Rational use natural resources and security environment- one of the most important problems modern society in the era of development scientific and technological progress accompanied by an active impact on nature.
Natural resources are divided into practically inexhaustible (energy of the sun, tides, 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 rate economic activity person. 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 resources is actively exploited, the second can be involved in economic turnover.
Currently, the problem of depletion of natural resources is becoming increasingly acute. The depletion of natural resource potential is expressed in the reduction of 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.
Rational environmental management presupposes the reasonable development of natural resources and the prevention of possible harmful consequences human activity, maintaining and increasing productivity and attractiveness 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.
Today you can find many scientific articles, abstracts and other literature on the topic of natural resources and their use. It’s worth trying to cover this topic as simply and specifically as possible. What is meant by this concept? Why are they needed, how are natural resources, ecology and people connected? Let's try to understand these issues.
Basic information
Some natural resources are used directly by humans - air, drinking water. The other part serves as raw material for industry or is part of the agricultural or livestock production cycle. For example, oil is not only an energy carrier and a source of fuels and lubricants, but also a valuable raw material for the chemical industry. The components of this resource are used to make plastic, varnishes, and rubber. Petroleum products are widely used not only in industry, but also in medicine, and even in cosmetology.
Natural resources are chemicals, as well as their combinations, such as gas, oil, coal, ore. It also includes fresh and sea water, atmospheric air, flora and fauna (forests, animals, fish, cultivable and cultivable lands (soils)). This concept also means physical phenomena- wind energy, solar radiation, geothermal energy, tides. Everything that is somehow used by humanity for life and progress.
The assessment and analysis of the condition of the elements described above is carried out on the basis of geographical and geological data through economic calculations. Control over the rationality and safety of the use of federal natural resources is exercised by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Classification by origin
Biological resources are living organisms of the oceans and land, animals, plants, microorganisms (including the microflora of the seas and oceans). Closed ecosystems of individual regions, nature reserves, recreational areas.
. Resources of mineral origin - rock ore, granites, quartz deposits, clays. Everything that the lithosphere contains and that is available for human use as a raw material or source of energy.
. Energy natural resources are physical processes such as tidal energy, sunlight, wind energy, thermal energy of the earth's interior, as well as nuclear and mineral energy sources.
Classification by human use
Land fund - lands that are cultivated or suitable for cultivation in the future. Land for non-agricultural purposes, namely the territory of cities, transport connections, industrial purposes (quarries, etc.).
. Forestry fund - forests or areas planned for planting forests. Forestry is both a source of wood for human needs and a way to maintain the ecological balance of the biosphere. It is controlled by a service such as the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.
. Water resources - water in surface reservoirs and groundwater. This includes both fresh water suitable for human biological needs and water from seas and oceans. World water resources are inextricably linked with federal ones.
. Resources of the animal world are fish and land inhabitants, the rational harvest of which should not disturb the ecological balance of the biosphere.
. Minerals - this includes ore and other resources earth's crust, available for raw material or energy use. The Department of Natural Resources oversees the sustainable use of this class of natural resources.
Classification by renewability
Inexhaustible - solar radiation energy, geothermal energy, tidal energy and river energy as driving force hydroelectric power stations. This also includes wind energy.
. Exhaustible, but renewable and conditionally renewable. These natural resources are flora and fauna, soil fertility, fresh water and clean air.
. Exhaustible and non-renewable resources. All minerals - oil, gas, mineral ores, etc. Most important for the survival of humanity, the shortage or disappearance of certain resources can threaten the existence of civilization as we know it and lead to the death of most of humanity. Therefore, the protection of natural resources and environmental safety is controlled at such high level, as the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.
Does human activity affect the state of natural resources?
The use of natural resources by humans leads to the depletion of not only mineral reserves, but also the Earth's biosphere, and the loss of biological diversity. Biosphere natural resources are renewable and can be restored both naturally and with human participation (planting forests, restoring fertile soil layers, purifying water and air). Is it possible to avoid irreparable damage to nature? To do this, one should take into account the characteristics of natural resources and the conditions for maintaining ecological balance. Create and preserve national parks, reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, maintain biological diversity of species and preserve the gene pool in research centers, botanical gardens etc.
Why is security necessary?
