What is environmental protection. Summary: Environmental pollution. her protection. How to protect the environment yourself

ENVIRONMENT - the habitat and activities of mankind, the natural environment surrounding man and the material world created by him. The environment includes the natural environment and the artificial (technogenic) environment, i.e., a set of environmental elements created from natural substances by labor and the conscious will of a person and which have no analogues in virgin nature (buildings, structures, etc.). Social production changes the environment, influencing directly or indirectly on all its elements. This impact and its negative consequences are especially

They intensified in the era of modern scientific and technological revolution, when the scale of human activity, covering almost the entire geographical envelope of the Earth, became comparable to the action of global natural processes.

NATURE PROTECTION - a set of measures for the conservation, rational use and restoration of the Earth's natural resources, including the species diversity of flora and fauna, the richness of the subsoil, the purity of the waters and the atmosphere.

The danger of irreversible changes natural environment in some regions of the Earth has become real due to the increased scale economic activity person. From the beginning of the 80s. on average, 1 species (or subspecies) of animals disappeared daily,

And the species of plants - weekly (over 20 thousand species are under the threat of extinction). About 1000 species of birds and mammals (mostly inhabitants of tropical forests, reduced at a rate of tens of hectares per minute) are under threat of extinction.

About 1 billion tons of standard fuel are burned annually, hundreds of millions of tons of nitrogen oxides, sulfur, carbon oxides (some of which are returned in the form of acid rain), soot, ash and dust are emitted into the atmosphere. Soils and waters are polluted by industrial and domestic effluents (hundreds of billion tons per year), oil products (several million tons), mineral fertilizers (about a hundred million tons) and pesticides, heavy metals (mercury, lead, etc.), radioactive waste . There is a danger of violation of the Earth's ozone screen.

The ability of the biosphere to self-cleanse is close to the limit. The danger of uncontrolled change 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. Such measures include the creation of waste-free technologies, treatment facilities, the regulation of the use of pesticides, the cessation of the production of pesticides that can accumulate in the body, land reclamation, etc., as well as the creation of protected areas (reserves, National parks etc.), breeding centers for rare and endangered animals and plants (including for the conservation of the Earth's gene pool), compilation of world and national Red Data Books.

Environmental measures are provided for in land, forestry, water and other national legislation, which establishes liability for violation of environmental standards. In a number of countries, as a result of the implementation of government environmental programs, the quality of the environment in certain regions has been significantly improved (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.

The main substances polluting the environment, their sources.

Carbon dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels.

Carbon monoxide is the work of internal combustion engines.

Carbons are the work of internal combustion engines.

Organic compounds - chemical industry, waste incineration, fuel combustion.

Sulfur dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels.

Nitrogen derivatives - combustion.

Radioactive substances - nuclear power plants, nuclear explosions.

Mineral compounds - industrial production, operation of internal combustion engines.

Organic substances, natural and synthetic - chemical industry, fuel combustion, waste incineration, agriculture (pesticides).

The protection of nature is the task of our century, a problem that has become a social one. To fundamentally improve the situation, purposeful and thoughtful actions will be needed. Responsible and efficient environmental policy will only be possible if we accumulate reliable data on state of the art environment, substantiated knowledge about the interaction of important environmental factors, if it develops new methods to reduce and prevent harm caused to nature by man.

Essays on topics:

Nature is everything that surrounds us: flowers, trees, ponds, forests and much more. Thanks to nature, a person is alive, because ...

MINISTRY OF GENERAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

KEMEROVSK STATE UNIVERSITY

REPORT

"The essence and directions of environmental protection ..."

Completed:

St-t gr. SP-981

Pavlenko P. Yu.

Checked:

Belaya Tatyana Yurievna

Kemerovo - 99

1. Essence and directions of environmental protection

§ 1. Types of environmental pollution and directions of its protection

§ 2. Objects and principles of environmental protection

2. Engineering protection of the environment

§ 1. Environmental activities of enterprises

§ 2. Types and principles of operation of treatment equipment and facilities

3. Regulatory framework for environmental protection

§ 1. System of standards and regulations

§ 2. Law on guard of nature

1. ESSENCE AND DIRECTIONS OF PROTECTION

ENVIRONMENT

§ 1. TYPES OF POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND DIRECTIONS OF ITS PROTECTION

A variety of human intervention in natural processes in the biosphere can be grouped into the following types of pollution, understanding them as any anthropogenic changes undesirable for ecosystems:

Ingredient (ingredient - an integral part of a complex compound or mixture) pollution as a set of substances quantitatively or qualitatively alien to natural biogeocenoses;

Parametric pollution (an environmental parameter is one of its properties, such as the level of noise, illumination, radiation, etc.) associated with a change in the qualitative parameters of the environment;

Biocenotic pollution, which consists in the impact on the composition and structure of the population of living organisms;

Stationary-destructive pollution (station - the habitat of the population, destruction - destruction), which is a change in landscapes and ecological systems in the process of nature management.

