Ecological Problems

Ecological Problems
Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase. 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 on.
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 burn 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 pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature, a sign of the ecological crises.The most horrible ecological disaster befell Ukraine and its people after the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1986. About 18 percent of the territory of Byelarus were also polluted with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the agriculture, forests and people's health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power-station are tragic for the Ukrainian, Belarussian and other nations.
Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken. Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries - members of the UNO - have set up environmental protection agencies. Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss problems facing ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organisation Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment. But these are only the initial steps and they must be carried onward to protect nature, to save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generations. The most important ecological problems are air, soil and water pollution, global warming, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. They are the constant threats to the environment nowadays.
Acid deposition or acid rain is not only rain, it's any form of acidic precipitation — rain, snow, fog, hail. Acid rains fall after harmful gases are emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents. They are a part of pollution. 
The temperature is rising. This process is called global warming. It occurs when carbon dioxide and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation. The planet's surface and the atmosphere is warming up and glaciers and sea ice are melting. This makes sea levels increase and a lot of natural environments giving home to many species can submerge under water in the future.
Deforestation is one of the biggest reasons for climate change. A lot of trees are cut down in order to make new roads or widen the old ones. People fell trees for cattle-farming, building new houses, mining, wood production and other purposes.
Biodiversity is all living organisms on the planet in all ecosystems. Unfortunately, people harm it all the time. They kill animals (and not only them), destroy their habitats. Scientists think that we will lose about a half of the Earth's species in the next seventy-five years. I think it is necessary to help wild animals. Many of them are in danger now. For example, pandas which live in the jungle and white bears which live in the Arctic.
White bears eat fish. If people pollute rivers and seas, animals die.
All woods are home to animals and birds. It is important to take care of them. If trees are damaged and flowers and grass are cut, birds and animals will become instinct.
Each of us can do something to help nature. We must not frighten animals and birds. We must never break plants or baby trees.
There are a lot of ways to help our planet. We must take care of it.
Climate is a weather a certain place has over a long period of time. Climate has a very important influence on plants, animals and humans and is different in different parts of the world.
But recently the climate has changed a lot, especially in Europe. Scientists think that the reason is greenhouse effect. It is caused by carbon dioxide (углекислый газ). Carbon dioxide is produced when we burn things. Also people and animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. As you know, trees take this gas from air and produce oxygen. But in the last few years people have cut down and burn big areas of rainforest. This means that there are fewer trees and more carbon dioxide.
This gas in the atmosphere works like glass in a greenhouse. It lets heat get in, but it doesn’t let much heat get out. So the atmosphere becomes warmer.
Greenhouse effect is sometimes called global warming.
We are the caretakers of the earth. We know that polluted air, water and land are harmful to plants, animals and people. In Russia there a lot of regions which are severely polluted. It is plants that pollute our atmosphere with tons of harmful substances. These are very dangerous wastes. They go into the air and are carried by winds for great distances.60% of the air pollution is caused by different means of transport: cars, trucks, buses.
Then we must remember that when we use aerosol sprays, we destroy the ozone layer which protects the Earth from the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun.The list of serious environmental problems can be continued