Strengthening of anthropogenic impact on nature determines the urgency of the problems of protection and rational use of natural resources. With regard to water resources, these problems boil down to their protection from depletion and pollution. Depletion of water resources is determined by their consumption in volumes exceeding the value of renewal. Water pollution is understood to mean the deterioration of their quality. Water resources are experiencing a significant anthropogenic impact from local sources of pollution (runoff from industrial wastewater reservoirs, from industrial sites, from storage ponds, emergency pipeline ruptures, etc.). The negative consequences of this impact include: a decrease in fresh water reserves, their pollution and salinization, oil contamination of freshwater horizons, deterioration of living conditions for aquatic organisms, ichthyofauna and algal flora. In general, the processes of depletion and pollution are interrelated, they are determined by quantitative and qualitative characteristics that have a spatial-temporal distribution. Therefore, the study of these processes is the task of environmental monitoring. Monitoring includes observation, analysis and assessment of the state of the environment, its changes under the influence of human economic activity, as well as forecasting these changes. The content of any monitoring system generally includes three subsystems: "Databank", "Model", "Forecast". [...]
These predominantly anthropogenic formations are processed mainly by accelerated deflation and the associated aeolian accumulation. Negative deflationary landforms are interspersed with positive accumulative ones, for example, with dunes. If the transformation of desert pastures with sandy soils into mobile sands can occur in just 2-3 years, the restoration of vegetation on them in a natural way is carried out in 15-20 years. [...]
Impurities in the atmosphere of anthropogenic origin include: emissions from industrial enterprises, vehicles, agricultural enterprises, products of fuel combustion and waste incineration. These impurities are characterized by high concentration in space, heterogeneity in composition and uneven distribution. Emissions are observed in densely populated areas; they contain many substances that adversely affect human health, materials, flora and fauna. [...]
Thus, a strong anthropogenic impact on arable soils, a decrease in forest cover in the territory create prerequisites in the agricultural zone of Western and Eastern Siberia for initiating erosion processes, deteriorating the quality of arable land, and limiting the growth of crop productivity. Erosion processes in the region are observed on the soils of only those territories that are characterized by high horizontal dissection. Therefore, in general, the degree of erosional destruction of arable soils in Siberia for a relatively short time of their use in arable land, naturally, turned out to be lower than, for example, arable soils of the Central Russian Upland. It is natural to assume that the products of solid runoff accumulate in the negative forms of the relief and the foot of the slope, forming reclaimed soils. Such elementary soil areas are so small that they cannot be represented by separate sections on modern soil maps. However, their share among eroded soils reaches 1.5 - 2%. [...]
Impact is understood as anthropogenic (negative) activity associated with the implementation of the economic, recreational, cultural interests of a person, making physical, chemical, biological changes in the natural environment. The most common type of negative impact is the pollution of the OPS, which is considered to be the physical, chemical, biological change of the OPS caused by anthropogenic activity, containing the threat of harm to human life and health, the state of flora and fauna, ecological systems of nature. Other types of adverse impact on environmental protection systems are negative changes resulting from violation of state standards (norms) for product quality, production and consumption, as well as the consequences of exceeding anthropogenic load on the natural environment, etc. [...]
Impact should be understood as anthropogenic activity, that is, one that is associated with the implementation of the economic, cultural, recreational interests of a person. As a result of this activity, a person makes biological, chemical and physical changes in the natural environment. These changes are most often harmful to all life on Earth. The most common negative impact on the natural environment is its pollution. [...]
Environmental damage is understood as negative changes in the environment caused by various kinds of impacts: pollution of the environment, withdrawal or violation of the quality of resources. Anthropogenic activities are often the source of such negative impacts. Monetary assessment of negative changes in the environment and forms the amount of economic damage. [...]
Analysis of the available data shows that anthropogenic increase in the acidity of natural waters has a negative effect on the communities of planktonic and bottom algae, zooplankton and benthos, changes their structure (decrease in species diversity) and inhibits normal functioning (decrease in abundance and biomass). However, a causal analysis of the results of observations carried out in natural reservoirs is difficult, given the complex nature of the recorded changes, including changes in reservoirs with pH deviations from optimal values. For example, some experts believe that the negative effect of low pH on zooplankton is not the toxic effect of increased ion concentrations per se, but the disappearance of fish in such water bodies. Although there are practically no special studies in this direction, there is some evidence that it is fish that can have a limiting effect on the abundance of some invertebrates, in particular, the waterbug Clascarica prundia, which spread in the lakes of southern Sweden after their acidification and the disappearance of fish. Increased concentrations of hydrogen ions have a strong negative effect on the living conditions of fish and all aspects of their life, as well as limit their distribution and cause mass death. One of the first cases of mass mortality of salmonids was recorded in the late 1940s in the Norwegian rivers Kvina and Freifjord during the intensive melting of snow on the mountain slopes and the influx of large masses of melt water into these rivers. At the same time, the pH value decreased in the river. Freifjord up to 3.5-4.2. The special danger of melt water containing an increased amount of acidic products and usually entering water bodies in spring is that it is at this time that the pH value in the water bodies themselves also shifts to the acidic side due to the predominance of organic matter decomposition processes in the preceding winter period. the formation of carbon dioxide and acidic products. [...]
With any reasoning about the positive or negative role of certain species of animals or plants in the life of natural ecosystems and humans, it is difficult to find objective criteria. However, with regard to beavers, it can be said quite definitely that the creation of ecotonic biotopes in small watercourses in anthropogenically disturbed habitats contributes to the intensification of biological self-purification processes due to the massive development of large species of cladocerans. At the same time, their vital activity leads to the transformation of rheophilic biocenoses, the disappearance of rare species of fauna and flora that can survive only in small rivers, since in the basins of large river systems they have already disappeared after the creation of cascades of reservoirs. In addition, beaver dams are a mechanical obstacle to the spring spawning of fish. Undoubtedly, a comprehensive assessment of the consequences of the vital activity of these animals and the development of a clear policy regarding the regulation of their numbers, as well as the creation of natural reserves of “beaverless” small rivers to preserve the diversity of rheophilic hydrobionts, are required. [...]
Finally, and this must be especially emphasized, as a result of the multifactorial anthropogenic impact on water bodies, the ecological conditions of fish habitat are sharply deteriorating. These changes by themselves, that is, without the additional influence of the toxic factor, cause numerous negative effects on the vital activity of fish, their growth and development, and ultimately on their number and biological productivity. In this regard, the question of environmental regulation and environmental criteria of water quality in fishery reservoirs arises in full growth, which has not received due attention so far. The main tool for environmental regulation should be environmental MPC, i.e., maximum permissible fluctuations in environmental factors of the aquatic environment, such as water temperature, oxygen content in it, water hardness and pH value. Today, there is no longer any doubt that the deterioration of any of these main ecological factors of the aquatic environment of abiotic nature has a negative impact on the ichthyofauna of fishery reservoirs. [...]
The greatest danger to humans and the environment in the atmosphere is represented by anthropogenic impurities: emissions from industrial enterprises and vehicles, combustion of fuel for various purposes, waste incineration, the use of pesticides and other emissions from human economic activities. They are characterized by heterogeneity in composition, greater concentration, uneven distribution. Emissions occur, as a rule, in densely populated areas and contain many substances that adversely affect both human health and the environment - vegetation, animals, materials. [...]
The most characteristic external signs of the manifestation of the negative impact of the anthropogenic factor (in order of negative significance) for ecodesign are as follows: pathogenic, aesthetic and ecomorphic. The most dangerous is disease-causing pollution, although the most perceived aesthetic pollution, which does not always lead to harmful consequences. Ecomorphic pollution leads to changes in the physical parameters and properties of the ecosystem and irreversible shifts in its structure. [...]
The regulation of the Vilyui river flow for energy purposes is initially a physical form of anthropogenic impact on biological objects, including fish. But, as can be seen from the above examples, the blocking of the river by the dam of the hydroelectric power station led to the inclusion of other forms - chemical and biological. The negative effect on aquatic organisms goes in several directions at once, exacerbating the general stress situation in the river ecosystem. [...]
Scientists do not yet have an unambiguous answer to this question. If the greatest harm to the environment is caused by anthropogenic impact associated with the misconduct of production activities, then the main problem of ecology will be to establish the possibilities of building such an economy in which there will be no significant negative impact on the environment. If it turns out that the communities of natural species of flora and fauna fully determine and maintain the state of the environment, then the main task of ecological research will be to find ways to conduct economic activities in which the threshold of permissible disturbances of the biosphere would not be exceeded, and, accordingly, a scientifically grounded establishment this threshold. [...]
INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY is a scientific direction, the subject of which is the direct negative anthropogenic impact of economic activity on the environment. The main sections of the P. e. include: monitoring, regulation, control and management of environmental impact both at the level of individual production and at the territorial level. [...]
We will consider a closed technological cycle ecologically impervious in the sense that the emerging anthropogenic flow is localized within the boundaries of the technological process itself, its external manifestation on objects of the surrounding natural environment is equal to zero in theoretical or practical terms. Otherwise, the anthropogenic flow (“ecological breakthrough”) leaves the technological cycle, accompanied by a negative impact of the production process on the environment. [...]
Zones of an ecological emergency include territories where, as a result of the impact of negative anthropogenic factors, persistent negative changes in the environment occur that threaten the health of the population, the state of natural ecosystems, and the gene pools of plants and animals. [...]
The population density of indicator species is one of the most important indicators of the state of the ecosystem, highly sensitive to the main anthropogenic factors. As a result of anthropogenic impact, the population density of negative indicator species decreases, and positive indicator species increases. The threshold value of anthropogenic load should be considered a decrease (or increase) in the population density of the indicator species by 20%, and the critical value - by 50%. [...]
At the same time, all types of economic activities aimed at reducing and eliminating negative anthropogenic impact on the environment, preserving, improving and rational use of natural resource potential, etc. are considered as environmental measures. The list of specific environmental protection measures is determined and agreed upon separately for each enterprise (a plan of environmental protection measures is approved). [...]
