Any environmental problem. Global environmental problems

Ecological problem- one of global problems modernity. It is closely related to issues of resource scarcity. environmental safety and environmental crisis. One of the ways to resolve the environmental problem is the path of “sustainable development”, proposed as the main alternative for the development of human civilization.

Global environmental problems

Scientific and technological progress has confronted humanity with a number of new, very complex problems that it had not encountered before at all, or the problems were not so large-scale. Among them, a special place is occupied by the relationship between man and the environment. In the 20th century, nature was under pressure from a 4-fold increase in population and an 18-fold increase in global production. Scientists claim that since about the 1960-70s. changes environment under the influence of man they became worldwide, i.e. affecting all countries of the world without exception, which is why they began to be called global. The most relevant among them are:

• Earth's climate change;
• air pollution;
• ozone layer destruction;
• depletion of reserves fresh water and pollution of the oceans;
• land pollution, destruction of soil cover;
• depletion of biological diversity, etc.

Environmental changes in the 1970s-90s. and forecast for

2030 are reflected in table. 1. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented the report “We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century” at the meeting of heads of state and government of UN member countries (September 2000). The report examines the priority strategic areas facing humanity in the new millennium and emphasizes that “the challenge of ensuring a sustainable future for future generations will be one of the most challenging.”

Environmental problem

Environment (natural environment, natural environment) is called that part of nature with which human society directly interacts in its life and economic activity.

Although the second half of the 20th century. - this is a time of unprecedented rates of economic growth, but it is increasingly being carried out without proper consideration of the capabilities of the natural environment and the permissible economic loads on it. As a result, degradation of the natural environment occurs.

Irrational environmental management

An example of environmental degradation as a result of unsustainable environmental management is deforestation and depletion of land resources. The process of deforestation is expressed in a reduction in the area under natural vegetation, and primarily forest. According to some estimates, during the emergence of agriculture and cattle breeding, forests covered 62 million km2 of land, and taking into account shrubs and copses, 75 million km2, or 56% of its entire surface. As a result of deforestation, which has been going on for 10 thousand years, their area has decreased to 40 million km 2, and the average forest cover has decreased to 30%. Nowadays, deforestation continues at an increasingly rapid pace: about 100 thousand are destroyed annually. km 2. Forest areas are disappearing as the cultivation of land and pastures expands, and timber harvesting increases. A particularly dangerous situation has developed in the tropical forest zone, primarily in countries such as Brazil and the Philippines. Indonesia, Thailand.

As a result of soil degradation processes, about 7 million hectares of fertile land are lost annually from global agricultural production. The main reasons for this process are growing urbanization, water and wind erosion, as well as chemical (contamination with heavy metals, chemical compounds) and physical (destruction of soil cover during mining, construction and other work) degradation. The process of soil degradation is particularly intense in drylands, which occupy about 6 million km2 and are most characteristic of Asia and Africa. The main desertification areas are also located within the arid lands, where, due to the high growth rate of the rural population, overgrazing of livestock, deforestation and unsustainable irrigated agriculture lead to anthropogenic desertification (60 thousand km 2 annually).

Pollution of the natural environment with waste

Another reason for the degradation of the natural environment is its pollution with waste from industrial and non-industrial human activities. These wastes are divided into solid, liquid and gaseous.

The following calculations are indicative. Currently, on average, about 20 tons of raw materials are mined and grown annually per inhabitant of the Earth. At the same time, 50 km 3 of fossil rocks (more than 1000 billion tons) are extracted from the subsoil alone, which, using an energy power of 2500 W and 800 tons of water, are converted into 2 tons of the final product, of which 50% is thrown away immediately, the rest goes into delayed waste.

The structure of solid waste is dominated by industrial and mining waste. In general and per capita, they are especially large in Russia and the USA. Japan. In terms of per capita indicator of solid household waste, the lead belongs to the United States, where each resident produces 800 kg of garbage per year (400 kg per resident of Moscow).

Liquid waste primarily pollutes the hydrosphere, with the main pollutants here being wastewater and oil. The total volume of wastewater at the beginning of the 21st century. amounted to about 1860 km 3. To dilute a unit volume of contaminated wastewater to an acceptable level for use, an average of 10 to 100 and even 200 units is required clean water. Asia, North America and Europe account for about 90% of the world's wastewater discharges.

