15.02.2021

Form 11

Good morning, dear pupils!  

We’ll talk today about ecological problems our Planet faces, about ways of solving these problems. You know, if we can be active participants in the protection of our environment we can save our Planet before it’s too late.

The motto of our lesson.

 “OUR WORLD IS A NICE PLACE AND IT IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR” (Ernest Hemingway)

There are really a lot of ecological problems in our modern society:

1. General increase in the temperature of the world, caused by pollution from cars, factories etc. (global warming).

2. If a type of animal or plant is extinct, it no longer exists and there are no animals or plants of that type alive (endangered species).

3. A situation, in which most of the trees in an area are cut down or destroyed, resulting in great damage to the environment (deforestation).

4. The introduction of chemicals and other harmful materials into the earth’s atmosphere, possibly causing disease, death of humans (air pollution).

5. It is a contamination of water with chemicals or other substances that are harmful to human, plant, or animal health (water pollution).

Read and translate short texts

Land Pollution. When you throw something away, it goes in a garbage can. Once a week a garbage truck comes and the can is emptied, and that’s the last you see of it. But it’s not disappear. It is taken to a garbage dump. Most of our garbage is just buried. Now we are making so much garbage that in many places there is not enough room to bury it all. So, we have to act fast to reduce the amount of garbage, recycle and reject it. We will produce less garbage and help keep our planet green.

Air Pollution. The biggest polluter today is the car. Exhaust fumes are the main cause of poor air quality. This problem is especially bad in cities, where the number of cars is increasing every year. Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burnt in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

The Greenhouse Effect. Pollution from cars, factories and power stations is causing harmful greenhouse gases to build up in the Earth’s atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping, and as a result our planet is getting warmer. This process is known as global warming. Global warming is causing the ice at the North and South Poles to melt and sea levels and sea temperatures to rise, leading to serious flooding and violent storms in many parts of the world. In other places, there will be less rain and the land will be turned into desert.

 Water Pollution. The Planet Earth is mostly water. Oceans cover the biggest part of it – and there are lakes, rivers, streams – and even water underground. All life on the Earth from the smallest bug to the biggest whale – depends on the water. It’s precious. But we are not doing a very good job of keeping water clean. In many places the water has become polluted. Rivers and lakes are polluted by garbage or by poisonous chemicals which are dumped right into them. Underground water can be polluted by gasoline or by harmful liquids that seep into the ground. Some fertilizers and pesticides used in farming leak down through the dirt too. We need to save our water, to keep it clean and healthy so that people, plants and animals may always have something to drink.

 Climate Change. Climate change is one of the biggest problems facing the world today. Many scientists believe the changes we have seen over the last century are mainly due to man’s activities. The earth is kept warm by greenhouse gases. Without these the world would be extremely cold. The problem is that man’s activities have produced extra greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide which have increased temperatures further. Climate change is also making conditions difficult for some animals. In the Arctic, the ice is melting, threatening the survival of animals such s polar bears.

 

Watch the video

Home task: Ex. 4 p.158

Good luck!

Good bye!