Lesson 29. Ecological Dangers

29.1. Усна тема. Екологічні загрози

Знайдіть у словнику підкреслені слова. Складіть розповідь про одну з екологічних загроз, використовуючи активну лексику.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution is the new side effect of our technological age. Day or night, various sounds fill the air. Between sunrise and sunset, streets and highways are a constant source of noise from cars, buses, and trucks. You can pass any factory or construction site and the roar of its machinery will make your ears ring. Music is played in every supermarket, most restaurants and many offices and homes.

Big cities of the world such as Los Angeles (California, USA), Osaka (Japan) are well-known for their noisiness.

We are realizing, finally, that silence is a natural resource and must be protected by law.

Global warming

Today our planet is warming. Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening: ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles; the number of penguins on Antarctica have fallen from 32,000 to 11,000 in 30 years; sea level rise became faster over the last century; some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas; precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.

Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues: sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century; hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger; species that depend on one another may become asynchronous. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active; floods and droughts will become more common; less fresh water will be available; some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes; ecosystems will change.

Overpopulation

With the number of people on the globe over 7 billion, the impact of human populations on the environment has been severe. Every year, more than 81 million people add the world-wide population. Every 10 years almost one billion more inhabitants are added.

The current effects of overpopulation are as follows: to build new settlements 16 million hectares of forest are chopped down each year; the accelerated growth of the human populations has caused the destruction of natural habitats of many bird and animal species and their extinction; about 5 million people die every year from illnesses associated to organic wastes; water necessities will increase to 20% by 2025; in USA only, consumption of materials (wood, metals, synthetics, etc.) has grown 18-fold since 1900; the ozone layer has been gradually ruined by the effect of the CFCs and as a result of huge industrial activity.

29.2. Письмові завдання

Вправа 1. Перекладіть текст письмово рідною мовою.

Jet Planes Keep Us Warm at Night

Scientists have discovered an unexpected reason for climatic change: airplanes. New research has revealed that vapour trails from jet aircraft flying across the country make nights up to 1⁰С (1.8⁰F) warmer, and days 1⁰С cooler. The study was conducted by checking the records at 4,000 weather stations when aircrafts were grounded across the US in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. When compared with historical averages, they discovered that those nights were colder and the days warmer, with the temperature difference between night and day rising by an average of 1.8⁰C. The vapour trails, which can turn into high altitude cirrus clouds in the right conditions, reflect sunlight back during the day reducing air temperature at ground level and act as an insulating layer at night helping keep warm air in.