Despite all the knowledge that man has acquired throughout the centuries, he does not seem to have learned to use the knowledge properly. It appears that humans are heading towards the destruction of themselves and on their planet.
One of the things that distinguish us from animals is intelligence. However, no animal destroys the environment in which it lives, while man does everything to do irreparable harm to our planet. Throughout the last two centuries we have managed to cause so much destruction to the natural environment that we will soon have to face acute ecological crisis. Development of science and technology inspires humans to create new inventions intended to simplify our life. However, we often forget that they also harm the environment. One of the biggest problems is ozone depletion which leads to the changes in the world's climate and the greenhouse effect. The phenomenon is caused by more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and other gases stop the sun's heat and, as the result, the globe is becoming warmer every year. The average temperature of the Earth may rise by 4 degrees Celsius over the next fifty years. It will have dangerous consequences as global warming makes polar ice melt at the North and South Poles which, in turn, will lead to the raise of the sea level by four metres.
Natural disasters are also consequences of the destruction we have made to the environment. A few years ago a new climate phenomenon appeared. It was El Nino which was responsible for droughts, floods and hurricanes in different parts of the world in 1997 an 1998. El Nino also caused changes in the average temperature of the Earth. As the result, there are more drastic freeze and snowfalls in Japan and more acute drought in California. What is more, tropical storms are becoming more violent and frequent. For example, in 1988 Mexico, Haiti, Venezuela and Jamaica were hit by a heavy hurricane called Gilbert.
The changes that have occurred in the natural environment and that influence us all, have made humans realize we are on the verge on destroying our planet completely. Consequently, the ecological awareness and care for the condition of our planet are much better today. We try to limit pollution to prevent further harm to the natural environment. Nevertheless, there is still need to educate people on the consequences of our thoughtless behaviour which puts in danger both us and our planet.
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