Ecological problems of mankind. Global environmental problems. Briefly about the main Article global environmental problems of our time

One of the global problems of mankind is the constantly deteriorating state of its environment, the cause of which is itself. The interaction between man and nature, which is becoming more active, has led to ecosystem disturbances, many of which are irreversible. Thus, the ecological problem of mankind lies in the fact that further rash use of natural resources will lead to a catastrophe on a planetary scale.

Destruction of plants and animals

The technical civilization of modernity has generated a lot of environmental problems that need to be considered separately.

Not all even the global environmental problems of mankind can lead to such catastrophic consequences as this one. The world gene pool is depleted and destroyed, and species diversity is being violated faster and faster. Now about 20 million species of representatives of flora and fauna live on Earth, but they also become victims of an unfavorable environment.

American environmentalists made a report on their research, according to which over the past two centuries our planet has lost 900,000 species, which means that on average, about 12 species die out every day!

Fig.1. Extinction of species.

Deforestation

The rate of planting of green spaces cannot overtake the rate of their destruction, the scale of which is becoming so catastrophic that in the next hundred years people will literally have nothing to breathe. Moreover, the main enemy of the “lungs of the planet” is not even lumberjacks, but acid rain. Sulfur dioxide emitted by power plants travels long distances, falls as precipitation and kills trees. Any essay on this topic will show sad statistics - every year 10 million hectares of forests disappear on the planet, and the numbers are becoming more and more frightening.

Figure 2. Deforestation.

Reducing the stock of minerals

The uncontrolled and ever-increasing consumption of ore reserves and other gifts of the planet led to a natural result - the environment was disturbed, and humanity was on the verge of a crisis. Minerals have been accumulating in the depths for a long time, but modern society pumps and digs them out incredibly quickly: for example, of the total amount of oil that has been extracted, half is the result of the last 15 years of human activity. If you continue in the same spirit, it will last for several decades.

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Instead of using minerals as resources for energy production, alternative and inexhaustible sources can be used for the same purpose - the sun, wind, heat from the bowels.

Pollution and destruction of the oceans

Without water, people will die out just as without air, but garbage is still a global problem for mankind. Garbage litters not only land, but also water expanses. Chemical waste is dumped into the ocean, causing the death of animals, fish and plankton, the surface of huge areas is covered with an oil film, and non-degradable synthetic waste turns into garbage islands. In short, this is not just environmental pollution, but a real disaster.

Rice. 3. Pollution of the oceans

What have we learned?

That the main environmental problems are related to the oceans, resources, plants, animals and forests. But it is important not only what environmental problems are facing humanity, but also what consequences this can lead to. Violation of the natural biocenosis and depletion of reserves that have been accumulating for millions of years are guaranteed to lead to the extinction of mankind.

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Environmental problems can be called a number of factors that mean the degradation of the natural environment around us. Often they are caused by direct human activity. With the development of industry, problems have arisen that are directly related to the imbalance previously established in the ecological environment, which are difficult to compensate.

The world is diverse. Today the situation in the world is such that we are close to collapse. Ecology includes:

Destruction of thousands of species of animals and plants, increase in the number of endangered species;

Reducing the stock of minerals and other vital resources;

Deforestation;

Pollution and draining of the oceans;

Deterioration of the ozone layer, which protects us from radiation from space;

Atmospheric pollution, lack of clean air in some areas;

Pollution of the natural landscape.

Today, there is practically no surface left on which elements artificially created by man would not be located. The perniciousness of the influence of man as a consumer on nature is undeniable. The mistake is that the world around us is not only a source of wealth and various resources. Man has lost the philosophical attitude to nature as to the mother of all living things.

The problems of modernity lie in the fact that we are not brought up to care for it. Man, as a selfish creature in itself, creates conditions for his own comfort, violating and destroying nature. We do not think about the fact that by doing so we harm ourselves. It is for this reason that today it is necessary to pay special attention not so much to solving environmental problems as to educating a person as part of nature.

Environmental problems are initially divided according to the level of their scale into regional, local and global. An example of a local problem is a factory that does not clean up the effluent before it is discharged into the river, and thus pollutes the water and destroys the living organisms that live in this water. Speaking about regional problems, the well-known situation in Chernobyl can be cited as an example. The tragedy affected thousands of human lives, as well as animals and other biological organisms that previously lived in the area. And, finally, global problems are those critical situations that affect the population of the entire planet and can be deadly for millions of us.

