Examples of rational use of nature. Rational use of natural resources examples

Environmental management is a set of measures taken by society to study, develop, transform and protect the environment.

Rational environmental management- a system of environmental management in which:

— extracted natural resources are used quite fully and the amount of consumed resources is correspondingly reduced;

— restoration of renewable natural resources is ensured;

— production waste is fully and repeatedly used.

The system of rational environmental management can significantly reduce environmental pollution.

Rational use of natural resources is characteristic of intensive farming.

Examples: creation of cultural landscapes, reserves and national parks(most of these territories are in the USA, Australia, Russia), the use of technologies for the integrated use of raw materials, processing and use of waste (most developed in European countries and Japan), as well as the construction of treatment facilities, the use of closed water supply technologies for industrial enterprises, the development of new, economically clean fuels.

Irrational environmental management is a system of environmental management in which:

- the most easily accessible natural resources are used in large quantities and usually not fully, which leads to their rapid depletion;

— a large amount of waste is produced;

- The environment is heavily polluted.

Irrational use of natural resources is typical for extensive farming.

Examples: the use of slash-and-burn agriculture and overgrazing of livestock (in the most backward countries of Africa), deforestation equatorial forests, the so-called “lungs of the planet” (in countries Latin America), uncontrolled release of waste into rivers and lakes (in foreign European countries, Russia), as well as thermal pollution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, destruction individual species animals and plants and much more.

Rational environmental management is this type of relationship human society with the environment, in which society manages its relationship with nature, warns undesirable consequences of its activities.

An example is the creation of cultural landscapes; the use of technologies that allow for more complete processing of raw materials; reuse production waste, protection of animal and plant species, creation of nature reserves, etc.

Examples of such an attitude are excessive grazing of livestock, slash-and-burn agriculture, extermination of certain species of plants and animals, radioactive and thermal pollution of the environment. Also harming the environment is caused by rafting of timber along rivers with individual logs (moth rafting), draining swamps in the upper reaches of rivers, open-pit mining, etc. Natural gas as a raw material for thermal power plants is a more environmentally friendly fuel than coal or brown coal.

It is important for countries to work together to protect nature, to create international projects which would concern the following questions:

1) assessing the productivity of stocks in waters under national jurisdiction, both inland and marine, bringing fishing capacity in these waters to a level comparable to the long-term productivity of the stocks, and taking timely appropriate measures to restore overfished stocks to a sustainable state, as well as cooperation in in accordance with international law to take similar measures with respect to stocks found on the high seas;

2) conservation and sustainable use biological diversity and its components in the aquatic environment and, in particular, the prevention of practices leading to irreversible changes, such as the destruction of species by genetic erosion or large-scale habitat destruction;

3) promoting the development of mariculture and aquaculture in coastal marine and inland waters by establishing appropriate legal mechanisms, coordinating the use of land and water with other activities, using the best and most suitable genetic material in accordance with the requirements for the conservation and sustainable use of the external environment and the conservation of biological diversity, the application of social impact assessment and environmental impact.

Environmental pollution and environmental problems of humanity.

Environmental pollution is an undesirable change in its properties, which leads or may lead to harmful effects on humans or natural systems. The most well-known type of pollution is chemical (emission into the environment harmful substances and compounds), but no less potential threat is posed by such types of pollution as radioactive, thermal (uncontrolled release of heat into the environment can lead to global changes climate of nature), noise.

Environmental pollution is mainly associated with human economic activity (anthropogenic environmental pollution), but pollution may occur as a result of natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, meteorite falls, etc.

All shells of the Earth are subject to pollution.

The lithosphere (as well as the soil cover) becomes polluted as a result of the influx of heavy metal compounds, fertilizers, and pesticides into it. Only garbage from big cities up to 12 billion tons are exported annually.

Rational environmental management: fundamentals and principles

Mining leads to the destruction of natural soil cover over huge areas. The hydrosphere is polluted by wastewater from industrial enterprises (especially chemical and metallurgical enterprises), runoff from fields and livestock farms, domestic wastewater cities. Oil pollution is especially dangerous - up to 15 million tons of oil and petroleum products enter the waters of the World Ocean every year.

The atmosphere is polluted mainly as a result of the annual burning of huge amount mineral fuels, emissions from metallurgical and chemical industry.

The main pollutants are carbon dioxide, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, and radioactive compounds.

As a result of growing environmental pollution, many environmental problems both on local and regional levels(in large industrial areas and urban agglomerations) and globally (global warming, reduction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, depletion of natural resources).

The main ways to solve environmental problems can be not only the construction of various treatment plants and devices, but also the introduction of new low-waste technologies, repurposing production, moving them to a new location in order to reduce the “concentration” of pressure on nature.

Specially protected natural areas (SPNA) are objects of national heritage and are areas of land, water surface and air space above them where natural complexes and objects are located that have special environmental, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, recreational and health value, which withdrawn by decisions of authorities state power in whole or in part from economic use and for which a special protection regime has been established.

According to estimates from leading international organizations, there are about 10 thousand in the world.

large protected natural areas all kinds. The total number of national parks was close to 2000, and biosphere reserves - to 350.

Taking into account the peculiarities of the regime and status of environmental institutions located on them, the following categories of these territories are usually distinguished: state nature reserves, including biosphere; national parks; natural parks; state nature reserves; natural monuments; dendrological parks and botanical gardens; medical and recreational areas and resorts.

Unsustainable environmental management: concept and consequences. Optimizing the use of resources in the production process. Protecting nature from the negative consequences of human activity. The need to create specially protected natural areas.

State budgetary educational institution

Secondary vocational education

Samara Social Pedagogical College

Abstract

“Ecological consequences of irrational environmental management”

Samara, 2014

Introduction

II. Description of the problem

III. Ways to solve the problem

IV. Conclusion

V. References

VI. Applications

I. Introduction

Nowadays, walking down the street or while on vacation, you can pay attention to the polluted atmosphere, water and soil. Although we can say that Russia’s natural resources will last for centuries, what we see makes us think about the consequences of irrational environmental management.

After all, if everything continues like this, then these numerous reserves will be catastrophically small in a hundred years.

After all, irrational environmental management leads to the depletion (and even disappearance) of natural resources.

There are facts that really make you think about this problem:

b It is estimated that one person “harasss” about 200 trees in his life: for housing, furniture, toys, notebooks, matches, etc.

In the form of matches alone, the inhabitants of our planet burn 1.5 million cubic meters of wood annually.

ь On average, every Moscow resident produces 300-320 kg of garbage per year, in Western European countries - 150-300 kg, in the USA - 500-600 kg. Each city dweller in the United States throws away 80 kg of paper, 250 metal cans, and 390 bottles per year.

So it's time to really think about the consequences human activity and draw a conclusion to every person living on this planet.

If we continue to irrationally manage natural resources, then soon the sources of natural resources will simply be depleted, which will lead to the death of civilization and the whole world.

Description of the problem

Unsustainable environmental management is a system of environmental management in which readily available natural resources are used in large quantities and incompletely, which leads to rapid depletion of resources.

In this case, a large amount of waste is produced and the environment is heavily polluted.

This type of environmental management leads to environmental crises and environmental disasters.

An ecological crisis is a critical state of the environment that threatens human existence.

Ecological disaster - changes in the natural environment, often caused by the impact economic activity human, man-made accident or natural disaster, leading to unfavorable changes in the natural environment and accompanied by massive loss of life or damage to the health of the population of the region, death of living organisms, vegetation, large losses of material assets and natural resources.

Consequences of irrational environmental management:

— destruction of forests (see photo 1);

— the process of desertification due to excessive grazing (see photo 2);

— extermination of certain species of plants and animals;

— pollution of water, soil, atmosphere, etc.

(see photo 3)

Damages associated with irrational environmental management.

Calculable damages:

a) economic:

losses due to decreased productivity of biogeocenoses;

losses due to decreased labor productivity caused by increased morbidity;

losses of raw materials, fuel and materials due to emissions;

costs due to reduced service life of buildings and structures;

b) socio-economic:

health care costs;

losses due to migration caused by deteriorating environmental quality;

Additional holiday costs:

Imputed:

a) social:

increase in mortality, pathological changes in the human body;

psychological damage due to population dissatisfaction with the quality of the environment;

b) environmental:

irreversible destruction of unique ecosystems;

species extinction;

genetic damage.

Ways to solve the problem

irrational environmental management protection

b Optimization of the use of natural resources in the process of social production.

The concept of optimizing the use of natural resources should be based on the rational choice by business entities of resources for production, based on limit values, taking into account ensuring environmental balance. Solving environmental problems should become the prerogative of the state, creating legal and regulatory framework environmental management.

b Protection of nature from the negative consequences of human activity.

