Bibliographic description: Moskovsky V.S., Khachirova A.Yu. Problems of modern ecology // Young scientist. - 2016. - No. 1. — S. 59-70..03.2019).

Man and nature - united. people's health and animals are in close dependence on the health of the environment and the entire biosphere. It is in the last four decades has begun to deteriorate sharply, in mostly from barbarian and predatory activity of the person himself. He cuts down forests, predatorily plunders the earth's interior, builds "dirty" enterprises, the industrial emissions of which pollute and destroy soil, air, water. Man has made the oceans become vast repositories of almost all types of waste from their activities. Together with perish by the ocean and its numerous inhabitants - fish, crustaceans, molluscs and T. d.

Every week, one species of plant disappears on Earth and animals. In such a situation, we risk losing most species of living organisms in a couple of centuries.

A person must urgently change his attitude towards nature otherwise he will perish yourself, and her.

Man destroyed the rainforest - light planets. Already, many species living in them to the brink of total destruction. If this continues, the air on Earth will become so dirty that it will be impossible for them to breathe.

I have considered three main sources of air pollution:industry, household boilers and transport. They pollute the air daily.

All this taken together and each in Separately, it hurts human health. He risks destroying his house in pursuit of profit and perish under its rubble.

But you can feel sorry for the Earth for an infinitely long time, it will not become cleaner from this, however. We need to act before precious time is wasted.

Here are some ways to solve environmental problems.

Introduction

Man is a part of nature, but maybe at first he did not know about it, and then he forgot. With the advent of man, the beginning of the destruction of the ecological harmony of man is connected, and an insoluble contradiction has arisen so far between a catastrophically rapidly developing biological species - a consumer of natural resources and the natural environment itself - between man and the nature that gave birth to him.

Evidence of the destruction of forests by ancient man can be found in the way of life of tribes that have not yet been touched by technological progress. So, for example, the Dutch navigator Tasman and his team did not find the natives in Tasmania, although they paid attention to thick smoke rising in different places above the forest. It turned out that the Tasmanians thus adapted the local nature for themselves. As a result of such "nature-transforming activities" in the vast expanses of Tasmania, a change of vegetation occurred; there have been changes in the nature of the soil, the climate has changed.

Another striking example is the slash-and-burn agriculture used by many peoples of the world, in particular the famous Maya people, which allegedly led to terrible famine and extinction of this nation.

Europe has not lagged behind. Before the Vikings settled Iceland, 40% of the island's territory was covered with mixed and deciduous. As a result of the actions of new residents, the forest area began to decline rapidly, and now their share does not exceed 0.5% of the island's territory.

In the XVIII century, the notorious industrial revolution began in England, which marked a new era in the development of mankind. But at the same time, in England, as a result of industrial emissions, acidic precipitation began to fall. Then they still did not know how to filter the smoke from the factory chimneys. A fog with harmful impurities descended on London, which caused mass deaths at that time. The ecological catastrophe has reached its peak. London has become one of the dirtiest cities in the world. Following England, other European countries industrialized, and then the United States. The “era of fire and steel” became the herald of an environmental catastrophe on a planetary scale.

And now it is worth paying attention to what we have “achieved” by such actions over several thousand years.

Some facts andanalytics

Seas, oceans

At the moment, the technological development of mankind allows us to partially solve many environmental problems. But due to the high cost of such technologies, they are now not very common.

Despite its enormous size, today the entire oceans are under threat. The greatest danger is chemical pollution of waters. At present, the ocean has literally become a dumping ground for containers of poisonous substances. The strikingly high content of arsenic in the Baltic Sea is explained by the fact that more than 7000 tons of SDYAV were flooded by the German Navy during the Second World War. Chemical pollution, even with modern technology, will be almost impossible. However, after a while, the ocean will clear itself. The main thing is not to pollute further.

But sometimes one gets the impression that the heads of some states do not think (or do not want to think) about the possible consequences of some of their projects. So, for example, after nuclear accidents, the same Japan froze all its nuclear power plants. Everything would be fine, but at the same time, the Japanese authorities announced that they were not satisfied with high gas prices, and therefore they were switching to large-scale production of so-called gas hydrates. Japan Oil, Gas and Metals Corporation conducted a detailed study of subsoil under the ocean floor at a distance of 70 km from the Atsumi Peninsula.

According to the results of their research, it turned out that significant reserves of the so-called methane hydrate, which is a crystalline mass, somewhat reminiscent of loose snow, are concentrated in the local bowels. Many companies have already expressed their readiness to extract it. By 2018, Japan is going to enter the industrial production of methane from gas hydrate extracted from the ocean floor. Experts from the World Wildlife Fund have already expressed their concerns to the Japanese authorities about plans for large-scale extraction of methane from methane hydrate, because methane is a greenhouse gas, and a local increase in its concentration in the ocean can lead to an increase in water temperature, depletion of its oxygen and the disappearance of marine plants and animals. Some scientists also recall the studies of the Permian extinction, when the release of methane from the bowels of the earth led to terrible consequences for all living things (about 95% of all living organisms died out). One of the scientists even called those events a shot from a methane hydrate gun. All this can irreversibly disrupt the ecosystem not only of the Asia-Pacific countries, but also the ecosystem of the entire planet.

But when it comes to economic benefits, for some reason, the words of environmentalists are not heeded.

Land and ocean are connected by rivers, which bring new pollutants into it, such as oil and products of its distillation, various fertilizers, and poisons used in agriculture. As a result, the ocean turns into a place of discharge and accumulation of this terrible mixture. For example, recent studies of the North Sea have shown that 65-70% of the SDYAV and other pollutants found there were brought by rivers. About 20% more was brought from the atmosphere (mainly components of car exhaust gases). The rest is direct discharge of waste and the result of the work of the tanker fleet.

Oil production with the help of platforms in the ocean is very dangerous for nature. Not only does a certain amount of oil go into the water during drilling, but accidents are not uncommon. For example, the explosion on a BP oil platform in April 2010 turned into the biggest environmental disaster in 24 years. It was possible to stop the oil leak only by the summer of that year. As a result of the accident, about 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In terms of its scale, the disaster is comparable to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The exact damage cannot yet be assessed.

The Pacific Ocean is heavily polluted. In its northern part, the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch was formed. Deposits of household and industrial waste brought by the waters of the local system of currents are concentrated in this area. Here, one of the highest concentrations of small particles of plastic in the oceans. It breaks down to the molecular level, while retaining its internal structure. Smaller and smaller particles accumulate at the surface of the ocean, and marine organisms begin to swallow them, confusing them with plankton. Some of the ingredients are extremely toxic. This leads to mass death of the local inhabitants of the ocean.

Some researchers believe that pollutants are the reason for the reduced resistance of marine mammals to the distemper that broke out in the North Sea in the 1980s. It is possible that metallic contaminants in the ocean were also responsible for liver enlargement and skin ulcers in fish, in particular flounder, about 20% of which in the North Sea are affected by these diseases.

Another common type of ocean pollution is water blooms due to the massive development of algae or plankton. But if in the waters of the temperate zone such phenomena are a common thing, then in the subtropics and tropics the "red tide" was first noticed near Hong Kong in 1971. Then such cases were often repeated. Perhaps this is due to the flushing into water bodies of various fertilizers that stimulate the growth of phytoplankton. There is a lot of it, as a result of which most of it is not used in food chains and simply dies off, sinking to the bottom. Decomposing the organic matter of dead plankton, bottom bacteria often use all the oxygen dissolved in the water, which can lead to the formation of an oxygen-deficient zone. Such zones lead to a reduction in biodiversity and biomass of aerobic forms of benthos.

