Environment, public transport + holiday

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

I think the biggest problems are: air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, traffic
noise, the situation of animals and plants. Our earth is getting warmer, because there are
so many gases in the air. The air gets polluted because of the many cars, planes and factorys
and their exhaust gases (kipufogógáz). The sun's rays (sugarak) are reflected and various
gases (CO2, water vapour (vízgőz), methane) do not allow (enged) the thermal energy
(hőenergia) to escape into the atmosphere. That is why our earth is getting warmer and
warmer, because the warm stays in the earth. It’s we called the greenhouse effect
(üvegházhatás). We could use more electric cars to solve this problem, or less factorys
and planes.

There is also traffic noise that bothers us, because we can’t relax, sleep and live in peace
because of the high noise. It's worse in peak traffic times (csúcsforgalmi idők.). That's why we
get more and more nervous and stressed and we get sick.

Therefore, more and more people suffer from allergies or chronic diseases of the
respiratory tract (légutak). There are cases when you get carbon dioxide (CO2) poisoning.
The trees are cut out, because we make furniture and paper out of them. The temperature is
rising and the icebergs at the North Pole are melting, therefore more and more animal and
plant species (faj) are dying, because they have no habitat (élőhely; polar bears, koala
bears), and the large quantity (mennyiség) of garbage (szemét) is being eaten by the animals
(by whales). In the water the fish die, because the oil often spills to the water.

I think that zoos can save the lives of animals, but there are zoos, where animals only suffer,
because of the narrow (keskeny) space, because they don't have enough space to feel
comfortable. In most circuses, the animals suffer. They are beaten (ver) by the people, who
hold them. And it's inhumane, I think.

A lot of chemicals are used (használ) in agriculture (mezőgazdaság), and these also poison us
humans. Toxins get into the soil (talaj), when people spray in the garden (permetezni), so the
groundwater is also poisoned.
Unfortunately, there is an ozone hole in the atmosphere. The ozone layer (réteg) around the
earth is getting thinner, allowing dangerous UV rays to reach the earth. These UV rays can
cause skin inflammation (bőrgyulladás, leégés) and skin cancer.

There are often floods (árvizek), hurricanes and tornadoes, because the weather is more
extrem than earlier. There are natural disasters (természeti katasztrófa). They can exist,
because of climate change. When they arise, hundreds or thousands of people, animals and
plants die. At these times there are so many people, who no longer have an apartment at all.
At this time people have to live in a different apartment and minimize the damage
(minimalizalni).

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (környezetvédelem)

You can and must do something against the pollution, that means environmental
protection. Recycling can also save many raw materials (nyersanyag) and this protect forests.
In addition (továbbá), we save energy. Recycling is, when you get something useful out of
the garbage and make something new out of these old things, e.g. you make new paper out
of old paper. We separate the rubbish: we throw plastic, paper, glass and metal in
different containers. It is important, because we can recycle these materials (paper from
waste paper, recycled bottles).

There are many fossil sources of energy (fosszílis energiahordozók) such as oil and natural
gas (földgáz). One day they we will run out of them (kifogy), so we would have to use
alternatives that are not new: e.g. wind energy (wind turbine  Netherlands), water energy
(Switzerland), solar or sun energy (solar panel on the roof  Germany, Austria) and also
nuclear energy (nuclear power plant = atomerőmű) would be a possible solution.

You should also be more economical with energy. An environmentally friendly person
doesn't use a plastic bottle that is thrown away after drinking (one-way bottle). Only writes
on paper made from waste paper. This is how we protect the forests and save water and
energy. You only buy water in recycled bottles and use paper bags at shopping. You collect
kitchen and garden waste, from which you can make compost. We can also save on water by
showering instead of bathing. Instead of heating our house to 25 degrees, we can heat only
to 20. If we're not at home, we can turn down the heat. When I leave the room, I turn down
the light. We compost in the garden and protect the animals. For example, we feed the
birds in winter. We should cycling or walking instead of driving. We must take the
problems seriously (komolyan venni).
Traveling
Public transport is environmentally friendly, because it does not emit (kibocsát) so many
exhaust gases (carbon dioxide), which means it does not pollute our environment so heavily
like cars. Public transport includes the buses, the trams (villamos), the trolleybuses, the
metros, the trains, the ships and the planes. Usually they act (működik) with electricity.
People can use them to get from A to B very quickly and they are inexpensive. But we can
easily get some kind of illnessis or infection, because of the so many people, who are
travelling with us. In sommer these can be hot, but air conditioning is available in all vehicles.

