• ecosystem, global warming, greenhouse effect, ozone layer, cutting down rainforests, environmentally friendly products, individual help, alternative energy
• air, water and soil pollutin, animal protection, natural disasters
• drug abuse, homelessness, poverty, cloning, famine, unemployment
• acid rain, burning of fossil fuels, environmental racism, population growth

What is an ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a group of living things and the whole place where they live. They all live together and need each other. For example, one kind of ecosystem is a desert. It has special plants that can live only there, lizards, snakes, vultures, and special insects.

 

Global warming – what is it

This is the general increase in air and water temperatures around the world. It's normal for temperatures to sometimes be cooler for many hundreds of years, and then sometimes to be warmer. But this time, humans have caused the increase, with carbon from cars and factories.

 

What is the Greenhouse Effect? What is it caused by?

The Greenhouse Effect is when the air or atmosphere gets too hot. Air warmed by the sun gets trapped close to the ground. It can't escape. It is caused by too much carbon in the air, from factories, electricity plants, and cars.

 

What is the ozone layer and what is its function?

The ozone layer protects us from the harmful rays of the sun. It is in the atmosphere and surrounds the Earth like a clear blanket.

 

Now there is a hole in the ozone layer. How did it get there? Is it dangerous?

I don't think scientists are sure how it got there. They only think that maybe too much carbon has destroyed part of it. It is very dangerous for us because it lets the strong sunlight through to the Earth's surface. This can cause cancer in humans.

 

Why is it dangerous to cut down the rainforests?

This is dangerous for many reasons. We need the oxygen that comes from rainforests. Rainforests are the homes of many insects, plants, and animals that we need for medicine and other reasons. Rainforests help catch water and give it back to the Earth in the form of clouds, which bring us water. The roots of trees and plants in the rainforest keep water and soil in place; without rainforest, there are many problems like floods and mudslides.

 

How can you tell that a product you buy is 'environmentally friendly'?

I can look on the package and see if it has the symbols for this: information on how to recycle the package, whether the product uses some recycled materials, and so on. I can read about different products on the internet, and find out where I can buy recycled things like ink cartridges for my printer.

 

What can you do to help our environment as a single individual?

There are many ways I can help the environmen: I can use special light bulbs, turn off the TV or radio when I'm not really paying attention to it, and put my computer on stand-by mode, all to save electricity. I can ride my bike or walk instead of taking the car or the bus, to save petrol. And I can recycle all my papers, glass, and plastic.

 

What are some types of alternative energy? Which do you like best, and why?

There is nuclear energy, water and stream power for electricity, solar energy from the sun, and wind power. Some cars can run on alternative energy like electricity or hydrogen.

 

Green issues

• Areas affected by pollution: air, water, soil

• Air pollution: greenhouse effect, acid rains, cutting down rain forests, car exhaust fumes, burning fossil fuel

• Water pollution: fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, oil and chemical spills, untreated sewage being pumped into the sea, contamination of drinking water

• Soil pollution: radioactive waste, atomic power stations, junk yards, household waste, recycling

• Animal protection: creating zoos, bird sanctuaries, game reserves, safari parks, wildlife protection

• Natural disasters: dangerous weather conditions – blizzards, cyclones, hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes (tsunami), fires, volcanic eruptions, droughts, outbreaks of diseases (AIDS, SARS, plagues)

 

Social problems

• Drug abuse: marijuana, heroin, LSD, cocaine, sniffing, withdrawal, overdoses, snorting

• Homelessness: beggin in public places, shelters, soup kitchens, hostility towards them, charity

• Poverty: the slums, underclass, drug and alcohol abuse, beggars

• Local, interantion wars: border incidents, innocent victims, ethnic problems, plunder, rape, frustrate peace efforts, negotiations

• Terrorism, violence, crime, racism: bloodshed, racist regime, intergrate into society, mixed marriage, low moral standarts

• Cloning – identical twins, cloning technology, organs for surgical transplantation

• Problems of post communistic countries: black marketeering, trade with nuclear weapons, corruption scandals, nationalism, unstable economies

• Famine: severe shortage of food, crop destruction, chronic hunger, malnutrition, inefficient food distribution, population increases

• Unemployment: recession, trade wars, strikes, demonstrations, jobless, to be on the dole, to be made redundant, to be sacked

 

Acid Rain

Forests, lakes, ponds, and other terrestrial and aquatic environments throughout the world are being severely damaged by the effects of acid rain. Acid rain is caused by the combination of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen compouds with water in the atmosphere to produce rain with a very low pH. Acid rain poisons lake water, which kills most if not all of the aquatic inhabitants.

 

Burning of fossil fuels

A significant portion of industry and transportation is based on the burning of fossil fuels, such as gasoline. As these fuels are burned, chemicals are released into the atmosphere. These chemicals interact with one another and with ultraviolet radiation in sunlight in various dangerous ways.

 

Environmental racism

Environmental racism takes internation forms. Dangerous chemicals banned in developed countries often continue to be produced and shipped to developing countries. The developed world has shipped large amounts of toxic waste to developing countries for less-han-safe disposal.

 

Population growth

Increasingly large numbers of people are being added to the world every year. As the number of people increases, more pollution is generated, more habitats are destroyed, and more natural resources are used up.