As a result, the degradation of the aquatic environment today has become global. Approximately 1.3 billion people use only contaminated water at home, and 2.5 billion experience a chronic lack of fresh water, which causes many epidemic diseases. Due to the pollution of rivers and seas, fishing opportunities are reduced.

Of great concern is air pollution with dust and gaseous waste, emissions of which are directly related to the combustion of mineral fuels and biomass, as well as mining, construction and other earthworks (2/3 of all emissions occur in developed Western countries, including the USA - 120 million tons). Examples of major pollutants are typically particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Every year, about 60 million tons of particulate matter are emitted into the Earth's atmosphere, which contribute to the formation of smog and reduce the transparency of the atmosphere. Sulfur dioxide (100 million tons) and nitrogen oxides (about 70 million tons) are the main sources of acid rain. A large-scale and dangerous aspect of the environmental crisis is the impact of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane, on the lower layers of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere mainly as a result of the combustion of mineral fuels (2/3 of all receipts). Sources of methane entering the atmosphere include biomass combustion, some types of agricultural production, and gas leaks from oil and gas wells. The international community has decided to reduce emissions carbon dioxide by 20% by 2005 and by 50% by the middle of the 21st century. In developed countries of the world, appropriate laws and regulations have been adopted for this purpose (for example, a special tax on carbon dioxide emissions).

Depletion of the gene pool

One aspect of the environmental problem is the decrease in biological diversity. The biological diversity of the Earth is estimated at 10-20 million species, including in the territory former USSR-10-12% of the total. The damage in this area is already quite noticeable. This occurs due to the destruction of plant and animal habitats, overexploitation of agricultural resources, and environmental pollution. According to American scientists, over the past 200 years, about 900 thousand species of plants and animals have disappeared on Earth. In the second half of the 20th century. the process of gene pool reduction has sharply accelerated, and while existing trends continue last quarter century, the disappearance of 1/5 of all species currently inhabiting our planet is possible.

Ecological situation in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century.

The environmental situation in our country is determined by two factors: a decrease in environmental protection costs, on the one hand, and a smaller scale of economic activity than before, on the other.

For example, in 2000, there were almost 21 thousand enterprises operating in Russia that emitted emissions into the atmosphere. These emissions amounted (including cars) to more than 85 million tons, of which almost 16 million were without any treatment. For comparison, in the USSR emissions from stationary sources and road transport amounted to in the mid-80s. 95 million tons, in Russia in the early 90s - about 60 million tons. The largest air pollutants in modern conditions are Siberian and Ural federal districts. They accounted for about 54% of total emissions from stationary sources.

According to the State Water Cadastre, in 2000 the total water intake from natural objects will be 86 km 3 (of which more than 67 km 3 was used for domestic drinking, industrial needs, irrigation and agricultural water supply). The total volume of discharge of contaminated wastewater into surface water exceeded 20 km\ of which 25% occurs in the Central Federal District. In the USSR this figure was 160 km 3, in Russia in the 90s. - 70 km 3 (40% of them are unrefined or insufficiently purified).

In 2000, more than 130 million tons of toxic waste were generated throughout Russia. Only 38% of waste was fully used and neutralized. The largest number of them was formed in the Siberian Federal District (31% of the entire Russian Federation). If we talk about solid waste in general, then in the USSR about 15 billion tons of it were generated annually, in Russia in the early 90s. — 7 billion tons.

Thus, although in Russia in the 90s. Due to the economic crisis, there was a sharp decrease in emissions of all types of waste; subsequent economic growth leads to an increase in the volume of waste that pollutes the environment.

Environmental problems arise as a result of human intervention in the ecosystem. Uncontrolled deforestation and the release of radioactive waste lead to unpredictable results. Today, the relevance of environmental problems is increasing - negative environmental changes are occurring all over the world and pose a threat to humanity.

Concept and types of environmental problems

The environmental problem concerns such objects as:

• atmosphere;
• biosphere;
• hydrosphere;
• the soil;
• land with its subsoil and minerals;
• landscape.

As a result of anthropogenic impact, the structure of natural-territorial complexes deteriorates and a shortage of natural resources arises.

Exist the following types environmental problems:

• regional;
• global.

