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The idea of ​​protecting nature and the human environment. Objects and principles of nature conservation

Municipal Educational Institution

Secondary School No. 2

Message.

Environmental protection.

Performed:

Student of grade 11 "B"

Environment.

ENVIRONMENT - the habitat and activity 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 man and which have no analogues in virgin nature (buildings, structures, etc.). Social production changes the environment, affecting directly or indirectly all its elements. This impact and its negative consequences have 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, has become comparable to the action of global natural processes.

Protection of Nature.

NATURE CONSERVATION is 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 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. Since the beginning of the 80s. on average, one animal species (or subspecies) disappeared daily, and a plant species disappeared weekly (over 20 thousand species are under threat of extinction). About 1,000 species of birds and mammals (mostly inhabitants of tropical forests, which are being destroyed at a rate of tens of hectares per minute) are at risk of extinction.

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

The biosphere's ability to cleanse itself is close to its 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 preserve nature, and legal regulation of the use of natural resources. Such measures include the creation of waste-free technologies, treatment facilities, streamlining the use of pesticides, stopping 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 preservation of the Earth's gene pool), compilation of world and national Red Books.

Environmental measures are provided for in land, forestry, water and other national legislation, which establishes liability for violation of environmental regulations. In a number of countries, government environmental programs have significantly improved the quality of the environment in certain regions (for example, a multi-year and expensive 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 individual problems of environmental protection, the UN Environment Program operates.

The main substances that pollute the environment, their sources.

Carbon dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels.

Carbon monoxide is the work of internal combustion engines.

Carbons - the work of internal combustion engines.

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

Sulfur dioxide comes from burning 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.

Nature conservation is the task of our century, a problem that has become social. To fundamentally improve the situation, targeted and thoughtful actions will be needed. A responsible and effective policy towards the environment will be possible only if we accumulate reliable data on the current state of the environment, reasonable knowledge about the interaction of important environmental factors, and if we develop new methods for reducing and preventing harm caused to nature by humans.

Literature.

    Romad F. Fundamentals of applied ecology.

    Dictionary.

Modern ideas about the protection of nature and the human environment are based on the ideas of V.I. Vernadsky on the protection of the biosphere. In the modern interpretation, we are talking, first of all, about preventing changes in the amounts of radiant energy reaching the Earth, about maintaining sufficient stability of the chemical cycles occurring in the biosphere.

The protection of nature and the human environment has gained public interest in our time. We can say that the relationship between society and the environment is one of the most global problems of humanity.

The concepts of “nature conservation” and “protection of the human environment” are complex and broad. Nature conservation is a complex of state, public and scientific activities aimed at rational environmental management, restoration and enhancement of the Earth's natural resources. Protection of the human environment is the protection of everything that directly surrounds a person, what constitutes the ecological systems of which he is a member, as well as the prevention of factors in the habitat that have a detrimental effect on his health. These concepts are in many ways similar to each other, because their strategic meaning is to find ways to regulate the relationship between human society and nature (living and nonliving). Nevertheless, these concepts also have significant differences.

Protecting nature does not mean preserving it in an untouched form, because people will continue to exploit natural resources, and as

population growth to an even greater extent.

We are talking about protection, which must ensure the establishment of a balance between use and restoration, as well as the continuous maintenance of the power of the biosphere. Therefore, the main tasks of all types of conservation measures are not to disrupt the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the cycle of substances and energy transformation, that is, not to change the historically established bioproductivity of the biosphere.

On the contrary, systematic development of measures should be carried out aimed at intensifying biological cycles in natural and artificial ecosystems, i.e., at a sharp increase in the productivity of the Earth. In particular, it is necessary to create a truly scientific basis for increasing the density of the Earth's green cover with a large proportion of species that are characterized by a high efficiency of photosynthesis. On the other hand, it is important to preserve rare and endangered animal species.

Finally, the environment must not be filled with radiation and chemical pollutants that are harmful to animals and plants. So, the general line in nature conservation is the protection and reproduction of the living world.

Speaking about the protection of the human environment, it is important to remember that, being an integral component of the biosphere, man, in the course of historical development, adapted to his environment, but not biologically, but socially with the help of technical and cultural means. Therefore, as a living being, a person is open to the effects of environmental pollutants. Maintaining environmental hygiene means maintaining an ecological balance between a person and his environment in order to ensure human well-being and health. Therefore, in our time, questions have arisen not only of determining the damage already caused to the human gene pool, but also of determining ways to protect human hereditary material from factors generated by his activities in the biosphere.

The solution to these issues in different countries is proceeding in several directions, the main of which are the creation of sensitive test systems for assessing the mutagenic activity of environmental pollutants and the search for approaches to effectively monitoring genetic processes occurring in human populations (development of the fundamentals of genetic monitoring of populations) . The meaning and necessity of these works lies in the integral analysis of the dynamics of the genetic load, i.e. in the study and assessment of the frequency of mutations of genes and chromosomes induced by pollutants in relation to mutations historically accumulated in the process of evolution, evolutionarily established systems of balanced genetic polymorphism.

Currently, several approaches are used to record changes in the genetic structure of human populations.

One of these approaches involves taking into account population characteristics. Medical and statistical indicators (frequency of spontaneous abortions, frequency of stillbirths, weight of children at birth, probability of survival, sex ratio, frequency of congenital and acquired diseases, indicators of growth and development of children) are used as an indicator for assessing the genetic load.

Another approach involves taking into account “sentinel” phenotypes, i.e., identifying phenotypes that arise due to certain dominantly inherited mutations. An example of this phenotype is hip dislocation. In the selected population, the dynamics of the frequency of the phenotypes of interest among newborns is monitored, for example, the dynamics of the frequency of hip dislocation.

Another approach involves the use of electrophoresis of serum and erythrocyte proteins to identify mutant proteins based on their mobility in an electric field, since the change in the charge of a protein molecule can be caused by the replacement or insertion of one or more nitrogenous bases in the gene. Finally, an approach is used that involves cytogenetic testing of spontaneously aborted embryos, stillborns, live births and children with congenital defects.

