Planets are a real scourge of the 21st century. Many people also think about the issue of preserving and restoring the environment. Otherwise, future generations will only get a lifeless surface.
No man is an island!
It is likely that at least once in our lives each of us asked ourselves the question: “What environmental problems of the planet currently exist and what can I do to solve them?” It would seem, indeed, that just one person can do this? Nevertheless, each of us is capable of much. First, start taking care of the environment yourself. For example, throw away garbage in strictly designated containers, and it would also be a good idea to pay attention to separating waste into specific materials (glass in one bin, and plastic in another). In addition, you can regulate and gradually reduce the consumption of both electricity and other resources (water, gas) necessary for your comfortable stay. If you are a driver and are faced with choosing the right vehicle, then you should pay attention to cars that have a reduced content of harmful compounds in exhaust gases. It will also be correct - both for you and for the entire planet as a whole - to have a small engine size installed in the selected car model. And, as a result, reduced fuel consumption. With such simple and accessible measures to everyone, we can solve the environmental problems of the planet.
Let's help the whole world
Despite everything described earlier, you will not be alone in this fight. As a rule, the policies of many modern states are aimed at the well-known environmental problems of the planet and, of course, ways to solve them. In addition, there is an active propaganda program, the goal of which is to limit and exterminate rare representatives of flora and fauna. Nevertheless, such a policy of world powers is quite purposeful and makes it possible to create conditions for the normal functioning of the population, which do not violate natural ecosystems.
Environmental problems of the planet: list
Modern scientists identify about several dozen basic issues that require special attention. Such planets arise as a result of significant changes natural environment. And those, in turn, are a consequence of destructive natural Disasters, as well as the ever-increasing Ecological problems The planets are quite easy to list. One of the first places is occupied by air pollution. Each of us knows from an early age that, thanks to the content of a certain percentage of oxygen in the air space of the planet, we are able to exist normally. However, every day we not only consume oxygen, but also exhale carbon dioxide. But there are also factories and factories, cars and planes travel around the world and trains knock on the rails. All of the above objects, in the process of their operation, emit substances of a certain composition, which only aggravates the situation and increases the environmental problems of planet Earth. Unfortunately, even though modern production facilities are equipped the latest developments in purification systems, the condition of the air space gradually deteriorates.
Deforestation
More from school course biology we know that representatives flora help maintain the balance of substances in the atmosphere. Thanks to natural processes such as photosynthesis, the green spaces of the Earth not only cleanse the air of harmful impurities, but also gradually enrich it with oxygen. Thus, it is easy to conclude that the destruction of flora, in particular forests, only aggravates the global environmental problems of the planet. Unfortunately, human economic activity leads to the fact that deforestation is carried out on a particularly large scale, but the replenishment of green spaces is often not carried out.
Declining fertile land
Similar environmental problems of the planet arise as a result of the previously mentioned deforestation. In addition, the incorrect use of various agricultural machinery and incorrect management Agriculture also leads to depletion of the fertile layer. And pesticides and other chemical fertilizers are long years They poison not only the soil, but also all living organisms that are interconnected with it. But, as you know, layers of fertile soil are restored much more slowly than forests. It will take more than one century to fully replace the lost land cover.
Declining fresh water supplies
If you are asked: “What environmental problems of the planet are known?”, you have the right to immediately remember life-giving moisture. Indeed, in some regions there is already an acute shortage of this resource. And over time, this state of affairs will only worsen. Consequently, the above topic can be considered one of the most important in the list of “Ecological problems of the planet”. Examples of improper water use can be found everywhere. Starting from the pollution of lakes and rivers by all kinds of industrial enterprises and ending with the irrational consumption of resources at the household level. In this regard, many natural reservoirs are already closed areas for swimming. However, this is not the end of the planet's environmental problems. The list can also be continued with the next paragraph.
Extermination of flora and fauna
Scientists have calculated that in the modern world, every hour one representative of the planet’s animal or plant world dies. It is important to remember that not only poachers are involved in such actions, but also ordinary people who consider themselves respectable citizens of their country. Every day, humanity is conquering more and more new territories both for the construction of its own housing and for agricultural and industrial needs. And animals have to move to new lands or die, remaining to live in an ecosystem destroyed by anthropogenic factors. Among other things, it must be remembered that all of the above factors also have a detrimental effect on the state of flora and fauna, both current and future. For example, pollution of water bodies, destruction of forests, etc. entails the disappearance of the diversity of flora and fauna that our ancestors are accustomed to seeing. Even over the last hundred years, species diversity has declined significantly under the direct or indirect influence of anthropogenic factors.
Earth's protective shell
If the question arises: “What environmental problems of the planet are currently known?”, then it is easy to remember the holes in ozone layer. Modern management economic activity human involves the release of special substances that cause thinning containment Earth. Consequently, the formation of new so-called “holes”, as well as an increase in the area of existing ones. Known to many this problem, however, not everyone understands how all this can turn out. And this leads to dangerous solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface, which negatively affects all living organisms.
Desertification
The global environmental problems presented earlier become the cause of the development of a severe catastrophe. It's about about desertification of lands. As a result of improper agricultural practices, as well as pollution of water resources and deforestation, gradual weathering of the fertile layer, soil drying, and other Negative consequences, under the influence of which land covers become unsuitable not only for further use for economic purposes, but also for human habitation.
Declining mineral reserves
A similar topic is also present in the list “Environmental problems of the planet”. It is quite simple to list the resources currently in use. These are oil, coal of all kinds, peat, gas and other organic components of the Earth's solid shell. According to scientists, mineral reserves will come to an end in the next hundred years. In this regard, humanity has begun to actively implement technologies that operate on renewable resources, such as wind, solar, and others. However, the use of alternative sources is still quite small compared to more familiar and traditional ones. In connection with this state of affairs, modern governments are conducting various incentive programs that contribute to a deeper introduction of alternative energy sources both in industry and in the everyday life of ordinary citizens.
