Environmental pollution: environmental problems of nature

by pollutionenvironment is the direct or indirect negative impact on it caused by anthropogenic activities.

In principle, pollution can also occur from natural sources as a result of natural processes. But most of the emissions associated with these causes, as a rule, do not cause much harm to the environment, since they do not reach concentrations that are dangerous for it due to dispersion, dissolution, and absorption. The exceptions are natural disasters or natural hazards, which include floods, earthquakes, high winds, landslides, avalanches and drought.

BOX 14.1

The territory of Russia is affected by the entire spectrum of dangerous natural phenomena. Recently, about 400 natural emergencies have been recorded annually. 20% of the territory of the Russian Federation is affected by earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7 points. In total for the period 1992-2000. more than 100 earthquakes occurred, several of which had catastrophic consequences. Earthquakes rank first in terms of damage and loss of life.

In second place in these indicators are floods. In Russia, the threat of floods is relevant for more than 700 cities. The areas of flooding range from 50 to 400 thousand km2.

The most dangerous in terms of natural phenomena in Russia are the Far East and North Caucasus regions.

However, the main pollution problems are associated with human activities, i.e. caused by artificially created sources, which are divided into stationary(enterprises of industry, agriculture, etc.) and mobile(transport).

Emissions from these sources enter the natural environment in the form of gaseous, liquid or solid substances. These are the so-called primary pollutants. In the process of emissions, these substances interact with each other, as well as with elements of nature and often form new substances (synergistic effect), which are secondary pollutants.

The main objects of pollution are the atmosphere and water. All other elements of the environment (land, forest, plants, etc.) are, as a rule, polluted indirectly.

In order to control environmental pollution, environmental impact standards and quality standards are established. At the same time, it is assumed that pollution levels within the standards (often called norms) are within the assimilation potential of the ecosystem, or, in other words, do not have a negative impact on the environment.

Since the 90s. for each enterprise, a standard for permissible emissions of various substances is set per unit of time - usually a year. For the atmosphere, these are the maximum allowable emissions (MAE). For water - maximum allowable discharges (MPD) both into open water bodies and into sewers.

The emission standardization process began in the late 1980s. and was extended over time. Not all enterprises turned out to be ready for strict control over their pollution, for which there were both objective reasons (in the conditions of a centralized, planned economy, the choice of technology, the amount of investment in its renewal, as well as the volume and range of products produced) depended little on the enterprise), and subjective unwillingness carry out additional costs to reduce gross emissions. Under these conditions, given the a priori predetermined position on the inadmissibility of not only closing, but also suspending production, it was necessary to make compromises. One of these compromises can be considered the establishment of temporary standards that exceed the maximum allowable. They were called temporary because they had to act for a certain time, during which enterprises were obliged to implement programs to achieve regulatory indicators. Such standards are called provisionally agreed emissions or discharges (SV, VSS). They were usually established for one year, and then often extended.

The calculation of maximum allowable emissions (discharges) was carried out in such a way that as a result of pollution, such dimensions would be ensured that would not lead to violation of the standards for the content of harmful substances in units of volumes of the atmosphere or water. Such standards are called maximum allowable concentrations (MACs). They are set for each substance. By analogy with gross emissions, it is considered that the concentrations of pollutants within the limits of the standards do not lead to a negative impact on the environment. MPCs are maximally single, measured during the day, and average daily, from which the average annual concentrations are subsequently calculated.

The processes of calculating MPE (MPD) and MPC are interconnected. First, the source is set to the initial value of the emission volume, which is added to the background pollution, taking into account dispersion. Then, the concentration of the calculated substance is measured at the control points. If the concentration at the control points is equal to the MAC, then the initial value of MPE (MPD) is approved as standard. If the MAC is exceeded, then the initial value of the MAC is reduced until the standard concentration is reached. If it is less than permissible, then the limit emission standard can be increased.

All emissions that go beyond the MPE (MPD) or VER (VSS), if any, are considered above the norm or above the limit. The calculation of maximum allowable emissions (discharges) has a very specific economic meaning. It is these standards that form the basis of the pollution charges applied by enterprises in our country (more on this will be discussed in the section on the economic mechanism of nature management).

The disadvantages of the practical implementation of the idea of ​​establishing standards for the quality of the environment and the impact on it are as follows. First, such standards are not set for all substances released into the environment (see box 14.2); secondly, they do not take into account the synergistic effect, when two or more substances, interacting with each other, give a total result that is different from the sum of the sum of their independent effects; thirdly, it has not yet been fully proven that the established standards for maximum concentrations really reflect the threshold beyond which there is no harmful effect on the environment; Finally, fourthly, many enterprises currently have such a weak control technique that it is only conditionally possible to speak about the accuracy of measurements of emissions of harmful substances.

BOX 14.2

In the world, about 5 thousand substances are produced on a mass scale, and in quantities of more than 500 tons per year - 13 thousand. In total, a person has learned to synthesize more than 10 million substances. About 80% of substances used by humans are not evaluated in terms of their impact on the environment, including living organisms.

Pollution of the natural environment is the introduction into this or that ecological system of living or non-living components or structural changes that are not characteristic of it, interrupting the circulation of substances, their assimilation, the flow of energy, as a result of which this system is destroyed, or its productivity is reduced.

A pollutant can be any physical agent, chemical, or species, entering the environment or arising in it in quantities that go beyond their usual concentration, limiting natural fluctuations or average natural background at the time in question.

