Wedding

Signs of an ecological crisis. global environmental problems: the destruction of the ozone layer, the depletion of energy resources, the "greenhouse effect" and other ways to solve them. Ecological crisis

Kaliningrad branch

Federal State Educational Institution

Higher professional education

St. Petersburg State Agrarian

university

For nature management

GLOBAL PROBLEMS OF ENVIRONMENT. SIGNS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS

Introduction

I. Global problems of ecology

II. signs ecological crisis

Conclusion

List of used literature

INTRODUCTION

Environmental issues… Pollution… No cars! We often hear these words today. Indeed, the ecological state of our planet is deteriorating by leaps and bounds. There is less and less fresh water on the ground, and the water that is still available is already of very poor quality. In some countries the quality drinking water, which flows from a water tap, does not even meet the requirements for bathing water.

And the air? What are we breathing? Many cities are downright covered with fog, but this is not fog, but real smog, which is not only unpleasant, it is incredibly dangerous for people's lives.

In the 1980s, people for the first time became seriously concerned about the state of their natural environment. Such fears concerned both the present of our planet and the future of those people who will live on our planet in a few centuries. In addition, scientists, biologists began to worry about the issue of ecology. Today, ecology has become a very popular word. Ecology is a science that studies the relationships between all forms of life on our planet and in the environment. The word ecology comes from the Greek word "oikos" (oikos), which means "home". Taking care of the "home" this case includes our entire planet, all the creatures living on the planet, as well as the atmosphere of our planet. Quite often the word ecology is used to describe the environment and the people who live in that environment. However, the concept of ecology is much broader than just the environment. Ecologists consider people as a link in a rather complex chain of life, including the food chain. This chain includes mammals, amphibians, invertebrates and protozoa, as well as plants and animals, including humans. Today, the word ecology is often used to describe the problems of environmental pollution. This use of the word ecology is not entirely correct.

I. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Every hour, day and night, the population of our planet increases by more than 7,500 people. The population size significantly affects the environment and, in particular, its pollution, since with an increase in the population, the amount of everything that is consumed, produced, built by man and thrown away increases.

IN general view Crisis is a violation of the equilibrium of the system and at the same time a transition to its new equilibrium. Thus, the crisis is the stage at which the functioning of the system reaches its limits. A crisis can be characterized by a situation where obstacles arise in the development of the system, and the task of the system is to find an acceptable way out of this situation.

Mankind has repeatedly faced the emergence of environmental crises and quite confidently overcame them. It is known that main source life on earth is the energy of the sun. From the Sun to the Earth comes a huge amount of energy, including heat. Its annual amount is approximately ten times greater than the amount of all thermal energy contained in all the proven fossil fuel reserves of the planet. Use of only 0.01% total light energy coming to the surface of the Earth, could fully meet the world's energy needs. However, the amount of solar energy assimilated by the Earth is negligible. Its increase is facilitated by the presence in the atmosphere of the so-called "greenhouse" gases and, above all, carbon dioxide, the release of which is noticeably increasing. He freely passes Sun rays, but delays the reflected thermal radiation of the Earth. The atmosphere also contains other gases that have the same effect: methane, fluorochlorocarbons (freons). An increase in these gases in the air, as well as ozone, which pollutes the lower atmosphere, can lead to the fact that the Earth will absorb more solar energy. This, as well as an increase in heat generation from economic activity human, leads to an increase in air temperature on Earth.

According to forecasts for 2050, the probable global temperature increase will be 3--4 ° C, and the precipitation regime will change. In this regard, in high latitudes may melt continental ice; the water level in the seas and oceans will rise not only due to the melting of ice, but also as a result of an increase in the volume of water due to an increase in its temperature.

It has been suggested that the summer heat in last years in many areas of the planet there is a result of the greenhouse effect. To reduce the threat of global warming, it is necessary to reduce emissions of "greenhouse" gases, as well as reduce combustion various kinds organic fuel.

The causes of pollution and ways to prevent or reduce the level of environmental pollution are quite an important part in the study of ecology, however, this is not the whole subject of study. Equally important in terms of the use of our environment ways that protect heritage fertile soil, clean air, fresh pure water and forests for those who will live on our planet after us. Ever since the first ancient people appeared a long time ago, nature has given man everything he needs - air in order to breathe, food in order not to die of hunger, water in order to quench his thirst. , wood, in order to build houses and heat the hearth. For many thousands of years, man lived in harmony with his natural environment, and it seemed to man that the natural resources of the planet were inexhaustible. But then came the twentieth century. As you know, the twentieth century was a time of scientific and technological progress. Those achievements and discoveries that a person could make in the mechanization and automation of industrial processes, in chemical industry, the conquest of space, the creation of stations capable of generating nuclear energy, as well as steamships that could break even the thickest ice - all this is truly amazing. With the advent of this industrial revolution, the negative impact of man on the environment began to increase in geometric progression. This industrial progress has caused a very serious problem. Everything on our planet - soil, air and water has become poisoned. Today, in almost all corners of the planet, with rare exceptions, you can find cities with a large number of cars, plants and factories. The by-products of human industrial activity affect all beings living on the planet.

