Téma: Environmental problems
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Michaela
We are destroying our planet, which results in its warming and the environmental changes like melting of the ice-caps, rising seawater levels, depletion of the ozone layer, car traffic pollution, acid rain, industrial smokestacks, burning of fossil fuels, water pollution, habitat destruction and species extinction, chemical pollution and so on.
I will start with the problem of rainforests. People cut down rainforests because they want to gain the rate and expensive wood and create their plantations on which they will grow palms for the palm oil, banana trees, coffee trees and also cocoa trees. Tropical rainforests are considered to be the lungs of the Earth. This causes deforestation and without rainforests we probably won’t have enough amount of oxygen. It is estimated (odhaduje se) that the tropical rainforests will disappear completely in 2030. People hunt and kill animals and destroy their natural habitat and because of that many endangered species are dying out. Except of the rainforests, coral reefs are also dying out.
Another problem is the air pollution. We have four types of air pollution: car traffic pollution, acid rain, industrial smokestacks and burning of fossil fuels. Car exhausts gases contribute to acid rain, smog and global warming. Smog is a mixture of smoke and fog. It irritates people’s eyes, throat and lungs, and damages plants as well. Forests, lakes, ponds and other aquatic environments can be damaged by acid rain. Acid rain is a rain with very low pH and poisons lake water which then kills most of aquatic forms of life. Industrial smokestacks contribute to worldwide atmospheric pollution. Other environmental problems include respiratory diseases in humans and animals, poisoned lakes and streams and damaged forests and crops (úroda).
Greenhouse effect is a process natural for the Earth as it prevents heat produced by escaping into the atmosphere so it is really important for us and we can’t live on our planet without it. But as a consequence of human activity, greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are let into the atmosphere in excessive amounts. This effect is stronger and stronger and our planet is still warming up and the global climate changes.
The ozone layer is a thin layer in the stratosphere and it protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. In 1970s, scientists discovered that the layer has been dissolved by freons which are the chemicals used in refrigerators, air-conducting systems and aerosol sprays and they are harmful to the ozone layer. They allow the dangerous ultraviolet rays approach to the Earth. These days, freons are already banned.
Burning coal isn’t very friendly to our environment. More modern power stations should be built. There are other sources of energy: wind power, water, solar energy, nuclear energy, etc.
And now some tips or suggestions what we should do for saving our planet. Recycling is separating waste from home and reusing most of it. We should separate organic waste and reuse it in the garden compost, separate paper and cardboard, glass and plastic bottles. There are recycling banks nearly everywhere.
We should use public transport and walk or ride bicycles more. We should recycle rubbish and use recycled paper, plant trees and reforest new areas. We should limit burning coal as fuel and use alternative means of power. We should buy environment-friendly products and save energy and natural materials.
There is also another global problem: population growth. Increasingly large numbers of people are born into the world each year. With the increase of population more pollution is generated, more natural habitats are destroyed and more natural resources are used up. Some studies show that population growth rates down in areas where several social conditions have been met: literacy increased, women have the same economic status as men and thanks to those women are able to hold jobs and own property and birth control information is more widely available, and women are free to make their own reproduction choices.
Drugs are the main problem that we have to face today. The illegal drug market has become more and more profitable. At first, we should know what the drug actually is. It’s any substance that causes changes in the body or mind. We can find drugs everywhere because many societies some types of drugs like coffee, cigarettes, alcohol or medicines that can be bought without a prescription. We have to know that the legal drugs can be as harmful as the illegal drugs if they are misused (zneužívány). Illegal drugs can be put into categories according to the way they affect our bodies or minds. We have depressants, stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, designed drugs, steroids, psychoactive drugs and marijuana. When somebody feel unbelievable longing for taking drug it is said that he is addicted and addict people sometimes have a withdrawal, which is a physical illness. There’s a danger that we will overdose of drug. It’s caused by using too much of a drug and in the most of cases it can causes even death.
