Natural disasters message board.

Read the message board and then answer the following questions in small groups.
We asked our readers to send in their views on these two questions:
• Do you think there are more natural disasters than in the past?
• Do you think we are prepared to deal with the disasters?
Sarah - “I think it’s really scary that there are so many natural disasters these days. There are far more than in the past. Every time you switch on the news you see places that are flooded or countries in drought. I’m sure it’s all connected to climate change and global warming.’’
James - “We watch so many natural disasters on the news these days that you become immune to them. I don’t mean that in a horrible way, but it always seems so far away and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to help the poor people who are there. ”
Cindy – ‘’The hurricanes and earthquakes that have happened in the past month just prove how unprepared we are for natural disasters. It’s crazy that with all the technology and information available to us nowadays natural disasters still kill so many people. They should spend more money on research to develop warning systems for hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis.”
Roger - “You can’t prepare for natural disasters as nobody knows when or where they are going to happen. It’s nature’s way of reminding us that she is in charge and we should respect her a lot more than we do.“
• Who do you agree with?
• Who do you disagree with? Why?

Survival Role play

Your teacher will give you one of the roles below. Imagine that you have survived a natural disaster and are waiting for rescue. Only three of you can be rescued. You need to justify why you should be one of the rescued people.
A – You are a scientist. You are currently working on a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and you are close to finding a cure. You are the only member of the research team who knows what the exact possible cure is. You are single and don’t have any children.
B – You are a fire fighter. You were awarded a medal for bravery last month after saving a family from a burning house. You are married and have a small baby.
C – You are a teacher in a local school. You love your job and the children in your class are problematic but are now doing very well. You have a special relationship with your students and have taught them all to read. You have a partner and two children.
D – You are a brain surgeon and work at the local hospital. You specialise in treating the very ill and have a high success rate of operations. You are married and have two grown up children.

Discuss these questions:

1. How is the environment around you? Is it clean?
2. Describe the most natural environment for a human being. Is that how you live?
3. What kind of pollution bothers you most on a day-to-day basis?
4. What kind of pollution is worst for our health?
5. What do you do with a piece of trash when there is no trash can near you?
6. Should people who litter be fined? How much is an appropriate fine?
7. Do you recycle? If so, what kinds of things do you recycle?
8. What do you do to conserve energy?
9. Do you try to buy environmentally friendly products? If so, please give some examples.
10. How do you feel when you hear about global warming? Is there hope for the future?
11. Do you believe human activities contribute to global warming? If so, what should we do about it? If not, what do you think causes global warming?
12. Which type of energy is the most environmentally friendly? Do you use this type of energy? Why or why not?
13. What is more important to you? Social issues or environmental problems?
14. Have you ever donated your time or money to an environmental organization? Which organization did you help? What is their focus?
15. How important is nature to you? Do you try to get close to nature?
16. Where can a person go to breathe really fresh air?
17. Which countries produce the most pollution?
18. Which country has the most environmentally friendly reputation?

Discuss weather quotes and describe the pictures.