Rational use of natural resources by man. Rational nature management: basics and principles
Table of contents
Introduction
The problem of human interaction with nature is an eternal topic and is especially relevant today. Mankind is connected with the natural environment by its origin, existence, its future. Since natural conditions have a huge impact on people's lives, let's say that a person is completely dependent on nature. For a very long time, people looked at nature as an inexhaustible source. And only after a while, they came to the need for rational use of natural resources. The development of civilization served to expand the scale of the use of natural resources. To this day, man has not learned to do without the riches of nature. Currently, there are several definitions of the concept of "natural resources". The more general of these is the following: natural resources are the components and properties of the natural environment that are used or can be used to meet the various physical and spiritual needs of human society. Natural resources exist independently of man and can be used as a means of subsistence and as a means of labor, a source of material production. This duality reflects:1. Their natural origin (a component of nature);
2. Their economic importance in the life of society;
The age of reckless exploitation of nature by man is behind us. Today, nature needs to preserve and reproduce its resources. The main attention should be directed to what saves the resources of life - Man and Nature. The long history of the development of mankind is, first of all, the history of nature management, the development of productive forces, human knowledge of the laws of nature and society. Therefore, speaking of rational signs, it is necessary first of all: to take into account the scale and certain gaps in the organization. Today there is a need to develop the protection, extraction and rational use of natural resources. Two stages should be considered as a more advantageous option: the first one is to analyze the current situation, as well as to develop principles for the protection, extraction and use of natural resources; the second is in creating the concept of rational nature management as a document that defines the strategy for nature management. At the same time, it is very important to know that, in an independent form, the principles can serve as guidelines in the development and adoption of appropriate decisions.
Chapter 1Principles of protection and rational use of natural resources.
1.1 The concept of "nature management".
In his practical activity, man has always been forced to reckon with the laws of living nature. At first it happened spontaneously. Gradually, humanity realized that it is possible and necessary to manage competently on Earth. When interest in environmental problems of the relationship between nature and society began to increase significantly, they began to use the concept of nature management as a complex multicomponent system, which is characterized by many principles that are set depending on the purpose and objectives of a particular study.Rational nature management is a system of activities designed to ensure the economical exploitation of natural resources and the most efficient regime, their reproduction, taking into account the promising interests of a developing economy and preserving people's health. From the point of view of Yu. Kurazhkovsky: nature management was considered as a special science, the task of which was to "develop general principles for the implementation of any activity related to nature and its resources" . Based on the definition, two ways of rational nature management can be distinguished:
1. The first way is a reasonable reduction in consumption in anthropogenic ecosystems and the selection of animals and plants to obtain species with a wide range of self-regulation, i.e. economical use of natural resources.
2. The second way is to increase this or that resource through environmental management, giving a new quality to the resource. For example, the lack of fertile land resources can be filled through land reclamation. The lack of thermal resources (thermal reclamation) for plants can be compensated either by placing them on the "warm" southern slopes, or by artificially heating the soil. In order to do this, it is necessary to perform a series of thought procedures to decide on the choice of a particular way to solve the problem.
Basically, two cases can arise. The first, when there is enough resource (Ri>0) and the second, when there is not enough resource (Ri<0) (см. рис1)
In the first case, it is necessary to carefully, rationally use this resource, and in the second case, to increase the availability of the resource, either by searching for new deposits or by environmental management.
Rational activities must be effective and safe. As efficiency criteria, economic efficiency and social efficiency can be chosen.
Figure 1. Decision tree for the use of natural resources.
1.2 General view of the principles of rational nature management.
Rational nature management should ensure the full existence and development of modern society, but at the same time preserve the high quality of the human environment. This is achieved through the economic exploitation of natural resources and conditions and the most effective mode of their reproduction, taking into account the promising interests of economic development and the preservation of people's health. Compliance with the principles of rational nature management will make it possible to develop measures to protect natural resources and prevent the aggravation of environmental situations.In general, the principles of rational nature management can be formulated as follows:
1. The principle of "zero level" consumption of natural resources. This principle is used in many economically developed countries to regulate the consumption of primary natural resources on a national scale. It is called so due to the fact that the zero level is taken as the volume of primary natural resources used by the enterprise for the previous year, and for the next - exceeding this level, consumption is limited on a national scale by a clearly defined coefficient. Compliance with the coefficient is mandatory, since the violator is fined, which may exceed the profits of the enterprise.
2. The principle of correspondence between the anthropogenic load and the natural resource potential. Compliance with this principle will avoid violations of the natural balance. Such a violation of the laws of functioning of natural systems occurs in two cases:
a) for exceeding the level of anthropogenic load. This is reflected in the excessive concentration of production. For many years, the practice of territorial planning proceeded from the fact that the cost of production decreases with an increase in the concentration of production. At the same time, the limited renewing properties of the natural resource potential of the region were not only ignored; often the consumption of certain types of resources by production exceeded their availability. This is how regions of acute ecological crisis arose in the Donbass, the Dnieper region - in Ukraine, and in Russia - in the Urals, in the Volga region and Kuzbass, etc.
Especially many environmental and economic problems were caused by the concentration of production in large cities. "Economy" was calculated without calculating the cost of creating the necessary infrastructure. It was often not taken into account that the cost of infrastructure in a large city significantly exceeds its creation in a small and medium one. In addition, the costs of measures to protect the environment from pollution by production waste were not taken into account. This planning practice has led to the fact that in all large cities and industrial centers there is a strong pollution of the environment with industrial waste. Through the excessive concentration of industry, the implementation of environmental measures becomes a big problem;
b) for discrepancies between the specialization of production and the specifics of the natural resource potential.
3. The principle of preserving the spatial integrity of natural systems in the process of their economic use. This principle follows from the most important patterns of interconnectedness of changes in the components of nature under the influence of anthropogenic activity. Human influence on individual components of nature and individual types of resources is not limited to changes only in them. Changes in one of the components of a natural system lead to changes in others, and sometimes to changes in the quality of the ecosystem as a whole. An example is the drainage of swamps in the regions of Ukrainian Polissya, after which the quality of many ecosystems changed - arable land turned out to be flooded, small rivers dried up, etc.
4. The principle of preserving the naturally conditioned circulation of substances in the process of anthropogenic activity. The essence of the principle is not only to ensure that the technological processes of specific industries are limited by cyclicity, but also that cyclic processes represent a sequential series of production stages interconnected or complex processing of raw materials.
Violation of this principle has led to the formation of a large amount of waste that is not included in the natural circulation of substances and changes the properties of many ecosystems in the region.
Compliance with the principles of rational nature management is expedient in all regions, regardless of the hierarchical level. Preservation of the overall ecological balance is possible provided that the balance of the natural systems of individual regions is maintained and vice versa. In addition, the problem of rational nature management cannot be solved only within regional and even national boundaries. This is a global problem, it is inherent in the entire planet.
1.3 Principles of protection of natural resources.
General interconnections and interdependencies, objectively existing both in nature itself and in interaction with society, determine the basic principles of environmental protection and rational nature management.Compliance with these principles is necessary in the performance of any economic and other activities that have an impact on ecological communities and natural resources.
1. All natural resources have multiple meanings for humans and must be evaluated from different points of view. This principle boils down to the fact that each phenomenon must be approached taking into account the interests of various branches of production and the preservation of the restorative power of nature itself.
2. When using natural resources, it is necessary to be guided by the rule of regionality. According to the rule of regionality, the treatment of the same natural resource should be different depending on the specific conditions of the area and how this one is represented in it. It consists in the need for strict consideration of local conditions in the use and protection of natural resources.
3. The rule that follows from the interconnection of phenomena in nature is that the protection of one natural object can mean simultaneously the protection of other objects closely related to it. Thus, the protection of natural resources should be considered as a complex problem, and not as the sum of separate natural components that are independent of each other.
Natural resources must be both protected and used. This is the basic principle of nature conservation - protection in the process of its use. It is not the sum of individual natural resources that should be protected, but an ecosystem that includes various components connected by natural links that have developed in the process of long historical development.
Legal bases of nature protection. The rules and principles of nature protection are carried out by people when they are of a legislative nature. Currently, the Law of the Russian Federation "On Environmental Protection" (December 19, 1991) is in force. Its basis is the recognition of nature and its wealth as "the national treasure of the peoples of Russia, the natural basis of their socio-economic development and human well-being."
