Rational environmental management: fundamentals and principles. Natural resources and their rational use Information on the rational use of resources

Federal Agency for Education

State educational institution of higher professional education

"PERM STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY"

Abstract on ecology

“Natural resources and ways of their rational use”

Completed by student: group SDMz – 05, Vasiliev A.V.

Checked by the teacher: Ilyinykh G.V.

Perm 2009

Natural resources and ways of their rational use

Natural resources - natural resources - bodies and forces of nature, which at a given level of development of productive forces and knowledge can be used to meet the needs of human society.

Natural resources are an important part of a country's national wealth and a source of wealth and services.

Society cannot develop without consuming natural resources. To satisfy their needs, people organize economic activities. The basis of economic activity is production. Production goals may vary. But whatever the goals and principles of social development, the emergence of contradictions between man and nature, between production and natural ecological systems is inevitable.

A few important facts are worth mentioning:

As society develops, people's needs grow. The development of production is unthinkable without the use of nature and its various resources.

At the same time, only 10% of the resource is used in production to obtain the final product.

Humanity is inevitably faced with the task of reasonable, rational use of natural resources, making it possible to satisfy the vital needs of people in combination with the protection and reproduction of the environment.

Any natural resource has one or another potential that can be involved in the production process. The size of this potential is determined by the possibility of integrated use of a natural resource, as well as its renewable or non-renewable nature.

In general, all resources can be divided into exhaustible and inexhaustible. For an abstract, it is more important to consider finite resources.

Exhaustible natural resources are resources that decrease as they are used. Most types of natural resources are classified as exhaustible natural resources, which are divided into renewable and non-renewable natural resources.

Renewable resources are natural resources whose reserves are either restored faster than they are used, or do not depend on whether they are used or not.

Non-renewable resources are resources that cannot be restored on their own or artificially restored. Non-renewable resources mainly include minerals.

Both resources have their own ways of rational use.

The essence of the rational use of renewable natural resources is that you need to consume as much per year as this resource is generated per year. Excessive consumption of a resource is accompanied by its reduction, and with prolonged, excessively intensive use it can cause its degradation.

The essence of the rational use of non-renewable natural resources is that they can be repeatedly included in the resource cycle. This will lead to an increase in the proportion of the resource that is used beneficially.

Resource cycle– exchange of matter, energy and information between natural systems, as well as natural systems and society.

Of course, I agree with the general opinion: Something needs to be done. Undoubtedly, our country, due to its huge area, is rich in natural resources. But the way we use them causes confusion and indignation. How so? Not only do we use only 10% of what is so dear to us, but the remaining 90% not only disappears, but creates waste. There are two very serious problems. And these problems can be solved using already invented methods, which are discussed below.

In modern industrial ecology and, accordingly, in production, there are important concepts of “low-waste” and “non-waste technologies”.

Low waste technology- an intermediate step before the creation of waste-free technology, implying the approach of the technological process to a closed cycle. With low-waste technology, the harmful impact on the environment does not exceed the level permitted by sanitary authorities. Some raw materials still turn into waste and undergo long-term storage or burial.

Waste-free technology- technology that implies the most rational use of natural resources and energy in production, ensuring environmental protection.

In order to protect the environment, the work of industrial enterprises must be organized in such a way that the waste generated is converted into new products. It is worth noting that now in Russia, mostly enterprises operate according to the formula: Products - waste. The process of bringing production closer to waste-free technology should be characterized by the ratio of the amount of useful raw materials and energy used to the total consumption of raw materials and energy.

The processes of introducing low-waste and waste-free production are aimed at creating the following production schemes and modes:

complex schemes that allow maximum use of all raw material ingredients and ensure compliance with maximum permissible concentrations of harmful substances in waste streams.

schemes with complete water circulation, allowing to sharply reduce the need for fresh water for enterprises.

energy technology schemes with heat recovery from reactions, as a result of which some industries are transformed from energy-consuming to energy-producing;

technological modes that ensure the production of high quality products that can be used more efficiently and for a longer period.

the type of product and the corresponding production process must be matched to the raw material in order to use it comprehensively.

it is necessary to develop sequential chains of production processes in which waste from one production would serve as raw materials for another. This principle ensures a transition from an open system of connections between production and the environment to a recycling system.

