Now humanity is facing a choice: either to "cooperate" with nature, taking into account natural cycles, or to cause harm. The future of humanity on our planet, as well as the planet itself, depends on what we choose today.

Ecological crisis

To date, human impact on the environment has led to an ecological crisis throughout the planet. This page looks at the critical issues we are facing and identifies a number of remedial actions.

soil erosion. Soil erosion occurs when the fertile surface layer is destroyed by rain and wind. Ways to solve the problem:

Planting forests (shrubs and trees): trees and shrubs get in the way of the winds, and their roots bind the soil.

Organic farming: organic fertilizers retain water better, preventing the soil from drying out and weathering.

Rainforest destruction. Solution:

Property rights reforms in the countries where they are growing to save them from destruction.

Control of livestock and timber harvesting in the rainforest by reducing the need for rich countries in meat and timber.

Efficient methods of using forest resources, taking into account natural cycles, etc., for example, the production of natural rubber.

Small fields: the smaller the field, the less erosion the land on it is exposed to.

Acid rain and other pollution. Solution:

Installation of filters at power stations and transport.

Application of other, non-chemical fertilizers.

Stopping pollution environment industrial emissions and waste.

Desert offensive. This happens where poor, arid lands, due to their active use, turn into a desert. Solutions:

Reducing the dependence of underdeveloped countries on the production of export crops: their cultivation on the best lands forces the peasants to move to the worst, soon turning into.

Application effective methods irrigation.

Active afforestation.

Destruction of natural habitat. Solution:

Creation of new, larger nature reserves and natural parks in cities and rural areas.

Stricter international control and measures to protect the natural habitat; prohibition of hunting and trading in wild animals.

Destruction of the ozone layer. The protective ozone layer in the atmosphere is threatened by destruction. The only way out:

Complete and speedy ban on the production of chlorofluorocarbons.

Greenhouse effect. Solution:

Use of renewable energy sources.

A ban on the destruction of tropical rainforests, which act as filters that absorb carbon dioxide from the air and use it in the process of photosynthesis.

Reduced energy consumption and waste generation.

Inefficient use of natural resources. Solutions:

Recycling and disposal of waste.

Long-term use of things and clothes, their repair and repair instead of just throwing them away.

Creation of programs for the transition to a more rational and economical way of life.

Practical Measures

All the measures proposed above should preferably be implemented at the global level. This requires greater international cooperation, especially between rich and poor countries. The whole trouble, however, is that politicians usually care about the benefits for their countries, not thinking about the future of the whole world. Many believe that even these measures are clearly insufficient and that humanity must radically change its way of life. Environmentalists join forces to protect the environment. Today, there are many charitable organizations in the world that successfully help the poorest people on the planet. They specifically help communities to solve the problems they face without violating local traditions and ways of life. They use environmentally friendly mechanisms, such as wind turbines in Africa. The sunflower is one of the symbols of the "green" movement. It symbolizes the revival of nature (in countries that pay worthy attention to problems). Environmental problems important for the whole world, but we can contribute to their solution and our contribution. Even small changes in the lifestyle of each of us will mean that the situation and the whole has begun to improve. This book tells you where to start. If you would like to know more about this, please contact an environmental organization.

One of the most important problems facing the world community is the protection of the natural environment and the preservation of sustainable development. human civilization. The catastrophically rapid increase in the population of the Earth, the steady growth of its material and spiritual needs, the expansion of areas for the use of natural resources, the introduction of new and the latest technologies, increase in production in the energy sector, industry, agriculture, construction, transport occur with a deep transformation of natural landscapes. Such transformations lead to the emergence of new artificial landscapes previously unknown to the biosphere. Modern scientific and technological progress and the expansion of interstate economic ties have led to a sharp increase in the burden on the environment and intensified the contradictions in the interaction between the environment and human society.

The global scale of the use of natural resources and the development of labor processes, which determines the accumulation of material goods in society, is of a wide-ranging and multivariate nature. This scale can be reduced in an ecological sense to four main areas:

formation of regional and global natural-technogenic ecosystems;

the occurrence of local, regional and global environmental disasters;

a sharp reduction and depletion of natural raw materials; the emergence of an ecological immunodeficiency of the planet as a result of the global anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment, inhibition and suppression of the natural mechanisms of self-regulation of the biosphere.

Since the emergence of human civilization, there has been continuous interaction between man and the natural environment. With the growth of the population of the Earth, the environmental pressure on nature is increasing. This is due to the multiply increasing technical equipment, the use of the huge energy capabilities of man-made industries and entire systems, the widest range of technological factors that, in their totality, affect the earth's shells from all sides - the hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. Typical Features modern development civilizations that directly or indirectly affect the geospheres and increase the speed of natural processes lead to a very significant modification of the natural environment.

The anthropogenic factor of changes in natural objects and geospheres must be taken into account when general characteristics. Therefore, in the geoecological characterization of individual geospheres great importance given to anthropogenic influences. The textbook reveals very complex interactions between the Earth's geospheres at different hierarchical levels - from planetary to local, on which anthropogenic pressure is steadily increasing. It is important to take into account not only these intergeospheric connections, but also the impact of modern human civilization on their individual components. Generalized results can be obtained only in the interdisciplinary direction, which combined geoecology and ecological geology.

Considering the importance of environmental issues and the high degree of impact of human activity on a wide range of natural processes, environmental issues are dealt with by specialists of almost all professions - from geologists, geographers, biologists, physicists, chemists to engineers, technologists, lawyers, sociologists, politicians, etc. depending on individual geospheres, objects of research and industries, separate disciplines of ecology are distinguished, which are taught in technical and humanitarian higher educational institutions. In addition to ecology itself, which has a clearly expressed biological orientation, and such are molecular, species and system ecology, ecological soil science, geoecology, ecological geology, ecological geophysics, industrial or engineering ecology, radiation ecology, space ecology, ecology of special objects, social ecology, environmental law, etc.

Genetic Engineering

One of the most important problems facing humanity is the control of genetic engineering. Scientists working in this field of science use (or parts of them) to change existing life forms or create new ones. They often experiment with genes - living cells that contain the genetic code that determines the basic features of an organism. By changing the information stored in the genes of an organism, scientists can purposefully change the features and properties of future generations of this species. Genetic experiments show that genetic engineering is both a promising area of ​​science and a serious threat. For example, genetic scientists have created special microorganisms that kill pest caterpillars, but some experts believe that this can seriously upset the natural balance. Therefore, all experiments in the field of genetics must be strictly controlled.

Antarctica - touchstone

Antarctica is a continent almost unaffected by human activity. However, many highly developed countries in our time are actively interested in Antarctica, since in its bowels there are huge reserves of other minerals. Less developed countries would also like to receive their share of these resources. The exploration of Antarctica is the touchstone of our ability to cooperate with each other for the benefit of future generations. Antarctica is larger in area than the United States and Mexico combined. Antarctica is a world reserve and is open to all scientific research; it is not threatened by an ecological catastrophe. Any pollution will cause irreparable damage to its fragile ecosystem. Low temperatures slow down the absorption of oil into the soil.

Holism - a new look at nature

Learning to respect nature is very important. And not only because it satisfies our basic needs (for food and air), but also because it has every right to exist and develop according to its own laws. When we realize that each of us - too component world of nature, and we will not separate ourselves from it, then we will fully realize the importance of protecting every single form of life that nature consists of. Holism (from English word"hool" - the whole) considers nature as a single whole, a continuous intertwining network of life, and not a mechanical connection of its disparate parts. And if we break individual threads in this network, this will sooner or later lead to the death of the entire network. In other words, by destroying plants and animals, we are destroying ourselves.

The current stage in the relations between society and nature is marked by an increase in sharp contradictions. The transformational activity of man in relation to nature responded to him not only with a positive effect (the blessings of life), but also with a negative one - a sharp deterioration of the environment, its pollution and depletion, i.e. ecological crisis threatening catastrophe for humanity.

The natural reserves of oil, gas and other minerals are disappearing at a rapid pace. With the continued pace of deforestation and loss of forests, they will disappear from the face of the Earth in three to four decades. The emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere by economically developed countries (primarily carbon dioxide) leads to climate change (warming), the so-called greenhouse effect, which contributes to the appearance of arid regions in some regions, and the flooding of coastal lands and cities in others. The use of freon in production and household appliances contributes to the appearance of ozone holes, which increases ultraviolet radiation, which, together with waste from the chemical and nuclear industries, leads to human diseases and negatively affects their heredity. Pollution of the world's oceans has increased, and it tends to become global. As a result of human activity in the wild, many species of animals and plants have now disappeared.

Environmental problems are now becoming global problems that require joint efforts of different countries to address them immediately. Various authors offer their own areas of environmental policy, among which the main ones can be distinguished˸

Limiting the development of production and, accordingly, consumption;

Finding the optimal level of interaction between society and nature;

Development of closed production cycles;

Ecologization of industry, introduction of environmentally friendly technologies and materials;

Environmental activities;

Formation of ecological consciousness and ecological culture of people.

It is clear that the solution of environmental problems is impossible only through scientific and technical solutions, socio-economic methods, political and legal means.

It requires a change in the person himself, ᴇᴦο consciousness, the introduction of the principles of environmental ethics into him, the formation of an ecological culture of a person, starting from early childhood. A number of scientists rightly believe that the transition of all mankind from a dead-end technogenic-consumer to a new, spiritual-ecological type of civilization is necessary. Its essence is that scientific and technological progress, the production of material goods and services, political and financial and economic interests should not be the goal, but a means of harmonizing relations between society and nature. Modern man cannot put himself in relation to nature in the position of a ʼʼconquerorʼʼ, ʼʼconquerorʼʼ, who does not care about the consequences of his activity. The coordinated development of man, society and nature in their unity is the main way to solve the environmental problem.

Cheat sheet: Environmental problems of our time and ways to solve them

1. INTRODUCTION.

The anthropogenic period is revolutionary in the history of the Earth. Mankind manifests itself as the greatest geological force in terms of the scale of its activities on our planet. And if we remember the short time of human existence in comparison with the life of the planet, then the significance of his activity will appear even clearer.

The technical capabilities of man to change the natural environment were rapidly increasing, reaching their highest point in the era of scientific and technological revolution. Now he is able to carry out such projects for the transformation of the natural environment, which until relatively recently he did not even dare to dream of. The growth of human power leads to an increase in the negative consequences for nature and, ultimately, dangerous for the existence of man, the consequences of his activities, the significance of which is only now beginning to be realized.

The formation and development of human society was accompanied by local and regional environmental crises of anthropogenic origin. It can be said that the steps of mankind forward along the path of scientific and technological progress were relentlessly accompanied, like a shadow, by negative moments, the sharp aggravation of which led to environmental crises.

A characteristic feature of our time is inten-specification and globalization human impact on the natural environment, which is accompanied by an unprecedented intensification and globalization of the negative consequences of this impact. And if earlier humanity experienced local and regional environmental crises that could lead to the death of any civilization, but did not prevent the further progress of the human race as a whole, then the current environmental situation is fraught with global environmental collapse. Because modern man destroys the mechanisms of integral functioning of the biosphere on a planetary scale. There are more and more crisis points, both in the problematic and in the spatial sense, and they turn out to be closely interconnected, forming an increasingly frequent network. It is this circumstance that makes it possible to speak of the presence global ecological crisis androse of ecological disaster.

2. BASIC ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS.

The problem of environmental pollution is becoming so acute both because of the growth in industrial and agricultural production, and in connection with the qualitative change in production under the influence of scientific and technological progress.

Many metals and alloys used by man are not known to nature in their pure form, and although they are to some extent subject to recycling and reuse, some of them dissipate, accumulating in the biosphere in the form of waste. The problem of pollution of the natural environment in full growth arose after in the XX century. man has significantly expanded the number of metals he uses, began to produce synthetic fibers, plastics and other substances that have properties that are not only unknown to nature, but harmful to the organisms of the biosphere. These substances (the number and variety of which is constantly growing) after their use do not enter the natural cycle. Waste from production activities is increasing pollute the lithosphere , hydrosphere and atmosphericsphere of the earth . The adaptive mechanisms of the biosphere cannot cope with the neutralization of the increasing amount of substances harmful to its normal functioning, and natural systems begin to collapse.

1) Pollution of the lithosphere.

The soil cover of the Earth is the most important component of the biosphere. It is the soil shell that determines many processes occurring in the biosphere.

Imperfect agricultural practices lead to rapid soil depletion, and the use of extremely harmful but cheap pesticides to control plant pests and increase crop yields exacerbates this problem. An equally important problem is the extensive use of pastures, which turns vast tracts of land into deserts.

Deforestation causes great damage to soils. So, if 1 kg of soil per hectare is lost annually under tropical rainforests due to erosion, then after cutting down this figure increases by 34 times.

With deforestation, as well as with extremely inefficient agricultural practices, such a threatening phenomenon as desertification is associated. In Africa, the advance of the desert is about 100 thousand hectares per year; on the border of India and Pakistan, the Thar semi-desert is advancing at a speed of 1 km per year. Of the 45 identified causes of desertification, 87% are the result of overexploitation of resources.(3; p 325)

There is also the problem of increasing acidity of precipitation and soil cover. ( Acidic is any precipitation - rain, fog, snow - the acidity of which is higher than normal. They also include the fallout from the atmosphere of dry acidic particles, more narrowly referred to as acid deposits..) Areas of acidic soils do not know droughts, but their natural fertility is lowered and unstable; they are rapidly depleted and yields are low. Acidity with downward water flows extends to the entire soil profile and causes significant acidification of groundwater. Additional damage occurs due to the fact that acid precipitation, seeping through the soil, is able to leach aluminum and heavy metals. Usually the presence of these elements in the soil does not pose a problem, as they are bound into insoluble compounds and therefore not taken up by organisms. However, at low pH values, their compounds dissolve, become available, and have a strong toxic effect on both plants and animals. For example, aluminum, quite abundant in many soils, getting into lakes, causes anomalies in the development and death of fish embryos. (3; p. 327)

2) Pollution of the hydrosphere.

The aquatic environment is land waters (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, canals), the World Ocean, glaciers, groundwater containing natural-technogenic and technogenic formations. Which, being influenced by exogenous, endogenous and technogenic forces, affect human health, its economic activity and everything else living and inanimate on Earth. Water, ensuring the existence of all life on the planet, is part of the main means of production of material goods.

The deterioration of water quality is primarily due to the insufficiency and imperfection of the purification of polluted natural waters due to the growth in the volumes of industrial, agricultural, household wastewater. General shortages, increasing pollution, the gradual destruction of fresh water sources are especially relevant in the face of a growing world population and expanding production.

Over the past 40 years, the water systems of many countries of the world have been seriously upset. There is a depletion of the most valuable source of fresh water available to us - groundwater. Uncontrolled withdrawal of water, the destruction of forest water protection belts and the drainage of raised bogs led to the massive death of small rivers. The water content of large rivers and the inflow of surface water into inland water bodies are decreasing.

The quality of water in closed reservoirs is deteriorating. Lake Baikal is polluted by industrial effluents from the Baikal Pulp and Paper Plant, the Selengil Pulp and Cardboard Plant, and Ulan-Ude enterprises. (3; pp. 327-331)

The increased shortage of fresh water is associated with pollution of water bodies by wastewater from industrial and municipal enterprises, water from mines, mines, oil fields, during the procurement, processing and alloying of materials, emissions from water, rail and road transport, leather, textile food industries. The surface waste of cellulose - paper, enterprises, chemical, metallurgical, oil refineries, textile factories, and agriculture is especially polluting.