Until the 60s of our century, nature protection was understood mainly as the protection of its animal and flora from extermination. Accordingly, the forms of this protection were mainly the creation of specially protected areas, the adoption of legal acts restricting the hunting of individual animals, etc. Scientists and the public were primarily concerned about the biocenotic and partially stationary-destructive effects on the biosphere. Ingredient and parametric pollution, of course, also existed, especially since there was no talk of installing treatment facilities at enterprises. But it was not as diverse and massive as it is now, it practically did not contain artificially created compounds that were not amenable to natural decomposition, and nature coped with it on its own. So, in rivers with undisturbed biocenosis and normal flow rate, not slowed down by hydraulic structures, under the influence of mixing, oxidation, sedimentation, absorption and decomposition by decomposers, disinfection by solar radiation, etc., polluted water completely restored its properties over a distance of 30 km from pollution sources .

Of course, separate centers of nature degradation were observed earlier in the vicinity of the most polluting industries. However, by the middle of the XX century. the rates of ingredient and parametric pollution have increased and their qualitative composition has changed so dramatically that in large areas the ability of nature to self-purify, i.e., the natural destruction of the pollutant as a result of natural physical, chemical and biological processes, has been lost.

At present, even such full-flowing and long rivers as the Ob, Yenisei, Lena and Amur are not self-purifying. What can we say about the long-suffering Volga, natural speed the flow of which is several times reduced by hydraulic structures, or the Tom River ( Western Siberia), all the water of which industrial enterprises manage to take away for their needs and drain it back contaminated at least 3-4 times before it gets from the source to the mouth.

The ability of the soil to self-cleanse is undermined by a sharp decrease in the number of decomposers in it, which occurs under the influence of the immoderate use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers, the cultivation of monocultures, the complete harvesting of all parts of grown plants from the fields, etc.

§ 2. OBJECTS AND PRINCIPLES OF PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmental protection is understood as a set of international, state and regional legal acts, instructions and standards that bring general legal requirements to each specific polluter and ensure its interest in meeting these requirements, specific environmental measures to implement these requirements.

Only if all these components correspond to each other in terms of content and pace of development, that is, if they form a single system of environmental protection, can one count on success.

Since the task of protecting nature from the negative impact of man was not solved in time, now the task of protecting man from the influence of the changed natural environment is increasingly becoming. Both of these concepts are integrated in the term "protection of the (human) natural environment".

Environmental protection consists of:

Legal protection, formulating scientific environmental principles in the form of legal laws that are binding;

Material incentives for environmental activities, seeking to make it economically beneficial for enterprises;

Engineering protection, developing environmental and resource-saving technology and equipment.

According to the law Russian Federation"On the Protection of the Environment" the following objects are subject to protection:

natural ecological systems, ozone layer atmosphere;

The earth, its subsoil, surface and underground waters, atmospheric air, forests and other vegetation, animal world, microorganisms, genetic fund, natural landscapes.

State natural reserves, natural reserves, national natural parks, natural monuments, rare or endangered species of plants and animals and their habitats are specially protected.

The main principles of environmental protection should be:

Priority to ensure favorable environmental conditions for life, work and recreation of the population;

Scientifically substantiated combination of environmental and economic interests of society;

Taking into account the laws of nature and the possibilities of self-healing and self-purification of its resources;

Prevention of irreversible consequences for the protection of the natural environment and human health;

The right of the people and public organizations on timely and reliable information about the state of the environment and the negative impact on it and on human health of various production facilities;

The inevitability of liability for violation of the requirements of environmental legislation.

2. ENGINEERING PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

§ 1. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF ENTERPRISES

Nature protection is any activity aimed at maintaining the quality of the environment at a level that ensures the sustainability of the biosphere. It includes as a large-scale, carried out at the national level, activities to preserve reference samples of untouched nature and preserve the diversity of species on Earth, organizations scientific research, the training of environmental specialists and the education of the population, as well as the activities of individual enterprises for the purification of wastewater and exhaust gases from harmful substances, the reduction of the norms for the use of natural resources, etc. Such activities are carried out mainly by engineering methods.

There are two main areas of environmental protection activities of enterprises. The first is the cleaning of harmful emissions. This path "in its pure form" is ineffective, since it does not always succeed in completely stopping the flow of harmful substances into the biosphere. In addition, reducing the level of pollution of one component of the environment leads to increased pollution of another.

And For example, the installation of wet filters in gas cleaning reduces air pollution, but leads to even more water pollution. Substances captured from waste gases and drain waters often poison large areas of land.

