The environment problem

The environment (natural environment, the natural environment) is that part of

nature with which human society interacts directly in your life and business.
Although the second half of the XX century. - This time of unprecedented economic growth, but it has increasingly become implemented without proper consideration features of the environment, economic permissible loads on it. As a result, degradation of the environment.

Mismanagement of natural resources. As an example of the degradation of the environment as a result of poor environmental management can result in deforestation and depletion of land resources. The process of deforestation is expressed in the reduction of the area under native vegetation, especially forest. According to some estimates, during the emergence of agriculture and animal husbandry was covered with forests km² sushi 62 million, taking into account ac shrubs and copses - 75 million km2, or 56% of its surface. As a result of continuing for 10 thousand. Years, deforestation of the area was reduced to 40 million km2 and an average forest cover - up to 30%. Today, deforestation continues at an increasing rate: about 100 thousand annually destroyed. km2. Forests are disappearing with the expansion of plowing land and pasture growth timber. Especially threatening situation is in the area of ​ ​ tropical forests, especially in countries such as Brazil, the Philippines. Indonesia, Thailand.

As a result, degradation of soil every year from the world's agricultural turnover eliminated about 7 million hectares of fertile land. The main causes of this process are increasing urbanization, water and wind erosion, and chemical (contamination by heavy metals, chemicals) and physical (the destruction of the soil cover in the mining, construction and other works) degradation. The process of land degradation is particularly intense flows in dry lands, which cover about 6 million km², to the greatest extent inherent in Asia and Africa. Within dry lands are located and the main areas of desertification, which due to the high growth rate of the rural population overgrazing, deforestation and poor irrigation farming lead to anthropogenic desertification (60 those km ² per year).

Pollution of environment management. Another reason for the degradation of the environment - pollution of its waste industrial and non-human. These wastes are divided into solid, liquid and gaseous. Indicative following calculations. Currently, the per capita annual average earth is mined and is grown about 20 ton of raw materials. However, only from the interior of retrieved 50 km3 of fossil species (more than 1000 billion tons), which with the use of power capacity of 2, 500 watts and 800 tons of water are converted into 2 tons of finished product, of which 50% is ejected immediately, and the rest goes to the deferred waste. The structure of the solid waste is dominated by industrial and mining - industrial waste. In general, I will scent the population and they are especially great in Russia, the United States. Japan. In per capita terms of solid waste leadership belongs to the United States, where per inhabitant per year falls 800 kg of rubbish (per person in Moscow - 400 kg). Liquid waste is contaminated primarily hydrosphere, and here are the major polluters of the waste water and oil. The total volume of wastewater at the beginning of the XXI century. It was about 1860 km3. To dilute the unit volume of contaminated waste water to an acceptable level requires the use of an average of from 10 to 100 or even 200 units of pure water. In Asia, North America and Europe account for about 90% of the world's wastewater discharge.

Most alarming pollution of dust and gaseous waste emissions are directly related to the combustion of fossil fuel and biomass, as well as mining, construction and other earthworks (2 / h of emissions has originated in developed Western countries, including the United States - 120 million t). Examples of the main pollutants are usually solid particles, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Every year the Earth's atmosphere emitted about 60 million tons of particulates, which contribute to smog formation and reduce the transparency of the atmosphere. Sulphur dioxide (100 million tones) and oxides of nitrogen (about 70 million) are the main sources of the formation of acid rain. Ambitious and dangerous aspect of the environmental crisis is the impact on the lower layers of the atmosphere of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and methane. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere mainly from the combustion of fossil fuel (2/ h of total revenues). The sources of methane in the atmosphere are the burning of biomass, certain types of agricultural production, the leakage of gas from oil and gas wells. The international community has agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2005 and 50% by the middle of the XXI century. In developed countries, for it had taken appropriate laws and regulations (such as a special tax on carbon dioxide emissions).

Practical exercises № 3
PROFESSIONAL TERMINOLOGY IN FOREIGN
Language to learn social ecology, ecological culture and education

Plan:

1. Ecological factors