There is no doubt that some of the damage already caused to the biosphere cannot be restored. Therefore, humanity faces the task of creating conditions for balanced development. The most important task is to create technologies that would completely eliminate or limit the release of pollutants into the environment.

We are talking about such technologies in both industry and agriculture.

Many countries have national programs for nature conservation and environmental protection. These programs are based on taking into account the specifics of local conditions. However, no matter what measures are taken in individual countries, they cannot provide solutions to the entire range of issues related to pollution of the atmosphere, open seas, and the World Ocean.

Since the biosphere is politically indivisible, and pollution of the human environment has global consequences, international cooperation in the field of conservation of nature and the human environment is of great importance.

In addition to resolving issues at government levels, the activities of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Conservation Fund, as well as specialized UN agencies are of great importance.

June 5 is World Environment Day. In 1986, WHO adopted the Global Strategy for Health for All by the Year 2000. According to this strategy,

is to preserve and strengthen peace on Earth. Nowadays we are talking

about preserving life on Earth.

The principles of environmental protection include:

1) respect for the human right to a favorable environment;

2) ensuring favorable conditions for human life;

3) a scientifically based combination of environmental, economic and social interests of man, society and the state in order to ensure sustainable development and a favorable environment;

4) protection, reproduction and rational use of natural resources as necessary conditions for ensuring a favorable environment and environmental safety;

5) responsibility of state authorities of the Russian Federation, state authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation, local governments for ensuring a favorable environment and environmental safety in the relevant territories;

6) payment for environmental use and compensation for environmental damage;

7) independence of control in the field of environmental protection;

8) presumption of environmental danger of the planned economic and other activities;

9) mandatory assessment of environmental impact when making decisions on the implementation of economic and other activities;

10) the obligation to conduct a state environmental assessment of projects and other documentation justifying economic and other activities that may have a negative impact on the environment, create a threat to the life, health and property of citizens;

11) taking into account the natural and socio-economic characteristics of territories when planning and implementing economic and other activities;

12) priority of conservation of natural ecological systems, natural landscapes and natural complexes;

13) the admissibility of the impact of economic and other activities on the natural environment based on the requirements in the field of environmental protection;

14) ensuring the reduction of the negative impact of economic and other activities on the environment in accordance with standards in the field of environmental protection, which can be achieved through the use of the best existing technologies, taking into account economic and social factors;

15) mandatory participation in environmental protection activities of government bodies of the Russian Federation, government bodies of the constituent entities of the Federation, local governments, public and other non-profit associations, legal entities and individuals;

16) conservation of biological diversity;

17) ensuring an integrated and individual approach to establishing requirements in the field of environmental protection for economic and other entities carrying out such activities or planning to carry out such activities;

18) prohibition of economic and other activities, the consequences of which are unpredictable for the environment, as well as the implementation of projects that may lead to the degradation of natural ecological systems, changes and (or) destruction of the genetic fund of plants, animals and other organisms, depletion of natural resources and other negative environmental changes;

19) respect for everyone’s right to receive reliable information about the state of the environment, as well as the participation of citizens in making decisions regarding their rights to a favorable environment, in accordance with the law;

20) liability for violation of legislation in the field of environmental protection;

21) organization and development of the system of environmental education and upbringing, formation of environmental culture;

22) participation of citizens, public and other non-profit associations in solving problems of environmental protection;

23) international cooperation of the Russian Federation in the field of environmental protection.

Let us consider environmental objects subject to protection through law.

The objects of legal protection of the environment are understood as its components that are in an ecological relationship, the relations for the use and protection of which are regulated by law, since they represent economic, environmental, and aesthetic interest.

Objects of legal environmental protection can be classified into three groups.

The first group of objects of legal protection consists of the main individual natural objects, of which there are six: land; its depths, waters, forests, fauna, atmospheric air.

The second group includes natural ecological systems, natural landscapes and natural complexes that have not been subjected to anthropogenic impact and are of global importance to be protected as a matter of priority.

The third group consists of objects of special protection. All accessible natural objects - components of the environment are subject to protection, but specially designated territories and parts of nature in legislation deserve special protection:

Sites included in the World Cultural Heritage List and the World Natural Heritage List;

Reserves, national, natural and dendrological parks, reserves, botanical gardens, natural monuments, plants and animals, other organisms, their habitats, especially those listed in the Red Book;

Continental shelf and exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.

MINISTRY OF GENERAL AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

KEMEROVSK STATE UNIVERSITY

REPORT

“The essence and directions of environmental protection...”

Completed:

St. gr. SP-981

Pavlenko P. Yu.

Checked:

Belaya Tatyana Yurievna

Kemerovo - 99

1. The essence and directions of environmental protection

§ 1. Types of environmental pollution and directions for its protection

§ 2. Objects and principles of environmental protection

2. Engineering protection of the natural environment

§ 1. Environmental activities of enterprises

§ 2. Types and principles of operation of treatment equipment and structures

3. Regulatory and legal framework for environmental protection

§ 1. System of standards and regulations

§ 2. The law protects nature

1. ESSENCE AND DIRECTIONS OF PROTECTION

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

§ 1. TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND DIRECTIONS FOR ITS PROTECTION

Various human interventions in natural processes in the biosphere can be grouped into the following types of pollution, meaning by them any anthropogenic changes undesirable for ecosystems:

Ingredient (ingredient is an integral part of a complex compound or mixture) pollution as a set of substances that are quantitatively or qualitatively alien to natural biogeocenoses;

Parametric pollution (an environmental parameter is one of its properties, for example the level of noise, illumination, radiation, etc.), associated with changes in the quality parameters of the environment;

Biocenotic pollution, which consists of an impact on the composition and structure of the population of living organisms;

Stationary-destructive pollution (station is the habitat of a population, destruction is destruction), which is a change in landscapes and ecological systems in the process of environmental management.

