What comes to mind when we say: “Human influence on the environment”? A huge chimney of a factory, rising high into the sky and throwing out black clouds of smoke. Such an association is a stereotype, which does not even to a small extent reflect the essence of the problem. Human influence on the environment is more diverse and complex in nature, posing a threat to both living and inanimate nature of the entire planet. Therefore, it is wrong to reduce the problem only to air, water and soil pollution. Impact, its factors and human impact on the environment are words that denote different processes.
Impact is a directed action with some purpose. A factor is the driving force or cause of an action, and an influence is what brings about change. That is, an action that has a reason, a purpose, and causes change.
The reason is to meet the needs of a person as a living organism, which is not always associated with survival or the need for food and water. The goal is to change nature to best meet your needs. There are a huge number of actions being taken to achieve this. When actions cause change, there are bound to be consequences. For the nature around us, this is of the most basic importance.
Types and examples
In human activity, it is very difficult to draw a strict line between actions, consequences and causes. Because one thing becomes a part of the other, consequences become a cause, actions become a goal.
For example, to effectively control an ecosystem, a person strives to simplify its structure. It interferes with its functioning, reducing species diversity and population sizes. Destroys animal and plant species that interfere with the productivity of the ecosystem. Changes its composition and structure. As a result, the ecosystem becomes unviable without constant human help and control. As a result, the number of natural ecosystems is decreasing and the number of anthropogenic ones, that is, transformed as a result of active human intervention, is increasing. Natural ecosystems are turning into artificial ones.
This process has become a global trend, as it ensures maximum satisfaction of human needs for food, water, energy and comfort.
Even where ecosystems remain natural, wildlife habitats are shrinking and resources are being depleted. All this occurs as a result of pollution, deforestation, blocking of river beds, burning of oxygen, regulation of water exchange, expansion of agricultural land and urban areas, mining, accumulation of waste, industrial and domestic on land and in water, and so on. A chain reaction of actions and consequences occurs, where one begins another and so on endlessly.
Pollution is a phenomenon that contains both action and consequences. It changes the structure of a substance or environment when the quantity or concentration of some elements increases unnaturally or foreign elements are introduced. Pollution affects all the main components of nature - land, water and air. Its sources come from almost all areas of human activity, from industrial to household. Polluting elements are not only chemicals, but also physical phenomena, radiation, noise, and so on. Pollution arose with the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution. The first enterprises that began to significantly pollute the environment were chemical production of rubber and mineral fertilizers. Pollution plays a major role in disruption of the functions and composition of the biosphere, which entails changes that have not been fully studied and understood.
Human influence on the environment is dual in nature, although the consequences are the same - the impoverishment of nature. On the one hand, humanity needs more and more food, for which more and more land is being taken away from nature. On the other hand, there is a constant need to increase energy.
Human impact on the environment does not always entail planned or predicted consequences. And the most dangerous of them are those that were not expected. A striking example is “global warming” of the climate. The destruction of forests and the burning of fuel simultaneously lead to a decrease in oxygen in the atmosphere, and the invention of aerosols leads to a decrease in ozone. Thus, more heat began to accumulate near the Earth. One thing is to penetrate more actively from the outside, the other is to linger. The result could be accelerated melting of glaciers, rising sea levels and flooding of land.
No matter how interconnected the goal, cause, consequences are, they must be separated and treated carefully.
Video – Man and the Environment
For thousands of years, man has been a part of nature. Without opposing himself to her, he took what was necessary for survival: food, material for housing, fuel. However, the further the human race went in technical inventions, the more resources it consumed, the more serious damage it caused to the environment.
Today, the issue of ecology has come to the attention of the inhabitants of our planet. A whole range of problems threaten to change the earth beyond recognition and cause irreparable harm directly to people, their health and well-being.
It must be said that people themselves cause damage to the quality of their lives. Much has already been destroyed, dozens of species of animals and plants have disappeared, but it is possible to preserve what remains. To do this, it is important to take a responsible approach to various areas of your life. It is necessary to think about what will be left as a legacy to subsequent generations, how our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, society will feel, whether they will have a chance to change something.
