Continuous technological progress, the continuing enslavement of nature by man, industrialization, which has changed the surface of the Earth beyond recognition, have become the causes of a global environmental crisis. Currently, the world's population faces particularly acute environmental problems such as air pollution, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, Greenhouse effect, soil pollution, ocean pollution and overpopulation.

Global environmental problem No. 1: Air pollution

Every day, the average person inhales about 20,000 liters of air, which contains, in addition to vital oxygen, a whole list of harmful suspended particles and gases. Atmospheric pollutants are conventionally divided into 2 types: natural and anthropogenic. The latter prevail.

Things are not going well for the chemical industry. Factories emit harmful substances such as dust, fuel oil ash, various chemical compounds, nitrogen oxides and much more. Air measurements have shown the catastrophic situation of the atmospheric layer; polluted air becomes the cause of many chronic diseases.

Air pollution - ecological problem, familiar firsthand to residents of absolutely all corners of the earth. It is felt especially acutely by representatives of cities where enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, energy, chemical, petrochemical, construction and pulp and paper industries operate. In some cities, the atmosphere is also heavily poisoned by vehicles and boiler houses. These are all examples of anthropogenic air pollution.

What about natural sources? chemical elements polluting the atmosphere, these include forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion (scattering of soil and rock particles), the spread of pollen, evaporation of organic compounds and natural radiation.

Consequences of air pollution

Atmospheric air pollution negatively affects human health, contributing to the development of heart and lung diseases (in particular, bronchitis). In addition, air pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide destroy natural ecosystems, destroying plants and causing the death of living creatures (particularly river fish).

The global environmental problem of air pollution, according to scientists and government officials, can be solved in the following ways:

• limiting population growth;
• reducing energy use;
• increasing energy efficiency;
• waste reduction;
• transition to environmentally friendly renewable energy sources;
• air purification in particularly polluted areas.

Global Environmental Problem #2: Ozone Depletion

The ozone layer is a thin strip of the stratosphere that protects all life on Earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the Sun.

Causes of environmental problem

Back in the 1970s. ecologists have discovered that ozone layer destroyed by exposure to chlorofluorocarbons. These chemical substances are found in refrigerator and air conditioner coolants, as well as solvents, aerosols/sprays and fire extinguishers. To a lesser extent, other anthropogenic impacts also contribute to the thinning of the ozone layer: the launch of space rockets, flights of jet aircraft in high layers of the atmosphere, testing nuclear weapons, reduction of the planet's forests. There is also a theory that global warming is contributing to the thinning of the ozone layer.

Consequences of ozone layer depletion

As a result of the destruction of the ozone layer, ultraviolet radiation passes unhindered through the atmosphere and reaches the earth's surface. Exposure to direct UV rays has detrimental effects on people's health, weakening the immune system and causing diseases such as skin cancer and cataracts.

World environmental problem No. 3: Global warming

Like the glass walls of a greenhouse, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor allow the sun to heat our planet while preventing infrared radiation reflected from the earth's surface from escaping into space. All these gases are responsible for maintaining temperatures acceptable for life on earth. However, the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide and water vapor in the atmosphere is another global environmental problem called global warming (or the greenhouse effect).

Causes of global warming

During the 20th century, the average temperature on earth increased by 0.5 - 1? C. The main reason global warming is considered to be an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to an increase in the volume of fossil fuels burned by people (coal, oil and their derivatives). However, according to the statement Alexey Kokorin, head of climate programs World Wildlife Fund(WWF) Russia, “the largest amount of greenhouse gases is generated as a result of the operation of power plants and methane emissions during the extraction and delivery of energy resources, while road transport or flaring of associated petroleum gas causes relatively little harm to the environment”.

Other causes of global warming include overpopulation, deforestation, ozone depletion and littering. However, not all ecologists blame the rise in average annual temperatures entirely on anthropogenic activities. Some believe that global warming is also facilitated by a natural increase in the abundance of oceanic plankton, leading to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Consequences of the greenhouse effect

If the temperature during the 21st century increases by another 1? C - 3.5? C, as scientists predict, the consequences will be very sad:

• the level of the world's oceans will rise (due to the melting of polar ice), the number of droughts will increase and the process of desertification will intensify,
• many species of plants and animals adapted to exist in a narrow range of temperatures and humidity will disappear,
• Hurricanes will become more frequent.

Solving an environmental problem

According to environmentalists, the following measures will help slow down the process of global warming:

• rising prices for fossil fuels,
• replacing fossil fuels with environmentally friendly ones (solar energy, wind energy and sea currents),
• development of energy-saving and waste-free technologies,
• taxation of environmental emissions,
• minimizing methane losses during its production, transportation through pipelines, distribution in cities and villages and use at heat supply stations and power plants,
• implementation of carbon dioxide absorption and sequestration technologies,
• tree planting,
• reduction in family size,
• environmental education,
• application of phytomelioration in agriculture.

Global environmental problem No. 4: Acid rain

Acid rain, containing products of fuel combustion, also poses a danger to the environment, human health and even to the integrity of architectural monuments.

Consequences of acid rain

Solutions of sulfuric and nitric acids, aluminum and cobalt compounds contained in polluted sediments and fog pollute the soil and water bodies, have a detrimental effect on vegetation, causing dry tops of deciduous trees and inhibiting conifers. Because of acid rain, agricultural yields fall, people drink water enriched with toxic metals (mercury, cadmium, lead), marble architectural monuments turn into plaster and are eroded.

Solving an environmental problem

In order to save nature and architecture from acid rain, it is necessary to minimize emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.

Global Environmental Problem #5: Soil Pollution

Every year people pollute the environment with 85 billion tons of waste. Among them are solid and liquid waste from industrial enterprises and transport, agricultural waste (including pesticides), household waste and atmospheric fallout of harmful substances.

The main role in soil pollution is played by such components of technogenic waste as heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, thallium, bismuth, tin, vanadium, antimony), pesticides and petroleum products. From the soil they penetrate into plants and water, even spring water. Toxic metals enter the human body along a chain and are not always quickly and completely removed from it. Some of them tend to accumulate over many years, provoking the development of serious diseases.

Global Environmental Problem #6: Water Pollution

Pollution of the world's oceans, groundwater and surface waters is a global environmental problem, the responsibility for which lies entirely with humans.

Causes of environmental problem

The main pollutants of the hydrosphere today are oil and petroleum products. These substances penetrate into the waters of the world's oceans as a result of tanker wrecks and regular wastewater discharges. industrial enterprises.

In addition to anthropogenic petroleum products, industrial and domestic facilities pollute the hydrosphere with heavy metals and complex organic compounds. Agriculture and the food industry are recognized as the leaders in poisoning the waters of the world's oceans with minerals and nutrients.

The hydrosphere is not spared by such a global environmental problem as radioactive pollution. The prerequisite for its formation was the burial of radioactive waste in the waters of the world's oceans. Many powers with a developed nuclear industry and nuclear fleet deliberately stored harmful radioactive substances in the seas and oceans from the 49th to the 70th years of the 20th century. In places where radioactive containers are buried, cesium levels often go off scale even today. But “underwater test sites” are not the only radioactive source of hydrosphere pollution. The waters of the seas and oceans are enriched with radiation as a result of underwater and surface nuclear explosions.

Consequences of radioactive water contamination

Oil pollution of the hydrosphere leads to the destruction of the natural habitat of hundreds of representatives of oceanic flora and fauna, the death of plankton, seabirds and mammals. For human health, poisoning the waters of the world's oceans also poses a serious danger: fish and other seafood “contaminated” with radiation can easily end up on the table.

Asel 17.05.2019 12:14
http://www.kstu.kz/

Ian 31.05.2018 10:56
To avoid all this, it is necessary to solve all this not for the state budget, but for free!
And besides, you need to add environmental protection laws to your country’s constitution
namely, strict laws that should prevent at least 3% of environmental pollution
only your homeland but also all countries of the world!

24werwe 21.09.2017 14:50
The cause of air and soil pollution is crypto-Jews. On the streets every day there are degenerates with the characteristics of Jews. Greenpeace and environmentalists are vile crypto-Jewish TV. They study eternal criticism according to the Catechism of the Jew in the USSR (according to the Talmud). Dosed poisoning is promoted. They do not name the reason - the deliberate destruction of all living things by Jews hiding under the labels of “peoples”. There is only one way out: the destruction of the Jews and their agriculture and the cessation of production.

