Looking at his watch, Thomas asked about dinner.
'We usually eat around 6,' Rebecca answered, 'Now what about your girlfriend?'
'I would rather not talk about her now,' Thomas frowned, 'I am going downstairs now.'
Thomas then went back downstairs to talk with Carol. Richard was on his way upstairs to ask Rebecca a question.
They stopped to chat.
'Your uncle seems quite knowledgable,' Richard remarked.
'I guess,' Thomas shrugged, 'Why? What did you guys talk about?'
Richard smiled, 'Well, since you asked, we talked about our careers, and how they are connected. You see,
I am an environmental engineer and he is an economist. There is a strong connection between the economy and the environment.'
Richard went on to explain:
'Up to one fourth of all the species of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms disappeared forever
in past ten years. In addition, the Earth's temperature is already climbing steadily because of the progressive increase
in carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, and CFCs in the atmosphere.
'The concentration of ozone in the upper atmosphere has apparently fallen sufficiently to account for already
at least a 20 percent increase in the incidence of skin cancer at middle latitudes, and the problem continues to worsen. Our
topsoil is being lost and our waters polluted at unprecedented rates.
'For one out of three people in the developing world, the only water available to drink is unsafe and possibly
deadly. Meanwhile, we are rapidly destroying what is left of our forests, and deserts are spreading in many regions.
'Those of us who live in industrialized countries are the core of the problems facing the global ecosystem
today. Industrialized peoples number less than one quarter of the world's people, and their activities alone are more than
sufficient to create global instability.
'For example, the United States, with 4.5 percent of the world's population, generates about 21 percent of
the world's carbon dioxide. Similar relationships can be demonstrated in almost any area of resource consumption, indicating
clearly that the industrialized countries of the world must act forcefully to reduce their levels of consumption if we are
all going to be able to attain stability.'
'Oh?' Thomas shrugged, 'but I've heard that before and yet things look just fine outside.'
'That's my job,' Richard smiled, 'Through environmental engineering, I help make the outside
world look and feel healthy. I create enivornmental technologies that help regulate the environment. These products clean
the air, the water, and the land. They also transform waste into reusable products.'
'Oh?' Thomas shrugged again, 'When will my uncle be here?'
'You're uncle will be here in an hour, so why don't you go tell Carol how you'd like your dinner
cooked.'