The use of treatment facilities, even the most efficient ones, drastically reduces the level of environmental pollution, but does not completely solve this problem, since the operation of these plants also produces waste, although in a smaller volume, but, as a rule, with an increased concentration of harmful substances. Finally, the operation of most of the treatment facilities requires significant energy costs, which, in turn, is also unsafe for the environment.

In addition, pollutants, for the neutralization of which huge funds are spent, are substances for which labor has already been spent and which, with rare exceptions, could be used in the national economy.

To achieve high environmental and economic results, it is necessary to combine the process of cleaning harmful emissions with the process of recycling trapped substances, which will make it possible to combine the first direction with the second.

The second direction is the elimination of the very causes of pollution, which requires the development of low-waste, and in the future, non-waste production technologies that would make it possible to comprehensively use the raw materials and utilize the maximum of substances harmful to the biosphere.

However, not all industries have found acceptable technical and economic solutions for a sharp reduction in the amount of waste generated and their disposal, so at present we have to work in both of these areas.

Taking care of improving the engineering protection of the natural environment, it must be remembered that no treatment facilities and waste-free technologies will be able to restore the stability of the biosphere if the permissible (threshold) values of the reduction of natural, not transformed by man are exceeded. natural systems, in which the effect of the law of indispensability of the biosphere is manifested.

Such a threshold may be the use of more than 1% of the energy of the biosphere and a deep transformation of more than 10% natural areas(rules of one and ten percent). Therefore, technological advances do not remove the need to address the challenges of reprioritization community development, stabilization of the population, the creation of a sufficient number of protected areas and others discussed earlier.

§ 2. TYPES AND PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION OF PURIFICATION EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

Many modern technological processes are associated with crushing and grinding of substances, transportation of bulk materials. At the same time, part of the material turns into dust, which is harmful to health and causes significant material damage to the national economy due to the loss of valuable products.

For cleaning, various designs of apparatuses are used. According to the method of dust capture, they are divided into mechanical (dry and wet) and electrical gas cleaning devices. Dry apparatuses (cyclones, filters) use gravitational settling under the action of gravity, settling under the action of centrifugal force, inertial settling, and filtration. In wet apparatuses (scrubbers), this is achieved by washing the dusty gas with a liquid. In electrostatic precipitators, deposition on the electrodes occurs as a result of the communication of dust particles electric charge. The choice of apparatus depends on the size of dust particles, humidity, speed and volume of gas supplied for purification, necessary degree cleaning.

To purify gases from harmful gaseous impurities, two groups of methods are used - non-catalytic and catalytic. Methods of the first group are based on the removal of impurities from a gaseous mixture using liquid (absorbers) and solid (adsorbers) absorbers. Methods of the second group consist in the fact that harmful impurities enter into a chemical reaction and turn into harmless substances on the surface of the catalysts. An even more complex and multi-stage process is wastewater treatment (Fig. 18).

Waste water is water used by industrial and municipal enterprises and the population and subject to purification from various impurities. Depending on the conditions of formation, wastewater is divided into domestic, atmospheric (stormwater, flowing down after rains from the territories of enterprises) and industrial. All of them contain mineral and organic substances in varying proportions.

Wastewater is purified from impurities by mechanical, chemical, physicochemical, biological and thermal methods, which, in turn, are divided into recuperative and destructive. Recovery methods provide for the extraction from wastewater and further processing of valuable substances. In destructive methods, water pollutants are destroyed by oxidation or reduction. Destruction products are removed from the water in the form of gases or precipitation.

mechanical cleaning used to remove solid insoluble impurities, using the methods of settling and filtering with the help of gratings, sand traps, settling tanks. Chemical cleaning methods are used to remove soluble impurities using various reagents that enter into chemical reactions with harmful impurities, resulting in the formation of low-toxic substances. Physical and chemical methods include flotation, ion exchange, adsorption, crystallization, deodorization, etc. Biological methods are considered the main methods for neutralizing wastewater from organic impurities that are oxidized by microorganisms, which implies a sufficient amount of oxygen in the water. These aerobic processes can occur both in natural conditions - in irrigation fields during filtration, and in artificial structures - aerotanks and biofilters.

Industrial wastewater that cannot be treated by the above methods is subjected to thermal neutralization, i.e. burning, or injection into deep wells (resulting in the risk of groundwater pollution). These methods are carried out in local (workshop), plant-wide, district or city cleaning systems.

To disinfect wastewater from microbes contained in household, especially fecal, effluents, chlorination is used in special sedimentation tanks.

