UNIT 6

ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION

• KICK OFF
1 Put the letters in the correct order to make the two words
missing in the definition.

AIR WATER

The environment is the natural world, for example the land,air and water in
which people, animals, and plants live.

2 Environmental pollution occurs when we make the environment

dirty and harm or kill the plants and animals that live there. How
does the oil and gas industry cause pollution and affect the
environment? Make a list. Look at the photos for some ideas.
If the oil were to be spilled both on land and in the ocean, they would cause very large
disasters that would affect mainly the air, water and soil, for example on the land, it would
kill animals and the plants that live on the ground would die, in The ocean would cause
death of marine animals, plants and most importantly, it would pollute the water to a great
extent.
3 Can you think of examples of pollution in your area? What causes
the pollution? How could people stop or reduce this pollution?
1 2

3 4

5 6

Examples of contamination would be: contamination in the air caused by a platform fire or
an electric spark, contamination in the water, caused by an oil or gas spill, soil
contamination caused by an oil or gas spill that it affects animal and plant life. Pollution is
mainly caused by the development of industry, automobile uses, deforestation, burning of
plastic things and many other things. To reduce pollution, there would have to be awareness
on the part of society, since many of the population work from it and it is their source of
work.

• READING
OIL POLLUTION

1 Look at the pie chart. What is the biggest source of oil pollution?
What do you think the other two sectors are?

Most of the contamination comes from Waste oil.

a) offshore drilling
b) pipes or human error

2 Read the text and label the last two segments in the pie chart.
3 Choose the best paragraph heading for paragraphs 1-4.
1 a The main source of oil pollution
b Waste oil from industry
2 a Tanker disasters

b The reasons for oil spills

3 a Damage to the environment
b The effects of oil spills
4 a Preventing oil pollution

b Working together

What causes oil pollution?

1 Oil causes pollution of rivers, lakes, and oceans. But where does this oil come from?
Scientists believe that waste oil is responsible for the most pollution. Some of this comes
from industry, some from our roads, and some is thrown away by people.
2 Oil leaks and spills happen because of technical problems, mistakes, vandalism (damage
caused by people for no reason), accidents, or war. The smallest amount of oil comes from
offshore drilling activities where oil is sometimes spilled because of burst (broken) pipes
or human error (mistakes made by people). Major oil tanker disasters account for slightly
more oil pollution. Accidents with ships are the result of ships hitting each other or hitting
sand or rocks below the water. Accidents happen because of human error, poor
maintenance, or poor communication between the crew members working on the ship.
They can also happen when bad weather forces an oil tanker against a rocky coast.
3 A major oil leak or spill can result in very serious damage to plants and animals, the
environment, and the local economy. Some parts of the environment are more easily
damaged than others. For example, in water near the coast there are thousands of plants
and animals that could die.
4 Governments and oil companies around the world are working together to reduce oil
pollution. Improved safety training and management means fewer spills. Satellite and
aircraft are used to quickly Double-hulled tanker identify new cases of pollution. New
technical measures include double hulled tankers, ships with one body inside another.

• PRONUNCIATION
1 Listen to these nouns from the reading text. How many syllables
(sounds) do they have?
EXAMPLE
industry 3 pipes 1
waste 1 aircraft 2 result 2 disaster 3
economy 4 error 2 problem 2 sand 1
accident 3 rocks 1 environment 4 drilling 2
tanker 2 damage 3 effects 2 pollution 4
Listen again and repeat the words.

2 look at the two-syllable nouns above. Which are stressed and

whicho ?
EXAMPLE
tanker damage effects
aircraft result drilling
error problem

Listen and check. What is the usual stress pattern for two-syllable nouns?
That the nouns of two syllables, carry the stress in the first syllable

3 Where is the stress in these two-syllable nouns?

sector (first syllable) river (first syllable) people (firts syllable)
ocean (first syllable) mistake (second syllable) amount (second syllable)
members (firts syllable) training (firts syllable) measures (firts syllable)

Listen and check.

• LANGUAGE SPOT
CAUSE AND RESULT

1. look at these sentences from reading. decide which part of the

sentence talks about the cause and which part gives the result.
EXAMPLE
Oil causes pollution of rivers, lakes, and oceans.
(cause) (result)
1 Waste oil is responsible for the most pollution.
(cause) (result)
2 Oil is sometimes spilled because of burst pipes.
(cause) (result)
3 Major oil tanker disasters account for slightly more oil pollution.
(result) (cause)
4 Accidents with ships are the result of ships hitting each other or hitting sand or rocks
below the water.
(cause) (result)
5 Accidents with ships happen because of human error.
(result) (cause)
6 A major oil spill can result in very serious damage.
(cause) (result)

2 put the verbs in brackets in the correct form.

1 Oil that seeps naturally from the bottom of the ocean ACCOUNT (account) for some
water pollution.
2 In 1989, a major tanker disaster CAUSED (cause) serious damage to the environment.
3 Major oil spills RESULT (result) in long-term damage to the environment.
4 An increase in the demand for oil in the 1960s RESULTED (result) in larger oil
tankers.
5 Less oil pollution IS (be) the result of governments working together.