The implementation of these specified measures will reduce the overall consumption of raw materials and energy in industry. The use of low-waste and non-waste technologies will not only solve the environmental problem, but will also ensure the economic efficiency of production.

Conclusion.

As society develops, needs increase, and, accordingly, the consumption of natural resources also increases. At this time, the society of our country does not lack natural resources. This is logical, since there are many resources and there is enough for everyone. But will it always be like this? Of course, not always. And this becomes clear even from the fact that we use only 10% of the resource, and throw away the rest and get waste. We ourselves cause the depletion of natural resources. But we don’t care about this yet, because, I repeat, we do not lack natural resources.

But what will happen to our children, grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren? After all, you need to think about them too. After all, we follow a sustainable development strategy. If everything is fine with us, then our descendants should be exactly the same. But judging by how carelessly we treat what nature gives us, there can be no talk of any sustainable development.

It's worth thinking about. Environmentalists around the world are trumpeting that we are using natural resources irrationally, and this will not lead to anything good, and there is plenty of information on how to correct the current situation in books, magazines and the Internet. So why doesn't anything happen then?

I don't understand. No minuses, all pluses. But nothing is being done. After all, it would be much better to use resources several times, to obtain not waste, but new products, either for your own or for someone else’s production. Look, less waste, discharges, emissions are generated, which means that the enterprise pays less for pollution, there are no more fines, since pollution does not exceed permissible concentrations, there are no problems with waste disposal sites, the population is happy that they are no longer poisoned. The image of the enterprise is growing on the world stage, and the price of products on the world market is increasing. Everyone is happy and thinking about their descendants. And with all this, exactly as many resources are used as can be used. That is, this is the rational use of natural resources.

Perhaps this is just a utopia, that is, something that you really want, but can’t achieve, but why then do they write so much about it? If they write, it means that it really already exists somewhere.

So what's stopping us then?

Bibliography:

Ecology and environmental management. Textbook / Ed. Aleskina A.A. – M.: Infra-M, 2003.

Lecture notes on ecology, Department of Environmental Protection,

http :// ru. wikipedia. org/ wiki/Home_page,

http :// www. in4 rex. ru/ dictionary,

The main conditions for rational environmental management are the following.

• 1. Study of the laws of nature, the functioning of geosystems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere) in their interrelation, ecosystems (from biogeocenoses to the global ecological system - the biosphere) and their components in their interaction.
• 2. Study and determination of the natural environment’s potential for adaptation in relation to anthropogenic, including technogenic, pressures.
• 3. Study and forecast changes in nature under the influence of human economic activity.
• 4. Development of resource-saving and environmental protection technologies.
• 5. Development of legal, economic, organizational and other mechanisms for rational environmental management.
• 6. Spatial-territorial zoning of territories, taking into account the distribution of natural resources and conditions, including the implementation of architectural and planning measures (for example, the organization of sanitary protection zones around enterprises, green areas in cities, etc.).
• 7. Raising people who are ready to move from models of unsustainable environmental management to models of rational environmental management.
• 8. Opportunities for investing in the creation of the above conditions for rational environmental management, including in fundamental and applied science.

The main components of rational use of resources are as follows.