After the grates and other devices have freed the water from mineral impurities, the microorganisms contained in the so-called activated sludge “eat up” organic contaminants, that is, the purification process usually goes through several stages. However, even after this, the degree of purification does not exceed 95%, i.e., it is not possible to completely eliminate the pollution of water basins. If, in addition, any plant discharges its wastewater into the city sewerage, which has not undergone preliminary physical or chemical treatment of any toxic substances at workshop or factory facilities, then the microorganisms in the activated sludge will generally die and it may take several years to revive the activated sludge. months. Therefore, the sinks of this locality during this time they will pollute the reservoir with organic compounds, which can lead to its eutrophication.

One of the most important problems of environmental protection is the problem of collection, disposal and disposal or disposal of solid industrial waste "and household waste, which accounts for from 300 to 500 kg per capita per year. It is solved by organizing landfills, recycling waste into composts with subsequent use as organic fertilizers or into biological fuel (biogas), as well as burning in special plants. total number of which there are several million in the world are called landfills and are rather complex engineering structures, especially when it comes to storing toxic or radioactive waste.

More than 50 billion tons of waste accumulated in Russia are stored on 250,000 hectares of land.

3. REGULATORY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR PROTECTION

ENVIRONMENT

§ 1. SYSTEM OF STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

One of the most important constituent parts environmental legislation is a system of environmental standards. Its timely scientifically substantiated development is a necessary condition for the practical implementation of the adopted laws, since it is these standards that polluting enterprises should be guided by in their environmental activities. Failure to comply with the standards entails legal liability.

Standardization is understood as the establishment of a single and mandatory for all objects of a given level of a management system of norms and requirements. Standards can be state (GOST), industry (OST) and factory. The system of standards for nature protection has been assigned the general number 17, which includes several groups in accordance with protected objects. For example, 17.1 means “Nature Conservation. Hydrosphere", and group 17.2 - "Nature protection. Atmosphere”, etc. This standard regulates various aspects of the activities of enterprises for the protection of water and air resources, up to the requirements for equipment for monitoring air and water quality.

The most important environmental standards are environmental quality standards - maximum allowable concentrations (MPC) of harmful substances in natural environments.

MPC is approved for each of the most hazardous substances separately and is valid throughout the country.

B B recent times scientists argue that compliance with the MPC does not guarantee the preservation of the quality of the environment at a sufficiently high level, if only because the influence of many substances in the future and when interacting with each other is still poorly understood.

Based on MPC, scientific and technical standards for maximum permissible emissions (MPE) of harmful substances into the atmosphere and discharges (MPD) into the water basin are being developed. These standards are set individually for each source of pollution in such a way that the cumulative environmental impact of all sources in a given area does not lead to an excess of the MPC.

Due to the fact that the number and power of pollution sources change with the development of the productive forces of the region, it is necessary to periodically review the MPE and MPD standards. The choice of the most effective options for environmental protection activities at enterprises should be carried out taking into account the need to comply with these standards.

Unfortunately, at present, many enterprises, due to technical and economic reasons, are not able to immediately meet these standards. The closure of such an enterprise or a sharp weakening of its economic situation as a result of penalties is also not always possible for economic and social reasons.

In addition to a clean environment, a person for a normal life needs to eat, dress, listen to a tape recorder and watch movies and TV shows, the production of films and electricity for which is very "dirty". Finally, you need to have a job in your specialty near your home. It is best to reconstruct ecologically backward enterprises so that they no longer harm the environment, but not every enterprise can immediately allocate funds for this in full, since environmental protection equipment, and the reconstruction process itself are very expensive.

Therefore, temporary standards can be set for such enterprises, the so-called TSA (temporarily agreed emissions), which allow for increased environmental pollution in excess of the norm for a strictly defined period, sufficient to carry out the environmental measures necessary to reduce emissions.

The size and sources of payment for environmental pollution depend on whether or not an enterprise complies with the standards established for it and in which ones - MPE, MPD or only in the ESS.

§ 2. LAW ON GUARD OF NATURE

It has already been noted earlier that the state ensures the rationalization of nature management, including the protection of the natural environment, by creating environmental legislation and monitoring its observance.

Environmental legislation is a system of laws and other legal acts (decrees, decrees, instructions) that regulates environmental relations in order to preserve and reproduce natural resources, rationalize nature management, and preserve public health.

To ensure the possibility of practical implementation of the adopted laws, it is very important that they be backed up in time by by-laws adopted on their basis, which precisely define and clarify, in accordance with the specific conditions of the industry or region, to whom, what and how to do, to whom and in what form to report, what environmental regulations, standards and rules to follow, etc.

Yes, the law "On the Protection of the Environment" establishes general scheme achieving the coincidence of the interests of society and individual users of natural resources through limits, payments, tax benefits, and specific parameters in the form of exact values of standards, rates, payments are specified in the resolutions of the Ministry of Natural Resources, industry instructions, etc.

The objects of environmental legislation are both the natural environment as a whole and its separate natural systems (for example, Lake Baikal) and elements (water, air, etc.), as well as international law.