Overpopulation
Over the last century, there has been a significant increase in the number of people around the globe. In particular, over a period of just 40 years, the planet's population has doubled - from three to six billion people. Scientists predict that by 2040 this number will reach nine billion, which, in turn, will lead to particularly acute food shortages, shortages of water and energy resources. The number of people living in poverty will increase significantly. There will be an increase in deadly diseases.
Municipal solid waste
In the modern world, people produce several kilograms of garbage every day - this is cans from canned food and drinks, and polyethylene, and glass, and other waste. Unfortunately, at present, their recycling is carried out only in countries with a highly developed standard of living. In all other cases, such household waste is disposed of in landfills, the territory of which often occupies huge areas. In countries with low level In life, heaps of garbage can lie right on the streets. This not only contributes to soil and water pollution, but also increases the growth of pathogenic bacteria, which in turn leads to widespread acute and sometimes fatal diseases. It should be noted that even the Earth’s atmosphere is filled with tons of debris left over from the launches of research probes, satellites and spacecraft into the vastness of the Universe. And since getting rid of all these traces of human activity naturally quite complicated, needs to be developed effective methods processing solid waste. Many modern states implement national programs that promote the distribution of easily recyclable materials.
The interaction between society and nature is a key problem in the political and socio-economic development of society. By expanding and intensifying anthropogenic and technogenic pressure on nature, society is faced with a repeatedly reproduced “boomerang effect”: the destruction of nature results in economic and social damage. The processes of environmental degradation are acquiring the character of a deep environmental crisis. The question of preserving nature turns into a question of human survival. And there is no political system in the world that in itself would guarantee the environmental well-being of the country.
Many environmental problems of relationships in the “society-nature” system have now transcended the boundaries of national economies and acquired a global dimension. Soon, not ideological, but environmental problems will be in the foreground throughout the world; not relations between nations, but relations between nations and nature will dominate.
The only way to survive is to maximize the strategy of frugality in relation to the outside world. All members of the world community must participate in this process.
1. Global problems of humanity. Factors contributing to the emergence and aggravation of global problems were:
· sharp increase in spending natural resources;
· negative anthropogenic impact on the natural environment, deterioration of the ecological living conditions of people;
· increasing unevenness in levels of socio-economic development between industrialized and developing countries;
· creation of weapons of mass destruction.
Let us note the signs inherent in global problems:
– global problems of manifestation;
– severity of manifestation;
– complex nature;
– universal human essence;
– the ability to predetermine the course of further human history;
– the possibility of solving them through the efforts of the entire world community.
Already now there is a threat of irreversible changes in the ecological properties of the geoenvironment, a threat of violation of the emerging integrity of the world community and a threat of self-destruction of civilization.
Now a person is faced with solving two major problems: prevention nuclear war and environmental disaster. The comparison is not accidental: anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment threatens the same thing as the use of atomic weapons - the destruction of life on Earth.
A feature of our time is the intense and global human impact on the environment, which is accompanied by intense and global negative consequences. Contradictions between man and nature can worsen due to the fact that there is no limit to the growth of human material needs, while the ability of the natural environment to satisfy them is limited. The contradictions in the system “man – society – nature” have acquired a planetary character.
There are two aspects of the environmental problem:
– environmental crises that arise as a consequence of natural processes;
- crises caused by anthropogenic impact and irrational environmental management.
The main problem is the inability of the planet to cope with the waste of human activity, with the function of self-cleaning and repair. The biosphere is being destroyed. Therefore, there is a great risk of self-destruction of humanity as a result of its own life activity.
Nature is influenced in the following ways:
– use of environmental components as a resource base for production;
– impact of human production activities on the environment;
– demographic pressure on nature (agricultural use of land, population growth, growth of large cities).
Many global problems of humanity are intertwined here - resource, food, demographic - they all have access to environmental issues.
The current situation on the planet is characterized by a sharp deterioration in the quality of the environment - pollution of air, rivers, lakes, seas, the unification and even complete disappearance of many species of flora and fauna, soil degradation, desertification, etc. This conflict creates the threat of irreversible changes in natural systems, undermining the natural conditions and resources of existence of generations of the planet's inhabitants. The growth of society's productive forces, population growth, urbanization, scientific and technological progress are catalysts for these processes.
The depletion of the ozone layer is a much more dangerous reality for all life on Earth than the fall of some super-large meteorite. Ozone prevents dangerous cosmic radiation from reaching the Earth's surface. If it were not for ozone, these rays would destroy all living things. Research into the causes of depletion of the planet's ozone layer has not yet given final answers to all questions. Observations from artificial satellites showed a reduction in ozone levels. With the increase in the intensity of ultraviolet radiation, scientists associate an increase in the incidence of eye diseases and cancer, and the occurrence of mutations. People, the world's oceans, climate, flora and fauna were under attack.
The severity of the socio-ecological situation in developing countries has led to the emergence of the “third world” phenomenon. It is characterized by:
– the natural uniqueness of the tropical zone;
– traditional orientation of development, which objectively leads to increased pressure on the biosphere (rapid population growth, traditional agriculture, etc.);
– interconnection and interdependence different regions peace (transfer of pollution);
– the underdevelopment of these countries, dependence on the former metropolises.
If for industrialized countries environmental problems are of an “industrial nature,” then for developing countries they involve the reuse of natural resources (forests, soils, and other natural resources). In other words, if developed countries suffer from their “wealth,” then developing countries suffer from “poverty.”
Wet soils are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate rainforests, and it is these forests that are often called “the lungs of the Planet.” Among the main reasons for deforestation in developing countries are the following: the traditional slash-and-burn farming system, the use of wood as fuel, and cutting for export. Tropical rainforests are being cut down ten times faster than their natural regeneration rate. The catastrophic decline in forests in Southeast Asia could lead to their complete destruction within 15–20 years.
Due to the very important importance of tropical rainforests, their destruction is a major economic disaster for the entire planet.
Now the process of desertification, originating locally, has assumed a global scale.
Since the emergence of technical civilization on Earth, about 1/3 of the forest area has been cleared, deserts have sharply accelerated their attack on green areas. Thus, the Sahara Desert is moving south at a speed of about 50 km per year. According to climate data, deserts and semi-deserts occupy more than a third of the land surface and over 15% of the world's population live in this territory. Only as a result of human economic activity over the past 25 years, over 9 million square kilometers of deserts have appeared.