If you drive your own car, you can easily get stuck in a traffic jam in big cities during rush
hour (csúcsidőszak). Traffic lights work against traffic jams to speed up or slow down traffic.
You also have to pay a lot of taxes (weight tax). It's also hard to find a free parking space.
And of course you have to pay a lot of money for these parking spaces. But you can drive
anywhere, you can get fewer diseases. Accidents can occur (előfordul), when you drive too
fast or don't look around on the road. There are also many cases, when the reason is drunk
driving. And petrol and diesel are very expensive.

In Hungary the public transport is good, I think. It has many advantages. It's very easy to
travel with them. The stations can be reached through underpasses (aluljárók), the trains come
in every 5 minutes, they are comfortable and fast. Passengers must purchase their ticket in
advance (előre megvenni). Tickets can be purchased at stops or stations, on the board, besides
that you can order them online. The passenger is obliged (köteles) to obtain (szerezni) a ticket
and validate it himself after boarding. If you don't have a ticket, you get a fine (pénzbírság),
because there are a lot of ticket inspectors.

To combat (legyőzni) air pollution, people could rather ride bicycles, ride horses, use
scooters (robogó) or walk, because these types of transport do not emit exhaust gases that
could pollute our environment. I think it’s the green way of the traveling. In Hungary a lot
of people ride bikes, because it's faster than walking, but it's environmentally friendly and
keeps people fit. Walking is also healthy, because you have to move something every day. Or
you could make it mandatory (kötelező) to live without a car for a few days. It could also be a
good solution, if more people could drive electric cars.

Holiday
You can go on vacation at home and abroad. I think both are very beautiful. Last year we
spent our vacation in Hungary with my family at Lake Balaton, in Siófok. We spent a week
here, so we rented a nice apartment on the shore (a parton). The drive took about two hours.
Longer journeys can be made by car, train, bus, plane or ship. Of course it is most
convenient (kényelmes) to drive your own car, then you are not tied to time (nem vagy időhöz
kötve). Nowadays organized social trips are often done by bus. If you want to reach a distant
destination (távoli úti cél) quickly, you fly by plane. Many people take longer cruises
(körutazások) on a vacation ship.

You can sleep in a hotel, an apartment or a tent. On a travel portal we can ask for half
board or full board supply (breakfast, lunch, dinner). We can also book programs online
(sightseeing, visit museums, go to the cinema/theater). I like hotels, because there you don’t
have to cook to yourself and you can feel free. You can take active and passive vacations.
Being active means seeing the sights, for example visiting museums, or doing sports. In
summer you can swim, sail, surf, play sand volleyball and ride a bicycle. In winter you can ski
and snowboard. We always go on summer vacation, because I like the warm weather better.
Passive vacation means that we lie in the sun on the beach, swim and laze around
(lustálkodunk). I like active vacations more, however a passive vacation is also nice.

You can choose from many accommodation options. The most comfortable is of course a
hotel room where you are served (ki lesz szolgálva). There are many hotels, where there is a
thermal bath or a spa. It is the cleanest accommodation, but it usually costs a lot. It's better to
take an apartment or look for a holiday home.

A romantic option is camping, especially for young people. You can spend one or more
nights and they are cheaper and you can enjoy the nature. It's not that clean, but this can be
nice too. In addition, people can be louder than in a hotel, small parties can be organized
there. If you want to camp, you have to go to a campsite. It is also a good way to travel with a
caravan (lakókocsi), because we can drive more freely, it is not expensive and we can see
several attractions (több látnivaló), when we are not just in one city.
You have to prepare well for a vacation. Once we have decided, we should book a specific
trip. We should apply our documents for the travel such as passport, ID card in the EU and the
visa (to the USA) in good time (időben kérvényezni). If someone goes to Africa or Asia, they
need a vaccination and of course they have to find out about the local habits (what is allowed
and what is not). If you fly, you should book the plane ticket, but if you travel by bus or train
you also have to order the tickets. You should shop for the trip and pack a sandwich and
drinks. You don't need to take a lot of clothing with you in the summer, but in the winter you
need warmer things such as boots, scarf, hoodies and cap. You pack your swimsuit, T-shirts,
pants, dresses, underwears, shoes, cosmetics and personal belongings in your suitcase. Of
course, you shouldn't forget your medication, especially if you have to take it every day. But
tablets for fever and plasters are also practical. With the car it's no problem that you can take
more things with you, but on the flight you are only allowed to take a little suitcase with you,
so you have to be careful what you pack in the suitcase.