3 use the notes below to write sentences to explain cause and result
relationships.
1 Oil in sea water / the death of marine plants and animals
1 Oil contamination in sea water can cause the death of marine plants and animals.
2 Birds can't fly or feed / oil on their feathers
2 Birds can not fly or feed due to the oil spill on their feathers
3 Pollution of the coast / a reduction in tourists
3 Pollution of the coast produced the reduction of tourists
 4 Contaminated drinking water / leaking oil pipes
4 Drinking water is contaminated by oil pipe leaks
5 The use of satellite technology / the quick detection of oil spills
5 The use of satellite technology will help in the rapid detection of oil spills
6 Some pollution / human error
6 Human error can lead to some contamination

• LISTENING
PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT
Work in pairs. You are going to listen to a reporter talking to a scientist about how the oil
industry affects the environment. Look at the questions she asks and some of the words the
scientist uses. Check you know what the words mean. What do you think the scientist's
answers will be? Make notes.

1 When does oil pollute?

Oil pollutes when oil is burned, which is used to power work equipment.
2 Is there a way to reduce this pollution?
Yes, with everyone's help we can raise awareness, report the consequences that pollution can
have, I also think that technology will help a lot to reduce pollution.
3 Does transportation cause the most pollution?
I don't think so, although transportation consumes fuel, and produces carbon dioxide, not in
comparison to industries, they don't do it very much, since industries produce a lot of carbon
dioxide.
4 How does oil pollute the air?
The oil pollutes the air when the oil is burned to supply energy to all the work equipment, the
(carbon dioxide) that produces particles can cause respiratory problems.
5 How can the oil industry reduce air pollution?
Through technology
6 Does oil cause any other type of pollution?
Yes, light pollution, when a refinery or oil plant burns gas or oil, this fire produces a strong light
that affects society.
burn roads leak
carbon dioxide technology light

2 Listen and see if your ideas are the same as the scientist's.
3 Answer these questions. Listen again if necessary.
1 What is global warming?
Global warming is produced by carbon dioxide, when it expands into air it causes the layer
to heat up the world.
2 How do car makers help reduce pollution?
Automobile manufacturers make automobile engines that use less fuel and burn fuel more
efficiently.
3 How does the oil industry cause light pollution?
When In an oil refinery or gas platform, gas is burned and is on fire. Produces an intense
light. that people don't like it when this happens at night.

• PROJECT
In April 2010, the worst oil spill in US history happened in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP
Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded. It was drilling 1,500 m below the surface of the
ocean. Use your library and your internet skills to find out more about this disaster. Find
out
Fuente: https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill
1 what caused the disaster
The cause was that the cores were too weak to withstand the pressure because they were
composed of a concrete mix that used nitrogen gas to accelerate curing.
2 how long it took to stop the oil spill and why
Six week
3 how the spill was stopped

4 how much damage to the environment was done

5 the cost to BP.
20,000 million dollars for those affected by the spill.

• IT'S MY JOB
1 Environmental engineers give companies advice about how they can
minimize the damage to the environment and how they can protect
the environment. What kind of projects could they work on in the
oil and gas industry?
READ ABOUT LAURO RAMOS AND FIND SOME OF THE PROJECTS HE HAS
WORKED ON.

Lauro Ramos
I am a chartered environmentalist with an international oil company. In my job I give
advice on things that affect the environment. Oil companies have to produce oil and gas but
at the same time they have to try not to damage the earth. I have worked in many different
projects. For example, I worked on the design of equipment to protect fish around offshore
platforms. In another offshore project I reduced the flaring of gas. On land, I worked to
protect wildlife habitats where we were laying pipelines. I work together with safety
engineers. We all need to know the law in counties where we are working.
I studied mechanical engineering at university and then got a job with an engineering
company. I carried out design studies for new oil platforms. I became very interested in the
environment and then got a new job in the Safety and Environmental section. I gained a lot
of experience there. Now I work for a large oil company and I work on many different
projects. Sometimes I travel to different parts of the world.
People don't understand that the oil and gas industry tries hard to protect the environment.
We take care to avoid accidents. Leaks, fires, and explosions can injure and kill people and
also damage the environment. So we work hard to stop these things happening.

2 Answer the questions.

1 What two things does Lauro tell us an oil company has to do?
Oil companies have to produce oil and gas but at the same time they have to try not to
damage the earth.
2 Who does Lauro work with?
he works with security engineers
3 What must they learn about other countries? Why do you think this is?
that in the industry it is not only to industrialize, there is also an important point that is the
care of the environment, above all else the environment is life for everyone
4 What was the first project he worked on after graduating from university?
work in engineering company. his first project was to carry out design studies for new oil
platforms.
5 Do you think he has to speak English? Why?
Yes, because the English language is a universal language, in the world they speak more
English, and it is necessary to speak English to communicate with other countries and
achieve large projects.
6 What do people not understand? Why do you think this is?
People don't understand that the oil and gas industry tries hard to protect the environment.
We take care to avoid accidents. Leaks, fires, and explosions can injure and kill people and
also damage the environment. So we work hard to stop these things happening.