The environmental problems of the world today require an immediate solution. First of all, as mentioned above, it is worth paying attention to. Having come into harmony with nature, people will no longer treat it exclusively as a consumer. Further, it is necessary to take a number of measures for general greening. This will require the development of new environmentally friendly technologies in production and at home, an environmental review of all new projects is required, and the creation of a closed cycle is required.

Returning to the human factor, it is worth mentioning that the ability to save money and limit oneself will not hurt here. The wise use of resources such as energy, water, gas, etc. can save the planet from their lack. It is worth knowing and remembering that while your tap is running clean, some countries are suffering from drought, and the population of these countries is dying from lack of fluid.

Environmental problems of the world can and should be solved. Remember that the preservation of nature and the healthy future of the planet depends solely on us! Of course, well-being is impossible without the use of resources, but it is worth considering that oil and gas may end in a few decades. The environmental problems of the world affect everyone and everyone, do not remain indifferent!

Global environmental issues

Introduction

Currently, humanity is faced with the most acute global environmental problems. The solution of these problems requires urgent joint efforts of international organizations, states, regions, and the public.

Throughout its existence, and especially in the 20th and early 21st centuries, mankind has destroyed about 70 percent of all natural ecological systems on the planet that are capable of processing human waste, and continues to destroy them to this day. The amount of permissible impact on the biosphere as a whole has now been exceeded by several times. Moreover, a person throws into the environment thousands of tons of substances that have never been contained in it and which are often not amenable or poorly amenable to natural processing. And this has led to the fact that biological microorganisms, which act as a regulator of the environment, are no longer able to perform their functions.

According to experts, in 30-50 years an irreversible process will begin, which at the beginning of the 22nd century can lead to a global environmental catastrophe. A particularly alarming situation has developed in Europe.

There are almost no intact biosystems left in European countries. The exception is the territory of Norway, Finland and, of course, the European part of Russia.

On the territory of Russia there are 9 million square meters. 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, peat bogs are ecosystems, without which it is impossible to imagine a normally functioning biosphere of the entire globe.

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. True, several environmental laws were adopted in the 1990s, the main of which was the Law of the Russian Federation "On the Protection of the Environment", which has been 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.

The problem of overpopulation

The number of earthlings is growing rapidly. But each person consumes a large number of different natural resources. Moreover, this growth is primarily in the underdeveloped or underdeveloped countries. In developed countries, the level of well-being is very high, and the amount of resources consumed by each inhabitant is huge. If we imagine that the entire population of the Earth (the main part of which today lives in poverty, or even starves) will have a standard of living as in Western Europe or the USA, our planet simply cannot stand it. But to believe that the majority of earthlings will always vegetate in poverty, ignorance and squalor is inhumane and unfair. The rapid economic development of China, India, Mexico and a number of other populous countries refutes this assumption.

Consequently, there is only one way out - limiting the birth rate with a simultaneous decrease in mortality and an increase in the quality of life.

However, birth control runs into many obstacles. Among them are reactionary social relations, the enormous role of religion, which encourages large families, primitive communal forms of management in which families with many children benefit, etc. The backward countries face a tight knot of complex problems. However, very often in backward countries those who put their own or interests above state interests rule, use the ignorance of the masses for their own selfish purposes (including wars, repressions, etc.), the growth of armaments, etc.

The problems of ecology, overpopulation and backwardness are directly related to the threat of possible food shortages in the near future. Already today, in some countries, due to rapid population growth and insufficient development of agriculture and industry, there is a problem of shortage of food and essential goods. However, the possibilities for increasing agricultural productivity are not unlimited. After all, an increase in the use of mineral fertilizers, pesticides, etc. leads to a deterioration in the environmental situation and an increasing concentration of substances harmful to humans in food. On the other hand, the development of cities and technology takes a lot of fertile land out of circulation. Especially harmful is the lack of good drinking water.

Problems of energy resources

This problem is closely related to the environmental problem. Ecological well-being also depends to the greatest extent on the reasonable development of the Earth's energy, because half of all gases that cause the "greenhouse effect" are created in the energy sector.

The fuel and energy balance of the planet consists mainly of "pollutants" - oil (40.3%), coal (31.2%), gas (23.7%). In total, they account for the vast majority of the use of energy resources - 95.2%. "Clean" types - hydropower and nuclear energy - give a total of less than 5%, and the "softest" (non-polluting) - wind, solar, geothermal - account for fractions of a percent
It is clear that the global task is to increase the share of "clean" and especially "soft" types of energy.

