The Environment

Komentář autora: O tomhle mám zítra mluvit 5 minut u tabule :D.Když jsem se dozvěděla, že životní prostředí je jednou z maturitních otázek, dost sprostě jsem nadávala. Teď si však říkám, že je to možná jedna z těch lepších :D. Ano, člověk tam říká neuvěřitelný sračky, ale na druhou stranu vždycky něco vymyslí (což se u Londýna například nedá, tam prostě buď víte nebo ne, prostor k vokecávání tam zrovna není). No, všechny nás to jednou čeká. Tady je mnou zpracovaná maturitní otázka, myslím si, že dostatečně. Pokud najdete chyby, ignorujte je.

The Environment

Outline:

1.                      Who pollutes the environment

2.                      The most serious global problems

3.                      The most polluted areas

4.                      What can we do to protect the environment

5.                      The sources of energy

6.                      The endangered animals

The environment means everything to us. It includes the nature we live in, the oxygen we breathe and the water we drink. Still, we don´t care enough. We release carbon emissions to the atmosphere from factories or by using our cars, we cut down the rainforests to turn them into the plantations, we don´t sort out the rubbish etc.

All these things cause the most serious global problems, for example global warming or ozone holes. Global warming is connected with The Greenhouse Effect. It is an action when the air gets too hot. Air warmed by the sun gets trapped close to the ground and can´t escape. It means that the general temperature of air and water around the world increases. The reason, why is that happening, is a huge quantity of carbon relieved from factories, electricity plants and cars. If we don´t stop it the polar ice-claps will melt and the level of the seas will rise. Many people may drown and we all be run out of drinking water. The ozone layer protects us from the harmful rays of the sun. If there are holes in it, the strong sunlight gets to the Earth´s surface. These rays can cause cancer, which is fatal for humans.This is also because of too much carbon in the atmosphere.

The most polluted areas are doubtless in developing countries. The visitors cannot see that, because the pollution is concentrated in industrial cities, far away from the capitals. These are locations where soils and groundwater have been poisoned and where rivers are saturated with toxins. In these parts of the world, pollution shortens lives, causes chronic illnesses and kills thousands of people. The most critical situation is in Linfen in China. Two thirds of the nation’s energy is produced here and 3 million people live here so the reason is obvious- automobile and industrial emissions. By the way, India doesn’t do any better.

We should protect our environment. There are a lot of ways how we can do that. The easiest help is to sort out the domestic rubbish. There are special bins for paper, glass and plastics everywhere. We can also save some electricity and water if we pay attention to it and don´t use those resources more than necessary. For short journeys we don´t have to take a car or a bus, we can walk or go by bike. We also shouldn't replace electrical appliances unless they are broken. We won‘t be able to use  land-fill sites forever.

We all know that the nuclear power plants are dangerous to the environment. Using renewable sources is much better. There are some wind farms, hydroelectric and solar power plants around the world, but rarely. We must confess that this method of producing electricity has its disadvantages, but solar panels on our roofs are harmless to nature and they can heat water in our houses. Nowadays, the „green“ issues are more discussed in policy than ever before.

The animals are the integral part of our planet. Unfortunately, many of them are amongst endangered species or they have already become extinct. How did it happen? We disturbed their ecosystem or we killed them. People hunt elephants for tusks, whales and sharks for meal, leopards for their fur. Some of animals had died because people were too afraid of them. To protect the endangered animals people have established natural parks and reserves, where animals can live and specialists look after them. We can find these areas especially in Africa.