In our country, for the first time in world practice, the requirement for the protection and rational use of natural resources is included in the Constitution. There are about two hundred legal documents related to nature management. One of the most important is the comprehensive law “On the Protection of the Environment”, adopted in 1991.

It states that every citizen has the right to protect health from the adverse effects of a polluted natural environment, to participate in environmental associations and social movements and to receive timely information about the state of the natural environment and measures to protect it.

At the same time, every citizen is obliged to take part in the protection of the natural environment, to raise the level of his knowledge of nature, ecological culture, to comply with the requirements of environmental legislation and established standards for the quality of the natural environment. If they are violated, then the perpetrator bears responsibility, which is divided into criminal, administrative, disciplinary and material.

In cases of the most severe violations For example, when a forest is set on fire, the perpetrator may be subjected to criminal punishment in the form of imprisonment, the imposition of large monetary fines, and confiscation of property.

However, more often administrative responsibility is applied in the form of fines both on individuals and on enterprises as a whole. It occurs in cases of damage or destruction of natural objects, pollution of the natural environment, failure to take measures to restore the disturbed environment, poaching, etc.

Officials may also be subject to disciplinary action in the form of full or partial loss of bonuses, demotion, reprimand or dismissal for failure to comply with environmental protection measures and non-compliance with environmental standards.

In addition, the payment of a fine does not exempt from material civil liability, i.e., the need to compensate for the damage caused by pollution or irrational use of natural resources to the environment, health and property of citizens, and the national economy.

In addition to the declaration of the rights and obligations of citizens and the establishment of liability for environmental offenses, the above law formulates environmental requirements for the construction and operation of various facilities, shows economic mechanism environmental protection, proclaims the principles of international cooperation in this field, etc.

It should be noted that the Environmental Legislation, although quite extensive and versatile, is still not effective enough in practice. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most important is the discrepancy between the severity of the punishment and the severity of the crime, in particular, the low rates of fines levied. For example, for an official, it is equal to three to twenty times the minimum monthly wage (do not confuse with the actual salary received by the employee, which is always much higher). However, twenty minimum wages often do not exceed one or two real monthly salaries of these officials, since we are usually talking about heads of enterprises and departments. For ordinary citizens, the fine does not exceed ten times the minimum wage.

Criminal liability and compensation for damages are applied much less frequently than they should. And it is impossible to fully compensate for it, since it often reaches many millions of rubles or cannot be measured in money at all.

And Usually, no more than two dozen cases of liability for air and water pollution, which led to serious consequences, are considered throughout the country every year, and the most numerous cases related to poaching do not exceed one and a half thousand a year, which is incomparably less than the actual number of offenses. However, in recent years there has been an upward trend in these figures.

Other reasons for the weak regulatory effect of environmental legislation are the insufficient provision of enterprises with technical means for the effective treatment of wastewater and polluted gases, and inspection organizations with devices for monitoring environmental pollution.

Finally, great importance has a low ecological culture of the population, ignorance of the basic environmental requirements, a condescending attitude towards the destroyers of nature, as well as a lack of knowledge and skills necessary to effectively defend their right to a healthy environment, proclaimed in the law. Now it is necessary to develop a legal mechanism for the protection of environmental human rights, i.e., by-laws specifying this part of the law, and turn the flow of complaints to the press and higher administrative authorities into a flow of lawsuits to the judiciary. When every resident whose health has been affected by harmful emissions from an enterprise files a claim demanding financial compensation for the damage caused, valuing their health at a fairly large amount, the enterprise will simply be economically forced to urgently take measures to reduce pollution.

Literature:

1. Demina T. A. Ecology, nature management, environmental protection: A manual for high school students educational institutions. – M.: Aspect Press, 1998. – 143 p.

Municipal Educational Institution

Secondary School No. 2

Message.

Environmental protection.

Performed:

Student 11 "B" class

Environment.

ENVIRONMENT - the habitat and activities of mankind, the natural world surrounding man and the material world created by him. The environment includes the natural environment and the artificial (technogenic) environment, i.e., a set of environmental elements created from natural substances by labor and the conscious will of a person and which have no analogues in virgin nature (buildings, structures, etc.). Social production changes the environment, influencing directly or indirectly on all its elements. This impact and its negative consequences were especially intensified in the era of modern scientific and technological revolution, when the scale of human activity, covering almost the entire geographical envelope of the Earth, became comparable to the effect of global natural processes.

Protection of Nature.

The danger of irreversible changes in the natural environment in certain regions of the Earth has become real due to the increased scale of human economic activity. From the beginning of the 80s. on average, 1 species (or subspecies) of animals disappeared daily, and a plant species - weekly (more than 20 thousand species are endangered). About 1000 species of birds and mammals (mostly inhabitants of tropical forests, reduced at a rate of tens of hectares per minute) are under threat of extinction.

