Introduction to ecology

Speaking of the natural environment, we use the term ‘ecology’. This word was introduced in 1869 by German biologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) for the science studying the relationship of organisms with their environment. This word came from Greek ‘oikoş’ which means ‘home’. The idea of home includes our whole planet, its population, nature, animals, birds, fish, insects and all other living beings and even the atmosphere around our planet. For a long time ecological problems were considered only in the context of biology. But from the mid-20^th century the ecological approach invaded all disciplines.

When we study ecology we study the environment and the way plants, animals and humans live together and affect each other. We can say that the environment includes the air, water and land in which people, animals and plants live, but we can also say that it is everything around us. In our everyday life we live in various environments, e.g. in the countryside, in the streets, at home, in the cinema, on a beach, at a swimming pool etc. These different environments may not seem to be connected, but in fact they are.

Ecology is the study of living things in their natural surroundings, or environment. This is everything, living and non-living, that is around them. Its basic features stay very much the same, e.g. the air that you breathe, but the details are constantly changing.

Ecology investigates how plants and animals, including people, live with and affect each other and their environment. A good starting point is yourself. Notice how you affect your own environment. Anything you do to your environment will have an effect back on you, as well as on every other living thing sharing the environment with you. The connections between all living things stretch into a vast web.

If we compare ecology and environment we understand that these words are sometimes used in the same way although they have different meanings. What’s the difference? Ecology is the natural relationship, environment refers to the places or situations. But ‘ecological’ and ‘environmental’ are sometimes used with the same nouns, e.g. an ecological disaster = an environmental disaster. Eco-friendly and environmentally friendly are also used as synonyms for products and methods which do not damage the environment.

People who are concerned about the environment are called eco-warriors (environmental activists). They are often referred to as ‘greens’, e.g. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.

1.2. Fill in the chart with the family words and translate them into Russian. Use a dictionary if necessary.

noun	verb	adjective	adverb
ecology
environment
		natural
science
		various
		different
	damage
relationship

1.3. Fill in the gaps with the words from exercise 1.2.

1. Greenpeace is an international organization whose members work actively to protect the environment from …….. .

2. The oil spill was an …….. disaster for thousands of birds.

3. A noisy smoke-filled room is not the best …….. to work in.

4. Man’s activities are changing and disturbing …….. cycles.

5. Ecology is a multidisciplinary …….. .

6. The …….. between solar radiation and thermal radiation is enormous.

7. The seasonal …….. of temperature generally increase toward high latitudes.

8. A …….. is a friendship and strong emotional connection between two people.

1.4. Match the words with their definitions.

1. environmentalist	a) a large global organization
2. ecologist	b) a person who tries to prevent the environment from being spoilt
3. eco-warrior	c) a person who protests against environmental damage
4. scientist	d) a scientist who studies the environment
5. naturalist	e) a person who doesn’t hurt the environment during his holiday
6. Greenpeace	f) someone who does scientific research
7. protester	g) someone who studies animals, plants, birds and other living things
8. eco-tourist	h) someone who fights against the things that are bad for the environment
9. conservationists	i) someone who works to protect the environment from damage or destruction

1.5. Today man’s pressure on the natural world is causing a worldwide environmental crisis. Here are the main ecological problems that we now face:

● pollution ● ozone depletion

● global warming ● deforestation

● greenhouse effect ● endangered species

● acid rain ● soil erosion

● climate change ● desertification

► Match the above problems with their definitions below.

1. The process of damaging the air, water or land with chemicals and other substances.

2. Type of animal or plant that might soon stop existing because of damage to the environment it lives in or because too many of them have been killed by humans.

3. General increase in the temperature of the world caused by harmful chemicals and gases from cars and factories.

4. Cutting down too many trees in an area.

5. Gases from cars, factories, machines that form a layer around the earth and keep the heat in. These are a cause of global warming.