In addition to the gigantic area that is necessary for the development of solar and wind energy, one must also take into account the fact that their ecological "cleanliness" is taken without taking into account metal, glass and other materials necessary to create such "clean" installations, and even in huge quantities.

Conditionally "clean" is also hydropower, which can be seen at least from the indicators of the table - large losses of flooded area in floodplains, which are usually valuable agricultural lands. Hydroelectric power plants now provide 17% of all electricity in developed countries and 31% in developing countries, where the world's largest hydroelectric power plants have been built in recent years.

However, in addition to large expropriated areas, the development of hydropower was hampered by the fact that the specific capital investment here is 2-3 times higher than in the construction of nuclear power plants. In addition, the period of construction of hydroelectric power stations is much longer than thermal stations. For all these reasons, hydropower cannot provide a quick reduction in pressure on the environment.

Apparently, under these conditions, only nuclear energy can be a way out, able to sharply and in a fairly short time to weaken the "greenhouse effect".
The replacement of coal, oil and gas by nuclear power has already resulted in some reductions in emissions of CO 2 and other "greenhouse gases". If those 16% of the world's electricity production that NPPs now provide were produced by coal-fired thermal power plants, even those equipped with the most modern gas scrubbers, then an additional 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide, 1 million tons of nitrogen oxides, 2 million tons of sulfur oxides and 150 thousand tons of heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury).

First, let's consider the possibility of increasing the share of "soft" types of energy.
In the coming years, "soft" types of energy will not be able to significantly change the fuel and energy balance of the Earth. It will take some time until their economic indicators become close to "traditional" types of energy. In addition, their ecological capacity is measured not only by the reduction of CO 2 emissions, there are other factors, in particular, the territory alienated for their development.

Global pollution of the planet

Air pollution

Man has been polluting the atmosphere for thousands of years, but the consequences of the use of fire, which he used throughout this period, were insignificant. I had to put up with the fact that the smoke interfered with breathing and that soot lay in a black cover on the ceiling and walls of the dwelling. The resulting heat was more important for a person than clean air and unsmoked cave walls. This initial air pollution was not a problem, for people then lived in small groups, occupying an immeasurably vast untouched natural environment. And even a significant concentration of people in a relatively small area, as was the case in classical antiquity, was not yet accompanied by serious consequences. This was the case until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Only in the last hundred years has the development of industry "gifted" us with such production processes, the consequences of which at first man could not yet imagine. Million-strong cities arose, the growth of which cannot be stopped. All this is the result of great inventions and conquests of man.

Basically, there are three main sources of air pollution: industry, domestic boilers, transport. The share of each of these sources in total air pollution varies greatly from place to place. It is now generally accepted that industrial production pollutes the air the most. Sources of pollution - thermal power plants, which, together with smoke, emit sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide into the air; metallurgical enterprises, especially non-ferrous metallurgy, which emit nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, fluorine, ammonia, phosphorus compounds, particles and compounds of mercury and arsenic into the air; chemical and cement plants. Harmful gases enter the air as a result of fuel combustion for industrial needs, home heating, transport, combustion and processing of household and industrial waste. Atmospheric pollutants are divided into primary, entering directly into the atmosphere, and secondary, resulting from the transformation of the latter. So, sulfur dioxide entering the atmosphere is oxidized to sulfuric anhydride, which interacts with water vapor and forms droplets of sulfuric acid. When sulfuric anhydride reacts with ammonia, ammonium sulfate crystals are formed. Similarly, as a result of chemical, photochemical, physico-chemical reactions between pollutants and atmospheric components, other secondary signs are formed. The main source of pyrogenic pollution on the planet are thermal power plants, metallurgical and chemical enterprises, boiler plants, which consume more than 70% of the annually produced solid and liquid fuels.

The main harmful impurities of pyrogenic origin are the following:
carbon monoxide, sulfurous anhydride, sulfuric anhydride, hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide, chlorine compounds, fluorine compounds, nitrogen oxides.