Changes in geological eras and evolutionary processes have always influenced the species diversity of both flora and fauna on the planet (for example, the extinction of dinosaurs). But due to active human activity over the past 400 years, more than 300 species of animals and plants have disappeared from the face of the earth. Today, more than a thousand species are threatened with extinction. It is obvious that the protection of natural resources is not just the protection of rare species of animals and plants, but also the most important task for the life of humanity itself. Indeed, as a result of an environmental disaster, not only the number of species of living beings can change, but the climate will also suffer. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve the habitat of wild species as much as possible during the construction of cities and the development of farmland, to limit commercial fishing and hunting until populations are restored. Protection of the environment and its inherent elements is one of the most important tasks carried out by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
State of the land and forest fund, global and federal
People get over 85% of their food from agriculture. Land used as meadows and pastures provides about another 10% of food. The rest comes from the world's oceans. In our country, about 90% of food is obtained from cultivated lands, and this is taking into account that cultivated lands (fields, gardens, plantations) account for a little more than 11% of the land fund.
The forests are playing important role in the cycles of evaporation and precipitation, the carbon dioxide cycle, preserve soil from erosion, regulate groundwater levels and much more. Therefore, wasteful use of natural resources, namely forests, will lead to a reduction in the forestry fund. Despite this, forest areas are being lost at a faster rate than they are being restored by planting young trees. Forests are cut down for the development of agricultural land, for construction, and for obtaining wood as raw materials and as fuel. In addition, fires cause significant losses to forestry.
It's obvious that modern methods Soil cultivation leads to almost constant degradation and depletion of the fertile layer. Not to mention the contamination of soil and groundwater with pesticides and toxic chemicals. Although fertile soil layers are considered a “renewable” natural resource, it is still a long process. In fact, it takes 200 to 800 years for the natural restoration of one inch of soil in warm and temperate climates. Protection of fertile lands from degradation and restoration of the fertile layer are the most important directions in the development of modern agricultural technologies.
State of the planet's water component
Rivers are the basis of the country's water resources. They are used as a source of drinking and agricultural water. They are also actively used for the construction of hydroelectric power stations and for shipping transport. Despite the huge reserves of water in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and in the form of groundwater, there is a gradual deterioration in its quality, destruction of the banks of reservoirs and hydraulic structures. This issue, among other organizations, is supervised by the Department of Natural Resources.
State of exhaustible resources
Modern mineral resources available to us, such as oil, gas, ore, accumulated in the lithosphere of the planet over millions of years. Given the continuous and accelerating growth in the consumption of fossil resources over the past 200 years, the issue of protecting the subsoil and reusing products made from raw materials from fossil resources is quite pressing.
In addition, subsoil development itself has an extremely negative impact on the ecology of the region. These include changes in relief (soil subsidence, sinkholes), and soil pollution, groundwater, drainage of swamps and small rivers.
Ways to solve problems of destruction of the natural environment and prospects for introducing innovations
The natural environment and natural resources must be used wisely to preserve life. Therefore, it is necessary to highlight what is necessary so as not to complicate the environmental situation.
1. Protection of the fertile layer from wind and water erosion. These are forest plantations, correct crop rotations, etc.
2. Protection of soils and groundwater from contamination by chemicals. This is the use of environmental technologies for plant protection: breeding beneficial insects (ladybugs, certain types of ants).
3. Using water from the oceans as sources of raw materials. One of the methods is the extraction of dissolved elements, the second is the extraction of minerals on the sea shelf (there is no pollution and destruction of lands suitable for farmland). Today, methods are being developed for the intensive use of ocean resources, while the number of components that are commercially feasible to extract from water is severely limited.
4. An integrated approach to the extraction of fossil natural resources with an emphasis on environmental safety. Starting from full study subsoil and ending with the maximum possible use of associated substances and components.
5. Development of low-waste technologies and recycling of natural resources. This and continuity technological processes, which will maximize energy efficiency, and maximum automation of technological processes, and optimal use of production by-products (for example, generated heat).
Conclusion
Others can be highlighted innovative technologies, such as the transition to maximum use of inexhaustible energy sources. They will help preserve life and the ecology of our planet. This article described how important it is to respect the environment and its gifts. Otherwise, quite serious problems may arise.
The most important property of any production is its resource intensity, i.e. the amount of resources consumed to produce a unit of output.
