Text 1. Environment Protection

I

No doubt that every individual have to take responsibility for his lifestyle to secure the future of mankind for now it faces many problems. One of the most important problems is environment protection because people nowadays live in a consumer society. The scientific and technological progress of the twenty first century resulted in widespreadmechanization, automated lines,computerized management, spaceships, atomic power stations, pipelines, new roads and highways. In order to make their lives more comfortable and easier they use a huge variety of products and the results of such use are quite sad: the waste of these products provokes damage to our environment.

It cannot be denied that the price for rapid industrial development is very high: natural resources are being exhausted, the ecological balance of the planet is disturbed; some species of flora and faunadisappear; city and industry waters, chemicals and fertilizers are endangering lakes, rivers and ponds. Big cities have a problem with air pollution. Progress can be blamed for all these environmental problems.

The range of environmental problems people are facing with is really large. The major of them caused byhuman activity can be classified into some categories.

1. With negative influence on humanity:

· Genetic engineering is a modification of food by using biotechnology.

• Public health issues mean the increase of human and animal diseases caused by air, water, soil pollution.
• Urban sprawl denotes the migration of population from urban areas to rural areas with lower density.
• Overpopulation is a tendency of increase of planet population to unsustainable levelsleading toshortage of resources.

2. With negative influence on the Earth as a planet:

· Water pollution is a pollution of water bodies (sources of clear drinking water) with toxic pollutants.

· Acid rain is a phenomenon of atmospheric condensation containing nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

· Ozone layer depletion identifies the formation of holes in the ozone layer caused by Bromide and Chlorine.

· Ocean acidification means the increase of ocean acidity caused by excessive production of CO2.

· Deforestation is supposed to be the decrease of tree cover due to clearing spaces for industrial, residential and commercial purposes.

· Climate change means that temperatures’ rise leading to polar ice melting, new diseases occurrence, and change in seasons.

· Waste disposal is considered as producing of excessive amounts of garbage and waste (mainly plastic, but also out of other synthetic and non-synthetic materials).

· Natural resource depletion is a decrease of fossil fuel and other extractable resources.

· Global warming is understood as a rise of Earth’s surface and oceans mean temperatures leading to natural disasters.

· Air and soil pollutio n are supposed to have a release of toxins, harmful gases, heavy metals, nitrates in the atmosphere and soil.

3. With negative influence on flora and fauna:

· Loss of biodiversity is a phenomenon of extinction of species and as a consequencea destruction of eco systems.

In recent years the pollution problems have received great publicity. The Environmental movement associated with no political party has gained widespread trust and support. Environmental activists stress that the problem is caused by industrial pollution and the automobiles. Long-established environmental groups warn that acid rains threaten many forests. The media's begun to campaign against the ugliness of tin cans and trash rubbish. Many people started to realize that to keep air and water clean, strict pollution control is necessary. The only way to save our planet is to protect the environment. Only by taking measures as a whole can really help to solve the problems.

The protection of natural resources and wildlife is becoming a political program in every country. Numerous anti-pollution acts passed in different countries led toconsiderable improvements in environment. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil waters. Wildlife reservation models of undisturbed nature are being developed in some parts of the world. The environmental problems’ solution requires the cooperation of all nations.

II

It’s necessary to mention that today environmental protection has become a universal problem. Technological progress improves people's lives, but at the same time it brings about pollution and contamination of land, water and air. The atmosphere of the Earth and the depths of the oceans are poisoned with toxic wastes created by the humans. Millions of species - animals, birds, fish have disappeared from our planet. Natural resources are exhausted: the ecology of the planet is disbalanced.

It would be no exaggeration to say that big cities face the environmental catastrophe too. The concentration of millions of people on a tiny area causes numerous problems. Some of the ecological problems can be solved only at the expense of creating new ones. Thus, air pollution is caused by the ever-increasing number of automobiles that help to cope with the transportation problem. The need for energy generates pollution on a large scale. Nuclear power plants threaten air, water and land. Radiation affects people's health. The accident at Chernobyl in 1986 was tragic for many people. The necessity to employ all the inhabitants of the city leads to the creation of new factories that produce not only consumer goods, but wastes, noise and smog. Another source of global danger is acid rain. It appeared as a reaction of the atmosphere to the air contamination, damages water, forest, and soil resources, causes the disappearance of fish from many lakes, bring death to the forests and woods in Europe and America.

The survival of our civilization depends on the ability of mankind to find a way out. The task of protecting the nature is of primary importance now. Recently the Environmental movement has gained widespread support. Environmental activists, organizations of volunteers do their best to stop pollution of our planet.

III

To summon it up, on the hand technical progress improves people's lives but on the other hand it causes numerous problems. Through the daily activities people pollute and contaminate water, land and air. There are a lot of sources of global danger. I’d like to bring some examples. They are the toxic wastes created by the humans, the influence of factories and power stations, automobiles and airplanes, big cities, and of course acid rains. The only thing that people fail to realize is that humanity depends completely on nature. The war on nature waged by mankind is a kind of suicide. People pollute the air they breathe, poison the water they drink.

In a word, I suppose that environmental protection is of primary importance today. Environmental activists, the organization of volunteers do their best to protect the nature. Due to these organizations many laws aimed at protecting the nature were passed. Greenpeace organization was created in 1987. It carries out many campaigns against environment pollution. The saving nature and animals has become a political program in many countries. In my point of view, a man should change his attitude to the nature to save it.