The ability of the biosphere to self-cleanse is close to the limit. 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. Such measures include the creation of waste-free technologies, treatment facilities, streamlining the use of pesticides, stopping the production of pesticides that can accumulate in the body, land reclamation, etc., as well as the creation of protected areas (reserves, national parks, etc.), centers for breeding rare and endangered animals and plants (including for the conservation of the Earth's gene pool), compilation of world and national Red Data Books.

Environmental measures are provided for in land, forestry, water and other national legislation, which establishes liability for violation of environmental standards. In a number of countries, government environmental programs have resulted in significant improvements in environmental quality in certain regions (for example, a multi-year and costly program has restored 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.

The main substances polluting the environment, their sources.

Carbon dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels.

Carbon monoxide is the work of internal combustion engines.

Carbons are the work of internal combustion engines.

Organic compounds - chemical industry, waste incineration, fuel combustion.

Sulfur dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels.

Nitrogen derivatives - combustion.

Radioactive substances - nuclear power plants, nuclear explosions.

Mineral compounds - industrial production, operation of internal combustion engines.

Organic substances, natural and synthetic - chemical industry, fuel combustion, waste incineration, agriculture (pesticides).

Conclusion.

The protection of nature is the task of our century, a problem that has become a social one. To fundamentally improve the situation, purposeful and thoughtful actions will be needed. A responsible and efficient policy towards the environment will be possible only if we accumulate reliable data on the current state of the environment, substantiated knowledge about the interaction of important environmental factors, if we develop new methods to reduce and prevent harm caused to nature by man.

Literature.

Romad F. Fundamentals of applied ecology.

Dictionary.

Protection of Nature- this is a rational, reasonable use of natural resources, which helps to preserve the pristine diversity of nature and improve the living conditions of the population. For nature protection Earth the world community is taking concrete action.

Effective measures to protect endangered species and natural biocenoses are to increase the number of reserves, expand their territories, create nurseries for the artificial cultivation of endangered species and reintroduce (that is, return) them into nature.

A powerful human impact on ecological systems can lead to sad results that can provoke a whole chain of environmental changes.

The influence of anthropogenic factors on organisms

Most of organic matter does not decompose immediately, but is preserved in the form of wood, soil and water sedimentary deposits. After being preserved for many millennia, these organic substances turn into fossil fuels (coal, peat and oil).

Every year on Earth, photosynthetic organisms synthesize about 100 billion tons of organic substances. Over the geological period (1 billion years), the predominance of the synthesis of organic substances over the process of their decomposition led to a decrease in the content of CO 2 and an increase in O 2 in the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, since the second half of the XX century. enhanced industrial development and Agriculture began to cause a steady increase in the content of CO 2 in the atmosphere. This phenomenon can cause climate change on the planet.

Conservation of natural resources

In the matter of nature conservation, the transition to the use of industrial and agricultural technologies, which make it possible to economically spend Natural resources. For this you need:

the most complete use of fossil natural resources;
recycling of production wastes, use of non-waste technologies;
obtaining energy from environmentally friendly sources by using the energy of the Sun, wind, ocean kinetic energy, underground energy.

Especially effective is the introduction of non-waste technologies operating in closed cycles, when waste is not emitted into the atmosphere or into water basins, but is reused.

Biodiversity conservation

The protection of existing species of living organisms is also of great importance in biological, ecological and cultural terms. Every living species is a product of centuries of evolution and has its own gene pool. None of the existing species can be considered absolutely beneficial or harmful. Those species that were considered harmful may eventually turn out to be useful. That is why the protection of the gene pool of existing species is of particular importance. Our task is to preserve all living organisms that have come down to us after a long evolutionary process.

Plant and animal species, the number of which has already declined or is endangered, are listed in the Red Book and are protected by law. In order to protect nature, reserves, micro-reserves, natural monuments, plantations of medicinal plants, reservations, national parks are created and other environmental measures are taken. material from the site

"Man and the Biosphere"

In order to protect nature in 1971, adopted international program"Man and the Biosphere" (in English. " man and Biosfera" - abbreviated as MAB). According to this program, the state of the environment and human impact on the biosphere are studied. The main objectives of the "Man and the Biosphere" program are forecasting the consequences of modern human economic activity, developing methods for the rational use of the riches of the biosphere and measures for its protection.

In countries participating in the MAB program, large biosphere reserves are being created, where changes that occur in ecosystems without human influence are studied (Fig. 80).

Pollution is the introduction of pollutants into the natural environment that cause adverse changes. Pollution can take the form chemical substances or energy such as noise, heat or light. Pollution components can be either foreign substances/energy or natural pollutants.