6. A hole in the ozone layer around the earth that protects people, animals, plants from damage from the sun.

7. Changes in the weather across large areas of the world.

8. Rain containing a high level of acid that can damage the environment. It is caused by pollution in the air.

9. Removing the topsoil by the wind and rain.

10. The process by which useful land, especially farm land, changes into desert.

1.6. Make up the verbs from the nouns. Use a dictionary if necessary.

pollution / warming / change / depletion / deforestation / erosion / danger / existence / damage / increase / cause / form / heat / protection / container / removement

1.7. Read the words in bold in activity 1.5 again and say what environmental problems can be solved with the following actions:

1. planting trees - reforestation

2. better irrigation

3. recycling

4. pollution filters on cars

5. organic farming

6. more and larger wildlife parks in towns and the countryside

7. a complete ban on aerosol cans with chemicals

8. a complete ban on smoke from the factories

9. eco-friendly tourism

10. preventing the killing and trading of wild animals

1.8. Match the words in A with their synonyms in B.

A B

fragile, adj		conservation, n
harm, v		delicate, adj
protection, n		increase, v
recycle, v		worldwide, adj
raise, v		damage, v
environment, n		rubbish, n
litter, n		protect, v
drop, v		reuse, v
global, adj		surroundings, n
awareness, n		dump, v
preserve, v		worried, adj
concerned, adj		understanding, n

1.9. Are these statements true (T) or false (F)?

1 Organic fruit and vegetables are grown naturally without the use of chemicals.

2. Green political groups are concerned with the protection of the environment.

3. Conservation area is a place where plants and wild animals are officially protected.

4. Sprays help to protect the ozone layer.

5. Cutting down tropical rainforests increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

6. Intensive farming (with artificial fertilizers and pesticides) doesn’t harm the soil.

7. Oil pollution seriously endangers the fragile ecosystem.

8. Global warming is an increase in world temperature caused by an increase in carbon dioxide.

1.10. Match the parts of the sentences.

1. One of the aims of Greenpeace is to raise 2. I strongly believe that anyone caught dropping 3. The ship’s captain denied he had been dumping 4. Several species of birds and animals face 5. The local authorities talk of the need to recycle 6. Not enough is being done to preserve 7 In the natural world there is a fragile 8. In the UK Greenpeace protests against the damaging

a) balance in plant and animal population. b) extinction in this country as a result of modern farming methods. c) effects of cars on the roads. d) paper, but they have not provided enough containers. e) awareness of the environmental problems facing our planet. f) litter should be ordered to pay heavy fine. g) wildlife in this country. h) waste of any kind at sea.

1.11. Make up and translate the word-combinations.

1. controlled, external, global, hostile, natural, rural, safe, stable, urban (environment)

2. to affect, to damage, to destroy, to pollute, to preserve, to protect (environment)

3. to combat, to cut, to control, to monitor, to prevent, to reduce (pollution)

4. industrial, household, nuclear, toxic, radioactive (waste)

5. air, toxic, water, gaseous (pollutant)

6. soil, forest, groundwater (conservation)

1.12. Choose the correct word.

1. It’s a good idea to recycle gaseous / radioactive waste.

2. We need to create safe / hostile working environment for all employees.

3. Our aim is to preserve / destroy the environment.

4. Different measures must be taken to rise / control air pollution.

5. Controlling erosion may lead to surface / soil conservation.

6. Hundreds of factories release household / harmful pollutants into the atmosphere.

1.13. Read the factfile and say:

1. which facts are surprising for you;

2. which facts you have already known or heard;

3. if it is necessary to do something now.

According to US State Department description of state of the world’s environment:

Deforestation – Area 4 times the size of Switzerland lost every year.

Fisheries – 70% of world fish stocks over-exploited.

Climate change – Release of about 20 billion tons of CO2 into atmosphere every year.

Species loss – 70 species lost every day.

Toxic substances – Can last for decades in animal and human organisms.

Water resources – 1950–2000 amount of irrigated land increase from 20 mln to 60 mln acres. Enormous usage pressure on aquifers, river systems.

Air quality – Approximately 3 mln people per year contact or die from lung disease due to indoor air pollution.

1.14. Read the following short texts and answer the questions. Which text:

● gives information about pesticides?

● predicts large-scale changes in agriculture?

● gives examples of poor and rich countries?

● suggests to control energy sources?

● speaks about charity?

● gives the reason of global warming?

● gives information about polluted water?

● warns about health damage?