your country of origin differ from Canadian ways?
6. Find out who you can contact in case you have issues raising your children in a new country.
7. Find out about health risks in using cosmetic products. If your class is interested, you can invite WHEN in Toronto for a presentation on this topic.

Under This Cloud, Life Chugs Along

This is an abridged article by Christopher Hume from Toronto Star of May 2010

Although volcanic ash from Iceland has paralyzed air traffic across Europe, it hasn't paralyzed Europe. But what if the jet stream flowed west, not east, and smoke was blowing across Canada? The results would be catastrophic.
Why? Because in North America, we have no other serious forms of transportation. Take aviation out of the picture and what's left? The answer, sad to say, is precious little. Other than cars and trucks, we would have few alternatives.
Europe, by contrast, is connected by formidable network of trains, high-speed intercontinental lines, intercity service and local commuter lines.
Despite what Canadians might like to believe, Europeans, whether Germans or Swedes, love their cars every bit as much as we do. But judging from the number of people in Berlin who get around by transit and ride bikes, which have their own lanes throughout the city, it's understood that one of the great advantages of urban life is that you don't have to drive everywhere.
In this way, the New World and the Old World have traded places.

Discussion questions:
1. What does author mind in North America?
2. What does he refer to as "precious little"?
3. What would have happened if the ash had blown west?
4. In which respect is the New World old now?
5. As a new Canadian, what do you think about driving everywhere?

Look at the phrases below and try to reconstruct the text that the author wrote in continuation of the above excerpt:



fall behind
lag technologically
distant past
antique system
sleeping ticket takers
outdated equipment
mechanical failures
Alberta tar sands

PLEASE SEND THE BLOGGER SOME SUCCESSSFUL STORIES. THANK YOU!

Not So Sexy: Hidden Chemicals in Perfume and Cologne | Environmental Working Group

Not So Sexy: Hidden Chemicals in Perfume and Cologne | Environmental Working Group

Posted using ShareThis

STORY OF BOTTLED WATER

The author of the Story of Stuff, having had about 10 million viewers,made another amazing video.
http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

2. DILEMMA

1. MORNING RUSH

Open this comic strip and discuss the pictures. It is possible to exploit this visual material for the lowest levels as well as the highest ones. For those with better speaking skills, you can discuss what in Jo's morning is an environmentally friendly/unfriendly behaviour. For more on plastic bottles, look under the tag "Plastics" for more material. The comic strip number 2 is a followup to this one.

PLASTIC BY THE NUMBERS

A very comprehensive article on the Greenopolis website, about recyclability of different plastic designations:

http://www.greenopolis.com/goblog/joe-laur/plastic-numbers-what-choose-what-lose

SPRING WORDS

These word clouds with spring vocabulary will be handy and fun for your literacy students. You can create your own on wordle.net.
title="Wordle: Untitled"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/1980958/Untitled"
alt="Wordle: Untitled"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

title="Wordle: Spring"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/1981034/Spring"
alt="Wordle: Spring"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

The Story Of Stuff

Please visit this link to see the compelling animation by Annie Leonard:

If you get a message that the link can't be opened, copy it and paste it in your browser and click enter.
Look for an extensive list of teaching handouts for higher levels related to this video, including the transcript:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-rWSJk57KV7NmRmZTBjZTYtMGRjOS00YTQ3LThmYWItMDAwMDA2OWEzNzBi&hl=en

Courtesy of Anne Cairns

Earth Day

I designed this easy reading to celebrate Earth Day with my Literacy students.

CATTLEGATE

CATTLEGATE
I learned about this story in the book "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie (2009)

It happened in 1973's on Rick Halbert's dairy farm in Michigan. His 400 cows were becoming increasingly sick. They decreased milk production and they showed some abnormal symptoms, such as hoof growth, hair loss and severe reproductive abnormalities. His veterinarian could not diagnose any disease. Halbert suspected his high-protein feed supplies by Michigan Farm Bureau Services. Halbert was no ordinary farmer – he was a chemical engineer too, and he had worked 3 years for the Dow Chemical Company. He spent $5,000 on his own testing of the feed.

PBB, which is a flame retardant for plastic parts by the Michigan Chemical Corporation, was found in the cow's feed. The same company also sold magnesium oxide to Farm Bureau Services, to add to dairy feed to increase cow's milk production. The PBB was confused for magnesium oxide when the company ran out of pre-printed bags. Between 225 and 400 kg of PBB were accidentally shipped to Farm Bureau Services and mixed with cow's feed.