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION - the introduction into the atmosphere or the formation of physicochemical agents and substances in it, due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. Natural sources of air pollution are volcanism, forest fires, dust storms, weathering, etc. These factors do not threaten negative consequences for natural ecosystems, with the exception of some catastrophic natural phenomena. For example, the eruption of the Krakatau volcano in 1883, when 18 km3 of finely ground ash material was thrown into the atmosphere; the eruption of the Katmai volcano (Alaska) in 1912, which ejected 20 km3 of loose products. The ash of these eruptions spread over most of the Earth's surface and caused a decrease in the influx of solar radiation by 10-20%, which caused a decrease in the average annual air temperature by 0.5 ° C in the northern hemisphere. [...]
Priority in environmental law is given to a person, his health, life, their protection from the harmful effects of the environment due to man-made and anthropogenic negative influences. In this plan, measures are taken to prevent such impacts and to respond quickly to them in order to eliminate their consequences. [...]
As already indicated in the answer to question 111, the zones of ecological emergency include the territories where, as a result of the influence of negative anthropogenic factors, there are sustained negative changes in the natural environment that threaten the health of the population, the state of natural ecosystems, and the gene pools of plants and animals. In Russia, such zones include the regions of the Northern Caspian Sea, Baikal, the Kola Peninsula, recreational zones of the Black and Azov Seas, the industrial zone of the Urals, oil-producing regions of Western Siberia, etc. [...]
The buffer capacity of an ecosystem is the ability of an ecosystem to withstand pollution; the amount of a pollutant that an ecosystem can absorb without noticeable adverse effects on it. This concept is sometimes used when assessing individual components of landscapes, in particular, soil buffering - its ability to maintain an acid reaction (pH), especially in connection with acid rain. Buffer capacity of natural waters - the ability of water to self-purify from anthropogenic pollutants, etc. [...]
The most important component of the concept of waste-free production is also the concept of the normal functioning of the environment and the damage caused to it by negative anthropogenic impact. The concept of waste-free production is based on the fact that production, inevitably affecting the environment, does not disrupt its normal functioning. [...]
LANDSCAPE CAPACITY ENVIRONMENTAL - the ability of a landscape to provide normal vital activity for a certain number of organisms or withstand a certain anthropogenic load without negative consequences (within a given invariant). [...]
External effects can be either positive (the development of a mineral deposit brings additional income to residents of the area where it is located) or negative (the operation of a mining enterprise may worsen the environmental conditions in the region). Negative externalities appear only after the assimilation potential, which is a kind of resource, becomes limited. On the other hand, the word "damage" is understood by almost everyone unambiguously as loss, loss, damage, damage to a specific object. In this regard, it seems more correct to understand the damage to the environment as a result of the impact on it of both natural and anthropogenic processes. Environmental damage is usually determined by a fairly wide range of negative consequences - from the deterioration of the health of people living in the area of the spread of the negative impact, and losses from the loss and (or) death of representatives of flora and fauna, to changes in ecogeological, landscape and recreational conditions, acceleration of metal corrosion, productivity of farmland, etc. [...]
A huge field of activity for the scientific and technical community is the environmental education of each employee of the oil and gas industry. First of all, it is necessary to show that anthropogenic impacts play a dominant role in the modern world in changing the biosphere and that not only local, but also global changes in the environment can occur without serious costs to prevent negative impacts and restore the quality of disturbed natural environments. [... ]
The most important element of Natural Development is full-scale surveys of the area where objects are located. They allow you to objectively assess the ecological situation in the zone, to identify the positive and negative features of the existing ecological system, its anthropogenic and natural components. Field surveys are carried out by the design organization in the development of the so-called situational, or reference, plan of the area (territory, site, city, etc.), on which it is planned to place the object. [...]
DAMAGE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION - actual and possible losses to the national economy associated with environmental pollution, including direct and indirect impacts, as well as additional costs for eliminating the negative consequences of pollution, as well as losses associated with deteriorating public health, reducing the activity of the working period and life of people. The emission of contaminants contributes to the corrosion of equipment and building structures, brings losses to related areas of economic activity. Energy production is the main contributor to the global anthropogenic impact on the environment. In most cases, its impact is characterized as a change in the natural level of fluxes of chemicals (methane, lead, cadmium, mercury, etc.) in the natural environment. [...]
In general, the small species diversity of algae in the Ufa soil, especially yellow-green ones, indicates the negative impact of anthropogenic pollution on the algal flora. [...]
Human action as an ecological factor in nature is enormous and extremely diverse. At present, none of the environmental factors exerts such a significant and universal, i.e. planetary, influence as man, although this is the youngest factor of all acting on nature. The influence of the anthropogenic factor gradually increased, starting from the era of gathering (where it was not much different from the influence of animals) to the present day, the era of scientific and technological progress and the demographic explosion. In the course of his activity, man created a large number of the most diverse species of animals and plants, significantly transformed natural natural complexes. In large areas, he created special, often practically optimal living conditions for many species. By creating a huge variety of varieties and species of plants and animals, man contributed to the emergence of new properties and qualities in them that ensure their survival in adverse conditions, both in the struggle for existence with other species, and immunity to the effects of pathogenic organisms. Changes made by humans in the natural environment create favorable conditions for reproduction and development for some species, and unfavorable ones for others. And as a result, new numerical relationships are created between species, food chains are rebuilt, and adaptations appear that are necessary for the existence of organisms in a changed environment. Thus, human actions enrich or impoverish communities. The influence of an anthropogenic factor in nature can be both conscious and accidental, or unconscious. Man, plowing up virgin and fallow lands, creates agricultural land (agrocenoses), displays highly productive and disease-resistant forms, settles some and destroys others. These impacts are often positive, but often negative, for example, thoughtless dispersal of many animals, plants, microorganisms, predatory destruction of a number of species, environmental pollution, etc. [...]
Factor analysis of HM accumulation, sulfate content, and pH of poplar crust confirmed the complex multicomponent nature of the features of accumulation of chemical elements in urban conditions. The method of the main components of factor analysis revealed 7 factors that determine 85% of all correlations. The first factor - Co78N76Pb76Mn702n62Cu62Cc156 (31.4%) - is interpreted as anthropogenic, caused by aerotechnogenic pollution as a result of exhaust emissions. The maximum loads of this paragenesis are observed near parking lots, along major highways and busy street intersections. The anthropogenic nature of this paragenesis is also confirmed by the fact that the highest negative load of this factor falls on the background territory located 120 km from St. Petersburg outside the zone of anthropogenic impact. [...]
In different types of forest with appropriate soil conditions, there is a different danger of windblow, soil turfing, waterlogging, etc. In this regard, a differentiated approach to the selection of objects of gradual felling, the establishment of the number of methods, the intensity of tree sampling, the total duration of felling is required; this takes into account whether these objects were subjected to anthropogenic impact or their nature was not disturbed. High- and medium-productive forest types (I - III, partially IV, boniteta) are more acceptable for gradual felling than unproductive ones. In forest types and stands with a high windfall hazard, a moderate selection of trees is needed, especially at the first intake. It is also important to take into account and regulate the dynamics of ground changes. They are associated, on the one hand, with the positive role of gradual felling, contributing to the decomposition of the litter, the preservation of moisture in it and, consequently, the creation of favorable conditions for concomitant renewal; on the other hand, with a negative effect in the form of soil turfing in places of intensive thinning of the stand in certain types of forest. [...]
Based on these prerequisites, the principle of complete environmental safety consists in the mandatory normative implementation of an integrated system of all interrelated elements of environmental protection. At the same time, the main content of the engineering and environmental strategy for environmental management is the formation of advanced measures that prevent the occurrence of negative anthropogenic changes and thereby reduce the environmental risk on a regional and global scale. [...]
The main methods for studying the ecological situation are analysis of the balance of matter and energy between landscape components, analysis of migration flows taking into account technogenic emissions, typification of landscape features; and the main sources of data are the results of geochemical works of different content and materials of remote sensing to obtain spatial characteristics of the development of negative consequences of anthropogenic impact on the landscapes of the Arctic. [...]
First of all, it is characterized by a state of the environment that is not favorable. But in accordance with the concept of legal environmental protection in Russia, the environment is considered unfavorable from a legal point of view even when the established standards for its quality are exceeded. To recognize a situation as environmentally hazardous, such a negative impact on it must be noted, which is accompanied by some significant environmental, social or economic consequences. A situation characterized by the presence of a significant negative change in the state of the natural environment under the influence of anthropogenic and natural influences, including those caused by disasters and catastrophes, including natural ones, usually accompanied by social and economic losses, can be defined as environmentally hazardous. [...]
Thus, the aboveground and underground structures of the field thistle cenopopulations are associated with the signs of its life form: polycentricity, vegetative mobility, the nature of growth and the depth of occurrence of underground vegetative organs. The elements of the cenopopulation (centers of influence on the environment) in the underground part are hypogeogenic rhizomes and propagation roots, in the aboveground part - partial shoots and bushes. The cultivation used in forestry in the aisles (cutting of roots and rhizomes) essentially promotes vegetative reproduction of the thistle of the field, negatively affecting the survival rate and growth of young spruce culture. With the exclusion of the anthropogenic factor, the intracenotic factor of weed suppression comes into force, therefore, in the first years of the existence of spruce crops, cultivation is not only ineffective, but also harmful. Better to manually weed the most clogged areas. [...]
The problem of pollution of the biosphere has become especially acute after the XX. v. under the influence of Н1Р, the nature of production changed, the nature of production and man significantly expanded the amount of metals he used (for example, uranium, mercury, etc.), began to produce substances that are not only unknown to nature, but even harmful to organisms of the biosphere (synthetic fiber, plastics , pesticide, etc.). After their use, these substances, as a rule, do not enter the natural cycle, pollute the soil, water, air, plant and animal organisms, and ultimately have a negative effect on humans. The most typical anthropogenic factors and their consequences on the elements of the biosphere are shown in Table [...]
