Вырубка лесов экологическая проблема на английском языке. Топики по английскому на тему экология (ecology)

Ecological problems - актуальный топик на английском языке.

The Earth is the only planet in the solar system where there is life. If you look down at the Earth from a plane you will see how wonderful our planet is. You will see blue seas and oceans, rivers and lakes, high snow-capped mountains, green forests and fields. For centuries man lived in harmony with nature until industrialization brought human society into conflict with the natural environment. Today, the contradictions between man and nature have acquired a dramatic character. With the development of civilization man’s interference in nature has increased. Every year the world’s industry pollutes the atmosphere with millions of tons of dust and other harmful substances. The seas and rivers are poisoned with industrial waste, chemical and sewage discharge. People who live in big cities are badly affected by harmful discharge from plants and city transport and by the increasing noise level which is as bad for human health as lack of fresh air and clean water.

Among the most urgent problems are the ozone layer, acid rains, global warming, toxic pollution of atmosphere, disappearance of forests, contamination of underground waters by chemical elements, destruction of soil in some areas, threat to some flora and fauna representatives, etc.

One of the most important pollution problems is the oceans. Many ships sail in the ocean water- fishing ships, some ships carrying people, some carrying oil. If a ship loses some of the oil in the water, or waste from the ships in put into the ocean, the water becomes dirty. Many sea birds die because of the polluted water. Many fish are dying in the sea, others are getting contaminated. Fishermen catch contaminated fish which may be sold in markets, and people may get sick from eating them. Lakes and rivers are becoming polluted, too. Some beaches are dangerous for swimming.

Another important problem is air pollution. Cars and factories pollute the air we use. Their fume also destroys the ozone layer which protects the Earth from the dangerous light of the Sun. Aerosols create large “holes” in the ozone layer round the Earth. Burning coal and oil leads to global warming which may bring about a change in the world’s climate.

The other problem is that our forests are dying from acid rains. Deforestation, especially destruction of tropical forests, affects the balance of nature in many ways. It kills animals, changes the climate and ecosystem in the world.

A person can do some damage to the environment but the greater part of pollution certainly comes from industry. Modern industry production is the main threat to nature.

There are a lot of places on our planet that need immediate help. Our country is not exception. The nuclear accident at Chernobyl, which took place on April 26, 1986., has seriously aggravated the ecological situation in Belarus. That catastrophe can be considered as the largest disaster of the 20th century. As the result of that accident 18% of territories of our republic were contaminated by radioactive elements. The agriculture of our country suffered great losses. More than 20% of the population has also suffered. A death rate among children has increased considerably. The wide researches are carried out, but health state of the people living in polluted areas, is worsened. The level of thyroid gland cancer has increased, the immunity of children and women is weakened, many diseases appear out only a few years later. Everyone understands that this catastrophe is a threat to health of our nation, and though years have already passed, the results will be shown on the future generations.

I’d like to say a few words about animals in danger of extinction. The blue whale is the largest animal which has ever lived. Once there were over 200000 of these creatures living in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Since the seventeenth century they have been hunted for their oil and meat. In fact, so many of them were killed that by 1963 their population had been reduced to just 1000. Today it is even less that that. The African elephant is the world’s largest land animal. Today there are fewer than one million of these animals left. Even though they are now protected, they are still being hunted because of their tusks, which are used to make ornaments and jewellery. There is only one way to save wild animals and wild habitats -conservation. That means protecting animals in danger by law, opening more national parks, building fewer new roads, planting more new forests, cutting pollution. It this doesn’t happen, many wild animals will soon have just one habitat- the Zoo.

Ecological problems have no borders. European states solve these problems together: the necessary measures are taken, congresses and conferences on these questions are organized, and these questions have already the reflection in the legislation of many countries.

The activity of many public organizations is directed to protect environment. One of the most known organizations is “Greenpeace”, whose purpose is prevention of environment degradation. This organization was founded in 1971 by the activists from the USA and Canada and it has representations in 25 countries of the world. “Greanpeace” acts against nuclear tests, radiating threat, pollution of the environment by waste industrial products, to protect the animal world, etc. This organization influences public opinion through mass media, under its aegis manifestations and protest actions are carried solutions for concrete ecological problems.

For example, the “Greenpeace” sent its boats to protect whales, and today commercial whaling is banned. In the North Sea Greenpeace swimmers turned back dump ships carrying chemical waste, and a new laws to protect the North Sea have been considered.

