Нужно максимально сократить текст без потери смысла для пересказа. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlímited. But with the develop- ment of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase. Large cites with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species ofanimals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a n umber of rivers and lakes dry up. In fact the industry and the environment are closely related. The envi- ronment supplies the economy with all its resources, such as water, timber, minerals and oil. The environment has to absorb all its waste products. More than twenty years ago a pulp-and-paper factory was built on the shore of Lake Baikal. As a result, because of the water pollution, more than 50 per cent of the world's purest water have been ruined. The whole ecological system of the lake has changed greatly. Some organisms that can be found o nly in Lake Baikal a re disappearing, trees a re dying from the dust and gas blow-outs of the factory. So, scientists, writers, workers put the problem of Lake Baikal sharply in the press, among public bodies and in the government. Lake Baikal and its shores have been declared a specially protected zone of the country. There is a hope that one of the most beautiful and the deepest lakes of the world will never die. More than thirty years ago the Aral was a bright blue sea with a lot of fish. The rivers Amudarya and Syrdarya supplied it with water. But then the water of the rivers was diverted to cotton plantations. As a result, the Aral n ow is in a very dangerous p osition. Ifno i mmediate measures are taken, the Aral Sea will disappear by the year 2010. The most horrible ecological disaster befell Russia, Belarus and Ukraine in the result of the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1989. The list of serious environmental problems could be continued. There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Another one is water shortage resulting from abuse of arable lands in agriculture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth through pollution from factories and plants. The fourth problem is damage to water and soil. The fifth one is damage to wildlife: numerous species of animals and plants can disappear. Lastly, the most serious danger arising from damaging the environment is the result of the above- mentioned consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man. In recent y ears people have b ecome more sensitive towards the envi- ronment. Environmental protection is a universal concern. Still more public o rganizations and unofficial environmentalist move- ments have been established with every passing year. As many as 159 countries - members of the United Nations Organization - have set up. environmental protection agencies. Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss questions of ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. The international organization "Green Peace" set up in 1987 is also doing much to preserve the environment. "Travels for Peace and Nature" is the name of another public movement that appeared in Russia some years ago. The movement launches all kinds of environmental actions and informs the public of the ways, means and results of this work. Russia is cooperating in the field of environmental protection with the United States, Canada, Norway, Finland and other countries.

НатальяДубкова    2   08.01.2022 22:02    0