The Problems of Ecology, Protection of the Environment

         Does all of population- nature, animals, birds, fish, and insects live happy and healthy lives in our common "home" nowadays?  Unfortunately not. Since ancient times nature has served man, giving him everything he needs: air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, wood for buildings and fuel for heating his home.  For thousands of years people lived in harmony with the environment and it seemed to them that the resources of Nature had no
end or limit.  The 20th century is known to be the century of scientific and technological progress.  The achievements of mankind in mechanization and automation of industrial processes, in chemical industry and conquering outer space, in the creation of atomic power stations and ships are amazing. With the industrial revolution, our negative influence on Nature began to increase.  This progress gave birth to a very serious
problem: the poisoning of our planet, its land, its air and water.  Large cities with thousands of steaming, polluting planets and factories can be found nowadays all over the world.  The by-products of their activity affect all
living beings.  Much is spoken now about acid rain, global warming and ozone depletion caused by tons of harmful substances emitted by industrial enterprises.  

     Every year the atmosphere is polluted by about 1000 tons of industrial dust and other harmful substances.  Big cities suffer from smog.  Transportation is one of the main offenders in poisoning the environment.  Cars with their engines have become the main source of pollution in industrial countries.  Vast forests are cut down in Africa, South America and Asia for the needs of industries in Europe and the USA.  The loss of the forests upsets the world's oxygen balance.  As a result, some species of animals, birds, fish and plants have disappeared andcontinue disappearing.  Many of them are on the brink of extinction, many have been written down into the "Red Book of Nature".   People continue to kill animals to wear fur coats. We kill many animals just for their fur.  Some of these animals, such as the fox, are in danger of extinction.  Every hour some kinds of animals and plants die.  Rivers and lakes dry up.  One of the most recent examples is the Aral Sea, which has become much smaller due to man's activity.  The pollution of the air and the world's oceans and the thinning of the ozone layer are other problems arising from man's careless attitude towards ecology.  The protection of the environment is a universal concern.  Active measures should be taken to create an international system of ecological security. Some progress has been made in this direction. 159 countries, all members of the United Nations Organization, have set up environmental protection agencies.  A lot of conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss ecological problems, some of which are of extreme urgency.

     The EARTH is our HOME. The world around us is wonderful. Our aim is to make it more beautiful and to preserve it for ourselves and for future  generations.