When I look around I realize that not all people understand the importance of nature protection. On fine summer days a lot of people go out of town. They have picnics on the shores of lakes and the banks of rivers or on beautiful forest glades and they often leave behind a lot of rubbish- plastic bags and bottles, tins and paper. It makes me feel sad when I see people returning to town with huge bunches of forest or meadow flowers. Many of these plants are included into the Red Book which contains the names of rare plants and animals. Some of them have become extinct and others are on the verge of disappearing. If we don’t realize that we are all responsible for what’s happening around us we will never feel secure about the future of the world we live in.

What can be done to protect nature? I believe that environment disasters can be avoided if people broaden ecological education and every person understands that the beauty of nature is extremely fragile and people must obey the unwritten laws of nature. Governments must be prepared to take action against pollution. Air pollution could be reduced if plants and factories were made to fit effective filters on chimneys and car exhausts. Green zones around big cities must be protected and extended. Natural resources should be used economically because their stocks are not unlimited.

The ecology is a science studying interaction of organisms among themselves and an environment.

Наша планета - это дом для миллионов различных растительных и животных видов, которые по-разному связаны. Вместе они образуют сложный мир природы. К сожалению, сожительство с человеком приводит к экологическим проблемам. Самые острые из них - это загрязнение, кислотные дожди, уничтожение дикой природы, нехватка природных ресурсов и глобальное потепление. Эти проблемы взаимосвязаны, так как все в мире природы зависит друг от друга.

Дикие растения и животные живут в особых условиях, называемых средой обитания. Сегодня люди изменяют среду обитания, чтобы удовлетворить собственные потребности - строить сельскохозяйственные угодья и большие города, например. Они также разрушают дикую природу добычей полезных ископаемых и строительством дорог.

Многие виды - рыбы, пресмыкающиеся, насекомые, птицы, млекопитающие - быстро исчезают. Сообщается, что к 2030 году 25% всех животных, птиц и насекомых могут вымереть.

Все живые организмы вдыхают кислород и выдыхают углекислый газ. Мы производим углекислый газ, когда что-нибудь сжигаем. Деревья забирают этот газ из воздуха и производят кислород. Однако за последние несколько лет люди вырубили и сожгли большие территории вечнозеленых лесов.

Известно, что многие растения находятся в опасности или на грани исчезновения. В мире насчитывается 9 млн. кв. км. вечнозеленых лесов. Из дерева производится бумага и картон. Каждый год более 100 000 кв.км. лесов очищаются под различные нужды, а многие леса настолько глубоко повреждены, что их вряд ли удастся восстановить .

Кислотные дожди выпадают, когда газы из энергостанций и транспорта смешиваются с кислородом и влагой в воздухе. Кислотные дожди отравляют и убивают жизнь в озерах, реках и лесах, а также уничтожают окружающую растительную жизнь. Проблему можно контролировать снижением уровня выхлопных газов и газов,выбрасываемых электростанциями.

Мировые температуры с каждым годом повышаются. Это явление называется глобальным потеплением. По мере нагревания планеты вода в океанах займет больше места, а вода из ледников и полярных льдов начнет таять. Это может привести к повышению уровня моря и многие среды обитания исчезнут под водой.

Причиной глобального потепления является парниковый эффект. Он работает следующим образом: солнечный свет доставляет тепло, которое прогревает атмосферу. Некоторая часть тепла возвращается в космос. Сегодня воздух, окружающий Землю, стал значительно теплее, потому что тепло не может возвращаться в космос. Поэтому зимние и летние температуры во многих местах стали выше.

В итоге климат в различных частях мира изменяется с каждым годом. Эти изменения могут быть опасными для нашей планеты, которой необходима защита. Меры, которые можно предпринять , включают ограничения вырубки леса и уровня выхлопных газов, а также индивидуальная экология человека.

Ecological Problems

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man"s interference in nature began to increase.

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables on.

Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

The pollution of air and the world"s ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man"s careless interaction with nature, a sign of the ecological crises.

The most horrible ecological disaster befell Ukraine and its people after the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1986. About 18 percent of the territory of Byelarus were also polluted with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the agriculture, forests and people"s health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power-station are tragic for the Ukrainian, Byelorussian and other nations.

Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.

Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries - members of the UNO - have set up environmental protection agencies. Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss problems facing ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl.

An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organisation Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment.

But these are only the initial steps and they must be carried onward to protect nature, to save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generations.

Экологические проблемы

С древних времен природа служит человеку, являясь источником его жизни. Тысячи лет люди жили в гармонии с окружающей средой. И им казалось, что природные богатства неисчерпаемы. Но с развитием цивилизации человек все больше стал вмешиваться в природу.

