Environmental protection

The problems of the environment are much spoken about on TV, radio, in the newspapers. Not only ecologist but also common people become awareof ecological problems.

So what is ecology?

Ecology is a science that studies the relationship between all forms of life on our planet with its environment. The word “ecology” came from the Greek “Oikos” which means “home”.

Environment is everything that surrounds a person: air, flora, fauna, water, soil. A man is a part of environment. So he is depended onit.

Pollution was not a serious problem as long as there was enough space available for each individual. With the establishment of permanent human settlements pollution became a problem. Six million people living in our planet need more food, land, goods. The production of these in large amounts includescutting down forests, draining wetlands, ploughing up grasslands.

Through their daily activities people pollute and contaminate land, water and air. Both the atmosphere of the Earth and the depth of the oceans are poisoned with toxic waste created by the humans, 150 species – animals, birds, fish disappear from our planet every year because man has polluted their natural home or “habitat”.

Forest clearance causes long-term problems such as soil erosion, floods,, droughts.

Water pollution is becoming an international problem nowadays. Oil and shipping companies throw thousands of tons of oil. They are interested only in profits. If measures are not taken the oceans will soon become biological deserts. Pollution of water by both industrial and domestic users creates the problem of water deficit.

Litter is another issue that people face in big cities. As a result of it big industrial centres today look more like garbage dumps.

Of all the environmental problems facing our planet today the most pressing is global warming, better known as the “greenhouse effect”.

The “greenhouse effect” is caused by carbon dioxide, which prevents heat from escaping. Global warming can cause melting of the polar ice caps, rising of the sea level, and flooding of the coastal areas of the work. Vast territories will become too hot for farming. It won’t be possible to grow the same amount of food.

Another source of global danger is acid rain. Dangerous gases enter the atmosphere from tall chimneys of factories and power stations. They mix with water in the air and from a cocktail of acidic chemicals. The wind carries them for thousands of kilometers away. And finally, this killing mixture falls back on Earth as acid rain. It causes damage or death of forests, lakes, wild life, people, buildings, works of art.

One more danger comes from the depletion of the ozone layer, which absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. If it continues it will damage all living organisms on our planet.

The war on nature that mankind is waging today is a kind of collective suicide. People pollute the air they breathe, poison the water they drink. The most evident example of such suicidal tendencies is smoking. Smoking not only harms the health of the smoker, but also is destructive for others. That is why many countries passed laws to restrict smoking in public and at work.

Beginning with the 1960s the pollution problems have received great publicity. Green Peace organization was created in 1987. This organization carries out numerous campaigns against the global environmental pollution, draws the people’s attention to the destruction of wildlife (whales, seals, tigers) by hunters and the pollution of oceans by nuclear waste turning them into nuclear dustbins. Green Peace believes that actions speak louder than words.

Due to environmental activists many laws aimed at environmental protection have been passed, for example Clean Air Act, Water Pollution Control Act. Numerous chemicals, fertilizers and gases that were once used in agriculture and industry are banned today.

In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect seas from oil waters. Research is going into renewable sources of energy: wind, water and sun.

We all can contribute, not necessarily in financial terms, to a better world. The first thing a person can do is put pressure on local authorities to provide more bottle-tanks and can-tanks. It’s a shame that nobody recycles scrap metal, scrap paper or reuses bottles. The students might be persuaded to buy recycled stationary, thus helping to save trees, as recycled paper uses half the water and energy of normal paper to make. Special ecological education should be introduced at school.

In fact there are hundreds of little things that an ecologically conscious person can do. Say, you can keep the taps turned off to avoid water leakage. To keep the water clean it is necessary to use less washing up liquids harmful to fish if they get into the river. A good idea is to buy rechargeable batteries for CD players as batteries contain toxic chemicals. Burned, they pollute the air; buried, they poison the land. When we go shopping we should take our own plastic shopping bags instead of buying a lot of plastic bags at the check out.

We should keep our country tidy (беречь природу): never throw litter, never draw on the trees, never leave fire in the forest and never hunt animals. One must plant trees and flowers, leave wild flowers for others to enjoy.

In a word, when there is a will to save the oasis of life there is always a way to do it.

“Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better everyday. And you will come to love the whole world with an all-embracing love”.

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 – 1881)

from The Brothers Karamazov, 1880

Vocabulary Exercises.

1. Suggest the English for:

простые люди; сознавать грозящую опасность; до тех пор; пока было достаточно места; нуждаются во все большем количестве пищи; вырубка лесов; в своей повседневной деятельности; отравлять землю и воздух; токсические отходы; ежегодно исчезают с поверхности планеты; среда обитания; вырубка лесов; наводнения; засуха; пустыня; проблема дефицита воды; мусор; свалка; самая насущная проблема; глобальное потепление; парниковый эффект; вызван углекислым газом; препятствовать; таяние льда; подъем уровня моря; кислотные дожди; газы поступают в атмосферу из фабричных труб; дикая природа; уменьшение озонового слоя; вредить здоровью; привлекать внимание людей; принято много законов; защита окружающей среды; удобрения; запрещены; системы очистки воды; возобновляемые источники энергии; внести вклад; перерабатывать металлолом и макулатуру; губительный для рыбы.

2. Suggest the Russian for:

the problems of the environment; a part of environment; enough space; available for each individual; in large amounts; cutting down forests; to plough up grassland; through daily activities; people pollute land; to poison; toxic wastes; to disappear from our planet; to cause long-term problems; soil erosion; profits; problems facing our planet; the most pressing problem; to flood of the coastal areas; another source of global danger; to mix with water in the air; a cocktail of acidic chemicals; a killing mixture; depletion of the ozone layer; to damage all living organisms; mankind; collective suicide; the air they breathe; poison the water they drink; destructive; to pass laws; to restrict smoking; to carry out campaigns; global environmental pollution; nuclear waste; due to activists; to ban, local authorities; to persuade; to buy recycled stationary; an ecologically conscious person; to avoid water leakage; rechargeable batteries; to keep our country tidy; to throw litter.

3. Insert prepositions where required:

1. Common people become aware … ecological problems. 2. Ecology is a science that studies the relationship … all forms of life … its environment. 3. The word “ecology” came: … the Greek “Oikos”. 4. … their daily activities people contaminate land. 5. The ocean is poisoned … toxic wastes created … the humans. 6. Many species disappear … our planet every year. 7. Acid rains cause death … wild life. 8. Danger comes … the depletion … the ozone layer. 9. Many countries passed laws to restrict smoking … public. 10. Green Peace carries … numerous campaigns … the global environmental pollution. 11. … to environmental activists many laws have been passed. 12. … many countries purifying systems … treatment … industrial waters have been installed. 13. Ecological education should be introduced … schools.

4. Match each word with its meaning: