Message on the topic of environmental protection. Environmental protection in the modern world

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (a. environment protection; n. Umweltschutz; f. protection de l "environnement; and. proteccion de ambiente) - a set of measures to optimize or preserve the natural environment. The purpose of environmental protection is to counteract negative changes in it, which have taken place in the past, are happening now, or are to come.

General information. The cause of adverse events in the environment can be natural factors (in particular those causing natural disasters). However, the relevance of environmental protection, which has become a global problem, is mainly associated with the deterioration of the environment as a result of an actively growing anthropogenic impact. This is due to the population explosion, accelerating urbanization and the development of mining and communications, environmental pollution with various wastes (see also), excessive pressure on arable, pasture and forest lands (especially in developing countries). According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP), by the year 2000 the world's population will reach 6.0-6.1 billion people, 51% of which are city dwellers. At the same time, the number of cities with a population of 1-32 million people will reach 439, urbanized territories will occupy over 100 million hectares. Urbanization usually leads to air pollution, surface and groundwater pollution, deterioration of flora and fauna, soils and soils. As a result of construction and improvement in urban areas, tens of billions of tons of soil masses are moved, and artificial soil stabilization is carried out on a large scale. The volume of underground structures that are not related to the extraction of minerals is growing (see).

The growing scale of energy production is one of the main factors of anthropogenic pressure on the environment. Human activity disrupts the energy balance in nature. In 1984, the production of primary energy amounted to 10.3 billion tons of standard fuel due to the combustion of coal (30.3%), oil (39.3%), natural gas (19.7%), and the operation of hydroelectric power stations (6.8%) , nuclear power plants (3.9%). In addition, 1.7 billion tons of reference fuel was generated from the use of firewood, charcoal and organic waste (mainly in developing countries). By 2000, energy generation is expected to increase by 60% compared to 1980 levels.

In areas of the globe with a high concentration of population and industry, the scale of energy production has become commensurate with the radiation balance, which has a noticeable effect on changes in microclimate parameters. Large energy costs in the territories occupied by cities, mining enterprises and communications lead to significant changes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and geological environment.

One of the most acute environmental problems caused by the increased technogenic impact on the natural environment is related to the state of atmospheric air. It includes a number of aspects. First, the protection of the ozone layer, which is necessary in connection with the growth of atmospheric pollution with freons, nitrogen oxides, etc. By the middle of the 21st century. this could result in a 15% reduction in stratospheric ozone. Observations over the past 30 years (by 1986) have revealed a trend towards a decrease in the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere over Antarctica in spring. The same information was obtained for the polar region of the Northern Hemisphere. A probable reason for the partial destruction of the ozone layer is an increase in the concentration of organochlorine compounds of anthropogenic origin in the Earth's atmosphere. Secondly, the increase in CO 2 concentration, which is mainly due to increased burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, depletion of the humus layer and soil degradation (Fig. 1).

Since the end of the 18th century, about 540 billion tons of anthropogenic CO2 have accumulated in the Earth's atmosphere; over 200 years, the CO2 content in the air has increased from 280 to 350 ppm. By the middle of the 21st century a doubling of the gas concentration that occurred before the start of the HTP is expected. As a result of the combined action of CO 2 and other "greenhouse" gases (CH 4 , N 2 O, freons), by the 30s of the 21st century (and according to some forecasts, earlier), an increase in the average temperature of the surface air layer by 3 ± 1 may occur, 5°C, with the maximum warming occurring in the circumpolar zones, and the minimum at the equator. An increase in the rate of glacier melting and sea level rise of more than 0.5 cm/year is expected. An increase in CO 2 concentration leads to an increase in the productivity of terrestrial plants, as well as to a weakening of transpiration, the latter can lead to a significant change in the nature of water exchange on land. Thirdly, acid precipitation (rain, hail, snow, fog, dew with a pH of less than 5.6, as well as dry aerosol deposition of sulfur compounds and) have become essential components of the atmosphere. They fall in Europe, North America, as well as in areas of the largest agglomerations and Latin America. The main cause of acid precipitation is the release of sulfur and nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere during the combustion of fossil fuels in stationary installations and vehicle engines. Acid rain damages buildings, monuments and metal structures; cause degradation and death of forests, reduce the yield of many agricultural crops, worsen the fertility of acidic soils and the state of aquatic ecosystems. Atmospheric acidification adversely affects human health. General atmospheric pollution has reached significant proportions: annual dust emissions into the atmosphere in the 80s. estimated at 83 million tons, NO 2 - 27 million tons, SO 2 - over 220 million tons (Fig. 2, Fig. 3).