Во всем мире появляются большие города с тысячами дымящих промышленных предприятий. Побочные продукты их деятельности загрязняют воздух, которым мы дышим, воду, которую мы пьем, землю, на которой мы выращиваем пшеницу и овощи.

Каждый год мировая промышленность вырабатывает один миллион тонн пыли и других вредных веществ. Многие города страдают от смога. Огромные леса вырубаются и сжигаются. Их исчезновение нарушает кислородный баланс. В результате некоторые редкие виды животных, птиц, рыб и растений навсегда исчезают. Высыхают многие реки и озера.

Загрязнение воздуха и мирового океана, разрушение озонового слоя являются результатом небрежного обращения с природой, признаком экологического кризиса.

Самая ужасная экологическая катастрофа постигла Украину и ее народ после чернобыльской трагедии в апреле 1986 г. Также около восемнадцати процентов территории Белоруссии было загрязнено радиоактивными веществами. Был нанесен большой урон сельскому хозяйству, лесам и здоровью людей. Последствия этого взрыва на атомной станции трагические для украинцев, белорусов и других наций.

Защита окружающей среды - всеобщая забота. Вот почему необходимо принять серьезные меры для разработки системы экологической безопасности.

В этом направлении уже достигнут определенный прогресс. 159 стран - членов ООН организовали агентства по защите окружающей среды. Этими агентствами были проведены многочисленные конференции, на которых обсуждались проблемы, стоящие перед экологически неблагополучными регионами, включая Аральское море, Южный Урал, Кузбасс, Донбасс, Семипалатинск и Чернобыль.

На озере Байкал был открыт международный центр ш> следований окружающей среды. Международная организация "Гринпис" делает многое для того, чтобы сохранить окружающую среду.

Но это всего лишь первые шаги, и надо двигаться вперед, защищая природу, сохраняя жизнь на планете, не только ради настоящего, но и для будущих поколений.

Questions:

1. How did people live for thousands of years?
2. What cities appear all over the world today?
3. What pollutes the air we breathe?
4. What is the result of the pollution the atmosphere?
5. Why is environmental protection of a universal concern?
6. What are the initial steps in this direction?

Vocabulary:

ancient - древний
harmony - гармония
environment - окружающая среда
riches - богатства
unlimited - неограниченный
to interfere - вмешиваться
to increase - увеличиваться, возрастать
smoky - дымный
enterprises - предприятия
by-product - побочный продукт
activity - деятельность
to pollute - загрязнять
substances - вещества
oxigen - кислород
rare - редкий
destruction - разрушение
ozone - озон
layer - слой
interaction - взаимодействие
horrible - ужасный
disaster - катастрофа
to befall - пасть (на что-то)

We live on the earth. It is very, very big. There is a lot of water on the earth. It is in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. There are a lot of forests and fields, hills and mountains on it. The earth is full of wonders. Different animals live on the earth. Different plants grow on it. The earth is beautiful. There are large countries and small countries. There are warm countries and cold countries. There are some countries where there are four seasons in a year and some countries where there are only two. When the sun shines it is day. When the sun does not shine it is night. When it is day in one country it is night in another. You can see the moon and the stars in the sky at night. People live in different countries. They speak different languages.

People have lived on our planet for many years. They lived and live on different continents, in different countries. People depend on their planet, on the sun, on animals and plants around them. People must take care of Earth. Our ecology becomes worse and worse with every new day. Many species of animals and birds are disappearing nowadays. People destruct wildlife, cut down trees to make furniture. They forget that people can"t live without trees and plants, because they fill air with oxygen. And, of course, great problems are population and animals destruction. The main reason of pollution is rubbish. Most of our rubbish goes to big holes in the ground, called "dumps". But dumps are very dangerous for our life "cause they are full of rats, which can carry infections away from dumps. Another way to get rid of rubbish is to burn it. But the fires make poisons, which go into the air and pollute it. But pollution isn"t the only actual problem. Every day a big number of animals disappears . People kill animals for different aims: e.g. people hunt whales for their meat and oil; elephants for their tusks, crocodiles for their leather and so on. And also animals are used for medical experiments. The most wide – speared from such animals are monkeys. Modern life is bad for animals, birds, fish. The air isn"t fresh and the water isn"t pure. They don"t have good meal and facilities for the life. You can find their names in the Red Book.

The planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universe, but it"s the only place where human beings can live. Today, our planet is in serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water pollution, overpopulation are the problems that threaten human life on Earth.

Who is to blame for the disaster? The answer is simple: all of us. Our forests are disappearing because they are cut down or burnt. If this trend continues, one day we won"t have enough oxygen to breathe.