The main objectives of the environmental legislation of the Russian Federation are "regulating relations in the field of interaction between society and nature in order to preserve natural resources and the natural human environment, prevent the environmentally harmful impact of economic and other activities, strengthen law and order in the interests of present and future generations of people." The law formulates environmental requirements for all economic structures. These requirements are addressed to enterprises, organizations, institutions, regardless of the form of ownership and subordination, and to individual citizens.
Conclusion
Natural resources form the basis of the country's national wealth. The wide involvement of natural resources in economic activity with their rational use can become the most important factor in ensuring socio-economic progress. According to available forecasts, countries and regions rich in raw materials. They can take leading positions in the civilized world in the coming decades.Coming to the conclusion of my work, I would like to say that in any case, natural resources are not unlimited and not eternal. This makes it necessary to constantly take care of their conservation and reproduction. For this, the following basic conditions exist.
First, it is necessary to carefully, rationally use what nature gives a person (especially in relation to irreplaceable resources).
Secondly, where it is available, effective measures should be taken to replenish natural resources (to restore and increase the natural fertility of the land, to plant forests, to reproduce the reserves of water bodies).
Thirdly, recycled raw materials and other production waste should be used as much as possible.
Fourthly, it is necessary to support in every possible way the ecological purity of production and nature management.
Bibliography
1. Lectures on the basics of nature management; P.Ya. Baklanov "Regional nature management: methods of study, assessment, management". Tutorial. – M.: Logos, 2002. – 160p.: ill.2. N.G. Komarov "Geoecology and nature management", textbook for higher. Schools; - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 2003. - 192p.
3. Internet resources: msuee.ru›htm l2/books/vvedenie/stranicy/6. htm.
4. V.G. "Principles of rational nature management" - Khabarovsk, 2000. - 144p.
5. V.M. Konstantinov, Yu.B. Chelidze "Ecological foundations of nature management" studies. Benefit. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy"; Mastery, 2001. - 208s.
etc.................
Today you can find many scientific articles, abstracts and other literature on the topic of natural resources and their use. It is worth trying to describe this topic as simply and specifically as possible. What is meant by this concept? Why are we needed, how are natural resources, ecology and people connected? Let's try to understand these issues.
basic information
Part of natural resources is used by man directly - air, drinking water. The other part serves as a raw material for industry or is included in the cycle of agriculture or animal husbandry. For example, oil is not only an energy carrier and a source of fuel and lubricants, but also a valuable raw material for the chemical industry. Plastic, varnishes, rubber are made from the components of this resource. Oil refining products are widely used not only in industry, but also in medicine, and even in cosmetology.
Natural resources are chemicals, as well as their combinations, such as gas, oil, coal, ores. It is also fresh and sea water, atmospheric air, flora and fauna (forests, animals, fish, cultivated and suitable for cultivation of land (soil)). And also this concept means physical phenomena - wind energy, solar radiation, geothermal energy, tides, ebbs. Everything that is somehow used by mankind for life and progress.
The assessment and analysis of the state of the elements described above is carried out on the basis of geography and geology data by economic calculation. Control over the rationality and safety of the use of federal natural resources is exercised by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Origin Classification
Biological resources are living organisms of the oceans and land, animals, plants, microorganisms (including the microflora of the seas and oceans). Closed ecosystems of individual regions, nature reserves, recreational areas.
. Resources of mineral origin - rock ore, granites, quartz deposits, clays. Everything that the lithosphere contains and that is available for human use as a raw material or energy source.
. Energy natural resources are physical processes such as tidal energy, sunlight, wind energy, thermal energy of the earth's interior, as well as nuclear and mineral energy sources.
Classification by way of human use
Land fund - cultivated or suitable for cultivation in the future land. Non-agricultural lands, namely the territories of cities, transport links, industrial purposes (quarries, etc.).
. Forestry Fund - forests or areas planned for planting forests. Forestry is both a source of wood for human needs and a way to maintain the ecological balance of the biosphere. It is under the control of such a service as the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.
. Water resources - water in surface reservoirs and groundwater. This includes both fresh water suitable for human biological needs, and the water of the seas and oceans. World water resources are inextricably linked with federal ones.
. The resources of the animal world are fish and land dwellers, the rational fishing of which should not violate the ecological balance of the biosphere.
. Minerals - this includes ore and other resources of the earth's crust available for raw materials or energy use. The Department of Natural Resources oversees the rational use of this class of natural resources.
Renewability classification
Inexhaustible - the energy of solar radiation, geothermal energy, tidal energy and the energy of rivers as the driving force of hydroelectric power plants. This also includes wind power.
. Exhaustible, but renewable and conditionally renewable. These natural resources are flora and fauna, soil fertility, fresh water and clean air.
. Exhaustible and non-renewable resources. All minerals - oil, gas, mineral ores, etc. Most important for the survival of mankind, the shortage or disappearance of certain resources can threaten the existence of civilization as we know it, and lead to the death of most of humanity. Therefore, the protection of natural resources and environmental safety is controlled at such a high level as the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.
Do human activities affect the state of natural resources?
The use of natural resources by man leads to the depletion of not only mineral resources, but also the Earth's biosphere, and the loss of biological diversity. Biospheric natural resources are renewable and can be restored both naturally and with the participation of man (planting forests, restoring the fertile soil layer, cleaning water and air). Is it possible to avoid irreparable damage to nature? To do this, one should take into account the features that natural resources possess and the conditions for maintaining ecological balance. Create and preserve national parks, nature reserves, sanctuaries, maintain the biological diversity of species and preserve the gene pool in research centers, botanical gardens, etc.
Why is security needed?
The change of geological epochs and evolutionary processes have always influenced the species diversity of both flora and fauna on the planet (for example, the extinction of dinosaurs). But due to active human activity over the past 400 years, more than 300 species of animals and plants have disappeared from the face of the earth. Today, more than a thousand species are endangered. Obviously, the protection of natural resources is not just the protection of rare species of animals and plants, but also the most important task for the life of mankind itself. After all, as a result of an ecological catastrophe, not only the number of species of living beings can change, but the climate will also suffer. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve the habitat of wild species as much as possible during the construction of cities and the development of farmland, to limit commercial fishing and hunting until the restoration of populations. The protection of the environment and its inherent elements is one of the most important tasks that the Ministry of Natural Resources performs.
State of the land and forest fund, world and federal
Over 85% of food people receive as a result of agriculture. Land used as meadows and pastures provides another 10% of food. The rest is accounted for by the oceans. In our country, about 90% of food is obtained from cultivated land, and this is taking into account that cultivated land (fields, orchards, plantations) accounts for a little more than 11% of the land fund.
Forests play an important role in the cycles of evaporation and precipitation, the carbon dioxide cycle, keep soil from erosion, regulate groundwater levels, and much more. Therefore, the wasteful use of natural resources, namely forests, will lead to a reduction in the forestry fund. Despite this, forest areas are being lost at a faster rate than they are being restored by planting young trees. The forest is cut down for the development of agricultural land, for construction, for obtaining wood as a raw material and as a fuel. In addition, fires cause significant losses to forestry.
It is obvious that modern methods of soil cultivation lead to almost constant degradation and impoverishment of the fertile layer. Not to mention the pollution of soils and groundwater with pesticides and pesticides. Although fertile soil layers are considered as “renewable” natural resources, this is still a long process. In fact, it takes 200 to 800 years to naturally regenerate one inch of soil (2.54 cm) in warm and temperate climates. Protection of fertile lands from degradation and restoration of the fertile layer are the most important directions in the development of modern agricultural technologies.
The state of the water component of the planet
Rivers are the basis of the country's water resources. They are used as a source of drinking and agricultural water. They are also actively used for the construction of hydroelectric power plants and for shipping. Despite the huge reserves of water in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and in the form of groundwater, there is a gradual deterioration in its quality, the destruction of the banks of reservoirs and hydraulic structures. This issue, among other organizations, is supervised by the Department of Natural Resources.
Exhaustible Resource Status
Modern minerals available to us, such as oil, gas, ore, accumulated in the planet's lithosphere over millions of years. Given the continuous and accelerating growth in the consumption of fossil resources over the past 200 years, the issue of protecting the subsoil and reusing products made on the basis of raw materials from fossil resources is quite acute.
