What are environmental pollution. Pollution of nature, its types and their impact on humans

At present, such concepts as ecology, environmental pollution have already firmly entered our consciousness, and we can confidently say that the negative impact on the state of the environment is largely due to anthropogenic (human) activities.

The main sources of environmental pollution are concentrated mainly in cities, where a significant number of industrial facilities are concentrated on a relatively small area. At the same time, the nature of the production impact is complex, i.e. applies to all natural components: water bodies, air basin, soil cover, flora and fauna and, of course, concerns the main culprit of the unfavorable situation - man.

So, the main sources of environmental pollution are:

Energy facilities;

Industrial enterprises: chemical, petrochemical, metallurgical;

Transport.

Energy is the leading branch of the economy, which determines not only the level of development of industrial production, but also the standard of living of people in certain regions and settlements. The bad thing is that in our country the energy industry is mainly based on the use of "dirty" energy sources such as coal and oil, and the situation will not change in the near future. For this reason, energy is one of the "leaders" in terms of contribution to environmental pollution. The combustion of high-ash solid fuels causes emissions of significant amounts of suspended solids, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen. Moreover, if the existing technologies make it possible to effectively clean emissions from solid substances, then the capture of gaseous substances is rather difficult and costly. However, the impact of energy is not limited to atmospheric air; numerous ash dumps are a serious pollutant of water bodies and land resources.

One of the most "dirty" industries in our country is the metallurgical industry, its share in the total emissions in Russia is about 40%. Non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy enterprises, as the main sources of air pollution, are one of the main suppliers of dust, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, phenol, hydrogen sulfide, and non-ferrous metallurgy, among other things, various metals, including copper, nickel, lead. Ferrous metallurgy is one of the largest water consumers, about 40% of wastewater discharged is highly polluted.

Non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises, among other things, are the most powerful sources of soil pollution, therefore, in settlements where non-ferrous metallurgy facilities are located, elevated concentrations of heavy metals in the soil cover are found.

Oil producing and oil refineries also have a significant negative impact on all components of the environment. Oil industry facilities emit a whole range of pollutants, including sulfur and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrocarbons, mercaptans and unburned solid particles containing benzo(a)pyrene. Serious harm is caused by accidental oil spills on drilling platforms, as well as main oil pipelines.

Urbanized territories are inextricably linked with such a concept as road transport. The main types of its impact include emissions of pollutants with exhaust gases, as well as the use of large areas for the construction of garages, service stations, utility facilities.

In general, the main sources of environmental pollution include most industrial facilities, as well as the transport complex, without which modern life is impossible. However, it is in our power to take steps to ensure that their impact on the environment, and ultimately our health, is minimal.

Sources of environmental pollution can be divided into two categories: natural and artificial. Pollution is the entry into the environment of any element unusual for it. The history of the origin of the Earth and the changes taking place on it can also be attributed to pollution. Pollution is an external influence. The environment reacts to it and changes. That is, pollution causes change. One such change was the emergence of life on Earth. I wonder what kind of pollution it was caused by?

It is generally accepted that natural sources of pollution for the environment are the waste products of organisms, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, sandstorms, and so on. Is it so? Is it possible to consider as pollution of the system what the system itself produces? Or can pollution occur only when an unusual and unfamiliar element enters the system? Yes, as a result of these natural phenomena, there is an excess or lack of any substances. For example, combustion products after fires, sulfur, ash and excess heat after volcanic eruptions, water after excessive precipitation or floods, and so on. And outwardly, all this can be mistaken for pollution. In any case, according to external signs. But all these phenomena, firstly, are the result of the activity of the planet or its biosphere. And secondly, in the process of this “activity”, no new, previously unknown elements and substances are produced on the planet. And only “alien” can pollute.

They call him an agent. It is not included in the system and its internal structure, and therefore is unusual for it. Such for the Earth is solar radiation. Some of its spectra, like ultraviolet, are still detrimental to the biosphere. She developed a whole system of protection against it, reducing the penetration and influence of these rays.

The Earth from the beginning of its existence has always been exposed to various cosmic processes and objects. And from many of them she found protection. But the "attacks" did not stop, and this is quite natural. Meteorites penetrating through the protective layer of the atmosphere, and such large space objects should initially be, cause not only visible destruction. They bring extraterrestrial substances to Earth. Can this be considered pollution? Of course yes. It is difficult to assess the extent of such pollution and the consequences they may cause. Only destruction is visible immediately after the fall of a meteorite, which occurs at the atomic level, can only become known after a significant period of time. It is no coincidence that there are a lot of supporters of the theory of the extraterrestrial origin of life, that is, bringing it from space, including on meteorites or other space objects that fell to Earth.