The most common pollutants are oil and oil products. They cover the surface of the water with a thin film that prevents gas and moisture exchange between water and near-aquatic organisms. A serious threat to the purity of water bodies is caused by oil production from the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans. Sudden outbursts of oil at the final stage of well drilling at the bottom of reservoirs lead to serious water pollution.

Another source of pollution of water bodies are accidents with oil tankers. Oil enters the sea when hoses break, when oil pipeline couplings leak, when it is pumped to coastal oil storage facilities, and when tankers are washed. “Oil that got into the water forms a surface film 10 cm thick within 40-100 hours. If the spot is small, then it usually disappears, having settled to the bottom in the cold season, and floats to the surface with the onset of the warm period. ”(3; p 382)

Increasingly important (as pollution of water bodies) are surfactants, including synthetic detergents (SMC). The widespread use of these compounds in everyday life and industry leads to an increase in their concentration. Wastewater Oh. They are poorly removed by treatment facilities, they supply water bodies, including those for domestic and drinking purposes, and from there into tap water. The presence of SMS in water gives it an unpleasant taste and smell.

Dangerous pollutants of water bodies are salts of heavy metals - lead, iron, copper, mercury. The largest flow of their water is associated with industrial centers located off the coast. Heavy metal ions are absorbed by aquatic plants: they are transported through tropical chains to herbivores and then to carnivores. Sometimes the concentration of ions of these metals in the body of fish is ten or hundreds of times higher than the initial concentration of their reservoir. Waters containing domestic wastes, sewage from agricultural complexes serve as sources of many infectious diseases (paratyphoid, dysentery, viral hepatitis, cholera, etc.). The spread of cholera vibrios by polluted waters, lakes, and reservoirs is widely known.

“If we poison underground waters, their purity will be restored only after 300-400 years.”(3; p.388)

3) Atmospheric pollution.

Man has been polluting the atmosphere for thousands of years.

Solutions to environmental problems

AT last years in some places there is strong air pollution associated with the expansion of centers of industry, with the technicalization of many areas of our life, with successful motorization. Indeed, harmful substances that enter the air can be enhanced by their mutual reactions with each other, accumulation in the mountains, the long duration of their stay in the air, special weather conditions and other factors. In areas where there is a high population density, a cluster of factories and factories, a high saturation of transport, air pollution especially increases. This requires urgent and radical action. On days when air circulation is limited due to weather conditions, smog can occur. Smog is especially dangerous for the elderly and sick people.

Photochemical fog or smog is a multicomponent mixture of gases and aerosol particles of primary and secondary origin. The composition of the main components of smog includes: ozone, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, numerous organic peroxide compounds, collectively called photooxidants. Photochemical smog occurs as a result of photochemical reactions under certain conditions: the presence in the atmosphere of a high concentration of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other pollutants, intense solar radiation and calm or very weak air exchange in the surface layer with a powerful and, for at least a day, increased inversion. Sustained calm weather, usually accompanied by inversions, is necessary to create a high concentration of reactants. Such conditions are created more often in June-September and less often in winter.

During periods when pollution reaches high levels, many people complain of headaches, irritation of the eyes and nasopharynx, nausea and general poor health. Apparently, ozone mainly acts on the mucous membranes. The presence of a suspension of acid, mainly sulfuric, correlates with an increase in asthma attacks, and due to carbon monoxide, there is a weakening of mental activity, drowsiness and headaches. Respiratory diseases and lung cancer are associated with high levels of suspended matter, acting for a long time. However, all these factors can affect different aspects of health to varying degrees. In some cases, air pollution has reached such high levels that it has led to death.

4) Reduction of biological diversity.

By changing his world, a person significantly interferes in the life of his neighbors on the planet. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, since 1600. on the

3. WAYS OF SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS.

Each of the global problems discussed here has its own variants of partial or more complete solution, there is a set of common approaches to solving environmental problems.

Measures to improve the quality of the environment:

1.Technological:

*development of new technologies

* treatment facilities

*fuel change

* electrification of production, life, transport

2.Architectural planning activities:

* zoning of the territory of the settlement

* landscaping of populated areas

*organization of sanitary protection zones

3.Economic

4.Legal:

*creation of legislative acts to maintain

environmental quality

5. Engineering and organizational:

*reduction of car parking at traffic lights

*decrease in traffic intensity by

congested highways

In addition, over the past century, mankind has developed a number of original ways to deal with environmental problems. Among these methods can be attributed the emergence and activities of various kinds of "green" movements and organizations. Except “GreenPeace^a”, which is distinguished by the scope of its activities, there are similar organizations directly conducting environmental actions. There is also another type of environmental organization: structures that stimulate and sponsor environmental activities ( Wildlife Foundation).

In addition to various kinds of associations in the field of solving environmental problems, there are a number of state or public environmental initiatives:

environmental legislation in Russia and other countries of the world,

various international agreements or the system of "Red Books".

Among the most important ways to solve environmental problems, most researchers also highlight the introduction of environmentally friendly, low-waste and waste-free technologies, the construction of treatment facilities, the rational distribution of production and the use of natural resources.

Ministry of Public and Vocational Education.

Magnitogorsk State University.

Ecological problems of the present and ways of their solution.

Abstract on OBZh.

Performed: PMNO student,

2 course, 202 gr., UNK,

Mitrofanova Lena.

Checked: older

teacher

Kuvshinova Ira.

Magnitogorsk.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. Brodsky A.K. A short course in general ecology: Textbook-3rd ed.-DSAN, 1999-223p.

2. Voitkevich G.V., Vronsky V.A. Fundamentals of the doctrine of the biosphere: Book. For the teacher. - M: Enlightenment, 1989.

3. Gladkov N.D. etc. Nature Protection-M. Enlightenment, 1975-239s.

4. Gorelov A.A. Ecology: Proc. allowance. - M.: Center, 1998-238s.

4. CONCLUSION

Achieving an ideal state of absolute harmony with nature is basically impossible. Just as impossible is the final victory over nature, although in the process of struggle, a person discovers the ability to overcome the difficulties that arise. The interaction of man with nature never ends, and when it seems that man is about to get a decisive advantage, nature increases resistance. However, it is not infinite, and its overcoming in the form of suppression of nature is fraught with the death of man himself.

The current success of man in the fight against the natural environment has been achieved by increasing the risk, which should be considered in two ways: the risk of possible environmental side effects, due to the fact that science cannot give an absolute forecast of the consequences of human impact on the natural environment, and the risk of random disasters, related to the fact that technical systems and the person himself do not have absolute reliability. Here, one of Commoner's propositions, which he calls the "law" of ecology, turns out to be true: "nothing is given for free." (1; p. 26)

Based on the analysis environmental situation we can conclude that we should rather not talk about the final and absolute solution of the environmental problem, but about the prospects for shifting particular problems in order to optimize the relationship between man and the natural environment in the existing historical conditions. This circumstance is due to the fact that the fundamental laws of nature impose restrictions on the implementation of the goals of mankind.

1. Introduction. 1st page

2. Basic environmental problems. 2p.

1) Pollution of the lithosphere. 2p.

2) Pollution of the hydrosphere. 3rd page

3) Atmospheric pollution. 5p.

4) Decreased ecological diversity. 5p.

3. Ways to solve environmental problems. 7p.

4. Conclusion. 8p.

5. List of references. 9p.

How do individual countries fight for the cleanliness of the environment?

We have been littering and polluting our planet for so long that, of course, it will not be possible to solve all environmental problems overnight. But every person should remember that solving problems should begin, first of all, with oneself, with changes in one's attitude to the world around. We have no moral right to be indignant at the dirt that surrounds us if we ourselves cannot throw the piece of paper into the trash; to complain about the existing facts of nature pollution, if we remain indifferent to protest actions and do not elect people who are really involved in solving environmental problems; resent the lack of spirituality and the presence of a consumer attitude towards the world around us, if we ourselves do not educate in children a respectful and careful attitude to everything that surrounds us!

Unfortunately, the 20th century passed in the world under the slogan: “We cannot expect favors from nature. It is our task to take them from her.” People all over the world treated nature barbarically, thinking only about achieving maximum material well-being. However, such a cruel attitude towards nature does not go unpunished, and every year humanity begins to pay an increasing price for the merciless exploitation of nature. Every day the ecological situation in the world is deteriorating and every representative of the human race contributes to this.

The cleanest countries...

Currently, many countries of the world and their individual representatives are striving to make the world cleaner. Of course, industrial enterprises have had a negative impact (and some continue their harmful activities) on the environment, and greenhouse gas emissions have reached a very high level, however, the attention of world countries is gradually turning to the problems of preserving the environment.

Some countries of the world are beginning to successfully implement environmental measures to fight for the purity of the environment. Now you can name the top 10 most environmentally friendly countries:

1. Iceland is the first country in the world to produce energy from geothermal resources and rivers.

2. Sweden is going to eliminate all fossil fuels by 2020.

3. Switzerland has very strict legislation in everything related to ecology. In addition, the Swiss have a so-called "green" mentality, which allows us to call this country one of the cleanest in the world.

How to save yourself from bad ecology

Norway will make a significant contribution to carbon-free energy by 2030 with the opening of the country's largest solar power plants.

5. An excellent example of the restoration of nature after cleaning up the consequences of industrialization is Finland.

6. Costa Rica can “boast” of a large number of natural reserves, which are taken care of and increased not only by the population of the country, but also by legislation.

7. One of the most protected from the negative impacts of industrial production is New Zealand, whose amazing landscapes attract tourists from all over the world.

8. The main priorities for Austria are the conservation of forests and the quality of drinking water.

9. The small island nation of Mauritius has one of the strictest and best environmental laws in the world.

10. Having successfully overcome various environmental problems, Colombia is now one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world.

Introduction

Mankind is too slow to understand the extent of the danger that a frivolous attitude towards the environment creates. Meanwhile, the solution (if it is still possible) of such formidable global problems as environmental ones requires urgent energetic joint efforts of international organizations, states, regions, and the public.
During its existence, and especially in the 20th century, humanity has managed to destroy about 70 percent of all natural ecological (biological) systems on the planet that are capable of processing human waste, and continues their "successful" destruction. The amount of permissible impact on the biosphere as a whole has now been exceeded by several times. Moreover, a person releases into the environment thousands of tons of substances that have never been contained in it and which are often not amenable or poorly recyclable. All this leads to the fact that biological microorganisms that act as a regulator of the environment are no longer able to perform this function.
According to experts, in 30 - 50 years an irreversible process will begin, which at the turn of the 21st - 22nd centuries will lead to a global environmental catastrophe. A particularly alarming situation has developed on the European continent. Western Europe has basically exhausted its ecological resources and, accordingly, uses others.
AT European countries there are almost no untouched biosystems left. The exception is the territory of Norway, Finland, to some extent Sweden and, of course, Eurasian Russia.
On the territory of Russia (17 million sq. km) there are 9 million sq. km. km of untouched, and therefore, working ecological systems. A significant part of this territory is tundra, which is biologically unproductive. But the Russian forest-tundra, taiga, sphagnum (peat) bogs are ecosystems without which it is impossible to imagine a normally functioning biota of the entire globe.
Russia, for example, ranks first in the world in absorbing (thanks to its extensive forests and marshes) carbon dioxide - about 40 percent.
It remains to state: in the world there is, perhaps, nothing more valuable for mankind and its future than the preserved and still functioning natural ecological system of Russia, with all the complexity of the ecological situation.
In Russia, the difficult environmental situation is exacerbated by the protracted general crisis. The state leadership is doing little to correct it. The legal instrument for environmental protection is slowly developing - environmental law. In the 90s, however, several environmental laws were adopted, the main of which was the law Russian Federation"On the Protection of the Environment", in force since March 1992. However, law enforcement practice has revealed serious gaps, both in the law itself and in the mechanism for its implementation.

ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION

Atmospheric air is the most important life-supporting natural environment and is a mixture of gases and aerosols of the surface layer of the atmosphere, which has developed during the evolution of the Earth, human activities and is located outside residential, industrial and other premises, which is why more attention is paid to this issue in this essay. results environmental research, both in Russia and abroad, unambiguously indicate that pollution of the surface atmosphere is the most powerful, constantly acting factor influencing humans, the food chain and the environment. Atmospheric air has an unlimited capacity and plays the role of the most mobile, chemically aggressive and all-penetrating agent of interaction near the surface of the components of the biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

In recent years, data have been obtained on the significant role of the day of preservation of the biosphere of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, which absorbs the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, which is harmful to living organisms, and forms a thermal barrier at altitudes of about 40 km, which prevents the cooling of the earth's surface. The air of dwellings and work areas is of great importance due to the fact that a person spends a significant part of his time here.

The atmosphere has an intense impact not only on humans and biota, but also on the hydrosphere, soil and vegetation cover, geological environment, buildings, structures and other man-made objects. Therefore, the protection of atmospheric air and the ozone layer is the highest priority environmental problem and it is given close attention in all developed countries.

The polluted ground atmosphere causes lung, throat and skin cancer, central nervous system disorders, allergic and respiratory diseases, neonatal defects and many other diseases, the list of which is determined by the pollutants present in the air and their combined effects on the human body. The results of special studies carried out in Russia and abroad have shown that there is a close positive relationship between the health of the population and the quality of atmospheric air.

The main agents of the impact of the atmosphere on the hydrosphere are precipitation in the form of rain and snow, and to a lesser extent smog and fog. The surface and ground waters of the land are mainly atmospheric nourishment and, as a result, they chemical composition depends mainly on the state of the atmosphere. According to the data of ecological and geochemical mapping of different scales, the melted (snow) water of the Russian Plain, in comparison with surface and ground waters and in many areas, is noticeably (several times) enriched in nitrite and ammonium ions, antimony, cadmium, mercury, molybdenum, zinc, lead, tungsten, beryllium, chromium, nickel, manganese. This is especially pronounced in relation to groundwater. Siberian ecologists-geochemists revealed the enrichment of mercury and snow waters in comparison with surface waters in the Katun River basin (Kuraisko-Sarasinskaya mercury-ore zone of Gorny Altai).

The calculation of the balance of the amount of heavy metals in the snow cover showed that their main part is dissolved in snow water, i.e. are in a migration-mobile form, capable of quickly penetrating surface and groundwater, the food chain and the human body. In the conditions of the Moscow region, zinc, strontium, nickel are almost completely dissolved in snow water.

The negative impact of the polluted atmosphere on the soil and vegetation cover is associated both with the fallout of acidic precipitation, which leaches calcium, humus and trace elements from the soil, and with the disruption of photosynthesis processes, leading to a slowdown in the growth of plant death. The high sensitivity of trees (especially oak birch) to air pollution has been identified for a long time. The combined action of their factors leads to a noticeable decrease in soil fertility and the disappearance of forests. Acid precipitation is now considered as a powerful factor not only weathering rocks and deterioration in the quality of bearing soils, but also chemical destruction of man-made objects, including cultural monuments and land lines. Many economically developed countries are currently implementing programs to address the problem of acid precipitation. As part of the National Program for the Assessment of the Impact of Acid Precipitation, approved in 1980. Many US federal agencies have begun to fund research into the atmospheric processes that cause acid rain to assess the impact of the latter on ecosystems and develop appropriate conservation measures. It turned out that acid rain has a multifaceted effect on the environment and is the result of

volume of self-purification (washing) of the atmosphere. The main acidic agents are dilute sulfuric and nitric acids formed during the oxidation reactions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides with the participation of hydrogen peroxide.

Studies in the central part of European Russia have established that snow waters here, as a rule, have a near-neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Against this background, areas of both acidic and alkaline atmospheric precipitation stand out. Snow waters with a neutral reaction are characterized by low buffering capacity (acid-neutralizing capacity) and therefore even a slight increase in the concentrations of sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the surface atmosphere can lead to acid precipitation over large areas. First of all, this concerns large swampy lowlands, in which atmospheric pollutants accumulate as a result of the manifestation of the low-lying effect of emergency precipitation.