The atmosphere is also exposed to aerosol pollution. Aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended in the air. The solid components of aerosols in some cases are especially dangerous for organisms, and cause specific diseases in humans. In the atmosphere, aerosol pollution is in the form of smoke, fog, haze or haze. A significant part of aerosols is formed in the atmosphere when solid and liquid particles interact with each other or with water vapor. About 1 cubic meter enters the Earth's atmosphere every year. km of dust particles of artificial origin. A large number of dust particles are also formed during the production activities of people. Under certain weather conditions, especially large accumulations of harmful gaseous and aerosol impurities can form in the surface air layer. This usually happens when there is an inversion in the air layer directly above the sources of gas and dust emission - the location of a layer of colder air under warm air, which prevents the movement of air masses and delays the transfer of impurities upward. As a result, harmful emissions are concentrated under the inversion layer, their content near the ground increases sharply, which becomes one of the reasons for the formation of a photochemical fog previously unknown in nature.

Photochemical fog 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 of a high concentration of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and other pollutants in the atmosphere, intense solar radiation and calm or very weak air exchange in the surface layer with a powerful and increased inversion for at least a day. 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. In prolonged clear weather, solar radiation causes the breakdown of nitrogen dioxide molecules with the formation of nitric oxide and atomic oxygen. Atomic oxygen with molecular oxygen give ozone. The nitric oxide reacts with the olefins in the exhaust gases, which break down the double bond to form molecular fragments and excess ozone. As a result of the ongoing dissociation, new masses of nitrogen dioxide are split and give additional amounts of ozone. A cyclic reaction occurs, as a result of which ozone gradually accumulates in the atmosphere. This process stops at night. In turn, ozone reacts with olefins. Various peroxides are concentrated in the atmosphere, which in total form oxidants characteristic of photochemical fog. The latter are the source of the so-called free radicals, which are distinguished by a special reactivity. Such smog is not uncommon over London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York and other cities in Europe and America. According to their physiological effects on the human body, they are extremely dangerous for the respiratory and circulatory systems and often cause premature death of urban residents with poor health.

Soil pollution

The soil cover of the Earth is the most important component of the Earth's biosphere. It is the soil shell that determines many processes occurring in the biosphere. The most important significance of soils is the accumulation of organic matter, various chemical elements, and energy. The soil cover functions as a biological absorber, destroyer and neutralizer of various contaminants. If this link of the biosphere is destroyed, then the existing functioning of the biosphere will be irreversibly disrupted. That is why it is extremely important to study the global biochemical significance of the soil cover, its current state and changes under the influence of anthropogenic activity. One of the types of anthropogenic impact is pesticide pollution.

The discovery of pesticides - chemical means of protecting plants and animals from various pests and diseases - is one of the most important achievements of modern science. Today in the world, 300 kg of chemicals are applied to 1 hectare of land. However, as a result of long-term use of pesticides in agricultural medicine (vector control), there is almost universally a decline in effectiveness due to the development of resistant pest strains and the spread of "new" pests whose natural enemies and competitors have been destroyed by pesticides. At the same time, the effect of pesticides began to manifest itself on a global scale. Of the huge number of insects, only 0.3% or 5 thousand species are harmful. Pesticide resistance has been found in 250 species. This is exacerbated by the phenomenon of cross-resistance, which consists in the fact that increased resistance to the action of one drug is accompanied by resistance to compounds of other classes. From a general biological point of view, resistance can be considered as a change in populations as a result of the transition from a sensitive strain to a resistant strain of the same species due to selection caused by pesticides. This phenomenon is associated with genetic, physiological and biochemical rearrangements of organisms. Excessive use of pesticides adversely affects soil quality. In this regard, the fate of pesticides in soils and the possibility of neutralizing them by chemical and biological methods are being intensively studied. It is very important to create and use only drugs with a short lifespan, measured in weeks or months. Some progress has already been made in this area and drugs with a high rate of destruction are being introduced, but the problem as a whole has not yet been resolved.

One of the most acute global problems of today and the foreseeable future is the problem of increasing acidity of precipitation and soil cover. Areas of acidic soils do not know droughts, but their natural fertility is lowered and unstable; they are rapidly depleted and yields are low. Acid rain causes not only acidification of surface waters and upper soil horizons. Acidity with downward water flows extends to the entire soil profile and causes significant acidification of groundwater.

Water pollution

Any body of water or water source is associated with its external environment. It is influenced by the conditions for the formation of surface or underground water runoff, various natural phenomena, industry, industrial and municipal construction, transport, economic and domestic human activities. The consequence of these influences is the introduction of new, unusual substances into the aquatic environment - pollutants that degrade water quality. Pollution entering the aquatic environment is classified in different ways, depending on the approaches, criteria and tasks. So, usually allocate chemical, physical and biological pollution. Chemical pollution is a change in the natural chemical properties of water due to an increase in the content of harmful impurities in it, both inorganic (mineral salts, acids, alkalis, clay particles) and organic nature (oil and oil products, organic residues, surfactants, pesticides).

