The Earth is the only planet in solar system where there is life. For centuries people lived in harmony with the environment and it seemed to them that natural resources were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man’s interference in nature began to increase.

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises have appeared all over the world today. The byproducts of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables. Every year the world’s industry pollutes the atmosphere with millions of tons of dust and harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burnt in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

Among the most urgent problems are the depletion of the ozone layer, acid rains and global warming that lead to unfavourable changes in the world’s climate. Another serious ecological problem is the disappearance of forests. Some of them die from acid rains, others are cut down. We need trees because they produce oxygen which we all need to breathe. Also if we cut down trees, we destroy the homes of animals and birds.

Water is also a big problem, as a result some rivers and lakes are so badly polluted that the water is unfit for bathing. Pouring chemicals and wastes into rivers and lakes pollutes the water and kills the plants, fish and birds which live there.

As a result of the Chernobyl tragedy the Belarusian people faced the most horrible ecological disaster. About 18 per cent of the territory of Belarus was contaminated with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the republic’s agriculture, forests and people’s health. The consequences of the atomic power station explosion are tragic for the Belarusian nation. Only a small per cent of Belarusian land remains uncontaminated. Today we have a great increase in children cancer and leukemia. New spots of radioactive contamination are being discovered every year.

But not only Chernobyl but many of our factories and towns cause a great damage to the environment. Dangerous dust and blow-outs of the enterprises are being carried out by winds for long distances destroying the life around.

Today people are aware that our life depends on the state of the environment. Pollution kills everything that is alive. It ruins nature creating serious dangers to the flora, fauna and man himself. So nature protection should become everybody’s concern.