Oysters play an important role in water filtration. But if earlier oysters managed to completely filter the water in the part of the Chesapeake Bay belonging to the US state of Maryland in eight days, today they spend 480 days on this due to flowering and water pollution. After flowering, the algae die and decompose, and the decomposing bacteria use up the already limited supply of oxygen. This leads to the death of some species of local fish. In general, all marine animals that obtain their food by filtering water are very sensitive to external pollutants that accumulate in their tissues over time. Corals, composed of huge colonies of single-celled organisms, do not tolerate pollution well. These ecosystems - coral reefs and atolls - are under serious threat.

Rivers, lakes, underground waters

But not only ocean and sea waters are under threat. Effluent, industrial and agricultural wastes pollute rivers and lakes. Thus, due to human activities on the Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers, the Aral Sea dries up, the whole ecosystem perishes. If nothing changes in the near future, there will be a salt desert in place of the sea.

Great damage is also being done to Lake Baikal, the impact on which has noticeably increased since the 1950s. Various factories and combines grew on its banks, the population increased sharply, and new cities and towns arose, new lands were given over to arable land, and a large amount of pesticides was used on them. Logging on the rivers increased, and the practice of floating timber in large rafts, or "cigars", was started in Baikal. The flow of tourists increased, the Baikal-Amur Railway was laid near the coast; a huge number of boats plow the lake in summer and many cars pass through it in winter.

The water quality of most water bodies does not meet regulatory requirements. Long-term observations of changes in the quality of surface waters reveal a dangerous trend towards an increase in the number of water bodies with a high level of pollution (more than 10 MPC) and the number of cases of extremely high content (over 100 MPC) of pollutants in water bodies.

About 1/3 of the total mass of pollutants is introduced into water sources with surface and storm runoff from the territories of agricultural facilities and lands, which affects the seasonal deterioration in the quality of drinking water, which is annually noted in all large cities. Because of this, water is hyperchlorinated, which is unsafe for public health due to the formation of dangerous organochlorine compounds.

Among industrial products, toxic synthetic substances occupy a special place in terms of their negative impact on the aquatic environment and living organisms. They are increasingly being used in industry, in transport, and in public utilities. The concentration of these compounds in wastewater, as a rule, is 5–15 mg/l, with an allowable rate of 0.1 mg/l. These substances can form a layer of foam in reservoirs, which is especially noticeable on rapids, rifts, locks. Foam is formed at a concentration of these substances of 1–2 mg/l.

The main pollutants of surface waters are phenols, easily oxidized organic substances, compounds of copper, zinc, and in some regions of the planet - ammonium and nitrite nitrogen, lignin, xanthates, aniline, methyl mercaptan, formaldehyde, etc. A huge amount of pollutants are introduced into surface waters from wastewater from ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises, chemical, petrochemical, oil, gas, coal, timber, pulp and paper, machine-building industries, agricultural and municipal enterprises, often runoff from adjacent territories.

Mercury, lead and their compounds pose a serious danger to the aquatic environment.

Production without treatment facilities and the use of pesticides in the fields lead to significant pollution of water bodies with harmful compounds. Pollution of the aquatic environment occurs as a result of the direct introduction of pesticides during the treatment of water bodies for pest control, the ingress of water flowing down from the surface of cultivated agricultural land into water bodies, when waste from manufacturing enterprises is discharged into water bodies, and also as a result of leaks during transportation, storage and, to a lesser extent, degrees with precipitation.

In many water bodies, the concentrations of pollutants exceed the MPCs established by sanitary and fish protection regulations.

But not only surface, but also underground waters are polluted. In general, the state of groundwater is assessed as critical and has dangerous prospects for further deterioration.

Groundwater, together with other elements of the environment, is heavily polluted by human activities. Groundwater suffers from pollution from oil fields, mining enterprises, filtration fields, and dumps of metallurgical plants, storage facilities for chemical waste and fertilizers, landfills, livestock complexes, and non-canalized settlements. There is a deterioration in water quality as a result of pulling up natural waters in case of violation of the operation mode of water intakes. Areas of hotbeds of groundwater pollution sometimes reach hundreds of square kilometers.

Substances polluting groundwater are dominated by: oil products, phenols, heavy metals, sulfates, chlorides and nitrates.

The soil

Soil is a special natural formation that has a number of properties inherent in animate and inanimate nature, formed as a result of a long-term transformation of the surface layers of the lithosphere under the joint interdependent interaction of the hydrosphere, atmosphere, living and dead organisms.

The soil cover is the most important natural formation. Its role in the life of mankind is determined by the fact that the soil is a food source that provides 95–97% of food resources for the world's population.

Chemical compounds entering the soil accumulate and lead to a gradual change in the chemical and physical properties of the soil, reduce the number of living organisms, and worsen its fertility.

Soil pollution and disruption of the normal circulation of substances occurs as a result of the underdosed use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. In a number of branches of agriculture, pesticides are used in large quantities for plant protection and weed control. Their annual application, often several times a season, leads to their accumulation in the soil and its poisoning.

The soil is polluted with oil products when refueling cars in the fields and in forests, forest parks, etc.

Shale gas production has become a serious threat to soil resources. It can destroy the already weakened ecosystem of the Earth. In addition, it also pollutes groundwater. The following gas extraction method may contaminate aquifers in the soil. Because of this, in some US states, ordinary tap water is on fire!!!

Shale gas production is carried out using hydraulic fracturing. Here is how it works:

1. The drilling rig drills a well into which steel casing pipes are lowered.
2. The top of the well is sealed with cement to prevent liquids or gas from penetrating into the aquifers.
3. The drill bit is lowered hundreds of meters into the hole and continues to drill in a horizontal direction until it reaches a gas-bearing shale formation.
4. With the help of electric discharges, cracks are made in the rock adjacent to the well.
5. Water mixed with sand or other proppants is pumped into the fractures at high velocity, thus causing more fracturing of the formation.
6. The gas escapes through cracks and rises to the surface.
7. Used water is treated at a water treatment plant.
8. The gas comes out.

But despite the apparent simplicity of the technology, some experts believe that it is not safe enough, because concrete may not withstand loads, and gas or liquids can enter aquifers from a damaged reservoir, which can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Air

Pollution of the Earth's atmosphere - the introduction of new uncharacteristic physical, chemical and biological substances into the atmospheric air or a change in their natural concentration.

According to the sources of pollution, two types of air pollution are distinguished:

1. natural
2. artificial

Let's take a closer look at the second source. They can also be divided into several groups:

1. Transport - pollutants generated during the operation of road, rail, air, sea and river transport;

1. Industrial - pollutants formed as emissions during technological processes, heating;
2. Household - pollutants caused by the combustion of fuel in the residential sector and the processing of household waste.

The composition of anthropogenic sources of air pollution can be divided into several groups:

1. Mechanical pollutants - dust from cement plants, dust from coal combustion in boiler houses, furnaces and furnaces, soot from oil and fuel oil combustion, abraded tires, etc.;
2. Chemical pollutants - dusty or gaseous substances capable of entering into chemical reactions;
3. radioactive contaminants.

According to the nature of the pollutant, air pollution can be of three types:

1. physical - mechanical (dust, solid particles), radioactive (radioactive radiation and isotopes), electromagnetic (various types of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves), noise (various loud sounds and low-frequency vibrations) and thermal pollution (for example, emissions of warm air and etc.)
2. chemical - pollution by gaseous substances and aerosols. To date, the main chemical air pollutants are: carbon monoxide (IV), nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr), ammonia, atmospheric dust and radioactive isotopes
3. biological - mainly microbial contamination. For example, air pollution by vegetative forms and spores of bacteria and fungi, viruses, as well as their toxins and waste products.

The clearest example of air pollution is the Asian brown cloud, or the Giant Brown Cloud, a layer of polluted air that covers a large part of South Asia, including the northern regions of the Indian Ocean, India and Pakistan, extending all the way to China. It is visible in satellite photographs from December to April as a giant brown spot over South Asia. The term "Asian brown cloud" itself first appeared in a 2002 UNEP report on the Indian Ocean Experiment project, which was conducted in 1999.