Resources are understood as means, reserves, opportunities and sources necessary for production, satisfying the material and spiritual needs of society with modern technologies and socio-economic relationships. Production resources are divided into material, labor and economic (financial). Material resources are divided into biological (organic) and mineral. Biological resources consist of flora and fauna and are unevenly distributed. They are used to provide the population with food and, partly, for production.
Based on their ability to recover, natural resources are divided into renewable and non-renewable. Renewable resources (plant and fauna, water, etc.) are within the biosphere circulation of substances. They are capable of self-regeneration through reproduction or through natural repair cycles. Animals and plants do not renew themselves in the event of extinction of a species. Non-renewable resources (coal, oil, ore, etc.) are not restored in the process of circulation of substances in a time commensurate with the pace of economic activity. Non-renewable resources should be used sparingly and rationally.
Important characteristics of natural resources are the possibility of their replacement and depletion. Fungible resources may be replaced by others now or in the near future. For example, fuel can be replaced by solar energy, thermal water energy, wind energy, etc. Irreplaceable natural resources cannot be replaced by others, either now or in the future. Resource depletion occurs under the influence of human production and economic activities. Depletion leads either to the complete and irreversible destruction of the resource or to an environmental disaster. When the first signs of depletion of natural resources appear, it is necessary to change the activities of the enterprise. Exhaustible resources include scarce natural resources that may disappear in the near future.
Resource conservation management (rational environmental management) is included in common system management of the enterprise, the railway and the industry as a whole and includes a set of environmental measures aimed at improving the environmental characteristics of rolling stock and railway enterprises. These measures are divided into the following groups: organizational and legal, architectural and planning, design and technical and operational.
Organizational and legal measures are aimed at implementing environmental legislation in railway transport, developing environmental requirements, standards, norms and regulations for machinery, equipment, fuel and lubricants, etc.
Architectural and planning activities include the development of solutions for rational land use, planning and development of territories, organization of sanitary protection zones, preservation of natural landscapes, landscaping and landscaping.
Design and technical measures make it possible to introduce technical innovations in the design of rolling stock, sanitary, technical and technological means of environmental protection at enterprises and transport facilities.
Operational activities are carried out during operation vehicles and are aimed at maintaining their technical condition at the level of specified environmental standards.
The listed groups of activities are implemented independently of each other and allow achieving certain results. But their combined use will provide maximum effect.
Rational use of natural resources is achieved:
at the production stage - through the use modern technology and organization of Production, selection of rational methods for obtaining workpieces, progressive methods of mechanical, electromechanical and electrochemical processing, hardening of parts, use of durable anti-corrosion coatings, use of flexible automated production, improvement of equipment design, creation of a rational system maintenance and repair facilities technical equipment enterprises and rolling stock, expanding the range and volume of restoration of equipment parts and rolling stock, saving fuel and energy resources, recycling and using production waste;
at the repair stage - by choosing methods for repairing products, reducing the proportion of parts damaged during disassembly, increasing the proportion of restoration of worn parts, using selective assembly, as well as local closed systems for the use of oils, lubricants, water, etc.;
at the stage of cargo transportation -
ensuring environmental safety in areas and on routes during the operation of rolling stock;
compliance with the basic parameters of its characteristics, such as reliability, permissible levels of noise and vibration, levels of sound and light signals;
improving the process of collecting and processing information on the functioning of transport systems, introducing automated systems monitoring the technical condition of mobile sources of environmental pollution and the environmental situation in areas and on railway routes;
control over compliance with technology at loading and unloading points for petroleum products, during the transportation of flammable liquids and materials, compressed and liquefied gases, petroleum products, oxidizing substances and organic impurities, bulk cargo;
compliance with train safety requirements, taking into account the implementation of measures to ensure complete prevention of possible emergency situations.
Among the many components of natural resources at present special meaning acquire resources fresh water, and enterprises railway transport consume it in large quantities. At the same time, the industry is working at a low pace to introduce closed water use systems, low-waste and non-waste water-saving technologies.
One of the serious sources of water pollution is the cleaning processes of rolling stock, which generate toxic wastewater. Efficient washing machines with reversible use systems have been developed.
The main directions of saving water resources at individual railway transport enterprises are shown in Fig. 32.3.
An important place in reducing the loss of natural resources is occupied by the disposal and processing of industrial waste.