And the increasing impact of solar radiation on the Earth is happening every day, and we are witnessing it. The atmosphere has recently undergone such changes that it can no longer perform its protective functions as before. We are talking about the warming of the planet's climate, caused by the appearance of "ozone holes" and the "greenhouse effect". The amount of ultraviolet radiation, as a result of a decrease in the amount of ozone in the atmosphere, penetrates more into the areas of the planet inhabited by living organisms. This type of light spectrum carries the greatest amount of energy and is detrimental to some types of microorganism. The "greenhouse effect" is associated with an increase in the amount of another light spectrum - infrared. This is thermal radiation originating from objects on the surface of the Earth. It returns to the atmosphere and is delayed by it. If the heat did not linger in the lower layers of the atmosphere, then sharp temperature drops would be inevitable, at which the existence of living organisms is impossible.

The definition of the biosphere says that living organisms affect the environment and transform it. They secrete waste products, which, probably, can be mistaken for clogging. However, the biosystem is built in such a way that if this "pollution" did not exist, then the system itself would not exist. Yes, and the products produced by living organisms are agents within the system and are characteristic of it. Any kind of natural or internal pollution is an integral and mandatory element of the existence of the biosphere as an integral, unified and self-regulating system.

Internal “pollution” was useful until another component and a living organism of the biosphere, a person, began to actively interfere in the process. He invented a new method of pollution and new elements of pollution, previously unknown to nature. That is, now the definition of the biosphere has sounded fully. Impact, change and transformation has become full and tangible. In the course of his life, or rather, to ensure his life, a person began to create such forms and methods of such provision, which resulted not only in an increase in the volumes and concentrations of elements known to nature, but also in the creation of new, artificial, and therefore unknown, named xenobiotics. The form of human impact on the biosphere was called anthropogenic, and the type of pollution was called artificial, that is, it did not appear as a result of natural phenomena or processes.

Types of artificial pollution

In order to live, a person must work, that is, engage in certain activities. Firstly, it is the provision of water for consumption and industrial needs. Secondly, meet the requirements in food. The remaining activities are aimed at solving household needs for housing and clothing. For these purposes, natural resources and minerals are extracted and processed, transportation and transportation are carried out, and additional energy is generated. In the struggle for life or improving its quality, a person expands the space for his existence, for which he conducts military operations, engages in science, explores space, and so on. All these activities are the main sources of environmental pollution, because they lead to the production of industrial and domestic waste.

Sources of environmental pollution, as a rule, correspond to industries. The greatest danger to nature is oil and gas production, metallurgy and the chemical industry, transport, agriculture, and energy.

Waste is generated not only at the end of the production cycle or after the complete processing of manufactured products. They are also produced during the technological process. Waste itself is a source of pollution, as a result of accumulation, improper storage, lack of processing and disposal, and so on. All types of environmental pollution can be divided into three main ones. Physical, chemical and biological pollution. The physical includes dust, ash and other products of combustion, radiation, electromagnetic fields, noise, and so on. To the chemical - substances and compounds, such as heavy metals, salts, acids, alkalis, aerosols, and the like. Biological is contamination by bacteriological or microbiological materials.

Each source, with its waste, pollutes several types of the natural environment at the same time. That is, its pollution is complex. For example, any industrial production for its needs consumes water, which, having fulfilled its functions, is discharged back into the reservoir. At the same time, passing through the stages of the technological process, it is “enriched” with substances and elements involved in production. Returning back, it mixes with the waters of a river or lake and "shares" these substances. As a result, both the water itself and all organisms participating in the food chain of this biocenosis are exposed to pollution.

Production is usually an energy consumer. For these needs, various types of fuel are used - peat, coal, fuel oil or gas. Burning, these substances transfer energy to production units and mechanisms, setting them in motion, and the products released as a result of combustion enter the atmosphere. Exhaust gases, ash, suspended particles, and so on with air enter the respiratory system of living beings. In addition, over time, these substances with precipitation fall on the soil and water. And again they move along the food chain. Products manufactured by enterprises are delivered to consumers, after which waste is generated. In addition, the products themselves can fall out of their consumer turnover and end up in waste in finished form. Both products and their waste contain substances that are unusual for nature, either in terms of qualitative composition or quantitative concentration. Waste, even after disposal, the global percentage of which is very small, accumulates in landfills and landfills. There they are not recycled, but rot and burn. The products of decay and combustion, and these are pollutants, enter the soil, water and air in the ways already described and begin their circulation.

Types of sources and their features

Some sectors of the economy have their own specifics. For example, agriculture, the oil and chemical industry, the military complex and energy.

