Топик по английскому языку экология. Environmental Problems – Экологические проблемы

Ecological problems

Ecology is a scientific branch which studies interactions between organisms and their environment. It also studies the biodiversity of our planet. Earth is the only planet in the solar system where there is life. It is home to various kinds of plant and animal species. For centuries people lived in harmony with their environment until industrialization began. It brought human society into conflict with nature, which today has grown to a dramatic scale. Every year industrial waste pollutes surrounding atmosphere with millions of tons of dust and harmful substances.

The most acute problems include shortage of natural resources, global warming, acid rains, wildlife extinction, water and air pollution.

Air pollution is one of the most important and urgent problems. It is mostly caused by transport and factory fumes, which gradually destroy the ozone layer. Unfortunately, this can have dire consequences, as the ozone layer is there to protect our planet from sun radiation. Most aerosols which are used in daily life create large holes in this layer.

Water pollution also leads to numerous problems in natural environment. Many ships carry oil by sea. In case, there is a leakage, many fish die or get contaminated. It happens because their habitat gets polluted. People can also suffer if they eat such fish. Oil and other waste pollute beaches as well, which makes it difficult for holiday-makers to swim.

Acid rains lead to deforestation. Many forests disappear because of acid rains. It is especially true for tropical forests. Such rains kill nature in many ways: animals die out, climate changes along with ecosystem.

Wildlife extinction is no less acute. Many species of animals are in danger nowadays. For example, the blue whale, which is the largest water animal in the world, has been hunted for so long that it became a rare animal. The largest land animal is the African elephant, and it is also exposed to extinction. Even though they are strictly protected, these animals are still hunted for their valuable tusks. The only solution of this problem is wildlife conservation. It means opening more national parks, planting more new forests, and cutting down on industrial pollution.

Global warming has recently become a real threat. It is the rise in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, which brings tangible changes into world’s climate. It is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. When we burn fossil fuels, such as coal or oil, carbon overloads and creates greenhouse effect.

Shortage of natural resources will definitely affect the future of our environment. It includes food and water shortage, fuel and non-fuel minerals shortage. These resources are not limitless and if people persist using them uncontrollably, the upcoming years will become extremely polluted, economically unstable and risky.

Экологические проблемы

Экология – это научное направление, которое изучает взаимодействие между организмами и окружающей их средой. Она также изучает биоразнообразия нашей планеты. Земля является единственной планетой в Солнечной системе, на которой есть жизнь. Она является местом обитания различных видов растений и животных. На протяжении многих веков люди жили в гармонии с окружающей средой, пока не началась индустриализация. Она привела человечество к конфликту с природой, который принял масштабные обороты. Ежегодно промышленные отходы загрязняют окружающую атмосферу миллионами тонн пыли и вредных веществ.

К наиболее острым проблемам относятся нехватка природных ресурсов, глобальное потепление, кислотные дожди, исчезновение диких животных, загрязнение воды и воздуха.

Загрязнение воздуха является одним из самых важных и актуальных проблем. Это в основном вызвано транспортным и заводским задымлением, которое постепенно разрушает озоновый слой. К сожалению, это может иметь тяжелые последствия, так как озоновый слой защищает нашу планету от солнечного излучения. Большинство аэрозолей, которые используются в повседневной жизни, создают большие дыры в этом слое.

Загрязнение воды также приводит к многочисленным проблемам в окружающей среде. Многие корабли транспортируют по морю нефть. В случае малейшей утечки, рыбы умирают или заражаются. Это происходит из-за загрязнений их среды обитания. Люди могут также пострадать, если будут употреблять в пищу такую рыбу. Нефть и прочие отходы загрязняют пляжи, что препятствует плаванию отдыхающих.

Кислотные дожди приводят к вырубке лесов. Многие леса исчезают из-за кислотных дождей. В частности это относится к тропическим лесам. Такие дожди убивают природу во многих отношениях: вымирают животные, изменяется климат наряду с экосистемой.

Исчезновение диких животных – не менее острая проблема. В настоящее время многие виды животных находятся в опасности. Например, на голубого кита, который является крупнейшим водным животным в мире, так долго охотились, что он стал редким животным. Крупнейшее сухопутное животное, африканский слон, также подвержен исчезновению. Даже если их строго охраняют, за этими животными все еще охотятся из-за их ценных бивней. Единственным решением этой проблемы является сохранение дикой природы. Сюда относятся открытие новых национальных парков, посадка новых лесов и сокращение промышленного загрязнения.

Глобальное потепление в последнее время стало реальной угрозой. Это повышение средней температуры атмосферы и океанов Земли, которое приводит к ощутимым изменениям в климате планеты. Эта проблема, прежде всего, связана с большим количеством двуокиси углерода в атмосфере. Когда мы сжигаем ископаемое топливо, например уголь или нефть, уровень углерода возрастает и создает парниковый эффект.

Нехватка природных ресурсов , безусловно, повлияет на будущее нашей окружающей среды. Это включает дефицит пищи и воды, топливных и не топливных полезных ископаемых. Такие ресурсы не безграничны, и если люди будут продолжать необдуманно тратить их, предстоящие годы будут чрезвычайно загрязненными, экономически нестабильными и рискованными.

