Экологическая проблема в настоящее время

Introduction……………………………………….Page 1

 

Main Part (2 - 20):

 

Air pollution………………………………..….Page 2 - 9

                      

Water pollution…..…………………………..Page 9 - 11

 

Deforestation..………………………...……Page 12 – 13

 

Nuclear energy……………………………...Page 13 - 20

 

Conclusion……………………………………….Page 20

 

New words and phrases…………...………..Page 21 – 23

 

My sources……………………………...……….Page 24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          Introduction

        Ecology is a science, which studies the relationship between all forms of life on our planet and our environment. This word came from the Greek «oikos» which means «home». All living things are related to their environment. The Earth is our common home and we must take care of it.

     Since ancient times Nature has provided Man with everything he needed: food to eat, water to drink, wood for building and fuel for heating and cooking. For hundreds of years Man used Nature’s sources and it seemed to people that the resources of Nature had no end.

     With the industrial revolution our negative influence on Nature began to increase. Big smoky cities with thousands of people, polluting plants and factories can be found nowadays all over the world.

     Unfortunately, the idea of thinking about our planet and about the consequences of our activity appeared not so long time ago as it could be. Nowadays scientists from the different parts of the world try to solve ecological problems, but it isn’t enough to do our planet clean. We must protect our home all together, without any exceptions.

     This report is devoted to different ecological catastrophes and to environmental protection. It summarizes the results of my survey into such global problems like «greenhouse effect». The aim of my report is the following: to show actual environmental problems, explain how they change our life and try to find the possible ways to solve them.  I suppose that this topic is very actual nowadays and I hope that this information will appeal not only to my mind.

 

 

           Air pollution

     Air pollution is one of the main problems all over the world. Millions of chimneys, buses, cars, plants, factories and other industrial enterprises exhaust fumes and harmful substances into the atmosphere. Poisoned air is the main reason why it is hard to breath in large cities with big amount of plants and transport (example – Nijnii Tagil in the Urals).

     Human activity has been increasing the concentration of such gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor in the atmosphere. Scientists expect to see a doubling of carbon dioxide over pre-industrial levels around the year 2065.

     Every year the atmosphere is polluted by about one thousand (1000) tons of industrial dust. Among industries especially toxic wastes are made by enterprises of colour metallurgy, chemical, petrochemical, black metallurgy, woodworking, pulp paper industry etc. Big cities suffer from smog.

     «Leaders» of wastes of harmful substances in an atmosphere in Russia during three last years are Krasnoyarsk region, the Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kemerovo area and it is necessary to attribute this areas to a zone of the ecological catastrophe. The most contaminated regions are economic centers of Russian Federation and most populated. Now 2/3 population of Russia continues to live in conditions of dangerous air contamination.

           Various chemical elements are intensively absorbed by our organism during breathing, it is harmful for our health. Air pollution is especially harmful for quality of genofond.

          Scientists say that air pollution is the cause of acid rains, global warming and of greenhouse effect. I’d like to tell you some facts on this topic.

 

        What is the greenhouse effect?

     The greenhouse effect is unquestionably real; it is the essential for life on the Earth. It is the result of heat absorption by certain gases in the atmosphere (called greenhouse gases because they trap heat) and re-radiation downward of a part of that heat. Greenhouse gases are:

• Carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned.
• Methane. Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, and the raising of livestock.
• Nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels.

    

      Naturally occuring greenhouse gases also include water vapor, ozone and few other gases.

     Without a natural greenhouse effect, the temperature of the Earth would be about zero degrees F (-18°C) instead of its present 57°F (14°C).

     Human activity has been increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. There is no scientific debate on this point. Pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide (prior to the start of the Industrial Revolution) were about 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv), current levels are about 370 ppmv and the expected level for the year 2065 is 560 ppmv. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%.

     Scientists apologize that the increasing of the concentration of greenhouse gases and chemicals in the atmosphere lead to the global warming.

     Global warming is a changing of the climate on the Earth that made life on the Earth possible.

     What are the potential effects of rising temperatures? Why do we call global warming an environmental problem? In general scientists believe that rising temperature will lead to increase evaporation and therefore to more precipitation. But while some regions will experience increased rainfall, others will become dryer. Another effect is the rise of the sea levels, which will result in flooding low-lying coastal areas. This may also lead to increasing the salinity of the rivers and to decrease of water supplies. And finally climate changes may cause extinction of many species of birds, animals and plants. Even now a lot of species of animals, birds, fish and plants have either disappeared completely or on the verge of extinction. 

