Global environmental crisis - solutions. Ways out of the modern environmental crisis

Introduction. 2

1. Environmental problems 3

2. Exit ecological crisis 4

2.1. Greening production 6

2.2. Application of administrative measures and measures

Legal responsibility for environmental

Offenses (administrative and legal direction) 8

2.3. E religious education direction 10

2.4. International legal protection 11

Conclusion 13

References 14

Introduction.

The current state of the environment has forced the planet's population to think about its protection. Human economic activity has recently led to serious environmental pollution. The atmosphere is saturated with chemical compounds, waters become unsuitable for use and life of organisms, the lithosphere also “received its share of industrial waste.” Nature cannot independently cope with such human influence; large-scale pollution occurs, covering all living shells of the Earth. This is where the definition of “ecological crisis” comes from.

So, the environmental crisis -the stage of interaction between society and nature, at which the contradictions between economics and ecology are aggravated to the limit, and the possibility of preserving the ability of self-regulation and ecosystems under conditions of anthropogenic impact is seriously undermined.Since everything in nature is interconnected, a violation of one component (for example, depletion of water reserves) leads to changes in others (drying and cooling of the climate, changes in soils and the species composition of organisms), which poses a danger to humanity. Therefore, the task of this work is to show the importance of solving environmental problems and ways out of the current situation.

Ecological problems.

Consider environmental issues different areas, which have priority in solving the problem of overcoming the environmental crisis.

In the atmosphere there is a high level of air pollution in cities and industrial centers; adverse effects of atmospheric pollutants (pollutants) on human body, animals, state of plants and ecosystems; possible climate warming (“greenhouse effect”); risk of ozone depletion; acid rain and acidification of natural environments due to the anthropogenic spread of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides; photochemical (containing chemicals that can oxidize, these include gasoline vapors, paints, tropospheric ozone) air pollution;

In the hydrosphere - increasing pollution of freshwater and marine ecosystems, increasing volumes of wastewater; ocean pollution; reduction in biological productivity of aquatic ecosystems; the occurrence of mutagenesis in polluted aquatic environments; depletion of fresh groundwater reserves; progressive decrease in the minimum permissible surface water flow; shallowing (disappearance) and pollution of small rivers; reduction and drying of inland water bodies; negative consequences of river flow regulation for organisms permanently living in the aquatic environment; negative environmental consequences of the creation of large lowland reservoirs;

In the lithosphere - desertification due to improper land use; expansion of desert areas due to human intervention; wind and water soil erosion; soil contamination with pesticides, nitrates and other harmful substances; reduction in soil fertility to a critical level; waterlogging and secondary salinization; alienation of land for construction and other purposes; activation of landslides, mudflows, flooding, permafrost and other unfavorable geological processes, negative changes in natural ecosystems during subsoil development (relief disturbances, emissions of dust and gas, movement and sedimentation of rocks, etc.); irretrievable losses of huge amounts of mineral raw materials; increasing costs and scarcity of critical mineral resources;

In biotic (living) communities – reduction of the planet's biological diversity; loss of regulatory functions of living nature at all levels; degradation of the gene pool of the biosphere; reduction of forest area, destruction of tropical rainforests over vast areas; forest fires and burning of vegetation; change in albedo of the earth's surface; reduction in the disappearance of many species of vascular plants, reduction in numbers in the extinction of certain animal species;

In the environment (in general) – an increase in the volume of industrial and household waste, including the most dangerous (for example, radioactive); low level of safety of their storage; increase in radiological load on the biosphere due to the development of nuclear energy; negative physiological consequences for living organisms caused by physical (noise, electromagnetic radiation, etc.) and biological (bacteria, viruses, etc.) influences; deliberate human impact on the natural environment for military purposes; the rapid increase in the number of major man-made accidents and disasters at energy, chemical, transport and other facilities, due to the increased concentration of production, high degree wear and tear of machinery and equipment.

Way out of the environmental crisis.

Finding a way out of the global environmental crisis is the most important scientific and practical problem of our time. Thousands of scientists, politicians, and practitioners in all countries of the world are working on its solution. The task is to develop a set of reliable anti-crisis measures that will make it possible to actively counteract further degradation of the natural environment and achieve sustainable development of society. Attempts to solve this problem by any means alone, for example technological ones (sewage treatment plants, waste-free technologies, etc.), are fundamentally incorrect and will not lead to the necessary results.

The prospect of overcoming the environmental crisis lies in changing human production activities, his lifestyle, and his consciousness.Overcoming it is possible only under the condition of harmonious developmentnature and man, removing the confrontation between them, it is necessarychanging the concept of managing human society from nature-conserving, consumer to environmental. Required A complex approach when solving environmental problems, i.e. ensure the protection of all components of the natural environment - atmospheric air, water, soil, etc. - as a single whole.

There are five main directions for overcoming the environmental crisis:

Improvement of technology, which includes the creation of environmentally friendly technology, the introduction of waste-free, low-waste production, renewal of fixed assets, etc.

Development and improvement of the economic mechanism for environmental protection.

Application of administrative measures and measures of legal liability for environmental offenses (administrative and legal direction).

Harmonization of environmental thinking (ecological and educational direction).

Harmonization of environmental international relations (international legal direction).

2.1. Greening of production.

Progress in overcoming the environmental crisis will be achieved with the creation of environmentally friendly equipment. Therefore, greening production is important when solving the problem of overcoming the environmental crisis. This task is achieved through engineering developments. The most correct solution is the use of closed, waste-free and low-waste technologies for processing raw materials, the integrated use of all its components, and minimizing the amount of gaseous, liquid, solid, and energy waste in technological processes. Construction of wastewater treatment plants remains one of the most effective ways combating biosphere pollution.

To clean the atmosphere, dry and wet dust collectors, fabric (cloth) filters and electric precipitators are used. The choice of equipment type depends on the type of dust, its physical and chemical properties, dispersed composition and total content in the air. Methods for cleaning industrial waste are divided into the following groups: washing emissions with solvents of impurities (absorption method), washing emissions with solutions of reagents that chemically bind impurities (chemisorption method); absorption of gaseous impurities by solid active substances (adsorption method); absorption of impurities using catalysts.

Preventing hydrosphere pollution also involves creating waste-free technological processes. Wastewater is purified using mechanical, physico-chemical, and biological methods.

The mechanical method consists of settling and filtering mechanical impurities. Particles are captured by gratings and sieves of various designs, and surface contamination is captured by oil traps, oil traps, tar traps, etc.

Physico-chemical treatment consists of adding chemical reagents to wastewater that react with pollutants and promote the precipitation of insoluble and partially soluble substances.Mechanical and physico-chemical methods are the first stages of wastewater treatment, after which they are sent for biological treatment.

The biological treatment method involves the mineralization of organic pollutants in wastewater using aerobic biochemical processes. There are several types of biological devices for wastewater treatment: biofilters (water is passed through a layer of coarse material covered with a thin bacterial film, due to which biochemical oxidation processes occur), aeration tanks (a method using activated sludge) and biological ponds.

Contaminated wastewater is also purified using the electrolytic method (passing an electric current through contaminated water), using ultrasound, ozone, ion exchange resins and high pressure.

The protection of the lithosphere should include the neutralization and processing of municipal solid waste (MSW). Work on neutralization and recycling of waste is expensive and extremely necessary. Waste incineration plants, landfills, and waste treatment plants are used. Waste recycling plants serve as a source of valuable components: scrap metals, paper, plastics, glass, food waste, which can serve as secondary raw materials. The use of recycled materials, in turn, allows you to save on production, which in turn saves the environment from the negative impact of the production process.

2.2. Application of administrative measures

And measures of legal liability for environmental violations

(administrative and legal direction).

Let's consider the measures developedat the state levelon environmental protection and methods of punishment applied to violators.

Complex legal norms and legal relations regulating social relations in the sphere of interaction of society is called environmental law. The sources of environmental law are regulations, containing environmental and legal norms. These are the Constitution of the Russian Federation, international treaties of the Russian Federation, laws of the Russian Federation, legislative and other regulatory acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, departmental regulatory acts, regulatory legal acts of bodies local government etc. In 2002, the Environmental Doctrine of the Russian Federation was adopted and the federal law No. 7-FZ “On Environmental Protection”, which defines the legal basis of the country’s state policy in the field of environmental protection, ensuring a balanced solution of socio-economic problems, preservation of a favorable environment, biological diversity and natural resources. It contains: standards: permissible impact on the environment, permissible emissions and discharges of substances and microorganisms, generation of production and consumption waste and limits on their disposal, permissible physical impacts on the environment, permissible removal of components of the natural environment; state standards for new technology, technologies, materials, substances, technological processes, storage, transportation; licensing of certain types of activities in the field of environmental protection; certification in the field of OS protection; environmental control. In accordance with the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection”, economic and other activities that have an impact on the environment must be carried out on the basis of the following principles:

respect for the human right to a healthy environment;

conservation of biological diversity;

priority of conservation of natural ecological systems, natural landscapes and natural complexes;

protection, reproduction and rational use of natural resources;

ensuring the reduction of negative impacts on the environment in accordance with environmental standards, which can be achieved through the use of the best existing technologies, taking into account economic and social factors;

mandatory environmental impact assessment when making decisions on economic and other activities.