In addition, the development of subsoil itself has an extremely negative impact on the ecology of the region. This is a change in the relief (subsidence of soil, dips), and pollution of soils, groundwater, drainage of swamps and small rivers.
Ways to solve the problems of destruction of the natural environment and prospects for the introduction of innovations
The natural environment and natural resources must be used prudently to preserve life. Therefore, it is necessary to highlight what is necessary so as not to complicate the situation with the environment.
1. Protection of the fertile layer from wind and water erosion. These are forest plantations, correct crop rotations, etc.
2. Protection of soils and groundwater from pollution by chemicals. This is the application of ecological technologies for plant protection: breeding of beneficial insects (ladybugs, certain types of ants).
3. Use of water from the oceans as sources of raw materials. One of the methods is the extraction of dissolved elements, the second is the extraction of minerals on the sea shelf (no pollution and incapacitation of land suitable for farmland). Today, methods for intensive use of ocean resources are being developed, while the number of components that are commercially viable to extract from water is very limited.
4. An integrated approach to the extraction of fossil natural resources with an emphasis on environmental safety. Starting with a full study of the bowels and ending with the maximum possible use of associated substances and components.
5. Development of low-waste technologies and recycling of natural resources. These are the continuity of technological processes, which will maximize energy efficiency, and the maximum automation of technological processes, and the optimal use of by-products of production (for example, generated heat).
Conclusion
Other innovative technologies can also be identified, such as the transition to the maximum use of inexhaustible energy sources. It is they who will save the life and ecology of our planet. This article described how important it is to take care of the environment and its gifts. Otherwise, serious problems may arise.
The rational use of natural resources and environmental protection is one of the most important problems of modern society in the era of the development of scientific and technological progress, accompanied by an active impact on nature.
Natural resources are divided into practically inexhaustible ones (the energy of the sun, tides, internal heat, atmospheric air, water); renewable (soil, plant, wildlife resources) and non-renewable (minerals, habitat, river energy).
Renewable natural resources are natural resources capable of self-recovery in the process of the circulation of substances within a period commensurate with the pace of human economic activity. The rational use of renewable natural resources should be based on the principles of balanced use and renewal of them, as well as provide for their expanded reproduction.
Non-renewable natural resources - part of the exhaustible natural resources that do not have the ability to self-renewal for a period commensurate with the pace of human economic activity. The rational use of non-renewable natural resources should be based on their comprehensive and economical extraction and use, waste disposal, etc.
From the point of view of involvement in human economic activity, natural resources are divided into real and potential. The first type of resources is actively exploited, the second one can be involved in economic turnover.
Currently, the problem of depletion of natural resources is becoming more and more acute. The depletion of the natural resource potential is expressed in the reduction of natural resources to a level that does not meet the needs of mankind, its technical capabilities and safety standards for natural systems.
The depletion of natural resources makes their further development economically and ecologically inexpedient.
Rational nature management involves the reasonable development of natural resources, the prevention of possible harmful consequences of human activity, the maintenance and increase in the productivity and attractiveness of natural complexes and individual natural objects.
Rational nature management involves choosing the best option for achieving environmental, economic and social benefits when using natural resources.
The integrated use of natural resources involves the use of waste-free and low-waste technologies, the reuse of secondary resources.
The depletion of natural resources is one of the main problems causing the global environmental crisis.
Resources - bodies and forces of nature necessary for man for life and economic activity.
Natural resource potential of the country- the combined ability of all natural resources of the country to ensure their own and healthy reproduction and living conditions for the population. Russia's natural resource potential is enormous. In principle, Russia is a completely self-sufficient country and does not experience any dependence on other states in terms of natural resources.
There are various types of classification of natural resources. Ecological the classification is based on the signs of exhaustibility and renewability of their reserves. According to these features, resources can be divided into practically inexhaustible and exhaustible.
Inexhaustible resources- solar energy, thermal (underground) heat, tides, ebbs, wind energy, precipitation.
Depending on the geographical location, different regions of the globe are gifted in different ways. solar energy. In low-latitude countries, with sufficient irrigation, two or more crops are harvested per year. Nowadays, solar panels are used in these regions, which make a significant contribution to energy supply. Russia is a northern country, a significant part of its territory is located in middle and high latitudes, so the accumulated solar energy is practically not used.
thermal heat- where it is, it is successfully used not only for medicinal purposes (hot springs), but also for heating homes. In Russia, the largest thermal springs are located in Kamchatka (Valley of Geysers), but they are not seriously used yet, as they are quite far from large settlements.
The energy of the ocean tides also has not yet found widespread use due to technological difficulties, but it is known, for example, that two power plants operate on the shore of the English Channel on a tidal wave: one in France, the other in Great Britain.
Wind energy - new, well-forgotten old. Even in past eras, man learned to use wind energy - windmills. At the end of the twentieth century. in northern Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium), quite a lot of modern “windmills” appeared - giant units, similar to fans, raised to a height of 20–30 m. Economists in these countries calculated that such a windmill pays off in two years, and then starts generating net income. True, another environmental problem arose during operation: such "windmills" are very noisy.
All other resources on the planet are exhaustible which, in turn, are subdivided into non-renewable and renewable.
Non-renewable resources– combustible minerals (oil, natural gas, coal, peat), metal ores, precious metals and building materials (clays, sandstones, limestones).
The more humanity extracts and uses them, the less remains for the next generations.
The world's largest oil-producing region is the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Jordan, Kuwait). Russia also has significant reserves oil and natural gas located mainly in Western Siberia. A kind of "oil center" is the Tyumen region. The largest reserves of natural gas are Urengoy, Yamburg (the largest in the world). The export of oil and gas today makes a significant contribution to the Russian budget.
The depletion of oil and gas reserves is the biggest resource problem of the 21st century. Therefore, modern scientific and technical thought in this century should be directed to the development of alternative energy sources, to how humanity can learn to live without gas and oil.
world coal reserves, according to geologists, will be enough for 2-3 centuries (if the rate of its production does not increase many times due to the depletion of oil and gas flows).
Reserves of metal ores in the bowels are also not unlimited, although the situation with them is not as tense as with fossil fuels. However, both in the present and in subsequent centuries, the rate of extraction of iron and non-ferrous metals will steadily increase, which, of course, should be taken into account when assessing their reserves and the time of their use. All this applies to noble metals.
It may seem that stocks of building materials(clays, sandstones, limestones) on Earth are endless. However, despite the fact that, compared to other non-renewable resources, stocks of building materials do not yet portend a crisis, it should be remembered that the rule “the more we extract, the less remains” applies to them.
Renewable resources - soils, flora and fauna, water and air (the latter are partially renewable).
Soils- a thin (no more than 10 m deep) surface fertile layer of the lithosphere, which feeds the entire flora and fauna, including humans and livestock. Soils perform a number of ecological functions, but fertility is an integrating one. The soil is quite an inert body compared to water and air, so its ability to self-purify is limited. And anthropogenic pollution that got into it, as a rule, accumulates, which leads to a decrease and even loss of fertility. In addition to pollution, a significant factor in the loss of fertility is erosion (wind, water) as a result of illiterate plowing, deforestation, technogenesis, etc.
green plants- form the basis of the biomass of the earth, these are producers that provide nutrition and oxygen to all other living organisms on the planet. Among natural plant communities, forests (40% of the total land area) are of the greatest importance as the national wealth of any people and the lungs of the entire planet. With the beginning of agriculture, the process of deforestation of the planet began. Now there are essentially three largest forests left on earth - the Amazon jungle, the Siberian taiga and the forests of Canada. Only Canada treats its forests competently and economically. Brazil barbarously cuts down forests - its national wealth.
In Russia, the situation is also deplorable. Predatory and illiterate forests are cut down in the European part (Karelia, Arkhangelsk region) and in Siberia. Export of wood is one of the revenue items of the country's budget. New forests grow at the felling site in at least 40 years, and the rate of destruction is much higher than the rate of natural regeneration (restoration), therefore, new forest plantations are needed to prevent forest extinction, which have not been carried out recently. Meanwhile, in addition to economic benefits (wood), forests have a colossal recreational value, which can sometimes exceed the value of the products received from them. However, another problem arises here: growing cities are exerting an increasing anthropogenic load on the surrounding forests, the townspeople litter and trample them. The occurrence of fires due to human fault is also one of the factors of forest loss.