IN Lately there is a lot of talk about acid rain, global warming the thinning of the planet's ozone layer. All these negative processes are caused by tons of pollutants. harmful substances, which are thrown into atmospheric air industrial enterprises.

Big cities suffer from smog, they are downright suffocating. The situation is complicated by the fact that in large cities, as a rule, there is practically no greenery, trees, which, as you know, are the lungs of the planet.

II. Signs of an ecological crisis

The modern ecological crisis is characterized by the following manifestations:

Gradual change in the planet's climate due to changes in the balance of gases in the atmosphere;

General and local (above the poles, separate areas of land) destruction of the biospheric ozone screen;

Pollution of the oceans with heavy metals, complex organic compounds, oil products, radioactive substances, water saturation with carbon dioxide;

Breaking the natural ecological links between the ocean and land waters as a result of

construction of dams on rivers, leading to a change in solid runoff, spawning routes.

Atmospheric pollution with education acid rain, high toxic substances as a result of chemical and photochemical reactions;

Pollution of land waters, including river waters used for drinking water supply, with highly toxic substances, including dioxides, heavy metals, phenols;

Desertification of the planet;

Degradation of the soil layer, reduction of the area of fertile land suitable for agriculture;

Radioactive contamination of certain territories in connection with the disposal of radioactive waste, man-made accidents, etc.;

Accumulation on the land surface of household waste and industrial waste, especially practically non-degradable plastics;

Reduction of areas of tropical and boreal forests, leading to an imbalance of atmospheric gases, including a reduction in the concentration of oxygen in the planet's atmosphere;

Pollution of underground space, including groundwater, which makes them unsuitable for water supply and threatens the still little-studied life in the lithosphere;

Massive and rapid, avalanche-like disappearance of species of living matter;

Deterioration of the living environment in populated areas, primarily urbanized areas;

General exhaustion and shortage natural resources for the development of mankind;

Changing the size, energy and biogeochemical role of organisms, reshaping food chains, mass reproduction certain types of organisms;

Violation of the hierarchy of ecosystems, an increase in systemic uniformity on the planet.

Transport is one of the main environmental pollutants. Today, cars, with their petrol and diesel engines, have become the main sources of air pollution in industrialized countries. Huge areas of forests that grew in Africa, South America and Asia, began to be destroyed, providing for the needs of various industries in Europe and the United States of America. This is very scary, because the destruction of forests disrupts the oxygen balance not only in these countries, but throughout the planet as a whole.

As a result, some species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappeared almost overnight. Many of the animals, birds and plants today are on the verge of extinction, many of them are included in the "Red Book of Nature". Despite everything, people still continue to kill animals so that some of the people can wear coats and furs. Think about it, today we do not kill animals in order to finish off our food and not die of hunger, as our ancient ancestors did. Today people kill animals for fun, in order to get their fur. Some of these animals, such as foxes, are in real danger of disappearing forever from the face of our planet. Every hour, several species of plants and animals disappear from the face of our planet. Rivers and lakes dry up.

Another global environmental problem -- so called acid rain.

Acid rain is one of the most serious forms of environmental pollution dangerous disease biosphere. These rains are formed due to the entry into the atmosphere at a great height from the burning fuel (especially sulfurous) sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The weak solutions of sulfuric and nitric acid thus obtained in the atmosphere can fall out in the form of precipitation, sometimes after several days, hundreds of kilometers from the source of release. It is still technically impossible to determine the origin of acid rain. Penetrating into the soil, acid rain disrupts its structure, adversely affects beneficial microorganisms, dissolves natural minerals such as calcium and potassium, carrying them into the subsoil and taking away from plants their main source of nutrition. The damage caused to vegetation by acid rain, especially sulfur compounds, is enormous. External sign exposure to sulfur dioxide - gradual darkening of the leaves on the trees, reddening of pine needles.

Pollution air environments heat generation plants, industry and transport, scientists believe, has led to a new phenomenon - the defeat of some types of deciduous trees, as well as to the rapid reduction in the growth rate of at least six species coniferous trees, which can be traced by the annual rings of these trees.

