ВEcological problems
Worldwide, the problem of pollution has grown. More and more factories, cars and trucks add their bad breath to the air. Cars arc the world's biggest air polluters. But the battle against air pollution is also growing. Scientists are looking for ways to make factories and cars run cleaner. Little by little we're getting more energy from the sun and the wind. This energy is clean and renewable. Some tractors and cars use fuel made from soybeans or rapeseed oil.
When we use natural fuel, chemicals called sulfates puff out of coal-burning factories around the world. When they mix with clouds, acid rain falls and harms lakes, rivers and plants — and the creatures that need them. Also, the wind blows the air around. So, sulfates from one place fall as acid rain many miles away. Often, companies dump chemical wastes into water, so we have to clean ponds, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water.
Farmers often spray chemicals on crops to protect them against pests. These chemicals are called pesticides. Scientists have found that pesticides often end up in our food. They can cause health problems — especially for children.
Lately, oil spills from ships have been messing up the ocean. Luckily, nature has ways of cleaning up some of the oil.
The Sun evaporates the lighter parts of oil — it changes about one-third of the oil into gas. The gas rises out of the water and spreads out into the air. The thicker, harder-to-get-rid-of parts of the oil stay in the water. Next, some of the thick heavy oil sticks to sand, shells or other sediment.
The weight of the oil causes the sediment to shrink. In this way, some heavy oil is dropped to the bottom of the ocean, where it may be less harmful.
Microbes take care of the rest. They eat oil quickest when it is spread thinly across the water's surface. Some spills are too big for nature alone. Then people have to pitch in. They put booms or floating barriers to keep the oil from spreading; skim oil away or filter it out of the water. Sometimes people add chemicals to break the oil up.
The number of oxygen-starved В«dead zonesВ» in the world's seas and oceans has risen more than a third in the past several years because of fertilizer, sewage, animal waste and fossil-fuel burning, United Nations experts said Thursday.
The damage is caused by explosive blooms of tiny plants known as phytoplankton, which die and sink to the bottom, and then are eaten by bacteria which use up the oxygen in the water. Those blossoms are triggered by too many nutrients, particularly phosphorous and nitrogen.
Oxygen starvation robs the seas and oceans of many fish, oysters, sea grass beds and other marine life, and the number of such dead zones has grown every decade since the 1970s. All the dead zones pose a danger to global fish stocks, which many marine scientists say are increasingly hammered by overfishing and pollution.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR READING.
Text 1. Water resources.
Significant water resources is one of the nastural riches of the Astrakhan Region 10 per cent of the Region territory is covered with water.
The main water artery is the Volga River with its arm - the Akhtuba -which branches a lot forming the vast Volga-Akhtuba flood-lands and the delta with numerous lakes, old river beds, streams and arms. Main arms in the delta are Buzan, Bakhtemir, Bolda, Kamyzyak, the Old Volga, which, in the turn branch into a lot of small arms, tributaries, streams. Total nunber of such rivers in the Volga River delta is about 900.
Out of numerous arms flowing into die Caspian Sea only the Western one – Bakhtemir – is navigable. It links the Volga River with the Caspian Sea via the Volga-Caspian channel. On other large and medium arms navigation is irregular and of only local importance.
The sea coast has a large number of shallow sea bays and sandy islands covВered with moisture-loving vegetation. In the rest of territory internal waters are in the form of temporary streams, salt and fresh-water lakes. The largest salt lake in the Region is the Baskunchak.
Remember the words:
arm - рукав (реки).
Volga-Akhtuba flood-land – Волго-Ахтубинская пойма,
tributary- приток;
stream - ручей;
seabay - морская бухта.
Answer the questions:
1.В What can you say about water resources in the Astrakhan Region?
2.В Is every arm flowing into the Caspian Sea navigable?
3.В Why is artificial irrigation necessary in the Region7
Text 2. Resources of animal and vegetation world.
The animal population in the Region is characteristic for semi-deserts and deserts - rodents, reptiles, amphibious animals There are 27 kinds of mammals Wild boar and saiga antelope, wolf and fox - live here permanently.
The Volga River lower reaches and its delta ones of the world’s plentiful areas of birds living and nesting. There are up to 270 species of birds in -the Region.