Technical sphere in modern life of the Planet
Today, the amount of technology produced by humans (what is called technomass in science) for the first time in the history of our world has exceeded biomass (that is, wild living organisms).
By analogy with biomass, the concept of which underlies the biosphere, there is a generalized concept of technomass, into which scientists put the following components:
- devices extracting minerals;
- energy generating devices;
- devices processing raw materials;
- technology that creates consumer products;
- everything related to the development of devices for processing and storing information.
A separate category includes autonomous multifunctional systems, which, for example, perform various actions in space, and “technical orderlies” - waste processing devices.
Thus, we can say that the technosphere copies the biosphere in structure. At the same time, until the last moment, all the industrial power of humanity was aimed at maximum exploitation of natural resources. The absence of a humanistic component and insufficient interaction of social sciences with the exact ones has led to the fact that nature is driven into reservations, species become extinct, plant and animal life in entire regions is practically destroyed, and industrial waste forms landscapes.
The first step to solving a problem is recognizing it. Society needs to appreciate the horror of the state of nature, the role and impact of humans on the environment. Only in this case is it possible to save what remains.
How does modern society harm nature?
- Each of us, to a greater or lesser extent, is aimed at consumption. Every person has many things without which life seems impossible. Moreover, the industry needs to constantly expand its sales market. Therefore, with the help of advertising, we are told that old (no matter whether good or not) things need to be thrown away and purchased new ones. This applies to cars and mobile phones, household appliances, clothing, shoes, furniture and much more.
Thus, production volumes are constantly increasing, new factories and plants are being built. Each of them must have treatment facilities, all basic technologies and forms of activity must be regularly updated, and money must be invested in minimizing harmful emissions. This requires considerable financial costs, which the owners do not want to undertake. As a result, the atmosphere is polluted, forests and water bodies die, and people acquire serious diseases.
The petrochemical industry emits hydrocarbon compounds into the air, and metallurgy emits heavy metals.
- Special substances are released by ballistic and space rockets. Every military exercise, every flight to orbit costs us part of our atmosphere, what we breathe and with the help of which we exist.
- A special word should be said about cars. Today their number per capita, especially in cities, is becoming critical. This is evidenced by traffic jams, accidents, and problems with parking spaces. But the most important thing is that exhaust gases - products of fuel processing - also rise upward, polluting the air and creating a “greenhouse effect”. In short, its result is an increase in temperature throughout the planet. This contributes to the melting of glaciers, climate change, and frequent natural disasters. The main means of neutralizing the harm of cars is to adjust engines and install special systems for cleaning combustion products, as well as replacing ethyl gasoline with other, environmentally friendly fuel.
- The human impact on the environment also lies in the active operation of thermal power plants. The oxides of sulfur and nitrogen that form when raw coal burns, along with other chemical compounds, cause acid rain. They are dangerous both for human society and for the natural environment - they acidify soils and water bodies, contribute to the extinction of entire species of plants and living beings, and negatively affect the skin, hair, and the condition of human internal organs.
This situation can be corrected. This will require, first of all, considerable funds. However, the consequences of human economic activity for the environment are so catastrophic that such investments are the only way to save nature.
- It is necessary to replace old-style thermal power plants with new ones, which include mechanisms for the disposal of harmful gas and dust waste.
- It is necessary to clean the coal right after its extraction - even before it reaches the thermal power plant. Ideally, it should be replaced with the most environmentally friendly and safe fuel today - natural gas.
- Deforestation. Modern society is accustomed to taking from nature without giving anything in return. The destruction of forests has acquired catastrophic proportions, especially in those countries where this natural wealth was initially abundant.
The most valuable timber from the tropical forests of South America is being cut down. As for our country, unauthorized plots can be found in almost any region, and especially in the taiga.
Reducing the number of forests is harmful not only for those animals that have lost their home and are forced to migrate. The consequences of human economic activity for the environment in this case are climate changes, which will affect the quality of life of each of us. Also, a decrease in forest area will help reduce the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.
Constant and systematic restoration of plantings, careful treatment of them, protection from deforestation and fires, from diseases - this is the recipe for preserving one of the main wealth - forests.