Regional problems are associated with changes occurring in each country and within a single territorial unit. They are resolved at the level of local legislation. Global environmental problems are caused primarily by large-scale pollution of the ecosphere. Local and regional problems develop into global ones, therefore, among the tasks facing humanity, one can highlight the maintenance of a normal environmental situation in every point of the globe.

Modern world environmental problems

All modern problems are divided into those caused by the scientific and technological revolution and those associated with the depletion of resources. Global environmental problems lead to climate change. Global warming is occurring - the temperature of the upper atmospheric layer is gradually increasing, causing glaciers to melt. The level of the world's oceans is rising, causing the greenhouse effect. Today, scientists from all over the world are taking measures to prevent the harmful effects of technogenic and anthropogenic factors on the environment.

Destruction of plant and animal species

Through human activities, humans can provoke the death of animals and plants, for this reason the overall environmental situation is deteriorating. The gene pool is destroyed due to:

• loss of natural habitat - its pollution, deforestation;
• uncontrolled use of biological resources;
• influence of other biological species brought from other places.

Reduction of mineral resources

Over the past 10 years, in conditions of constant oil production, its reserves have been halved. By processing minerals such as oil, coal, shale, peat on a large scale, entrepreneurs harm the environment. Due to the main environmental problem of the planet associated with resource shortages, there is a need to use alternative sources energy: solar, wind, sea.

Problems of the World Ocean

Irreversible changes in the World Ocean are caused by its pollution with oil and products of its processing, harmful organic compounds, heavy metals, non-degradable synthetic materials, military waste. Nuclear weapons testing and waste disposal cause great damage. Not only water resources are being depleted, but also food resources. The death of plankton, which produces more than half of all oxygen, causes an imbalance in the atmosphere - a global environmental problem of our time.

Soil pollution

The soil layer is increasingly being destroyed, and the cause of the environmental problem is improper storage of toxic waste. Unauthorized landfills destroy the soil, pollute the earth with various solid and liquid industrial wastes, chemicals and household waste. Erosion destroys the nutrient layer. As a result of deforestation, ravines are formed.

Water pollution

Toxic metals and other poisonous substances pollute rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. Among the environmental problems in modern world One can highlight the shortage of fresh water caused by the waste of water resources, increasing urbanization, and the lack of treatment facilities.

Many cities around the world do not fully purify wastewater from hazardous waste. The situation is aggravated by the large-scale construction of hydroelectric power stations.

Air pollution

The main problem of the Earth's ecology is air pollution caused by harmful emissions. Gases and particles of other substances hazardous to life and health are constantly released into the air. Exhaust gases with suspended particles of soot, zinc, nitrogen oxide have harmful effect on human health.

Acid rain

Suspended toxic metals fall out in the form of precipitation. Acid rain leads to the death of vegetation and a drop in crop yields. Toxic substances also get into drinking water, poisoning people and animals.

Ozone layer depletion

The destruction of the ozone layer is caused by emissions of halogen compounds and hydrocarbons. Ozone is also burned by the engines of rockets, airplanes, satellites and spacecraft. Such a global environmental problem of humanity as the appearance of ozone holes leads to an increase in ultraviolet radiation, which negatively affects human health and leads to various oncological diseases. Direct UV rays pose a danger to plankton, as well as plants and animals.

Disfigurement of natural landscapes

IN top layer The soil is home to a large number of microorganisms necessary to maintain the fertility of the soil. This fertile layer destroyed during field and other agricultural work. The soil is depleted in place of pastures. Over time, desertification occurs in these areas, and natural landscapes lose their original shape. The main task effective environmental management is to preserve the integrity of natural-territorial complexes.

What environmental problems exist in Russia?

Such a modern environmental problem as global warming also exists in Russia. Over the course of several years, there has been a sharp increase in the average air temperature across the country.

Today it is necessary to solve such local problems as the devastation of forest resources and environmental pollution in many localities and territorial divisions. A bad environmental situation has developed in the northern regions, on the Kola Peninsula, and in the Volga region. Regional environmental problems should be solved by tightening local legislation.

Air pollution

The main source of pollution is industrial enterprises. They constantly emit harmful impurities into the atmosphere: formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Exhaust gases emanating from cars with uninstalled filters also pollute the air. Most polluted big cities with many branching highways.