Russian forests are of not only national but also planetary significance, supplying oxygen to Europe and exerting a global influence on general climate change. Scientists believe that the preservation of the colossal forests of Siberia will help stop the process of global warming of the Earth's climate.
Animal world- refers only to wild animals that are in a state of natural nature. Animals experience enormous anthropogenic pressure associated with the global environmental crisis (loss of biodiversity, etc.). Under these conditions, a number of European countries have introduced a ban on hunting on their territory. Russia so far only regulates it, but these restrictions are not being implemented, poaching, especially fish poaching, is flourishing.
For example, sea fish goes to spawn in fresh water, it rises up large and small rivers. Here it falls into the alignments of dams and the network of poachers. As a result, the number of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea (now there is a complete ban on catching sturgeon) and salmon in the Far East has decreased tenfold.
Partially renewable resources - air, water.
Water - On a global scale, the planet's water resources are inexhaustible, but they are distributed very unevenly and in some places turn out to be severely scarce. In nature, the water cycle is constantly going on, accompanied by its self-purification. The ability to self-purify is an amazing and unique property of nature, which allows it to withstand anthropogenic impacts. Fresh water reserves on the planet are less than 2%, clean even less. This is a serious environmental problem, especially for countries located in arid zones.
Atmospheric air - like water, it is a unique and necessary natural resource for all living beings, capable of self-purification. The World Ocean plays a huge role in this process, as well as in the water cycle. But the assimilation potential of nature is not infinite. Fresh water used for drinking, atmospheric air necessary for breathing, now need additional purification, since the biosphere can no longer cope with the colossal anthropogenic load.
Decisive measures are required everywhere for the rational use of natural resources. The biosphere needs to be protected, and natural resources need to be saved.
The basic principles of such an attitude to natural resources are set out in the international document "The Concept of Sustainable Economic Development" (hereinafter referred to as the "Concept"), adopted at the Second World Conference on the Environment of the United Nations in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
About inexhaustible resources The “concept” urgently calls for a return to their widespread use, and where possible, replace non-renewable resources with inexhaustible ones. For example, coal can be replaced by solar or wind energy.
In a relationship non-renewable resources in the "Concept" it is noted that their production should be made normative, i.e. reduce the rate of extraction of minerals from the bowels. The world community will have to abandon the race for leadership in the extraction of a particular natural resource, the main thing is not the volume of the extracted resource, but the efficiency of its use. This means a completely new approach to the problem of mining: it is necessary to extract not as much as each country can, but as much as is necessary for the sustainable development of the world economy. Of course, the world community will not come to such an approach immediately; it will take decades to implement it.
For modern Russia, mineral resources form the basis of the economy. Russia produces more than 17% of world oil, up to 25% of gas, 15% of coal. The main problem in their production is incomplete extraction from the subsoil: oil is pumped out of the well by 70% at best, coal is mined by no more than 80%, no less large losses during processing.
The creation and implementation of new technologies will increase the share of extracted oil, coal, and metal ores. This requires a lot of money. In Russia, the number of "unpromising" flooded mines and abandoned oil wells is increasing.
The task of a more complete extraction of minerals from the bowels is adjacent to another one - complex use of mineral raw materials. Analysis of some ores of the Urals showed that in addition to the main metal mined (for example, copper), they contain a large number of rare and trace elements, the cost of which often exceeds the cost of the main material. However, this valuable raw material remains in the dumps due to the lack of technology for its extraction.
In addition, the mining complex has become one of the largest sources of pollution and environmental disturbance. In mining areas, as a rule, forests, grass cover, soil suffer; in the tundra, for example, nature has to recover and cleanse itself for decades.
The principles of environmental protection require the user of natural resources to:
The most complete extraction of minerals from the bowels and their rational use;
Complex extraction of not one, but all components contained in the ores;
Ensuring the preservation of the natural environment in the areas of mining operations;
Safety for people during mining;
Prevention of subsoil pollution during underground storage of oil, gas and other combustible materials.
Renewable resources- The "concept" requires that their exploitation be carried out at least within the framework of simple reproduction and their total number does not decrease over time. From the point of view of environmentalists, this means: how much they took from nature (for example, forests), and return so much (forest plantations).
Forest – according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the total annual losses in the world for the first 5 years of the XXI century. amounted to 7.3 million hectares. Partially, the loss of forests in some countries is offset by an increase in their area in others. Every year, the area of the Earth's forests is reduced by 6,120 million hectares (0.18%). This is somewhat less than between 1990 and 2000, when the average annual loss of the Earth's forest area was 8.9 million hectares. The maximum rate of forest area reduction is typical for South America (4.3 million hectares per year) and Africa (4.0 million hectares per year). In Oceania, the annual loss of forest area is 356 thousand hectares, and in North and Central America - 333 thousand hectares. The situation in Asia has changed significantly (excluding the Asian part of Russia). In the 1990s, the loss of forest area in Asia was about 800 thousand hectares per year, and now it has changed to an annual increase of about a million hectares. This is due to large-scale afforestation in China. In Europe (including Russia as a whole), the total forest area both increased in the 1990s and continues to increase at present, albeit at a slower rate. The average annual increase in forest area in Europe (including Russia as a whole) is for the period from 2000 to 2005. about 660 thousand hectares, and the increase in the accumulated wood reserves in these forests is about 340 million m 3 per year. It is estimated that reforestation efforts over the next half century will result in a 10% increase in forest area. However, reducing the rate of deforestation does not solve the problems already created by this process.
The rate of deforestation varies greatly by region. Currently, the rate of deforestation is highest (and increasing) in developing countries located in the tropics. In the 1980s, tropical forests lost 9.2 million hectares, and in the last decade of the 20th century. – 8.6 million hectares.
Humanity has been deforesting for a long time, using wood for construction and fuel, or reclaiming land from the forest for agriculture. Later, a person had a need to create infrastructure (cities, roads) and mining, which spurred the process of deforestation of territories. However, the main reason for deforestation is an increase in the need for land for grazing and planting crops.
Forestry is not able to produce as much food as a land cleared of trees. Tropical and taiga forests are practically unable to maintain an adequate standard of living for the population, since edible resources are too scattered. Slash-and-burn farming is used by 200 million indigenous peoples around the world to exploit the ash-rich forest soil for short periods of time.
In Russia, over the past 15 years, felling volumes have increased many times over (wood is one of the revenue sources of the budget), and forest plantations were not carried out during this period at all. At the same time, for the restoration of forests after felling, 2–3 times the area of forest plantations is required, for the reproduction of a full-fledged forest, 35–40, 50 years are required.
The lack of necessary measures leads to the fact that about 1 million hectares of forests per year are currently dying due to fires, pests and diseases. Forest resources are affected by natural and anthropogenic factors. Thus, clear cuts from 1987 to 1993 were carried out on an area of about 1 million hectares per year. The impact of fires is extremely noticeable: from 1984 to 1992 on 1.6 million hectares. The total damage, according to estimates for 1996, amounted to 26.5 million hectares of forests, with 99% of them in Siberia and the Far East. In Central Siberia (the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory), where a significant part of the boreal forests (21.5% of the forest area of Russia) is concentrated, the main exogenous factors causing the loss of the forest fund are fires, felling, outbreaks of silkworm mass reproduction. Periodically, damage caused by fires, pests, diseases, and industrial pollution in the forest-steppe and southern taiga forests of the region affects 62–85% of their area; as a result, only 5–10% of virgin communities of mature and overmature plantations have been preserved. In recent years, negative processes in the conservation, use and reproduction of forest resources have increased. There is a decrease in the volume of timber harvesting, and at the same time, the area of forests destroyed by fires is growing. So, from 1990 to 1996, forest areas were cut down on an area of 430 thousand hectares (21%), destroyed by fires - 840 thousand hectares (42%), silkworm - on 740 thousand hectares (37%). Gas and dust emissions from the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Combine killed or severely degraded about 500,000 hectares. Forest areas affected by these emissions are located up to 200 km away, and at a distance of 80–100 km, survival is almost zero. At the same time, the forest services of the Krasnoyarsk Territory are carrying out certain work on reforestation - as of January 1, 1998, the area of reforestation lands of the forest fund amounted to 1,795.4 thousand hectares, of which 989.1 thousand hectares were restored naturally, 402 thousand hectares thanks to the promotion of natural regeneration and 4,04.9 thousand hectares - through the creation of forest plantations.
