The negative impact of man on nature and the environment on man. Successes of modern natural science

As a biological species, man has been living in all areas of the globe since the anthropogenic era. At first mankind used nature unconsciously, then consciously. The use of natural resources at different levels of human development took place in different ways (primitive, slave-owning, feudal, capitalist, socialist system). It was directly related to the growth in the number of people on Earth and scientific and technological progress (STP). If at first human actions were limited only to the extermination of large animals and the burning of forests, then later on he began to master previously unknown crafts, build cities, develop industry, agriculture, master science and technology.

According to some information, the globe 50% of the forest has been destroyed and 70-75% of the entire usable area has been developed. The above facts are only a small part of the negative impact of human activity on nature. As academician V. I. Vernadsky said, "man on the globe will be turned into a powerful geological force" and the fate of nature will depend on his consciousness. This truth is still relevant today. These actions are related to anthropogenic factors. Their main areas:

1. The influence of man as a biological species on nature. Man exterminates birds and animals for his food and existence. Its diet includes plant and animal foods. Therefore, in order to solve the problem of nutrition, a person is forced to develop the land, reduce the number of animals and birds.

2. A person performs all his actions consciously. In the process of mastering nature, he rationally uses the achievements of science, enriches and protects nature, growing cultivated plants and producing new types of animals. But these actions in some cases are not saved at their level and give a negative effect.

3. In the process of scientific and technical progress new substances are released into nature (chemical compounds, plastic, explosive substances, etc.). Thus, the face of nature changes and collapses.

4. One of the largest human actions are the development of industry, construction, the discovery of mines, the development of minerals. At the same time, complex construction, the use of technology, the development of production sites occur at the expense of natural ecosystems and the use of most of the usable area.

5. Humanity inflicts great damage to nature in connection with the development of atomic weapons and space exploration. As a result, individual ecosystems and landscapes have completely disappeared or become unusable.

The influence of anthropogenic factors can be divided into the following types:

1. Direct influence. In the process of life, a person destroys the natural biocenosis, developing the land, forests, using pastures for the construction of roads, factories, etc.

2. Indirect influence. In the course of using some natural resources, a person has an indirect impact on other resources. For example, as a result of deforestation, animals and birds disappear.

3. Complex influence. Pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic chemicals are used to control agricultural pests in fields and gardens. Poisons act not only purposefully on their objects, but also on all living things around.

4. Spontaneous actions. In some cases, a person commits negligence during rest, these include fires from bonfires, the destruction of animals, plants, etc.

5. Conscious actions. Each state on the globe uses Natural resources. New technologies to improve productivity are being mastered useful varieties cultivated plants. Protected areas are being created National parks, plants and animals are protected - thus created optimal conditions for the full life of people. Restoring nature by planting trees in industrial complexes, the formation of artificial reservoirs, parks, people create a cultural landscape in terms of aesthetics. But such humane actions are not relevant in all countries. They are connected with the policy of the state, its development, the level of science and culture. Such states include Switzerland, Finland, Canada, Japan, etc. But at the same time, in many countries many mistakes are made in dealing with nature. Undoubtedly, this is not done on purpose, but for the good of man. For example, if a man created atomic reactors for the production of energy, then how much suffering has been brought to mankind by its use for military purposes (Hiroshima, Nagasaki)! A failure in the nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant shook the whole of Europe. The harm caused to man and nature from missiles used for military purposes is still being felt in different parts of the globe.

In Kazakhstan, the consequences of human influence on nature became especially noticeable during the development of virgin lands, the Aral, Syrdarya, Balkhash basins, the Kapchagai reservoir, the Semipalatinsk, Azgyr, Naryn, Saryshagan polygons. Some territories government decision were classified as ecological disaster zones.

It should be taken into account that man influences nature to solve the problems of shortage of products, energy, raw materials. The development of nature will never stop - this is a natural process. And its rational and competent use is our duty.

