Nature and Environment

Nature & environment

Talk about:

1. The seasons of the year/ročné obdobia/
2. The most serious ecological problems najvážnejšie ekologické problémy/
   • air pollution
   • water pollution acid rain, global warming, the greenhouse effect...
   • land pollution
3. Protection of environment /ochrana životného prostredia (ŽP)/
4. Ecological and environmental organizations /organizácie na ochranu ŽP/

1. The seasons of the year:

SPRING – spring is the most beautiful season of the year:

• the snow melts – sneh sa topí
• flowers and trees bloom – kvety a stromy kvitnú /snowdrops – snežienky, dundee-lions – púpavy, daffodils – narcisy/
• the birds return from the south – vtáci sa vracajú z juhu
• people start working in the garden
• we have Easter holidays

SUMMER – it is the warmest season of the year. Everything is green, birds sing, the sky is blue. We don’t have to go to school in summer. People travel for a holiday in summer and they visit foreign countries – they go to the sea /k moru/, to the mountains /na hory/.

AUTUMN (AmE: FALL) – it is the season when the leaves on the trees change their colours. At the beginning of autumn the weather is usually still nice and warm – we call this period Indian summer /babie leto/ – the fruit ripens /ovocie dozrieva/ and people pick /zbierať/ it from the trees. Later the weather gets colder, the trees shed their leaves /opadá lístie/ and it rains a lot. Birds fly to the south.

WINTER – the last season of the year. It starts snowing and freezing /mrzne/. People can do winter sports, such as skiing, snowboarding and ice-skating. In December the Christmas time comes and people buy presents to each other.

1. When we talk about environment, we can talk about several /viaceré/ problems:

• acid rain – kyslý dážď
• the hole in the ozon-layer – ozónová diera
• the greenhouse effect – skleníkový efekt
• global warming – globálne otepľovanie

Our life is dependent on /je závislý na/ 3 elements – the air, the water and the land.

1. Air pollution – it is the biggest problem in big cities where there are many factories and a lot of traffic /doprava/ – it is caused by smoke, dust, emissions, exhaust fumes /výfukové plyny/ – it later causes the acid rain and the greenhouse gases

Acid rain – chemicals mix with water in clouds /v oblakoch/ and make acid rain which damages buildings, kills trees and pollutes the soil.

1. Water pollution – it is caused by the households /domácnosti/ and agriculture – we use detergents /čistiace prostriedky/ fertilizers /hnojivá/, pesticides /postreky/ and other chemicals. The water pollution can also be caused by big cargo ships /nákladné lode/ and tankers – they can cause a catastrophe – for example the oil /ropa/ can get into ocean and kill fish and plants in the ocean
2. Soil / land pollution – it can be contaminated by chemicals or by individuals – we throw out our rubbish /vyhadzujeme odpadky/ and so on.

The main problem is caused by the greenhouse gases /skleníkové plyny/ – they influence /ovplyvňujú/ the greenhouse effect and cause the global warming.

Global warming causes /spôsobuje/ big changes on the Earth:

• the temperature of the atmosphere rises – teplota atmosféry sa zvyšuje
• the level of the oceans rises – hladina oceánov stúpa
• the glaciers melt /ľadovce sa roztopia/ which may cause floods /záplavy/
• the number of very hot days can increase /zvýšiť sa/ – this has an effect on the climate changes and the changes in the ecosystem => these changes can affect /nepriaznivo vplývať na/ people’s health because we will have to change food and we can have health problems – for example the ultraviolet radiation /ultrafialové žiarenie/ causes the skin cancer /rakovina kože/, different allergies and eye damage /poškodenie zraku/
• the weather patterns change in many countries – for example the weather in the cold countries gets warmer and in hot countries – Africa – it can get colder and there can even snow
• global warming can cause draughts /suchá/
• some species of animals become endangered or extinct /they can die out/ – niektoré druhy zvierat sa stanú ohrozené alebo vyhynú
• changes on the Earth may cause tornados, earthquakes /zemetrasenia/, floods /záplavy/ and droughts /suchá/

