Listen to the article and complete the following sentences:

• ______________________________has doubled in the last 40 years.

• ________________________________ will be needed.

• Half of the rubbish we throw away everyday is paper that we ________________________________

• If we recycle things, we can save________________________________

• Recycling the Sunday New York Times newspaper will save________________________________

• ________________________________ are examples of non-biodegradable products we throw away.

• In shops, for example, we can refuse the packaging________________________________

• Alternative ways we can use to make energy are the sun,________________________________

Scroll down the page to read the text as you listen

Reasons to help the environment

Think of the future!

The population of the world is growing very fast. In the last 40 years, it has doubled. By the year 2200, it will be about 10,000 million. Our cities will be much bigger. There will be more factories and more roads. We will need more water and more natural resources. Experts say that we will have serious problems in the future. They say that we must change the way we use energy and natural resources NOW.

Recycle it!

Everyday we throw away millions of tones of rubbish. Half of this is paper that we can use again A typical family in Europe or America throws away more than 1 tonne rubbish each year, but we can recycle most of this. If we recycle things, we can save money, energy and natural resources. Recycling the Sunday New York Times newspaper, for example, will save 75,000 trees every week.

Reduce it!

A lot of the rubbish that we throw away is not biodegradable. Plastic, metals and chemicals will not disappear for hundreds of years. We also produce a lot of unnecessary things, such as packaging. All of this pollutes the air, the land and the water. Pollution will be a very big problem in the future. We must avoid using non-biodegradable material. We must also reduce the amount of unnecessary things that we produce and use. In shops, for example, we can say ‘no, thanks’ to the packaging that comes with the things we buy

Save it!

Many natural resources are not renewable. Coal, gas, oil, metals and minerals, for example, will finish one day. Other resources take a long time to grow, such as trees, or they are not always available. We have to reduce the amount of resources and energy we sue. We also have to find alternative ways to make energy. We can use the sun, the wind, the sea and the heat of the Earth.