Since most of Russia is located on a plain, masses of polluted air freely penetrate into the country from neighboring countries. Thus, the atmosphere of Siberia is poisoned by harmful substances produced by production facilities in Kazakhstan.

Water and soil pollution

In many environmentally polluted regions of the country, hazardous waste and harmful chemicals flow into water bodies. Rivers in large cities are most polluted. Dirty water seeps into the ground and penetrates into underground springs. This destroys deep soil layers. In agricultural areas, water bodies are poisoned by nitrates and animal waste.

Rivers are polluted by sewage with waste residues, detergents. All this leads to the development of pathogenic microflora - a source of infectious diseases that are dangerous to human life.

An unfavorable situation is observed in the zones of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas, where rivers and canals with wastewater flow. Liquid industrial waste and oil industry waste from nearby waters enter the Barents Sea. Human activity also has a negative impact on the condition of Russia’s largest river, the Volga, where untreated wastewater ends up.

Household waste

Due to the lack of effective methods for recycling inorganic waste, the amount of unprocessed garbage is increasing, which is the cause of environmental problems in the city. The following measures can help save the situation:

• recycling of raw materials;
• organizing the collection of glass containers and waste paper.

Nuclear pollution

This problem began to worry people after what happened on Chernobyl nuclear power plant accidents. Today in Russia the issue of proper storage and disposal of radioactive waste remains relevant. Many active Atom stations with outdated equipment need to be re-equipped.

Contaminated nuclear power plant waste releases harmful isotopes. Harmful substances can enter the human body with food, water, and the air that he breathes. This leads to irreversible changes in tissues and the thyroid gland. Depending on the dose of radiation received, a person may develop health problems over time.

Destruction of protected areas and poaching

The illegal activities of poachers lead to the loss of rare species and representatives of flora and fauna. As a result of these local environmental problems, the entire ecosystem is destroyed.

Arctic problems

Damage to the Arctic was caused during its development. Damage to the area is caused by oil spills caused by the extraction of hard-to-reach gas and oil reserves. As a result of global warming, the Arctic glaciers may completely melt. In this regard, there is a threat of flooding of the continent, the disappearance of many species of northern animals, and irreversible changes in the ecosystem.

Baikal

80% is concentrated in the lake drinking water countries. Damage to Lake Baikal is caused by a pulp and paper mill that regularly dumps garbage and other waste into the water. The activities of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station lead to the pollution of water and lake shores. The destruction of underwater habitats leads to the disappearance of fish populations.

The Gulf of Finland

Large masses of oil products spilling from tankers that have suffered accidents enter the waters of the Gulf of Finland. Poaching activities carried out in the area lead to a reduction in animal populations. Unauthorized salmon fishing is taking place in the waters of the bay.

The problem of public health

Deterioration of the environmental situation leads to such consequences as:

• the appearance of mutations, deterioration of the gene pool;
• an increase in the number of congenital pathologies and hereditary diseases;
• an increase in the number of chronic and oncological diseases among the population;
• increased mortality rates, including infant mortality;
• epidemics.

If the necessary measures are not taken to preserve human resources, the number of sick people will increase. In this regard, the population in cities will begin to decline at a rapid pace.

Solving environmental problems

There are the following ways to solve global and regional environmental problems:

• proper disposal of production waste;
• developing more environmentally friendly production methods;
• use of clean fuel.

The construction of nature reserves and national parks will help solve global environmental problems. Dispersing large settlements and cities in space will help preserve the biosphere. Proper waste disposal will help clean up megacities. When building houses, natural materials should be used. Planting trees will help conserve oxygen.

Current measures to preserve the environment

Global ecology is a science that studies the environmental situation throughout the world. Environmental organizations Greenpeace and Green Cross regularly hold events aimed at preserving wildlife. Educating the population helps solve the problem of preserving the environment. Volunteers plant trees and restore forests damaged by fires. Producing environmentally friendly packaging reduces the harm caused by waste.

In Russia, penalties for illegal trade in rare plants and animals that are on the verge of extinction are being tightened. Regular inspections and raids make it possible to detect violations at enterprises and industrial facilities.

Holzer biocenosis

The Austrian farmer Holzer proved that good yields can be achieved without the use of pesticides, artificial reclamation and irrigation. The peasant grows the most different cultures vegetables and fruits, maintaining environmentally friendly conditions for their existence. The ecology of the earth is preserved thanks to the non-interference of man and technology.