Уровень B. Прочее.

Ecology

Some people say that nowadays the problem of ecology is becoming more and more vital. But others consider that it is not important for people with modern technologies. And who is right? I am for the former point o view, and now I will try to explain why.

Firstly, there are a lot of big cities in the world such as New York, Tokyo, Beijing, and Moscow. These cities pollute a lot. There are some kinds of pollution: water pollution, air pollution, and nuclear pollution. We breathe dirty air, drink dirty water, and eat dirty fruits and vegetables. So it harms our health. Secondly, there are a lot of nuclear stations all over the world such as Chernobyl or Fukushima, which became dangerous objects because of radiation.
People who worked at these stations were not careful. So these stations are destroyed now. They are polluting a big territory. Thirdly, our world needs much fuel for various machines, technologies, various branches of science and everyday life. And the extraction of minerals harms nature and changes the landscape around the place of extraction.

But some people think that nowadays we have a lot of brands - new technologies that will help us in future. They say that these technologies will help us with hunger, unemployment, dangerous kinds of diseases such as plague and cancer. With the help of nanotechnologies people will get new materials, which can be useful for the army, medicine, science. With a great technological progress the humanity will conquer space. All in all, people will defeat death.

I absolutely disagree with these people. Of course, it would be a great success for humanity. But these «dreams» need a lot of recourses which are not endless. And it is a long process to invent all these things and spread them all over the world.

In conclusion, I would like to stress that our world is very fragile, and we should take care of it because we are a part of this world. Without beautiful nature, useful plants, and animals humanity will die out. Don’t you agree with me?

Экология

Некоторые люди говорят, что в настоящее время проблема экологии становится все более и более важной. Но другие считают, что это не важно для людей с современными технологиями. И кто же прав? Я за первую точку зрения, и теперь я постараюсь объяснить, почему.

Во-первых, есть много больших городов в мире, таких как Нью-Йорк, Токио, Пекин и Москва. Эти города загрязняют много. Есть некоторые виды загрязнения: загрязнение воды, загрязнение воздуха, и ядерное загрязнение. Мы дышим грязным воздухом, пьем грязную воду, и едим грязные фрукты и овощи. Так это вредит нашему здоровью. Во-вторых, есть много атомных станций во всем мире, такие как Чернобыль или Фукусима, которые стали опасными объектами из-за радиации. Люди, которые работали на этих станциях, были не осторожны. Таким образом, эти станции сейчас уничтожены. Они загрязняют большую территорию. В-третьих, наш мир нуждается в большом количестве топлива для различных машин, технологий, различных отраслей науки и повседневной жизни. Добыча полезных ископаемых вредит природе и изменяет ландшафт вокруг места добычи.

Но некоторые люди думают, что в настоящее время у нас есть много новшеств — новые технологии, которые помогут нам в будущем. Говорят, что эти технологии помогут нам с голодом, безработицей, опасными видами заболеваний, такие как чума и рак. С помощью нанотехнологий люди будут получать новые материалы, которые могут быть полезны для армии, медицины, науки. С большим техническим прогрессом человечество освоит космос. В конце концов, люди победят смерть.

Я абсолютно не согласен с этими людьми. Конечно, это было бы большим успехом для человечества. Но эти для этих «мечтаний» нужно много ресурсов, которые не бесконечны. И это длительный процесс - изобрести все эти вещи и распространить их по всему миру.

В заключение мне хотелось бы подчеркнуть, что наш мир очень хрупок, и мы должны заботиться о нем, потому что мы являемся частью этого мира. Без красивой природы, полезных растений и животных человечество вымрет. Разве вы не согласны со мной?

В последнее время остро встала проблема загрязнения окружающей среды. Её поднимают и в школах, и в университетах. В частности, задают написать сочинение на тему защиты окружающей среды на английском языке. Поэтому топики по английскому языку на тему экология очень популярны.

Топик Ecology problems

Since ancient times Nature has served man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man’s interference in nature began to increase.

Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other things. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever. Many cities suffer from smog.

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow vegetables.

The pollution of air and the world’s ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man’s careless interaction with nature. Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.

Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries — members of the UNO — have set up environmental protection agencies. Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss problems facing ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organization Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment.

But these are only the initial steps and they must be carried onward to protect nature, to save life on the planet not only for the present but also for the future generations.

Но это только начальные шаги и они должны быть более завязаны на защите природы, чтобы сохранить жизнь на планете не только для настоящего, но и для будущего поколения.

Перевод топика на русский язык

Экологические проблемы

С древних времен, природа продлевала жизнь человеку, снабжая его ресурсами для жизни. На протяжении тысяч лет, люди жили в гармонии с окружающей средой и им казалось, что богатства природы неисчерпаемы. Но с приходом цивилизации человека, катаклизмы в природе начали увеличиваться.

Каждый год мировая промышленность выбрасывает в атмосферу около 1000 миллионов тонн пыли и других веществ. В результате некоторые редки виды животных, птиц, рыб и животных исчезли навсегда. Многие города страдают от смога.