The main inorganic (mineral) pollutants of fresh and marine waters are a variety of chemical compounds that are toxic to the inhabitants of the aquatic environment. These are compounds of arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, copper, fluorine. 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.

Among the soluble substances introduced into the ocean from land, not only mineral and biogenic elements, but also organic residues are of great importance for the inhabitants of the aquatic environment. The removal of organic matter into the ocean is estimated at 300 - 380 million tons/year. Wastewater containing suspensions of organic origin or dissolved organic matter adversely affects the condition of water bodies. When settling, the suspensions flood the bottom and delay the development or completely stop the vital activity of these microorganisms involved in the process of water self-purification. When these sediments rot, harmful compounds and toxic substances, such as hydrogen sulfide, can be formed, which lead to the pollution of all water in the river. The presence of suspensions also makes it difficult for light to penetrate deep into the water and slows down the processes of photosynthesis. One of the main sanitary requirements for water quality is the content of the required amount of oxygen in it. Harmful effect is exerted by all contaminants that in one way or another contribute to the reduction of oxygen content in water. Surfactants - fats, oils, lubricants - form a film on the surface of the water, which prevents gas exchange between water and the atmosphere, which reduces the degree of saturation of water with oxygen. A significant amount of organic matter, most of which is not characteristic of natural waters, is discharged into rivers along with industrial and domestic wastewater. Increasing pollution of water bodies and drains is observed in all industrial countries.

Due to the rapid pace of urbanization and the somewhat slow construction of sewage treatment plants or their unsatisfactory operation, water basins and soil are polluted with household waste. Pollution is especially noticeable in slow-flowing or stagnant water bodies (reservoirs, lakes). Decomposing in the aquatic environment, organic waste can become a medium for pathogenic organisms. Water contaminated with organic waste becomes almost unsuitable for drinking and other purposes. Household waste is dangerous not only because it is a source of some human diseases (typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera), but also because it requires a lot of oxygen for its decomposition. If domestic wastewater enters the reservoir in very large quantities, then the content of soluble oxygen may drop below the level necessary for the life of marine and freshwater organisms.

radioactive contamination

Radioactive contamination poses a particular danger to humans and their environment. This is due to the fact that ionizing radiation has an intense and constant detrimental effect on living organisms, and the sources of this radiation are widespread in the environment. Radioactivity - spontaneous decay of 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 rock complexes for radioactive elements, 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 impact of natural radiation due to radionuclides in rocks and natural waters has been studied extremely poorly. In the uranium province of Athabasca (Canada), the Wallastone biogeochemical anomaly with an area of ​​about 3,000 km 2 was revealed, expressed by high concentrations of uranium in the needles of black Canadian spruce and associated with the flow of its aerosols along active deep faults. On the territory of Russia, 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 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 allows us to assert that radon is also widespread 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 Lakes Onega and Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, a wide zone traced from the Middle Urals to the west, 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/km 2 in Russia alone in 1995 amounted to about 50,000 km 2 .

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

Death and deforestation

One of the causes of forest death in many regions of the world is acid rain, the main culprit of which is power plants. Sulfur dioxide emissions and long-range transport cause these rains to fall far from emission sources. In Austria, in the east of Canada, in the Netherlands and Sweden, more than 60% of the sulfur falling on their territory comes from external sources, and in Norway even 75%. Other examples of long-range transport of acids are acid rain on remote Atlantic islands such as Bermuda and acid snow in the Arctic.

Over the past 20 years (1970 - 1990), the world has lost almost 200 million hectares of forests, which is equal to the area of ​​the United States east of the Mississippi. Especially great environmental threat is the depletion of tropical forests - the "lungs of the planet" and the main source of the planet's biological diversity. Approximately 200 thousand square kilometers are cut down or burned there every year, which means that 100 thousand (!) Species of plants and animals disappear. This process is especially fast in the regions richest in tropical forests - the Amazon and Indonesia.

The British ecologist N. Meyers came to the conclusion that ten small areas in the tropics contain at least 27% of the total species composition of this class of plant formations, later this list was expanded to 15 "hot spots" of tropical forests that must be preserved in order to no matter what.