Recycling refers to the use of waste as secondary raw materials, fuel, fertilizers and other purposes. Various types of society's activities generate production waste and consumption waste. Industrial waste is the remnants of raw materials, materials, semi-finished products generated during the manufacture of products, performance of work and which have partially or completely lost their original consumer properties. Consumer waste is products and materials that have lost their consumer properties as a result of physical and moral wear and tear.
Production and consumption waste is called secondary material resources. Secondary resources can be used to produce new types of products or to generate energy. In all cases, secondary resources must be recycled, i.e. removal from places of formation and accumulation for the purpose of subsequent use or disposal. The more waste, the higher the likelihood of environmental pollution.
Waste is classified into solid, liquid, gaseous and energy. The phase state of waste influences the choice of methods and means of storage, transportation and processing. According to sanitary and hygienic criteria, waste is divided into inert, slightly toxic, soluble in water, slightly toxic, volatile, toxic, soluble in water, toxic, volatile, containing petroleum (oil), organic, easily decomposed, feces, and household waste. Toxic waste has its own classification.
The nomenclature of waste depends on the type of raw materials and finished products. Solid waste includes waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, rubber, plastics, wood, abrasives, slag and ash, mineral and organic matter, household waste. Liquid waste consists of electrolytes, fuels and lubricants, cooling, degreasing and washing solutions, etc. Gas emissions are generated from boiler houses, smelting equipment, and ventilation systems. Energy waste should be considered heat and various types radiation (noise, vibration, magnetic and electric fields, radiation).
The use of waste is one of the most important areas for increasing production efficiency, reducing environmental pollution, and reducing the consumption of natural resources per unit of output. When choosing methods and means of storing, transporting and processing waste, it is necessary to proceed from their technical and economic assessment.
The main types of secondary resources when repairing tracks are concrete and wooden sleepers, worn rails, rail fastening parts, crushed stone and sand. Old concrete sleepers are used as a foundation in the construction of household and sports facilities or sold to owners of summer cottages for foundations for greenhouses, bathhouses and houses. Old wooden sleepers can serve as a good material for the construction of non-residential premises (storages, warehouses). Worn rails are used in the construction of buildings and structures for industrial or household purposes. Sand and crushed stone are recycled and used in the construction of various structures. Fasteners can be restored or remade into new products. Trimmings, sawdust, and wood shavings serve as raw materials for the production of particle boards and fiberboards, plywood, hardboard, cardboard, and bark for the production of medicines and fertilizers.
Railway transport enterprises use large number motor, industrial, compressor, transmission and other oils made from petroleum. Per year of enterprise railway They use up to 400 tons of various oils, some of which (15-20%) are collected and most often burned in boiler houses. Modern motor oil contains up to 10 different additives, which are practically not consumed during operation. The most important area of reducing oil consumption at railway transport enterprises is the regeneration of used oils. During regeneration, the following is carried out: purification of used oils from mechanical impurities by settling, separation, methods of coagulation, adsorption, chemical treatment; restoration of oil properties by introducing various additives.
Issues of rational use of natural resources and environmental protection in railway transport should be considered with full consideration of the specifics natural conditions area of location of the designed enterprise, assessed by its impact on the ecology of the adjacent area, the possibility of prevention negative consequences in the near and long term. Given the character negative impact of the projected facility on the environment, issues of rational use of natural resources must be resolved: surface and groundwater, atmospheric air, soils, territories, minerals, vegetation, etc. At the same time, normal sanitary and hygienic working and living conditions for the population living in the construction area must be ensured. railway lines or industrial facilities in the industry, the negative impact resulting from production activities to flora and fauna.
The development of all activities related to the construction of new, as well as the reconstruction of existing railway transport facilities, and the modernization of rolling stock, must be carried out in unity with environmental protection requirements.
Depletion of natural resources is one of the main problems causing the global environmental crisis.
Resources – bodies and forces of nature necessary for human life and economic activity.
Natural resource potential of the country– the total ability of all the country’s natural resources to ensure their own and healthy reproduction and living conditions of the population. Russia's natural resource potential is enormous. In principle, Russia is a completely self-sufficient country and does not experience any dependence on other states in terms of natural resources.
There are different types of classification of natural resources. Ecological the classification is based on the characteristics of exhaustibility and renewability of their reserves. Based on these characteristics, resources can be divided into practically inexhaustible and exhaustible.