Большие города с тысячами дымящих производств, представлены в общемировом масштабе в большом количестве. Второстепенные продукты, которые образуются в результате их деятельности, загрязняют воздух, которым мы дышим, воду, которую мы пьем, землю, на которой мы выращиваем овощи.

Загрязнения воздуха и мирового океана, уничтожение озонового слоя — это результат человеческого равнодушия в отношении природы. Окружающая среда защищается всемирным объединением. Вот почему серьезные меры должны быть предприняты по созданию системы экологической безопасности.

Некоторые подвижки в это отношении уже предприняты. Так, 159 стран — членов UNO — создали агентство по защите окружающей среды. Этими агентствами проводятся многочисленные конференции и на них обсуждаются проблемы, с которыми столкнулись бедствующие с точки зрения экологии, регионы, включая Аральское море, Южный Урал, Кузбасс, Семипалатинск и Чернобыль. Международное исследование окружающей среды проводится на озере Байкал. Международная организация Гринпис также делает очень много, чтобы защитить окружающую среду.

Дорогие посетители, а вас волнует проблемы экологии? И насколько Вам близки ecology problems?

Как вы считаете — нужно ли остановить мировое загрязнение?

M.N. Makeeva, L.P. Tsilenko, A.A. Gvozdeva MODERN ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS TSTU Publishing House Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации Тамбовский государственный технический университет М.Н. Макеева, Л.П. Циленко, А.А. Гвоздева СОВРЕМЕННЫЕ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ Сборник текстов на английском языке для студентов неязыковых вузов Тамбов Издательство ТГТУ 2004 УДК 802.0(076) ББК Ш13(Ан)я923 С56 Рецензент Кандидат педагогических наук, доцент Т.Г. Бортникова С56 Современные экологические проблемы: Сборник текстов на английском языке / Авт.-сост.: М.Н. Макеева, Л.П. Циленко, А.А. Гвоздева. Тамбов: Изд-во Тамб. гос. техн. ун-та, 2004. 96 с. Данный сборник представляет собой книгу для чтения на английском языке для студентов не- языковых вузов. Предлагаемые аутентичные тексты отвечают динамике современного научно- технического прогресса, специфике изучаемых в университете специальностей, а также требовани- ям программы по английскому языку для студентов высших учебных заведений. УДК 802.0(076) ББК Ш13(Ан)я923 © Тамбовский государственный технический университет (ТГТУ), 2004 Учебное издание СОВРЕМЕННЫЕ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ Сборник текстов на английском языке Авторы-составители: Макеева Марина Николаевна, Циленко Любовь Петровна, Гвоздева Анна Анатольевна Редактор Т.М. Глинкина Компьютерное макетирование Е.В. Кораблевой Подписано в печать 18.06.04 Формат 60 × 84 / 16. Бумага офсетная. Печать офсетная Гарнитура Тimes New Roman. Объем: 5,58 усл. печ. л.; 5,5 уч.-изд. л. Тираж 80 экз. С. 440M Издательско-полиграфический центр Тамбовского государственного технического университета, 392000, Тамбов, Советская, 106, к. 14 ECOLOGY Ecology is the study of the relationship of plants and animals with their physical and biological environ- ment. The physical environment includes light and heat or solar radiation, moisture, wind, oxygen, carbon diox- ide, nutrients in soil, water, and atmosphere. The biological environment includes organisms of the same kind as well as other plants and animals. Because of the diverse approaches required to study organisms in their environment, ecology draws upon such fields as climatology, hydrology, oceanography, physics, chemistry, geology, and soil analysis. To study the relationships between organisms, ecology also involves such disparate sciences as animal behavior, taxon- omy, physiology, and mathematics. An increased public awareness of environmental problems has made ecology a common but often misused word. It is confused with environmental programs and environmental science. Although the field is a distinct scientific discipline, ecology does indeed contribute to the study and understanding of environmental problems. The term "ecology" was introduced by the German biologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel in 1866; it is derived from the Greek "oikos" ("household"), sharing the same root word as "economics". Thus, the term implies the study of the economy of nature. Modern ecology, in part, began with Charles Darwin. In developing his theory of evolution, Darwin stressed the adaptation of organisms to their environment through natural selection. Also making important contributions were plant geographers, such as Alexander von Humboldt, who were deeply interested in the "how" and "why" of vegetation distribution around the world. The thin mantle of life that covers the earth is called the biosphere. Several approaches are used to classify its regions. BIOMES The broad units of vegetation are called "plant formations" by European ecologists and "biomes" by North American ecologists. The major difference between the two terms is that "biomes" include associated animal life. Major biomes, however, go by the name of the dominant forms of plant life. Influenced by latitude, elevation, and associated moisture and temperature regimes, terrestrial biomes vary geographically from the tropics through the arctic and include various types of forest, grassland, shrub land, and desert. These biomes also include their associated freshwater communities: streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. Marine environments, also considered biomes by some ecologists, comprise the open ocean, littoral (shallow water) regions, benthic (bottom) regions, rocky shores, sandy shores, estuaries, and associated tidal marshes. ECOSYSTEMS A more useful way of looking at the terrestrial and aquatic landscapes is to view them as ecosystems, a word coined in 1935 by the British plant ecologist Sir Arthur George Tansley to stress the concept of each lo- cale or habitat as an integrated whole. A system is a collection of interdependent parts that function as a unit and involve inputs and outputs. The major parts of an ecosystem are the producers (green plants), the consum- ers (herbivores and carnivores), the decomposers (fungi and bacteria), and the nonliving, or abiotic, compo- nents, consisting of dead organic matter and nutrients in the soil and water. Inputs into the ecosystem are solar energy, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other elements and compounds. Outputs from the ecosys- tem include water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrient losses, and the heat released in cellular respiration, or heat of respiration. The major driving force is solar energy. ENERGY AND NUTRIENTS Ecosystems function with energy flowing in one direction from the sun, and through nutrients, which are continuously recycled. Light energy is used by plants, which, by the process of photosynthesis, convert it to chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates and other carbon compounds. This energy is then transferred through the ecosystem by a series of steps that involve eating and being eaten, or what is called a food web. Each step in the transfer of energy involves