The processes and sources of pollution of the surface atmosphere are numerous and varied. By origin, they are divided into anthropogenic and natural. Among anthropogenic, the most dangerous processes include the combustion of fuel and garbage, nuclear reactions during the production of atomic energy, testing nuclear weapons, metallurgy and hot metalworking, various chemical industries, including oil and gas processing, coal.

During fuel combustion processes, the most intense pollution of the surface layer of the atmosphere occurs in megacities and large cities, industrial centers due to the wide distribution of vehicles, thermal power plants, boilers and other power plants operating on coal, fuel oil, diesel fuel, natural gas and gasoline. The contribution of vehicles to the total air pollution here reaches 40-50%. A powerful and extremely dangerous factor in atmospheric pollution are catastrophes at nuclear power plants (Chernobyl accident) and testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. This is due both to the rapid spread of radionuclides over long distances and to the long-term nature of the contamination of the territory.

The high danger of chemical and biochemical industries lies in the potential for emergency releases of extremely toxic substances into the atmosphere, as well as microbes and viruses that can cause epidemics among the population and animals.

The main natural process of pollution of the surface atmosphere is the volcanic and fluid activity of the Earth. Special studies have established that the entry of pollutants with deep fluids into the surface layer of the atmosphere takes place not only in areas of modern volcanic and gas thermal activity, but also in such stable geological structures as the Russian platform. Large volcanic eruptions lead to global and long-term pollution of the atmosphere, as evidenced by the chronicles and modern observational data (the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991). This is due to the fact that huge amounts of gases are “instantly” thrown into the high layers of the atmosphere, which are picked up at high altitude by air currents moving at high speed and quickly spread throughout the globe. The duration of the polluted state of the atmosphere after large volcanic eruptions reaches several years. In some cases, due to the presence in the air large mass scattered fine solid aerosols, buildings, trees and other objects on the surface of the Earth did not give a shadow. It should be noted that in the snowfalls of many regions of European Russia, environmental and geochemical mapping revealed anomalously high concentrations of fluorine, lithium, antimony, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals, which are confined to the junctions of active deep faults and are probably of natural origin. . In the case of antimony, fluorine, and cadmium, such anomalies are significant.

These data point to the need to take into account the current fluid activity and other natural processes in the pollution of the surface atmosphere of the Russian Plain. There are reasons to believe that in the air basins of Moscow and St. Petersburg there are also chemical elements (fluorine, lithium, mercury, etc.) coming from the depth along the zones of active deep faults. This is facilitated by deep depression funnels, which caused a decrease in hydrostatic pressure and an inflow of gas-bearing water from below, as well as high degree violations of the underground space of megacities.

A little-studied, but environmentally important natural process on a global scale is photochemical reactions in the atmosphere and on the Earth's surface. This is especially true of the heavily polluted surface atmosphere of megacities, large cities and industrial centers, where smog is often observed.

The impact on the atmosphere of cosmic bodies in the form of comets, meteorites, fireballs and asteroids should be taken into account. The Tunguska event of 1908 shows that it can be intense and have a global scale.

Natural pollutants of the surface atmosphere are mainly represented by oxides of nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, methane and other hydrocarbons, radon, radioactive elements and heavy metals in gaseous and aerosol forms. Solid aerosols are emitted into the atmosphere not only by ordinary, but also by mud volcanoes.

Special studies have established that the intensity of aerosol flows of mud volcanoes of the Kerch Peninsula is not inferior to that of the "dormant" volcanoes of Kamchatka. Complex compounds such as saturated and unsaturated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbonyl sulfide, formaldehyde, phenols, cyanides, and ammonia can be the result of the modern fluid activity of the Earth. Methane and its homologues have been recorded in the snow cover over hydrocarbon deposits in Western Siberia, Urals, Ukraine. In the uranium province of Athabasca (Canada), based on high concentrations of uranium in the needles of black Canadian spruce, the Wallastone biochemical anomaly 3,000 km2 in size was discovered, associated with the entry of uranium-containing gas emanations into the surface layer of the atmosphere along deep faults.

Photochemical reactions produce ozone, sulfuric and nitric acids, various photooxidants, complex organic compounds and equimolar mixtures of dry acids and bases, and atomic chlorine. Photochemical pollution of the atmosphere noticeably increases in the daytime and during periods of solar activity.

Currently, many tens of thousands of pollutants of anthropogenic origin are found in the surface atmosphere. Due to the continued growth of industrial and agricultural production, new chemical compounds, including highly toxic ones. The main anthropogenic air pollutants, in addition to large-tonnage oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, dust and soot, are complex organic, organochlorine and nitro compounds, man-made radionuclides, viruses and microbes. The most dangerous are dioxin, benz (a) pyrene, phenols, formaldehyde, and carbon disulfide, which are widespread in the air basin of Russia. Heavy metals are found in the surface atmosphere of the Moscow region mainly in a gaseous state and therefore they cannot be captured by filters. Solid suspended particles are mainly represented by soot, calcite, quartz, kaolinite, feldspar, less often sulfates, chlorides. Oxides, sulfates and sulfites, sulfides of heavy metals, as well as alloys and metals in native form were found in snow dust by specially developed methods.

In Western Europe, priority is given to 28 especially dangerous chemical elements, compounds and their groups. The group of organic substances includes acrylic, nitrile, benzene, formaldehyde, styrene, toluene, vinyl chloride, and inorganic substances - heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, V), gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, oxides nitrogen and sulfur, radon, ozone), asbestos. Lead and cadmium are predominantly toxic. Carbon disulfide, hydrogen sulfide, styrene, tetrachloroethane, toluene have an intense unpleasant odor. The impact halo of sulfur and nitrogen oxides extends over long distances. The above 28 air pollutants are included in the international registry of potentially toxic chemicals.

The main indoor air pollutants are dust and tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, radon and heavy metals, insecticides, deodorants, synthetic detergents, drug aerosols, microbes and bacteria. Japanese researchers have shown that bronchial asthma may be associated with the presence of domestic ticks in the air of dwellings.

According to the study of gas bubbles in the ice of Antarctica, the content of methane in the atmosphere has increased over the past 200 years. Measurements in the early 1980s of the carbon monoxide content in the air basin of the state of Oregon (USA) for 3.5 years showed that it increased by an average of 6% per year. There are reports of a trend towards an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and the associated threat of a greenhouse effect and climate warming. Both modern and ancient carcinogens (PAH, benz(a)pyrene, etc.) have been found in the glaciers of the volcanic region of Kamchatka. In the latter case, they are apparently of volcanic origin. The patterns of changes in time of atmospheric oxygen, which is most important for life support, have been poorly studied.

An increase in the atmosphere of nitrogen and sulfur oxides in winter was found due to an increase in fuel combustion and more frequent smog formation during this period.

The results of regime testing of snowfalls in the Moscow region indicate both synchronous regional changes in their composition over time and local features of the dynamics of the chemical state of the surface atmosphere associated with the functioning of local sources of dust and gas emissions. In frosty winters, the content of sulfates, nitrates and, accordingly, the acidity of snow water increased in the snow cover. The snow water of the initial period of winter was characterized by an increased content of sulfate, chlorine, and ammonium ions. As snow fell by the middle of the winter period, it noticeably (2-3 times) decreased, and then again and sharply (up to 4-5 times for chlorine ion) increased. Such features of the change in the chemical composition of snowfall over time are explained by the increased pollution of the surface atmosphere during the first snowfalls. As its “washing” intensifies, the pollution of the snow cover decreases, increasing again during periods when there is little snow.

The atmosphere is characterized by extremely high dynamism, due to both the rapid movement of air masses in the lateral and vertical directions, and high speeds, a variety of physical and chemical reactions occurring in it. Atmosphere rass It is now maturing like a huge "chemical cauldron", which is under the influence of numerous and variable anthropogenic and natural factors. Gases and aerosols released into the atmosphere are highly reactive. Dust and soot generated during fuel combustion, forest fires absorb heavy metals and radionuclides and, when deposited on the surface, can pollute vast areas and enter the human body through the respiratory system. Aerosols are divided into primary (discharged from sources of pollution), secondary (formed in the atmosphere), volatile (transported over long distances) and non-volatile (deposited on the surface near the zones of dust and gas emissions). Stable and volatile finely dispersed aerosols (cadmium, mercury, antimony, iodine-131, etc.) tend to accumulate in lowlands, bays and other relief depressions, to a lesser extent on watersheds.

Aerodynamic barriers are large forests, as well as active deep faults of considerable length (the Baikal Rift). The reason for this is that such faults control physical fields, ionic flows of the Earth and serve as a kind of barrier to the movement of air masses.

The tendency of joint accumulation of lead and tin in solid suspended particles of the surface atmosphere of European Russia has been revealed;

chromium, cobalt and nickel; strontium, phosphorus, scandium, rare earths and calcium; beryllium, tin, niobium, tungsten and molybdenum; lithium, beryllium and gallium; barium, zinc, manganese and honey. Lithium, arsenic, bismuth are often not accompanied by high levels of other trace elements. High concentrations of heavy metals in snow dust are due to both the presence of their mineral phases formed during the combustion of coal, fuel oil and other fuels, and the sorption of soot, clay particles of gaseous compounds such as tin halides. The revealed features of spatio-temporal distribution of pollutants should be taken into account when interpreting observational data on air pollution.

The "lifetime" of gases and aerosols in the atmosphere varies in a very wide range (from 1 - 3 minutes to several months) and depends mainly on their chemical stability, size (for aerosols) and the presence of reactive components (ozone, hydrogen peroxide, etc.). ). Therefore, the transboundary transfers of pollutants involve mainly chemical elements and compounds in the form of gases that are not capable of chemical reactions and are thermodynamically stable under atmospheric conditions. As a result, the fight against transboundary transfers, which is one of the most actual problems air quality protection is greatly hampered.

Estimating and even more so forecasting the state of the surface atmosphere is a very complex problem. At present, her condition is assessed mainly according to the normative approach. MPC values ​​for toxic chemicals and other standard air quality indicators are given in many reference books and guidelines. In such guidelines for Europe, in addition to the toxicity of pollutants (carcinogenic, mutagenic, allergenic and other effects), their prevalence and ability to accumulate in the human body and the food chain are taken into account. The shortcomings of the normative approach are the unreliability of the accepted MPC values ​​and other indicators due to the poor development of their empirical observational base, the lack of consideration of the combined effects of pollutants and abrupt changes in the state of the surface layer of the atmosphere in time and space. There are few stationary monitoring posts for the air basin and they do not allow an adequate assessment of its condition in large industrial and urban centers. Needles, lichens, and mosses can be used as indicators of the chemical composition of the surface atmosphere. At the initial stage of revealing the centers of radioactive contamination associated with the Chernobyl accident, pine needles were studied, which have the ability to accumulate radionuclides in the air. Reddening of the needles of coniferous trees during periods of smog in cities is widely known.

The most sensitive and reliable indicator of the state of the surface atmosphere is the snow cover, which deposits pollutants over a relatively long period of time and makes it possible to determine the location of sources of dust and gas emissions using a set of indicators. Snowfall contains pollutants that are not captured by direct measurements or calculated data on dust and gas emissions. Snow-chemical survey makes it possible to estimate the stocks of pollutants in the snow cover, as well as "wet" and "dry" environmental loads, which are expressed in determining the amount (mass) of pollutant precipitation per unit time per unit area. The widespread use of photography is facilitated by the fact that the main industrial centers of Russia are located in the zone of stable snow cover.

One of the promising directions for assessing the state of the surface atmosphere in large industrial and urban areas is multichannel remote sensing. The advantage of this method lies in the ability to characterize large areas quickly, repeatedly and in the same way. To date, methods have been developed for estimating the content of aerosols in the atmosphere. The development of scientific and technological progress allows us to hope for the development of such methods in relation to other pollutants.

The forecast of the state of the surface atmosphere is carried out on the basis of complex data. These primarily include the results of monitoring observations, the patterns of migration and transformation of pollutants in the atmosphere, the features of anthropogenic and natural processes of pollution of the air basin of the study area, the influence of meteorological parameters, relief and other factors on the distribution of pollutants in the environment. For this purpose, heuristic models of changes in the surface atmosphere in time and space are developed for a particular region. The greatest success in solving this complex problem has been achieved for the areas where nuclear power plants are located.

The end result of applying such models is a quantitative assessment of the risk of air pollution and an assessment of its acceptability from a socio-economic point of view.

The experience of conducting snow chemical surveys indicates that monitoring of the state of the air basin is most effective in the zone of stable accumulation of pollutants (lowlands and floodplains, areas and areas controlled by aerodynamic barriers).

The assessment and forecast of the chemical state of the surface atmosphere, associated with the natural processes of its pollution, differ significantly from the assessment and forecast of the quality of this natural environment, due to anthropogenic processes. Volcanic and fluid activity of the Earth, other natural phenomena cannot be controlled. We can only talk about minimizing the consequences of the negative impact, which is possible only in the case of a deep understanding of the features of the functioning of natural systems of different hierarchical levels, and above all the Earth as a planet. It is necessary to take into account the interaction of numerous factors that change in time and space.

The main factors include not only the internal activity of the Earth, but also its connections with the Sun, Cosmos. Therefore, thinking in "simple images" when assessing and predicting the state of the surface atmosphere is unacceptable and dangerous.

Anthropogenic processes of air pollution in most cases are manageable. However, the fight against transboundary transfers of pollutants in the atmosphere can be successfully carried out only if there is close international cooperation, which presents certain difficulties for various reasons. It is very difficult to assess and predict the state of atmospheric air,

when it is affected by both natural and anthropogenic processes. Features of this interaction are still poorly understood.

Environmental practice in Russia and abroad has shown that its failures are associated with incomplete consideration of negative impacts, inability to select and assess the main factors and consequences, low efficiency of using the results of field and theoretical environmental studies in decision-making, insufficient development of methods for quantifying the consequences of pollution of the surface atmosphere and other life-supporting natural environments.

All developed countries have adopted laws on the protection of atmospheric air. They are periodically revised to take into account new air quality requirements and new data on the toxicity and behavior of pollutants in the air basin. In the United States, the fourth version of the clean air law is now being discussed. The fight is between environmentalists and companies with no economic interest in improving air quality. The Government of the Russian Federation has developed a draft law on the protection of atmospheric air, which is currently being discussed. Improving air quality in Russia is of great socio-economic importance

This is due to many reasons, and above all, the unfavorable state of the air basin of megacities, large cities and industrial centers, in which the bulk of the skilled and able-bodied population lives.

NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC WATER POLLUTION.

Water is one of the most important life-supporting natural environments formed as a result of the evolution of the Earth. It is an integral part of the biosphere and has a number of anomalous properties that affect the physicochemical and biological processes occurring in ecosystems.

These properties include very high and maximum medium liquids, heat capacity, heat of fusion and heat of evaporation, surface tension, dissolving power and dielectric constant, transparency. In addition, water is characterized by increased migration capacity, which is important for its interaction with adjacent natural environments.

The above properties of water determine the potential for the accumulation in it of very high amounts of a wide variety of pollutants, including pathogenic microorganisms.

In connection with the continuously increasing pollution of surface waters, groundwaters are practically the only source of household and drinking water supply for the population. Therefore, their protection from pollution and depletion, rational use are of strategic importance.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that potable groundwater lies in the uppermost, most polluted part of artesian basins and other hydrogeological structures, and rivers and lakes make up only 0.019% of the total water volume. Water of good quality is required not only for drinking and cultural needs, but also for many industries.

