Ecological problems and environmental protection.


Chapter 1

          Ecology is a very popular word  today.  But  what  does  it  mean?
Ecology is a since which studies the relationship between all forms of  life
on our planet and the environment. This word came from Greek  “oikos”  which
means home. The idea of home includes  our  whole  planet,  its  population,
Nature, animals, birds, fish, insets and all other living  beings  and  even
the atmosphere around our planet.

          Since ancient times Nature has served  Man  giving  everything  he
needs: air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, wood  for  building  and
fuel for heating his home. For thousands of years people  lived  in  harmony
with the environment and it seemed to them that the resources of nature  had
no end or limit. With the industrial revolution our  negative  influence  on
Nature  began  to  increase.  Large  cities  with  thousands  of   steaming,
polluting plants and factories can be found nowadays  all  over  the  world.
The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe  the  water  we
drink the fields where our crops are grown. That’s why  those  who  live  in
cities prefer spending their days off and their holidays far from the  noise
of the city, to be closer to nature. Perhaps they like to breathe fresh  air
or to swim in clear water because the ecology is  not  so  poor  as  in  the
cities.

           So, pollution is one of the most burning  problems  of  nowadays.
Now millions of chimneys, cars, buses, trucks all  over  the  world  exhaust
fumes and harmful substances into the atmosphere. These poisoned  substances
pollute everything: air, land, water, birds and animals. So, it  is  usually
hard to breathe in the large cities where there are lots plants.  Everything
there is covered with soot and dirt. All these affect harmfully. Every  year
the atmosphere is polluted by about 1000 tons of industrial dust  and  other
harmful substances. Big cities suffer from  smog.  Cars  with  their  engine
have become the main source  of  pollution  in  industrial  countries.  Vast
forests are being cut down for the need of industries  in  Europe  and  USA.
The  loss  of  the  forests  upsets  the  the  oxygen  balance  of  the  new
wastelands. As the result some species of animals, birds,  fish  and  plants
have disappeared and keep disappearing.

          Water pollution is very serious, too. Ugly rivers of  dirty  water
polluted with factory waste, poisoned fish are all-round  us.  And  polluted
air and poisoned water lead to the end of the civilization. So,  nowadays  a
lot of dead lands and lifeless areas have appeared. Because our actions  and
dealings can turn the land to a desert.


                                    <<2>>


Chapter 2
What is the greenhouse effect, and is it affecting our climate?
   The greenhouse effect is unquestionably real, and is essential  for  life
   on Earth. It is the result of heat absorption by  certain  gases  in  the
   atmosphere (called greenhouse gases  because  they  trap  heat)  and  re-
   radiation downward of a part of  that  heat.  Water  vapor  is  the  most
   important greenhouse gas, followed by  carbon  dioxide  and  other  trace
   gases. Without a natural greenhouse effect, the temperature of the  Earth
   would be about zero degrees F (-18°C) instead of its present 57°F (14°C).
   However, the concern is not with the  fact  that  we  have  a  greenhouse
   effect, but it is with the question regarding  whether  human  activities
   are leading to an enhancement of the greenhouse effect.



Are greenhouse gases increasing?
   Human activity has been increasing the concentration of greenhouse  gases
   in the atmosphere (mostly carbon dioxide from combustion  of  coal,  oil,
   and gas; plus a few other trace gases). There is no scientific debate  on
   this point. Pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide (prior to  the  start
   of the Industrial Revolution) were about 280 parts per million by  volume
   (ppmv), and current levels are about 370  ppmv.  According  to  the  IPCC
   "business as usual" scenario of carbon dioxide increase  (IS92a)  in  the
   21st century, we would expect to see a doubling of  carbon  dioxide  over
   pre-industrial levels around the year 2065.



Is the climate warming?
   Global surface temperatures have increased about  0.6°C  (plus  or  minus
   0.2°C) since the late-19th century, and about one half degree F  (0.2  to
   0.3°C) over the past 25 years (the period with the most  credible  data).



                                    <<3>>


The warming has not been globally uniform.
Some areas (including parts of  the  southeastern  U.S.)  have  cooled.  The
recent warmth has been greatest over N. America and Eurasia between  40  and
70°N. Warming, assisted by the record El Niсo of  1997-1998,  has  continued
right up to the present.
Linear trends can vary greatly depending on the period over which  they  are
computed. Temperature trends in the lower troposphere (between  about  2,500
and 18,000 ft.) from 1979 to the present, the  period  for  which  Satellite
Microwave Sounding Unit data exist, are small and  may  be  unrepresentative
of longer term trends and trends closer to the surface.  Furthermore,  there
are  small  unresolved  differences   between   radiosonde   and   satellite
observations of tropospheric temperatures, though  both  data  sources  show
slight  warming  trends.  If  one  calculates  trends  beginning  with   the
commencement of radiosonde data in the 1950s,  there  is  a  slight  greater
warming in the record due to increases in the 1970s. There  are  statistical
and  physical  reasons  (e.g.,   short   record   lengths,   the   transient
differential effects of volcanic activity and El Niсo,  and  boundary  layer
effects) for expecting differences between  recent  trends  in  surface  and
lower tropospheric temperatures, but the exact causes  for  the  differences
are  still  under  investigation  (see  National  Research  Council   report
"Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change").
An enhanced greenhouse effect is expected to cause cooling in  higher  parts
of the atmosphere because the increased "blanketing"  effect  in  the  lower
atmosphere holds in more heat. Cooling of the lower stratosphere (about  30-
35,000ft.) since 1979 is shown by both  satellite  Microwave  Sounding  Unit
and radiosonde data, but is larger in the radiosonde data.
There has been a general, but not global, tendency  toward  reduced  diurnal
temperature range (the difference between high and low  daily  temperatures)
over about 50% of the  global  land  mass  since  the  middle  of  the  20th
century. Cloud cover has  increased  in  many  of  the  areas  with  reduced
diurnal temperature range.
Relatively cool surface and  tropospheric  temperatures,  and  a  relatively
warmer lower stratosphere, were observed in 1992  and  1993,  following  the
1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. The warming reappeared in  1994.  A  dramatic
global warming, at least partly associated with the  record  El  Niсo,  took
place in 1998. This warming episode is reflected from  the  surface  to  the
top of the troposphere.