Until the 60s of our century, nature conservation was understood mainly as the protection of its flora and fauna from extermination. Accordingly, the forms of this protection were mainly the creation of specially protected areas, the adoption of legal acts limiting the hunting of individual animals, etc. Scientists and the public were concerned primarily with the biocenotic and partially stationary-destructive effects on the biosphere. Ingredient and parametric pollution, of course, also existed, especially since there was no talk of installing treatment facilities at enterprises. But it was not as diverse and massive as it is now, it practically did not contain artificially created compounds that were not amenable to natural decomposition, and nature dealt with it on its own. Thus, in rivers with an undisturbed biocenosis and a normal flow rate, not slowed down by hydraulic structures, under the influence of the processes of mixing, oxidation, sedimentation, absorption and decomposition by decomposers, disinfection by solar radiation, etc., contaminated water completely restored its properties over a distance of 30 km from the sources of pollution .

Of course, individual pockets of natural degradation have been observed in the past in the vicinity of the most polluting industries. However, by the middle of the 20th century. the rates of ingredient and parametric pollution have increased and their qualitative composition has changed so dramatically that in large areas nature’s ability to self-purify, i.e., the natural destruction of pollutants as a result of natural physical, chemical and biological processes, has been lost.

At present, self-purification does not occur even in such deep and long rivers as the Ob, Yenisei, Lena and Amur. What can we say about the long-suffering Volga, the natural speed of which is reduced several times by hydraulic structures, or the Tom River (Western Siberia), all the water of which industrial enterprises manage to take for their needs and release back polluted at least 3 - 4 times before how it gets from source to mouth.

The ability of the soil to self-purify is undermined by a sharp decrease in the amount of decomposers in it, which occurs under the influence of the excessive use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers, the cultivation of monocultures, the complete removal of all parts of grown plants from the fields, etc.

§ 2. OBJECTS AND PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Environmental protection is understood as a set of international, state and regional legal acts, instructions and standards that bring general legal requirements to each specific polluter and ensure its interest in fulfilling these requirements, specific environmental measures to implement these requirements.

Only if all these components correspond to each other in content and pace of development, that is, they form a single system of environmental protection, can we count on success.

Since the task of protecting nature from the negative impact of humans was not solved in time, now the task of protecting humans from the influence of a changed natural environment increasingly arises. Both of these concepts are integrated in the term “protection of the (human) natural environment.”

Environmental protection consists of:

Legal protection, formulating scientific environmental principles in the form of legally binding laws;

Material incentives for environmental activities, striving to make them economically beneficial for enterprises;

Engineering Protection, developing environmental and resource-saving technology and equipment.

In accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of the Natural Environment,” the following objects are subject to protection:

Natural ecological systems, the ozone layer of the atmosphere;

The earth, its subsoil, surface and underground waters, atmospheric air, forests and other vegetation, fauna, microorganisms, genetic fund, natural landscapes.

State nature reserves, nature reserves, national natural parks, natural monuments, rare or endangered species of plants and animals and their habitats are especially protected.

The basic principles of environmental protection should be:

The priority is to ensure favorable environmental conditions for life, work and recreation of the population;

Scientifically based combination of environmental and economic interests of society;

Taking into account the laws of nature and the possibilities of self-healing and self-purification of its resources;

Preventing irreversible consequences for the protection of the natural environment and human health;

The right of the population and public organizations to timely and reliable information about the state of the environment and the negative impact on it and on human health of various production facilities;

The inevitability of liability for violation of environmental legislation.

2. ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

§ 1. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACTIVITIES OF ENTERPRISES

Environmental protection is any activity aimed at maintaining the quality of the environment at a level that ensures the sustainability of the biosphere. This includes both large-scale activities carried out at the national level to preserve reference samples of untouched nature and preserve the diversity of species on Earth, organize scientific research, train environmental specialists and educate the population, as well as the activities of individual enterprises for the purification of wastewater and waste from harmful substances. gases, reducing standards for the use of natural resources, etc. Such activities are carried out mainly by engineering methods.

There are two main directions of environmental protection activities of enterprises. The first is the purification of harmful emissions. This method “in its pure form” is ineffective, since with its help it is not always possible to completely stop the flow of harmful substances into the biosphere. In addition, a reduction in the level of pollution of one component of the environment leads to increased pollution of another.

And For example, installing wet filters during gas purification can reduce air pollution, but leads to even greater water pollution. Substances captured from waste gases and waste waters often poison large areas of land.

The use of treatment facilities, even the most efficient ones, sharply reduces the level of environmental pollution, but does not completely solve this problem, since during the operation of these plants, waste is also generated, although in a smaller volume, but, as a rule, with an increased concentration of harmful substances. Finally, the operation of most treatment facilities requires significant energy costs, which, in turn, is also unsafe for the environment.

In addition, the pollutants that huge amounts of money are spent on neutralizing are substances that have already been worked on and that, with rare exceptions, could be used in the national economy.

To achieve high environmental and economic results, it is necessary to combine the process of cleaning harmful emissions with the process of recycling captured substances, which will make it possible to combine the first direction with the second.

The second direction is the elimination of the very causes of pollution, which requires the development of low-waste, and in the future, waste-free production technologies that would allow for the comprehensive use of raw materials and the disposal of a maximum of substances harmful to the biosphere.

However, not all industries have found acceptable technical and economic solutions to sharply reduce the amount of waste generated and their disposal, so at present it is necessary to work in both of these areas.

When caring about improving the engineering protection of the natural environment, we must remember that no treatment facilities or waste-free technologies will be able to restore the stability of the biosphere if the permissible (threshold) values ​​for the reduction of natural systems not transformed by man are exceeded, which is where the law of the irreplaceability of the biosphere manifests itself.

Such a threshold may be the use of more than 1% of the energy of the biosphere and the deep transformation of more than 10% of natural territories (the rules of one and ten percent). Therefore, technical advances do not eliminate the need to solve the problems of changing the priorities of social development, stabilizing the population, creating a sufficient number of protected areas and others discussed earlier.

§ 2. TYPES AND PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION OF TREATMENT EQUIPMENT AND STRUCTURES

Many modern technological processes are associated with crushing and grinding of substances, transportation of bulk materials. In this case, part of the material turns into dust, which is harmful to health and causes significant material damage to the national economy due to the loss of valuable products.