     Solutions to global warming - clean energy, energy efficiency and new environmentally sound technologies - already exist. The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that hundreds of technologies are already available, at very low cost, to reduce climate damaging emissions and that government policies need to remove the barriers to these technologies. 
     Implementing these solutions will not require humans to make sacrifices or otherwise impede their quality of life. Instead, they will enable people to usher in a new era of energy, one that will bring economic growth, new jobs, technological innovation and, most importantly environmental protection.  
     Wind power is already a significant source of energy in many parts of the world. It can supply 10 percent of the world's electricity within two decades.  
     Solar power has been growing in a global capacity by 33 percent annually. Greenpeace and industry research shows that with some government support, the solar industry could supply electricity to over 2 billion people globally in the next 20 years.  
     By 2040 solar photovoltaic could supply nearly 25 percent of global electricity demand. 
     A report conducted by global financial analysts KPMG shows that solar power would become cost competitive with traditional fossil fuels if the production of photovoltaic panels was increased to 500 megawatts a year. 
     A renewable power plant in Asia could have the same costs and provide the same jobs as a coal-fired plant, but with significant environmental advantages. 
     Green freeze refrigeration technology, which is safe for the climate and the ozone layer, has spread around the world. It is an ideal solution for developing countries where cost and efficiency are particularly important.

     Oil companies must stop exploring for more fossil fuels that the world cannot afford to burn. Governments need to subsidize renewable energy and force polluters to pay.

 

        Acid rains

     First of all I should say that the only place on earth where pure water is found is in a laboratory. Rainwater always contains small amounts of impurities. These impurities come from dust particles or are absorbed from the gases in the air. If pure water is exposed to the air it absorbs carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid and becomes slightly acidic, dropping from pH 7 i.e. neutral, to pH 5,6. Even in remote, unpopulated areas rain can reach a pH of 4,5. However, a pH of less than 4,5 in rain is almost certainly caused by air pollution.

     Acid rain is caused by the release of the sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides. The main sources of sulphur dioxide are coal-fired power stations and metal working industries. The main sources of nitrous oxides emissions are vehicles and fuel combustion.

     Sulphur dioxide reacts with water vapor and sunlight to form sulphuric acid. Likewise nitrous oxides form nitric acid in the air. These reactions take hours, or even days, during which polluted air may move hundreds of kilometers. Thus acid rain can fall far from the source of pollution.

     When mist or fog droplets condense they will remove pollutants from the air and can become more strongly acid than acid rain. Even snow can be acid. Gases and particles, not dissolved in water, with a low pH can also be deposited directly onto soil, grass and leaves. It is possible that even more acidity is deposited in this way than by rain! Not much is known about this process, and it is particularly difficult to study.

     There are some undoubted effects of acid rains:

• Acid rains can increase the acidity of lakes, dams and streams and cause the death of aquatic life.
• Acid rain can increase the acidity of soil, water and shallow groundwater.
• Acid rain has been linked with the death of trees in Europe and North America. In spite of a great deal of research, no one yet knows exactly how acid rain harms forests. Most of the forests of Europe consist of huge areas of one tree species. This encourages the spread of plant pests and diseases. It seems likely that acid rain weakens the trees, perhaps helped by other pollutants such as ozone, and then leaves the trees open to attack by disease. Acid rain also disrupts the availability of soil nutrients. The final death of a tree may result from a combination of stresses such as heat, cold, drought, nutrient disruption and disease.
• Acid rains erode buildings and monuments.
• Acid particles in the air are suspected of contributing to respiratory problems of people.

     Scientists have many ways to solve this environmental problem. We need to use energy more efficiently at home, in our vehicles and in industry. We will have to think hard about alternative energy sources.  It is possible to remove acidic emissions from coal burning, but this is very expensive. It may be possible to breed crops and trees that resist pollution, but this would only be a partial solution. In practice we will probably need a combination of all these ideas and innovations.