                                    <<4>>



Indirect indicators of warming such as borehole  temperatures,  snow  cover,
and glacier recession data, are  in  substantial  agreement  with  the  more
direct indicators of recent warmth.
Arctic sea ice has decreased since 1973, when satellite  measurements  began
but Antarctic sea ice may have increased slightly.

Chapter 3

          So, we see that our environment offers  an  abundance  of  subject
matter for discussion.  The  problems  and  prospects  of  the  blue  planet
interest  not  only  scientist  and  futurologists,  but  also  politicians,
industry, the public – and above all, young people! There is hardly a  young
person who is not conserved with the preservation of  our  natural  habitat.
To recognize environmental problems and master them,  to  reduce  and  avoid
environmental  pollution,  to  discover  and  develop   ecologically   sound
technologies – there are the essential building blocks for our future.
      Whether scientist or politicians, bankers or student,  whether  Greek,
Norwegian, Hungarian or Finn … all are encouraged  to  make  a  contribution
towards protecting the environment. Dedication and  the  courage  to  change
one’s way of thinking are called for.
       We are to stop pollution. So,  we  can  grow  plants  and  trees,  to
purify waste, to start urgent campaigns in  order  to  preserve  environment
For example, in 1989 in Australia, Sydney.  In  a  year  the  same  kind  of
action was held all over Australia and it was called  “Clean  up  Australia”
the following years 110  countries  hold  the  similar  actions  within  the
ecological program of the UNO.
       Nowadays there are many different pressure and  interests  groups  in
many countries, which try to find solutions to the problems of pollution  at
the national and international level. So they are groups of  people  with  a
common interest in trying  to  draw  the  public  attention  to  environment
problems, to influence the government decisions.
       Greenpeace is a very famous pressure group.  It  started  functioning
in 1971. Its headquarters are at Amsterdam, but it operates in 25  countries
worldwide. The aim of Greenpeace is to protect  wildlife  of  toxic  wastes,
nuclear tests.
       “Friends of the Earth” (FoE) is one of the  British  pressure  groups
with an international  reputation.  Its  general  aim  is  to  conserve  the
planet’s resources and reduce pollution. FoE was  established  in  1971  and
now it operated in 44 countries worldwide. It campaigns among other  things,
for recycling and renewable energy, and  the  destruction  of  wildlife  and
habitat. The main campaigning issues of the FoE are:
 . The protection of all animals and plants in danger of extinction.
 . An end to the destruction of wildlife and habitats.
 . A program of energy conservation measures, etc.

                                    <<5>>

So, a number of campaigns resulted in:
 . The ban or other hunting in England and Wales
 . And indefinite delay in the construction of the Commercial East  Breeder
   Reactor, etc.
      But not only great groups can influence the problem of pollution. So,
different people have their own opinions on this problem:
 . The continued pollution of  the  earth,  if  unchecked,  well  eventually
   destroys the fitness of this planet  as  a  place  for  human  life.  (B.
   Commoner).
 . The Earth has enough for every man’s  need,  but  not  for  man’s  greed.
   (Ganlui).
     And I agree with them because it is really so. And  terrible  examples
prove them.
        The Baltic Sea is a special case. Because it is such a small sea and
   it becomes dirty very easily. Its waster changes slowly through the
   shallow straits. As many as 250 rivers run into the Baltic. There are
   hundreds of factories in these rivers and millions of people live along
   them. Quite a lot of big cities lie on its coast. All these combined with
   the active navigation of the sea naturally affects the state of the sea
   water and the shore line flora and fauna. People suffer from the waster
   pollution; cancer deaths increase people’s concern.
      And there is no escape from this ecological crisis without organizing
a single body dealing  with  the  environmental  problems,  developing  and
carrying out a nationwide  program  of  environmental  protection  and  co-
operating with international schemes.



                                    <<6>>

                                 Conclusion.

 Scientists now predict that by  the  year  2050  the  population  will  be
doubled what is today. The fact remains that the rate  of  food  production
fell behind population growth in many of developing countries.  The  annual
fish catch already exceeds  what  the  world  ‘s  oceans  can  successfully
sustain. If we go on using our natural recourses at today’s rates, we  will
have used up the intire reserves of cooper, natural gas and oil by the year
2054.
      But the problem ahead lie not so much in what we use but in  what  we
waste. What faces us is not so  much  a  recourse  crisis  as  a  pollution
crisis. The only solution is to try to change  the  areas  of  consumption,
technology and population. Changes in technology must be  baked  by  slower
population growth. And it can  be  achieved  by  education  in  health  and
women’s rights. And there is a little hope of reducing consumption over the
next half century.



                                    <<7>>
1 2 3 4 5 6