Introduction

Environmental problems associated with human economic activity do not lose their relevance today.

There is an inexorable deterioration of the environment on a global scale. Carbon dioxide is rising in the atmosphere, the Earth's ozone layer is being depleted, acid rain is falling, harming all life, species loss is accelerating, fisheries are declining, declining soil fertility is undermining efforts to feed the hungry, water is being poisoned, and the Earth's forest cover is becoming less and less.

This work will be devoted to consideration of these main environmental problems in the modern world.

Atmospheric air is a natural mixture of gases in the surface layer of the atmosphere outside residential, industrial and other premises, which developed during the evolution of the Earth.

The atmosphere reliably protects humanity from numerous dangers that threaten it from space: it does not allow meteorites to pass through, protects the earth from overheating by measuring solar energy in the required quantity, and levels the difference in daily temperatures, which could be approximately 200 K, which is unacceptable for the survival of all earthly creatures. An avalanche of cosmic radiation hits the upper boundary of the atmosphere every second. If they reached the earth's surface, everything living on Earth would instantly disappear.

The gas shell saves everything living on Earth from destructive ultraviolet, x-rays and cosmic rays. The atmosphere is also important in the distribution of light. The air of the atmosphere breaks the sun's rays into a million small rays, scatters them and creates the uniform illumination to which we are accustomed. In addition, the atmosphere is the medium where sounds travel. Without air, silence would reign on Earth and human speech would be impossible.

However, a significant amount of gaseous production waste is released into the atmosphere.

A pollutant is an impurity in the atmospheric air that, at certain concentrations, has an adverse effect on human health, flora and fauna, and other components of the natural environment or causes damage to material values.

The main sources of air pollution are industry and motor transport. At the same time, in our country, thermal power plants account for 27% of pollution, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises – 24 and 10%, petrochemicals – 16%, building materials – 8.1%. Moreover, the energy sector accounts for more than 40% of total dust emissions, 70% of sulfur oxides and more than 50% of nitrogen oxides. Of the total volume of pollutants entering the air, motor transport accounts for 13.3%, but in large Russian cities this figure reaches 60-80%.

The amount of emissions per capita of the urban population in 1993 (dust, NOx, CnHm, SOx) in Russia amounted to 324 kg/year×person, and in the European part of Russia - 195 kg/year×person, in the Ural region – 550 kg/year×person, Far Eastern region and Siberia – 560 kg/year×person.

In recent years, the content in the atmospheric air of Russian cities and industrial centers such harmful impurities as suspended substances, sulfur dioxide. Significantly decreased, since with a significant decline in production, the number of industrial emissions also decreased, and the concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide increased due to the growth of the vehicle fleet.

Animals and plants suffer from air pollution.

The impact of sulfur dioxide and its derivatives on humans and animals is manifested primarily in damage to the upper respiratory tract; under the influence of sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid, chlorophyll in the leaves of plants is destroyed, and therefore photosynthesis and respiration worsen, growth slows down, the quality of tree plantations decreases and crop yields, and at higher and longer exposure doses, vegetation dies.

A polluted atmosphere causes an increase in the number of respiratory diseases. The state of the atmosphere affects morbidity rates even in different areas industrial cities. For example, in Moscow, the predisposition to bronchial asthma, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and chronic otitis media is 40-60% higher in areas with high levels of air pollution.

Pollution also has other adverse effects, leading to problems such as the greenhouse effect, ozone holes, smog, and acid rain.

The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect, which increases from the heating of the Earth by the rays of the Sun. This gas prevents the sun's heat from flowing back into space.

Compared to the pre-industrial era, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 28%. If humanity does not take measures to reduce emissions of these gases, by the middle of the next century the average global temperature of the surface atmosphere will increase by 1.5-4.5 ° C.

The last figure refers to high Russian latitudes. There will be a redistribution of precipitation throughout the country, the number of droughts will increase, the river flow regime and the operating mode of hydroelectric power plants will change. Will melt upper layer permafrost, which occupies about 10 million m2 in Russia (60% of the country's territory), which will affect the stability of the foundations of engineering structures. The level of the World Ocean will rise by 20 cm by 2030, which will lead to flooding of low-lying coasts.

The shares of some countries in global carbon dioxide emissions are as follows: USA – 22%, Russia and China – 11% each, Germany and Japan – 5% each. 2

One of the main sources of carbon dioxide pollution is road transport. There are several ways to combat this type of pollution: technical improvement of engines and fuel equipment; improving fuel quality, reducing the content of toxic substances in exhaust gases as a result of the use of fuel afterburners and catalytic catalysts; use of alternative fuels, etc.

In addition, there are a number of natural sources of CO 2 emissions. A powerful source of CO 2 in Russia is soil respiration. On 1124.9 million hectares of Russia, soil respiration is 1800 NtC, i.e. 3% of global emissions, which is 3 times higher than industrial emissions.

Another method of CO 2 accumulation is swamps - a reservoir with a residence time of organic carbon in peats of up to 10 thousand years and its accumulation of 45-50 Mm C/year 2.

There is a powerful consumer of CO 2 - land vegetation, which consumes 20-30 billion tons of carbon in the form of CO 2, and algae in the world's oceans, which consume about 40 billion tons of carbon per year. However, they are not able to recycle the atmosphere, and therefore the problem of global warming is urgent and the solution of which requires urgent measures.

The stratospheric ozone layer protects people and wildlife from hard ultraviolet and soft x-rays in the ultraviolet part of the solar spectrum. Each lost percentage of ozone on a global scale causes up to 150 thousand additional cases of blindness due to cataracts, and increases the number of skin cancers by 2.6%. It has been established that hard ultraviolet radiation suppresses the body's immune system.

The ozone protective shell is very small: only 3 billion tons of gas, the highest concentration is at an altitude of 20-25 km; If you hypothetically compress this shell at normal atmospheric pressure, you will get a layer of only 2 mm, but without it life on the planet is impossible.

The launch of powerful rockets, flights of jet aircraft in high layers of the atmosphere, testing of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, the annual destruction of the natural ozonizer - millions of hectares of forest - by fires and predatory logging, the massive use of freons in technology, perfumery and chemical products in everyday life - the main factors in the destruction of the Earth's ozone screen .

In 1987, the governments of 56 countries, including the USSR, signed the Montreal Protocol, under which they pledged to halve the production of fluorocarbons and other substances that deplete the ozone layer in the next decade. Later agreements (London 1990, Copenhagen 1992) call for a gradual phasing out of the production of such substances.

By 1996, industrialized countries had completely phased out the production of CFCs, as well as the ozone-depleting halons and carbon tetrachloride. Developing countries will do this only by 2010. Russia, due to the difficult financial and economic situation, asked for a delay of three to four years.

The next stage should be a ban on the production of methyl bromides and hydrofreons. The production level of the former has been frozen since 1996 in industrialized countries; hydrofreons will be completely phased out by 2030.

1997 marked 10 years since the signing of the Montreal Protocol. During this time, extensive international cooperation was carried out to protect the Earth's ozone layer. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the international community, over the years the production and consumption of substances most dangerous to the ozone layer has been reduced by more than half. The growth of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere has been stopped. Scientists believe that the restoration of the ozone layer will begin in the coming years. But for now this problem remains relevant.

Since the 30s. Over Los Angeles in the warm season, smog began to appear - fog with a humidity of about 70%. This phenomenon was called photochemical fog, since it requires sunlight, causing complex photochemical transformations of a mixture of carbons and nitrogen oxides released into the air as a result of automobile emissions into substances that are significantly more toxic than the original atmospheric pollution.

Photochemical fog is accompanied by an unpleasant odor, visibility is sharply reduced, people's eyes and mucous membranes of the nose and throat become inflamed, suffocation occurs, and pulmonary diseases and bronchial asthma worsen. Photochemical fog also damages plants. First, water swelling appears on the leaves; after a while, the lower surfaces of the leaves acquire a silver or bronze tint, and the upper surfaces become spotted with a white coating. Then rapid decline occurs.

