Protection of Environment in the UK

Protection of environment is a major issue in Great Britain. Global warming, ozone layer problem, air and water pollution, industrial wastes are in the centre of different state and public actions. Great Britain maintains careful checks on use of dangerous chemicals and collects information about new ones. Acid rains that kill enormous amounts of fish in Great Britain are also in the centre of attention. They are caused by smoke from factories and power stations and exhaust fumes from transport. It is produced when coal and oil are burnt. The government provides smoke control programmes. New power plants will have to meet very tight limits on emission of chemical gases. Britain works with Scandinavian countries in a project on the problem of acid rains. Over the last years local authorities are carrying on tests of drinking water in England and Wales. Nuclear waste from nuclear plants is discharged into the Irish Sea, making it one of the most radioactive seas in the world. There also have been numerous leaks of radioactive matter to the atmosphere. Water pollution from shipping and oil platforms, mostly in the North Atlantic, is great.

Water pollution programmes are being worked out in Great Britain nowadays. Ten National parks have been established in England and Wales, four — in Scotland. Their aims are to conserve the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage. Each park is administered by an independent National Park Authority. Trees Preservation Orders enable local authorities to protect trees and woodlands. Once a tree is protected it is, in general, an offence to cut it down without permission. Responsibility for pollution control is divided between local authorities and central government. Local authorities are responsible for collection and disposal of wastes, keeping the streets clear of litter, control of air pollution. It is a criminal offence to leave litter in any public place in the open air except in designated places. The fines for it vary from 25 up to 2500 pounds.

Great Britain is not very rich in mineral resources, it has some deposits of coal and iron ore and vast deposits of oil and gas that were discovered in the North Sea.

British Geological Survey continues its research and promotion of the metalliferous (ˌmɛtəˈlɪfərəs) mineral potential of Great Britain with recent projects investigating:

• Potential for stratiform massive sulphide mineralisation in south–west England(ˈsʌlfaɪd ˌmɪnərəlaɪˈzeɪʃən)

• Stratabound lead–zinc–barite–fluorite mineralisation in the North Pennine Orefield

• Platinum–group elements in Ordovician magmatic nickel–copper sulphide prospects in north–east Scotland

• Gold mineralisation in the central Ochil Hills

• PGE in the late Caledonian Loch Borralan and Loch Ailsh alkaline (ˈælkəlaɪn) pyroxenite–syenite (ˈsaɪɪnaɪt) complexes, north–west Scotland

• Permo–Triassic unconformity–related gold–palladium mineralisation in South Devon

• Intrusion–related vein mineralisation in the English Lake District

• Vein mineralisation associated with caldera volcanism in North Wales

• Gold potential of the Dalradian rocks of north–west Northern Ireland

The largest deposits of coal in the UK are Yorkshire and South Wales pools and Northumberland. Also many small pools are located in Scotland. Also there are numerous deposits of coal in some coastal parts of England, that has its advantages in ease of transport. Coal raw materials are gradually replacing other sources of energy, so the production of coal in Great Britain is declining. (сокращаются)

!The subsurface of the UK is rich in oil, natural gas, coal, kaolin, fluorite, there are deposits of tin ore, potash and rock salt, Celestine, clay, non-ore construction materials, oil shales, and small (often developed) deposits of ores of iron, copper, lead, zinc, barite and witherite.

Great Britain takes the 1st place among the capitalist European countries by oil reserves and 2nd largest reserves of natural gas. Commercial deposits of oil and gas lie under the seabed of the North sea offshore within the Central European oil and gas pools. Small oil and gas deposits known in the British Isles (mainly Nottinghamshire), most of them worked out. Major oil and gas fields of the North sea are deposited in the sediments of Paleogene (Fortis, montrose, depth 1500 m), upper Cretaceous (Magnus, Piper, Claymore, 2400 m), Jurassic (Testl, Dunlin, Brent, Hutton, Ninian, cormorant South, beryl, 2700 m), Triassic (it's correct, about 3300-3600 m), Perm (Argyle, Viking, Indefatigable, Limen, 4000 m).

Brent Crude is a major trading classification of sweet light crude oil that serves as a major benchmark price for purchases of oil worldwide. This grade is described as light because of its relatively low density, and sweet because of its low sulfur content. Brent Crude is extracted from the North Sea and comprises Brent Blend, Forties Blend, Oseberg and Ekofisk crudes (also known as the BFOE Quotation). The Brent Crude oil marker is also known as Brent Blend, London Brent and Brent petroleum.

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Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1033