The source of contamination was identified only 9 months after it entered the food chain. It took another year and a half to track down all the contaminated livestock and poultry. Several thousand farm families and wider public had consumed poisoned meat, eggs and milk in the meanwhile.

A study which has tracked health in Michigan points to the link between the PBB exposure and increased risk of cancers of breast and digestive system and higher rate of reproductive system complications. Five years after the incident about 97% of people in Michigan still had measurable level of the PBB chemical in their bodies.

At that time one of the most popular Michigan bumper stickers read "PBB-Cattlegate Bigger Than Watergate".

Environmentally Teaching

http://www.teslontario.org/uploads/publications/contact/ContactSpring2010.pdf

Please check my article pp.13-21, for a plethora of ideas on greening your teaching this spring!

Not Far from the Tree

Not Far From The Tree is an eco-group based in Toronto. They pick up fruits from neighbours' orchards that people don't care about and give them to those who cannot afford to buy them. Their volunteers picked up 3,690 kg of fruit in 2009.

1. Order the following lines into a passage:

or brushed past raspberry bushes on an evening stroll.

You’ve more than likely noticed

which is often viewed by homeowners as a nuisance.

everywhere in Toronto.

spoiled crabapples and rotted plums on sidewalks,

The city is teeming with fruit trees,

Fruit trees grow

but we rarely think of the potential of the fruit,

2. We'd Tap That
"We want to educate people about the urban forest.We don't want to collect a quantity of syrup, but to inspire connections between city dwellers and the trees around them. We will tap only Norway maples because they are abundant.
We will tap only the healthiest trees. Volunteers will drill one or two holes into each tree and insert spiles for the sap to be extracted.The spiles will be removed before spring arrives and the wounds will be sealed."

Comprehension questions:
1. Who is saying this?
2. What is their intention?
3. How will they do that?
4. How do they care about the trees?
5. How will they "inspire connections between city dwellers and the trees around them"?
6. Do you think that trees in the city should or shouldn't be wounded?

3. The following fruits have been gathered by Not Far From The Tree:
sweet and sour cherries, serviceberries, mulberries, apricots, plums, crabapples, pears, black wallnuts and ginko nuts. Find out about those you are not familiar with.

Eco-Driver

www.ecoDriver.org

 

TASKS

 

1. 1. Which of these features are Fuel Savers or Gas Guzzlers?
   

GROUNDHOG DAY

This mp3 was shared with me by John Warren of Alter Eco, who is a poet, visual artist, musician, environmentalist and a very fine person.If the URL below doesn't open, please copy and paste it in your browser and click enter.
https://alter-eco.sslpowered.com/ThisOldGuitar/audio/Groundhog%20Day%20Slaughter.mp3


SCRIPT

Groundhog Day

So you wanted to know all about G Hog Day, eh? Well it's not as lucrative as to drive the economy like Xmas, Valentines Day, Halloween, but it ranks somewhere way down with Lunar New Year. hahaa Here's some info:

*NB For those who are not familiar with this old folk lore, every year on Feb. 2nd, the groundhog is observed coming out of his hole at high noon to see if it can see it's shadow, or not, to determine if it will be a long or short winter. If it sees it's shadow it means that there will be at least 8 more weeks of winter! If not, then spring will come within 6 weeks! That's what they say. Quite frankly these days, I put my money on the appearance of the geese returning to the north! I mean what if the groundhog didn't come out on the 2nd, like it didn't want to, overslept, died! And even more relevant, how does it account for global warming? Well one way or another, it has become a crucial factor in the local tourist economy bring badly needed jobs to the now poor rural areas at this time of year, and as usual, there's nothing more satisfying than milking those city slickers again! At one time it was considered an accurate factor in making farming decisions, and in fact the theory was pretty damn accurate. But nowadays it is a big media event, surpassing the Annual Polar Bear Swim! If only they could ensure that the groundhog would co-operate. Simple, read the following:


Wiarton Willy - Wiarton, Ontario, Canada
Punxtatawney Phil - Pennsylvania, USA

The boomers in their beemers come from miles around.
The pilgrimage to this site, their fortune to be found.
With cells in ears, these laptop jokers
Keep in touch with their stockbrokers,
In L.L. Beans and hats from Tilly's.
The locals think they look damn silly,
To seek the wisdom of Wiarton Willy.

Big black mercs are filled with jerks, further south in Pennsylvania.
They filed a claim they were first with this similar critter mania.
They've complained most bitterly to the WTO.
Unfair is the weather where it's 40 below.
It gives the advantage of advanced knowledge
And tilts the profits away from their college!
To Punxtatawney Phil this is cultural pillage!