For violation of legislation in the field of OS protection, the following types liability: administrative, criminal, disciplinary and property. Measures can be applied to citizens, officials and legal entities.

Administrative responsibility is expressed in the application of administrative penalties (fines). Criminal liability occurs in the presence of socially dangerous consequences. Punishment ranges from a fine to imprisonment for up to 5 years, and in special cases up to 20 years. Officials and employees of organizations are subject to disciplinary liability if, as a result of their improper performance of their official or labor duties, the organization incurred administrative liability for violation of environmental legislation, which led to a negative impact on the environment.

Property liability is aimed at compensating the losses caused to the victim at the expense of the offender.

2.3. E religious education direction.

A significant part of the damage caused to nature is due to low environmental culture and poor awareness.

Nowadays, people who make responsible technical decisions and do not know at least the basics of natural sciences become socially dangerous to society. To savenature needsso that every personin contact withindustrial oragriculturalproduction, with householdchemicals, was not only environmentally conscious, but and was aware your responsibilityfor actions that bring there is obvious harm to her.

One of the sources of educating the population about the environmental situation in various regions of the country is the means mass media: newspapers, magazines, radio, television. They bear a huge responsibility for reflecting not only conflicts with nature, but also the complexity of their resolution. They should show ways out of critical situations and reflect the need to preserve the natural environment.

Book publishing has its place in the work of educating the population. It is necessary to increase the printing of specialized literature, which is becoming less and less over time.

Environmental education activities are carried out in cultural institutions and government organizations and it must be continued. Conduct in libraries, organize local history museums, hold reader conferences, etc.

To improve environmental education activities it is necessary:

Create a unified system of mass environmental information for all segments of the population;

Provide the population with comprehensive environmental information at their place of residence;

Achieve maximum transparency in environmental work.

An effective link in strengthening information activities is an integrated approach to organizing environmental propaganda and involving people in practical environmental work. The information content of all categories of people is ultimately intended to ensure the formation of a humane attitude towards nature.

2.4. International legal protection.

The deplorable state of the environment has led to the united efforts of countries around the world to solve global environmental problems and ensure global environmental safety. Various levels of organizations, commissions, committees, international agreements, global observation systems and services, research programs, and projects are being created.

There are many organizations that support and implement conservation programs. These include the United Nations (UN) system, which is uniquely positioned to take action to address global environmental issues and assist governments. Various UN structures are actively promoting the creation of more effective economic and social development to achieve sustainable development goals on a global scale (meaning human activities that do not harm nature). UN organizations include: Commission (committee) UN Environment– UNEP, the UN organization foreducation, science, culture –UNESCO, European Economic commission UN. An important role in solving environmental problems is played by: the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the World Fund wildlife(WWF), International Union for Conservation of Nature And Natural Resources (IUCN), International council of scientific unions (ICSU) and its Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPES ICSU),Organization of economic cooperation and development (OECD), International Agency on nuclear energy (IAEA). There are also observation services for climate, oceans, changes in atmospheric chemistry, etc.

In order to solve global environmental problems, many conventions have been adopted and protocols to them have been signed.

International cooperation focuses on the following environmental issues:

Climate and its changes. The work is centered on the Climate Convention, as well as WMO organizations, projects and “climate” programs carried out jointly with other international organizations.

The problem of “clean water” is at the attention of WHO, various structures UN, WMO.

Problems of environmental pollution. Almost all international and interethnic organizations deal with them.

Waste. To solve this problem, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal was adopted.

Biodiversity loss and species loss. The Convention on Biodiversity was adopted, and the Pan-European Strategy for the Conservation of Biodiversity was developed.

Coastal areas. Are being implemented agreements and documents aimed at preserving natural ecosystems and landscapes.

Medical ecology. Projects and programs are carried out by WHO and the UN.

Safety of biotechnologies, transgenic products and food.

Thus, we noted the approach to studying and solving the problems of the global environmental crisis on a global scale.

Conclusion.

This work examined the concept of an environmental crisis, environmental problems in various areas,It was found that solving the global environmental crisis is the most important problem of our time.

To achieve the goal of solving a global problem, an integrated approach to environmental protection is required. Not only technical measures must be taken to protect the environment, but also awareness-raising work with all segments of the population is necessary; it is necessary to set the task of protection for every inhabitant of the planet. The work reflects administrative measures and legal liability for violation of state legislation in the field of environmental protection. I would like to note that punishments for particularly serious violations against nature are equivalent in severity to punishments for killing a person.

Problems of the environmental crisis are being solved not only within one state, but throughout the world. Created great amount international organizations, committees, agreements aimed at fighting for a clean environment.

And yet the indicator of environmental problems will not improve and new environmental threats will arise until the task of every person becomes practical concern for the environment.

Bibliography.

Danilov-Danilyan V.I., Losev K.S., Environmental challenge and sustainable development. Tutorial. M.: Progress-Tradition, 2000. – 416 pp., 18 ill.

Korobkin V.L., Peredelsky L.V., Ecology. – Rostov n/d: Publishing house “Phoenix”, 2001 – 576 p.

Lisichkin G.V. Ecological crisis and ways to overcome it // Modern natural science: Encyclopedia. In 10 volumes - M.: Publishing center House Magistr-Press, 2000. - T.6 - General chemistry. – 320 pp.: ill.

Losev A.V., Provadkin G.G. Social ecology: Textbook. manual for universities / Ed. V.I. Zhukova. – M.: Humanite. ed. VLADOS center, 1998 – 312 p.

Nikanorov A.L., Khorunzhaya T.A. Global ecology: Textbook. – M.: PRIOR Publishing House, 2000

Stepanovskikh A.S.Ecology: Textbook for universities. – M.: UNITY-DANA, 2001. – 703 p.

Ecology: Textbook. for universities / N. I. Nikolaikin, N. E. Nikolaikina, O. P. Melekhova. – 2nd ed., revised. and additional – M.: Bustard, 2003. – 624 p.: ill.

Ecological crisis¾ this is a stage of interaction between society and nature at which the contradictions between economics and ecology are aggravated to the limit, and the possibility of maintaining potential homeostasis, i.e. the ability of self-regulation of ecosystems under conditions of anthropogenic impact, is seriously undermined.

The environmental crisis is not an inevitable and natural product of scientific and technological progress; it is caused both in our country and in other countries of the world by a complex of reasons of an objective and subjective nature, among which not the least place is occupied by the consumerist and often predatory attitude towards nature, neglect of fundamental environmental laws.

The way out of the global environmental crisis is the most important scientific and practical problem of our time. Thousands of scientists, politicians, and practitioners in all countries of the world are working on its solution. The task is to develop a set of reliable anti-crisis measures that will make it possible to actively counteract further degradation of the natural environment and achieve sustainable development of society. Attempts to solve this problem by any means alone, for example, technological ones (sewage treatment plants, waste-free technologies, etc.), are fundamentally incorrect and will not lead to the necessary results. Overcoming the environmental crisis is possible only under the condition of the harmonious development of nature and man and the removal of antagonism between them. This is achievable only on the basis of the implementation of the “trinity natural nature, society and humanized nature" (Zhdanov, 1995) on the paths of sustainable development of society (UN Conference, Rio de Janeiro, 1992), an integrated approach to solving environmental problems.

An analysis of both the environmental and socio-economic situation in Russia allows us to identify five main directions along which Russia should overcome the environmental crisis (Petrov, 1995, Fig. 19.1). At the same time, an integrated approach to solving this problem is necessary, i.e. all five directions must be used simultaneously.

Rice. 19.1. Ways for Russia to overcome the environmental crisis
(according to V.V. Petrov, 1995)

The first direction is named improvement of technology¾ creation of environmentally friendly technology, introduction of waste-free, low-waste production, renewal of fixed assets, etc.

The second direction is the development and improvement of the economic mechanism for environmental protection.

Third direction ¾ application of administrative measures and measures of legal liability for environmental violations (administrative and legal direction).

Fourth direction ¾ harmonization of environmental thinking ( environmental and educational direction).

Fifth direction ¾ harmonization of environmental international relations ( international legal direction).

Certain steps to overcome the environmental crisis in all of the above five areas are being taken in Russia, but we all have to go through the most difficult and responsible sections of the path ahead. They will decide whether Russia will emerge from the environmental crisis or perish, plunging into the abyss of environmental ignorance and unwillingness to be guided by the fundamental laws of the development of the biosphere and the limitations arising from them.

End of work -

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Types of Marine Ecosystems
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Biotic regulation of the environment
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Man is an integral part of the living and cannot exist in natural conditions outside the biosphere and living matter of a certain evolutionary type. Hominid family

Human heredity
The genetic program created during the formation of the species Homo sapiens defines it as a biological species. It is written in DNA molecules, is quite conservative and “represents the most

The built environment and human evolution
Man himself is the creator and regulator of the development of urban systems. The nature and intensity of it economic activity and the ability to maintain environmental quality of course

Humanity as a population system
The human population, i.e. the population of a special species ¾ Homo sapiens, has the same properties as the animal population, but the nature and form of their manifestations differ significantly due to de

Population growth
The growth of the Earth's population obeys an exponential law, while the growth is not constant, but in recent decades has been increasing. Based on this, ecologists assess after

General views
In the most general form, in relation to a person: “Resources are something extracted from the natural environment to satisfy their needs and desires” (Miller, 1993, Vol. 1).

