Environmental problems of the earth- these are critical environmental situations that are relevant for the entire planet, and their solution is possible only with the participation of all mankind.

It should be immediately noted that any environmental problems of the earth are closely related to other global world problems, they affect each other and the occurrence of one leads to the emergence or exacerbation of others.

1. Climate change

First of all, we are talking about global warming. It has been worrying ecologists and ordinary people around the world for several decades.

The consequences of this problem are completely bleak: rising sea levels, a decrease in agricultural production, a shortage of fresh water (primarily for lands that are located north and south of the equator). One of the main causes of climate change is greenhouse gases.

Ecologists have proposed the following solutions to this problem:

– reduction of carbon dioxide emissions

– switch to carbon-free fuels

– developing a more economical fuel strategy

2. Overpopulation of the planet

During the second half of the 20th century, the world's population grew from 3 to 6 billion. And according to existing forecasts, by 2040 this figure will reach the milestone of 9 billion people. This will lead to shortages of food, water and energy. The number of diseases will also increase.

3. Depletion of the ozone layer

This environmental problem leads to an increase in the influx of ultraviolet radiation to the Earth's surface. To date, the ozone layer over countries with a temperate climate has already decreased by 10%, which causes irreparable harm to human health, can cause skin cancer, vision problems. The depletion of the ozone layer can also harm agriculture, as many crops are damaged by excessive ultraviolet radiation.

4. Reduction of biodiversity

Due to intensive human activities, many animals and plants have disappeared from the face of the earth. And this trend continues. The main reasons for the reduction of biological diversity are considered to be loss of habitat, overexploitation of biological resources, environmental pollution, and the impact of biological species brought from other territories.

5. Pandemics

Recently, almost every year, new dangerous diseases have appeared, caused by previously unknown viruses and bacteria. What caused the centers of epidemics around the world.

6. Crisis of fresh water resources

About a third of people on earth suffer from lack of fresh water. At the moment, practically nothing is being done to conserve existing water sources. According to the UN, most cities around the world do not properly treat their wastewater. Because of this, nearby rivers and lakes are prone to pollution.

7. Widespread use of chemical and toxic substances, heavy metals

Over the past two centuries, mankind has been actively using chemical, toxic substances, heavy metals in industry, which causes great harm to the environment. An ecosystem polluted with toxic chemicals is very difficult to clean up, and in real life it is rarely done. Meanwhile, reducing the production of harmful compounds and minimizing their release is an important part of preserving the environment.

A person feels himself the master of nature, but treats it from a consumer point of view, not particularly worried about environmental consequences. The endangered species of plants and animals, the gradual decrease in mineral reserves became the result of his labors. The mismanagement of the surrounding natural wealth has led to global environmental problems that can threaten the ecosystem and human life.

Natural and artificial environmental problems

Global environmental problems include those that concern all mankind as a whole and negatively affect the Earth's biosphere. Each specific individual may not notice them and not associate the quality of his life with the number of animals, plants, atmospheric pollution or the size of the ozone layer. The global nature of the problems is manifested in the fact that the negative environmental effect is cumulative and leads to even more serious consequences.

Depending on the time of occurrence, environmental problems are divided into two types:

• natural character associated with the prehistoric period without scientific discoveries and industrial production;
• artificial, the emergence of which man contributed.

The biosphere coped with natural environmental problems on its own, adapting and adapting, but its resources were gradually exhausted. Further ignoring environmental issues leads to the fact that the planet is increasingly in need of human attention and care and soon will not be able to exist without it.

A person successfully fights against man-made disasters or eliminates accidents at nuclear power plants. Rescuers are evacuating people, localizing the source, specialists are restoring the destroyed cities, taking measures to prevent a repetition of the tragedy. But a person is not able to eliminate the negative consequences caused by the catastrophe. They, like cracks from hitting glass, gradually spread and threaten the integrity of the entire ecosystem of cities.

Environmental problems lead to the rebirth of a natural ecosystem, which independently eliminates environmental problems, into an artificial one, the existence of which is impossible without human support.

Global warming

Scientists disagree about the reason for the increase in the last hundred years by one degree in the average temperature on earth. As hypotheses, an increase in the volume of processed fuel, the operation of power plants, and the flaring of gas associated with oil products are considered.

The overpopulation of the planet, the destruction of forests, and the decrease in the ozone layer are not excluded. The environmental problem leads to the melting of glaciers and, as a result, land flooding, frequent hurricanes, and the disappearance of many plant and animal species.

Pollution of the world's oceans

Despite the fact that the ocean is located far from most of the inhabitants, its role in the life of mankind is enormous. It covers 2/3 of the earth's surface, thanks to the photosynthesis of phytoplankton, it supplies up to 70% of oxygen. It is a source of 1/6 of the protein of animal origin necessary for the human body.

Ocean pollution is one of the world's environmental problems, leads to a decrease in food and water resources, disrupts the oxygen balance of the ecosystem.

The main pollutants of the world's oceans include the following:

• oil products after the collapse of tankers;
• radioactive substances buried in containers on the ocean floor;
• radioactive substances obtained as a result of underwater and surface nuclear explosions;
• waste from agricultural activities and the food industry;
• non-degradable synthetic materials of the chemical industry;
• industrial waste and waste water.

Destruction of the ozone layer

Ozone layer- a thin strip of the stratosphere. It got its name from its high ozone content. Its usefulness is related to its ability to absorb ultraviolet light. The ozone layer protects all living things from ultraviolet sunlight, its destruction is equated to environmental problems.

The depletion of the ozone layer is associated with the use of chlorofluorocarbons, which are part of the coolants for refrigerators and air conditioners, are used in aerosols, fire extinguishers. Space flights, jet planes, nuclear tests and deforestation adversely affect the size of the ozone layer.

Violation of ozone protection leads to the unhindered penetration of ultraviolet radiation to the surface of the earth, this reduces the human immune defense, leads to eye damage and a number of skin diseases, up to cancer.

Soil pollution

There are plenty of sources for soil pollution:

• solid and liquid waste from industrial enterprises and household waste;
• heavy metals - industrial waste;
• agricultural fertilizers;
• release of harmful substances from the atmosphere.

From the soil through plants and water, including spring water, toxic substances enter the human body and remain in it for a long time, turning into an environmental problem and adversely affecting health.

The development of industry has changed the conventional wisdom that air pollution is a problem in big cities. Emissions from metallurgical, construction, energy, thermal and chemical enterprises are carried by the wind over vast distances. Accompanied by the leakage of toxic substances, an accident in one country may threaten the environmental safety of neighboring states.

How environmental pollution occurs

Added to artificial environmental problems is atmospheric pollution during forest fires and volcanic eruptions, natural background radiation, organic fumes, and pollen dispersion. As a result of air pollution, the number of people with diseases of the lungs and bronchi has increased, the number of plants is gradually decreasing, and individuals of the animal world are dying off.

The modern city consumes a huge amount of energy and resources in return, throwing out sewage and waste, leaving less and less space for wildlife. The ecosystem has no resources to restore. The global environmental problem consists of a set of problems, all of which are related to man and are aimed at his life support.

INTRODUCTION

Relevance of the research topic. An environmental problem is a change in the natural environment as a result of anthropogenic impacts or natural disasters, leading to a violation of the structure and functioning of nature. Environmental problems arose as a result of the irrational attitude of man to nature, the rapid growth of industrial technologies, industrialization and population growth. The development of natural resources is so great that the question arose about their use in the future. Pollution of the natural environment has led to the progressive death of representatives of the flora and fauna, pollution of soils, underground sources, depletion and degradation of the soil cover, etc. The progress and fate of civilization depends on the solution of environmental problems, so the solution of environmental problems of the modern world is an important and urgent problem.

Goals and objectives of the study. The purpose of the course work is to analyze the environmental problems of our time. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved:

) Studying the causes of environmental problems in the world;

) Studying the typology and classification of environmental problems;

) Analysis of the main environmental problems;

) Consideration of the ecological situation in different regions of the world;

) Consideration and designation of the main ways of solving environmental problems.

Object and subject of research. The object of study of the course work is the modern world. The subject of the study is the main environmental problems of the modern world, due to the impact of man and his activities on nature.

Applied research methods. In the course of the course work, various methods were used: the analytical method of research, carried out on the basis of educational and fund publications, the method of comparative analysis.

Information base of the study. The information base for the study of course work is the work of Klimko G.N., Melnikov A.A., Romanova E.P. and other scientists.

Work structure. The course work is presented on 50 pages of text, including an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references, consisting of twenty-five publications and three Internet sources.

1. ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF PRESENT

demographic problem

The impact of society on the environment is directly proportional to the number of mankind, its standard of living, and weakens with an increase in the level of environmental consciousness of the population. All three factors are equal. Discussions about how many people may or may not be able to survive on Earth are meaningless if you do not take into account the lifestyle and level of human consciousness. Population problems are studied by demography - the science of the patterns of population reproduction in the socio-historical conditionality of this process. Demography is the science of population that studies population change, fertility and mortality, migration, age and sex structure, national composition, geographical distribution and their dependence on historical, socio-economic and other factors.

When considering the natural-scientific aspects of the problem of population, it is especially important to imagine the breadth of demographic problems. Demography is engaged in the study of the features of the interaction of biological and social in the reproduction of the population, the cultural and ethical determination of demographic processes, the dependence of demographic characteristics on the level of economic development. A special place is occupied by the identification of the impact on the demographic processes of health care development, urbanization and migration.

These general biological laws can be applied when considering the history of mankind only for the period up to the 19th century. From the most ancient historical epochs until the beginning of the last century, the world population fluctuated around several hundred million people, either slowly increasing or decreasing. By the beginning of the Neolithic (New Stone Age), the population of the Earth reached 10 million people, by the end of the Neolithic (3,000 BC) - 50 million, and by the beginning of our era - 230 million people. In 1600, there were about 480 million in the world, of which 96 million were in Europe, that is, 1/5 of the entire population of the Earth. In the middle of the XIX century. - 1 billion, in 1930 - 3 billion people.

Today, about 7 billion people live on the globe, and by 2060 there will be 10 billion people. Such population growth will naturally lead to an even stronger impact of mankind on the environment and, apparently, will further exacerbate the problems that exist today. However, according to the resource model of the world system, the population of the Earth should not exceed 7-7.5 billion people.

The population explosion was caused by a decrease in the mortality of children who have not reached puberty. This was a consequence of the development of the effectiveness of prevention and treatment measures after the discovery of the microbiological nature of infectious diseases. It matters whether a person died before having children (reproductive death) or after (post-reproductive death). Post-reproductive mortality cannot be a factor limiting population growth, although it certainly has social and economic consequences. Similarly, accidents and natural disasters, contrary to what is sometimes suggested, do not control population. These factors do not have a directed impact on over-reproductive mortality and, despite the socio-economic significance of the losses associated with them, have a relatively weak effect on the growth of the population as a whole. For example, in the US, annual losses from car accidents (approximately 50,000) are reimbursed within 10 days. Even wars since the Second World War have a short impact on the population. Approximately 45,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War. The natural population growth in the United States - 150 thousand people a month - compensates for these losses in three weeks, if you count only men. Even the regular death of 3 million people a year worldwide from starvation and malnutrition is demographically insignificant when compared with the global population growth of approximately 90 million during this period.

