Change in the natural environment, which leads to disruption of the normal functioning of the biosphere, can be both anthropogenic (more often) and the result of natural disasters. A weak manifestation of an environmental problem is characterized by the degree of transformation of the natural properties of the landscape up to 10%, the average degree - 10-50%, severe pollution - more than 50% of the change in landscape properties. At the same time, at present, most environmental problems are large-scale and global, that is, they go beyond individual countries and regions. Therefore, the UN, national governments, local authorities, individual industries and households are engaged in environmental protection and solving environmental problems. Work is underway at all levels.
Changes and expected trends
In September 2001, at a meeting of the United Nations, Chief Secretary Kofi Annan stressed that in the next millennium the challenge of providing for future generationsan environmentally sustainable society will be one of the most difficult. His report “We the Peoples: The Role of the UN in the 21st Century” examined not only the existing international environmental problems, the trends of the 1970-1990s, but also the expected scenarios until 2030.
Thus, by the year 2000, only about 40% of the area of natural ecosystems remained. During 1970-1990. on land, the reduction proceeded at a rate of 0.5-1% annually. It is expected that the trend will continue throughout the first third of the twenty-first century and the situation will approach the almost complete elimination of natural biosystems on land. It is reduced, exceeding the natural indicator, the number of species of animals and plants. If this trend continues, about a quarter of all biological species will disappear in the next 20-30 years. To date, there are already fourteen million species of extinct animals and plants in the catalogs.
In 1970-1990, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere began to increase from tenths of a percent to several percent annually. Acceleration of growth in the concentration of carbon dioxide and methane is expected due to the high rates of economic development of states and the reduction of biological diversity. The ozone layer in the last third of the last century was depleted by 1-2% per year, the same trend continues today.
In the 1970-1990s, the area of deserts expanded to 60 thousand km2 annually, toxic deserts appeared, from 117 thousand km2in 1980, up to 180-200 thousand km2 in 1989, the area of forests (especially tropical forests) decreased,soil fertility has decreased. It is expected that desertification may accelerate due to a decrease in fresh water supplies on land and the accumulation of harmful chemicals in soils, the area of forests in the temperate zone will begin to decline, forests in the tropics will shrink at a rate of 9-11 million square kilometers, the area of agricultural land will decrease, increasing trend of erosion and soil pollution.
Statistics record a constant increase in the number of natural disasters and catastrophes from 133 in 1980 to 350 or more in recent times. At the same time, the number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions remained practically unchanged, but floods and hurricanes began to occur much more often. Since 1975, natural disasters have killed 2.2 million people. Two-thirds of deaths are caused by climate disasters. The trends will continue and intensify. At the same time, the quality of life is deteriorating, the number of diseases associated with environmental pollution is increasing, infant mortality is increasing, drug consumption is increasing, poverty and food shortages are increasing, and the immune status is declining.
Causes of environmental problems
The problem of environmental protection is that it is almost impossible to cope with the causes of existing environmental problems. The aggravation and globalization of negative changes occur as a result of practically uncontrolled economic growth, which requires more and more natural resources. Almost all economic activity is based on the use ofenvironment: forest and fish resources, minerals, soils, energy. Globalization has contributed to environmental degradation by accelerating world economic growth, in particular in developing countries. The financial crisis caused a regression, but there will be no fundamental changes in the long term.
Earlier, the environmental factor also had a certain impact on world development, but until the 1960s-1970s, the impact of economic activity on the environment was limited to individual components. Subsequently, this influence spread to all components of ecology. Modern economic and social problems of environmental protection became relevant in the last decades of the twentieth century, and by the beginning of this century, their impact began to be felt especially sharply and acquired a global character. This magnitude is reflected in the impact on global development and the measures taken.
Humanity faced the main problems of environmental protection even after the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, especially after the 1960-1970s. By the beginning of the nineties, the world's population produced the maximum allowable load. Currently, according to some scientists, the scale of consumption exceeded the capabilities of the environment by 25-30%, and the ecological debt of mankind is estimated at 4 trillion dollars. Considering that most problems arise much later than the causes that caused them, the situation will not improve for a long time even in the event of an immediate cessation of the negative impact on the environment. Primarilyit's about ozone depletion and climate change.