The main indicator characterizing the impact of pollutants on the environment natural environment, is the maximum allowable concentration (MAC). From the standpoint of ecology, the maximum allowable concentrations of a particular substance are upper limits limiting environmental factors (in particular, chemical compounds), in which their content does not go beyond the permissible boundaries of the human ecological niche.

Pollution ingredients are thousands of chemical compounds, especially metals or their oxides, toxic substances, aerosols. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 500 thousand chemical compounds are currently used in practice. At the same time, about 40 thousand compounds have properties that are very harmful to living organisms, and 12 thousand are toxic.

The most common pollutants are ash and dust of various compositions, oxides of non-ferrous and ferrous metals, various connections sulfur, nitrogen, fluorine, chlorine, radioactive gases, aerosols, etc. The greatest pollution atmospheric air accounts for carbon oxides - about 200 million tons per year, dust - about 250 million tons per year, ash - about 120 million tons per year, hydrocarbons - about 50 million tons per year. The saturation of the biosphere with heavy metals - mercury, gallium, germanium, zinc, lead, etc. - is progressing. When fuel is burned, especially coal, with ash and exhaust gases, more enters the environment than is extracted from the bowels: magnesium - 1.5 times, molybdenum - 3, arsenic - 7, uranium and titanium - 10, aluminum, iodine, cobalt - 15 times, mercury - 50 times, lithium, vanadium, strontium, beryllium, zirconium - 100 times, gallium and germanium - 1000 times, yttrium - tens of thousands of times.

Percentage of harmful emissions produced by countries in 1995: USA - 23%, China - 13.9%, Russia - 7.2%, Japan - 5%, Germany - 3.8%, all others - 47.1% .

Environmental pollution is divided into:

natural - caused by some natural phenomena, usually catastrophic (floods, volcanic eruptions, mudflows, etc.);

anthropogenic - arise as a result of human activities.

Among the anthropogenic pollution are the following:

a) biological - accidental or as a result of human activity;

b) microbiological (microbial) - the appearance is unusual a large number microbes associated with their mass distribution on anthropogenic substrates or environments changed during economic activity person;

c) mechanical - contamination of the environment by agents that have mechanical impact without physico-chemical consequences;

d) chemical - a change in natural chemical properties environment, as a result of which the average long-term fluctuation in the amount of any substances for the period under consideration increases or decreases, or the penetration into the environment of substances that are normally absent in it or are in concentrations exceeding the MPC;

pollution environment ecological

e) physical - a change in the natural physical state of the environment.

The latter is subdivided into:

a) thermal (thermal), resulting from an increase in the temperature of the environment, mainly due to industrial emissions of heated air, water, and exhaust gases;

b) light - violation of the natural illumination of the area as a result of exposure artificial sources light, leading to anomalies in the life of plants and animals;

c) noise - is formed as a result of an increase in the intensity and frequency of noise above the natural level;

d) electromagnetic - appears as a result of a change in the electromagnetic properties of the medium (from power lines, radio, television, the work of some industrial installations etc.), leading to global and local geophysical anomalies and changes in subtle biological structures;

e) radioactive - associated with an increase in the natural level of content in the environment of radioactive substances.

Possible forms of environmental pollution are shown in Figure 3.2.

The direct objects of pollution (acceptors of pollutants) are the main components of the ecotone: atmosphere, water, soil. Indirect objects of pollution are the components of the biocenosis - plants, animals, microorganisms.

Anthropogenic sources of pollution are very diverse. Among them are not only industrial enterprises and a heat and power complex, but also household waste, animal husbandry, transport waste, as well as chemical substances introduced by humans into ecosystems for protection useful products from pests, diseases, weeds.

On the industrial enterprises Substances polluting the natural environment are divided into four classes depending on the toxicity indicator (in this case, on the local concentration - LC):

Extremely dangerous (LC 50<0,5 мг/л).

Highly dangerous (LK 50<5 мг/л).

Moderately dangerous (LC 50<50 мг/л).

Low-hazard (LC 50>50 mg/l).

Substances polluting the environment are also subdivided according to their state of aggregation into 4 classes: solid, liquid, gaseous, mixed.

Industrial emissions into the environment can be classified according to other criteria:

On the organization of control and withdrawal - into organized and unorganized:

a) organized industrial release - release entering the environment (air and water basins) through specially constructed gas ducts, water conduits and pipes;

b) unorganized industrial release - release into the environment in the form of irregular spontaneous water or gas flows resulting from imperfection of technological equipment or violation of its tightness, absence or poor operation of equipment for exhausting gases or removing contaminated water in places of loading and storage of raw materials, materials , waste, finished products (for example, dusting of waste rock dumps, unregulated surface runoff of industrial enterprises).

According to the withdrawal mode - continuous and periodic. Thus, the removal of blast-furnace gas is considered continuous, and the removal of converter gas is considered periodic.

By temperature - when the temperature of the flow (gas, water, mixed) is higher, lower or equal to the ambient temperature.

By localization - emissions occur in the main, auxiliary, ancillary industries, in transport, etc.

According to the signs of cleaning - into clean, normatively cleaned, partially cleaned, discarded without cleaning.

In this case, purification refers to the separation, capture and transformation into a harmless state of a pollutant coming from an industrial source.

Industrial emissions into the environment are divided into primary and secondary.

Primary emissions are emissions that enter the environment from various sources, and secondary ones, being products of the formation of primary ones, can be more toxic and dangerous than the first ones. A typical transformation of some substances is their photochemical oxidation.

Sources of environmental pollution by industry are classified depending on the object of pollution: atmosphere, water basin, lithosphere.

