Environmental protection

- Is the problem of environmental protection urgent today?

- Yes, the problem of protecting the nature is of primary importance today. Through their daily activities people pollute and contaminate land, water and air. If it continues the damage may become irreversible. It is known far and wide that pollution has ac companied mankind ever since groups of people first assembled and remained for a long time in one place. But pollution was not a serious problem as long as there was enough space available for each individual or group. With the establishment of permanent human settlements pollution became a problem and has remained one ever since. With the rise of advanced technology, the rapid spread of industrialization and the increase of human populations pollution has become a universal problem. The price for rapid industrial development is very high: natural resources are exhausted, the ecological balance of the planet is disturbed.

- How is the environmental protection problem solved today?

- In recent years the pollution problems have received great publicity. The environmental movement associated with no political party has gained widespread trust and support. Environmental activists stress that the problem is caused by industrial pollution and the automobile. The media's begun to campaign against the ugliness of billboards, tin cans and trash. The protection of natural resources and wildlife is becoming a political programme in every country. Numerous anti-pollution acts passed in different countries led to considerable improvements in environment. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil waters.

- What are the main problems of today?

- Cleaning up air pollution is one of the main problems of to day. Urban air pollution continues to expand as a result of the in creased number of motor vehicles. Exhaust fumes from the engines of automobiles contain a number of polluting substances. Tokyo has such a serious air-pollution problem that oxygen is supplied to policemen who direct traffic at busy intersections. Milan, Ankara, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires face similar problems.

- Is acid rain damaging to nature?

- One of the climatic effects of air pollution is acid rain. It is damaging to water, forest, and soil resources. It is blamed for the disappearance of fish from many lakes, for the widespread death of forests in European mountains, and for damaging tree growth in the United States and Canada. Acid rain has been reported in areas as far apart as Sweden and Canada, and in parts of the United States from New England to Texas.

- Does radioactive contamination of environment worry people?

- People also concern over the dangers resulting from massive releases of radioactive materials from nuclear weapons, which, if used on a major scale, could seriously endanger all of humanity. Another concern is accidents at nuclear power plants. In 1978 a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania suffered a severe accident leading to partial meltdown of its radioactive core. In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Kiev suffered a fire and partial meltdown, resulting in a major release of radioactive particles. Much of northern and eastern Europe experienced heavy nuclear fallout. The runoff from broken-down tanks is the source of organic pollutants. Indus tries located along waterways downstream contribute a number of chemical pollutants, some of which are toxic. One form of pollution that is characteristic of industrial societies is noise.

- What can people do to stop pollution?

- Attempts to control pollution, initiated during the 1950s, resulted in the successful elimination of such sources of pollution as industrial effluents and the outdoor burning of trash and debris. The task of cleaning up air pollution, though difficult, is not believed to be impossible. Use of fuels that are low in pollutants; more complete burning of fossil fuels; the scrubbing of industrial smokestacks often in combination with a recycling of the pollutants; and the shift to less polluting forms of power generation, such as solar energy in place of fossil fuels - all are methods that can be used for controlling pollution. Many large cities have taken measures to decrease the level of urban noise; the problem has received much attention with the ad vent of supersonic jet aeroplanes. In 1971 the U. S. Congress voted down appropriations to support the development of supersonic transport (SST) planes. Atmospheric testing of nuclear bombs was stopped in different countries to prevent radioactive contamination of the atmosphere. In 1990 the British government committed itself to a 30 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emission by the year 2005.

- What can common people do to protect nature!

- To protect nature people should change their attitude to it. Man should stop taking from it everything he needs and give it his love instead. Otherwise the payoff will be too high. It is good that at last people started to realize that they should keep air and water clean by establishing strict pollution control. Efforts are being made to reduce pollution from automobile engines by developing pollution-free engines which may eventually eliminate the more serious air pollution problems. Moreover, the strong public reaction can facilitate the exercise of absolute pollution control in various contamination industries.

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