The haze observed from space is a mixture of suspended solid particles of the smallest size, which can stay in the air for quite a long time. It consists of several major pollutants, mainly soot, sulphates, nitrates, organic matter, fly ash and mineral dust from fuel combustion and industrial emissions. Since in the period from January to March in these areas there is dry, warm weather, natural air purification does not occur. Experts estimate that smoke pollution reduces solar illumination of the Indian Ocean surface by 10%, which causes an even greater reduction in illumination over the continent. Possibly, smoke pollution can have the strongest impact on monsoonal circulation, regional distribution of precipitation, and vertical temperature distribution in the atmosphere.

But the biggest problem is the greenhouse effect . In 1896, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius first expressed his hypothesis about the heating of the atmosphere and the earth's surface as a result of the greenhouse effect. This is what his hypothesis is based on: solar energy penetrates the Earth's atmosphere in the form of short-wave radiation. Some of it is reflected into outer space, the other is absorbed by air molecules and heats it, and about half reaches the earth's surface. The surface of the Earth heats up and emits long-wave radiation, which has less energy than short-wave radiation. After that, the radiation passes through the atmosphere and is partly lost in space, while most of it is absorbed by the atmosphere and re-reflected to the Earth's surface. This process of secondary reflection of radiation is possible due to the presence in the air, albeit in small concentrations, of many impurities of both natural and anthropogenic origin. They transmit shortwave radiation but absorb or reflect longwave radiation. The amount of thermal energy retained depends on the concentration of greenhouse gases and how long they stay in the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons. Undoubtedly, the most important among them is water vapor, and the contribution of carbon dioxide is also significant. 90% of the carbon dioxide annually released into the atmosphere is formed during respiration (oxidation of organic compounds by plant and animal cells). However, this intake is compensated by its consumption by green plants in the process of photosynthesis. The average concentration of carbon dioxide in the troposphere due to human activity increases by about 0.4% annually. Based on computer simulations, a forecast was made according to which, as a result of an increase in the content of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the troposphere, global warming will inevitably occur. If it is justified, then the average air temperature on Earth will increase by only a few degrees. But the consequences can be catastrophic: the climate and weather will change, the conditions for the growth of plants, including crops, will be significantly disrupted, which will lead to famine, droughts will become more frequent, glaciers and ice sheets will begin to melt, which, in turn, will lead to an increase in the level of the World Ocean. and flooding of coastal lowlands. Scientists have calculated that in order to stabilize the planet's climate, a 60% (relative to the 1990 level) reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is necessary. In June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, at the UN Conference on Environment and Development, delegates from 160 countries of the world signed the Convention on Climate Change, which encouraged further efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and set a goal up to 2000 to stabilize their entry into the atmosphere at the level 1990. But, unfortunately, the signing of this paper did not help reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the desired level.

Nuclear power

Nuclear power plants are still considered the most environmentally friendly source of energy. And this despite the fact that from radioactive radiation, in addition to diseases, a genetic failure can occur - a mutation. Its consequences can only be guessed at. And the risk of a nuclear accident is not reduced to zero. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Fukushima-1 in Japan are the clearest example of this. Many countries save on the safety of nuclear power plants, and some even build them in earthquake-prone areas (Japan). The price for such connivance can be very high.

And the invention of nuclear weapons will constantly remind humanity of the threat of complete annihilation ...

Well, in conclusion, this part of the article should be given statistics on the proportion of pollution between different types of human activity. It shows the role of the chemical industry in environmental pollution.

Proposals aimed at improving the ecology of the Earth.

Water

Polluted water can be purified. Throughout its journey, the water itself is able to purify itself from contaminants that enter it. But polluted water bodies take much longer to recover. In its endless cycle, water either captures and carries a lot of dissolved or suspended substances, or is cleared of them. Industrial emissions not only pollute, but also poison wastewater. To purify drainage water, it is necessary to organize their demineralization with simultaneous purification from harmful impurities.

Developing irrigation, it is necessary to lay in its basis a water-saving irrigation technology that contributes to a sharp increase in the efficiency of this type of melioration. But until now, the efficiency of the irrigation network remains low, water losses amount to approximately 30% of the total volume of its intake.

In order for natural systems to recover, it is first necessary to stop further dumping of waste into rivers. To protect water from pollution, it is necessary to know the nature and intensity of the possible harmful effects of pollution at certain concentrations and to establish a clearly formulated MPC for water pollution.

Wastewater treatment plants are of different types, depending on the main method of disposal of sewage. The essence of the relatively new, chemical method lies in the fact that reagents are introduced into the wastewater treatment plants. They react with contaminants and contribute to their precipitation in septic tanks, from where they are removed mechanically. But this method is unsuitable for treating wastewater containing a large amount of heterogeneous pollutants. For the treatment of such effluents, a physical method is used. In this case, an electric current is passed through them, which leads to the precipitation of most pollutants.

When cleaning domestic wastewater, the biological method gives the best results. In this case, for the mineralization of organic contaminants, biological processes carried out with the help of microorganisms are used. The biological method can be used both in conditions close to natural and in special biological treatment facilities.

Soils

Some of the methods of soil restoration and conservation consist in the collection of pollutants through the use of storage facilities and sedimentation tanks. This method does not destroy toxins and pollutants, it only prevents them from spreading into the environment. The real fight against polluting compounds is their elimination. Toxic products can be destroyed on site or taken to special centralized points for their processing and neutralization. Various methods are used on the ground: burning hydrocarbons, washing contaminated soils with mineral solutions, removing pollutants into the atmosphere, as well as biological methods, if pollution is caused by organic substances. However, the removal of toxins into the atmosphere not only does not solve the problem, but also exacerbates it. Therefore, it is only acceptable to dispose of chemical waste using special substances. Also, space microbes can help solve this problem (in theory). They mutate on the ISS and can be useful in recycling.

Solving the problem of pollution with mineral fertilizers is possible only if agriculture is carried out on strictly scientific principles, taking into account environmental consequences. At each stage of the agricultural process, the laws of the interaction of plants with the environment and soil, the laws of the circulation of matter and energy, must be taken into account. The law of ecological farming is formulated as follows: the anthropogenic impact on the soil, the plant, the environment should not exceed the limits beyond which the productivity of the ecosystem decreases, the stability and stability of its functioning is violated. Increasing the productivity of the agroecosystem can only be ensured by the parallel improvement of all its elements.

Air

Now, even the most modern treatment plants cannot completely capture pollutants, and some of them always enter the air. Therefore, new factories and thermal power plants need to be built on the leeward side of cities and towns

Active fight against smog is needed. It is possible to reduce the proportion of smog created by factories with the help of dust collectors, if enterprises are equipped with them. This is not always possible. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs are primarily concerned with profit issues, and then the environment.

The car was created to make life easier for people, but now it has become a source of danger. To gasoline, you need to add various substances that reduce the toxicity of exhaust gases. Nowadays, no one can surprise anyone with LPG-powered cars. Their engine produces less harmful emissions. But this is still not enough. Perhaps, with the development of technology, it will be possible to create an electric car that will have a resource sufficient for long-distance trips.

The problem of air pollution can be completely solved only by restructuring the technologies of existing enterprises and those under construction, by organizing non-waste production. Over time, there is an increasing number of factories operating in a closed cycle. For example, back in the 80s of the last century, a system for cleaning industrial emissions was introduced in St. Petersburg with the simultaneous use of captured gases to produce sulfuric acid.

The problem of lack of electricity can be established in the deserts of Africa, Australia and other regions of the planet, where the number of sunny days per year is more than 360 powerful solar power plants. The same can be done with wind farms - in regions where 360 ​​days a year - wind turbines, powerful windmills can be installed. These measures will make it possible to significantly reduce the cost of electricity and solve the energy problem in these regions in these regions.

OUTPUT

If nothing changes, the days of our planet are numbered.