Sources of air pollution:

By appointment:

a) technological - contain tail gases after being captured at the purge installations of apparatuses, air vents, etc. (emissions are characterized by high concentrations of harmful substances and very small volumes of air removed);

b) ventilation emissions - local exhaust from equipment and general exhaust;

By location:

a) unshaded, or high, located in the zone of an undeformed wind flow (high pipes, point sources that remove pollution to a height exceeding the height of the building by 2.5 times);

b) darkened, or low, - located at a height 2.5 times less than the height of the building;

c) ground - near the earth's surface (openly located technological equipment, industrial sewage wells, spilled toxic substances, scattered production wastes).

Geometrically:

a) point (pipes, shafts, roof fans);

b) linear (aeration lamps, open windows, closely located exhaust shafts and torches);

According to the mode of operation: continuous and periodic action, volley and instantaneous. In the case of volley emissions, a large amount of harmful substances enters the air in a short period of time; are possible in case of accidents or incineration of fast-burning production waste at special destruction sites. With instantaneous emissions, pollution spreads in a fraction of a second, sometimes to a considerable height. Occur during blasting and emergency situations.

Distribution range:

a) on-site, when the pollutants emitted into the atmosphere form high concentrations only on the territory of the industrial area, and no noticeable pollution is observed in residential areas (a sanitary protection zone of sufficient size is provided for such emissions);

b) off-site, when the emitted pollution is potentially capable of creating high concentrations (of the order of MPC for the air of settlements) on the territory of a residential area.

Sources of pollution of the water basin:

Atmospheric waters carry masses of pollutants (pollutants) of industrial origin washed out of the air. When flowing down the slopes, atmospheric and melt water carry away masses of substances. Especially dangerous are runoff from city streets, industrial sites, carrying masses of oil products, garbage, phenols, acids.

Municipal wastewater, which includes mainly domestic wastewater, contains faeces, detergents (surfactant detergents), microorganisms, including pathogens. About 100 km 3 of such waters are formed annually in the country as a whole.

Agricultural waters. Pollution with these waters is due, firstly, to the fact that an increase in the yield and productivity of land is inevitably associated with the use of pesticides used to suppress pests, plant diseases, and weeds. Pesticides enter the soil or are washed away over long distances, ending up in water bodies. Secondly, animal husbandry is associated with the formation of large masses of solid organic matter and urea. These wastes are not toxic, but their masses are huge and their presence leads to severe consequences for aquatic ecological systems. In addition to organic matter, agricultural wastewater contains a lot of biogenic elements, including nitrogen and phosphorus.

Industrial wastewater generated in a wide variety of industries, among which the most actively consume water are ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical, wood chemical, and oil refining industries. During the development of reservoir deposits in our country, every year 2.5 billion km 3 of drainage mine and slag waters are formed, contaminated with chloride and sulfate compounds, iron and copper compounds, which are not suitable even as industrial water and must be cleaned before being discharged.

Pollution of water systems is a greater danger than air pollution. The processes of generation or self-purification proceed much more slowly in water than in air.

Sources of pollution of the lithosphere.

Residential buildings and household enterprises. Among the pollutants: household waste, food waste, feces, construction waste, heating system waste, household items that have become unusable, waste from public institutions, hospitals, canteens, hotels, etc.

Agriculture. Fertilizers, pesticides used in agriculture and forestry to protect plants from pests, diseases and weeds. Waste of livestock and agricultural products.

Thermal power engineering. The formation of a mass of slag during the combustion of coal, the release into the atmosphere of soot, unburned particles, sulfur oxides that end up in the soil.

Transport. During the operation of internal combustion engines, nitrogen oxides, lead, hydrocarbons and other substances are released that settle on the soil and plants.

Industrial enterprises. Industrial waste contains substances that have a toxic effect on living organisms. The wastes of the metallurgical industry contain salts of non-ferrous and heavy metals. The engineering industry releases cyanides, arsenic and beryllium compounds into the environment. In the production of plastics and artificial fibers, benzene and phenol wastes are generated. Pulp and paper industry waste - phenols, methanol, turpentine, bottoms.

With soil pollution, self-purification almost does not occur. Toxic substances accumulate, which contributes to a gradual change in the chemical composition, disruption of the unity of the geochemical environment and living organisms. From the soil, toxic substances enter the organisms of animals and humans.

As a result of human activity in the biosphere, substances and physical agents that are not typical for it, generated by objects of the technosphere, began to appear.

These include:

Emissions into the atmosphere of chemical compounds, aerosols, various mixtures;

Discharges into the aquatic environment of all kinds of industrial and municipal waste, oil products;

Clogging of fields, meadows, forests, rivers, lakes with garbage, pesticides, mineral fertilizers, heavy metals;

Increased levels of noise, vibration, electromagnetic radiation, radiation, heat.

Tens of thousands of substances and agents are known to pollute the biosphere. Harmful substances created by man and unusual for the biosphere are called xenobiotics(xeno - alien). For example, xenobiotics are pesticides, plastics, phenols.

A special group is waste- substances, materials, objects that have lost their value for the owner. Waste may consist of household and industrial waste and unnecessary things. Waste must be collected, disposed of, processed, stored in accordance with established rules. All the above substances and physical agents are united by the concept of a pollutant.

pollutant is any chemical, energy impact, waste, etc., that goes beyond the safe level for humans and causes undesirable changes in the environment.

The main feature of a pollutant should be considered its danger to the biosphere, i.e. for people, animals and plants. The value of the composition of the environment for a person is determined by the volume of daily consumption - about 10 kg of air, 2 liters of water and 1 kg of solid food. The data below indirectly testify to the global scale of pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil.