Establishment in legislation of legal environmental requirements for the behavior of natural resource users.

ь Environmental safety of the population.

Environmental safety is understood as the process of ensuring the protection of the vital interests of the individual, society, nature and the state from real and potential threats created by anthropogenic or natural impacts on the environment.

ь Creation of specially protected natural areas.

Specially protected natural areas are areas of land, water surface and air space above them, where natural complexes and objects are located that have special environmental, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, recreational and health value, which are withdrawn by decisions of state authorities.

Conclusion

Having studied Internet resources, we can conclude that the main thing is to understand the rational use of natural resources. Soon, not ideological, but environmental problems will be in the foreground throughout the world; not relations between nations, but relations between nations and nature will dominate. Man urgently needs to change his attitude towards the environment and his ideas about safety.

Global military spending is about one trillion a year. At the same time, there are no means to monitor global climate change, a survey of the ecosystems of disappearing tropical rainforests and expanding deserts. Natural way survival - maximizing the strategy of frugality in relation to the outside world.

All members of the world community must participate in this process. The ecological revolution will win when people are able to reassess values, look at themselves as not an integral part of nature, on which their future and the future of their descendants depends. For thousands of years, man lived, worked, developed, but he did not suspect that perhaps the day would come when it would become difficult, or perhaps impossible, to breathe clean air, drink clean water, grow something on the ground, because the air is polluted, the water is poisoned, the soil is contaminated with radiation, etc.

chemicals. The owners of large factories and the oil and gas industry think only about themselves, about their wallets. They neglect safety rules and ignore the requirements of the environmental police.

References

I. https://ru.wikipedia.org/

II. Oleinik A.P. “Geography. Big reference book for schoolchildren and those entering universities", 2014.

III. Potravny I.M., Lukyanchikov N.N.

"Economics and organization of environmental management", 2012.

IV. Skuratov N.S., Gurina I.V. “Nature management: 100 exam answers”, 2010.

V. E. Polievktova “Who is who in environmental economics”, 2009.

VI. Applications

Rational use of natural resources and environmental protection

Consequences of human activity.

Rational environmental management as an opportunity to manage natural ecosystems. Directions for nature conservation in the process of its use. Taking into account the relationships in ecosystems when using natural resources.

presentation, added 09/21/2013

Protection of natural areas

Review of legislation, specially protected natural areas, characteristics and classification. Lands of specially protected natural areas and their legal status.

State nature reserves. Violation of the regime of specially protected natural areas.

abstract, added 10/25/2010

Development of a system of specially protected natural areas

Nature conservation and specially protected natural areas: concept, goals, objectives and functions. History of the creation of a network of specially protected areas in the Republic of Belarus and in the Bobruisk region.

Natural monuments and reserves of local importance.

course work, added 01/28/2016

Environmental ethics and environmental management in people's lives

Justification of ecological and ethical approaches in environmental management.

Rational environmental management: principles and examples

Protection of biological resources through their reasonable exploitation. Functioning of systems of specially protected natural areas. Environmental restrictions in certain economic sectors.

test, added 03/09/2011

Concept, types and purposes of formation of specially protected natural areas

Concept, types and purposes of formation of specially protected natural areas.

Questions about nature reserves, national parks, sanctuaries and other specially protected areas. Questions about endangered animal and plant species. Their security.

abstract, added 06/02/2008

Differences between rational and irrational environmental management

The influence of constant human use of natural resources on the environment.

The essence and goals of rational environmental management. Signs of irrational environmental management. Comparison of rational and irrational environmental management, illustrated with examples.

test, added 01/28/2015

Legal regime specially protected natural areas and objects

Characteristics of the legislative framework on environmental issues. Legal regime of specially protected natural territories and objects: nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, parks, arboretums, botanical gardens.

course work, added 05/25/2009

Specially protected natural areas as a factor in regional development

Characteristics of specially protected natural areas of Russia.

Features of the functioning of specially protected natural areas in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Global and domestic trends influencing tourism planning in protected areas.

thesis, added 11/23/2010

Methodological approaches to justify the creation of specially protected natural areas

Justification of directions for improving the methodological tools for assessing specially protected natural areas based on consideration of their main environmental functions.

Differentiation coefficients for the standard average value of reserve lands.

article, added 09/22/2015

Current state of specially protected natural areas of the city of Stavropol

The concept of specially protected natural areas.

Natural conditions of Stavropol. Specially protected natural areas of Stavropol. Relief, climate, soils, water resources of the Stavropol region. Hydrological natural monuments of Stavropol, botanical gardens.

certification work, added 11/09/2008

The concept of environmental management

Rational environmental management- a type of relationship between a person and the environment in which people are able to intelligently develop natural resources and prevent the negative consequences of their activities. An example of rational environmental management is the creation of cultural landscapes and the use of low-waste and non-waste technologies. Rational environmental management includes the introduction of biological methods of controlling agricultural pests.

Rational environmental management can also be considered the creation of environmentally friendly fuels, improvement of technologies for the extraction and transportation of natural raw materials, etc.

In Belarus, the implementation of rational environmental management is controlled at the state level. To this end, a number of environmental laws have been adopted.

Rational use of natural resources

Among them are the laws “On the protection and use of wildlife”, “On waste management”, “On the protection atmospheric air».

Creation of low-waste and non-waste technologies

Low-waste technologies- production processes that provide maximum full use processed raw materials and generated waste.

At the same time, substances are returned to the environment in relatively harmless quantities.

Part of the global problem of solid waste disposal household waste is the problem of recycling recycled polymer raw materials (especially plastic bottles).

In Belarus, about 20-30 million of them are thrown away every month. Today, domestic scientists have developed and are using their own technology that allows processing plastic bottles into fibrous materials. They serve as filters for purifying contaminated wastewater from fuels and lubricants, and are also widely used at gas stations.

Filters made from recycled materials are not inferior in their physical and chemical properties to analogues made from primary polymers. In addition, their cost is several times lower. In addition, machine sink brushes, packaging tape, tiles, paving slabs, etc. are made from the resulting fiber.

The development and implementation of low-waste technologies is dictated by the interests of environmental activities and is a step towards the development of waste-free technologies.

Waste-free technologies imply a complete transition of production to a closed resource cycle without any impact on the environment.

Since 2012, the largest biogas plant in Belarus has been launched at the Rassvet agricultural production complex (Mogilev region). It allows you to process organic waste (manure, bird droppings, household waste, etc.). After processing, gaseous fuel - biogas - is obtained.

Thanks to biogas, the farm can completely avoid heating greenhouses with expensive natural gas in winter. In addition to biogas, environmentally friendly products are also obtained from production waste. organic fertilizers. These fertilizers are free of pathogenic microflora, weed seeds, nitrites and nitrates.

Another example of waste-free technology is the production of cheeses at most dairy enterprises in Belarus.

In this case, the fat-free and protein-free whey obtained from cheese production is completely used as raw material for the baking industry.

The introduction of low-waste and non-waste technologies also implies a transition to the next step in rational environmental management. This is the use of non-traditional, environmentally friendly and inexhaustible natural resources.

For the economy of our republic, the use of wind as an alternative energy source is especially important.

A wind power plant with a capacity of 1.5 MW is successfully operating in the Novogrudok district of the Grodno region. This power is quite enough to provide electricity to the city of Novogrudok, where more than 30 thousand residents live. In the near future, more than 10 wind farms with a capacity of more than 400 MW will appear in the republic.

For more than five years, the Berestye greenhouse plant (Brest) in Belarus has been operating a geothermal station, which does not emit carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides and soot into the atmosphere during operation.

At the same time, this type of energy reduces the country’s dependence on imported energy resources. Belarusian scientists have calculated that thanks to extraction from the bowels of the earth warm water natural gas savings amount to about 1 million m3 per year.

Ways to green agriculture and transport

The principles of rational environmental management, in addition to industry, are also implemented in other areas of human economic activity. In agriculture, it is extremely important to introduce biological methods of controlling plant pests instead of chemicals - pesticides.

In Belarus, Trichogramma is used to control the codling moth and cabbage cutworm. Beautiful ground beetles, feeding on the caterpillars of moths and silkworms, are protectors of the forest.

The development of environmentally friendly fuels for transport is no less important than the creation of new automotive technologies. Today there are many examples where alcohol and hydrogen are used as fuel in vehicles.

Unfortunately, these types of fuel have not yet received mass distribution due to low economic efficiency their use. At the same time, so-called hybrid cars have become increasingly used.

Along with the engine internal combustion They also have an electric motor, which is intended for movement within cities.

