ENVIRONMENT
Videos
Listen to the interwiew with environmentalist and say which environmental issues are mentioned.
So, Mr McKibben, you’re an environmentalist. What do you
actually do?
– Our environment is our planet. Human activities have a big
impact on the environment. People are becoming more aware that their activities
can seriously damage the planet and the animals and plants on it.
Environmentalists assess this damage and give advice on what can be done to
help clean up and protect our planet.
– What environmental issues are most important today?
– There are many of them and they are all interdependent. The
most dramatic of them is, probably, climate change. It is the biggest
environmental challenge facing the world today. Climate change refers to
changes in the Earth’s temperature over the last 100 years. In Europe, for
example, climate change results in hotter and drier summers; warmer and wetter
winters; more storms and rainfall; other extreme weather conditions and rising
sea-levels.
– That sounds really threatening. But is it only climate
change that worries scientists?
– Not only, of course. There are different types of pollution:
air pollution, water pollution, even noise pollution. Radioactive contamination
is a form of pollution, too. So, nuclear plants are very hazardous. Take
Chernobyl or Fukushima, for example.
– Nuclear waste is also a huge issue, isn’t it?
– All types of waste, actually. However, it is widely recognised that waste materials are a valuable resource, too. An English proverb says “One man’s trash is another man's treasure.” But let’s get back to the treasures of our planet. There’s the issue of resource depletion, as well. In the last decades people have been cutting down lots of trees, especially in tropical areas. Forests are being destroyed at the rate of 40 hectares a minute! Deforestation destroys the environmental balance and reduces biodiversity.
– Talking about biodiversity. More and more animals and plant
species are becoming extinct, aren’t they?
– Biodiversity is a term which describes how rich the Earth is
in terms of species. So here we’re dealing with another environmental issue:
conservation.
Environmentalists and conservationists are trying to save the endangered species. But as an American astronaut said, “If you want to see an endangered species, get up and look in the mirror.”
Environmental
problems
CARS
The biggest polluter today is the car. Exhaust fumes are the main cause of bad air quality, which can make
people feel ill and have difficulty breathing. This problem is especially bad
in some cities, where, on days when there is not much wind, a brown layer of
smog hangs in the air. The
number of cars is increasing every year. Governments then built new roads to
try to improve the situation, but this mean that they cut down the trees and destroy more of the countryside.
POLLUTION
Pollution is damage to the
air, sea, rivers or land caused by chemicals, waste and harmful gases. Pollutants include toxic waste, pesticides and fertilizers.
THE
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
is caused by harmful gases
known as greenhouse gases. These gases are produced when we burn fuels, especially
coal burned in power stations to make electricity. These gases go up into the
Earth's atmosphere and stop heat from leaving the Earth.
GLOBAL WARMING
Because the heat cannot
escape, the Earth is getting warmer. This is known as GLOBAL WARMING. Global warming may cause of
the ice at the North Pole and South
Pole to melt and sea levels to
rise, leading to serious flooding in
many parts of the world. In other places temperature will rise and there will
be less rain, turning more of the land into desert.
ACID RAIN
Acid
rain is rain that is harmful to the environment because it
connects acids from factory smoke. Acid rain causes damage to trees, rivers and buildings.
HOLES IN THE OZON LAYER
The
ozone layer is a layer of gases that protects us from the ultraviolet light from
the sun, which can have a harmful effect on animals, and causes
skin cancer in humans. The ozone layer is being damage by chemicals
and when the holes appear in the ozone layer, harmful light from the sun
reaches the Earth.
THE DISTRUCTION OF HABITATS
All over the world,
wildlife is being threatened because habitats and woodlands
are being destroyed. Rainforests are
being cut down so that people can use the land to grow crops. Many species of animals have become extinct and many more are endangered.
Environmental
solutions
ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TRANSPORT
One of the main problems with cars is that they cause a lot of pollution and often carry only one person. Public transport is more environmentally friendly because buses and trains carry large numbers of people at the same time. Car pools are another way of reducing a number of cars on the roads. Even cleaner solutions are electric cars and bicycles.
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
Many countries now are
choosing to use renewable sources for their energy needs. Solar energy from
the sun, wind power from turbines, hydroelectric
energy from rivers and sea water do
not pollute the environment. They are much cleaner than oil and coal.
Countries like Iceland and Costa Rica are leading the way, with Iceland getting
100% of its energy from these renewable sources.
RECYCLING
Recycling is when you use something again instead of throwing it away. Glass, cans, paper and
plastic can all be recycled. Recycling saves energy and
also reduces damage to the countryside. Many towns have special bins where
people can leave their empty bottles and cans for recycling. A lot of paper
bags, writing paper and greeting cards are now produced on recycled paper. Even
more effective than recycling is choosing products that use a minimum of
plastic and paper packaging.
GREEN PRODUCTS
We can the environment by
choosing to buy green products.
Examples of green products are recycled paper,
wood from sustainable sources and organic fruit and vegetables.
PROTESTING
Many people try to protest
the environment by joining environmental groups that inform people about green issues and
try to ask governments to take more care of the environment, especially by organizing protests.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY
It is personal action that will help preserve word’s environment. Actions which are simple and quick.
- Turn off lights and other electrical equipment when not in use
- Do not poor oil, fat, milk or chemical down the sink
- Use public transport or your bike instead of a car
- Buy products that are recycled, reusable, reliable
- Take shorter showers to take water
- Write on both sides of paper
- Put on more clothing in winter instead of turning up the heater
- Try to cook several meals at a time
- Use energy efficient light bulbs
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