The problem of depletion of water resources is caused by an increase in water consumption by industry, agriculture and utilities, on the one hand, and water pollution, on the other. Every year, humanity uses an average of over 3800 km3 of water, of which 2450 in agriculture, 1100 in industry, and 250 km3 for household needs. The consumption of sea water is growing rapidly (so far its share in the total water intake is 2%). Pollution of many water bodies on land (especially in the countries of Western Europe and North America) and the waters of the World Ocean has reached a dangerous level. Every year (million tons) enters the ocean: 0.2-0.5 pesticides; 0.1 - organochlorine pesticides; 5-11 - oil and other hydrocarbons; 10 - chemical fertilizers; 6 - phosphorus compounds; 0.004 - mercury; 0.2 - lead; 0.0005 - cadmium; 0.38 - copper; 0.44 - manganese; 0.37 - zinc; 1000 - solid waste; 6.5-50 - solid waste; 6.4 - plastics. Despite the measures taken, oil pollution, the most dangerous for the ocean, is not decreasing (according to some forecasts, it will increase as long as the production and use of oil and oil products continue to grow). In the North Atlantic, the oil film occupies 2-3% of the area. The North and Caribbean Seas, the Persian Gulf, as well as areas adjacent to Africa and America, where oil is transported by tanker fleet, are most polluted with oil. Bacterial pollution of the coastal waters of some densely populated regions, in particular the Mediterranean Sea, has acquired dangerous proportions. As a result of water pollution by industrial effluents and wastes, an acute shortage of fresh water has arisen in a number of regions of the world. Water resources are also depleted indirectly - during deforestation, draining swamps, lowering the level of lakes as a result of water management activities, etc. Due to the need to search for new water resources, predict their condition and develop a rational water use strategy, mainly for densely populated, highly areas, the water problem has acquired an international character.

One of the main environmental problems is related to the deterioration of land resources. The anthropogenic load on agricultural and forestry lands in terms of energy is disproportionately less than on lands under cities, communications and mining, but it is precisely this that is the cause of the main losses of flora, fauna and land cover. Human economic activity on productive lands leads to a change in relief, a decrease in reserves and pollution of surface and groundwater. In the world, more than 120 million tons of mineral fertilizers and over 5 million tons of pesticides are annually applied to soils. Of the 1.47 billion hectares of arable land, 220 million hectares are irrigated, of which more than 1 is saline. Over the course of history, as a result of accelerated erosion and other negative processes, mankind has lost almost 2 billion hectares of productive agricultural land. In areas with arid, semi-arid and semi-humid climates, as well as on productive lands in regions with a hyperarid climate, the problem of land resources is associated with desertification (see Desert). Desertification affects an area of ​​4.5 billion hectares, on which about 850 million people live, it is rapidly developing (up to 5-7 million hectares per year) in the tropical regions of Africa, South Asia and South America, as well as in the subtropics of Mexico . Great damage to the condition of agricultural land is caused by accelerated erosion caused by tropical downpours, characteristic of countries with a tropical, constantly and variable humid climate.

