25 Environment

INTRODUCTION

The environment (životní prostředí) is all around us. It consists (skládá se z) of the flora, fauna, the water, the air and the earth. We can live on this planet thanks to these basic components, which are necessary (nezbytné) for human existence. But the paradox is that we are polluting (znečišťujeme) these most important things, humans do not always care for the environment as they should. People prefer their own comfort (pohodlí) and luxury over a healthy natural environment. The environment has got worse since (od) the industry revolution 19th century. People want more cars, bigger houses, the latest computer technology, many factories and packaged food etc. to make their life more comfortable. All of this growth (růst) pollutes (znečišťuje) nature and the environment. Good relations between man and nature are important not only for us but even for animals, plants and future generation. 

The biggest environmental issues (otázky) are: 

• population growth, 
• global warming (oteplování)
• the ozone hole (ozónová díra)
• deforestation (ubývání lesů)
• air pollution (znečištění ovzduší)
• water pollution and endangered species (ohrožení existence některých druhů živočichů a rostlin)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

• Population growth - The number of the people increases ( se zvyšuje) and because of it more pollution is generated (vytvořeno), more area is destroyed, and more natural resources (přírodních zdrojů) are used up (spotřebováno). In 1950 the world’s population was 2.5 billion people and now it is 6 billions.  But if we continue as today, we will soon have no copper (meď), natural gas (zemní plyn) and oil (ropa) by the ear 2050. Problems are also with the waste (odpad). We must control the population growth. If women have fewer (méně) than 2 children each, the world population will decline (klesne) after the year 2050. The other restriction (omezení) has China when the family with more than 2 children is disadvantaged (znevýhodněná)

• Global warming - The earth has a thin atmosphere (atmosféra - plynová vrstva nad zemí) that is like a transparent blanket (průhledná pokrývka) that keeps us warm. In a process called the greenhouse effect  (skleníkový efekt) the high energy radiation from the solar system is trapped (chycená do pasti) by gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). This heat energy keeps Earth temperatures too high to support life (volně: Tato energie udržuje příliš vysokou teplotu na zemi, jenž nepodporuje dobré životní podmínky).