11. 9 Listen to the interview with a senior research engineer called Dr. Michael Blomberg. Dr. Blomberg gives his opinions on future trends in science and technology.

1. What predictions does Dr. Blomberg make about technological progress? Make a list.

2. Classify these predictions in three columns according to how strongly Dr. Blomberg expresses his belief that they will happen.

STRONG BELIEF

BELIEF (not strongly held)

UNCERTAIN (it could happen)

3. What questions does the interviewer put to Dr. Blomberg?

4. Now prepare three questions that you would ask Dr. Blomberg if you were present at the interview.

5. Do you agree with Dr. Blomberg’s ideas? Say what developments you foresee in science and technology over next fifty years.

From Johnson C.N. & D. General Engineering. Prentice Hall, Europe, 1998

12. Read the text, do the tasks after it. Science and values

We use both to solve environmental problems. Before we decide what kind of environment we want, we need to know what is possible. That requires scientific data. Once we know our opinion, we make choices on our values. An example of an environmental value judgment is the choice between one’s desire to have many children and the need to limit the human population worldwide.

Science is a process of discovery. Often, the fact that scientific ideas change over time or differ at the same time seems frustrating. Why can’t scientists agree on what is the best diet for people? Why do scientists consider a chemical dangerous to the environment for a while and then decide that it isn’t? Why do scientists in one decade believe that fire in nature is an undesirable disturbance and in the later decade that it is important and natural? Why can’t they tell us whether there is going to be significant global warming or not? Can’t scientists just find out the truth for each of these questions once and for all, and agree on it?

Rather than looking to science for answer to such questions, think of science as a continuing adventure with increasingly better knowledge about how the world works. Sometimes changes in ideas are small, and the major context remains the same. Sometimes a science undergoes a fundamental revolution in ideas.

Science is one way of looking at the world. It begins with observations about the natural world. From these observations, scientists formulate hypothesis that can be tested. Modern science does not deal with things that cannot be tested by observations, such as the ultimate purpose of life or the existence of a supernatural being. Thus, science does not deal with values, such as standards of beauty or issues of good and evil. Our criterion for deciding whether a statement is in the realm of science is whether it is possible to disprove the statement. If so, it is a scientific statement. For example, if you say there is life elsewhere in the universe that is not a scientific statement, because it’s impossible to prove it’s not true.

Scientists rely on critical thinking. Critical scientific thinking is disciplined thinking using intellectual standards, effective communication, clarity, and commitment to developing scientific knowledge and skills. It leads to conclusions, generalizations, and sometimes scientific theories and even scientific laws. Taken together, these comprise a body of beliefs that, at the present time, account for all known observations about a particular phenomenon.

What is environmental science? Environmental science is a group of sciences that attempt to explain how life on earth is sustained, what leads to environmental problems, and how these problems can be solved. Environmental science includes ecology (the part of biology that deals with the relationship among living organisms and their environment), geology, hydrology, climatology, meteorology, oceanography, and soil science.

Environmental science is different from other sciences for two reasons:

• it includes sciences, but also is often linked with non-scientific fields that have to do with how we value the environment, such as environmental ethics.

• It deals with many topics that have great emotional effect on people, often stirring up political debate and strong feeling that sometimes override scientific information.

How do we place a value on any aspect of our environment? We may justify our choice in four different ways: utilitarian, ecological, aesthetic, and moral.

A utilitarian justification views some aspects of the environment as valuable because it is useful – it provides economic benefits or is directly necessary to people’s survival. For example, fishermen earn a living from the ocean and need a continued supply of fish so they can continue to earn a living.

An ecological justification places a value on some factor that is essential to larger life-support functions, even though it may not directly benefit an individual.

Aesthetic justification has to do with the value we place on beauty. For example, many people find wilderness scenery beautiful and would rather live in a world with wilderness than without it.

Moral justification is based on one’s view of right and wrong. One example is the belief that certain aspects of the environment have a right to exist and that it is our moral obligation to allow them or help them to persist. Moral arguments have been extended to many nonhuman organisms, to entire ecosystems, and even to inanimate objects.

From E. A. Keller, D.B. Botkin. Essential Environmental Science. John Wieley & Sons, Inc., 2007.

a). Answer the questions:

1. Why do we need science?

2. Why can’t scientists find out the truth for very important contemporary questions once and for all?

3. What is the way of scientific research?

4. What does science rely on?

5. What is environmental science?

6. What is the difference of environmental science from other sciences?

7. What are the ways of justification in placing the value?

b) Give your own examples

• of an environmental value judgment;

• of questions the scientists cannot give answer for sure;

• of the facts when changes in scientific ideas are small, and the major context remains the same.

• of the case when a science undergoes a fundamental revolution in ideas.

• of not scientific statement;

• of scientific statement;

• of the case environmental science has great emotional effect on people, stirring up political debate and strong feeling that override scientific information;

• of a utilitarian justification;

• of an ecological justification;

• of an aesthetic justification;

• of a moral justification.