Presentation "The Enviromental Protection"

Protection  of   Environment

The Map of the World

We live on the planet that is called the Earth. The greatest part of it is taken by the

waters of the World Ocean. Large masses of land surrounded by oceans and seas are called mainlands or continents. They are like big islands. Looking at the map of the world we can see that there are six continents. They are:

-         Eurasia (Europe and Asia combined) which is the largest continent,

-         Africa,

-         North America,

-         South America,

-         Australia              and

-         Antarctica, in which the South Pole is situated.

It should be said that Asia lies opposite the five times smaller continent of Australia. Europe, that is rather small, lies opposite the big continent of Africa. North America almost equals South America in size. And only Antarctica has no opposite land. The parts of the world are also six in number. But they differ from the continents.

North and South America form one part of the world — America. The continent of Eurasia is divided into two parts of the world — Europe and Asia. The largest part is Asia.

 Australia and the Pacific Ocean are called Oceania. There are four oceans. The Pacific is the largest and the deepestof all, its total area is greater than that of all the dry land. Second comes the Atlantic. The Indian Ocean is only slightly smaller than the Atlantic.

The smallest ocean is the Arctic Ocean with the North Pole in the centre. There are also many seas and rivers in all parts of the world.

The largest rivers are Mississippi and Missouri. In our country the largest river is the Dnipro.

The greatest lakes are: Lake Baikal, Lake Victoria and Lake Michigan.

The Earth

We live on the Earth. It is very big. There is a lot of water on the Earth. It is in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. There are a lot of forests and fields, hills and mountains on it.

Different animals and birds live on the Earth. And different plants grow on it. There are large and small countries, warm and cold countries. There are countries where there are four seasons in a year and some countries where there are only two. People live in different countries and they speak different languages.

Our country is not small. There are a lot of long and short rivers, beautiful lakes, large forests and fields and mountains in our country. People who live here speak many

languages. The Russian language is the main language.

We love our country and our Earth.

World Problems of Ecology

Until recently the planet was a large world in which human activities and the nature were in balance. Acid rain, global warming, ozone reduction, widespread desertification and species loss: we have to face them now.

Ecology and economy are very closely connected. First economy influenced the state of our environment. Now we have to face degradation of soils, water, atmosphere and forests. Millions of trees are dying in Germany’s Black Forest and thousands of lakes in Sweden are so acidic that nothing can live in them.

In Scotland farmers complain that acid rains kill their fish. Forests in Denmark, France, Northern Italy, Greece and Norway are damaged. Thousands of lakes in Canada and the USA can no longer support fish life. The Mediterranean Sea has one of the dirtiest coastlines in the world. Ten million tons of oil, industrial waste, chemicals are pumped into the sea every year. It causes diseases like typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis and cholera.

The Rhone in France, the Po in Italy, the Ebro in Spain and the Nile in Egypt carry pesticides and chemical wastes. Many industries produce waste products, which can be difficult or dangerous to dispose of. Many countries have no storage facilities for the spent nuclear fuel. The search for ways to dispose of radioactive waste goes on.

In 1982 seventeen countries took part in the United Nations environmental programme. The World Commission on Environment and Development, headed by the Prime Minister of Norway, was set up in 1983 by the United Nations. Its aim was to examine the environment and development problems on the planet and to formulate realistic proposals to solve them. Now some chemicals are banned and some must be controlled. In several countries there is frequent analysis of the water around the coasts.

The time has come for the governments and their people to take responsibility for the policies that cause the environmental damage.

Environmental Protection in

Britain

         Environmental protection is an international issue of great importance, and Great Britain pays much attention to it. The National Rivers Authority protects inland waters in England and Wales. In Scotland the River purification authorities are responsible for water pollution control. Total emissions of smoke in the air have fallen by 85 per cent since 1960. Most petrol stations in Britain stock unleaded petrol. The Government is committed to the control of gases emission, which damage the ozone layer.

They also contribute to the greenhouse effect, which leads to global warming and a rise in sea levels. Britain stresses the need for studying the science of climate change. There are nearly 500,000 protected buildings and 7,000 conservation areas of architecture or historical interest in Britain. The Government supports the work of the voluntary sector in preserving the national heritage. Green belts are areas where land should be left open and free from urban sprawl.

The Government attaches great importance to their protection. National parks cover 9 per cent of the total land area of England and Wales. As we see, Great Britain takes care of its environment for themselves and next generations.

Protection of Environment

in the UK

Protection of environment is paid much attention to in Great Britain. Global warming, ozone layer problem, air and water pollution, industrial wastes are in the centre of different state and public actions.

Great Britain maintains careful checks on use of dangerous chemicals and collects information about new ones. Acid rains that kill enormous amounts of fish in Great Britain are also in the centre of attention. They are caused by smoke from factories and power stations and exhaust fumes from transport. It is produced when coal and oil are

burnt. The government provides smoke control programs. New power plants will have to meet very tight limits on emission of chemical gases. Britain works with Scandinavian countries in a project on the problem of acid rains.

Over the last years local authorities are carrying on tests of drinking water in England and Wales. Nuclear waste from nuclear plants is discharge dinto the Irish Sea, making it one of the most radioactive seas in the world. There also have been numerous

leaks of radioactive matter to the atmosphere.

Water pollution from shipping and oil platforms, mostly in the North Atlantic, is great. Water pollution programs are being worked out in Great Britain nowadays. Ten National parks have been established in England and Wales, four — in Scotland.

Their aims are to conserve the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage. Each park is administered by an independent National Park Authority. Trees Preservation Orders enable local authorities to protect trees and woodlands. Once a tree is protected it is, in general, an offence to cut it down without permission. Responsibility for pollution control is divided between local authorities and central government. Local authorities are responsible for collection and disposal of wastes, keeping the streets clear of litter, control of air pollution. It is a criminal offence to leave litter in

any public place in the open air except in designated places. The fines for it are from 25 up to 2500 pounds.

Protection of Environment

in the USA

Environment pollution problem is paid much attention to in the USA. Different environmentalists and environmental societies, like Wilderness Society, try to improve the situation. The level of damage to the forests in the USA is really high. The construction of new roads and the need of wood influenced the cuttings of large areas of forest. As a result some rare species of animals, and some plants can disappear. For example, the pacific yew, containing a cancer-fighting compound.

American environmentalists are also disturbed by the problem of global warming. They pay much attention to the research in this sphere.

Global warming is the result of air pollution by different gases. Together with the gases, destroying the ozone layer, it influences the patterns of weather. Many USA universities investigate these problems.

The pollution of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, and the problem of acid rains that threatened many forests, made the media start a campaign against industrial pollution. All of the states have adopted their own laws; some banned throwaway bottles, or use of phosphates in soaps, or industrial dumping of wastes.

By 1986 smoking in public had been restricted. There also exist public societies, whose aim is to attract public’s attention to the most important environmental problems.

 Some of them, for example, “Pals of the Planet”, publish the materials of how to save the seas from pollution. The “Greenpeace” organization, which appeared in 1971, is one of the leading environmental organizations in the USA and in the world. Its numerous actions of protest against water and air pollution, its program “Water for Life”, started in the USA, help our planet to survive. Public attention to the problems of

pollution has now become a part of American life.