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Environmental
Protection
Ecological problems are becoming more and more important today.
People all over the world discuss environmental protection, but
we still go on polluting air, water and soil.
Air pollution is the biggest problem of large cities and
industrial areas. It is usually caused by different means of
transport. Cars, buses and planes are among the worst air
polluters. Factories and plants also pollute air by pouring
harmful emissions into the air causing lung diseases and doing
harm to our health. As a result, acid rains appear and damage
forests and soil.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give out oxygen in
return. In some parts of the world, such as Asia and South
America, trees are threatened not by pollution, but by people.
The rainforests are destroyed for firewood and building
materials. If we lose tropical forests, it will become more
difficult to breathe, because they provide 50 per cent of the
world's annual production of oxygen. With more carbon dioxide in
the air, the temperature on the planet will rise and this will
cause global warming.
How can the problems of air pollution be solved? First of all,
people should try to use alternative sources of energy, such as
solar, water or wind energies, or at least to burn smokeless
fuels.
There are ways to reduce air pollution caused by road traffic.
It is possible to build more railways and to support public
transportation. Also, people should be encouraged to drive at
the speed limit in order to use fuel more efficiently. Another
way is to encourage tree planting, because trees absorb carbon
dioxide. Special kinds of gasoline for cars can also help to
reduce air pollution.
Water pollution is as dangerous as air pollution. Factories and
plants dump wastes into rivers and lakes polluting them. Wastes
that get into rivers, streams and oceans can entangle wildlife
or be mistaken by them for food and spread diseases to humans.
Rain or excess water can wash fertilisers into rivers and
streams, causing excess weeds to grow.
There are several things that can be done to restore polluted
waterways back to normal. You should make sure you never throw
anything that could be toxic down a drain or onto soil.
Basically, it is important to remember that anything that gets
onto the ground can eventually end up in a river, lake or
stream. So, make sure you do not allow any chemicals or waste to
go on the ground or down the drain.
Soil pollution does not allow plants to grow and makes people
sick after they eat fruit and vegetables grown on polluted soil.
People also pollute soil by throwing litter onto it. Forests are
full of used bottles and cans. Such litter can be found in
rivers and lakes too which makes wild animals sick and causes
their death. This can be stopped if you make sure that you throw
litter into recycling bins and take litter with you after a
picnic in a forest or on a river bank.
Every day we throw away a lot of litter, which, actually, we can
use again, for example paper, cloth, glass, plastic, etc.
Everybody should know the three r's: reduce, reuse and recycle.
Water and electricity can and should be reduced. We should reuse
whatever we can: plastic bags, paper, cans, glass and bottles.
Paper and plastic, for example, are also recycled at factories
and plants and we get paper and plastic bags made from recycled
materials.
It is impossible to stop technological process, to close «all
factories and plants to prevent pollution, but people need to
invent new waste-free technologies that will not damage the
environment. There are new inventions such as self-destructible
plastic bags which turn into powder if you keep them for some
time or leave them in the forest. There are up-to-date filters
that make water and air clean and that some factories and plants
have started using to prevent pollution.
We must not ignore the problems of environmental pollution and
we have to try and make everything possible to stop or at least
reduce it.
ПЛАН-ОТВЕТ. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
1. Вступление (Ecological problems are becoming more and more
important today. People all over the world discuss environmental
protection, but we still go on polluting air, water and soil.).
2. Рассказать о типах загрязнений, почему они возникают и как
можно с ними бороться (air pollution: transport/factories and
plants/acid rains/damage forests and soil/oxygen/rainforests are
destroyed/alternative sources of energy/building more motorways,
etc.; water pollution: factories and plants dump wastes/poison
rivers/spread diseases to humans/never throw toxic things into
the drain/etc.; soil pollution: litter/used bottles and
cans/causes death of animals/throw litter into litter bins,
etc.).
3. Рассказать в общем о том, как можно сократить загрязнение
окружающей среды (three r's/reduce water and electricity/reuse
and recycle plastic bags/paper/cans/glass, etc., new waste-free
technologies/self-destructible plastic bags/up-to-date filters,
etc.).
4. Заключение (We must not ignore the problems of environmental
pollution and we have to try and make everything possible to
stop or at least reduce it.).
QUESTIONS
1. Are the ecological problems important today?
2. What causes air pollution and what kind of emissions are
emitted into the air?
3. How can acid rain be caused?
4. How does acid rain affect our environment?
5. Why are trees important for life on earth?
6. What kind of climate changes can air pollution cause?
7. What are the ways of reducing air pollution?
8. What measures can we take to reduce air pollution by road
traffic?
9. How does water pollution occur?
10. What can be done to reduce water pollution?
11. How is land pollution caused?
12. What are the possibilities of reusing waste materials?
13. How can we get rid of waste of all kinds?
14. What can be done with litter in the streets?
15. What can people do to prevent pollution?
16. What areas does pollution affect?
17. What is the role of technology in reducing pollution?
18. What causes noise pollution and how can we reduce it?
19. What kind of protection do animals and plants need?
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
air pollution загрязнение воздуха
disposal уборка, избавление от отходов
dump сбрасывать, сливать
efficiency производительность, эффективность
emission выброс
environment окружающая среда
fossil fuel природное топливо
global warming глобальное потепление
leak утечка; протекать
litter bin мусорный бак
noise pollution шумовое загрязнение
poison яд
poisonous ядовитый
pollute загрязнять
pollution загрязнение
pollutant загрязнитель
rubbish/litter мусор
sewage сточные воды
soil pollution загрязнение почвы
storage хранилище
store хранить
waste отходы
waste disposal утилизация отходов
water pollution загрязнение воды
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