FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

PRE-READING
I. Discuss with your partner:
What environmental pressure organisations do you know?
What do they campaign for / against?
Would you like to join any of them?

Friends of the Earth is one of the leading environmental pressure organisations in the UK, and a major force
behind today's growing green movement.
Our message is a simple one: it is only in protecting the earth that we can protect ourselves — against
pollution, the destruction of our urban and rural environment, mass unemployment and the horrors of global famine
and war.
This is a message which - at last - is beginning to be taken seriously by politicians and economists. Their
concern is genuine. But their readiness to act is still very limited.
And that's where Friends of -the Earth comes into it. It is our role to put the pressure on politicians and
decision-makers at every level. Changes in the law and public opinion are testimony to our successes.
Such pressure is vital if we are ever to learn to live in harmony with the earth, and thus to improve standards
of living and the real quality of lives everywhere.
Organisation
Friends of the Earth is a national campaigning organisation (Friends of the Earth Ltd) established in Britain in
1971, with a network of 250 local groups. Each group is financially independent and decides its own policies and
priorities. In practice, groups support national campaigns, organised by Friends of the Earth Ltd, and also initiate
campaigns on local issues.
In 1981, Friends of the Earth Trust was set up as a charity to do non-political education and research work.
Friends of the Earth Ltd has a Board of Directors, the majority of whom are elected by the local groups, which
is responsible for the overall running of the organisation. The staff run the campaigns and handle the finances and
administration. In addition, there are a number of consultants with specialist knowledge and a team of enthusiastic
volunteers who provide invaluable support. Hundreds of people are employed by local groups on environmental
community projects funded by the Manpower Services Commission and the Inner City Partnership programme.
There are Friends of the Earth groups in thirty-five countries in four continents, all linked under the umbrella
of Friends of the Earth International. A small secretariat is based in the Netherlands.
Finance
There are about 50,000 registered Friends of the Earth supporters who provide about 40 per cent of the annual
income. Special fundraising events raise 25 per cent and another 15 per cent is received as donations. Campaign
appeals and trading operations each contribute about 10 per cent.
Campaign Methods
Friends of the Earth first hit the headlines in 1971 by dumping 1,500 throwaway bottles on the doorstep of
Schweppes, the soft drinks people. With no money or public support, Friends of the Earth had hit on one of the best
ways of reaching a wide audience. Since then, always backed by excellent research, we have used a variety of
imaginative methods to get the environmental message across and to influence decision makers. Thousands of people
have participated in consumer pressure campaigns, protests against acid rain, direct action to stop the destruction of
irreplaceable wildlife sites, public meetings to stop nuclear waste dumps, cycle rallies, and many more events. In
addition, Friends of the Earth has published reports, promoted legislation in Parliament and participated in public
inquiries.
Friends of the Earth staff and groups are constantly addressing public meetings; giving radio, TV and
newspaper interviews; and meeting politicians, civil servants, local government officers and representatives from
industry.
Friends of the Earth is politically impartial [Im'pQ:S(q)l] and works with all political parties and other
organisations wherever there are areas of agreement.
How To Get Involved
Become a Friends of the Earth supporter and we will send you information about the campaigns in the Friends
of the Earth newspaper.
If you have the time, the best way to campaign for the concerns of Friends of the Earth is through your local
group. Each group carries out a wide variety of activities and there is a role for everyone.
We ask you to think about the environmental consequence of everything you do: refuse to buy overpackaged
goods; insulate ['InsjVleIt] your home to save energy; travel by bicycle or public transport wherever possible; and
persuade your family, friends and work colleagues to do the same. It all helps.
 So far the twentieth century has been a disastrous one for the earth. Let's reverse the trend while there is still
time. Simply by joining Friends of the Earth you are giving much needed financial support. Every new member is
another vote for a better world.
Friends of the Earth
"...the UK's most effective environment group"
The Guardian
Recently, we have:
helped stop World Trade Organisation talks which threatened terrible consequences for people and the
environment;
forced delays of at least 3 years to the full commercialisation of GM crops;
helped pass no fewer than 5 Acts of Parliament;
revealed secret plans to import American nuclear waste into the UK;
helped stop over 250 unnecessary new trunk road projects;
exposed Britain's biggest industrial polluters;
helped persuade the Chancellor to put 22 green measures in the 1999 Budget - Britain's greenest ever;
pressured Government to introduce plana for a tough new wildlife bill and
persuaded supermarkets to ban GM ingredients from their own-brand products.

WORD STUDY
I. What is the English for "компания" and "кампания"? Explain the difference.
The word "campaign'' was used in the text 9 times. Study the context and translate the sentences where you meet it.
II. Explain the following.
• urban and rural environment
• fundraising events
• throwaway bottles
• irreplaceable wildlife sites
• cycle rally
• under the umbrella
• global famine
• GM ingredients
• pressure group
III. Join the words to make combinations used in the article. Use them in the sentences of your own.
to hit green measures in the Budget
to insulate GM ingredients
to reverse a plan
to force a polluter
to reveal the headlines
to expose homes
to put a delay
to ban the trend

COMPREHENSION
I. Answer the questions:
l. What is Friends the Earth? Specify the message and the role. What are the methods to get this message across?
2. What testifies to the success of Friends of the Earth?
3. Describe its structure: how is it organised, elected, directed and financed?
4. What are the activities / events / campaigns / protests organised by its volunteers?
5. How can you campaign for the concerns of Friends of the Earth?

FOLLOW-UP
I. Discuss with a partner / partners (make up dialogues):
1. A volunteer from Friends of the Earth is interviewed by a newspaper correspondent about the structure and
campaign methods of this organisation.
2. Two Friends of the Earth activists discuss how to organise a march of protest against smoking.
3. Discuss what you would campaign for / against in Belarus.
4. A young man is asking a Friend of the Earth activist how to join the group.
5. One of you wants to join Friends of the Earth, the other is really skeptical.

II. You are members of Friends of the Earth. Organize a campaign the purpose of which is to make more
people environmentally-minded.