Vegetation is the most easily influenced factor of wind soil erosion. It is with vegetation that the main hopes are associated with protecting soil from wind erosion. Vegetation influences both soil properties and air flow properties. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between the influence of the plants themselves and the influence of the technology of cultivation of certain agricultural crops. The influence of the plants themselves on wind erosion is very diverse, but in most cases it is positive. The influence of the cultivation technology of many crops is often negative and should be analyzed in a number of anthropogenic factors of wind soil erosion. [...]
Radioactivity - the ability of the atomic nuclei of some chemical elements and their isotopes to spontaneously decay (undergo radioactive decay) with the emission of characteristic radiation (alpha, beta, gamma radiation, X-rays, neutron). Radioactivity is natural, due to the presence of radioactive elements in the environment (rocks); For example, a part of the Novosibirsk region is subject to natural radon pollution, since in the underlying bedrock (granitoids) elevated clarks of uranium-238 are recorded, the decay product of which is radon-222. Artificial is due to anthropogenic human activities (nuclear power plants, nuclear submarines, nuclear weapons testing, nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes, etc.). As a rule, natural radioactivity does not cause obvious negative phenomena, since living organisms have adapted to it. Artificial radioactivity, on the contrary, plays a negative role, causing the destruction of natural ecosystems and posing a significant danger to living organisms and humans.
In the course of the historical process of interaction between nature and society, there is a continuous increase in the influence of anthropogenic factors on the environment.
In terms of the scale and degree of impact on forest ecosystems, one of the most important places among anthropogenic factors is taken by felling. (Forest felling within the allowable cut and in compliance with ecological and silvicultural requirements is one of the necessary conditions for the development of forest biogeocenoses.)
The nature of the impact of final felling on forest ecosystems largely depends on the equipment and technology used for harvesting.
In recent years, new heavy multi-purpose forestry equipment has come to the forest. Its implementation requires strict adherence to the technology of logging operations, otherwise undesirable environmental consequences are possible: the death of undergrowth of economically valuable species, a sharp deterioration in the water-physical properties of soils, an increase in surface runoff, the development of erosion processes, etc. in some areas of our country. At the same time, there are many facts when the reasonable use of new technology in compliance with the technological schemes of cutting operations, taking into account silvicultural and environmental requirements, ensured the necessary preservation of undergrowth and created favorable conditions for the restoration of forests with valuable species. In this regard, the experience of work with the new equipment of the loggers of the Arkhangelsk region deserves attention. They achieve with the help of the developed technology the preservation of 60% of viable undergrowth.
Mechanized logging significantly changes the microrelief, soil structure, its physiological and other properties. When used in the summer period felling (VM-4) or feller-skidders (VTM-4), up to 80-90% of the cutting area is mineralized; under conditions of hilly and mountainous terrain, such impacts on the soil increase surface runoff by 100 times, increase soil erosion, and, consequently, reduce its fertility.
Clearcutting can cause especially great harm to forest biogeocenoses and the environment in general in areas with an easily vulnerable ecological balance (mountainous areas, sub-tundra forests, permafrost areas, etc.).
Industrial emissions have a negative impact on vegetation and especially on forest ecosystems. They affect plants directly (through the assimilation apparatus) and indirectly (change the composition and forest-growing properties of the soil). Harmful gases affect the aboveground organs of the tree and impair the vital activity of the microflora of the roots, as a result of which the growth is sharply reduced. The predominant gaseous toxicant is sulfur dioxide, a kind of indicator of air pollution. Ammonia, carbon monoxide, fluorine, hydrogen fluoride, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, sulfuric acid vapors, etc.
The degree of damage to plants by pollutants depends on a number of factors, and primarily on the type and concentration of toxicants, the duration and time of their exposure, as well as on the state and nature of forest plantations (their composition, age, completeness, etc.), meteorological and other conditions.
More resistant to the action of toxic compounds are middle-aged, and less resistant - ripe and over-mature plantations, forest cultures. Hardwoods are more resistant to toxicants than conifers. High-density with abundant undergrowth and undisturbed tree structure are more stable than thinned artificial stands.
The action of high concentrations of toxicants on the stand in a short period leads to irreversible damage and their death; long-term exposure to small concentrations causes pathological changes in the stands, and insignificant concentrations cause a decrease in their vital activity. The defeat of forests is observed in almost any source of industrial emissions.
More than 200 thousand hectares of forests are damaged in Australia, where up to 580 thousand tons of SO 2 fall out annually with precipitation. In Germany, 560 thousand hectares were affected by harmful industrial emissions, in the German Democratic Republic - 220, Poland - 379 and Czechoslovakia - 300 thousand hectares. The action of gases spreads over fairly long distances. For example, in the United States, latent damage to plants was noted at a distance of up to 100 km from the emission source.
The harmful effect of emissions from a large metallurgical plant on the growth and development of tree stands extends to a distance of 80 km. Observations of the forest in the area of the chemical plant from 1961 to 1975 showed that, first of all, pine plantations began to dry out. Over the same period, the average radial gain fell by 46% at a distance of 500 m from the emission source and by 20% at 1000 m from the emission site. The foliage of birch and aspen was damaged by 30-40%. In the 500-meter zone, the forest completely dried up in 5-6 years after the start of the lesion, in the 1000-meter zone - after 7 years.
On the affected area from 1970 to 1975, there were 39% of withered trees, 38% of strongly weakened trees and 23% of weakened ones; there was no tangible damage to the forest at a distance of 3 km from the plant.
The greatest damage to forests from industrial emissions into the atmosphere is observed in areas of large industrial and fuel and energy complexes. There are also smaller-scale lesions, which also cause considerable harm, reducing the area's environmental and recreational resources. This applies primarily to sparsely wooded areas. To prevent or sharply reduce forest damage, it is necessary to implement a set of measures.
The allotment of forest land for the needs of a particular sector of the national economy or their redistribution according to their intended purpose, as well as the acceptance of land into the state forest fund are one of the forms of impact on the state of forest resources. Comparatively large areas are allocated for agricultural land, for industrial and road construction, significant areas are used by mining, energy, construction and other industries. Pipelines for pumping oil, gas, etc. stretch for tens of thousands of kilometers through forests and other lands.
The influence of forest fires on environmental change is great. The manifestation and suppression of the vital activity of a number of components of nature is often associated with the action of fire. In many countries of the world, the formation of natural forests is to one degree or another associated with the influence of fires, which have a negative impact on many processes of forest life. Forest fires cause serious injury to trees, weaken them, cause the formation of a windblow and windbreak, reduce the water-protective and other useful functions of the forest, and promote the reproduction of harmful insects. Acting on all components of the forest, they make serious changes in forest biogeocenoses and ecosystems in general. True, in some cases, under the influence of fires, favorable conditions are created for forest renewal - seed germination, the emergence and formation of self-seeding, especially pine and larch, and sometimes spruce and some other tree species.
On the globe, forest fires annually cover an area of up to 10-15 million hectares and more, and in some years this figure more than doubles. All this makes the problem of combating forest fires a priority and requires much attention to it from forestry and other bodies. The severity of the problem is increasing in connection with the rapid development of poorly populated forest areas by the national economy, the creation of territorial-production complexes, the growth of the population and its migration. This applies primarily to the forests of the West Siberian, Angara-Yenisei, Sayan and Ust-Ilimsk industrial complexes, as well as to the forests of some other regions.
Serious tasks for the protection of the natural environment arise in connection with the increase in the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides.
Despite their role in increasing the productivity of agricultural and other crops, high economic efficiency, it should be noted that if scientifically grounded recommendations for their use are not followed, negative consequences can also occur. In case of careless storage of fertilizers or poor incorporation of them into the soil, cases of poisoning by them of wild animals and birds are possible. Of course, the chemical compounds used in forestry and especially in agriculture in the fight against pests and diseases, unwanted vegetation, when caring for young plantations, etc., cannot be classified as completely harmless to biogeocenoses. Some of them have a toxic effect on animals, some as a result of complex transformations form toxic substances that can accumulate in the body of animals and plants. This obliges to strictly monitor the implementation of the approved rules for the use of pesticides.
The use of chemicals in the care of young forest plantations increases the fire hazard, often reduces the resistance of plantations to forest pests and diseases, and can have a negative effect on plant pollinators. All this should be taken into account when conducting forestry with the use of chemicals; At the same time, special attention should be paid to water protection, recreational and other categories of forests for protective purposes.
Recently, the scale of hydrotechnical measures has been expanding, water consumption is increasing, and settling basins are being arranged in forest areas. Intensive water withdrawal affects the hydrological regime of the territory, and this, in turn, leads to the disturbance of forest plantations (they often lose their water protection and water regulation functions). Flooding can cause significant negative consequences for forest ecosystems, especially during the construction of a hydroelectric power plant with a system of reservoirs.
The creation of large reservoirs, especially in flat conditions, leads to the flooding of vast territories and the formation of shallow waters. The formation of shallow waters and swamps worsens the sanitary and hygienic situation, negatively affects the natural environment.
Cattle grazing causes particular damage to the forest. Systematic and unregulated grazing leads to soil compaction, destruction of herbaceous and shrub vegetation, damage to undergrowth, thinning and weakening of the stand, a decrease in the current growth, damage to forest plantations by pests and diseases. When the undergrowth is destroyed, insectivorous birds leave the forest, since their life and nesting are most often associated with the lower tiers of forest stands. Grazing causes the greatest danger in mountainous areas, since these territories are most susceptible to erosion processes. All this requires special attention and caution when using forest plots for pastures, as well as for haymaking. An important role in the implementation of measures for the more efficient and rational use of forest areas for these purposes is called upon to play the new rules for haymaking and grazing in the forests of the USSR, approved by the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of April 27, 1983 No.