Around 1930, 100 years after reaching the billion level, the population exceeded 2 billion, 30 years later (1960) reached 3 billion, and just 15 years later (1975) - 4 billion, then after another For 12 years (1987), the population of the Earth has exceeded 5 billion, and this growth continues, amounting to approximately 90 million - births minus deaths - people per year.

A feature of the formulation of environmental and demographic problems in modern science is its awareness in terms of uniqueness and individuality, the irreproducibility of both national, historical cultures, and the biosphere, and many resources. Even in the past, there was no such global awareness, although the account of losses was opened much earlier. Some ecosystems have disappeared forever, and future generations will not see many earthly landscapes and landscapes. There is a catastrophic narrowing of diversity, a colossal standardization of production as a moment of indirect relationship between man and the environment, a flourishing mass culture in which man is lost. In a society where the right of the individual to individuality has not been recognized, it is hardly worth counting on a broad movement to preserve the unique image of nature. In general, uniqueness as a problem is realized only in the face of death. And the acuteness of the demographic and environmental problem forces us to take a fresh look at the nature-society relationship.

energy problem

Energy consumption is a prerequisite for the existence of mankind. The availability of energy available for consumption has always been necessary to meet human needs. The history of civilization is the history of the invention of more and more new methods of energy conversion, the development of its new sources and, ultimately, an increase in energy consumption.

The first jump in the growth of energy consumption occurred when people learned how to make fire and use it to cook and heat their homes. During this period, firewood and the muscular strength of a person served as sources of energy. The next important stage is associated with the invention of the wheel, the creation of various tools, and the development of blacksmithing. By the 15th century, medieval man, using draft animals, water and wind power, firewood and a small amount of coal, was already consuming about 10 times more than primitive man. A particularly noticeable increase in world energy consumption has occurred over the past two hundred years since the beginning of the industrial era - it has increased 30 times and in 1998 reached 13.7 gigatonnes of standard fuel per year. The man of the industrial society consumes 100 times more energy than the primitive man.

In the modern world, energy is the basis for the development of basic industries that determine the progress of social production. In all industrialized countries, the pace of development of the energy industry outpaced the pace of development of other industries.

At the same time, energy is a source of adverse effects on the environment and humans. It affects:

atmosphere (oxygen consumption, emissions of gases, moisture and particulate matter);

hydrosphere (water consumption, creation of artificial reservoirs, discharges of polluted and heated waters, liquid wastes);

on the lithosphere (consumption of fossil fuels, landscape change, emissions of toxic substances).

Despite the noted factors of the negative impact of energy on the environment, the growth in energy consumption did not cause much concern among the general public. This continued until the mid-1970s, when numerous data appeared in the hands of specialists, indicating a strong anthropogenic pressure on the climate system, which poses a threat of a global catastrophe with an uncontrolled increase in energy consumption. Since then, no other scientific problem has attracted such close attention as the problem of present, and especially future, climate change. It is believed that energy is one of the main reasons for this change. Energy is understood as any area of ​​human activity related to the production and consumption of energy. A significant part of the energy sector is provided by the consumption of energy released by the combustion of organic fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas), which, in turn, leads to the release of a huge amount of pollutants into the atmosphere.

The environmental problem of energy as a source of many adverse impacts on the planet needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

The problem of urbanization

One of the most acute problems of our time is the process of urbanization. There are good enough reasons for this.

Urbanization (from lat. urbanus - urban) is a historical process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society, which covers changes in the distribution of productive forces, and above all in the distribution of the population, its demographic and socio-professional structure, lifestyle and culture.

Cities existed in ancient times: Thebes, on the territory of modern Egypt, was the largest city in the world as early as 1300 BC. e., Babylon - in 200 BC. e.; Rome - in 100 BC e. However, the process of urbanization as a planetary phenomenon dates back twenty centuries later: it was the product of industrialization and capitalism. Back in 1800, only about 3% of the world's population lived in cities, while today it is already about half.

The main thing is that urbanization creates a complex knot of contradictions, the totality of which serves as a weighty argument for considering it from the point of view of global studies. It is possible to single out economic, environmental, social and territorial aspects (the latter is highlighted rather conditionally, since it combines all the previous ones).

Modern urbanization is accompanied by the deterioration of the urban environment, especially in developing countries. In them, it has become threatening to the health of the population, has become a brake on overcoming economic backwardness. In the cities of developing countries, the manifestations and consequences of a series of crises are intertwined, with detrimental effects on all aspects of their lives. These crises include the ongoing population explosion in developing countries, hunger and malnutrition of a large part of their population, causing a deterioration in the quality of human potential. The state of the environment is especially unfavorable in cities in the largest centers with a population of over 250 thousand inhabitants. It is these cities that are growing especially fast, increasing their population by about 10% per year. There is a destructive violation of the ecological balance in the largest and largest centers of all regions and third world countries.

The relationship between urbanization and the state of the natural environment is due to a number of factors in a complex system of socio-economic development and interaction between society and nature. Understanding the general and specific features of the state of the natural environment in the cities of developing countries is important for developing a long-term strategy for international cooperation in the field of global problems of the population and the environment. Large and largest centers have become the focus of most of the global problems of mankind. It is they who have the greatest impact on the state of the environment over vast areas.

Among the factors that determine the state and quality of the natural environment in the cities of developing countries, the most important are:

disordered and uncontrolled urbanization in conditions of economic underdevelopment;

urban explosion, expressed primarily in the outstripping growth rates of the largest and largest centers;

lack of necessary financial and technical means;

insufficient level of general education of the bulk of the population;

undeveloped urban development policy;

limitation of environmental legislation.

Circumstances such as chaotic urban development, huge population density both in the central and peripheral parts of cities, limited integrated urban planning and legislative regulation (which is inherent in most developing countries) also have an unfavorable effect. There are very frequent cases of close proximity of built-up and densely populated residential areas and industrial enterprises with outdated technology and without treatment facilities. This further worsens the state of the environment in cities. The state of the natural environment in the cities of developing countries presents a challenge to their sustainable development.

The spatial aspect of urbanization is connected with all the previous ones. The “spread” of agglomerations means the spread of the urban way of life to ever larger territories, and this, in turn, leads to an aggravation of environmental problems, to growing traffic flows (“agglomeration and encirclement”), to the pushing of agricultural and reactionary zones to the far periphery.

Greenhouse effect

The term "greenhouse effect" entered scientific use at the end of the 19th century, and today it has become widely known as a dangerous phenomenon that threatens the entire planet. School fact: due to the absorption by greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, ozone and others) of the heat coming from the heated surface of the Earth, the temperature of the air above the Earth rises. The more of these gases in the atmosphere, the higher the greenhouse effect.

This could lead to this. According to some forecasts, by 2100 the climate will become warmer by 2.5-5 ° C, which will cause an increase in the level of the World Ocean due to the melting of the Earth's polar caps, including the glaciers of Greenland. This is a clear threat to densely populated areas of continental coasts. There may be other consequences that are detrimental to nature: the expansion of the area of ​​deserts, the disappearance of permafrost, increased soil erosion, etc. .

The increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is almost always cited as the reason for the increase in the greenhouse effect. This concentration is growing due to the burning of huge amounts of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, firewood, peat, etc.) by industry, transport, agriculture and households. But this is not the only reason for the increased greenhouse effect.

The fact is that the system of living organisms (biota) successfully copes with the task of regulating the concentration of greenhouse gases. For example, if for some reason the content of carbon dioxide CO2 in the atmosphere increases, then the gas exchange in plants is activated: they absorb more CO2, release more oxygen, and this contributes to the return of the CO2 concentration to the equilibrium value; on the contrary, with a decrease in the concentration of this gas, it is absorbed by plants with less intensity, which ensures an increase in its concentration.

In other words, biota maintains the concentration of greenhouse gases at a certain level, more precisely, within very narrow limits, just corresponding to such a value of the greenhouse effect, which provides an optimal climate for biota on Earth. (This applies only to gases of natural origin and does not apply, for example, to chlorofluorocarbons, which did not occur in nature until the middle of the 20th century, when they were discovered and began to be produced, and the biota cannot cope with them.)

Man not only significantly increased the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but also systematically destroyed those natural ecosystems that regulate the concentration of these gases, first of all, he cut down forests. How much natural forests have been reduced over the past millennium is not exactly known, but it seems that at least 35-40% of what was. In addition, almost all the steppes have been plowed up, and natural meadows have been almost destroyed.

Global warming due to anthropogenic causes is no longer a scientific hypothesis, not a forecast, but a reliably established fact. The “ground” for further warming has also been prepared: the concentration of greenhouse gases not only exceeds the value that has been the norm for many millions of years, but continues to increase, since the restructuring of the economy of modern civilization, moreover, the entire life of mankind, is far from a quick thing.

Destruction of the ozone layer

The earth's atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen (about 78%) and oxygen (about 21%). Together with water and sunlight, oxygen is one of the most important life factors. A small amount of oxygen is found in the atmosphere in the form of ozone, oxygen molecules made up of three oxygen atoms.

Ozone is concentrated mainly in the atmosphere at an altitude of 15-20 kilometers above the earth's surface. This ozone-enriched layer of the stratosphere is sometimes referred to as the ozonosphere. Despite the small amount, the role of ozone in the Earth's biosphere is extremely large and responsible. The ozonosphere absorbs a significant part of the hard ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, which is detrimental to living organisms. She is a shield of life, but a shield regulated by nature. The ozonosphere transmits the longer-wavelength part of ultraviolet radiation. This penetrating part of ultraviolet radiation is necessary for life: it destroys pathogenic bacteria, promotes the production of vitamin D in the human body. The state of the ozone layer is extremely important, because even a slight change in the intensity of ultraviolet radiation near the earth's surface can affect living organisms.

The main causes of the thinning of the ozone layer are:

) During the launch of space rockets, holes are literally “burned out” in the ozone layer. And contrary to the old belief that they close immediately, these holes have been around for quite some time.

) Aircraft flying at altitudes of 12-16 km. also harm the ozone layer, while flying below 12 km. on the contrary, they contribute to the formation of ozone.

) Emission of freons into the atmosphere.

Chlorine and its hydrogen compounds are the main cause of the destruction of the ozone layer. A huge amount of chlorine enters the atmosphere, primarily from the decomposition of freons. Freons are gases that do not enter into any chemical reactions near the surface of the planet. Freons boil and quickly increase their volume at room temperature, and therefore are good atomizers. Because of this feature, freons have long been used in the manufacture of aerosols. And since, expanding, freons are cooled, they are still very widely used in the refrigeration industry. When freons rise into the upper atmosphere, under the action of ultraviolet radiation, a chlorine atom is split off from them, which begins to convert ozone molecules into oxygen one after another. Chlorine can stay in the atmosphere for up to 120 years, during which time it can destroy up to 100,000 ozone molecules.