Various designs of devices are used for cleaning. Based on the method of collecting dust, they are divided into mechanical (dry and wet) and electrical gas purification devices. In dry devices (cyclones, filters), gravitational sedimentation under the influence of gravity, sedimentation under the influence of centrifugal force, inertial sedimentation, and filtration are used. In wet devices (scrubbers), this is achieved by washing the dusty gas with liquid. In electrostatic precipitators, deposition onto the electrodes occurs as a result of imparting an electrical charge to dust particles. The choice of devices depends on the size of dust particles, humidity, speed and volume of gas supplied for cleaning, and the required degree of purification.

To purify gases from harmful gaseous impurities, two groups of methods are used - non-catalytic and catalytic. Methods of the first group are based on removing impurities from a gaseous mixture using liquid (absorbers) and solid (adsorbers) absorbers. The methods of the second group consist in the fact that harmful impurities enter into a chemical reaction and are converted into harmless substances on the surface of the catalysts. An even more complex and multi-stage process is wastewater treatment (Fig. 18).

Wastewater is water used by industrial and municipal enterprises and the population and subject to purification from various impurities. Depending on the conditions of formation, wastewater is divided into domestic, atmospheric (storm water flowing after rains from the territory of enterprises) and industrial. All of them contain mineral and organic substances in varying proportions.

Wastewater is purified from impurities by mechanical, chemical, physico-chemical, biological and thermal methods, which, in turn, are divided into recuperative and destructive. Recovery methods involve the extraction of valuable substances from wastewater and further processing. In destructive methods, substances polluting water are destroyed by oxidation or reduction. Destruction products are removed from water in the form of gases or sediments.

Mechanical cleaning is used to remove solid insoluble impurities using sedimentation and filtration methods using grates, sand traps, and settling tanks. Chemical cleaning methods are used to remove soluble impurities using various reagents that enter into chemical reactions with harmful impurities, resulting in the formation of low-toxic substances. Physico-chemical methods include flotation, ion exchange, adsorption, crystallization, deodorization, etc. Biological methods are considered the main ones for neutralizing wastewater from organic impurities that are oxidized by microorganisms, which presupposes a sufficient amount of oxygen in the water. These aerobic processes can occur both in natural conditions - on irrigation fields during filtration, and in artificial structures - aeration tanks and biofilters.

Industrial wastewater that cannot be treated by the listed methods is subjected to thermal neutralization, i.e., incineration, or injection into deep wells (resulting in the risk of groundwater pollution). These methods are carried out in local (shop), general plant, district or city cleaning systems.

To disinfect wastewater from microbes contained in household, especially fecal, wastewater, chlorination is used in special settling tanks.

After the grates and other devices have freed the water from mineral impurities, the microorganisms contained in the so-called activated sludge “eat” the organic contaminants, i.e. the purification process usually goes through several stages. However, even after this, the degree of purification does not exceed 95%, i.e. it is not possible to completely eliminate pollution of water basins. If, in addition, any plant discharges its wastewater into the city sewer system, which has not undergone preliminary physical or chemical treatment from any toxic substances in workshop or factory facilities, then the microorganisms in the activated sludge will generally die and it may take several times to revive the activated sludge. months. Consequently, the runoff from a given settlement during this time will pollute the reservoir with organic compounds, which can lead to its eutrophication.

One of the most important problems of environmental protection is the problem of collection, removal and liquidation or disposal of solid industrial waste" and household waste, which accounts for from 300 to 500 kg per year per capita. It is solved by organizing landfills, processing waste into composts with subsequent use as organic fertilizers or into biological fuel (biogas), as well as combustion in special plants.Specially equipped landfills, the total number of which reaches several million in the world, are called landfills and are quite complex engineering structures, especially when it comes to storing toxic or radioactive waste.

250 thousand hectares of land are used for storing more than 50 billion tons of waste accumulated in Russia.

3. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR PROTECTION

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

§ 1. SYSTEM OF STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

One of the most important components of environmental legislation is the system of environmental standards. Its timely, scientifically based development is a necessary condition for the practical implementation of adopted laws, since it is these standards that polluting enterprises should focus on in their environmental activities. Failure to comply with standards will result in legal liability.

Standardization means the establishment of uniform and mandatory norms and requirements for all objects of a given level of the management system. Standards can be state (GOST), industry (OST) and factory. The system of standards for nature protection has been assigned the general number 17, which includes several groups in accordance with protected objects. For example, 17.1 means “Nature conservation. Hydrosphere”, and group 17.2 - “Nature conservation. Atmosphere”, etc. This standard regulates various aspects of the activities of enterprises for the protection of water and air resources, up to the requirements for equipment for monitoring air and water quality.

The most important environmental standards are environmental quality standards - maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) of harmful substances in natural environments.

MACs are approved for each of the most dangerous substances separately and are valid throughout the country.

Recently, scientists have argued that compliance with maximum permissible concentrations does not guarantee the preservation of environmental quality at a sufficiently high level, if only because the influence of many substances in the future and in interaction with each other has not yet been well studied.

Based on the maximum permissible concentrations, scientific and technical standards for maximum permissible emissions (MAE) of harmful substances into the atmosphere and discharges (MPD) into the water basin are being developed. These standards are established individually for each source of pollution in such a way that the combined environmental impact of all sources in a given area does not lead to exceeding the MPC.

Due to the fact that the number and power of pollution sources change with the development of the productive forces of the region, it is necessary to periodically review the MPE and MPD standards. The selection of the most effective options for environmental protection activities at enterprises should be carried out taking into account the need to comply with these standards.

Unfortunately, at present, many enterprises, due to technical and economic reasons, are not able to immediately meet these standards. The closure of such an enterprise or a sharp weakening of its economic position as a result of penalties is also not always possible for economic and social reasons.

In addition to a clean environment, for a normal life a person needs to eat, dress, listen to a tape recorder and watch movies and television shows, the production of films and electricity for which is very “dirty”. Finally, you need to have a job in your specialty close to your home. It is best to reconstruct environmentally backward enterprises so that they stop harming the environment, but not every enterprise can immediately allocate funds for this in full, since environmental protection equipment, and the reconstruction process itself, are very expensive.