Approximately 80,000 new chemicals are currently being produced worldwide, with over 1,000 new compounds added each year. In addition, 250 million tons are used annually throughout the world. organic substances, a significant part of which, as they are used, uncontrollably enters the environment. All this negatively affects the environment and human health.

To develop preventive measures and means of protection against pollutants, it is necessary to know their physical, chemical, sanitary-hygienic, toxic and other properties.

In particular, it is necessary to have the following data on pollutants: the nature of the pollutant, chemical activity, origin, use, impact on humans and all living organisms, prevalence in nature, solubility, organoleptic properties, MPC, MPC, toxicity indicators, dispersion (dust), indicators explosion and fire hazard, undesirable resistance, permeability, prevention, protection, first aid. In order to effectively resist environmental pollution, it is necessary to have a list of all pollutants entering the environment.

The properties of pollutants that affect the safety of the environment and that can affect the lives of people, animals and plants are combined in the pollutant passport.

Pollutant passport- this is a list of properties and information about the pollutant that must be available in order to develop habitat protection systems, which are organizational, hygienic, technical and other measures, methods and means aimed at protecting biological objects from dangerous and harmful effects of the pollutant.

Potentially hazardous chemical and biological pollutants are subject to state registration.

An approximate form of these documents on the example of a specific substance - benzene - is given in Appendix 1.

The behavior of a pollutant in the environment characterizes pollution.

Pollution- this is the process of interaction of a pollutant with environmental objects, including other pollutants.

To assess pollution, you need to know:

Nature of receipt and accumulation in the environment;

Environments of primary accumulation of the pollutant (water, air, soil);

Scale of distribution (local, regional, global);

The nature of the interaction with other pollutants (additive, antagonistic, synergistic);

Chains of transformation; circulation in nature, the speed of distribution in different environments;

Number of people exposed to a given pollutant; other spatial and temporal parameters of pollution.

Additive Interaction of Pollutants is the summation of individual effects.

Antagonistic impact- this is a case of mutual influence of several influences, when they act in opposite directions and weaken the total impact.

Synergistic impact- this is such an interaction of several substances-pollutants, in which the total effect exceeds the sum of individual effects (emergence effect).

Sources of pollution are objects that generate pollutants. One and the same object can simultaneously create several types of pollutants. For example, a car emits noise, vibration and pollutes the atmosphere with toxic gases. Sources of pollution can be technological processes, operations, materials, equipment, mechanisms, machines and other objects.

The development of habitat protection systems is impossible without knowledge of the characteristics of the pollution source.

In particular, it is necessary to know the technological processes and equipment that are a source of pollution, the possibility of reducing harmful emissions in the production process and replacing unwanted emissions with environmentally compatible ones; the amount of pollutant and its physico-chemical parameters at the time of emission.

Objects of pollution- These are objects of the environment, components of the biosphere, natural systems that are exposed to pollution. Objects of pollution can be divided into primary and secondary (subsequent).

Objects of pollution are divided into 4 groups (Figure 2.1):

plant air

water animals

the soil

Rice. 2.1. Classification of pollution objects

Pollution - the entry of abiotic and biotic substances into natural objects in such quantities that reduce the technological, nutritional and sanitary-hygienic value of cultivated crops, degrade the quality of other natural objects, cause negative toxic and environmental consequences and can lead to soil degradation.

In general pollution called the introduction into the natural environment and the accumulation in it of uncharacteristic physical, chemical, microbiological agents, leading to negative consequences.

Usually distinguish natural and anthropogenic pollution, the level of which is estimated using MPC or MPV.

Often pollution the environment is a direct or indirect negative impact on it caused by anthropogenic activities.

Sources of pollution can be any production facilities, household activities of people, various natural processes.

depending from source distinguish:

· industrial - pollution of soils and other components of the biosphere caused by the activities of industrial enterprises. The main ways of industrial pollution: through the atmosphere during the deposition of vapors, aerosols, dust, dissolved compounds of pollutants ( pollutants) with rain and snow;

· radioactive- anthropogenic or natural accumulation of radionuclides, causing negative toxic and environmental consequences. Its sources are precipitation from nuclear explosions, waste from the nuclear industry, accidental emissions from nuclear. enterprises. The largest share in radioactive fallout is strontium-90, iodine-131 and cesium-137, which can accumulate in the tissues of the human body. The action of radiation depends on the energy of the particles and the strength of the radiation, i.e., the number of particles emitted per unit time;

· agricultural- pollution of the environment as a result of the improper use of pesticides, the introduction of excess doses of mineral and organic fertilizers, the receipt of waste and runoff from livestock farms. Type of anthropogenic pollution. Agricultural pollution can significantly increase the background content of heavy metals in natural landscapes. About 100 million tons of the active substance of fertilizers are produced annually in the world. When applying fertilizers, precise calculations of doses are required, strict adherence to the technique and sequence of their application, in particular, high doses of nitrogen - more than 100-150 kg / ha are undesirable;

· chemical- soil pollution with chemical pollutants: heavy metals, non-metals, organic compounds.

depending from scale distinguish pollution

· global- chemical pollution arising from the long-range transport of pollutants in the atmosphere and having a planetary character;

· local- chemical pollution near sources of pollution;

· regional - chemical pollution arising as a result of the combined effect of the transport of pollutants in the atmosphere and other sources of pollution and covering large areas of intensive economic use.