Land resources- the basis for obtaining crops, the main wealth on which our existence depends.
Essentially, soil is a “non-renewable” natural resource. To restore 1 cm 2 of soil, depending on natural and climatic conditions, from several years to several thousand years is required. However, with proper use, soil, unlike other natural resources, can not only not age, wear out, but even improve, increase, and increase its fertility.
The areas of fertile soils are catastrophically reduced all over the world: they are polluted, destroyed by air and water erosion, waterlogged, saline, desertified, withdrawn from agricultural use due to alienation (allocation for construction and other purposes inconsistent with their (soils) main purpose). Irreversible losses of arable land only due to soil degradation reached 1.5 million hectares per year. The monetary value of these losses is at least $2 billion.
Occupying the vast territory of Eastern Europe and all of Northern Asia, Russia has a huge land fund of 1,709.8 million hectares. Its soil cover is represented by many different types of soils - from arctic deserts and tundras, taiga podzols and swamps to forest-steppe and steppe chernozems, chestnut, brown and saline soils of semi-deserts, subtropical brown soils and red-colored terra rossa. More than half of the area of Russia is occupied by various northern soils and about a third - by the soils of mountain landscapes, mostly also cold ones. Half of Russia's area is covered with permafrost. Only a quarter of the country's land fund is favorable for agriculture to varying degrees, since solar heat is lacking in the northern and middle forest zones. The annual sum of average daily temperatures above 10 o C in these places does not exceed 1,400 degree days. In the southern continental regions, there is a lack of atmospheric moisture (less than 400 mm per year). Only 13% of the territory of Russia is occupied by agricultural land, and arable land is even less - only 7%, moreover, more than half of the arable land is concentrated on black soil. Annually, these areas are reduced as a result of erosion, misuse (construction, landfills), waterlogging, mining (open-pit coal mining).
To protect against erosion, use:
windbreaks;
plowing (without turning over the layer);
plowing across slopes and grassing (in hilly areas);
regulation of livestock grazing.
Disturbed polluted lands are restored by agricultural and forest reclamation. Land reclamation can be carried out through the creation of reservoirs, housing construction. Lands can be left for self-overgrowing.
Water resources- in terms of volume, freshwater sources (including glaciers) make up about 3% of the hydrosphere, the rest is the World Ocean. Russia has significant reserves of water resources. The territory is washed by the waters of twelve seas belonging to three oceans, as well as the inland Caspian Sea. On the territory of Russia there are over 2.5 million large and small rivers, more than 2 million lakes, hundreds of thousands of swamps and other objects of the water fund.
Self-purification of water occurs due to the plankton living in the water. The World Ocean stabilizes the climate of the planet, is in constant dynamic equilibrium with the atmosphere, and produces a huge biomass.
But for life and economic activity, a person needs fresh water. The rapid growth of the world's population and the rapid development of the world economy have led to a shortage of fresh water not only in traditionally arid countries, but also in those that were recently considered quite water-rich. Almost all sectors of the economy, except for maritime transport and fishing, require fresh water. Each inhabitant of the Russian Federation annually accounts for 30 thousand m 3 of total river flow, 530 m 3 of total water intake and 90–95 m 3 of domestic water supply (i.e., 250 liters per day). In large cities, specific water consumption is 320 l / day, in Moscow - 400 l / day. The average water supply of our population is one of the highest in the world. For comparison: USA - 320, Great Britain - 170, Japan - 125, India - 65, Iraq - 16 liters per day. However, compared with many other countries, fresh water is spent extremely uneconomically in our country. At the same time, in a number of regions in the south of Russia, in the Volga region and the Trans-Urals, there are difficulties in providing the population with high-quality drinking water.
During the creation of reservoirs, the flow of rivers was greatly reduced and evaporation and depletion of water bodies increased. Agriculture requires large volumes of water for irrigation, while evaporation also increases; huge quantities are spent in industry; Domestic needs also require fresh water.
Pollution of the World Ocean and fresh sources is also one of the environmental problems. Currently, wastewater pollutes more than a third of the world's river flow, so strict savings on fresh water and prevention of its pollution are necessary.
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utilization of natural bodies and the phenomenon of natural resources at the level of both an individual and more or less large social groups. Classification of natural resources The classification is based on three features: by sources of origin, by use in production, and by the degree of depletion of resources. forest fund part of the land fund of the Land on which the forest allocated for agriculture and the organization of specially protected natural areas grows or can grow; it is part of the biological...
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Lecture No. 11
Rational use of natural resources
The history of human society is the history of nature management, i.e., the utilization of natural bodies and phenomena (natural resources) at the level of both an individual and more or less large social groups. Unlike any other living organisms that also use natural resources, a person has a strong-willed, rational principle associated with a purposeful transformation of his environment.
Natural resources are a set of natural bodies and phenomena that society uses for its own purposes at the present time or will be able to use in the future.
In its most general form, as applied to a person, “resources are something extracted from the natural environment to satisfy their needs and desires” (Miller, 1993). Human needs can be divided into material and spiritual. Natural resources in their direct use to some extent satisfy the spiritual needs of a person, for example, aesthetic (“beauty of nature”), recreational, etc. But their main purpose is to satisfy material needs, i.e., the creation of material wealth.
1. Classification of natural resources
The classification is based on three features: by sources of origin, by use in production, and by the degree of exhaustion of resources.
According to the sources of origin, resources are divided into biological, mineral and energy.
Biological resources are all living environment-forming components of the biosphere: producers, consumers and decomposers with the genetic material contained in them. They are sources of material and spiritual benefits for people. These include commercial objects, cultivated plants, domestic animals, picturesque landscapes, microorganisms, i.e., plant resources, wildlife resources, etc. are included here. Genetic resources are of particular importance.
Mineral resources are all material components of the lithosphere suitable for consumption, used in the economy as mineral raw materials or energy sources. Mineral raw materials can be ore if metals are extracted from it, non-metallic if non-metallic components (phosphorus, etc.) are extracted or used as building materials.
If mineral wealth is used as a fuel (coal, oil, gas, oil shale, peat, wood, nuclear energy) and at the same time as an energy source in engines to produce steam and electricity, then they are called fuel and energy resources.
Energy resources are called the totality of the energy of the Sun and Space, atomic energy, fuel and energy, thermal and other energy sources.
The second feature by which resources are classified is by their use in production. This includes the following resources:
- land fund - all lands within the country and the world, included in their purpose in the following categories: agricultural, settlements, non-agricultural purposes (industry, transport, mine workings, etc.). The world land fund is 13.4 billion hectares.
- forest fund - a part of the land fund of the Earth on which the forest allocated for agriculture and the organization of specially protected natural areas grows or can grow; it is part of biological resources;
- water resources - the amount of ground and surface water that can be used for various purposes in the economy (fresh water resources are of particular importance, the main source of which is river water);
- hydropower resources - those * that a river can give, the tidal activity of the ocean, etc .;
- Fauna resources - the number of inhabitants of waters, forests, shoals that a person can use without violating the ecological balance;
- minerals (ore, non-metallic, fuel and energy resources) - a natural accumulation of minerals in the earth's crust, which can be used in the economy, and the accumulation of minerals forms their deposits, the reserves of which should be of industrial importance.
From the environmental point of view, the classification of resources according to the third criterion, according to the degree of depletion, is of great importance. The depletion of natural resources from an ecological point of view is a discrepancy between safe norms for the withdrawal of a natural resource from natural systems and subsoil, and the needs of mankind (country, region, enterprises, etc.).
At the first level of classification (Fig. 1), all resources can be divided into inexhaustible and exhaustible. Inexhaustible resources include mainly processes and phenomena that are external to our planet or inherent in it as a cosmic body. First of all, these are resources of cosmic origin, in particular, the energy of solar radiation, the energy of moving air, falling water, sea waves, currents, as well as the energy of ebbs and flows. Derived from space resources are climatic resources, which (in addition to the solar radiation and wind mentioned above) also include precipitation. Of course, these resources are inexhaustible only as long as and as long as the solar system exists.
Rice. 1. Classification of natural resources according to their exhaustibility and renewability
Exhaustible resources include all natural bodies (living and inert) located within the globe as a physically finite, having a specific mass and volume of a natural body. The composition of exhaustible resources includes flora and fauna, mineral and organic compounds contained in the bowels of the Earth (minerals). All exhaustible resources can be further classified by their ability to self-renewal. For example, the resources of the animal and plant world, of course, are renewable, because they are able to reproduce themselves through metabolic processes.