The specificity of agriculture lies in the fact that in order to intensify production and increase crop yields, a large amount of pesticides and mineral fertilizers are introduced into the soil. Studies have shown that up to 10% of the introduced substances are productively used. That is, it is precisely such a small amount that is absorbed by plants and affects pests. Mineral fertilizers, pesticides, plant protection products, pesticides are substances with a high content of nitrogen and phosphorus. Wherever these substances are located, in storage areas, in fields or landfills, the substances contained in them enter the environment in various ways. This mainly occurs during the period of floods, heavy rains, snowmelt or blown by the wind. In the full sense of the word, nitrogen and phosphorus cannot be called pollutants, because they can be almost completely consumed by plants. In this case, too rapid growth of green mass has a negative impact on the natural environment. Filling almost the entire volume of the biome with it and squeezing out the rest of the living world. In such places, the animal world dies or leaves it, plants significantly reduce their species diversity, water resources gradually disappear, giving way to organic deposits.

Chemical industry. Its main originality is the synthesis of elements, substances and compounds unknown to nature. This means that there is no organism capable of converting such a substance into a "suitable" for inclusion in the trophic chain. Xenobiotics, without decomposing and not being processed, accumulate in various natural environments and animal organisms. They cause various types of diseases, up to changes in the gene structure.

The oil industry, which must include all its stages from extraction to refining. This industry deals a double polluting blow to the environment. Firstly, oil itself is, in its physical and chemical properties, a substance close to poisonous. Secondly, the process of its extraction, transportation and processing is extremely dangerous for nature. For example, during exploration and production of hydrocarbons, forests are cut down, soils are destroyed. At this stage of work, as well as during transportation, spills of oil and oil products are frequent. This is where the harmful qualities of the oil itself come into play. Processing of hydrocarbons is a process associated with the use and production of flammable, poisonous substances of this kind, which, by themselves and when used in other industries, emit chemicals that adversely affect the atmospheric air, soil and water resources.

Energy. The main sources affecting the environment of this branch of human activity are: water with elevated temperature, discharged after being used for cooling the process equipment of stations and hydraulic structures that regulate river flows. In these cases, no specific chemical substances enter nature, but warm water and a regulated flow are such that they cause deep changes in the ecosystems of the regions, up to their destruction.

. Its peculiarity is that in the presence of almost all types of production, including weapons of mass destruction, chemical, bacteriological and nuclear, it is closed to external inspections. In addition, in a number of countries with a powerful military potential, the maintenance of this complex is not enough to carry out sufficient measures to protect the environment, modernize treatment and control equipment, as well as dispose of hazardous substances and store them.

Transport and, above all, automobile. With the invention of the internal combustion engine and the desire of man to live in cities, the nature of settlements has changed dramatically. First of all, it concerns air. In some large cities, road transport accounts for up to 90% of all pollutant emissions. Urbanization and enlargement of cities only contributes to the worsening of the situation. Exhaust engine gases contain more than 280 types of various harmful substances. The main ones are: benzapyrene, oxides of nitrogen and carbon, lead, mercury, sulfur, soot and hydrocarbons. In addition, transport companies, car repair shops and private cars also mean thousands of tons of various rubber products, used oils and lubricants, scrap metal, glass, contaminated water after washing vehicles and sites for its repair and storage. All this flows into the water, gets into the soil and air. Most car engines use fuels with a high lead content. Exhaust gases from diesel engines are much more toxic than gasoline engines.

. Both the first and the second are a concentrated accumulation of all possible pollutants. More and more surface-active additives, which are part of washing powders and detergents, are getting into municipal drains. And the distinctive quality of landfills is that absolutely most of them are unauthorized and are formed randomly. This makes it impossible to control the composition of the substances contained in the waste, and hence the degree and danger of their impact on the environment and human health.

For the environment, the sources and types of pollution can be listed indefinitely. Name the types of production, the formulas of chemical compounds and their quantities, the consequences that they cause in living organisms and the harm that brings human health. You can also list legislative acts, regulatory bodies, events adopted and conferences held. But who has not heard, does not know or does not understand? Why, then, do we leave trash after a vacation in the woods, or throw a plastic bottle farther into the river, or pour used oil into a nearby ravine? Etc. The main, first and main source of environmental pollution is not an industrial enterprise, but we are with you and each of us. And here you don’t have to be clever, but just try to do it right at least once.

Video - Life after people

The most common type of negative human impact on the biosphere is pollution, which is associated in one way or another with the main most acute environmental situations. by pollution refers to the entry into the environment of any solid, liquid, gaseous substances, microorganisms, energy (in the form of sound waves, radiation) in quantities that are harmful to human health, animals, plants and other life forms.

pollutant- this is a substance, physical factor, biological species that are in the environment in an amount that goes beyond their natural content in nature. In other words, a pollutant is everything that is present in the environment in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong quantity.