This permanent crop of agricultural products allows solving the main problems of environmental management. The soil is not depleted and retains its integrity, animals live in natural conditions. The cleanliness of water bodies and the atmosphere is maintained.

Prospects for solving environmental problems in the future

Today, humanity is trying to understand what environmental measures will help save the planet. Scientists are trying to develop and implement alternative views fuel. The large-scale use of electric cars replacing cars will help solve the problem of air pollution. An alternative to a car is a bicycle - the favorite transport of Beijing residents.

Separate waste collection will help solve the environmental problem of the 21st century. One container will contain waste to be recycled, and the other will contain garbage, which will become a material for recycling. In the future, measures will be taken to properly dispose of cars. Today, many stores recycle old household appliances, issuing a new one in return.

Green production of the future based on the latest technologies, will generate less harmful waste. Treatment facilities will reduce pollution of water bodies.

Environmental problems are a number of factors that mean degradation of the natural environment. Most often they are caused by human activity: with the development of industry and technology, problems began to arise associated with the violation of balanced conditions in the ecological environment, which are very difficult to compensate.

One of the most destructive factors of human activity is pollution. It manifests itself in elevated level smog, the emergence of dead lakes, technical water saturated with harmful elements and unsuitable for consumption, and is also associated with the extinction of some animal species.

Thus, a person, on the one hand, creates conditions for comfort, and on the other, destroys nature and ultimately harms himself. So lately Special attention among scientists is focused on the main environmental problems and is aimed at finding alternatives.

Main environmental issues

Initially, environmental problems are divided according to scale conditions: they can be regional, local and global.

An example of a local environmental problem is a factory that does not treat industrial wastewater before discharging it into a river. This leads to the death of fish and harms humans.

As an example of a regional problem, we can take Chernobyl, or more precisely, the soils that are adjacent to it: they are radioactive and pose a threat to any biological organisms located in this territory.

Global environmental problems of humanity: characteristics

This series of environmental problems is of enormous scale and directly affects all ecological systems, in contrast to local and regional ones.

Environmental problems: climate warming and ozone holes

Warming is felt by the inhabitants of the Earth through mild winters, which were previously rare. Since the first International Year of Geophysics, the temperature of the squat air layer has increased by 0.7 °C. The lower layers of ice began to melt as the water warmed by 1°C.

Some scientists are of the opinion that the reason for this phenomenon is the so-called “greenhouse effect”, which arose due to the large amount of fuel combustion and the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmospheric layers. Because of this, heat transfer is disrupted and the air cools more slowly.

Others believe that warming is associated with solar activity and does not play a significant role here.

Ozone holes are another problem of humanity associated with technological progress. It is known that life arose on Earth only after a protective ozone layer, which protects organisms from strong UV radiation.

But at the end of the 20th century, scientists discovered that ozone levels over Antarctica are extremely low. This situation continues to this day; the damaged area is equal to the size of North America. Such anomalies have been found in other areas, in particular, there is an ozone hole over Voronezh.

The reason for this is active satellites, as well as aircraft.

Environmental problems: desertification and forest loss

The cause of which is the operation of power plants, contributing to the spread of another global problem - the death of forests. For example, in Czechoslovakia more than 70% of forests were destroyed by such rains, and in Great Britain and Greece - more than 60%. Because of this, entire ecosystems are disrupted, however, humanity is trying to fight this with artificially planted trees.

Desertification is also currently a global problem. It lies in the impoverishment of the soil: large areas are unsuitable for use in agriculture.

Humans contribute to the emergence of such areas by removing not only the soil layer, but also the parent rock.

Environmental problems caused by water pollution

The supply of fresh, clean water that can be consumed has also been significantly reduced recently. This is due to the fact that people pollute it with industrial and other waste.

Today, one and a half billion people do not have access to clean drinking water, and two billion live without filters to purify contaminated water.

Thus, we can say that humanity itself is to blame for the present and many future environmental problems and it will have to deal with some of them in the next 200-300 years.

We live in a time of technological progress, which makes life easier in many ways thanks to new and useful inventions. But these achievements of mankind also have back side medals - the consequences of this progress directly affect the ecological situation around the world.