2. Use of various types of resources
Use of animal resources
The relationship between humans and living organisms is complex and varied. In general, human impact on wildlife can be reduced to three main areas. First, plants and animals serve as a source of food for humans, clothing (including furs and fibres), technical raw materials, fuel, and luxury items, and humans constantly extract them, reducing their numbers and biomass. In some cases, plants, animals, and microorganisms are undesirable, being agricultural weeds, vectors or pathogens, or pests. Suffice it to recall the epidemics of plague and cholera or the mass reproduction of certain insects (locust, Colorado potato beetle, Siberian silkworm, etc.), after which there were losses in agricultural crops and timber.
Secondly, the mass death of animals is caused by the widespread penetration of chemistry into the processes of nature management, in particular, the chemicalization of agriculture and forestry. Tens of thousands of specially synthesized organic and inorganic compounds of chemical elements based on sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus, arsenic, and mercury are now used to fertilize land and destroy pests, vectors, and pathogens. The essence of chemical plant protection is a purposeful change in the chemistry of the environment for unwanted organisms (environment pollution for them), but side effects are inevitable - a negative / impact on the whole complex of living organisms, including completely harmless ones, as well as on humans.
The exploitation of some species of animals and plants and the targeted destruction of others (considered harmful) reduces their numbers up to complete destruction over large areas.
Thirdly, it should be borne in mind that all living organisms exist in the form of specific groups (populations, which will be discussed later) in certain habitats - natural systems where the physical and chemical environment meets their biochemical requirements. The impact of society on natural systems in the form of deforestation, hydrotechnical, urban and industrial construction, plowing of virgin steppes, open mining leads to the disappearance of habitats for animals and plants.
The exploitation of wildlife resources (first of all, flora and fauna) leads to the fact that the rate of restoration of their abundance lags behind the rate of exploitation (i.e., the removal of biomass and the depletion of the genetic fund). Thus, exhaustible resources, despite the ability to recover, turn into exhausted ones. Over the past 370 years, according to some sources, 130 species of birds and mammals have disappeared from the face of the Earth, and hundreds of species are inscribed in the Red Book - a sad list of endangered species. At the same time, the number of some species is now only hundreds of pairs or even tens of individuals. Many have survived only in zoos.
The loss of any, even the most useless, at first glance, species means an irreversible impoverishment of the planet's genetic fund.
Use of subsoil resources
Exhaustible non-renewable resources include the resources of the planet's interior, primarily metal and non-metal ores, groundwater, solid building materials (granite, marble, etc.), as well as energy carriers (oil, gas, coal). After all, they can only be used once, and they do not possess the ability to self-heal. They were formed over hundreds of millions of years in past geological epochs, including those times when complex electrochemical, volcanic, and tectonic processes took place on the Earth. Coal, for example, is a product of photosynthesis of plants of past geological epochs (Mesozoic). Today, there are practically no conditions for similar processes, but even if we assume that the processes of mineral formation are taking place at the present time, then their rates are disproportionately small in comparison with the rates of withdrawal and transformation by society.
The rate of exploitation of subsoil resources is constantly increasing. There is evidence that over a century (1880-1980) the annual consumption of coal, iron, manganese, nickel increased 50-60 times, tungsten, aluminum, molybdenum, potassium - 200-1000 times. It was assumed that, while maintaining the rate of consumption, aluminum reserves would last for 570 years, iron - for 150 years, zinc - for 232 years, lead - for 19 years. In 1990, the global volume of metal consumption as a whole was estimated at about 2.5 billion tons, but estimates of the timing of their exhaustion began to be approached more cautiously, meaning the discovery of new deposits, the use of so-called "poor" ores. True, the development of newly discovered deposits is associated with certain economic problems, and the use of ores with a low content of useful components leads to a sharp increase in the volume of waste. For the period 1970-1989. in the world burned 72 billion m 3 oil, and its production in 1989 amounted to 3.4 billion m 3 . Consumption of coal over the same period amounted to 90 billion tons, and natural gas - 1100 trillion. m 3 . The term for the exhaustion of known reserves of coal in 1970 was estimated at 2300 years, and in 1989 - already about 400 years (on average). But for gas, these figures were 38 and 60 years, respectively. However, even if, thanks to scientific and technological progress, significant adjustments are made within the specified time frame, the essence of the matter does not change: the fact of the exhaustion of a number of deposits, and the most accessible ones, is already evident.
Use of land and forest resources
A special category in terms of exhaustibility and renewability are land and forest resources. The soil is the basis of all material wealth, the wealth on which the well-being of a person depends. The main property of the soil is its fertility, i.e. ability to produce crops. The soil is a natural-historical bio-inert body that has arisen as a result of physical, chemical and biological weathering of rocks in an environment of different climates, topography and under the conditions of earth's gravity. The soil-forming process is long and complex. It continues uninterruptedly, but it is known that a layer of the chernozem horizon 1 cm thick is formed in about a century. It can be lost in a much shorter period of time from several years to several hours. Improper tillage, extensive agriculture (increase in agricultural production not by increasing productivity, but by involving new lands), deforestation lead to intensive processes of water and wind erosion (from Latin erodere - corrode). In addition, land, including the most valuable - arable land, may disappear as a result of other types of nature management. Thus, being in principle a renewable resource, the soil can be restored (or at least not destroyed) only under the condition of strictly regulated careful use. This circumstance gives grounds to evaluate it as a relatively renewable resource. Note that out of the total land fund of the planet, equal to 149 million km 2 , only 13% is agricultural area and 27% falls on herbaceous and shrubby pastures and meadows. The average provision of arable land in Russia is slightly more than 0.8 ha/person, and tends to decrease.
Relatively renewable resources include forest resources, in particular timber.
Wood is a set of polymers of plant origin and, as a resource capable of self-healing, is an exhaustible renewable resource. The total stock of timber, for example, in Russia (the richest country in the world with forests), is 79,109 m 3 . The average annual wood growth is about 855,106 m 3 , and the annual felling volume is less than 400 10 6 m 3 . Consequently, no more than half of what grows is annually cut down, and, it would seem, there should not be any problems with wood. However, the data given refer to the total stock and biomass growth, which includes wood accumulating in both coniferous and deciduous, both mature and unripe (including young stands), both accessible and inaccessible forests. for the timber processing industries, coniferous wood (spruce, pine, cedar) is still preferable, and not any, but only one that meets certain technical and technological requirements. The growth of just such wood lags behind the volume of its withdrawal. The regeneration of the forest after felling in most cases occurs through the replacement of coniferous species by deciduous species over many decades.
Thus, while maintaining and accumulating the total stock of wood in forests, commercial wood required for production turns out to be an exhaustible and only relatively renewable resource. Since, however, scientific and technological progress is aimed at the development and use of any wood in industry, the severity of the problem can be reduced. With all that has been said, one should keep in mind the dual natural resource nature of forests, which are both sources (producers) of raw materials and an environment-forming factor of global significance. Therefore, the exploitation of forests for timber production must necessarily (ie, on the basis of legislation) take into account the space, soil and water protection, climate-forming, recreational and other ecological functions of forest systems.
Use of water resources and atmospheric air
Two most important natural bodies, which are not only natural resources, but also the main components of the habitat of life, have a special status: the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Formally, both of these bodies are inexhaustible, since, due to purely physical reasons, a strictly defined amount of matter is possible on our planet in one of three aggregate states - solid, liquid and gaseous. The disappearance of water in a particular region (drying up of rivers, the formation of deserts in place of seas, the disappearance, in particular, of the Aral Sea) does not mean that there is less water: it simply moves to other places, replenishing the World Ocean, moisture reserves in the atmosphere, etc. . P.
At the same time, fresh water reserves suitable for use account for about 2.5% of its total volume, two thirds of which are localized in glaciers and snow cover. Fresh water, which forms the annual runoff, due to the dilution of industrial and domestic wastewater in it, is practically unsuitable for use without special treatment: purification or water treatment. This is also true for atmospheric air, which is heavily polluted in a number of cities and industrial centers, and the impurities contained in it have a harmful effect on people and other living organisms.
Thus, being quantitatively inexhaustible, atmospheric air and water are qualitatively exhaustible, at least locally.
