Ecology and our planet – maturitní otázka

Otázka: Ecology and our planet

Jazyk: Angličtina

Přidal(a): Klára Č.

ENVIRONMENT:

All the things that surround us; conditions where people, animals and plants live

MAIN PROBLEMS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT:

GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND GLOBAL WARMING

GREENHOUSE EFFECT:
- Means that the hot air warmed by the sun gets trapped close to the ground because the carbon dioxide produced by human activities
- CARBON DIOXIDE IS PRODUCED BY:
  - Factories
  - Burning fossil fuels in cars and other vehicles
- GLOBAL WARMING
  - This hot air trapped near the ground causes the whole earth to get warmer and warmer
  - IT CAUSES:
    - The desertification
    - Glaciers and polar ice are melting
    - Level of water´s surface is increasing à causing floods
    - Climate change (milder winters, hotter summers)

THE HOLE IN OZONE LAYER

OZONE LAYER: a shield that protects the Earth from ultraviolet sunrays/ light
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT: very dangerous and harmful for all living creatures, causes cancer
THE HOLE IN OZONE LAYER:
- Ozone layer is being destroyed by chlorofluorocarbons – CFCs
- CFCs were used in fridges, air sprays and in cleaning industry but after discovering the hole in ozone layer the CFCs production was banned
- Some sensitive people have to use sunscreens for higher temperature to avoid sunburns

AIR POLLUTION

AIR POLLUTION: is created by excessive quantity of gasses and little particles in the air
Gasses that creates air pollution are produced by human activity such as factories and burning fossil fuels
CAUSES:
- Damage of food crops
- Heart and respiratory diseases
- Lung cancer and asthma

CUTTING DOWN THE RAINFORESTS

MAKING OXYGEN: Green plants are able to transform carbon dioxide into the oxygen thanks to the photosynthesis. If we cut them down, there´s going to be more carbon dioxide in the air which will cause more severe warming of the planet.
EXTINCTION OF SPECIES: Destroying rainforests also means destroying home of many diverse species à according to scientist we are now experiencing sixth extinction of animals and plants
CATCHING WATER: trees are able to catch water and give it back to the Earth in the form of clouds, which give water to us

WATER POLLUTION

We are polluting water mainly by chemicals and plastics
Scientists say that plastics particles are now even in human bodies
Chemicals are destroying the marine life à corals, fish etc.
Oil tankers leak the fuel and oil into the water which kills live creatures
There´s also o problem with overfishing, for example there´s a risk of tuna extinction

OVERPOPULATION

With more people there´s more waste and that leads to bigger pollution of soil, water and air
In the near future, we will have to solve a lack of fossil fuels and other resources that give us energy

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

We can use renewable (obnovitelné) resources that don´t harm our planet, for example wind, water and sun
Wind and water power stations (větrné elektrátny), solar panels

WHAT CAN WE DO?