Many plants, factories and other production facilities constantly emit harmful substances into the atmosphere, pollute water bodies with their waste, as well as the earth when they dispose of their waste into the ground. And this is reflected not only locally at the place where waste is released, but throughout our entire planet.

What environmental problems exist in the modern world?

Air pollution

One of the main problems is atmospheric and, accordingly, air pollution. It was the atmospheric air that first felt the effects of technological progress. Just imagine that tens of thousands of tons of harmful and toxic substances are released into the atmosphere every hour of every day. Many industries and productions cause an irreparable and simply stunning blow to the environment, for example, oil, metallurgy, food and other types of industries. As a result, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, causing the planet to constantly warm up. Despite the fact that temperature changes are insignificant, on a more global scale this can seriously affect hydrological regimes, or rather, their changes. In addition to all this, air pollution affects weather conditions, which have already changed with the advent of technological progress.

Acid rain, which occurs due to sulfur oxides entering the air, is now very widespread. These rains negatively affect many things and cause damage to trees, plants, the lithosphere and the top layer of the earth.

There are not enough resources, both financial and physical, to eliminate environmental problems, so at the moment they are only in the development stage.

Water pollution

This problem is particularly widespread in Africa and some Asian countries. There is a huge shortage of drinking water there, since all existing reservoirs are terribly polluted. This water cannot even be used for washing clothes, let alone used as drinking water. This is again due to the release of waste into wastewater from many industrial enterprises.

Earth pollution

To discharge waste, many enterprises use the method of recycling it in the ground. Undoubtedly, this negatively affects the soil, not only in the burial area, but also in nearby areas. Subsequently, vegetables and fruits are grown in this soil. High Quality, which can cause many fatal diseases.

Ways to solve environmental problems

• Effective recycling of garbage and other hazardous waste.
• Using environmentally friendly fuel that does not pollute the atmosphere.
• Strict sanctions and fines at the state level for air, water and land pollution.
• Educational work and social advertising among the population.

All these steps seem very simple and easy to put into practice, but often things are not so simple. Many countries and non-profit organizations are fighting violators, but they are sorely lacking financial support and human resources to implement their projects.

Forests enrich the atmosphere with oxygen, which is so necessary for life, and absorb carbon dioxide released by animals and humans in the process of breathing, as well as by industrial enterprises in the process of work. They play a major role in the water cycle. Trees take water from the soil, filter it to remove impurities, and release it into the atmosphere, increasing the humidity of the climate. Forests influence the water cycle. Trees rise The groundwater, enriching soils and keeping them from desertification and erosion - it’s not for nothing that rivers immediately become shallow during deforestation.

According to reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, deforestation continues at a rapid rate around the world.

Every year, 13 million hectares of forest are lost, while only 6 hectares grow. It means that

Every second, a forest the size of a football field disappears from the face of the planet.

A significant problem is that the organization receives these data directly from the governments of countries, and governments prefer not to indicate in their reports losses associated, for example, with illegal logging.

About twenty kilometers above the planet extends the ozone layer - the Earth's ultraviolet shield.

Fluorinated and chlorinated hydrocarbons and halogen compounds released into the atmosphere destroy the structure of the layer. It is depleted and this leads to the formation of ozone holes. The destructive ultraviolet rays penetrating through them are dangerous for all life on Earth. They have a particularly negative effect on human health, his immune and gene systems, causing skin cancer and cataracts. Ultraviolet rays are dangerous for plankton - the basis of the food chain, higher vegetation, and animals.

Today, under the influence of the Montreal Protocol, alternatives have been found for almost all technologies that use ozone-depleting substances, and the production, trade and use of these substances is rapidly declining.

As you know, everything in nature is interconnected. The destruction of the ozone layer and, as a consequence, the deviation of any seemingly insignificant environmental parameter can lead to unpredictable and irreversible consequences for all living things.

Declining Biodiversity

According to experts, 10-15 thousand species of organisms disappear every year. This means that over the next 50 years the planet will lose, according to various estimates, from a quarter to half of its biological diversity. The depletion of the species composition of flora and fauna significantly reduces the stability of ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole, which also poses a serious danger to humanity. The process of biodiversity reduction is characterized by an avalanche-like acceleration. The less biodiversity the planet has, the worse the conditions for survival on it.

