Жолбов. Английский билеты. 4-5 курс / 5 курс Technological progress and the environment. Discuss

Technological progress and the environment. Discuss. There is no doubt that technological progress is good for the humanity as a whole, but whether it is good for the environment. Some people consider while technological development destroys our environment, to live in harmony is impossible. I totally agree with this thought and in the following paragraphs I will give my reasons to support my view. Firstly, in many countries technological progress is increasing dramatically, everywhere people try to built the new factories, companies in order to support their needs. These objects produce many things, which are not environmentally friendly, in most of the case these products are harmful to the environment. As a result our planet has a lots problems with greenhouse gases, acid rain, air pollution, global warming, ozone deforestation. Secondly, technological progress is not only in the big cities, also we can see in the villages. However, some farmers cultivate intensive farming, in order to take much benefits from the lands. But this type of farming use a lot of herbicides and pesticides, which have bad effects to the ecological situation. Also, the farmers want to new lands, so they destroy the forest in different part of the world. To sum up, people’s requirements are increasing rapidly, people needs more food, more water, more machines and place to live. Therefore they develop technological progress. But the humankind forget that we are not alone on this planet. So we need to keep balance between environment and technological progress for the future generation and we should stop to destroy the environment.

We are energetically committed to minimising the environmental impact of all our operations and services. Our distinctive approach, developed over half a century, has not only helped to maintain our leading position in the industry but also, combines a commitment to quality of service and technological progress with real and demonstrable concern for the environment.

We are actively evaluating and researching new and innovative techniques for landfill lining, soil restoration, hazardous waste collection from domestic premises and recycling facilities for domestic and industrial wastes.

The scientific and technological progress of the 20th century resulted in widespread mechanization, automated lines, computerized management, spaceships, atomic power stations, pipelines, new roads and highways. Unfortunately the price for rapid industrial development is very high. Natural resources are exhausted, water is polluted, and the environment is unhealthy.

Big cities have problems with air pollution. Smog can make people feel ill and have difficulty in breathing. Air is polluted by the release of harmful substances, smoke from chimneys and the biggest polluter today is the car. Exhaust fumes are the main cause of bad air quality. The problem is especially bad in some cities, where, on days, when there’s no much wind, a brown layer of smog hangs in the air.Governments try to improve the situation by building new roads, but this means cutting down trees. So, a great number of cars, lorries and buses affect harmfully the health of people, not only by polluting the air, but also by a great noise during the rush hour, on frequent traffic jams.

Water pollution is also a problem of vital importance. Waste from chemical plants and poisonous substances are released into water. Besides, most big cities pour their waste into seas and rivers, wrecked ships and some factories pollute seas with oil.People become victims of their crimes. A lot of people die, because they eat poisoned fish from polluted seas or poisoned mushrooms from poisoned forests.

Environment has abilities for curing, people should just not damage nature and it’ll pay back to us. But, if we do threaten it, we’ll become the victims of our own crime.

Speaking about other environmental problems beside pollution, I think that the hypothesis of the greenhouse effect should be mentioned. The greenhouse effect is caused by harmful gases known as greenhouse gases. These gases are produced when we burn fuels, especially coal in power stations to make electricity. These gases go up into the Earth’s atmosphere and stop heat from leaving the Earth. Because the heat cannot escape, the Earth is getting warmer. This phenomenon is called global warming. Global warming may cause the ice at the North Pole to melt and sea levels to rise, leading to serious flooding in many parts of the world. In other places, temperatures will rise and have will be less rain, turning more of the land into desert.

The problem is serious and global. That’s why all states ought to join efforts to save our planet. I can speak about the Baltic Sea as about an example of the successful cooperation in solving ecological problems. Once it was polluted, but fortunately, all the countries in the Baltic area have realized the importance of the problem. They came to an agreement and its aim is to prevent oil pollution of the sea, to organize rational fishing and the preservation of the sea life.