The biosphere is the most defenseless shell of the Earth against pollution. This is a very fragile system, the destruction of one species entails a chain reaction and the death of entire ecosystems. Thus, the greatest miracle on Earth - Life, because of the actions of man is in danger of complete annihilation. But it is still not too late to change your mind and move to more environmentally friendly methods of production and cleaning of city sewers.

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Annotation: Man and nature are one. The health of people and animals is closely dependent on the health of the environment and the entire biosphere. In the last four decades, it has begun to deteriorate sharply, mainly from the barbaric and predatory activities of man himself. He cuts down forests, predatorily plunders the earth's bowels, builds "dirty" enterprises, the industrial emissions of which pollute and destroy the soil, air, and water. Man has made the oceans become vast repositories of almost all types of waste from their activities. Together with the ocean, its many inhabitants - fish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc. - die. Every week, one species of plants and animals disappears on Earth. In such a situation, we risk losing most species of living organisms in a couple of centuries. A person must urgently change his attitude to nature - otherwise he will destroy both himself and her. Man destroyed the tropical forests - the lungs of the planet. Already, many species living in them are on the verge of complete destruction. If this continues, the air on Earth will become so dirty that it will be impossible for them to breathe. I have considered three main sources of air pollution: industry, domestic boilers and transport. They pollute the air daily. All this taken together and each separately hurts human health. He risks destroying his house in pursuit of profit and dying under its rubble. But you can feel sorry for the Earth for an infinitely long time, it will not become cleaner from this, however. We need to act before precious time is wasted. Here are some ways to solve environmental problems.

Ecological problem is a change in the natural environment as a result of human activity, leading to a violation of the structure and functioning nature . This is an anthropogenic problem. In other words, it arises as a result of the negative impact of man on nature.

Environmental problems can be local (a certain area is affected), regional (a specific region) and global (the impact is on the entire biosphere of the planet).

Can you give an example of a local environmental problem in your region?

Regional problems cover the territories of large regions, and their influence affects a significant part of the population. For example, pollution of the Volga is a regional problem for the entire Volga region.

The drainage of the swamps of Polesye caused negative changes in Belarus and Ukraine. The change in the water level of the Aral Sea is a problem for the entire Central Asian region.

Global environmental problems are problems that pose a threat to all of humanity.

Which of the global environmental problems, in your opinion, cause the most concern? Why?

Let's take a quick look at how environmental issues have changed over the course of human history.

In fact, 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 went from one ecological crisis to another. But crises in ancient times were local in nature, and environmental changes were, as a rule, reversible, or not threatening people with total death.

Primitive man, engaged in gathering and hunting, involuntarily disturbed the ecological balance in the biosphere everywhere, spontaneously harmed nature. It is believed that the first anthropogenic crisis (10-50 thousand years ago) was associated with the development of hunting and overfishing of wild animals, when the mammoth, cave lion and bear disappeared from the face of the earth, on which the hunting efforts of the Cro-Magnons were directed. Especially a lot of harm was caused by the use of fire by primitive people - they burned forests. This led to a decrease in the level of rivers and groundwater. Overgrazing of pastures may have had the ecological result of the creation of the Sahara Desert.

Then, about 2 thousand years ago, followed by a crisis associated with the use of irrigated agriculture. It led to the development of a large number of clay and saline deserts. But keep in mind that in those days the population of the Earth was not numerous, 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 Age of Discovery, the impact on the biosphere increased. This is due to the development of new lands, which was accompanied by the extermination of many animal species (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 a global scale after the industrial revolution of the 17th-18th centuries. At that 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 sharply increased (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, for an increasing amount of fuel has increased. , metal, machines. This led to a rapid increase in the load on ecological systems, and the level of this load in the middle of the 20th century. - the beginning of the XXI century. reached a critical value.

How do you understand in this context the inconsistency of the results of technological progress for people?

Mankind has entered the era of the global ecological crisis. Its main components:

• depletion of energy and other resources of the bowels of the planet
• the greenhouse effect,
• depletion of the ozone layer
• soil degradation,
• radiation Hazard,
• transboundary transfer of pollution, etc.

Mankind's movement towards an environmental catastrophe of a planetary nature is confirmed by numerous facts. People continuously accumulate the number of compounds that are not utilized by nature, develop dangerous technologies, store and transport many pesticides and explosives, pollute 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 (violation of the eternal course of events) and its transition to a new state that excludes the very possibility of human existence. It is often said that one of the causes of the ecological crisis that our planet is in is the crisis of human consciousness. What do you think of it?

But for the time being humanity is able to solve environmental problems!

What conditions are necessary for this?

• The unity of good will of all the inhabitants of the planet in the problem of survival.
• Establishing peace on Earth, ending wars.
• Termination of the destructive effect of modern production on the biosphere (resource consumption, environmental pollution, destruction of natural ecosystems and biodiversity).

Development of global models of nature restoration and science-based nature management.

Some of the points listed above seem impossible, or not? What do you think?

Undoubtedly, human awareness of the danger of environmental problems is associated with serious difficulties. One of them is caused by non-obviousness for modern man of his natural basis, psychological alienation from nature. Hence the disdainful attitude to the observance of environmentally sound 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 for all people to develop new thinking, to overcome the stereotypes of technocratic thinking, ideas about the inexhaustibility of natural resources and misunderstanding of our absolute dependence on nature. An unconditional condition for the further existence of mankind is the observance of the environmental imperative as the basis for environmentally friendly behavior in all areas. It is necessary to overcome alienation from nature, to realize and implement personal responsibility for how we treat nature (for saving land, water, energy, for protecting nature). Video 5.

There is a saying “think globally, act locally”. How do you understand it?

There are many successful publications and programs devoted to environmental problems and the possibilities of their solution. In the last decade, quite a lot of environmentally oriented films have been shot, and regular environmental film festivals have begun to be held. One of the most outstanding films is the environmental education film HOME (Home. A Travel Story), which was first presented on June 5, 2009 on World Environment Day by eminent photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and famed director and producer Luc Bessonne. This film tells about the life history of planet Earth, the beauty of nature, environmental problems caused by the destructive impact of human activity on the environment, threatening the death of our common home.

It must be said that the premiere of HOME was an unprecedented event in the cinema: for the first time, the film was shown simultaneously in the largest cities of dozens of countries, including Moscow, Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, in the format of an open screening, and free of charge. Viewers saw the one and a half hour film on large screens installed in open areas, in cinema halls, on 60 TV channels (excluding cable networks), on the Internet. HOME was shown in 53 countries. At the same time, in some countries, such as China and Saudi Arabia, the director was denied aerial photography. In India, half of the footage was simply confiscated, and in Argentina, Arthus-Bertrand and his assistants had to spend a week in jail. In many countries, a 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 (fr. Yann Arthus-Bertrand, born March 13, 1946 in Paris) is a French photographer, photojournalist, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and winner of many other awards

With a story about the film by J. Arthus-Bertrand, we finish our conversation about environmental problems. Watch this movie. It will help you think better than words about what awaits the Earth and humanity in the near future; to understand that everything in the world is interconnected, that our task now is a common one for each of us - to try, as far as possible, to restore the ecological balance of the planet that we have disturbed, without which life on Earth cannot exist.

the video 6 hi den excerpt from the movie Home. The entire film can be viewed http://www.cinemaplayer.ru/29761-_dom_istoriya_puteshestviya___Home.html .

State budgetary educational institution Gymnasium No. 63 of the Kalininsky district of St. Petersburg

Environmental problems of the modern world

Subject: Ecology

Completed: student 9 "A" class

Ardalyov A.V.

Teacher: Tumanova O.G.