Damage caused in Europe by acid rain to fish stocks, vegetation, architectural structures, is estimated at 3 billion dollars a year.

Acid rain, various harmful substances in the air of large cities, also cause the destruction of industrial structures and metal parts. Big damage cause acid rain to human health. Harmful substances that form acid rain are transported from air currents from one country to another, which sometimes causes international conflicts.

In addition to climate warming and the appearance of acid rain, there is one more thing on the planet. global phenomenon-- Destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. If the maximum permissible concentration is exceeded, ozone has a harmful effect on humans and animals. When combined with car exhaust gases and industrial emissions, the harmful effect of ozone is enhanced, especially when this mixture is exposed to sunlight. However, ozone layer at an altitude of H - 20 km from

The surface of the earth delays the hard ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, which has a destructive effect on the human body and animals. Excess solar radiation causes skin cancer and other diseases, reducing the productivity of agricultural land and the oceans. Today, about 1,300 thousand tons of ozone-depleting substances are produced all over the world, of which less than 10% is produced in Russia.

To prevent serious consequences associated with the destruction of the protective ozone layer of the Earth, on international level The Vienna Convention was adopted to protect it. It provides for a freeze and subsequent reduction in the production of ozone-depleting substances, as well as the development of their harmless substitutes.

One of the global environmental issues - a sharp increase in the population of the planet. And for every well-fed person, there is another who barely manages to feed himself, and a third who is malnourished from day to day. The main means of agricultural production is land - the most important part of the environment, characterized by space, relief, climate, soil cover, vegetation, water. During the period of its development, mankind has lost almost 2 billion hectares of productive land due to water, wind erosion and other destructive processes. This is more than currently under arable land and pastures. The rate of modern desertification, according to the UN, is about 6 million hectares per year.

As a result of anthropogenic impact, lands and soils are polluted, which leads to a decrease in their fertility, and in some cases, to their withdrawal from land use. Sources of land pollution are industry, transport, energy, chemical fertilizers, household waste and other types of human activities. Land pollution occurs through wastewater, air, as a result of direct exposure to physical, chemical, biological factors, exported and dumped on the land of production waste. Global soil pollution is created due to the long-range transport of a pollutant over a distance of more than 1000 km from any source of pollution. The greatest danger to soils is chemical pollution, erosion and salinization.

CONCLUSION

The possibilities of using available natural resources increase to the limits of technical and economic rationality and are not automatically limited by the available natural resource (environmental) potential as a set of environmental benefits necessary for people's lives and their physical well-being. In this regard, the integral or sectoral exploitation of resources can lead (and usually leads) to the destruction natural systems(direct or indirect, mediated). This destruction is perceived as an ecological crisis of a local, regional or global scale.

In communities that have been disturbed due to human impact, new species with unpredictable properties are already emerging in our time. It should be expected that this process will grow like an avalanche. When these species are introduced into the "old" communities, their destruction may occur and an ecological crisis may occur.

According to these forecasts, over the next 30-40 years, if existing trends continue in industrial countries and regions of the planet, the level of the relative impact of environmental quality on the health of the population will increase from 20-40 to 50-60%, and the cost of material resources, energy and labor will increase by stabilization of environmental conditions will become the largest item in the economy, exceeding 40-50% of GDP. This should be associated with a profound qualitative change in production, a socio-psychological transformation of the consumer society, a change in the stereotype of values, and the humanization of the economy. No matter how far such an idea may seem from today's realities, without a certain aspiration for a new ideology, for a new humanitarian and technological level of the relationship between man and nature, it is impossible to overcome the ecological crisis.

LIST OF USED LITERATURE

1) "Ecological foundations of nature management". Authors: V.G. Eremin, V.G., Safonov. M-2002

2) "Ecological foundations of nature management". Authors E.A. Arustamov, I.V. Levanova, N.V. Barkalova, M-2000

Novosibirsk cooperative technical school

Novosibirsk Regional Potrebsoyuz

ESSAY

On the topic: "The ecological crisis and its signs"

Students

3 courses, groups RK-71

Novosibirsk 2008

Plan

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

1.1. The concept of ecological crisis………………………………4

1.2. Signs of the ecological crisis, their characteristics ............... 5

1.2.1. Dangerous pollution of the biosphere……………………...5

1.2.2. Depletion of energy resources ....................................6

1.2.3. Reduction of species biodiversity…………….7

2.1. Global warming………………………………………….8

2.2. Water shortage……………………………………………………8

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….9

Bibliography …………………………………………………………….10

Introduction.