Quietly, below the ground,
Peacefully sleeping, safe and sound,
Phil and Willy dream away
Completely oblivious of the day.
And all the folks and paparazzi gather
And off the truck comes the ground tamper!

But known to none that fateful day,
Some bears nearby had chosen to lay
And spend their winter in solitude,
And not expecting an awakening rude!
Most certainly not to such a crowd
So arrogant and selfish and insultingly loud!

"Pop the cork!" The town Mayor did say.
"Christen the tamper with cheap beaujolais!"
"A swig all round!" said a wino there.
No one heard him and none who would care.
The church clock rang noon
"Pull the cord you buffoon!"

With a sputter and a thump that made the thing jump
It nearly got away til it ran into a stump,
They dragged it back again
Over the top of it's den
But it killed the poor hog
That had slept like a log!

They thumped and they thumped wondering what was the matter.
By now they were drunk and mad as a hatter!
To their shock and surprise
Standing before their eyes
A mother of a beast
To make them a feast!

It ranted and roared like a true nature's pet.
And lumbered and swiped at as many as it could get.
The scene it was gruesome
There was none who could lose him,
Except for the winehead
Whom it thought he was dead!

All was still as the bear went back to bed,
The tamper tamped off and the groundhog was dead.
But faintly the sound of cell phones and pooters
Like an orchestra gone mad without a conductor.
Their brokers were freaking and all in a panic
The market was stalled and the WTO was frantic!

When the poor sod came to, he didn't know what to do!
The place was a mess like feeding time at the zoo!
"I must be delerious,
This plonk is injurious,
I think I've had enough."
And swore off the stuff!

He tried a cell phone to call up his business,
And then call the Missus and beg her forgiveness,
But the batteries had died
And the stock market fried
And the sod lost his job
He fell in with the mob!

So there you have it, The Groundhog Day Slaughter!
And legislation was passed to change it to otters,
Or maybe to beavers, or possibly eagles,
Or maybe to rabitts, or maybe to beagles,
Now it's tied up in squabbles at the UN, I think,
But no longer groudhogs because they're extinct!

Conserving Nature for Future Generations

John Riley, NCC's chief science officer

When John Riley was a child,
there was a slogan: "Leave no child inside". He spent a lot of time exploring local wild places. It was popular among friends to know stuff about animals and trees. In his high school years, he hitchhiked to British Columbia and back twice, just for sport. Together with his siblings he took care of a big family garden that supplied food for the family.

Now John is the chief science officer at Nature Conservancy Canada. He takes care of spaces and species for future generations.

He says that Canada is multicultural and it is also multi-ecological. The best part of his job is that he can enjoy this diversity across Canada.

"It is urgent to get the job done, before it is too late – to be able to give such an assurance of successful conservation to our supporters and to the youth who are looking over our shoulders", says John.
"Let's make this a year that counts! For nature, for now, for ever." 

 
 

TASKS

1. Explain the meaning of the following words:

A

slogan

wild

popular

stuff

hitchhike

siblings

youth

 

B

species

multicultural

multi-ecological

diversity

urgent

assurance

conservation

looking over one's shoulder

 

2. Comprehension questions:

1. Who is John Riley?
   

1. What is NCC?
   
2. Why is Canada multi-ecological?
   
3. Why are youth looking over their shoulders?
   

   
    

   
    

3. Discussion questions

1. Which wild places in Canada do you know?
   
2. Check the NCC website and find what places and species they have put on their list.
   
3. Why is nature conservancy important for future generations?
   
4. How would you rank the importance of: individuals, conservancy groups and organizations and government in the role of nature conservation? Explain your point.
   

 

4. GRAMMAR

Use the past form of the verbs in brackets:

Beryl Ivey ______ (be) a passionate advocate for conservation, especially in her native South-western Ontario.

She deeply _______ (love) nature. She _______ (create) conservation areas along the Niagara Escarpment.

She _______ ( live) much of her life in London, Ontario. Her mother _________ (grow up) in England's Lake District and _______ (tell) Beryl stories about it. Mrs. Ivey _________ (pass) this passion down to her own four children.

Their work with the Ivey Foundation supports many causes, including the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Mrs. Ivey ____________ (pass away) on Christmas Day 2007. In her will, she _______ (make) a $1-million

bequest to NCC.

