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What is global warming?
Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature
rises). It happens when
greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide,
and methane) trap heat and
light from the sun in the earths atmosphere, which increases the
temperature. This hurts
many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the change,
so they die.
Air Pollution
You need to breathe to stay alive. But how clean is the air you
breathe? If you breathe
dirty air, you are more likely to develop health problems and
become ill. Plants and
animals need clean air too. A lot of the things that make our
lives more comfortable such
as cars, electricity and heating, create bad gases which make
the air dirty. The problem of
air pollution started with the burning of coal in homes and
factories. Dirty air is called
'polluted air'.
'Air pollution' is what we say to describe all bad gases in the
air that we breathe and that
are dangerous for us.
Water Pollution
Water pollution can be defined in many ways. Usually, it means
one or more substances
have built up in water to such an extent that they cause
problems for animals or people.
Oceans, lakes, rivers, and other inland waters can naturally
clean up a certain amount of
pollution by dispersing it harmlessly. If you poured a cup of
black ink into a river, the inkwould quickly disappear into the
river's much larger volume of clean water. The ink
would still be there in the river, but in such a low
concentration that you would not be
able to see it. At such low levels, the chemicals in the ink
probably would not present any
real problem. However, if you poured gallons of ink into a river
every few seconds
through a pipe, the river would quickly turn black. The
chemicals in the ink could very
quickly have an effect on the quality of the water. This, in
turn, could affect the health of
all the plants, animals, and humans whose lives depend on the
river.
Noise Pollution
Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human,
animal or machine-
created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or
animal life. The word
noise comes from the Latin word nauseas meaning seasickness.
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The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly
construction and transportation
systems, including motor vehicle noise, aircraft noise and rail
noise. Poor urban planning
may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial
and residential buildings
can result in noise pollution in the residential area.
Indoor and outdoor noise pollution sources include car alarms,
emergency service sirens,
mechanical equipment, fireworks, compressed air horns,
groundskeeping equipment,
barking dogs, appliances, lighting hum, audio entertainment
systems, electric
megaphones, and loud people.
Natural Disasters
Natural disasters are extreme, sudden events caused by
environmental factors that injure
people and damage property. Earthquakes, windstorms, floods, and
disease all strike
anywhere on earth, often without warning. As examples, we've
chosen disasters that have
occurred around the world throughout history.
Avalanches
Blizzards and Hailstorms
Droughts and Famines
2011: Japan Tsunami
Tsunamis
Earthquakes
Floods
Volcanic Eruptions