Vegetation is also uniquely diverse. In semi-desert areas gram-wormwood vegetation is predominant, in deserts - wormwood. In the Volga-Akhtuba flood-lands there arc plenty of flood-land meadows with grain-grass of various kinds, bush and band forests of the moderate zone. In {ha vegetation cover wormwoods (black, white, Astrakhan) are predominant as well as camel’s thorns. Willows, black poplars grow in the flood-lands, oak-forests and white poplars - in the high flood-lands. There are cane, reed in the lower part of me delta, water plants (water chestnut, white water-lily) - in small lakes and sea bays. A very rare plant - Caspian lotus still grows there.
The Region flora numbers 800 to 1,5000 plant species while 24 species of rare plants and of those on the brink of extinction are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
Flora and fauna of me Region are very interesting for scientists of various countries since they are somewhat unique and have not been thoroughly up to now.
Remember the words:
rodent - грызун;
wild boar - кабан;
saiga antelope - сайгак;
wormwood - полынь;
vegetation - растительный покров,
flood-land meadows - пойменные луга;
willow - РёРІР°,
black poplar - черный тополь;
cane - камыш;
reed - тростник;
chestnut - чилим.
Answer the questions:
1.В What is the animal population in the Region?
2.В Why is vegetation of the Region uniquely diverse?
Text 3. The Astrakhan Region - a promissing area for tourism and recreation.
The lower reaches of the Volga River and the Caspian Sea North is an area unique for its history and natural and climatic properties.
The history of the city of Astrakhan starts in the i3th century, when the Astrakhan khanate was established in the region territory. With it joining the Russian state Astrakhan becomes a major trading center. Russian gates to the Orient Merchants and traders gravitate here from Khiva, Bukhara, Iran, India, Caucuses.
After Astrakhan getting the status of the principal town in a province serious construction starts there. There is a Kremlin (fortress) downtown. White and Earth cities, church, monastery and mosque ensembles, civic buildings with very interesting architectural designs.
Nature is very generous with Astrakhan region The Volga and Akhtuba Rivers with major arms form a vast territory of the Volga-Akhtuba flood-lands with numerous lakes.
The Volga River delta has dozens of islands covered with forests, bushes, cane, many small lakes overgrown with cane and reed- Lotus, rare for its beauty. grows in lakes All this is framed by sandy and grassy beaches On the delta and flood-lands islands there are numerous birds. In rivers and arms there is valuable fish. starting with sturgeon. Seals live in the North of the Caspian Sea.
The climate of Astrakhan means 230 to 250 warm days in a year. Sunny, hot summers, moderately, warm winters favoriting winter fishing fanciers.
Investments can help in fast utilization of all these riches, in turning Astrakhan region into a highly profitable zone to tourism and recreation in combination with mass sports (water skiing, horse riding, camel trips, etc.).
Main investment directions:
• restoration of numerous memorials of history, culture, architecture, organizing relevant sight-seeing routes,
• construction of a tourist hotel in (he city of Astrakhan, of small floating hotels, recreation camps, hunting and fishing lodges, beaches,
• modernization of the Astrakhan airport, turning it into an international one,
• establishment of helicopter landing areas, jetties for fast boats linking recreation, hunting and fishing sites with Astrakhan;
• construction of roads and special railways geared for tourists, linking the Volga wharfs with attractive tourist sites (such as the Baskunchak salt lake, the Bogdo mountain);
• reveval of mud-healing with using medicinal muds of the Tinaki lake;
• establishment of the publishing base for printing reference - and guide-books, albums, pamphlets, picture post-cards.
Various requirements of rest and recreation can be met be local potential. Alter proper modernization and expansion of operating enterprises, construction of new ones using local raw materials the following can be produced:
- floating hotels, cottages, fishing and hunting camp facilities with European-grade services;
- launches, motor boats, rowing boats, canoes;
- fishing and hunting implements;
- various accessories for tourism and recreation;
- necessary foodstuff and drinks.
Remember the word:
Astrakhan khanate – Астраханское ханство;
the Orient – Восток;
merchant – купец;
fancier – любитель.
Answer the questions:
1.В What makes the Astrakhan Region a very attractive for tourism and recreation?
2.В What can help in turning Astrakhan Region into a highly profitable zone of Russian and international tourism and recreation?
3.В What are the main investment directions?
4.В What facilities can be produced in the Region?
Text 4