• 1. Resource saving, primarily in production processes, i.e. reducing their resource intensity. Resource intensity is defined as the ratio of the amount of resources used to the amount of products produced (enterprises, groups of enterprises - companies, industries, regional economies, countries). Depending on the resources used, material intensity, energy intensity, water capacity, metal intensity, etc. can be calculated separately. The most material-intensive industry is mining. The most energy-intensive is metallurgy. The most water-intensive industries are the energy sector, metallurgy, the chemical industry, the pulp and paper industry, irrigated agriculture, and public utilities. For example, to produce 1 ton of oil on average, 18 tons of water are required, 1 ton of paper requires 200 tons of water, 1 ton of synthetic fiber requires 3500 tons of water.
• 2. Intensive nature of environmental management. Preference should be given not to the extensive nature of environmental management, but to the intensive nature - not through the development of new and new resources (for example, deposits), but through the fullest possible extraction of the necessary resource (as far as the best available technologies allow).
• 3. The integrated nature of the use of natural resources - natural resources should be extracted once for their complex use, and not each time to obtain one of their elements. Non-ferrous metal ores are characterized by the greatest complexity. In oil fields, associated components are gas, sulfur, iodine, bromine, boron; in gas - sulfur, nitrogen.
• 4. Cyclicality and low-waste production - waste from some industries can be raw materials for others, the products created should allow them to be used not only for their intended purpose, but also after that, as the starting elements of a new production. For example, slags and sludge from metallurgical plants and waste from the pulp and paper industry can be used as sources of building materials. More attention should be paid to the recycling of natural resources, which allows saving primary raw materials and energy, and reducing the amount of solid waste.
• 5. The use of natural resources must be accompanied by their restoration or replacement. Transition from the predominant use of non-renewable resources to the use of renewable ones. In an ideal model of environmental management, the rate of consumption of renewable resources (water, forest, fish, etc.) should not exceed the rate of their restoration - it is necessary to live “on interest” from the growth of a natural resource, and the rate of use of non-renewable resources (mineral resources) should not exceed the pace of their replacement with renewable resources (for example, it is rational to invest part of the income from oil production in the development of renewable energy sources).
• 6. Preservation and improvement of the quality of natural conditions. The volumes and concentrations of pollutants entering (discharged) into the biosphere should not exceed permissible levels at which natural ecosystems absorb and process these substances without degrading.
• 7. The use of natural resources should be carried out taking into account local natural and socio-economic conditions.

Depending on the specific situation: the availability of certain resources, the state of the natural environment, the profile of the enterprise, the standard of living of the population, technology development, etc., these areas of rational environmental management are clarified for practical application in the form of specific measures and actions.

Examples of natural resource conservation indicators are:

• - reduction in the area of ​​deserts, erosion processes of anthropogenic origin;
• - increasing the area of ​​natural, including aquatic ecosystems, protected areas (national natural parks, reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and other protected areas), green spaces;
• - increase in forest area and diversity of biological species;
• - stabilization and increase in the number of rare biological species;
• - reduction of water losses when used for household needs and during transportation;
• - reduction of emissions of gases that create the greenhouse effect, etc.

Every year, about one hundred billion tons of resources, including fuel, are extracted from the bowels of the Earth, ninety billion of which are subsequently turned into waste. Therefore, the issue of resource conservation has become very relevant these days. If at the beginning of the last century only twenty chemical elements of the periodic table were used, then in our time - more than ninety. Over the past four decades, resource consumption has increased twenty-five times, and the amount of production waste has increased one hundred times.

Rational use of natural resources is the most important problem of modern society. The development of progress in science and technology is accompanied by a negative impact on nature. Natural conditions are something that humans cannot influence; climate is an example. Natural resources are natural phenomena or objects that are used to satisfy the material needs of society or for production, contributing to the creation and maintenance of conditions necessary for the existence of humanity, as well as to improve the standard of living.

The rational use of natural resources is a consequence of their reasonable study, which prevents the possibility of harmful consequences of human activity, increases and maintains the productivity of natural objects. Natural resources can be divided into several main types: practically inexhaustible (atmospheric air, solar energy, intraterrestrial heat, and so on), renewable (vegetable, soil), non-renewable (habitat space, river energy, and so on).

Rational renewable type should be based on balanced expenditure, as well as renewal, providing for their reproduction. Their reserves are usually restored faster than they are used. The rational use of natural resources should be based on their economical and comprehensive extraction and consumption, as well as on the disposal of all kinds of waste. Natural resources can also be divided into potential and real. Potential resources are involved in economic turnover, and real resources are actively used. Unfortunately, today there is a problem of depletion of natural resources. Their level decreases to the point where it becomes insufficient for a person. Due to the depletion of natural resources, their further development becomes more economical and environmentally unfeasible. If used uncontrolled, some may disappear, and their self-renewal process will stop. The restoration period for some of them is several hundred or even thousands of years.

Any human intervention entails the destruction of the unity between nature itself and man. The continued existence of life on Earth will directly depend on the growth of production, which in turn depends on the depletion of natural resources. Therefore, natural resources and their rational use must be under strict control of all humanity as a whole. It is necessary to rationally use natural resources, prevent possible harmful consequences of human activity, maintain and increase the productivity of both individual natural objects and natural complexes as a whole.