As of 2000, 415 species of animals are listed in the Red Book of Russia. This list of animals last years has increased one and a half times and does not stop growing.

Humanity, as a species with a huge population and habitat, does not leave suitable habitat for other species. Intensive expansion of the area of ​​specially protected natural areas is necessary to preserve endangered species, as well as strict regulation of the extermination of commercially valuable species.

Water pollution

Pollution of the water environment has occurred throughout human history: from time immemorial, people have used any river as a sewer. The greatest danger to the hydrosphere arose in the 20th century with the emergence of large multimillion-dollar cities and the development of industry. Over the past decades, most of the world's rivers and lakes have been turned into sewage ditches and sewage lagoons. Despite hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in wastewater treatment plants, which are able to prevent the transformation of a river or lake into a fetid slurry, but are not able to return the water to its former natural purity: the increasing volumes of industrial wastewater and solid waste dissolving in the water are stronger than the most powerful treatment units.

The danger of water pollution is that a person largely consists of water and, in order to remain a person, he must consume water, which in most cities on the planet can hardly be called suitable for drinking. About half of the population of developing countries does not have access to sources of clean water, is forced to drink contaminated with pathogenic microbes and is therefore doomed to premature death from epidemic diseases.

Overpopulation

Humanity today perceives its huge numbers as the norm, believing that people, with all their numbers and all their life activity, do not harm the planet’s ecosystem, and also that people can continue to increase their numbers, and that this supposedly does not in any way affect the ecology, animals and flora, as well as the life of humanity itself. But in fact, already today, already now, humanity has crossed all the boundaries and boundaries that the planet could tolerate. The earth cannot support such a huge number of people. According to scientists, 500 thousand is the maximum permissible number of people for our Planet. Today, this limit figure has been exceeded 12 times, and according to scientists’ forecasts, by 2100 it may almost double. At the same time, the modern human population of the Earth for the most part does not even think about the global harm caused by further growth in the number of people.

But an increase in the number of people also means an increase in the use of natural resources, an increase in areas for agricultural and industrial needs, an increase in the amount of harmful emissions, an increase in the amount of household waste and areas for their storage, an increase in the intensity of human expansion into nature and an increase in the intensity of the destruction of natural biodiversity.

Humanity today simply must restrain its growth rate, rethink its role in the ecological system of the Planet, and begin building human civilization on the basis of a harmless and meaningful existence, and not on the basis of animal instincts of reproduction and absorption.

Oil contaminated

Oil is a natural oily flammable liquid common in the Earth's sedimentary layer; the most important mineral resource. A complex mixture of alkanes, some cycloalkanes and arenes, as well as oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen compounds. Nowadays, oil, as an energy resource, is one of the main factors in economic development. But oil production, its transportation and processing are invariably accompanied by its losses, emissions and discharges of harmful substances, the consequence of which is environmental pollution. In terms of scale and toxicity, oil pollution represents a global danger. Oil and petroleum products cause poisoning, death of organisms and soil degradation. Natural self-purification of natural objects from oil pollution is a long process, especially in low temperature conditions. Enterprises of the fuel and energy complex are the largest source of environmental pollutants in industry. They account for about 48% of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, 27% of polluted wastewater discharges, over 30% of solid waste and up to 70% of the total volume of greenhouse gases.

Land degradation

Soil is the guardian of fertility and life on Earth. It takes 100 years for a layer 1 cm thick to form. But it can be lost in just one season of thoughtless human exploitation of the earth. According to geologists, before people began to engage in agricultural activities, rivers annually carried 9 billion tons of soil into the ocean. With human assistance, this figure has increased to 25 billion tons per year. The phenomenon of soil erosion is becoming increasingly dangerous, because... fertile soils there is less and less on the planet and it is vitally important to preserve at least what is available at the moment, to prevent the disappearance of this single layer earth's lithosphere on which plants can grow.

Under natural conditions, there are several reasons for soil erosion (weathering and washing out of the top fertile layer), which are further aggravated by humans. Millions of hectares of soil are being lost

More than 50 billion tons of waste from energy, industrial, agricultural production and the municipal sector are released into nature annually, including more than 150 million tons from industrial enterprises. About 100 thousand artificial waste is released into the environment chemical substances, of which 15 thousand require special attention.

All this waste is a source of environmental pollution instead of being a source for the production of secondary products.