The danger of groundwater pollution lies in the fact that the underground hydrosphere (especially artesian basins) is the ultimate reservoir for the accumulation of pollutants of both surface and deep origin. Long-term, in many cases irreversible nature is the pollution of inland water bodies.

Of particular danger is the contamination of drinking water by microorganisms that are pathogenic and can cause outbreaks of various epidemic diseases among the population and animals.

Practice has shown that the main cause of most epidemics was the use of water contaminated with viruses, microbes for drinking and other needs. Human exposure to water with high concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides is shown in the sections on these environmental pollutants.

The most important anthropogenic processes of water pollution are runoff from industrial-urbanized and agricultural territories, precipitation of anthropogenic products with atmospheric precipitation. These processes pollute not only surface waters (endorheic reservoirs and inland seas, watercourses), but also the underground hydrosphere (artesian basins, hydrogeological massifs), the World Ocean (especially water areas and shelves). On the continents, the upper aquifers (ground and pressure) are most affected, which are used for domestic and drinking water supply.

Accidents of oil tankers, oil pipelines can be a significant factor in the sharp deterioration of the environmental situation on sea coasts and water areas, in inland water systems. There has been a trend towards an increase in these accidents in the last decade.

The set of substances that pollute water is very wide, and the forms of their occurrence are varied. Main pollutants associated with natural and anthropogenic pollution processes aquatic environment, are largely similar. The difference lies in the fact that as a result of anthropogenic activity, significant amounts of such extremely hazardous substances as pesticides and artificial radionuclides can enter the water. In addition, many pathogenic and pathogenic viruses, fungi, and bacteria have an artificial origin.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, the problem of pollution of surface and groundwater with nitrogen compounds is becoming more and more urgent. Ecological and geochemical mapping of the central regions of European Russia has shown that the surface and ground waters of this territory are in many cases characterized by high concentrations of nitrates and nitrites. Regime observations indicate an increase in these concentrations over time.

A similar situation develops with the contamination of groundwater with organic substances. This is due to the fact that the underground hydrosphere is not capable of oxidizing a large mass of organic matter entering it. The consequence of this is that the pollution of hydrogeochemical systems gradually becomes irreversible.

However, the increasing amount of non-oxidized organic substances in the water shifts the denitrification process to the right (in the direction of nitrogen formation), which contributes to a decrease in the concentrations of nitrates and nitrites.

In agricultural areas with a high agricultural load, a noticeable increase in phosphorus compounds in surface waters was revealed, which is a favorable factor for eutrophication of endorheic water bodies. There is also an increase in persistent pesticides in surface and ground waters.

The assessment of the state of the aquatic environment according to the normative approach is carried out by comparing the pollutants present in it with their MPC and other standard indicators adopted for objects of household, drinking, cultural and domestic water use.

Such indicators are beginning to be developed not only to identify an excess amount of pollutants, but also to establish a deficiency in drinking water of vital (essential) chemical elements. In particular, such an indicator for selenium is available for the EEC countries.

Everyone's efforts should be focused primarily on minimizing the negative impacts.

It is especially difficult to assess and predict the state of a water body when it is affected by both natural and anthropogenic processes.

Studies in the Moscow artesian basin have shown that such cases are not uncommon.

NUCLEAR POLLUTION

Radioactive contamination poses a particular danger to humans and their environment. This is due to the fact that ionizing radiation has an intense and permanent detrimental effect on living organisms, and the sources of this radiation are widespread in the environment. Radioactivity - spontaneous decay atomic nuclei, leading to a change in their atomic number or mass number and accompanied by alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Alpha radiation is a stream of heavy particles, consisting of protons and neutrons. It is delayed by a sheet of paper and is not able to penetrate human skin. However, it becomes extremely dangerous if it enters the body. Beta radiation has a higher penetrating power and passes through human tissue by 1 - 2 cm. Gamma radiation can only be delayed by a thick lead or concrete slab.

The levels of terrestrial radiation are not the same in different areas and depend on the concentration of radionuclides near the surface. Anomalous radiation fields of natural origin are formed when certain types of granites and other igneous formations with an increased emanation coefficient are enriched with uranium, thorium, at deposits of radioactive elements in various rocks, with the modern introduction of uranium, radium, radon into underground and surface waters, geological environment. High radioactivity is often characterized by coals, phosphorites, oil shale, some clays and sands, including beach ones. Zones of increased radioactivity are unevenly distributed on the territory of Russia. They are known both in the European part and in the Trans-Urals, in the Polar Urals, in Western Siberia, the Baikal region, in the Far East, Kamchatka, and the Northeast. In most geochemically specialized radioactive elements rock complexes, a significant part of uranium is in a mobile state, is easily extracted and enters surface and underground waters, then into the food chain. It is the natural sources of ionizing radiation in the zones of anomalous radioactivity that make the main contribution (up to 70%) to the total exposure dose to the population, equal to 420 mrem/year. At the same time, these sources can create high levels of radiation that affect human life for a long time and cause various diseases, including genetic changes in the body. If sanitary and hygienic inspection is carried out at uranium mines and appropriate measures are taken to protect the health of employees, then the effect of natural radiation due to radionuclides in rocks and natural waters is extremely poorly studied. In the uranium province of Athabasca (Canada), the Wallastone biogeochemical anomaly with an area of ​​about 3000 km2 was detected, expressed by high concentrations of uranium in the needles of black Canadian spruce and associated with

aerosols along active deep faults. On Russian territory

such anomalies are known in Transbaikalia.

Among natural radionuclides, radon and its daughter decay products (radium, etc.) have the greatest radiation-genetic significance. Their contribution to the total radiation dose per capita is more than 50%. The radon problem is currently considered a priority in developed countries and is given increased attention by the ICRP and the UN ICDA. The danger of radon (half-life 3.823 days) lies in its wide distribution, high penetrating ability and migration mobility, decay with the formation of radium and other highly radioactive products. Radon is colorless, odorless and is considered an "invisible enemy", a threat to millions of people in Western Europe and North America.

In Russia, the radon problem began to pay attention only in recent years. The territory of our country in relation to radon is poorly studied. The information obtained in previous decades suggests that radon is also widely distributed in the Russian Federation both in the surface layer of the atmosphere, subsoil air, and in groundwater, including sources of drinking water supply.

According to the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene, the highest concentration of radon and its daughter decay products in the air of residential premises, recorded in our country, corresponds to a dose of exposure to human lungs of 3-4 thousand rem per year, which exceeds the MPC by 2 - 3 orders. It is assumed that due to the poor knowledge of the radon problem in Russia, it is possible to detect high concentrations of radon in residential and industrial premises in a number of regions.

These primarily include the radon "spot" that captures Lake Onega, Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, a wide zone traced from the Middle Urals in a western direction, the southern part of the Western Urals, the Polar Urals, the Yenisei Ridge, the Western Baikal Region, the Amur Region, the northern part of the Khabarovsk region, Chukotka Peninsula.

The radon problem is especially relevant for megacities and large cities, where there are data on the entry of radon into groundwater and the geological environment along active deep faults (St. Petersburg, Moscow).

Every inhabitant of the Earth in the last 50 years has been exposed to radioactive fallout caused by nuclear explosions in the atmosphere in connection with nuclear weapons testing. The maximum number of these tests took place in 1954 - 1958. and in 1961 - 1962.

At the same time, a significant part of the radionuclides was released into the atmosphere, quickly carried in it over long distances, and slowly descended to the Earth's surface over many months.

During the processes of fission of atomic nuclei, more than 20 radionuclides are formed with half-lives from fractions of a second to several billion years.

The second anthropogenic source of ionizing radiation of the population is the products of the operation of nuclear power facilities.

Although the release of radionuclides into the environment during normal operation of nuclear power plants is insignificant, the Chernobyl accident in 1986 showed the extremely high potential danger of nuclear energy.

The global effect of radioactive contamination of Chernobyl is due to the fact that during the accident, radionuclides were released into the stratosphere and for several days were recorded in Western Europe, then in Japan, the USA and other countries.

During the first uncontrolled explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, highly radioactive "hot particles" that are very dangerous when they enter the human body, which are finely dispersed fragments of graphite rods and other structures of a nuclear reactor, entered the environment.

The resulting radioactive cloud covered a vast territory. The total area of ​​contamination as a result of the Chernobyl accident with cesium-137 with a density of 1 -5 Ci/km2 in Russia alone in 1995 amounted to about 50,000 km2.

Of the products of NPP activity, tritium is of particular danger, accumulating in the plant's circulating water and then entering the cooling pond and hydrographic network, drainless reservoirs, groundwater, earth's atmosphere.

At present, the radiation situation in Russia is determined by the global radioactive background, the presence of contaminated territories due to the Chernobyl (1986) and Kyshtym (1957) accidents, the exploitation of uranium deposits, the nuclear fuel cycle, ship nuclear power plants, regional radioactive waste storage facilities, as well as anomalous zones of ionizing radiation associated with terrestrial (natural) sources of radionuclides.

SOLID AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

Waste is divided into household, industrial, waste associated with mining, and radioactive. According to the phase state, they can be solid, liquid or a mixture of solid, liquid and gas phases.

During storage, all waste undergoes changes due to both internal physicochemical processes and the influence of external conditions.

As a result, new environmentally hazardous substances may be formed at landfills for waste storage and disposal, which, if they enter the biosphere, will pose a serious threat to the human environment.

Therefore, the storage and disposal of hazardous waste should be considered as "storage of physical and chemical processes".

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is extremely heterogeneous in composition: food residues, paper, scrap metal, rubber, glass, wood, fabric, synthetic and other substances. Food residues attract birds, rodents, large animals, whose corpses are a source of bacteria and viruses. Atmospheric precipitation, solar radiation and heat release due to surface, underground fires, fires, contribute to the occurrence of unpredictable physical, chemical and biochemical processes at landfills, the products of which are numerous toxic chemical compounds in liquid, solid and gaseous states. The biogenic impact of MSW is expressed in the fact that the waste is favorable for the reproduction of insects, birds, rodents, other mammals, and microorganisms. At the same time, birds and insects are carriers of pathogenic bacteria and viruses over long distances.

No less dangerous are sewage and fecal effluents from residential areas. Despite the construction of treatment facilities and other measures, reducing the negative impact of such wastewater on the environment is an important problem for all urbanized areas. A particular danger in this case is associated with bacterial contamination of the habitat and the possibility of outbreaks of various epidemic diseases.

Hazardous waste from agricultural production - manure storages, residues of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, pesticides left on the fields, as well as undeveloped cemeteries of animals that died during epidemics. Although these wastes are "point" in nature, their large amount and high concentration of toxic substances in them can have a noticeable negative impact on the environment.

The results of studies carried out on the territory of Russia indicate that one of the most significant natural factors that adversely affect the safety of the conditions for storage and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes are the junctions of active deep faults. In these knots, not only creep and impulsive tectonic dislocations are observed, but also intensive vertical water and gas exchange, intensive dispersion of pollutants in the lateral direction, introduced chemically aggressive compounds (sulfates, chlorides, fluorides, hydrogen sulfide) into the underground hydrosphere, aeration zone, surface runoff and surface atmosphere. and other gases). The most effective, fast and economical method for detecting active deep faults is the helium-water survey developed in Russia (SIMS) and based on the study of the distribution of helium in groundwater as the most reliable and sensitive indicator of the Earth's current fluid activity. This is especially true for closed and industrially urbanized areas with a thick cover of flooded sedimentary deposits.

Due to the fact that the scale and intensity of the impact of solid and hazardous waste on the environment turned out to be more significant than previously thought, and its nature and influencing natural factors are poorly understood, the regulatory requirements of SNiP and a number of departmental instructions regarding the choice

plots, designing landfills and designating sanitary protection zones, should be recognized as insufficiently substantiated. Nor can it be considered satisfactory that the sanitary protection zone of the landfill and the equipment used are chosen essentially arbitrarily, without taking into account the actual pollution processes and the responses of the biosphere to the operation of solid and hazardous waste dumps. A comprehensive, possibly exhaustive assessment of all parameters of the impact of waste on all life-supporting natural environments is needed, which makes it possible to find out the ways and mechanisms of the penetration of pollutants into the food chain and the human body.

SOUND, ULTRASOUND, MW AND ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION.

When vibrations are excited in air or some other gas, one speaks of air sound(air acoustics), in water - underwater sound (hydroacoustics), and with fluctuations in solids ah - sound vibration. In a narrow sense, an acoustic signal is understood as sound, i.e. elastic vibrations and waves in gases, liquids and solids audible to the human ear. Therefore, the acoustic field and acoustic signals are primarily considered as a means of communicative communication.

However, acoustic signals can also cause an additional reaction. It can be both positive and negative, leading in some cases to irreversible negative consequences in the human body and psyche. For example, with monotonous work, with the help of a person, it is possible to achieve an increase in labor productivity.

At present, it is believed that the levels of harmful sound on the body in the frequency range of 60 - 20,000 Hz are relatively well established. A standard has been introduced for sanitary norms for permissible noise in rooms and residential areas in this range (GOST 12.1.003-83, GOST 12.1.036-81, GOST 2228-76, GOST 12.1.001-83, GOST 19358-74).

infrasound can have a very significant impact on a person, in particular, on his psyche. The literature has repeatedly noted, for example, cases of suicide under the influence of a powerful source of infrasound. Natural sources of infrasound are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, thunder, storms, winds. Atmospheric turbulence plays a significant role in their occurrence.

Until now, the problem of measurements and regulation of levels by the State Standard has not been resolved. There is a significant variation in the assessment of acceptable norms for infrasound levels. There are a number of sanitary standards, for example, sanitary standards for permissible levels of infrasound and low-frequency noise in residential areas (SanPiN 42-128-4948-89), workplaces (3223-85), GOST 23337-78 (noise measurement methods ...) , etc. GOST 12.1.003-76, prohibits even a short stay in areas with a sound pressure level of more than 135 dB in any octave band.

Ultrasound

The active effect of ultrasound (US) on a substance, leading to irreversible changes in it, is due in most cases to non-linear effects. In liquids, the main role in the action of ultrasound on substances and processes is played by cavitation (the formation in the liquid of pulsating bubbles, caverns, cavities filled with steam or gas, which abruptly collapse after passing into an area of ​​increased pressure, causing destruction of the surfaces of solids adjacent to the cavitating liquid) .

The impact of ultrasound on biological objects is different depending on the intensity of ultrasound and the duration of exposure.

Methods and means of protection against exposure to acoustic noise and vibration. The following methods of protection against acoustic impact should be considered:

Identification of noise sources of anthropogenic origin and reduction of noise emission from industrial facilities, vehicles and various types of devices.

Proper planning of the development of territories intended for the placement of enterprises and residential buildings. Widespread use of protective green plantings (trees, grass, etc.).

The use of special sound absorbers and sound-absorbing structures in the design of buildings and individual rooms in them.

Damping of sound vibrations.

Use of personal hearing protection equipment when working in noisy environments (plugs, earplugs, I, helmets, etc.).

electromagnetic fields(EMF) are one of the elements of the human environment and all living beings. The intensification of production activity has led to a sharp increase in the intensity of EMF and to great variety(according to the form, frequencies, duration of impacts, etc.) of their types.

There has been an increase in the number of people who, in the course of their work activities, are (or may be) exposed to intense electromagnetic fields. In this regard, many researchers consider the factor of EMF impact on a person as significant as, for example, air pollution. /

It should, for example, be said that the fields created by high-voltage power lines spread their influence over large areas. Suffice it to say that the area of ​​a strip 50 m wide under lines with a voltage of 300 kV and higher for Russia and the United States combined is about 8,000 square kilometers, which is almost eight times the size of the city of Moscow.