The correct use of natural resources is the choice of a more suitable option to achieve economic, social, and environmental effects in the use of natural resources. Their integrated use, which implies the use of low-waste and re-use of secondary resources, is of particular relevance. This saves raw materials and prevents environmental pollution by production products.

Problems of resource depletion, their rational use and protection

The modern orientation of society towards consumption, coupled with a demographic explosion, is accompanied by an intensive increase in the consumption of all types of natural resources, as a result of which many of them are quickly depleted. Nature conservation and the transition to rational use of natural resources can somewhat reduce the speed of this process.

At the present stage of development of nature conservation, which can be conventionally called “natural resource”, one of the basic principles of environmental management is the protection of resources directly in the process of their use. A transition to comprehensive nature protection is already planned, since, in accordance with one of B. Commoner’s laws “Everything is connected to everything,” the protection of one natural object is impossible without the protection of all other objects associated with it.

At the moment, humanity has to spend more and more effort, money and resources on protecting nature, and at the same time its condition continues to deteriorate everywhere. The most general methodological basis for environmental protection is the constant scientific and technological improvement of humanity. It is aimed at wider and fuller use of the global initial natural resource potential, which is continuously depleted in the process of historical development of the economy.

From this pattern follows another important principle of protecting nature in general and the abiotic environment of life - environmentally friendly: the more prudent the approach to the use of natural resources and to the environment of society, the less energy and other costs will be required to protect them and maintain a satisfactory condition. Therefore, the results of reproduction of the natural resource potential of any territory and the efforts spent on its restoration must be comparable with the economic results of environmental management.

Note 1

The rational use of natural resources for their different categories implies different goals. In the case of non-renewable resources, it is intended to reduce the rate of their depletion and make this process more controllable. In the case of renewable resources, their rational use can, in principle, prevent the disappearance of a given resource, making it “eternal” in the sense that it will persist throughout the lives of at least tens of generations of people.

Principles of rational use of natural resources

1. The principle of studying resources. The prudent use of any resources is impossible without information about their reserves, quality, renewal rate, distribution, forecasting the consequences of their use and the possibility of replacing them with others;
2. The principle of monitoring the use and condition of natural resources;
3. The principle of improving technologies at all stages of resource use, providing for their fullest use. This also includes taking into account the reduction of resource consumption when designing and constructing new and modernizing existing production facilities, as well as their transition to alternative energy sources;
4. The principle of increasing the efficiency of agriculture, strict regulation of the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides;
5. The principle of developing the most effective environmental technologies with mandatory environmental assessment;
6. The principle of reducing the generation of industrial waste, recycling it and using it as raw material for the production of energy and products;
7. The principle of restoration of all natural objects after harmful man-made impacts - this includes land reclamation, protection against soil erosion, reforestation after deforestation and fires, etc.;
8. The principle of preserving the planet’s biodiversity, this also includes the organization of various protected areas, protection and artificial breeding of rare species of biota;
9. The principle of popularizing environmental activities and environmental education of the population;
10. The principle of improving environmental legislation and environmental law, increasing the efficiency of the mechanisms for its implementation.

Plan

1. Ecological principles of rational use of natural resources

2. Lithosphere. Sources of lithosphere pollution

3. Factors influencing human health

4. Anthropogenic sources of environmental pollution

List of used literature

1. Ecological principles of rational use of natural resources

Rational use of natural resources and environmental protection is one of the most important problems of modern society in the era of scientific and technological progress, accompanied by an active impact on nature.

Natural conditions are a set of objects, phenomena and factors of the natural environment that are essential for human material and production activity, but are not directly involved in it (for example, climate).

Natural resources are natural objects and phenomena that are used or can be used in the future to meet the material and other needs of society and social production, contributing to the reproduction of labor resources, maintaining the conditions of existence of humanity and increasing living standards.

Natural resources are divided into practically inexhaustible (energy of the sun, ebbs and flows, intraterrestrial heat, atmospheric air, water); renewable (soil, plant, animal resources) and non-renewable (minerals, habitat, river energy).