Recreational use of forests, especially unregulated ones, causes serious changes in the biogeocenosis. In places of mass recreation, strong soil compaction is often observed, which leads to a sharp deterioration in its water, air and thermal regimes, and a decrease in biological activity. As a result of excessive trampling of the soil, whole stands or individual groups of trees can die (they are weakened to such an extent that they become victims of harmful insects and fungal diseases). Most often, the forests of green zones located 10-15 km from the city, in the vicinity of recreation centers and places of public events, suffer from the recreational press. Certain damage is caused to forests by mechanical damage, various kinds of waste, garbage, etc. Coniferous stands (spruce, pine) are least resistant to anthropogenic impact, deciduous (birch, linden, oak, etc.) suffer to a lesser extent.
The degree and course of digression are determined by the resistance of the ecosystem to the recreational load. The resistance of the forest to recreation determines the so-called capacity of the natural complex (the maximum number of vacationers that can withstand the biogeocenosis without damage). An important measure aimed at preserving forest ecosystems, increasing their recreational properties, is a comprehensive improvement of the territory with exemplary management of the economy here.
Negative factors, as a rule, do not act in isolation, but in the form of certain interrelated components. At the same time, the action of anthropogenic factors often enhances the negative influence of natural ones. For example, the impact of toxic emissions from industry and transport is most often combined with an increased recreational load on forest biogeocenoses. In turn, recreation and tourism create conditions for forest fires. The action of all these factors sharply reduces the biological resistance of forest ecosystems to pests and diseases.
When studying the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors on the forest biogeocenosis, it is necessary to take into account that the individual components of the biogeocenosis are closely related both to each other and to other ecosystems. A quantitative change in one of them inevitably causes a change in all the others, and a significant change in the entire forest biogeocenosis inevitably affects each of its components. Thus, in areas of constant exposure to toxic industrial emissions, the species composition of flora and fauna is gradually changing. Of the tree species, conifers are the first to be damaged and killed. Due to the premature death of needles and a decrease in the length of the shoots, the microclimate in the plantation changes, which affects the change in the species composition of herbaceous vegetation. Grasses begin to develop, contributing to the reproduction of field mice, systematically damaging forest crops.
Certain quantitative and qualitative characteristics of toxic emissions lead to disruption or even complete cessation of fruiting in most tree species, which negatively affects the species composition of birds. Species of forest pests resistant to the action of toxic emissions appear. As a result, degraded and biologically unstable forest ecosystems are formed.
The problem of reducing the negative impact of anthropogenic factors on forest ecosystems by carrying out a whole system of protective and protective measures is inextricably linked with measures for the protection and rational use of all other components based on the development of an intersectoral model that takes into account the interests of the rational use of all environmental resources in their relationship.
The above brief description of the ecological relationship and interaction of all components of nature shows that the forest, like no other of them, has powerful properties to positively influence the natural environment, to regulate its state. Being an environment-forming factor and actively influencing all the processes of evolution of the biosphere, the forest is also influenced by the interconnection between all other components of nature, unbalanced by anthropogenic impact. This gives grounds to consider the plant world and the natural processes occurring with its participation as a key factor determining the general direction of the search for integral means of rational nature management.
Conservation schemes and programs should become an important means of identifying, preventing and solving problems in the relationship between man and nature. Such developments will help to solve these problems both in the country as a whole and in its individual territorial units.
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Message on the topic: "The anthropogenic influence of manon the environment. "
Prepared by:
Agafonova Julia,
713 group, IEF.
Anthropogenic influence on nature. Ecology problem
With the advent of man and society, nature entered a new stage of its existence - it began to experience anthropogenic influence (that is, the influence of man and his activities).
Initially, the relationship between man and nature was a mutual influence on each other - a man independently (without the use of complex technical means) derived benefits for himself from nature (food, minerals), and nature influenced man, and man was not protected from nature (for example , various elements, climate, etc.), strongly depended on it.
With the formation of society, the state, the growth of man's technical equipment (complex tools, machines), the ability of nature to influence man has diminished, and man's influence on nature (anthropogenic influence) has increased.
Starting from the 16th - 19th centuries, when a large number of useful scientific discoveries and inventions were made, production relations became much more complicated, the influence of man on nature became systematic and ubiquitous. Nature began to be considered by man no longer as an independent reality, but as a source of raw materials for satisfying human needs.
In the twentieth century, when systematic scientific and technological progress accelerated several times and grew into a scientific and technological revolution, anthropogenic influence approached a catastrophic level.
At present, the world of technology (technosphere) has practically turned into an independent reality (supermodern technical discoveries that made man's ability to influence nature limitless, universal computerization, etc.), and nature is almost completely subordinated to man.
The main problem (and danger) of modern anthropogenic influence lies in the discrepancy between the limitless needs of mankind and the almost limitless scientific and technical possibilities of influencing nature and the limited possibilities of nature itself.
In this regard, an ecological problem arises - the problem of protecting the environment from the harmful effects of humans.
The most dangerous areas of harmful human influence on nature (and its consequences) are:
depletion of subsoil - throughout its history, and especially in the twentieth century, mankind mercilessly and in unlimited quantities extracted minerals, which led to the depletion (close to catastrophic) of the Earth's internal reserves (for example, energy reserves of oil, coal, natural gas can be depleted after 80-100 years);
pollution of the Earth, especially water bodies, the atmosphere with industrial waste;
destruction of flora and fauna, creation of conditions under which technical development (roads, factories, power plants, etc.) disrupts the habitual way of life of plants and animals, changes the natural balance of flora and fauna;
the use of atomic energy for both military and peaceful purposes, ground and underground nuclear explosions.
In order to survive and not bring the planet to a technogenic catastrophe, mankind is obliged to reduce in every possible way its harmful impact on the environment, especially the above-mentioned most dangerous species.
^ Types and features of anthropogenic impacts on nature
Anthropogenic impacts are understood as activities related to the implementation of economic, military, recreational, cultural and other human interests, making physical, chemical, biological and other changes in the natural environment.
The famous ecologist B. Commoner (1974) identified five, in his opinion, the main types of human intervention in environmental processes:
Ecosystem simplification and disruption of biological cycles;
Concentration of dissipated energy in the form of thermal pollution;
An increase in the number of toxic waste from chemical industries;
Introduction of new species into the ecosystem;
The appearance of genetic changes in plant organisms
and animals.
The overwhelming majority of anthropogenic influences are purposeful, that is, they are carried out by a person consciously in the name of achieving specific goals. There are also anthropogenic impacts, spontaneous, involuntary, having the character of aftereffect (Kotlov, 1978).
Violations of the main life support systems of the biosphere are associated primarily with targeted anthropogenic impacts (Fig. 1). By their nature, depth and area of distribution, time of action and nature of the application, they can be different.
An analysis of the environmental consequences of anthropogenic impacts makes it possible to divide all their types into positive and negative (negative) ones. The positive impacts of man on the biosphere include the reproduction of natural resources, restoration of groundwater reserves, field-protective afforestation, land reclamation at the site of mining and some other activities.
The negative (negative) human impact on the biosphere is manifested in the most diverse and large-scale actions: deforestation in large areas, depletion of fresh groundwater resources, salinization and desertification of lands, a sharp decline in the number, as well as the disappearance of species of animals and plants, etc.
The main and most common type of negative human impact on the biosphere is pollution. Most of the most acute environmental situations in the world, and in Russia in particular, are somehow connected with environmental pollution (Chernobyl, acid rain, hazardous waste, etc.).
In the early stages of civilization, deforestation and burning of forests for agriculture, grazing, hunting and hunting for wild animals, wars devastated entire regions, led to the destruction of plant communities, the extermination of certain species of animals. With the development of civilization, especially the turbulent after the industrial revolution at the end of the Middle Ages, mankind acquired ever greater power, an ever greater ability to involve and use huge masses of matter - both organic, living, and mineral, inert to satisfy its growing needs.
The construction and operation of industrial enterprises, the extraction of minerals have led to serious violations of natural landscapes, pollution of soil, water, air with various wastes.
Real shifts in biospheric processes began in the 20th century. as a result of another industrial revolution. The rapid development of energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, transport has led to the fact that human activity has become comparable in scale with natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human consumption of energy and material resources grows in proportion to the size of the population and even outstrips its growth.
Warning about the possible consequences of the expanding human invasion of nature, half a century ago Academician V. I. Vernadsky wrote: "Man becomes a geological force capable of changing the face of the Earth." This warning was prophetically justified. The consequences of anthropogenic (man-made) activities are manifested in the depletion of natural resources, pollution of the biosphere with industrial waste, destruction of natural ecosystems, changes in the structure of the Earth's surface, and climate change. Anthropogenic impacts lead to the disruption of almost all natural biogeochemical cycles.
As a result of the combustion of various fuels, about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere annually and the corresponding amount of oxygen is absorbed.
At present, the total power of anthropogenic pollution sources in many cases exceeds the power of natural ones. Thus, natural sources of nitric oxide emit 30 million tons of nitrogen per year, and anthropogenic sources - 35-50 million tons; sulfur dioxide, respectively, about 30 million tons and more than 150 million tons. As a result of human activity, lead enters the biosphere almost 10 times more than in the process of natural pollution.
The pollutants arising from human activities and their impact on the environment are very diverse. These include: compounds of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, heavy metals, various organic substances, artificial materials, radioactive elements and much more.
Thus, according to experts, about 10 million tons of oil gets into the ocean annually. Oil on water forms a thin film that prevents gas exchange between water and air. While settling to the bottom, oil gets into bottom sediments, where it disrupts the natural processes of life of bottom animals and microorganisms. In addition to oil, there has been a significant increase in the release into the ocean of domestic and industrial wastewater containing, in particular, such dangerous pollutants as lead, mercury, arsenic, which have a strong toxic effect. The background concentrations of such substances in many places have already been exceeded tenfold. Each pollutant has a certain negative impact on nature, so their release into the environment must be strictly controlled. The maximum permissible concentration (MPC) is understood as the amount of a harmful substance in the environment that does not adversely affect the health of a person or his offspring with constant or temporary contact with him. At present, when determining the MPC, not only the degree of influence of pollutants on human health is taken into account, but also their effect on animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms, as well as on the natural community as a whole.