About fundamental types of ecosystems
Man, in the competitive struggle for survival in the natural environment, began to build his own artificial anthropogenic ecosystems. About ten thousand years ago he ceased to be an “ordinary” consu

Agricultural ecosystems (agroecosystems)
The main goal of the created agricultural systems is ¾ rational use of those biological resources that are directly involved in human activity ¾ pi sources

About urbanization processes
Urbanization ¾ is the growth and development of cities, an increase in the share of the urban population in the country due to rural areas, the process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society. Population growth

Urban systems
Urban system (urbosystem) ¾ “an unstable natural-anthropogenic system consisting of architectural and construction objects and sharply disturbed natural ecosystems” (Reimers, 1990

The influence of natural and environmental factors on human health
Initially, Homo Sapiens lived in the natural environment, like all consumers of the ecosystem, and was practically unprotected from the action of its limiting environmental factors. Primitive man was

The influence of socio-ecological factors on human health
To fight the action natural factors regulation of the ecosystem, man had to use natural resources, including irreplaceable ones, and create an artificial environment for his survival

Hygiene and human health
Maintaining health or the occurrence of disease is the result of complex interactions between the body’s internal biosystems and external environmental factors. Understanding these complex interactions

General provisions
The biosphere, a very dynamic planetary ecosystem, has been constantly changing during all periods of its evolutionary development under the influence of various natural processes. As a result of long evolution

Introduction
The issue of human impact on the atmosphere is the focus of attention of specialists and ecologists around the world. And this is no coincidence, since the largest global environmental problems of our time &fra

Ambient air pollution
Atmospheric air pollution should be understood as any change in its composition and properties, which has a negative impact on human and animal health, the state of

Emission of the main pollutants (pollutants) into the atmosphere in the world and in Russia
In addition to the main pollutants indicated in the table, many other very dangerous toxic substances enter the atmosphere: lead,

Currently, the main contribution to air pollution in Russia is made by the following industries: thermal power engineering (thermal and nuclear power plants, industrial and municipal boilers

Environmental consequences of air pollution
Atmospheric air pollution affects human health and the natural environment in various ways, from a direct and immediate threat (smog, etc.) to a slow and gradual one.

Toxicity of air pollution for plants (Bondarenko, 1985)
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is especially dangerous for plants, under the influence of which many trees die, and in the first place

Environmental consequences of global air pollution
The most important environmental consequences of global air pollution include: 1) possible climate warming (“greenhouse effect”); 2) violation of the ozone layer; 3)

Ozone layer depletion
Ozone layer(ozonosphere) covers the entire globe and is located at altitudes from 10 to 50 km with a maximum ozone concentration at an altitude of 20-25 km. Atmospheric ozone saturation

Acid rain
One of the most important environmental problems associated with the oxidation of the natural environment is ¾ acid rain. They are formed during industrial emissions of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere.

Introduction
The existence of the biosphere and humans has always been based on the use of water. Humanity has constantly strived to increase water consumption, exerting a huge multilateral impact on the hydrosphere.

Hydrosphere pollution
Pollution of water bodies is understood as a decrease in their biosphere functions and ecological significance as a result of the entry of harmful substances into them. Water pollution manifests itself in and

Main water pollutants
Main types of pollution. The most common types of water pollution are chemical and bacterial. Significant

Priority pollutants of aquatic ecosystems by industry sector
It should be noted that currently the volume of industrial wastewater discharges into many aquatic ecosystems is not only unreasonable

Ecological consequences of hydrosphere pollution
Pollution of aquatic ecosystems poses a huge danger to all living organisms and, in particular, to humans. Freshwater ecosystems. It was found that under the influence

Depletion of groundwater and surface water
Water depletion should be understood as an unacceptable reduction in their reserves within a certain territory (for groundwater) or a decrease in the minimum permissible flow (for surface water).

Introduction
The upper part of the lithosphere, which directly acts as the mineral basis of the biosphere, is subjected to increasing anthropogenic impact every year. In an era of turbulence

Soil (land) degradation
Soil degradation ¾ is a gradual deterioration of its properties, which is accompanied by a decrease in humus content and a decrease in fertility. Soil ¾ is one of the most important

Soil (land) erosion
Soil erosion (from Latin erosio ¾ erosion) ¾ destruction and removal of the upper most fertile horizons and underlying rocks by wind (wind erosion) or streams

Soil pollution
Surface soil layers are easily polluted. Large concentrations of various chemical compounds and toxicants in the soil have a detrimental effect on the vital activity of soil organisms. At the same time losing

Secondary salinization and waterlogging of soils
In the process of economic activity, people can increase natural salinization of soils. This phenomenon is called secondary salinization and it develops with excessive watering of irrigated lands.

Desertification
One of the global manifestations of soil degradation, and the entire natural environment in general, is desertification. According to B. G. Rozanov (1984), desertification is an irreversible process

Alienation of lands
The soil cover of agroecosystems is irreversibly disrupted when land is alienated for non-agricultural needs: construction of industrial facilities, cities, towns, for laying linear

Rocks
In the process of human engineering and economic activity, the rocks that make up the upper part of the earth's crust undergo compression, tension, displacement, water saturation, and drainage to varying degrees.

Rock masses
Rock masses and, first of all, their surface strata, during engineering and economic development, are subject to powerful anthropogenic impact. They arise (or intensify) like this

Impacts on the subsoil
The subsoil is the upper part of the earth's crust, within which mining is possible. Ecological and some other functions of the subsoil as a natural object before

Introduction
In modern conditions of increased anthropogenic impact, there is an intensive transformation and change not only in the abiotic components of the biosphere, ¾ of the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the upper part of the

The importance of forests in nature and human life
Among biotic communities, forests are of primary importance in nature and in human life. Russia is rich in forests. The total forested area in the country is 1.2 billion hectares, or 75% of the area.

Anthropogenic impacts on forests and other plant communities
To characterize the current state of vegetation cover and, first of all, forest ecosystems, the term ¾ degradation is increasingly used. Forests are earlier than other natural components

Ecological consequences of human impact on flora
The consumerist and often predatory attitude of humans towards plant communities appeared at the initial stage of the development of agriculture and cattle breeding. Subsequently, especially with the onset of stormy

Relative sensitivity of plants to the effects of air pollution
Note: U ¾ stable, H ¾ sensitive, P ¾ intermediate sensitivity. &n

Extinction of higher plant species under human influence over the past 200 years
Currently in Russia, more than a thousand species are on the verge of extinction and are in urgent need of protection. From the flora of Russia

The importance of the animal world in the biosphere
The fauna is the totality of all species and individuals of wild animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, as well as insects, mollusks and other invertebrates

Human impact on animals and the reasons for their extinction
Despite the enormous value of the animal world, having mastered fire and weapons, man began to exterminate animals in the early periods of his history, and now, armed with modern technology, he has developed

Pollution of the environment by production and consumption waste
One of the most pressing environmental problems at present is pollution of the natural environment with production and consumption waste, and primarily with hazardous waste. Sco

Noise impact
Noise impact is one of the forms of harmful physical impact on the natural environment. Noise pollution occurs as a result of unacceptable excess

Biological contamination
Biological pollution is understood as the introduction into ecosystems as a result of anthropogenic impact of uncharacteristic species of living organisms (bacteria, viruses, etc.),

Exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiation
The Law of the Russian Federation “On Environmental Protection” (2002) provides for measures to prevent and eliminate harmful physical influences, including electromagnetic and magnetic fields.

Pollution from rocket and space activities
The operation of rocket and space technology is associated with a global impact on the Earth’s natural ecosystems and near-Earth space. In the Law of the Russian Federation “On Space Activities” the principle without

Introduction
Extreme destructive impacts on the natural environment can be anthropogenic (military actions, accidents, catastrophes) and natural (natural disasters).

Impact of weapons of mass destruction
Any military action causes significant damage to the natural environment, especially if it is carried out over a large area for a long time. However, even during short-term military

Impact of man-made environmental disasters
Man-made environmental disaster ¾ is an accident of a technical device (nuclear power plant, tanker, etc.), which leads to acutely unfavorable changes in the surrounding natural environment

Natural disasters
Natural disasters include natural phenomena that create catastrophic environmental situations and, as a rule, are accompanied by enormous human and material losses.

Endogenous natural disasters
Earthquakes are one of the most formidable manifestations of the internal energy of the Earth. Sudden seismic shocks and vibrations of the earth's surface can be very significant and have catastrophic consequences.

Exogenous natural disasters
Among natural disasters of an exogenous nature, the most dangerous are floods, tropical storms, drought, landslides, landslides and mudflows. Floods ¾ temporary flooding

Basic forms of interaction between nature and society
In the history of the formation of environmental activities, the following main forms of interaction between nature and society can be distinguished: species and nature reserve protection ¾ resource protection &frac3

The most important environmental principles and objects of environmental protection
Universal relationships and interdependencies, objectively existing both in nature itself and in interaction with society, determine the basic principles of environmental protection and diet

Principal directions of engineering environmental protection
The main directions of engineering environmental protection from pollution and other types of anthropogenic impacts ¾ introduction of resource-saving, waste-free and low-waste technology, biotechnologist

Low-waste and non-waste technologies and their role in protecting the environment
A fundamentally new approach to the development of all industrial and agricultural production - the creation of low-waste and waste-free technology. The concept of waste-free technology, in conjunction with

Biotechnology in environmental protection
In recent years, in environmental science, increasing interest has been shown in biotechnological processes based on the creation of products, phenomena and effects necessary for humans with the help of microorganisms.