Currently, there are three enterprises in Belarus producing biodiesel fuel for internal combustion engines. These are OJSC "Grodno Azot" (Grodno), OJSC "Mogilevkhimvolokno" (Mogilev), OJSC "Belshina" (Grodno).

Bobruisk). These enterprises produce about 800 thousand tons of biodiesel fuel per year, most of which is exported. Belarusian biodiesel fuel is a mixture of petroleum diesel fuel and a biocomponent based on rapeseed oil and methanol in a ratio of 95% and 5%, respectively.

This fuel reduces emissions carbon dioxide into the atmosphere compared to conventional diesel fuel. Scientists have found that the production of biodiesel fuel allowed our country to reduce the purchase of oil by 300 thousand.

Solar panels are also known to be used as a source of energy for transportation. In July 2015, a Swiss manned aircraft equipped solar panels, for the first time in the world, spent more than 115 hours in a non-stop flight. At the same time, he reached an altitude of about 8.5 km, using exclusively solar energy during the flight.

Preservation of the gene pool

The species of living organisms on the planet are unique.

They store information about all stages of the evolution of the biosphere, which is of practical and great educational importance. There are no useless or harmful species, all of them are necessary for sustainable development biosphere. Any species that disappears will never appear on Earth again. Therefore, in conditions of increased anthropogenic impact on the environment, it is extremely important to preserve the gene pool of existing species on the planet.

In the Republic of Belarus, for this purpose, a next system events:

creation of environmental areas - nature reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, etc.
development of a system for monitoring the state of the environment - environmental monitoring;
development and adoption of environmental laws providing for various forms of liability for negative impacts on the environment. Responsibility concerns pollution of the biosphere, violation of the regime of protected areas, poaching, inhumane treatment of animals, etc.;
breeding rare and endangered plants and animals.
Relocating them to protected areas or new favorable habitats;
creation of a genetic data bank (plant seeds, reproductive and somatic cells of animals, plants, fungal spores capable of reproducing in the future). This is relevant for the conservation of valuable plant varieties and animal breeds or endangered species;
carrying out regular work on environmental education and upbringing of the entire population, and especially the younger generation.

Rational environmental management is a type of relationship between a person and the environment, in which a person is able to intelligently develop natural resources and prevent the negative consequences of his activities.

An example of rational environmental management is the use of low-waste and non-waste technologies in industry, as well as the greening of all spheres of human economic activity.

Irrational environmental management

Examples of degradation of the natural environment as a result of unsustainable environmental management include deforestation and depletion land resources. The process of deforestation is expressed in a reduction in the area under natural vegetation and, above all, forest.

According to some estimates, during the period of the emergence of agriculture and cattle breeding, 62 million square meters were covered with forests. km of land, and taking into account shrubs and copses - 75 million.

sq. km, or 56% of its entire surface. As a result of deforestation, which has been going on for 10 thousand years, their area has decreased to 40 million square meters. km, and the average forest cover is up to 30%.

However, when comparing these indicators, one must keep in mind that virgin forests untouched by man today occupy only 15 million hectares.

sq. km - in Russia, Canada, Brazil. In most other areas, all or almost all primary forests have been replaced by secondary forests. Only in 1850 - 1980. Forest areas on Earth have decreased by 15%. In foreign Europe until the 7th century. forests occupied 70-80% of the entire territory, and currently - 30-35%. On the Russian Plain at the beginning of the 18th century.

forest cover was 55%, now it is only 30%. IN on a large scale forest destruction also occurred in the USA, Canada, India, China, Brazil, and the Sahel zone in Africa.

Currently, forest destruction continues at a rapid pace: more than 20 thousand are destroyed annually.

sq. km. Forest areas are disappearing as the cultivation of land and pastures expands, and timber harvesting increases. Particularly threatening destruction occurred in the tropical forest zone, where, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in the mid-80s. 11 million hectares of forests were destroyed annually, and in the early 90s. - approximately 17 million

ha, especially in countries such as Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. As a result, over the past decades, the area of tropical forests has decreased by 20 - 30%. If the situation does not change, then in half a century their final death is possible. Moreover, tropical forests are being cut down at a rate that is 15 times faster than their natural regeneration. These forests are called the “lungs of the planet” because they supply oxygen to the atmosphere. They contain more than half of all species of flora and fauna on Earth.

Degradation of land resources as a result of the expansion of agriculture and livestock production has occurred throughout human history.

According to scientists, as a result of irrational land use, during the Neolithic revolution, humanity has already lost 2 billion hectares of once productive land, which is significantly more than the entire modern area of arable land. And in the present, as a result of soil degradation processes, about 7 million hectares of fertile land are removed from global agricultural production annually, losing their fertility and turning into wasteland. Soil losses can be assessed not only by area, but also by weight.

American scientists have calculated that the arable lands of our planet alone annually lose 24 billion tons of fertile bud layer, which is equivalent to the destruction of the entire wheat belt in the south-east of Australia. In addition, more than 1/2 of all these losses occurred in the late 80s. accounted for four countries: India (6 billion tons), China (3.3 billion tons), USA (3 billion tons).

t), and the USSR (3 billion tons).

The worst effects on the soil are water and wind erosion, as well as chemical (contamination with heavy metals, chemical compounds) and physical (destruction of soil cover during mining, construction and other work) degradation.

The causes of degradation primarily include excessive grazing (overgrazing), which is most typical for many developing countries. Important role The depletion and extinction of forests and agricultural activities (salinization during irrigated agriculture) also play a role here.

The process of soil degradation is particularly intense in arid areas, which occupy about 6 million hectares.

sq. km, and is most characteristic of Asia and Africa. The main desertification areas are also located within the drylands, where overgrazing, deforestation and unsustainable irrigated agriculture have reached their maximum levels. According to existing estimates, the total area of land desertification in the world is 4.7 million square meters. km. Including the territory where anthropogenic desertification occurred is estimated at 900 thousand square meters. km. Every year it grows by 60 thousand km.

In all major regions of the world, pastoral lands are most susceptible to desertification. In Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia and Europe, desertification affects about 80% of all pastures located in dry areas. In second place are rain-fed cultivated lands in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Waste problem

Another reason for the degradation of the global ecological system is its pollution by waste from industrial and non-productive human activities.

The amount of this waste is very large and lately has reached proportions that threaten the existence of human civilizations. Waste is divided into solid, liquid and gaseous.

Currently, there is no single estimate of the amount of solid waste generated by human economic activity. Not so long ago, for the whole world they were estimated at 40 - 50 billion tons per year with a forecast of an increase to 100 billion tons or more by 2000. According to modern calculations, by 2025.

the volume of such waste may increase another 4-5 times. It should also be taken into account that now only 5-10% of all extracted and received raw materials are converted into final products and 90-95% of them are converted into direct income during the processing process.

An illustrative example of a country with ill-conceived technology is Russia.

Thus, in the USSR about 15 billion tons of solid waste were generated annually, and now in Russia - 7 billion tons. The total amount of solid production and consumption waste located in dumps, landfills, storage facilities and landfills today reaches 80 billion tons.

The structure of solid waste is dominated by industrial and mining waste.

In general and per capita, they are especially large in Russia, the USA and Japan. In terms of solid household waste per capita, the lead belongs to the United States, where each resident produces 500–600 kg of garbage per year. Despite the ever-increasing recycling of solid waste in the world, in many countries it is either at an early stage or is completely absent, which leads to contamination of the Earth's soil cover.

Liquid waste primarily pollutes the hydrosphere, with the main pollutants here being wastewater and oil.

The total volume of wastewater in the early 90s. reached 1800 km3. to dilute contaminated wastewater to an acceptable level for use (process water) per unit volume, an average of 10 to 100 and even 200 units is required. clean water. Thus, the use of water resources for dilution and purification of wastewater has become the largest expenditure item.

This applies primarily to Asia, North America and Europe, which account for about 90% of the world's wastewater discharges. This also applies to Russia, where out of 70 km3 of wastewater discharged annually (in the USSR this figure was 160 km3), 40% is untreated or insufficiently treated.

Oil pollution primarily negatively affects the state of the sea and air environment, since the oil film limits gas, heat and moisture exchange between them.

According to some estimates, about 3.5 million tons of oil and petroleum products enter the World Ocean every year.

As a result, the degradation of the aquatic environment today has become global. Approximately 1.3 billion

People use only contaminated water at home, which causes many epidemic diseases. Due to the pollution of rivers and seas, fishing opportunities are reduced.

Of great concern is atmospheric pollution with dust and gaseous waste, emissions of which are directly related to the combustion of mineral fuels and biomass, as well as mining, construction and other earthworks.

