Environmental protection

Pollution of our planet is a great problem nowadays. Not long ago the problem was not so serious because people lived in uncrowded rural areas and small towns without machines. Most of rivers, lakes, seas are polluted because with the development of civilization, the plants and factories throw much waste into the rivers and oceans and poison them. The land is also polluted, because the people break trees, leave bottles and bins on the ground. Very often people who smoke cause fires in the forests. Air pollution is a serious problem too. Now many cars appeared in the cities and very often smog is in the air instead of the fresh air. We also must defend the rare animals, rare birds, not destroy the nature and we must increase the greenery. The international organization Greenpeace is doing much to protect the environment.

What can the pollution cause? The pollution cause illness, and death of flora and fauna, and people. What is the way out? The governments, scientists must find the way to reduce the waste.

The pollution cannot be stopped immediately because people can’t refuse from the achievements of the technologies. With development of crowded industrial cities which put huge amounts of pollutants into small areas, the problem has become more important. A lot of new inventions make pollution steadily worse but they provide jobs for people and help to produce necessary goods. Fertilizers and pesticides are important for growing crops but they can ruin the soil. Since the late 1960’s of the XX century people have become alarmed with the danger of pollution. In addition pollution spoils the natural beauty of our planet. It’s as complicated as serious problem. Thus, people would have to stop using many useful things if they want to end the pollution immediately. Most people don’t want that of course. Pollution can be reduced gradually. Government can pass the laws that would make enterprises take measures for reducing of pollution. Individuals or groups of people can work together to persuade enterprises to stop polluting activities.

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands 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. Vast forests are cut, 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 Belarus 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, Bylarussian and other nations.

Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That’s why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken. And some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries 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 Chernjbyl in Russia. An International environmental research center has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment. The British government is supporting international efforts for a global agreement to protect species of plant and animal life. The Government is also supporting projects to conserve endangered species of wild life such as the black rhino and the African elephants. Britain adopted some 280 environmental measures including legislation to combat acid rain, curb pollution from automobiles and industry, conserve wildlife an ensure public access to information about 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.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 937