 

        Measures of the protection of atmosphere

    Measures of the protection of atmosphere are subdivided into three large groups:

• First group: decrease measures of gross amount of contamination, thrown out into atmosphere. This is the improvement of the quality of fuel, using of special liquids in fuel etc. Same group of measures includes perfecting of technological processes including development of the closed cycle production without making of harmful substances into atmosphere.
• The second group includes measures of protection of atmosphere by dispersion, processing and neutralization of harmful wastes.
• The third group of measures assumes prevention of the air contamination by rational placing of the «dirty» enterprises – sources of harmful wastes with consideration of natural conditions and potential possibility of the air contamination.

     For realization of atmosphere protection measures the strict state control of air environment, economic and legal stimulation of measures for control of its pollution are also important.

   

        Water pollution

     Comprising over 70% of the Earth’s surface, water is undoubtedly the most precious natural resource that exists on our planet.  Without the seemingly invaluable compound comprised of hydrogen and oxygen, life on Earth would be non-existent: it is essential for everything on our planet to grow and prosper.  Although we as humans recognize this fact, we disregard it by polluting our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Subsequently, we are slowly but surely harming our planet to the point where organisms are dying at a very alarming rate.  In addition to innocent organisms dying off, our drinking water has become greatly affected, as is our ability to use water for recreational purposes.  In order to combat water pollution, we must understand the problems and become part of the solution.

 

        What are the sources of water pollution?

     There are many causes for water pollution but two general categories exist: direct and indirect contaminant sources.  
     Direct sources include effluent outfalls from factories, refineries, and waste treatment plants etc. that emit fluids of varying quality directly into urban water supplies. In the United States and other countries, these practices are regulated, although this doesn't mean that pollutants can't be found in these waters.  
       Indirect sources include contaminants that enter the water supply from soils/groundwater systems and from the atmosphere via rainwater. Soils and ground waters contain the residue of human agricultural practices and improperly disposed of industrial wastes. Atmospheric contaminants are also derived from human practices (such as gaseous emissions from automobiles, factories and even bakeries).  
      Contaminants can be broadly classified into organic, inorganic, radioactive and acid. Examples from each class and their potential sources are too numerous to discuss here.

 

        What are the effects of water pollution?

     The effects of water pollution are varied. They include poisonous drinking water, poisonous food animals (due to these organisms having bioaccumulated toxins from the environment over their life spans), unbalanced river and lake ecosystems that can no longer support full biological diversity, deforestation from acid rain, and many other effects. These effects are, of course, specific to the various contaminants.

 

        What are the ways we can take to decrease this problem?

     Science provides many practical solutions to minimizing the present level at which pollutants are introduced into the environment and for remediating (cleaning up) past problems. All of these solutions come with some cost (both societal and monetary). In our everyday lives, a great deal can be done to minimize pollution if we take care to recycle materials whose production creates pollution and if we act responsibly with household chemicals and their disposal. Additionally, there are choices we make each day that also can affect the quantity of pollutants our actions will introduce into the environment. Heavily packaged foods, for instance, contain boxes, cartons, bottles etc. made with polluting dyes, many of which are released from groundwater at municipal land fills. Whether we choose to drive to the corner store rather than walk or ride a bicycle will determine how much we personally contribute to acid and hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere (and ultimately to global fresh water supplies).  
     In the end, there are many choices on the personal and societal level that we must make (consciously or not) that affect the amount of pollution our town or country will be forced to live with. Our standard of living and very way of life is based upon practices, which are inherently "dirtier" than those of our distant ancestors, although they too polluted their environment to some extent. Without taking a step backward in terms of our standards of living, the answer seems to lie in a combination of many small changes in our daily practices and paying more for goods and services, so that manufacturers of various materials and drivers of automobiles (for instance) will have cleaner devices with which to conduct their activities.

 

        Deforestation

        

     The tropical rainforests in Amazonia, Southern Asia and West and Central Africa is the world’s greatest resource – the most powerful and bio-actively diverse natural phenomenon on the Earth. Yet still it is being destroyed just like other rainforests around the world. It is hard to believe that every day over 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned on our planet. That means that over 150 acres are lost every minute.

     Once I have heard a horrible idea. One of my classmates told me: «I have never seen the rainforest you are talking about, so why should I protect it? I don’t find it interesting!» I don’t agree with this point of view.