Any substance or factor can become a pollutant under certain circumstances. For example, sodium cations are necessary for the body to maintain electrolytic balance, conduct nerve impulses, and activate digestive enzymes. However, sodium salts are poisonous in large quantities; so, 250 g of table salt is a lethal dose for humans.

Consequences of pollution of any type can become:

- violation of life support systems at the local, regional, global levels: climate change, a decrease in the natural rate of circulation of substances and energy necessary for the normal functioning of humans and other living beings;

- harm to human health: the spread of infectious diseases, irritation and diseases of the respiratory tract, changes at the genetic level, changes in reproductive function, cancerous cell transformations;

– causing damage to vegetation and wildlife; reduced productivity of forests and food crops, harmful effects on animals, leading to their extinction;

– damage to property: corrosion of metals, chemical and physical destruction of materials, buildings, monuments;

– unpleasant and aesthetically unacceptable impact: unpleasant smell and taste, reduced visibility in the atmosphere, soiling of clothes.

Pollution of the natural environment can be controlled at the entrance and exit. Inlet control prevents a potential pollutant from entering the environment or drastically reduces its entry. For example, sulfur impurities can be removed from coal before it is burned, which will prevent or drastically reduce the release of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which is harmful to plants and the respiratory system. Exit control aims to eliminate waste already released into the environment.

Classification of pollutants

Distinguish natural and anthropogenic sources of pollution. natural pollution is associated with the activity of volcanoes, forest fires, mudflows, the release of polymetallic ores to the surface of the earth; the release of gases from the bowels of the earth, the activity of microorganisms, plants, animals. Anthropogenic pollution is associated with human activities.

Classification of anthropogenic (technogenic) impacts caused by environmental pollution includes the main categories:

1.Material and energy characteristics of impacts: mechanical, physical (thermal, electromagnetic, radiation, acoustic), chemical, biological factors and agents, their various combinations. In most cases, emissions (i.e. emissions - emissions, sinks, radiation, etc.) of various technical sources act as such agents.

2.Quantitative characteristics of the impact: strength and degree of danger (intensity of factors and effects, masses, concentrations, characteristics such as "dose-effect", toxicity, acceptability according to environmental and sanitary and hygienic standards); spatial scales, prevalence (local, regional, global).

3.Time parameters of impacts by the nature of the effects: short-term and long-term, persistent and unstable, direct and indirect, with pronounced or hidden trace effects, reversible and irreversible, actual and potential, threshold effects.

4.Categories of impact effects: various living recipients (capable of perceiving and reacting) - people, animals, plants, as well as environmental components, which include: the environment of settlements and premises, natural landscapes, soil, water bodies, atmosphere, near-Earth space; structures.

Within each of these categories, a certain ranking of the environmental significance of factors, characteristics and objects is possible. In general, in terms of the nature and scale of actual impacts, chemical pollution is the most significant, and the greatest potential threat is associated with radiation. Recently, not only the growth of pollution, but also their total impact, often exceeding in the final effect the simple summation of impacts, which has a “peak” effect, is of particular danger. synergy. As for the objects of influence, the person is in the first place.

Sources anthropogenic environmental pollution are enterprises of industry, energy, agriculture, construction, transport, production and consumption of food, the use of household items.

Sources of technogenic emissions can be organized and unorganized, stationary and mobile. Organized sources are equipped with special devices for the directed emission of emissions (pipe, ventilation shafts, waste channels), emissions from unorganized sources are arbitrary. The sources also differ in geometric characteristics (point, line, areal) and in the mode of operation - continuous, periodic, salvo.

Sources of chemical and thermal pollution are thermochemical processes in the energy sector - fuel combustion and related thermal and chemical processes. Associated reactions are associated with the content of various impurities in the fuel, with the oxidation of air nitrogen and with secondary reactions already in the environment.

All these reactions accompany the operation of thermal power plants, industrial furnaces, internal combustion engines, gas turbine and jet engines, metallurgy processes, and the firing of mineral raw materials. The greatest contribution to energy-dependent pollution of the environment is made by energy and transport. On average, about 150 kg of pollutants are emitted per 1 ton of standard fuel in the fuel heat power industry.

Consider the balance of substances of an "average" passenger car with a fuel consumption of 8 liters (6 kg) per 100 km. With optimal engine operation, burning 1 kg of gasoline is accompanied by the consumption of 13.5 kg of air and the emission of 14.5 kg of waste substances. Up to 200 compounds are registered in emissions. The total mass of pollution - an average of about 270 g per 1 kg of gasoline burned, in terms of the entire volume of fuel consumed by passenger cars in the world, will be about 340 million tons; for all road transport - up to 400 million tons.