In the 80s, the world community began to take measures to reduce the production of freons. In September 1987, 23 leading countries of the world signed a convention, according to which, by 1999, the countries had to reduce freon consumption by half. A virtually equal substitute for freons in aerosols has already been found - propane - butane mixture. It is almost as good as freons in terms of parameters, its only drawback is that it is flammable. Such aerosols are already widely used. For refrigeration plants, things are somewhat worse. The best substitute for freons now is ammonia, but it is very toxic and still much worse than them in terms of parameters. Good results have now been achieved in the search for new substitutes, but so far the problem has not been finally resolved.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the world community, over the past decades, the production of freons has more than halved, but their use is still ongoing and, according to scientists, at least another 50 years must pass before the stabilization of the ozone layer.

acid rain

The term "acid rain" was first introduced in 1882 by the English scientist Robert Smith in his book Air and Rain: The Beginning of Chemical Climatology. His attention was drawn to the Victorian smog in Manchester. And although scientists of that time rejected the theory of the existence of acid rain, today no one doubts that acid rain is one of the reasons for the death of forests, crops and vegetation. In addition, acid rain destroys buildings and cultural monuments, pipelines, renders vehicles unusable, reduces soil fertility, and can seep toxic metals into aquifers.

During the operation of automobile engines, thermal power plants, and other plants and factories, nitrogen and sulfur oxides are emitted into the air in large quantities. These gases enter into various chemical reactions and eventually droplets of acids are formed, which fall out as acid rain or are carried in the form of fog.

Acid precipitation can fall not only in the form of rain, but also in the form of hail or snow. Such precipitation causes 5 - 6 times more damage, since they contain a higher concentration of acids.

In the 70s, fish began to disappear in the rivers and lakes of the Scandinavian countries, the snow in the mountains turned gray, the foliage from the trees covered the ground ahead of time. Very soon the same phenomena were noticed in the USA, Canada, Western Europe. In Germany, 30%, and in some places 50% of the forests were affected. And all this happens far from cities and industrial centers. It turned out that the cause of all these troubles is acid rain.

The pH index varies in different water bodies, but in an undisturbed natural environment, the range of these changes is strictly limited. Natural waters and soils have buffer capabilities, they are able to neutralize a certain part of the acid and preserve the environment. However, it is obvious that the buffering capacity of nature is not unlimited.

Land and plants, of course, also suffer from acid rain: soil productivity is reduced, nutrient intake is reduced, and the composition of soil microorganisms is changing.

Acid rain causes great damage to forests. The forests dry up, dry top develops over large areas. The acid increases the mobility in soils of aluminum, which is toxic to small roots, and this leads to inhibition of foliage and needles, fragility of branches. Coniferous trees are especially affected, because the needles are replaced less often than the leaves, and therefore accumulate more harmful substances in the same period.

Acid rain not only kills wildlife, but also destroys architectural monuments. Durable, hard marble, a mixture of calcium oxides (CaO and CO2), reacts with a solution of sulfuric acid and turns into gypsum (CaSO4). Changes in temperature, torrents of rain and wind destroy this soft material. The historical monuments of Greece and Rome, having stood for millennia, are being destroyed right before our eyes in recent years. The same fate threatens the Taj Mahal - a masterpiece of Indian architecture of the Mughal period, in London - the Tower and Westminster Abbey. At St. Paul's Cathedral in Rome, a layer of Portland limestone has been eroded by 2.5 cm. In Holland, the statues at St. John's Cathedral are melting like candy. Black deposits have eaten away at the Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam. More than 100 thousand of the most valuable stained-glass windows decorating the cathedrals in Tent, Conterbury, Cologne, Erfurt, Prague, Bern, and other European cities may be completely lost in the next 15-20 years.

Suffer from acid rain and people who are forced to consume drinking water contaminated with toxic metals - mercury, lead, cadmium.

It is necessary to save nature from acidification. To do this, it will be necessary to drastically reduce emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, but first of all, sulfur dioxide, since it is sulfuric acid and its salts that determine the acidity of rains that fall at great distances from the place of industrial release by 70-80%.

deforestation

Deforestation is the process of converting land occupied by forest into land without tree cover, such as pastures, cities, wastelands, and others. The most common cause of deforestation is deforestation without sufficient planting of new trees. In addition, forests can be destroyed due to natural causes such as fire, hurricane or flooding, as well as anthropogenic factors such as acid rain.

The process of deforestation is a pressing problem in many parts of the world, as it affects their ecological, climatic and socio-economic characteristics and reduces the quality of life. Deforestation leads to a decrease in biodiversity, wood reserves, including for industrial use, as well as an increase in the greenhouse effect due to a decrease in photosynthesis.

Man began to cut down the forest with the advent of agriculture - in the late Stone Age. For several millennia, clearings were local in nature. But in the late Middle Ages, following the growth of population and the enthusiasm for shipbuilding, almost all the forests of Western Europe disappeared. The same fate befell the lands of China and India. In the late 19th century and into the 20th century, the rate of deforestation increased dramatically. This is especially true of tropical forests, which until recently remained untouched. Since 1947, more than half of the 16 million square meters have been destroyed. km of tropical forests. Destroyed up to 90% of the coastal forests of West Africa, 90-95% of the Atlantic forests of Brazil, Madagascar lost 90% of the forests. This list includes almost all tropical countries. Almost all that remains of the modern rainforest - 4 million square meters. km of the Amazon. And they die quickly. An analysis of recent satellite imagery shows that the Amazon forests are disappearing twice as fast as previously thought.

Forests make up about 85% of the world's biomass. They play a crucial role in the formation of the global water cycle, as well as the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and oxygen. The world's forests regulate climate processes and the world's water regime. Equatorial forests are the most important reservoir of biological diversity, preserving 50% of the world's animal and plant species on 6% of the land area.

The contribution of forests to world resources is not only quantitatively significant, but also unique, since forests are a source of wood, paper, medicines, paints, rubber, fruits, etc. Forests with closed tree crowns occupy 28 million square meters in the world. km with approximately the same area in the temperate and tropical zones. The total area of ​​continuous and sparse forests, according to the International Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 1995. covered 26.6% of ice-free land, or approximately 35 million square meters. km.

As a result of his activities, man destroyed at least 10 million square meters. km of forests containing 36% of the land phytomass. The main reason for the destruction of forests is the increase in the area of ​​arable land and pastures due to population growth.

Deforestation results in a direct decrease in organic matter, the loss of carbon dioxide uptake channels by vegetation, and the manifestation of a wide range of changes in energy, water and nutrient cycling. The destruction of forest vegetation affects the global biogeochemical cycles of the main biogenic elements and, consequently, affects the chemical composition of the atmosphere.

About 25% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is due to deforestation. Deforestation leads to noticeable changes in climatic conditions at the local, regional and global levels. These climatic changes occur as a result of the impact on the components of the radiation and water balances.

The impact of deforestation on the parameters of the sedimentation cycle (increase in surface runoff, erosion, transportation, accumulation of sedimentary material) is especially great when an exposed, unprotected surface is formed; in such a situation, soil washout on the most severely eroded lands, which make up 1% of the total area of ​​plowed agricultural land, reaches from 100 to 200 thousand hectares per year. Although, if the reduction of the forest is accompanied by its immediate replacement with other vegetation, the magnitude of soil erosion is significantly reduced.

The impact of deforestation on nutrient cycling depends on soil type, deforestation method, use of fire and type of subsequent land use. There is growing concern about the impact of deforestation on the loss of the Earth's biodiversity.

A number of countries have state programs for the economic development of forest areas. But forest management often fails to take into account that the benefits of using forests in their sustainable state can generate more income than the benefits associated with clearing forests and using timber. In addition, it should be remembered that the ecosystem function of forests is indispensable, and they play a crucial role in stabilizing the state of the geographic environment. The forest management strategy should be based on the recognition of the forest as the common heritage of mankind. It is necessary to develop and adopt an international convention on forests, which would define the basic principles and mechanisms for international cooperation in this area in order to maintain a sustainable state of forests and improve it.

Land degradation and desertification

Desertification is land degradation in arid, semi-arid (semiarid) and arid (sub-humid) areas of the globe, caused both by human activity (anthropogenic causes) and natural factors and processes. The term "climatic desertification" was proposed in the 1940s by the French researcher Auberville. The concept of "land" in this case means a bioproductive system consisting of soil, water, vegetation, other biomass, as well as ecological and hydrological processes within the system.

Land degradation - reduction or loss of biological and economic productivity of arable land or pastures as a result of land use. It is characterized by the drying up of the earth, the withering of vegetation, the decrease in soil cohesion, as a result of which rapid wind erosion and the formation of dust storms become possible. Desertification is one of the hard-to-compensate consequences of climate change, since it takes an average of 70 to 150 years to restore one conventional centimeter of fertile soil cover in the arid zone.

Land degradation is caused by many factors, including extreme weather events, especially droughts, and human activities that pollute or degrade soil quality and land suitability, negatively impacting food production, livelihoods, production and provision of other ecosystem products and services.

Land degradation in the 20th century has accelerated due to increasing general pressures from crop and livestock production (overcultivation, overgrazing, forest conversion), urbanization, deforestation, and extreme weather events such as droughts and salinization of coastal lands, flooded with waves. Desertification is a form of land degradation in which fertile land turns into desert.

These social and environmental processes are depleting cultivated land and pastures needed to produce food, water and quality air. Land degradation and desertification affect human health. As land degradation and deserts expand in some areas, food production is reduced, water sources dry up and people are forced to move to more favorable areas. This is one of the most significant global problems of mankind.

Soil erosion is one of the main reasons for the destruction of the fertile layer. It occurs mainly due to the so-called "agro-industrial" agriculture: soils are plowed up over large areas, and then the fertile layer is blown away by the wind or washed away by water. As a result, to date, there has been a partial loss of soil fertility on an area of ​​152 million hectares, or 2/3 of the total area of ​​arable land. It has been established that a 20-cm layer of soil on gentle slopes is destroyed by erosion under a cotton crop in 21 years, under a corn crop in 50 years, under meadow grasses in 25 thousand years, under a forest canopy in 170 thousand years.

Soil erosion today has become universal. In the US, for example, about 44% of cultivated land is subject to erosion. In Russia, unique rich black soils with a humus content of 14-16%, which were called the "citadel of Russian agriculture", disappeared, and the areas of the most fertile lands with a humus content of 10-13% decreased by almost 5 times.

Dry regions cover 41 percent of the earth's land mass. More than 2 billion people live on this territory (information from 2000). 90 per cent of the population are residents of developing countries with low development rates. Dryland countries have higher infant mortality and lower gross national product (GNP) per capita than the rest of the world. Due to difficult access to water, the market for agricultural products, a small number of natural resources, poverty is widespread in arid regions.

Soil erosion is especially great in the largest and most populous countries. The Yellow River in China annually carries about 2 billion tons of soil into the World Ocean. Soil erosion not only reduces fertility and reduces crop yields. As a result of erosion, artificially constructed water reservoirs are silting up much faster than usually envisaged in projects, the possibility of irrigation and obtaining electricity from hydroelectric power plants is reduced.

The environmental and economic consequences of desertification are very significant and almost always negative. Agricultural productivity is declining, species diversity and the number of animals are declining, which, especially in poor countries, leads to even greater dependence on natural resources.

Desertification limits the availability of basic ecosystem services and threatens human security. It is an important obstacle to development, which is why the United Nations in 1995 established the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, then proclaimed 2006 the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, and later designated the period from January 2010 to December 2020 as the United Nations Decade dedicated to deserts and the fight against desertification.

