27. Environmental pollution

27. Environmental pollution causes and consequences27. Environmental pollution causes and consequences27. Environmental pollution causes and consequences

Nowadays environmental pollution is one of the major problems in the world. Environmental pollution is contamination of air, water and land from man-made waste. Pollution leads to depletion of the ozone layer, global warming and climate change.

There are lots of different types of pollution: air, water and soil pollution, noise and light pollution, nuclear and thermal pollution and others. Fossil fuels are among the most serious sources of environmental pollution. Other sources include agriculture, trading activities and residential sector.

Air pollution is the release of chemicals and particles into the atmosphere. Some of the most important air pollutants are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone.

Water pollution includes surface runoff, leakage into groundwater, liquid spills, and littering. If toxins are spilled on the ground or if an underground storage tank leaks, soil can become contaminated. The most common contaminants are herbicides and pesticides.

Light pollution, defined as excess light at night, increases women’s risk of breast cancer significantly, as well as wasting energy and disrupting the migration patterns and breeding cycles of many birds and animals.

Noise pollution is not only annoying, it can also cause severe hearing loss and other health problems.

Litter pollutes waterways and leaches toxic chemicals into soil and groundwater as it breaks down. Most litter begins with a careless or thoughtless act by a single person who tosses away a cigarette butt or an empty soda can, which means there is a lot you can do to prevent litter.

Time Magazine reported in 2007 that the most polluted spots in the world included China, India, Peru and Russia.

Extensive measures should be taken to prevent environmental pollution.

29. The environmental problems in belarus.

We all love our native, land, remarkably beautiful Belarusian nature with its blue lakes and ribbons of rivers, edged with thick forests with its endless expanses of fields, meadows and swamps with its varied animal and plant kingdom.

Nature is a source of man’s prosperity_, we are the children of the nature and we are eternally indebted to it As everyone admires the beauty of nature each of us must at the same time be filled with the sense of responsibility and concern for its protection, rational and thrifty of its riches.

Nature is an involved complex where all the components are closely intermixed and interdependent. That means that humankind must be very careful in usage of natural resources in order to avert the damaging consequences.

A great helper in the noble task of protection of the environment is the science of ecology, which reveals the links and makes forecasts if the people start improper business somewhere. Besides the ecology faces different programs connected with ecological disasters and environmental holocausts like Chernobyl, for example.

Let's have a glimpse of Belarusian nature. The lands and forests are wonderful, we can find broad-leaved grove pine and fir forests. The republic has over 10.00Q lakes. More, than 58 types of fish are found in our rivers and lakes (pike, roach, bream, crucian, loach, burbot.

Every autumn 160 types of birds migrate southwards and return to their native parts in spring. And there are 286 types of birds overall in Belarus.

The territory of Belarus is inhabited by 47 types of mammals. Over 40 spices are game There are elk, roe, wild boar, squirrels, hare, fox, marten. A lot of animals and beards, kinds of fish and plants are registered in Belarus Red Data book, and are legally produced against extermination.

The republic has a great number of recreational areas and tourist attractions which gained popularity among the lovers of nature and are visited thousands of people every year. Everyone knows our famous lake Naroch, say, Braslavskie lakes, or Buelovezhskaya Pustcha preserve. When people introduced to these unique parts, to their fauna and flora, they form love nature and come to realizing the need of its conservation.

The problems of environmental protection figure prominent part nowadays in the activities of the Belarusian government. But the burden Problems is overwhelming. There are few green zones around the industrial enterprises; our natural resources are not used properly. During the recent years there appeared a lot of harmful works, which pollute the surrounding neighborhood the water in the in rivers. And some more dangerous projects are still in progress.

Let me tell you about some of them. Everybody in Belarus knows that, for example, Orsha is highly industrialized area. Some businessmen together with the Italian partners decided to create a leather - producing joint venture construct the plant on the banks of the river Dniper. Of course leather necessary for producing shoes, jackets, etc. No doubt on the one hand it's necessary and economically income some undertaking. But on the other hand the dangerous industrial waste of chemicals. It's dangerous for composition including different acid and even heavy metals. It could ha ruined the nature in the territory of several miles around the factory. Moreover it could pollute the waters of the Dniper and produce harmful effect and even lead to ecological catastrophe.

One knows about the notorious LAVS AN in Mogilev an enterprise producing the artificial fibers. Beside the industrial output this plant throws into the air very dangerous micro elements which cause the allergic diseases such as asthma, for instance. The necessity of closing and re-profiling of factory is vivid to everyone, but it still functions.

Not to say about the Chernobyl holocaust As a result of it a great area the Belarusian territory became contaminated with radioactive particles, contamination caused a rapid raise of such incurable illnesses as the cancer, lot of people died from leukemia. Nowadays the agricultural production from 30 % of the Belarusian territory is not valid for consumption: The harm effect of this tragedy according to some estimations amounts to 30 billion $US.

It goes without saying that Belarus faces now a lot of extremely ecological problems. The Government commissions are being created, adopted, but as for the changes, they are few and hardly radical. The Supreme Executives control over the activities of local executive committees in order safeguard the nature and protect the environment. But these steps are insufficient. Therefore a great majority of people join all sorts of "GREEN" movements and ecological parties. We know the examples when the joint efforts of the environmentalists and the government realized into some successful projects such as THE SMALL RIVERS in France or THE RAIN in Germany, I^ICHIGAN in the United States etc.

Only if the ecological coalition of the government and society is created _one can expect the positive and fast solution of the ecological problems.

In the conditions of science and technological revolution, when man interferes in the natural process on an increasing scale, the protection of the environment is one of the most vitally topical problems. Its solution involves the efforts of all people inhabiting the planet. And it is a necessary and noble task, because we must preserve the civilization, and leave for the generations to come fresh air, pure water, national parks and preserves.

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