The main types and causes of environmental pollution:

Air pollution

Coniferous forest after acid rain

Smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles, or from burning wood and coal makes the air toxic. The effects of air pollution are also obvious. The release of sulfur dioxide and dangerous gases into the atmosphere causes global warming and acid rain, which in turn increase temperatures, causing excessive rainfall or droughts around the world, and making life difficult. We also breathe every polluted particle in the air and as a result, the risk of asthma and lung cancer increases.

Water pollution

It caused the loss of many species of flora and fauna of the Earth. This was due to the fact that industrial wastes discharged into rivers and other water bodies cause an imbalance in aquatic environment leading to serious pollution and death of aquatic animals and plants.

In addition, spraying insecticides, pesticides (such as DDT) on plants pollute the groundwater system. Oil spills in the oceans have caused significant damage to water bodies.

Eutrophication in the Potomac River, USA

Eutrophication is another important reason water pollution. Occurs due to untreated sewage and fertilizer runoff from the soil into lakes, ponds or rivers, due to which chemicals enter the water and prevent the penetration of sunlight, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen and making the reservoir uninhabitable.

Pollution of water resources harms not only individual aquatic organisms, but the whole, and seriously affects people who depend on them. In some countries of the world, due to water pollution, outbreaks of cholera and diarrhea are observed.

Soil pollution

soil erosion

This type of pollution occurs when harmful substances enter the soil. chemical elements usually caused by human activity. Insecticides and pesticides absorb nitrogen compounds from the soil, after which it becomes unsuitable for plant growth. Industrial waste, and also adversely affect the soil. Because plants cannot grow as they should, they are unable to hold the soil, resulting in erosion.

Noise pollution

Appears when unpleasant (loud) sounds from the environment affect the human hearing organs and lead to psychological problems, including voltage, high blood pressure, hearing loss, etc. It can be caused by industrial equipment, aircraft, cars, etc.

Nuclear pollution

This is a very dangerous type of pollution, it occurs due to failures in the operation of nuclear power plants, improper storage of nuclear waste, accidents, etc. Radioactive contamination can cause cancer, infertility, loss of vision, birth defects; it can make the soil infertile, and also adversely affects the air and water.

light pollution

Light pollution of planet earth

Occurs due to noticeable over-illumination of the area. It is common, as a rule, in large cities, especially from billboards, in gyms or entertainment venues at night. In residential areas, light pollution greatly affects people's lives. It also interferes with astronomical observations by making the stars almost invisible.

Thermal/thermal pollution

Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes the temperature of the surrounding water. The main cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a refrigerant by power plants and industrial plants. When water used as a refrigerant is returned to the natural environment at a higher temperature, the change in temperature reduces the supply of oxygen and affects the composition. Fish and other organisms adapted to a particular temperature range can be killed by sudden changes in water temperature (or rapid increases or decreases).

Thermal pollution is caused by excess heat in the environment creating unwanted changes over long periods of time. This is due to the huge amount industrial enterprises, deforestation and air pollution. Thermal pollution increases the Earth's temperature, causing drastic climate change and extinction of wildlife species.

Visual pollution

Visual pollution, Philippines

Visual pollution is an aesthetic problem and refers to the effects of pollution that impair the ability to enjoy the outside world. It includes: billboards, open dumps, antennas, electrical wires, buildings, cars, etc.

Overcrowding of the territory with a large number of objects causes visual pollution. Such pollution contributes to distraction, eye fatigue, loss of identity, and so on.

plastic pollution

Plastic pollution, India

Includes the accumulation of plastic products in the environment that have adverse effects on wildlife, animal or human habitats. Plastic products are inexpensive and durable, which has made them very popular among people. However, this material decomposes very slowly. Plastic pollution can adversely affect soil, lakes, rivers, seas and oceans. Living organisms, especially marine animals, become entangled in plastic waste or are affected by chemicals in plastic that cause interruptions in biological functions. People are also affected by plastic pollution, causing a hormonal imbalance.

Objects of pollution

The main objects of environmental pollution are such as air (atmosphere), water resources(streams, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans), soil, etc.

Pollutants (sources or subjects of pollution) of the environment

Pollutants are chemical, biological, physical or mechanical elements (or processes) that harm the environment.

They can be harmful both in the short and long term. Pollutants originate from natural resources or are produced by humans.

Many pollutants have a toxic effect on living organisms. Carbon monoxide ( carbon monoxide) is an example of a substance that harms humans. This compound is absorbed by the body instead of oxygen, causes shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, heart palpitations, and in severe cases can lead to serious poisoning, and even death.

Some pollutants become hazardous when they react with other naturally occurring compounds. Nitrogen and sulfur oxides are released from impurities in fossil fuels during combustion. They react with water vapor in the atmosphere to form acid rain. Acid rain adversely affects aquatic ecosystems and leads to the death of aquatic animals, plants, and other living organisms. Terrestrial ecosystems also suffer from acid rain.