In developed countries, acid rain caused damage to a significant part of the forest: in Czechoslovakia - 71%, in Greece and Great Britain - 64%, in Germany - 52%.

The current situation with forests is very different across the continents. If in Europe and Asia the forested areas for 1974 - 1989 increased slightly, then in Australia they decreased by 2.6% in one year. Even greater forest degradation is taking place in individual countries: in Côte d'Ivoire, forest areas decreased by 5.4% over the year, in Thailand - by 4.3%, in Paraguay - by 3.4%.

desertification

Under the influence of living organisms, water and air, the most important ecosystem, thin and fragile, is gradually formed on the surface layers of the lithosphere - the soil, which is called the "skin of the Earth". It is the keeper of fertility and life. A handful of good soil contains millions of microorganisms that support fertility. It takes a century to form a layer of soil with a thickness (thickness) of 1 centimeter. It can be lost in one field season. Geologists estimate that before people began to engage in agricultural activities, graze livestock and plow land, rivers annually carried about 9 billion tons of soil into the oceans. Now this amount is estimated at about 25 billion tons.

Soil erosion - a purely local phenomenon - has now become universal. In the US, for example, about 44% of cultivated land is subject to erosion. Unique rich chernozems with 14–16% humus content (organic matter that determines soil fertility) disappeared in Russia, which were called the citadel of Russian agriculture. In Russia, the areas of the most fertile lands with a humus content of 12% have decreased by almost 5 times.

A particularly difficult situation arises when not only the soil layer is demolished, but also the parent rock on which it develops. Then the threshold of irreversible destruction sets in, an anthropogenic (that is, man-made) desert arises.
One of the most formidable, global and fleeting processes of our time is the expansion of desertification, the fall and, in the most extreme cases, the complete destruction of the biological potential of the Earth, which leads to conditions similar to those of a natural desert.

Natural deserts and semi-deserts occupy more than 1/3 of the earth's surface. About 15% of the world's population lives on these lands. Deserts are natural formations that play a certain role in the overall ecological balance of the planet's landscapes.

As a result of human activity, by the last quarter of the 20th century, more than 9 million square kilometers of deserts appeared, and in total they already covered 43% of the total land area.

In the 1990s, desertification began to threaten 3.6 million hectares of drylands. This represents 70% of the potentially productive drylands, or ¼ of the total land area, and this figure does not include the area of ​​natural deserts. About 1/6 of the world's population suffers from this process.
According to UN experts, the current loss of productive land will lead to the fact that by the end of the century the world may lose almost 1/3 of its arable land. Such a loss, at a time of unprecedented population growth and increased food demand, could be truly disastrous.

Causes of land degradation in different regions of the world:

	deforestation	Overexploitation	Overgrazing	Agricultural activity	Industrialization
The whole world
North America
South America
Central America

Global warming

The sharp warming of the climate that began in the second half of the century is a reliable fact. We feel it in milder than before winters. The average temperature of the surface layer of air, compared with 1956-1957, when the First International Geophysical Year was held, increased by 0.7°C. There is no warming at the equator, but the closer to the poles, the more noticeable it is. Beyond the Arctic Circle it reaches 2°C. At the North Pole, under-ice water warmed by 1°C and the ice cover began to melt from below.

What is the reason for this phenomenon? Some scientists believe that this is the result of the burning of a huge mass of organic fuel and the release of large amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is a greenhouse gas, that is, it makes it difficult to transfer heat from the Earth's surface.

So what is the greenhouse effect? Billions of tons of carbon dioxide enter the atmosphere every hour as a result of burning coal and oil, natural gas and firewood, millions of tons of methane rise into the atmosphere from gas extraction, from the rice fields of Asia, water vapor, fluorochlorocarbons are emitted there. All of these are "greenhouse gases". As in a greenhouse, a glass roof and walls let in solar radiation, but do not allow heat to escape, so carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" are practically transparent to the sun's rays, but retain long-wave thermal radiation from the Earth, preventing it from escaping into space.

The outstanding Russian scientist V.I. Vernadsky said that the impact of mankind is already comparable to geological processes.

The "energy boom" of the outgoing century increased the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere by 25% and methane by 100%. During this time, the Earth experienced a real warming. Most scientists consider this a consequence of the "greenhouse effect".

Other scientists, referring to climate change in historical time, consider the anthropogenic factor of climate warming negligible and attribute this phenomenon to increased solar activity.