By scale pollution can be local, local, characterized by an increased content of pollutants in small areas (city, industrial enterprise); regional when large areas are affected (river basin, state); global when pollution is found anywhere on the planet (pollution of the biosphere) and space(garbage, spent spacecraft stages).

As a rule, many anthropogenic pollutants are no different from natural ones, with the exception of xenobiotics, substances alien to nature. These are artificial and synthetic compounds produced by the chemical industry: polymers, surfactants. In nature, there are no agents for their decomposition, assimilation, so they accumulate in the environment.

Distinguish primary and secondary pollution. At primary In pollution, harmful substances are formed directly in the course of natural or anthropogenic processes. At secondary pollution, harmful substances are synthesized in the environment from primary ones; the formation of secondary pollutants is often catalyzed by sunlight (photochemical process). As a rule, secondary pollutants are more toxic than primary ones (phosgene is formed from chlorine and carbon monoxide).

All types of environmental pollution can be combined into groups: chemical, physical, physico-chemical, biological, mechanical, informational and complex.

chemical pollution associated with the release of chemicals into the environment. physical pollution associated with a change in the physical parameters of the environment: temperature (thermal pollution), wave parameters (light, noise, electromagnetic); radiation parameters (radiation and radioactive). form physical and chemical pollution is aerosol (smog, smoke).

biological pollution is associated with the introduction into the environment and reproduction of organisms undesirable for humans, with the penetration or introduction of new species into natural systems, which causes negative changes in biocenoses. Clogging of the environment with materials that have an adverse mechanical effect without physical and chemical consequences (garbage) is called mechanical pollution. Complex pollution environments - thermal and and informational, due to the combined action of various types of pollution .

Some pollutants acquire toxic properties after entering the body during the chemical transformations taking place there. The same substance or factor can cause multiple effects on the body.

The effect of pollutants on the human body manifests itself differently. Poisons act on the liver, kidneys, hematopoietic, blood, respiratory systems. Carcinogenic and mutagenic effects - as a result of changes in the information properties of germ and somatic cells, fibrogenic- the appearance of benign tumors (fibromas); teratogenic- deformities in newborns; allergenic- causing allergic reactions: damage to the skin (eczema), respiratory tract (asthma); n neuro- and psychotropic effect associated with the effect of a toxicant on the central nervous system of the human body.

According to the mechanism of action of the pollutant on the body, there are:

- irritant substances that change the pH of the mucous membrane or irritate nerve endings;

- substances or factors that change the ratio of oxidative and reduction reactions in the body;

- substances that irreversibly bind to organic or inorganic compounds that make up tissues;

- fat-soluble substances that disrupt the functions of biological membranes;

- substances that replace chemical elements or compounds in the cell;

– factors affecting electromagnetic and mechanical oscillatory processes in the body.

The simplest definition of pollution is the introduction or emergence of new pollutants into the environment or the excess of the natural long-term average level of these pollutants.

Environmental pollution is divided into natural, caused by some natural causes: volcanic eruption, breaks in the earth's crust, natural fires, dust storms, etc., and anthropogenic, arising in connection with human economic activity.

Among anthropogenic pollution, the following types of pollution are distinguished: physical, mechanical, biological, geological, chemical.

To physical pollution include thermal, light, noise, vibration, electromagnetic, radioactive.

Sources of soil temperature increase are underground construction, laying of communications. An increase in soil temperature stimulates the activity of microorganisms, which are agents of corrosion of various communications.

light pollution- Violation of natural light environment. It leads to a violation of the rhythms of the activity of living organisms. An increase in water turbidity in water bodies reduces the penetration of sunlight to the depth and the photosynthesis of aquatic vegetation.

Noise pollution– an increase in the intensity and frequency of noise above the natural level. Noise refers to serious environmental pollutants, adaptation to which organisms are practically impossible. Sources of noise pollution are automobile, rail, air transport, industrial enterprises, household appliances.

Noise pollution has a negative impact on the hearing organs, the nervous system (up to mental disorders), the cardiovascular system and other organs.

Vibration pollution - arises as a result of the operation of different types of transport, vibration equipment, can lead to soil subsidence, deformation of buildings and structures.

Electromagnetic pollution– change in the electromagnetic properties of the environment. Sources of electromagnetic pollution are power lines, radio and television centers, radars. This type of pollution has a significant impact on living organisms: on metabolism, blood composition, and the cardiovascular system.

Nuclear pollution - excess of the natural radioactive level of the environment. Sources of radioactive contamination of the environment are nuclear explosions, radioactive waste disposal, accidents at nuclear power plants, etc.

