○自由な題名 ○節分、マラソン ○ひとりでいることと友達といること、緊張したこと ○A lot of people feel英文のみのページ（翻訳用）
A lot of people feel that pollution is among the biggest problems we have in the world today. But when we talk about pollution, what do we really mean? Well, when you pollute something, you make it dirty or dangerous for other people or animals. If you put engine oil in water, you will pollute it; nobody will be able to drink it or wash in it. All over the world, there are people polluting the land, the sea and the air.
The main reason for pollution is waste -- something which is no longer needed. Waste can be many things. It can be yesterday's newspaper, an old car, your dirty bath water, or smoke from a factory chimney. Some waste is dangerous because it contains poisons. This kind of waste is called toxic waste, and the problem of toxic waste is worrying many people -- and governments
-- today.
All living things, especially people, make waste. There are six billion people in the world. They all need to eat, dress and travel about. Most of them need to heat their homes as well. They buy things, they use them and they throw their old things away. Today, we live in a 'throw-away' world.
Farms and factories produce the things that people need. When they produce these things, they produce waste too. Cars, trains and buses, ships and planes carry people from place to place. They produce waste too. Everyone adds to the problem of waste, just by being there.
By the way, how much rubbish do you throw out every week? If you live in Los Angeles, you probably throw away about twenty-one kilograms of rubbish every week. Every man, woman and child in London throws away six kilograms of rubbish every week. The figure for Tokyo is seven kilograms. Mexico City throws away only three kilograms for each person. Imagine the mountains of rubbish in a big city like New York. It throws away 170,000 tonnes of rubbish every week (more than thirteen kilograms for each person)! Most of this rubbish is useful and valuable material. We can use it again by recycling it. (To recycle means to keep materials and energy by using things again instead of throwing them away.)
In some countries, there are laws about pollution and recycling. Their governments punish people who pollute the environment. Their governments also try to teach people about recycling. In other countries, there are no laws against pollution and their governments do not encourage recycling. So Europe and the USA send a lot of their waste to some Asian, African and South American countries. Rich countries have laws against polluting the environment. Many poor countries have no laws against pollution -- and they welcome the money which richer countries give them for dumping waste.