Standardization of environmental quality
The quality of the environment is understood as the degree to which its characteristics correspond to the needs of people and technological requirements. All environmental protection measures are based on the principle of

Atmosphere protection
To protect the air basin from negative anthropogenic impacts in the form of pollution by harmful substances, the following measures are used: ¨ greening of technological processes;

Surface hydrosphere
Surface waters are protected from clogging, pollution and depletion. To prevent clogging, measures are taken to prevent construction waste, solids from

Underground hydrosphere
The main measures to protect groundwater currently being taken are to prevent the depletion of groundwater reserves and protect them from pollution. As for surface waters, this

Soil (land) protection
Protection of soils from progressive degradation and unreasonable losses is the most pressing environmental problem in agriculture, which is still far from being resolved. Among the main links

Protection and rational use of subsoil
Subsoil is subject to mandatory protection from depletion of mineral reserves and pollution. It is also necessary to warn harmful effects subsoil on the environment during their development.

Reclamation of disturbed areas
Reclamation is a set of works carried out to restore disturbed areas and bring land to a safe condition. Ter violation

Protection of rock masses
The strategic line of protection and rational use of landslides, mudflows, karst and other rock masses can be presented as follows: ¨ not fetishized

Protection of flora
To preserve the number and population-species composition of plants, a set of environmental measures is being implemented, which include: ¨ fighting forest fires; ¨ def

Wildlife protection
The Wildlife Law (1995) covers the regulation, protection and use of wild animals, i.e. animals in a state of natural freedom. Security and use

Red Book
The Red Book contains information about rare, endangered or threatened species of plants and animals, with the aim of introducing a regime of their special protection and reproduction.

Specially protected natural areas
To the most effective forms The protection of biotic communities, as well as all natural ecosystems, should include a state system of specially protected natural areas. Especially oh

Protection from production and consumption waste
This section uses the following basic concepts: Recycling (from the Latin utilis ¾ useful) waste ¾ extraction from them and economic use

Noise protection
Like all other types of anthropogenic impacts, the problem of noise pollution is international in nature. World Health Organization (WHO), given the global nature of noise

Protection from electromagnetic fields and radiation
Protection from electromagnetic fields and radiation in our country is regulated by the Law of the Russian Federation “On Environmental Protection” (2002), as well as a number of regulatory documents (“Temporary Sanitary No.

Protection from negative biological effects
Prevention, timely detection, localization and elimination of biological pollution is achieved comprehensive measures related to anti-epidemic protection of the population

Green energy consumption
According to domestic and foreign experts, one of the main directions for improving the environmental situation in the world and preserving public health is reducing the level of consumption of natural resources.

Main directions of environmentally friendly energy consumption
The introduction of new Russian thermal engineering requirements has presented designers and builders with a number of complex tasks that require urgent solutions. The main direction of environmentally friendly energy

It should be noted that in Russia per capita production of thermal insulation materials is several times less than in other countries.

Energy-saving recessed buildings
Significant savings in energy resources in the housing construction sector can also be achieved through the construction of recessed residential buildings, which are commonly called energy-saving

The concept of an energy-saving eco-house
An eco-house is an autonomous low-rise building that uses natural processes to the maximum extent possible to ensure its life, including energy supply

The concept of sustainable development includes, as an obligatory component, a gradual transition from energy based on the combustion of fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas, etc.) to non-traditional (

Resource saving in construction
The use of technogenic raw materials is a powerful environmental resource. In the context of growing environmental tension in the world, the problem of rational use and efficiency

Environmental safety of technogenic raw materials
One of the most important criteria for the suitability of technogenic raw materials for the production of building materials and for other purposes is toxicity and radioactivity, i.e. the degree of its

Environmental legislation of the Russian Federation
The sources of environmental law are the following legal documents: 1) the Constitution; 2) Laws and codes in the field of nature conservation; 3) Decrees and orders of the President p

State authorities in the field of environmental protection
State bodies of management, control and supervision in the field of environmental protection are divided into two categories: bodies of general and special competence. To government agencies

Environmental standardization, certification and certification
The general provisions of Russian environmental legislation are specified in state standards (GOST), which, like regulations, instructions and decisions, are related to by-laws.

Environmental assessment and assessment
The legal mechanism for managing natural resources and environmental protection also includes such an important form of preventive environmental control as an examination. Differences

Environmental risk and areas of increased environmental risk
Environmental risk ¾ is an assessment at all levels ¾ from point to global, of the likelihood of negative changes in the environment caused by anthropogenic

Zones of environmental emergency and environmental disaster in Russia
In the near abroad, the most dangerous ecological zones are the Aral Sea and the Aral Sea region. Total for Terry

Environmental monitoring
Monitoring (from the Latin “monitor” ¾ reminding, supervising) is understood as a system of observation, assessment and forecast of the state of the environment. Basic principle of monitoring &fra

Environmental control
Environmental control (control in the field of environmental protection) ¾ is a system of measures aimed at preventing, identifying and suppressing violations of legislation in the field of environmental protection.

Environmental rights of citizens. social environmental movements
Environmental rights are understood as the rights of a citizen enshrined in legislation, which ensure the satisfaction of his various needs when interacting with nature.

Environmental responsibilities of citizens
Using environmental rights, every citizen must also fulfill certain responsibilities in the sphere of environmental interests of society and the state. He must be ready for active

Legal liability for environmental violations
Legal liability for environmental violations is a form of government coercion; its task is to ensure the implementation of environmental interests in a forced manner

Methods of economic regulation
One of the directions in which Russia must overcome the environmental crisis is the development and improvement of the economic environmental mechanism. Until recently in

Ecological and economic accounting of natural resources and pollutants
Economic, environmental and some other indicators of natural resources are usually summarized in the form of inventories. Cadastre (French cadastre) ¾ systematized

Licenses, agreements and limits on natural resource use
The procedure for using the natural environment and natural resources is based on the principles of protecting the natural environment and the inexhaustibility of using natural resources, creating normal environmental and environmental

New mechanisms for financing environmental activities
The costs of restoration and environmental protection are financed from budgetary and extra-budgetary funds. State (budget) funding for example

Economic incentives in the field of environmental protection
One of the effective ways to solve environmental problems is economic stimulation of environmental activities. The state provides support to any entrepreneur

The concept of sustainable environmental and economic development
The concept of sustainable development entered the environmental lexicon after the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992). By original definition, sustainable development

Anthropocentrism and ecocentrism. Formation of a new environmental consciousness
One of the directions in which Russia should overcome the environmental crisis is environmental education. The meaning of this direction is to develop environmental protection

Environmental education, upbringing and culture
Environmental education is a purposefully organized, systematically and systematically implemented process of mastering environmental knowledge, skills and abilities. By decree

The role of international environmental relations
Harmonization of international environmental relations is one of the main ways for the world community to overcome the environmental crisis. It is generally accepted that implementing an exit strategy

National and international environmental protection sites
Objects of environmental protection are divided into national (domestic) and international (global). National (intrastate) objects include

Basic principles of international environmental cooperation
International cooperation in the field of environmental protection is regulated by international environmental law, which is based on generally recognized principles and norms. The most important contribution to the development

Russia's participation in international environmental cooperation
Our country plays a significant role in solving global and regional environmental problems. As the legal successor of the USSR, the Russian Federation assumed the treaty obligations of the former USSR

Environmental crisis refers to the current state of relations between human society And natural environment , in which a person lives, in which the contradictions between the economic interests of society in the consumption and use of the natural environment and the environmental requirements to ensure the safety and quality of this environment for the survival of society itself have been exacerbated to the limit .

IN structure environmental crisis, there are two sides - natural And social .

The natural side of the environmental crisis combines signs of degradation, destruction of the natural environment :

– global warming, greenhouse effect;

– general weakening of the Earth’s ozone layer; the appearance of ozone holes;

– atmospheric pollution, formation of acid rain, photochemical reactions with the formation of ozone, peroxide compounds from CnHm;

– pollution of the world’s oceans, burial of highly toxic and radioactive waste in it (dumping), pollution by oil, petroleum products, pesticides, surfactants, heavy metals, thermal pollution;

– pollution and depletion of surface waters, imbalance between surface and groundwater;

– contamination of the earth’s surface with the whole complex of pollutants: solid waste, heavy and radioactive elements, changes in the geochemistry of the earth and groundwater;

– reduction of forest areas (deforestation) as a result of fires, industrial logging, losses of already harvested wood, acid rain, illegal logging, harmful insects and diseases, damage from industrial emissions (including nuclear accidents);

– soil degradation, desertification as a result of deforestation, unsustainable land use, drought, overgrazing, irrational irrigation (waterlogging, salinization);

– liberation of existing and emergence of new ecological niches, filling them with unwanted living organisms;

– disruption of the ecological balance on a global and regional scale, general overpopulation of the planet and high density population in various regions, deterioration in the quality of living environment in cities.