The main causes of desertification include the destruction of sparse vegetation due to excessive grazing, plowing of pastures, cutting down trees and shrubs for fuel, industrial and road construction, etc. Added to these processes are wind erosion, drying out of the upper soil horizons, and droughts.
2. Demographic problem. Demographic development is not only population growth, it includes issues of environmental management, population growth relative to the territories of its natural resource base.
Our planet's population is more than 6.2 billion people and is growing very quickly. Over the next 10 years, the world's population will increase by another one billion people. More than half of the world's population is concentrated in Asia - 60%. Over 90% of the total population growth occurs in less developed regions and countries, and these countries will maintain high growth rates in the future.
In our time, the consequences of population growth have become so urgent that they have received the status of a global problem. It is population that is considered by many as one of the factors threatening the very survival of civilization, because Taking into account the growing consumption of natural resources, technical and energy equipment, population pressure on the territory will continuously increase.
It should be borne in mind that the socio-demographic situation in the developed and developing world is diametrically opposed.
Only 5% of world population growth occurs in economically developed countries, most of which are in the northern hemisphere. This increase is due to a decrease in mortality rates and an increase in life expectancy.
At least 95% of the world population growth in the coming years will occur in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The dynamic growth of the population of these countries is one of the most important socio-economic problems of global significance. It received the loud name “demographic explosion” and successfully emphasizes the essence of the process of population reproduction in these countries - its emergence from the control of society.
“Demographic pressure” not only complicates the food or environmental situation, but also has a negative impact on the development process. For example, rapid population growth does not allow stabilizing the problem of unemployment and makes it difficult to solve problems of education, health care, etc. In other words, any socio-economic problem also includes a demographic one.
Modern world is becoming increasingly urbanized. In the near future, more than 50% of humanity will live in cities.
And since there is now a trend towards population growth around the globe and urbanization, we can talk about the environmental problem of cities, mainly the largest of them, associated with excessive concentration in relatively small areas of population, transport and industrial enterprises, with the formation of anthropogenic landscapes that are very far from the state of ecological balance.
Urbanization is organically linked to most global problems. Cities, due to the particularly high territorial concentration of population and economy in them, also concentrated the bulk of the military-economic potential.
Cities are the largest centers of consumption of all natural resources, which is associated with global problem resource consumption.
An essential feature of large cities with a population of more than 500 thousand people is that with the increase in the territory of the city and the number of its inhabitants, the differentiation of pollution concentrations in different areas will steadily increase. Along with low levels of pollution concentration in peripheral areas, it increases sharply in areas of large industrial enterprises and, especially in central areas.
Over large cities, the atmosphere contains 10 times more aerosols and 25 times more gases. At the same time, 60–70% of gas pollution comes from road transport. With low air mobility, thermal anomalies over the city cover atmospheric layers of 250–400 m, and temperature contrasts can reach 5–6 o C. Temperature inversions are associated with them, leading to increased pollution, fog and smog.
Cities consume 10 times or more more water per person than in rural areas, and water pollution reaches catastrophic proportions. The volume of wastewater reaches 1–2 m3 per day per person. Therefore, almost all large cities experience a shortage of water resources and many of them receive water from remote sources.
The vegetation cover of cities is usually almost entirely represented by “cultural plantings” - parks, squares, lawns, flower beds, alleys. The development of green spaces in cities takes place in artificial conditions and is constantly supported by humans. Perennial plants in cities develop under conditions of severe oppression.
In addition, continuous urban sprawl leads to land consumption, especially in developing countries.
3. Energy and raw materials problem. Fast growth industry, accompanied by global pollution of the natural environment, has raised the problem of raw materials to an unprecedented level. Nowadays, in his economic activities, man has mastered almost all types of resources available and known to him, both renewable and non-renewable.
Changes in the biosphere as a result of human activity are rapid. During the 20th century, more minerals were extracted from the depths than in the entire history of civilization.
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the main energy resource was wood, then coal. It was replaced by the production and consumption of other types of fuel - oil and gas. The era of oil gave impetus to intensive economic development, which in turn required an increase in the production and consumption of fossil fuels. Every 13 years, energy needs doubled. Global fuel equivalent reserves are composed primarily of coal reserves (60%), oil and gas (27%). In total world production, the picture is different - coal accounts for more than 30%, and oil and gas - more than 67%. If we follow the forecasts of optimists, the world's oil reserves should be sufficient for 2-3 centuries. Pessimists believe that existing oil reserves can meet the needs of civilization for only a few decades.
Currently, the growth in energy intensity and material intensity of modern production significantly outpaces population growth. Energy consumption increases 3 times, production mineral resources– 2 times faster than the population. The mining industry produces more than 40 tons of products per year per inhabitant of the Earth. During coal mining, about 1 billion m2 of waste rock is raised to the surface annually. They build useless pyramids out of it - waste heaps. At the same time, thousands of hectares of fertile land are wasted. The atmosphere is polluted, waste heaps are burning, and the wind is raising clouds of dust from their barren slopes.
With technological progress, more and more specific gravity acquire primary sources of electricity obtained from hydro- and geothermal power plants. IN last years Doubts arose about the advisability of further development of nuclear energy.
The use of energy resources is one of the indicators of the level of development of civilization. Energy consumption by developed countries significantly exceeds the corresponding indicators of countries in the developing world. Only 10 presenters industrial countries consume 70% of the total amount of energy produced in the world. Russia now spends three times per unit of final product more energy than Japan and Germany, and twice as much as the USA. It is obvious that Russia simply does not have enough fuel resources for such nature-intensive growth. Thus, the most important reason deterioration of the environmental situation in Russia - an inefficient, nature-intensive structure of the economy.