Photochemical fog causes corrosion of metals, cracking of paints on rubber and synthetic products, and damages clothing. Disrupts transport.

Currently, in many large cities of the world - New York, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Tokyo, Milan - photochemical fog is formed. Similar phenomena have not been observed in Russian cities, but conditions for them may arise.

Acid rain, containing solutions of sulfuric and nitric acids, causes significant damage to nature. Land, bodies of water, vegetation, animals and buildings become their victims. In 1996, more than 4 million tons of sulfur and 1.25 million tons of nitrate nitrogen fell along with precipitation on the territory of Russia. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, up to 1,500 kg of sulfur per 1 km 2 falls on the ground per year with acid rain.

An increase in the acidity of water bodies leads to the death of fish and aquatic plants.

Acid rain causes enormous damage to forests. Forests are drying out, and dry tops are developing over large areas.

Acid rain not only kills wildlife, but also destroy architectural monuments. Durable, hard marble, a mixture of calcium oxides (CaO and CO 2), reacts with a solution of sulfuric acid and turns into gypsum (CaSO 4). Temperature changes, rain and wind destroy this soft material. Historical monuments of Greece and Rome, having stood for millennia, have been destroyed right before our eyes in recent years. The same fate threatens the Taj Mahal, a masterpiece of Indian architecture of the Mughal period, and in London the Tower and Westminster Abbey. At St. Paul's Cathedral in Rome, a layer of Portland limestone has been eroded by an inch. In Holland, the statues at St. John's Cathedral are melting like candy. The royal palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam is corroded by black deposits.

It is necessary to save nature from acidification. To do this, it will be necessary to sharply reduce emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, but primarily sulfur dioxide, since it is sulfuric acid and its salts that account for 70-80% of the acidity of rain falling on long distances from the place of industrial discharge.

Thus, the problem of “acid rain” is also relevant.

The huge mass of water in the World Ocean shapes the planet’s climate and serves as a source of precipitation. More than half of the oxygen enters the atmosphere from the ocean, and it also regulates the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, since it is able to absorb its excess; 85 million tons of fish are caught annually in the World Ocean. On the one hand, this represents only about 1% of world food production, but, on the other hand, it is 15% of the animal proteins consumed by humanity.

The following forms of anthropogenic impact pose a real danger to the ecological balance in the ocean: pollution of water areas; disruption of the reproduction mechanism of marine organisms; alienation of coastal and equatorial space for economic purposes.

Rivers carry industrial waste, sewage, and agricultural waste into the ocean. The water spaces of the seas and oceans are the final receptacles for the vast majority of waste. Numerous wastewater of various origins, chemicals, some garbage and other waste from industrial and agricultural production sooner or later enter the seas and oceans. Sea waters are polluted as a result of the burial of various wastes, the removal of sewage and garbage from ships, during the exploration of the bottom of the seas and oceans, and especially as a result of various accidents. For example, about 9 million tons of waste are dumped into the Pacific Ocean annually, and over 30 million tons into the waters of the Atlantic.

Oceans and seas are polluted by substances harmful to their life, such as oil, heavy metals, pesticides, and radioisotopes. Polluted rivers carry harmful substances into the ocean, wastewater from various industrial enterprises is discharged there, runoff from fields and forests treated with pesticides, and oil losses from tankers carrying it.

Gaseous toxic substances, such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, enter seawater from the atmosphere. Every year, 50 thousand tons of lead are deposited into the world's oceans with rain, which enters the air with car exhaust gases.

The degree of water pollution in the ocean is constantly increasing. The ability of water to self-purify is sometimes insufficient to cope with the ever-increasing amount of waste discharged.

Under the influence of currents, pollution mixes and spreads very quickly, having a harmful effect on areas rich in animals and vegetation, causing serious damage to the state of marine ecosystems and the economy as a whole. Thus, the issue of protecting the waters of the World Ocean is an interstate problem.

3.1. Soil erosion has long been and still is a problem for farmers. Modern science has been able, to a certain extent, to establish the patterns of occurrence of this formidable phenomenon, to outline and implement a number of practical measures to combat it.

Depending on the factors that determine the development of erosion, there are two main types – water and wind. In turn, water erosion is divided into surface (planar) and linear (gully) - erosion of soil and subsoil.

The rate of erosion exceeds the rate of natural formation and restoration of soil.

According to scientific institutions, the soils of Russian agricultural lands annually lose about 1.5 billion tons of fertile layer due to erosion. The annual increase in the area of ​​eroded soils is 0.4-1.5 million hectares, ravines - 80-100 thousand hectares. The reduction in yield on eroded soils is 36-47%.

Repeated mechanical processing causes great damage to soils: plowing, cultivation, harrowing, etc. All this increases wind and water erosion. Now traditional methods of soil cultivation are gradually being replaced by soil protection methods with a noticeably smaller amount of mechanical impact.

The most important role in the fight against soil erosion is played by soil-protective crop rotations, agrotechnical and forest reclamation measures, and the construction of hydraulic structures.

3.2. Soil aridization is a complex and diverse set of processes of reducing the moisture content of vast areas and the resulting reduction in the biological productivity of soil-plant ecological systems. Manifestations of aridization (from frequent droughts to complete desertification) in vast areas of Africa, Southeast and South Asia, and a number of countries in South America extremely aggravate the problems of food, feed, water, fuel, and cause profound changes in the ecosystem. The lands bordering the deserts cannot withstand the load and themselves turn into deserts, which leads to the annual loss of thousands of hectares of land suitable for agriculture. The process is also aggravated by primitive agriculture, irrational use of pastures and other agricultural lands, and the predatory exploitation of vast territories that are cultivated without any crop rotation or soil care.

3.3. The most pressing environmental problem in Russia is land degradation. A striking example of this is the Black Lands of the Caspian region, once famous for the richness of forage herbs, stretching over millions of hectares. Now a significant part of them has become a semi-desert, the bed of the Volga-Chagrai canal, the construction of which was stopped several years ago. Presents a picture of a depressing environmental disaster.

Secondary saline soils on farmland occupy 12.9 million hectares; on arable land their area increased by 1 million hectares over five years and amounted to 3.6 million hectares.

Due to the construction of reservoirs on rivers, the area of ​​flooded land exceeded 30 million hectares, of which 0.7 million hectares are shallow waters. 2 The area of ​​flooded land is becoming larger and larger.

As a result of rising waters of the Caspian Sea, 560 thousand hectares of agricultural land were flooded and flooded.

Acidic soils on farmland have been identified on 48.7 million hectares, of which 37.1 million hectares are arable land. In the forest-steppe and central chernozem zones, acid rain has become more frequent, which causes soil degradation and the emergence of new areas of acidic soils. On 50% of the area of ​​chernozems that previously did not require liming, this technique becomes necessary.

The processes of degradation, destruction and destruction of soils continue in arid areas in the south-east of the European part of Russia, where barchan sands now occupy an increasing area of ​​once productive pastures and lands.

Degradation of pasture lands in the tundra occurs as a result of disturbance of vegetation cover during the development of mineral deposits, non-concentrated off-road passage of vehicles, overloading of reindeer pastures with livestock, and geological exploration.

Littering and contamination of land by unauthorized dumps of industrial, household, agricultural and other industrial and consumer waste is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Around many industrial enterprises, the land is contaminated with toxic substances. In Russia, 730 thousand hectares of land have been identified with extremely dangerous levels of soil pollution.

What all this threatens humanity with is quite obvious.

Every year, thousands of species of plants, insects and animals disappear from the face of our planet as a result of human anthropogenic activity.

Every year, one or two species of wild plants become extinct around the world. Meanwhile, one type of plant provides the existence of an average of 11 species of animals (in tropical forests - 20 species).

The destruction of forests invariably leads to the destruction of the threshold of stability of the biosphere, an increase in the destructive power of floods, mudflows, water erosion, dust storms, devastating droughts in dry winds, and the acceleration of desertification processes.

With the deforestation of landscapes, living matter is gradually destroyed, and the biosphere as a whole is depleted.

The planet's green space is declining mainly due to intensive timber harvesting, clearing of forest areas for agricultural land, fires and, of course, as a result of environmental pollution. The genetic diversity of ecological systems is also decreasing; entire plant families and certain animal species have disappeared. The rate of extinction of animal and plant species is 5000 times greater than the natural course of evolution.