Mechanical pollution - pollution of the environment by materials that have only a mechanical effect without chemical consequences. Examples are: siltation of water bodies with soil, dust entering the atmosphere, construction waste dump on a land plot. At first glance, such pollution may seem harmless, but it can cause a number of environmental problems, the elimination of which will require significant economic costs.

biological pollution divided into bacterial and organic. Bacterial contamination - the introduction into the environment of pathogens that contribute to the spread of diseases, such as hepatitis, cholera, dysentery and other diseases.

Sources may be insufficiently disinfected sewage wastewater discharged into a water body.

Organic pollution - pollution, for example, of the aquatic environment with substances capable of fermentation, decay: waste from food, pulp and paper industries, untreated sewage.

Biological pollution also includes animal relocation into new ecosystems where their natural enemies are absent. Such relocation can lead to an explosion in the number of relocated animals and have unpredictable consequences.

geological pollution - stimulation under the influence of human activities of such geological processes as flooding, drainage of territories, the formation of landslides, collapses, subsidence of the earth's surface, etc.

Such violations occur as a result of mining, construction, leakage of water and sewage from communications, as a result of the vibrational impact of transport and other influences. The given impacts must be taken into account when designing in construction (choosing the design characteristics of soils, in calculating the stability of buildings and structures).

chemical pollution - change in the natural chemical properties of the environment as a result of emissions by industrial enterprises, transport, agriculture of various pollutants. For example, emissions into the atmosphere of hydrocarbon fuel combustion products, soil pollution with pesticides, and untreated wastewater discharges into water bodies. Some of the most dangerous pollutants are heavy metals and synthetic organic compounds.

Heavy metals are chemical elements that have a high density (> 8 g/cm3), such as lead, tin, cadmium, mercury, chromium, copper, zinc, etc., they are widely used in industry and are very toxic. Their ions and some compounds are easily soluble in water, can enter the body and have a negative effect on it. The main sources of waste containing heavy metals are ore beneficiation, metal smelting and processing, and electroplating industries.

Synthetic organic compounds are used in the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, solvents, paints, pesticides, detergents, and can be absorbed by living organisms and disrupt their functioning.

Heavy metals and many synthetic organic compounds are bioaccumulative. Bioaccumulation- this is the accumulation of pollutants in living organisms when they enter from the external environment in small doses that seem harmless.

Bioaccumulation is exacerbated in the food chain, i.e. plant organisms assimilate pollutants from the external environment and accumulate them in their organs, herbivorous animals, eating vegetation, receive large doses, predatory animals receive even larger doses. As a result, in living organisms at the end of the food chain, the concentration of pollutants can be hundreds of thousands of times greater than in the external environment. This accumulation of a substance as it passes through the food chain is called bioconcentration.

The danger of bioaccumulation and bioconcentration became known in the 1960s when population declines were discovered for many birds of prey, animals at the end of the food chain.

ANTHROPOGENIC POLLUTION: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Environmental pollution- undesirable change in its properties as a result of anthropogenic intake of various substances and compounds. It leads or may lead in the future to a harmful effect on the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, flora and fauna, buildings, structures, materials, and on the person himself. It suppresses the ability of nature to self-repair its properties.

Human pollution has a long history. Even the inhabitants of Ancient Rome complained about the pollution of the waters of the Tiber River. The inhabitants of Athens and Ancient Greece were worried about the pollution of the waters of the port of Piraeus. Already in the Middle Ages, laws on environmental protection appeared.

The main source of pollution is the return to nature of that huge mass of waste that is formed in the process of production and consumption of human society. Already in 1970 they amounted to 40 billion tons, and by the end of the 20th century. increased to 100 billion tons.

A distinction must be made between quantitative and qualitative pollution.

Quantitative environmental pollution arises as a result of the return to it of those substances and compounds that occur in nature in a natural state, but in much smaller quantities (for example, these are compounds of iron and other metals).

Qualitative environmental pollution due to the entry into it of substances and compounds unknown to nature, created primarily by the industry of organic synthesis.

Pollution of the lithosphere (soil cover) occurs as a result of industrial, construction and agricultural activities. At the same time, metals and their compounds, fertilizers, pesticides, and radioactive substances act as the main pollutants, the concentration of which leads to a change in the chemical composition of soils. The problem of accumulation of household waste is also becoming more and more complex; It is no coincidence that in the West, in relation to our time, the term "garbage civilization" is sometimes used.

And this is not to mention the complete destruction of the soil cover as a result, first of all, of open-cast mining, the depth of which - including in Russia - sometimes reaches 500 m or even more. The so-called badlands ("bad lands"), which have completely or almost completely lost their productivity, occupy already 1% of the land surface.

