Nature and ecological problems

In ancient times, people killed animal for food and built fires to cook food and keep themselves warm. They cut down trees for fuel, and their fires released pollution into the air.

But there were so few people that their activities had little impact on the environment.

In modern times, the world’s population has been growing very fast. In 1850 there were around a billion people in the world. By 2011 there were about 7 billion. And by 2050 the world population will have reached 8-9 billion people.

As the world’s population is getting bigger, there will be more people who need food, livestock and energy. This will worsen the condition of our environment.

What are the world most serious ecological problems?

In the lesson today we’ll discuss the environment situation in the world and the burning ecological problems that we have to face with.

Cut the “word snake” into 8 ecological problems:

Match the words with the proper pictures.

Now check yourselves.

ozone depletion

waste pollution

overfishing

global warming

animal extinction

greenhouse effect

deforestation

acid rain

Now read the proverb. Which of the ecological problems below does the proverb tell us about?

Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money. (Cree Indian Proverb)

It tells us about:

-         deforestation

-         waste pollution

-         overfishing

Some scientists say that we wouldn’t have damaged the Earth so much if we hadn’t started the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. It is only a joke, but the impact of industrialization is really dramatic. There is a gradual rise in the temperature of the Earth which is called global warming.

Some scientists believe that it is a part of a natural cycle of warming and cooling. But most of them think that pollution plays a big role because human activity is changing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

What are greenhouse gases? And what is greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is a natural process. Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would not be warm enough for humans to live. The Earth temperature would be 15 degrees lower.

Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, ozone and others. They act like the glass walls of a greenhouse – they let the sunlight in but keep some of the heat from getting out.

The increases in these gases make greenhouse ‘glass’ thicker, causing more heat to be held in the atmosphere than in the past. It doesn’t seem like much, but a slight warming could cause changes in the climate of many regions: the plants and animals that normally live there could no longer survive.

Well-known and common sources of green-house gases include the burning of fossil fuels, animal and plant respiration and volcanic eruptions. Other, less known sources include agriculture and landfills.

One of Europe’s and North America’s most serious pollution problems is acid rain. What happens is this. First, factories send gases and chemicals into the air. There they mix and carried for hundreds of miles by the wind. Finally, they fall back to earth when it rains. This acid rain kills fish and trees. It slowly destroys buildings, too.

Rainforests are known as “the lungs of the world”. Why?

This is because they breathe in gases like carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, cleaning the air for us.

Before 1900 rainforests covered 14% of the world’s surface. Today they cover only about 6%. The reason for this is simple. They have been cut down to provide a) land b) paper c) wood d) medicines e) minerals f) fuel.

But it is not only trees which are disappearing. Rainforests are home to over half the species of plants and animals in the world. If man continues to cut down rainforests, all of them will become extinct by the year 2030.

Animals are part of the environment, too. The dinosaurs had been around for millions of years before they became extinct. Unfortunately, rare animals are now become extinct 10 times faster than they would do if there were no people around.

The Green Solution

Look at the photos of famous people. Can you guess their names?

Cameron Diaz

Kiera Knightley

Leonardo DiCaprio

Orlando Bloom

They are all actors. But what else do they have in common?

Yes, they all believe in animal’s rights and actively participate in protection of wildlife.

Groups like Greenpeace have already helped to stop whale hunting. Now they want to stop fur-hunting, too. Their solution to all problems of wildlife cruelty is simple. Animals shouldn’t suffer. The cruelty must stop.

The ozone layer protects the earth from the suns UV Rays. The ozone layer depletion is caused by the pollution of the air with CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). The hole above the Antarctic is estimated to be about the size of America! This hole enables harmful ultraviolet rays to enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

It is believed that all the factors mentioned above will cause the average temperatures to rise as much as 1.5°C over the next 100 years. If the temperature rises that much, it will cause a lot of ice near the North and South Poles to melt, making more water go into the oceans.

Many areas along the coast like Venice, New York, the Netherlands or tropical islands are very likely to get under water. The planet would never be the same without these places.

The time to act is now.

This is why in the 1990s the world’s big nations met and agreed to reduce the usage of CFCs and also encouraged other nations to do the same. That was decided in the Montreal Protocol.

In 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, an international agreement was signed aimed at fighting global warming. Its goal is to achieve the stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous climate change. Under the Protocol, 37 countries have to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.

However, in industrially developed countries most carbon emissions are caused by individuals. The amount of emissions you are personally responsible for is known as your carbon footprint. Our carbon footprint is the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from our normal daily activities: using energy in the home (mainly for heating, but also for washing clothes or using computers etc.), driving and air travel.

In conclusion…

It’s both town and country air

that we ultimately share.

So, polluting one expect

to get a butterfly effect.

If the key to all our health

is to share in nature’s wealth,

then we’d best invest a plan

to save our wildlife while we can. (Celia Berrel)

Learning about nature and its problems, like you are doing, is the most important step towards a safe environment in future.

This is not enough, but at least it was a good starting point.

It is always best to talk and discuss problems than to do nothing at all.