The role of plants in the breakdown of carbon dioxide and the release of oxygen into the atmosphere is great. In this way, trees restore the life-giving power of exhaust air.

Undoubtedly, it is not difficult to assess all the consequences and scale of the problem associated with forest destruction.

Break interval, memorial, timekeeping, interior design.

Some pleonasms, however, have acquired a terminological character(For example: " Announcement ») or the nature of a stable phrase(For example: " completely »).

Such combinations are also permissible if the word included in the phrase has changed its meaning or acquired a new shade of meaning, for example:

second-hand book (in the sense of “old”)

period of time (the word “period” does not mean “time”, but “a period of time”)

monumental monument (“monumental” - meaning “large”, “majestic”);

33. Correct the sentences by eliminating semantic redundancy:

1. The building will be decorated with stained glass windows made of colored cast glass.

2. The worker was fired for absenteeism without a valid reason.

3. The mid-60s are significant for the heyday and apogee of the “severe style.”

4. I celebrated Christmas at a work colleague’s dacha.

5. Pulcheria Ivanovna bakes very wonderful pies.

6. Participial phrases are always separated by commas.

7. The reform is carried out with the simultaneous coexistence of old and new management structures.

8. The injection molding machine plant came into operation at its existing enterprises.

9. We also visited the monument. He amazed us with his size and greatness.

10. Historians explain the rapid development of the city by the fact that important trade routes met here.

11. The duration of the melting process lasts several hours.

12. The cost of staying in this hospital is not financed by the state.

13. Residents of Ufa could observe an unusual phenomenon last Sunday.

14. The government in these difficult and difficult times must represent a single monolith.

15. He told us about his plans for the future.

One of the speech errors is tautology - speech excess: neighborhood of cognates . This type of error occurs in almost any text and consists of repetition at the level of one or more sentences, as well as at the paragraph level.

For example:“Achievements that the enterprise has achieved...”;

“the following facts should be taken into account...”;

“this phenomenon manifests itself in...”.

Such an error indicates a poor vocabulary of the writer, his inability to select synonyms for given words or replace a simple sentence with a complex one in order to avoid repetitions. For example: Princess Marya understands well that she is ugly, but the author emphasizes her inner beauty, which is reflected in her eyes. Should have written: Princess Marya is well aware that she is unattractive, but the author emphasizes her inner beauty, which is reflected in her eyes.

Repetition of words with the same root is permissible if the repeated words are the only carriers of meaning, For example: “Investigative authorities have investigated...”

But at the same time, verbosity or speech redundancy (the use of words and phrases that carry unnecessary information) is unacceptable, for example:

Instead of: “Tariffs for travel of passengers by urban passenger transport”

Necessary: “Tariffs for travel by urban passenger transport”

Instead of: “Program of measures to support the activities of veteran organizations”

Necessary: “Program to support the activities of veteran organizations”

Instead of: “It was found that the existing prices are inflated”

Necessary: “It was determined that the prices were inflated.”

Instead of: “In his speech, he pointed out certain shortcomings”

Necessary:“In his speech, he pointed out certain shortcomings».

It is also unacceptable to skip words, especially verbal nouns like: organization,implementation, provision, carrying out, approval etc., for example:

Instead of: “Conducting an experiment on the nutrition of schoolchildren”

Necessary: « Conduct of an experiment on organizing meals for schoolchildren»

Instead of: "About the program social protection low-income categories of citizens"

Necessary: “On approval of the Social Protection Program for low-income citizens.”

Assignments for practical work

34. Correct the sentences by eliminating the tautology:

1. The appearance of A. N. Ostrovsky’s plays was a huge event in our theater.

3. Having inherited his uncle's inheritance, Onegin began to live in the village.

4. The French emperor miscalculated, counting on a quick victory.

5. When the enemy troops began to approach closer, the whole people came out against the enemies.

6. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” called on the Russian people to unite as one.

7. Personally, I believe that those speakers who will speak will talk about the matter.

8. The external appearance of the heroine is quite attractive.

9. The conversation we had with you has come to its final end.

10. His poetry is based on the living experiences of a life-loving poet.

11. Our country, which until recently was the forefront of the global peace movement, cannot resolve the bloodshed in the North Caucasus.

12. What kind of judge would want to be a defendant?

13. Air pollution is a pressing and current problem of our modern age.

14. An unextinguished cigarette caused a flame to ignite waste paper, which became the source of the fire.

15. A complex of unresolved problems must be solved comprehensively.

The atmosphere is the gaseous shell of the Earth, the mass of which is 5.15 * 10 tons. The main components atmosphere are nitrogen (78.08%), argon (0.93%), carbon dioxide (0.03%), and the remaining elements are To very small quantities: hydrogen - 0.3 * 10%, ozone - 3.6 * 10%, etc. According to the chemical composition, the entire atmosphere of the Earth is divided into the lower (up to TOOkm^-homosphere, which has a composition similar to surface air, and the upper - heterosphere, inhomogeneous). chemical composition. The upper atmosphere is characterized by processes of dissociation and ionization of gases that occur under the influence of solar radiation. In addition to these gases, the atmosphere also contains various aerosols - dusty or water particles suspended in a gaseous environment. They can be of natural origin (dust storms, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, etc.), as well as man-made (the result of human productive activity). The atmosphere is divided into several spheres:

The troposphere is Bottom part atmosphere, which contains more than 80% of the entire atmosphere. Its height is determined by the intensity of vertical (upward and downward) air flows caused by heating of the earth's surface. Therefore, at the equator it extends to an altitude of 16-18 km, in temperate latitudes to 10-11 km, and at the poles 8 km. A natural decrease in air temperature with altitude was noted - on average by 0.6 C for every 100 m.

The stratosphere is located above the troposphere to an altitude of 50-55 km. Her temperature upper limit increases, which is due to the presence of the ozone belt here.

Mesosphere - the boundary of this layer is located up to a height of 80 km. Its main feature is sharp decline temperature (minus 75-90C) at its upper limit. Noctilucent clouds consisting of ice crystals are recorded here.

Ionosphere (thermosphere) It is located up to an altitude of 800 km, and is characterized by a significant increase in temperature (more than 1000C). Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, gases are in an ionized state. Ionization is associated with the glow of gases and the appearance of auroras. The ionosphere has the ability to repeatedly reflect radio waves, which ensures real radio communication on Earth. The exosphere is located above 800 km. and extends up to 2000-3000 km. Here the temperature exceeds 2000 C. The speed of gas movement is approaching a critical value of 11.2 km/s. The dominant atoms are hydrogen and helium, which form a corona around the Earth, extending to an altitude of 20 thousand km.

The role of the atmosphere in the Earth’s biosphere is enormous, since it, with its physical chemical properties provides the most important life processes in plants and animals.

Atmospheric air pollution should be understood as any change in its composition and properties, which has a negative impact on human and animal health, the condition of plants and ecosystems.

Atmospheric pollution can be natural (natural) and anthropogenic (technogenic),

Natural air pollution is caused by natural processes. These include volcanic activity, weathering of rocks, wind erosion, massive flowering of plants, smoke from forest and steppe fires, etc. Anthropogenic pollution is associated with the release of various pollutants during human activity. In scale, it significantly exceeds natural air pollution.

Depending on the scale of distribution, they distinguish Various types air pollution: local, regional and global. Local pollution is characterized by an increased content of pollutants in small areas (city, industrial area, agricultural zone, etc.). With regional pollution, significant areas are involved in the negative impact, but not the entire planet. Global pollution is associated with changes in the state of the atmosphere as a whole.

According to their state of aggregation, emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere are classified into: 1) gaseous (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, etc.); 2) liquid (acids, alkalis, salt solutions, etc.); 3) solid (carcinogenic substances, lead and its compounds, organic and inorganic dust, soot, resinous substances and others).

The main pollutants (pollutants) of atmospheric air formed during industrial and other human activities are sulfur dioxide (SO 2), nitrogen oxides (NO 2), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter. They account for about 98% of the total emissions of harmful substances. In addition to the main pollutants, more than 70 types of harmful substances are observed in the atmosphere of cities and towns, including formaldehyde, hydrogen fluoride, lead compounds, ammonia, phenol, benzene, carbon disulfide, etc. However, it is the concentrations of the main pollutants (sulfur dioxide, etc.) most often exceed permissible levels in many Russian cities.