We must constantly remember that the nature that surrounds us now is also necessary for our future generations, because the center of life, the home of all mankind is one - this is the Earth!

1. A person uses natural resources to meet material needs.

2. Man tries to make the most of natural resources.

3. The influence of man on nature is different: positive or negative.

4. Ecological disaster zones appeared on Earth.

1. What are positive and negative human activities?

2. What is the direct and indirect influence of man on nature?

3. Why does man influence nature?

1. How does a person influence nature?

2. What changes does scientific and technological progress make in nature?

3. What actions should be taken by humanity to restore nature?

1. Why did V. I. Vernadsky compare people with "geological force"?

2. What impact does man have on nature?

3. How many types can anthropogenic factors be divided into according to the nature of their influence?

Humanity has a huge impact on environment. And not always positive. Rapidly developing enterprises primarily care about making a profit and practically do not think about the environment.

Such negative human impact on the environment and consumer attitudes have led to the depletion of many natural resources and the deterioration of our planet.

The beginning of the negative impact

As early as the beginning of the twentieth century, in the initial stages of the development of technological progress, many efforts were made to improve all areas of life. But was this positive influence person to the environment? On the one hand, all possible consequences were calculated and attempts were made to minimize the negative impact on nature. On the other hand, new territories were cleared at high speed, cities expanded, factories were built, kilometers of roads were laid, swamps and reservoirs were drained, and the first hydroelectric power stations were built. people found new effective methods extraction of minerals. Such human impact on the environment does not go unnoticed and should be reconsidered. The squandering of natural resources can lead to an inevitable ecological catastrophe.

The impact of agriculture on the environment

A no less depressing picture can be observed in agriculture. Our ancestors had a more careful attitude to the fertile land-nurse. The soil was cultivated according to the relevant agrarian rules. The fields were allowed to rest and fertilized generously during the dormant period. But over time, there have been big changes in agriculture. A fairly large percentage of land was plowed under the fields. The problem of food shortages was not solved in this way, but such human impact on the environment has already led to negative environmental changes. Without taking any measures and without reconsidering their actions, humanity runs the risk of being left with depleted lands unsuitable for agriculture.

Another factor that has the worst effect on the state of the environment is the not always justified use of herbicides and a large number fertilizers. Such actions can lead to the fact that the products grown in this way gradually become unsuitable and dangerous for consumption. And the soil and ground water will also be poisoned.

Decision

Fortunately, humanity has begun to think more and more about the environmental problems that have arisen. Scientists around the world are looking for ways to use valuable natural resources wisely. The best minds are working to ensure that human impact on the environment is not so detrimental. Wildlife reserves and nature reserves are increasingly being created to preserve endangered rare species of animals and birds. This can significantly improve the overall picture of the ecological situation on the blue planet. The human impact on the environment is certainly enormous. And as sad as it is to admit, but more often it is negative. So it is worth trying absolutely all the people who live on Earth in order to leave our planet with pristine beauty that could please more than one generation of people.

AT modern world the impact of the environment on human health has become global problem requiring drastic measures. There is a lot of talk these days about conservation and water resources but little is being done. The decrease in soil fertility, the death of representatives of flora and fauna, the deterioration of air quality, and the pollution of freshwater lakes and rivers are still continuing.

Main types of pollution

Consider the most common types of pollution. The most common are permanent release of chemicals industrial enterprises, cars, boiler houses. Growth in carbon dioxide leads to a gradual increase in temperature on our planet. This is urgent problem of modern humanity.

The oceans are suffering from human activities in the oil refining industry. Territories located near oil fields are subjected to disastrous exposure to industrial waste. This leads to disruption of gas exchange between the hydrosphere and.

The most dangerous is radiation . The radiation catastrophe has irreversible consequences: the development of genetic diseases, oncology, neurological diseases, early aging.

We have briefly outlined the main sources representing danger to life that adversely affect human health.

Reasons for the deterioration

Ecology studies interaction of living beings and plants with the environment and results of human activity. How does it affect our health? Environmental pollution and human health are closely interrelated.

