Iz serii "Mysli po povodu" (raznyh statei)

Entry #1

Author: Rebecca Pasok

Title: To Drill or Not to Drill.

Publication: The College Writer.

Summary.

It is not easy to answer question to drill or not to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Some environmental experts support arguments against drilling some of them tell that drilling will not hurt people and wild animals. At the same time there is the considerable disagreement about the accessible amount of the ANWR oil. But, in any case those supplies would be not enough to ease our dependence on Middle Eastern countries for oil.
Therefore, the right question we really should ask is how to provide energy for everyone, now and in the future. Many people believe that the best option for Americans is to develop new technologies. Also, very important part of the problem is reducing our dependency on fossil fuels themselves.
Developing energy-saving technologies and choosing lifestyle oriented to conserve energy will help people to save environment both now and in the future.

Response.

Even if we drill in ANWR, that would give us little in terms of energy independence. Therefore, in author’s opinion, our main efforts should be directed towards development of new energy-producing technologies and a systemic approach to energy-saving lifestyle. While
development of new technologies is best left to professionals, the question is what can each of us
do in our lives to decrease our personal energy consumption.
For example, in our family, we set the thermostat in our house a bit higher in the summer and a bit lower in the winter so that our hitter/air-conditioner unit is not running when unnecessary. We also winterized our doors and windows. We keep an eye on our interior lights – we turn them off when we don’t need them. We use washer and dryer only with full load. In summer, we turn on our sprinklers late at night. We paved the strip of land in front of our house with stones so that we use less water. In our family we have a single fairly fuel-efficient car which one of us drives while the other uses public transportation to get to work.
In short, we strive to minimize our personal consumption of energy and other natural resources. But there are limits as to how far we can go in that. We still have to do our shopping, and many stores are not very close to us so we have to drive there and so on. Still, given the magnitude of the problem, we ask ourselves if we can do more…

Shkol'nye sochineniya...

Expanding My Personal Freedom.

Immigrating to the United States from Russia marked a huge change in my life: new country, new culture… lots of things to learn! And one of my first most important tasks turned out to be getting a driver license. I quickly learned that a driver license is more than just a legal permit to drive a car. It is also a personal ID and a big part of one’s personal freedom.
One may not legally drive a car in the US without a state-issued driver license. I had my Russian driver license but by Utah law it was valid only for few months. In order to get a Utah drivers license, I had to pass two tests: one written and one road. Some of the road rules were new to me, for example, right turn on red light, and a special lane in the middle of a road for left turns. So, I got a copy of Utah Driver Handbook and started reading it with a dictionary.
Also, I realized that I could not do basic things in everyday life without a driver license. In stores, I could not pay by check without it. At doctor’s office, the receptionist would ask me for my insurance card and driver license. Even at a liquor store, I was asked to show my drivers license. I was not used to it because in Russia it is not the main personal ID. Russians have a domestic passport for that.
But there was yet another important reason for getting my driver license. Without it, I was confined to my house and the immediate neighborhood. It was a strange feeling for me, because in Russia I could get just about anywhere by public transportation, that is how most Russians
live. Here in Salt Lake City, I learned that public transportation was not always convenient or even available to get to certain places so I became dependent on my husband and friends to drive me around. This dependency made me feel restricted and awkward. One morning I had to be at the Immigration Services office on the other end of town. Normally, somebody would give me a ride, but it so happened that everybody was very busy that morning. My husband had an important business meeting, and our friends could not help me either. But I really had to be there so my husband ended up driving me to the appointment, and then rushing back to his meeting. It was a bit tense, but we both made it.
I remember very well the day I passed my final test and got my driver license. I felt a sense of real accomplishment and even joy. I made an important step towards establishing myself in the new life and getting my personal freedom back. That was two years ago, and in retrospect it seems like it was an easy step. Well, I hope in not too distant future I’ll look back at my current English language studies and think that was also easy.