Inexhaustible resources– solar energy, thermal (underground) heat, tides, wind energy, precipitation.
Depending on the geographical location, different regions of the globe are differently gifted solar energy. In low-latitude countries, with sufficient irrigation, two or more crops are harvested per year. Nowadays, solar panels are used in these regions, making a significant contribution to the energy supply. Russia is a northern country, a significant part of its territory is located in middle and high latitudes, so accumulated solar energy is practically not used.
Thermal heat– where it exists, it is successfully used not only for medicinal purposes (hot springs), but also for heating homes. In Russia, the largest thermal springs are located in Kamchatka (Valley of Geysers), but are not yet seriously used, since they are located quite far from large populated areas.
The energy of ocean tides also has not yet found widespread use due to technological difficulties, but it is known, for example, that on the shores of the English Channel two power plants operate on a tidal wave: one in France, the other in the UK.
Wind energy – new, well forgotten old. Even in past eras, people learned to use wind energy - windmills. At the end of the twentieth century. V northern Europe(Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium) quite a lot of modern “windmills” have appeared - giant units similar to fans raised to a height of 20–30 m. Economists in these countries have calculated that such a windmill pays for itself in two years, and then begins to generate net income. income. However, during operation, another environmental problem arose: such “windmills” operate very noisily.
All other resources of the planet belong to exhaustible which, in turn, are divided into non-renewable and renewable.
Non-renewable resources– fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, peat), metal ores, precious metals and building materials (clays, sandstones, limestones).
The more humanity extracts and uses them, the less is left for the next generations.
The world's largest oil-producing region is the Middle East ( Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Jordan, Kuwait). Russia also has significant reserves oil and natural gas, located mainly in Western Siberia. The Tyumen region is a kind of “oil center”. The largest natural gas reserves are Urengoy, Yamburg (the largest in the world). Oil and gas exports today make a significant contribution to the Russian budget.
The depletion of oil and gas reserves is the largest resource problem XXI V. Therefore, modern scientific and technical thought in this century should be aimed at developing alternative energy sources, at how humanity can learn to live without gas and oil.
World coal reserves, according to geologists, will be enough for 2-3 centuries (if the rate of its production does not increase many times due to the depletion of oil and gas flows).
Metal ore reserves in the depths are also not unlimited, although the situation with them is not as tense as with fossil fuels. However, both in this and in subsequent centuries, the rate of extraction of iron and non-ferrous metals will steadily increase, which, undoubtedly, should be taken into account when assessing their reserves and the time of their use. All this applies to noble metals.
It may seem that stocks building materials (clays, sandstones, limestones) on Earth are limitless. However, despite the fact that, compared to other non-renewable resources, stocks of building materials do not yet foretell a crisis situation, it should be remembered that the rule “the more we extract, the less remains” also applies to them.
Renewable resources – soils, flora and fauna, water and air (the latter partially renewable).
Soils– a thin (no more than 10 m deep) surface fertile layer of the lithosphere that feeds the entire flora and fauna, including humans and livestock. Soils perform a whole series ecological functions, but the integrating one is fertility. Soil is a fairly inert body compared to water and air, so its ability to self-purify is limited. And anthropogenic pollution that gets into it, as a rule, accumulates, which leads to a decrease and even loss of fertility. In addition to pollution, a significant factor in the loss of fertility is erosion (wind, water) as a result of illiterate plowing of land, destruction of forests, technogenesis, etc.
Green plants- form the basis of the earth’s biomass, they are producers that provide food and oxygen to all other living organisms on the planet. Among natural plant communities highest value have forests (40% of the entire land area) as the national wealth of any nation and the lungs of the entire planet. With the beginning of agriculture, the process of deforestation of the planet began. Now there are essentially three largest forests left on earth - the Amazon jungle, the Siberian taiga and the forests of Canada. Only Canada treats its forests competently and economically. Brazil is barbarously cutting down forests - its national wealth.