Classification of pollution sources

According to the type of occurrence, environmental pollution is divided into:

Anthropogenic (artificial) pollution

Deforestation

Anthropogenic pollution is the impact on the environment caused by the activities of mankind. The main sources of artificial pollution are:

industrialization;
the invention of automobiles;
the growth of the world's population;
deforestation: destruction of natural habitats;
nuclear explosions;
overexploitation of natural resources;
construction of buildings, roads, dams;
the creation of explosive substances that are used during military operations;
use of fertilizers and pesticides;
mining.

Natural (natural) pollution

Eruption

Natural pollution is caused and occurs naturally, without human intervention. It can affect the environment for a certain period of time, but it can be regenerated. Sources of natural pollution include:

volcanic eruptions, with the release of gases, ash and magma;
forest fires emit smoke and gas impurities;
sandstorms raise dust and sand;
decomposition of organic matter, during which gases are released.

Consequences of pollution:

environmental degradation

Left photo: Beijing after the rain. Right photo: smog in Beijing

The environment is the first victim of atmospheric pollution. An increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere leads to smog, which can prevent penetration sunlight to the surface of the earth. As a result, it becomes much more difficult. Gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide can cause acid rain. Water pollution in terms of an oil spill can lead to the death of several species of wild animals and plants.

Human health

Lung cancer

Decreased air quality leads to some respiratory problems, including asthma or lung cancer. Chest pain, sore throat, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease can be caused by air pollution. Water pollution can create skin problems, including irritation and rashes. Similarly, noise pollution leads to hearing loss, stress and sleep disturbance.

Global warming

Male, the capital of the Maldives, is one of the cities facing the prospect of being flooded by the ocean in the 21st century.

The release of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, leads to global warming. Every day new industries are created, new cars appear on the roads, and the number of trees is reduced to make room for new homes. All these factors, directly or indirectly, lead to an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. Rising CO2 causes the polar ice caps to melt, which increases sea levels and endangers people living near coastal areas.

Ozone layer depletion

The ozone layer is a thin shield high in the sky that prevents ultraviolet rays from reaching the earth. As a result of human activity, chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons are released into the atmosphere, which contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer.

Badlands

Due to the constant use of insecticides and pesticides, the soil can become infertile. Various types of chemicals from industrial waste end up in water, which also affects soil quality.

Protection (protection) of the environment from pollution:

International protection

Many of these are particularly vulnerable as they are subject to human influence in many countries. As a result, some states unite and develop agreements aimed at preventing damage or managing human impact on natural resources. They include agreements that affect the protection of the climate, oceans, rivers and air from pollution. These international environmental treaties are sometimes binding instruments that have legal consequences in case of non-compliance, and in other situations are used as codes of conduct. The most famous include:

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), approved in June 1972, provides for the protection of nature for the present generation of people and their descendants.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed in May 1992. main goal of this agreement is "stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system"
The Kyoto Protocol provides for the reduction or stabilization of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. It was signed in Japan at the end of 1997.

State protection

The discussion of environmental issues often focuses on the level of government, legislation and law enforcement. However, in the very broad sense environmental protection can be seen as the responsibility of the whole people, not just the government. Decisions that affect the environment will ideally include a wide range of stakeholders, including industrial sites, indigenous groups, representatives of environmental groups and communities. Decision-making processes in the field of environmental protection are constantly evolving and becoming more active in different countries.

Many constitutions recognize the fundamental right to protect the environment. Besides, in various countries there are organizations and institutions dealing with environmental issues.

While protecting the environment is not just a duty public institutions, most people consider these organizations paramount in creating and maintaining basic standards that protect the environment and the people who interact with it.

How to protect the environment yourself?

Population and technological advances based on fossil fuels have seriously affected our natural environment. Therefore, now we need to do our part to eliminate the consequences of degradation so that humanity continues to live in an ecologically safe environment.

There are 3 main principles that are still relevant and important more than ever:

use less;
reuse;
recycle.

Create a compost heap in your garden. This helps to recycle food waste and other biodegradable materials.
When shopping, use your eco-bags and try to avoid plastic bags as much as possible.
Plant as many trees as you can.
Think about how you can reduce the number of trips you make with your car.
Reduce car emissions by walking or cycling. These are not just great alternatives to driving, but also health benefits.
Use public transport when you can, for everyday movement.
Bottles, paper, waste oil, old batteries and used tires must be properly disposed of; All this causes serious pollution.
Do not pour chemicals and used oil onto the ground or down drains leading to waterways.
If possible, recycle selected biodegradable waste, and work to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste used.
Reduce the amount of meat you consume or consider a vegetarian diet.