11.
THE HUMAN RACE AND NATURE
Environment, environmental protection
The environment means surroundings in which people, animals and plants
develop and exist. Ecology is a branch of biology, which investigates the relationships
between living beings and their environment. The most serious ecological problems
today are the pollution of air, water and soil, the destruction of ecosystems,
disappearance of many species of animals and plants, acid rains, climate changes, the
warming up of the Earth’s surface, the destruction of tropical rainforests and the
breaking of the ozone layer. Most of this damage has been done by the man itself.
Pollution affects air, water, soil, forests, people, animals and plants.
Air pollution results from waste gases pumped into the air by factories, power
stations and motor vehicles. Emissions range from smoke, dust and smells to car and
lorry exhausts. This smoke contains SO (sulphur dioxide), NO (nitrogen oxide) and
CO (carbon dioxide). Substances such as SO and NO can cause major changes in the
environment, which can lead to the climate changes. These substances mix with water
vapour (para) in the atmosphere and form sulphuric acid H SO and nitric acid HNO
Sunlight turns these acids into poisonous oxidants, which fall in the form of
rain (acid rain) or snow onto trees and gradually kill them. Trees are very important
for our life because they are the lungs of our planet. They absorb CO from the air and
give out oxygen in return. Nowadays trees are threatened by pollution and by people
as well.
Deforestation
The great rainforests are being destroyed for firewood and building materials.
If we lose tropical rainforests, it will become more difficult, even impossible to
breathe. With more CO in the air the temperature will rise. The ice at the north and
south poles will melt and the sea level will rise, which will result in the flooding of
many coastal cities.
Greenhouse effect
Several gases have been identified as contributing to the greenhouse effect, which can
also cause climate change.
Sunlight gives us heat. Some of the heat warms the atmosphere, and some of the heat
escapes back into space. But carbon dioxide (produced by burning fossil fuels e.g.
coal, oil, gas), nitrogen oxide (form car exhausts), CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons from
refrigerators and aerosol sprays) prevent the heat from escaping and thus work like
the glass in a greenhouse. The result is a rise in the Earth’s temperature, the melting of
arctic ice and the flooding of areas situated near sea level.
Ozone layer
Ozone forms a layer in the upper atmosphere, which protects life on Earth from
ultraviolet rays, which is a cause of skin cancer. A continent-sized hole has been
formed over Antarctica as a result of damage to the ozone layer, caused in part by
CFCs.
Ozone – at lower atmospheric levels – is another air pollutant, which is produced by
the reaction of sunlight on car exhaust fumes. On the ground level ozone can cause
asthma attacks and corrosion of certain materials.
Smoke from coal fires causes smog.
Water pollution results from harmful industrial processes and households form
pesticides and other chemicals used in agriculture (e.g. fertilisers) and from waste
desposal sites (miesta na zbavenia sa odpadu)
Pollution of soil – is a result of industrial waste and other causes (e.g. much domestic
rubbish is disposed of in landfills).
landfills – burying waste under the soil
Kinds of pollution
Chemical – caused by chemicals such as fertilisers, CFCs. It is very dangerous
because it is poisoning the organisms even in small amounts.
Biological (organic) – caused by everything, which is of organic origin and we don’t
know what to do with it, e.g. remains of food, sewage. It isn’t as dangerous as
chemical pollution, only if there is a lot of it. Organic waste is composted and used for
making the soil richer.
Radioactive – caused by radioactive waste (radioactive by-products from a nuclear
reactor which are difficult to get rid of safely and are usually buried. Some of this
waste will remain active for thousands of years.
Radioactive pollution can be caused by a possible nuclear accident at a nuclear power
station where the nuclei of atoms are breaking up and this way very cheap energy is
produced.
In case of a serious nuclear accident huge areas would be evacuated, they
could remain contaminated with radioactivity for years. Radioactivity causes cancer,
leukaemia and death, children are born with mutations. Death comes much faster than
in the case of chemical pollution.
Many people worry about the risks connected with using nuclear power, and
they oppose the building of new power stations. They worry about the accidents such
as those at Chernobyl in 1986, and about safe ways of getting rid of radioactive waste.
They also worry that people living near nuclear power stations have a greater risk of
getting some type of cancer. Some people feel that the governments and the nuclear
industry don’t always tell the truth about the dangerous effects that nuclear power has
on people and the environment.
Domestic rubbish – The biggest problem is that we do not sort out waste and the
rubbish dumps (skládky smetia) are crammed.