An increase in the area of ​​land converted to agricultural use for the construction of roads, settlements and industrial (primarily mining) enterprises causes rapid deforestation, which occurs mainly in the tropical zone, in areas of tropical rainforests, whose ecosystems combine from 0.5 to 3 million species of organisms, being the largest repository of the Earth's genetic fund. Industrial logging also plays a significant role in deforestation. The lack of fossil fuel reserves in many developing countries, as well as high prices for it, have led to the fact that about 80% of the wood harvested here is used for fuel. The rate of deforestation is 6-20 million hectares per year. Deforestation is fastest in South America, East and Southeast Asia, and West Africa. During 1960-80, the area of ​​tropical rainforests decreased by 2 times, and of all forests of the tropical belt by almost 1/3.

An important problem for mankind is the protection of the geological environment, i.e. the upper part of the lithosphere, which is considered as a multicomponent dynamic system that is under the influence of human engineering and economic activities and, in turn, determines this activity to a certain extent. The main component of the geological environment is rocks, which, along with solid mineral and organic components, contain gases, groundwater, and also "inhabiting" their organisms. In addition, the geological environment includes various objects created within the lithosphere by man and considered as anthropogenic geological formations. All these components - components of a single natural and technical system - are in close interaction and determine its dynamics.

In the formation of the structure and properties of the geological environment, the processes of interaction of the geospheres play an essential role. Anthropogenic impact causes the development of natural-anthropogenic and the emergence of new (anthropogenic) geological processes that lead to regular changes in the composition, state and properties of the geological environment.

According to UNESCO estimates, by the year 2000 the extraction of the most important minerals will reach 30 billion tons, by this time another 24 million hectares of land will be disturbed, and the amount of solid waste per unit mass of finished products will double. The size of the transport and communication network will double. Water consumption will increase to about 6,000 km3 per year. The area of ​​forest land will decrease (by 10-12%), and the area of ​​arable land will increase by 10-20% (compared to 1980).

Historical outline. The need for harmony between society and nature was pointed out in their works by K. Marx, F. Engels and V. I. Lenin. Marx, for example, wrote: "Human projects that do not take into account the great laws of nature bring only disasters" (K. Marx, F. Engels, Soch., vol. 31, p. 210). This phrase was especially noted in the notes of V. I. Lenin, who emphasized that “generally speaking, it is also impossible to replace the forces of nature with human labor, just as it is impossible to replace arshins with poods. Both in industry and in agriculture, a person can only use the action of the forces of nature if he has known their action, and facilitate this use for himself by means of machines, tools, etc." (Lenin V.I., PSS, vol. 5, p. 103).

In Russia, extensive measures for the protection of nature were already provided for by decrees of Peter I. The Moscow Society of Naturalists (founded in 1805), the Russian Geographical Society (founded in 1845), and others published articles in which questions of the nature protection plan were raised. In 1864, the American scientist J. P. Marsh wrote about the relevance of maintaining equilibrium in the natural environment in his book Man and Nature. The ideas of protecting the natural environment at the international level were promoted by the Swiss scientist P. B. Sarazin, on whose initiative the first international conference on nature protection was convened in Bern (Switzerland) in 1913.

In the 30s. In the 20th century, a Soviet scientist, having considered on a global scale the anthropogenic impact on the natural environment, came to the conclusion that "human economic and industrial activity in its scale and significance has become comparable to the processes of nature itself ... Man geochemically remakes the world" (Fersman A. E. ., Selected Works, vol. 3, p. 716). He made an invaluable contribution to understanding the global features of the evolution of the natural environment. Having revealed the origin of the three outer geospheres, he apparently formulated the main law of geological development: in a single mechanism of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, the living matter of the Earth "performs the functions of the greatest importance, without which it could not exist." Thus, V. I. Vernadsky actually established that the biotic "supercomponent" in the natural environment has control functions, since in a thin "film of life" on the planet, huge amounts of workable energy are concentrated and simultaneously dissipated from it. The conclusions of the scientist lead closely to the definition of a strategy for nature conservation: the management of the natural environment, its renewable resources should be built in accordance with how living matter and the habitat transformed by it are organized, i.e. it is necessary to take into account the spatial organization of the biosphere. Knowledge of the aforementioned law makes it possible to call the degree of reduction of the planetary biota by man the most important criterion for the state of the natural environment. Pointing to the beginning of the transformation of the biosphere into the noosphere, Vernadsky emphasized the spontaneous nature of many changes in the natural environment provoked by man.