several trophic, or feeding, levels: plants, herbivores (plant eaters), two or three levels of carnivores (meat eaters), and decomposers. Only a fraction of the energy fixed by plants follows this pathway, known as the grazing food web. Plant and animal matter not used in the grazing food chain, such as fallen leaves, twigs, roots, tree trunks, and the dead bodies of animals, support the decomposer food web. Bacteria, fungi, and animals that feed on dead material become the energy source for higher trophic levels that tie into the grazing food web. In this way, nature makes maximum use of energy originally fixed by plants. The number of trophic levels is limited in both types of food webs, because at each transfer a great deal of energy is lost (such as heat of respiration) and is no longer usable or transferable to the next trophic level. Thus, each trophic level contains less energy than the trophic level supporting it. For this reason, as an example, deer or caribou (herbivores) are more abundant than wolves (carnivores). Energy flow fuels the biogeochemical, or nutrient, cycles. The cycling of nutrients begins with their release from organic matter by weathering and decomposition in a form that can be picked up by plants. Plants in- corporate nutrients available in soil and water and store them in their tissues. The nutrients are transferred from one trophic level to another through the food web. Because most plants and animals go uneaten, nutri- ents contained in their tissues, after passing through the decomposer food web, are ultimately released by bacterial and fungal decomposition, a process that reduces complex organic compounds into simple inor- ganic compounds available for reuse by plants. IMBALANCES Within an ecosystem, nutrients are cycled internally. But there are leakages or outputs, and these must be balanced by inputs, or the ecosystem will fail to function. Nutrient inputs to the system come from weathering of rocks, from windblown dust, and from precipitation, which can carry material great distances. Varying quan- tities of nutrients are carried from terrestrial ecosystems by the movement of water and deposited in aquatic ecosystems and associated lowlands. Erosion and the harvesting of timber and crops remove considerable quan- tities of nutrients that must be replaced. The failure to do so results in an impoverishment of the ecosystem. This is why agricultural lands must be fertilized. If inputs of any nutrient greatly exceed outputs, the nutrient cycle in the ecosystem becomes stressed or overloaded, resulting in pollution. Pollution can be considered an input of nutrients exceeding the capability of the ecosystem to process them. Nutrients eroded and leached from agricultural lands, along with sewage and industrial wastes accumulated from urban areas, all drain into streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These pollut- ants destroy plants and animals that cannot tolerate their presence or the changed environmental conditions caused by them; at the same time, they favor a few organisms more tolerant to changed conditions. Thus, pre- cipitation filled with sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen from industrial areas converts to weak sulfuric and nitric acids, known as acid rain, and falls on large areas of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This upsets acid- base relations in some ecosystems, killing fish and aquatic invertebrates, and increasing soil acidity, which re- duces forest growth in northern and other ecosystems that lack limestone to neutralize the acid. POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES The functional units of an ecosystem are the populations of organisms through which energy and nutrients move. A population is a group of interbreeding organisms of the same kind living in the same place at the same time. Groups of populations within an ecosystem interact in various ways. These interdependent populations of plants and animals make up the community, which encompasses the biotic portion of the ecosystem. DIVERSITY The community has certain attributes, among them dominance and species diversity. Dominance results when one or several species control the environmental conditions that influence associated species. In a forest, for example, the dominant species may be one or more species of trees, such as oak or spruce; in a marine community, the dominant organisms frequently are animals such as mussels or oysters. Dominance can influ- ence diversity of species in a community because diversity involves not only the number of species in a com- munity, but also how numbers of individual species are apportioned. The physical nature of a community is evidenced by layering, or stratification. In terrestrial communities, stratification is influenced by the growth form of the plants. Simple communities such as grasslands, with little vertical stratification, usually consist of two layers, the ground layer and the herbaceous layer. A forest has up to six layers: ground, herbaceous, low shrub, low tree and high shrub, lower canopy, and upper canopy. These strata influence the physical environment and diversity of habitats for wildlife. Vertical stratification of life in aquatic communities, by contrast, is influenced mostly by physical conditions: depth, light, temperature, pres- sure, salinity, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. HABITAT AND NICHE The community provides the habitat – the place where particular plants or animals live. Within the habitat, organisms occupy different niches. A niche is the functional role of a species in a community – that is, its occupation, or how it earns its living. For example, the scarlet tanager lives in a deciduous forest habitat. Its niche, in part, is gleaning insects from the canopy foliage. The more a community is stratified, the more finely the habitat is divided into additional niches. ENVIRONMENT Environment comprises all of the external factors affecting an organism. These factors may be other living organisms (biotic factors) or nonliving variables (abiotic factors), such as temperature, rainfall, day length, wind, and ocean currents. The interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic factors form an ecosystem. Even minute changes in any one factor in an ecosystem can influence whether or not a particular plant or ani- mal species will be successful in its environment. Organisms and their environment constantly interact, and both are changed by this interaction. Like all other living creatures, humans have clearly changed their environment, but they have done so generally on a grander scale than have all other species. Some of these human-induced changes – such as the destruction of the world’s tropical rain forests to create farms or grazing land for cattle – have led to altered climate patterns. In turn, altered climate patterns have changed the way animals and plants are distributed in different ecosystems. Scientists study the long-term consequences of human actions on the environment, while environmental- ists-professionals in various fields, as