Ecological Problems

The seas and rivers are poisoned with industrial waste chemical and sewage discharge. During many processes poisonous gases (carbon dioxide, for example) are thrown out in the air. These gases and substances not only make the air dirty and unsuitable for breathing but also destroy the ozone layer of the atmosphere. It is very dangerous, because this ozone layer protects the Earth against the space radiation which can be harmful to both people and wild nature. The atmosphere pollution also causes the greenhouse effect. If there is much dirt in the air, it becomes thicker and does not let out the sunrays which have come through it down on the Earth. It means that the climate becomes warmer and warmer every year. It can be measured by the growth of the average summer and winter temperatures. The danger is that a warmer climate causes the melting of the Arctic ice and the rise in the level of the World Ocean. So, water will cover some land and probably the most fertile land. In its turn, it will cause great hunger because the rest of the land won�t be good enough to feed the hungry. Another factor of risk is that polluted air is dangerous not only for the humans and animals but also for the trees and other plants which produce oxygen.

Water pollution is another great problem. Factories and plants produce water polluted with oils and let that water into rivers and seas. That is dangerous for the wildlife and for people, who need clean water to drink. If oil gets into the water, it makes the water poisonous for both people and animals. .The feathers of birds and the hair of sea-animals get glued and birds cannot fly, animals can not breathe and so they die. Many species of flora and fauna have died out because of wasteful use and pollution, and many are dying out. Dirty waters and fertilizers cause land pollution. Plants cannot grow on the polluted land.

The nuclear accident at Chernobyl has seriously aggravated the ecological situation in Belarus. About 18 per cent of the country�s soil is unfit for farming and many districts in the south-east of the country are dangerous to live in.

My native town Soligorsk also has ecological problems. Unfortunately, the numerous factories the mountains of potash fertilizers waste are scatted all over the town are of great harm to the environment, as they pollute our land, air and water. The salty dust of the waste stocks are carried out by the wind for a long distance, worsening the ecological situation of Soligorsk and its suburbs.

What can be done to improve the situation? The problem is people can not stop most of technological processes because we can not live without the products produced. On the other hand, if the pollution is not stopped we�ll die out anyway. The only reasonable decision is to invent new, waste-free and nature-friendly technologies. People now do a lot of things. They develop and produce special water and air purifiers and filters .They organize National parks and Wildlife reservations. People organize new technologies of forest usage- they cut old, the so called �ripe �trees and at the same time plant young trees which in forty or fifty years become ready for usage. People breed wild animals (Sables, marsh-otters, hares, crocodiles, ostriches) on special farms so there is no need for hunting. There is an international organization called Green Peace which fights against pollution and protects Nature. Its ship the Rainbow Warrior helps control air and water pollution. It seems that to stop pollution is very difficult and all countries must work together to solve this problem.

 But here everyone can help nature. There are alternatives to cleaners, pesticides and other substances which we can use. We should not cut trees and other plants, we should help animals. We must collect waste properly so it does not get into water or soil. There is a good formula of RRR. It is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We can reduce the usage of electricity and drinking water. For example, when you clean your teeth and let the water run, you lose two or three liters of water. But we can stop it if we switch off the water. We can reduce the usage of packing and buying things in plastic packs, it is important, because it is very difficult to recycle plastic. When we have picnics on the shores of lakes and the banks of rivers or on beautiful forest glades we mustn�t leave behind rubbish �plastic bags and bottles, tins and paper. In conclusion I�d like to say that if we don�t realize that we are all responsible for what�s happening around us we will never feel secure about the future of the world we live in.