Dasha Skidan chose to research environmental issues in her region for her school project. She is concerned about pollution and its impact on the balance of nature. Some key issues discussed include air pollution from industry severely impacting cities in southeast Ukraine, as well as water pollution from agricultural runoff and industrial waste. The Donbas region, where Dasha lives, suffers from high levels of air, water, and soil pollution due to mining and other heavy industries. Based on a survey she conducted, most people care about the environment but more action is needed to address issues like littering, public transportation, and recycling. Dasha provides suggestions for making her town cleaner and protecting the environment.

1. My name is Dasha Skidan. My supervisor is our
English teacher Tsykalenko Alla Alexeyevna.
I'm the pupil of the 11th-a form of Educational
Complex. I have chosen the ecological theme
for my research work because I'm worried
about the place where we live. I want
everybody to take care of our environment.

2. My research work is devoted
to the environment
protection and solution of
“green” problems in our
region.
Introduction . Balance of
nature
There exists an inherent
equilibrium between most
ecosystems with plants and
animals interacting so as to
produce a stable continuing
system of life on the Earth.
The activities of human
being disrupt the balance of
nature.

3. Section I. The problem of pollution
in Ukraine.
An industrial and intensively
farmed country, Ukraine contains
some of the most polluted
landscapes in Eastern Europe.
Air pollution is especially severe
in many of the heavily industrialized
cities and towns of south-eastern
Ukraine, where we live. Coal-using
industries, such as metallurgical
coke-chemical plants, steel mills and
thermal power plants are major
sources of high levels of
uncontrolled emissions of dust and
harmful substances.

4. Almost all surface waters of Ukraine belong to the Black
Sea and Sea of Azov basins. The high population density, heavy
industrial development, have given rise to chronic and serious
levels of water pollution throughout Ukraine.
About half of the chemical fertilizers, herbicides and
pesticides applied in the fields are washed off into rivers.
Moreover, surface run-off from industrial territories is highly
contaminated.

5. Chernobyl was the world’s biggest nuclear
accident. More than thirty people died, and another
two hundred became seriously ill from radiation
sickness. But we shall never know how many people
will die as a result of the accident. What Chernobyl
showed most clearly was that one country’s nuclear
power stations are everybody’s problem.

6. Rating of the most contaminated regions of Ukraine

7. Section II. Ecological conditions in Donbas
Donbas is a major industrial region of Ukraine which provides
most of the industrial production of Ukraine, and has the most
environmentally hazardous industries.
Despite the decline in production, resulting in the total
amount of emissions and discharges substantially reduces, the
load on the biosphere of Donbas is still one of the largest in
Europe. Enterprises in the region emit about a third of the total
volume of pollutants in the Ukraine.

8. Acute problems in the region are: air pollution,
water bodies and soils’ pollution. The density of dust
and gases in the atmosphere is about 70 tons per 1
square km, which is 6 times higher that the average
for Ukraine.

9. The main pollutants of water bodies
are the enterprises of mining and
metallurgical industry. Fresh water is used
by these enterprises, as well by power
stations and agriculture, so local rivers
suffer from run-off, sewage, mine and
quarry waters.
Donbas is in a state of ecological crisis.
Without scientific exploration for
overcoming the crisis and practical steps to
improve the environmental situation, it
could be catastrophic.

10. Conclusion.
I prepared the test “ Do you worry about the
environment?’ and interviewed 50 people. And I got
the following results:
62% of respondents care about the environment
and they have some good habits which help save it.
However, there are probably a few other things they
could do;

11. 20% of respondents definitely care about the environment.
They think about it when they make everyday decisions. If
more people in the world were as good as they, the planet
would have fewer problems;
18% of respondents do not worry about the environment at
all! They think pollution is someone else’s problem, not theirs.
They think recycling and saving resources are too time-
consuming.

12. I can make the conclusion that most
people, I interviewed, care about the
environment, they care about what air they
breathe, the water they drink and the ground
they walk on.

13. If I were the leader of my
country, I would ban cars
because they cause too much
air pollution. In summer we can
hardly breathe because of the
traffic fumes. Air pollution
causes acid rain, too, which kills
trees and plants. I would also
improve public transport.
People wouldn’t need to use
their cars so much then. I think
people should walk more
often, or use a bicycle. If they
did, our cities and towns would
be healthier places to live in.

14. My suggestions to make our town cleaner:
1. To put bins on every street corner, so people would
not drop litter in the streets;
2. To have more green areas, so people would have
more oxygen; the “green belts” not only provide
relaxation, they are regarded as important allies in
the battle against air pollution.

15. 3. To improve public
transport so people
would leave cars at
home;
4. People should
use bicycles, so the
town would be less
polluted;
5. People should
recycle things, so
there would not be
so much rubbish
everywhere;

16. 6. To create more parks so children would be able
to play safely.
7. To clear the town centre of traffic and clean the
air. The centre should be left only for pedestrians
and all traffic should be banned. The vehicles
should be more out. They endanger the health of
people.

17. We must prepare for the future. On a personal
level, that’s why we go to college, take our
insurance and pay into pension plans. On a national
level, that’s why we have laws, emergency services
and hospitals.

18. But not all the news is bad. In the last 30 years
there has been a “Green” revolution. Today, many
scientists and world leaders realize that the Earth is
in danger. Millions of ordinary people – both young
and old – understand this too. Some of them
belong to Green organizations in countries all over
the world. It’s really very simple. Either we stop
killing the Earth or we kill ourselves.

19. We need a
cleaner,
healthier planet.
Everybody must
take care about
the environment
and do
everything
possible to make
your place of
living better.

20. Thank you for attention!