- A special word should be said about the waste collection system in our country. It is at a low level. There are several reasons for this:
- Ignorance and illiteracy of each individual person. Most of our cities are littered, many people throw food wrappers, bottles and cigarette butts right under their feet, teaching their children this by their own example.
- Unorganized waste separation system. In European countries, society is configured and accustomed to the fact that garbage needs to be separated into biodegradable (food waste and paper), metal, glass, plastic. Most of what is collected is sent for recycling. To do this, it is necessary to invest money in the construction of factories, the purchase and establishment of mechanisms, and basic collection technologies. However, the result becomes noticeable soon.
All changes in the biosphere follow each other, they are characterized by a chain reaction. Therefore, by destroying, for example, a certain species of animal, a person disrupts the state of the entire ecosystem of a forest, steppe or desert, and interferes with the natural course of events that has existed for thousands of years. Failure to understand these connections leads to a significant change in the state of our planet and life on it.
The consequences of human economic activity for the environment are becoming more and more catastrophic every year. Therefore, it is important to develop a set of measures where every person, enterprise, and state will be responsible for nature, as for our common home, and do what they can, making their contribution to the life and well-being of the planet. After all, no money or benefits of civilization can replace air, clean water, greenery and all the riches that nature generously shares with us.
1) The economic mechanism of environmental protection has several components. Firstly, the use of natural resources is paid. The legislator regulates the procedure for payments for the use of land, subsoil, forest areas and other natural resources in the form of taxes, rent and other forms provided by law depending on the right to use the natural resource. Secondly, the law provides for the procedure for compensation for damage to the environment and certain natural resources - property liability. Thirdly, administrative responsibility provides for the procedure for paying fines and their amount for administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection and natural resource management. Fourthly, the law also provides for the collection of non-tax payments, in particular fees for negative impact on the environment, which is also not a type of liability for offenses in the field of environmental protection and natural resource management.
General methods of economic regulation in the field of environmental protection are contained and listed in Art. 14 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection".
Methods of economic regulation in the field of environmental protection include:
development of state forecasts of socio-economic development based on environmental forecasts;
development of federal programs in the field of environmental development of the Russian Federation and target programs in the field of environmental protection of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
development and implementation of environmental protection measures in order to prevent harm to the environment;
establishing fees for negative impacts on the environment;
setting limits on emissions and discharges of pollutants and microorganisms, limits on the disposal of production and consumption waste and other types of negative impact on the environment;
conducting an economic assessment of natural objects and natural-anthropogenic objects;
conducting an economic assessment of the impact of economic and other activities on the environment;
provision of tax and other benefits for the implementation of the best existing technologies, non-traditional types of energy, the use of secondary resources and waste recycling, as well as for the implementation of other effective measures to protect the environment in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;
support for entrepreneurial, innovative and other activities (including environmental insurance) aimed at environmental protection;
compensation in accordance with the established procedure for environmental damage;
other methods of economic regulation to improve and effectively implement environmental protection.
Types of negative impact on the environment include:
emissions of pollutants and other substances into the air;
discharges of pollutants, other substances and microorganisms into surface water bodies, underground water bodies and drainage areas;
pollution of subsoil and soil;
disposal of production and consumption waste;
environmental pollution by noise, heat, electromagnetic, ionizing and other types of physical influences;
other types of negative impact on the environment.
In accordance with Art. 16 of the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection”, negative impact on the environment is subject to payment. The form of payment for negative impact on the environment is determined by federal laws. The procedure for calculating and collecting fees for negative impacts on the environment is established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Paying a fee for a negative impact on the environment does not exempt economic and other business entities from carrying out environmental protection measures and compensating for environmental damage.
To bring property liability in connection with violation of legislation in the field of environmental protection, the amount of damage is determined based on the actual costs of restoring the disturbed state of the environment, taking into account the losses incurred, including lost profits, as well as in accordance with reclamation and other projects restoration work, in their absence - in accordance with the rates and methods for calculating the amount of damage to the environment, approved by executive authorities exercising public administration in the field of environmental protection.