In Russia the situation is also deplorable. Forests are being cut down in a predatory and illiterate manner in the European part (Karelia, Arkhangelsk region) and in Siberia. Timber export is one of the country's budget revenue items. New forests grow at the site of felling in no less than 40 years, and the rate of destruction is much higher than the rate of natural regeneration (restoration), therefore, to prevent forest extinction, new forest plantations are needed, which have not been carried out recently. Meanwhile, in addition to the economic benefits (timber), forests have enormous recreational value, which can sometimes exceed the cost of the products obtained from them. However, another problem arises here: growing cities are putting increasing anthropogenic pressure on the surrounding forests; city dwellers litter and trample them. The occurrence of fires due to human fault is also one of the factors of forest loss.
Russian forests are of not only national but also global significance, supplying oxygen to Europe and having a global impact on general climate change. Scientists believe that preserving the colossal forests of Siberia will help stop the process of global warming of the Earth's climate.
Animal world– we mean only wild animals in a state of natural nature. Animals are under enormous anthropogenic pressure associated with global environmental crisis(loss of biodiversity, etc.). Under these conditions a number European countries introduced a ban on hunting on their territory. Russia so far only regulates it, but these restrictions are not implemented, poaching, especially fish poaching, is flourishing.
For example, sea fish go to spawn in fresh waters; they rise up large and small rivers. Here it falls into the target of dams and poachers' networks. As a result, the number of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea has decreased tenfold (now there is a complete ban on sturgeon fishing there), and salmon in the Far East.
Partially renewable resources – air, water.
Water – On a global scale, the planet’s water resources are inexhaustible, but they are distributed very unevenly and in some places are acutely scarce. In nature, there is a constant water cycle, accompanied by its self-purification. The ability to self-purify is amazing and unique property nature, allowing it to withstand anthropogenic influences. Fresh water reserves on the planet are less than 2%, clean water is even less. This is a serious environmental problem, especially for countries located in arid zones.
Atmospheric air - like water, it is a unique and necessary natural resource for all living things, capable of self-purification. The World Ocean plays a huge role in this process, as well as in the water cycle. But the assimilation potential of nature is not endless. Fresh water used for drinking and atmospheric air necessary for breathing now require additional purification, since the biosphere can no longer cope with the colossal anthropogenic load.
Strong measures are required everywhere to ensure rational use of natural resources. The biosphere needs to be protected, and natural resources need to be saved.
The basic principles of this attitude towards natural resources are set out in the international document “Concept of Sustainable Economic Development” (hereinafter referred to as the “Concept”), adopted at the Second UN World Conference on Environmental Protection in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
About inexhaustible resources The "Concept" urgently calls for a return to their widespread use, and, where possible, replace non-renewable resources with inexhaustible ones. For example, replace coal with solar or wind energy.
Regarding non-renewable resources in the “Concept” it is noted that their extraction should be made normative, i.e. reduce the rate of extraction of minerals from the subsoil. The global community will have to give up the race for leadership in the extraction of this or that natural resource, The main thing is not the volume of the extracted resource, but the efficiency of its use. This means a completely new approach to the problem of mining: it is necessary to extract not as much as each country can, but as much as is needed for the sustainable development of the world economy. Of course, the world community will not come to such an approach immediately; it will take decades to implement it.
For modern Russia mineral resources form the basis of the economy. More than 17% of the world's oil, up to 25% of gas, and 15% of coal are produced in Russia. Main problem during their extraction - incomplete extraction from the subsoil: oil is pumped out of the well at best by 70%, coal extracted no more than 80%, no less large losses during processing.
The creation and implementation of new technologies will increase the share of extracted oil, coal, and metal ores. This requires considerable funds. In Russia, the number of “unpromising” flooded mines and abandoned oil wells is increasing.
The task of more complete extraction of mineral resources from the subsoil is adjacent to another - integrated use of mineral raw materials. Analysis of some ores of the Urals showed that in addition to the main mined metal (for example, copper), they contain a large amount of rare and trace elements, the cost of which often exceeds the cost of the main material. However, this valuable raw material remains in dumps due to the lack of technology for its extraction.
In addition, the mining complex has become one of the largest sources of pollution and environmental damage. In places of mining, as a rule, forests, grass, and soil suffer; in the tundra, for example, nature is forced to recover and cleanse itself for decades.
The principles of environmental protection require the user of natural resources to:
Maximum complete extraction of minerals from the subsoil and their rational use;
Complex extraction of not just one, but all components contained in ores;
Ensuring the preservation of the natural environment in mining areas;
Safety for people during mining operations;
Preventing subsoil contamination during underground storage of oil, gas and other flammable materials.