Renewable natural resources are natural resources capable of self-regeneration in the process of the cycle of substances over a period of time commensurate with the pace of human economic activity. The rational use of renewable natural resources should be based on the principles of balanced consumption and renewal, and also provide for their expanded reproduction.

Non-renewable natural resources are part of exhaustible natural resources that do not have the ability to self-regenerate within a time frame commensurate with the pace of human economic activity. The rational use of non-renewable natural resources should be based on their comprehensive and economical extraction and consumption, waste disposal, etc.

From the point of view of involvement in human economic activity, natural resources are divided into real And potential .The first type of resource is actively exploited, the second type can be involved in economic turnover.

Depending on their belonging to certain components of the natural environment, certain types of natural resources are distinguished:

Biological;

Environmental;

Geological;

Climatic;

Land;

Vegetable;

Wildlife Resources;

Mineral, etc.

Based on their leading characteristics and nature of use, they are divided into industrial, agricultural, energy, and fuel. In non-production areas, recreational, nature reserve, landscape and resort, medical, etc. are used.

Currently, the problem of depletion of natural resources is becoming increasingly acute. The depletion of natural resource potential is expressed in a decrease in natural resource reserves to a level that does not meet the needs of humanity, its technical capabilities and safety standards for natural systems.

The depletion of natural resources makes their further development economically and environmentally unfeasible.

With wasteful, predatory use, some types of renewable resources may disappear, losing their ability to renew themselves. For example, an arable soil horizon with a thickness of about 18 cm under favorable conditions takes 7000 years to recover.

The intensification of industrial intervention in the processes of nature, the consumer, utilitarian, predatory attitude towards nature, its resources and wealth destroys the unity between human society and nature.

The growth of production cannot be achieved through the depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution, since not only the development of production, but also the existence of life on Earth depends on their condition.

Rational environmental management involves the reasonable development of natural resources, the prevention of possible harmful consequences of human activity, maintaining and increasing the productivity and attractiveness of natural complexes and individual natural objects.

Rational environmental management involves choosing the optimal option for achieving environmental, economic and social effects when using natural resources.

The integrated use of natural resources involves the use of waste-free and low-waste technologies, and the reuse of secondary resources. From the point of view of the reproductive aspect, the integrated use of natural resources includes a wide range of problems.

2. Lithosphere. Sources of lithosphere pollution

Man exists in a certain space, and the main component of this space is the earth's surface - the surface of the lithosphere.

The lithosphere is the solid shell of the Earth, consisting of the earth's crust and the upper mantle layer underlying the earth's crust. The distance of the lower boundary of the earth's crust from the Earth's surface varies within 5-70 km, and the Earth's mantle reaches a depth of 2900 km. After it, at a distance of 6371 km from the surface, there is a core.

Land occupies 29.2% of the surface of the globe. The upper layers of the lithosphere are called soil. Soil cover is the most important natural formation and component of the Earth's biosphere. It is the soil shell that determines many processes occurring in the biosphere.

Soil is the main source of food, providing 95-97% of food resources for the world's population. The area of ​​the world's land resources is 129 million square kilometers, or 86.5% of the land area. Arable land and perennial plantings as part of agricultural land occupy about 10% of the land, meadows and pastures - 25% of the land. Soil fertility and climatic conditions determine the possibility of the existence and development of ecological systems on Earth. Unfortunately, due to improper exploitation, some of the fertile land is lost every year. Thus, over the last century, as a result of accelerated erosion, 2 billion hectares of fertile land have been lost, which is 27% of the total area of ​​land used for agriculture.

The lithosphere is polluted by liquid and solid pollutants and waste. It has been established that every year one ton of waste is generated per inhabitant of the Earth, including more than 50 kg of polymer, difficult to decompose.

Sources of soil pollution can be classified as follows.

Residential buildings and public utilities. Pollutants in this category of sources are dominated by household waste, food waste, construction waste, waste from heating systems, worn-out household items, etc. All this is collected and taken to landfills. For large cities, the collection and destruction of household waste in landfills has become an intractable problem. Simply burning garbage in city landfills is accompanied by the release of toxic substances. When such items, for example, chlorine-containing polymers, are burned, highly toxic substances are formed - dioxides. Despite this, in recent years, methods have been developed for the destruction of household waste by incineration. A promising method is considered to be the combustion of such waste with super-hot molten metals.