Objects that have a negative impact on the environment and data on their impact on the environment are subject to state statistical registration.
“The concept of an economic mechanism for environmental management is usually formulated in the literature from the standpoint of ensuring environmental safety and motivating compliance with environmental requirements, which, of course, are its priority tasks.
At the same time, the regulation of economic relations in the field of environmental management affects a wider range of tasks, including the economic protection of state interests in the field of environmental management, ensuring conditions for the involvement of natural resources in economic activities, economic responsibility for the withdrawal and damage to natural resources, redistribution of income from their exploitation and etc. combined with the use of economic instruments to achieve environmentally sustainable development.
In accordance with the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection", compensation for damage to the environment caused by violation of legislation in the field of environmental protection is carried out voluntarily or by decision of a court or arbitration court. Determination of the amount of damage to the environment caused by violation of legislation in the field of environmental protection is carried out based on the actual costs of restoring the disturbed state of the environment, taking into account the losses incurred, including lost profits, as well as in accordance with reclamation projects and other restoration work, in their absence - in accordance with the taxes and methods for calculating the amount of environmental damage approved by executive authorities exercising public administration in the field of environmental protection.
The economic mechanism also includes environmental insurance, carried out in order to protect the property interests of legal entities and individuals in case of environmental risks.
“With regard to environmental risks, risk is presented as the likelihood of adverse consequences for natural resources of any anthropogenic changes in nature.
In environmental management practice, these risks are divided as follows:
risks of environmental pollution during the production, storage and use of chemicals, including fertilizers;
risks of environmental pollution due to the emission of harmful by-products of industrial production;
risks associated with urbanization (risks of reduction of arable land, forest destruction, extinction of flora and fauna species, noise pollution, etc.);
risks of natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, etc.
To calculate both the payment for negative impact on the environment and harm, environmental standards and limits are used.
“Nature management is carried out in two types: the removal of natural substances from nature and the introduction of anthropogenic substances into nature. Therefore, limitation is carried out in two ways: for a certain period, the volumes of maximum use (withdrawal) of natural resources, emissions and discharges of pollutants into the environment and placement household and industrial waste. Limits are set by specially authorized state bodies in the field of environmental protection. This takes into account the environmental situation in the region, the need to reduce emissions and discharges of pollutants into the atmosphere, water, soil, and the deadlines for achieving the indicators of state and regional environmental programs.
2) Standards in the field of environmental protection are established standards for environmental quality and standards for permissible impact on it, the observance of which ensures the sustainable functioning of natural ecological systems and preserves biological diversity (Article 1 of the Federal Law “On Environmental Protection”).
Standardization in the field of environmental protection pursues the goal of state regulation of the impact of economic and other activities on the environment, guaranteeing the preservation of a favorable environment and ensuring environmental safety. The law does not establish an exhaustive list of standards, but it should be noted:
environmental quality standards (established to assess the state of the environment in order to preserve natural ecological systems, the genetic fund of plants, animals and other organisms);
standards for permissible impact on the environment (established in order to prevent the negative impact on the environment of economic and other activities for legal entities and individuals using natural resources);
standards for permissible emissions and discharges of substances and microorganisms (established for stationary, mobile and other sources of environmental impact by economic and other activities based on standards for permissible anthropogenic load on the environment, environmental quality standards, as well as technological standards) related to standards permissible impact on the environment;
standards for the generation of production and consumption waste and limits on their disposal (set in order to prevent their negative impact on the environment), related to the standards for permissible impact on the environment.
Questions for control:
1)Standards in the field of environmental protection.
2) Economic aspects of environmental management.
3) The concept of environmental risks.
The negative impact of society on the environment due to economic activities is called anthropogenic. From Greek it can be literally translated as influence generated by man. The number of such influences is limitless. They differ in volume, nature, intensity, magnitude, level of harm to the environment and human health. Moreover, all their manifestations are reduced to four forms of negative Impact.
1. Changes in the component composition of the biosphere, the cycle of substances in nature
(Extraction of mineral raw materials, accumulation of waste, emissions and discharges of pollutants into the air and water environment).