The main attention to solving the problems of environmental protection is given after the 2nd World War 1939-45. The teachings of Vernadsky about living matter - the biosphere-noosphere and Fersman about technogenesis have been widely developed in the works of many Soviet and individual foreign scientists (A. P. Vinogradov, E. M. Sergeev, V. A. Kovda, Yu. A. Israel, A. (I. Perelman, M. A. Glazovskaya, F. Ya. Shipunov, P. Duvegno, etc.). In the same years, international cooperation aimed at solving environmental problems grew. In 1948 biologists created the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and in 1961 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Since 1969, extensive interdisciplinary research has been carried out by a specially created Scientific Committee on Environmental Problems (SCOPE). Much work is being done under the auspices of the UN, on whose initiative the permanent UN Environment Program (UNEP) was created in 1972. Within the framework of the UN, environmental problems are also solved by: the World Meteorological Organization (BMO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Commission on Environment and Development (MKOCP), etc. UNESCO implements or participates in a number of programmes, chief among which are Man and the Biosphere (MAB), the International Hydrological Program (IHP) and the International Program on Geological Correlation (IGCP). The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Economic Community (EEC), the Organization of American States (OAS), the League of Arab Countries for Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO) pay much attention to the problems of environmental protection.

The protection of flora and fauna on land is regulated by many international conventions and agreements. Since 1981, within the framework of the MAB, the Northern Scientific Network has been created, uniting the scientific research of scientists from the northern countries (including the CCCP) in three priority areas: environmental conditions and land use in the zone of subarctic birch forests; biosphere reserves in subpolar and polar regions; land use practices and herbivorous animals in the tundra and northern taiga. In order to protect natural communities, genetic diversity and individual species, a Plan for Biosphere Reserves was developed, approved in 1984 by the International Coordinating Council of the MAB program. Works on biosphere reserves are being carried out in 62 countries under the auspices of UNESCO, UNEP and IUCN. At the initiative of UNESCO, UNEP, FAO and IUCN, the network of protected areas of the most valuable areas of tropical rain forests is expanding. Keeping about 10% of the area of ​​primary forest intact can provide protection for at least 50% of the species of organisms. In developing countries, in order to reduce the volume of industrial logging in virgin forests, the use of forest plantations is increasing, the total area of ​​which reaches several million hectares. The area of ​​plantations of export crops is growing, this should reduce the use of forest resources for selling wood on the world market.

Protection of the geological environment. The main types of protection of the geological environment: protection of mineral and energy resources of the subsoil; groundwater protection; protection of rock masses as a source of natural underground space resources and the creation of artificial underground reservoirs and premises; protection and improvement of natural and anthropogenic soils as grounds for the placement of ground structures and components of natural and technical systems; forecasting and combating natural disasters. The goals of protecting the geological environment as a source of non-renewable minerals: ensuring scientifically based, rational use of natural mineral and energy resources, the greatest technically possible and economically feasible completeness of their extraction from, integrated use of deposits and mined mineral raw materials at all stages of processing; rational use of mineral raw materials in the economy and disposal of production waste, excluding unjustified losses of mineral raw materials and fuel. An increase in the effectiveness of the protection of the geological environment is facilitated by an increase in the use of alternative methods for obtaining mineral raw materials (for example, the extraction of minerals from sea water), the replacement of natural materials with synthetic ones, etc.

Measures for the protection of groundwater are aimed at preventing the penetration of harmful (and generally polluting) substances into groundwater horizons and their further spread. Groundwater protection includes: the implementation of technical and technological measures aimed at the multiple use of water in the technological cycle, waste disposal, the development of effective methods for cleaning and neutralizing waste, preventing the ingress of wastewater from the Earth's surface into groundwater, reducing industrial emissions into the atmosphere and water bodies , reclamation of polluted soils; compliance with the requirements for the procedure for exploration of groundwater deposits, design, construction and operation of water intake facilities; implementation of proper water protection measures; management of the water-salt regime of groundwater.