OTHER PROBLEMS

The importance of the following issues should also be noted:

*The problem of forest management

uncontrolled deforestation

*Agroeconomic problem

soil deformation, chemical pollution, drainage, etc.

*Problem of mining production.

*The problem of road transport

WAYS OF SOLUTION
PROCESSING OF SOLID HOUSEHOLD WASTE.

The problem of disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) and pollution of urban areas is especially acute in major cities(megacities) with a population of 1 million inhabitants or more. one

So, for example, in Moscow 2.5 million tons are produced annually. waste (MSW), and the average rate of "production" of MSW per person per year reaches approximately 1 m3 in volume and 200 kg in mass. By the way, for large cities, a standard of 1.07 m3 / person per year is recommended.

MSW consists mainly of:

1. paper, cardboard (37%) 7. bones (1.1%)

2. kitchen waste (30.6%) 8. metals (3.8%)

3. wood (1.9%) 9. glass (3.7%)

4. leather, rubber (0.5%) 10. stones, ceramics (0.8%)

5. textiles (5.4%) 11. other fractions (9.7%)

6. artificial materials, mainly polyethylene (5.2%)

Let's consider how things are in Russia with the processing of household waste using the example of the largest city in the country - Moscow. As already mentioned, 2.5 million tons of MSW are generated annually in Moscow. Most of them (up to 90%) are disposed of at special landfills Timokhovo and Khmetyevo. Since 1990 the number of polygons has been reduced from 5 to 2. The polygons have been operating since the end of the 70s and their term will soon expire. The landfills lack the minimum necessary environmental structures, such as water protection screens, anti-landslide structures, systems for the removal and neutralization of leachate and surface water, fencing of the landfill boundaries, equipment for washing cars, etc. There is no layer-by-layer stacking of waste with daily backfilling, watering, t .to. there is no necessary specialized equipment. All this is very far from the sanitary landfill according to the described technology in developed countries. The cost of waste disposal ranges from 4.5 to 65 thousand rubles, depending on the location of the landfill. On the territory of landfills, toxic industrial waste (TSW) is also stored, the amount of which is about 1.5 million tons per year. The last circumstance is completely

unacceptable because the requirements for disposal are completely different and their joint storage is not allowed for reasons of environmental safety.

In addition, there are up to 90 garbage dumps with a total area of ​​285.7 hectares in the city. Of these, 63 are not functioning. Currently, two waste incineration plants No. 2 and No. 3 are operating in Moscow, equipped with equipment from Germany and Denmark. The existing equipment and waste incineration technology at these plants does not provide the necessary level of environmental protection.

Recently, thanks to the efforts of the mayor of the city Yu.M. Luzhkov, who considers the environmental problems of Moscow to be paramount, a number of measures have been taken to sanitize the city and industrial processing of solid waste. A program for the construction of waste transfer stations (MPS) is being implemented. Three MPSs have been set up in various administrative districts of the city. Compression of MSW after sorting will be introduced during the creation of the Ministry of Railways in the North-Eastern District of Moscow. The program for the construction of the MPS and the solution of issues on the creation of modern sanitary landfills in the Moscow region will allow in the near future to solve the problems with the processing of solid waste in Moscow.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the waste market is not regulated by the state. There is no developed regulatory and legal framework for environmental incentives for waste processing, federal investments in the development of new environmental domestic technologies for waste processing, and the technical policy in this direction is completely insufficiently pursued.

PROCESSING OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE.

Today, on average, about 20 tons of raw materials are extracted per inhabitant of the planet per year, which, using 800 tons of water and 2.5 kW of energy, is processed into consumer products and approximately 90 - 98% goes to waste (The figure 45 tons is given in the work. raw material per person). At the same time, the share of household waste per person does not exceed 0.3-0.6 tons per year. The rest is industrial waste. In terms of the scale of extracted and processed raw materials - 100 Gt / year, human economic activity has approached the activity of biota - 1000 Gt / year and has surpassed the volcanic activity of the planet - 10 Gt / year. At the same time, the wastefulness of the use of raw materials and energy in economic activity human exceeds all reasonable limits. And if in developed countries agricultural waste is recycled by 90%, car bodies by 98%, waste oils by 90%, then a significant part of industrial and construction waste, waste from mining and metallurgical industries is almost completely not recycled. Mankind has succeeded in creating production tools and technologies for the destruction of their own kind and practically no

engaged in the creation of an industry for the processing of waste from its activities. As a result, in addition to the annual increase in the volume of recycled industrial waste, including toxic waste, there are also old burial sites (landfills) all over the world, the number of which in industrialized countries amounts to tens and hundreds of thousands, and the volume of waste reaches hundreds of billions of tons. Thus, if we talk about the rehabilitation of the environment, meaning the systematic processing of waste (especially hazardous waste), then tens and hundreds of billions of dollars a year will be required for decades. On the territory of the Russian Federation at the beginning of 1996, 1,405 mln. 89.9 million tons of industrial toxic waste were formed, including class I. hazard -0.16 million tons, II class. - 2.2 million tons, III class. - 8.7 million tons, IV class. - 78.8 million tons. Of these, 34 million tons were used in their own production and 6.5 million tons were completely neutralized. In addition, 12.2 million tons were transferred to other enterprises for use. These are the data of the State report "On the state of the environment in the Russian Federation" in 1995.

Thus, even official data show a continuous growth of non-recyclable industrial waste, not to mention unaccounted landfills, old burial sites, the inventory of which has not even begun and which contains about 86 billion tons of waste (1.6 billion tons of toxic)

State Ecology Committee prepared a draft federal law"On production and consumption waste", which was submitted by the Government of the Russian Federation to the State Duma for consideration and is expected to be adopted in 1997. The introduction of this law into action will put on a legal basis the work on handling production and consumption waste. Thus, in the world and in Russia, the bulk of waste, including hazardous waste, is accumulated, stored or buried. A number of countries use flooding in the sea (ocean) for disposal, which, in our opinion, should be completely prohibited by international agreements, regardless of the hazard class of the waste. In a way, this is also a moral problem: produce ~ recycle (store) on your territory, and do not use as a dump what belongs to everyone (seas, mountains, forests).

Actually, the processing of industrial waste is now subjected to no more than 20% of the total volume. Processing technologies

industrial waste can be classified as follows:

1. thermal technologies;

2. physical and chemical technologies;

3. biotechnology.

PERSPECTIVES

The environmental policy pursued in Russia is objectively determined by the current level of economic, technological, social, political and spiritual development of society and is generally unable to prevent the growth of environmental tension in the country. Therefore, even despite the adoption of many programs that provide for the inclusion of environmental needs in the plans for the economic and social development of the country, the creation of institutional and legal systems for environmental regulation, one cannot count on an effective environmental security policy in the near future.

This is hindered by a number of reasons - the lack of public interest in the environmental problem, the weak technical base of production and the lack of necessary investments, the underdevelopment of market relations, the unformed legal and civil societies. Russia is facing difficulties typical of the Third World in the development of resource-efficient industrial production, the overcoming of which is complicated, in particular, by the fact that ideological opposition to the current course of reforms has intensified, now combined with a massive rejection of globalization processes associated with a threat to national security.

The scenario for the development of the ecological situation in the short term is not encouraging. And yet it does not look hopelessly catastrophic, primarily because of the internationalization of the environmental problems of our society. The aggravation of the environmental crisis in Russia threatens global environmental security, and this increases the interest of the world community in stimulating environmental actions in our country. The consequences of the globalization of Russia's environmental problems are not limited to receiving financial and technical assistance for the implementation of environmental projects. They open the way to ecologization of economic activity through participation in international environmental agreements and attraction of foreign investments. They also contribute to the greening public consciousness Russians through their integration into the international environmental movement. The interest of Russia itself in ensuring global environmental security has now been reduced to a minimum and is mostly of a forced nature. Attempts to increase national prestige in the eyes of the world community are by no means associated, unlike many countries, with an active role in solving global environmental problems. The emergence of environmental contradictions between Russia and developing countries is also alarming.

The advantage of Russia in comparison with other states is that the formation of an ecological culture in it takes place in conditions when environmental problems acquire priority international significance and a solid world experience in environmental activities has been accumulated, which Russia could use. But does he want to? We associate the way out of the ecological crisis and the provision of conditions for the ecologization of economic activity with economic stabilization. But world experience shows that one should not wait for the recovery of the economy for the subsequent transition to a policy of environmental security. Level economic development required for an active environmental policy is a very arbitrary concept. Japan embarked on it with a per capita income of no more than $1,600. In Taiwan, this happened "later" - at $5,500, when, according to his government's calculations, real conditions arose for the implementation of high-cost environmental programs. Of course, the current economic and political situation is not conducive to making environmental needs a priority. But ignoring the environmental imperative of development will lead to the inevitable subsequent backlog of Russia. There is still opium left, a reserve that has so far been extremely limited realized - the social movement of the "greens" which can significantly change the alignment of political forces in favor of pro-environmental-minded figures and initiate the activation of state environmental policy.

CONCLUSION.

In this work, I tried to consider the main environmental problems in Russia and the most acceptable solutions to these problems at the moment.

It can be concluded that the whole matter rests on financial resources that our country does not currently have, and technical solutions to these problems have already been found and used in the most developed countries.

And in conclusion, I would like to say that Russia has ways out of environmental problems, you just need to see them, and if we do not do this in the very near future, then everything can turn against us in a much worse form than we can even imagine. introduce.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Golub A., Strukova E. . Environmental activities in the transitional economy / Economic Issues, 1995. No. 1

2. State report "On the state of the environment of the Russian Federation in 1995" / Green world, 1996. No. 24

3. Danilov-Danilyan V. I. (ed.) Ecology, nature conservation and environmental safety. / MNEPU, 1997

4. Korableva A.I. Assessment of pollution of water ecosystems by heavy metals / Water resources. 1991. №2

5. Rogozhina N. In search of answers to the environmental challenge / World economy and international relations., 1999 No. 9

6. Ecology: Cognitive Encyclopedia / Translated from English by L. Yakhnina. M .: TIME-LIFE, 1994.

Offered in modern world ways to address global

and regional environmental issues

Introduction

Air pollution

Greenhouse effect

Ozone layer depletion

acid rain

Deforestation of the planet

Pollution of the environment by production and consumption waste

Pollution of natural waters

Marine pollution

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

From the first steps of his development, man is inextricably linked with nature. It has always been closely dependent on the flora and fauna, on their resources, and was forced to take into account the peculiarities of the distribution and lifestyle of animals, fish, and birds on a daily basis. The ideas of ancient man about the environment were not of a scientific nature and were not always conscious, but over time they served as a source of accumulation of ecological knowledge. There is a growing awareness everywhere that humanity is destroying the environment and undermining its own future. Environmental problems… Pollution… We can often hear these words today. Indeed, the ecological state of our planet is deteriorating by leaps and bounds. Modern civilization is exerting unprecedented pressure on nature. Now humanity is on the verge of a global environmental catastrophe, and practically nothing is being done to prevent it. Many environmental problems today have acquired an international character and joint efforts of different countries are needed to solve them. Environmental protection is one of the most urgent problems of our time. Scientific and technological progress and increased anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment inevitably lead to an aggravation of the ecological situation, natural resources are depleted, the natural environment is polluted, the natural connection between man and nature is lost, aesthetic values ​​are lost, and the physical and moral health of people worsens.

The main problem of mankind and how we will treat it depends on our future life and the life of our descendants. It is very important to take into account the significance of environmental problems that harm human health. But, at the same time, we understand that many environmental problems "owe" their appearance to man. After all, it was he who made discoveries that are currently harming the environment. I am very concerned about these problems, it was interesting for me to read many books and magazines about environmental problems, to find out how they are treated in different parts of the Earth. Each person has his own house, and of course, he takes care of his house, his home. And the Earth is a huge house for all people, so it is necessary to take care of this house, if it does not exist, there will be no people. Imagine that in 50 years this relative paradise on Earth will end and a couple of centuries of difficult trials will come. Therefore, it is necessary to take steps, big steps already now, in order to combat threatening tendencies and problems.

Today, there are many environmental problems in the world, ranging from the extinction of certain species of plants and animals, ending with the threat of the degeneration of the human race.

The planet earth as a whole, including water, air, earth, bowels, as well as biological objects, not excluding man, is an integral system. Environmental problems are the result of the interaction of our civilization and the environment in the era of industrial development.

Air pollution

The problem of atmospheric air pollution is one of the most serious global problems faced by mankind. The danger of atmospheric pollution is not only in the fact that harmful substances that are harmful to living organisms get into clean air, but also in the change in the Earth's climate caused by pollution.

Air (atmosphere) pollution as a result of human activities has led to the fact that over the past 200 years, the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by almost 30%. However, humanity continues to actively burn fossil fuels and destroy forests. The process is so massive that it leads to global environmental problems. Air pollution also occurs as a result of other human activities. Combustion of fuel at thermal power plants is accompanied by the emission of sulfur dioxide. Car exhaust releases nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Incomplete combustion of fuel produces carbon monoxide. In addition, we should not forget about fine solid pollutants such as soot and dust. The seriousness of environmental problems associated with air pollution is illustrated by the following statistics: in 151 cities of Russia, the maximum permissible concentration of air pollution was exceeded by 5 times, in 87 cities the MPC was exceeded by 10 times.

The main cause of air pollution is the ingress of uncharacteristic physical, chemical and biological substances into it, as well as a change in their natural concentration. This happens as a result of both natural processes and human activities. Moreover, it is people who play an increasing role in air pollution. The cause of a large part of chemical and physical pollution is the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels in the production of electrical energy and during the operation of vehicle engines. One of the most toxic gases released into the atmosphere as a result of human activity is ozone. Poisonous and lead contained in the exhaust gases of cars. Other hazardous pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen and sulfur oxides, and fine dust. Every year, as a result of human industrial activity (in the generation of electricity, cement production, iron smelting, etc.), 170 million tons of dust enter the atmosphere.

Since the factors of air pollution can be associated with both natural processes and human activities, it is customary to divide all sources of pollution into natural and artificial (anthropogenic). The former include natural pollutants of mineral, vegetable or microbiological origin, released into the atmosphere as a result of volcanic eruptions, forest fires. In addition, dust from the destruction of rocks, plant pollen, animal excretions, etc. are natural air pollutants. Artificial (anthropogenic) factors of air pollution are divided into transport-formed during the operation of cars, trains, air, sea and river transport; production - emissions resulting from technological processes; household - formed during the combustion of fuel for heating and cooking, as well as during the processing of household waste.

The main source of air pollution in industrialized countries is road transport. In the process of human activity, the atmosphere is polluted by emissions of various gases, aerosols and solid particles. In addition, humanity intensively "contaminates" the atmosphere with electromagnetic and radiation radiation, and thermal emissions.

It is the anthropogenic air pollution that accounts for the bulk of harmful emissions. In addition, they are more dangerous than pollution of natural origin.

The main anthropogenic sources of air pollution are: enterprises of the chemical industry, where ozone, which is dangerous for living organisms, can be released during technological processes; thermal power plants emitting carbon dioxide - the "main" greenhouse gas, as well as toxic nitrogen oxides and other substances; road transport polluting the atmosphere with carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic substances and soot; refrigeration equipment and aerosol cans containing freons - chemical compounds that contribute to the destruction of stratospheric ozone and global warming.