The total global emissions of the four main atmospheric pollutants (pollutants) in 2005 amounted to 401 million tons, and in Russia in 2006 - 26.2 million tons (Table 1).

In addition to these main pollutants, many other very dangerous toxic substances enter the atmosphere: lead, mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals (emission sources: cars, smelters, etc.); hydrocarbons (CnHm), among them the most dangerous is benzo(a)pyrene, which has a carcinogenic effect (exhaust gases, boiler furnaces, etc.), aldehydes, and primarily formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, toxic volatile solvents (gasolines, alcohols, ethers) and etc.

Table 1 – Emission of the main pollutants (pollutants) into the atmosphere in the world and in Russia

Substances, million tons	Dioxide sulfur	Nitrogen oxides	Carbon monoxide	Particulate matter	Total
Total world ejection
Russia (landline only sources)					26.2
				11,2
Russia (including all sources), %				12,2	13,2

The most dangerous air pollution is radioactive. Currently, it is caused mainly by globally distributed long-lived radioactive isotopes - products of nuclear weapons tests conducted in the atmosphere and underground. The surface layer of the atmosphere is also polluted by emissions of radioactive substances into the atmosphere from operating nuclear power plants during their normal operation and other sources.

A special place is occupied by the release of radioactive substances from the fourth block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April - May 1986. If the explosion of an atomic bomb over Hiroshima (Japan) released 740 g of radionuclides into the atmosphere, then as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, the total release of radioactive substances substances into the atmosphere amounted to 77 kg.

Another form of air pollution is local excess heat input from anthropogenic sources. A sign of thermal (thermal) pollution of the atmosphere are the so-called thermal zones, for example, “heat islands” in cities, warming of water bodies, etc.

In general, judging by official data for 2006, the level of air pollution in our country, especially in Russian cities, remains high, despite a significant decline in production, which is associated primarily with an increase in the number of cars.

2. MAIN SOURCES OF ATMOSPHERE POLLUTION

Currently, the “main contribution” to air pollution in Russia is made by the following industries: thermal power engineering (thermal and nuclear power plants, industrial and municipal boiler houses, etc.), then ferrous metallurgy, oil production and petrochemical enterprises, motor transport, non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises and manufacturing building materials.

The role of various economic sectors in air pollution in developed industrial countries of the West is somewhat different. For example, the main amount of emissions of harmful substances in the USA, Great Britain and Germany comes from motor vehicles (50-60%), while the share of thermal power engineering is much less, only 16-20%.

Thermal and nuclear power plants. Boiler installations. During the combustion of solid or liquid fuel, smoke is released into the atmosphere containing products of complete (carbon dioxide and water vapor) and incomplete (oxides of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, hydrocarbons, etc.) combustion. The volume of energy emissions is very large. Thus, a modern thermal power plant with a capacity of 2.4 million kW consumes up to 20 thousand tons of coal per day and emits into the atmosphere during this time 680 tons of SO 2 and SO 3, 120-140 tons of solid particles (ash, dust, soot), 200 tons nitrogen oxides.

Converting installations to liquid fuel (fuel oil) reduces ash emissions, but practically does not reduce emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. The most environmentally friendly gas fuel, which pollutes the air three times less than fuel oil and five times less than coal.

Sources of air pollution with toxic substances at nuclear power plants (NPPs) are radioactive iodine, radioactive inert gases and aerosols. A major source of energy pollution of the atmosphere is the heating system of homes (boiler installations) produces little nitrogen oxides, but many products of incomplete combustion. Due to the low height of chimneys, toxic substances in high concentrations are dispersed near boiler installations.

Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. When smelting one ton of steel, 0.04 tons of solid particles, 0.03 tons of sulfur oxides and up to 0.05 tons of carbon monoxide are released into the atmosphere, as well as in small quantities such dangerous pollutants as manganese, lead, phosphorus, arsenic, mercury vapor etc. During the steelmaking process, vapor-gas mixtures consisting of phenol, formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia and other toxic substances are released into the atmosphere. The atmosphere is also significantly polluted at sintering factories, during blast furnace and ferroalloy production.

Significant emissions of waste gases and dust containing toxic substances are observed at non-ferrous metallurgy plants during the processing of lead-zinc, copper, sulfide ores, during the production of aluminum, etc.

Chemical production. Emissions from this industry, although small in volume (about 2% of all industrial emissions), nevertheless, due to their very high toxicity, significant diversity and concentration, pose a significant threat to humans and all biota. On various chemical production atmospheric air is polluted by sulfur oxides, fluorine compounds, ammonia, nitrous gases (a mixture of nitrogen oxides), chloride compounds, hydrogen sulfide, inorganic dust, etc.).

Vehicle emissions. There are several hundred million cars in the world that burn huge amounts of petroleum products, significantly polluting the air, especially in large cities. Thus, in Moscow, the share of motor transport accounts for 80% of total number emissions into the atmosphere. Exhaust gases from internal combustion engines (especially carburetor engines) contain a huge amount of toxic compounds - benzo(a)pyrene, aldehydes, nitrogen and carbon oxides and especially dangerous lead compounds (in the case of using leaded gasoline).

The largest amount of harmful substances in the exhaust gases is formed when the vehicle’s fuel system is unregulated. Correct adjustment allows you to reduce their number by 1.5 times, and special neutralizers reduce the toxicity of exhaust gases by six or more times.

Intense air pollution is also observed during the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials, at oil and gas processing plants (Fig. 1), during the release of dust and gases from underground mine workings, during the burning of garbage and burning rocks in waste heaps, etc. In rural areas, sources of air pollution are livestock and poultry farms, industrial complexes for meat production, spraying of pesticides, etc.

Rice. 1. Paths of distribution of emissions of sulfur compounds in

area of ​​the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant (APTZ)

Transboundary pollution refers to pollution transferred from the territory of one country to the area of ​​another. Only in 2004 on European part Russia due to its unprofitable geographical location 1204 thousand tons of sulfur compounds fell from Ukraine, Germany, Poland and other countries. At the same time, in other countries only 190 thousand tons of sulfur fell from Russian pollution sources, i.e. 6.3 times less.

3. ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ATMOSPHERE POLLUTION

Air pollution affects human health and the environment different ways- from a direct and immediate threat (smog, etc.) to slow and gradual destruction various systems life support of the body. In many cases, air pollution disrupts structural components ecosystems to such an extent that regulatory processes are unable to return them to their original state and, as a result, the homeostasis mechanism does not work.

First, let's look at how local air pollution affects the natural environment, and then global pollution.

The physiological impact of the main pollutants (pollutants) on the human body is fraught with the most serious consequences. Thus, sulfur dioxide, combining with moisture, forms sulfuric acid, which destroys the lung tissue of humans and animals. This connection can be seen especially clearly when analyzing childhood pulmonary pathology and the degree of sulfur dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. major cities. According to studies by American scientists, at a pollution level of 502 to 0.049 mg/m 3 the incidence rate (in person-days) of the population of Nashville (USA) was 8.1%, at 0.150-0.349 mg/m 3 - 12 and in areas with air pollution above 0.350 mg/m3 - 43.8%. Sulfur dioxide is especially dangerous when it is deposited on dust particles and in this form penetrates deep into the respiratory tract.

Dust containing silicon dioxide (SiO 2) causes serious disease lungs - silicosis. Nitrogen oxides irritate and, in severe cases, corrode mucous membranes, such as the eyes, and easily participate in the formation of toxic mists, etc. They are especially dangerous if they are contained in polluted air together with sulfur dioxide and other toxic compounds. In these cases, even at low concentrations of pollutants, a synergistic effect occurs, i.e., an increase in the toxicity of the entire gaseous mixture.

The effect of carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide) on the human body is widely known. At acute poisoning general weakness, dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, loss of consciousness appear, and death is possible (even after 3-7 days). However, due to the low concentration of CO in the atmospheric air, it, as a rule, does not cause mass poisoning, although it is very dangerous for people suffering from anemia and cardiovascular diseases.