The main directions of energy resource economics are: improvement technological processes, improvement of equipment, reduction of direct losses of fuel and energy processes, improvement of equipment, reduction of direct losses of fuel and energy resources, structural changes in production technology, structural changes in manufactured products, improvement of the quality of fuel and energy, organizational and technical measures. The implementation of these activities is caused not only by the need to save energy resources, but also by the importance of taking into account environmental issues when solving energy problems. Replacing fossil fuels with other sources is of great importance ( solar energy, energy of waves, tide, earth, winds). These sources of energy resources are environmentally friendly. By replacing fossil fuels with them, we reduce the harmful impact on nature and save organic energy resources.
The most important direction of economic reforms in Russia and the transition to a sustainable type of development is environmentally-oriented structural restructuring, which allows for effective resource conservation.
Thanks to the energy crisis, the world economy transitioned from an extensive path of development to an intensive one, the energy and raw materials intensity of the world economy decreased, and its provision of fuel and mineral resources (thanks to the development of new deposits) even began to increase.
Resource availability is the relationship between the amount of reserves of natural resources and the amount of their use. The level of resource supply is determined by the potential of the country’s own resource base, as well as other facts, for example, political and military-strategic considerations, the international division of labor, etc.
4. Land resources, soil cover is the basis of all living nature. Only 30% of the world's land fund is agricultural land used by humanity for food production, the rest is mountains, deserts, glaciers, swamps, forests, etc.
Throughout the history of civilization, population growth has been accompanied by an expansion of cultivated land. Over the past 100 years, more has been cleared land area for settled agriculture than in all previous centuries.
Now there is practically no land left in the world for agricultural development, only forests and extreme areas. In addition, in many countries of the world, land resources are rapidly decreasing (growth of cities, industry, etc.).
Every year, due to erosion alone, 7 million hectares of land are lost from agricultural use, and another 1.5 million hectares are lost due to waterlogging - salinization, leaching. And although erosion is natural geological process, in recent years it has clearly intensified, often due to imprudent human economic activity.
Reduction land resources in developing countries, caused by natural, socio-economic factors, underlies political and ethnic conflicts. Land degradation is serious problem. Combating the decline of land resources is the most important task for humanity.
Of all types of resources, fresh water ranks first in terms of increasing demand and increasing scarcity. 71% of the planet's surface is occupied by water, but fresh water makes up only 2% of the total, and almost 80% of fresh water is found in the Earth's ice sheet. About 60% total area sushi occurs in areas where there is not enough fresh water. A quarter of humanity suffers from a lack of it, and over 500 million people suffer from shortages and poor quality.
The industrial importance of water is very great, since almost all production processes require large quantities of it. The bulk of water in industry is used for energy and cooling.
In general, 10% of the planet’s river flow is withdrawn for household needs. Of these, 5.6% are spent irrevocably. If irreversible water withdrawal continues to increase at the same pace as now (4–5% annually), then humanity may exhaust all reserves fresh water in the geosphere. The situation is complicated by the fact that a large number natural waters polluted by industrial and household waste. All this ultimately ends up in the ocean, which is already heavily polluted.
5. Water is prerequisite existence of all living organisms on Earth.
The resource potential of the ocean can replenish dwindling reserves.
So what resources does the World Ocean have?
· Biological resources (fish, zoo- and phytoplankton);
· Huge mineral resources;
· Energy potential (one tidal cycle of the World Ocean is capable of providing humanity with energy - however, for now this is the “potential of the future”);
· For the development of world production and exchange, the transport significance of the World Ocean is great;
· The ocean is the receptacle for most of the waste from human economic activity (through the chemical and physical effects of its waters and the biological influence of living organisms, the ocean disperses and purifies the bulk of the waste that enters it, maintaining the relative balance of the earth’s ecosystems).
The ocean is the main reservoir of the most valuable and increasingly scarce resource - water (the production of which through desalination is increasing every year). Scientists believe that the ocean's biological resources are enough to feed 30 billion people.
Of the biological resources of the ocean, fish is currently primarily used. However, since the 70s, the increase in catch has been falling. In this regard, humanity will seriously think about the fact that the biological resources of the ocean are under threat as a result of their overexploitation.
The main reasons for the depletion of biological resources include: unsustainable management of global fisheries and pollution of ocean waters.
In addition to biological resources, the World Ocean has enormous mineral resources. Almost all elements of the periodic table are present in sea water. The depths of the ocean, its bottom, are rich in iron, manganese, nickel, and cobalt. Currently, offshore oil and gas production is developing, and the share of offshore production is approaching 1/3 of the world production of these energy resources.
However, along with the exploitation of the rich natural resources of the World Ocean pollution is also increasing, especially with the transportation of oil. 90% of the waste dumped into the seas each year ends up in coastal areas, where it harms fisheries, recreation, etc. Ocean pollution with petroleum products, pesticides, synthetic detergents, and insoluble plastics has reached catastrophic proportions. Currently, about 30 million tons of petroleum products per year enter the ocean. About 1/5 of the ocean area is covered with an oil film.
The limited, uneven distribution of freshwater resources and growing water pollution are one of the components of humanity’s global resource problem.
In the future, the situation is also alarming with another natural resource that was previously considered inexhaustible - atmospheric oxygen. When burning the products of photosynthesis of past eras - fossil fuels, free oxygen is bound into compounds. Long before fossil fuel reserves are exhausted, people must stop burning them, so as not to suffocate themselves and destroy all living things.
The demographic explosion and the scientific and technological revolution have led to a colossal increase in the consumption of natural resources. At such rates of consumption, it has become obvious that many natural resources will be depleted in the near future. At the same time, waste from giant industries began to increasingly pollute the environment, destroying the health of the population.
The danger of an environmental – resource crisis with the scientific and technological revolution is not accidental. The scientific and technological revolution creates the conditions for removing technical restrictions on the development of production; a new contradiction has taken an exceptionally acute form - between the internally limitless possibilities for the development of production and the naturally limited possibilities of the natural environment.
6. Food problem. The food problem is global in nature and, due to its close interconnectedness, with the difficult task of overcoming the socio-economic backwardness of former colonial and dependent states.
Solving the food problem is associated not only with increasing food production, but also with the development of strategies for the rational use of food resources, which should be based on an understanding of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of human nutritional needs.