Industrial enterprises. Solid and liquid industrial waste constantly contains substances that can have a toxic effect on living organisms and plants. For example, waste from the metallurgical industry usually contains salts of non-ferrous heavy metals. The mechanical engineering industry emits cyanide, arsenic and beryllium compounds into the natural environment; the production of plastics and artificial fibers generates waste containing phenol, benzene, and styrene; during the production of synthetic rubbers, waste catalysts and substandard polymer clots enter the soil; During the production of rubber products, dust-like ingredients, soot that settle on the soil and plants, waste rubber textiles and rubber parts are released into the environment, and when tires are used, worn-out and failed tires, inner tubes and rim tapes are released into the environment. The storage and disposal of used tires are currently still unsolved problems, since this often causes severe fires that are very difficult to extinguish. The degree of recycling of worn tires does not exceed 30% of their total volume.

Transport. During the operation of internal combustion engines, nitrogen oxides, lead, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, soot and other substances are intensively released, deposited on the surface of the earth or absorbed by plants. In the latter case, these substances also enter the soil and are involved in the cycle associated with food chains.

Agriculture. Soil pollution in agriculture occurs due to the introduction of huge quantities of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. It is known that some pesticides contain mercury.

3. Factors affecting human health

Factors influencing human health are divided into biological, chemical, physical and voluntary risk factors.

To the main group biological Factors usually include pathogenic microorganisms of natural and anthropogenic origin that cause various diseases. The result of exposure of people to pathogenic microorganisms is infectious diseases. The problem of AIDS deserves special attention.

Chemical factors represent the consequences of chemical pollution of the atmosphere. The human body’s reaction to chemical pollution is strictly individual and depends on age, gender, and health status. The most vulnerable are children, the elderly and the sick. The consequences of exposure to chemical factors may vary depending on the nature, concentration and time of exposure.

When even small amounts of toxic substances are systematically introduced into the body, chronic poisoning and diseases of various internal organs and the nervous system can occur.

From the standpoint of environmental safety of the population, the most important are chemical ingredient transport pollution: exhaust gas emissions; lead; heavy metals; wear products from tires and road surfaces.

The most dangerous are emissions of exhaust gases into the atmosphere, since the gases are carried by air currents and are combined with energy and industrial emissions. Other impacts are relatively local.

The impact of physical environmental factors on human health is no less important. The parametric (physical) group of transport pollution of the environment usually includes energy losses: noise, vibration, electromagnetic radiation.

In addition to environmental factors, the impact of which has little influence on each individual individual, there is a group of voluntary risk factors. From the point of view of general ecology - This is smoking, drug use and alcohol.

In the modern understanding, environmental safety also implies the safety of traffic flows, therefore, from the point of view of the applied ecology of the road construction complex, one should add to this group voluntary risk of drivers and passengers violating traffic rules. This leads to traffic accidents, loss of life, and poor health of the victims.

4. Anthropogenic sources of environmental pollution

As a result of anthropogenic activities over the past 100-150 years, significant changes, usually of a negative nature, have occurred and continue to occur in the Earth’s biosphere. These include climate change towards warming, destruction of the ozone layer, acid rain, and a decrease in the biological diversity of flora and fauna. Therefore, anxiety about the future of civilization is growing in the world community, and active attempts are being made to limit harmful emissions. In this regard, in 1997, in the Japanese city of Kyoto, an agreement was signed to reduce pollutant emissions by 5%, which has still not been ratified by many countries, including the United States.

Most climate scientists associate climate warming with the greenhouse effect (“greenhouse effect”).

Greenhouse effect in the Earth's atmosphere – is a geophysical phenomenon expressed in the ability of certain gases called greenhouse gases and water vapor to absorb infrared radiation.

Approximately 44% of solar energy arriving at the upper boundary of the Earth's atmosphere is absorbed by the surface of the land and ocean, which heat up and generate infrared radiation. Most of this infrared radiation is absorbed by water vapor and some greenhouse gases, while the rest escapes into space. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide CO2, methane CH4, nitrogen oxides NOХ, tropospheric ozone O3 and chlorofluorocarbons (freons).