1. To protect our environment, we should:

• use our cars and traffic more efficiently – for example 4 people can use one car together instead of driving 4 cars to work or to school => we should use unleaded petrol /bezolovnatý benzín/ and catalytic converters /katalyzátory/
• change travelling by car / bus to riding a bike or walking /ísť pešo/
• save electricity /šetriť elektrinou/ – turn off the lights, TV, computers when we don’t need them
• save water – we should stop the watertaps from dripping /zastaviť vodovodné kohútiky, aby nekvapkali/
• plant trees /sadiť stromy/ – a good way to reduce the greenhouse gases because they absorb the carbon dioxine and produce oxygen /kyslík/
• reduce /redukovať/ and recycle /recyklovať/ and separate /triediť/
  • cans – plechovky
  • bottles – fľaše
  • plastic bags – plastové vrecká
  • newspaper – noviny

• we should buy environmentally friendly products and green products – they are marked by a special mark – 3 arrows that make a circle /3 šípky, ktoré tvoria kruh/
• we should use alternative sources of energy /náhradné zdroje energie/ to produce electricity and for heating – for example:
  • geothermal energy – geotermálna energia
  • wind energy – veteran energia
  • water energy – vodná energia
  • solar energy – solárna energia
• protect endangered animals and plants
• stop deforestation – we should stop destroying the tropical rain forrests /prestať s ničením tropických dažďových pralesov/
• create national parks and nature reserves – vytvoriť národné parky a prírodné rezervácie

1. Ecological and environmental organizationsare organizations which look after and fight for /bojujú za/ the protection of the environment. These are for example Green Peace, Children of the Earth. They organize public campaigns and they inform the people about the importance of the environmental protection. They also organize protests and help to eliminate the damages to the nature.

Vocabulary:

environment – životné prostredie

ecology – ekológia

protection of environment – ochrana životného prostredia

warning – varovanie

public campaign – verejná kampaň

to ban – zakázať

pollution: air, water, land / soil – znečistenie: vzduchu, vody, zeme

damage – škoda

destroy – zničiť

to endanger – ohroziť

to pollute environment – znečistiť ŽP

threat – hrozba

consequence – dôsledok

global warming – globálne otepľovanie

the greenhouse effect – skleníkový efekt

hole in the ozone layer – ozónová diera

ultraviolet radiation (UV radiation) – ultrafialové žiarenie

skin cancer – rakovina kože

acid rain – kyslý dážď

deforestation – ničenie lesov, výrub lesov

tropical rain forest – tropický dažďový prales

earthquake – zemetrasenie

flood – záplava, zaplaviť

drought – sucho

tornado – tornádo

endangered species of animals – ohrozené druhy zvierat

extinct species – vyhynuté druhy

exhaust fumes – výfukové plyny

smog – smog

dangerous chemicals – nebezpečné chemikálie

carbon dioxide – kysličník uhoľnatý

detergents – čistiace prostriedky

lead – olovo

poison – jed

sulphur – síra

toxic waste – toxický odpad

pesticides – pesticídy, postreky

fertilizers – hnojivá

waste – odpad

rubbish – odpadky

sewage /sjuidž/ – odpadová kanalizácia industrial and city waste – priemyselný a mestský odpad

leak into the soil – presakovať do pôdy

greenhouse gases – skleníkové plyny

energy – energia

electricity – elektrina

fossil fuel – pevné / fosílne palivo

coal – uhlie

oil – ropa, nafta, olej

nuclear power station – atómová elektráreň

nuclear waste – nukleárny odpad

radiation – žiarenie

dump– smetisko, skládka odpadkov

contaminate – znečistiť, zamoriť

ecosystem – ekosystém

environmental group – skupina na ochranu ŽP,

environmentally friendly– šetrný k životnému prostrediu

solution – riešenie

green (product) – ekologicky nezávadný (výrobok)

recycle – recyklovať