Pollution of the environment

Pollution is caused by various substances. It should be monitored, avoided, prevented, controlled, reduced, cut, minimized, limited and stopped.

Standards / laws / regulations should be introduced.

Environmental issues should be analysed and tackled by various environmental groups, e.g. "the greens", NGOs (non-governmental organisations), international and national organisations.

Toxic Water Pollutants:

sewage, chemicals, e.g. fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, nitrates, and other heavy metals, oil-spills, nuclear wastes

Some Toxic Air Pollutants:

dust, smoke, exhaust fumes / gases of vehicles, diesel smoke, aerosol, radioactive fallout, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, smog and acid rain

Other Forms of Pollution:

noise pollution, light pollution, industrial pollution, the greenhouse effect, "holes" in the ozone layer

Direct andIindirect Consequences of the Pollution:

higher death rates, allergy, asthma, breathing problems, endangered and disappearing species, extinct animals and plants, changing flora and fauna, destruction of natural habitats, vegetation, wildlife and climate change

*Exercise 7. Read and translate the texts and define the problems in the headings in no more than two sentences:

Global Warming

Scientists say the temperature of the earth could rise by 3ºC over the next 50 years. This may cause drought in some parts of the world, hurricanes and floods in others, as ice at the North and South poles begins to melt and sea levels rise. Global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect. Normally, heat from the sun warms the earth and then energy radiates back into space. But carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere trap the sun’s heat, and this is slowly making the earth warmer.

The Ozone Layer

The Ozone layer is a layer of gas high above the surface of the earth that helps to protect it from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which can damage our skins and cause cancer. Scientists have recently discovered holes in the Ozone Layer, caused by substances called CFCs (clorofluorocarbons). CFCs are used in refrigerators, aerosol cans (баллончики) and in the manufacture of some plastic products. Some companies now make aerosols that do not contain CFCs, and these are often marked “Ozone Friendly”.

Deforestation

Rainforests help to control global warming because they absorb carbon dioxide. In recent years, large area have been destroyed, as the trees are cut down for wood or burned to clear the land for farming. The burning releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Many rainforests grow on poor soils, and when they are cut down or burned, the soil is washed away in the tropical rains, so that the area may turn to (превращается) desert. Many plant and animal species that live there could become extinct. Forests plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Reforestation can be used to improve the quality of human life as forests remove around three billion tons of anthropogenic carbon every year.