Air

How is it happening atmospheric influence on the human body? It changes every season and every day - temperature, pressure, humidity. A healthy body quickly gets used to and adapts to change. But there are categories of patients and weather sensitive people whose organisms have difficulty adapting to weather changes, various cataclysms, so they do not feel well with sudden changes in temperature, jumps in atmospheric pressure.

When pollutants enter the atmosphere, air pollution. Many substances, coming into contact with other natural elements, are modified, becoming even more dangerous. The most common outcomes of this process are ozone holes, acid rain, greenhouse effect and smog. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) for 2014, the reason for the annual death and almost 3.8 million people becomes precisely air pollution. The total number of people who died due to the inhalation of contaminated air in open and closed spaces has reached 7 million. Don't forget the impact negative ecology on the development of cancer. According to WHO studies, air pollution is the main cause of cancer.

Important! If you want to protect yourself from undesirable effects in your own home and on the street, review daily reports on the state of the ambient air in your city. Based on the received data, take measures for protection.

The soil

Soil is an invaluable resource that gives a person a chance to exist. main reason soil pollution becomes the man himself. It is estimated that over the past hundred years, approximately 28% of all fertile soils on the planet have been eroded. Every year, a large part of the land is lost fertile layer turning into a desert. affects health, because all the food we eat is grown on earth. Lead, cadmium, mercury, and sometimes even cyanides (compounds of arsenic and beryllium) can be found in modern food. These substances have one dangerous property- are not excreted from the body.

Important! The impact of unfavorable ecology on a person can increase many times if the body lacks vitamins A, B and C.

Separately, we should dwell on agriculture. To control weeds and pests, farmers use pesticides, which fall first into the soil, and then into food. fertilizers are divided into several types:

herbicides- serve to destroy harmful plants;
insecticides- used to control insects;
fungicides- used against fungal formations;
zoocides- Created to control animal pests.

All of them are found in food in certain quantities. You see how closely connected nature and human health.

arable land are most susceptible to degradation, and repeated grazing of animals in one area leads to the destruction of the grass cover, which is especially noticeable after sheep grazing. Negative impacts causes irrigation of the land, leading to its salinization.

Surface and ground water

It has been established that more than 400 types of various substances can cause water pollution. To find out if water is drinkable, it is subjected to special treatment. It goes through three stages: sanitary-toxicological, general sanitary and organoleptic. If at least one indicator is exceeded, the water is considered polluted.

Water pollution divided into three types:

chemical ( oil and products of its processing, dioxins, pesticides, heavy);
biological(contains viruses and other pathogens);
physical(radioactive substances,).

The most common types of water pollution are the first two types. Relatively less common are radioactive, thermal and mechanical.

The process itself pollution of surface and ground waters, including drinking, is due to various factors. The main ones include:

leakage of oil and oil products;
ingress of pesticides from fields into water systems;
gas-smoke and dust emissions;
discharge into water systems of sewer water.

Exist natural sources of pollution. They include highly mineralized underground and sea waters, which are introduced into fresh water due to improper operation of water intake facilities.

The value of ecology

Ecology affects health on a daily basis. Ecological problems inextricably linked to our everyday life. The food we eat, the water we drink and the one we breathe depend on the state of the environment.

Impact polluted air is a real problem in big cities. The air of large industrial cities contains a huge concentration chemical substances which contributes to the development various diseases, including cancer. Pathologies of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal tract, blood, allergic and endocrine diseases are the consequences of the influence environment for development pathogenic microflora, degenerative and other changes.

Important! During pregnancy, the fetus is very sensitive to all external pathogens. Environmental factors play an important role in shaping a child's health.

Plant food and water, which we consume daily, are taken from the soil. Nowadays, almost every farm uses fertilizers, growth stimulants, pest control products. All this comes to our table. If the transmission of harmful substances does not occur directly, then through products animal origin- meat, milk As a result, a variety of diseases of the digestive system, a decrease in the protective functions of the body, a deterioration in the absorption of nutrients, a toxic effect on the body and early aging.