well as concerned citizens-advocate ways to lessen the impact of human activity on the natural world. UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT The science of ecology attempts to explain why plants and animals live where they do and why their popu- lations are the sizes they are. Understanding the distribution and population size of organisms helps scientists evaluate the health of the environment. In 1840 German chemist, Justus von Liebig first proposed that populations could not grow indefinitely, a basic principle now known as the Law of the Minimum. Biotic and abiotic factors, singly or in combination, ultimately limit the size that any population may attain. This size limit, known as a population’s carrying capac- ity, occurs when needed resources, such as food, breeding sites, and water, are in short supply. For example, the amount of nutrients in soil influences the amount of wheat that grows on a farm. If just one soil nutrient, such as nitrogen, is missing or below optimal levels, fewer healthy wheat plants will grow. Either population size or distribution may also be affected, directly or indirectly, by the way species in an ecosystem interact with one another. In an experiment performed in the late 1960s in the rocky tidal zone along the Pacific Coast of the United States, American ecologist Robert Paine studied an area that contained 15 spe- cies of invertebrates, including starfish, mussels, limpets, barnacles, and chitons. Paine found that in this eco- system one species of starfish preyed heavily on a species of mussel, preventing that mussel population from multiplying and monopolizing space in the tidal zone. When Paine removed the starfish from the area, he found that the mussel population quickly increased in size, crowding out most other organisms from rock surfaces. The number of invertebrate species in the ecosystem soon dropped to eight species. Paine concluded that the loss of just one species, the starfish, indirectly led to the loss of an additional six species and a transformation of the ecosystem. Typically, the species that coexist in ecosystems have evolved together for many generations. These popula- tions have established balanced interactions with each other that enable all populations in the area to remain relatively stable. Occasionally, however, natural or human-made disruptions occur that have unforeseen con- sequences to populations in an ecosystem. For example, 17th-century sailors routinely introduced goats to isolated oceanic islands, intending for the goats to roam freely and serve as a source of meat when the sailors returned to the islands during future voyages. As non-native species free from all natural predators, the goats thrived and, in the process, overgrazed many of the islands. With a change in plant composition, many of the native animal species on the islands were driven to extinction. A simple action, the introduction of goats to an island, yielded many changes in the island ecosystem, demonstrating that all members of a community are closely interconnected. To better understand the impact of natural and human disruptions on the Earth, in 1991, the National Aero- nautics and Space Administration (NASA) began to use artificial satellites to study global change. NASA’s un- dertaking, called Earth Science Enterprise, and is a part of an international effort linking numerous satellites into a single Earth Observing System (EOS). EOS collects information about the interactions occurring in the atmosphere, on land, and in the oceans, and these data help scientists and lawmakers make sound environ- mental policy decisions. FACTORS THREATENING THE ENVIRONMENT The problems facing the environment are vast and diverse. Global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer in the atmosphere, and destruction of the world’s rain forests are just some of the problems that many sci- entists believe will reach critical proportions in the coming decades. All of these problems will be directly af- fected by the size of the human population. POPULATION GROWTH Human population growth is at the root of virtually all of the world’s environmental problems. Although the growth rate of the world’s population has slowed slightly since the 1990s, the world’s population increases by about 77 million human beings each year. As the number of people increases, crowding generates pollution, destroys more habitats, and uses up additional natural resources. The Population Division of the United Nations (UN) predicts that the world’s population will increase from 6.23 billion people in 2000 to 9.3 billion people in 2050. The UN estimates that the population will stabilize at more than 11 billion in 2200. Other experts predict that numbers will continue to rise into the foreseeable fu- ture, to as many as 19 billion people by the year 2200. Although rates of population increase are now much slower in the developed world than in the developing world, it would be a mistake to assume that population growth is primarily a problem of developing countries. In fact, because larger amounts of resources per person are used in developed nations, each individual from the developed world has a much greater environmental impact than does a person from a developing country. Con- servation strategies that would not significantly alter lifestyles but that would greatly lessen environmental im- pact are essential in the developed world. In the developing world, meanwhile, the most important factors necessary to lower population growth rates are democracy and social justice. Studies show that population growth rates have fallen in developing areas where several social conditions exist. In these areas, literacy rates have increased and women receive economic status equal to that of men, enabling women to hold jobs and own property. In addition, birth control informa- tion in these areas is more widely available, and women are free to make their own reproductive decisions. GLOBAL WARMING Like the glass panes in a greenhouse, certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere permit the Sun’s radiation to heat Earth. At the same time, these gases retard the escape into space of the infrared energy radiated back out by Earth. This process is referred to as the greenhouse effect. These gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor, insulate Earth’s surface, helping to maintain warm temperatures. Without these gases, Earth would be a frozen planet with an average temperature of about –18 °C (about 0 °F) instead of a comfortable 15 °C (59 °F). If the concentration of these gases rises, they trap more heat within the atmosphere, causing worldwide temperatures to rise. Within the last century, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased dramatically, largely because people burn vast amounts of fossil fuels – coal and petroleum and its derivatives. Average global tem- perature also has increased – by about 0.6 Celsius degrees (1 Fahrenheit degree) within the past century. At- mospheric scientists have found that at least half of that temperature increase can be attributed to human