• VOCABULARY
WORD FAMILIES
You can improve your vocabulary by learning word families, for example refine (v),
refinery (n), refined (adj), unrefined (adj).

1 Complete the table below. Use a good English-English dictionary,

like Oxford Wordpower, if necessary.

Verb Noun Adjetive1

Pollute pollution polluted
Technology Technical
Damage damage damage
protect protection (un) protected
transport transportation Transportated
leak leak Leaked
Globalize globe globalized
enviroment enviromented
seep Seepage/sepes
spill spills spilled

2 Complete the sentences below with words from 1.

1 The natural place where plants and animals live is the enviroment
2 If a pipe carrying oil bursts, the oil causes pollution
3 Carbon dioxide is globalize causing warming
4 New car tecnology means that car engines are more efficient.
5 Oil companies produce oil but they also try to protect the environment.
6 An oil tanker accident can cause serious damage to the environment.
7 Industrial facilities have ways to stop spilled oil getting into water and soil.
8 In some places oil seep slowly to the surface of the ground by itself.

• PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
WRITING EMAILS

1 Read the email. Match the names with the jobs.

Ken Nadal engineering manager
Peter De Martino environmental engineer
2 Look at the notes about how to write good emails. Which rules did
Ken Nadal break? How would you improve his email?
first Kendal used emoticons to finish his email, second he used capital letters to highlight
some words, third he wanted to be funny and fourth Kendal talked about topics that had
nothing to do with the subject of the message.

From: Ken Nadal

To: Peter De Martino
Subject: Landing site for the offshore pipeline
Dear Peter
I have a project meeting on Wednesday next week to discuss the
pipeline in Ross Bay. I hope that you have now finished your study
of possible landing sites. Could you give me your opinion on the
different options before Friday so that I can prepare for the meeting?
Best wishes and a hug from a distance
Ken

WRITING GOOD EMAILS

1 Be polite, never rude. Show respect in your writing
2 Greet people with Dear Mr/Mrs / Dr. Only use firs names if the other person has agreed.
3 Be concise. Don't write more than you need to, but don't leave out important information.
4 You can use common abbreviations, e.g. inc., etc., but don't use abbreviations such as
Can u pls send info on ... that are normally used in text messages.
5 Don't use emoticons (9) in business communication
6 Use correct spelling and grammar.
7 Don't use CAPITAL LETTERS to shout your message and don't write everything in
small letters.
8 Reply to an email quickly. If you need to do some work before sending the information,
tell the other person. Thank you for your email. I'll get back to you as soon as I have the
information you need.
9 Never write something you don't want others to see.
10 Don't try to be funny.
11 Remember your writing says a lot about you.

• WRITING
AN EMAIL

1 Peter De Martino, an environmental engineer, has reviewed three

options for the landing site for an offshore pipeline. Complete his
email to Ken Nadal, the engineering manager of the project, with
these phrases.
a I recommend that you carry out a survey
b environmental conservation groups
c Regards
d the three options
e I will be happy to help
f cause problems
g poor quality land

From: Peter De Martino

To: Ken Nadal
Subject: Landing site
Dear Ken
I have looked at poor quality land onshore pipeline in Ross Bay.
Site A is close to people's homes. The project will take about a year and this will cause
problems for the people who live there during this time.
Site B is an important site for birds. In the past, local people and environmental conservation
groups stopped any development.
Site C is the three options. It is close to the route of the exixting pipeline.
Site C appears to be the best site, but I recommend that you carry out a survey of the ground
conditions at Site C before making a decision.
If you have any questions, I will be happy to help.
Regards
2 You are an environmental engineer and you have reviewed
four options for bringing a pipeline ashore at South Bay. Write an
email similar to the one in 1 using the information below.
Site
A Popular beach for local people and tourists.
B Farming land. Farmers can farm again after pipeline is laid
C Good for flowers and butterflies. Construction Will damage enviroment.
D Hard ground rock. Espensive.

Recommendation: Meet local farmers and survey ground conditions at B before deciding.

From: Janethe Cruz

To: Cinthia Medrano
Subject: Onshore gas pipeline in South Bay
Dear Cinthia
I have examined a place where the pipeline can be run in the South Bay, it is
a popular beach for local people and tourists will cause big problems for the
people who will come to the place and who live there. there's also
Farming land where farmers can farm again after pipeline is laid, this will be
good for flowers and butterflies.
Construction will damage the environment, cause problems for people,
animals and plants. The construction is expensive because the rock of the
Earth is hard and thick.
If you have any questions, I will be happy and happy to help you.
Greetings
 • CHECKLIST
Assess your progress in this unit. Tick () the statements which are true.
I can understand a text about oil pollution
I can pronounce two-syllable nouns
I can describe cause and result relationships
I can write effective emails