Limited natural resources
In the age of the scientific and technological revolution, humanity began to develop almost all renewable and non-renewable resources available to it. At the same time, a significant part of non-renewable resources has already been used. In many countries, some renewable resources (wood, hydropower, fresh water) are almost completely used.
The growing pace of industrialization is associated with the numerical growth of the population. By 1900, the population reached 1.6 billion people. with an annual growth of 0.5% and a doubling time of 140 years. But in 1970, the world population reached 3.6 billion people, and the increase increased to 2.1% per year. It is believed that this was a "super-exponential" growth, as the growth rate increased and the mortality rate decreased. From 1971 to 1991 The death rate continued to fall, but the birth rate also decreased. The population grew from 3.6 billion to 5.4 billion, i.e., the annual increase fell from 2.1% to 1.7%, which corresponds to a doubling time of 40 years. On July 11, 1987, the five billionth inhabitant of the planet was born. Further growth forecasts vary significantly, but in the first quarter XXI century, the population will increase and can reach, according to different scenarios (models), 8-12 billion people.
There are calculations according to which the daily energy consumption in the Stone Age was approximately 16.8∙10 3 kJ per person, in the era of animal husbandry and agriculture - 50.2∙10 3 , in an industrial society - 293.3∙10 3 , and currently in developed countries has reached 964-1047∙10 3 kJ per person.
Compared to population growth, energy and material consumption in XX in. happened at an accelerated pace.
In the period from 1900 to 1970, the energy intensity of industrial and agricultural production increased 4.5 times, and the consumption of materials - 4.2 times. If the existing rates of population growth are maintained in 2000, energy consumption will increase 12 times, and materials - 9 times compared to 1900.
Thus, human intervention in natural processes increases dramatically and can contribute to changing the regime of groundwater and groundwater in entire regions, surface water runoff, structure and condition (fertility) of soils, intensification of their erosion, activation of geochemical and chemical processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, macroclimate change, etc. Modern activities, such as the construction of hydraulic structures, mines, roads, wells, reservoirs, dams, the deformation of land by nuclear explosions, the construction of giant cities, watering and planting deserts, and much more, already cause similar processes .
Population, industrial production, consumption of natural resources, and consequently pollution of the environment are increasing exponentially, and it is believed that the exponential growth of production is the driving force of the world economy, the development of which is somehow directed to the physical limits of our planet. The really existing limits of the possibilities of the Earth and the development of society were first discussed in 1972. This caused sharp objections from many scientists and specialists in the world. However, the physical finiteness of the mass of the planet and its constituent characteristics (surface area, reserves of chemical elements in the form of natural resources) is an objective reality. Therefore, an objective reality is the need not only for the rational use of natural resources, but also for self-limiting the growth in the number of human consumers. Of course, this is not it is about any violent actions against the population, but improving the well-being of the population and the quality of life inevitably requires, for example, family planning.
In 1990, G. Daly formulated three imperative rules for optimizing the use of natural resources and preserving the quality of the environment:
For renewable resources, the rate of consumption should not exceed the rate of their self-recovery;
For non-renewable resources, the rate of consumption should not exceed the rate of their replacement by renewable resources, and society should invest part of the funds, for example, from the exploitation of fossil energy carriers, in the development of renewable energy sources;
For pollutants, the maximum intensity of their entry into the natural environment should not exceed the rate of their processing and neutralization in natural aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
Computer models ("scenarios") of the further (until 2100) development of society have been created with various options for stabilizing the population, industrial production volumes, creating environmentally friendly technologies, reducing soil erosion, increasing the efficiency of using natural resources, etc. Of course, these scenarios are not dogmas, and the constructions of their authors do not mean that it will be exactly like this and not otherwise, although this does not change the essence of the matter, and objective socio-ecological and economic realities will automatically force a WITNESS MAN to use reason in order to survive on our planet in the historical future.
Today's specialist cannot fail to realize the following. The use by man as a part of nature of its other components and the transformation of the natural environment in the interests of society are inevitable and logical, since they are carried out by virtue of both the laws of nature and the social laws of the development of society. Thus, scientific and technological progress is not something alien to nature, contrary to it. On the contrary, it is one of the consistent and regular processes of its evolution. But at the same time, the emerging environmental and resource problems are also natural.
Consequently, human society must be able to assess the limits of permissible physical, chemical, structural changes in nature and not overstep these limits. It is quite obvious that this task is being solved on the basis of further scientific and technological progress, including the adjustment and transformation of the principles, methods and techniques of nature management. Therefore, protecting nature, ensuring that its chemistry meets the requirements of life in the present and future, is the task of responsible professionals in their workplaces.
3. Principles of rational nature management
The intensive exploitation of natural resources has led to the need for a new type of environmental protection - the rational use of natural resources, in which protection requirements are included in the very process of economic activity for the use of natural resources.
Nature management is a social production activity aimed at meeting the material and cultural needs of society through the use of various types of natural resources and natural conditions. Nature management includes: a) protection, renewal and reproduction of natural resources, their extraction and processing; b) the use and protection of the natural conditions of the human environment; c) preservation, restoration and rational change of the ecological balance of natural systems; d) regulation of human reproduction and the number of people.
Nature management can be irrational and rational. Irrational nature management does not ensure the preservation of the natural resource potential, leads to the impoverishment and deterioration of the quality of the natural environment, is accompanied by pollution in the depletion of natural systems, disruption of the ecological balance and destruction of ecosystems. Rational nature management means a comprehensive scientifically based use of natural resources, which achieves the maximum possible conservation of natural resource potential, with minimal disruption of the ability of ecosystems to self-regulate and self-recovery.
Rational nature management has a dual goal:
- to ensure such a state of the environment in which it could satisfy, along with material needs, the demands of aesthetics and recreation;
- ensure the possibility of continuous harvesting of useful plants, production of animals and various materials by establishing a balanced cycle of use and renewal.
Environmentally balanced nature management is possible only when using "an ecosystem approach that takes into account all types of relationships and mutual influences between environments, ecocenoses and humans."
Irrational nature management ultimately leads to an ecological crisis, and environmentally balanced nature management creates the prerequisites for overcoming it.
The way out of the global ecological crisis is the most important scientific and practical problem of our time. Thousands of scientists, politicians, practitioners in all countries of the world are working on its solution. The task is to develop a set of reliable anti-crisis measures that will actively counteract further degradation of the natural environment and achieve sustainable development of society. Attempts to solve this problem by any means alone, for example, technological ones (treatment facilities, non-waste technologies, etc.), are fundamentally wrong and will not lead to the necessary results. Overcoming the ecological crisis is possible only if the harmonious development of nature and man, the removal of antagonism between them. This is achievable only on the basis of the implementation of the “trinity of natural nature, society and humanized nature”, on the path of sustainable development of society, an integrated approach to solving environmental problems.
The most general principle or rule of environmental protection should be considered as follows: the global initial natural resource potential is continuously depleted in the course of historical development, which requires scientific and technological improvement from mankind aimed at a wider and fuller use of this potential.
Another fundamental principle of protecting nature and the environment follows from this law: “environmentally friendly - economically”, i.e. the more prudent approach to natural resources and habitat, the less energy and other costs are required. Reproduction of the natural resource potential and efforts to implement it should be comparable with the economic results of the exploitation of nature.
Another important environmental rule is that all components of the natural environment - atmospheric air, water, soil, etc. - must be protected not individually, but as a whole, as unified natural ecosystems of the biosphere. Only with such an ecological approach is it possible to ensure the preservation of landscapes, subsoil, the gene pool of animals and plants.
The ecological crisis is not an inevitable and natural product of scientific and technological progress, it is caused both in our country and in other countries of the world by a complex of reasons of an objective and subjective nature, among which the consumer, and often predatory attitude to nature is not the last, disregard for fundamental environmental laws. An analysis of both the environmental and socio-economic situation in Russia makes it possible to single out five main directions in which Russia must overcome the environmental crisis (Fig. 2). At the same time, an integrated approach is needed in solving this problem, i.e., all five directions should be used simultaneously.
Rice. 2. Ways for Russia to get out of the ecological crisis
The first direction should be the improvement of technology - the creation of environmentally friendly technology, the introduction of waste-free, low-waste industries, the renewal of fixed assets, etc.
The second direction is the development and improvement of the economic mechanism of environmental protection.
