Ecological problems. Pollution

Text 1.

What is pollution?

Vocabulary

1 noise pollution 2 visual pollution 3 solid waste pollution 4 waste, n (often -pl) 5 foreign material 6 tolerate, v 7 intolerable, a 8 natural pollution 9 alter, v 10 reproduction, n

шумовое загрязнение видимое (визуальное) загрязнение загрязнение твердыми отходами отходы, отбросы посторонний материал терпеть, выносить невыносимый естественное загрязнение менять, изменять воспроизведение, размножение

2. Read the text:

When examining our effect upon our environment, we cannot ignore the problem of pollution. But what exactly is pollution? There are many varieties, including air and water pollution, noise pollution, visual pollution, and solid waste pollution. But is amount considered in defining pollution? Can we say that one car in the middle of the desert or alone on a New Hampshire mountain road pollutes the atmosphere? Or would emptying the dregs of our soft drink into the Mississippi alone constitute polluting those waters? Technically, yes, but not to any significant degree, since pollution does not occur simply because of the introduction of foreign material to a system like the atmosphere or the hydrosphere.

Pollution does occur, however, when more foreign material is put into a system than the system can tolerate. Pollution is the accumulation, to a level intolerable to the ecosystem, of undesirable elements is any one of the diverse aspects of the physical environment. In the strictest sense, there is natural pollution (lime, iron, or sulfur in water supplies, smoke from forest fires, or dust from the eruption of volcanoes). But in our current usage, pollution includes those wastes in the water, air, or other aspects of the environment for which humans are responsible. It becomes especially important when it significantly alters the natural environment or when it threatens normal growth and reproduction or the normal functioning of all life forms, including human beings.

 

COMPREHENSION

Read the text and study the vocabulary.

2. Find the sentences describing the problems given below and translate them:

a) definition of pollution

b) varieties of pollution

c) natural pollution

d) the importance of studying pollution

Write the summary of the text in English and try to retell it.

 

Text 2.

Natural Resources and Environment.

Vocabulary

1 natural resources 2 renewable resources 3 nonrenewable resources 4 abuse, v 5 overuse, v 6 fossil fuel 7 threaten, damage, v 8 species, n 9 acid rain 10 be overcrowded, v 11 last, v, здесь: 12 be ill suited, v

природные ресурсы возобновляемые ресурсы не возобновляемые ресурсы злоупотреблять, неправильно употреблять злоупотреблять, чрезмерно использовать ископаемое, природное топливо угрожать, наносить вред вид, разновидность кислотный дождь быть перенаселенным хватать, сохраняться не подходить, не соответствовать

Read the text

The earth is a set of interrelated components that are vital and necessary for the existence of all living creatures. As we move through the last decade of the twentieth century, we have come to realize that important parts of our life support system, which may be called NATURAL RESOURCES, can be abused and overused, thereby threatening the functioning of the whole system.

We are aware that some of the earth’s resources, such as air and water, can be polluted to the point where they are unusable or even lethal to some life forms. By polluting the oceans, we may be killing off some important fish species, while less desirable species may increase in number. Acid rain, caused by industries, power plants, and automobiles releasing pollutants into the atmosphere, is damaging forests and killing fish in lakes.

As pollution is associated with human activity, it is not surprising that it represents a significant problem in locations with huge population densities. What some people do not realize, however, is that these pollutants are often transported by our winds and waterways hundreds or even thousands of kilometers from their source. Thus, pollution is a worldwide problem.

In addition, we may be using some resources, especially those we need for fuel, too rapidly. While we still have enough coal to last several hundreds years, we have frequently been warned about future shortages in our petroleum supplies. When NONRENEWABLE resources such as mineral fuels are gone, the ALTERNATIVE resources are invariably less desirable or more expensive.

We are learning that there are limits to the amount of space on the earth and we must use it wisely. In the search for living space, we occasionally construct buildings in places that are not safe, and many places where we live are overcrowded. Also we sometimes plant crops in areas that are ill suited to agriculture because there is not always enough good farmland to fill our needs.

 

Exercises:

1. Read the text and study the vocabulary.

2. Find in the text the sentences with the words and word combinations from Vocabulary and translate them.

3. Speak on the main problems discussed:

a) What resources can be abused or overused?

b) What is pollution associated with? Why?

c) Why is pollution a worldwide problem?

d) What resources are we using too rapidly?

4. Try to write the summary of the text in English using the above questions.

 

Text 2A

Read the text to find answers to the given questions.

Read the Notes to the text.

1) What could be said about the Everglades ecosystem a century ago?

2) Why has half of the original area disappeared? Find the reasons for that.

3) What is the result of urban and agricultural development of the Everglades?

 

As we continue to explore space, we are learning more and more about the world in which we live. Since human beings first walked the earth, they have affected each ecosystem they have inhabited. For example, a century ago the interconnected Kissimmee River – Lake Okeechobee – Everglades¹ ecosystem comprised one of the most productive and stable wetland regions on earth. But sawgrass marsh² and slow-moving water stood in the way of urban⁴ and agricultural development. Intricate systems of ditches and canals were built and, since 1900, half of the original 4 million acres of the Everglades has disappeared. The Kessimmee River has been channelized into an arrow-straight ditch, and wetlands³ along the river have been drained. Levees have prevented water in lake Okeechobee from contributing sheet flow to the Everglades, and highway construction has deviled the region, further disrupting natural drainage patterns. Fires have been more frequent and destructive, and entire biotic communities have been eliminated by lowered water levels. During excessively wet periods, portions of the Everglades are deliberately flooded to prevent drainage canals from overflowing. As a result, animals drown and birds cannot rest and reproduce. South Florida’s wading bird population decreased by 95% within a hundred years.

 

Notes to the text

1 the Everglades – национальный парк в США

2 saw grass marsh – торфяные болота

3 wetlands – заболоченные земли

4 urban – городской