environment

LET'S DREAM OF

A SAFE ENVIRONMENT

A definition

When we talk about our environment we mean everything in the world around us that surrounds and affects all life on earth, including the air, food chains, the water cycle, plants, animals and other humans.

What is environment?

We breathe oxygen from the airWe get water from the rain which fills our lakes, rivers and creeks and which we store in dams, reservoirs and water tanks.We get food from the plants, animals, fish and birds.

We get shelter from the materials we take out of the earth and from plants that grow in the earth (trees) to make our homes.We get warmth from the sun, fire, power (electricity, gas, oil) and our clothing.

school year 2018/2019

IC Sant'Alfonso Maria dei Liguori in PaganiItaly - class III D

#special edition

how can we save our environment?

Basic needs

Because there are five basic needs of human beings from the environment and they are oxygen, water, food, shelter and warmth. We get these from the planet on which we live.

Why is environment important?

Polluting is killing

The impact of these pollutants on the environment has two main consequences: - impact on the environment;- impact on human health.As regards damage to human health, air pollution involves high concentrations of agents that lead to increased respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, cardiovascular disease and the formation of malignant neoplasms (lung cancer and leukemia).

Pollution - consequences

As for the damage to the environment we can list four main types of consequences: - ozone hole;- greenhouse effect; - acid rain;- global warming.The greenhouse effect is the increase in the earth's temperature caused by an excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This can also be connected to the global warming that can cause dramatic changes in climate and raise the level of the oceans caused by the melting of ice at the poles.

A synonym for dirty environment.

Pollution consists in the direct or indirect introduction into an environment of substances or even of energy capable of transforming the natural equilibriums, also producing effects on human health.

The main cause of pollution is plastic. In the Pacific Ocean there is "the plastic island", a collection of waste. Another cause not to be underestimated is smog: the harmful gases from the exhaust of cars or industries can also cause death.

Pollution - causes

Land pollution

Air pollution

Water pollution

Land pollution is anything that damages or contaminates the land. There are many causes of land pollution: garbage,mining,farming,factories.

Land pollution

Air pollution is when unwanted chemicals, gasses, and particles enter the air and the atmosphere causing harm to animals and damaging the natural cycles of the Earth.

Air pollution

Water pollution is when waste, chemicals, or other particles cause a body of water to become harmful to the fish and animals that need the water to survive.

Water pollution

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AIR POLLUTIONWhat is air pollution?Air pollution is when unwanted chemicals, gasses, and particles enter the air and the atmosphere causing harm to animals and damaging the natural cycles of the Earth.Causes of Air PollutionAir pollution is caused by humans, but by nature, too. One of the artificial causes is urban traffic: we use personal cars to move in the city while we could use public transport (trains, buses, bike…). Human air pollution is caused by things such as factories, power plants, cars, airplanes, chemicals, fumes from spray cans, and methane gas from landfills.Natural causes are eruptions of volcanoes, dust storms, and forest fires which release toxic gasses that go to ozone barrier.Effects on the Environment Air pollution and the release of gasses into the atmosphere can have many negative effects on the environment.Global warmingThe ozone layer(the ozone layer helps protect us from harmful rays from the sun)Acid RainEffects on Health Air pollution can also make people sick. It can make it difficult to breathe and cause diseases such as lung cancer, respiratory infections, and heart disease. Air pollution can be especially dangerous to children living in big cities with bad smog.Air Quality Index The Air Quality Index is a way for the government to alert people to the quality of the air and how bad the air pollution is in an area or city. They use colors to help you determine if you should go outside.Green - the air is goodYellow - the air is moderateOrange - the air is unhealthy for sensitive people like the elderly, children, and those with lung diseasesRed - UnhealthyPurple - Very unhealthyMaroon - HazardousWhat can we do to help?One of the simplest solutions is to use public transport more because it produces less polluting gases. We should reduce electricity waste and we should also prefer craft products.GLOSSARYPOWER PLANTS=Centrali elettricheSPRAY CANS=Bombolette sprayLANDFILLS=DiscaricheHAZARDOUS=PericolosoCRAFT PRODUCTS=Prodotti artigianali

LAND POLLUTIONWhat is Land Pollution?Land pollution is anything that damages or contaminates the land.Causes of Land PollutionThere are many causes of land pollution:garbage that ends up in a landfill or on the groundmining that can also release toxic chemicals into the air and soilfarming that produces a lot of pollution in the form of chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides (animalwastefrom livestock can also pollute the soil and, eventually, the water supply)factories that produce a significant amount of garbage and waste (some of this waste is in the form of damaging chemicals)Effects on the EnvironmentThis type of land pollution not only can hurt animals and their habitats but also is ugly and destroys the beauty of nature.Some types of land pollution like mining, farming and factories can allow for harmful chemicals to enter into the soil and water.Effects on HealthDifferent kinds of land pollution have been known to have adverse effects on the health of animals and humans. The harmful chemicals that can get into the soil and water can cause cancers, deformities, and skin problems.LandfillsLandfillsare areas where garbage is placed in the land. Some of the newest landfills even try to capture methane gas from escaping and use it to produce energy.What is biodegradable?Trashthat is made of organic substances will eventually decay and become a part of the environment. This type of trash is called biodegradable. Different types of materials take different amounts of time to decay. Paper can decompose in around a month, but it takes a plastic bag over 20 years to decompose.What can you do to help? Here are four things people can do to reduce land pollution:RecycleProduce less trashPick up trashComposting (composting is when you collect organic waste and store it so it breaks down to where it can be used for fertilizer)GLOSSARYLAND POLLUTION= inquinamento terrestreWASTE= rifiutoLANDFILLS= discaricheTRASH= spazzaturaDECAY= decadimento