Among suspended solids, the most dangerous particles are those smaller than 5 microns, which can penetrate into The lymph nodes, linger in the alveoli of the lungs, clog the mucous membranes.

Very unfavorable consequences, which can affect a huge period of time, are also associated with such insignificant emissions as lead, benzo(a)pyrene, phosphorus, cadmium, arsenic, cobalt, etc. They depress hematopoietic system, cause cancer, reduce the body's resistance to infections, etc. Dust containing lead and mercury compounds has mutagenic properties and causes genetic changes in the body's cells.

The consequences of exposure of the human body to harmful substances contained in car exhaust gases are very serious and have a wide range of effects: from cough to fatal outcome(Table 2). Severe consequences A toxic mixture of smoke, fog and dust - smog - also causes in the body of living beings. There are two types of smog, winter smog (London type) and summer smog (Los Angeles type).

Table 2 Impact of vehicle exhaust gases on human health

Harmful substances	Consequences of exposure to the human body
Carbon monoxide	Interferes with the blood's absorption of oxygen, which impairs thinking ability, slows reflexes, causes drowsiness and can cause loss of consciousness and death.
Lead	Affects the circulatory, nervous and genitourinary system; probably causes a decrease in mental abilities in children, is deposited in bones and other tissues, and is therefore dangerous for a long time
Nitrogen oxides	May increase the body's susceptibility to viral diseases(like influenza), irritate the lungs, cause bronchitis and pneumonia
Ozone	Irritates the mucous membrane of the respiratory system, causes coughing, disrupts lung function; reduces resistance to colds; may aggravate chronic diseases heart, and also cause asthma, bronchitis
Toxic emissions (heavy metals)	Causes cancer, reproductive dysfunction and birth defects

The London type of smog occurs in winter in large industrial cities under unfavorable weather conditions (lack of wind and temperature inversion). Temperature inversion manifests itself in an increase in air temperature with height in a certain layer of the atmosphere (usually in the range of 300-400 m from the earth's surface) instead of the usual decrease. As a result, the circulation of atmospheric air is sharply disrupted, smoke and pollutants cannot rise upward and do not dissipate. Fogs often occur. The concentration of sulfur oxides and suspended dust, carbon monoxide reach levels dangerous to human health, leading to circulatory and respiratory disorders, and often to death. In 1952, in London, more than 4 thousand people died from smog from December 3 to December 9, and up to 3 thousand people became seriously ill. At the end of 1962, in the Ruhr (Germany), smog killed 156 people in three days. Only the wind can dispel smog, and reducing the emissions of pollutants can smooth out a smog-dangerous situation.

The Los Angeles type of smog, or photochemical smog, is no less dangerous than the London type. It occurs in the summer when there is intense exposure to solar radiation on air that is saturated, or rather, oversaturated with car exhaust gases. In Los Angeles, the exhaust gases of more than four million cars emit nitrogen oxides alone in amounts of more than a thousand tons per day. With very little air movement or calm in the air during this period, complex reactions occur with the formation of new highly toxic pollutants - photooxidites (ozone, organic peroxides, nitrites, etc.), which irritate the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, lungs and organs of vision. In only one city (Tokyo) smog caused poisoning of 10 thousand people in 1970 and 28 thousand in 1971. According to official data, in Athens, on days of smog, mortality is six times higher than on days of relatively clear atmosphere. In some of our cities (Kemerovo, Angarsk, Novokuznetsk, Mednogorsk, etc.), especially in those located in lowlands, due to the increase in the number of cars and the increase in emissions of exhaust gases containing nitrogen oxide, the likelihood of the formation of photochemical smog increases.

Anthropogenic emissions of pollutants in high concentrations and over a long period of time cause great harm not only to humans, but also negatively affect animals, the condition of plants and ecosystems as a whole.

The environmental literature describes cases of mass poisoning of wild animals, birds, and insects due to emissions of high concentrations of harmful pollutants (especially in large quantities). For example, it has been established that when certain toxic types of dust settle on honey plants, a noticeable increase in bee mortality is observed. As for large animals, toxic dust in the atmosphere affects them mainly through the respiratory system, as well as entering the body along with the dusty plants they eat.

Toxic substances enter plants in various ways. It has been established that emissions of harmful substances act both directly on the green parts of plants, entering through the stomata into the tissues, destroying chlorophyll and cell structure, and through the soil on the root system. For example, soil contamination with toxic metal dust, especially in combination with sulfuric acid, has a detrimental effect on the root system, and through it on the entire plant.

Gaseous pollutants affect the health of vegetation in different ways. Some only slightly damage leaves, needles, shoots (carbon monoxide, ethylene, etc.), others have a detrimental effect on plants (sulfur dioxide, chlorine, mercury vapor, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, etc.) (Table 13:3). Sulfur dioxide (502) is especially dangerous for plants, under the influence of which many trees die, and primarily conifers - pines, spruce, fir, cedar.

Table 3 – Toxicity of air pollutants to plants

Harmful substances	Characteristic
Sulfur dioxide	The main pollutant, poison for the assimilation organs of plants, acts at a distance of up to 30 km
Hydrogen fluoride and silicon tetrafluoride	Toxic even in small quantities, prone to aerosol formation, effective at a distance of up to 5 km
Chlorine, hydrogen chloride	Mostly damage at close range
Lead compounds, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides	Infects vegetation in areas of high concentration of industry and transport
Hydrogen sulfide	Cellular and enzyme poison
Ammonia	Damages plants at close range

As a result of the impact of highly toxic pollutants on plants, there is a slowdown in their growth, the formation of necrosis at the ends of leaves and needles, failure of assimilation organs, etc. An increase in the surface of damaged leaves can lead to a decrease in moisture consumption from the soil and its general waterlogging, which will inevitably affect in its habitat.

Can vegetation recover after exposure to harmful pollutants is reduced? This will largely depend on the restorative capacity of the remaining green mass and general condition natural ecosystems. At the same time, it should be noted that low concentrations of individual pollutants not only do not harm plants, but also, such as cadmium salt, stimulate seed germination, wood growth, and the growth of certain plant organs.

4. ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL ATMOSPHERE POLLUTION

Towards the most important environmental consequences global pollution atmospheres include:

possible climate warming (“greenhouse effect”);


ozone layer disruption;


1. acid rain.
   

   Most scientists in the world consider them to be the biggest environmental problems of our time.
   

   Possible climate warming (“Greenhouse effect”). The currently observed climate change, which is expressed in a gradual increase in average annual temperature since the second half of the last century, is associated by most scientists with the accumulation in the atmosphere of so-called “greenhouse gases” - carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), chlorofluorocarbons ( freov), ozone (O 3), nitrogen oxides, etc.
   

   Greenhouse gases, and primarily CO 2, prevent long-wave thermal radiation from the Earth's surface. The atmosphere, saturated with greenhouse gases, acts like the roof of a greenhouse. On the one hand, it transmits most of the solar radiation inside, on the other hand, it almost does not allow the heat re-emitted by the Earth to pass out.
   

   Due to the burning of more and more fossil fuels by humans: oil, gas, coal, etc. (annually more than 9 billion tons of standard fuel), the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere is constantly increasing. Due to emissions into the atmosphere during industrial production and in everyday life, the content of freons (chlorofluorocarbons) increases. The methane content increases by 1-1.5% per year (emissions from underground mine workings, biomass burning, emissions from cattle, etc.). The content of nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere is also increasing to a lesser extent (by 0.3% annually).
   

   A consequence of the increase in the concentrations of these gases, which create the “greenhouse effect,” is an increase in the average global air temperature at the earth’s surface. Over the past 100 years, the warmest years were 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 2006 and 1988. In 1988, the average annual temperature was 0.4 °C higher than in 1950-1980. Calculations by some scientists show that in 2009 it will increase by 1.5 °C compared to 1950-1980. A report prepared under the auspices of the UN by an international group on climate change claims that by 2100 the temperature on Earth will rise above 2-4 degrees. The extent of warming over this relatively short term will be comparable to the warming that occurred on Earth after the Ice Age, which means the environmental consequences could be catastrophic. This is primarily due to the expected increase in the level of the World Ocean due to the melting of polar ice, reduction in areas of mountain glaciation, etc. By modeling the environmental consequences of a rise in sea level by only 0.5-2.0 m by the end of the 21st century, scientists have established that that this will inevitably lead to disruption of the climate balance, flooding of coastal plains in more than 30 countries, degradation of permafrost, waterlogging of vast areas and other adverse consequences.
   