The main issue here is the release of pollutants into the natural environment. Environmental pollution refers to the entry into the biosphere of solid, liquid and gaseous substances or energy (heat, noise, radioactive substances) in quantities that directly or indirectly affect humans, animals and plants. Direct objects of pollution (sinks) are the main components of the natural environment - the atmosphere, water, soil, subsoil, flora and fauna.
The following types of pollution are distinguished:
- ingredient pollution - associated with the entry into the natural environment of substances hostile to natural biogeocenoses;
Parametric pollution - associated with changes in the quality parameters of the environment (increased levels of noise, radiation, etc.);
Biocenotic pollution is associated with changes in the structural parameters of populations;
Stationary-destructive pollution consists of a destructive impact on the habitats of populations as a result of the use of natural resources.
In the territorial aspect, pollution is divided into local, regional, and global. Depending on the strength and nature of the impact on the environment, pollution can be background, salvo, permanent, or catastrophic. According to the sources of pollution, they are divided into industrial, transport, agricultural, and household.
By origin, pollution is divided into:
Physical - these are changes in thermal, electrical, radiation, light fields in the natural environment, noise, vibrations caused by humans;
Mechanical - contamination with solid particles and objects;
Chemical - associated with the intake of solid, gaseous or liquid substances of artificial origin that disrupt the processes of circulation of substances and energy;
Biological - contamination by biological creatures (pathogens of AIDS, SARS, Legionnaires' disease) or catastrophic reproduction of plants or animals moved from one environment to another by man or by accident;
Thermal - when heated water is discharged into reservoirs;
Radioactive - associated with the release of artificial isotopes into the environment.
Sources of pollutants are industrial enterprises, fuel and energy complex facilities, as well as emissions from public utilities and transport. Significant damage to nature is caused by atmospheric emissions and wastewater discharges from metallurgical, metalworking and machine-building plants. Wastewater from the chemical, pulp and paper, food, woodworking, petrochemical industries, emissions from thermal power plants, and chemicals used in agriculture are very dangerous. Road transport is the main source of pollution with heavy metals and toxic hydrocarbons. The increase in maritime transport volumes, primarily the increase in oil transportation flows, and the increase in mineral extraction on the shelf of the World Ocean has led to pollution of the seas and oceans.
In the countries of the European Union, all waste is divided into three categories:
- "green" - safe;
- “yellow” - harmful, for the discharge of which you need to obtain a special permit;
- "red" - very dangerous, which are under strict control.
2. Changes in the structure of the earth's surface
(Plowing of land, deforestation, implementation of reclamation measures, creation of artificial reservoirs, changes in surface water flow regime, urbanization, mining, etc.). The era of rapid industrial development was marked by the emergence of a hitherto unknown anthropogenic phenomenon - acid rain, that is, precipitation with a high content of sulfuric acid with additives of nitric acid. Precipitation with a pH value below 5.6 is called acidic. their source in the atmosphere is gases containing sulfur and nitrogen compounds. They enter the atmosphere both naturally and as a result of human economic activity. Natural donors of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen are the destruction of organic matter (30-40 million tons per year), volcanic eruptions, lightning discharges, accompanied by the transition of molecular oxygen and nitrogen to a plasma state and the formation of nitrogen oxides, forest fires, etc. However, a more significant anthropogenic factor is the combustion of coal, which produces 70% of emissions of sulfur dioxide, petroleum products, their processing, metallurgical processes, industry, emissions from enterprises producing sulfuric acid. As a result of acid rain, soils and fresh water become acidified, and the mobility of heavy metals, calcium, etc. increases.
Acid rain is generated by the release of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere as a result of the combustion of high-sulfur coal in thermal power plants and industrial facilities. They fall at a considerable distance (up to 1000 km) from the source of the primary emission. Global emissions of sulfur and nitrogen amount to almost 300 million tons, in particular in Europe - 65-70 million tons.
Aridization and desertification have become a complex problem, especially in the arid regions of the planet. Aridization is the process of reducing the moisture content of large areas and, as a consequence, reducing the biological productivity of soil and plant ecological systems. Now these are, in particular, frequent droughts in vast areas of Africa, Southeast and South Asia, and a number of countries in South America. These processes are taking place against the general background of further aggravation of food and energy problems. They are also deepened by primitive agriculture, irrational use of pastures, and predatory exploitation of vast territories that are cultivated without any crop rotation or agrotechnical soil care.