Preventive measures include: systematic monitoring of the level of groundwater pollution; assessment of the scale and forecasts of changes in pollution; careful justification of the location of the projected large industrial or agricultural facility so that its negative impact on the environment and groundwater is minimal; equipment and strict observance of sanitary protection zones of the water intake site; assessment of the impact of the designed facility on groundwater and the environment; study of groundwater protection for reasonable placement of industrial and other facilities, water intake facilities and planning of water protection measures; identification and accounting of actual and potential sources of groundwater pollution; liquidation of abandoned and inactive wells, transfer of self-flowing wells to crane operation. The most important type of these measures is the creation of a specialized network of observation wells at large industrial facilities and centralized water intakes to monitor the state of groundwater.

Protection of Nature- this is a rational, reasonable use of natural resources, which helps to preserve the pristine diversity of nature and improve the living conditions of the population. For nature protection Earth the world community is taking concrete action.

Effective measures to protect endangered species and natural biocenoses are to increase the number of reserves, expand their territories, create nurseries for the artificial cultivation of endangered species and reintroduce (that is, return) them into nature.

A powerful human impact on ecological systems can lead to sad results that can provoke a whole chain of environmental changes.

The influence of anthropogenic factors on organisms

Most of the organic matter does not decompose immediately, but is stored in the form of wood, soil and water sediments. After being preserved for many millennia, these organic substances turn into fossil fuels (coal, peat and oil).

Every year on Earth, photosynthetic organisms synthesize about 100 billion tons of organic substances. Over the geological period (1 billion years), the predominance of the synthesis of organic substances over the process of their decomposition led to a decrease in the content of CO 2 and an increase in O 2 in the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, since the second half of the XX century. the intensive development of industry and agriculture began to cause a steady increase in the content of CO 2 in the atmosphere. This phenomenon can cause climate change on the planet.

Conservation of natural resources

In the matter of nature protection, the transition to the use of industrial and agricultural technologies, which make it possible to economically use natural resources, is of great importance. For this you need:

• the most complete use of fossil natural resources;
• recycling of production wastes, use of non-waste technologies;
• obtaining energy from environmentally friendly sources by using the energy of the Sun, wind, ocean kinetic energy, underground energy.

Especially effective is the introduction of waste-free technologies operating in closed cycles, when waste is not emitted into the atmosphere or into water basins, but is reused.

Biodiversity conservation

The protection of existing species of living organisms is also of great importance in biological, ecological and cultural terms. Every living species is a product of centuries of evolution and has its own gene pool. None of the existing species can be considered absolutely beneficial or harmful. Those species that were considered harmful may eventually turn out to be useful. That is why the protection of the gene pool of existing species is of particular importance. Our task is to preserve all living organisms that have come down to us after a long evolutionary process.

Plant and animal species, the number of which has already declined or is endangered, are listed in the Red Book and are protected by law. In order to protect nature, nature reserves, micro-reserves, natural monuments, plantations of medicinal plants, reservations, national parks are created and other environmental measures are taken. material from the site

"Man and the Biosphere"

In order to protect nature in 1971, the international program "Man and the Biosphere" (in English "Man and Biosfera" - abbreviated as MAB) was adopted. According to this program, the state of the environment and human impact on the biosphere are studied. The main objectives of the program "Man and the Biosphere" are to predict the consequences of modern human economic activity, to develop methods for the rational use of the riches of the biosphere and measures for its protection.

In countries participating in the MAB program, large biosphere reserves are being created, where changes that occur in ecosystems without human influence are studied (Fig. 80).

environmental protection- a system of measures aimed at ensuring favorable and safe conditions for the environment and human life. The most important environmental factors are atmospheric air, air of dwellings, water, soil. environmental protection provides for the conservation and restoration of natural resources in order to prevent direct and indirect negative impacts of human activities on nature and human health.