The forecast for the future (2030 - 2050) assumes a possible increase in temperature by 1.5 - 4.5°C. These conclusions were reached by the International Conference of Climatologists in Austria in 1988.

In connection with climate warming, a number of related issues arise. What are the prospects for its further development? How will warming affect the increase in evaporation from the surface of the oceans and how will this affect the amount of precipitation? How will this precipitation be distributed over the area? And a number of more specific questions concerning the territory of Russia: in connection with warming and general humidification of the climate, is it possible to expect mitigation of droughts in the Lower Volga region and in the North Caucasus (should we expect an increase in the flow of the Volga and a further rise in the level of the Caspian Sea; will the retreat of permafrost begin in Yakutia and the Magadan region Will navigation along the northern coast of Siberia become easier?

All these questions can be answered accurately. However, for this, various scientific studies must be carried out.

Bibliography

Monin A.S., Shishkov Yu.A. Global environmental problems. Moscow: Knowledge, 1991. Problems 6 Human and environment: History of interaction 6 Global environmental Problems modernity 9 Global environmental Problems ...

1. Global environmental Problems (3)

   Abstract >> Ecology

   Generations to meet their needs. giving birth global environmental Problems, exhausting non-renewable resources, polluting the environment ...

2. Global environmental Problems (5)

   Abstract >> Ecology

   Plan Modern global environmental Problems and ways to solve them Global environmental Problems and ways to solve them ... first of all - ecological. Global environmental Problems and ways to solve them. Today ecological situation in the world...

Environmental problems today occupy the same important place in the world as political, social and economic ones. Many people have already understood that active anthropogenic activity has caused irreparable damage to nature, and before it’s too late, you need to stop or at least change your actions, reduce the negative impact and decide environmental problems of the world.

Global environmental problems are not a myth, fiction or delusion. You can't close your eyes to them. Moreover, every person can start fighting against the destruction of nature, and the more people join this cause, the more benefit it will be for our planet.

The most urgent and modern problems of ecology

There are so many environmental problems in the world that they cannot be included in one big list. Some of them are global and some are local. However, let's try to name the most acute environmental problems that we have today:

• the problem of pollution of the biosphere - air, water, land;
• destruction of many species of flora and fauna;
• depletion of non-renewable minerals;
• global warming;
• destruction of the ozone layer and the formation of holes in it;
• desertification;
• deforestation.

Many environmental problems boil down to the fact that by polluting a small area, a person invades the whole ecosystem, and absolutely destroys it. So cutting down trees, shrubs and grasses will not be able to grow in the forests, which means that birds and animals will not have anything to eat, half of them will die out, and the rest will migrate. Then soil erosion will occur, and water bodies will dry up, which will further lead to desertification of the territory. In the future, environmental refugees will appear - people who, having lost all the resources for existence, will be forced to leave their home and begin to look for new habitats.

Solving environmental problems

Conferences and various meetings, events and competitions dedicated to environmental issues are held annually. Global environmental issues now they are of interest not only to scientists and caring people, but also to representatives of the highest levels of government in many countries. They form various programs that are implemented. So many countries began to apply eco-technologies:

• fuel is produced from waste;
• many items are reused;
• secondary raw materials are made from used materials;
• the latest developments are introduced at enterprises;
• the biosphere is cleared of the products of industrial enterprises.

Not the last place is played by educational programs and competitions that attract the attention of the general public.

We will fix environmental problems!

Today it is very important to convey to people that the health of our planet depends on each of us. Anyone can save water and electricity, sort and dispose of waste paper, use less chemicals and disposable products, and find new uses for old things. These simple steps will bring tangible benefits. Let from the height of one human life - this is a trifle, but if you put together such actions of millions and even billions of people, then this will be the solution to the environmental problems of the world.

Ecological resources include various components of the environment that create balance in nature. These include: earth, man, air, flora and fauna, geological formations and much more. In general, it can be argued that environmental resources are divided into 3 large groups: organisms, substances and the energy that binds them.

In the modern world, there is no balance between environmental components, which is why man-made disasters, natural disasters, and health problems among the planet's population are observed. What is the biggest threat to Earth right now?

Air pollution

Air is the basis of life for any person: it contains oxygen vital for breathing, and it also receives carbon dioxide from the lungs, which plants process.

Unfortunately, it is into the air that most of the waste from the work of factories, machines, and household appliances enters. Atmospheric pollution is a global environmental resource problem.