Overall, the world's food resources are sufficient to provide satisfactory nutrition for humanity. World economy has the agricultural resources and technology to feed twice the number of people living on earth. However, food production is not provided where it is needed. Starvation and malnutrition of 20% of the planet's population is the main social content of the food crisis.
The food situation in the world is influenced by: physical and geographical conditions and population distribution, the development of world transport and world trade.
The food situation in developing countries is closely intertwined with other problems, many of which are also becoming global. These include: military spending, growing external financial debt, and the energy factor.
7. The problem of socio-economic backwardness of developing countries. The “Third World” is a very conventional community of countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania, which in the past constituted the colonial and semi-colonial periphery of developed capitalist countries.
For this group of countries, the emergence and aggravation of global problems has its own specifics, resulting from the peculiarities of the development of their culture and economy.
The majority of the planet's population is concentrated in developing countries; significant reserves of the world's natural resources are concentrated on their territory; slightly more than 18% of the world's national product is produced there; a significant part of their population does not have an income level corresponding to the standards of the developed world.
Every year, developing countries pay in debt interest alone amounts that are three times greater than the aid they receive.
Deterioration economic situation developing countries undoubtedly affects the entire world community: where there are glaring differences in living standards different nations, global stability is impossible.
The main reason for hunger and food shortages in developing countries lies not in natural disasters, but in the economic backwardness of these countries and the neo-colonial policies of the West.
The epicenter of the global environmental problem is gradually moving to developing regions that are on the verge of an environmental crisis.
Dangerous changes in environment developing countries include continued urban growth, degradation of land and water resources, intensive deforestation, desertification, and increasing natural disasters.
It is expected that dangerous changes will reach critical proportions, affecting developed countries as well. But if developed countries have long been studying the permissible limits of impact on nature, the possible consequences of its violation and taking measures, then developing countries are busy with something completely different, because exist below the poverty level, and environmental protection costs seem to them an unaffordable luxury.
Global problems are the result of the enormous scale of human activity, radically changing nature, society, people's way of life, as well as man's inability to rationally manage this powerful force.
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 past century, nature has been under pressure from a 4-fold increase in population and an 18-fold increase in global production.
From about the 60-70s of the XX century. Environmental changes under human influence have become worldwide, that is, affecting all countries of the world without exception, so they began to be called global. The most relevant among them are:
♦ Earth climate change;
♦ destruction of the ozone layer;
♦ transboundary transfer of harmful impurities and air pollution;
♦ depletion of fresh water reserves and pollution of the World Ocean;
♦ depletion of biological diversity;
♦ land pollution, destruction of soil cover, etc.
Global warming. As a result of studying meteorological observations in all regions of the globe, it was established that the climate is subject to certain changes. Geologists' study of sedimentary deposits of the earth's crust has shown that much greater climate changes occurred in past eras. Since these changes were caused by natural processes, they are called natural.
Along with natural factors, global climate conditions are increasingly influenced by human economic activity. This influence began to manifest itself thousands of years ago, when, in connection with the development of agriculture in arid areas, artificial irrigation became widespread. The spread of agriculture in the forest zone also led to some climate changes, as it required deforestation over large areas. However, climate change was mainly limited to changes in meteorological conditions in the lower layer of air in those areas where significant economic activities were carried out.
In the second half of the 20th century. Due to the rapid development of industry and the increase in energy availability, prospects for climate change across the planet have arisen.
The influence of anthropogenic activities on the global climate is associated with the action of several factors, of which highest value have:
♦ increase in the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide, as well as some other gases entering the atmosphere during economic activities, which enhances the greenhouse effect in it;
♦ increase in the mass of atmospheric aerosols;
♦ an increase in the amount of thermal energy generated in the process of economic activity and entering the atmosphere.
The first of these causes of anthropogenic climate change is of greatest importance. The increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is determined by the formation of CO 2 as a result of the combustion of coal, oil and other types of fuel. In addition to carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere can be influenced by an increase in impurities of other gases - methane, nitrogen oxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons.
As a result of a fourfold increase in the second half of the 20th century. the volume of emissions of carbon compounds, the Earth's atmosphere began to warm up at an increasing rate. An increase in temperature by 1.2-3.5 °C will cause the melting of glaciers and polar ice, raise the level of the World Ocean, create a threat to hundreds of millions of inhabitants of coastal areas and completely flood some islands, and will lead to the development of other negative processes, primarily desertification lands.
The problem of protecting the atmosphere. It is closely related to the problem of climate change on Earth. One of the first steps of the world community to resolve it was the conclusion of a number of large-scale international agreements.
In order to prevent anthropogenic climate change, the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Means of Impact on the Natural Environment was signed in 1977 (the convention is indefinite and does not allow withdrawal).
At the international legal level air protection problem from pollution was first regulated in 1979. Under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution was concluded - a multilateral agreement containing general obligations of states to control pollution, exchange information on the state of the environment, and mutual consultations , atmospheric air monitoring, transboundary impact assessment. Subsequently, the convention was supplemented by protocols to reduce emissions of specific pollutants into the atmosphere:
On reducing sulfur emissions or their transboundary flows by 30%;
On limiting emissions of nitrogen oxides or their transboundary flows.
The world community made further active efforts to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the Earth's climate at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (1992), where the UN Convention on Climate Change was opened for signature, the goal of which is to achieve stabilization of the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at such levels as that will not have a harmful impact on the global climate system. Moreover, the solution to this problem was supposed to be carried out in a time frame sufficient for the natural adaptation of ecosystems to climate change and avoiding threats to food production, as well as ensuring further economic development on a sustainable basis.
To reduce the threat of global warming, carbon dioxide emissions must first be reduced. Most of these emissions come from burning fossil fuels, which still provide more than 75% of the world's energy. The rapidly increasing number of cars on the planet increases the risk of further emissions. Stabilization of CO 2 in the atmosphere at a safe level is possible with a general reduction (by about 60%) in the volume of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. This can be helped by the further development of energy-saving technologies and the wider use of renewable energy sources.
Destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. The main amount of ozone is formed in top layer atmosphere - the stratosphere, at altitudes from 10 to 45 km. The ozone layer protects all life on Earth from the harsh ultraviolet radiation of the Sun. By absorbing this radiation, ozone significantly affects the temperature distribution in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which in turn affects the climate.
The total amount of ozone and its distribution in the atmosphere is the result of a complex and not fully understood dynamic equilibrium of photochemical and physical processes that determine its formation, destruction and transport. Around the 70s of the XX century. There is a global decrease in the amount of stratospheric ozone. Depletion of the planet's ozone layer leads to the destruction of the existing biogenesis of the ocean due to the death of plankton in the equatorial zone, inhibition of plant growth, a sharp increase in eye and cancer diseases, as well as diseases associated with the weakening of the immune system of humans and animals, increased oxidative capacity of the atmosphere, corrosion of metals, etc. .d.
In connection with the increasing destruction of the ozone layer, the world community faces the difficult task of protecting it. In 1985, at the Conference on the Protection of the Ozone Layer in Vienna, the multilateral Convention for the Protection of the Earth's Ozone Layer was adopted. To implement political and economic measures to protect stratospheric ozone within the framework of the Vienna Convention, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987) was developed and adopted. The Protocol defines the list, procedure and standards for the gradual reduction of production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances.
Under the Protocol, production of the substances that cause the greatest damage to the ozone layer was phased out in developed countries in 1996, and in developing countries they are projected to phase out by 2010. If the Protocol had not been signed, levels of substances that deplete the ozone layer would have been now five times higher than existing ones.
Depletion of fresh water and pollution of the oceans. Between 1900 and 1995, global freshwater consumption increased sixfold, more than twice the rate of population growth. Already, almost one third of the world's population lives in countries where the volume of water consumed is 10% higher than the total volume of available supplies. If current trends continue, by 2025 every two out of three people on Earth will live in conditions of scarcity.
The main source of fresh water for humanity is, in general, actively renewable surface water.
Groundwater supplies the needs of one third of the world's population. Of particular concern to humanity is their irrational use and methods of exploitation. Groundwater extraction in many regions of the globe is carried out in volumes that significantly exceed nature’s ability to renew it.
In some regions of the world, there is intense competition between states for water resources for irrigation and electricity production, which is likely to become even more intense as the population grows. Today, the Middle East and North Africa suffer most from water shortages, but by the middle of the 21st century. Sub-Saharan Africa will join them as their populations double or even triple during this time.
Protecting the quantity of water resources directly related to the development of water use strategies at the national and local levels. The priority is to reduce water consumption per unit of agricultural industrial production in every possible way.
A much more multifaceted and complex task is presented by protection of water quality. The use of water for economic purposes is also one of the links in the water cycle. But the anthropogenic link of the cycle differs significantly from the natural one in that only part of the water used by humans returns to the atmosphere through the process of evaporation. Another part of it, especially when supplying water to cities and industrial enterprises, is discharged back into rivers and reservoirs in the form of wastewater contaminated with industrial waste. This process continues for thousands of years. With the growth of the urban population, the development of industry, and the use of mineral fertilizers and harmful chemicals in agriculture, the pollution of surface fresh waters began to acquire global proportions.
World Ocean, the largest ecological system of planet Earth, represents the waters of four oceans - the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Arctic - with all the interconnected adjacent seas. Sea water occupies 95% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere. Being an important link in the water cycle, it provides nutrition to glaciers, rivers and lakes, and thereby the life of plants and animals. The world's oceans play a huge role in creating the necessary conditions for life on our planet; its phytoplankton provides 50-70% of the total volume of oxygen consumed by living beings.
The scientific and technological revolution brought radical changes in the use of the resources of the World Ocean. She has extraordinarily expanded the depth and range scientific research opened the way to a comprehensive study of the ocean, defined and provided new directions for the development of marine technology. At the same time, ocean pollution with oil, chemicals, organic residues, burial sites of radioactive production, etc. is catastrophically increasing. According to some estimates, the World Ocean absorbs the main part of pollutants.
The international community is actively seeking ways to effectively protect the marine environment; Currently, there are more than 100 conventions, agreements, treaties and other legal acts. International agreements regulate various aspects that determine the prevention of pollution of the World Ocean, including:
♦ prohibition or limitation under certain conditions of discharges of pollutants generated during normal operation (1954);
♦ prevention of intentional pollution of the marine environment with operational waste from ships, as well as partly from stationary and floating platforms (1973);
♦ prohibition or restriction of disposal of waste and other materials (1972);
♦ preventing pollution or reducing its consequences as a result of accidents and disasters (1969, 1978).
In the formation of a new international legal regime for the World Ocean, the leading place is occupied by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), which includes a set of problems of the protection and use of the World Ocean in the conditions of the modern scientific and technological revolution. The Convention declared the international seabed area and its resources to be the common heritage of mankind.
Destruction of the Earth's soil cover. The problem of land resources has now become one of the largest global problems, not only because of the limited land fund of the planet, but also because the natural ability of the soil cover to produce biological products decreases annually both relatively (per capita of the progressively increasing world population) and and absolutely (due to increased losses and soil degradation as a result of human activity).
Over the course of its history, humanity has irrevocably lost more fertile lands than are arable throughout the world, turning once productive arable lands into deserts, wastelands, swamps, bushes, and ravines. Many of the world's lifeless deserts are the result of human activity. The process of these irretrievable losses continues today. According to the most optimistic estimates, almost 2 billion hectares of land are subject to human-induced degradation, which threatens the existence of almost 1 billion people. The main reasons for this are soil salinization as a result of irrigation, as well as erosion caused by overgrazing, deforestation, and desertification of lands.
Soil erosion has been known to man for a long time, but it has received particular development in the modern era due to the intensification of agriculture, with a repeated increase in the load on the soil cover.
The second most important degradation process, also widespread throughout the world, is a complex set of various adverse secondary consequences of irrigated agriculture, among which secondary salinization and waterlogging of soils are especially prominent. An increase in salt content in the arable layer of irrigated soil to 1% reduces the yield by one third, and at a content of 2-3% the crop dies completely.
