Pollution and Greenhouse effect
The environment means surroundings in which people, animals and plants develop and exist. The branch of biology investigating
(ktorá skúma) relationships between living beings and their environment is called ecology. Civilization has brought people many advantages
but on the other hand its products also pollute and damage the environment in which we live.
The most serious ecological
problems of today are :
· the pollution of air, water and soil
· the destruction of ecosystems
·
disappearance of many species of animals and plants
· the weather changes, acid rains, the warming up of the Earth’s
surface
· the destruction of tropical rain forests and the breaking of the ozone layer
We need air to breathe,
water to drink, food to eat and space to live and move.
Air pollution is the biggest problem in large
cities and in areas with industrial production. Factories produce large quantities of toxic waste, e.g.
· carbon
dioxide (oxid uhličitý),
· lead poisons
· radioactive matter (látky)
·
dangerous compounds of sulphur (zmesy síry)
· oil slick (olejové škvrny)
· nitrogen
(dusíka), which get into the air
Some of them in combination with water make acid rains that kill trees and make soil infertile
(neúrodná).
Water pollution : poisonous matter leak into to the rivers and
all life disappears from them.
Factories increase water pollution because many of them are built near rivers and they put their chemical
waste into it..
Farmers also pollute the soil using a lot of pesticides (látky na hubenie hmyzu) and fertilizers (umelé hnojivá).
.
Greenhouse effect has become one of the most discussed topics in the world. In the last 100 years the Earth’s
surface has warmed up by more than half a degree. The Green house effect is caused by polluted atmosphere:
· with
carbon dioxide (oxidom uhličitým) from fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc.) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) (freón). CFCs
chemicals are used in aerosols, fridges, air conditioning and they damage the ozone layer that results in global warming
· with
acid rains that are destroying forests. Tropical rain forests produce the oxygen (kyslík) that we need for our breathing.
As more and more rainforest is destroyed, the threat to wildlife increases.
· with poisonous gases from factories
that also destroy the ozone layer and they contribute to the greenhouse effect.
What should
be done to protect, to help environment?
1. we should try to conserve
(šetriť) = save energy resources such as oil and coal by turning down our central heating ,
air-conditioning and turning the light off
2. clean the house with the most natural way, e.g. use vinegar instead of
detergents (saponáty)
3. buy green products: natural cotton material, natural food
4. take public
transportation instead of cars
5. recycle the waste: many everyday items such as glass and paper can be re-used
rather than throwing them away
6. don’t cut down the trees: at Christmas we should have a plastic tree
instead of real one
7. don’t burn plastic trash (odpadky)
The basic message we should all bear in mind is
this:
Think globally, act locally!
Zones.sk – Zóny pre každého študenta