The growth of humankind on Earth deserves special consideration .

The number of animal species in nature is limited by the capacity of the environment and over a long period of time statistically changes little, fluctuating around a certain constant level. As a rule, small animals have larger numbers and a larger range of fluctuations compared to large animals. For mammals, there is a strong negative correlation between body mass and the number of individuals. If we consider a person’s body weight to be 10–100 kg, the natural biological range of its population should not exceed 1 million individuals. According to expert estimates, the population of the first people (1 million years ago) numbered about 100 thousand individuals, by the time the species Homo Sapiens appeared - about 500 thousand, 30-20 thousand years ago - about 5 million people. Currently, the human population is 4 orders of magnitude higher than the original (more than 10,000 times), the life expectancy of people is on average 2–2.5 times higher than the natural life expectancy of mammals with the same body weight.

What are the consequences of such uncontrolled population growth?

Quantitative expansion. Man in food chains acts as a consumer, whose number is 10,000 times higher than the natural biological number, which cannot but affect the biotic balance and competitive relationships in nature.

Competition for food – humanity eats most of the food resources allocated by nature for final consumers. The “lion’s” share is insignificant.

Physical mass of people makes up 1/20 of the mass of land animals and about 1/2 of all mammals.

Consequently, modern human populations cannot enter natural biocenoses.

The qualitative side of human expansion into nature– concerns both nature and man himself.

Xenobiotics - the predominant mass of substances and materials that are involved by society in production and consumption, and then enter the environment, are not utilized in the natural biotic cycle, turning out to be ballast or pollutant.

Quality of people at rapid growth numbers are falling significantly. Disabling most of the mechanisms of natural selection, advances in hygiene and medicine, saving the majority of patients and converting acute diseases into chronic forms, replacing the body's defenses with drugs and procedures, preserving the lives of people with aggravated heredity, environmental pollution, stress, smoking, alcohol, drugs - not contribute to the preservation of a healthy species gene pool.

Giftedness – with the increase in the number of people, the factor of natural selection for intelligence, which operated in the early stages of anthropogenesis, ceased to operate (a significant part of the clan were direct descendants of the leader, distinguished by the sum of qualities in which intelligence was an important component). Innate intellectual potential of a person (average IQ) remained at the level of the prehistoric Cro-Magnon man.

Social qualities , good manners - first of all, act as manifestations of the law “there’s not enough for everyone” and are closely related to the economy. The degree of inequality (economic, social) of life chances among people is such that never occurs in nature within one stable animal species. Population growth at the expense of underdeveloped countries only increases this social inequality.

The social side of the environmental crisis manifests itself in the following social phenomena:

The ineffectiveness of the work of special bodies for environmental protection, protection and use of forests, fisheries resources, wildlife, and subsoil.

In the confrontation between representative and executive authorities, local self-government, which aggravates the inefficiency of work.

The failure of law enforcement agencies to provide control and supervision over the implementation of environmental laws.

In mass environmental and legal nihilism, disrespect for environmental and legal requirements, violation and failure to comply with them.

Ways out of the environmental crisis essentially come down to the need:

1. Contain population growth.

2. Reduce the environmental intensity of the economy.

Models and programs, including international ones, are being formed around these problems to overcome the environmental crisis and further develop humanity.

International cooperation to overcome the environmental crisis.

The brewing conflict between nature and man has been predicted since time immemorial; the inscription in hieroglyphs on the Cheops pyramid reads: “People will die from the inability to use the forces of nature and from ignorance of the true world.” Similar prophecies are contained in the religions of the ancient Persians, Hindus, and the Bible. Scientists also found reasons for such judgments (J.B. Lamarck and others)

1968 - creation of the Club of Rome on the initiative of one of the economic directors of Fiat. The goal of the Club of Rome is to make forecasts for the near future and present to the world community arguments about the need for measures to prevent a global environmental and economic crisis.

1972 - the first report of the Club of Rome - “The Limits to Growth”, a year earlier - J. Forrester’s book “World Dynamics”. The first forecasts and models of environmental development were imperfect, because did not take into account many factors and were based only on economics and human security. But the main result of the Club of Rome’s endeavors is the answer to the strategic question: “The threat of a global environmental crisis is real and great; significant losses for humanity cannot be avoided unless growth is curbed and then the environmental intensity of the global economy is not reduced.”

Environmental protection programs (EPP) are a natural response of industrialized countries to the threat of an environmental crisis, because It is still believed that it is technogenic environmental pollution that underlies this threat or is its main component. This idea is associated with an attempt to positively answer the question of whether it is possible to maintain the environmental intensity of the economy without affecting its foundation, but only by reducing environmental pollution.

“General cleaning and general cleaning” while maintaining economic growth rates and minimal impact on the main parameters of the economy - this is impossible in principle if the gross waste of the material balance and production does not change.

1972 – First World Environment Conference in Stockholm (113 countries participated). Secretary General of the Conference Maurice Strong first formulated the concept eco-development – environmentally oriented socio-economic development, in which the growth of people’s well-being is not accompanied by deterioration of the environment and degradation of natural systems.

The Stockholm conference gently set the task of developing practical principles of eco-development, for which research was conducted in four areas:

1. Trends, global dynamics of development of the environmental and economic situation under various scenarios of economic growth and specialization.

2. Natural scientific forecasting of the state of natural complexes and climate.

3. Studying the possibilities of environmental regulation of the use of natural resources and high-quality greening of production.

4. Organization of international cooperation and coordination of efforts in the field of solving regional and national problems of environmental development and environmental management.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is a structure specially created to develop these problems.

1983 – At the initiative of the UN Secretary General, it was created IECED - International Commission on Environment and Development (“Bruntland Commission” - headed by Gro Harlem Bruntland - Prime Minister of Norway).

1987 The ICOSD report “Our Common Future”, in which the issue of the need to search for a new model of civilization was sharply aggravated.

"The concept of sustainable development" - has come into use since the publication and approval by the UN General Assembly of the ICOSD report - the Brundtland Commission - is this model is social economic development, in which the vital needs of the present generation of people are met without future generations being deprived of this opportunity due to the depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation. “Ultimately, sustainable development must be based on political will” – all these provisions of the Concept of Sustainable Development sound not like an ideology of specific actions, but like a naive optimistic hope that is trying to reconcile the irreconcilable, to preserve, if possible, a consumer civilization as “meeting the needs of current and future generations of people,” to solve the problem of preserving nature within the framework of a civilization that is destroying nature.

RIO92 . In 1992, the UN Conference (the leading organization in international environmental cooperation) on environment and development (COED92) was held in Rio de Janeiro - 179 states, representatives of non-governmental organizations (including International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), scientific and business circles. The report and a number of documents adopted at RIO-92 dealt with most of the environmental problems that make up the modern environmental crisis - a list of intentions unprecedented in scale, claiming to be a global program of action. At the Conference, the Biodiversity Convention was adopted, in which the following three objectives were set as the most important: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of components of biodiversity, fair and equitable receipt of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

Prospects for humanity to overcome the global environmental crisis

Eco development concept- rightfully the first concept of modern times, it was the first to formulate the ideas of measuring economic development with the capabilities of natural systems, the idea of ​​balance, balance between economic and environmental requirements. A new concept of development was proposed by M. Strong in his report at the First World Conference on the Environment (Stockholm, 1972). In the same report, he called on the world community to change the development paradigm, to move from economic development to environmental and economic development. The essence of the concept was that economic growth is possible only within the framework of an acceptable environmental and economic balance. A new form of organization of the human economy would require a fundamentally new functional and organizational management structure.

The concept of eco-development did not last long and smoothly transformed into the concept of sustainable development.

Sustainable development concept. Its provisions sound not like an ideology of specific actions, but like a naively optimistic hope. This concept tries to reconcile the irreconcilable: to preserve, if possible, the civilization of consumption, since it “meets the needs of living and future generations of people,” and to solve the problem of preserving nature within the framework of a civilization that is destroying nature.

The authors of the concept cannot fail to understand the true state of affairs and therefore proceed from arguments “by contradiction” (it seems that there is nowhere to go, but we must hope for some light at the end of the tunnel!). Ultimately, all this looks like a propaganda and completely helpless attempt to circumvent the law “there is not enough for everyone.”

The concept does not say a word about the need to stop economic growth and reduce the scale of material production. On the contrary, “sustainable development” is perceived by the majority precisely as sustainable economic growth, and not as the permissibility of only those actions that, taking into account all indirect and associated effects, reduce the load on the biosphere.

The initial interpretation of the concept of “sustainable development” in ecological economics means supporting development , i.e. development that maintains the state of society in an environmentally friendly manner acceptable level, without a quantitative increase in the consumption of natural resources. In the concept of sustainable development, this meaning is distorted and turned into a thinly veiled and absolutely hopeless desire of rich countries and sectors of society to curb the desire of the poor to improve their well-being. Repeated repetition of the thesis that developing countries should not follow the path they came to their wealth and prosperity the developed countries, is perceived in developing countries as socio-political discrimination.

We, the species Homo sapiens (more precisely, quasisapiens), do not want to obey the law of ecosystem stability, which excludes exponential growth in numbers and consumption. But there is no reason to hope that this can go unpunished for us.

