14 Environmental problems in Ukraine

Protection of the environment in Ukraine is paid much attention to. The worsening of the ecological situation has been closely linked to the Chernobyl explosion. On April 26, 1986, a fire burnt out of control and released radioactive materials. It has caused widespread illnesses and made the land in the area unusable. A radioactive cloud spread from the plant over most of Europe. Another issue of concern in Ukraine is the question of where to put nuclear waste. This waste is largely the spent fuel of reactors. It is radioactive, and some of its components remain so forever. The waste is held at temporary sites until a solution of the problem can be found. At present the most promising solution of the problem of waste storage is recycling. Another environmental problem is air pollution. One of its results is acid rain. It is caused by smoke from factories and transport. Nowadays the emission of smoke is strictly controlled by special governmental agencies. The activity of various environmental organizations helps to improve the situation. Among the leading environmental organizations in Ukraine are the Greenpeace and the Green Party.

1 Fill in the gaps with the following words: world’s population, poisonous, carbon dioxide, tree, extinction, biological, mankind, ozone layer, pollution control, petrol, acid rains, green house effect

1. By burning forests, draining, polluting and overfishing … is driving many species to … . 2. Trees can absorb … . 3. Levels of lead in air have been reduced by … and reduction of lead in …. 4. Pollution from cars and factories is making a hole in the … bigger. 5. The … doubled and that demand more agricultural land. 6. Because of the pollution many fish are becoming … to eat. 7. Weather has been changing due to the warming process and its major reason is the … . 8. … are the result of mixing gases, chemicals and water in atmosphere. 9. The intensive development of industry has been breaking the … balance. 10. The Government continues to encourage … planting in cities.

2 Make sentences using (in order) to / so that

We should stop using cars		we can save the planet
We should stop cutting down trees		reduce air pollution
We should all start caring more about		people won’t have to use cars
our planet		to get around
We should build wildlife parks		protect the ozone layer
We should plant more trees We should clean up the litter in cities We should find clean forms of energy Governments should improve public transport We stopped using aerosols Governments should force factories to put filters on chimneys	so that	the harmful gases won’t be able to pollute the atmosphere
	(in order) to	animals won’t lose their natural habitats
		we won’t catch diseases from it
		we can protect animals from extinction
		we will make it a better place for future generations to live
		we will have more oxygen