The main pollutants are usually considered particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Every year, about 60 million tons of particulate matter are emitted into the Earth's atmosphere, which contribute to the formation of smog and reduce the transparency of the atmosphere. Sulfur dioxide (100 million tons) and nitrogen oxides (about 70 million tons) are the main sources of acid rain.

Carbon monoxide emissions (175 million tons) have a great impact on the composition of the atmosphere. Almost 2/3 of all global emissions of these four pollutants come from economically developed Western countries (the US share is 120 million tons). In Russia in the late 80s. Their emissions from stationary sources and road transport amounted to about 60 million.

t (in the USSR -95 million tons).

An even larger and more dangerous aspect of the environmental crisis is associated with the impact of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane, on the lower layers of the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere mainly as a result of the combustion of mineral fuels (2/3 of all receipts). The sources of metal entering the atmosphere are the combustion of biomass, some types of agricultural production, and leaks from oil and gas wells.

According to some estimates, only in 1950 - 1990. Global carbon emissions quadrupled to 6 billion.

t, or 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide. The main responsibility for these emissions lies with the economically developed countries of the Northern Hemisphere, which account for the majority of such emissions (USA - 25%, EU member countries - 14%, CIS countries - 13%, Japan -5%).

The degradation of the ecological system is also associated with the release into nature of chemical substances created during the production process. According to some estimates, about 100 thousand chemicals are involved in environmental poisoning these days.

The main dose of pollution falls on 1.5 thousand of them. These are chemicals, pesticides, feed additives, cosmetics, medications and other drugs.

They can be solid, liquid and gaseous and pollute the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

Recently, chlorofluorocarbon compounds (freons) have caused particular concern. This group of gases is widely used as refrigerants in refrigerators and air conditioners, in the form of solvents, sprays, sterilants, detergents, etc.

The greenhouse effect of chlorofluorocarbons has been known for a long time, but their production continued to grow rapidly, reaching 1.5 million tons. It was estimated that over the past 20 - 25 years, due to increasing emissions of freons, the protective layer of the atmosphere has decreased by 2 - 5%.

According to calculations, a decrease in the ozone layer by 1% leads to an increase in ultraviolet radiation by 2%. In the Northern Hemisphere, the ozone content in the atmosphere has already decreased by 3%. The Northern Hemisphere's particular exposure to freons can be explained by the following: 31% of freons are produced in the USA, 30% in Western Europe, 12% - in Japan, 10% - in the CIS.

Finally, in some areas of the Earth, “ ozone holes“—great destruction of the ozone layer (especially over Antarctica and the Arctic).

At the same time, it must be borne in mind that CFC emissions are apparently not the only reason for the destruction of the ozone layer.

One of the main consequences of the environmental crisis on the planet is the impoverishment of its gene pool, a decrease in biological diversity on Earth, which is estimated at 10-20 million species, including in the territory of the former USSR - 10-12% of the total. The damage in this area is already quite noticeable. This occurs due to the destruction of plant and animal habitats, overexploitation of agricultural resources, and environmental pollution.

According to American scientists, over the past 200 years, about 900 thousand species of plants and animals have disappeared on Earth. In the second half of the twentieth century. the process of gene pool reduction has accelerated sharply.

Scientists believe that if existing trends continue in 1980 - 2000. the extinction of 1/5 of all species inhabiting our planet is possible.

All these facts indicate the degradation of the global ecological system and the growing global environmental crisis.

Their social consequences are already manifested in food shortages, increased morbidity, and increased environmental migration.

Nature management- the activity of human society aimed at satisfying its needs through the use of natural resources. There are rational and irrational use of natural resources.

Irrational environmental management is a system of environmental management in which the most readily available natural resources are used in large quantities and usually not fully, which leads to their rapid depletion.
In this case, a huge amount of waste is produced and the environment is subjected to great pollution. Irrational use of natural resources is inherent in an extensive type of economy, an economy that develops through more and more new construction, the development of virgin lands, the use of natural resources, and an increase in the number of employees in enterprises.
Extensive farming can initially bring good results even at a relatively low scientific and technical level industrial production, but soon it leads to the depletion of natural and labor resources in the country. One of the countless examples of irrational environmental management includes slash-and-burn agriculture, which is widespread even today in Southeast Asia. Land burning ultimately leads to the destruction of wood, air pollution, uncontrollable fires, etc.
Most often, irrational environmental management becomes a consequence of departmental interests and the interests of modern transnational corporations that locate hazardous production facilities in developing countries.

Rational environmental management is a system of environmental management in which extracted natural resources are fully used (and accordingly the amount of consumed resources is reduced), renewable natural resources are restored, production waste is reused and fully used (waste-free production), which makes it possible to significantly reduce environmental pollution . Rational use of natural resources is inherent in the intensive type of economy, which follows the path of development based on scientific and technological progress and optimal labor organization with high labor productivity. An example of rational environmental management is waste-free production or a waste-free production cycle, in which waste is used to the fullest extent, resulting in a reduction in the consumption of raw materials.

Mineral resources— such resources are considered to be minerals extracted from the subsoil. Also, minerals mean natural mineral substances. earth's crust, which, at the established level of technological development, can be extracted and used in production in their natural form or pre-processed with a positive economic effect. The volume of use of mineral resources in the modern world is constantly growing. If, for example, in the Middle Ages only 18 chemical elements were extracted from the earth’s crust, now this number has increased to more than 80 elements. Since 1950, world mining production has tripled. Every year, more than 100 billion tons of mineral raw materials and fuel are extracted from the bowels of the planet. Modern national economy uses approximately 200 types of various mineral raw materials. It should be taken into account that almost all of them belong to the category of non-renewable, and also, the reserves of their individual types are far from the same. For example, the total geological reserves of coal in the world are approximately 14.8 trillion tons, and oil reserves are 400 billion tons. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the constantly growing needs of mankind.

Land resources — earth's surface, suitable for human habitation, as well as for construction and any other types of economic activity. In addition to the size of the territory, land resources are characterized by their quality: relief, soil cover and a complex of other natural conditions. The wealth of mankind in land resources is determined primarily by the vast global land fund, which, according to various estimates, ranges from 13.1 to 14.9 billion hectares. One of the main characteristics of land resources is the structure of the land fund, i.e. the ratio of areas occupied by forests, crops, pastures, settlements, roads, industrial enterprises, etc. The land fund also includes those inconvenient for farming lands such as deserts, highlands, etc.
In the structure of the world land fund, cultivable lands occupy only 11%, with meadows and pastures from 23 to 25%, forests and shrubs - 31%, and settlements only 2%. Almost the entire remaining territory consists of unproductive and unproductive lands.
These include mountains, deserts, glaciers, swamps, etc. But despite their small number, cultivated lands provide humanity with 88% of the necessary food products.
The main tracts of arable land on the planet are located in the Northern Hemisphere, namely in Western and Eastern Europe, in Southern Siberia, in South, East, Southeast Asia and the plains of the United States and Canada. These lands are located mainly in forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones of the world. Pasture lands also have very great value for human society and provide about 10% of the food consumed by humans. Territories occupied by forests are of great importance as a source of valuable wood, as the “lungs” of our planet, producing oxygen necessary for human life. Forest areas create forest resources.

Land water resources- rivers, lakes, groundwater. There are several areas for using water resources. The most important of these is meeting humanity's needs for fresh water. River waters are widely used for this purpose.
According to some estimates, approximately 47 thousand km3 pass through the rivers annually, according to others only 40 thousand km3. This is not so much, considering that less than 50% of this amount can actually be used. Humanity's need for fresh water is constantly increasing. In 1980 it was 3.5 thousand km3 per year, and by 2000 it should increase to 5 thousand km3 per year.
Almost 65% of all river water is consumed by agriculture, where its irreversible consumption is very high, especially for irrigation.
Such an increase in consumption with constant resources river flow may lead to a shortage of fresh water.
Moreover, many countries have long experienced such a shortage.
To solve the problem of water supply in the world, various ways are used. The main one is saving water, reducing its losses through the introduction of more modern methods and technologies. The construction of reservoirs plays an important role in this. Currently, more than 30 thousand reservoirs have been built in the world, the total volume of which is approximately 6.5 thousand km3.
This is 3.5 times greater than the one-time volume of water in all rivers of the globe. Taken together, the reservoirs cover an area of 400 thousand km2, which is 10 times the area Sea of Azov.
To countries with the most a large number Large reservoirs include the USA (reservoirs on the Missouri and Colorado rivers) and Russia (Volga and Yenisei cascades of reservoirs).
As other solutions water problem can be considered: desalination of sea water, common in the Gulf countries, Mediterranean, Turkmenistan, southern USA, Japan, islands Caribbean Sea; redistribution of river flow in moisture-abundant areas (USA, Canada, Australia, India, etc.).
The latter requires a particularly careful approach, since on a large scale it can cause much more environmental damage than economic benefit. In many countries around the world, water is transported in sea tankers and transmitted through long-distance water pipelines. Today even transportation ideas are being considered Antarctic icebergs to hot zone countries. Rivers are also widely used around the world for energy. There are three categories of hydropower potential. The theoretical (gross) hydro potential, which is usually estimated at 30–50 trillion kW/h of possible electricity generation per year, technical potential is approximately 20 trillion kW/h per year. In the modern world, groundwater is also a source of fresh water, which is used for medicinal purposes (mineral waters) and for heating (thermal springs).

