Baikal lessons. Your environments. Уроки Байкала. Твои окружающие среды. Методическое пособие для изучающих экологию на английском языке

Once a week the garbage truck comes and the can is emptied, and that’s the last you see of it. But what do you think happens to the garbage then? Does it just disappear? No way!

What happens

Almost all garbage is taken to a garbage dump, or landfill, where the garbage truck empties it onto the ground. After the truck leaves, a big tractor comes along pushes dirt on top of the garbage. So, most of our garbage is just buried.

The big mess

Now we are making so much garbage that in many places, there is not enough room to bury it all.

Our mission

We have to act fast and cut down the amount of garbage we make. Can we do it? You bet!

Here’s how

We can recycle (which means re-using materials instead of throwing them away) and precycle (which means not buying things that can’t be re-used, like plastic wrapping and other packaging). If we recycle we will produce a lot less garbage, and help our planet green!

Recycling and precycling projects can de lots of fun. To find out more about what you can do, see Guarding Our Buried Treasures, and Be a Paper-Saver.

4. AIR AND WATER POLLUTION

You have read a lot of interesting things about the air, the sun, the sky, the clouds, the rain, about rivers, seas and oceans. All these things around us are parts of our environment. Plants, animals and people need clean land, clean water and clean air. But some people have not learned how to take care of our earth. They are doing harmful things to our land, water and even air.

Of course, you cannot see some of the pollution in our country, but as you read this book, you will find out about it.

We are worried about water pollution in the country. Most big cities pour their waste into seas and rivers. For a long time people did not understand the danger. The first alarm came from Japan. Some sixty people died because they had eaten polluted fish.

We love rain. Rain helps our plants to grow big and strong. But sometimes the rainwater is not as clean as it could be. Man- made chemicals get into the air and mix with the rainwater, making acid rain. The acid water runs into rivers and lakes. The rivers and lakes become so acid that fish cannot live there.

We like to go to the river, lake or sea to swim. But if there are chemicals in the water, it is not safe enough for swimming.