Economic development is the main cause of environmental problems. Environmental protection does not save the situation, since all the measures taken are not enough, and in order for any positive effect to really occur, they must be global. The causes of the problems are a sharp and not always justified increase in the expenditure of resources, the creation of weapons of mass destruction, increased unevenness in socio-economic development between developing and developed countries, the negative impact of production on the environment, and so on.
Today, the problems of nature management and environmental protection provoke not only developed countries, but also rapidly developing states. For example, in 2007, China ranked first in the world in terms of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere (20.9% of global emissions), followed by the United States with 19.9%. Other major polluters were the European Union (11.3%), Russia (5.4%), India (less than 5%).
Global warming
The increase in average temperature has been observed since the seventies of the last century. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the average air temperature has increased by 0.74 degrees Celsius, about two-thirds of this value has occurred in the period since 1980. It was found that rising temperatures, a decrease in the amount of ice and snow in permanently frozen areas, an increase in the level of the World Ocean and some anomalous climatic phenomena (ocean acidification, heat waves,drought) affects human activities.
The counter-policy includes mitigating the process by reducing carbon emissions. This can be achieved through the use of environmentally friendly energy sources and reducing the volume of raw materials consumed, the use of technological solutions that help reduce emissions (for example, the creation of underground storage of carbon dioxide). The main environmental concerns in this regard are the need for significant investment, climate skepticism, ignoring the need to reduce production (as this leads to economic losses), and so on.
Climate Skepticism
The main problems of environmental protection are significant and are recognized by the majority of the population, but at the same time, part of the public does not trust the scientific data on global warming and the results of other studies related to the topic of ecology. Climate skepticism in many parts of the world hinders policy decisions aimed primarily at preventing global warming. Allocate trend skepticism, that is, non-recognition of the fact of rising temperatures; attributive, that is, non-recognition of the anthropogenic nature of climate change; damage skepticism, that is, not recognizing the dangers of global warming. This is a significant contemporary environmental issue.
Ozone holes in the atmosphere
Significant thinning of the ozone layer since the second half of the twentieth century has contributed to the impact of the anthropogenic factor in the form of an activefreon release. For the first time, an ozone hole with a diameter of more than 1000 kilometers was discovered in 1985 over Antarctica. Scientists have found that this enhances the penetration of ultraviolet solar radiation. This provokes an increase in mortality among marine animals plants, an increase in skin cancer in humans, damage to crops.
In response to the research, the Montreal Protocol was developed, setting a deadline for ozone-depleting substances to be phased out and phased out. The protocol entered into force at the beginning of 1989. Most countries have replaced chlorine- and bromine-containing freons with other substances that do not react with ozone. But the atmosphere has already accumulated a sufficiently large amount of destructive substances that will have a negative impact for decades to come, so the process will drag on for many years.
Despite the restrictions set by the Montreal Treaty, in some countries (particularly in the Asian region), emissions into the atmosphere are produced by unregistered industries. This is a significant problem for ecology and environmental protection. The emission sources are found to be between China, Korea and Mongolia, somewhere in East Asia. Ecologists have obtained recognition from Chinese manufacturers for the use of banned substances in the production, but no one has been held accountable.
Disposal of radioactive waste
Waste that poses a hazard must be collected, modified andbe disposed of separately from other types of raw materials. Before disposal, such waste must be sorted according to the degree of radioactivity, form and period of decay. Further, they are processed by pressing and filtering, evaporation or incineration, liquid waste is fixed or vitrified, placed in special containers with thickened walls made of special material for transportation to a permanent storage site.
The problem of protecting the environment from the negative impact of radioactive waste is the unprofitability of this area due to the high cost of handling this type of raw material. It is very uneconomical for manufacturers to properly dispose of hazardous waste, so they are simply dumped in landfills or wastewater. This causes pollution of the litho- and hydrosphere, which causes a decrease in biological diversity, drainage of soils, a decrease in the area of forests and agricultural land, and so on.
Possibility of nuclear winter
The hypothetical radical climate change resulting from a nuclear collision is considered a real threat. It is assumed that as a result of the explosion of several hundred ammunition, the temperature will drop to the arctic. The theory was first put forward by G. Golitsyn in the Soviet Union and K. Sagan in the States, modern calculations and computer modeling show that a nuclear war can indeed have an unprecedented climatic effect, which is comparable to the Little Ice Age.