Due to the presence of an atmosphere that provides a greenhouse effect, on our planet the average annual temperature of the surface layer of air is approximately 14.60 C. Due to the greenhouse effect, the temperature increase in the surface layer is />DT = 33.2 0С with the following contributions of gas components: H2O vapor – 20.6 0С (62.05%), CO2 – 7.2 0С (21.7%), N2O –1.4 0С (4.22%), CH4 – 0.8 0С (2.41%), O3 – 2.40С (7.21%), NH4 + freons + CCl4 + CF4 + O2 + N2 – 0.8 0С (2.41%).

Destruction of the ozone shield . During the evolution of the biosphere and thanks to this evolution, a so-called “ozone screen” was formed over the Earth, protecting all life on the planet from the harmful effects of hard ultraviolet radiation with a wavelength of less than 400 nm. A decrease in ozone concentration in the Earth's atmosphere by 1%, according to American scientists, leads to an increase in skin cancer by 2.6% and causes up to 150 thousand additional cases of blindness due to cataracts. At the same time, immunity also decreases in both humans and animals.

Ozone is a triatomic oxygen molecule O3 and is dispersed in the troposphere and stratosphere. Its highest concentration is observed at an altitude of 20 to 25 km. If we hypothetically collect all the ozone in the atmosphere in the form of a spherical shell, then its thickness will be only 3 mm. It is formed as a result of atmospheric electricity discharges and the oxidation of organic substances. Ozone is a very poisonous gas; its maximum permissible concentration in the ground layer of air is only 0.1 * 10-4%. The average ozone concentration in the stratosphere is 0.3*10-3%. This is enough to protect biota from harsh ultraviolet radiation.

Acid precipitation . The acidity of the environment is characterized by pH=–log(H+), i.e. ultimately determined by the number of hydrogen ions H+. An aqueous medium can have a pH value from 0 to 14. A neutral aqueous solution has pH = 7, an acidic solution has pH<7, щелочной – pH>7 (Fig. 5.22).

Atmospheric precipitation having a pH value<5,6, называют кислотными. Следует отметить, что даже всамом чистом воздухе есть углекислый газ, который, взаимодействуя с парами водыобразует слабый раствор угольный кислоты. Поэтому дождевая вода всегда имеет pH=5,6…6.

Before the start of the industrial revolution, there was no problem with acid rain. Slightly acidified rain fell in the form of a weak solution of carbonic acid, which is unstable and easily breaks down into water and carbon dioxide. As a result of natural processes (volcanic eruptions, releases from faulted earth crust), sulfur and nitrogen compounds entered the atmosphere, which, when interacting with water vapor, formed sulfuric acid H2SO3 and nitric acid HNO3. In general, for the atmosphere, the concentration of sulfur and nitrogen oxides was insignificant and ecosystem carbonates easily coped with the acidity of sediments:

CaCO3+ H2SO3 ® CaSO3 + H2CO3,

CaCO3 + 2HNO3 ® Ca(NO3)2+ H2CO3.

The anthropogenic influence on the acidity of precipitation began to manifest itself in the 20th century, because The amount of fossil fuels burned began to increase. When coal and oil are burned, oxygen sulfur compounds are formed - sulfur dioxide and trioxide (SO2 and SO3), which react with water vapor to form sulfurous and sulfuric acids:

SO2 + H2O ® H2SO3,

SO3 + H2O ® H2SO4.

These acids fall together with rain, snow, and are present in fog and clouds.

Acid rain is harmful not only to living organisms. Under their influence, ancient architectural monuments are destroyed. Marble under the influence of a solution of sulfuric acid turns into gypsum. Temperature changes, rain and wind destroy this soft material. The most ancient monuments of Greece, Rome, and India have been subject to very rapid destruction in recent decades.

List of used literature

1. Life safety: Textbook./ Ed. E.A. Arustamova. M.: Publishing house "Dashkov and K", 2001.

2. Global problems of our time. Collection of works of VNINSI. – 1998. -No. 5.

3. Gorshkov V.G., Kondratyev K.Ya., et al. Problems of ecology of Russia. – M., 1997.

4. Gritsenko V.S. Life safety: Textbook. –M., 2005.