St. Petersburg 2015

Introduction

Chapter 1. The problem of water pollution

1.1 Oil pollution. The impact of oil on flora and fauna

1.2 Solutions

1.3 Other types of pollution

Chapter 2. The problem of air pollution

2.1 Causes of air pollution

2.2 The main types of air pollution of the Earth

2.3 Methods and means of protecting the Earth's atmospheric layer

2.4 Consequences

2.5 Impact on the atmosphere

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Everything is interconnected with everything - says the first ecological law. This means that one cannot take a step without hitting, and sometimes without violating, something from the environment. Each step of a person on an ordinary lawn is dozens of destroyed microorganisms, frightened off insects, changing migration routes, and perhaps even reducing their natural productivity.

The environmental problem is one of the most serious global problems faced by mankind. The problem of water and air pollution is the most urgent today, because any changes in the natural environment lead to the disruption and functioning of nature.

The purpose of this work: to determine the main causes of environmental pollution, and specifically water and atmosphere, as well as to identify ways to solve this problem.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of tasks:

) Find out the causes of water pollution.

) Determine the main types of air pollution.

) Find out what are the ways to protect the atmospheric layer.

) Understand what activities contribute to the elimination of environmental problems.

A person who lived in the 20th century found himself in a society that is burdened with many dilemmas that accompany its socio-economic development. Society has faced a severe crisis and we can conclude that its foundations are the positions of relations between society and nature.

Atmospheric air is the most important life-supporting natural environment and is a mixture of gases and aerosols of the surface layer of the atmosphere. Water is one of the most important life-supporting natural environments formed as a result of the evolution of the Earth. It is an integral part of the biosphere and has a number of anomalous properties that affect the physicochemical and biological processes occurring in ecosystems. Due to the continuously increasing pollution of surface waters, groundwaters are practically the only source of household and drinking water supply for the population. Therefore, protection from pollution and depletion, rational use is of strategic importance. In my work I have used a number of books, articles and several magazines. Among which are the works of Ismailov R.R., Khotuntsev Yu.L., Yanshin A.D., as well as several Internet sources.

Chapter 1. The problem of water pollution

1.1Oil pollution. The impact of oil on flora and fauna

Oil and oil products are the most common pollutants in the oceans. By the beginning of the 1990s, about 16 million tons of oil were annually entering the ocean, which accounted for 0.23% of world production. Most of the oil that pollutes the seas and oceans does not get there as a result of accidents or natural disasters, but as a result of ordinary operations.

The oil film changes the composition of the spectrum and the intensity of light penetration into the water. The light transmission of thin films of crude oil is 11-10% (280nm), 60-70% (400nm). A film with a thickness of 30-40 microns completely absorbs infrared radiation. When mixed with water, oil forms an emulsion of two types: direct "oil in water" and reverse "water in oil". Direct emulsions, composed of oil droplets up to 0.5 µm in diameter, are less stable and are characteristic of oil containing surfactants. When volatile fractions are removed, oil forms viscous inverse emulsions, which can remain on the surface, be carried by the current, wash ashore and settle to the bottom.

During oil spills, birds are particularly affected as the oil impregnates the feathers, depriving them of both water repellency and thermal insulation. Birds are unable to swim or maintain the desired body temperature. Estimates of the number of birds killed in an oil spill are often low, simply because birds in distress are not visible to observers. When the birds try to get out of the oil, it sticks to them from head to toe, making it impossible to see and poisoning the entire body. Oil also pollutes or destroys natural food sources for birds. Diving birds are particularly affected, as they have to repeatedly dive through the layer of oil on the surface in search of food. In addition to affecting individual aquatic organisms, oil also affects entire ecosystems. In areas where oil often enters the water, changes in the species composition of the marine community also become noticeable. Both oil and petroleum resins (tar) contain some carcinogens. The results of several studies conducted on mollusks in polluted waters indicate that these animals have an abnormally large number of neoplasms similar to human cancers.

After oil or oil products get into the water, it takes a certain time for their traces to disappear. This should also include the time required for the re-colonization of the contaminated zone with the same and in the same number of organisms that lived here earlier.

If the release of oil did not lead to the complete death of all local organisms, then the remaining ones, multiplying, begin to fill the free space as the oil disappears.

1.2 Solutions

Natural self-cleaning processes can no longer cope due to the systematic ingress of oil and oil products into sea water. In recent years, considerable material has been accumulated on the development of various methods for eliminating oil pollution. Let's dwell on them in more detail.

Oil and oil products can be burned, but only immediately after the spill, because during the first two hours it loses light fractions, and quickly spreading, forms a thin layer, and the cooling effect of the water under this layer leads to the cessation of combustion.

Oil and oil products can be collected from the surface of the water in three ways: by simply scooping by hand from the side of small boats;

Limitation of the oil slick using floating booms with its further concentration by reducing the surface and bringing the booms together; complex machine systems.

Oil floating on the surface of the water can be partially collected by covering it with absorbent material.

A very promising treatment method is to coat the oil film with a powder or finely granular substance that, when mixed with the oil, adheres and floods it. However, numerous experiments have shown that after a few months the flooded mass is mobile, and oil can rise when the sea is rough.

Promising is the use of detergents, which include substances that form an emulsion and chemically affect the molecules of hydrocarbon compounds and change their surface tension.

Oil and oil products have a low surface tension compared to water, so when bubbling air through water, it is not necessary to use foaming agents. In this case, oil and oil products will be adsorbed at the "gas-liquid" phase separation, the total surface area of ​​air bubbles depends on their diameter and can be quite large. Considering all this, scientists have developed a mechanical floating moving device on which all these three physico-chemical processes (flotation, adhesion and adsorption) are carried out. The advantage of this proposed device over existing ones is as follows:

) oil and oil products are extracted not only from the surface of the water, but also from the surface layer of water, determined by the design of the apparatus;

) the surface layer of water is cleaned not only from liquid, but also from solid particles;

) the simultaneous implementation of all these three physical and chemical processes determines the greater efficiency of the process of cleaning a given water area from oil and oil products.

1.3 Other types of pollution

· Discharge of waste into the sea for the purpose of disposal (dumping).

Many countries with access to the sea carry out marine burial of various materials and substances, in particular soil excavated during dredging, drill slag, industrial waste, construction waste, solid waste, explosives and chemicals, and radioactive waste. The volume of burials amounted to about 10% of the total mass of pollutants entering the World Ocean. The basis for dumping in the sea is the ability of the marine environment to process a large amount of organic and inorganic substances without much damage to the water. However, this ability is not unlimited. Therefore, dumping is considered as a forced measure, a temporary tribute to the imperfection of technology by society.

Industrial slags contain a variety of organic substances and heavy metal compounds. Household waste contains on average (by weight of dry matter) 32-40% organic matter; 0.56% nitrogen; 0.44% phosphorus; 0.155% zinc; 0.085% lead; 0.001% mercury; 0.001% cadmium. During the discharge, the passage of the material through the water column, part of the pollutants goes into solution, changing the quality of the water, the other is sorbed by suspended particles and goes into bottom sediments. At the same time, the turbidity of the water increases. The presence of organic substances purely leads to the rapid consumption of oxygen in water and not caustically to its complete disappearance, the dissolution of suspensions, the accumulation of metals in dissolved form, and the appearance of hydrogen sulfide. The presence of a large amount of organic matter creates a stable reducing environment in the soil, in which a special type of interstitial water appears, containing hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and metal ions.

Benthic organisms and others are affected to varying degrees by the discharged materials. In the case of the formation of surface films containing petroleum hydrocarbons and surfactants, gas exchange at the air-water interface is disrupted. Pollutants entering the solution can accumulate in the tissues and organs of hydrobionts and have a toxic effect on them. The dumping of dumping materials to the bottom and prolonged increased turbidity of the given water leads to the death of inactive forms of benthos from suffocation. In surviving fish, mollusks and crustaceans, the growth rate is reduced due to the deterioration of feeding and breathing conditions. The species composition of a given community often changes. When organizing a system for monitoring the discharge of waste into the sea, the determination of dumping areas, the determination of the dynamics of pollution of sea water and bottom sediments is of decisive importance. To identify possible volumes of discharge into the sea, it is necessary to carry out calculations of all pollutants in the composition of the material discharge.