So, the possibility of a nuclear strike is not only a significant political,social and legal problem, but also a problem of the environment as well. The United States is currently the only state that has used nuclear weapons in real military operations, but experts, based on modern conditions and the situation in the international arena, call not only the States, but also other NATO countries, China, and the DPRK as potential rivals in a nuclear war. America is currently discussing the possibility of destroying nuclear facilities in Pakistan, Iran and North Korea, and the leader of North Korea has repeatedly threatened to build up its nuclear program. The problem is the unpreparedness of states for cooperation and real, not nominal, peacekeeping.
Oceans: real problems
Environmental protection in Russia affects the problems of the World Ocean: waters are polluted with oil products, transportation of goods can end in a shipwreck, harmful substances enter the water due to natural disasters (in 2007, four ships sank during a storm in the Kerch Strait, two tankers ran aground, two tankers were damaged, and the damage amounted to 6.5 billion rubles), leaks occur during production from wells, sewage is a dangerous pollutant, an increase in the mass of phytoplankton (water bloom) may threaten to reduce the ability of ecosystems to self-regulate (in lake Baikal, for example, abnormal growth of unusual algae due to the extensive collection of harmful chemicals by sewage treatment plants).
Global action to save the oceans includes:
- Develop carbon quotas.
- Promoting green economies in developing countries. The economic problem of environmental protection is the lack of funds and the unwillingness of developing countries to spend part of their income on ensuring the stability of ecosystems. Therefore, the global community needs to support an environmentally beneficial initiative, allocate funds to ensure environmental protection, etc.
- Strengthen scientific monitoring capabilities of oceans and coastal areas, development of new monitoring technologies.
- Promoting responsible fisheries and aquaculture through national environmental policy.
- Fixing shortcomings in the legal regime of the high seas and making the necessary changes to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
- Promote (subsidize and the like) private research into industrial ocean acidification, adaptation and mitigation.
Reduction of minerals
Over the past decades, about half of all oil discovered by mankind has been pumped out. The incredibly rapid development of technology and natural science contributed to the achievement of such high rates. With each decade in the twentieth century, the volume of scientific research activity increased, geophysical methods and the geological exploration process were constantly improved, and the number of scientists dealing with such issues increased. For many countries, oil is the backbone of the economy, so the reductionpumping is not expected.
Mining and processing of minerals is a gold mine, so many entrepreneurs simply do not care about the environmental situation on a global scale. In short, the problem of environmental protection in the matter of the reduction of minerals is the factor of loss of economic benefits. In addition, mining is carried out with the formation of a huge amount of production waste, it is characterized by a significant technogenic impact on almost all geospheres. It is the mining industry that accounts for more than 30% of emissions into the atmosphere and over 40% of disturbed land, 10% of wastewater.
Energy and Ecology
Search for alternative sources is one of the options for solving environmental problems. Energy has a negative impact on the biosphere. For example, when fuel is burned, substances are produced that destroy ozone protection, pollute soils and water resources, slowly contribute to global climate change, cause acid rain and other climatic anomalies, and TPP emissions contain a large amount of heavy metals and their compounds. Energy and environmental issues are directly linked.
The solution to problems is the search and use of alternative sources, primarily the sun and wind. At the same time, emissions of harmful substances are significantly reduced. In addition, a significant factor in improving the environmental situation is the use and improvement of cleaning devices, energy savings.(in domestic conditions and in production, this can be achieved by simple methods of improving the insulating properties of structures, replacing incandescent lamps with LED products, and so on).
Soil pollution
Soil pollution is characterized by an excess of the natural regional background level of harmful chemicals in soils. An environmental hazard is the entry of various chemicals and other pollutants from anthropogenic sources. In addition, sources of pollution are utilities and industrial enterprises, transport, agriculture, and radioactive waste disposal.
The problem of development of environmental protection is to ensure the protection of soil. It was the desire to get the greatest potential from the soil that led to the degradation of the soil fertile composition. To help the land return to the natural balance and natural balance, it is necessary to control agricultural production, flushing irrigated areas, fixing soils through the root system of vegetation, plowing land, crop rotation, planting protective forest belts, minimizing tillage. It is advisable to use only safe fertilizers and use natural pest control methods.