Noosphere Concept belongs to V.I. Vernadsky: “Changing nature “by the power of cultural humanity” becomes a phenomenon of geological scale.” Man, as a part of the biosphere, through his labor greatly enhances the planetary function of living matter; it is increasingly becoming controlled by the human mind. This process naturally and inevitably leads to the gradual transformation of the earth's biosphere into a “thinking shell”, the sphere of the mind - the noosphere. The era of the noosphere must be preceded by a deep socio-economic reorganization of society, a change in its value orientation.

This essentially exhausts the entire content of V.I.’s ideas. Vernadsky about the noosphere. Any detailed and consistent scientific description of the process of noosphere genesis and the noosphere itself with some of its distinct characteristics, i.e. what could rightfully be called the doctrine of the noosphere does not exist. But this cannot be demanded of ideas about the distant future. From a futurological point of view, for example, the doctrine of communism has been developed in much more detail than the idea of ​​the noosphere.

In general, the criterion of rationality should not be applied to the biosphere, even in its highest formation, as well as to the entire human society. It should rather be about expediency. In the West, references to the noosphere are absent or very rarely appear in the works of philosophers. In our country, it is considered an environmental ideal, the ultimate goal of sustainable development. The concept of Russia’s transition to sustainable development ends with the words: “The movement of humanity towards sustainable development will ultimately lead to the formation of the predicted V.I. Vernadsky’s sphere of reason (noosphere), when the spiritual values ​​and knowledge of a Man living in harmony with the environment will become the measure of national and individual wealth.” At present, there are no hints of harmonious interactions. Human activity throughout history and especially strongly in the 20th century. was completely destructive in relation to the ecosphere. Humanity is not approaching the noosphere, but is moving at high speed in the opposite direction.

On the other hand, the fundamental possibility of human control over the biosphere raises great doubts. Along with the colossal destructive interference in the metabolism and energy in the ecosphere, man actually controls only a tiny part of the millions of species of living beings. In order to control all species and all interactions between organisms, it is necessary that human information capabilities be comparable to the volume of information flows in natural biota. But they are incomparable: the gap is 20 orders of magnitude and, in principle, cannot be significantly reduced.

Paradigm N.N. Moiseeva. Speaking from the standpoint of the latest evolutionism and interpreting the development of the biosphere in the form of a chain of bifurcations (catastrophes) with unpredictable outcomes, Academician N.N. Moiseev views the origin and development of civilization as an integral part of the evolution of nature.

In his book “To be or not to be... for humanity?” (1999) he writes: “The main task of planetary civilization is to prevent the biosphere from entering a state of bifurcation... The way out of this state is ambiguous. It can also provide new incentives for development, as happened with the Cro-Magnons as a result of the Neolithic catastrophe, or it can lead to complete extinction... The risk is so high that humanity cannot afford it.”

Human civilization must avoid ecological collapse – practically irreversible adverse environmental phenomena that exclude the possibility of human existence in the resulting environment. The aspiration for a new civilization, in his opinion, should be realized through co-evolution (joint, interconnected evolution) of human society and the biosphere. Co-evolution is seen as unraveling the knot of contradictions in the triad of ecology, morality and politics, as a coordination of the “strategy of nature” and the “strategy of reason.” Since the real patterns and rates of evolution of the biosphere and human society differ greatly, we are actually talking about a profound change in the behavior of society in relation to nature, the subordination of humanity to the ecological imperative.

Criterion V.G. Gorshkova.

Professor of biophysics from St. Petersburg V.G. Since 1970, Gorshkov has been developing a theory of biotic regulation and environmental stabilization, which is now well substantiated, allows cross-checking from various positions and has predictive capabilities.

The main achievement of this theory is the definition of a criterion that can be designated as the limit of stability (endurance) of the ecosphere in relation to anthropogenic influences, as its “carrying capacity”, or in the terms used earlier - its ecological technical intensity. This value is 0.01 Pn of the ecosphere, or 1% of the net primary production of the global biota, which is about 0.74 TW of power. Modern direct consumption of bioproducts from terrestrial ecosystems by civilization is, according to various estimates, from 7 to 12% (on average 10%), i.e. an order of magnitude higher than the limit of stability of the ecosphere, and the gross energy power of civilization (including the energy of fossil fuels) is close to 15 TW, which is 20 times greater than the energy estimate of the limit.

This leads to a practical conclusion: humanity must reduce its pressure on the Earth’s ecosphere as soon as possible. And preferably several times. According to one recent interpretation of this finding, such a reduction “can only be achieved by reducing the global population.” According to various authors, the Earth's demographic carrying capacity ranges from 1 to 2 billion people. This is where, in particular, comes the theory of the “golden billion” - that population of the planet for which high standards of well-being can be ensured while maintaining sufficient biotic balance.

• < Назад

Finding a way out of the global environmental crisis is the most important scientific and practical problem of our time. Thousands of scientists, politicians, and practitioners in all countries of the world are working on its solution. The task is to develop a set of reliable anti-crisis measures that will make it possible to actively counteract further degradation of the natural environment and achieve sustainable development of society. Attempts to solve this problem by any means alone, for example, technological ones (sewage treatment plants, waste-free technologies, etc.), are fundamentally incorrect and will not lead to the necessary results. Overcoming the environmental crisis is possible only under the condition of the harmonious development of nature and man and the removal of antagonism between them. This is achievable only on the basis of the implementation of the “trinity of natural nature, society and humanized nature” along the path of sustainable development of society, an integrated approach to solving environmental problems.

An analysis of both the environmental and socio-economic situation in Russia allows us to identify five main directions along which the world should emerge from the environmental crisis. At the same time, an integrated approach to solving this problem is necessary, i.e. all five directions must be used simultaneously.

The first direction is the improvement of technology - the creation of environmentally friendly technology, the introduction of waste-free, low-waste production, renewal of fixed assets, etc.

The use of environmentally friendly technologies contributes to environmental protection. These technologies are less polluting, make better use of all resources, recycle more waste and products generated from them, and provide better treatment of residual waste than the technologies they replace.

Environmentally friendly technologies are low-waste or non-waste “technologies for processing and obtaining a finished product” and thereby help prevent environmental pollution. They also include “end-of-pipe reprocessing technologies” or treatment technologies designed to eliminate existing contamination.

Clean technologies are not just individual technologies, but represent complex systems, presupposing the availability of special scientific and technical information, procedures, goods, services and equipment, as well as methods of corresponding organizational and management activities. Therefore, when discussing technology transfer, it is necessary to take into account its potential impact on aspects of human resource development and local capacity-building, as well as on the status of women. Environmentally friendly and clean technologies must respond to national socio-economic, cultural and environmental priorities.

An enabling environment must be created to ensure access to and transfer of environmentally friendly technology, especially to developing countries, through the adoption of supporting measures aimed at promoting cooperation in the field of technology and enabling the transfer of necessary scientific and technical information, as well as the creation of economic, technical and managerial potential for the effective use and further improvement of the resulting technology. Technology collaboration involves the joint efforts of businesses and governments as both providers and recipients of the technology. To extract maximum benefit From technology transfer, such cooperation should be carried out on an ongoing basis and with the participation of governments, the private sector and research and development institutions. Successful long-term partnerships in such collaborations invariably require ongoing systematic training and capacity building at all levels over a long period of time.

The introduction of new and effective technologies is a necessary condition enhancing the capabilities, in particular of developing countries, to achieve sustainable development, maintain a stable global economic growth rate, protect the environment and reduce poverty and human suffering. An integral part of this activity is the improvement of the technologies used, and, where necessary, their replacement with more affordable and environmentally safer and cleaner ones.

The second direction is the development and improvement of the economic mechanism for environmental protection.

The methods of the administrative-legal management mechanism consist in the development and publication of legal and administrative acts regulating the organization and management in the field of environmental management, the rights and responsibilities of managers, officials and the population of the country for the economical use and reproduction of natural resources and ensuring balance in the natural environment. Administrative acts are binding and directly affect teams of enterprises, organizations, individual workers and the population of a given area.

The economic mechanism for environmental protection is an integral part of the general mechanism for regulating relations in the sphere of “society - nature”. Thus, this is, first of all, a system, infrastructure (legal, organizational, institutional) necessary to direct the action of these economic facts in order to achieve a reasonable balance of environmental and economic interests of society.

The essence of the current system of economic incentives for environmental protection in Russia comes down to a system of environmental payments for environmental pollution.

The main problem of the existing system is the incomparability of environmental payments made by enterprises with the real damage caused to the environment and the costs that must be borne in the case of installing various treatment facilities. The consequence of this is chronic underfunding of environmental measures, which the state is forced to undertake.

The third direction is the application of administrative measures and measures of legal liability for environmental offenses (administrative and legal direction).

The fourth direction is the harmonization of environmental thinking (ecological and educational direction).

Ecological thinking is a system of views on the world that reflects the problems of interaction between Humanity and Nature in the aspect of their harmonization and optimization.

The fifth direction is the harmonization of environmental international relations (international legal direction).

Harmonization of international environmental relations is one of the main ways for the world community to overcome the environmental crisis. It is generally accepted that a strategy for exiting it can be implemented only on the basis of the unity of environmental actions of all states. Today, no country can solve its environmental problems alone or by cooperating with only a small group of countries. Clear coordinated efforts of all states are needed, coordination of their actions on a strict international legal basis.