Tackling the problem of air pollution requires concerted action across the world. different levels. At the level of governments and international organizations, various documents are adopted that oblige economic participants to reduce harmful emissions. Such documents include the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the environmental legislation of states. One of the common ways to control greenhouse emissions (primarily carbon dioxide) has become carbon quotas, which assume that each participant in economic activity (industrial enterprise, transport company) buys for himself the right to produce emissions in a strictly defined amount, exceeding which will lead to severe penalties. sanctions. The proceeds from the sale of carbon credits should be spent on overcoming the consequences of global warming.

At the level of specific sources of harmful emissions, measures should be taken to prevent or at least reduce air pollution. Such measures include air purification from dust, aerosols and gases. The most effective methods here are inertial ("cyclones") or mechanical (filtration) dust collection, adsorption of gaseous pollution, afterburning of combustion products.

Greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect is an increase in the temperature of the lower layers of the planet's atmosphere compared to the effective temperature, that is, the temperature of the planet's thermal radiation observed from space.

About half of solar energy is in the visible part of the spectrum, which we perceive as sunlight. This radiation passes freely enough through the earth's atmosphere and is absorbed by the surface of the land and oceans, heating them. But solar radiation comes to the Earth every day for many millennia, why, in this case, the Earth does not overheat and does not turn into a small Sun?

The fact is that both the earth and the water surface, and the atmosphere, in turn, also emit energy, only in a slightly different form - as an invisible infrared, or thermal, radiation.

On average, for a sufficiently long time, exactly as much energy in the form of infrared radiation goes into outer space as it enters in the form of sunlight. Thus, the thermal equilibrium of our planet is established. The whole question is at what temperature this equilibrium will be established. If there were no atmosphere, the average temperature of the Earth would be -23 degrees. The protective effect of the atmosphere, which absorbs part of the infrared radiation of the earth's surface, leads to the fact that in reality this temperature is +15 degrees. Temperature rise is a consequence of the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere, which increases with an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere. These gases absorb infrared radiation best of all (Fig. 2.).

In recent decades, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing more and more. This is because; that the volumes of burning fossil fuels and wood are increasing every year. As a result, the average air temperature near the Earth's surface rises by about 0.5 degrees per century. If the current rate of fuel burning, and hence the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, continues in the future, then, according to some forecasts, even more warming of the climate is expected in the next century.

The idea of ​​the mechanism of the greenhouse effect was first stated in 1827 by Joseph Fourier in the article "Note on the temperatures of the globe and other planets", in which he considered various mechanisms for the formation of the Earth's climate, while he considered as factors affecting the overall heat balance of the Earth ( heating by solar radiation, cooling due to radiation, internal heat of the Earth), as well as factors affecting heat transfer and temperatures of climatic zones (thermal conductivity, atmospheric and oceanic circulation).

When considering the influence of the atmosphere on the radiation balance

Fourier analyzed the experience of M. de Saussure with a vessel blackened from the inside, covered with glass. De Saussure measured the temperature difference between the inside and outside of such a vessel exposed to direct sunlight. Fourier explained the increase in temperature inside such a "mini-greenhouse" compared to the external temperature by the action of two factors: blocking convective heat transfer (glass prevents the outflow of heated air from the inside and the inflow of cool air from the outside) and the different transparency of the glass in the visible and infrared ranges.

It was the latter factor that received the name of the greenhouse effect in later literature - by absorbing visible light, the surface heats up and emits thermal (infrared) rays; because glass is transparent to visible light and almost opaque to thermal radiation, then the accumulation of heat leads to such an increase in temperature at which the number of thermal rays passing through the glass is sufficient to establish thermal equilibrium.

Fourier postulated that the optical properties of the Earth's atmosphere are similar to the optical properties of glass, that is, its transparency in the infrared range is lower than the transparency in the optical range.

The essence of the greenhouse effect is as follows: the Earth receives energy from the Sun, mainly in the visible part of the spectrum, and itself emits mainly infrared rays into outer space.

However, many gases contained in its atmosphere - water vapor, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, etc. - are transparent to visible rays, but actively absorb infrared, thereby retaining some of the heat in the atmosphere.

In recent decades, the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased dramatically. New, previously non-existing substances with a "greenhouse" absorption spectrum also appeared - primarily fluorocarbons. The gases that cause the greenhouse effect are not only carbon dioxide (CO2). They also include methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). However, it is the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, accompanied by the release of CO2, that is considered the main cause of pollution.

The reason for the rapid growth in the amount of greenhouse gases is obvious - the development of industry is still based on the combustion of fossil fuels: oil, coal, gas, as a result of which about 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere per year. In tropical areas, forests are burned to clear land for pasture and arable land. Humanity is now burning as much fossil fuel in a day as it was formed over thousands of years during the formation of oil, coal and gas deposits. From this "push" the climate system went out of "balance" and we see more secondary negative phenomena: especially hot days, droughts, floods, sudden changes in weather, and this is what causes the greatest damage.

Researchers predict that if nothing is done, global CO2 emissions will quadruple over the next 125 years. But we must not forget that a significant part of future sources of pollution has not yet been built. Over the past hundred years, the temperature in the northern hemisphere has increased by 0.6 degrees. The predicted rise in temperature in the next century will be between 1.5 and 5.8 degrees. The most likely option is 2.5-3 degrees. As water expands as it warms, ocean levels will rise, a trend accelerated by melting polar ice. Sea levels are predicted to rise by more than a meter by 2050. Flooding of coastal regions, which are home to more than a third of the world's population, will cause massive displacement

However, climate change is not just about rising temperatures. Changes also apply to other climatic phenomena. Not only intense heat, but also severe sudden frosts, floods, mudflows, tornadoes, hurricanes are explained by the effects of global warming. The climate system is too complex to expect uniform and equal changes in all parts of the planet. And scientists see the main danger today precisely in the growth of deviations from average values ​​- significant and frequent temperature fluctuations.

At the same time, this warming will benefit some regions: for example, vast expanses in northern Canada and Russia will become available for development as the tundra thaws. However, on a global scale, the winners from global warming will be incomparably fewer than the losers. If this happens, it will be necessary to build dams to protect densely populated coasts from the onset of the sea, build additional power plants to power air conditioners, deepen port waters and fairways for ships to pass in shallow lakes and rivers. According to experts, the strategy to combat the increase in the greenhouse effect should be to take the following measures:

) Reducing the use of fossil energy sources: coal, oil and gas;

) More efficient use of energy;

) Widespread introduction of energy-saving technologies;

) Widespread use of alternative energy (use of renewable energy sources);

) Development of new environmentally friendly and low-carbon technologies, in particular - the use of refrigerants and blowing agents with low (zero) global warming potential;

) Fight against forest fires, restoration of forests - natural sinks of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

However, even the full-scale implementation of all these measures to prevent the increase in the greenhouse effect is unlikely to be able to fully compensate for the damage caused to nature as a result of anthropogenic impact, therefore, in any case, we can only talk about minimizing the consequences. That is why these actions need to be taken comprehensively and at the global level.

Ozone layer depletion

Ozo ?a new layer is a part of the stratosphere at an altitude of 12 to 50 km (in tropical latitudes 25-30 km, in temperate latitudes 20-25, in polar 15-20), in which, under the influence of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, molecular oxygen (O2) dissociates into atoms, which then combine with other O2 molecules to form ozone (O3). Relatively high ozone concentration (about 8 ml/m ³) absorbs dangerous ultraviolet rays and protects everything living on land from harmful radiation.

Due to the heating of the air due to the absorption of sunlight by ozone, a temperature inversion occurs, that is, an increase in temperature with height. Thus, the troposphere and stratosphere are separated by the tropopause and mixing of air between these layers of the atmosphere is difficult.

Moreover, if it were not for the ozone layer, then life would not be able to get out of the oceans at all and highly developed life forms such as mammals, including humans, would not have arisen. The highest ozone density occurs at an altitude of about 20-25 km, the largest part in the total volume - at an altitude of 40 km. If it were possible to extract all the ozone in the atmosphere and compress it under normal pressure, the result would be a layer covering the surface of the Earth only 3 mm thick. For comparison, the entire atmosphere compressed under normal pressure would form a layer of 8 km.

Near the Earth's surface, ozone is just a harmful component of urban smog. But at an altitude of 24 km, a thin layer of this colorless, odorless gas provides significant protection to the earth's surface from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. 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 at the surface of the planet. reactions. Chlorinated and fluorinated hydrocarbons (CFCs) and halogenated compounds (gallons), another group of industrial gases that break down the fragile structure of this book cover-thick layer. CFCs, discovered in 1930, are widely used in automobile air conditioners, refrigerators, disposable plastic utensils, aerosol dispensers, foam pads, insulation, and electronic equipment cleaners. Their devastating effect on the ozone layer received widespread attention in 1985 when British scientists discovered a 40% drop in spring ozone levels over Antarctica (Figure 3.). Released into the air, CFCs rise into the stratosphere and are carried by the wind towards the North and South Poles. Every chlorine atom present in a CFC molecule, once released into the atmosphere, acts as a catalyst to break down thousands of ozone molecules over a period of about a century.

As a result of the ongoing anthropogenic destruction of the ozone layer, ultraviolet radiation on the Earth's surface is increasing, which can lead to detrimental consequences for humans and the biosphere as a whole. According to the UN, a reduction in the ozone layer of just 1% leads to the appearance of 100,000 new cases of cataracts and 10,000 cases of skin cancer in people. The consequences of ozone depletion could be ominous, leading to more than 3 million deaths from skin cancer by 2030 and 19 million by 2060. The number of eye diseases (cataracts) could increase by 130 million by 2060; Approximately 50% of these will be developing countries. The number of these diseases is on the rise. In the United States for 7 years, the number of cases of one of the most dangerous types of skin cancer (melanoma) has increased by 3-7%.

In addition to the increase in morbidity, there are many other impacts that are difficult to take into account on human and animal health (for example, a decrease in immunity), on crop yields, on aquatic ecosystems, etc.

Projections based on past ODS emissions and the maximum levels of ODS emission reductions under the Montreal Protocol have shown that full recovery of the ozone layer can only occur by the middle of the 21st century, and only if all ODS emission reduction agreements are met. The maximum destruction of the ozone layer should be expected during the first two decades of the 21st century. In addition, ultraviolet rays can destroy plankton, tiny single-celled organisms that form the basis of the food chain in the ocean. They are also dangerous for the flora on land, including crops. Ozone depletion is a more immediate health hazard than global warming, but it is much easier to deal with. We need to stop producing CFCs and halons. Unfortunately, scientists have found that ozone in the stratosphere is being destroyed two to three times faster than previously thought. Therefore, in order to stop the accumulation of CFCs in the stratosphere, their production must be reduced by 85%. According to the international environmental organization Greenpeace , the main suppliers of chlorofluorocarbons (freons) are the USA - 30.85%, Japan - 12.42; Great Britain - 8.62 and Russia - 8.0%. The USA broke through ozone layer“a hole with an area of ​​7 million km2, Japan - 3 million km2, which is seven times larger than the area of ​​Japan itself. Recently, factories have been built in the United States and a number of Western countries for the production of new types of refrigerants (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) with a low potential for ozone depletion. Even if the ozone-depleting gases were phased out altogether, it would still take about a hundred years for the CFC molecules already in the atmosphere to completely break down.

acid rain

Under popular name"acid rain" is a complex set of impacts of technogenic air pollution on humans and the natural environment, the main consequences of which are the growth of allergic diseases respiratory organs, loss of productivity of agricultural plants, drying up of forests, fishless lakes. Acid rains are especially typical for the countries of Western and Northern Europe, the USA, Canada, industrial regions of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, etc.

The term "acid rain" was first introduced in 1872 by the English explorer Robert Smith. 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 life in reservoirs, forests, crops, and vegetation.

Fig.4. Scheme of acid rain formation

Acid rain - all types of meteorological precipitation - rain, snow, hail, fog, sleet, in which there is a decrease in the pH of rainfall due to air pollution by acid oxides (usually sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides)

Normal rain water is also a slightly acidic solution. This is due to the fact that natural substances in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), react with rainwater. This produces weak carbonic acid (CO2 + H2O<=>H2CO3). While the ideal pH of rainwater is 5.6-5.7, in real life the acidity (pH) of rainwater in one area may differ from the acidity of rainwater in another area. Even normal rainwater is slightly acidic (pH around 6) due to the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air. Acid rain is formed by the reaction between water and pollutants such as sulfur oxide (IV) S2 and various oxides of nitrogen (NxOy). These substances are emitted into the atmosphere by road transport, as a result of the activities of metallurgical enterprises and thermal power plants (Fig. 4.)

Sulfur compounds (sulfides, native sulfur, and others) are found in coals and ores (especially a lot of sulfides in brown coals), when burned or roasted, volatile compounds are formed - sulfur oxide (IV) SO2 (sulphurous anhydride), sulfur oxide (VI) SO3 (sulfuric anhydride), hydrogen sulfide - H2S (formed in small quantities with insufficient firing or incomplete combustion, at low temperature). Various nitrogen compounds are found in coals, and especially in peat (since nitrogen, like sulfur, is part of the biological structures from which these minerals were formed).

The problem of acid rain has arisen in Western Europe and North America at the end of the 50s. In the last decade, it has gained global importance mainly due to increased emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, as well as ammonia and volatile organic compounds(LOS). According to the EEC, sulfur dioxide (trioxide) comes from thermal power plants and other stationary sources during the combustion of fossil fuels (88%), during the processing of sulfide ores (5%), oil products, the production of sulfuric acid, etc. (7%). For nitrogen oxides among stationary sources, fuel and energy gives 85% of emissions, the production of cement, lime, glass, metallurgical processes, waste incineration, etc. - 12%. Nitrogen pollution comes from non-stationary sources and - ammonia - from livestock enterprises and fertilizers. The main sources of VOCs are chemical industries, industrial and household solvents, oil storage facilities, gas stations, etc.

The effects of acid rain have yet to be fully understood by scientists. Only one thing is known that if earlier, some two or three decades ago, people could calmly collect rainwater and wash themselves with it to give their skin a youthful look, now this is out of the question. Because the effects of acid rain can have a detrimental effect on the skin of the face and health in general. Any precipitation that falls on the ground, no matter how clean it looks, actually contains the smallest dust particles, various pathogenic microorganisms, fungal spores, pollen from a wide variety of plants from almost all over the world, impurities of heavy metals that enter the atmosphere and other air layers along with waste from numerous factories and factories. All this in the spring, summer and autumn flows like a stream on the heads of the inhabitants of the earth, and not every one of them has even the slightest idea of ​​what the consequences of acid rain can be.

It is no secret to anyone that acid rain has a negative impact on the state of the entire environment. In water bodies, over time, the concentration of heavy metal ions with a high level of toxicity, for example, lead and cadmium, increases. In this regard, environmentalists and health officials strongly recommend that in order to avoid or at least minimize the effects of acid rain, swimming as little as possible or not at all in waters with very low or very high acidity, as this will adversely affect human health.

For example, so that the effects of acid rain do not affect your health, you should not go out in the rain without the appropriate equipment - an umbrella or a raincoat. If you ignore this advice, then all the impurities that are present in the supposedly pure rainwater, pull a large number of problems. Reaching the maximum level of concentration in the body, most of these elements begin their detrimental effect, provoking severe intoxication, and in some cases even mutations that will manifest themselves in subsequent generations. Ions of heavy metals litter the channels of the liver and kidneys, and the gradual accumulation of toxins leads to a general poisoning of the whole organism.

Quite serious consequences of acid rain for the body and health can be observed with manganese poisoning, which can also be found in rainwater in huge quantities. Signs of such intoxication are characteristic of a large number of diseases, and usually a person does not immediately pay attention to this. Manganese can clog the tubules of nerve cells, which provokes severe fatigue, decreased performance, drowsiness, sudden weakness, dizziness, and nausea. Another dangerous acid rain metal is aluminum, which, accumulated over several years, can cause all sorts of neurological diseases.