The contradictions in the relationship between society and nature in the second half of the twentieth century became threatening. A thorough analysis of the causes of the destruction of the ozone screen, acid rain, chemical and radioactive pollution of the environment was required. It became clear that species human life influences natural environment no more than other living organisms. However, this influence is incomparable with the enormous impact that human labor has on nature. According to V. I. Vernadsky, human activity has become a powerful earth-changing force comparable to geological processes.

The transforming impact of human society on nature is inevitable, it intensifies with the growth of the population, the development of scientific and technological progress, the increase in the number and mass of substances involved in economic circulation.

As you know, the whole world around us, inhabited by living organisms, which is called the biosphere, has passed a long historical development. People themselves are generated by the biosphere, are part of it and obey its laws. Unlike the rest of the living world, man has a mind. He is able to appreciate state of the art nature and society, to know the laws of their development.

According to Academician N. N. Moiseev (1998), a person has learned the laws that allowed him to create modern machines, but until he learned to understand that there are other laws that, perhaps, he still does not know, that in his relationship with nature “there is a forbidden line that a person has no right to cross under any circumstances ... there is a system prohibitions, breaking which he destroys his future.

In recent years, through the fault of man, environmental crises caused by chemical and radioactive contamination have become frequent. catastrophic consequences arise as a result of pollution by industrial emissions and exhaust gases of cars and the formation of poisonous fogs - smogs in large cities.

Due to the rapid modern pace and significant scale of crisis situations in the relationship between human society and nature, the biosphere is entering a global ecological crisis.

Chapter 1. Ecological crisis and its signs.

1.1. Concept of ecological crisis.

The ecological crisis is a tense state of the relationship between humanity and nature, characterized by a mismatch of development productive forces and production relations in human society, resource and economic opportunities of the biosphere.

The ecological crisis can also be viewed as a conflict in the interaction of a biospecies or genus with nature. In a crisis, nature, as it were, reminds us of the inviolability of its laws, and those who violate these laws perish. So there was a qualitative renewal of living beings on Earth. In a broader sense, the ecological crisis is understood as a phase in the development of the biosphere, in which a qualitative renewal of living matter takes place (the extinction of some species and the emergence of others).

The modern ecological crisis is called the "crisis of decomposers", i.e. its defining feature is the dangerous pollution of the biosphere due to anthropogenic activity, and the associated violation of the natural balance. The concept of "environmental crisis" first appeared in scientific literature in the mid-70s. According to its structure, the ecological crisis is usually divided into two parts: natural And social .

natural part indicates the onset of degradation, destruction of the natural environment. social side The ecological crisis lies in the inability of state and public structures to stop the degradation of the environment and improve it. Both sides of the ecological crisis are closely interconnected. The onset of the ecological crisis can be stopped only with rational public policy, availability government programs and government agencies responsible for their implementation.

1.2. Signs of the ecological crisis, their characteristics.

Signs of the modern ecological crisis are:

1. Dangerous pollution of the biosphere

2. Depletion of energy reserves

3. Reduction of species biodiversity

1.2.1 Dangerous pollution of the biosphere.

Dangerous pollution of the biosphere is associated with the development of industry, agriculture, the development of transport, and urbanization. A huge amount of toxic and harmful emissions from economic activity enters the biosphere. A feature of these emissions is that these compounds are not included in natural metabolic processes and accumulate in the biosphere. For example, when burning wood fuel, carbon dioxide is released, which is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis, and as a result, oxygen is produced. When burning oil, sulfur dioxide is released, which is not included in the natural exchange processes, but accumulates in the lower layers of the atmosphere, interacts with water and falls to the ground in the form of acid rain.

IN agriculture used a large number of pesticides and pesticides that accumulate in the soil, plants, and animal tissues. Dangerous pollution of the biosphere is expressed in the fact that the content of harmful and toxic substances in its individual constituent parts exceeds the maximum allowable standards. For example, in many regions of Russia, the content of a number of harmful substances (pesticides, heavy metals, phenols, dioxins) in water, air, soil exceeds the maximum allowable standards by 5-20 times.

According to statistics, among all sources of pollution in the first place are vehicle exhaust gases (up to 70% of all diseases in cities are caused by them), in the second place are emissions from thermal power plants, in the third place is the chemical industry.

1.2.2. Depletion of energy resources .

The main sources of energy used by man are: thermal energy, hydropower, atomic Energy. Thermal energy is obtained by burning wood, peat, coal, oil and gas. Companies that generate electricity based on chemical fuel are called thermal power plants. Oil, coal and gas are non-renewable natural resources and their reserves are limited.

The calorific value of coal is lower than that of oil and gas, and its extraction is much more expensive. In many countries, including Russia, coal mines are closed because coal is too expensive and difficult to mine. Despite the fact that forecasts of energy resources are pessimistic, new approaches to solving the problem of the energy crisis are being successfully developed.