Nature doesn't know state borders, it is universal and united. Therefore, disturbances in the ecosystem of one country inevitably cause a response. For example, if industrial enterprises in Germany or England emit flue gases into the atmosphere with an unacceptably high percentage harmful impurities, then this negatively affects not only the ecological state of these countries, but also causes significant damage to the flora and fauna of neighboring Scandinavian countries. It is clear that all other components of the natural environment (river flow, marine areas, migrating animal species, etc.) do not recognize state borders.

The high priority of the environmental factor in international relations is constantly increasing, which is associated with the progressive deterioration of the state of the biosphere. All the main components of the environmental crisis (the greenhouse effect, depletion of the ozone layer, soil degradation, radiation hazards, transboundary transfer of pollution, depletion of energy and other resources of the planet’s interior, etc.) become environmental imperatives and determine new norms and rules for interaction between states. There is every reason to believe that in the 21st century. ecology will be among the highest priorities of the global system of international relations. Already some statesmen consider it expedient to create a supranational body that would manage the protection and rational use of the environment in all states and regions.

There are several ways to combat atmospheric pollution with carbon dioxide, which causes the greenhouse effect: technical improvement of engines, fuel equipment, electronic fuel supply systems; improving fuel quality, reducing the content of toxic substances in exhaust gases as a result of the use of fuel afterburners and catalytic catalysts; use of alternative fuels. Electric transport will save the population from exhaust gases.

The introduction of new technologies will reduce the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, help create alternative raw materials for the synthesis of organic substances, and therefore solve important environmental problems.

Strategy for managing the consumption of natural resources from the perspective of sustainable development. Since the level of human anthropogenic impact on the natural environment has reached dangerous limits, it is necessary to move from an unbalanced economy to a balanced one.

When considering the need to search for a new model for the development of civilization, it is necessary:

curb population growth;

eliminate wasteful reduction of natural resources;

achieve the level and pace of economic development, if possible, using renewable natural resources (and this in turn should lead to a reduction in environmental pollution, protection and preservation of “ecological capital” - natural resources);

reconsider economic decisions that lead to deforestation, desertification, detrimental impacts on vegetation and animal world, air and water pollution;

change the policy regarding Agriculture: Instead of providing “aid” in the form of supplying agricultural surpluses, developing countries should be given financial support that would help them carry out important domestic reforms aimed at increasing production and slowing the destruction of their agricultural resource base;

adopt a law on food safety - this will lead to reasonable technology for growing agricultural products in order to obtain an environmentally friendly product;

stimulate the market for forest products in such a way that market needs for them are reduced by replacing building materials and save forest, especially tropical resources;

the most an important condition balanced economic development is the joint consideration of economic and environmental issues in the decision-making process between developed and developing countries, so that environmental and economic systems become fully interconnected;

adopt only environmentally balanced budgets.

“Society and the environment” is not only an international, interstate, but also an interdisciplinary problem. Almost all humanities, natural and technical sciences participate in its solution to one degree or another. They explore the various components of this problem - natural, technical, economic, medical, social, political, geographical, architectural and planning and others.

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..…3

1. Ecological crisis……………………………………………………………...4

2. Main features of the modern environmental crisis......5

3. Principles and ways to overcome the environmental crisis......10

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………13

Literature……………………………………………………………………………………….14

Introduction

Natural science is one of the most important engines of social progress. Being the main factor of material production, natural science acts as a powerful revolutionary force. Great scientific discoveries(and closely related technical inventions) have always had a colossal (and sometimes completely unexpected) impact on the fate of human history. These were, for example, discoveries in the 17th century. the laws of mechanics, which made it possible to create all the machine technology of civilization; discovery in the 19th century electromagnetic field and the creation of electrical engineering, radio engineering, and then radio electronics; creation in the 20th century the theory of the atomic nucleus, followed by the discovery of means of releasing nuclear energy; opening in the middle of the 20th century. molecular biology of the nature of heredity (DNA structure) and the possibilities of genetic engineering that have emerged due to this to control heredity; etc. Most of modern material civilization would be impossible without the participation in its creation of scientific theories, scientific and design developments, technologies predicted by science, etc.

However, among modern people, science evokes not only admiration and admiration, but also fear. You can often hear that science brings people not only benefits, but also misfortunes. Air pollution, disasters nuclear power plants, an increase in radioactive background as a result of nuclear weapons testing, an “ozone hole” over the planet, the disappearance of many species of plants and animals - people tend to explain these and other environmental problems by the very fact of the existence of science. But the point is not in science, but in whose hands it is, what social interests are behind it, what social and government structures guide its development

1. Ecological crisis

Since the middle of the 20th century. The growth of human needs and production activity has led to the fact that the scale of possible human impact on nature has become commensurate with the scale of global natural processes. As a result of human labor, canals and new seas are created, swamps and deserts disappear, huge masses of fossil rocks are moved, and new chemical materials are synthesized. Transformative activity modern man extends even to the bottom of the ocean and outer space. However, the increasing influence of man on the environment gives rise to complex problems in his relationship with nature. Uncontrolled and unpredictable human activity began to have a negative impact on the course of natural processes, causing sharply negative irreversible changes in both the environment and the biological nature of man himself. This applies to literally the entire environment - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, subsoil, fertile layer; animals and plants die, biocenoses and biogeocenoses are destroyed and disappear; the incidence of human illness is increasing. At the same time, the world population is steadily increasing. The conclusion suggests itself: humanity is inexorably moving towards an environmental catastrophe - the depletion of energy, mineral and land resources, the death of the biosphere, and perhaps even human civilization itself. Therefore, there was a need to protect the human environment from his own impact on it.

According to forecasts, by 2010 it will amount to 11 billion people, and around 2025, according to the latest synergetic mathematical models, a “regime with exacerbation” is expected, when population growth (proportional not to the number of people, but to the square of the number) will sharply rush to infinity . Of course, in reality it will not be endless, but in any case, if some measures are not taken, the global demographic situation may completely get out of control.

So, modern civilization is in a state of deepest environmental crisis. This is not the first environmental crisis in human history, but it may be the last.

2. Main features of the modern environmental crisis

The disappearance of plant and animal species, species diversity, the gene pool of the flora and fauna of the Earth, and animals and plants disappear, as a rule, not as a result of their direct extermination by humans, but as a result of changes in the habitat. Since the early 1980s. One animal species goes extinct every day, and one plant species goes extinct every week. Thousands of animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. Every fourth species of amphibian and every tenth species of higher plants are under threat of extinction. And each species is a unique, unique result of evolution that has taken place over many millions of years.

Humanity is obliged to preserve and pass on to descendants the biological diversity of the Earth, and not only because nature is beautiful and delights us with its splendor. There is an even more significant reason: the preservation of biological diversity is an indispensable condition for human life on Earth, since the stability of the biosphere is higher, the more species it contains.

Disappearance of forests (especially tropical ones) at a rate of several tens of hectares per minute. This entails, in particular, soil erosion (soil is a product of complex and long-term interaction of living and inert matter), destruction of the top fertile layer of the earth, desertification of the Earth, which occurs at a rate of 44 hectares/min.

In addition, forests are the main suppliers of oxygen to the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Currently, the balance of oxygen supply and consumption is negative. Over the past 100 years, the oxygen concentration in the air has decreased from 20.948 to 20.8%, and in cities it is even below 20%. Already 1/4 of the land is devoid of natural vegetation cover. Large areas of primary biogeocenoses have been replaced by secondary ones, more simplified and uniform, with noticeably reduced productivity. Plant biomass has decreased globally by about 7%.

About 50% of the land surface is under strong agricultural influence, with at least 300 thousand hectares of agricultural land consumed by urbanization every year. The area of ​​arable land per person is decreasing from year to year (even without taking into account population growth).

Depletion of natural resources. Every year, more than 100 billion tons of various rocks are extracted from the bowels of the Earth. For the life of one person in modern civilization, 200 tons of various solid substances are needed per year, which he converts into products for his consumption with the help of 800 tons of water and 1000 W of energy. At the same time, humanity lives due to not only the exploitation of the resources of the modern biosphere, but also the non-renewable products of former biospheres (oil, coal, gas, ores, etc.). According to the most optimistic estimates, the existing reserves of such natural resources will not last long for humanity: oil for about 30 years; natural gas for 50 years; coal for 100 years, etc. But renewable natural resources (for example, wood) also become non-renewable, since the conditions for their reproduction radically change, they are brought to extreme depletion or complete destruction, i.e. All natural resources on Earth are finite.

Continuous and rapid growth of human energy costs. Energy consumption (in kcal/day) per person in primitive society was approximately 4000, in feudal society - about 12,000, in industrial civilization - 70,000, and in developed post-industrial countries it reaches 250,000 (i.e. 60 times higher and more than our Paleolithic ancestors) and continues to increase. However, this process cannot continue for long: the Earth’s atmosphere is heating up, which can have the most unpredictable adverse consequences (climatic, geographical, geological, etc.).

