NATURE PROTECTION

The word environment means everything around us. Nowadays people understand how important it is to solve the environmental problems that endanger people’s lives. The most important ecological problems are:

·         water and air pollution;

·         noise pollution;

·         destruction of rainforests;

·         shortages of water, food and natural resources;

·         global warming;

·         the growth of population.

There is no ocean or sea which is not used as a dump now. Governments test their nuclear weapons there, factories and plants pour harmful industrial wastes into rivers and seas, tankers leave lots of oil in the water. This poisons and kills fish and animals, destroys their habitats. It is dangerous to drink such water or use it in any other way.

The pollution of air has become a big problem, too. Most of the pollution comes from cars and buses, plants and factories. The wastes come back to the Earth in the form of acid rains and destroy forests and buildings.

People are told not to sunbathe often, because ultraviolet radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer. Normally the layer protects us from such radiation. But as a result of air pollution we now have holes in the ozone layer.

The greenhouse effect is another dangerous result of air pollution. People burn a lot of rubber, wood and fuel, that’s why there is more carbon dioxide in the air. A lot of rainforests have also been cut down. It means that there is less oxygen in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide works like glass in a greenhouse: it lets the heat from the sun to get to our planet, but doesn’t let it to go back into space. That’s why the temperatures have risen. Ice in cold countries melts, which leads to higher sea levels.

Nuclear power stations can go wrong and cause nuclear pollution. Radiation cannot be seen, but its effects are terrible.

What can we do to help the environment? If we plant some trees, we will get more oxygen and less carbon dioxide. If factories, plants, cars and buses use filters, the air will be cleaner. If we save and not waste water, there will be no water shortages. If we don’t listen to loud music, we won’t have problems with our hearing. If people stop cutting down trees, animals won’t lose their habitats. If we recycle, reuse and reduce our rubbish, the planet will be cleaner.