The main problems of pollution are associated with artificially created sources which are divided into:

· stationary(enterprises of industry, agriculture, etc.)

· mobile(transport).

Objects of pollution:

· main(direct) - atmosphere and water.

· mediated(indirect) - other elements of the environment (land, forest, plants, etc.).

Subjects of pollution -pollutants(synonym pollutants) - chemical compounds, the increased content of which in the biosphere and its components causes a negative toxico-ecological situation.

Pollutants according to their state of aggregation are divided into solid, liquid and gaseous (vaporous).

Among the substances polluting the natural environment, the most common are carbon dioxide CO 2 , carbon monoxide CO, nitrogen oxides NO 2 and sulfur SO 2 , ammonia NH 3 .

Currently, many types of pollution caused by various pollutants are known: pollution by pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, oil and oil products, radioactive substances.

When exposed to living organisms, pollutants that have a mutagenic effect, which can result in disturbances in the system of reproduction of offspring, and carcinogenic, causing the development of malignant neoplasms, are of particular danger.

The general list of the most important environmental pollutants has been agreed by the countries that are members of the UN and participate in environmental protection activities:

suspended particles

sulfur dioxide SO 2

carbon monoxide CO

carbon dioxide CO 2

nitrogen oxides N 2 O, NO, NO 2

photooxidants and reactive hydrocarbons

mercury Hg

lead Pb

Cadmium Cd

Organochlorine compounds (DCT, etc.)

mycotoxins

nitrates, nitrites, nitrosamines

Individual microbial contaminants

radioactive substances

Among the main pollutants are:

· primary pollutants(gaseous, liquid or solid substances in the form of which emissions from pollution sources enter the environment).

· secondary pollutants(in the process of emissions, primary substances interact with each other, as well as with elements of nature and form new substances (synergistic effect)).

Structurization of pollution:

The total amount of pollution can be structured depending on the level of development of "closed" technologies, cleaning technologies and economic structures that produce these pollution.

AT total pollution(Z a) can be distinguished:

· "rational pollution" (Z r)(the minimum unavoidable amount of pollution at the current level of technology and economic efficiency; it is formed in the conditions of rational economic structures that focus on the end result, the availability of advanced technological processes and cleaning technologies, efficient use of resources, etc.) .

· "structural pollution"(Z s) (due to the backward technological level, lack of treatment facilities, irrational structure of the economy with a predominance of nature-exploiting and lagging behind manufacturing industries, etc.)

This division makes it possible to analyze the reserves for reducing pollution in the event of structural and technological changes, to assess the level of efficiency of pollution prevention in Russia in comparison with other countries.

Given this structuring of pollution the formula for the total amount of pollution can be presented in the following form:

This formula and its modifications can be used both for gross pollution indicators and for specific indicators calculated per unit of a certain indicator (per cubic meter of water or air, unit of territory, final product, etc.). In the latter case, specific pollution indicators are used

For example, the indicator of environmental intensity in the form of specific pollution for individual countries: SOx emissions per unit of GDP in Russia are 20 times higher than in Japan, in Germany and France - about 6 times and higher on average than in OECD countries, 3 times. A high gap between Russia and developed countries in terms of specific pollution is also observed for carbon dioxide - the main source of global climate change - by 3 - 5 times.

Divide the indicators in formula 1 by H - the volume of use of a natural resource, the total area of ​​pollution, final products, etc.. We obtain the formula structural specific pollution(or structural intensity of pollution):

where h- total specific pollution; hr-"rational" specific pollution; hs-"structural" specific pollution.

As an example for structuring the total volume of pollution, we can cite road transport. Almost 90% of the Russian car park are cars designed 30 or more years ago. Some of them are still being produced and have poor environmental performance, they pollute the air heavily due to the refusal to install fairly expensive cleaning filters, outdated machine designs, and the use of non-environmentally friendly gasoline. Many of these shortcomings are deprived of cars produced in automobile companies in developed countries. Thus, the general air pollution in Russian cities (Z a in formula 1)) can be represented as the sum of "rational pollution" (Zr)(in the event that cars of a modern technological level were used) and excessive "structural pollution" (Zs), generated by "dirty" cars. Obviously, the transition to strict environmental standards in the automotive industry, the use of high-octane gasoline would reduce transport pollution in the country's cities by several times. This is especially true for large cities, where motor vehicles account for up to 80-90% of pollution.

An example of indicators of specific pollution (pollution intensity) can be emissions of pollutants when coal is burned to generate electricity. At present, the use of advanced technologies here is not enough, which leads to significant “structural” pollution and huge damage to the environment. Thus, the degree of purification of sulfur oxide emissions at Russian coal-fired power plants is only 10%, while, for example, in Germany it is 85%. As a result, in Russia the specific pollution index for this substance is significantly higher: emissions of nitrogen oxides are 700-1000 mg/m 3 , while in Germany they are 400 mg/m 3 . Interpreting these indicators for formulas 1 and 2, we can say that in the structure of specific pollution with sulfur oxides in Russia, less than half is accounted for by "rational" pollution and more than half - by "structural".

Topic: International aspects of sustainable development

International aspects of nature management include:

ü solution of cross-country environmental problems, including global ones;

ü creation and functioning of interstate programs and agreements;

ü Establishment of international bodies and organizations to monitor the state of the environment and implement the adopted agreements;

ü exchange of experience in the implementation of national environmental programs.

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Course of lectures on the discipline Economics of environmental management Topic: Theoretical foundations of the economics of environmental management

on the discipline Economics of nature management.. Theme Theoretical foundations of economics.. Basic concepts of environmental economics.