Therefore, such enterprises may be subject to temporary standards, the so-called TEC (temporarily agreed upon emissions), allowing increased environmental pollution above the norm for a strictly defined period of time, sufficient to carry out the environmental measures necessary to reduce emissions.

The amount and sources of payment for environmental pollution depend on whether or not an enterprise complies with the standards established for it and which ones - MPE, PDS or only VSV.

§ 2. LAW TO PROTECT NATURE

It was previously noted that the state ensures the rationalization of environmental management, including environmental protection, by creating environmental legislation and monitoring its compliance.

Environmental legislation is a system of laws and other legal acts (decrees, decrees, instructions) that regulates environmental relations in order to preserve and reproduce natural resources, rationalize environmental management, and preserve public health.

To ensure the possibility of practical implementation of adopted laws, it is very important that they are timely supported by by-laws adopted on their basis, which precisely define and clarify, in accordance with the specific conditions of the industry or region, who should do what and how, to whom and in what form to report, what environmental regulations, standards and rules to adhere to, etc.

I Thus, the law “On Environmental Protection” establishes a general scheme for achieving the coincidence of interests of society and individual natural resource users through limits, payments, tax benefits, and specific parameters in the form of exact values ​​of standards, rates, payments are specified in decrees of the Ministry of Natural Resources and industry instructions etc.

The objects of environmental legislation are both the natural environment as a whole and its individual natural systems (for example, Lake Baikal) and elements (water, air, etc.), as well as international law.

In our country, for the first time in world practice, the requirement for the protection and rational use of natural resources is included in the Constitution. There are about two hundred legal documents relating to environmental management. One of the most important is the comprehensive law “On Environmental Protection”, adopted in 1991.

It states that every citizen has the right to health protection from the adverse effects of a polluted natural environment, to participate in environmental associations and social movements and to receive timely information about the state of the natural environment and measures to protect it.

At the same time, every citizen is obliged to take part in the protection of the natural environment, increase the level of their knowledge about nature, environmental culture, and comply with the requirements of environmental legislation and established standards for the quality of the natural environment. If they are violated, then the perpetrator bears responsibility, which is divided into criminal, administrative, disciplinary and material.

In cases of the most serious violations, for example when setting fire to a forest, the perpetrator may be subject to criminal punishment in the form of imprisonment, the imposition of large fines, and confiscation of property.

However, administrative liability is more often applied in the form of imposing fines on both individuals and enterprises as a whole. It occurs in cases of damage or destruction of natural objects, pollution of the natural environment, failure to take measures to restore the damaged environment, poaching, etc.

Officials may also be subject to disciplinary action in the form of full or partial loss of bonuses, demotion, reprimand or dismissal for failure to implement environmental measures and non-compliance with environmental standards.

In addition, payment of a fine does not relieve one from material civil liability, i.e. the need to compensate for damage to the environment, health and property of citizens, and the national economy caused by pollution or irrational use of natural resources.

In addition to declaring the rights and obligations of citizens and establishing responsibility for environmental violations, the above-mentioned law formulates environmental requirements for the construction and operation of various facilities, shows the economic mechanism of environmental protection, proclaims the principles of international cooperation in this area, etc.

It should be noted that environmental legislation, although quite extensive and versatile, in practice is not yet effective enough. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most important is the discrepancy between the severity of the punishment and the gravity of the crime, in particular the low rates of fines charged. For example, for an official it is equal to three to twenty times the minimum monthly wage (not to be confused with the actual salary received by the employee, which is always much higher). However, twenty minimum wages often do not exceed one or two real monthly salaries of these officials, since we are usually talking about the heads of enterprises and departments. For ordinary citizens, the fine does not exceed ten times the minimum wage.

Criminal liability and compensation for damage caused are used much less frequently than they should be. And it is impossible to fully compensate for it, since it often reaches many millions of rubles or cannot be measured in monetary terms at all.

And Usually, in a year, no more than two dozen cases of liability for air and water pollution that have caused serious consequences are considered throughout the country, and the most numerous cases related to poaching do not exceed one and a half thousand per year, which is incomparably less than the actual number of offenses. However, recently there has been a tendency for these numbers to grow.

Other reasons for the weak regulatory effect of environmental legislation are the insufficient provision of enterprises with technical means for effective treatment of wastewater and contaminated gases, and insufficient provision of inspection organizations with instruments for monitoring environmental pollution.

Finally, the low ecological culture of the population, their ignorance of basic environmental requirements, a condescending attitude towards nature destroyers, as well as the lack of knowledge and skills necessary to effectively defend their right to a healthy environment, as proclaimed by law, are of great importance. Now it is necessary to develop a legal mechanism for the protection of environmental human rights, i.e., by-laws specifying this part of the law, and to turn the flow of complaints to the press and higher management authorities into a flow of claims to the judiciary. When every resident whose health has been affected by harmful emissions from an enterprise files a claim demanding financial compensation for the damage caused, estimating their health at a fairly large amount, the enterprise will simply be economically forced to urgently take measures to reduce pollution.

Literature:

1. Demina T. A. Ecology, environmental management, environmental protection: A manual for high school students of educational institutions. – M.: Aspect Press, 1998. – 143 p.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (a. environment protection; n. Umweltschutz; f. protection de l"environnement; i. 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 that took place in the past, are happening now or are coming.

General information. Unfavorable phenomena in the environment can be caused by natural factors (especially 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 the actively growing anthropogenic impact. This is due to a population explosion, accelerating urbanization and the development of mining and communications, environmental pollution from various wastes (see also), excessive pressure on arable, pasture and forest lands (especially in developing countries). According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), by 2000 the world population will reach 6.0-6.1 billion people, 51% of whom are urban dwellers. At the same time, the number of cities with a population of 1-32 million people will reach 439, urbanized areas will occupy over 100 million hectares. Urbanization usually leads to pollution of air, surface and groundwater, deterioration of the condition of flora and fauna, soils and soils. As a result of construction and improvement in urbanized areas, tens of billions of tons of soil masses are moved, and artificial soil strengthening is carried out on a large scale. The volume of underground structures not related to mining 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, primary energy production 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 hydroelectric power plants (6.8%) , nuclear power plants (3.9%). In addition, 1.7 billion tons of fuel equivalent was produced through the use of firewood, charcoal and organic waste (mainly in developing countries). By 2000, energy production 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 impact on changes in microclimate parameters. Large energy costs in areas occupied by cities, mining enterprises and communications lead to significant changes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and geological environment.