In addition to environmental pollution, anthropogenic impact is expressed in the depletion of natural resources of the biosphere. The enormous use of natural resources has led to significant changes in landscapes in some regions (for example, in coal basins). If at the dawn of civilization a person used only about 20 chemical elements for his needs, at the beginning of the XX - 60, now more than 100 - almost the entire periodic table. About 100 billion tons of ore, fuel, and mineral fertilizers are mined (extracted from the geosphere) annually.
The rapid growth in demand for fuel, metals, minerals and their extraction has led to the depletion of these resources. So, according to experts, while maintaining the current rates of production and consumption, proven oil reserves will be exhausted in 30 years, gas - in 50 years, coal - in 200. A similar situation has developed not only with energy resources, but also with metals (depletion of reserves aluminum is expected in 500-600 years, iron - 250 years, zinc - 25 years, lead - 20 years) and mineral resources such as asbestos, mica, graphite, sulfur.
Global air pollution affects the state of natural ecosystems, especially the green cover of our planet. One of the most striking indicators of the state of the biosphere are forests and their health.
Acid rains, mainly caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, cause enormous damage to forest biocenoses. It has been established that conifers suffer from acid rain to a greater extent than broad-leaved ones.
On the territory of our country alone, the total area of forests affected by industrial emissions has reached 1 million hectares. A significant factor of forest degradation in recent years is environmental pollution by radionuclides. Thus, as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 2.1 million hectares of forests were affected.
Modern agriculture has a significant impact on the chemical composition of soils, which widely uses fertilizers and various chemicals to control pests, weeds and plant diseases. At present, the amount of substances involved in the circulation in the process of agricultural activity is approximately the same as in the process of industrial production. At the same time, the production and use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture is increasing every year. Inexperienced and uncontrolled use of them leads to disruption of the circulation of substances in the biosphere. Persistent organic compounds used as pesticides are especially dangerous. They accumulate in soil, water, bottom sediments of water bodies. But most importantly, they are included in ecological food chains, pass from soil and water into plants, then into animals, and ultimately enter the human body with food.
One of the main water pollutants is oil and oil products. Oil can get into the water as a result of its natural outflows in the areas of occurrence. But the main sources of pollution are associated with human activities: oil production, transportation, processing and use of oil as fuel and industrial raw materials.
Among industrial products, toxic synthetic substances occupy a special place in terms of their negative impact on the aquatic environment and living organisms. They find more and more widespread use in industry, transport, and public utilities. Already at the present time, not only territories that nature has deprived of water resources are experiencing a lack of fresh water, but also many regions that were recently considered prosperous in this regard. Currently, the need for fresh water is not met by 20% of the urban and 75% of the rural population of the planet.
Due to the increase in the scale of anthropogenic impact (human economic activity), especially in the last century, the balance in the biosphere is disturbed, which can lead to irreversible processes and raise the question of the possibility of life on the planet. This is due to the development of industry, energy, transport, agriculture and other human activities without taking into account the capabilities of the Earth's biosphere. Already now, humanity is faced with serious environmental problems that require immediate solutions.
^ Air protection measures
Protection of atmospheric air is a system of measures aimed at preventing its pollution in the course of economic activity above permissible standards, as well as at restoring and maintaining the air quality needed by humans and all living nature, and preserving its natural composition.
Air protection includes a set of technical and administrative measures, directly or indirectly aimed at stopping or at least reducing the increasing air pollution resulting from industrial development.
Territorial and technological problems include both the location of the sources of air pollution and the limitation or elimination of a number of negative effects. The search for optimal solutions to limit atmospheric pollution from this source has intensified in parallel with the growth of the level of technical knowledge and industrial development, - a number of special measures have been developed to protect the air environment.
Protection of the atmosphere cannot be successful with one-sided and half-hearted measures against specific sources of pollution. The best results can be obtained only with an objective, multilateral approach to determining the causes of air pollution, the contribution of individual sources and identifying real possibilities for limiting these emissions.
Many modern man-made substances, when released into the atmosphere, pose a significant threat to human life. They cause great damage to human health and wildlife. Some of these substances can be carried over long distances by winds. For them, there are no state borders, as a result of which this problem is international.
In urban and industrial conglomerates, where there are significant concentrations of small and large sources of pollutants, only an integrated approach based on specific restrictions for specific sources or their groups can lead to the establishment of an acceptable level of atmospheric pollution under a combination of optimal economic and technological conditions. Based on these provisions, an independent source of information is needed, which would have information not only on the degree of atmospheric pollution, but also on the types of technological and administrative measures. An objective assessment of the state of the atmosphere, together with knowledge of all the possibilities for reducing emissions, makes it possible to create realistic plans and long-term predictions of atmospheric pollution for the worst and most favorable circumstances, and forms a solid basis for the development and strengthening of an atmospheric protection program.
Quantifying future emissions is a critical factor in making projections for the protection of the atmosphere. Based on the analysis of emission sources in selected industrial areas, especially as a result of combustion processes, a nationwide assessment was made of the main sources of solid and gaseous emissions over the past 10-14 years. Then a forecast is made about the possible level of emissions for the next 10-15 years.
The degree of harmfulness of substances polluting the nature depends on many environmental factors and on the substances themselves. Scientific and technological progress sets the task of developing objective and universal criteria for harmfulness. This fundamental problem of protecting the biosphere has not yet been finally resolved.
^ Methods for protecting the atmosphere
The protection and improvement of the air basin includes a set of scientifically grounded socio-economic, technical, sanitary and hygienic and other measures to protect atmospheric air from pollution by industrial and transport emissions, which can be combined into the following main groups.
1. Constructive and technological measures that exclude the release of hazardous substances at the very source of their formation.
2. Improvement of the fuel composition, improvement of carburation devices, reduction or elimination of the release of wastes into the atmosphere with the help of treatment facilities.
3. Prevention of air pollution through the rational placement of sources of harmful emissions and the expansion of green spaces.
4. Control over the state of the air environment by special government agencies and the public.
1. Legislative. The most important thing in ensuring a normal process for the protection of atmospheric air is the adoption of an appropriate legislative framework that would stimulate and help in this difficult process. However, in Russia, as regrettable as it sounds, in recent years there has been no significant progress in this area. The last pollution that we are faced with, the world has already experienced 30-40 years ago and has taken protective measures, so that we do not need to reinvent the wheel. The experience of developed countries should be used and laws limiting pollution, giving government subsidies to manufacturers of cleaner cars and incentives to the owners of such cars should be adopted.
On the whole, there is practically no normal legal framework in Russia that would regulate environmental relations and stimulate environmental protection measures.
2. Architectural planning. These measures are aimed at regulating the construction of enterprises, planning urban development taking into account environmental considerations, greening cities, etc. When building enterprises, it is necessary to adhere to the rules established by law and prevent the construction of hazardous industries in urban areas. It is necessary to carry out mass greening of cities, since green spaces absorb many harmful substances from the air and help to purify the atmosphere. Unfortunately, in the modern period in Russia, green spaces are not so much increasing as decreasing. Not to mention the fact that the "sleeping areas" built in due time do not stand up to any criticism.
The problem of the rational location of the road network in cities, as well as the quality of the roads themselves, is also extremely acute. It's no secret that the roads thoughtlessly built in their time are not at all designed for the modern number of cars. It is also impossible to allow combustion processes in various landfills, since in this case a large amount of harmful substances is emitted with the smoke.
3. Technological and sanitary. The following measures can be distinguished: rationalization of fuel combustion processes; improving the sealing of factory equipment; installation of high pipes; mass use of treatment facilities, etc. It should be noted that the level of treatment facilities in Russia is at a primitive level, at many enterprises they are absent altogether, and this is despite the harmfulness of emissions from these enterprises.
An equally important task is to educate Russians about environmental awareness. The absence of a treatment facility can of course be explained by a lack of money (and there is a large grain of truth in this), but even if there is money, they prefer to spend it on anything, but not on the environment. The lack of elementary ecological thinking is especially noticeable at the present time. If in the West there are programs through the implementation of which the foundations of ecological thinking are laid in children from childhood, then in Russia there has not yet been significant progress in this area.
Modern science has developed a number of effective measures to protect atmospheric air from pollution, which gives every reason to hope for a positive solution to this problem in the near future.
^ The first global ecological crisis on Earth
As shown in the work of Academician MAI Zubakov V.A. "21 century. Scenario of the Future: Scenario of the Last Global Environmental Crisis ”, the current environmental crisis is not the first, but the fifth, the deepest.
The first crisis was in the middle of the post-glacial period about 50 thousand
years ago. It was a crisis of gathering and primitive hunting. People came out of it, having mastered the technology of driven hunting and fire.
The second crisis arose in the post-glacial period about 10 thousand years ago, when large mammoth fauna disappeared. A way out of this crisis was found through the transition to cattle breeding and agriculture.
The third crisis preceded the birth of irrigated agriculture. It was rather not global, but regional and ended with the spread of rainfed agriculture.
The fourth crisis coincided with the massive deforestation for firewood and agricultural land. This crisis ended with the Industrial Revolution and the switch to fossil fuels.
The current crisis is the deepest. It began in the middle of the 20th century and coincided with the chemicalization of the production of industrialized countries. As a result of the economic activity of mankind, the damage caused to the biosphere is 10 times higher than its capacity for self-healing, since people consume more than 100% of the products produced by the biosphere.
In the coming years, a second more powerful wave of the crisis is coming, which will engulf the entire planet. And one of the most acute problems is the problem of food (environmentally friendly). Already, a third of the world's population is starving. The issues of providing peoples with food are becoming the most acute in all countries, including Russia.
The consumption of products grown, and not grown in the natural environment, leads to a change in the human genome.
The decay of the human genome is evidenced by data on the growth of genetic diseases, primarily mental and congenital disorders. Perhaps this is the reason for the spread of alcoholism and drug addiction, a decrease in the immune status of the human body, the emergence of new diseases.
Probably, what is usually called environmental diseases and is directly associated with environmental pollution, is just the tip of the iceberg. The underlying mechanisms leading to the disintegration of the human genome are much more dangerous, but not yet visible or tangible.