Pollution of the world's oceans and scarcity of fresh water

Water pollution - the ingress of various pollutants into the waters of rivers, lakes, groundwater, seas, oceans. Occurs when contaminants are introduced directly or indirectly into water without adequate treatment and removal of harmful substances.

In most cases, water pollution remains invisible because the pollutants are dissolved in the water. But there are exceptions: foaming detergents, as well as oil products floating on the surface and untreated sewage. There are several natural pollutants. Aluminum compounds found in the ground enter the fresh water system as a result of chemical reactions. Floods wash out magnesium compounds from the soil of meadows, which cause great damage to fish stocks.

However, the amount of natural pollutants is negligible compared to those produced by man. Thousands of chemicals with unpredictable effects enter watersheds every year, many of which are new chemical compounds. Elevated concentrations of toxic heavy metals (such as cadmium, mercury, lead, chromium), pesticides, nitrates and phosphates, petroleum products, surfactants, and drugs can be found in water. As is known, up to 12 million tons of oil enters the seas and oceans every year.

Acid rain also makes a certain contribution to the increase in the concentration of heavy metals in water. They are able to dissolve minerals in the soil, which leads to an increase in the content of heavy metal ions in the water. Nuclear power plants release radioactive waste into the water cycle.

The discharge of untreated wastewater into water sources leads to microbiological contamination of water. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80% of the world's diseases are caused by poor quality and unsanitary water. In rural areas, the problem of water quality is particularly acute - about 90% of all rural residents in the world constantly use polluted water for drinking and bathing.

Land and ocean are connected by rivers that flow into the seas and carry various pollutants. Chemicals that do not break down on contact with the soil, such as petroleum products, oil, fertilizers (especially nitrates and phosphates), insecticides and herbicides, are leached into rivers and then into the ocean. As a result, the ocean turns into a dumping ground for this "cocktail" of nutrients and poisons.

Oil and oil products are the main pollutants of the oceans, but the damage they cause is greatly exacerbated by sewage, household garbage and air pollution. Plastics and oil washed up on beaches remain along the high-tide mark, indicating that the seas are polluted and that many wastes are not biodegradable.

Fresh water supplies are under threat due to increasing demand for it. The population is growing and needs it more and more, and due to climate change, it is likely to be less and less.

At present, every sixth person on the planet, i.e. more than a billion people lack drinking fresh water. According to UN studies, by 2025, more than half of the world's states will either experience a serious shortage of water (when more water is needed than is available), or will feel its deficit. And by the middle of the century, three-quarters of the world's population will not have enough fresh water. Scientists expect that its deficiency will become widespread mainly due to an increase in the world's population. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that people are getting richer (which increases the demand for water) and global climate change, which leads to desertification and reduced water availability.

The natural geosystems of the ocean experience ever-increasing anthropogenic pressure. For their optimal functioning, dynamics and progressive development, special measures are needed to protect the marine environment. They should include the limitation and complete prohibition of pollution of the oceans; regulation of the use of its natural resources, creation of protected water areas, geoecological monitoring, etc. It is also necessary to formulate and implement specific plans for the implementation of political, economic and technological measures to provide the population with water in the present and future

Scarcity of natural resources

environmental problem ocean desertification

The shortage of natural resources, a problem that worried people in ancient times, sharply worsened in the 20th century, due to the powerful growth in the consumption of almost all natural resources - minerals, land for agriculture, forests, water, air.

First of all, it was this problem that made us raise the issue of sustainable development - managing the economy without destroying the basis of life support for the next generations.

At the moment, humanity is not able to do this, if only because the world economy is built mainly on the use of non-renewable resources - minerals.

Suffice it to say that with the given volumes of consumption (despite the fact that they are growing), the explored reserves of hydrocarbon fuel will be enough for mankind for several decades, i.e. for another 1-2 generations of earthlings. At the same time, renewable natural resources are also under the threat of depletion. First of all, these are bioresources. The most obvious examples are deforestation and desertification.

Global energy demand is growing rapidly (about 3% per year). While maintaining this pace by the middle of the XXI century. the global energy balance may increase by 2.5 times, by the end of the century - by 4 times. The increase in energy demand is due to the growth of the world population and the improvement in the quality of life, the development of world industry, and the industrialization of developing countries. A multiple increase in the volume of the world energy balance inevitably leads to a significant depletion of natural resources. To mitigate these negative impacts, energy conservation is essential, allowing products and useful work to be produced with far less energy consumption than in the last century. In the XX century. about 20% of primary energy was effectively used, while the latest technologies allow increasing the efficiency of power plants by 1.5-2 times. According to expert estimates, the implementation of energy conservation programs will reduce energy consumption by 30-40%, which will contribute to the safe and sustainable development of the global energy sector.

Russia contains 45% of the world's natural gas reserves, 13% of oil, 23% of coal, and 14% of uranium. However, their actual use is due to significant difficulties and dangers, does not meet the energy needs of many regions, is associated with irretrievable losses of fuel and energy resources (up to 50%), and threatens an environmental catastrophe in the places of extraction and production of fuel and energy resources.

We are now consuming oil, gas and coal at a rate about a million times faster than they naturally form in the earth's crust. Obviously, sooner or later they will be exhausted and humanity will face the question: how to replace them? If we compare the fossil energy resources remaining at the disposal of mankind and possible scenarios for the development of the world economy, demography and technology, then this time, depending on the accepted scenario, ranges from several tens to a couple of hundred years. This is the essence of the energy problem facing humanity. In addition, the ever more active extraction and use of exhaustible raw materials is harmful to the environment, in particular, leads to a change in the earth's climate. Excessive greenhouse gas emissions are changing the Earth's climate, leading to natural disasters.

An analysis of the potential of the Earth's natural resources indicates that humanity is provided with energy for the long term. Oil and gas have a fairly powerful resource, but this “golden fund” of the planet must not only be rationally used in the 21st century, but also preserved for future generations.

radioactive waste

Radioactive waste is liquid, solid and gaseous waste containing radioactive isotopes (RI) in concentrations exceeding the norms approved for a given country.

Any sector that uses radioactive isotopes or processes naturally occurring radioactive materials (EBRMs) can produce radioactive materials that are no longer useful and therefore must be treated as radioactive waste. The nuclear industry, the medical sector, a number of other industrial sectors, and various research sectors all generate radioactive waste as a result of their activities.

Some chemical elements are radioactive: the process of their spontaneous decay into elements with other serial numbers is accompanied by radiation. As a radioactive substance decays, its mass decreases over time. Theoretically, the entire mass of a radioactive element disappears in an infinitely long time. The half-life is the time after which the mass is halved. Varying over a wide range, the half-life is, for different radioactive substances, from several hours to billions of years.

The fight against radioactive contamination of the environment can only be of a preventive nature, since there are no methods of biological decomposition and other mechanisms that can neutralize this type of contamination of the natural environment. The greatest danger is posed by radioactive substances with a half-life of several weeks to several years: this time is sufficient for the penetration of such substances into the body of plants and animals. Spreading along the food chain (from plants to animals), radioactive substances enter the body along with food and can accumulate in quantities that can harm human health. The radiation of radioactive substances has a detrimental effect on the body due to a weakening of the immune system, a decrease in resistance to infections. The result is a decrease in life expectancy, a reduction in natural population growth rates due to temporary or complete sterilization. Damage to genes was noted, while the consequences appear only in subsequent - second or third - generations.

The greatest pollution due to radioactive decay was caused by explosions of atomic and hydrogen bombs, the testing of which was especially widely carried out in 1954-1962.

The second source of radioactive impurities is the nuclear industry. Impurities enter the environment during the extraction and enrichment of fossil raw materials, their use in reactors, and the processing of nuclear fuel in installations.

The most serious pollution of the environment is associated with the operation of plants for the enrichment and processing of nuclear raw materials. For the decontamination of radioactive waste to its complete safety, a time equal to about 20 half-lives is required (this is about 640 years for 137Cs and 490 thousand years for 239Ru). It is hardly possible to vouch for the tightness of containers in which waste is stored for such a long time.

Thus, the storage of nuclear waste is the most acute problem of protecting the environment from radioactive contamination. Theoretically, however, it is possible to create nuclear power plants with practically zero emissions of radioactive impurities. But in this case, the production of energy at a nuclear power plant turns out to be significantly more expensive than at a thermal power plant.

Decreased biodiversity

Biodiversity (BD) is the totality of all forms of life inhabiting our planet. This is what makes the Earth different from other planets in the solar system. BR is the richness and diversity of life and its processes, including the diversity of living organisms and their genetic differences, as well as the diversity of their places of existence.

The BR is divided into three hierarchical categories: diversity among members of the same species (genetic diversity), between different species, and between ecosystems. Research into the global problems of BD at the level of genes is a matter of the future.

The most authoritative assessment of species diversity was made by UNEP in 1995. According to this assessment, the most probable number of species is 13-14 million, of which only 1.75 million, or less than 13%, have been described. The highest hierarchical level of biological diversity is ecosystem, or landscape. At this level, patterns of biological diversity are determined primarily by zonal landscape conditions, then by local features of natural conditions (relief, soil, climate), as well as the history of development of these territories. The greatest species diversity is (in descending order): humid equatorial forests, coral reefs, dry tropical forests, temperate rainforests, oceanic islands, landscapes of the Mediterranean climate, treeless (savannah, steppe) landscapes.

In the last two decades, biological diversity has begun to attract the attention of not only biologists, but also economists, politicians, and the public in connection with the obvious threat of anthropogenic degradation of biodiversity, which is much higher than normal, natural degradation.

According to the UNEP Global Biodiversity Assessment (1995), more than 30,000 animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. Over the past 400 years, 484 animal species and 654 plant species have disappeared.

The reasons for the modern accelerated decline in biological diversity - 1) the rapid growth of population and economic development, making huge changes in the living conditions of all organisms and ecological systems of the Earth; 2) increase in human migration, growth in international trade and tourism; 3) increasing pollution of natural waters, soil and air; 4) insufficient attention to the long-term consequences of actions that destroy the conditions for the existence of living organisms, exploit natural resources and introduce non-native species; 5) the impossibility in a market economy to assess the true value of biological diversity and its losses.

Over the past 400 years, the main direct causes of the extinction of animal species were: 1) the introduction of new species, accompanied by the displacement or extermination of local species (39% of all lost animal species); 2) destruction of living conditions, direct removal of territories inhabited by animals, and their degradation, fragmentation, increased edge effect (36% of all lost species); 3) uncontrolled hunting (23%); 4) Other reasons (2%).

Mankind is trying to stop or slow down the growth of the decline in the biodiversity of the Earth in various ways. But, unfortunately, so far it can be stated that, despite numerous measures, the accelerated erosion of the biological diversity of the world continues. However, without these protective measures, the extent of biodiversity loss would be even greater.

2. WAYS FOR SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Most scientists who have studied environmental problems believe that humanity has about 40 more years to return the natural environment to the state of a normally functioning biosphere and resolve issues of its own survival. But this period is extremely short. And does a person have the resources to solve at least the most acute problems?

To the main achievements of civilization in the XX century. include advances in science and technology. The achievements of science, including the science of environmental law, can also be considered as the main resource in solving environmental problems. The thought of scientists is aimed at overcoming the ecological crisis. Mankind, states should make maximum use of the available scientific achievements for their own salvation.

