Ecological Problems

We have spent thousands of years fighting for our survival. Yet now we have discovered that our planet is under threat and to make matters worth, it’s our entire fault.

The rainforests are dying, rare plant and animal species are disappearing, rivers and seas are being contaminated, crops are failing to grow, people are dying of hunger and the air is being polluted. It’s time we woke up to those problems and started repairing the damage.

One of the major problems is the destruction of rainforests in South America. They are home to half the world’s species and to millions of people. Moreover, the rainforests clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen. The destruction of them is bringing about changes in the climate, air pollution, flooding, drought and famine. If we continue to burn and cut down the rainforests as we are doing now, the earth will never be the same again.

Another big problem is water pollution. Such simple pleasures as swimming in the sea or drinking a cool glass of water on a hot day may soon become a thing of the past. Factories are polluting rivers and lakes with dangerous chemicals. Oil tankers are releasing thick, black oil into oceans. Tons and tons of industrial and domestic waste are poured into seas. Consequently, sea life is threatened with extinction.

Air pollution is another vital issue. The cars and factories in and around our cities are giving off harmful fumes into the air which not only damage the atmosphere, but also cause health problems among city-dwellers. By banning cars from city centres, introducing a recycling scheme, creating an industrial park in the suburbs and increasing fines to be paid by companies which allow their factories to do harm to the environment, we could improve the condition of the air in our cities considerably. If we don’t do anything now, our cities will become impossible to live in.

The question of the rational use of natural resources has become of primary importance. Firstly, they are non-renewable. And besides, burning fossil fuels to generate power causes environmental problems such as acid rain and global warming. It’s high time we started generating power using alternative sources of energy.

In recent years, environmentalists have become increasingly concerned about the number of animals facing extinction. Unless we do something to save them now, we may soon lose many rare species forever. The first thing we should do is to stop destroying the habitats of wild animals. By doing this, they will be able to live and breed in their natural environment. Furthermore, governments should ban the hunting of endangered species completely. Finally, we should make more wildlife parks. In this way, rare species will be able to live safely without losing their homes to man, or their lives to illegal hunters. Without care and consideration, they will certainly disappear.

Unfortunately, Belarus is running all environ­mental hazards facing any modern society today. In addition the fall-out of tons of radioactive dust that followed the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in April, 1986, made 27 per cent of the Belarusian territory unsuitable for habitation and agricultural activity. The problem of the consequences of that explosion is still one of the most pressing.

Fortunately, it is not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and even the technology to prepare the way for a better, cleaner and safer future. All we need to do is to open our eyes and act immediately. After all, as the Kenyan proverb says, “Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children”.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14