   However, a number of scientists see positive environmental consequences in the proposed global warming.
   

   An increase in the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere and the associated increase in photosynthesis, as well as an increase in climate humidification, can, in their opinion, lead to an increase in the productivity of both natural phytocenoses (forests, meadows, savannas, etc.) and agrocenoses (cultivated plants, gardens , vineyards, etc.).
   

   There is also no consensus on the degree of influence of greenhouse gases on global warming. Thus, the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (1992) notes that the climate warming of 0.3-0.6 observed in the last century could be due primarily to natural variability in a number of climatic factors.
   

   In connection with these data, Academician K. Ya. Kondratiev (1993) believes that there is no reason for a one-sided enthusiasm for the stereotype of “greenhouse” warming and for putting forward the task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as central to the problem of preventing undesirable changes in the global climate.
   

   In his opinion, the most important factor anthropogenic impact on the global climate is the degradation of the biosphere, and therefore, first of all, it is necessary to take care of the preservation of the biosphere as the main factor of global environmental security. Man, using a power of about 10 TW, has destroyed or severely disrupted the normal functioning of natural communities of organisms on 60% of the land. As a result, a significant amount of them was removed from the biogenic cycle of substances, which was previously spent by the biota on stabilization. climatic conditions. Against the backdrop of a constant reduction in areas with undisturbed communities, the degraded biosphere, which has sharply reduced its assimilating capacity, is becoming the most important source of increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
   

   At an international conference in Toronto (Canada) in 1985, the energy industry around the world was tasked with reducing industrial carbon emissions into the atmosphere by 20% by 2008. At the UN Conference in Kyoto (Japan) in 1997, the governments of 84 countries signed the Kyoto Protocol, according to which countries should emit no more anthropogenic carbon dioxide than they emitted in 1990. But it is obvious that a tangible environmental effect can only be achieved when combining these measures with the global direction of environmental policy - the maximum possible preservation of communities of organisms, natural ecosystems and the entire biosphere of the Earth.
   

   Ozone layer depletion. The ozone layer (ozonosphere) covers the entire globe and is located at altitudes from 10 to 50 km with a maximum ozone concentration at an altitude of 20-25 km. The saturation of the atmosphere with ozone is constantly changing in any part of the planet, reaching a maximum in the spring in the polar region.
   

   The depletion of the ozone layer first attracted the attention of the general public in 1985, when an area with reduced (up to 50%) ozone content, called the “ozone hole,” was discovered above Antarctica. Since then, measurements have confirmed widespread depletion of the ozone layer across virtually the entire planet. For example, in Russia over the past 10 years, the concentration of the ozone layer has decreased by 4-6% in winter and by 3% in summer.
   

   Currently, the depletion of the ozone layer is recognized by all as a serious threat to global environmental security. Declining ozone concentrations weaken the atmosphere's ability to protect all life on Earth from harsh ultraviolet radiation (UV radiation). Living organisms are very vulnerable to ultraviolet radiation, because the energy of even one photon from these rays is enough to destroy the chemical bonds in most organic molecules. It is no coincidence that in areas with low ozone levels there are numerous sunburn, there is an increase in the incidence of skin cancer, etc. For example, according to a number of environmental scientists, by 2030 in Russia, if the current rate of depletion of the ozone layer continues, an additional 6 million people will develop skin cancer. In addition to skin diseases, it is possible to develop eye diseases (cataracts, etc.), suppression of the immune system, etc.
   

   It has also been established that plants, under the influence of strong ultraviolet radiation, gradually lose their ability to photosynthesize, and disruption of the vital activity of plankton leads to a break in the trophic chains of the biota of aquatic ecosystems, etc.
   

   Science has not yet fully established what the main processes that disrupt the ozone layer are. Both natural and anthropogenic origins of “ozone holes” are assumed. The latter, according to most scientists, is more likely and is associated with an increased content of chlorofluorocarbons (freons). Freons are widely used in industrial production and in everyday life (refrigeration units, solvents, sprayers, aerosol packaging, etc.). Rising into the atmosphere, freons decompose, releasing chlorine oxide, which has a detrimental effect on ozone molecules.
   

   According to the international environmental organization Greenpeace, the main suppliers of chlorofluorocarbons (freons) are the USA - 30.85%, Japan - 12.42; Great Britain - 8.62 and Russia - 8.0%. The USA punched a hole in the ozone layer with an area of ​​7 million km2, Japan - 3 million km2, which is seven times larger than the area of ​​Japan itself. IN Lately In the USA and in a number of Western countries, plants have been built to produce new types of refrigerants (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) with a low potential for depleting the ozone layer.
   

   According to the protocol of the Montreal Conference (1987), then revised in London (1991) and Copenhagen (1992), a reduction in chlorofluorocarbon emissions by 50% was envisaged by 1998. In accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation “On Environmental Protection” (2002), the protection of the ozone layer of the atmosphere from environmentally hazardous changes is ensured by regulating the production and use of substances that destroy the ozone layer of the atmosphere, on the basis of international treaties of the Russian Federation and its legislation. In the future, the problem of protecting people from UV radiation will need to continue to be addressed, as many of the CFCs can persist in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. A number of scientists continue to insist on the natural origin of the “ozone hole.” Some see the reasons for its occurrence in the natural variability of the ozonosphere and the cyclical activity of the Sun, while others associate these processes with rifting and degassing of the Earth.
   

   Acid rain. One of the most important environmental problems associated with the oxidation of the natural environment is acid rain. They are formed during industrial emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, which, when combined with atmospheric moisture, form sulfuric and nitric acids. As a result, rain and snow become acidified (pH number below 5.6). In Bavaria (Germany) in August 1981, rain fell with the formation of 80,
   

   The water of open reservoirs becomes acidic. The fish are dying
   

   The total global anthropogenic emissions of the two main air pollutants - the culprits of acidification of atmospheric moisture - SO 2 and NO 2 annually amount to more than 255 million tons (2004). Over a vast territory, the natural environment is acidifying, which has a very negative impact on the state of all ecosystems. It turned out that natural ecosystems are destroyed even with a lower level of air pollution than that which is dangerous for humans.
   

   The danger is, as a rule, not from acid precipitation itself, but from the processes occurring under its influence. Under the influence of acid precipitation, not only vital plants need to be leached from the soil. nutrients, but also toxic heavy and light metals - lead, cadmium, aluminum, etc. Subsequently, they themselves or the toxic compounds formed are absorbed by plants and other soil organisms, which leads to very negative consequences. For example, an increase in aluminum content in acidified water to only 0.2 mg per liter is lethal for fish. The development of phytoplankton is sharply reduced, since phosphates, which activate this process, combine with aluminum and become less available for absorption. Aluminum also reduces wood growth. The toxicity of heavy metals (cadmium, lead, etc.) is even more pronounced.
   

   Fifty million hectares of forest in 25 European countries suffer from a complex mixture of pollutants, including acid rain, ozone, toxic metals, etc. For example, coniferous mountain forests in Bavaria are dying. There have been cases of damage to coniferous and deciduous forests in Karelia, Siberia and other regions of our country.
   

   The impact of acid rain reduces the resistance of forests to droughts, diseases, and natural pollution, which leads to even more pronounced degradation of them as natural ecosystems.
   

   A striking example of the negative impact of acid precipitation on natural ecosystems is the acidification of lakes. It occurs especially intensively in Canada, Sweden, Norway and southern Finland (Table 4). This is explained by the fact that a significant part of sulfur emissions in such industrialized countries as the USA, Germany and Great Britain fall on their territory (Fig. 4). Lakes are the most vulnerable in these countries, since the bedrock that makes up their bed is usually represented by granite-gneisses and granites, which are not capable of neutralizing acid precipitation, unlike, for example, limestone, which creates an alkaline environment and prevents acidification. Many lakes in the northern United States are also highly acidified.
   