The depletion of arable and pasture soils and the decline in their fertility are occurring all over the world as a result of their irrational intensive use. There are other degradation processes: soil swamping in areas of sufficient or excessive atmospheric moisture, soil compaction, and technogenic pollution. Globally, every year an additional 20 million hectares of agricultural land become unsuitable for crop cultivation due to soil degradation or urban encroachment. At the same time, food demand in developing countries is expected to double over the next 30 years. New lands can and will be developed, but this will mainly happen in the zone of risky agriculture, where soils are even more susceptible to degradation.
Thus, humanity faces a real threat to its future global food security. Advances in agricultural biotechnology can help developing countries, but the environmental impacts of biotechnology are not fully understood and further scientific development of biosafety is needed.
Conservation of biological diversity. The main guarantor of maintaining stable conditions for the existence of life on Earth is the preservation of maximum biological diversity, that is, all possible forms of living organisms in all habitats, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part. This concept includes both intraspecific and interspecific diversity, as well as the diversity of ecosystems. The huge diversity of organisms on our planet is a necessary condition for maintaining the normal state and functioning of the biosphere as a whole. The species diversity of groups of plants and animals, the number of individual species, and biomass determine their role in the biotic cycle of substances and energy transfer.
Throughout evolution, some species died out, others arose and reached their peak and disappeared again, and were replaced by new ones. This process is associated primarily with the dynamics of the Earth's climate and some geological processes. As a result, not only one species was replaced by another, but entire biotic communities changed. However, this happened unusually slowly, over tens of millions of years. During the period of scientific and technological revolution main force, transforming plant and animal world, a man speaks.
The most noticeable reduction in the forest area of our planet: over the past 300 years, 66-68% of forests have been destroyed and forest cover has decreased to 30%. Population growth and the development of the world economy constantly support growing global demand for forest products. In the period 1990-1995. In developing countries, almost 65 million hectares of forest land have been lost due to overharvesting, conversion to agricultural land, disease and fires.
One of the main reasons for this depletion of forest resources is the high demand for wood in industrialized countries. As an alternative, it is necessary to significantly increase the efficiency of timber production technology, primarily paper, to make more widespread use of waste and recycled materials, and to produce publishing products in electronic form in order to save paper. Reforestation will meet future wood needs and help absorb carbon from the atmosphere, thereby slowing global warming.
In addition to forests, other plant communities and the fauna of our planet also need careful protection. The preservation of their biological diversity is of great importance for many types of economic activities, and especially for agriculture, since wild plants are a genetic means of ensuring resistance to diseases, drought and salinity. It is also necessary to highlight such an industry as the production of plant-based medicines, which makes it possible to satisfy the basic needs for medical care of more than 3 billion people.
Awareness of the unpredictable value of biological diversity, its importance for maintaining the natural evolution and sustainable functioning of the biosphere has led humanity to understand the threat posed by the decline in biological diversity resulting from certain types of human activities. Sharing the concerns of the world community, the UN Conference on Environment and Development (1992), among other important documents, adopted the Convention on Biological Diversity. The main provisions of the convention are aimed at the rational use of natural biological resources and the implementation of effective measures for their conservation.
Ecological problem is a change in the natural environment as a result of human activity, leading to disruption of the structure and functioning nature . This is a man-made problem. In other words, it arises as a result of the negative impact of humans on nature.
Environmental problems can be local (affecting a specific area), regional (a specific region) and global (impacting the entire biosphere of the planet).
Can you give an example of a local environmental problem in your region?
Regional problems cover large regions and their impact affects a large part of the population. For example, pollution of the Volga is a regional problem for the entire Volga region.
The drainage of the Polesie swamps caused negative changes in Belarus and Ukraine. Changes in the water level of the Aral Sea are a problem for the entire Central Asian region.
Global environmental problems include problems that pose a threat to all of humanity.
Which of the global environmental problems, from your point of view, are of greatest concern? Why?
Let's take a quick look at how environmental issues have changed throughout human history.
Actually, in a sense, the entire history of human development is a history of increasing impact on the biosphere. In fact, humanity in its progressive development has moved from one environmental crisis to another. But crises in ancient times were local in nature, and environmental changes were, as a rule, reversible, or did not threaten people with total death.
Primitive man, engaged in gathering and hunting, unwittingly disrupted the ecological balance in the biosphere everywhere and spontaneously caused harm to nature. It is believed that the first anthropogenic crisis (10-50 thousand years ago) was associated with the development of hunting and overhunting of wild animals, when the mammoth, cave lion and bear, on which the hunting efforts of the Cro-Magnons were directed, disappeared from the face of the earth. Particularly harmful was the use of primitive people fire - they burned the forests. This led to a decrease in river levels and groundwater. Overgrazing of livestock on pastures may have resulted ecologically in the creation of the Sahara Desert.
Then, about 2 thousand years ago, there followed a crisis associated with the use of irrigated agriculture. He led to the development large quantity clayey and saline deserts. But let’s take into account that in those days the population of the Earth was small, and, as a rule, people had the opportunity to move to other places that were more suitable for life (which is impossible to do now).
During the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, the impact on the biosphere increased. This is due to the development of new lands, which was accompanied by the extermination of many species of animals (remember, for example, the fate of the American bison) and the transformation of vast territories into fields and pastures. However, human impact on the biosphere acquired global proportions only after industrial revolution XVII-XVIII centuries At this time, the scale of human activity increased significantly, as a result of which the geochemical processes occurring in the biosphere began to transform (1). In parallel with the progress of scientific and technological progress, the number of people has increased sharply (from 500 million in 1650, the conditional beginning of the industrial revolution - to the current 7 billion), and, accordingly, the need for food and industrial goods, and for more and more fuel, has increased , metal, cars. This led to a rapid increase in the load on environmental systems, and the level of this load in the middle of the 20th century. - beginning of the 21st century reached a critical value.
How do you understand in this context the contradictory results of technological progress for people?