First, reorientation to other types of energy. Currently, in the structure of world electricity production, 62% is accounted for by thermal power plants (TPPs), 20% - by hydroelectric power plants (HPPs), 17% - by nuclear power plants(NPP) and 1% - for the use of alternative energy sources. This means that the leading role belongs to thermal energy. While hydroelectric power plants do not pollute the environment, they do not need to use fuel mineral, while the global hydro potential has so far been used by only 15%.

Renewable energy sources- solar energy, water energy, wind energy, etc. - use on Earth is impractical (in spacecraft solar energy is indispensable). "Environmentally friendly" power plants are too expensive and they produce too little energy. Relying on wind energy is not justified; in the future, it is possible to rely on the energy of sea currents.

The only real source of energy today and in the foreseeable future is nuclear power . Uranium reserves are quite large. When used correctly and serious attitude nuclear energy is also out of competition from an environmental point of view, polluting the environment much less than burning hydrocarbons. In particular, the total radioactivity of the ash hard coal much higher than the radioactivity of spent fuel from all nuclear power plants.

Secondly, mining on the continental shelf. The development of fields on the continental shelf is now topical issue for many countries. Some countries are already successfully developing offshore deposits of fossil fuels. For example, in Japan, coal deposits are being developed on the continental shelf, through which the country provides 20% of its needs for this fuel.

1.2.3. Reduction of species biodiversity.

In total, since 1600, 226 species and subspecies of vertebrates have disappeared, and over the past 60 years - 76 species, and about 1000 species are endangered. If it persists modern trend extermination of wildlife, then in 20 years the planet will lose 1/5 of the described species of flora and fauna, which threatens the stability of the biosphere - an important condition for the life support of mankind.

Where conditions are unfavorable, biodiversity is low. IN tropical forest up to 1000 species of plants live in a deciduous forest temperate zone- 30-40 species, pasture - 20-30 species. Species diversity is an important factor that ensures the stability of the ecosystem to adverse external influences. Reduction species diversity can cause irreversible and unpredictable changes on a global scale, so this problem is being solved by the entire world community.

One way to solve this problem is to create reserves. There are currently 95 reserves in our country.

Chapter 2. Global problems of ecology.

The environmental crisis is characterized by the presence of a number of problems that threaten sustainable development. Let's consider some of them.

2.1. Global warming.

Global warming is one of the most significant impacts on the biosphere associated with anthropogenic activities. It appears in climate change and biota: the production process in ecosystems, shifting the boundaries of plant formations, changing crop yields. Especially strong changes related to high and middle latitudes northern hemisphere. According to forecasts, it is here that the temperature of the atmosphere will rise the most. The nature of these regions is especially susceptible to various impacts and is extremely slowly restored. The taiga zone will move to the north by about 100-200 km. In some places this shift will be much smaller or not at all. The rise in the ocean level due to warming will be 0.1-0.2 m, which may lead to flooding of the mouths of large rivers, especially in Siberia.

Some the developed countries and countries with economies in transition have committed themselves to stabilizing greenhouse gas production. EEC countries (European Economic Union) have included in their national programs provisions to reduce carbon emissions.

2.2. Water shortage.

Many scientists associate it with continuous last decade an increase in air temperature due to an increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is easy to stretch the chain, where one problem causes another: a large energy release (the solution to the energy problem) - the greenhouse effect- lack of water - lack of food (crop failures).

One of the greatest rivers in China, the Yellow River, no longer reaches yellow sea with the exception of some of the most wet years. major river Colorado in the USA does not reach every year Pacific Ocean. The Amu Darya and Syr Darya no longer flow into the Aral Sea, which has almost dried up because of this. The lack of water has sharply worsened the ecological situation in many regions and caused an incipient food crisis.

Conclusion.

End of the 20th century characterized by an aggravation of the relationship between human society and nature. It is caused by the growth of the world's population, the preservation traditional ways economic management with increasing rates of natural resource consumption, environmental pollution and handicapped biosphere to its neutralization. These contradictions begin to slow down the further scientific and technological progress of mankind, becoming a threat to its existence.

Only in the second half of the twentieth century. Thanks to the development of ecology and the dissemination of environmental knowledge among the population, it became obvious that humanity is an indispensable part of the biosphere, therefore the conquest of nature, the uncontrolled and unlimited use of its resources and the growing pollution of the environment is a dead end in the development of civilization and the evolution of man himself. The most important condition for the development of mankind is a careful attitude to nature, comprehensive care for the rational use and restoration of its resources, and the preservation of a favorable environment.