The authors of the scientific work "The Limits to Growth: 30 Years Later" Meadows D.H., Meadows D.L., Randers J. believe that the choice of mankind is to reduce the burden on nature caused by human activity to a sustainable level through reasonable policy, intelligent technology and intelligent organization, or wait until the changes in nature reduce the amount of food, energy, raw materials and create an environment completely unsuitable for life.

Taking into account the shortage of time, humanity must determine what goals it faces, what tasks need to be solved, what should be the results of its efforts. In accordance with certain goals, objectives and expected, planned results, humanity develops the means to achieve them. Given the complexity of environmental problems, these funds have specifics in technical, economic, educational, legal and other areas.

Implementation of environmentally efficient and resource-saving technologies

The concept of non-waste technology, in accordance with the Declaration of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (1979), means the practical application of knowledge, methods and means in order to ensure the most rational use of natural resources and protect the environment within the framework of human needs.

In 1984 the same UN commission adopted a more specific definition of this concept: “Wasteless technology is a method of production in which all raw materials and energy are used most rationally and comprehensively in a cycle: raw materials production consumption secondary resources, and any environmental impact does not violate its normal functioning.

This formulation should not be taken absolutely, i.e. one should not think that production is possible without waste. It is simply impossible to imagine absolutely waste-free production, there is no such thing in nature, it contradicts the second law of thermodynamics (the second law of thermodynamics is considered to be an empirically obtained statement about the impossibility of building a periodically operating device that does work by cooling one source of heat, i.e. eternal engine of the second kind). However, waste should not disrupt the normal functioning of natural systems. In other words, we must develop criteria for the undisturbed state of nature. The creation of non-waste industries is a very complex and lengthy process, the intermediate stage of which is low-waste production. Low-waste production should be understood as such production, the results of which, when exposed to the environment, do not exceed the level allowed by sanitary and hygienic standards, i.e. MPC. At the same time, for technical, economic, organizational or other reasons, part of the raw materials and materials may turn into waste and be sent for long-term storage or disposal. At the present stage of development of scientific and technological progress, it is the most real.

The principles for the establishment of low-waste or waste-free production should be:

The principle of consistency is the most basic. In accordance with it, each individual process or production is considered as an element of a dynamic system of the entire industrial production in the region (TPC) and at a higher level as an element of the ecological and economic system as a whole, which includes, in addition to material production and other economic and human activities, the natural environment. (populations of living organisms, atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biogeocenoses, landscapes), as well as man and his environment.

The complexity of the use of resources. This principle requires the maximum use of all components of raw materials and the potential of energy resources. As you know, almost all raw materials are complex, and on average, more than a third of their number are related elements that can be extracted only through its complex processing. Thus, almost all silver, bismuth, platinum and platinoids, as well as more than 20% of gold, are already obtained as a by-product during the processing of complex ores.

Cyclicity of material flows. The simplest examples of cyclic material flows include closed water and gas circulation cycles. Ultimately, the consistent application of this principle should lead to the formation, first in individual regions, and subsequently in the entire technosphere, of a consciously organized and regulated technogenic circulation of matter and the energy transformations associated with it.

The requirement to limit the impact of production on the natural and social environment, taking into account the planned and purposeful growth of its volumes and environmental excellence. This principle is primarily associated with the conservation of such natural and social resources as atmospheric air, water, land surface, recreational resources, and public health.

Rationality of the organization of low-waste and non-waste technologies. The determining factor here is the requirement for the reasonable use of all components of raw materials, the maximum reduction of energy, material and labor intensity of production and the search for new environmentally sound raw materials and energy technologies, which is largely associated with reducing the negative impact on the environment and causing damage to it, including related industries of the national economy. economy.

In the whole set of works related to the protection of the environment and the rational development of natural resources, it is necessary to single out the main directions for the creation of low-waste and waste-free industries. These include: integrated use of raw materials and energy resources; improvement of existing and development of fundamentally new technological processes and industries and related equipment; introduction of water and gas circulation cycles (based on efficient gas and water treatment methods); cooperation of production using the wastes of some industries as raw materials for others and the creation of waste-free TPK.

On the way to improve existing and develop fundamentally new technological processes, it is necessary to comply with a number of general requirements: the implementation of production processes with the minimum possible number of technological stages (devices), since waste is generated at each of them and raw materials are lost; the use of continuous processes that allow the most efficient use of raw materials and energy; increase (to the optimum) unit capacity of the units; intensification of production processes, their optimization and automation; creation of energy technological processes. The combination of energy with technology makes it possible to make fuller use of the energy of chemical transformations, save energy resources, raw materials and materials, and increase the productivity of units. An example of such production is the large - scale production of ammonia according to the energy - technological scheme .

Rational use of natural resources

Both non-renewable and renewable resources of the planet are not infinite, and the more intensively they are used, the less of these resources remain for the next generations. Therefore, decisive measures are required everywhere for the rational use of natural resources. The era of reckless exploitation of nature by man is over, the biosphere is in dire need of protection, and natural resources should be protected and used sparingly.

The basic principles of such an attitude to natural resources are set out in the international document "The concept of sustainable economic development", adopted at the second UN World Conference on Environmental Protection in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

With regard to inexhaustible resources, the "Concept of sustainable economic development" of development urgently requires a return to their widespread use and, where possible, the replacement of non-renewable resources with inexhaustible ones. First of all, this concerns the energy industry.

For example, wind is a promising source of energy, and the use of modern "wind turbines" is very appropriate in flat open coastal areas. With the help of hot natural springs, you can not only treat many diseases, but also heat your home. As a rule, all the difficulties in the use of inexhaustible resources lie not in the fundamental possibilities of their use, but in the technological problems that have to be solved.

With regard to non-renewable resources, the "Concept of Sustainable Economic Development" states that their extraction should be made normative, i.e. reduce the rate of extraction of minerals from the bowels. The world community will have to abandon the race for leadership in the extraction of this or that natural resource, the main thing is not the volume of the extracted resource, but the efficiency of its use. This means a completely new approach to the problem of mining: it is necessary to extract not as much as each country can, but as much as is necessary for the sustainable development of the world economy. Of course, the world community will not come to such an approach immediately; it will take decades to implement it.

With regard to renewable resources, the "Concept of sustainable economic development" requires that they be exploited at least within the framework of simple reproduction, and their total amount does not decrease over time. In the language of ecologists, this means: how much you have taken from nature of a renewable resource (for example, forests), return so much (in the form of forest plantations). Land resources also require careful treatment and protection. To protect against erosion, use:

windbreaks;

plowing without turning over the layer;

in hilly areas - plowing across the slopes and tinning the land;

regulation of livestock grazing.

Disturbed, polluted lands can be restored, this process is called reclamation. Such restored lands can be used in four directions: for agricultural use, for forest plantations, for artificial reservoirs and for housing or capital construction. Reclamation consists of two stages: mining (preparation of territories) and biological (planting trees and low-demanding crops, such as perennial grasses, industrial legumes).

The protection of water resources is one of the most important environmental problems of our time. It is difficult to overestimate the role of the ocean in the life of the biosphere, which carries out the process of self-purification of water in nature with the help of the plankton living in it; stabilizing the planet's climate, being in constant dynamic equilibrium with the atmosphere; producing huge biomass. But for life and economic activity, a person needs fresh water. Strict saving of fresh water and prevention of its pollution are necessary.

Saving fresh water should be carried out in everyday life: in many countries, residential buildings are equipped with water meters, this is a very disciplined population. Pollution of water bodies is detrimental not only for humanity in need of drinking water. It contributes to a catastrophic reduction in fish stocks both at the global and Russian levels. In polluted waters, the amount of dissolved oxygen decreases and fish die. Obviously, tough environmental measures are needed to prevent pollution of water bodies and to combat poaching.

Recycling

The use of secondary raw materials as a new resource base is one of the most dynamically developing areas of polymer materials processing in the world. Interest in obtaining cheap resources, which are secondary polymers, is very tangible, so the world experience in their recycling should be in demand.

In countries where environmental protection is of great importance, the volume of recycling of recycled polymers is constantly increasing. Legislation obliges legal entities and individuals to dispose of plastic waste (flexible packaging, bottles, cups, etc.) into special containers for their subsequent disposal. Today, the agenda is not only the task of recycling various materials, but also the restoration of the resource base. However, the possibility of using waste for re-production is limited by their unstable and worse mechanical properties compared to the original materials. The end products with their use often do not meet aesthetic criteria. For some types of products, the use of secondary raw materials is generally prohibited by the current sanitary or certification standards.

For example, some countries have banned the use of certain recycled polymers in food packaging. The process of obtaining finished products from recycled plastics is associated with a number of difficulties. The reuse of recycled materials requires a special reconfiguration of the process parameters due to the fact that the recycled material changes its viscosity, and may also contain non-polymer inclusions. In some cases, special mechanical requirements are imposed on the finished product, which simply cannot be met when using recycled polymers. Therefore, for the use of recycled polymers, it is necessary to achieve a balance between the desired properties of the final product and the average characteristics of the recycled material. The basis for such developments should be the idea of ​​creating new products from recycled plastics, as well as partial replacement of primary materials with secondary ones in traditional products. Recently, the process of replacing primary polymers in production has intensified so much that more than 1,400 items of products from recycled plastics are produced in the USA alone, which were previously produced only using primary raw materials.

Thus, recycled plastic products can be used to produce products that were previously made from virgin materials. For example, it is possible to produce plastic bottles from waste, i.e. recycling in a closed cycle. Also, secondary polymers are suitable for the manufacture of objects whose properties may be worse than those of analogues made using primary raw materials. The last solution is called "cascade" waste processing. It is successfully used, for example, by FIAT auto, which recycles the bumpers of end-of-life cars into pipes and floor mats for new cars.

Protection of Nature

Nature protection - a set of measures for the conservation, rational use and restoration of natural resources and the environment, including the species diversity of flora and fauna, the richness of the subsoil, the purity of waters, forests and the Earth's atmosphere. Nature protection is of economic, historical and social importance.

Environmental protection methods are usually divided into groups:

legislative

organizational,

biotechnical

educational and propaganda.

The legal protection of nature in the country is based on all-Union and republican legislative acts and the relevant articles of the criminal codes. Their proper implementation is supervised by state inspectorates, nature conservation societies and the police. All these organizations may create groups of public inspectors. The success of legal methods of nature protection depends on the efficiency of supervision, strict adherence to principles in the performance of their duties by those who carry it out, on the knowledge of public inspectors how to take into account the state of natural resources and environmental legislation.

The organizational method of nature protection consists of various organizational measures aimed at the economical use of natural resources, their more expedient consumption, and the replacement of natural resources with artificial ones. It also provides for the solution of other tasks related to the effective conservation of natural resources.

The biotechnical method of nature protection includes numerous methods of direct impact on the protected object or the environment in order to improve their condition and protect them from adverse circumstances. According to the degree of impact, passive and active methods of biotechnical protection are usually distinguished. The first include commandment, order, prohibition, protection, the second - restoration, reproduction, change in use, salvation, etc.

The educational and propaganda method combines all forms of oral, printed, visual, radio and television propaganda to popularize the ideas of nature conservation, instilling in people the habit of constantly taking care of it.