All types of human activities, including food production, cause damage to nature. In ancient times, the gifts of nature predominated in the structure of human nutrition: fruits of trees, berries, roots, meat of fish and wild animals, algae. As the population grew, the creations of the hands and mind of the human began to prevail, and as a result, the damage to the environment increased, since the production of grain, vegetables, fruits, meat requires more and more sown areas, pastures, land allocation for buildings and communications.
At present, for most of humanity, the share of gifts of nature in the structure of nutrition does not exceed 5-10%. The main food producer is the agro-industrial complex, and only partially - forestry and fisheries.
^ Causes of the global environmental crisis
The global ecological crisis that emerged by the end of the 20th century is the result of man's nature-conquering attitude to the environment, i.e. it is based on the worldview of people and, first of all, the ruling "elite." The West has built the so-called "consumer society" and continues to advertise the "American way of life." In just 25 post-war years, the United States increased its production by 2.5 times, while at the same time increasing environmental pollution by 20 times.
It is necessary to rationally use all the natural resources of the Earth with minimal damage to the biosphere. This requires the implementation of a unified (on the scale of the district, region, territory, region, country, and in the long term and global) policy of nature management, protection and restoration of the environment. Only under this condition will land, water, energy, raw materials and other resources be used optimally with the maximum level of satisfaction of demographically determined needs at the achieved level of development of productive forces.
Expand environmental protection measures. Pursue a unified state policy of nature management. Currently, natural resources are under the jurisdiction of the constituent entities of the federation, and in fact - in the hands of mafia clans. Funds received from nature users go anywhere, but not for nature conservation or nature restoration activities.
To restore the agro-industrial complex, forestry and fisheries, and the fishing fleet. Products supplied from the West are far from environmentally friendly, many of them contain preservatives and additives that are prohibited for use in the manufacturing countries and they can be safely attributed not to food products, but to means of genocide.
In this regard, it is necessary to create strategic food reserves. Hunger in Russia can occur even in the absence of malicious intent on the part of the West, but also in the event of natural or social disasters that will lead to a decrease in the level of food production in the supplying countries. They will simply stop exporting food, and hunger and pestilence will be in Russia.
What the global environmental crisis can lead to
The first is a planetary catastrophe with the destruction of the entire existing life support system.
The second is a change of habitat. Man, in the modern view, will cease to exist. What he will be one can only guess when watching American science fiction films.
Third, humanity will be able to develop new mechanisms of life, restore nature in its original form and, ultimately, harmoniously merge with it. In any case, we must clearly realize that as a result of his activities, a person changes his environment and changes himself. The question is how much of these changes we want ourselves.
Environmental quality - the state of the environment, which is characterized by physical, chemical, biological and other indicators and their totality. To solve the issues of management and regulation of the quality of the environment, it is necessary to have the following: an idea of what quality (state of pollution) of natural environments can be considered acceptable; information on the observed state of the environment and trends in its change; an assessment of the conformity (or non-conformity) of the observed and predicted state of the environment with an acceptable one.
As noted earlier (see Ch. 1.2), environmental monitoring (environmental monitoring) is an integrated system for observing the state of the environment, assessing and predicting changes in the state of the environment under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors.
There are three levels of environmental monitoring for assessing anthropogenic impact: local - in a relatively small area in areas of high impact intensity (cities, industrial areas); regional - to wider areas in areas of moderate impact; global - practically throughout the entire globe.
The most important element of environmental monitoring is environmental impact assessment (EIA), which is carried out in order to identify and take necessary and sufficient measures to prevent possible environmental and related social, economic and other consequences of the implementation of economic or other activities that are unacceptable to society (Fig. 1.3).
Rice. 1.3. Monitoring scheme
To reduce the negative impact of pollutants on the biosphere as a whole and its components - the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere - it is necessary to know their limit levels.
In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, environmental quality standards and standards for permissible impact on it are established in the field of environmental protection, subject to which the sustainable functioning of natural ecological systems is ensured and biological diversity is preserved.
Maximum permissible concentration (MPC) is the maximum amount of a harmful substance per unit of volume or mass, which, with prolonged exposure, does not cause any painful changes in the human body and adverse hereditary changes in offspring detected by modern methods.
The determination of MPC is based on the threshold principle of action of chemical compounds. The threshold of harmful action is the minimum dose of a substance, when exceeded, changes occur in the body that go beyond physiological and adaptive reactions, or latent (temporarily compensated) pathology.
The standards thus determined are based on the principle of anthropocentrism, i.e. environmental conditions acceptable to humans, which is the basis of sanitary and hygienic regulation. However, humans are not the most sensitive of biological species, and it cannot be assumed that if humans are protected, then ecosystems are protected.
Environmental regulation involves taking into account the permissible anthropogenic load (DAN) on the ecosystem, under the influence of which the deviation from the normal state of the ecosystem does not exceed natural changes, therefore, does not cause undesirable consequences in living organisms and does not lead to a deterioration in the quality of the environment.
But as a practical use, to date, only some attempts to take into account the permissible load for fishery water bodies are known.
Environmental safety from the activities of economic entities should be ensured by a complex of financial, legislative and technical measures that reduce the harmful impact on the environment.
The most important legislative acts are the Federal Laws “On the Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare of the Population” (1999), “On Environmental Protection” (2002), “On Ecological Expertise” (2006). On the territory of Russia, there are federal sanitary and epidemiological rules and regulations approved and enacted by the federal executive body.
The main methods of environmental protection management include informational, preventive and compulsory (Table 1.10).
Table 1.10
Methods for regulating the rational use of natural resources
| Information onny | Warning | Forced |
|||
| administrative | financial save ical |
||||
| legal | control nye | claim niya | responsible ness |
||
| Monitoring Research Education Education Upbringing Propaganda Prognoziro dwelling | Norm rights Standards Allowed niya Ecoex pertiza | Verification of activity Certification of goods Licensing Eco-audit Inventory | Subsidies Subsidies Preferential loans Loans | Payments Tax Penalties Bond tions | Work bans Activity restrictions Arrest Suspension Withdrawal |
The environmental program should be based on the principle of sustainable development, which is ensured not by individual environmental protection measures, but by a comprehensive reconstruction of production, which makes it possible to minimize the consumption of natural resources and at the same time reduce the anthropogenic load on the environment.
To achieve the goals of the environmental program in Russia, the following environmental protection measures have been identified.
Protection and rational use of water resources: construction of treatment facilities for waste water from enterprises; introduction of all types of recycling water supply systems; reuse of waste water, improvement of their purification; development of methods for wastewater treatment and liquid waste processing; reconstruction or liquidation of waste storage; creation and implementation of an automated control system for the composition and volume of wastewater discharge.
Atmospheric air protection: installation of gas and dust collecting devices; equipping internal combustion engines with neutralizers for the disinfection of exhaust gases; creation of automated control systems for atmospheric air pollution; creation and equipping of laboratories for monitoring the composition of emissions; introduction of installations for the utilization of substances from gases. Use of production and consumption waste: construction of waste processing plants; introduction of technologies for processing, collection and transportation of household waste from the territory of cities; construction of installations for obtaining raw materials from production wastes.
Control questions and tasks What is the biosphere and how are its boundaries determined? What components (types of matter) of the biosphere was identified by V.I. Vernadsky? Give a definition of the concepts "biocenosis", "biotope", "biogeocenosis", "ecosystem". What is the difference between the concepts of "biogeocenosis" and "ecosystem"? What are adaptations? How are they classified? What is meant by the term "second nature", "third nature"? What are the main causes, negative consequences and ways to prevent environmental pollution? What are the types of environmental monitoring. Name the natural and anthropogenic sources of air pollution. What substances are sources of acid rain? What are the anthropogenic factors of water pollution? What waters are considered contaminated? What is eutrophication of water bodies and what is the difference between eutrophication and pollution of water bodies? Describe the most common pollutants in the aquatic environment. What are the consequences of anthropogenic acidic soil pollution? What substances are classified as solid household waste? What groups, from the point of view of environmental safety, are they usually divided into? Give the main terms and definitions used in ecotoxicology. List the main ways of xenobiotics entering the human and animal organism, give a brief description of each of them. What are the main types of radioactive decays? What dose is a measure of the biological effects of radiation? Is the environment really exposed to a significantly higher dose rate after the development of nuclear energy? Indicate the radiation source that makes the maximum contribution to the dose to the population. What radionuclides are biogenic? Indicate artificial radionuclides actively participating in biogeochemical cycles.
National Mining University
abstract
by discipline
"Ecology and environmental protection"
ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Dnipropetrovsk
2010
P L A N
- Introduction. The urgency of the problem.
Types of anthropogenic impact
Anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere
Anthropogenic water pollution
Anthropogenic soil pollution
Radiation contamination of the environment
Noise pollution
Biological pollution of the environment
Methods to combat anthropogenic impact on the environment
INTRODUCTION
The current state of civilization is characterized by rapid and unfavorable changes in the environment, both locally and globally. These changes are unambiguously associated with an increase in anthropogenic pressure on the biosphere. The main manifestation of this pressure is the destruction of natural ecosystems by humans in the course of economic activities, the volume of which is proportional to the exponentially growing population of the Earth.
Despite the unequivocal connection between the destruction of natural natural systems and the degradation of an environment acceptable to humans, no significant changes in the strategy of interaction between humans and nature are taking place. One would expect that the signal about the need for such changes will come from the scientific world community, since it is the latter who possesses a huge amount of factual information about the features of the functioning of living systems and their powerful stabilizing effect on the environment. Examples are the regulation of the precipitation regime on land by forest ecosystems, the regulation of the concentration of atmospheric carbon by ocean ecosystems by means of a biotic pump, the maintenance of the stability of the average global temperature of the Earth acceptable for life by the global biota, and so on. However, scientists who are ready to warn mankind about the danger of destruction (development) of natural ecosystems and the need for immediate measures to reduce the anthropogenic impact on such systems make up a very small part of the scientific community.