However, many do not understand the close relationship between economic activity, population growth and the state of the environment. Broad environmental and environmental education should help people in the assimilation of such environmental knowledge, ethical standards and values, the use of which is necessary for the sustainable favorable development of nature and society.

Bibliography.

Arustamov E.A., Levakova I.V., Barkalova N.V. Ecological bases of nature management: Tutorial for educational institutions consumer cooperation. - Mytishchi, TSUMK, 2000. - 205 p.

Konstantinov V.M., Chelidze Yu.B. Ecological bases of nature management: Proc. allowance for students. medium institutions. prof. education. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy"; Mastery, 2001. - 208 p.

An ecological crisis is a tense state of relations between humanity and nature, characterized by a discrepancy between the development of productive forces and production relations in human society, and the resource and economic possibilities of the biosphere.

The modern ecological crisis is called the "crisis of decomposers", i.e. its defining feature is the dangerous pollution of the biosphere due to anthropogenic activity, and the associated violation of the natural balance. The concept of "environmental crisis" first appeared in the scientific literature in the mid-1970s. According to its structure, the ecological crisis is usually divided into two parts: natural And social.

The natural part indicates the onset of degradation, the destruction of the natural environment. social side The ecological crisis lies in the inability of state and public structures to stop the degradation of the environment and improve it. Both sides of the ecological crisis are closely interconnected. The onset of the ecological crisis can be stopped only with a rational state policy, the existence of state programs and state structures responsible for their implementation.

Signs of the modern ecological crisis are:

1. Dangerous pollution of the biosphere
2. Depletion of energy reserves
3. Reduction of species biodiversity

Dangerous pollution of the biosphere.

In agriculture, a large number of pesticides and pesticides are used, which accumulate in the soil, plants, and animal tissues. Dangerous pollution of the biosphere is expressed in the fact that the content of harmful and toxic substances in its individual components exceeds the maximum permissible standards. For example, in many regions of Russia, the content of a number of harmful substances (pesticides, heavy metals, phenols, dioxins) in water, air, soil exceeds the maximum allowable standards by 5-20 times.

According to statistics, among all sources of pollution, vehicle exhaust fumes are in first place (up to 70% of all diseases in cities are caused by them), emissions from thermal power plants are second, and the chemical industry is third.

Depletion of energy resources .

The main sources of energy used by man are: thermal energy, hydropower, nuclear energy. Thermal energy is obtained by burning wood, peat, coal, oil and gas. Companies that generate electricity from chemical fuels are called thermal power plants. Oil, coal and gas are non-renewable natural resources and their reserves are limited.

First, reorientation to other types of energy. Currently, in the structure of world electricity production, 62% is accounted for by thermal power plants (TPPs), 20% by hydroelectric power plants (HPPs), 17% by nuclear power plants (NPPs) and 1% by the use of alternative energy sources. This means that the leading role belongs to thermal energy. While hydroelectric power plants do not pollute the environment, they do not need the use of combustible minerals, and the world's hydro potential has so far been used by only 15%.

Renewable energy sources - solar energy, water energy, wind energy, etc. - it is impractical to use on Earth (solar energy is indispensable in spacecraft). "Clean" power plants are too expensive and produce too little energy. Relying on wind energy is not justified; in the future, it is possible to rely on the energy of sea currents.

The only real source of energy today and in the foreseeable future is nuclear power. Uranium reserves are quite large. With proper use and serious attitude, nuclear energy is also out of competition from an environmental point of view, polluting the environment much less than burning hydrocarbons. In particular, the total radioactivity of coal ash is much higher than the radioactivity of spent fuel from all nuclear power plants.

Secondly, mining on the continental shelf. The development of fields on the continental shelf is now an urgent problem for many countries. Some countries are already successfully developing offshore deposits of fossil fuels. For example, in Japan, coal deposits are being developed on the continental shelf, through which the country provides 20% of its needs for this fuel.

Reduction of species biodiversity.

In total, since 1600, 226 species and subspecies of vertebrates have disappeared, and over the past 60 years - 76 species, and about 1000 species are endangered. If the current trend of extermination of wildlife continues, then in 20 years the planet will lose 1/5 of the described species of flora and fauna, which threatens the stability of the biosphere - an important condition for the life support of mankind.

Where conditions are unfavorable, biodiversity is low. Up to 1000 species of plants live in the tropical forest, 30-40 species in the deciduous forest of the temperate zone, and 20-30 species in the pasture. Species diversity is an important factor that ensures the stability of the ecosystem to adverse external influences. The reduction of species diversity can cause irreversible and unpredictable changes on a global scale, so this problem is being solved by the entire world community.