Forest resources- one of the most important types of biosphere resources. Forest resources include wood, cork, resin, mushrooms, berries, nuts, medicinal plants, hunting and fishing resources, etc., as well as beneficial properties forests: climate-regulating, water-protecting, anti-erosion, health-improving, etc.
Forest resources are classified as renewable resources and are considered according to two main criteria: the size of the forest area and standing timber reserves. Thus, forests occupy 4.1 billion hectares or about 27% of the Earth’s land area, and the world’s wood reserves amount to about 350 billion m3, which, due to constant growth, increase annually by 5.5 billion m3.
However, forests are often cut down for arable land, plantations, and construction. In addition, wood is quite widely used for firewood and wood-processing products. The result is deforestation, which has reached alarming proportions today.
The world's forest area decreases annually by at least 25 million hectares, and global timber harvest in 2000 already reached 5 billion m3. This means that its annual growth rate is fully utilized. The largest area of forests remains in Eurasia. This is about 40% of all the world's forests and almost 42% of the total timber supply, including 2/3 of the volume of the most valuable wood species.
Australia has the least forest cover. Since the sizes of the continents are not the same, their forest cover, the ratio of forested area to total area continent. According to this indicator, South America ranks first in the world.
At economic assessment forest resources, the main characteristic is such as wood reserves. The countries of Asia, South and North America are leading in this regard.
Leading positions in this area are occupied by countries such as Russia, Canada, the USA, and Brazil. The following countries are characterized by a virtual absence of forests: Libya, Bahrain, Qatar, etc.

Resources of the World Ocean— the main resources of the World Ocean are biological, energy, mineral and energy.

Biological resources of the World Ocean- animals and plants, energy generated today by the country's hydroelectric power stations. The biomass of the World Ocean is 140 billion tons. Water
The world's oceans have huge reserves of deuterium, its resources are diverse.
One of the most important resources is animals (fish, mollusks, cetaceans) actively swimming in the water column and mineral resources. The biological and mineral resources of the world's oceans are exhaustible. Their uncontrolled use has endangered the existence of marine mammals and led to a strong reduction in the number of fish, bottom plants and animals. Mainly human production involves fish, which accounts for 85% of the marine biomass used, and bivalves (scallops, oysters, mussels). All greater application find algae. Medicines, starch are obtained from algae, paper and fabrics are made. Algae is an excellent feed for livestock and a good fertilizer. There are more or less productive areas in the ocean. The most productive ones include the Norwegian, Bering, Okhotsk and Japanese seas. The resources of the world's oceans are still underutilized. Ocean waters are rapidly becoming polluted. A huge amount of “dirt” is carried into the ocean from land by rivers and sewage. More than 30% of the ocean surface is covered with an oil film, destructive for all living things.
The destruction of plankton, i.e. protozoa and crustaceans passively floating in water, led to a reduction in fish production. Radioactive products enter the World Ocean, which also pollute its waters.

Mineral resources of the World Ocean- resources that are in the water itself, and those that are extracted from its bottom. The most valuable resource is water itself, which contains 75 chemical elements. On an industrial scale, sodium, chlorine, magnesium and bromine are already extracted from it. But when these elements are extracted, some potassium and calcium compounds are obtained as by-products.
All higher value seawater desalination is currently being acquired. The bottom of the World Ocean is also rich in mineral resources. They include ore deposits below the seabed surface.

Energy resources — to modern man An extremely large amount of energy is needed: for heating housing, for operating equipment and transport, and lighting. Energy consumption has increased 100-fold over the last century. It is still growing so quickly that very soon there may not be enough natural resources to satisfy all human needs. Energy sources are very diverse. These are coal, oil, peat, gas, falling water, wind, nuclear energy. All named types of energy, excluding atomic energy, are solar energy. The water cycle in nature occurs thanks to solar heat; Air also moves thanks to the Sun.

Coal, gas and oil is a natural fuel formed from the fossil remains of animals and plants that have accumulated underground and turned into combustible substances over millions of years. It is the most important source of energy, providing about 75% of all our electricity needs. The largest gas field is considered Urengoy in Russia.
It produces up to 200,000 million m3 of gas per year. The largest oil field, Hawar, is located in Saudi Arabia and covers 8,000 km2. Peat is a less valuable fuel and is used less in industry than gas and oil. It is formed continuously. Every autumn, the plants in the swamp die, and layers of peat form in their place.
In addition to fuel, today hundreds of different products are produced from oil, coal and gas. Even sitting in a room, you can count dozens of them: plastic parts of a TV set, a stereo system, nylon shirts, a foam mattress, nylon stockings, plastic bags, washing powder, medications (aspirin, streptocide, pyramidon, etc.).
Every year the world's energy resources are decreasing, as a result of which energy processing and conservation are becoming more and more important for humanity. It is necessary that as much plastic, glass, paper, and metal as possible be recycled. It is desirable to reduce energy consumption in industrial and domestic areas as much as possible.
You can save oil and gas by using new types of energy, such as nuclear energy, solar energy, and wind energy.
Man has learned to use the atom for peaceful purposes. In an atomic bomb, a dangerous weapon, when the nucleus fissions, energy is released in a fraction of a second. In a power plant, control rods in the reactor delay the process while allowing energy to be released gradually. Over the course of several months, you can use this energy by converting it into electricity. The fuel elements for a nuclear reactor are uranium dioxide pellets, which are placed in thin tubes separated by partitions. There are different types reactors. Some of them were previously used in weapons. For example, the first N-reactors were created for plutonium bombs. Magnox reactors produce plutonium and electricity. The most commonly used reactors are those previously used on nuclear submarines. The most advanced ones at present are gas-cooled reactors.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan is considered the largest. It operates 10 separate reactors, which together produce 8,814 megawatts. The biggest problem is the disposal of nuclear waste. Scientists have calculated that it will take 80,000 years for the radioactivity of the waste already accumulated in the modern world to disappear.
The safest in this regard are renewable types of energy. Most The energy produced on the planet is provided by fossil fuels, and they are coming to an end. The use of nuclear energy also has a number of problems. As a result, people need renewable energy sources such as sunlight, wind, heat from the Earth’s core, and waves. Currently, they generate about 5% of all energy on the planet, but it is possible that this figure will increase in the future. The main source of a significant part of the energy on Earth is the Sun. It is this that helps plants grow, causing water to evaporate, forming clouds that fall to the ground as rain, replenishing rivers. The sun controls both the wind and the waves. Every year the sun provides a volume of heat equal to energy, which can be obtained from 60 bln tons of oil. Even a hundredth part of it with 5% efficiency will provide any country in the world with electricity.
But there is a problem. Oil and other fossil fuels are very easy to use because they contain energy that has been stored between layers of rock under pressure for millions of years. But sunlight can only be converted into electricity using solar cells. It is not easy to do this effectively because it is dispersed over vast areas. Electricity is thus difficult to collect in large quantities.
The same problems arise when trying to “tame” the wind. Like the energy of sunlight, it is difficult to use in industrial quantities. But it is suitable for local use. Already in ancient times people built windmills. Travelers went “to distant lands” under sail in caravels. It was on sailing ships that the first circumnavigation of the world was made. Already in ancient Egypt, primitive wind engines were built to grind grain and irrigate fields. In our country there are now several thousand wind turbines, and there are also wind power plants. But, just like the energy of sunlight, only a small fraction of wind energy is used so far. Although this energy is very great. Scientists believe that every year the winds carry almost 3 times more energy over the territory of Russia than that contained in coal, oil, peat, and rivers of the country.
It is of great importance that wind power plants can be built in any corner of our country. Wind engines are widely used at polar stations located on the North Islands Arctic Ocean. Although there are very severe frosts here in winter, down to -50°C, wind turbines function flawlessly. They are the ones who always provide polar explorers with light and heat, and provide current to their radio receivers and radio transmitters.