The third direction is the application of measures of administrative restraint and measures of legal responsibility for environmental offenses (administrative-legal direction).
The fourth direction is the harmonization of ecological thinking (ecological and educational direction).
The fifth direction is the harmonization of environmental international relations (international law direction).
Certain steps are being taken in Russia to overcome the ecological crisis in all the above five areas; however, we all have to go through the most difficult and responsible sections of the path ahead. It is they who will decide whether Russia will emerge from the ecological crisis or perish, plunging into the abyss of ecological ignorance and unwillingness to be guided by the fundamental laws of the development of the biosphere and the restrictions arising from them.
1.1. Main tools of rational nature management
The main directions of engineering protection of the natural environment from pollution and other types of anthropogenic impacts are the introduction of resource-saving, waste-free and low-waste technology, biotechnology, recycling and detoxification of waste, and most importantly, the greening of all production, which would ensure the inclusion of all types of interaction with the environment in natural cycles circulation of matter.
These fundamental directions are based on the cyclic nature of material resources and are borrowed from nature, where, as is known, closed cyclic processes operate. Technological processes, in which all interactions with the environment are fully taken into account and measures are taken to prevent negative consequences, are called eco-friendly.
Like any ecological system, where matter and energy are spent economically and the wastes of some organisms serve as an important condition for the existence of others, an environmentally friendly production process controlled by a person should
follow biospheric laws, and first of all, the law of the circulation of substances.
Another way, for example, the creation of all kinds, even the most advanced treatment facilities, does not solve the problem, since this is a struggle with the effect, and not with the cause. The main cause of biosphere pollution is resource-intensive and polluting technologies for processing and using raw materials. It is these so-called traditional technologies that lead to a huge accumulation of waste and the need for wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal. Suffice it to note that the annual accumulation on the territory of the former USSR in the 80s. amounted to 12-15 billion tons of solid waste, about 160 billion tons of liquid and over 100 million tons of gaseous waste.
Low-waste and zero-waste technologies and their role in protecting the environment
A fundamentally new approach to the development of all industrial and agricultural production is the creation of low-waste and waste-free technology.
The concept of non-waste technology, in accordance with the Declaration of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (1979), means the practical application of knowledge, methods and means in order to ensure the most rational use of natural resources and protect the environment within the framework of human needs.
In 1984, the same UN commission introduced a more specific definition of this concept: “Wasteless technology is such a way of producing products (process, enterprise, territorial production complex), in which raw materials and energy are used most rationally and comprehensively in the cycle of raw materials - production - consumer - secondary resources - in such a way that any impact on the environment does not disrupt its normal functioning.
Waste-free technology is also understood as a method of production that ensures the fullest possible use of processed raw materials and the resulting waste. The term “low-waste technology” should be considered more accurate than “waste-free technology”, since in principle “waste-free technology” is impossible, because any human technology cannot but produce waste, at least in the form of energy. Achieving complete wastelessness is unrealistic, since it contradicts the second law of thermodynamics, so the term "wasteless technology" is conditional (metaphorical). The technology that allows to obtain a minimum of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes is called low-waste and at the present stage of development of scientific and technological progress it is the most realistic.
Of great importance for reducing the level of environmental pollution, saving raw materials and energy is the reuse of material resources, i.e. recycling. Thus, the production of aluminum from scrap metal requires only 5% of the energy costs of smelting from bauxite, and the remelting of 1 ton of secondary raw materials saves 4 tons of bauxite and 700 kg of coke, while simultaneously reducing emissions of fluoride compounds into the atmosphere by 35 kg.
The set of measures to minimize the amount of hazardous waste and reduce their impact on the environment, on the recommendation of various authors, includes:
– development of various types of drainless technological systems and water circulation cycles based on wastewater treatment;
— development of systems for processing production waste into secondary material resources;
- creation and production of new types of products, taking into account the requirements of its reuse;
— the creation of fundamentally new production processes that allow eliminating or reducing the technological stages at which waste is generated.
The initial stage of these complex measures aimed at creating waste-free technologies in the future is the introduction of circulating, up to completely closed, water use systems.
Circulating water supply is a technical system, with cobra, it is provided for repeated use in the production of waste water (after purification and processing) with a very limited discharge (up to 3%) into water bodies (Fig. 3).
A closed water cycle is a system of industrial water supply and sanitation, in which the repeated use of water in the same production process is carried out without the discharge of sewage and other waters into natural reservoirs.
Rice. 3. Scheme of recycling industrial and urban water supply:
1 - shop; 2 - intrashop circulating water supply; 3 - local (workshop) treatment plant, including recycling of secondary waste; 4 - general plant treatment facilities; 5 - city; 6 - urban sewerage treatment facilities; 7 - tertiary treatment facilities; 8 - injection of treated wastewater into underground sources; 9 - supply of purified water to the city water supply system; 10 - dissipative discharge of wastewater into a reservoir (sea)
One of the most important directions in the field of creating waste-free and low-waste industries is the transition to a new environmental technology with the replacement of water-intensive processes with anhydrous or low-water ones.
The progressiveness of new technological schemes of water supply is determined by how much they have decreased, compared with the previously existing ones, water consumption and the amount of wastewater and their pollution. The presence of a large amount of wastewater at an industrial facility is considered an objective indicator of the imperfection of the technological schemes used.
The development of waste-free and water-free technological processes is the most rational way to protect the natural environment from pollution, which can significantly reduce the anthropogenic load. However, research in this direction is just beginning, therefore, in various areas of industry and agriculture, the level of greening of production is far from being the same.
Progress has been made in introducing new methods of extracting raw materials, which make it possible to reduce the amount of raw materials and materials for the production of a unit of output, to use waste from one production in the technological process of another.
These technologies are based on the following approaches:
1. Mechanization and automation of the extraction of raw materials, allowing the transition to more mass methods of obtaining it
2. Rationalization and intensification of production processes for the extraction and processing of ores and related materials
3. Application of geodetic methods of exploration of deposits of mineral resources and exploration of wear
5. Development of the application of enrichment methods, increasing the extraction of useful components even from relatively poor ores, but occurring in large arrays
At present, certain successes have been achieved in our country in the development and implementation of elements of environmentally friendly technology in a number of branches of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, thermal power engineering, mechanical engineering, and the chemical industry. However, the complete transfer of industrial and agricultural production to waste-free and water-free technologies and the creation of completely green industries are associated with very complex problems of a different nature - organizational, scientific, technical, financial and others, and therefore modern production will consume huge amounts of water for its needs for a long time to come. , have waste and harmful emissions.
Biotechnology in environmental protection
In recent years, in environmental science, an increasing interest has been shown in biotechnological processes based on the creation of products, phenomena and effects necessary for humans with the help of microorganisms.
With regard to the protection of the human environment, biotechnology can be considered as the development and creation of biological objects, microbial cultures, communities, their metabolites and drugs by including them in the natural cycles of substances, elements, energy and information (V.P. Zhuravlev et al., 1995 ).
Biotechnology has found wide application in the protection of the natural environment, in particular, in solving the following applied issues:
— disposal of the solid phase of sewage and municipal solid waste using anaerobic digestion;
— biological treatment of natural and waste water from organic and inorganic compounds;
– microbial recovery of contaminated soils, obtaining microorganisms capable of neutralizing heavy metals in sewage sludge;
— composting (biological oxidation) of vegetation waste (leaf litter, straw, etc.);
— creation of a biologically active sorbent material for purification of polluted air.
Rational use of energy
As many scientists have noted, using high-quality energy to produce low-quality heat "is like cutting butter with a circular saw or hitting flies with a blacksmith's hammer."
Therefore, the main principle of energy use should be the compliance of the quality of energy with the tasks set.
In the context of the environmental crisis in developed countries, alternative energy sources are increasingly being used: wind, tidal, geothermal, hydroelectric, biomass, solar energy. The basic principle underlying the division of energy sources into alternative and traditional ones is the use of inexhaustible sources for energy production with an alternative approach and exhaustible ones (oil, gas, coal) with a traditional one.
The rational use of energy should not be limited only to the use of alternative sources, measures should be developed to save energy.
Thus, in countries with a cold climate, technologies should be used in the construction of buildings and structures that provide complete thermal insulation (double-glazed windows, wall panels, etc.). a model of a disposable consumer society that creates waste (A) and an environmentally friendly society (B).
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