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All topics in this section:

Environmental economics as a science
The economic system as a whole is a system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Within the framework of these processes, the interaction of society and nature is constantly taking place. Any production

Man
Nature (biosphere)<=>Society (society) Man is a part of nature => should not change himself and nature.

Ecological laws of B. Commoner
Among the laws of ecology formulated by different authors, the most famous are four aphorisms of the American environmental scientist B. Commoner (1974):

Laws of nature management
ü The law of limited (exhaustible) natural resources Renewability and non-renewability is considered within the life of one or several generations. Section

Forms of nature management
Situations arising from the interactions of nature and society predetermined the need for the formation of a scientific and practical direction, which was assigned the concept of "nature management"

Natural resource approach
ü is based on the allocation of the main types of natural resources as objects of nature management. It makes it possible to assess the scale and nature of the use of natural resources, their state

Economic approach
ü is based on the allocation of types of human activity that use natural resources and the properties of the environment for their own purposes, i.e. for the purposes of the subjects of nature management. This

Ecological approach
ü is based on assessments of the nature and size of pollution sources and negative consequences arising in the environment and natural resources under the influence of certain nature users

Mechanism, main indicators and forms of nature management
Formula reflecting the nature management mechanism: (α + β) * N< P αи β – расхо

Regularities and principles of rational use of natural resources and environmental protection
There are a number of general principles on the basis of which nature management is built in any industry. Ø the principle of a systematic approach - a comprehensive, comprehensive

Factors of economic development
Economic development is determined by three factors: • labor resources (human capital); artificially created means of production (physical

Types of ecological and economic development
Modern environmental problems are to a certain extent generated by the backwardness of economic thought. Almost all economic schools and individual scientists did not attach due importance to environmental

Ecological crises and technological revolutions as a result of the transformation of the environment by society (according to N.F. Reimers)
3. Global environmental problems

Formula of anthropogenic impact on the environment
To analyze the causes of global environmental problems, the American ecologist P. Ehrlich and physicist J. Holdren proposed a formula for the anthropogenic impact on the environment

Ecological Kuznets curve
The impact on the environment, its degradation is quite closely related to the achieved level of economic well-being of the country: the higher the latter, the lower the levels of degradation. At the same time m

The value of the economic evaluation of nature
All functions of natural capital (resource, ecosystem, "spiritual") need an economic assessment, which makes it possible to determine the adequate economic value of nature as a whole.

Rental approach
The value of nature appears in the form of the value of natural rent. Usually, rent is understood as some income that the owner of a natural resource receives,

Market valuation
ü is an estimate of the amount of profit received from the use of the resource. This is a “market” estimate, because Occurs when a resource source is sold. Allows you to evaluate only the function

Cost approach
ü Based on it, the assessment is based on the value of the costs of exploration, development and use of a source of natural resources, i.e. at the cost of the extracted raw materials. The lower the cost, the better

Non-market direct methods
ü make it possible to determine the value of natural resources and services when markets for these resources do not exist or they are poorly developed (i.e. market methods are inefficient) ü definition

Methods of non-market indirect valuation
ü is based on the use of data on the costs associated with the costs of eliminating the consequences of deterioration in the quality of the OS. For example, soil pollution is estimated through a decrease in crop yields.

The concept of the total economic value of nature
From the point of view of the complexity of the approach to assessing nature and taking into account not only its direct resource functions, but also assimilation functions, natural services, the concept of general economic

Destruction of the natural environment
In general terms, pollution is the introduction into the natural environment and the accumulation in it of physical, chemical, microbiological agents that are uncharacteristic for it, leading to negative

The structure of the total economic damage from environmental pollution
Types of damage Subtypes of damage 1. Damage caused to material objects 1.1. Damage to material objects in production

Social damage from environmental pollution
Along with the economic damage, it is necessary to take into account the social damage arising from environmental pollution. Social damage is damage to the health and life of the population,

Importance of damage assessment
Accounting for economic damage is necessary: ​​a) when choosing an environmental strategy, which consists in determining the most important social, economic and technical goals, a system of priorities in

Environmental cost analysis
The implementation of environmental activities aimed at maintaining the quality of the habitat and protecting nature requires costs. All environmental costs (environmental costs)

Economic efficiency of nature management and environmental activities
The economic efficiency of environmental activities is the results of economic activity, correlated with the costs made to ensure them. This assessment is required:

The structure of mechanisms for greening the economy
In the mechanisms of greening the economy and the implementation of environmental policy, based on world experience, there are three approaches:

Cadastres of natural resources
Environmental monitoring data serve as the basis for maintaining natural resource cadastres, as well as for making environmentally significant management decisions. Inventories

Environmental due diligence in the USA
In the US, environmental due diligence has proven to be effective. Examination is subjected to: important economic projects, the implementation of which is designed for a short period of time and provides for financial

Environmental control
One of the most widely used management tools in the field of environmental protection and nature management. It is carried out at all stages of activities for the use of natural resources

Environmental management
The environmental management system is a set of principles, methods, forms and means of organizing and rational management of nature management, environmental protection

The system of regulations in the field of nature management and environmental protection in Russia
Laws of a general nature The Constitution of the Russian Federation of 21.12.93. Declaration "On the State Sovereignty of the RSFSR" dated 12.06.90. Declaration of the Rights and Freedoms of Man and Civil

The concept of externalities and Pareto optimality (Pareto optimality)
In the course of economic activity, there is a constant impact on nature, people, various objects, etc. With this influence, the emergence of externalities is associated. Externalities