Environmental pollution— undesirable changes in its properties as a result of anthropogenic input of various substances and compounds. Environmental pollution leads to harmful effects on the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
The main source of such pollution is the return to nature of a huge mass of waste that is generated in the process of production and consumption of human society.
According to scientists, already in 1970 they amounted to 40 million tons, and by the end of the 20th century. their volume has reached 100 billion tons. The entry into the environment of chemicals synthesized by humans and previously not existing in nature is especially dangerous.

Being a part of nature, man has used its gifts for many centuries to develop technology and for the benefit of human civilization, while causing colossal and irreparable harm to the surrounding space. Modern scientific facts indicate that it is time to think about the wise use of nature, because thoughtless waste of the earth's resources can lead to an irreversible environmental disaster.

Environmental management system

The modern system of environmental management is holistic structure, covering all areas of human activity at the present stage, including public consumption of natural resources.

Science views environmental management as a set of measures for the rational use of natural resources, aimed not only at processing, but also at restoration, using improved methods and technologies. In addition, this is a discipline that provides theoretical knowledge and practical skills to preserve and enhance the natural diversity and wealth of the entire world space.

Classification of natural resources

By origin, natural resources are divided into:

According to industrial use, they are distinguished:

World Land Trust.
Forest fund is part of the land resources on which trees, shrubs, and grasses grow.
Hydro resources are the energy and fossils of lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans.

By degree of depletion:

Rational and irrational environmental management

Rational environmental management is the continuous impact of man on the surrounding space, where he knows how to manage relationships with nature on the basis of its conservation and protection from undesirable consequences in the process of his activities.

Signs of rational environmental management:

Restoration and reproduction of natural resources.
Conservation of land, water, animals and flora.
Gentle extraction of minerals and harmless processing.
Preservation of the natural environment for human, animal and plant life.
Maintaining the ecological balance of the natural system.
Regulation of fertility and population.

Rational environmental management implies the interaction of the entire natural system based on maintaining the laws of ecology, rationalization in the use, conservation and enhancement of available resources. The essence of environmental management is based on the primary laws of mutual synthesis of various natural systems. Thus, rational environmental management means the analysis of a biological system, its careful operation, protection and reproduction, taking into account not only current, but also future interests of the development of economic sectors and the preservation of human health.

Examples of rational environmental management are:

The current state of environmental management shows an irrational approach, which leads to the destruction of the ecological balance and a very difficult recovery from human impact. In addition, extensive exploitation based on old technologies has created a situation in which the environment is polluted and degraded.

Signs of irrational environmental management:

There are quite a large number of examples of irrational environmental management, which, unfortunately, prevails in economic activity and is characteristic of intensive production.

Examples of unsustainable environmental management:

Slash-and-burn farming, plowing of slopes on highlands, which leads to the formation of ravines, soil erosion and destruction of the fertile layer of soil (humus).
Changes in hydrological regime.
Deforestation, destruction of protected areas, overgrazing.
Discharge of waste and sewage into rivers, lakes, seas.
Atmospheric pollution by chemicals.
Extermination of valuable species of plants, animals and fish.
Open way mining.

Principles of rational environmental management

Human activity, as part of the search for ways to rationally use natural resources and improvement of environmental safety methods is based on the following principles:

Ways to implement the principles

At the present stage, many countries are implementing political programs and projects in the field of applying rational methods of using natural resources, which relate to:

In addition, within a single state, work is underway aimed at developing and implementing regional environmental plans and measures, and management and control of activities in this area should be carried out by both state and public organizations. These measures will allow:

provide the population with environmentally friendly work in production;
create a healthy environment for residents of cities and villages;
reduce the hazardous impact of natural disasters and disasters;
preserve the ecosystem in disadvantaged regions;
introduce modern technologies to ensure environmental standards;
regulate acts of environmental legislation.

The problem of rational use of natural resources is much broader and more complex than it might seem at first glance. It must be remembered that in nature everything is closely interconnected and not a single component can exist in isolation from each other.

The damage caused during centuries of economic activity can only be corrected if society consciously approaches solving problems regarding the global environmental situation. And this is everyday work for the individual, the state and the world community.

In addition, before preserving any biological entity, it is necessary to thoroughly study the entire agrobiological system, acquire knowledge and understand the essence of its existence. And only by understanding nature and its laws, a person will be able to rationally use all its benefits and resources, as well as increase and save for the future generation of people.

Nature management is a set of measures taken by society in order to study, protect, develop and transform the environment.

Rational environmental management– this type of relationship between human society and the environment, in which society manages its relationship with nature and prevents the undesirable consequences of its activities. An example is the creation of cultural landscapes; the use of technologies that allow for more complete processing of raw materials; reuse of industrial waste, protection of animal and plant species, creation of nature reserves, etc.

Irrational environmental management is a type of relationship with nature that does not take into account the requirements of environmental protection and its improvement (consumer attitude towards nature). Examples of such an attitude are excessive grazing of livestock, slash-and-burn agriculture, extermination of certain species of plants and animals, radioactive and thermal pollution of the environment. Also harming the environment is caused by rafting of timber along rivers with individual logs (moth rafting), draining swamps in the upper reaches of rivers, open-pit mining, etc. Natural gas as a raw material for thermal power plants is a more environmentally friendly fuel than coal or brown coal.

Currently, most countries are pursuing a policy of rational environmental management, special environmental protection bodies have been created, and environmental programs and laws are being developed. It is important for countries to work together to protect nature and to create international projects that would address the following issues:

2) the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and its components in the aquatic environment and, in particular, the prevention of practices leading to irreversible changes, such as the destruction of species by genetic erosion or large-scale destruction of habitats;

3) promoting the development of mariculture and aquaculture in coastal marine and inland waters by establishing appropriate legal mechanisms, coordinating the use of land and water with other activities, using the best and most suitable genetic material in accordance with the requirements for the conservation and sustainable use of the external environment and the conservation of biological diversity, application of social and environmental impact assessments.

Environmental pollution and environmental problems of humanity. Environmental pollution- this is an undesirable change in its properties, which leads or may lead to harmful effects on humans or natural complexes. The most well-known type of pollution is chemical (the release of harmful substances and compounds into the environment), but such types of pollution as radioactive, thermal (uncontrolled release of heat into the environment can lead to global changes in the natural climate), and noise pose no less potential threat. Environmental pollution is mainly associated with human economic activity (anthropogenic environmental pollution), but pollution is possible as a result of natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, meteorite falls, etc. All shells of the Earth are subject to pollution.

The lithosphere (as well as the soil cover) becomes polluted as a result of the influx of heavy metal compounds, fertilizers, and pesticides into it. Up to 12 billion tons of waste from large cities alone are removed annually. Mining developments lead to the destruction of natural soil cover over vast areas. The hydrosphere is polluted by wastewater from industrial enterprises (especially chemical and metallurgical enterprises), runoff from fields and livestock farms, and domestic wastewater from cities. Oil pollution is especially dangerous - up to 15 million tons of oil and petroleum products enter the waters of the World Ocean every year.

The atmosphere is polluted mainly as a result of the annual burning of huge amounts of mineral fuel and emissions from the metallurgical and chemical industries. The main pollutants are carbon dioxide, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, and radioactive compounds.

As a result of growing environmental pollution, many environmental problems arise both at the local and regional levels (in large industrial areas and urban agglomerations) and at the global level (global warming, reduction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, depletion of natural resources).

Specially protected natural areas (SPNA) belong to objects of national heritage and represent areas of land, water surface and air space above them, where natural complexes and objects are located that have special environmental, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, recreational and health significance, which are withdrawn by decisions of government authorities completely or partly from economic use and for which a special protection regime has been established.

According to estimates from leading international organizations, there are about 10 thousand large protected natural areas of all types in the world. The total number of national parks was close to 2000, and biosphere reserves - to 350.

Taking into account the peculiarities of the regime and status of the environmental institutions located on them, the following categories of these territories are usually distinguished: state natural reserves, including biosphere reserves; national parks; natural parks; state nature reserves; natural monuments; dendrological parks and botanical gardens; medical and recreational areas and resorts.

Examples of Unified State Examination Tasks with Comments

1. Which of the following countries has the largest proven coal reserves?

1) Algeria 3) South Africa

2) Pakistan 4) Peru

The answer is 3.

2. Which of the listed types of natural resources are classified as exhaustible and non-renewable?

1) copper ores 3) soil

2) peat 4) forest

The answer is 1.

3. On the coast of which bay are they being developed? large deposits oil and gas?

1) Bengal 3) Great Australian

2) Mexican 4) Hudson

The answer is 2.

