II. Causes of the global environmental crisis

The following chain of causes of the ecological crisis can be distinguished:

culture

Growth → production → technology → science → ideology

population psychology

1. Natural scientific roots of ecological difficulties.One of the roots of the ecological crisis(from point of view scientific knowledge relationship between man and the natural environment) - excessive analyticity of scientific thinking, which, in an effort to penetrate further and further into the depths of things, is fraught with the danger of departing from real phenomena, from a holistic view of nature. The artificial isolation of any fragment of reality makes it possible to study it in depth, but this does not take into account the connection of this fragment with the environment.

The analytical orientation of science was assessed mostly positively. Science begins with the analytical division of the Universe; in the areas that are most accessible to such a division (such as physics), science achieves the greatest success, and these areas become, as it were, standards of knowledge. The analytical method, which was considered the main one in science by such minds as T. Hobbes, is, in essence, a modification of the well-known slogan "divide and rule." In other words, science deals with private fragments of reality, with objects of knowledge, which are singled out by a certain projection onto the object of study.

Analyticism, which lies at the very foundation of the scientific approach to reality, fully corresponds to the desire of a person to practically master the objective world, since the transformational activity itself is also predominantly analytical in its essence. “In general, a person strives to know the world, to take possession of it and subjugate it to himself, and for this purpose he must, as it were, destroy, i.e. idealize, the reality of the world." Science used to "destroy" the world ideally, but now it is beginning to contribute to the real destruction of the world (suffice it to recall the discussions among geneticists about the dangers of experimenting with strains of bacteria).

The fundamental feature of the structure of scientific activity, arising from its predominantly analytical nature, is division of science into separate disciplines. The roots of environmental difficulties are also connected with the gap between the sciences, the unevenness of their development, which is determined both by the internal specifics of science and the influence of social needs. It is important to keep in mind that it is not a specific scientific achievement that is “to blame”, but the fact that after it there are no corresponding changes in other areas of knowledge, the scientific system as a whole is not modified. Science lacks the flexibility that is inherent in the biosphere.

The modern stage of the relationship between society and nature by combining science and technology into a single system with feedback, but this relationship is not always negative, often positive, reinforcing negative trends,

2. Religious causes of the ecological crisis. “Man's ecological relations are deeply conditioned by his beliefs about his nature and destiny, that is, religion,” writes L. White. L. White argues that science in the West developed within the framework of theology and its main goal was to understand the divine mind by discovering the principles of functioning of its creations. The Christian view of the relation of man to nature proceeds from the fact that God created man in his own image and likeness, and in the physical world there is nothing that would have any purpose other than the purpose of serving man. “And God blessed them, saying: increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and rule over it, and subdue the fish of the sea, and the beasts and the birds, and all the livestock, and all the earth” (Genesis. I. 28; cf. in the Koran: “ Worship your Lord ... who made the earth a carpet for you, and the sky a building, and sent down water from the sky and brought out fruits of food for you with it ”(2, 19-20)).

The main features of the relationship of man to nature, which is inherent in the Judeo-Christian tradition, are, according to L. White, the opposition of the spirit of man to his body (flesh) and the idea that God sanctioned the dominance of man over the earth and all living beings. L. White sees one of the ecologically negative consequences of the dominance of the Judeo-Christian tradition in that it contributed to the overcoming of previous pagan ideas and the deification of nature inherent in them.

According to L. White and other authors, previous civilizations were able to avoid an ecological catastrophe, for the reason that in the religions of the East and in ancient mythology there was a fundamentally different idea of ​​the relationship between man and nature, based on animism and humility of man before the elemental forces of nature. Such religions can be called ecophilic.

This principle is maintained in Eastern religions. Confucianism and Shintoism are based on the harmonious community of man and nature. "Be pure" is the soul of Japan's original Shinto religion. “In essence, Shinto is the deification of nature, born of the admiration of it. The Japanese worshiped objects and phenomena of the surrounding world not out of fear of incomprehensible and formidable elemental forces, but out of a sense of gratitude to nature for the fact that, despite sudden outbursts of anger, it is often affectionate and generous. Taoism preaches: let nature go its own way, not violated by daring and inappropriate human interference. The term "wu wei" (no interference) is the great slogan and unwritten rule of Taoism throughout the ages

The idea of ​​unity, the integrity of the manifold natural world, each of its fragments, is fundamental to the philosophy of the ancient Indians. According to Buddhism, "all in one, one in all". Buddhism continues the line of mythological all-connectedness and participation. To this line, carefully logically worked out and quite conscious, in Buddhism is added, moreover, becoming dominant, a moral component. It imposes fundamental restrictions on the nature-transforming activity of man.

