Text 2. Environmental Protection

Vocabulary

to invent machines and mecha­nisms –изобрести машины и механизмы

the environment –окружающая среда

water shortage –недостаток воды

damage to water and soils –нанести вред воде и почве

damage to wildlife –нанести вред живой природе

increase in the average tempera­ture –повышение средней температуры

rise in sea levels –повышение уровня моря

extreme weather events –чрезвычайные погодные явления

flood –наводнение

drought –засуха

hurricane –ураган

climate change –изменение климата

to destroy fishing –уничтожить отлов рыбы

using of alternative forms of power –использование альтернативных источников энергии

solar energy –солнечная энергия

banning the use of nuclear power –запрещение использования атомной энергии

radioactive contamina­tion –радиоактивное загрязнение

ecologically safe materials –экологически безопасные материалы

Ecology problems are of vital importance today. What can common people do to protect the planet?

Man have always wanted to make his life easier. He invented machines and mechanisms which have been working — and polluting the world we live in. Economists have long thought of the environment as of the unlimited source of resources only. In fact, the economy and the environment are closely related. The environment supplies the economy with water, timber, miner als, oil, etc. It has to absorb all the waste products, too. Nevertheless, some economists have always argued that pollution damages the resources.

There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Pumping waste gases from a power station does not gel rid of them. Waste gases cause acid rain, this leads to forest damage and reduces the resources of forestry industry.

Another one is water shortage. It comes from abuse of lands in agricul­ture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth through pollution from factories and plants. The fourth one is damage to water and soils. The fifth one is damage to wildlife: many species of plants and animals can disappear. The sixth one is the greenhouse effect and global warming — that is, an increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Global warming can lead to rises in sea levels, and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and global climate change. Lastly, the most serious danger is the result of all these consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man.

The territories of the former Soviet Union are suffering many environmen­tal problems. Many of these problems have been caused by economic activities. Apart from the effect of the Chernobyl disaster, the worst problem is that with the Aral Sea. Cotton growing in the region has used large amounts of water, and the sea level has fallen, this destroyed fishing and led to a damage in soils, crops, and wildlife. Many forests in the Far East and in the north of European Russia are under threat. A system of dams on the Volga damaged fish.

If we cannot learn to use the environment carefully, very soon we'll have no world to live in. In my opinion, pollution can be stopped or at least reduced by using fuels which are low in pollutants, more complete burning of solid fuels, shift to using alternative forms of power such as wind power electricity or solar energy and banning the use of nuclear power. The first reason why I believe these ways to be most effective ones is that industry and transport are the most important sources of all chemical pollution of air, water and soil. The second one is that banning the use of nuclear power will destroy the danger of radioactive contamination.

The most important thing common people could do is to change their attitude towards the environment. We should realize that natural resources are not unlimited and destroying them may result in destroying life on Earth. The change of public attitude to the environment is important due to several reasons. Firstly, public opinion could make governments introduce stricter anti-pollution measures. It could make governments fund scientific research facilitating development of ecologically safe materials and sources of energy. Secondly, people could behave in the way which is less damaging for the ecology of our planet. For example, they could stop leaving litter in city streets and in the country. Thirdly, they could stop damaging forests by cutting down trees for their personal needs or causing forest fires.