4. Which of the following countries has the greatest hydroelectric potential?

1) Brazil 3) Netherlands

2) Sudan 4) Australia

To successfully answer questions of this type, one should apply knowledge about what the hydropower potential of rivers is and what it depends on (the number of rivers, their full flow and the terrain - the greater the slope of the river, the higher its hydro potential. In this case, there are many deep rivers in Brazil rivers flowing through the plateaus. Sudan is located in the Sahara; there are no rivers in the Netherlands, but they are smaller in depth and in length than in Brazil, and the slope of the rivers is small, because the territory of the country does not have large differences in elevation. , it is quite flat. Australia is a country of deserts. There are rivers only in the east - they originate in the mountains of the Great Dividing Range, but their hydropotential is significantly lower than the rivers of Brazil, because they are less deep.

The answer is 1.

5. Which of the following has the greatest negative impact on the state of the natural environment?

1) construction of high pipes at thermal power plants

2) use of brown coal as fuel at thermal power plants

3) use solar energy for heating homes

4) land reclamation

The answer is 2.

6. Which of the following cities has the highest level of air pollution?

1) Tambov 3) Rostov-on-Don

2) Petrozavodsk 4) Chelyabinsk

To answer questions of this type, you need to apply knowledge about which industries pollute the air to a greater extent and about which industries are developed in the listed cities. Thus, the largest air polluters are metallurgy enterprises (ferrous and non-ferrous), thermal power plants operating on brown or hard coal. Of the listed cities, Chelyabinsk has full-cycle ferrous metallurgy enterprises.

The answer is 4.

7. As a result of global warming, the territory of which of the following countries may decrease?

1) Netherlands 3) Switzerland

2) Turkmenistan 4) Sudan

These types of questions test the ability to apply knowledge about the effects of global warming and geographical location countries to solve a specific problem. As a result of global warming, sea levels are rising. Accordingly, the low-lying coastal areas of countries with access to the coast of the World Ocean may be flooded. Of the countries listed in the text of the assignment, only the Netherlands has access to the ocean, and part of the coast is lowland. As a result of rising sea levels, part of the country will be flooded.

The answer is 1.

8. Which of the following industries pollutes inland waters the most?

1) shoe 3) food

2) textile 4) pulp and paper

The answer is 4.

9. In which of the territories indicated on the map will water erosion of the soil layer develop most intensively?

1) A 2) B 3) C 4) D

Questions of this type require the ability to apply knowledge about the causes of the development of water soil erosion to analyze the possibility of its development in certain areas. It must be remembered that the development of water erosion depends on the topography, the composition of rocks, the degree of soil consolidation by vegetation, the amount of precipitation, etc. With leveled low-lying terrain, erosion develops with less intensity. To answer correctly, you need to remember what kind of relief is typical for the territories shown on the map. Thus, territory A is located approximately within the Central Russian Upland, and the rest are within the lowlands, which are characterized by swampiness.

The answer is 1.

10. Using the data from the table below, compare the availability of fresh water resources among countries. Arrange countries in order of increasing resource availability.

Canada290031, 1 93Bangladesh2360129,2 18Brazil6950170,1 40Write the resulting sequence of letters in the table.

To answer such questions, you should remember what resource availability is and calculate it for the countries presented in the table. Resource availability is the relationship between the amount of (explored) natural resources and the extent of their use. It is expressed either by the number of years for which the resource should last, or by reserves per capita at current rates of extraction or use. In this case, the table shows freshwater resources and population, therefore, it is necessary to compare indicators of resource availability per capita. To do this, divide the amount of fresh water resources, given in km3, by the population of the country, given in million people. and find out how much of this resource is available per capita. You can calculate the indicators and compare them. Or you can not count exactly, but roughly compare which countries will have the largest and lowest indicators. In this task, Canada will clearly have the highest indicator, and Bangladesh will have the lowest.

A typical mistake is an answer written in the opposite sequence to that required in the task. For example, you need to arrange the countries in order increase indicator of resource availability, and students write down the answer in the order decrease, because they first identified the country with the most a large indicator. To avoid making such mistakes, you should carefully read the text of the task, and, having determined the indicators of all countries, look again in what order they should be written down in the answer. Answer: BVA.

11. What features of agriculture in the Azov Sea basin have caused the increase in salinity and pollution of the waters of the Azov Sea in recent decades?

The Sea of Azov is small and shallow. It is connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Kerch Strait. Of the large rivers flowing into the Sea of Azov, the Don and Kuban stand out. The fresh waters of the rivers desalinate the salty waters of the sea.

A large amount of river water is withdrawn for irrigation,

because Agriculture is developing on irrigated lands. Less fresh river water enters the sea, and the salinity of sea waters increases. Sea water pollution is increasing

due to the fact that many chemical fertilizers are used in crop production, and some of them, together with river and

underground water flows into the sea.

Self-test tasks

1. Which of the listed types of natural resources are considered inexhaustible?

1) energy of ebbs and flows

2) coal

3) natural soil fertility

4) tin ores

2. Which of the following cities has the highest level of air pollution?

1) Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 3) Blagoveshchensk

2) Smolensk 4) Kemerovo

3. In which region of Russia may problems arise due to the fact that thawing occurs as a result of global warming? permafrost?

1) Krasnoyarsk Territory 3) Primorsky Territory

2) Rostov region 4) Republic of Karelia

4. Which of the listed sectors of the economy pollutes the atmosphere the most?

1) air transport

2) railway transport

3) thermal power engineering

4) nuclear power industry

5. Which of the following countries have rivers with the greatest hydroelectric potential?

1) Mauritania and Panama 3) Iran and Niger

2) Mongolia and Pakistan 4) DR Congo and Canada

6. The greenhouse effect in the Earth’s atmosphere increases with increasing levels of

1) nitrogen 3) hydrogen

2) oxygen 4) carbon dioxide

7. In which of the territories indicated on the map will wind erosion of the soil layer develop most intensively?

8. Establish a correspondence between each of the natural resources and the species to which it belongs.

NATURAL RESOURCES TYPES OF NATURAL RESOURCES

A) forest 1) inexhaustible

B) wind energy 2) exhaustible renewable

B) fuel 3) exhaustible non-renewable

D) metal ores

Write down the numbers corresponding to the selected answers in the table.

9. Using the data from the table below, compare the provision of regions with fresh water resources. Arrange the regions in order of increasing resource availability.

Foreign Asia 11.03682 South America 10.5345 Australia and Oceania 1.630 Write the resulting sequence of letters in the table.

10. Using the table, compare the resource availability of countries with oil. Arrange countries in order of increasing resource availability.

Answers

Russia11480Venezuela11145Norway1.1128Write the resulting sequence of letters in the table.

11. Explain why during anticyclones in cities the concentration of exhaust gases in the surface air layer increases sharply? Give two reasons.

12. What are the features of the nature of the Yamal Peninsula on its territory? List two features.

13. Why in the tundra zone on the West Siberian Plain are changes associated with anthropogenic human activity less than in natural area steppes?

14. Why is the Laptev Sea less polluted than the Black Sea? Give two reasons.

Answers

14134678910422133ABVVAB11. During an anticyclone there is no wind or its strength is very small. Exhaust gases remain in the ground layer of air. In addition, during anticyclones, downward air movement is observed, thus, exhaust gases are “pressed” to the surface of the earth.

12. The Yamal Peninsula is characterized by the spread of permafrost; in addition, there are swamps there. Winters are very harsh low temperatures air. All this makes construction difficult, because... it is necessary to use special technologies and special equipment.

13. Tundra zone West Siberian Plain began to be intensively changed by man not so long ago - in connection with the discovery and start of exploitation of gas and oil fields. Agricultural production is not developed. And in the steppe zone, development has been going on for a long time - it was populated earlier, the population density here is higher. In the south of the West Siberian Plain there is a high degree of agricultural development of the territory - large areas the lands are plowed, natural vegetation is removed.

14. We can name one reason related to human activity and one related to the characteristics of nature. Human economic activity on the Laptev Sea coast contributes little to its pollution. There are few cities on its shores, and transport routes along its waters are not used intensively. The shores of the Black Sea have been inhabited for a long time; there are many cities and towns, railways and roads on its coast. Numerous cargo and transport ship routes pass through its waters. Agricultural activities of the population on the coasts of the sea and in the river basins flowing into it also contributed to the pollution of the sea. Also, the Laptev Sea is less polluted, because it is marginal, and the waters of the sea mix freely with the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The Black Sea is inland, and water exchange processes here are very slow.

Section VI.

Regional studies

The Federal Law “On Environmental Protection” states that “...reproduction and rational use of natural resources... are necessary conditions for ensuring a favorable environment and environmental safety...”

Environmental management (use of natural resources) is the totality of all forms of human impact on nature and its resources. The main forms of influence are: exploration and extraction (development) of natural resources, their involvement in economic circulation (transportation, sale, processing, etc.), as well as the protection of natural resources. IN possible cases- renewal (reproduction).