Activities related to nature protection can also be divided into the following groups:

natural sciences

technical and production,

economic,

administrative and legal.

Measures for the protection of nature can be carried out on an international scale, a national scale or within a particular region.

The world's first measure for the protection of animals living freely in nature was the decision to protect chamois and marmots in the Tatras, adopted in 1868 by the Zemstvo Sejm in Lvov and the Austro-Hungarian authorities on the initiative of the Polish naturalists M. Nowicki, E. Yanota and L. Zeissner.

The danger of uncontrolled changes in the environment and, as a result, the threat to the existence of living organisms on Earth (including humans) required decisive practical measures to protect and protect nature, legal regulation of the use of natural resources. Among such measures are cleaning up the environment, streamlining the use of chemicals, stopping the production of pesticides, restoring land, and creating nature reserves. Rare plants and animals are listed in the Red Book.

In Russia, environmental protection measures are provided for in land, forestry, water and other federal legislation.

In a number of countries, as a result of the implementation of government environmental programs, it was possible to significantly improve the quality of the environment in certain regions (for example, as a result of a long-term and expensive program, it was possible to restore the purity and quality of water in the Great Lakes). On an international scale, along with the creation of various international organizations on certain problems of nature protection, the UN Environment Program operates.

Increasing the level of human ecological culture

Ecological culture is the level of people's perception of nature, the world around them and the assessment of their position in the universe, the attitude of a person to the world. Here it is necessary to immediately clarify that it is not the relation of man and the world that is meant, which also implies feedback, but only the relation of man himself to the world, to living nature.

Under ecological culture, the whole complex of skills of being in contact with the natural environment is commemorated. An increasing number of scientists and specialists are inclined to believe that overcoming the ecological crisis is possible only on the basis of ecological culture, the central idea of ​​which is the joint harmonious development of nature and man and the attitude towards nature not only as a material, but also as a spiritual value.

The formation of ecological culture is considered as a complex, multidimensional, long process of affirmation in the way of thinking, feelings and behavior of residents of all ages:

ecological outlook;

careful attitude to the use of water and land resources, green spaces and specially protected areas;

personal responsibility to society for the creation and preservation of a favorable environment;

conscious implementation of environmental rules and requirements.

“Only a revolution in the minds of the people will bring the desired changes. If we want to save ourselves and the biosphere on which our existence depends, everyone ... - both old and young - must become real, active and even aggressive fighters for the protection of the environment ”- with these words, William O. Douglas, Dr. law, former member of the United States Supreme Court.

The revolution in people's minds, which is so necessary to overcome the ecological crisis, will not happen by itself. It is possible with purposeful efforts within the framework of state environmental policy and an independent function of public administration in the field of the environment. These efforts should be aimed at the ecological education of all generations, especially the young, the education of a sense of respect for nature. It is necessary to form ecological consciousness, individual and social, based on the idea of ​​harmonious relationships between man and nature, man's dependence on nature and responsibility for its preservation for future generations.

At the same time, the most important prerequisite for solving environmental problems in the world is the targeted training of ecologists - specialists in the field of economics, engineering, technology, law, sociology, biology, hydrology, etc. Without highly qualified specialists with modern knowledge on the entire spectrum of issues of interaction between society and nature, especially in in the process of making environmentally significant economic, managerial and other decisions, the planet Earth may not have a worthy future.

However, even having organizational, human, material and other resources to address environmental issues, people must acquire the necessary will and wisdom to adequately use these resources.

Environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and disruption of ecological links in ecosystems have become global problems. And if humanity continues to follow the current path of development, then its death, according to the leading ecologists of the world, is inevitable in two or three generations.

The violation of the ecological balance in the modern world has taken such proportions that there has been a violation of the balance between the natural systems necessary for life and the demographic needs of mankind.

Modern man has faced the most difficult test of all the time of his existence: he needs to overcome the ecological crisis caused by limited reserves of natural resources (renewable and non-renewable), overcome the energy crisis and at the same time multilateral environmental pollution, population explosion, famine and many other problems. But no matter how paradoxical it may sound, the creator of today's ecological situation in the world is man himself, his all-transforming activity.

Determining the range of the most urgent environmental problems, it is impossible to dwell on a few separately. As the most important, we can single out, perhaps, only the directions, omitting which, humanity threatens the very fact of its existence. These groups include problems associated, for example, with the most vital natural resources.

The consequences of violations of natural phenomena cross the borders of individual states and therefore international efforts are required to protect not only individual ecosystems, but the entire biosphere as a whole. All states are concerned about the fate of the biosphere and the continued existence of mankind. In 1971, UNESCO, which includes most countries, adopted the International Program "Man and the Biosphere", which studies changes in the biosphere and its resources under the influence of man. These important problems for the fate of mankind can only be solved through close international cooperation.

The population of the Earth is increasing, which means that the power of human intervention in nature is increasing. It is clear that at such a rate as it is now, the natural non-renewable resources that man so actively uses will soon be exhausted. Even renewable resources are now in short supply, as the rate of their consumption outstrips the rate of renewal. In the course of their activities, a person throws waste into the environment, many of which cannot be recycled and therefore pollute it. By polluting the environment, a person first of all deprives himself of his habitat, and also deprives him of other species.

The threatening nature of global environmental problems is largely due to the enormously increased means of human impact on the world around us and the huge scope (scale) of its economic activity, which has become comparable to geological and other planetary natural processes.

To solve modern environmental problems, it is necessary to change the industrial civilization and create a new basis for society, where the leading motive for production will be the satisfaction of essential human needs, the even and humane distribution of natural and labor-created wealth.

The protection of nature directly concerns everyone. All people breathe the same air of the Earth, all drink water and eat food, the molecules of which continuously participate in the endless cycle of matter in the planet's biosphere. Perhaps there is still a chance to correct the ecological situation in the world, and we must take this chance, restore what we have violated in the biosphere, and learn to live in harmony with nature.

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Relevant for Russia. It should be recognized that the country is one of the most polluted in the world. This affects the quality of life and adversely affects people's health. The emergence of environmental problems in Russia, as in other countries, is associated with the intense influence of man on nature, which has become dangerous and aggressive.

What are the common environmental problems in Russia?

Air pollution

Water and soil pollution

Household waste

On average, each inhabitant of Russia accounts for 400 kg of municipal solid waste per year. The only way out is the recycling of waste (paper, glass). There are very few enterprises that are engaged in the disposal or processing of waste in the country;

Nuclear pollution

At many nuclear power plants, the equipment is outdated and the situation is approaching catastrophic, because an accident can happen at any moment. In addition, radioactive waste is not properly disposed of. Radioactive radiation of hazardous substances causes mutation and cell death in the body of a person, animal, plant. Contaminated elements enter the body along with water, food and air, are deposited, and the effects of irradiation may appear after a while;

Destruction of protected areas and poaching

This lawless activity leads to the death of both individual species of flora and fauna, and the destruction of ecosystems as a whole.

Problems of the Arctic

As for the specific environmental problems in Russia, in addition to global ones, there are several regional ones. First of all, this problems of the Arctic. This ecosystem was damaged during its development. There are a large number of hard-to-reach oil and gas reserves. If they start to be extracted, there will be a threat of oil spills. leads to the melting of the glaciers of the Arctic, they can completely disappear. As a result of these processes, many species of northern animals are dying out, and the ecosystem is significantly changing, there is a threat of flooding of the continent.

Baikal

Baikal is the source of 80% of Russia's drinking water, and this water area was damaged by the activities of the paper and pulp mill, which dumped industrial, household waste, and garbage nearby. The Irkutsk HPP also adversely affects the lake. Not only are the shores destroyed, the water is polluted, but its level is also falling, the spawning grounds of fish are being destroyed, which leads to the disappearance of populations.

The Volga basin is subjected to the greatest anthropogenic load. The quality of the Volga water and its inflow does not meet recreational and hygienic standards. Only 8% of wastewater discharged into rivers is treated. In addition, the country has a significant problem of lowering the level of rivers in all water bodies, as well as constantly drying up small rivers.

The Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is considered the most dangerous water area in Russia, since the water contains a huge amount of oil products that spilled as a result of accidents on tankers. There is also active poaching activity, in connection with which animal populations are declining. There is also uncontrolled salmon fishing.

The construction of megacities and highways destroys forests and other natural resources throughout the country. In modern cities, there are problems not only of atmospheric and hydrosphere pollution, but also noise pollution. It is in cities that the problem of household waste is most acute. In the settlements of the country there are not enough green areas with plantings, and there is also poor air circulation. Among the most polluted cities in the world, the second place in the ranking is the Russian city of Norilsk. A bad ecological situation has formed in such cities of the Russian Federation as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Asbest, Lipetsk and Novokuznetsk.

Demonstrative video of environmental problems in Russia

Public health problem

Considering the various environmental problems in Russia, one cannot ignore the problem of the deterioration of the health status of the country's population. The main manifestations of this problem are as follows:

• — degradation of the gene pool and mutations;
• — an increase in the number of hereditary diseases and pathologies;
• - many diseases become chronic;
• - deterioration of sanitary and hygienic living conditions of certain segments of the population;
• - an increase in the number of drug addicts and alcohol-dependent people;
• — an increase in the level of child mortality;
• - the growth of male and female infertility;
• - regular epidemics;
• - an increase in the number of patients with cancer, allergies, cardiovascular diseases.

This list goes on. All of these health problems are a major consequence of environmental degradation. If the environmental problems in Russia are not solved, the number of sick people will increase, and the population will regularly decrease.

Ways to solve environmental problems

The solution of environmental problems directly depends on the activities of state authorities. It is necessary to control all areas of the economy so that all enterprises reduce their negative impact on the environment. We also need the development and implementation of eco-technologies. They can be borrowed from foreign developers. Today, drastic measures are required to solve environmental problems. However, we must remember that a lot also depends on ourselves: on the way of life, saving natural resources and communal benefits, maintaining hygiene and on our own choice. For example, everyone can throw away garbage, hand over waste paper, save water, put out a fire in nature, use reusable dishes, buy paper bags instead of plastic ones, read e-books. These small actions will help you make your contribution to the improvement of Russia's ecology.

In the last hundred years, as a result of human production activities in the biosphere, such changes have occurred that, in terms of scale, can be equated to natural disasters. They cause irreversible changes in ecological systems and components of the biosphere. Environmental problems, the solution of which is associated with the elimination of the negative impact of human activity on the scale of the biosphere, are called global environmental problems.

Global environmental problems do not arise in isolation and do not suddenly fall on the natural environment. They are formed gradually as a result of the accumulation of negative impacts of industrial production on the natural environment.

The stages of formation of global environmental problems can be represented in the following sequence: environmental problems that arise on the scale of an individual enterprise, industrial region, region, country, continent and the globe. This sequence is quite natural, since industrial enterprises in different countries of the world, producing the same products, emit the same pollutants into the environment.

The most pressing of the global environmental problems to date are:

Growth of the Earth's population;

Strengthening the greenhouse effect;

Destruction of the ozone layer;

Pollution of the oceans;

Reducing the area of ​​tropical forests;

Desertification of fertile lands;

Fresh water pollution.

Consider global environmental problems in more detail.

1. Population Growth

It is believed that in the next 4-5 decades the population of the Earth will double and stabilize at the level of 10-11 billion people. These years will be the most difficult and especially risky in the relationship between man and nature.