Humanity has entered an era of global environmental crisis. Its main components:
- depletion of energy and other resources of the planet's interior
- Greenhouse effect,
- ozone layer depletion,
- soil degradation,
- radiation hazard,
- transboundary transfer of pollution, etc.
The movement of humanity towards an environmental catastrophe of a planetary nature is confirmed by numerous facts. People are continuously accumulating the number of compounds that cannot be utilized by nature, developing dangerous technologies, storing and transporting many pesticides and explosives, polluting the atmosphere, hydrosphere and soil. In addition, the energy potential is constantly increasing, the greenhouse effect is being stimulated, etc.
There is a threat of loss of stability of the biosphere (disruption of the eternal course of events) and its transition to a new state, excluding the very possibility of human existence. It is often said that one of the reasons for the environmental crisis our planet is in is a crisis of human consciousness. What do you think of it?
But humanity is still able to solve environmental problems!
What conditions are necessary for this?
- Unity of good will of all inhabitants of the planet in the problem of survival.
- Establishing peace on Earth, ending wars.
- Stopping the destructive action modern production on the biosphere (resource consumption, environmental pollution, destruction of natural ecosystems and biodiversity).
Development of global models of nature restoration and scientifically based environmental management.
Some of the points listed above seem impossible, or not? What do you think?
Undoubtedly, human awareness of the dangers of environmental problems is associated with serious difficulties. One of them is caused by the non-obviousness of its natural basis for modern man, psychological alienation from nature. Hence the disdainful attitude towards compliance with environmentally appropriate activities, and, to put it simply, the lack of an elementary culture of attitude towards nature on various scales.
To solve environmental problems, it is necessary to develop new thinking among all people, to overcome stereotypes of technocratic thinking, ideas about the inexhaustibility of natural resources and a lack of understanding of our absolute dependence on nature. An unconditional condition for the further existence of humanity is compliance with the environmental imperative as the basis for environmentally friendly safe behavior in all areas. It is necessary to overcome alienation from nature, to realize and implement personal responsibility for how we relate to nature (for saving land, water, energy, for protecting nature). Video 5.
There is a phrase “think globally, act locally.” How do you understand this?
There are many successful publications and programs devoted to environmental problems and the possibilities of solving them. In the last decade, quite a lot of environmentally oriented films have been produced, and regular environmental film festivals have begun to be held. One of the most outstanding films is the environmental education film HOME, which was first presented on June 5, 2009 on World Environment Day by the outstanding photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and the famous director and producer Luc Besson. This film tells about the history of life on planet Earth, the beauty of nature, and environmental problems caused by the destructive impact of human activity on the environment, which threatens the death of our common home.
It must be said that the premiere of HOME was an unprecedented event in cinema: for the first time the film was shown simultaneously in largest cities dozens of countries, including Moscow, Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, in an open display format, and free of charge. Television viewers saw an hour and a half film on large screens installed in open areas, in cinema halls, on 60 TV channels (not counting cable networks), and on the Internet. HOME was shown in 53 countries. However, in some countries, such as China and Saudi Arabia, the director was denied permission to conduct aerial filming. In India, half of the footage was simply confiscated, and in Argentina, Arthus-Bertrand and his assistants had to spend a week in prison. In many countries, the film about the beauty of the Earth and its environmental problems, the demonstration of which, according to the director, “borders on a political appeal,” was banned from showing.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand (French: Yann Arthus-Bertrand, born March 13, 1946 in Paris) - French photographer, photojournalist, Knight of the Legion of Honor and winner of many other awards
With a story about the film by J. Arthus-Bertrand, we end the conversation about environmental problems. Watch this movie. Better than words, it will help you think about what awaits the Earth and humanity in the near future; understand that everything in the world is interconnected, that our task now is common and that of each of us - to try, as far as possible, to restore the ecological balance of the planet that we have disrupted, without which the existence of life on Earth is impossible.
In Video 6 den excerpt from the film Home. You can watch the whole film - http://www.cinemaplayer.ru/29761-_dom_istoriya_puteshestviya___Home.html.
The modern world of technological progress is coming by leaps and bounds forward. Along with this, the question of the legacy of such progress – environmental problems – arises acutely. Report on the topic “Environmental problems” will talk about how technological progress affects the environment.
"Environmental problems" report
In every locality there are buildings of factories, factories and other production facilities that emit tons of harmful substances, throw waste into water bodies and dispose of their waste into the ground. And such actions are reflected not only in a specific localization, but throughout the entire planet.
Global environmental problems of our time:
* air pollution
This is one of the most important problems. After all, it was the air that became the first victim of technological progress. Just imagine for a moment that thousands of tons of toxic and harmful substances are released into the atmosphere every hour or even less often. Industry causes enormous harm to the environment. Large accumulations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to warming of the planet. It seems that temperature fluctuations due to this are not large, but in global terms this is a significant deviation from the norm. Vapors of toxic substances that enter the atmosphere affect weather. For example, due to excessive sulfur in the air, acid rain occurs. And they, in turn, harm plants, trees and the lithosphere.
* water pollution
This problem is particularly acute in some countries in Asia and Africa. Excessively polluted water bodies have led to significant disadvantage drinking water. It is not even suitable for washing clothes, much less for drinking or cooking.
* pollution land
Most enterprises, in order to get rid of waste, dispose of it by burying it in the ground. Of course it has Negative influence on the soil not only in the recycling area, but also in the surrounding area. As a result, vegetables and fruits grown in such soil can cause diseases that can be fatal.
Ways to solve environmental problems
1. Application effective ways recycling waste and hazardous waste.
2. Transition to the use of safe, environmentally friendly fuel that does not pollute the atmosphere.
3. Introduction of strict government sanctions and fines for water, air and land pollution.
4. Conducting educational work and social advertising among the population.
At first glance, these actions are quite simple, but when it comes to practice, everything is not so simple. Many countries and non-profit organizations They are constantly fighting against lawbreakers, but states do not have enough finances and people to implement projects to eliminate environmental problems.
We hope the information provided about environmental issues has helped you. And you can leave your report “Solving environmental problems” using the comment form.