We can live on this planet thanks to basic components which are needed for human existence – the water, the air and the soil. These components with the flora and fauna form nature. People need nature for their life. Nature gives us nearly everything what we need for our life. It was time when we haven`t respected nature. Nature was something unimportant for many people. But the time has changed. Now nature is almost the most important thing in the man`s life.

For me, nature is very important. I like going out to a forest, to listen to how birds sing, how creek bickers etc. Nowadays, you can find only a few places which are whole. In nature I look for relax and peace. I draw strenght there.

The nature we call environment too. The environment means surrounding in which people, animals and plants develop and exist. People do not always care for the environment as they should. People tend to prefer their own convenience and luxury over a healthy natural environment. People want more cars, bigger houses, the latest computer technology, and packaged foods, etc. to make their life more comfortable. Increases in the human population have had dramatic effects on the environment. Constant demand for new materials, changing industrial requirements and rapid economic growth have all contributed to “environmental stress”. The presence of a mixture of gases in the Earth`s atmosphere is fundamentally important to us – tampering with it could result in profound consequences for life on Earth.
We are much more often forced to think about the quality of the air, water and soil, because the environmental problems affect all countries of the world.

The most serious ecological problems of today are the pollution of air, water and soil, the weather changes, acid rains, the warming up of the Earth`s surface, the breaking of the ozone layer, the destruction of tropical rain forests and disappearance of many species of animals and plants.

People are polluting the planet which we live on. Pollution is damage to the air, sea, rivers or land caused by chemicals, waste and harmful gases. Pollutants include toxic waste, pesticides, and fertilizers. Pollution takes many forms:
· Water becomes polluted when waste poisons water. People, animals, and plants need clean water to live.
· Land becomes polluted when waste materials poison the ground. Some poisons leak into underground water.
· Air becomes polluted when fumes poison the air. People, plants, and animals need clean air to live.

Human beings have basic life sustaining needs. We need air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, and space to live and move. Our home planet is changing all the time. As more and more people live on Earth, it becomes more crowded. The air that is breathed is shared by more people, the water that is drunk is shared by more people, and the space in which we live and work and raise our food is shared by and must support more people.

Water pollution is spreading. Streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans are being polluted. Trash, sewage, waste, and chemicals are all being discharged into or seeping into the water. This pollution can poison the water that people drink and that supports plant life – plants are eaten by people, it can poison or kill the animals, including those kept for food.
Water can be polluted by conventional agriculture, in which chemical fertilisers are used instead of manure. But we can`t forget, that the normal households are also polluting the water. In the majority of houses, chemical based cleaning products are used.

People are producing more waste, and the space for disposing of this waste is diminishing. This waste can pollute the ground and the groundwater below it. New techniques make some landfill areas usable again, but then other areas need to be used for landfills.

Acid rain makes trees grow more slowly, they grow old too quickly and then they die. It`s very aggressive.
Factories and power plants don`t pollute only the air alone, but also the ground and water. Many factories do not have an efficient cleaning system and they discharge their waste into the water system.