activ- ity. They predict that unless dramatic action is taken, global temperature will continue to rise by 1.4 to 5.8 Cel- sius degrees (2.5 to 10.4 Fahrenheit degrees) over the next century. Although such an increase may not seem like a great difference, during the last ice age the global temperature was only 2.2 Celsius degrees (4 Fahrenheit degrees) cooler than it is presently. The consequences of such a modest increase in temperature may be devastating. Already scientists have de- tected a 40 percent reduction in the average thickness of Arctic ice. Other problems that may develop include a rise in sea levels that will completely inundate a number of low-lying island nations and flood many coastal cities, such as New York and Miami. Many plant and animal species will probably be driven into ex- tinction, agriculture will be severely disrupted in many regions, and the frequency of severe hurricanes and droughts will likely increase. DEPLETION OF THE OZONE LAYER The ozone layer, a thin band in the stratosphere (layer of the upper atmosphere), serves to shield Earth from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. In the 1970s, scientists discovered that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)- chemicals used in refrigeration, air-conditioning systems, cleaning solvents, and aerosol sprays-destroy the ozone layer. CFCs release chlorine into the atmosphere; chlorine, in turn, breaks down ozone molecules. Be- cause chlorine is not affected by its interaction with ozone, each chlorine molecule has the ability to destroy a large amount of ozone for an extended period of time. The consequences of continued depletion of the ozone layer would be dramatic. Increased ultraviolet radia- tion would lead to a growing number of skin cancers and cataracts and also reduce the ability of immune sys- tems to respond to infection. Additionally, growth of the world’s oceanic plankton, the base of most marine food chains, would decline. Plankton contains photosynthetic organisms that break down carbon dioxide. If plankton populations decline, it may lead to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and thus to global warming. Recent studies suggest that global warming, in turn, may increase the amount of ozone de- stroyed. Even if the manufacture of CFCs is immediately banned, the chlorine already released into the atmos- phere will continue to destroy the ozone layer for many decades. In 1987, an international pact called the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer set specific targets for all nations to achieve in order to reduce emissions of chemicals responsible for the destruc- tion of the ozone layer. Many people had hoped that this treaty would cause ozone loss to peak and begin to de- cline by the year 2000. In fact, in the fall of 2000, the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica was the largest ever recorded. The hole the following year was slightly smaller, leading some to believe that the depletion of ozone had stabilized. Even if the most stringent prohibitions against CFCs are implemented, however, scientists expect that it will take at least 50 more years for the hole over Antarctica to close completely. HABITAT DESTRUCTION AND SPECIES EXTINCTION Plant and animal species are dying out at an unprecedented rate. Estimates range that from 4,000 to as many as 50,000 species per year become extinct. The leading cause of extinction is habitat destruction, particu- larly of the world’s richest ecosystems-tropical rain forests and coral reefs. If the world’s rain forests continue to be cut down at the current rate, they may completely disappear by the year 2030. In addition, if the world’s population continues to grow at its present rate and puts even more pressure on these habitats, they might well be destroyed sooner. AIR POLLUTION A significant portion of industry and transportation burns fossil fuels, such as gasoline. When these fuels burn, chemicals and particulate matter are released into the atmosphere. Although a vast number of substances contribute to air pollution, the most common air pollutants contain carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen. These chemi- cals interact with one another and with ultraviolet radiation in sunlight in dangerous ways. Smog, usually found in urban areas with large numbers of automobiles, forms when nitrogen oxides react with hydrocarbons in the air to produce aldehydes and ketones. Smog can cause serious health problems. Acid rain forms when sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide transform into sulfuric acid and nitric acid in the atmosphere and come back to Earth in precipitation. Acid rain has made numerous lakes so acidic that they no longer support fish populations. Acid rain is also responsible for the decline of many forest ecosystems world- wide, including Germany’s Black Forest and forests throughout the eastern United States. WATER POLLUTION Estimates suggest that nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide lack safe drinking water and that at least 5 mil- lion deaths per year can be attributed to waterborne diseases. Water pollution may come from point sources or nonpoint sources. Point sources discharge pollutants from specific locations, such as factories, sewage treat- ment plants, and oil tankers. The technology exists to monitor and regulate point sources of pollution, although in some areas this occurs only sporadically. Pollution from nonpoint sources occurs when rainfall or snowmelt moves over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away pollutants, such as pesti- cides and fertilizers, depositing the pollutants into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even underground sources of drinking water. Pollution arising from nonpoint sources accounts for a majority of the contaminants in streams and lakes. With almost 80 percent of the planet covered by oceans, people have long acted as if those bodies of water could serve as a limitless dumping ground for wastes. However, raw sewage, garbage, and oil spills have begun to overwhelm the diluting capabilities of the oceans, and most coastal waters are now polluted, threatening ma- rine wildlife. Beaches around the world close regularly, often because the surrounding waters contain high lev- els of bacteria from sewage disposal. HOW ECOSYSTEMS WORK. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT Ecosystem comprises organisms living in a particular environment, such as a forest or a coral reef, and the physical parts of the environment that affect them. The term ecosystem was coined in 1935 by the British ecologist Sir Arthur George Tansley, who described natural systems in "constant interchange" among their liv- ing and nonliving parts. The ecosystem concept fits into an ordered view of nature that was developed by scientists to simplify the study of the relationships between organisms and their physical environment, a field known as ecology. At the top of the hierarchy is the planet’s entire living environment, known as the biosphere. Within this biosphere are several large categories of living communities known as biomes that are usually characterized by their domi- nant vegetation, such as grasslands, tropical forests, or deserts. The biomes are in turn made up of ecosystems. The living, or biotic, parts of an ecosystem, such as the plants, animals, and bacteria found in soil, are known as a community. The physical surroundings, or abiotic components, such as the minerals found in the soil, are known as the environment or habitat. Any given place may have several different ecosystems that vary in size and complexity. A tropical island, for example, may have a rain forest ecosystem that covers hundreds of square miles, a mangrove swamp eco- system along the coast, and an underwater coral reef ecosystem. No matter how the size or complexity of an ecosystem is characterized, all ecosystems exhibit a constant exchange of matter and energy between the biotic and abiotic community. Ecosystem components are so interconnected that a change in any one component of an ecosystem will cause subsequent changes throughout the system. The living portion of an ecosystem is best described in terms of feeding levels known as trophic levels. Green plants make up the first trophic level and are known as primary producers. Plants are able to convert en- ergy from the sun into food in a process known as photosynthesis. In the second trophic level, the primary con- sumers – known as herbivores – are animals and insects that obtain their energy solely by eating the green plants. The third trophic level is composed of the secondary consumers, flesh-eating or carnivorous animals that feed on herbivores. At the fourth level are the tertiary consumers, carnivores that feed on other carnivores. Fi- nally, the fifth trophic level consists of the decomposers, organisms such as fungi and bacteria that break down dead or dying matter into nutrients that can be used again. Some or all of these trophic levels combine to form what is known as a food web, the ecosystem’s mecha- nism for circulating and recycling energy and materials. For example, in an aquatic ecosystem algae and other aquatic plants use sunlight to produce energy in the form of carbohydrates. Primary consumers such as insects and small fish may feed on some of this plant matter, and are in turn eaten by secondary consumers, such as salmon. A brown bear may play the role of the tertiary consumer by catching and eating salmon. Bacteria and fungi may then feed upon and decompose the salmon carcass left behind by the bear, enabling the valuable nonliving components of the ecosystem, such as chemical nutrients, to leach back into the soil and water, where they can be absorbed by the roots of plants. In this way, nutrients and the energy that green plants derive from sunlight are efficiently transferred and recycled throughout the ecosystem. In addition to the exchange of energy, ecosystems are characterized by several other cycles. Elements such as carbon and nitrogen travel throughout the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem in processes known as nutrient cycles. For example, nitrogen traveling in the air may be snatched by tree-dwelling, or epiphytic, lichen that converts it to a form useful to plants. When rain drips through the lichen and falls to the ground, or the lichen itself falls to the forest floor, the nitrogen from the raindrops or the lichen is leached into the soil to be used by plants and trees. Another process important to ecosystems is the water cycle, the movement of water from ocean to atmosphere, to land and eventually back to the ocean. An ecosystem such as a forest or wetland plays a significant role in this cycle by storing, releasing, or filtering the water as it passes through the system. Every ecosystem is also characterized by a disturbance cycle, a regular cycle of events such as fires, storms, floods, and landslides that keeps the ecosystem in a constant state of change and adaptation. Some spe- cies even depend on the disturbance cycle for survival or reproduction. For example, longleaf pine forests de- pend on frequent low-intensity fires for reproduction. The cones of the trees, which contain the reproductive structures, are sealed shut with a resin that melts away to release the seeds only under high heat. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT Humans benefit from these smooth-functioning ecosystems in many ways. Healthy forests, streams, and wetlands contribute to clean air and clean water by trapping fast-moving air and water, enabling impurities to settle out or be converted to harmless compounds by plants or soil. The diversity of organisms, or biodiversity, in an ecosystem provides essential foods, medicines, and other materials. But as human populations increase and their encroachment on natural habitats expand, humans are having detrimental effects on the very ecosys- tems on which they depend. The survival of natural ecosystems around the world is threatened by many human activities: bulldozing wetlands and clear-cutting forests – the systematic cutting of all trees in a specific area – to make room for new housing and agricultural land; damming rivers to harness the energy for electricity and water for irrigation; and polluting the air, soil, and water. Many organizations and government agencies have adopted a new approach to managing natural resources – naturally occurring materials that have economic or cultural value, such as commercial fisheries, timber, and water, in order to prevent their catastrophic depletion. This strategy, known as ecosystem management, treats resources as interdependent ecosystems rather than simply commodities to be extracted. Using advances in the study of ecology to protect the biodiversity of an ecosystem, ecosystem management encourages prac- tices that enable humans to obtain necessary resources using methods that protect the whole ecosystem. Be- cause regional economic prosperity may be linked to ecosystem health, the needs of the human community are also considered. Ecosystem management often requires special measures to protect threatened or endangered species that play key roles in the ecosystem. In the commercial shrimp trawling industry, for example, ecosystem manage- ment techniques protect loggerhead sea turtles. In the last thirty years, populations of loggerhead turtles on the southeastern coasts of the United States have been declining at alarming rates due to beach development and the ensuing erosion, bright lights, and traffic, which make it nearly impossible for female turtles to build nests on beaches. At sea, loggerheads are threatened by oil spills and plastic debris, offshore dredging, injury from boat propellers, and being caught in fishing nets and equipment. In 1970, the species was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. When scientists learned that commercial shrimp trawling nets were trapping and killing between 5000 and 50,000 loggerhead sea turtles a year, they developed a large metal grid called a Turtle Excluder Device (TED) that fits into the trawl net, preventing 97 percent of trawl-related loggerhead turtle deaths while only minimally