Pareto optimality
If, in the event of external costs, their automatic (market) inclusion in the price of goods is impossible, enterprises transfer these costs to society. In nature management, this is associated with

Pigou tax
The most important task of the economic mechanism of nature management is the internalization of externalities. Internalization of externalities - the process of including an external

Graph of the formation and value of the optimal tax (Pigou tax) on pollution
ü X-axis - production volumes Y-axis - money ü Curve 1 - Marginal net private profit Curve 2 - Marginal external (external) costs &uum

Natural resource and emissions payments (payments for environmental pollution)
Payments do not exempt from compensation for the harm caused, regardless of the fault of the tortfeasor. This is not a ransom for anti-environmental activities. This is not a fine, but a measure of economic incentives. Think

Emission payments (system of payments for environmental pollution in Russia)
In Russia, the system of payments for environmental pollution was introduced everywhere in 1991, while at the beginning a non-tax form of payment was established, the main part (90%) of which is up to 20

Environmental and resource taxes
Taxation is one of the most important incentives for environmental management at the enterprise level. ü The main idea is to establish a relationship between deductions from the enterprise

Purchase and sale of rights to environmental pollution
Features of these methods: - the latest (the "youngest") of the management methods in this area; - make it possible to implement market approaches in the field of environmental protection and related problems

Ecological and economic bases of forest management
Forestry is traditionally classified as a primary sector of the economy. This industry remains of great economic importance today and plays an important role in the system of modern nature management.

Economic value of forest resources
Due to the variety of functions, forest assessment should be comprehensive and integrated. According to available estimates, the eco-economic income from the use of the first eight functions is

The structure of forest reserves and features of forest management in the world and the Russian Federation
In the world: About 3.5 billion hectares of land (about 35% of the land) are occupied by forests. Two forest belts are clearly traced: northern (forests with a predominance of coniferous trees)

Legal framework in the field of forest management
Forest legislation: ü FOREST CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (Federal Law No. 200-FZ of December 4, 2006) - came into force on January 1, 2007 and applies to

Property rights
The participants in forest relations are the Russian Federation, subjects of the Russian Federation, municipalities, citizens and legal entities. Forest plots as part of the forest fund lands are located in fe

The right to use forest plots
Types of use of forest areas of arenas

Foundations
Timber harvesting from 01.01.2007 to 01.01.2009 ü citizens ü legal entities up to

Lease of forest plots
Leased object ü until 01.01.2010 - a forest area that has passed the state cadastral registration and a forest area without a state cadastral survey

felling ticket
until January 1, 2009, a document granting the forest user the right to harvest and export timber, resin and secondary forest resources

forest declaration
Instead of a permit system for forest management, a declarative system is now being introduced, based mainly on declarations of forest users. forest declaration

Fee for the use of the forest fund
The use of forests in the Russian Federation is paid. The system of payments for the use of forests includes: 1. rent 2. payment under the contract for the sale of forest plantations

Forest management and forest protection
Management is carried out by state authorities, local governments. The powers of the Russian Federation in forest management are transferred by the new Code to the level of subjects of the Russian Federation and must be exercised

Purpose and categories of lands of the Russian Federation
Purpose of land: ü Agricultural: land management for the production of agricultural products and raw materials for industry. &uum

Structure of the world land fund
Estimates of the world's land resources are approximate, more than 1/3 of the land is not strictly taken into account (especially in Asia and Africa) due to the poor knowledge of the land and the imperfection of the accounting system.

Land resources of the world
Country Land resources, million km2 1) Russia 17.1 2) Canada 10.0

The structure of the land fund of the Trans-Baikal Territory
The total area of ​​the Chita region and the Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug is more than 43 million hectares. Of these, 7.7 million hectares are occupied by agricultural land (1997). farms

Land ownership
state (federal, subjects of the federation and municipal); · private (property of citizens and legal entities). Owned by citizens and legal entities (

Management of the state of land use
The management complex for the rational and balanced use of land resources includes legal, administrative, technological and educational solutions to the problem.

Economic measures
Financial impact through taxes, fines, benefits, subsidies, loans; financing based on federal and regional programs refers to the economic methods of influencing n

Environmental problems of agriculture
Ecological impact of agriculture External impacts on agriculture On land resources: - development of erosion; -

General concepts
RF LAW No. 2395-1 dated February 21, 1992 (as amended on October 25, 2006) "ON SUBSOIL" (as amended and supplemented, effective from January 1, 2007) Is the main regulatory act regulating

Mineral resources and raw materials
There are various approaches to the definition of mineral resources and raw materials. Mineral resources are natural formations in the earth's crust, represented either by separate m

Ownership of the subsoil
Article 1.2. Ownership of subsoil Subsoil resources within the borders of the Russian Federation are state property. Subsoil plots cannot be the object of purchase and sale, donation,

Object and subjects of subsoil use
The object of subsoil use is the state subsoil fund within the territory of the Russian Federation and its continental shelf. The State Subsoil Fund within the territory of the Russian

Terms of subsoil use
Article 10. Terms of use of subsoil plots Terms of use of subsoil

Subsoil use right
Article 10.1. Grounds for the emergence of the right to use subsoil plots Subsoil is provided for use by all subsoil users on the basis of a license that contains this

Payment for subsoil use
Before the adoption of the law, the subsoil was provided for use free of charge. Section V. PAYMENTS FOR THE USE OF SUBSOIL Article 39. The system of payments for the use of subsoil.