Due to the fact that the air contains substances uncharacteristic for it, the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is destroyed. This leads to strong ultraviolet radiation, which leads to an increase in the temperature of the planet.

In addition, an excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases the greenhouse effect, which also contributes to rising temperatures, melting glaciers, and drying up previously fertile soils.

In many cities, the content of harmful substances in the air is exceeded, therefore the number of patients with cancer, respiratory diseases and heart diseases is increasing. Only by taking an ecological resource under protection, it is possible to achieve a weakening of dangerous influences.

All participants in polluting industries must take measures to install treatment facilities and traps of harmful substances. The scientific community must join forces to find alternative energy sources that will not pollute the atmosphere when burned. Even an ordinary city dweller can contribute to air protection by simply changing from car to bicycle.

Noise pollution

Each city is a whole mechanism that does not stop even for a minute. Every day there are thousands of cars on the roads, hundreds of factories and dozens of construction sites. Noise is an inevitable ally of any human activity, and in a metropolis it turns into a real enemy.

Scientists have proven that constant noise affects the psychological state of a person, his hearing organs and even the heart, sleep is disturbed, and depression occurs. Children and pensioners are especially affected.

It is very difficult to reduce the noise level, because it is impossible to block all roads and close factories, but it is possible to reduce its impact on a person, for this you need:

• Personal protective equipment for workers in hazardous industries.
• Green spaces around noise sources. Trees will take on noise vibrations, thereby saving residents of nearby houses.
• Competent development of the city, which will exclude the passage of busy avenues next to residential buildings. Bedrooms should face opposite sides of the road.

light pollution

Many do not even realize that light is a source of pollution, if it is of anthropogenic origin.

There are thousands of lighting devices in cities that are installed for ease of movement at night, but doctors have long been sounding the alarm, because due to the fact that in settlements there is light almost around the clock, people's health is undermined, and the animal world is suffering.

It has long been known that a person lives according to biological rhythms. The change of day and night is the main lever for controlling the internal clock, but due to constant lighting, the body begins to get confused when to go to bed and when to get up. The rest regime is disturbed, diseases grow, nervous breakdowns appear.

What can we say about animals that, focusing on the light of cities, go astray, die, crashing against buildings.

Light pollution is one of the world's environmental problems, and the ways to solve them in different cities can be different: the introduction of curfew hours without light, the use of street lamps with caps that will not scatter light in vain, the mode of saving light in buildings and simply turning off the lights where it is used solely for the sake of beauty.

Nuclear pollution

Radioactive fuel is good and evil for mankind. On the one hand, the benefits of using it are great, on the other hand, there are catastrophically many victims of it.

Radiation pollution is present in the natural background from metal rocks in the soil, as well as from the very core of the planet. But everything that goes beyond the permissible, causes extraordinary harm to nature. Gene mutations, radiation sickness, soil contamination are the consequences of the interaction of man and radioactive substances.

The preservation of ecological natural resources and the human being himself will be possible only when atomic weapons are not used and tested, and radiation waste from production is disposed of in even safer storage facilities.

Global warming

Climate change has long been regarded as an environmental problem in its own right. The consequences of human activity are simply horrific: glaciers are melting, the oceans are warming, and the water level rises in them, new diseases appear, animals move to other latitudes, desertification occurs and fertile lands disappear.

The reason for this effect is active human activity, as a result of which emissions appear, forests are cut down, water is polluted, and the areas of cities increase.

Solution to the problem:

1. Use of new technologies that conserve environmental resources.
2. Increase in the area of ​​green spaces.
3. Search for non-standard solutions for removing harmful substances from air, soil and water.

So, for example, scientists are now developing a technology for capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground.

Landfills

The further a person develops, the more he uses ready-made consumer goods. Tons of labels, packaging, boxes, used equipment are taken out of the settlements every day, and every day the amount of waste is only growing.

Under now, simply catastrophically huge areas are involved. Some are even visible from space. Scientists are sounding the alarm: pollution of the soil, air, land in places where garbage is stored has a very strong effect on the environment, all components of nature suffer, including humans.

This can only be defeated by the introduction of waste recycling technologies everywhere, as well as by ensuring the transition to fast-degradable packaging material.

In order for future generations to live in a safe world, it is necessary to think about serious environmental problems for all and ways to solve them. Only by uniting the efforts of all countries, it is possible to reverse the catastrophic situation in ecology. Unfortunately, many states are not ready to sacrifice economic benefits for the sake of their children and grandchildren.