Intensive population growth in developing countries poses a great danger to the natural environment due to the fact that when creating new arable land, barbaric methods of destroying tropical forests are used. To provide the growing population with food, all kinds of methods will be used to catch and destroy wild animals, inhabitants of the seas and oceans.

In addition, the growth of the world's population is accompanied by a colossal increase in the volume of household waste. Suffice it to recall that for every inhabitant of the planet, one ton of household waste is generated annually, including 52 kg of hard-to-decompose polymer waste.

The growth of the Earth's population makes it necessary to intensify the impact on the natural environment during the extraction of minerals, an increase in the volume of production in various industries, an increase in the number of vehicles, an increase in the consumption of energy, natural resources, which are water, air, forests and minerals.

2. Strengthening the greenhouse effect

One of the important environmental problems of our time is the increased greenhouse effect. The essence of the greenhouse effect is as follows. As a result of pollution of the surface layer of the atmosphere, especially by the combustion products of carbon and hydrocarbon fuels, the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases increases in the air.

As a result, the infrared radiation of the earth's surface, heated by the direct rays of the Sun, is absorbed by molecules of carbon dioxide and methane, which leads to an increase in their thermal motion, and, consequently, an increase in the temperature of the atmospheric air of the surface layer. In addition to carbon dioxide and methane molecules, the greenhouse effect is also observed when atmospheric air is polluted with chlorofluorocarbons.

The greenhouse effect plays both positive and negative roles. So, the direct rays of the Sun heat the earth's surface only up to 18 ° C, which is not enough for the normal life of many species of plants and animals. Due to the greenhouse effect, the surface layer of the atmosphere heats up by an additional 13-15°C, which significantly expands the optimal conditions for the life of many species. The greenhouse effect also softens differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures. In addition, it serves as a protective belt that prevents the heat from the surface layer of the atmosphere from dissipating into space.

The negative side of the greenhouse effect is that as a result of the accumulation of carbon dioxide, the Earth's climate may warm, which can lead to the melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice and an increase in the level of the World Ocean by 50-350 cm, and consequently, flooding of low-lying fertile lands where seven tenths of the world's population.

3. Destruction of the ozone layer

It is known that the ozone layer of the atmosphere is located at an altitude of 20-45 km. Ozone is a corrosive and poisonous gas, and its maximum permissible concentration in the atmospheric air is 0.03 mg/m 3 .

In the troposphere, ozone is formed during the course of various physical and chemical phenomena. So, during a thunderstorm, it is formed under the action of lightning according to the following scheme:

0 2 + E m » 20; 0 2 + O > 0 3,

where E m - thermal energy of lightning.

Off the coast of the seas and oceans, ozone is formed due to the oxidation of algae thrown ashore by the wave. In coniferous forests, ozone is formed as a result of the oxidation of pine resin by atmospheric oxygen.

In the surface layer, ozone contributes to the formation of photochemical smog and has a destructive effect on polymeric materials. For example, under the influence of ozone, the surface of car tires quickly cracks, rubber becomes fragile and brittle. The same thing happens with synthetic leather.

In the stratosphere, ozone creates a uniform protective layer around the globe 25 km thick.

Ozone is formed when molecular oxygen interacts with the ultraviolet rays of the sun:

0 2 -> 20; 0 2 + O > 0 3 .

In the stratosphere, the ozone produced plays two roles. The first is that ozone absorbs most of the Sun's hard ultraviolet rays, which are detrimental to living organisms. The second important role is to create a thermal belt, which is formed:

Due to the release of heat during the formation of ozone molecules from oxygen under the action of sunlight;

Due to the absorption by ozone molecules of hard ultraviolet rays and infrared radiation from the sun.

Such a thermal belt prevents heat leakage from the troposphere and lower stratosphere into outer space.

Despite the fact that ozone is constantly being formed in the stratosphere, its concentration does not increase. If ozone were compressed at a pressure equal to the pressure at the Earth's surface, then the thickness of the ozone layer would not exceed 3 mm.

The concentration of ozone in the stratosphere over the past 25 years has decreased by more than 2%, and over North America - by 3-5%. This is the result of pollution of the upper atmosphere with nitrogen and chlorine gases.

It is believed that the decrease in the concentration of ozone in the protective layer is the cause of skin cancers and cases of eye cataracts.

One of the dangerous destroyers of the ozone layer are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in spray guns and refrigeration units. The widespread use of CFCs as a refrigerant and nebulizer is due to the fact that they are harmless gases under normal conditions. Due to the high stability in the troposphere, CFC molecules accumulate in it, gradually rising into the stratosphere, despite their higher density compared to air. The following ways of their ascent into the stratosphere have been established:

Absorption of CFCs by moisture and rise with it to the stratosphere, followed by the release of moisture in high-altitude layers during freezing;

Convection and diffusion of large masses of air due to natural physical and chemical processes;

The formation of funnels during the launch of space rockets, sucking in large volumes of air from the surface layer and raising these volumes of air to the heights of the ozone layer.

To date, CFC molecules have already been observed at an altitude of 25 km.

CFC molecules will interact with the Sun's hard ultraviolet rays, releasing chlorine radicals:

CC1 2 F 2 >-CClF 2 + Cb

CI- + 0 3 > "CIO + 0 2

SU + O - "O + 0 2

It can be seen that the chloroxide radical *C10 interacts with the oxygen atom, which should have reacted with molecular oxygen to form ozone.

One chlorine radical destroys up to 100,000 ozone molecules. In addition, the interaction with atomic oxygen, which in the absence of chlorine is involved in the reaction with molecular oxygen, slows down the process of ozone formation from atmospheric oxygen. At the same time, the concentration of the ozone layer can be reduced by 7-13%, which can cause negative changes in life on Earth. In addition, chlorine is a very stable catalyst for the destruction of ozone molecules.

It has been established that the reason for the emergence of the ozone hole over Antarctica is the entry into the stratosphere of chlorine-containing compounds and nitrogen oxides as part of the exhaust gases of high-altitude aviation and space rockets for launching satellites and spacecraft into orbit.

Prevention of the destruction of the ozone layer is possible by stopping the emission of CFCs into the atmospheric air by replacing them in sprayers and refrigeration units with other liquids that do not pose a threat to the ozone layer.

In some developed countries, the production of CFCs has already been phased out; in other countries, effective replacements for CFCs in refrigeration units are being sought. For example, in Russia, refrigerators of the Stinol brand are filled not with CFCs, but with hexane, a practically harmless hydrocarbon. In Kazan, the Khiton enterprise uses a mixture of propane-butane and compressed air to fill aerosol cans instead of CFCs.

4. Pollution of the oceans

The oceans are a colossal heat accumulator, a carbon dioxide absorber and a source of moisture. It has a tremendous impact on the climatic conditions of the entire globe.

At the same time, the oceans are being heavily polluted by industrial discharges, oil products, toxic chemical waste, radioactive waste and acid gases that fall in the form of acid rain.

The greatest danger is the pollution of the oceans with oil and oil products. Losses of oil in the world during its production, transportation, processing and consumption exceed 45 million tons, which is about 1.2% of annual production. Of these, 22 million tons are lost on land, up to 16 million tons enter the atmosphere due to incomplete combustion of petroleum products during the operation of automobile and aircraft engines.

About 7 million tons of oil is lost in the seas and oceans. It has been established that 1 liter of oil deprives 40 m 3 of water of oxygen and can lead to the destruction of a large number of fish fry and other marine organisms. At a concentration of oil in water of 0.1-0.01 ml/l, fish eggs die within a few days. One ton of oil is capable of polluting 12 km 2 of the water surface.

Space photography has recorded that almost 30% of the surface of the World Ocean is covered with an oil film, the waters of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and their coasts are especially polluted.

Oil enters the seas and oceans:

When loading and unloading oil tankers capable of simultaneously transporting up to 400 thousand tons of oil;

In case of tanker accidents, leading to the pouring of tens and hundreds of thousands of tons of oil into the sea;

When extracting oil from the seabed and during accidents at wells located on platforms above water. For example, in the Caspian Sea, some drilling and oil production platforms are 180 km away from the coast. Consequently, in the event of an oil spill into the sea, pollution will occur not only near the coastal zone, which is convenient for eliminating the consequences of pollution, but will cover large areas in the middle of the sea.

The consequences of pollution of the oceans are very serious. First, surface contamination with an oil film leads to a decrease in the absorption of carbon dioxide and its accumulation in the atmosphere. Secondly, plankton, fish and other inhabitants of aquatic environments die in the seas and oceans. Thirdly, large oil slicks on the surface of the seas and oceans cause the death of a large number of migratory birds. From a bird's eye view, these spots look like the surface of the land. Birds sit down to rest on the polluted surface of the water and drown.

However, oil in ocean water does not last long. It has been established that up to 80% of oil products are destroyed in the ocean in one month, while some of them evaporate, some are emulsified (biochemical decomposition of oil products occurs in emulsions), and some undergo photochemical oxidation.

5. Reducing the area of ​​forests

One hectare of tropical rainforest produces 28 tons of oxygen per year during photosynthesis. At the same time, the forest absorbs a large amount of carbon dioxide and thus prevents the increase in the greenhouse effect. Although tropical forests occupy only 7% of the earth's land, they contain 4/5 of the entire vegetation of the planet.

The disappearance of forests can lead to the formation of desert lands with a harsh climate. An example of this is the Sahara Desert.

According to scientists, 8 thousand years ago the territory of the Sahara desert was covered with tropical forests and dense green vegetation, there were numerous full-flowing rivers. The Sahara was an earthly paradise for humans and wild animals. This is evidenced by rock paintings depicting elephants, giraffes and wild animals that have survived to this day.

The intensive growth of the population of developing countries has led to the fact that every year 120 thousand km 2 of tropical forests disappear from the surface of the Earth. According to scientists and experts, if the current rate of deforestation of tropical forests continues, they will disappear in the first half of the next century.

Deforestation in developing countries has the following objectives:

Obtaining marketable solid wood;

The release of land for growing crops.

These goals are aimed at overcoming food shortages for a growing population. In most cases, tropical forests are first cut down, marketable timber is harvested, the volume of which does not exceed 10% of the felled forest. Then, following the loggers, the territory is cleared from the remnants of the forest and land areas are formed for farming.

However, the thickness of the fertile soil layer in tropical forests does not exceed 2-3 cm, therefore, in two years (or a maximum of five years), the fertility of such soil is completely depleted. Soil restoration occurs only after 20-30 years. As a result, the destruction of tropical forests to create new arable land has no prospect. At the same time, the hopeless situation associated with intensive population growth does not allow the governments of developing countries to ban the deforestation of tropical forests, which can only be achieved by the efforts of the entire world community.

There are many ways to solve the problem of tropical forest conservation, and among them the following can be considered the most realistic:

Increasing timber prices as they are currently at such a low level that income from the sale of timber does not finance the reforestation of cleared areas. In addition, high-quality wood does not exceed 10% of the volume of felled forest;

The development of tourism and the receipt of greater income from it than from agriculture. However, for this it is necessary to create special national parks, which requires significant capital investments.

6. Land desertification

In general, desertification of lands occurs for the following reasons.