· Thermal pollution.

Thermal pollution of the surface of reservoirs and coastal marine areas occurs as a result of the discharge of heated wastewater from power plants and some industrial production. The discharge of heated water in many cases causes an increase in water temperature in reservoirs by 6-8 degrees Celsius. The area of ​​heated water spots in coastal areas can reach 30 square meters. km. A more stable temperature stratification prevents water exchange between the surface and bottom layers. The solubility of oxygen decreases, and its consumption increases, since with increasing temperature, the activity of aerobic bacteria that decompose organic matter increases. The species diversity of phytoplankton and the entire flora of algae is increasing.

Based on the generalization of the material, it can be concluded that the effects of anthropogenic impact on the aquatic environment are manifested at the individual and population-biocenotic levels, and the long-term effect of pollutants leads to a simplification of the ecosystem.

·Wastewater.

Industrial effluents rank first in terms of volume and damage they cause, so the problem of their discharges into rivers must be solved first of all. Due to pollution caused by sewage, various biogenic mutations begin. Many species of fish disappear from rivers and lakes, and those that remain are unfit for food. The flora and fauna of water bodies is significantly depleted. Due to industrial effluents in water bodies, there is an excess of oxygen, so you can observe the so-called "blooming" of water bodies. The chemical composition of water bodies also changes, the content of nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorine-containing substances increases. An important problem is the pollution of water bodies with agricultural waste. With the onset of spring floods, many people have noticed more than once the unpleasant smell that exudes drinking water.

This smell is caused by the fact that stormy spring streams wash away the fecal matter accumulated during the winter and taken out to the fields in the spring into the river. Instead of monitoring the entry of these substances into the rivers, they prefer to displace this water with a huge amount of bleach, which is far from a safe substance, before supplying this water to the houses. The third problem is getting into rivers and other water bodies of various household and industrial waste. In some place, all this garbage accumulates and sediments form in the riverbed, islands appear. All this leads to clogging and drying up of the river. The same garbage, decomposing, releases various carcinogenic substances that enter our table with food.

· The main methods of wastewater treatment.

Reservoirs are polluted mainly as a result of the discharge of sewage into them from industrial enterprises and settlements. As a result of wastewater discharge, the physical properties of water change (temperature rises, transparency decreases, color, tastes, odors appear); floating substances appear on the surface of the reservoir, and sediment forms at the bottom; the chemical composition of water changes (the content of organic and inorganic substances increases, toxic substances appear, the oxygen content decreases, the active reaction of the environment changes, etc.); the qualitative and quantitative bacterial composition changes, pathogenic bacteria appear. Polluted reservoirs become unsuitable for drinking, and often for technical water supply; lose their fishery importance, etc. The general conditions for the release of wastewater of any category into surface water bodies are determined by their national economic significance and the nature of water use.

The methods used for the treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater can be divided into three groups: mechanical; physicochemical, biological. The complex of treatment facilities, as a rule, includes mechanical treatment facilities. Depending on the required degree of purification, they can be supplemented with biological or physico-chemical treatment facilities, and with higher requirements, deep treatment facilities are included in the treatment facilities. Before being discharged into a reservoir, treated wastewater is disinfected, and the sludge or excess biomass formed at all stages of treatment is fed to sludge treatment facilities. Treated wastewater can be sent to the circulating water supply systems of industrial enterprises, for agricultural purposes, or discharged into a reservoir.

Mechanical treatment is used to isolate undissolved mineral and organic impurities from wastewater. As a rule, it is a pre-treatment method and is intended for the preparation of wastewater for biological or physico-chemical treatment methods. As a result of mechanical cleaning, suspended solids are reduced by up to 90%, and organic substances by up to 20%.

Mechanical cleaning facilities include gratings, various types of traps, settling tanks, and filters. Sand traps are used to isolate heavy mineral impurities (mainly sand) from wastewater. Dehydrated sand with reliable disinfection can be used in the production of road works and the manufacture of building materials. Equalizers are used to regulate the composition and flow of wastewater. Averaging is achieved either by differentiation of the flow of incoming waste water, or by intensive mixing of individual effluents.

Biological treatment is a widely used treatment method in practice. It is based on the process of biological oxidation of organic compounds contained in wastewater. Biological oxidation is carried out by a community of microorganisms, including many different bacteria, protozoa and a number of more highly organized organisms - algae, fungi, etc., interconnected in a single complex by complex relationships (metabolism, symbiosis and antagonism). Chemical and physico-chemical treatment methods play a significant role in the treatment of industrial wastewater. They are used both independently and in combination with mechanical and biological methods.

oil water atmosphere pollution

Chapter 2. The problem of air pollution

1 Causes of air pollution

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

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

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

2.2 The main types of air pollution of the Earth

As a basis for the classification of air pollution, various properties are taken: the origin of pollution, their nature, types and types of sources.

The nature of pollution can be physical. Such pollution includes solid particles (dust), radioactive radiation and isotopes, various types of electromagnetic waves, loud sounds and low-frequency vibrations, and heat emissions.

Chemical pollution includes gases and aerosols entering the atmosphere. Among the main types of atmospheric pollution of this kind are emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, heavy metals, ammonia, and radioactive isotopes.

Biological contamination is mainly of microbial nature. These are, first of all, spores of bacteria and fungi, viruses, as well as waste products of living organisms.

Another way to classify is according to the sources and composition of atmospheric pollution. Sources of anthropogenic pollution are divided into transport, industrial and domestic. By composition, they are usually divided into mechanical (dust, solid particles), chemical (gases and aerosols that can enter into chemical reactions), and radioactive - representing a danger due to radiation.

2.3 Methods and means of protecting the Earth's atmospheric layer

Tackling the problem of air pollution requires concerted action at many different levels. At the level of governments and international organizations, various documents are adopted that oblige economic participants to reduce harmful emissions. Such documents include the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the environmental legislation of states.

One of the common ways to control greenhouse emissions (primarily carbon dioxide) has become carbon quotas, which assume that each participant in economic activity (industrial enterprise, transport company) buys for himself the right to produce emissions in a strictly defined amount, exceeding which will lead to severe penalties. sanctions. The proceeds from the sale of carbon credits should be spent on overcoming the consequences of global warming. At the level of specific sources of harmful emissions, measures should be taken to prevent or at least reduce air pollution. Such measures include air purification from dust, aerosols and gases. The most effective methods here are inertial ("cyclones") or mechanical (filtration) dust collection, adsorption of gaseous pollution, afterburning of combustion products.

2.4 Consequences

In the process of human activity, the atmosphere is polluted by emissions of various gases, aerosols and solid particles. In addition, humanity intensively "contaminates" the atmosphere with electromagnetic and radiation radiation, thermal emissions, and so on. This kind of impact is commonly referred to as anthropogenic air pollution.

It is the anthropogenic air pollution that accounts for the bulk of harmful emissions. In addition, they are more dangerous than pollution of natural origin. According to the state of aggregation, I distinguish the following types of anthropogenic atmospheric pollution: solid particles, liquids (aerosols) and gases. The latter account for more than 90% of all emissions.

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

2.5 Impact on the atmosphere

Harmful emissions entering the atmospheric air are a factor affecting a variety of processes and objects. And yet, for obvious reasons, studies of the impact of atmospheric pollution on humans and on the climate of our planet are of the greatest importance.

The impact of air pollution on humans is not limited solely to the direct impact of airborne impurities on the functioning of the body. Although, of course, this is an extremely important aspect. Thus, the presence of carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide) in the inhaled air prevents the flow of oxygen into the blood, which leads to the death of a person. Heavy metal salts present in car exhaust gases are extremely toxic, as is ozone, which is a by-product of the chemical industry. Fine dust, soot particles formed during the combustion of diesel fuel have a carcinogenic effect.