     There are some reasons why does the tropical rainforest so important for people from all over the world:

• The tropical rainforest is natural recycle, provider and protector for our planet.
• The tropical rainforest supports the ecosystem in the world.
• The tropical rainforest provides us with oxygen we breathe.
• The tropical rainforest is the richest biological incubator on the Earth. It supports millions of plant, animal and insect species – a virtual library of chemical invention. Maybe the new drugs are still awaiting discovery – drugs for AIDS, cancer, diabetes and arthritis. Many secrets and untold treasures await discovery with the medicinal plants used by shamans, healers and indigenous people of the Rainforest Tribes. So alluring are the mysteries of indigenous medical knowledge that over one hundred pharmaceutical companies and even the US government are currently funding projects studying indigenous plant knowledge and the specific plants used by native shamans and healers.

         The problem and the solution to rainforest destruction are both economic. The destruction is caused by slash-and-burn agriculture, cattle ranching, building of dams and highways, and mining. So, if landowners, governments and people living in the rainforest were given a viable economic reason not to destroy the rainforest, it could and would be saved. Thankfully, this viable economic alternative exists.

     Many organizations have demonstrated that if the medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, oils and other resources like rubber, chocolate and chicly were harvested sustainably, rainforest land has much more economic value than if timber were harvested or if it were burned down for cattle or farming operations.

 

         Nuclear energy

     Nuclear energy is often called the energy of the future because of a great amount of advantages, but millions of people are afraid of radiation. On the one hand using nuclear power gives us more variety in fuel sources. On the other hand is the remembrance about Chernobyl tragedy.  Different countries use nuclear energy even now, but people from all over the world suppose that using nuclear energy is a big mistake.

     There are some advantages of using nuclear:

• Nuclear is the cleanest and least damaging to our environment. Since the energy released from splitting the uranium atom is so much greater than the energy released from combustion, the amount of land, materials, and fuel used, and wastes produced, are very much smaller.
• Using nuclear power gives us more variety in fuel sources. It helps us avoid being dependent on other countries for only one or two types of fuels.
• Nuclear isn’t limited by location and natural conditions (for example, the need for regular winds or sunshine).
• Nuclear generation of electricity provides savings over coal generation because of lower fuel and transportation costs for nuclear.
• Nuclear energy is the cheapest kind of energy.

     All mentioned above are «pluses» of nuclear energy. And now let’s talk about minuses, about radiation.

 

        Radiation

     Radiation is a natural energy traveling in the form of waves or particles. Some everyday examples are: the microwaves we use to cook food, radio waves for radio and television, radar, X-rays used in medicine and dentistry, and sunlight. We also receive radiation as a result of the natural process of radioactivity. Materials that are radioactive are made up of atoms that contain excess energy. These radioactive materials give off their excess energy as radiation.

     The three kinds of nuclear radiation that come from the radioactive materials are alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. All three types are present in nature. The natural radiation from soil, water, and cosmic radiation (the Sun) is called "background radiation."

      Alpha particles are the nuclei (centers) of helium atoms. They can be blocked by a sheet of paper. Beta particles are high-speed electrons. They can be blocked by a thin sheet of aluminum. Gamma radiation, like the medical X-ray, consists of photons (electro-magnetic radiation), except that gamma radiation comes from the atomic nucleus. X-rays are lower in energy and come from the electrons around the nucleus. Gamma rays can be blocked by several inches of lead, several feet of concrete, or a large amount of water (for example, the 45-foot deep pools of water in which spent fuel is stored).

The health effects of very high doses of radiation are serious. They also are better understood than those of non-radiation hazards. Health effects of the extremely low doses of normal background radiation that we receive are so small that they can only be estimated. In fact, some studies show that low doses of radiation may be beneficial to life.

Radiation at higher levels may have two kinds of health effects: somatic and genetic. Somatic effects of radiation include a slightly increased chance of cancer and life-shortening in the person exposed. Genetic effects are those that may be passed on to the exposed person's offspring by changes in the genes.

The units used to measure radiation are the rem and the millirem (1/1000th of one rem). Individuals receive an average exposure from all sources of about 360 millirems per year. This includes natural sources (such as rocks and cosmic radiation) and man-made sources (such as X-rays). At less than 1000 millirem (or 1 rem), health effects on test animals are so small that conclusions cannot be made. Radiation doses in excess of 25,000 to 50,000 millirem (25 to 50 rem) are typically required to cause minor blood changes detectable only by laboratory examination. There are no other clinically observable effects until a dose of more than 50,000 millirems (50 rems) is received.