The main problem - drinking water pollution that adversely affect human health. Territories where there is a persistent deterioration in the quality of drinking water tend to increased infection of the gastrointestinal tract. Statistics say that the share of deaths due to viruses entering the body accounts for 30 to 50 million cases in Russia.

Today, people are constantly faced with ionizing radiation. Mining, air travel, nuclear explosions and the release of processed radioactive substances lead to a change in the radiation background of the external environment. The effect depends on the time, dose and type of exposure. How does radiation affect a person? Most often, the consequence is the development of infertility, radiation sickness, burns, cataracts - disorders of the organs of vision.

Environmental risks

One of the main indicators of quality public health is an environmental risk. But the main problem is not in the degree of this indicator, but in the fact that when it affects a person, the consequences appear only after 2-3 generations, gradually affecting the human body. Therefore, most people do not think about it, because they do not feel a direct threat.

Diseases are mainly dependent on age, profession and gender. AT risk group people get after reaching 50-60 years. The most healthy are men aged 20 to 30 years, girls - up to 20. An important role is played by the area of residence. In places with increased environmental risk, the population gets sick 30% more often.

Patterns of the action of environmental factors on organisms

Examples of environmental pollution

Conclusion

As we can see, the impact of an unfavorable environment on human health can lead to disastrous consequences, even death. Unfortunately, creating unfavorable and often destructive conditions of existence is inherent in one person. It is time for us to think about this global problem for the sake of our own well-being.

Man is a part of nature, therefore he influences the world and the world around us, in turn, has a direct impact on each of us. In fact, this influence can be both positive and negative. But, unfortunately, most often people only harm nature, and it tends to respond to us in the same way. Let's take a closer look at what is negative influence man to nature and the environment to man.

The negative impact of man on nature

Nature suffers terribly from human activity. People are actively depleting its resources, polluting the planet and destroying many species of plants and animals. AT last years scientific and technological progress is constantly accelerating, and the anthropogenic impact is characterized by a catastrophic level.

Unfortunately, although nature can self-repair, its capabilities in this regard are limited. Man is actively depleting the bowels of the planet, extracting minerals for many years. This practice causes an almost catastrophic depletion of the internal reserves of the Earth, which are represented by reserves of oil, coal and natural gas.

People are actively polluting the planet - especially water bodies and the atmosphere. In many countries, waste disposal methods are not used at all, and the awareness of the population in this matter is at an extremely low level. Landfills occupy a huge area, and their size is increasing every year.

Air pollution causes the "greenhouse effect", global warming and other serious problems.

Man destroys the plant resources of the planet. A hundred or two hundred years ago, forests covered about fifty percent of the land, and today their number has almost halved. And forests are not only natural resources. They are the "lungs" of the planet, as they are responsible for the synthesis of oxygen. In addition, such plantations are a habitat for many varieties of animals, as well as plants.

Uncontrolled change and destruction of the natural landscape, which we continue to talk about on this page www.site, leads to the disappearance of many species of animals, as well as plants. Every year the species diversity on the planet is reduced, and it is almost impossible to stop this process.

Improper use of fertile soils causes their depletion, which over time can make it difficult to use such areas for growing food.

The negative impact of the environment on humans

Medical experts say that almost eighty-five percent of all diseases that are diagnosed in humans are interconnected with the adverse effects of the environment. The health of the population is catastrophically deteriorating, every year there are more and more new ailments that are difficult to diagnose and treat.

Many diseases and pathological conditions occur due to the constant inhalation of polluted air. Harmful emissions from enterprises into the atmosphere cause various aggressive substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur, nitrogen, hydrocarbons, lead compounds, etc., to enter the skin and mucous membranes. All these particles are harmful to health. primarily irritates the respiratory tract, causing the development of asthma, causing a general deterioration in health. Living in areas with dangerous enterprises, people often experience headaches, nausea, a feeling of weakness, and their performance is significantly reduced. There is also evidence that air pollution can trigger the development of cancer.