Pollution of the hydrosphere occurs primarily as a result of the discharge of industrial, agricultural and domestic wastewater into rivers, lakes and seas. By the end of the 90s. the total world volume of wastewater has approached 5 thousand km3 per year, or 25% of the "water ration" of the Earth. But since these waters require on average 10 times more pure water to dilute, they actually pollute a much larger volume of channel water. It is not difficult to guess that this, and not only the growth of direct water intake, is the main reason for the aggravation of the problem of fresh water.

Many rivers are heavily polluted - the Rhine, Danube, Seine, Thames, Tiber, Mississippi. Ohio, Volga, Dnieper, Don, Dniester. Nile, Ganges, etc. The pollution of the World Ocean is also growing, the "health" of which is threatened simultaneously from the coast, from the surface, from the bottom, from rivers and the atmosphere. Every year, a huge amount of waste enters the ocean. The most polluted are the inland and marginal seas - the Mediterranean, Northern, Irish, Baltic, Black, Azov, inland Japanese, Javanese, Caribbean, as well as the Biscay, Persian, Mexican and Guinean bays.

The Mediterranean Sea is the largest inland sea on Earth, the cradle of several great civilizations. 18 countries are located on its shores, 130 million people live, 260 ports are located. In addition, the Mediterranean Sea is one of the main areas of world shipping: it simultaneously hosts 2.5 thousand long-distance ships and 5 thousand coastal ships. 300-350 million tons of oil pass through its routes annually. As a result, this sea in the 60-70s. almost turned into the main "garbage pit" of Europe.

Pollution affected not only the inland seas, but also the central parts of the oceans. The threat to deep-sea basins is growing: there have been cases of burial of toxic substances and radioactive materials in them.

But oil pollution poses a particular danger to the Ocean. As a result of oil leakage during its production, transportation and processing, from 3 to 10 million tons of oil and oil products annually enter the World Ocean (according to various sources). Space images show that already about 1/3 of its entire surface is covered with an oily film, which reduces evaporation, inhibits the development of plankton, and limits the interaction of the Ocean with the atmosphere. The Atlantic Ocean is the most oil polluted. The movement of surface water in the ocean leads to the spread of pollution over long distances.

Atmospheric pollution occurs as a result of the work of industry, transport, as well as various furnaces, which together annually throw billions of tons of solid and gaseous particles into the wind. The main air pollutants are carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), which are formed primarily during the combustion of mineral fuels, as well as oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, lead, mercury, aluminum and other metals.

Sulfur dioxide is the main source of so-called acid rain, which is especially widespread in Europe and North America. Acid precipitation reduces crop yields, destroys forests and other vegetation, destroys life in river reservoirs, destroys buildings, and adversely affects human health.

In Scandinavia, which receives acid rain mainly from Great Britain and Germany, life has died in 20 thousand lakes, salmon, trout and other fish have disappeared in them. In many countries of Western Europe, there is a catastrophic loss of forests. The same destruction of forests began in Russia. The effects of acid precipitation can not withstand not only living organisms, but also stone.

A particular problem is the increase in emissions of carbon dioxide (СО2) into the atmosphere. If in the middle of the XX century. worldwide CO 2 emission was approximately 6 billion tons, then at the end of the century it exceeded 25 billion tons. The main responsibility for these emissions lies with the economically developed countries of the northern hemisphere. But recently, carbon emissions have also increased significantly in some developing countries due to the development of industry and especially energy. You know that such emissions threaten humanity with the so-called greenhouse effect and global warming. And the growing emission of chlorofluorocarbons (freons) has already led to the formation of huge "ozone holes" and the partial destruction of the "ozone barrier". The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 indicates that cases of radioactive contamination of the atmosphere also cannot be completely ruled out.

SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS: THREE MAIN WAYS.

But humanity not only litters its "nest". It has developed ways to protect the environment and has already begun to implement them.

The first way is to create various kinds of treatment facilities, the use of low-sulphur fuel, the destruction and processing of waste, the construction of chimneys 200-300 m or more high, land reclamation, etc. However, even the most modern facilities do not provide complete purification. And ultra-high chimneys, reducing the concentration of harmful substances in a given place, contribute to the spread of dust pollution and acid rain over much larger areas: a 250 m high chimney increases the dispersion radius to 75 km.

The second way is to develop and apply a fundamentally new environmental ("clean") production technology, in the transition to low-waste and waste-free production processes. Thus, the transition from direct-flow (river-enterprise-river) water supply to circulation, and even more so to "dry" technology, can first ensure a partial, and then a complete cessation of wastewater discharge into rivers and reservoirs.

This path is the main one, because it not only reduces, but prevents environmental pollution. But it requires huge expenditures, unsustainable for many countries.

