POPULATION AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
On Tuesday, October 12, 1999, a baby
named Adnan was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Adnan was just one of
370,000 babies born that Tuesday, but his birth was a milestone for the world;
he was named the world’s six-billionth human being. Form a world of 1 billion
in 1804 and 3 billion in 1960, we reached 6 billion less than forty years
later. This very rapid population growth is having serious effects on our food
supply, our environment, and our species diversity.
Our growing population
is affecting both the total amount of food we have and the distribution of the
food to those who need it. Because of improvements in agriculture, we are still
increasing the amount of food the world produces, but the rate of increase is
slowing down. While people in developing countries often eat too little, people
in the Western world eat far too many calories. Getting high-quality food to
all those who are in need is a serious concern in a more and more crowded
world.
Our skyrocketing
population is also leading to serious problems in the quality of the
environment. Our waste products are polluting our air, water, and soil.
Developed countries are creating many more of the world’s energy. In short, the
pressure of our expanding population on our resources is of great concern.
The third effect of our
growing population is the crowding out of animal and plant species. In order to
make room to build new houses, we are rapidly destroying our forests with all
their plant and animal life. As a result, more and more species become extinct
every year. When people move into the cleared forest areas, the wild animals
that don’t get killed have no place to live. Unless we control our population
explosion, we will have a world with fewer and fewer species of plants and
animals.
The twentieth century
saw a population boom never before experienced on our small planet. The impact
of this population explosion on our food supply, our environment, and our
diversity is beginning to be felt, and many experts believe it will get worse
before it gets better. The 1 billion teenagers in the world today will be the
people to decide whether to have only the 1/2 children per couple that the
world needs to stabilize its population and save our quality of life.
Species diversity: the number of different plants and
animals hat exist
Skyrocketing: increasing rapidly
A boom: a rapid increase
A rate: the speed at which something increases or
decreases
To crowd out: to have no room for
An impact: an effect
Extinct: no longer existing
To stabilize: to keep the same; to stop changing
NOISE POLLUTION
If indeed silence is golden, it is
also becoming as rare as gold. It seems that the progress of man includes a
rising volume of noise. In every home a stereo or television will fill the
rooms with sound. Between sunrise and sunset, streets and highways are constant
source of noise from cars, busses, and trucks. You can pass any factory or
construction area and the roar of its machinery will make your ears ring. Music
is played in every supermarket, most restaurants, and many offices. Big cities
of the world are well-known for their noisiness.
Noise pollution is the
new side effect of our technological age. Day or night, the sound of work fills
the air. It seems that the soothing effects of silence are nowhere to be found.
Even the quiet of our carefully protected wilderness areas can be invaded at
any moment by a passing jet.
We are learning,
finally, that silence is a natural resource and must be protected by law. It
appears that we all find company in sound, but at the same time, we all demand
a little quiet from time to time.
Comprehension
- What is silence like?
- Where do noises come from in
our everyday life?
- What objects around you may
become sources of pollution?
- How do factories make your ears
ring?
- Where is music mostly played?
- What are big cities of the
world well-known for?
- Give some examples of noise
pollution!
- Can we find the soothing
effects of silence around us?
- What do we learn from the above
reading?
- What do we actually want from
our surrounding?
1 komentar:
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