Drinking water also has a negative impact on the health of the individual. After all, a variety of diseases are transmitted through polluted water bodies. Scientists argue that the consumption of insufficiently high-quality water leads to the development of pathologies of the heart and blood vessels, diseases of the kidneys, liver and biliary tract, as well as digestive tract.

The harm that humans cause to the environment leads to climate change. At least, the weakening and some change in the direction of the warm current of the Gulf Stream, which occurs due to the melting of ice and leads to an increase in the number of tornadoes. It is also worth recalling the decrease in the thickness of the ozone layer of the atmosphere ... But such negative climatic conditions can cause not only a change in the weather, but also real, including quite serious diseases, for example, due to burning of the skin under the influence sun rays. Also, health disorders can be provoked by the influence of magnetic storms, sharp fluctuations in temperature and atmospheric pressure.

In fact, the negative impact of the environment on a person and the impact of a person on the environment are closely interrelated. After all, bringing constant harm to nature, people have long begun to notice that it responds to them in the same way. But, unfortunately, it will take a lot of time to reduce this negative impact.

What comes to our minds when we say, "Man's influence on the environment"? A huge chimney of the plant, rising high into the sky and throwing out black clouds of smoke. Such an association is a stereotype, which to a small extent does not reflect the essence of the problem. Human impact on the environment is more diverse and complex, posing a threat to both animate and inanimate nature of the entire planet. Therefore, it is wrong to reduce the problem only to air, water and soil pollution. Influence, its factors and human impact on the environment are words denoting different processes.

Impact is a directed action with a purpose. A factor is the driving force or cause of an action, and an influence is that which brings about change. That is, an action that has a reason, a purpose, and causes change.

The reason is providing for the needs of a person as a living organism, which is far from always associated with survival or the need for food and water. The goal is to change nature to meet their needs as much as possible. There are a huge number of actions taken for 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 boundary between actions, consequences and causes. Because one becomes part of the other, the consequences become the cause, the actions become the goal.

For example, in order to effectively control an ecosystem, a person strives to simplify its structure. It interferes with its functioning, reduces species diversity and population size. Destroys species of animals and plants that interfere with the productivity of the ecosystem. Changes its composition and structure. As a result, the ecosystem becomes unsustainable without constant human help and control. As a result, the number of natural ecosystems is reduced and the number of anthropogenic ones, that is, those that have been transformed as a result of active human intervention, increases. Natural ecosystems are being transformed into artificial ones.

This process has become a global trend, as it provides the 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 happens as a result of pollution, deforestation, blocking of river beds, burning 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. going on chain reaction of actions and consequences, where one begins another, and so on without end.

Pollution is a phenomenon that contains both action and consequences. It changes the structure of a substance or environment when the amount or concentration of some elements unnaturally increases or foreign elements are introduced. Pollution affects all the main components of nature - land, water and air. Its sources are almost all spheres of human activity from production to household. Pollutants are not only chemical substances, 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 the chemical production of rubber and mineral fertilizers. Pollution plays a major role in violations of the functions and composition of the biosphere, which entail changes in it, not fully understood and understood consequences.

The factors of human influence on the environment are of a dual nature, although the consequences are the same - the impoverishment of nature. On the one hand, humanity needs everything more food, for which nature takes away all the new land. On the other hand, it has a constant need to increase energy.

Human impact on the environment does not always entail planned or predictable consequences. And the most dangerous of them are precisely those that were not expected. A prime example is " global warming» climate. Deforestation and burning fuel simultaneously lead to a decrease in oxygen in the atmosphere, and the invention of aerosols leads to a decrease in ozone. Thus, near the Earth began to accumulate more heat. One is to penetrate more actively from the outside, the other is to linger. The result may be accelerated melting of glaciers, rising ocean levels and land flooding.

No matter how interconnected the goal, cause, consequences, they must be separated and carefully treated.