Pollution solutions

Environmental pollution is one of the most serious problems today. People dirty the air with gases and smoke, poison the water with chemicals and other substances, damage the soil with too many fertilizers and pesticides. Nearly everybody causes environmental pollution. People pollute their surroundings in different ways.

Worldwide, air pollution problem has grown immensely. More and more factories, plants, motor vehicles add their bad breath to the air. Harmful gases also come from the materials the buildings are made of as well as the furnishing. Meanwhile, when we burn coal and oil for energy we also cause air pollution.

Air pollution has already led to great atmosphere changes, such as ozone depletion, greenhouse effect. If it is not stopped, all the smoke, fumes and exhaust will eventually change the earth’s climate. Moreover air pollution can cause health problems and even death. But the battle against it is also growing. Governments are making tougher laws against air pollution, requiring business and individuals to stop, or cut down, certain polluting activities, to install extra filters in enterprises. Scientists are trying to invent cars that pollute less. Little by little we are getting more and more energy from the sun and the wind, which is clean and renewable.

People try to reduce water pollution too. There are three main sources of water pollution: industrial wastes, sewage, agricultural chemicals and wastes.

The real threats to rivers, lakes and the oceans are factories and plants. Often companies dump chemical wastes into water and pollute it. Chemicals called sulphates puff out of coal-burning factories around the world. When the sulphates mix with clouds, acid rain falls and harms lakes, rivers and plants. Some industries discharge hot water, used to cool equipment, into a river or a lake and cause thermal pollution.

Water is also pollutes by sewage, which consists of animal and human wastes and garbage when it goes untreated directly into waterways or the ocean.

Farmers spray a lot of chemicals on crops to protect them again pests. Water from rain or melted snow flows from farm land into streams and carries chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Animal wastes also may cause water pollution, particularly from feed lots with large numbers of animals. Much of their wastes runs off into nearby steams. Water used for irrigation also may be polluted by salt, agricultural pesticides, and toxic chemicals on the soil surface before it flows back into the ground.

As a result of water pollution, lakes, rivers and even whole seas have been turned into sewers. The seashores look like a mess, littered with garbage. Water pollution is threatening drinking water supplies and can spread many diseases. It prevents people from using water for many of the world’s fish species are already starting to die.

People are trying to solve the problem in various ways. Companies install cleansing equipment to remove harmful chemicals before dumping the wastes into water. People are building sewage treatment plants to clean water. Governments are helping farmers find ways to protect crops without using many pesticides.

Soil pollution is the most pressing environmental problem. People ruin the beauty of the land by littering on the land. In the USA each person throws away about four pounds (1,8 kg) of trash daily. About 1/3 of this waste comes from packaging. As a result of deforestation the world has lost 200 million hectares of trees since 1972.

Pollution of soil reduces the amount of land that is available for growing food. Farmers have lost nearly 500 tons of topsoil. In addition pollution brings ugliness to our beautiful land.

But lots of cities have begun recycling project. People are trying to ease the problem by returning garbage to the market as part of new products. Recycled newspapers, metal containers, and many other recycled products are widely used today. Some companies have begun to use less packaging. But the most effective way to stop soil pollution is to throw away less trash.

Exercise 3. Answer the following comprehension questions.

1. Why is environmental pollution considered to be a serious problem?

2. What are the main sources of air pollution?

3. What is the effect of air pollution on climate?

4. What measures do governments take to reduce air pollution?

5. How can we get clean and renewable energy?

6. What are three main sources of water pollution?

7. In what way do companies and enterprises pollute water?

8. What is acid rain?

9. What causes thermal pollution?

10. What is the effect of farmers’ activities on environment?

11. What do seashores look like?

12. What changes can water pollution lead to?

13. How do people try to solve the problem of water pollution?

14. What is soil pollution?

15. How much trash daily do people throw in the USA?

16. What does soil pollution effect?

17. Why do people use recycling?

18. What should be done to reduce soil pollution?

Exercise 4. Find English equivalents to the following Russian words and word-phrases.

1. загрязнение окружающей среды;
2. выпускать в атмосферу выхлопные газы;

1. чистая, возобновляемая энергия;
2. сократить загрязнение воды;
3. сточные воды;
4. устанавливать более строгие законы;
5. устанавливать дополнительные фильтры;
6. переработка отходов;
7. термическое загрязнение;
8. причинять вред озерам, рекам, растениям;
9. запасы питьевой воды;
10. очищать от вредных элементов;
11. выбрасывать химические отходы;
12. мусор;
13. неочищенные сточные воды;
14. заводы по очистке стоков;
15. охлаждать оборудование;

18. устанавливать очистительное оборудование.

Exercise 5. Agree with the statements if they are right and correct if they are not right.

Make use of clichés for expressing agreement / disagreement.

1. Factories, plants, cars and trucks produce a lot of breath air.

2. To burn coal and oil for energy is not harmful.

3. Ozone depletion and greenhouse effect are results of soil pollution.

4. To make tougher laws against air pollution, install extra filters are the ways out.

5. Energy from the sun and the wind is clean and renewable.

6. Industries discharge chemical wastes and hot water into water streams and cause pollution.

7. Untreated sewage is not harmful.

8. Agricultural chemicals and wastes add a lot to water pollution.

9. Water used for irrigation is one of the main sources of pollution.

10. Water pollution causes many diseases and poisons drinking water.

11. Cleansing equipment help remove harmful chemicals from wastes.

12. Trash is the serious problem today.

13. Polluted soil can be used to grow crops.

14. Recycling is a way to reduce trash.

Exercise 6. Make a retelling of the text, using questions from the ex. 5 as a plan.

Exercise 7*.

a) Prove that air pollution is harmful for a man. Use the following openers (take your time to think it over)

· Well...

· You know...

· You see...

· Er …

b) Prove that water pollution is a serious problem today. Stress that agricultural wastes and chemicals add a lot of harm. Don’t forget to use openers.

c) Prove that pollution of the soil needs more attention today. Explain why recycling is necessary.

Exercise 8*. Compare your opinion of pollution control with that in the text. If you think the

same, say how pollution can be reduced. Use the openers:

· I suppose...

· To my mind...

· I guess...

· As far as I know...

· In fact...

· To tell the truth...

Exercise 9*. Pretend that you are journalists of a local newspaper. The newspaper wants to place

an article to draw public’s attention to the ecological problem, to the effect of

environmental pollution on people to be exact. Suggest your articles and you’ll

choose the best one. Mind that the article should be brief.

Exercise 10*. You understand how essential it is to preserve nature especially when you have

something unique like Lake Baikal. What do you know about it?

Read the text and find out why it is called a lake of superlatives and learn what the

main pollutants of Baikal are. Be ready to use the information in the topic

“Ecology”.