This area also has economic problems of environmental protection. Many methods require significant capital investment. The state provides benefits and subsidies to farmers who follow the rules of environmental protection, but this is not always enough. For example, to determine the real need for fertilization, you must first conduct a chemical analysis of the soil, and this is a very expensive procedure. In addition, such an analysis is not carried out by every laboratory - this is another environmental problem. In short, to stop the process of soil pollution, it is necessary not only to take the right measures, but also to ensure them at all levels (not only national, but also local).
Nature conservation activities
Nature protection is a set of measures for the conservation, reasonable use and renewal of natural resources and the natural environment. All activities in this area can be divided into natural-science, economic, administrative-legal and technical-production. These measures are carried out on an international scale, nationwide or within a particular region. At the first stages of the formation of ideas about the need for environmental protection measures, they were taken only in territories with unique biosystems. In the future, the problems in the field of environmental protection worsened, they required decisive measures, regulation of the expenditure of natural resources in regulatory legal acts.
In Russia, the first commissions dealing with the protection of the natural environment were created after the revolution. A new period of intensification of activities for nature protection fell on the years 1960-1980. The first edition of the Red Book was published in 1978. The list contained data on endangered species found on the territory of the Soviet Union.
Established in 1948The International Union for Conservation of Nature is a non-governmental association that includes a large number of state and public organizations. Since the second half of the twentieth century, in general, active cooperation in the field of environmental protection has developed at the international level. The problems were discussed within the framework of the Stockholm Conference, in accordance with the decisions of which the UNEP Program was created. The program sponsors the development of solar energy, the project for the protection of wetlands in the Middle East, the commission publishes reports, a large number of newsletters and reports, develops environmental policy, provides communications and so on.
Environmental policy
Environmental policy, that is, a certain set of intentions and principles of activity to achieve the goals and objectives set by the environmental plan, seeks to solve the economic and social problems of environmental protection at the global, state, regional, local and corporate levels. But developing an action plan isn't everything.
Problems of energy and environmental protection, ecology and economy must be addressed at all levels. Thus, if ordinary producers and households do not follow the main points of the national environmental policy at the local level, no positive effect can be expected.
The following methods of environmental policy can be distinguished:
- Administrative and control: standardization, licensing of economicactivities, environmental expertise, environmental audit, monitoring, control over compliance with legislation in the field of nature protection, targeted programs and so on.
- Technical and technological. Environmental protection and the solution of environmental problems are carried out through the use of special technical and technological means and solutions. This is the improvement of technology, the introduction of new methods of production and so on.
- Legislative (problems of environmental protection at the legislative level): development, approval and implementation in practice of the provisions of legal acts regulating relations between society and nature.
- Economic: creation of targeted programs, taxation, payment systems, benefits and other incentives, planning of nature management.
- Political methods: actions and other actions of politicians aimed at protecting the environment.
- Educational and educational. Such methods contribute to the moral responsibility of citizens and the formation of a true environmental consciousness. This is a necessary element of eco-policy.
The state plays an important role in the formation and implementation of environmental policy to solve environmental problems. At the state level, the activities of all subjects are coordinated, control over compliance with regulatory legal acts in the field of nature protection is carried out, and so on. Economic and economic entities, in accordance with regulatory legal acts, are obliged to take care of the conservation of nature, take into account the impact of the production process onenvironment, eliminate possible harmful effects. Within the framework of environmental policy, political parties contribute to the formation of environmental consciousness, develop their own strategies and, if they win elections, put them into practice. Public organizations also play an exceptional role in making environmentally significant decisions.
Economy and ecology
Economy, environmental issues and environmental protection are interrelated components. Man has a huge impact on nature precisely in the process of economic activity. With irrational activities, damage is caused that affects the environmental safety of all mankind. At the same time, the main ways to solve environmental problems are directly related to the need for significant financial investments in development, scientific activities, monitoring and control.
Each state has its own list of problems. The economic problems of environmental protection are numerous: the reduction of agricultural land, the decline in production efficiency, poor working conditions, the decline in soil fertility, the increase in industrial waste, the lack of improvement in environmental management, and so on. These factors are being eliminated at the state level.
