What is “the environment”?

It contains many different parts, just like the pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle. Human beings, animals, buildings, the earth, the air, the seas, our climate… and all these parts interconnect.

If one part of the environment changes, this affects other parts of it, too. Sometimes the changes can be positive. For example, people clean the water in a city. As a result, more oxygen enters the water. Plants grow again, and insects and fish return.

Changes: positive or negative?

Sometimes the changes can be positive and negative. For example, there is a lot of traffic in a city. The roads are narrow, and the lorries and cars cannot move. The air is full of traffic fumes. People get ill. The doctors are always busy. So the planners decide to build a big road around the city. Traffic can go around it, not through it. The air in the city becomes better – but the new road causes problems too. The fumes from the traffic pollute the countryside. They affect the fields where farmers grow crops. Animals cannot find their food. One problem goes, and another one appears! We have to think of the results of any changes, now and in the future.

Our personal environment

The environment is around all of us. We all have a personal environment. This contains our home, our food, our street, all the things that are part of our lives. Each part of it connects with another part. If we want to protect the environment, we must understand these connections. Each part of it affects something else. That’s why the environment is so interesting – and so personal.

4. Match the words and their descriptions:

Geography	is animals and plants which live and grow in natural conditions in a region
The wildlife	is the natural conditions, such as air, water, and land, in which people, animals and plants live
The environment	is the weather we usually have
Climate	is the positions of the features of a particular place/the study of the countries of the world and of the seas, rivers, towns, etc. on the Earth.
The coast	is the place where the land meets the sea.

5. Read and give a title to the text.

Y ou are just one of the 6000 million people, who live on our Earth. So can your actions really make a difference to its future?

The answer is yes, they certainly can. Because if you try to live in a way that will save the world rather than destroy it, you won’t be alone. Your example will encourage your friends and family to do the same. Then they will tell their friends and families about helping to care for the environment.

Here are some ways in which you, your friends and your family can begin trying to save the Earth right now.

1. Try not to waste energy.

2. Keep yourself informed about environmental problems.

3. Before you throw anything away, stop and think. Might someone else have a use for it?

4. Take as much rubbish as you can to local recycling centres.

5. If you have a choice avoids buying packaged goods.

6. Don’t waste paper.

7. Before you buy anything, ask yourself if you really need it.

8. Walk or cycle whenever possible.

9. Never drop litter.

10. Help to clean up your local environment.

11. Try to reduce noise pollution.

12. Put out food for wild animals in winter.

Here are several points towards saving the Earth. It won’t always be easy to follow them. Your friends and family may not always agree with you. And if you can manage to carry out at least some of them, you will know that you are contributing towards saving the Earth.

6. Match the words and their descriptions:

Climate change	farmers grow crops to provide food
Countryside	the area outside towns and cities
Crops	smoke or gas from traffic
Fumes	a person who decides the development of towns
Global warming	the changes that affect our weather
Planner	the increase in the earth’s temperature