Environmental protection

What is the environment? The environment is everything around us.

People have always polluted their environment. But until now pollution was not such a serious problem as people lived in uncrowded rural areas. With the development of overcrowded industrial cities which emit huge amounts of pollutants into small areas, the problem has become urgent. Automobiles and other new inventions make [pollution steadily worse. Since the late 1960’s people have become alarmed with the danger of pollution.

The poisoning of the world’s land, air and water is the fastest-spreading disease of civilization. Overpopulation, pollution and energy consumption have created such planet-wide problems as massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains and the global warming caused by greenhouse effect. The seas are in danger. They are filled with industrial and nuclear wastes, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The Mediterranean Sea is nearly dead; the North Sea is the following; the Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it there will be no living organisms left in the seas.

Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies forever, many flowers become rare and vanish. One million species living today may become extinct within twenty years.

Air pollution in some big industrial cities is so great that just breathing the air is life threatening. For example in Cairo it is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for Mexico City and 600 cities of the former Soviet Union.

Tons of harmful substances emitted by industrial enterprises create dangerous situation for the life on the planet.

People are beginning to realize that many environmental catastrophes such as Chernobyl disaster present global danger. They join and support various international organizations and green parties. So the governments should clearly realize the disaster threatening the natural world. It’s high time for the people of the world to unite their efforts in saving the planet – our mutual home.

Задание 3. Ответьте на вопросы

1. When have people become alarmed with the danger of pollution?

2. What are planet-wide problems?

3. Why are the seas in danger?

4. What are the main reasons for the greenhouse effect and acid rain?

5. What are the harmful effects of pollution?