Renewable resources– The “Concept” requires that their exploitation be carried out at least within the framework of simple reproduction and their total number does not decrease over time. From the point of view of ecologists, this means: as much as they took from nature (for example, forests), so much will be returned (forest plantations).
Forest – According to estimates by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the total annual losses in the world for the first 5 years of the 21st century. amounted to 7.3 million hectares. Partially, the loss of forests in some countries is compensated by an increase in their area in others. Every year the area of the Earth's forests is reduced by 6,120 million hectares (0.18%). This is slightly less than in the period from 1990 to 2000, when the average annual reduction in the Earth's forest area was 8.9 million hectares. The maximum rate of forest area reduction is typical for South America(4.3 million hectares per year) and Africa (4.0 million hectares per year). In Oceania, the annual reduction in forest area is 356 thousand hectares, and in North and Central America - 333 thousand hectares. The situation in Asia (without the Asian part of Russia) has changed significantly. In the 1990s, the decline in forest area in Asia was about 800 thousand hectares per year, and now it has been replaced by an annual increase of about a million hectares. This is due to large-scale afforestation in China. In Europe (including Russia as a whole), the total forest area increased in the 1990s and continues to increase today, although at a slower rate. The average annual increase in forest area in Europe (including Russia as a whole) is for the period from 2000 to 2005. about 660 thousand hectares, and the increase in accumulated wood reserves in these forests is about 340 million m 3 per year. Forest restoration efforts are expected to increase forest area by 10% over the next half century. However, reducing the rate of deforestation does not solve the problems already created by this process.
The rate of deforestation varies greatly by region. Currently, the rate of deforestation is highest (and increasing) in developing countries located in the tropics. In the 1980s, tropical forests lost 9.2 million hectares, and in the last decade of the 20th century. – 8.6 million hectares.
Humans have been clearing forests for a long time, using the wood for construction and fuel, or reclaiming land from forests for agriculture. Later, people developed a need to create infrastructure (cities, roads) and extract minerals, which spurred the process of deforestation. However, the main reason for deforestation is the increased need for space for grazing livestock and planting crops.
Forestry cannot produce as much food as land cleared of trees. Tropical and taiga forests are practically unable to support an adequate standard of living for the population, since edible resources are too scattered. The slash-and-burn method of short-term use of ash-rich forest soil is practiced by 200 million indigenous people around the world.
In Russia, over the past 15 years, the volume of felling has increased many times (timber is one of the revenue parts of the budget), and forest planting was not carried out at all during this period. At the same time, to restore forests after logging, forest plantations of 2–3 times the area are required; to reproduce a full-fledged forest, it takes 35–40, 50 years.
The lack of necessary measures leads to the fact that currently about 1 million hectares of forests per year are destroyed due to fires, pests and diseases. Natural and anthropogenic factors influence forest resources. Thus, clear cuttings from 1987 to 1993 were carried out on an area of about 1 million hectares per year. The impact of fires is extremely noticeable: from 1984 to 1992 on 1.6 million hectares. The total damage, according to estimates for 1996, amounted to 26.5 million hectares of forests, with 99% of them occurring in Siberia and Far East. In Central Siberia (territory Krasnoyarsk Territory), where a significant part of the boreal forests is concentrated (21.5% of the forest area of Russia), the main exogenous factors causing the loss of the forest fund are fires, deforestation, and outbreaks of mass reproduction of silkworms. Periodically, damage caused by fires, pests, diseases and industrial pollution in the forest-steppe and southern taiga forests of the region affects 62–85% of their area, as a result, only 5–10% of virgin communities of mature and overmature plantings have been preserved. In recent years, negative processes in the conservation, use and reproduction of forest resources have increased. There is a decrease in timber harvesting volumes and at the same time, the area of forests destroyed by fires is increasing. Thus, from 1990 to 1996, forest areas were logging on an area of 430 thousand hectares (21%), destroyed by fires - 840 thousand hectares (42%), and by silkworms - on 740 thousand hectares (37%). About 500 thousand hectares died or were severely degraded from gas and dust emissions from the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Combine. Forest areas affected by these emissions are located at distances of up to 200 km, and at a distance of 80–100 km, survival is almost zero. At the same time, the forest services of the Krasnoyarsk Territory are carrying out certain work on reforestation - as of January 1, 1998, the area of reforestation lands of the forest fund amounted to 1,795.4 thousand hectares, of which 989.1 thousand hectares were restored naturally, 402 thousand hectares thanks to the promotion of natural regeneration and 4,04.9 thousand hectares - through the creation of forest plantations.