 

 

1. Order the words in this message:
   

   
    

environment     all     role     to     in     a     our

we         have     preserving        play

 

 

 

1. Supply these synonyms for the words underlined in the text:
   

 

cottage, generosity, researchers, endangered, shore, deciduous, properties, habitat, flora, honour, expeditions, Woods, fauna

Conserving nature for a lifetime and beyond ,

The Bickford Oak Forest (1) is one of the NCC pieces of land (2) that's benefited from Mrs. Ivey's passion and unselfishness (3) and is named in her family's respect (4): the Ivey Research Station at Middle Point Woods on the eastern coast (5) of Pelee Island. This mature, 69-acre (28- hectare) leaf shedding (6) forest growing on sand dunes provides essential home (7) for both rare plants (8)- including the nationally threatened Common Hoptree and Wild Hyacinth – and animals (9) - such as the endangered Smallmouth Salamander. It's also the location of a recently renovated country house,(10)

that can accommodate up to eight researchers on multi-day research and restoration trips (11).

Thanks to the financial contributions of Beryl and Richard Ivey, it will be home base for scientists (12)
to study and protect the ecologically diverse and threatened (13) area for many, many years to come.

Farmer Schmidt

Farmer Michael Schmidt, a 54-year-old dairy farmer, thinks milk is healthier before it is pasteurized. But Canadian health officials do not think so. They think it is not safe. They say it is illegal to sell milk or cream that has not been pasteurized or sterilized.
However, it is legal to drink unpasteurized milk. So farmer Schmidt and 150 other people started the cow-share co-op. Together, they owned 30 cows at Mr. Schmidt's southern Ontario Glencolton Farms. They drank raw milk from their cows. They thought they had right to choose what to put in their body.
One day police raided the farm and Michael Schmidt was brought to court. After three years he was acquitted of 19 charges. Justice of the Peace said in this case Mr. Schmidt did not break the law because he was not selling to the public at large.

What do you think about:
• Michael Schmidt
• Cow-share co-op
• Drinking unpasteurized milk
• Laws regarding consumption of food

Questions for discussion:
1. What kind of food processing do you know?
2. Which food do we preserve to keep it long?
3. What is the most usual way of preserving meet/fish/vegetables /fruit in your country?
4. How do people in your country look after seeds/ reproduction of crops or animals / animal breeds?
5. Which animal or plant species do you know that are at risk of extinction ? What do people do to save those species?

Passive Voice

Use the Passive Voice of the verbs in brackets:

1. Millions of plastic bottles __________ (use) worldwide, leaving a heavy footprint on the planet.

2. The PET used for plastic bottles __________ (make) from petroleum.

3. By manufacturing PET plastic water bottles, greenhouse gas emissions four times weight of the bottles _________ (create).

4. In 2007, 130 million beverage bottles __________ (discard) in B.C.

5. Toxic metals and chemicals _________ (contain) in bottled water.

6. By manufacturing the PET, some cancer causing substances ______ (release) into the environment.

7. Our health _________ (affect) by the phthalates in bottled water.

8. By filling and transporting the bottles the total GHG emissions _________ (increase)

9. In making, filling and transporting of an average 500 ml PET bottle 16 – 28% of its volume of crude oil _________ (require)

10. Bottled water that _______ (sell) in Canada comes from both local bottling plants and international sources, including France and Fiji.

11. Bottled water _________ (produce) by some of the biggest companies in the world, including Coca Cola, Nestle and Pepsi.

12. More and more bottling plants _________ (locate) on pristine streams, causing reversals in groundwater flows.

13. About 72% of the bottles _______ (recycle) in B.C., and they mainly end up as carpets, fabrics or similar products that cannot ________(recycle) again.

Source: Toxic Free Canada 2009

Live Green!

Use the correct tense of the verbs in brackets:

1. If residents _____ (be) to eat 50 per cent of their food from a local source, the reduction of emissions _____ (be) similar to the family owning a hybrid.

2. If you ______(think) of installing a hardwood floor, ______ (consider) reclaimed materials or look for new wood products that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada.

3. If you ______ (use)use low-flow shower heads, you ______ (use) 70% less water than standard shower.

4. If you ________ (install) new kitchen cabinetry, _______ (avoid) those made with particleboard boxes that may leach harmful gases like urea formaldehyde resin.

5. If you ________ (plan) native flowers, trees and grasses in your garden, you ________ (minimize) the need for pesticides and watering.

6. If you _______ (have) a party, ______ (make) it a charitable affair!

These sentences can also be used for a Find a Partner game, so that they are split in halves and given out to students who have to find their matching half.