WATER POLLUTIONWhat is water pollution?Water pollution is when waste, chemicals, or other particles cause a body of water (i.e. rivers, oceans, lakes) to become harmfulto the fish and animals that need the water to survive.Causes of Water PollutionThe causes of water pollution are many.A lot of water pollution comes from human activity. Some human causes include sewage, pesticides and fertilizers from farms, waste water and chemicals from factories, and trash from people littering.There are also natural causes of water pollution: volcanic eruptions, algae and animal waste.Effects on the EnvironmentWater pollution can have disastrous effects on the environment.Pollution in the water can reach a point where there isn't enough oxygen in the water for the fish to breathe.The fish can actually suffocate!Sometimes pollution affects the entire food chain. Small fishes absorb pollutants, such as chemicals, into their bodies. Then bigger fishes eat the smaller fishes and get the pollutants too. Birds or other animals may eat the bigger fishes and be harmed by the pollutants.Sewage can also cause major problems in rivers.Water pollution from major events like acid rain or oil spillscan completely destroy marine habitats.Effects on HealthWater pollution can lead to atrocious effects on our health. For over 1 billion people on the planet, clean water is almost impossible to obtain. Dirty and polluted water can make them sick and is particularly hard on young children.Types of Water PollutantsSewageFarm animal wastePesticides and herbicidesConstruction, floods, and stormsFactoriesWhat can you do to help?“We inhabitants of this planet are only spectators, who witness the disintegration of this world, but what can we do to save the planet from water pollution?”We should take shorter showers and we shouldn’t leave the tap open while brushing our teeth;We should save water because water is valuable;We shouldn’t use weed killer;We shouldn’t put grease into the kitchen drain;We should always pick up our trash, especially when we are at the beach, lake, or river.GLOSSARYWASTE=rifiutoHARMFUL=nocivoSEWAGE=liquamiLITTERING=disseminare rifiutiSPILLS=perditeFLOODS=inondazioniVALUABLE=preziosoWEED KILLER=erbicida

HOW CAN WE HELP?

Less water

Water is essential to life. Two thirds of our planet is covered by water. Clean water is very important for a healthy life. Water is precious. Help to save it and keep it clean! When you have a shower use less water. When you go to the toilet do not leave the water on while you wait for it to get hot.

Less power

Less rubbish

Recycling

Renewable energy

How can we best deal with rubbish and help make the world a better place? We can apply the 3Rs, reduce, re-use and recycle. 'Reduce' means producing less rubbish. ' Re-use' means using something again and giving things a second life. ' Recycle' means making something new out of old things.

Can you imagine your life without electricity? It would certainly be a darker, colder and duller life. NO light, NO television, NO computer, NO fridge, NO electric guitar, NO doorbell! It is very important to save electricity. But how can we do it? Well, in a variety of ways!

Pollution is killing our Earth. One of the most important things we can do to help the world is recycling. Recycling is a way to take trash and turn it into new products.All sorts of materials can be recycled. Some of the most common processes in use today involve recycling plastic, glass, metals, paper, electronics, and textiles.

Renewable energy is the energy that is collected from renewable resources, or those resources that are naturally reintegrated into a human time scale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.Much of the world relies on non-renewable energy to heat their homes, power theirelectronic devices and power their cars.