Based on environmental consequences, environmental management is divided into rational and irrational. Rational environmental management is a consciously regulated, purposeful activity carried out taking into account the laws of nature and ensuring:

Society's need for natural resources while maintaining a balance between economic development and sustainability of the natural environment;

An environmentally friendly natural environment for human health and life;

Preservation of natural resources in the interests of present and future generations of people.

Rational environmental management ensures a regime of economical and efficient exploitation of natural resources with maximum extraction from them healthy products. Rational use of natural resources does not lead to sudden changes in natural resource potential and does not cause profound changes in the natural environment. At the same time, the standards of permissible impact on nature are observed, based on the requirements of its protection and causing the least harm to it.

A prerequisite is legislative support for environmental management at the state level, regulation, implementation of measures aimed at solving environmental problems and monitoring the state of the natural environment.

Irrational environmental management is an activity associated with a high intensity of use of natural resources, which does not ensure the conservation of the natural resource complex, and violates the laws of nature. As a result of such activities, the quality of the natural environment deteriorates, its degradation occurs, natural resources are depleted, the natural basis of people’s livelihoods is undermined, and their health is harmed. Such use of natural resources violates environmental safety and can lead to environmental crises and even disasters.

An ecological crisis is a critical state of the environment that threatens human existence.

Ecological disaster - changes in the natural environment, often caused by the impact of human economic activity, a man-made accident or natural disaster, leading to unfavorable changes in the natural environment and accompanied by massive loss of life or damage to the health of the population of the region, death of living organisms, vegetation, large losses of material values and natural resources.

The reasons for irrational environmental management include:

An unbalanced and unsafe system of environmental management that developed spontaneously in the last century;

The population has the idea that many natural resources are given to people for nothing (cutting down a tree to build a house, getting water from a well, picking berries in the forest); the entrenched concept of a “free” resource, which does not stimulate frugality and encourages wastefulness;

Social conditions that have caused a sharp increase in population, an increase in the productive forces on the planet and, accordingly, the impact of human society on nature and its resources (life expectancy has increased, mortality has decreased, production of food, consumer goods, housing, and other goods has increased).

Changing social conditions have caused high speed depletion of natural resources. In industrialized countries, the capacity of modern industry now doubles approximately every 15 years, constantly causing deterioration of the natural environment.

After humanity realized what was happening and began to compare economic benefits with the opportunities and environmental losses of nature, environmental quality began to be considered as an economic category (good). The consumer of this product is, first of all, the population living in a certain territory, and then industry, construction, transport and other sectors of the economy.

Many advanced countries, starting with Japan, in the middle of the 20th century embarked on the path of resource conservation, while the economy of our country continued extensive (cost-consuming) development, in which the growth of production volumes increased mainly due to the involvement of new natural resources in economic circulation. And at present, an unreasonably large volume of natural resource use remains.

The extraction of natural resources is constantly growing. For example, water consumption in Russia (for the needs of the population, industry, agriculture) has increased 7 times over 100 years. The consumption of energy resources has increased manifold.

Another problem is the fact that only about 2% of extracted minerals are converted into finished products. The rest is stored in dumps, dissipated during transportation and overloading, and lost during ineffective technological processes, replenishes waste. Into the natural environment (soil and vegetation cover, water sources, atmosphere) and pollutants are released. Large losses of raw materials are also due to the lack of economic interest in the rational and complete extraction of all useful components from it.

Economic activity has destroyed entire populations of animals and plants, many species of insects, led to a progressive decrease in water resources, to the filling of underground workings with fresh water, due to which the aquifers of groundwater that feed rivers and are sources of drinking water supply are dehydrated.

The result of irrational environmental management was an intensive decrease in soil fertility. Acid rain, the culprit of soil acidification, is formed when industrial emissions, flue gases and vehicle exhausts dissolve in atmospheric moisture. This reduces the supply of nutrients in the soil, which leads to damage soil organisms, decrease in soil fertility. The main sources and causes of soil pollution with heavy metals (soil pollution with lead and cadmium is especially dangerous) are car exhaust gases and emissions from large enterprises.

From the combustion of coal, fuel oil, and oil shale, soils are contaminated with benzo(a)pyrene, dioxins, and heavy metals. Sources of soil pollution are urban wastewater, industrial and household waste dumps, from which rain and melt water carry unpredictable sets of components, including hazardous ones, into the soil and groundwater. Harmful substances entering the soil, plants, and living organisms can accumulate there to high, life-threatening concentrations. Radioactive contamination soils cause nuclear power plants, uranium and enrichment mines, radioactive waste storage facilities.

When agricultural cultivation of the land is carried out in violation scientific foundations agriculture, soil erosion inevitably occurs - the process of destruction of the upper, most fertile soil layers under the influence of wind or water. Water erosion— washing away the soil with melt or storm water.

Atmospheric pollution as a result of irrational environmental management is a change in its composition due to the entry of technogenic impurities (from industrial sources) or natural (from forest fires, volcanic eruptions, etc.) origin. Enterprise emissions ( chemicals, dust, gases) spread through the air over considerable distances.

As a result of their deposition, vegetation cover is damaged, the productivity of agricultural land, livestock and fisheries decreases, and changes chemical composition surface and groundwater. All this has an impact not only on natural systems, but also on the social situation.

Motor transport is the largest air pollutant of all other vehicles. Road transport accounts for more than half of all harmful emissions into the atmosphere. It has been established that road transport also leads in the range of harmful components in exhaust gases, which contain about 200 different hydrocarbons, as well as other harmful substances, many of which are carcinogens, i.e. substances that promote the development of cancer cells in living organisms.

A pronounced impact on humans from vehicle emissions is recorded in large cities. In houses located near highways (closer than 10 m from them), residents suffer from cancer 3...4 times more often than in houses located at a distance of 50 m or more from the road.

Water pollution as a result of irrational environmental management occurs mainly due to oil spills due to tanker accidents, nuclear waste disposal, and domestic and industrial sewage discharges. This big threat natural processes of water circulation in nature in its most critical link - evaporation from the surface of the ocean.

When petroleum products enter water bodies with wastewater, they cause profound changes in the composition of aquatic vegetation and wildlife, as their habitat conditions are disrupted. The surface oil film prevents the penetration of sunlight necessary for the life of vegetation and animal organisms.

Fresh water pollution poses a serious problem for humanity. The water quality of most water bodies does not meet regulatory requirements. About half of the Russian population is already forced to use water for drinking purposes that does not meet hygienic regulatory requirements.

One of the main properties of fresh water as a component of the environment is its irreplaceability. The environmental load on rivers has increased especially sharply due to insufficient quality of wastewater treatment. The most common pollutants for surface waters petroleum products remain. Number of rivers high level pollution is constantly growing. Modern level wastewater treatment is such that even in waters that have undergone biological treatment, the content of nitrates and phosphates is sufficient for intensive blooming of water bodies.

The condition of groundwater is assessed as pre-critical and tends to further deteriorate. Pollution enters them with runoff from industrial and urban areas, landfills, and fields treated with chemicals. Of the substances polluting surface and groundwater, in addition to petroleum products, the most common are phenols, heavy metals (copper, zinc, lead, cadmium, nickel, mercury), sulfates, chlorides, nitrogen compounds, with lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury being highly toxic metals.

An example of an irrational attitude towards the most valuable natural resource - clean drinking water— is the depletion of the natural resources of Lake Baikal. Depletion is associated with the intensity of development of the lake’s riches, the use of environmentally dirty technologies and outdated equipment at enterprises that discharge their sewage (with insufficient treatment) into the waters of Lake Baikal and the rivers flowing into it.

Further deterioration of the environment poses a serious threat to the population and future generations of Russia. It is possible to restore almost any kind of destruction, but to revive it in foreseeable time frame destroying nature is impossible even for a lot of money. It will take centuries to stop its further destruction and delay the approach of an environmental catastrophe in the world.

Residents of industrialized cities experience an increased level of morbidity, since they are forced to constantly be in a polluted environment (the concentration of harmful substances in which can exceed the maximum permissible concentration by 10 or more times). To the greatest extent, air pollution manifests itself in an increase in respiratory diseases and a decrease in immunity, especially in children, and in the growth of cancer among the population. Control samples of agricultural food products unacceptably often show non-compliance with state standards.

The deterioration of environmental quality in Russia may cause disruption of the human gene pool. This is manifested in an increase in the number of diseases, including congenital ones, and a decrease in average life expectancy. The negative genetic consequences of environmental pollution on the state of nature can be expressed in the appearance of mutants, previously unknown diseases of animals and plants, a reduction in population numbers, as well as the depletion of traditional biological resources.