By destroying natural communities and changing the genetic information of species for their own purposes, man destroys the biotic management of the environment and puts the Earth's environment in danger of losing stability and rapidly sliding into unsuitable physically stable states.
At the same time, modern natural science accepts the physical stability of an environment acceptable for life as an axiom. Such a paradigm of the relationship of natural science to living nature was formed during the golden age of mankind, when the anthropogenic destruction of the biosphere was so weak that no global processes of adverse changes in the environment occurred. This gave the impression that a habitable environment is self-sustaining. This impression, clothed in scientific terms, became the basis for the adaptive concept of evolution, according to which organisms do not regulate their environment, but adapt to an arbitrarily changing environment.
At present, the human habitat has lost its stability, since most of the natural ecosystems providing this stability have been disturbed. The task of determining the strength of the stabilizing effect of natural ecosystems in order to restore them to a level at which the stability of the global environment will be restored has become fundamentally important. However, natural science continues to be guided by the old paradigm. It is believed that living organisms throughout the entire period of their life have adapted to an arbitrarily changing environment. Therefore, it is assumed that most of them will be able to adapt to the modern conditions of anthropogenic development of the biosphere. The accelerating extinction of many species can also be viewed as a natural evolutionary process, similar to, for example, the extinction of the dinosaurs. That is why there is still no scientifically based strategy for the conservation of biodiversity, which is currently proposed to be preserved in zoos and reserves that are negligible in terms of area. How many species to keep and which ones are arbitrary, often on an emotional or economic basis. This lack of conceptual support from natural science severely undermines conservation movements.
In other words, modern natural science supports and justifies modern mankind in its exploitative policy towards wildlife, despite the evidence that this policy leads to environmental degradation on a global scale. The reason for this state of affairs is the lag in the development of the theoretical principles of natural science in comparison with the rapidly changing situation in the world.
1. Types of anthropogenic impact
Anthropogenic impacts are understood as activities related to the implementation of economic, military, recreational, cultural and other human interests, making physical, chemical, biological and other changes in the natural environment. By their nature, depth and area of distribution, time of action and nature of application, they can be different: purposeful and spontaneous, direct and indirect, long-term and short-term, point and area, etc.
Anthropogenic impacts on the biosphere, according to their ecological consequences, are divided into positive and negative (negative) ones. The positive impacts include the reproduction of natural resources, restoration of groundwater reserves, field-protective afforestation, land reclamation at the site of mining, etc.
All types of influences created by man and oppressing nature are referred to as negative (negative) impacts on the biosphere. Negative anthropogenic impacts, unprecedented in power and diversity, began to manifest themselves especially sharply in the second half of the 20th century. Under their influence, the natural biota of ecosystems ceased to serve as a guarantor of the stability of the biosphere, as was observed earlier for billions of years.
The negative (negative) impact is manifested in the most diverse and large-scale actions: depletion of natural resources, deforestation in large areas, salinization and desertification of lands, reduction in the number and species of animals and plants, etc. The main global factors of destabilization of the natural environment include:
an increase in the consumption of natural resources while they are being reduced;
the growth of the planet's population with a decrease in habitable territories;
degradation of the main components of the biosphere, a decrease in the ability of nature to self-support;
possible climate change and depletion of the Earth's ozone layer;
reduction of biological diversity;
increasing environmental damage from natural disasters and man-made disasters;
insufficient level of coordination of actions of the world community in the field of solving environmental problems.
The main and most common type of negative human impact on the biosphere is pollution. Most of the most acute environmental situations in the world are in one way or another associated with environmental pollution (Chernobyl, acid rain, hazardous waste, etc.).
Pollution is the entry into the natural environment of any solid, liquid and gaseous substances, microorganisms or energies (in the form of sounds, noises, radiation) in quantities harmful to human health, animals, the state of plants and ecosystems. Pollution objects distinguish between surface and groundwater pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, etc. In recent years, the problems associated with the pollution of near-earth space have become topical. Sources of pollution can be natural (dust storms, volcanic activity, mudflows, etc.) and anthropogenic.
Sources of anthropogenic pollution, the most dangerous for the populations of any organisms, including for the population of the person himself, are industrial enterprises (chemical, metallurgical, pulp and paper, building materials, etc.), heat power engineering, transport, agricultural production and other technologies. The following types of pollution are distinguished: chemical, physical and biological.
The types of pollution are also understood as any anthropogenic changes undesirable for ecosystems:
- ingredient (mineral and organic) pollution as a set of substances alien to natural biogeocenoses (for example, household wastewater, pesticides, combustion products, etc.);
- parametric pollution - changes in quality parameters of the environment (thermal, noise, radiation, electromagnetic);
- biocenotic pollution causes disturbance in the composition and structure of populations (overfishing, intentional introduction and acclimatization of species, etc.);
- stationary-destructive pollution (station - habitat of the population, destruction - destruction) associated with the disturbance and transformation of landscapes and ecosystems in the process of nature management (regulation of watercourses, urbanization, deforestation, etc.)
The amount of pollutants, i.e. substances that worsen the quality of the environment in the world are huge, and their number is constantly growing as new technological processes develop. According to scientists, both locally and globally, the following pollutants are "priority":
sulfur dioxide, which forms sulfuric acid and sulphates, entering vegetation, soil and water bodies;
some carcinogenic substances, in particular benzpyrene;
oil and oil products in the seas and oceans;
organochlorine pesticides (in rural areas);
carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides (in cities).
The most dangerous pollutants also include dioxins and furans, radioactive substances and heavy metals.
Dioxins and furans belong to the group of highly toxic ecotoxicants - polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans. Even in very small doses (106 μg / kg) dioxins and furans have a detrimental effect on the human body, causing carcinogenic, immune, embryotoxic and other diseases.
Radionuclides (radioactive substances) in quantities exceeding the natural level of their content in the environment cause radioactive contamination, which is very dangerous for humans and natural ecosystems. Among the radioactive elements, the most toxic for mankind and the entire ecosphere are strontium-90, cesium-137, iodine-131, carbon-14, etc. The main radiation hazard today is represented by radioactive fallout, which was formed from more than 400 nuclear explosions that have occurred in the world since 1945 to 1996, accidents and leaks in the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as stocks of nuclear weapons and radioactive waste.
Every year, an increasing threat to humans and natural biotic communities is posed by pollution of the environment with heavy metals, i.e. metals with high atomic weight. Especially dangerous are mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and some others, which can accumulate in trophic chains and have a highly toxic effect on the body.
2. Anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere
Everyone knows that a person can be without air for only about 5 minutes, while the air must have a certain purity, and any deviation from the norm is dangerous to health.
Life on Earth has always been accompanied by natural pollution of the atmosphere, which is associated with various fumes, volcanism, degassing of deep melts and solutions.
Anthropogenic pollution of the atmosphere is caused by the combustion of all types of natural fuel, the activities of metallurgical and chemical enterprises.
For example, at present, about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide, 150 million tons of sulfur oxide (36 million tons from natural sources), up to 53 million tons of nitrogen oxide (30 million tons of natural input) are emitted into the Earth's atmosphere. , millions of tons of fluoride compounds, mercury, freons and other toxic and harmful substances.
The main anthropogenic air pollutants are carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, various hydrocarbons, sulfur oxide, nitric oxide, heavy metals (lead, zinc, copper, chromium, mercury, etc.), various aerosols, photochemical oxidants, ozone, methane (from agricultural activities) and etc.
The physiological effect of the main pollutants (pollutants) on the human body is fraught with the most serious consequences. So, sulfur dioxide, combining with moisture, forms sulfuric acid, which destroys the lung tissue of humans and animals.
Dust containing silicon dioxide (SiO2) causes a serious lung disease called silicosis. Nitrogen oxides irritate and, in severe cases, corrode the mucous membranes of the eyes and lungs, and participate in the formation of poisonous mists. If they are contained in polluted air together with sulfur dioxide, then a synergistic effect occurs, i.e. increased toxicity of the entire gaseous mixture.
The effect on the human body of carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide) is widely known: in acute poisoning, a lethal outcome is possible. Compounds of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide with blood hemoglobin form carboxyhemoglobin, which decomposes 300 times slower than oxyhemoglobin (a combination of oxygen with hemoglobin), as a result, blood hemoglobin loses its ability to attach oxygen, which leads to a disruption of the respiratory process and a serious state of the human body: burnout and respiratory paralysis , i.e. to death. Due to the low concentration of CO in the atmospheric air, it does not cause mass poisoning, although it is dangerous for those suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
3. Anthropogenic pollution of water
The existence of the biosphere and man has always been based on the use of water. Humanity has been constantly striving to increase water consumption, putting enormous and diverse pressure on the hydrosphere. There are two categories of water use - water users and water consumers. Water users use water for their activities (transport, fisheries). Water consumers use water for industrial, technological and life support purposes. At present, the need of the world's population for water is 18,700 km3, of which 38% is spent for irrigation, 9% for industry, 3% for domestic needs, 48% for diluting wastewater and 2% for other needs.
At the current stage of the development of the technosphere, when the human impact on the hydrosphere is increasing even more in the world, this is expressed in the chemical and bacterial pollution of waters.
All water pollutants are divided into groups:
organic substances of agriculture, domestic and industrial wastewater (their oxidation occurs under the influence of oxygen);
pathogens and viruses in poorly treated wastewater from cities and livestock farms;
nitrogen and phosphorus from household and agricultural wastewater, which increases the content of nitrates and nitrites in water bodies;
heavy metals, petroleum products, pesticides, detergents, phenols.
As a result of special burials, radioactive and chemical substances enter the sea waters. So, in the period from 1945 to 1948. on the territory of Germany, almost 300 thousand tons of chemical munitions were discovered. The Americans found 93,995 tons in their sector, the British - 122,508, the French - 9,100, in the Soviet zone - 70,500. By the decision of the tripartite commission of the victorious countries, more than half of all toxic substances were flooded in the waters of the Baltic Sea, which still rest there. since.