In the context of scientific and technological progress and the intensification of industrial production, the problems environmental protection have become one of the most important national tasks, the solution of which is inextricably linked with the protection of human health. For many years, the processes of environmental degradation were reversible. affected only limited areas, individual areas and were not of a global nature, therefore, effective measures to protect the human environment were practically not taken. In the last 20-30 years, irreversible changes in the natural environment or dangerous phenomena have begun to appear in various regions of the Earth. In connection with the massive pollution of the environment, the issues of its protection from regional, intrastate have grown into an international, global problem. All developed countries have environmental protection one of the most important aspects of humanity's struggle for survival.

The advanced industrial countries have developed a number of key organizational and scientific and technical measures to environmental protection. They are as follows: identification and assessment of the main chemical, physical and biological factors that adversely affect the health and performance of the population, in order to develop the necessary strategy to reduce the negative role of these factors; assessment of the potential impact of toxic substances polluting the environment in order to establish the necessary risk criteria for public health; development of effective programs to prevent possible industrial accidents and measures to reduce the harmful effects of accidental emissions on the environment. In addition, of particular importance in environmental protection acquires the establishment of the degree of danger of environmental pollution for the gene pool, in terms of the carcinogenicity of some toxic substances contained in industrial emissions and waste. To assess the degree of risk of mass diseases caused by pathogens contained in the environment, systematic epidemiological studies are needed.

When dealing with issues related to environmental protection, it should be borne in mind that a person from birth and throughout his life is exposed to various factors (contact with chemicals in everyday life, at work, the use of drugs, the ingestion of chemical additives contained in food products, etc.). Additional exposure to harmful substances entering the environment, in particular with industrial waste, can have a negative impact on human health.

Among environmental pollutants (biological, physical, chemical and radioactive), one of the first places is occupied by chemical compounds. More than 5 million chemical compounds are known, of which over 60 thousand are in constant use. The world output of chemical compounds increases by a factor of 2 1/2 every 10 years. The most dangerous is the entry into the environment of organochlorine compounds of pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, asbestos.

The most effective measure environmental protection from these compounds are the development and implementation of waste-free or low-waste technological processes, as well as the neutralization of waste or their processing for recycling. Another important direction environmental protection is a change in the approach to the principles of location of various industries, the replacement of the most harmful and stable substances with less harmful and less stable ones. Mutual influence of different industrial and page - x. objects is becoming more and more significant, and the social and economic damage from accidents caused by the proximity of various enterprises may exceed the benefits associated with the proximity of the resource base or transport facilities. In order for the tasks of placing objects to be optimally solved, it is necessary to cooperate with specialists of different profiles who are able to predict the adverse effects of diverse factors, use mathematical modeling methods. Quite often, due to meteorological conditions, territories remote from the direct source of harmful emissions are polluted.

In many countries since the late 70s. centers for environmental protection, integrating world experience, exploring the role of previously unknown factors that harm the environment and public health.

The most important role in the implementation of the planned state policy in the field of environmental protection belongs to hygienic science (see. Hygiene). In our country, research in this area is conducted by more than 70 institutions (hygienic institutes, departments of communal hygiene of medical institutes, institutes for the improvement of doctors). The head of the problem "Scientific foundations of environmental hygiene" is the Research Institute of General and Communal Hygiene. A.N. Sysina.

Scientific bases for regulating adverse environmental factors have been developed and implemented, standards have been established for many hundreds of chemicals in the air of the working area, water in reservoirs, atmospheric air in populated areas, soil, food products; Permissible levels of exposure to a number of physical factors have been established - noise, vibration, electromagnetic radiation (see. Hygienic standards), methods and criteria for monitoring the quality of the environment for some microbiological indicators are substantiated. Research continues to study the combined and complex effects of harmful substances, the development of calculation and express methods for their normalization.