Pollution of the atmosphere, water, soil. The source of air pollution is primarily ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises, thermal power plants, road transport, burning of garbage, waste, etc. Their emissions into the atmosphere contain oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, hydrocarbons, metal compounds, dust. About 20 billion tons of CO 2 are emitted into the atmosphere annually; 300 million tons of CO 2; 50 million tons of nitrogen oxides; 150 million tons SO 2; 4-5 million tons of H 2 S and other harmful gases; more than 400 million tons of soot, dust, and ash particles.

In nature, due to the vital activity of plants and animals, a continuous carbon cycle occurs. During this process, carbon is constantly transferred from organic compounds to inorganic ones, and vice versa. The carbon cycle is significantly affected by fuel combustion. At the same time, such a huge amount of carbon dioxide and dust is released into the atmosphere that it can lead to climate change on Earth. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere freely transmits solar radiation to the Earth, but delays the Earth's radiation, resulting in the so-called greenhouse effect - a layer of carbon dioxide plays the same role as glass in a greenhouse. Therefore, an increase in CO 2 content in the atmosphere (currently by 0.3% per year) can cause warming on Earth, lead to the melting of polar ice and cause a catastrophic rise in sea levels by 4-8 m.

An increase in SO 2 content in the atmosphere causes the formation of “acid rain”, causing an increase in the acidity of water bodies and the death of their inhabitants. Under the destructive effects of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, building materials and architectural monuments are destroyed. Due to the transport of air masses over long distances (transboundary transports), a dangerous increase in the acidity of water bodies spreads over large areas.

Exhaust gases from vehicles cause enormous damage to the life of animals and plants. Components of vehicle exhaust gases are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide, lead compounds, mercury, etc. Carbon monoxide CO ( carbon monoxide) interacts with blood hemoglobin 200 times more active than oxygen and reduces the ability of blood to be an oxygen carrier. Therefore, even at low concentrations in the air, carbon monoxide has a harmful effect on health (causes headaches, reduces mental activity). Sulfur oxide causes spasms of the respiratory tract, nitrogen oxides - general weakness, dizziness, nausea. Lead compounds contained in exhaust gases, a very toxic element, affect enzyme systems and metabolism; lead accumulates in fresh water. One of the most dangerous pollutants is mercury, which accumulates in the body and has a negative effect on the nervous system.

Hydrosphere pollution. Water is widely, although not universally, distributed on our planet. ( Total stock water is about 1.4 10 18 tons. The bulk of water is concentrated in the seas and oceans. Fresh water accounts for only 2%.) natural conditions There is a constant water cycle, accompanied by processes of its purification. Water carries huge masses of dissolved substances into the seas and oceans, where complex chemical and biochemical processes occur that contribute to the self-purification of water bodies.

At the same time, water is widely used in all areas of the economy and in everyday life. Due to the development of industry and the growth of cities, water consumption is constantly increasing. At the same time, water pollution from industrial and household waste is increasing: about 600 billion tons of industrial and household wastewater and over 10 million tons of oil and petroleum products are discharged into water bodies every year. This leads to disruption of the natural self-purification of water bodies. Industrial wastewater containing toxic substances, in particular compounds of toxic metals, as well as mineral fertilizers dissolved in wastewater and washed off from the soil surface, cause enormous damage to living organisms in water bodies. In addition, fertilizers (especially nitrates and phosphates) cause rapid growth of algae, clog water bodies and contribute to their death. Not only the surface and underground waters of the land, but even the World Ocean are polluted (by toxic and radioactive substances, salts of heavy metals, complex organic compounds, garbage, waste, etc.).

Radioactive pollution of the environment as a result of nuclear tests, accidents at nuclear power plants (Chernobyl disaster of 1986), accumulation of radioactive waste.

All these negative trends, as well as the irresponsible and incorrect use of the achievements of civilization, have a detrimental effect on the human body and create another set of environmental problems - medical and genetic. Previously known diseases are becoming more frequent and completely new, previously unknown diseases are appearing. A whole complex of “diseases of civilization” has emerged, generated by scientific and technological progress (an increase in the pace of life, the number stressful situations, physical inactivity, malnutrition, abuse of pharmaceuticals, etc.) and the environmental crisis (especially environmental pollution with mutagenic factors); Drug addiction is becoming a global problem.

The scale of environmental pollution is so great that natural processes metabolism and the diluting activity of the atmosphere and hydrosphere are not able to neutralize the harmful effects of human production activities. As a result, the ability for self-regulation of biosphere systems that have developed over millions of years (during evolution) is undermined, and the biosphere itself is destroyed. If this process is not stopped, the biosphere will simply die. And along with it, humanity will disappear.

Unfortunately, in the mass, everyday consciousness there is no sufficient understanding of the severity of the current situation. People still live and act in the belief that the natural environment is unlimited and inexhaustible. They are satisfied with their temporary well-being, immediate goals and immediate benefits, and do not take the emerging environmental threats seriously, attributing them to the distant future. People think little about the natural conditions in which their descendants (and not even distant ones, but grandchildren and great-grandchildren) will live, and whether these conditions will allow a person to survive at all. Humanity is little inclined to sacrifice its needs. (This often applies to those who make government decisions.) Such a selfish path leads to environmental disaster and the death of civilization.

3. Principles and ways to overcome the environmental crisis

Thus, humanity is faced with an acute problem of conscious and purposeful regulation of the exchange of matter and energy between society and the biosphere, and the development of a strategy for the protection of nature, and therefore of man himself. Such regulation can be carried out on the basis of the following principles.

Humanity develops as long as a balance is maintained between its objective and material transformation of the natural environment and the restoration of this environment (natural and artificial). An imbalance inevitably leads to the destruction of humanity.

The period of uncontrolled interaction between society and the natural environment is ending. Nature conservation is historically inevitable; the value of nature is higher than selfish and corporate interests and has the character of an absolute imperative; nature protection is, first of all, the protection of man himself; If there is no biosphere, there will be no humanity.

From reckless exploitation of the natural environment, we need to move on to very careful changes in the human living environment, to two-way adaptation (coevolution) and, possibly, to absolute environmental restrictions. Human survival is the dominant feature of economics and politics.

Ecological ultimately turns out to be the most economical. How more rational approach to natural resources, the less investment will be required to restore the balance between humanity and nature. Our descendants will have a narrower “field of possibilities” for rationally solving environmental problems, with fewer degrees of freedom than we have.

The principle of the need for diversity of nature: only a diverse and diverse biosphere is stable and highly productive.

Idea V.I. Vernadsky’s idea of ​​transforming the biosphere into the noosphere means that the human mind will play a decisive role in the development of the system of interactions between society and nature, primarily in managing man himself and his needs. However, you should always keep in mind: natural systems are so complex that it is essentially impossible to predict and anticipate all the consequences of their transformation in advance; many of them lie beyond the scope of modern knowledge. In addition, every component of the biosphere is potentially useful; it is difficult, and sometimes simply impossible, to foresee the significance that it will have for humanity in the future.

Attempts to solve environmental problems by moving people into space, which in our country (the birthplace of the idea and practice of space exploration, K.E. Tsiolkovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin) were very popular at one time, continue the traditions of an extensive approach to these problems . For all their visual appeal, they are utopian and should be classified as science fiction.

Scientific and technological developments make it possible to identify the following ways, methods, means of resolving or at least mitigating the environmental crisis:

Create effective treatment facilities, develop waste-free (closed-loop) and low-waste technologies;

Switch to cyclical use of resources, primarily water;

Develop technologies for complex processing of raw materials;

Avoid overproduction of energy, which can destabilize geophysical systems on Earth;

Sharply limit the extraction of chemicals from the depths of the planet, the release and pollution of the environment;

Reduce the material intensity of finished products: the amount of natural substances in an average unit of social product must be reduced (miniaturization of products, development and application of resource-saving technologies, etc.);

Increase the speed of turnover of the involved natural resources, especially against the backdrop of the development of waste-free technologies;

Exclude from production pesticides that can accumulate in the bodies of animals and plants;

Carry out afforestation, improve the use of forest belts (they increase snow retention, birds build nests here, which in turn helps to destroy pests of agricultural crops, etc.);

Expand the network of reserves and protected natural areas;

Create breeding centers for endangered animals and plants with their subsequent return to their natural habitats;

Develop biological methods for protecting crops and forests, environmental biotechnologies;

Develop methods for planning population growth;

Improve legal regulation of nature conservation;

Develop international environmental cooperation, develop the legal framework for international global environmental policy;

To form environmental consciousness, systems of environmental education and upbringing.

Conclusion

Man, as a social being, initially has biological (physiological) and social (material and spiritual) needs. Some needs are satisfied as a result of labor costs for the production of food, material and spiritual values. People are used to satisfying other needs for free: water, solar energy, air, etc. These latter ones relate to environmental needs, and the former to socio-economic needs.

Currently, the environmental part of the needs is acquiring socio-economic features, which forces us to compare the priorities of environmental and socio-economic values ​​and to develop a system or scale of preferences.

Humanity cannot refuse to use natural resources, which are and will be the material basis of production, and consists in converting natural resources into material benefits.

Currently, civilization is going through a crucial period of its existence, as the usual stereotypes are being broken, when people understand that meeting growing demands leads to a conflict with the fundamental needs of everyone: maintaining a healthy living environment. But modern humanity does not always understand this and uses the environment only for short-term benefits.

Literature

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