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man"s interference in nature began to increase.

Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

The pollution of air and the world"s ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man"s careless interaction with nature, a sign of the ecological crises.

The most horrible ecological disaster befell Ukraine and its people after the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1986. About 18 percent of the territory of Byelarus were also polluted with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the agriculture, forests and people"s health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power-station are tragic for the Ukrainian, Byelorussian and other nations.

Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.

An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organisation Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment.

But these are only the initial steps and they must be carried onward to protect nature, to save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generations.

Перевод текста: Ecological Problems - Экологические проблемы

С древних времен природа служит человеку, являясь источником его жизни. Тысячи лет люди жили в гармонии с окружающей средой. И им казалось, что природные богатства неисчерпаемы. Но с развитием цивилизации человек все больше стал вмешиваться в природу.

Во всем мире появляются большие города с тысячами дымящих промышленных предприятий. Побочные продукты их деятельности загрязняют воздух, которым мы дышим, воду, которую мы пьем, землю, на которой мы выращиваем пшеницу и овощи.

Каждый год мировая промышленность вырабатывает один миллион тонн пыли и других вредных веществ. Многие города страдают от смога. Огромные леса вырубаются и сжигаются. Их исчезновение нарушает кислородный баланс. В результате некоторые редкие виды животных, птиц, рыб и растений навсегда исчезают. Высыхают многие реки и озера.

Загрязнение воздуха и мирового океана, разрушение озонового слоя являются результатом небрежного обращения с природой, признаком экологического кризиса.

Самая ужасная экологическая катастрофа постигла Украину и ее народ после чернобыльской трагедии в апреле 1986 г. Также около восемнадцати процентов территории Белоруссии было загрязнено радиоактивными веществами. Был нанесен большой урон сельскому хозяйству, лесам и здоровью людей. Последствия этого взрыва на атомной станции трагические для украинцев, белорусов и других наций.

Защита окружающей среды — всеобщая забота. Вот почему необходимо принять серьезные меры для разработки системы экологической безопасности.

В этом направлении уже достигнут определенный прогресс. 159 стран — членов ООН организовали агентства по защите окружающей среды. Этими агентствами были проведены многочисленные конференции, на которых обсуждались проблемы, стоящие перед экологически неблагополучными регионами, включая Аральское море, Южный Урал, Кузбасс, Донбасс, Семипалатинск и Чернобыль.

На озере Байкал был открыт международный центр ш> следований окружающей среды. Международная организация "Гринпис" делает многое для того, чтобы сохранить окружающую среду.

Но это всего лишь первые шаги, и надо двигаться вперед, защищая природу, сохраняя жизнь на планете, не только ради настоящего, но и для будущих поколений.

Использованная литература:
1. 100 тем английского устного (Каверина В., Бойко В., Жидких Н.) 2002
2. Английский язык для школьников и поступающих в ВУЗы. Устный экзамен. Топики. Тексты для чтения. Экзаменационные вопросы. (Цветкова И. В., Клепальченко И.А., Мыльцева Н.А.)
3. English, 120 Topics. Английский язык, 120 разговорных тем. (Сергеев С.П.)