The third way is in a deeply thought out, most rational distribution of the so-called "dirty" industries that have a negative impact on the environment. Among the "dirty" industries, first of all, are the chemical and petrochemical, metallurgical, pulp and paper industries, thermal power engineering, and the production of building materials. When locating such enterprises, geographical expertise is especially necessary.

Another way is to reuse raw materials. In developed countries, the reserves of secondary raw materials are equal to the explored geological ones. The centers for the procurement of recyclable materials are the old industrial regions of Foreign Europe, the USA, Japan, and the European part of Russia.

Table 14. The share of waste paper in the production of paper and cardboard in the late 80s, in%.

The plunder of natural resources and the growth of environmental pollution have become an obstacle not only to the further development of production. Often they threaten the very lives of people. So back in the 70's and 80's. most of the economically developed countries of the world began to carry out a variety of environmental activities, to conduct environmental policy. Strict environmental laws were enacted, long-term programs for improving the environment were developed, systems of fines (polluter pays) were introduced, special ministries and other state bodies were created. At the same time, a mass movement of the public in defense of the environment began. In many countries, the "Green" parties appeared and achieved considerable influence, various public organizations, for example, Greenpeace, arose.

As a result, in the 80-90s. environmental pollution in a number of economically developed countries has begun to gradually decrease, although in most developing countries and in some countries with economies in transition, including Russia, it still remains threatening.

Domestic scientists-geographers distinguish 16 critical ecological regions on the territory of Russia, which together occupy 15% of the country's territory. Industrial-urban agglomerations prevail among them, but there are also agricultural and recreational areas.

In our time, for the implementation of environmental activities, the implementation of environmental policy is not enough measures taken by individual countries. The efforts of the entire world community are needed, which are coordinated by the UN and other international organizations. In 1972, the first UN Conference on the Environment was held in Stockholm, and its opening day, June 5, was declared World Environment Day. Subsequently, an important document "The World Strategy for Conservation of Nature" was adopted, which contained a detailed program of action for all countries. Another similar conference took place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. It adopted "Agenda for the 21st Century" and other major documents. There is a special body in the UN system - the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which coordinates the work carried out in different countries, generalizes world experience. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Geographical Union (IGU) and other organizations are actively involved in environmental activities. In the 80-90s. international agreements were concluded to reduce carbon emissions, freons, and many others. Some of the measures being taken have distinct geographic dimensions.

In the late 90s. there are already about 10 thousand protected natural areas (PAs) in the world. Most of them are in the USA, Australia, Canada, China, India. The total number of national parks is approaching 2 thousand, and biosphere reserves - 350.

Since 1972, the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage has been in force. In 1998, the World Heritage List, which is updated annually, included 552 sites - including 418 cultural, 114 natural and 20 cultural and natural. Most of these facilities are in Italy and Spain (26 each), France (23), India (21), Germany and China (19 each), the USA (18), the UK and Mexico (17 each). There are 12 of them in Russia so far.

And yet, each of you, the citizens of the coming 21st century, should always remember the conclusion reached at the Rio-92 Conference: "Planet Earth is in such danger as it has never been before."

GEOGRAPHICAL RESOURCES AND GEOECOLOGY

In geographical science, two interrelated directions have recently taken shape - resource science and geoecological.

Geographic resource science studies the distribution and structure of certain types of natural resources and their complexes, issues of their protection, reproduction, economic evaluation, rational use and resource availability.

Scientists representing this area have developed various classifications of natural resources, proposed concepts natural resource potential , resource cycles, territorial combination of natural resources, natural-technical (geotechnical) systems and others. They also participate in the compilation of inventories of natural resources, their economic evaluation.

Geoecology from a geographical point of view, studies the processes and phenomena that occur in the natural environment as a result of anthropogenic interference in it. The concepts of geoecology include, for example, the concept monitoring
Basic concepts: geographic (environment) environment, ore and non-metallic minerals, ore belts, pools of minerals; structure of the world land fund, southern and northern forest belts, forest cover; hydropower potential; shelf, alternative energy sources; resource availability, natural resource potential (NRP), territorial combination of natural resources (RTSR), areas of new development, secondary resources; environmental pollution, environmental policy.

Skills and abilities: be able to characterize the natural resources of the country (region) according to the plan; use various methods of economic evaluation of natural resources; characterize the natural prerequisites for the development of industry and agriculture of the country (region) according to the plan; give a brief description of the location of the main types of natural resources, single out the countries "leaders" and "outsiders" in terms of availability of one or another type of natural resources; give examples of countries that do not have rich natural resources, but have reached a high level of economic development and vice versa; give examples of rational and irrational use of resources.