Bibliography: Environmental Hygiene, ed. g.I. Sidorenko, M., 1985; Sidorenko g.I. and Mozhaev E.A. Sanitary state of the environment and public health, M., 1987.

Municipal Educational Institution

Secondary School No. 2

Message.

Environmental protection.

Performed:

Student 11 "B" class

Environment.

ENVIRONMENT - the habitat and activities of mankind, the natural world surrounding man and the material world created by him. The environment includes the natural environment and the artificial (technogenic) environment, i.e., a set of environmental elements created from natural substances by labor and the conscious will of a person and which have no analogues in virgin nature (buildings, structures, etc.). Social production changes the environment, influencing directly or indirectly on all its elements. This impact and its negative consequences were especially intensified in the era of modern scientific and technological revolution, when the scale of human activity, covering almost the entire geographical envelope of the Earth, became comparable to the effect of global natural processes.

Protection of Nature.

NATURE PROTECTION - a set of measures for the conservation, rational use and restoration of the Earth's natural resources, including the species diversity of flora and fauna, the richness of the subsoil, the purity of the waters and the atmosphere.

The danger of irreversible changes in the natural environment in certain regions of the Earth has become real due to the increased scale of human economic activity. From the beginning of the 80s. on average, 1 species (or subspecies) of animals disappeared daily, and a plant species - weekly (more than 20 thousand species are endangered). About 1000 species of birds and mammals (mainly inhabitants of tropical forests, reduced at a rate of tens of hectares per minute) are under threat of extinction.

About 1 billion tons of standard fuel are burned annually, hundreds of millions of tons of nitrogen oxides, sulfur, carbon oxides (some of which are returned in the form of acid rain), soot, ash and dust are emitted into the atmosphere. Soils and waters are polluted by industrial and domestic effluents (hundreds of billion tons per year), oil products (several million tons), mineral fertilizers (about a hundred million tons) and pesticides, heavy metals (mercury, lead, etc.), radioactive waste . There is a danger of violation of the Earth's ozone screen.

The ability of the biosphere to self-cleanse is close to the limit. The danger of uncontrolled changes in the environment and, as a result, the threat to the existence of living organisms on Earth, including humans, required decisive practical measures to protect and protect nature, legal regulation of the use of natural resources. Such measures include the creation of waste-free technologies, treatment facilities, the regulation of the use of pesticides, the cessation of the production of pesticides that can accumulate in the body, land reclamation, etc., as well as the creation of protected areas (reserves, national parks, etc.), centers for breeding rare and endangered animals and plants (including for the conservation of the Earth's gene pool), compilation of world and national Red Data Books.

Environmental measures are provided for in land, forestry, water and other national legislation, which establishes liability for violation of environmental standards. In a number of countries, government environmental programs have significantly improved environmental quality in certain regions (for example, a multi-year and costly program has restored the purity and quality of water in the Great Lakes). On an international scale, along with the creation of various international organizations on certain problems of nature protection, the UN Environment Program operates.

The main substances polluting the environment, their sources.

Carbon dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels.

Carbon monoxide is the work of internal combustion engines.

Carbons are the work of internal combustion engines.

Organic compounds - chemical industry, waste incineration, fuel combustion.

Sulfur dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels.

Nitrogen derivatives - combustion.

Radioactive substances - nuclear power plants, nuclear explosions.

Mineral compounds - industrial production, operation of internal combustion engines.

Organic substances, natural and synthetic - chemical industry, fuel combustion, waste incineration, agriculture (pesticides).

Conclusion.

The protection of nature is the task of our century, a problem that has become a social one. To fundamentally improve the situation, purposeful and thoughtful actions will be needed. A responsible and efficient policy towards the environment will be possible only if we accumulate reliable data on the current state of the environment, substantiated knowledge about the interaction of important environmental factors, if we develop new methods to reduce and prevent harm caused to nature by man.

Literature.

Romad F. Fundamentals of applied ecology.

Dictionary.