In addition, the harmful effects of pollution may not be directly manifested. For example, freons, which are absolutely safe for humans when inhaled, when they enter the upper atmosphere, decompose and destroy the ozone layer that protects humans (and all living things along with them) from harsh ultraviolet radiation.

The impact of atmospheric pollution on climate also, ultimately, negatively affects human health, as it leads to a reduction in areas suitable for agriculture (and this is hunger), leads to an expansion of the range of vectors of dangerous diseases, in addition, a simple increase air temperature can cause an increase in cardiovascular diseases.

Conclusion

Environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and disruption of ecological ties in ecosystems have become global problems for mankind. And if humanity continues to follow the current path of development, then its death, according to the leading ecologists of the world, is inevitable in two or three generations. As the negative consequences of the violation of the ecological balance began to acquire a universal character, it became necessary to create an environmental movement.

The rational use of water resources is currently an extremely pressing problem. This is primarily the protection of water spaces from pollution, and since industrial effluents occupy the first place in terms of volume and damage that they cause, it is in the first place that it is necessary to solve the problem of their discharge into rivers. In particular, it is necessary to limit discharges into water bodies, as well as to improve production, purification and disposal technologies. Another important aspect is the collection of fees for the discharge of wastewater and pollutants and the transfer of funds collected for the development of new waste-free technologies and treatment facilities. It is necessary to reduce the amount of payment for environmental pollution to enterprises with minimal emissions and discharges, which in the future will serve as a priority to maintain a minimum discharge or reduce it. When organizing a system for monitoring the discharge of waste into the sea, the determination of dumping areas, the determination of the dynamics of pollution of sea water and bottom sediments is of decisive importance.

In the course of the work, the main causes of air pollution were clarified. The main cause of air pollution is the ingress of uncharacteristic physical, chemical and biological substances into it, as well as a change in their natural concentration.

Harmful emissions entering the atmospheric air are a factor affecting a variety of processes and objects. And yet, for obvious reasons, studies of the impact of atmospheric pollution on humans and on the climate of our planet are of the greatest importance. One of the common ways to control greenhouse emissions (primarily carbon dioxide) has become carbon quotas, which assume that each participant in economic activity (industrial enterprise, transport company) buys for himself the right to produce emissions in a strictly defined amount, exceeding which will lead to severe penalties. sanctions. The impact of atmospheric pollution on climate also, ultimately, negatively affects human health, as it leads to a reduction in areas suitable for agriculture (and this is hunger), leads to an expansion of the range of vectors of dangerous diseases, in addition, a simple increase air temperature can cause an increase in cardiovascular diseases.

Unfortunately, at the present stage, the development of market and economic relations is far ahead of the development of the legislative framework, including the promotion of rational environmental management. But still, let's not rush to pessimistic conclusions, because for several years the development of an appropriate legislative framework has been underway, and in the minds of people, attitudes towards the environment and the need to protect it are gradually changing. The economic and legal levers for protecting the natural environment and preventing its pollution, described in this paper, are an important foundation for the further development of economic and legal relations in the field of environmental safety.

Bibliography

1. Ismagilov R.R. The problem of pollution of the aquatic environment and ways to solve it [Text] / R.R. Ismagilov // Young scientist. - 2012. - No. 11. - S. 127-129.

2. Khotuntsev Yu.L. Ecology and environmental safety: Proc. allowance. - M.: ACADEMA, 2012. - 233 p.

indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.

The scale of society's impact on nature at the end of the 20th century obviously acquired a planetary character. It became clear that the impact on the biosphere, which it was subjected to until the middle of the 19th century, did not go beyond the permissible limits, while later humanity, increasing its population and consumption of all resources, exceeded these limits or, as they say now, the economic capacity of territories and even the entire biosphere. Mankind is on the verge of a global ecological crisis.

Humanity is faced with global environmental issues , how:

"the greenhouse effect"- a phenomenon caused by an increase in the concentration of gaseous substances in the Earth's atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, the sources of which are the combustion of coal, oil, gas and their derivatives, primarily gasoline, in furnaces of thermal power plants, car engines, etc., what is one of the factors in the increase in the average temperature on the planet and global climate change;

acid rain- a mixture of technogenic emissions (oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, etc.) with precipitation in the form of rain and snow, which leads to negative consequences for humans (in particular, respiratory diseases increase) and individual elements of the biosphere (desiccation of forests, increased soil acidity and etc.);

depletion of the "ozone layer" and the appearance of so-called “ozone holes” - a significant space in the ozonosphere (the layer of the atmosphere with the highest concentration of ozone at altitudes between 15 and 25 km) of the planet with a markedly reduced ozone content. The depletion of the ozone layer leads to an increase in the flow of ultraviolet rays to the earth's surface, which creates a danger to all life on our planet.

deforestation- a noticeable reduction in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bforests on our planet as a result of deforestation for harvesting industrial timber, clearing land for farmland and pastures, for fuel, and also due to environmental pollution with various chemical and other toxicants.

desertification- a process leading to the loss of a continuous vegetation cover by a natural ecosystem with the further impossibility of its restoration without human participation. This process takes place in all regions of the Earth, but Australia and the countries of the African continent are especially affected by desertification. The total area of ​​deserts, "created" by man, is more than 9 million square meters. km. The consequences of desertification are experienced by about 1/6 of the world's population;

threatening pollution of the environment by various toxicants: hazardous to human health and the entire biosphere of the Earth, industrial and agricultural waste, household activities. At present, humanity annually extracts over 100 billion tons of various mineral resources from the bowels of the Earth. Their predominant part (from 70 to 90 percent) turns into various types of production and consumption waste, polluting the environment. Russia is no exception here: annually in our country the volume of gross emissions of harmful substances polluting the atmospheric air by industrial enterprises is 30-32 million tons. According to aerospace survey data, the areas of distribution of technogenic emissions currently cover 18 million hectares of the territory of the Russian Federation, which is 1 percent of its total area.

danger of exhaustion of energy, mineral and raw materials available to the Earth. Modern civilization is increasingly consuming these non-renewable resources. If in the 19th century mankind mastered 54 elements of the periodic table, then by the middle of the 20th there were already 80 (without transuranium).

The list of environmental problems faced by the world community on the threshold of the 21st century, unfortunately, can be continued. The existence of such problems is indicative of "environmental crisis". Of course, the understanding of the ecological danger hanging over mankind did not arise today. However, the severity of the environmental problems of recent decades is forcing the world community to treat them in a new way. The realization of this danger as real has forced the world community to look for ways to solve environmental problems. Within the framework of the UN Conference on the Environment in Stockholm in 1972, and then at the intergovernmental forum held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, environmental problems were discussed and analyzed at the highest level. At the forum in Rio de Janeiro, documents were adopted in which a program of action was outlined to optimize the relationship of mankind with the natural environment. As the most acceptable strategy of the world community, the concept of sustainable development of civilization, based on the relationship between socio-economic development and the preservation of historically established ecological systems, has been put forward (9).

The transformation of ecology into one of the most important interdisciplinary sciences of our time can serve as evidence of the increased attention of mankind to the issues of relationships with nature. The term itself "ecology ” comes from the Greek. the words "oikos" - house, dwelling or habitat and "logos" - teaching, science. It was first introduced into science by the German biologist E. Haeckel (1866). Initially, ecology was the science of the relationship of organisms and the environment - a branch of biological science, which it continues to be. She is interested in the evolution of ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole. Since the mid-1920s, it has taken shape as the basis for rational environmental management and the protection of living organisms. And at the end of the twentieth century. develops and social ecology studying the patterns of interaction between society and the environment, as well as practical problems of its protection. Ecological ethics occupies a special place among its main sections.