Management of rational subsoil use
Section III. RATIONAL USE AND PROTECTION OF SUBSOIL Article 23. Basic requirements for rational use and protection of subsoil Article 23.1. Geological-economic and cost

Basic provisions in the field of subsoil protection
· provision of complete and comprehensive geological study of the subsoil; · compliance with the established procedure for granting subsoil for use and preventing unauthorized use of subsoil;

Fuel and energy resources and fuel and energy complex. The formula for the total need for fuel and energy resources in the country
Russia has the world's largest reserves of fuel and energy resources: 13% of the world's oil reserves, 35% of gas, and 12% of coal are concentrated on its territory. In the structure of minerals in the country, more

Use of water resources and facilities
Use of water resources: · for restoration of natural balance and improvement of an organism of animals and plants; for industrial purposes (irrigation, cooling,

Ownership and right to use water
Water objects are owned by the Russian Federation (federal property). There is an exception: Pond, flooded quarry, located within the boundaries of the land plot,

Economic regulation of water use
The Water Code establishes payment for the use of water bodies - the use of water bodies is carried out for a fee, except for cases established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Department of Use and Protection of Water Objects
Basin districts are the main unit of management in the field of use and protection of water bodies. They consist of river basins and associated groundwater

Water resources protection
Protection of water bodies - a system of measures aimed at the conservation and restoration of water bodies. Types of impacts on water resources: pollution

Economic problems of biodiversity conservation
The problem of conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity) is being given more and more attention in the world. Biodiversity (diversity of living organisms) includes

Specially protected natural areas
Russia has preserved virgin territories, unique and most valuable for the whole planet, a variety of ecosystems and natural landscapes. More than half of the entire continental space

Features and main types of nature management in the tertiary sector
Branches of the economy that are not directly related to material production form the tertiary sector, or the service sector. The tertiary sector creates conditions for economic activity in the SF

Assimilation potential (capacity) of the natural environment
The magnitude of such potential and its economic assessment must be known in order to determine the sustainable level of use of natural resources and benefits, the possibilities and limits of anthropogenic impact on

Finding the economic optimum of pollution
– identification of certain conditions under which an economic optimum is achieved between production efficiency and external costs, environmental damage. SCHEDULE

The problem of globalization of nature management. Global public goods. The concept of the global heritage of mankind
Environmental problems are now increasingly global in nature, they are universal and interdependent. This involves the development of common proposals and measures regardless of geo

International organizations
WMO - World Meteorological Organization (founded in 1947, Geneva) - a specialized agency of the United Nations, designed to promote international cooperation in the field of weather

Right of Use
Types and methods of use of wildlife Legal entities and citizens can carry out the following types of use of wildlife: · hunting; fishing,

Economic regulation of the protection and use of wildlife objects
Goals and objectives of economic regulation of the protection and use of wildlife objects Economic regulation of the protection and use of wildlife objects provides for:

State administration in the field of protection and use of wildlife
State administration in the field of protection and use of wildlife is carried out by the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, executive authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation

At present, such concepts as ecology, environmental pollution have already firmly entered our consciousness, and we can confidently say that the negative impact on the state of the environment is largely due to anthropogenic (human) activities.

The main sources of environmental pollution are concentrated mainly in cities, where a significant number of industrial facilities are concentrated on a relatively small area. At the same time, the nature of the production impact is complex, i.e. applies to all natural components: water bodies, air basin, soil cover, flora and fauna and, of course, concerns the main culprit of the unfavorable situation - man.

So, the main sources of environmental pollution are:

Energy facilities;

Industrial enterprises: chemical, petrochemical, metallurgical;

Transport.

Energy is the leading branch of the economy, which determines not only the level of development of industrial production, but also the standard of living of people in certain regions and settlements. The bad thing is that in our country the energy industry is mainly based on the use of "dirty" energy sources such as coal and oil, and the situation will not change in the near future. For this reason, energy is one of the "leaders" in terms of contribution to environmental pollution. The combustion of high-ash solid fuels causes emissions of significant amounts of suspended solids, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen. Moreover, if the existing technologies make it possible to effectively clean emissions from solid substances, then the capture of gaseous substances is rather difficult and costly. However, the impact of energy is not limited to atmospheric air; numerous ash dumps are a serious pollutant of water bodies and land resources.

One of the most "dirty" industries in our country is the metallurgical industry, its share in the total emissions in Russia is about 40%. Non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy enterprises, as the main sources of air pollution, are one of the main suppliers of dust, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, phenol, hydrogen sulfide, and non-ferrous metallurgy, among other things, various metals, including copper, nickel, lead. Ferrous metallurgy is one of the largest water consumers, about 40% of the wastewater discharged is heavily polluted.

Non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises, among other things, are the most powerful sources of soil pollution, therefore, in settlements where non-ferrous metallurgy facilities are located, elevated concentrations of heavy metals in the soil cover are found.

Oil producing and oil refineries also have a significant negative impact on all components of the environment. Oil industry facilities emit a whole range of pollutants, including sulfur and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrocarbons, mercaptans and unburned solid particles containing benzo(a)pyrene. Serious harm is caused by accidental oil spills on drilling platforms, as well as main oil pipelines.

Urbanized territories are inextricably linked with such a concept as road transport. The main types of its impact include emissions of pollutants with exhaust gases, as well as the use of large areas for the construction of garages, service stations, utility facilities.

In general, the main sources of environmental pollution include most industrial facilities, as well as the transport complex, without which modern life is impossible. However, it is in our power to take steps to ensure that their impact on the environment, and ultimately our health, is minimal.