The ecological crisis and the problems of modern civilization

1. The ecological crisis and the problems of modern civilization

2. The aim of lecture is to provide

Information on ecological
consequences of business
activities of people under
conditions of intensification
of nature management

3. Brief content:

1. Anthropogenic impacts as geological and
geochemical factors evolution of the biosphere
2. Ecological crisis and Physical, chemical and
biological contamination of the environment
3. Climate change and Global ecological problems
4. Influence of state of the environment on human health

4. Introduction

Humanity is inexorably moving towards an ecological
catastrophe - depletion of energy, mineral and land
resources, destruction of the biosphere, and perhaps most
of human civilization. Therefore, it became necessary to
protect the human environment of his own influence on it.
So modern civilization is in a state of profound ecological
crisis. This is not the first time the environmental crisis in
the history of mankind, but it may be the last.

5.

Major activities of
an early man were
harvesting and hunting
large animals
The biogenic period
covers the Paleolithic
Paleolithic Age
First ecological and
economic crisis
The man became a
species-monopolist
And exhausted
resources of his
habitat
The man fitted in
biochemical cycles,
worshipped the nature
and was its organic
part

6.

The mankind
began to create
new artificial
biogeochemical
cycles
The number of
mankind
increased from
millions to tens
of millions
Neolith Age
A new agrarian
period began in
the
interrelations of
the mankind
with the nature
The man invented
farming and
animal breeding
and changed
ecological niche
qualitatively

7. Post-neolithic ages

Expanding agricultural land our ancestors
burnt forests. However, due to aimless
farming the land became nonproductive
very quickly, then new forests were burnt.
All this entailed changes in the life of while communities and their
destruction:
Forests
Savanna
Prairie
Post-neolithic ages
Desert

8.

The Neolithic Age
was a reason of the
second ecological
crisis.
The mankind went out of the crisis by
two ways as follows:
Mastering irrigated
farming in the
valleys of great
south rivers – the
Nile,the Tigris and
the Euphrates
Going to the north as
glaciers melt, where
new territories
became empty

9.

Periods
The next period, the industrial period
included the period from 17th century up
to the middle of 20th century. By the end of
that period the number of the mankind
drastically increased achieving five billion
people.

10.

The mankind came across a number of
global ecological problems:
Drastic changes of the environment
Destruction of habitats led to the threat of extinction
of two thirds of existing species
The fertility of soil worsened and reduced due to
salinization and erosion
Huge quantities of industrial waste were discharged
in the atmosphere and hydrosphere

11.

Ecological
problems are
caused:
The pollution
of the
environment
Air and
the World
Ocean
Depletion of
natural
resources

12.

Contamination is an excess of the natural level of
various matters in the environment and
introduction of new ones not characteristic for the
environment.

13.

In terms of their impact on living organisms contaminants are divided
into:
1. PHYSICAL
2. CHEMICAL
3. BIOLOGICAL
Radioactive elements, heat pollution (excess of
temperature), noise and low frequency vibration
(infrasound) fall in the category of physical
contaminants.
Carbon derivatives, sulfur, nitrogen, fluorine, solids,
washing agents, detergents, plastics, pesticides, mineral
fertilizers, organic matters and heavy metals are classified
as chemical contaminants.
Pathogenic organisms. Viruses, seaweeds and increasing
some of animals as rats, dogs and cats fall in the category
of biological contaminants.

14.

oil
oil products
non-ferrous metals

15.

Many contaminants are very high toxic
and cause various disorders in living
organisms, in particular of a man, leading
to various diseases, and the decrease in
immunity. The fact being of a particular
concern is that many contaminants, for
example,
salts
of
heavy
metals,
pesticides, detergents and others have
mutafacient and carcinogenic activity
causing congenital defects and cancerous
diseases.

16.

17.

18. Climate Change

Climate
change is yet another environmental
problem that has surfaced in last couple of
decades. It occurs due to rise in global warming
which occurs due to increase in temperature of
atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels and release
of harmful gases by industries.
Climate change has various harmful effects but
not limited to melting of polar ice, change in
seasons, occurrence of new diseases, frequent
occurrence of floods and change in overall weather
scenario.

19.

The concentration of greenhouse gases
(carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides
and water vapour) in the atmosphere
increases that results in climate warming.

20.

21.

Desertification is arising of landscapes
close to desert with a rare vegetative cover
as a result of human business activities,
degradation and decrease in biological
efficiency of the ecosystems.

22.

Acid rains are
precipitation which
contain sulphuric and

23. Global ecological problems. Acid rains

24.

Burning coal is a leading cause
of smog, acid rain, global
warming, and air toxics.

25.

Cars and Pollution
Emissions from an individual car are
generally low, relative to the smokestack
image many people associate with air
pollution. But in numerous cities across the
country, the personal automobile is the
single greatest polluter, as emissions from
millions of vehicles on the road add up.
Driving a private car is probably a typical
citizen's most "polluting" daily activity.
Sources of Auto Emissions
The power to move a car comes from burning
fuel in an engine. Pollution from cars comes
from by-products of this combustion process
(exhaust) and from evaporation of the fuel
itself.

26.

The decrease of a biological
diversity
Biological diversity, or
biodiversity, is the variety
of the world's organisms,
including their genetic
diversity and the

27.

The biological diversity
provides continuity of
life in time, and
maintains the
biosphere’s functional
structure and

28.

29.

Destruction of the ozone layer is
destruction
of
layers
of
the
atmosphere (stratosphere) with the
increased level of ozone (O3) located
at the height 18-23 km that protects
living organisms from hard ultraviolet
rays.

30.

Ultraviolet rays