One of the most pressing environmental problems caused by increased technogenic impact on the natural environment is related to the state of atmospheric air. It includes a number of aspects. Firstly, the protection of the ozone layer, necessary due to the increase in 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 (until 1986) have revealed a tendency for ozone concentration in the atmosphere over Antarctica to decrease in the spring. The same information was obtained for the polar region of the Northern Hemisphere. The 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, an increase in CO 2 concentration, mainly due to the increasing combustion 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 present before the onset of HTP is expected. As a result of the combined effect 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), the average temperature of the surface layer of air may increase by 3 ± 1, 5°C, with maximum warming occurring in the circumpolar zones and minimal warming near the equator. The rate of glacier melting and sea level rise is expected to increase by more than 0.5 cm/year. 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 less than 5.6, as well as dry aerosol deposition of sulfur and sulfur compounds) have become significant components of the atmosphere. They fall in European countries, 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 transport engines. Acid precipitation causes damage to buildings, monuments and metal structures; cause digression and death of forests, reduce the yield of many agricultural crops, deteriorate the fertility of acidic soils and the condition of aquatic ecosystems. Atmospheric acidification negatively affects human health. General air pollution has reached significant levels: annual emissions of dust 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 municipal services, 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 km3 in agriculture, 1100 km3 in industry, and 250 km3 for domestic needs. The consumption of sea water is growing rapidly (so far its share in total water intake is 2%). Pollution of many water bodies on land (especially in Western Europe and North America) and the waters of the World Ocean has reached dangerous levels. Every year the following enters the ocean (million tons): 0.2-0.5 toxic chemicals; 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, the most dangerous oil pollution for the ocean is not decreasing (according to some forecasts, it will increase as long as the production and use of oil and petroleum products increases). 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 it is transported by tanker fleets, are the most polluted with oil. Bacterial pollution of the coastal waters of some densely populated regions, in particular the Mediterranean Sea, has reached dangerous proportions. Due to water pollution from industrial effluents and waste, an acute shortage of fresh water has arisen in a number of areas of the world. Water resources are also depleted indirectly - through deforestation, drainage of swamps, lowering lake levels as a result of water management measures, 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 industrialized and highly developed agricultural areas regions, 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 energy terms is disproportionately less than on the 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 changes in topography, a decrease in reserves and pollution of surface and groundwater. In the world, over 120 million tons of mineral fertilizers and over 5 million tons of pesticides are applied to soils annually. Of the 1.47 billion hectares of arable land, 220 million hectares are irrigated, of which more than 1 million are saline. Over historical time, as a result of accelerated erosion and other negative processes, humanity has lost almost 2 billion hectares of productive agricultural land. In territories with an arid, semi-arid and semi-humid climate, as well as in productive lands in areas with a hyper-arid climate, the problem of land resources is associated with desertification (see Desert). Desertification affects an area of ​​4.5 billion hectares, which is home to about 850 million people; it is developing rapidly (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 lands is caused by accelerated erosion caused by tropical rainfall, characteristic of countries with a tropical, constantly and variablely 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, occurring mainly in the tropical zone, in areas of tropical rainforests, the ecosystems of which range 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, mean that about 80% of the wood harvested here is spent on fuel. The rate of deforestation is 6-20 million hectares per year. Deforestation is occurring fastest in South America, eastern and southeastern Asia, and West Africa. During 1960-80, the area of ​​tropical rainforests decreased by 2 times, and of all tropical forests by almost 1/3.

An important problem for humanity 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 activity and, in turn, to a certain extent determines this activity. The main component of the geological environment is rocks, which contain, along with solid mineral and organic components, gases, groundwater, as well as the organisms that “inhabit” them. 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-technical system - are in close interaction and determine its dynamics.

The processes of interaction between geospheres play a significant role in the formation of the structure and properties of the geological environment. Anthropogenic impact determines the development of natural-anthropogenic and the emergence of new (anthropogenic) geological processes, which lead to natural changes in the composition, state and properties of the geological environment.

According to UNESCO, by 2000 the extraction of essential minerals will reach 30 billion tons, by which 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 approximately 6,000 km3 per year. The area of ​​forest land will decrease (by 10-12%), the area of ​​arable land will increase by 10-20% (compared to 1980).

Historical sketch. 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” (Marx K., Engels F., Works, vol. 31, p. 210). This phrase was especially noted in the notes of V.I. Lenin, who emphasized that “replacing the forces of nature with human labor, generally speaking, is also impossible, just as it is impossible to replace arshins with pounds. Both in industry and in agriculture, a person can only use the action of the forces of nature , if he has learned their action, and facilitate this use for himself through machines, tools, etc.” (Lenin V.I., PSS, vol. 5, p. 103).

In Russia, extensive measures to protect nature were already provided for by the decrees of Peter I. The Moscow Society of Nature Explorers (founded in 1805), the Russian Geographical Society (founded in 1845), and others published articles that raised environmental issues. The American scientist J.P. Marsh wrote about the importance of maintaining balance in the natural environment in 1864 in his book “Man and Nature.” The ideas of protecting the natural environment at the international level were propagated by the Swiss scientist P. B. Sarazin, on whose initiative the first international meeting on nature conservation was convened in Bern (Switzerland) in 1913.

In the 30s In the 20th century, a Soviet scientist, having examined the anthropogenic impact on the natural environment on a global scale, 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 is geochemically remaking 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 external geospheres, he apparently formulated the main law of geological development: in the single mechanism of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, the living matter of the Earth “performs 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, because In the thin “film of life” on the planet, huge amounts of workable energy are concentrated and simultaneously dissipated from it. The scientist’s conclusions lead closely to the definition of a nature conservation strategy: management of the natural environment and 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 above-mentioned law allows us to call the most important criterion for the state of the natural environment the degree of reduction of the planetary biota by humans. 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 environmental problems was paid after the 2nd World War 1939-45. The teachings of Vernadsky about living matter - the biosphere-noosphere and Fersman about technogenesis were 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. Duvenyo, etc.). During these 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 the specially created Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (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, the main ones being Man and the Biosphere (MAB), the International Hydrological Program (IHP) and the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP). The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Economic Community (EEC), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Arab League of Educational, Cultural and Scientific Countries (ALECSO) pay great attention to environmental issues.