Overgrazing. A large number of cattle in a small pasture can destroy all vegetation, leaving the soil exposed. Such soil is easily exposed to wind and water erosion.

Simplification of ecological systems. In the transition zone from the Sahara desert to the savannas of West Africa, up to 400 km wide, shepherds burn bushes, believing that fresh green grass will grow after the fire. However, negative results are often obtained. The fact is that shrubs feed on the moisture of the deep layers of the soil and protect the soil from wind erosion.

Intensive exploitation of arable land. Farmers often shorten crop rotation by not leaving the field to rest. As a result, the soil is depleted, exposed to wind erosion.

Wood preparation. In developing countries, firewood is used for heat generation, cooking and for sale. Therefore, forests are intensively cut down, and rapidly spreading soil erosion begins in the place of the former forest. A typical example is the island of Haiti. It was once an earthly paradise for humans and animals, but in recent years, due to a sharp increase in population, forests have been intensively exterminated on the island, and part of the soil has come to a state of desertification.

Salinization- this type of desertification is typical for irrigated lands. As a result of the evaporation of water from irrigation systems, water saturated with salts, that is, saline solutions, remains in them. As they accumulate, plants stop growing and die. In addition, hard salt crusts form on the soil surface. Examples of salinization are the deltas of the Senegal and Niger rivers, the valley of Lake Chad, the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, cotton plantations in Uzbekistan.

Every year, 50 to 70 thousand km 2 of arable land is lost due to desertification.

The consequences of desertification are food shortages and famine.

Desertification control includes:

Limitation of cattle grazing and slowdown in agricultural activity;

The use of agroforestry is the planting of trees that have green leaves during the dry season;

Development of a special technology for growing agricultural products and training peasants in effective work.

7. Pollution of fresh water

Pollution of fresh water causes its shortage not due to lack, but because of the impossibility of consumption for drinking. Water in general can be scarce only in the desert. However, at present, clean fresh water is becoming rare even in those regions where there are deep rivers, but polluted by industrial discharges. It has been established that 1 m 3 of waste water can pollute 60 m 3 of clean river water.

The main danger of water pollution by sewage is associated with a decrease in the concentration of dissolved oxygen below 8-9 mg/l. Under these conditions, eutrophication of the water body begins, leading to the death of the inhabitants of aquatic environments.

There are three types of drinking water pollution:

Pollution with inorganic chemicals - nitrates, salts of heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury;

Pollution with organic substances, such as pesticides and petroleum products;

Contamination with pathogenic microbes and microorganisms.

Measures to address contamination of drinking water sources include:

Reducing the discharge of wastewater into water bodies;

Use of closed water circulation cycles at industrial enterprises;

Creation of efficiently used state water reserves.

Sources of environmental pollution

Pollution is considered to be the introduction into the ecological system of new physical, chemical and biological agents that are not characteristic of it, or the excess of the natural long-term average level of these agents in the natural environment.

The direct objects of pollution are the components of the biosphere - the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Indirect objects of pollution are components of ecological systems, such as plants, microorganisms and wildlife.

Pollutants of the environment are hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds. At the same time, toxic substances, radioactive substances, salts of heavy metals are of particular danger.

Pollutants from different emission sources may be identical in composition, physicochemical and toxic properties.

Thus, sulfur dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere as part of the flue gases of thermal power plants that burn fuel oil and coal; waste gases of oil refineries; off-gases of the enterprises of the metallurgical industry; sulfuric acid production waste.

Nitrogen oxides are part of the flue gases during the combustion of all types of fuel, waste (tail) gases from the production of nitric acid, ammonia and nitrogen fertilizers.

Hydrocarbons enter the atmosphere as part of emissions from enterprises in the oil, oil refining and petrochemical industries, transport, thermal power and gas production industries, during the extraction of coal.

Sources of pollution can be of natural and anthropogenic origin.

Anthropogenic pollution includes pollution arising from the production activities of people and in their daily lives. Unlike natural, anthropogenic pollution enters the natural environment continuously, which leads to the accumulation of pollutants with the formation of high local concentrations that have a harmful effect on the flora and fauna.

In turn, anthropogenic pollution is divided into physical, chemical and microbiological groups. Each of these groups is characterized by a variety of pollution sources and characteristics of environmental pollutants.

1. Physical pollution

Physical pollution includes the following types of environmental pollution: thermal, light, noise, electromagnetic and radioactive. Let's consider each type in more detail.

Thermal pollution occurs as a result of a local increase in air, water or soil temperature due to industrial emissions of heated gases or air, discharges of warm industrial or waste water into water bodies, as well as the laying of surface and underground heating mains.

It has been established that about 90% of the electricity in the world (in the Russian Federation - 80%) is produced at thermal power plants. For this, about 7 billion tons of standard fuel are burned annually. At the same time, the efficiency of thermal power plants is only 40%. Consequently, 60% of the heat from fuel combustion is dissipated in the environment, including when warm water is discharged into water bodies.

The essence of thermal pollution of water bodies in the production of electrical energy is as follows. Water vapor with high temperature and pressure, which is formed in the furnace of a thermal power plant when fuel is burned, rotates the turbine of a thermal power plant. After that, one part of the exhaust steam is used to heat residential and industrial premises, and the other part is collected in condensers due to heat transfer to the cooling water coming from the reservoir. The condensate is again supplied to produce high-pressure steam to rotate the turbine, and the heated water is discharged into the reservoir, which leads to an increase in its temperature. Therefore, thermal pollution leads to a decrease in the number of different types of plant and living organisms in water bodies.

If there is no reservoir near the thermal power plant, then the cooling water, which is heated during the condensation of steam, is supplied to cooling towers, which are structures in the form of a truncated cone for cooling hot water with atmospheric air. Numerous vertical plates are located inside the cooling towers. As water flows from top to bottom in a thin layer over the plates, its temperature gradually decreases.

Cooled water is recirculated to condense the exhaust steam. During the operation of cooling towers, a large amount of water vapor is released into the atmospheric air, which leads to a local increase in humidity and temperature of the ambient atmospheric air.

An example of thermal pollution of aquatic ecological systems is the reservoir of the Zainskaya thermal power plant, which does not freeze even in the most severe frosts due to the discharge of industrial warm water into it in large quantities.

Light pollution. It is known that light pollution of the natural environment disrupts the illumination of the earth's surface during the change of day and night, and, consequently, the adaptability of plants and animals to these conditions. Artificial light sources in the form of powerful spotlights along the perimeters of the territories of some industrial enterprises can have a negative impact on the vital activity of the flora and fauna.

Noise pollution is formed as a result of an increase in the intensity and frequency of noise above natural levels. Adaptation of living organisms to noise is practically impossible.

Noise is characterized by frequency and sound pressure. Sounds perceived by the human ear lie in the frequency range from 16 to 20,000 Hz. This range is called the audio frequency range. Sound waves below 20 Hz are called infrasound, and those above 20,000 Hz are called ultrasound. It has been established that infrasound and ultrasound pose a danger to humans and living organisms. For practical applications, the logarithmic scale for measuring the sound pressure level of noise, measured in decibels (dB), is convenient.

It is known that the upper limit of noise that does not cause inconvenience to a person and does not have a harmful effect on his body is the sound pressure level of 50-60 dB. Such noise is typical for a medium-busy street, for weak normal operation of radio and television equipment. Noise exceeding these values ​​leads to noise pollution of the environment. So, the noise of a truck is 70 dB, the operation of a metal-cutting machine, a loudspeaker at maximum power is 80 dB, the noise when an ambulance siren is turned on and in a subway car has a sound pressure of 90 dB. Strong thunderclaps create a noise of 120 dB, the noise of a jet engine, leading to pain, is 130 dB.

Electromagnetic pollution is a change in the electromagnetic properties of the natural environment near power lines, radio and television stations, industrial installations and radar devices.

Radioactive contamination is an increase in the natural background of radioactivity caused by human activities or their consequences. Thus, the normal operation of a nuclear power plant can be considered as an anthropogenic activity, while the radioactive gas krypton-85, which is safe for people, is released, which has a half-life of 13 years. At the same time, it ionizes the air and pollutes the environment.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant can be considered as a consequence of anthropogenic activity. In such accidents, the danger is radioactive iodine-131 with a half-life of 8 days, which can accumulate in the human thyroid gland instead of ordinary iodine.

Other dangerous radioactive elements are cesium, plutonium and strontium, which have long half-lives and result in radioactive contamination of large areas. The half-life of cesium-137 and strontium-95 is 30 years.

The main sources of radioactive contamination of the natural environment are nuclear explosions, atomic energy and scientific research using radioactive substances.

Radioactive contamination of the natural environment leads to an increase in the impact of alpha, beta and gamma radiation on the flora and fauna.

An alpha particle (the nucleus of a helium atom) and a beta particle (electron) can enter human and animal organisms as part of dust, water or food. Being charged particles, they cause ionization in body tissues. As a result, the formation of free radicals occurs in the body, the interaction of which leads to biochemical changes. With the slow flow of such changes, favorable conditions for the onset of oncological diseases can be created.

Gamma radiation has a very high penetrating power and easily penetrates the entire thickness of the human body, damaging it. It has been proven that mammals, including humans, have the greatest sensitivity to radioactive radiation. Plants and some lower vertebrates are less sensitive to radiation exposure. Microorganisms are the most resistant to the action of radioactive radiation.

2. Chemical pollution

The most massive and causing great harm to the natural environment is the chemical pollution of the biosphere.

Chemical pollution, unlike other types of pollution, is characterized by the interaction of pollutants with the components of the natural environment. As a result, substances are formed that can be more or less harmful than the environmental pollutants themselves.

Among the chemical pollutants of the atmosphere, the most common are gaseous substances such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, dust, hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide, ammonia, chlorine and its compounds, mercury.

Chemical pollutants of the hydrosphere include oil, industrial wastewater containing phenols and other highly toxic organic compounds, salts of heavy metals, nitrites, sulfates, and surfactants.

Chemical pollutants of the lithosphere are oil, pesticides, solid and liquid effluents of chemical industries.

Chemical pollutants of the natural environment also include toxic substances, or chemical weapons. The explosion of a chemical weapon projectile covers large areas with extremely toxic substances and poses a threat of poisoning people, animals, and destruction of plants.

3. Microbiological contamination

Microbiological pollution of the natural environment is understood as the appearance of a large number of pathogens associated with their mass reproduction on anthropogenic nutrient media changed in the course of human economic activity.

The air can contain various bacteria, as well as viruses and fungi. Many of these microorganisms can be pathogenic and cause infectious diseases such as influenza, scarlet fever, whooping cough, chickenpox and tuberculosis.

In the water of open reservoirs, various microorganisms are also found, including pathogenic ones, which, as a rule, cause intestinal diseases. In tap water of centralized water supply, the content of bacteria of the Escherichia coli group is regulated by the Sanitary Rules and Norms “Drinking Water. Hygienic requirements for water quality in centralized drinking water supply systems. Quality control” (SanPin 2.1.4.1074-01).

The soil cover contains a large number of microorganisms, especially saprophytes and opportunistic pathogens. At the same time, bacteria that cause gas gangrene, tetanus, botulism, etc. can be present in heavily polluted soil. The most resistant microorganisms can stay in the soil for a long time - up to 100 years. They also include anthrax pathogens.