Land resources- the basis for obtaining agricultural crops, the main wealth on which our existence depends.
Soil is essentially a “non-renewable” natural resource. To restore 1 cm 2 of soil, depending on natural and climatic conditions, it takes from several years to several thousand years. However, when correct use soil, unlike other natural resources, can not only not age, not wear out, but even improve, grow, and increase its fertility.
The areas of fertile soils are catastrophically declining all over the world: they are polluted, destroyed by air and water erosion, swamped, salinized, desertified, removed from agricultural use due to alienation (allocation for construction and other purposes incompatible with their (soils) main purpose). Irreversible losses of arable land due to soil degradation alone have reached 1.5 million hectares per year. The monetary value of these losses is at least $2 billion.
Occupying a vast territory Eastern Europe and throughout Northern Asia, Russia has a huge land fund of 1,709.8 million hectares. Soil cover it is represented by many different types soils - from arctic deserts and tundras, taiga podzols and swamps to forest-steppe and steppe chernozems, chestnut, brown and saline soils of semi-deserts, subtropical brown soils and red terra rossa. More than half of Russia's area is occupied by various northern soils, and about a third is occupied by soils of mountain landscapes, mostly also cold. It lies on half the area of Russia permafrost. Only a quarter of the country's land fund is, to varying degrees, favorable for agriculture, since the northern and middle forest zones lack solar heat. The annual sum of average daily temperatures above 10 o C in these places does not exceed 1,400 degree days. In the southern continental regions there is a lack of atmospheric moisture (less than 400 mm per year). Only 13% of Russia's territory is occupied by agricultural land, and even less by arable land - only 7%, with more than half of the arable land concentrated on black soil. Every year, these areas are reduced as a result of erosion, misuse (construction, landfills), waterlogging, and mining (open-pit coal mining).
To protect against erosion use:
forest shelterbelts;
plowing (without turning over the formation);
plowing across slopes and grassing (in hilly areas);
regulation of livestock grazing.
Disturbed contaminated lands are restored through agricultural and forestry reclamation. Land reclamation can be carried out through the creation of reservoirs and housing construction. Lands can also be left for self-overgrowth.
Water resources– by volume, freshwater sources (including glaciers) make up about 3% of the hydrosphere, the rest is the World Ocean. Russia has significant reserves of water resources. The territory is washed by the waters of twelve seas belonging to three oceans, as well as the inland Caspian Sea. On the territory of Russia there are over 2.5 million large and small rivers, more than 2 million lakes, hundreds of thousands of swamps and other water resources.
Self-purification of water occurs due to plankton living in the water. The world's oceans stabilize the planet's climate, are in constant dynamic equilibrium with the atmosphere, and produce enormous biomass.
But for life and economic activity a person needs fresh water. The rapid growth of the planet's population and the rapid development of the world economy have led to a shortage of fresh water not only in traditionally dry countries, but also in those that were recently considered to be well supplied with water. Almost all sectors of the economy, except maritime transport and fishing, require fresh water. Each resident of the Russian Federation annually accounts for an average of 30 thousand m 3 of total river flow, 530 m 3 of total water intake and 90–95 m 3 of domestic water supply (i.e. 250 liters per day). IN major cities specific water consumption is 320 l/day, in Moscow – 400 l/day. The average water supply to our population is one of the highest in the world. For comparison: USA - 320, UK - 170, Japan - 125, India - 65, Iraq - 16 liters per day. However, compared to many other countries, we use fresh water extremely uneconomically. At the same time, in a number of regions in the south of Russia, in the Volga region and Trans-Urals, there are difficulties in providing the population with high-quality drinking water.
The creation of reservoirs greatly reduced river flow and increased evaporation and depletion of water bodies. Requires large volumes of water for irrigation agriculture, and evaporation also increases; huge quantities are spent in industry; Fresh water is also needed for domestic needs.
Pollution of the World Ocean and fresh water sources is also one of the environmental problems. Currently spent waste water pollute more than a third of the world's river flow, so it is necessary to strictly conserve fresh water and prevent its pollution.
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