Oil pollution occurs due to discharges of oil products into ocean waters - up to 6 million tons / year, which are emergency during the transportation and production of oil in the seas. Oil enters sea waters with river flows. As a result, 2–4% of the surface of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is covered with oil slick.
Dumping - dumping waste into sea waters. Up to 6 billion tons of various industrial wastes are annually taken out on ships and dumped into ocean waters: sewage sludge, construction waste, old explosives, liquid radioactive and chemical waste.
With municipal and industrial waste (effluent), bacterially contaminated waters are thrown into the waters of the seas, which leads to biological pollution of coastal waters; heavy metals, arsenic, mercury, etc. are emitted with industrial effluents.
Deacidification of coastal waters occurs as a result of "acid" rains, which causes acidification of coastal waters and, as a consequence, leads to the impossibility of reproduction of marine animals and fish. All this reduces the amount of seafood, which in these areas is the staple food for the population.
The acute problem of our time is the lack of fresh water. The stock of available fresh water in the world, concentrated in rivers, lakes, groundwater at a depth of 1 km, is approximately 3 million km3. Such reserves now and in the future would be enough for the needs of 20–25 billion people, but water is unevenly distributed on the Earth and people are already experiencing a water shortage. Thus, in the countries of the Third World, about 9 million people die from the consumption of dirty water every year. Approximately 1 billion people do not have the required amount of water, and there is no mechanism for its distribution in the world.
Water pollution occurs as a result of dumping, pollution (oil and river runoff), special burials, discharge of municipal and waste water, deacidification of coastal water areas with acid rains.
For human health, unfavorable consequences when using contaminated water are manifested either directly during drinking, or as a result of biological accumulation along long food chains such as: water - plankton - fish - humans or water - soil - plants - animals - humans, etc. In modern conditions, the danger of epidemic diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, etc., caused by bacterial pollution of water, is increasing.
4. Anthropogenic soil pollution
The upper part of the lithosphere, which directly acts as the mineral base of the biosphere, is subject to an ever increasing anthropogenic impact. A man, according to the brilliant foresight of V.I. Vernadsky, became "the largest geological force" under the influence of which the face of the Earth is changing.
Already today, the impact of man on the lithosphere is approaching the maximum possible. At the beginning of the 90s. 125 billion tons of coal, 32 billion tons of oil, more than 100 billion tons of other minerals were extracted. More than 1,500 million hectares have been plowed, 20 million hectares have been swamped and salted. Erosion in 100 years has destroyed 2 million hectares, the area of ravines is more than 25 million hectares.
Soil is a natural formation consisting of genetically related horizons formed as a result of the transformation of the surface layers of the lithosphere under the influence of water, air and living organisms. Soil is the formation that provides the world's population with food.
The surface layers of soils are easily contaminated. Large concentrations of various chemical compounds in the soil - toxicants - have a detrimental effect on the vital activity of soil organisms and are fraught with serious consequences for humans, flora and fauna. For example, in highly contaminated soils, the causative agents of typhoid and paratyphoid fever can persist for up to one and a half years, while in uncontaminated soils - only for two to three days.
Nitrates are salts of nitric acid, and nitrites are salts of nitrous acid. Nitrites are readily oxidized to the corresponding nitrates. The concentration of nitrites in the environment is quite low, while the concentration of nitrates is high. Among the nitrates, the most famous are the nitrates of ammonium, sodium, potassium, calcium, usually called nitrate. All saltpeters are widely used as fertilizers. As a result, carcinogenic nitroso compounds are formed in nature, which lead to oncological diseases, mutagenic phenomena.
Main soil pollutants:
1) pesticides (pesticides);
2) mineral fertilizers;
3) waste and waste products;
4) gas and smoke emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere;
5) oil and oil products.
Population growth in the XX century. demanded an increase in food production, which caused a shift in agriculture: there was a "green revolution". Everything is explained by the fact that the limit of the biological productivity of the soil has been reached and a further increase in productivity is possible by using a large amount of mineral fertilizers. Nowadays, about 50 million tons of mineral fertilizers and about 3 million tons of various toxic chemicals are stored in the soils of the world, which are washed away by surface waters, carried by the wind and, as a result, create geochemical anomalies. As a result, such ecological disturbances as the accumulation of nitrates in food, animal feed, destruction of food chains, etc. are observed.
5. Radiation contamination of the environment
Special types of anthropogenic impact on the biosphere that can affect human health include:
pollution of the environment with hazardous waste;
noise impact;
biological impact;
exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiation.
And some other types of influences.
One of the most acute environmental problems is pollution of the environment with production and consumption waste and, first of all, hazardous waste. Waste is a source of pollution of atmospheric air, ground and surface water, soil and vegetation. They are subdivided into household and industrial (production) ones and can be in solid, liquid and, less often, in gaseous state.
Hazardous waste is understood as waste containing substances that have one of the hazardous properties (toxicity, explosiveness, infectivity, fire hazard, etc.) and are present in an amount that is hazardous to human health and the environment.
In Russia, about 10% of the total mass of solid waste is classified as hazardous waste.
The greatest threat to humans and the entire biota is posed by hazardous waste containing radioactive isotopes, dioxins, pesticides, benzopyrene and some other substances.
Radioactive waste - products of nuclear energy, military production, other industries and health systems, containing radioactive isotopes in a concentration that exceeds the approved standards.
Radioactive elements, for example, strontium-90, cause permanent disruption of vital functions, up to the death of cells and the whole organism. Some of the radionuclides can remain deadly toxic for 10-100 million years.
Dioxin-containing wastes are generated during the incineration of industrial and municipal waste, gasoline with lead additives, as by-products in the chemical, pulp and paper and electrical industries, in the treatment of water by chlorination, in the production of pesticides.
6. Noise pollution of the environment
Noise impact is one of the forms of harmful physical impact on the natural environment. Noise pollution occurs as a result of unacceptable excess of the natural level of sound vibrations. In modern conditions, in the urbanized zones of the developed countries of the world, noise leads to serious physiological consequences for humans.
Depending on the auditory perception of a person, elastic vibrations in the frequency range from 16 to 20,000 Hz are called sound, less than 16 Hz - infrasound, from 20,000 to 1 * 109 - ultrasound and over 1 * 109 - hypersound. A person is able to perceive sound frequencies only in the range of 16–20,000 Hz. The unit of measurement of loudness (strength) of sound, equal to 0.1 logarithm of the ratio of a given sound strength to the threshold (perceived by the human ear) of its intensity, is called a decibel (dB). The range of audible sounds for humans is from 0 to 170 dB.
Sound discomfort, as a rule, is created not by natural sounds, but by anthropogenic sources of noise, which increase human fatigue, reduce his mental capabilities and labor productivity, cause nervous overload, noise stress, etc. High noise levels (> 60 dB) cause complaints, at 90 dB the hearing organs begin to degrade, 110–120 dB is considered a pain threshold, and a noise level above 130 dB is a destructive limit for the hearing organ. Cracks were observed in the metal at a noise level of 180 dB.
The main sources of anthropogenic noise are transport (automobile, rail and air), industrial enterprises and household equipment. The greatest impact on the environment from vehicles - 80% of the total noise. In Moscow, St. Petersburg and other large cities, the noise level from traffic reaches 90–100 dB during the day and even at night in some areas does not fall below 70 dB, with the maximum permissible noise level for night time being 40 dB.
Official data show that in Russia about 35 million people (or 30% of the urban population) are exposed to traffic noise that exceeds the standards. Several million people suffer from aircraft noise: aircraft noise with a maximum level of 75 dB is recorded at a distance of more than 10 km from the airport. Noise impact is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time: more than half of the population of Western Europe lives in areas with a noise level of 55–70 dB.
A person may subjectively not notice sounds, but from this his destructive effect on the organs of hearing not only does not decrease, but is also aggravated. Sound vibrations with a frequency of less than 16 Hz also adversely affect the internal organs and mental sphere of a person. Infrasounds cause motion sickness in humans, especially at frequencies below 12 Hz.
7. Biological pollution of the environment
8. Methods to combat anthropogenic impact on the environment
The difference between unfavorable and natural and anthropogenic factors from a practical point of view consists in the possibility of influencing the sources (causes) of such factors themselves. Natural factors usually act independently of the desires of people, and, as a rule, it is not possible to exclude their occurrence. Nevertheless, it is quite realistic to prevent the harmful consequences of their local action. For example, it is impossible to prevent the very appearance of flood waters, but it is quite possible, by erecting a dam, to exclude the flooding of a specific area. It is impossible to change the arid climate, but it is possible, by building an irrigation system, to create favorable conditions for farming in a given area, etc. It should only be noted that such measures require thoughtfulness and scientifically grounded forecast of future changes in the ecological situation. Otherwise, the constructed nature protection structure may give rise to completely different consequences than the authors of the project expected and bring more harm than good. Anthropogenic factors, on the contrary, can be not only "neutralized", but also almost completely excluded. For example, pollution of a reservoir with wastewater from an industrial enterprise can be prevented not only by building treatment facilities, but also by eliminating the wastewater itself, for example, transferring the enterprise to a closed process water supply system, in which there will be practically no wastewater discharge at all.
The organization of industry opens up great prospects when the waste of one enterprise becomes a raw material for another.
At the national (macroeconomic) level, the very structure of the economy has a great influence on the environmental situation. The more processing industries prevail in a country or region, the deeper the processing of raw materials, the less natural resources are consumed, less waste and, accordingly, less harm to the environment. Depending on the nature of the measures taken, the fight against anthropogenic factors is divided into three parts (directions) shown in the figure.
Direct environmental measures include traditional methods of waste management (construction of treatment facilities, filters, landfills, etc.) - They represent the least effective direction due to the fact that they are not a fight against the causes, but with the consequences of environmental pollution. Practice shows that sewage treatment plants do not always cope with the tasks assigned to them (especially in conditions of growth in industrial production). They require systematic reconstruction and repairs, for which there is often not enough money. Nevertheless, this direction has not lost its significance due to the simplicity and sophistication of the applied solutions.