The environment means surroundings in which people, animals and plants develop and exist. Ecology is a branch of biology which investigate relationships between living beings and their environment
The most serious ecological problems of today are the pollution of air, water and soil, the destruction of ecosystem, disappearance of many species of animals and plants, the weather changes, acid rains, the warming up of the Earth’s surface, the destruction of tropical rain forests and the breaking of the ozone layer. These damages are caused by the man himself and his technical progress.
Pollution: We need air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat, but there is a growing number of people in the Earth so we have to share this everything with more people. The growing number of cars cause much to the air pollution. Factories produce a large amount of carbon dioxide, lead poisons etc. which get into the air. It cause killing trees making soil infertile and polluting rivers. The main airborne pollutants are: Biological contamination, airborne pesticides, airborne particles, organic chemicals, naturally occurring gases. I think that the best way how to reduce pollution is reducing, reusing and recycling.
Pollution also causes many diseases: classical allergies – Hay Fever chemical sensitivity - Asthma
Greenhouse effect: In the last 100 years the Earth’s surface has warmed up by more than half a degree, this change could cause rising the sea levels by up to one and half meters by the year 2030. The Greenhouse effect is caused by polluted atmosphere which was polluted by carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and chlorofluorocarbons.
The best protection is to stop producing these gases and destroying rain forests. The nuclear power doesn’t damage environment, but it has also disadvantages. In this case there are alternative sources of energy : hydropower, solar power, geothermal etc.
Ozone Hole: The ozone gap is thinning at a rapid speed. It is a layer which protect us from dangerous UV rays.
Possible effects of the sun’s UV rays:
Eyes: cataracts and blindness
Skin: premature aging, skin cancer and wrinkling
Immune system: they brake down the immune system
Crops: they could interrupt the process of photosynthesis
Sea life: stops growing of plankton which is a vital part of the food chain in the world’s oceans.
We have to protect our bodies from UV rays:
- not exposing ourselves to direct sunlight
- using a lotion with a high protection factor against UV rays
- wearing sunglasses, hats, etc.
Ecology is a science concerned with the environment. It is the duty of each one of us to protect nature and keep it clean. The first step to manage it is that we will not throw away packaging form different products, we will not break off tree branches, or wash cars in rivers and ponds.
There are some organizations interested in environment:
Greenpeace Slovensko Bratislava – Campaign for unnuclear Slovakia
IUCN – The world union of protection of nature – main aim is to help by protecting nature Slovak agency of environment
Greenpeace
They try to warn people by means of a lot of campaigns, many of their suggestions were successful, e.g. using DDT was banned by law, or catalytic converters and unleaded petrol. All over the world there are air acts, water pollution acts and endangered species acts, each country has ministry for environment too.
The Red book
Contain a register of endangered species of plants and animals. Every specie is characterized according to occurrence, extension, biology and magnitude of endanger. This book includes such animals as: koala bear, wild cat, common frog, sand lizard, smooth snake, ladybird spider and many others.
How to behave in a forest:
We should keep calm, not throw away litter, not feat animals, not disturb animals, not damage plants and trees, not visit forest on motor vehicle, not make fire
Personal share on protecting the environment:
We don’t throw away litter, we recycle, reuse and reduce waste, save energy, use rather bike than car, don’t use sprays, don’t buy plastic products (bottles).