   Table 4 – Acidification of lakes in the world
   

   A country	State of the lakes
   Canada	More than 14 thousand lakes are highly acidified; every seventh lake in the east of the country has suffered biological damage
   Norway	In reservoirs with a total area of ​​13 thousand km2, fish were destroyed and another 20 thousand km2 were affected
   Sweden	In 14 thousand lakes, the species most sensitive to acidity levels were destroyed; 2200 lakes are practically lifeless
   Finland	8% of lakes do not have the ability to neutralize acid. The most acidified lakes in the southern part of the country
   USA	There are about 1 thousand acidified lakes and 3 thousand almost acidic lakes in the country (data from the Environmental Protection Fund). A 1984 EPA study found that 522 lakes were highly acidic and 964 were borderline acidic.

   Acidification of lakes is dangerous not only for populations of various fish species (including salmon, whitefish, etc.), but often entails the gradual death of plankton, numerous species of algae and its other inhabitants. Lakes become practically lifeless.
   

   In our country, the area of ​​significant acidification from acid precipitation reaches several tens of millions of hectares. Special cases of lake acidification have also been noted (Karelia, etc.). Increased acidity of precipitation is observed along the western border (transboundary transport of sulfur and other pollutants) and in a number of large industrial areas, as well as fragmentarily on Vorontsov A.P. Rational environmental management. Tutorial. –M.: Association of Authors and Publishers “TANDEM”. EKMOS Publishing House, 2000. – 498 p. Characteristics of the enterprise as a source of air pollution MAIN TYPES OF ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE THE PROBLEM OF ENERGY SUPPLY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANITY AND THE PROSPECTS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

   2014-06-13

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If we consider environmental problems, one of the most pressing is air pollution. Environmentalists are sounding the alarm and calling on humanity to reconsider its attitude to life and consumption of natural resources, because only protection from air pollution will improve the situation and prevent serious consequences. Find out how to solve such a pressing issue, influence the environmental situation and preserve the atmosphere.

Natural sources of clogging

What is air pollution? This concept includes the introduction and entry into the atmosphere and all its layers of uncharacteristic elements of a physical, biological or chemical nature, as well as changes in their concentrations.

What pollutes our air? Air pollution is caused by many reasons, and all sources can be divided into natural or natural, as well as artificial, that is, anthropogenic.

It’s worth starting with the first group, which includes pollutants generated by nature itself:

1. The first source is volcanoes. Erupting, they throw out huge quantities tiny particles of various rocks, ash, poisonous gases, sulfur oxides and other equally harmful substances. And although eruptions occur quite rarely, according to statistics, as a result volcanic activity The level of air pollution is increasing significantly, as up to 40 million tons of hazardous compounds are released into the atmosphere every year.
2. If we consider natural causes of air pollution, then it is worth noting such as peat or forest fires. Most often, fires occur due to unintentional arson by a person who is negligent about the rules of safety and behavior in the forest. Even a small spark from a fire that is not completely extinguished can cause the fire to spread. Less often, fires are caused by very high solar activity, which is why the peak of danger occurs in the hot summer.
3. Considering the main types of natural pollutants, one cannot fail to mention dust storms that arise due to strong gusts of wind and mixing air flow. During a hurricane or other natural event, tons of dust rises, causing air pollution.

Artificial sources

Air pollution in Russia and other developed countries is often caused by the influence of anthropogenic factors caused by the activities carried out by people.

Let us list the main artificial sources causing air pollution:

• Rapid development of industry. It’s worth starting with chemical air pollution caused by the activities of chemical plants. Toxic substances released into the air poison it. Also air pollution harmful substances cause metallurgical plants: metal recycling is a complex process involving huge emissions due to heating and combustion. In addition, small solid particles formed during the manufacture of building or finishing materials also pollute the air.
• The problem of air pollution from motor vehicles is especially pressing. Although other types also provoke emissions into the atmosphere, it is cars that have the most significant negative impact on it, since there are many more of them than any other Vehicle. The exhaust emitted by motor vehicles and generated during engine operation contains a lot of substances, including hazardous ones. It's sad that emissions are increasing every year. An increasing number of people are acquiring an “iron horse”, which, of course, has a detrimental effect on the environment.
• Operation of thermal and nuclear power plants, boiler installations. The life of humanity at this stage is impossible without the use of such installations. They supply us with vital resources: heat, electricity, hot water. But when any type of fuel is burned, the atmosphere changes.
• Household waste. Every year the purchasing power of people increases, and as a result, the volumes of waste generated also increase. Their disposal is not given due attention, but some types of waste are extremely dangerous and have a long period decomposition and emit vapors that have an extremely unfavorable effect on the atmosphere. Every person pollutes the air every day, but waste from industrial enterprises, which is taken to landfills and is not disposed of in any way, is much more dangerous.

What substances most often pollute the air?

There are an incredibly large number of air pollutants, and environmentalists are constantly discovering new ones, which is associated with the rapid pace of industrial development and the introduction of new production and processing technologies. But the most common compounds found in the atmosphere are:

• Carbon monoxide, also called carbon monoxide. It is colorless and odorless and is formed during incomplete combustion of fuel with low volumes of oxygen and low temperatures. This compound is dangerous and causes death due to lack of oxygen.
• Carbon dioxide is found in the atmosphere and has a slightly sour odor.
• Sulfur dioxide is released during the combustion of some sulfur-containing fuels. This compound provokes acid rain and depresses human breathing.
• Nitrogen dioxides and oxides characterize air pollution from industrial enterprises, since they are most often formed during their activities, especially during the production of certain fertilizers, dyes and acids. These substances can also be released as a result of fuel combustion or during operation of the machine, especially when it is malfunctioning.
• Hydrocarbons are among the most common substances and can be found in solvents, detergents, petroleum products.
• Lead is also harmful and is used to make batteries, cartridges and ammunition.
• Ozone is extremely toxic and is formed during photochemical processes or during the operation of transport and factories.

Now you know which substances pollute the air most often. But this is only a small part of them; the atmosphere contains a lot of different compounds, and some of them are even unknown to scientists.

Sad consequences

The scale of the impact of air pollution on human health and the entire ecosystem as a whole is simply enormous, and many people underestimate it. Let's start with the environment.

1. Firstly, due to polluted air, a greenhouse effect has developed, which gradually but globally changes the climate, leads to warming and melting of glaciers, provokes natural disasters. It can be said that it leads to irreversible consequences in the state of the environment.
2. Secondly, acid rain is becoming more and more frequent, which has a negative impact on all life on Earth. Through their fault, entire populations of fish die, unable to live in such an acidic environment. A negative impact is observed when examining historical monuments and architectural monuments.
3. Thirdly, fauna and flora suffer, since dangerous fumes are inhaled by animals, they also enter plants and gradually destroy them.

A polluted atmosphere has an extremely negative impact on human health. The emissions enter the lungs and cause disruptions in the respiratory system and severe allergic reactions. Together with the blood, dangerous compounds are carried throughout the body and greatly wear it out. And some elements can provoke mutation and degeneration of cells.

How to solve the problem and save the environment

The problem of air pollution is very relevant, especially considering that the environment has deteriorated greatly over the past few decades. And it needs to be solved comprehensively and in several ways.

Let's consider several effective measures to prevent air pollution:

1. To combat air pollution at individual enterprises, it is necessary to mandatory install treatment and filtering facilities and systems. And at particularly large industrial plants it is necessary to begin introducing stationary monitoring posts for monitoring air pollution.
2. To avoid air pollution from cars, you should switch to alternative and less harmful energy sources, such as solar panels or electricity.
3. Replacing combustible fuels with more accessible and less dangerous ones, such as water, wind, sunlight and others that do not require combustion, will help protect atmospheric air from pollution.
4. The protection of atmospheric air from pollution must be supported at the state level, and there are already laws aimed at protecting it. But it is also necessary to act and exercise control in individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
5. One of effective ways, which should include the protection of air from pollution, is the establishment of a system for the disposal of all waste or its recycling.
6. To solve the problem of air pollution, plants should be used. Widespread landscaping will improve the atmosphere and increase the amount of oxygen in it.

How to protect atmospheric air from pollution? If all of humanity fights it, then there is a chance of improving the environment. Knowing the essence of the problem of air pollution, its relevance and the main solutions, we need to jointly and comprehensively combat pollution.