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RECYCLINGPollution is killing our Earth. One of the most important things we can do to help the world isrecycling.What is recycling?Recycling is a way to take trash and turn it into new products.What can be recycled?All sorts of materials can be recycled. Some of the most common processes in use today involve recycling plastic, glass, metals, paper, electronics, and textiles.How does recycling work?Recycling is different for each type of material.The process for aluminumcansis not so complicated: the cans are first shreddedand then dissolved. From there, aluminum can be used to make new cans and other aluminum objects.Plastic bottles are first classified into various types of chemicals. Subsequently, they are crushed into small pieces of fine plastic. Then the chips can be fused to create new plastic.Paper starts its recycling process by being mixed with water and other chemicals to break it down. It then gets shredded and heated up. This process eventually turns the paper into a pulpor slurry. The pulp gets strainedin order to remove any glues or plastics. After that, it gets cleaned and bleachedto remove any left over inks or dyes. Now the pulp is ready to be made into new paper.Computers and batteries are usually recycled in order to remove harmful chemicals as well as to recover some valuable materials such as gold from electronic boards.The Recycling LoopRecycling has got a very famous symbol which we all know very well: the recycling loop, that has threearrows. Each arrow represents a different step in the recycling process. These steps are:collection of recyclable materials,processing of old materialsand creation of new articlespurchase of items made from recycled materials.Benefits of RecyclingThere are lots of benefits from recycling:landfillsbecause recycling materials means less trash,resources because when we use materials again, this means we can take fewer resources from the Earthpollution because recycling materials produces less pollution.How can we recycle?We must be sure that we recycle everything we can at home and at school. We must be sure that we leave our used aluminum cans and plastic bottles in a dustbin. At home, we must be sure that we put paper items like newspapers, cereal boxes and homework pages into the recycle bin.GLOSSARYCANS=lattineSHREDDED=sminuzzateHEATED=riscaldatoPULP=polpaSLURRY=liquameSTRAINED=filtratoBLEACHED=decoloratoDYES=colorantiELECTRONIC BOARD=schede elettricheARROW=frecciaLANDFILLS=discaricheDUSTBIN=pattumiera

RENEWABLE ENERGYRenewable energy is the energy that is collected from renewable resources, or those resources that are naturally reintegrated into a human time scale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.Much of the world relies on non-renewable energy to heat their homes, power their electronic devices and power their cars. Once these energy resources are exhausted, they will be gone forever. The development of technologies that can efficiently use renewable energy sources is fundamental for our future.Many renewable energy sources are even better for the environment than for burning fossil fuels. They produce less pollution which will help protect the environment and provide us with cleaner air and water.Hydroelectric energyThe most widespread clean energy is hydroelectric energy, which satisfies about 4% of the world's energy needs. Widespread in a large part of the planet, hydroelectric plants are essentially of two types:flowing wateraccumulation.Flowing water systems take advantage of the natural motion of rivers and streams, while storage systems rely on the construction of large basins from which to draw on as required.Solar energyThe sun is the first energy source that we learn to know. In addition to heating and determining the life cycle on Earth, solar energy can be converted into electricity through solar panels. There are different types of solar panels:Photovoltaic panelsSolar thermal panelsPhotovoltaic panels are devices composed of cells that transform solar radiation into electrical energy by exploiting the photovoltaic effect, without the use of any fuel. They are used as power generators of the plant. They are able to produce even greater amounts of energy for the usual needs of a normal family and the prices of photovoltaic panels are constantly decreasing. If we could all exploit these tools, we should no longer rely on the use of fossil fuels, a non-renewable source that damages the environment. Unlike photovoltaic panels, solar thermal panels only serve to produce hot water, but also to heat or cool the environment.Wind energyAmong the renewable energies, that produced by the wind was among the first ever to be exploited by man. Think of the blades of the mills, capable of transforming the wind into mechanical energy capable of moving heavy machinery. As we understand it today, however, this type of energy produces mainly electricity, thanks to the insertion of the wind turbine. To function at its best, in addition to the quality of the system itself, it must be made in particularly windy areas.Geothermal energy and biomassGeothermal energy and that from biomass are developing a lot in recent years. Geothermal energy is derived from the heat of the Earth that heats the water present in the subsoil and lets it escape in the form of steam. In this way the plants can take advantage of the high temperatures generated to produce energy. In the second case, we talk about energy produced with organic substances through combustion processes. This is the case, for example, of food waste used to obtain thermal energy.GLOSSARYRELIES: fa affidamentoBURNING: combustioneFLOWING: fluentePLANT: impiantoDECREASING: in diminuzioneMILLS: muliniSTEAM: vaporeWASTE: scarti

Sing for the climate

We only have one Earth

Sing for the Climate

Sing For The Climate is a Belgian initiative, made possible by the goodwill of many volunteers. But how was it born? In 2012 Sing For The Climate was organized in Belgium: over 380,000 people sang "Do it now"! So they created a clip that combined all the voices. This clip was shown to the Belgian Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for the Environment, the Flemish and European Environment Ministers.

It could be a coincidence, but only last night they reached an agreement to extend the Kyoto Protocol. Sing for the climete wants more. It is now necessary to make this action global. The climate conference in Paris this year will be the real moment of truth. We really need to unite as many voices as possible.

A sea turtle entangled in a ghost net. Photo by Francis Perez

Even Bigger Than We Thought

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an accumulation of waste, especially plastic, three times the size of France. It is located in the Pacific Ocean. The accumulation was formed starting from the 80s, due to the action of the oceanic current called the North Pacific Subtropical Vortex, endowed with a particular spiral movement in a clockwise direction.

The center of this vortex is a relatively stationary region of Pacific Ocean, which allows floating waste to gather together, forming an enormous "cloud" of garbage present in the first layers of the surface ocean. The problem of plastic pollution affects the oceans around the world. All this plastic waste, a huge problem from the point of view of pollution, is a serious danger for animals.

A glossary

Slogans

Wordwall 1

Wordwall 2

save environmentsave life ;)