ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS One couldnt pluck a flower without

ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS One couldn’t pluck a flower without troubling a star. Нельзя сорвать цветок, не причинив вреда звезде. ( Francis Thomson, an English poet )

air pollution water pollution acid rains The ozone hole Ecological problems deforestation disappearing animals the greenhouse effect land pollution

Air pollution About 150 years ago the air was pure and clean. Then people started building factories and many of the things they make, like cars, put a lot of harmful gases into the air. Today the air is so polluted in some places that it’s not always safe to breathe there. Many cities around the world have air polluted with “smog”. This is so strong in some places that the air, which should be a beautiful blue, looks brown.

Land pollution When you throw something away, it goes in a garbage can. Now we are making so much garbage that in many places there is not enough room to bury it all. We have to act fast and cut down the amount of garbage we make.

Acid rains When power plants burn coal to make electricity invisible gases are released into the air. Some of these gases can mix with water and make it acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar. Sometimes the gases get into rain clouds, where they get mixed with rain or snow. Then the acid falls back to the Earth with rain or snow. This is called acid rain.

Disappearing animals When people move into a new land, the plants and animals that live there can become endangered – which means they begin to disappear because there’s no places for them to live. Some even become extinct – which means that they all die out, and are gone from the Earth forever.

The greenhouse effect The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of invisible gases that act just like a greenhouse. The sun shines in and the blanket of gases traps the heat like a roof, keeping it close to the planet. That is good – we can’t live without warmth. Factories, electric power plants and cars are making a lot of new gases. These new gases are trapping more and more of the sun’s heat. This is called the greenhouse effect or global warming.

The ozone hole Up in the sky, above the air we breathe, there is a layer of gas called ozone. It helps us by blocking out the sun rays that can harm our skin and by letting the rays that are good for us come through. We are lucky to have the ozone to protect us. Now the ozone layer is being damaged by gases that people have made. They are used in refrigerators, air conditioners, plastic foam and some other things.

Water Pollution The planet Earth is mostly water. Oceans cover the biggest part of it – and there are lakes, rivers, streams and even water underground. All life on the Earth – from the smallest bug to the biggest whale – depends on the water. But we are not doing a very good job of keeping water clean. In many places the water has become polluted. Rivers and lakes are polluted by garbage or by poisonous chemicals which are dumped right into them. http: //www. charitywater. org/whywater/

THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD We must protect the living world! And this is not only a word. We need to save our Motherland! We need to keep the native sand! But we don’t have a lot of power… To save huge trees, soil and flowers! There are some people and they say: That morning sun will stop to shine one day. Enjoy the streams and meadows, mountain, lakes, But never forget this mysterious case That nature and the wildlife are not only the game! Do you feel the wind? It is the same! And try to remember! These words are like gold! We must protect our beautiful world!