One of the first who realized the global scale of the environmental dangers threatening people and outlined possible ways to overcome them were domestic scientists - naturalists and philosophers - representatives of "Russian cosmism" (K.E. Tsiolkovsky, V.I. Vernadsky and others). The name of K.E. Tsiolkovsky is associated with the development and substantiation of the space concept of the perspective positive development of human civilization. V.I. Vernadsky proposed a number of conceptual solutions to the contradictions of the world socio-natural system identified by him based on the synthesis of biospheric-cosmic concepts. Of particular interest is Vernadsky's doctrine of the noosphere. The term itself noosphere” (from the Greek mind and ball, i.e. the sphere of mind) was proposed by the French scientist E. Le Roy in 1927, but V. I. Vernadsky substantiated it (1944). In his opinion, the noosphere is the highest stage in the development of the biosphere, associated with the emergence and formation of a civilized society in it, with a period when rational human activity becomes the main, determining factor in development. He called for the mind of man to be directed to the creation, and not to the destruction of nature. Today, in the conditions of the ecological crisis, this call may seem naive to few people.

Literature for additional reading

Vernadsky, V.I. Philosophical thoughts of a naturalist / V.I. Vernadsky.-M.: Nauka, 1988.- P.130-153.

Volkov, Yu.G. Integral human nature: natural-scientific and humanitarian aspects: Textbook / Yu.G. Volkov, V.S. Polikarpov.- Rostov-on-D.: Publishing House of Rostov University, 1994.- 283p.

Gaidenko, V.P. Nature in the religious worldview / V.P. Gaidenko // Questions of Philosophy.-1995.-N3.- P.43-55.

Gumilyov, L.N. Ethnogenesis and biosphere of the Earth.- M.: Michel i K., 1993.- 501p.

Dryer, O.K. Ecology and sustainable development: Proc. allowance/. O.K.

Zubakov, V.A. Where are we going: to an ecocatastrophe or to an ecorevolution (Contours of the ecogeosophical paradigm) / V.A. Zubakov / / Philosophy and Society. - 1998. - No. 1. - P. 191-215.

Karpinskaya, R.S. Philosophy of nature: coevolutionary strategy / R.S. Karpinskaya, I.K. Liseev, A.P. Ogurtsov.- M.: Interpraks, 1995.- 352p.

The World of Philosophy: A Reading Book. At 2 o'clock / Comp. P.S. Gurevich, V.N. Stolyarov.- M.: Politizdat, 1991. Part 1.- S. 249-270; Part 2.- S.497-515, 522-538, 546-585.

Materials of the "round table" dedicated to the discussion of the book by N.N. Moiseev "To be or not to be ... for humanity" / / Questions of Philosophy. - 2000. - No. 5. - P.3-28.

Nikanorov, A.M. Global Ecology: Textbook / A.M. Nikanorov, T.A. Khoruzhaya. - M.: Publishing house PRIOR, 2001.- 286s.

Control questions and tasks

Describe the main forms of perception of nature in the history of philosophical thought.

What is the relationship between the concepts of "nature", "natural habitat", "artificial environment", "geographical environment", "biosphere"?

Society and nature interact with each other. What, in your opinion, is manifested: a) the impact of nature on society, b) the impact of society on nature?

Can the natural environment be regarded as an unchanging factor that affects society in the same way at different stages of its historical development?

What are the main historical stages of the interaction of nature and

society. Describe their features.

What is the essence of the current ecological situation?

What environmental problems have become global?

What measures is the world community taking to solve global environmental problems?

Is life on earth finite?

I am glad to welcome you, dear readers!

Today I want to touch on a topic that concerns me personally and, unfortunately, does not concern the majority of people. I am talking about the global problems of mankind and the planet Earth as a whole, which have been caused by man through his activities.

However, let's leave that for now. Friends, I sincerely congratulate you on Victory Day! It was for you and me, for our future and the future of our children, that our ancestors fought and brought us this victory in the Great Patriotic War! And it is on our hands that the responsibility lies to make this future bright and promising for all of us!

I wish us all peace and prosperity, may no ambitions and greed of other people force us, ordinary people, to go to war against anyone. Anyone who can read between the lines will understand me. May God grant us the development and realization of our goals!

Well, it was a celebratory retreat. I confess that I was inspired by the victory parade that is shown on TV

Well, I have set you up for a positive atmosphere, and now I want to talk with you about things that are less pleasant, but no less important for all of us and humanity as a whole.

As you know, man is a highly developed biological species. His high intelligence due to evolution allowed him to adapt to any environmental conditions and protect himself from almost any threat from the outside world, thanks to which his population expanded throughout our planet.

However, as a person develops (and this development occurs exponentially), we observe the degradation of other types of organisms, as well as the gradual dying of the planet as a whole.

Unfortunately, very often a person forgets that in pursuit of the extraction of current goods, he destroys the environment in which he is, that then he (or rather: his descendants) will get sideways. Let's look at what problems are most relevant at the moment, what kind of human activity creates these problems, and what consequences it can bring.

1. Air pollution.

One of the most pressing global environmental problems of mankind. It is not difficult to guess that heavy industry enterprises create the lion's share of this problem. Any factory or plant that needs to burn a large amount of fuel for activities emits the remains of this fuel into the atmosphere. After that, they are assisted by vehicles that also burn gasoline. And all this "cocktail" from the exhaust we breathe with you.

Why is it harmful and what can it lead to? Oh, there are many points, but here are the main ones:

a) banal lung pollution - all these residues of burned fuel are heavy substances that settle in the lungs, which can lead to serious diseases of the latter; I would like to note that the person himself often helps these substances, “sprinkling” soot from tobacco smoke into the lungs;

b) the occurrence of cancerous tumors - even now it is difficult to determine the causes of cancer in humans, but many doctors argue that the lion's share of cancer lies in the radiation that is in the air; I think it's easy to guess where it comes from;

c) mutations are the worst, in my opinion, what the impact of dirty air on the human body can lead to, because in this case the human DNA changes, which can lead to undesirable deviations in the body of not only the person himself, but also all his descendants; Agree, no one wants to doom their children to an inferior life already starting from their very birth.

There is much more to be said about the effects of polluted air on the human body. If I missed something important - add it in the comments. We go further.

I think many people have heard about this phenomenon. For others, I will elaborate. It is known that before the beginning of the industrial revolution, the share of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 0.026%. At the moment, it is about 0.04% and continues to grow exponentially. This is again due to the combustion of fuel in large quantities, the main product of which is carbon dioxide.

In nature, green plants - trees, shrubs and others - are engaged in the processing of carbon dioxide back into oxygen, but we all know very well how people treat them now.

As a result, an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to the greenhouse effect - an increase in temperature throughout the planet. And although changes of 1-2 degrees are not critical for us, people, nevertheless, at the polar latitudes, such changes cause the melting of ice in large quantities, which raises the level of the world ocean, and the coasts of the continents are simply flooded irrevocably, with all the fertile lands and the rest the goodness of people.

I confess that I have not returned to the topic of the greenhouse effect for a long time, so if you have something to add or correct me, feel free to write in the comments.

1. El Niño effect.

The last serious global environmental problem of mankind that I want to touch upon. I could write and write a lot about it, but I'll just leave here a small forty-minute documentary, from which I actually learned about this phenomenon myself. Take your time and watch it, it's worth it.

Well, have you looked? How do you like the movie? What do you think of El Niño? Nothing dangerous or can we repeat the fate of past civilizations? Rather, write your thoughts in the comments, I just can’t wait to listen to you and discuss it all with you!

Here, friends, are the main and, in my opinion, the most serious global environmental problems of mankind. In addition to data, there are still very, very many threats and problems for people and the planet, so I leave this topic entirely for addition and discussion in the comments.

Once again, Happy Victory Day! May success and good luck accompany you, although we ourselves create our own luck, don't we?

Sincerely, .

“One thing annoys me: before we destroy ourselves, we will destroy the planet”
Ursula Le Guin