The protection of terrestrial flora and fauna is regulated by many international conventions and agreements. Within the framework of the MAB, since 1981, the Northern Scientific Network has been created, uniting scientific research by scientists from northern countries (including 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 management practices and herbivory 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. Work on biosphere reserves is 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 tracts of tropical rainforests is expanding. Preserving about 10% of the area of ​​primary forests undisturbed can provide protection for at least 50% of species. In developing countries, to reduce the volume of industrial logging in virgin forests, the use of planted forests is increasing, the total area of ​​which reaches several million hectares. The area of ​​plantations for export crops is growing, which 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 bases for the placement of ground-based structures and components of natural-technical systems; forecasting and dealing with natural disasters. 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 extracted mineral raw materials at all stages of processing; rational use of mineral raw materials in the economy and recycling of production waste, eliminating unjustified losses of mineral raw materials and fuel. Increasing the efficiency of protecting the geological environment is facilitated by the increased use of alternative methods for obtaining mineral raw materials (for example, mining of minerals from sea water), the replacement of natural materials with synthetic ones, etc.

Measures to protect 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 repeated use of water in the technological cycle, waste disposal, the development of effective methods for cleaning and neutralizing waste, preventing the penetration of wastewater from the surface of the Earth into groundwater, reducing industrial emissions into the atmosphere and water bodies , remediation of contaminated soils; compliance with the requirements for the procedure for exploration of groundwater deposits, design, construction and operation of water intake structures; implementation of actual water protection measures; management of 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 for the location of the designed large industrial or agricultural facility so that its negative impact on the environment and groundwater is minimal; equipment and strict compliance with sanitary protection zones at the water intake site; assessment of the impact of the designed facility on groundwater and the environment; studying the security of groundwater for the justified placement of industrial and other facilities, water intake structures and planning 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 tap mode. The most important type of these activities is the creation of a specialized network of observation wells at large industrial facilities and centralized water intakes to monitor the condition of groundwater.

Pollution is the introduction of pollutants into the natural environment that cause adverse changes. Pollution can take the form of chemicals or energy such as noise, heat or light. Components of pollution can be either foreign substances/energy or natural pollutants.

Main types and causes of environmental pollution:

Air pollution

Coniferous forest after acid rain

Smoke from chimneys, factories, vehicles, or from burning wood and coal makes the air toxic. The effects of air pollution are also clear. The release of sulfur dioxide and hazardous gases into the atmosphere causes global warming and acid rain, which in turn increases temperatures, causing excessive rainfall or droughts around the world and making life more difficult. We also breathe every contaminated particle in the air and as a result, the risk of asthma and lung cancer increases.

Water pollution

Caused the loss of many species of flora and fauna of the Earth. This happened because industrial waste discharged into rivers and other water bodies causes an imbalance in the aquatic environment, leading to severe pollution and death of aquatic animals and plants.

In addition, spraying insecticides, pesticides (such as DDT) on plants, contaminates the groundwater system. Oil spills in the oceans have caused significant damage to water bodies.

Eutrophication in the Potomac River, USA

Eutrophication is another important cause of water pollution. Occurs due to untreated wastewater and the runoff of fertilizers from the soil into lakes, ponds or rivers, due to which chemicals penetrate into the water and prevent the penetration of sunlight, thereby reducing the amount of oxygen and making the water body uninhabitable.

Pollution of water resources harms not only individual aquatic organisms, but also the entire water supply, and seriously affects the people who depend on it. In some countries of the world, due to water pollution, outbreaks of cholera and diarrhea are observed.

Soil pollution

Soil erosion

This type of pollution occurs when harmful chemical elements enter the soil, usually caused by human activities. Insecticides and pesticides suck nitrogen compounds from the soil, making it unsuitable for plant growth. Industrial waste also has a negative impact on the soil. Since plants cannot grow as required, they are unable to hold the soil, resulting in erosion.

Noise pollution

Appears when unpleasant (loud) sounds from the environment affect a person’s hearing organs and lead to psychological problems, including tension, high blood pressure, hearing loss, etc. It can be caused by industrial equipment, airplanes, cars, etc.

Nuclear pollution

This is a very dangerous type of pollution, it occurs due to malfunctions of nuclear power plants, improper storage of nuclear waste, accidents, etc. Radioactive pollution can cause cancer, infertility, loss of vision, birth defects; it can make the soil infertile, and also negatively affects air and water.

Light pollution

Light pollution on planet Earth

Occurs due to noticeable excess illumination of an area. It is common, as a rule, in large cities, especially from billboards, gyms or entertainment venues at night. In residential areas, light pollution greatly affects people's lives. It also interferes with astronomical observations, making the stars almost invisible.

Thermal/heat pollution

Thermal pollution is the deterioration of water quality by any process that changes the temperature of the surrounding water. The main cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a refrigerant by power plants and industries. When water used as a refrigerant is returned to the natural environment at a higher temperature, the change in temperature reduces the oxygen supply and affects the composition. Fish and other organisms adapted to a particular temperature range can be killed by a sudden change in water temperature (or a rapid increase or decrease).

Thermal pollution is caused by excess heat in the environment creating undesirable changes over long periods of time. This is due to the huge number of industries, deforestation and air pollution. Thermal pollution increases the Earth's temperature, causing dramatic climate change and the loss of wildlife species.

Visual pollution

Visual pollution, Philippines

Visual pollution is an aesthetic problem and refers to the effects of pollution that impair the ability to enjoy the natural world. It includes: billboards, open garbage storage, antennas, electrical wires, buildings, cars, etc.

Overcrowding of the territory with a large number of objects causes visual pollution. Such pollution contributes to absent-mindedness, eye fatigue, loss of identity, etc.