Desertification is the loss of vegetation in an area, both natural and artificial, which can also manifest itself in the form of deterioration in soil quality with the impossibility of their restoration without human intervention. This occurs as a result of natural changes and anthropogenic factors. Every year the area of deserts grows by 60 thousand km2, which is equal to the area of two Belgium. Now the area of anthropogenic deserts is 9115 thousand km2. This is almost 7% of the land, and another 30 million km2 are under the threat of desertification.
For the first time, in 1968-1973, territories south of the Sahara were subjected to this process, which led to famine among the local population, as well as areas of the Aral Sea, which has practically dried up today.
Problems associated with the use of the resources of the World Ocean are becoming more acute. In the seas and oceans, oil production (600 thousand tons of it ends up in the oceans) and gas, non-ferrous metals, construction and chemical raw materials has become large-scale. Marine fishing now produces up to 90 million tons of fish annually, and its uncontrolled fishing in some regions has led to the depletion of these marine resources. Accidents of oil tankers, as well as the practice of burying toxic and radioactive waste on the seabed, are very dangerous.
The deterioration of the environmental situation in a number of regions of the world, the degradation of living conditions and reproduction have led to the destruction of flora and fauna. Over the historical period, 94 species of birds and 63 species of mammals have disappeared on Earth, and the disappearance of 86% of the former and 75% of the latter is directly related to human economic activity.
3. Changes in the energy balance of the planet and the buffer properties of the Earth.
Over the past 100 years, humanity has increased its energy use more than a thousand times. As a result of fuel combustion, the share of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 25-30%, which may in the future lead to an increase in average temperature by 1.5-2 °C. This will lead to the so-called greenhouse effect, when the effective radiation of the Earth will be less than the solar radiation received by the planet. An increase in carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere disrupts the Earth's thermal balance. A global warming of the atmosphere of 2-4 °C will lead to the melting of the polar ice caps, causing sea levels to rise by about 20 m and flooding most of the land.
Recently, the problem of ozone holes - a local decrease in the proportion of ozone in the Earth's ozone layer - has caused great concern in the world. The ozonosphere is a layer of rarefied ozone at an altitude of 10-50 km, which absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation. The bulk of ozone is located at an altitude of Ig-45 km with a maximum concentration at an altitude of 20-25 km. A decrease in ozone in some regions (Antarctica, Iceland) leads to an increase in UVB, which has a harmful effect on the life of living organisms. For example, a 10% increase in UVB leads to an increase in the number of skin cancers by 300 thousand cases.
Until now, it was assumed that the mass of ozone is affected by atomic explosions, flights of rockets and high-altitude aircraft. However, it has been established that the cause of this phenomenon is the reaction of certain substances with ozone, including chlorinated hydrocarbons and freons. They are used in modern household and industrial refrigerators, in aerosol cans and as chemical cleaning agents or for the production of polymers. World production of these substances reached almost 1.5 million tons. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was adopted, according to which a list of the most dangerous ozone-depleting substances was determined, and producing countries pledged to limit their release. In June 1990, in London, clarifications were made to the Montreal Protocol: by 1995, reduce the production of freons by half, and by 2000, stop it altogether.
4. Destruction of plant and animal diversity, natural habitats and reproduction of animals and plants, artificial acclimatization and adaptation of animals and plants in new habitats, breeding new varieties of plants and animal breeds.
Every year, 150 thousand km2 of forests are cut down in the world; over the past 60 years, more than 1 billion hectares of forests have been converted into agricultural land. Over the past 20 years, the planet's forest cover has decreased by 2%. Every year, 11.3 million hectares of tropical forests are cut down. Humanity, over its short history, has destroyed up to 10% of the species of living organisms. The rate of their destruction is now 150 species per year. Today, 120 species of mammals and 150 species of birds have disappeared. Up to 2 million living organisms are now under threat of destruction, which is from 15 to 20% of the total number of plants and animals.