One way to solve this problem is to create reserves. There are currently 95 reserves in our country.

Global warming.

Global warming is one of the most significant impacts on the biosphere associated with anthropogenic activity. It appears in climate change and biota: the production process in ecosystems, shifting the boundaries of plant formations, changing crop yields. Especially strong changes concern the high and middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. According to forecasts, it is here that the temperature of the atmosphere will rise the most. The nature of these regions is especially susceptible to various impacts and is extremely slowly restored. The taiga zone will move to the north by about 100-200 km. In some places this shift will be much smaller or not at all. The rise in the ocean level due to warming will be 0.1-0.2 m, which may lead to flooding of the mouths of large rivers, especially in Siberia.

Some developed countries and countries with economies in transition have made commitments to stabilize greenhouse gas production. The countries of the EEC (European Economic Union) have included provisions in their national programs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Water shortage.

Many scientists attribute it to a continuous increase in air temperature over the past decade due to an increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is easy to draw a chain where one problem causes another: a large energy release (solution of the energy problem) - the greenhouse effect - lack of water - lack of food (crop failures).

One of the greatest rivers in China, the Yellow River, no longer reaches the Yellow Sea, as before, except in some of the wettest years. The large Colorado River in the United States does not reach the Pacific Ocean every year. The Amu Darya and Syr Darya no longer flow into the Aral Sea, which has almost dried up because of this. The lack of water has sharply worsened the ecological situation in many regions and caused an incipient food crisis.

The ecological crisis is characterized by a number of signs that exacerbate social contradictions, which can be formulated as follows:

1. The level of disturbances in the interaction between society and nature has reached a level that is dangerous for the country's ecological systems. So, at the end of the 20th century, the state of two-thirds of water sources did not meet the standards, the process of dangerous pollution began. groundwater, in 103 cities with a population of about 50 million people, the maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances in the air exceeded 10 times or more.

2. This dangerous trait also endangers the life and health of people. For example, due to environmental pollution, already in the 80s, every tenth child in our country was born with deviations from normal development, in the 90s, the growth of allergic, oncological and other diseases doubled.

3. Irreversible changes in ecological systems have begun, which affect the state of the entire ecological system of the world.

4. There are signs of depletion of ecological systems, causing a lack of natural resources, which also affects social production. For example, the widespread depletion of soil fertility makes it necessary to reorient capital investments into the production of means of production for the agro-industrial complex; depletion of water resources obliges to develop measures to save water consumption in production, etc. All of the above indicates that, unfortunately, the psychology of wasteful-consumer, predatory, criminal use of natural resources is widespread in our country.

5. There are signs of degradation of ecological systems, disruption of the ecological balance in them, and if the ecosystem is disturbed even by 1/10 of its part, it becomes unstable and at any moment can be irreversibly damaged even from a slight impact on it. Thus, pollution of water bodies with agrochemicals leads to the growth and increased reproduction of harmful algae in them, which, consuming oxygen, lead to the death of aquatic fauna.

There are two main sources of the ecological crisis:

a) irrational nature management;

b) departmental approach to nature management.

Irrational nature management is due to two main reasons: the creation and use of means of production that are dangerous for the natural environment, ecological systems, and the commission of actions that violate the ecological balance.

In order to prevent the creation and commissioning of means of production and other objects dangerous to ecological systems, preventive measures should be provided. Thus, such a technical solution, the use of which will harm the environment, cannot be recognized as an invention or rationalization proposal. Prior to the acceptance of production facilities for economic operation, an environmental impact assessment should be carried out to establish environmental safety.

If irrational nature management can be eliminated by various environmental protection measures, then the situation with the elimination of the departmental approach to nature management is much more difficult. For example, land users rightly act by taking measures for the efficient use of land, but the intensification of agriculture adversely affects the state of neighboring forests, hunting ground taking measures to increase populations wildlife, but the growth in the number of wild animals (moose, wild boars, etc.) leads to the trampling of crops by them; subsoil users develop mineral reserves to the fullest extent possible, and this often leads to disruption of the normal functioning of groundwater, to subsidence earth's surface and other anomalies.

Novosibirsk cooperative technical school

Novosibirsk Regional Potrebsoyuz

ESSAY

On the topic: "The ecological crisis and its signs"

Students

3 courses, groups RK-71

Novosibirsk 2008

Plan

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..3Chapter 1. Ecological crisis and its signs.

The concept of ecological crisis………………………………4

Signs of the ecological crisis, their characteristics ............... 5

Dangerous pollution of the biosphere……………………...5
Depletion of energy resources ....................................6
Reduction of species biodiversity…………….7

Chapter 2. Global problems of ecology.