The remaining fatal impurities are no less dangerous, many of them can cause malignant tumors, so it is necessary to refrain from walking during acid rain and in no case should you use this water. The effects of acid rain after a walk can be reduced by taking a warm shower with soap or gel, washing your hair thoroughly with shampoo, and drinking hot tea with milk or just warm milk after a shower. It is also recommended to take various absorbents that will help neutralize and remove all unnecessary impurities from the body.

But besides the harm, acid rain also has a beneficial effect.

Acids in clouds over the ocean can break down relatively large dust particles containing iron into extremely small and highly soluble nanoparticles that are easily absorbed by plankton, the authors of a study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology believe. This discovery is also interesting from a practical point of view, as one of the possibilities for increasing the bioproductivity of ocean surface waters through fertilizers, for fixing atmospheric carbon dioxide and combating global climate change.

It is believed that the lack of iron in the form in which it is absorbed by microorganisms greatly reduces the ability of plankton to process atmospheric carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, and thus withstand global warming.

Since clouds containing water droplets with high acidity are formed to a greater extent as a result of industrial emissions, scientists believe that many industrialized countries, and in particular China, while producing a lot of greenhouse emissions, at the same time, to some extent, reduce this negative climate effect due to "fertilizers" of the ocean. In order to come to such conclusions, scientists conducted experiments to obtain artificial clouds in the laboratory. To them, they added dust particles that rise into the atmosphere during sandstorms in the Sahara. Thus, the researchers were able to trace all chemical processes occurring in such systems. The authors of the publication confirmed their laboratory experiments with field observations.

One of the main methods of dealing with acid rain is the installation at each enterprise of expensive treatment facilities, the filters of which will prevent the emissions of heavy metals and hazardous oxides. Such installations will not only reduce the likelihood of acid rain, but also make the air cleaner.

Another way to solve the problem is to reduce the number of vehicles in large cities in order to reduce exhaust emissions. In addition, it is necessary to restore, and not cut down forests, clean polluted water bodies, recycle, and not burn garbage.

Deforestation of the planet

pollution atmospheric greenhouse ozone

Deforestation refers to the disappearance of a forest as a result of natural causes or anthropogenic influences.

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 km2 in the world, with approximately the same area in 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 km2.

As a result of their activities, man destroyed at least 10 million km2 of forests containing 36% of the phytomass of land. And according to the International World Resources Institute and the World Conservation Monitoring Center, almost half of the once existing forests have been reduced over the past 8,000 years. Of the remaining, only 22 percent consist of natural ecosystems, the rest are heavily modified under the onslaught of man. 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.

Deforestation contributes to global warming and is often cited as one of the main causes of the increased greenhouse effect. The Earth's atmosphere contains about 800 Gt of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. Land plants, most of which are forests, contain about 550 Gt of carbon. Deforestation is responsible for about 20% of greenhouse gases. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, deforestation (mostly in the tropics) contributes up to a third of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. During their lives, trees and other plants remove carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. Rotting and burning wood releases stored carbon back into the atmosphere (see geochemical carbon cycle). To avoid this, wood must be processed into durable products and forests replanted. These climate change 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 (increased 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 heavily 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 deforestation is accompanied by its immediate replacement with other vegetation, the amount of soil erosion is significantly reduced. The impact of deforestation on nutrient cycling depends on soil type, deforestation, use of fire, and subsequent land use. There is growing concern about the impact of deforestation on the loss of the Earth's biodiversity. Temperate deforestation has now largely ceased, but tropical and equatorial forests continue to shrink. Losses are in the range of 11-20 million hectares per year.

Reforestation is used to counter deforestation.

reforestation ?nie - growing forests in areas that have been cut down, fires, etc. Reforestation is used to create new forests or improve the composition of tree species in existing ones.

There are two different ways of reforestation - artificial (planting or sowing forests) and promoting natural regeneration (creating conditions for rapid settlement with valuable tree species). Artificial reforestation is carried out when it is impossible to provide natural or inappropriate combined reforestation with economically valuable forest tree species, as well as in forest areas where forest cultures have died.

Artificial reforestation is carried out by the method of planting forest crops and the method of sowing seeds.

In natural reforestation, in order to promote natural reforestation, the following activities are carried out:

) preservation of viable forest plantations, well-rooted, participating in the formation of the main forest tree species, more than 2.5 meters high (young growth) during the felling of forest plantations of valuable forest tree species;

) care for the undergrowth of forest plantations of valuable forest tree species in areas not covered with forest vegetation;

) mineralization of the soil surface;

) fencing areas.

In addition, there is a method of combined reforestation. Combined reforestation is carried out by planting and sowing in forest areas where natural reforestation of forest plantations of valuable forest tree species is not provided.

Pollution of the environment by production and consumption waste

One of the most acute environmental problems at the present time is the pollution of the natural environment by production and consumption wastes and, first of all, by hazardous wastes. Waste concentrated in dumps, waste heaps, unauthorized dumps is a source of pollution of atmospheric air, ground and surface waters, soils and vegetation.

All waste is divided into domestic and industrial. They can be both solid and liquid, and less often in a gaseous state.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a collection of solid substances (plastic, paper, glass, leather, etc.) and food waste generated in domestic conditions. Liquid household waste is represented mainly by domestic wastewater. Gaseous - emissions of various gases.

Industrial (production) waste (OP) is the remains of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products formed during the production of products or the performance of work and which have lost their original consumer properties in whole or in part.

They are solid waste of metals, plastics, wood, etc., liquid industrial wastewater, waste organic solvents, etc., and gaseous (emissions from industrial furnaces, vehicles, etc.).

Industrial waste, as well as household waste, due to the lack of landfills, is mainly taken to unauthorized landfills. Only one-fifth is neutralized and disposed of. The largest amount of industrial waste is formed by the coal industry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises, thermal power plants, and the building materials industry.

Environmental crises that periodically arise in various points planet, are in many cases caused by the negative impact of so-called hazardous waste.

Hazardous waste is understood as waste containing in its composition substances that have one of the hazardous properties (toxicity, explosiveness, infectiousness, fire hazard, etc.) and are present in an amount hazardous to human health and the environment. Hazardous waste has become the problem of the century and huge efforts are being made around the world to combat it. In Russia, about 10% of the total mass of solid waste is classified as hazardous waste. Among them are metal and galvanic sludge, fiberglass waste, asbestos waste and dust, residues from the processing of acid resins, tar and tars, used radio engineering products, etc. The waste toxicity class is determined according to the Classifier of toxic industrial waste. The greatest threat to humans and the entire biota is posed by hazardous wastes containing chemicals of I and II toxicity classes. First of all, these are wastes containing radioactive isotopes, dioxins, pesticides, benzo(a)pyrene and some other substances. Radioactive waste (RW) - solid, liquid or gaseous products of nuclear energy, military industries, other industries and healthcare systems containing radioactive isotopes in concentrations exceeding the approved standards. Radioactive elements, for example, strontium-90, moving along the food (trophic) chains, cause persistent violations of vital functions, up to the death of cells and the whole organism. Some of the radionuclides can remain deadly toxic for 10-100 million years. According to their specific activity, they are divided into low-active (less than 0.1 Ku/m3), medium-active (0.1-100 Ku/m3) and high-active (over 1000 Ku/m3).

Many countries, especially those with nuclear power plants (NPPs) and nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, currently have huge amounts of RW accumulated. Only in Russia, the total activity of unburied waste is 1.5 billion Ku, which is equal to thirty Chernobyls. in the UK in the 1990s. nuclear industry wastes were: high activity - 5 thousand m3, medium activity - 80 thousand m3, low activity - 500 thousand m3

The vast majority of radioactive waste stored at nuclear power plants is low- and intermediate-level waste. Liquid radioactive waste in the form of a concentrate is stored in special containers, solid - in special storage facilities. In our country, according to data for 1995, the level of filling of containers and warehouses for radioactive waste at nuclear power plants was more than 60%, and at the current filling rate, all containers will be filled in the coming years.

At a number of enterprises of the Ministry of Atomic Energy (PO Mayak, Siberian Chemical Combine, etc.), liquid low- and medium-level radioactive waste is stored in open water bodies, which can lead to radioactive contamination of vast areas in the event of sudden natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, etc.). ), as well as the penetration of radioactive substances into groundwater.

A huge number of small burials of radioactive waste (sometimes forgotten) are scattered around the world. So, only in the USA, several tens of thousands of them have been identified, of which many are active sources of radioactive radiation.

Obviously, the problem of radioactive waste over time will be even more acute and urgent. According to IAEA forecasts, by 2005, due to exceeding the service life (more than 30 years), 65 nuclear reactors of nuclear power plants and 260 other nuclear devices will be dismantled (liquidated). During their dismantling, it will be necessary to neutralize a huge amount of low-level waste and ensure the disposal of more than 100 thousand tons of high-level waste. The problems associated with the decommissioning of Navy ships with nuclear power plants are also topical. The accumulation of radioactive waste in the Russian fleets is steadily increasing, especially after the prohibition in 1993 of the discharge of radioactive waste into the sea.

In addition to liquid and solid radioactive waste at nuclear power plants and Minatom facilities, gaseous emissions containing radioactive aerosols, volatile compounds of radioactive isotopes, or radioactive isotopes themselves are also possible.

Dioxin-containing wastes are generated during the combustion of industrial and municipal waste, gasoline with lead additives and as by-products in the chemical, pulp and paper and electrical industries. It has been established that dioxins are also formed during the neutralization of water by chlorination, in places of chlorine production, especially in the production of pesticides.

Dioxins are synthetic organic substances from the class of chlorohydrocarbons. Dioxins 2, 3, 7, 8, - TCDD and dioxin-like compounds (more than 200) are the most toxic substances produced by man. They have a mutagenic, carcinogenic, embryotoxic effect; suppress the immune system (“dioxin AIDS”) and, if a person receives sufficiently high doses through food or in the form of aerosols, they cause a “wasting syndrome” - gradual exhaustion and death without clearly expressed pathological symptoms. The biological effect of dioxins is already manifested in extremely low doses.

For the first time in the world, the dioxin problem arose in the USA in the 1930s and 1940s. In Russia, the production of these substances began near the city of Kuibyshev and in the city of Ufa in the 70s, where herbicide and dioxin-containing wood preservatives were produced. The first large-scale dioxin pollution of the environment was registered in 1991 in the Ufa region. The content of dioxins in the waters of the river. Ufa more than 50 thousand times exceeded their maximum permissible concentrations. The cause of water pollution is the inflow of leachate from the Ufa city dump of industrial and household waste, where, according to estimates, more than 40 kg of dioxins were preserved. As a result, the content of dioxins in the blood, adipose tissue and breast milk of many residents of Ufa and Sterlitamak increased four to ten times compared to the permissible level.

Wastes containing pesticides, benzapyrene, and other toxicants also pose a serious environmental hazard to humans and biota. In addition, it should be borne in mind that over the past decades, man, having qualitatively changed the chemical situation on the planet, has included completely new, very toxic substances in the circulation, the environmental consequences of which have not yet been studied.

The potential danger of hazardous industrial wastes moving to Russia from Western Europe, the USA, Japan and other countries is also of significant importance. Numerous attempts to realize such a danger and thereby “flood” Russia with hazardous waste have been made up to the present time.

Although the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 1, 1995 prohibited the import of hazardous waste into our country for the purpose of burial or neutralization, which made it possible to prevent an environmental threat, nevertheless, the problem of hazardous waste in Russia, according to V. I. Danilov-Danilyan and etc., "is apparently the most neglected in all respects: means of observation and control, legislation, cleaning and security systems, the threat to public health."

This is confirmed by the heated discussion that took place in our country after the adoption in 2001 by the State Duma of a package of laws allowing the import of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from foreign NPPs into Russia for its processing and technological storage under certain conditions.

The severity of the problem is growing every day.

Pollution of natural waters

Water is the most common inorganic compound on our planet. Water is the basis of all life processes, the only source of oxygen in the main driving process on Earth - photosynthesis. Water is present throughout the biosphere: not only in water bodies, but also in the air, and in the soil, and in all living beings. Losses of 10-20% of water by living organisms lead to their death. In its natural state, water is never free from impurities. Various gases and salts are dissolved in it, there are suspended particles. The long-term trend of increasing pollution of natural waters continues. Water pollution is understood as a decrease in biospheric functions and economic significance as a result of the entry of harmful substances into them. In Russia, almost all water bodies are subject to anthropogenic influence, the water quality of most of them does not meet regulatory requirements. The Volga with its tributaries Kama and Oka is subject to the greatest anthropogenic load. The quality of the waters of the Volga basin does not meet hygienic, fishery and other standards.

One of the main water pollutants is oil and oil products. Oil can get into the water as a result of its natural outflows in the areas of occurrence. But the main sources of pollution are associated with human activities: oil production, transportation, processing and use of oil as fuel and industrial raw materials. Among industrial products, toxic synthetic substances occupy a special place in terms of their negative impact on the aquatic environment and living organisms. They are increasingly being used in industry, transport, and public utilities. These substances can form a layer of foam in reservoirs, which is especially noticeable on rapids, rifts, locks. Other pollutants include metals (eg mercury, lead, zinc, copper, tin, manganese), radioactive elements, pesticides from agricultural farms, and runoff from livestock farms. Most of them end up in water as a result of human activities. Heavy metals are absorbed by phytoplankton, and then transferred through the food chain to more highly organized organisms.

Expanded production (without treatment facilities) and the use of pesticides in the fields lead to severe pollution of water bodies with harmful compounds. Pollution of the aquatic environment occurs as a result of the direct introduction of pesticides during the treatment of water bodies for pest control, the ingress of water flowing down from the surface of cultivated agricultural land into water bodies, when waste from manufacturing enterprises is discharged into water bodies, as well as as a result of losses during transportation, storage and partially with atmospheric precipitation. So-called “non-point” pollutants can be undercapacity urban sewers that overflow from heavy rains and carry spilled toxic substances and untreated sewage into streams and rivers. Agricultural runoff contains a significant amount of fertilizer residues (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) applied to the fields. An increase in the concentration of nutrients in the soil leads to a violation of the biological balance in the reservoir. One of the types of water pollution is thermal pollution. Power plants, industrial enterprises often discharge heated water into the reservoir. This leads to an increase in the temperature of the water in it. With an increase in temperature, the amount of oxygen begins to decrease, the toxicity of impurities polluting the water increases, and the biological balance is disturbed. In polluted water, as the temperature rises, pathogenic microorganisms and viruses begin to multiply rapidly. Once in drinking water, they can cause outbreaks of various diseases. In modern conditions, human needs for water for household needs are greatly increasing. There is an annual increase in irretrievable water consumption, in which the used water is irretrievably lost to nature. If such rates of consumption are maintained and taking into account population growth and production volumes, by 2100 humanity can exhaust all fresh water reserves.

Marine pollution

Recently, the phenomenon of progressive pollution of the seas and the World Ocean as a whole has caused great concern. The main sources of pollution are local domestic and industrial wastewater, oil and radioactive substances. Of particular danger are pollution by oil and radioactive substances, covering vast expanses of the oceans.

Local pollution of the seas by domestic and industrial effluents. The attraction of people to the settlement of sea coasts that has existed since ancient times has led to the fact that at present 60% of all large cities with a population of over a million people each are located in coastal zones.

On the shores of, for example, the Mediterranean Sea there are countries with a population of 250 million people. Every year, enterprises in coastal cities throw thousands of tons of various untreated waste into the sea, and untreated sewage water is also discharged here. Huge masses of toxic substances are carried into the sea by large rivers. Not surprisingly, in 100 ml of sea water taken near Marseilles, 900,000 E. coli associated with feces were found. In Spain, it is forbidden to use many beaches and bays for swimming.