Necessary steps for environmental protection
Environmental problems will never be solved if we wait for the government, national
organizations, or private companies to take action, individuals around the world have
to do it themselves. We can all try to do things every day to help the environment:
1. Save water (have a shower rather than a bath)
2. Save energy (switch off the light when leaving the room)
3. Sort out waste and put it into containers if they are provided
4. Compost kitchen garbage
5. Use deodorant sprays without CFC gases
6. Put litter only into litter bins, not in the street
7. Don’t be noisy in the woods, don’t make a fire, don’t pick flowers and branches,
don’t wash your car near rivers
8. Don’t use many fertilizers in the garden
9. Use public transport or unleaded petrol
10. Beautify your neighbourhood
11. Recycle glass, paper, plastic and aluminum cans. Take bottles back to the store
and find a place to recycle other materials
12. Clean up lakes and streams in your area
13. Plant a tree
14. Choose products wisely – buy things that have less packaging and are recyclable
15. Join an environmental organization: Greenpeace, Green Party, Deti zeme, Slov.
zväz ochrany prírody, Vlk (ochrana lesov a stromov), Strom života
16. Establish national parks and nature reserves
17. Try to use alternative sources of energy, such as solar, wind power, wave power,
tidal power
We should protect and conserve the natural world for the future survival of all that
lives here. Don’t forget, the Earth isn’t ours, we just borrow it from the next
generation.
Recycling
Recycling is the processing of used objects and materials, so that they can be used
again. About 60% of rubbish from homes and factories contain materials that could be
recycled. Recycling saves energy and raw materials, and also reduces damage to the
countryside. Glass, paper and aluminum cans can all be recycled. A lot of bags,
writing paper and greeting cards are produced on recycled paper.
How do I protect myself?
- I wear glasses with UV filter and a cap in summer
- It is better not to sunbathe between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- I use sun creams with UV factors
- It is better to eat more bio-products without additives (konzervačné látky) – added
chemicals to improve the taste or colour
- Do not use many fertilisers in your garden
Dying off animals and plants
Red book – containing a collection of endangered kinds of plants and animals
Black book – containing extinct kinds of plants and animals
Environmental protection should also include animal and plant protection because the
balance of species and plants and animals has also been affected by human activities.
If the balance is broken off, the food chain will be broken off as well. Some plants
and animals such as bats, badgers are protected, others (otters, owls) are bred in
captivity for release in the wild so they have the best chance of survival.
Animal rights
Why do we kill animals?
- FOR MEAT - which animals?
- different cultures eat different kinds
- how are they kept on farms and how are they transported?
- the way they are killed is horrible and cruel
- do we have to eat meat?
- FOR FUR - which animals?
- some people have to wear fur. Who?
- the symbol of being rich – women wear them
- FOR PLEASURE - which animals?
- hunting
- traps
- shooting
- injured but not dead animals
- EXPERIMENTS - finding cures and medicines, testing
- testing cosmetics
- testing guns
- PROTECTION - HOW?
- being a vegetarian
- not wearing fur
- zoos or national parks?
- alternative methods of testing
E
The environmental problems have a negative effect on our health too. E.g.
there are lots of fertilisers used in agriculture which get into the soil and contaminate
fruit and vegetables. As we eat this contaminated fruit and vegetables, these chemicals
get into our body and can cause serious damage to our health. Nowadays many
people choose to buy bio-products.
Healthy life-style and wholesome food
There are different factors which are necessary for a healthy life-style:
sufficient sleep, active relaxation, sport and wholesome food. When we talk about
wholesome food we mean fruit and vegetables, vitamins, fibrous food, minerals,
proteins and liquids (2 and a half litres per day)
Just like with everything else, we shouldn’t take things into extremes here
either. E.g. we shouldn’t eat too many strawberries or too much citrus fruit because
they can cause allergies. This is especially important with children.
We should eat a sufficient amount of proteins – proteins from animal sources
are important too. Vegetarians may lack these proteins. If pregnant women are
vegetarian, their babies may not develop the way they should, and they will be more
susceptible to allergies.
It is advised to drink less caffeine – whenever we drink coffee, we should
drink 2 dl water with it as coffee dehydrates the body. Chocolate and cocoa are not
good for the skin, they contribute to acne formation, especially during adolescence.
Fruit juices contain a lot of sugar and additives, that is why they are not the
best choice. The same is true for soft drinks such as Coke or Tonic. Besides sugar
Coke contains caffeine as well, Tonic contains quinine. The best is to drink normal
tap-water as too much mineral water may cause a malfunction of the kidneys.
Deep fried food (chips, crisps), smoked meat and too eating too many eggs
cause a higher cholesterol level. We should eat lean meat (white meat), poultry and
fish.
We should drink little or no alcohol – children and pregnant women should
definitely NOT drink any alcohol. Besides all of its negative effects, it dehydrates the
body too. We should not smoke either, this causes damage to the lungs and skin.
There are certain ills of civilisation e.g. heart attack, high blood pressure, high
cholesterol level, diabetes, allergies, stroke.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is becoming more and more popular nowadays. Businessmen from
large cities choose to spend their holiday in villages trying out a different life-style.
They wake up early, do farm-work: work in the garden, milk the cows, collect hay.
They also ride horses, catch fish, go canoeing. This provides them a completely
different way of life they cannot have in their hometown. They pay large amounts of
money to have that kind of holiday.
