Page 177 - English Vocabulary in Use (Pre & Intermediate)

83 Pollution and the environment

Important definitions
People are more worried about the environment
(= the air, water, and land around us) as a result
of the harmful (= dangerous/damaging) effects
of human activity. Some of these activities cause
pollution (= dirty air, land and water) and some
are destroying the environment (= damaging it
so badly that soon parts will not exist). Here
are some of the problems:

the ozone layer: a layer of gases which stop harmful radiation from the sun reaching the
earth; recent research shows that there is now a hole in parts of the ozone layer.
global warming: an increase in world temperature caused by an increase in carbon dioxide.
acid rain: rain that contains dangerous chemicals; this is caused by smoke from factories.

The ‘greens’
Because of these problems, there are many groups of people whose aim is conservation
(= the protection of natural things, e.g. plants and animals). They are often referred to as
greens, e.g. ‘Greenpeace’ and ‘Friends of the Earth’.

Common causes of damage

smoke from factories

car exhaust fumes

dumping (= throwing away) industrial waste (= unwanted material)

in seas and rivers ° °

ty oo Oem erm
aerosol cans (usually called sprays). Some
of these contain CFCs (= a chemical )
which can damage the ozone layer.

cutting down tropical rainforests (e.g. The Amazon).
This increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

How can we help?
¢ Don’t throw away bottles, newspapers, etc. Take them to a bottle bank or newspaper
bank, and then they can be recycled (= used again).
e Plant more trees.
¢ Don’t waste (= use badly) resources, e.g. water, gas. Try to save (# waste) them.

Note: a resource is a valuable possession. There are natural resources, e.g. water or gold;
and human resources, e.g. knowledge and skills. The word is usually plural.

174 English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate)