Environment Protection. Машутина Е.А. - 6 стр.

     2 Text 1 Ecological Problems

     There are a lot of problems facing people on the planet Earth nowadays.The
most urgent problem is an ecological one. Interrelations between man and the
biosphere are complex. Man like any other living organizm depends for his life on
what the biosphere provides: water, oxygen, food. On the other hand all sorts of
human activity make the environment unhealthy. The main problems are: air
pollution, water pollution, acid rains, safety of nuclear and power station, radioactive
and other poisonous materials, disposal of waste and others. Let's consider some of
them.
     Car engines burn gasoline, factories burn fuels. All these gases pollute the air.
The biggest problem is ozone. Ozone can age our lungs, making us more susceptible
to dangerous diseases, including cancer. Some factories produce liquid wastes and
dump them into rivers and lakes. This problem includes oil pollution which causes
great damage to coasts and wild life. Acid rains damage forests, poison rivers and
lakes, make them lifeless. Safety of nuclear and hydroic power stations is another
acute problem. Public anxiety has grown particularly after the Chernobyl disaster.
     Radioactive and other poisonous materials present health and safety problems.
As the population of large cities continues to grow, the problem of industrial waste
disposal has become urgent. In more than a hundred towns and cities the
concentration of harmful substances in the air and water is over 10 times the
admissible level. In recent years people have become more sensitive towards the
environment. Still more public organizations and unofficial movements have been
established. In 1987 a "Green Peace" public commission was set up. Its main goal is
to combine the people's efforts in the struggle for peace and nature conservation.
Russia is cooperating in this field with the USA, Canada, Finland, and Norway. The
other way out of ecological problems is to turn technology to the construction of
healthy environment. We must leave our planet better for future generations than it is
now.

      2.1 Read the words and remember them
1 urgent                              серьезный
2 interrelations                      взаимоотношения
3 gasoline                            бензин
4 fuel                                топливо
5 to age                              старить
6 susceptible                         чувствительный
7 to dump                             сбрасывать
8 conservation                        сохранение




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