With the rapid growth of coastal cities and industry in them, the discharge of industrial and domestic effluents into the seas reached such a volume that the sea was unable to process the entire mass of waste. As a result, vast areas of pollution have formed in urban areas. Under the influence of pollution, aquatic organisms are poisoned, fauna is depleted, fisheries are falling, natural landscapes, recreation areas of resorts and beaches are being destroyed. In the strongest form, this is manifested in bays and gulfs, where the exchange of water with the open sea is limited.

To combat sea pollution near cities, in many of them, wastewater is discharged through special pipelines many kilometers long, far from the coast and at great depths. However, this measure does not provide a fundamental solution to the problem, since total the pollution discharged into the sea does not decrease from this.

General pollution of the oceans with oil and radioactive substances. The main pollutant of the seas, the importance of which is rapidly increasing, is oil. This type of pollutant enters the sea in different ways: when water is released after washing tanks from oil, in case of ship accidents, especially oil carriers, when drilling the seabed and accidents at offshore oil fields, etc.

The scale of pollution can be judged by the following indicators. Approximately 5-10 million tons of oil is discharged into the World Ocean annually. A few miles from Santa Barbara in California, during the drilling of the seabed (1969), an accident occurred, as a result of which the well began to throw into the sea up to 100 thousand liters of oil per day. Within a few days, thousands of square kilometers were covered with oil. Such accidents are not uncommon; they occur in certain areas of the World Ocean almost regularly, significantly increasing the pollution of the latter.

Pollution of the seas and oceans causes great harm. Oil kills many aquatic animals, including crustaceans and fish. Very often the fish remaining alive cannot be used due to the strong oily smell and unpleasant taste. Oil kills millions of waterfowl every year; their number only off the coast of England reaches 250 thousand. There is a known case when 30 thousand long ducks died as a result of oil pollution off the coast of Sweden. There is an oil slick even in Antarctic waters, where seals and penguins die from it.

Oil "floating islands" wander along the ocean and sea currents or come to the shores. Oil makes beaches unusable, turns the coasts of many countries into deserts. Many sections of the western coast of England, where the Gulf Stream brings oil from the Atlantic, have become such. Oil ruined many European resorts.

In order to prevent the progressive pollution of the waters of the World Ocean, the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization on Maritime Navigation (IMCO) developed the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Oil, which was signed by the main maritime powers, including Russia. According to the convention, in particular, all sea areas within 50 miles from the coast are prohibited areas where oil cannot be dumped into the sea.

However, in the field of marine water protection, there are many unresolved issues, mainly related to the neutralization of coastal wastewater and further equipping ships with devices and systems for collecting waste (oil residues, garbage, etc.) and delivering them to floating and coastal facilities for cleaning, recycling and destruction.

A great danger is the pollution of the oceans with active substances. Experience has shown that as a result of the US-made explosion in the Pacific hydrogen bomb(1954) an area of ​​25,600 km2 had lethal radiation. For half a year, the area of ​​infection reached 2.5 million km2, this was facilitated by the current.

Plants and animals are susceptible to radioactive contamination. In their organisms there is a biological concentration of these substances transmitted to each other through the food chain. Infected small organisms are eaten by larger ones, resulting in dangerous concentrations in the latter. The radioactivity of some planktonic organisms can be 1000 times higher than the radioactivity of water, and some fish, which are one of the highest links in the food chain, even 50 thousand times.

Animals remain infested for a long time, as a result of which plankton can become infected in clean water. Radioactive fish swim very far from the site of infection.

The Moscow Treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, outer space and under water, concluded in 1963, stopped the progressive mass radioactive contamination of the World Ocean. However, the sources of this pollution have survived in the form of uranium ore refining and nuclear fuel processing plants, nuclear power plants, and reactors. An important problem is the method of disposal of radioactive waste. It has been established that sea water is capable of corroding containers, their dangerous contents spread in the water. Additional scientific research and development of methods for neutralizing radioactive contamination in water bodies are needed.

In addition to the above types of pollution, there is also pollution of the world's oceans with plastic household waste.

Accumulations of plastic waste form special garbage patches in the oceans under the influence of currents.

At the moment, five large accumulations of garbage spots are known - two each in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and one in the Indian Ocean. These garbage cycles mainly consist of plastic waste generated as a result of discharges from the densely populated coastal zones of the continents. Marine research director Kara Lavender Lo of the Sea Education Association (SEA) objects to the term "blot" because it is loose, small pieces of plastic in nature. Plastic waste is also dangerous because marine animals often cannot see the transparent particles floating on the surface, and toxic waste enters their stomach, often causing death.

Practical methods for combating this type of pollution have not yet been developed and pollution is being monitored.

To date, on the problem of air pollution at the international, global level, a number of agreements have been signed, and in particular the so-called. Montreal Treaty, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, environmental legislation of states. One of the common ways to control greenhouse emissions (primarily carbon dioxide) has become carbon quotas, which assume that each participant in economic activity (industrial enterprise, transport company) buys for himself the right to produce emissions in a strictly defined amount, exceeding which will lead to severe penalties. sanctions. The proceeds from the sale of carbon credits should be spent on overcoming the consequences of global warming.

At the level of specific sources of harmful emissions, measures should be taken to prevent or at least reduce air pollution.

The main method of dealing with acid rain at the moment is the installation of expensive filtering plants at enterprises in order to prevent the release of acid oxides into the atmosphere.

To combat desertification, reforestation methods are used, but the process of desertification of the planet continues and it has not yet been possible to completely stop it, since the rate of deforestation exceeds the rate of growth of new forests.

In the fight against pollution with household waste, recycling and liquidation methods are used, with the most widely used methods:

) Warehousing at landfills

) Burning

) Composting.

To reduce pollution fresh water technologies for the transition of industrial enterprises to circulating water supply are being developed.

In the fight against sea water pollution, methods are mainly used mechanical cleaning, monitoring, and waste dilution.

Thus, despite individual successes in the conservation of nature by the world community, the states of the world need to continue and strengthen cooperation to solve global and regional problems.

List of used literature

) Akimova T. A., Khaskin V. V. Ecology. Man - Economy - Biota - Environment: a textbook for university students - 3rd ed., revised. and additional - M.: UNITI - DANA, 2006.

) Korobkin V. I., Peredelsky L. V. Ecology. Tutorial for universities. - Rostov /on/Don. Phoenix, 2005.

) Pavlov A. N. Ecology: rational environmental management and life safety. Proc. allowance/A. N. Pavlov. - M.: Higher school, 2005. - 343 p.: ill.

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Environmental problems and their solutions

Introduction

According to scientists, humanity currently lives at the expense of future generations, who are destined for much worse living conditions, which will inevitably affect their health and social well-being. To avoid this, people need to learn to exist only on the "interest" from the fixed capital - nature, without spending the capital itself.

Since the twentieth century, this capital has been squandered at a steadily increasing pace, and by now the nature of the Earth has changed so much that for several decades now international level global environmental problems are discussed. In the ecosystem used, even the latest technologies for rational nature management do not allow preserving biodiversity. For this purpose, specially protected natural territories (SPNA) are needed, in which economic activity is completely prohibited or limited. The area of ​​protected areas in Russia is 20 or more times smaller than in developed countries. And in order to preserve the flora and fauna of our country in its current state, it is necessary to increase the territory occupied by protected areas, at least 10-15 times.

The purpose of the work is to consider environmental problems and ways to solve them.

Modern problems of nature conservation

The initial reasons that appeared at the end of the 20th century. global environmental problems were the population explosion and the simultaneous scientific and technological revolution.

The world population was equal to 2.5 billion people in 1950, doubled in 1984 and will reach 6.1 billion in 2000. Geographically, the growth of the world's population is uneven. In Russia, since 1993, the population has been declining, but growing in China, the countries of southern Asia, throughout Africa and Latin America. Accordingly, over half a century, the spaces taken from nature by sown areas, residential and public buildings, railways and roads, airports and marinas, gardens and landfills have increased by 2.5-3 times.

At the same time, the scientific and technological revolution gave mankind the possession of atomic energy, which, in addition to being good, led to radioactive contamination of vast territories. High-speed jet aircraft appeared, destroying the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The number of vehicles polluting the atmosphere of cities with exhaust gases has increased tenfold. In agriculture, in addition to fertilizers, various poisons began to be widely used - pesticides, the washout of which polluted the surface layer of water throughout the oceans.

All this has led to many major environmental problems. Global environmental problems are the objective result of the interaction between our civilization and the environment in the era of industrial development. The beginning of this era is considered to be 1860. Around this time, as a result of the rapid development of Euro-American capitalism, the industry of that time reached a new level. Global environmental problems are divided into several groups that are closely related to each other:

demographic problem (negative consequences of population growth in the 20th century);

energy problem (energy shortage gives rise to the search for new sources of energy and pollution associated with their extraction and use);

food problem (the need to achieve a full-fledged level of nutrition for every person raises questions in the field of agriculture and the use of fertilizers);

the problem of preserving natural resources (raw and mineral resources have been depleted since the Bronze Age, it is important to preserve the gene pool of mankind and biodiversity, fresh water and atmospheric oxygen are limited);

the problem of protecting the environment and humans from the action of harmful substances (there are sad facts of mass casting of whales on the coast, mercury, oil, etc. disasters and poisoning caused by them).

In the last quarter of the XX century. a sharp warming of the global climate began, which in the boreal regions is reflected in a decrease in the number of frosty winters. The average temperature of the surface layer of air over the past 25 years has increased by 0.7°C. The temperature of the subglacial water in the region of the North Pole increased by almost two degrees, as a result of which the ice began to melt from below.

It is possible that this warming is partly natural. However, the rate of warming forces us to recognize the role of the anthropogenic factor in this phenomenon. Now mankind annually burns 4.5 billion tons of coal, 3.2 billion tons of oil and oil products, as well as natural gas, peat, oil shale and firewood. All this turns into carbon dioxide, the content of which in the atmosphere increased from 0.031% in 1956 to 0.035% in 1996 (9. P. 99). and continues to grow. In addition, emissions of another greenhouse gas, methane, into the atmosphere have increased sharply.

Now most climatologists of the world recognize the role of the anthropogenic factor in climate warming. Over the past 10-15 years, there have been many studies and meetings that have shown that the rise in the level of the World Ocean is really happening, at a rate of 0.6 mm per year, or 6 cm per century. At the same time, vertical uplifts or subsidences of coastlines reach 20 mm per year.

At present, the main environmental problems that have arisen under the influence of anthropogenic activities are: violation of the ozone layer, deforestation and desertification of territories, pollution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, acid rain, and a decrease in biodiversity. In this regard, the most extensive research and in-depth analysis of changes in the field of global ecology are needed, which could help in making fundamental decisions at the very high level to reduce damage natural conditions and providing a favorable living environment.

2. Current state and protection of the atmosphere, water resources, soil, vegetation

Atmospheric protection is regulated primarily by the Convention on Transboundary Air Pollution (1979), the Montreal (1987) and Vienna (1985) agreements on the ozone layer, as well as protocols on the control of emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides.

A special place among international conventions and agreements on the protection of the air basin was held by the Moscow Treaty of 1963 on the prohibition of testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, outer space and under water, concluded between the USSR, the USA and England, other agreements of the 70-90s. on the limitation, reduction and prohibition of nuclear, bacteriological and chemical weapons in various environments and regions. In 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was solemnly signed at the UN.

Modern international cooperation in the field of environmental protection is carried out at three levels:

1. Expanding the exchange of experience. The better nature is protected on the territory of each country, the less effort and resources will be required at the international level.

2. Development and implementation of measures for the protection of elements of the natural environment in limited zones or geographical areas with the participation of two or more countries (bilateral, sub-regional or regional cooperation).

3. Increasing efforts of all countries of the world in solving the problems of environmental protection. At this level, the development and implementation of universal environmental protection measures take place.

The current stage of the international environmental movement ends with the formalization of mechanisms and procedures for implementing the decisions of the World Forum in Rio de Janeiro. In the 21st century humanity enters with a clear understanding of the vital importance of environmental problems and with reasonable confidence in their solution for the benefit of all the peoples of the world and the nature of the Earth. Society can live and develop only within the biosphere and at the expense of its resources, therefore it is vitally interested in its preservation. Mankind must consciously limit its impact on nature in order to preserve the possibility of further co-evolution.

3. Rational use and protection of animals

The Law of the Russian Federation on the Protection and Use of Wildlife defines the following types of activities: fishing, hunting for birds and animals, the use of waste products and useful properties of animals, the use of wildlife for scientific, cultural, educational, educational, aesthetic purposes. All of them are covered by licensing. Licenses for their use are issued by the authorities for the protection and use of wildlife, in particular, for wild animals - the bodies of the Okhotnadzor, for fishing - the bodies of the Rybnadzor.

Licenses are also issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources in the event of the sale of animals or projects of their life activity outside the state, and for the export of medicinal raw materials also by the Ministry of Health of Russia.

The license is essential not only as a means of protecting the natural environment, but also as one of the ways to regulate nature management.

4. Ecological crisis. Ecological disasters. Environmental monitoring

The ecological crisis of the biosphere, which scientists are talking about, is not a crisis of nature, but of human society. Among the main problems that caused its occurrence are the volume of anthropogenic impact on nature in the 20th century, which brought the biosphere closer to the limit of sustainability; contradictions between the essence of man and nature, his alienation from nature; continuation of the development of the “civilization of consumption” - the growth of optional needs of people and society, the satisfaction of which leads to an increase in the excessive technogenic load on the environment.

Efforts to protect the environment in all countries are undertaken, however, locally within the generally accepted paradigm of “mismanagement”. It is considered possible to correct the situation by investing additional funds in the improvement of technologies. The "green" movement advocates bans on the nuclear, chemical, oil, microbiological and other industries. Scientists and practitioners of ecology, for the most part, are not engaged in “knowledge of the economy of nature”, but in the development of particular issues - technologies for reducing emissions and discharges from enterprises, the preparation of norms, rules and laws. There is no agreement among scientists in the analysis of the causes and consequences of the “greenhouse effect”, “ozone holes”, in determining the permissible limits for the withdrawal of natural resources and population growth on the planet. Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is recognized at the international level as a panacea for the global greenhouse effect, which will require multibillion-dollar costs, but, as will be shown below, will not solve the problem, and senseless spending will only exacerbate the crisis.

Greenhouse effect and "ozone holes"

The greenhouse effect, as some scientists believe, is a modern physico-chemical process of violation heat balance planets with accelerating temperature rise on it. It is generally accepted that this effect is caused by the accumulation of "greenhouse gases" in the Earth's atmosphere, which are formed mainly in the process of fossil fuel combustion. Infrared (thermal) radiation from the Earth's surface does not go into outer space, but is absorbed by the molecules of these gases, and its energy remains in the Earth's atmosphere.

Over the past hundred years, the average temperature of the Earth's surface has increased by 0.8 ° C. In the Alps and the Caucasus, glaciers have halved in volume, on Mount Kilimanjaro - by 73%, and the level of the World Ocean has risen by at least 10 cm. According to the World Meteorological Service , already by 2050 the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere increases to 0.05%, and the increase in the average temperature on the planet will be 2-3.5 ° C. The results of such a process are not accurately predicted. An increase in the level of the World Ocean by 15-95 cm is expected with flooding of densely populated areas of river deltas in Western Europe and Southeast Asia, a shift in climatic zones, a change in the direction of winds, ocean currents (including the Gulf Stream) and precipitation.