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Environment - how can you help protect it
Our planet is in trouble! Almost every day we seem to hear of yet another problem affecting the environment - and what a list of problems! - pollution, acid rain, global warming, the destruction of rainforests and other wild habitats, the decline and extinction of thousands of species of animals and plants....and so on
Nowadays, most of us know that these threats exist and that humans have caused them. Many of us are very worried about the future of our planet and unless we can find a way of solving the problems we have made then the environment will suffer even more
:Waste
We humans create such a lot of rubbish! Each household in Britain produces about 1 tonne of rubbish every year! Most of this is taken away by dustmen and buried in enormous landfill sites or burned in incinerators - both of these actions can be dangerous for the environment. Is all our rubbish really rubbish? If you think about it, much of what we throw away could be used again. It makes sense to recycle and not just to solve the problemof where to put the rubbish. Much of our waste is made up of glass, metal, plastic and paper. Our natural resources such as trees, oil, coal and aluminium are used up in enormous amounts to make these products and the resources
will one day be compl etely used up. We must cut down on energy use
:Ideas to Help
Use recycled paper to help save trees. Everyone in Britain uses about 6 trees worth of paper every year
Chlorine bleach is usually used to make newspapers and this pollutes rivers. Its better to use unbleached, recycled paper whenever you can
Don't buy over-packed goods. Many things we buy have unnecessary amounts of plastic and
paper around them
:Rainforests
Rainforests are valuable habitats. About half of all the species of animals and plants in the world live in rainforests. Thousands of rainforest plants contain substances that can be used in medicines and the tribal people of the forests have great knowledge of them. Rainforests are being cut down to make way for 'civilised man', to grow crops and graze cattle, and provide timber. An area almost the size of Britain is burnt every year. Rainforests help to regulate the world's climate and atmosphere
:Ideas to Help
Never buy products made up of tropical hardwoods e.g. mahogany and teak. It is better to
buy only pine, oak, ash or beech because they can be replaced
Some parrots and macaws are unfortunately still imported. If you want a parrot as a pet, make sure it has been hatched in Britain
:Pollution
The air, water and soil of habitats all over the world have been, and are still being,polluted in many different ways. This pollution affects the health of living things. Air is damaged by car and lorry fumes, and power stations create acid rain which destroys entire forests and lakes. When fossil fuels i.e. oil, gas and coal are burned to provide energy for lighting, cooking etc. they form polluting gases.Oils spills pollute sea water and kill marine life; chemical waste from factories and sewage works, and artificial fertilisers from farmland, pollute river water, killing wildlife and spreading disease.The careless or deliberate dumping of litter in the environment is not only unsightly but dangerous too
:Ideas to Help
Use less energy by switching off lights when rooms are not in use, not wasting hot water, not overheating rooms and not boiling more water than necessary when making a cup of tea!
If you use chlorine-based bleach or detergents containing phosphates you are contributing to water pollution
To read the complete article clike here
http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/environment-how-can-you-help-protect-it-/81