All humanity faces the most important task - preserving the diversity of all organisms living on Earth. All species (vegetation, animals) are closely interconnected. The destruction of even one of them leads to the disappearance of other species associated with it.
From the very moment man invented tools and became more or less intelligent, his comprehensive influence on the nature of the planet began. The more man developed, the greater the impact he had on the Earth's environment. How does man influence nature? What is positive and what is negative?
Negative points
There are both pros and cons of human influence on nature. First, let's look at negative examples of harmful things:
- Deforestation associated with the construction of highways, etc.
- Soil pollution occurs due to the use of fertilizers and chemicals.
- Reduction in population numbers due to the expansion of fields for fields through deforestation (animals, deprived of their normal habitat, die).
- The destruction of plants and animals due to the difficulties of their adaptation to a new life, greatly changed by man, or simply their extermination by people.
- and water by diverse people themselves. For example, in the Pacific Ocean there is a “dead zone” where a huge amount of garbage floats.
Examples of human influence on the nature of the ocean and mountains, on the state of fresh water
The change in nature under human influence is very significant. The flora and fauna of the Earth are severely affected, and water resources are polluted.
Typically, light debris remains on the surface of the ocean. In this regard, access of air (oxygen) and light to the inhabitants of these territories is difficult. Numerous species of living creatures are trying to look for new places for their habitat, which, unfortunately, not everyone succeeds in.
Every year, ocean currents bring in millions of tons of trash. This is a real disaster.
Deforestation on mountain slopes also has a negative impact. They become bare, which contributes to erosion and, as a result, the soil loosens. And this leads to devastating collapses.
Pollution occurs not only in the oceans, but also in fresh water. Thousands of cubic meters of sewage or industrial waste flow into rivers every day.
And they are contaminated with pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
The terrible consequences of oil spills, mining
Just one drop of oil renders approximately 25 liters of water unfit for drinking. But that's not the worst thing. A fairly thin film of oil covers the surface of a huge area of water - approximately 20 m 2 of water. This is destructive for all living things. All organisms under such a film are doomed to slow death, because it prevents the access of oxygen to the water. This is also a direct influence of man on the nature of the Earth.
People extract minerals from the depths of the Earth, formed over several million years - oil, coal, etc. Such industrial production, along with cars, emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in huge quantities, which leads to a catastrophic decrease in the ozone layer of the atmosphere - the protector of the Earth's surface from deadly ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
Over the past 50 years, the air temperature on Earth has increased by only 0.6 degrees. But that's a lot.
Such warming will lead to an increase in the temperature of the world's oceans, which will contribute to the melting of polar glaciers in the Arctic. Thus, the most global problem arises - the ecosystem of the Earth's poles is disrupted. Glaciers are the most important and voluminous sources of clean fresh water.
Benefit people
It should be noted that people bring certain benefits, and considerable ones.
From this point of view, it is necessary to note the influence of man on nature. The positive lies in the activities carried out by people to improve the ecology of the environment.
In many vast territories of the Earth in different countries, protected areas, reserves and parks are organized - places where everything is preserved in its original form. This is the most reasonable influence of man on nature, a positive one. In such protected areas, people contribute to the conservation of flora and fauna.
Thanks to their creation, many species of animals and plants have survived on Earth. Rare and already endangered species are necessarily included in the man-made Red Book, according to which fishing and collection of them is prohibited.
People also create artificial water channels and irrigation systems that help maintain and increase
Planting of diverse vegetation is also carried out on a large scale.
Ways to solve emerging problems in nature
To solve problems, it is necessary and important, first of all, to have an active influence of man on nature (positive).
As for biological resources (animals and plants), they should be used (extracted) in such a way that individuals always remain in nature in quantities that contribute to the restoration of the previous population size.
It is also necessary to continue work on organizing nature reserves and planting forests.
Carrying out all these activities to restore and improve the environment is a positive human impact on nature. All this is necessary for the benefit of oneself.
After all, the well-being of human life, like all biological organisms, depends on the state of nature. Now all humanity faces the most important problem - creating a favorable state and sustainability of the living environment.