Task 6. Single out the main idea of the text and make a message on the given theme.

 

Практическое занятие 4. Загрязнение земель

Task 1. Read and translate the following text.

WHAT IS LAND POLLUTION?

Land Pollution has come to become one of the serious concerns that we collectively battle. Land pollution, in other words, means degradation or destruction of earth’s surface and soil, directly or indirectly as a result of human activities. Land Pollution has led to a series of issues that we have come to realize in recent times, after decades of neglect. The increasing numbers of barren land plots and the decreasing numbers of forest cover is at an alarming ratio. Moreover the extension of cities and towns due to increasing population is leading to further exploitation of the land. Landfills and reclamations are being planned and executed to meet the increased demand of lands. This leads to further deterioration of land, and pollutioncaused by the landfill contents. Also due to the lack of green cover, the land gets affected in several ways like soil erosion occurs washing away the fertile portions of the land. Or even a landslide can be seen as an example. The sources of land pollution:

1. Deforestation and soil erosion: Deforestation carried out to create dry lands is one of the major concerns. Land that is once converted into a dry or barren land, can never be made fertile again, whatever the magnitude of measures to redeem it are. Land conversion, meaning the alteration or modification of the original properties of the land to make it use-worthy for a specific purpose is another major cause. This hampers the land immensely. Unused available land over the years turns barren; this land then cannot be used.

2. Agricultural activities: With growing human population, demand for food has increased considerably. Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and pesticides to get rid of insects, fungi and bacteria from their crops. However with the overuse of these chemicals, they result in contamination and poisoning of soil.

3. Mining activities: During extraction and mining activities, several land spaces are created beneath the surface. We constant hear about land caving in; this is nothing but nature’s way of filling the spaces left out after mining or extraction activity.

4. Overcrowded landfills: Each household produces tones of garbage each year. Garbage like aluminum, plastic, paper, cloth, wood is collected and sent to the local recycling unit. Items that cannot be recycled become a part of the landfills that hampers the beauty of the city and cause land pollution.

5. Industrialization: Due to increase in demand for food, shelter and house, more goods are produced. This resulted in creation of more waste that needs to be disposed of. To meet the demand of the growing population, more industries were developed which led to deforestation. Research and development paved the way for modern fertilizers and chemicals that were highly toxic and led to soil contamination.

6. Construction activities: Due to urbanization, large amount of construction activities are taking place which has resulted in large waste articles like wood, metal, bricks, plastic that can be seen by naked eyes outside any building or office which is under construction.

7. Nuclear waste: Nuclear plants can produce huge amount of energy through nuclear fission and fusion. The left over radioactive material contains harmful and toxic chemicals that can affect human health. They are dumped beneath the earth to avoid any casualty.

8. Sewage treatment: Large amount of solid waste is leftover once the sewage has been treated. The leftover material is sent to landfill site which end up in polluting the environment.

Task 2. Translate the following words and word combinations:

 

to abuse, to incur, the effect, to affect, drastically, barren land plot, to witness, to lessen the quality or the productivity of the land, to be at an alarming ratio, reclamation, deterioration, deforestation, to redeem, to hamper, indigenous, to get rid of insects, fungus, extraction activity, research and development, fission, fusion.

Task 3.   Make up 15 questions to the text.