The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas.Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today may soon become extinct.

Air pollution is another serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is dangerous - equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for many Russian cities. Factories emit tons of harmful chemicals. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains. An even greater threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.

Fortunately, it"s not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and even the technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and safer place. We can plant trees and create parks for endangered species. We can recycle litter. We can support green parties and put pressure on those in power. Together we can save the planet and all of us with it.

Of course, people can"t stay indifferent to these problems. There are a lot of special organizations, which try to save our nature. The most known are: The Royal Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals (The RSPCA), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Greenpeace. The RSPCA tries to protect animals from bad use. It operates big nation campaigns aimed at lost pets, circus animals. The WWF rescued several species of animals, mammals as well as birds. These organization also helped to create more than 250 National parks. Greenpeace began its work 20 years ago from saving whales. And now Greenpeace is a world-famous organization, which saves plants, animals and people. These organization, want to rescue animals, to help them to survive and to save jungle rain forests, which are in danger of destruction. And they also help animals "cause many of them have already gone as they have nowhere to live. Their homes, the trees, have disappeared. We must save wild animals. And we must find the right way to save land, people and animals. We must lake care of nature, because we are part of it.

I would advise everyone to think about this problem. Together we can find a solution!

Our environment is constantly changing. This is the fact we cannot deny. The way technological progress influences the environment is not the most favourable.

Today humanity is facing numerous environmental problems. If we do not pay attention to these problems right now, we may face even bigger natural disasters in the future.

Pollution

Pollution is one of the biggest problems. Plants and motor vehicles are number one pollutants. Their harmful emissions pollute the environment. Oil spills and acid rains make the World Ocean dirty.

Global warming

Global warming is the result of human activity. It is characterized by rising temperatures of the oceans and earth’s surface causing rise in sea levels and melting of polar ice cover. Apart from that, floods, desertification and excessive snow are also signs of global warming.

Climate change

Global warming causes the rise of another serious problem, known as climate change. Climate change can lead to the development of other harmful effects in our life, such as occurrence of new diseases and change in seasons.

Deforestation

Today forests cover about 30% of land. Every year this figure decreases more and more. People clear out new territories for residential buildings, new plants and factories. We must realize that deforestation causes the extinction of animals and plants.

Ozone layer depletion

Ozone layer protects our planet from the sun’s harmful rays. Due to atmospheric emissions of the so-called CFC’s, the ozone layer depletes. This results in occurrence of the holes in the ozone layer.

Today CFC’s are banned in many industries. However, we must remember that if this problem is not taken under control, harmful rays of the sun will easily penetrate the atmosphere. The biggest hole in the ozone layer is located above the Antarctic.

Окружающая нас среда постоянно меняется. Мы не можем отрицать этот факт. Технологический прогресс оказывает не самое благоприятное влияние на окружающую среду.

Сегодня человечество сталкивается со множеством экологических проблем. Если вовремя не обратить на них внимания, мы рискуем столкнуться с гораздо более серьезными бедствиями в будущем.

Загрязнение

Загрязнение – одна из самых больших проблем. Заводы и автомобили являются самыми злостными загрязняющими факторами. Разливы нефти и кислотные дожди загрязняют Мировой океан.

Глобальное потепление

Глобальное потепление – результат деятельности человека. Оно характеризуется повышением температуры океанов и поверхности земли, что приводит к повышению уровня воды и таянию ледникового покрова. Кроме того, наводнения, опустынивание и чрезмерное выпадение снега, также являются признаками глобального потепления.

Климатические изменения

Глобальное потепление влечет за собой другую серьезную проблему – изменение климата. Изменение климата может стать причиной появления других вредных влияний на нашу жизнь, в том числе появления новых болезней и изменения погодных условий.

Вырубка лесов

На сегодняшний день 30% поверхности земли покрыто лесами. С каждым годом их становится все меньше. Человек вырубает леса, освобождая площадь под строительство новых домов, заводов и предприятий. Мы должны задуматься о том, что вырубка лесов приводит к вымиранию животных и исчезновению растений.

Истощение озонового слоя

Озоновый слой защищает нашу планету от вредных солнечных лучей. Вследствие выброса в атмосферу так называемых фреонов, озоновый слой истончается. Из-за этого в озоновом слое появляются дыры.

В настоящее время, фреоны практически не используются в производстве. Однако стоит помнить, что если эта проблема не будет взята под контроль, вредные солнечные лучи смогут беспрепятственно проникать в атмосферу. Крупнейшая озоновая дыра находится над Антарктидой.