Plastic pollution

Plastic pollution, India

Involves the accumulation of plastic products in the environment that have an adverse effect on wildlife, animal habitats or people. Plastic products are inexpensive and durable, which has made them very popular among people. However, this material decomposes very slowly. Plastic pollution can adversely affect soil, lakes, rivers, seas and oceans. Living organisms, especially marine animals, become entangled in plastic waste or suffer from chemicals in plastic that cause disruptions in biological functions. People are also affected by plastic pollution by causing hormonal imbalance.

Objects of pollution

The main objects of environmental pollution are air (atmosphere), water resources (streams, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans), soil, etc.

Pollutants (sources or subjects of pollution) of the environment

Pollutants are chemical, biological, physical or mechanical elements (or processes) that harm the environment.

They can cause harm in both the short and long term. Pollutants come from natural resources or are produced by humans.

Many pollutants have toxic effects on living organisms. Carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide) is an example of a substance that is harmful to humans. This compound is absorbed by the body instead of oxygen, causing shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, and in severe cases can lead to serious poisoning, and even death.

Some pollutants become dangerous when they react with other naturally occurring compounds. Oxides of nitrogen and sulfur are released from impurities in fossil fuels during combustion. They react with water vapor in the atmosphere, turning into acid rain. Acid rain negatively affects aquatic ecosystems and leads to the death of aquatic animals, plants, and other living organisms. Terrestrial ecosystems are also affected by acid rain.

Classification of pollution sources

According to the type of occurrence, environmental pollution is divided into:

Anthropogenic (artificial) pollution

Deforestation

Anthropogenic pollution is the impact on the environment caused by human activities. The main sources of artificial pollution are:

  • industrialization;
  • invention of automobiles;
  • global population growth;
  • deforestation: destruction of natural habitats;
  • nuclear explosions;
  • overexploitation of natural resources;
  • construction of buildings, roads, dams;
  • creation of explosive substances that are used during military operations;
  • use of fertilizers and pesticides;
  • mining.

Natural (natural) pollution

Eruption

Natural pollution is caused and occurs naturally, without human intervention. It can affect the environment for a certain period of time, but is capable of regeneration. Sources of natural pollution include:

  • volcanic eruptions, releasing gases, ash and magma;
  • forest fires emit smoke and gaseous impurities;
  • sandstorms raise dust and sand;
  • decomposition of organic matter, during which gases are released.

Consequences of pollution:

Environmental degradation

Photo on the left: Beijing after the rain. Photo on the right: smog in Beijing

The environment is the first victim of air pollution. An increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere leads to smog, which can prevent sunlight from reaching the earth's surface. In this regard, it becomes much more difficult. Gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide can cause acid rain. Water pollution in terms of oil spills can lead to the death of several species of wild animals and plants.

Human health

Lung cancer

Decreased air quality leads to several respiratory problems, including asthma or lung cancer. Chest pain, sore throat, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases can be caused by air pollution. Water pollution can cause skin problems, including irritation and rashes. Similarly, noise pollution leads to hearing loss, stress and sleep disturbance.

Global warming

Male, the capital of the Maldives, is one of the cities facing the prospect of being flooded by the ocean in the 21st century

The release of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, leads to global warming. Every day new industries are created, new cars appear on the roads, and trees are cut down to make way for new homes. All these factors, directly or indirectly, lead to an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. Rising CO2 is causing the polar ice caps to melt, raising sea levels and creating dangers for people living near coastal areas.

Ozone depletion

The ozone layer is a thin shield high in the sky that blocks ultraviolet rays from reaching the ground. Human activities release chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons into the air, which contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer.

Badlands

Due to the constant use of insecticides and pesticides, the soil can become infertile. Various types of chemicals generated from industrial waste end up in water, which also affects soil quality.

Protection (protection) of the environment from pollution:

International protection

Many are particularly vulnerable because they are exposed to human influence in many countries. As a result, some states are banding together and developing agreements aimed at preventing damage or managing human impacts on natural resources. These include agreements that affect the protection of the climate, oceans, rivers and air from pollution. These international environmental treaties are sometimes binding instruments that have legal consequences in the event of non-compliance, and in other situations they are used as codes of conduct. The most famous include:

  • The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), approved in June 1972, provides for the protection of nature for the present generation of people and their descendants.
  • The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed in May 1992. The main goal of this agreement is “to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.”
  • The Kyoto Protocol provides for the reduction or stabilization of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. It was signed in Japan at the end of 1997.

State protection

Discussions of environmental issues often focus on the government, legislative and law enforcement levels. However, in the broadest sense, environmental protection can be seen as the responsibility of the entire people, not just the government. Decisions that impact the environment will ideally involve a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, indigenous groups, environmental groups and communities. Environmental decision-making processes are constantly evolving and becoming more active in different countries.

Many constitutions recognize the fundamental right to protect the environment. In addition, in various countries there are organizations and institutions dealing with environmental issues.

Although protecting the environment is not simply the responsibility of government agencies, most people consider these organizations to be paramount in creating and maintaining basic standards that protect the environment and the people who interact with it.

How to protect the environment yourself?

Population and technological advances based on fossil fuels have severely impacted our natural environment. Therefore, we now need to do our part to eliminate the consequences of degradation so that humanity continues to live in an environmentally friendly environment.

There are 3 main principles that are still relevant and more important than ever:

  • use less;
  • reuse;
  • convert.
  • Create a compost heap in your garden. This helps to dispose of food waste and other biodegradable materials.
  • When shopping, use your eco-bags and try to avoid plastic bags as much as possible.
  • Plant as many trees as you can.
  • Think about ways to reduce the number of trips you make using your car.
  • Reduce vehicle emissions by walking or cycling. Not only are these great alternatives to driving, but they also have health benefits.
  • Use public transportation whenever you can for daily transportation.
  • Bottles, paper, used oil, old batteries and used tires must be disposed of properly; all this causes serious pollution.
  • Do not pour chemicals and waste oil onto the ground or into drains leading to waterways.
  • If possible, recycle selected biodegradable waste, and work to reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste used.
  • Reduce the amount of meat you consume or consider a vegetarian diet.