2.1. Global warming………………………………………….8

2.2. Water shortage……………………………………………………8

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….9

Bibliography…………………………………………………………….10

Introduction.

The contradictions in the relationship between society and nature in the second half of the twentieth century became threatening. A thorough analysis of the causes of the destruction of the ozone screen, acid rain, chemical and radioactive pollution of the environment was required. It became clear that, as a biological species, man, by his vital activity, affects the natural environment no more than other living organisms. However, this influence is incomparable with the enormous impact that human labor has on nature. According to V. I. Vernadsky, human activity has become a powerful force that transforms the Earth, comparable to geological processes.

As you know, the whole world around us, inhabited by living organisms, which is called the biosphere, has undergone a long historical development. People themselves are generated by the biosphere, are part of it and obey its laws. Unlike the rest of the living world, man has a mind. He is able to assess the current state of nature and society, to know the laws of their development.

According to Academician N. N. Moiseev (1998), a person has learned the laws that allowed him to create modern machines, but so far he has not learned to understand that there are other laws, which, perhaps, he still does not know that in his relationship with nature "there is a forbidden line that a person has no right to cross under any circumstances ... there is a system of prohibitions, violating which he destroys his future."

In recent years, through the fault of man, environmental crises caused by chemical and radioactive contamination have become frequent. Catastrophic consequences arise as a result of pollution by industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust gases and the formation of poisonous fogs - smogs in large cities.

Due to the rapid modern pace and significant scale of crisis situations in the relationship between human society and nature, the biosphere is entering a global ecological crisis.

Chapter 1. Ecological crisis and its signs.

Concept of ecological crisis.

An ecological crisis is a tense state of relations between mankind and nature, characterized by a discrepancy between the development of productive forces and production relations in human society, and the resource and economic possibilities of the biosphere.

The modern ecological crisis is called the "crisis of decomposers", i.e. its defining feature is the dangerous pollution of the biosphere due to anthropogenic activity, and the associated violation of the natural balance. The concept of "environmental crisis" first appeared in scientific literature in the mid-1970s. According to its structure, the ecological crisis is usually divided into two parts: natural And social.

natural part indicates the onset of degradation, destruction of the natural environment. social side The ecological crisis lies in the inability of state and public structures to stop the degradation of the environment and improve it. Both sides of the ecological crisis are closely interconnected. The onset of the ecological crisis can be stopped only with a rational state policy, the existence of state programs and state structures responsible for their implementation.

Signs of the ecological crisis, their characteristics.

Signs of the modern ecological crisis are:

Dangerous pollution of the biosphere

Depletion of energy reserves

Reduction of species biodiversity

1.2.1 Dangerous pollution of the biosphere.

Depletion of energy resources .

Renewable energy sources- solar energy, water energy, wind energy, etc. - it is impractical to use on Earth (solar energy is indispensable in spacecraft). "Environmentally friendly" power plants are too expensive and they produce too little energy. Relying on wind energy is not justified; in the future, it is possible to rely on the energy of sea currents.

1.2.3. Reduction of species biodiversity.

One way to solve this problem is to create reserves. There are currently 95 reserves in our country.

Chapter 2. Global problems of ecology.

The environmental crisis is characterized by the presence of a number of problems that threaten sustainable development. Let's consider some of them.

2.1. Global warming.

2.2. Water shortage.

Many scientists attribute it to a continuous increase in air temperature over the past decade due to an increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is not difficult to stretch the chain, where one problem causes another: a large energy release (solution of the energy problem) - the greenhouse effect - lack of water - lack of food (crop failures).

Conclusion.

End of the 20th century characterized by an aggravation of the relationship between human society and nature. It is caused by the growth of the Earth's population, the preservation of traditional ways of managing at an increasing rate of consumption of natural resources, environmental pollution and the limited capacity of the biosphere to neutralize it. These contradictions begin to slow down the further scientific and technological progress of mankind, becoming a threat to its existence.

However, many do not understand the close relationship between economic activity, population growth and the state of the environment. Broad environmental education should help people to master such environmental knowledge, ethical norms and values, the use of which is necessary for the sustainable development of nature and society.

Bibliography.

Arustamov E.A., Levakova I.V., Barkalova N.V. Ecological foundations of nature management: Textbook for educational institutions of consumer cooperation. - Mytishchi, TSUMK, 2000. - 205 p.

Konstantinov V.M., Chelidze Yu.B. Ecological bases of nature management: Proc. allowance for students. medium institutions. prof. education. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy"; Mastery, 2001. - 208 p.