According to another European philosopher A. Mercier, ecophobicity Western civilization is associated with the Western concept of progress, based on the idea of ​​the exploitation of nature. He distinguishes between the Greek tradition, according to which the main interest in nature was the wonder of it and admiration for its beauty and mystery, and the Jewish tradition, according to which nature was given to people at their disposal for its exploitation. A. Mercier believes that it is not religion in itself that is to blame for the ecological crisis, but the principle of the exploitation of nature, which is expressed in Old Testament. In the future, capitalism was able to fully use this principle. A. Mercier's general conclusion is as follows: true progress lies not in the possession of nature, not in its exploitation, and not in possession at all, but in moral self-education.

3. Cultural causes of the ecological crisis. The Western concept of culture considers man as the most outstanding creation of nature, unique brain which gives him not only the ability, but also the right to exploit all other creatures and resources of the Earth. The opposite concept, closely connected with the Far Eastern civilizations, believes that man is one of the biological species, obeying the laws of nature along with others. And although man is the most competitive species, in pursuing his goals, he inevitably destroys nature, which he understands very little.

The explanation of the phenomenon of striving for power over nature, based on the idea of ​​a deterministic cyclical development of culture, was given by O. Spengler. He considers civilization with its practical spirit as the last phase of the development of culture. Since the modern West is at the stage of civilization, Western man has become civilized. “The energy of a cultured person,” writes Spengler, “is directed inward, the energy of a civilized person is directed towards the outside ... The tendency to expand is rock, something demonic and monstrous, embracing the late man of the era of world cities, forcing him to serve himself regardless of whether he wants it or not, whether he knows it or not. Life is the realization of possibilities, and for a brain man there is only one only possibility - distribution».

So, one of the cultural causes of the ecological crisis may be the transition of a given culture to its final stage - civilization. But Spengler also points out in his work another cultural reason - the specifics of Western culture itself, whose soul he calls Faustian in contrast to the Apollonian soul of ancient culture. Faustian culture he calls "the culture of the will." “The pure space of the Faustian picture of the world is a completely special idea, not only extensiveness, but also extension as action, as overcoming only the sensual, as tension and tendency, as the will to power…. As a result, Faustian culture was aggressive in the highest degree, it overcame all geographical and material boundaries: in the end it turned the entire surface of the earth into one colonial region.

Spengler's philosophy created an ideological basis for those who see the cause of the ecological crisis in the peculiarities of Western culture at a certain stage of its development. However, the cultural reason is not the only one, since the ecological crisis also came to such eastern countries as Japan, where the unity of man and nature was traditionally cultivated.

4. Class- social causes ecological crisis. In this regard, some researchers believe that the main reason for the rupture and opposition of man and nature is the class differentiation of society. With its aggravation and accumulation of social contradictions, the alienation of man from man grew, and in parallel with it, alienation from nature. As a result, “only under capitalism does nature become just an object for man, just a useful thing; it is no longer recognized as a self-sufficient force, and the theoretical knowledge of its own laws appears only as a cunning aimed at subordinating nature to human needs, whether as an object of consumption or as a means of production.

The capitalist is in a hurry to make a profit, as the principle of "all or nothing" operates, and he succeeds in this, influencing production and the psychology of the masses. Capitalism involves everyone in a crazy race of production and consumption, giving rise to a new type of society - a consumer society. Man in a capitalist society is the source of labor power, and nature is the source of raw materials. Sweat-squeezing and resource-squeezing go hand in hand. The dominance of some over others stimulates the desire for dominance over the nature of all.

Thus, the underlying cause of the ecological crisis that began in our time in a certain part of the planet is the consumer orientation of modern Western civilization, which is in conflict with the fundamental laws of nature. The problem that arises is that if we put material well-being above all else, then material needs can, in principle, grow indefinitely, while the possibilities for their satisfaction by the biosphere at any given moment of time are limited and finite. If you still try to satisfy them, then the spirit of rivalry and violence arises and strengthens, and the exploitation of some people by others and nature by everyone inevitably begins, leading to ecological and other crises of civilization.

A consumerist civilization is at the same time a civilization of violence, even if it is dominated not by crude, direct, but by mild “civilized” violence. The latter, in the conditions of fierce competition between countries, tends to create extremely aggressive variants in which violence begins to overshadow consumerism.

5. Psychological causes of the ecological crisis. The consumer civilization itself is not the result of some objective process that takes place outside and in addition to the will of people, but a consequence of the formation aggressive-consumer personality structure. Such a personality creates a civilization fraught with all sorts of crises. The philosopher F. Nietzsche expressed its essence - the will to power, the economist A. Smith formulated its economic interests - to produce as many goods as possible, the psychologist Z. Freud determined that her desires are rooted in the subconscious.

Aggression and consumerism impoverish the nature and culture of the exploited peoples and landscapes, thereby making the world less sustainable, as sustainability under the laws of ecology increases with diversity. Man as a person becomes simpler and loses his integrity and stability, pushing the world and approaching collapse himself.

Answering the question of who is to blame for the current environmental crisis, one should name: 1) the ruling oligarchic class, which makes decisions and exploits all other segments of the population through monetary violence and its cruder and more direct forms; 2) an aggressive-consumer ideology implanted by this class and absorbed by the rest of society; 3) low spiritual and moral level of the population, which does not allow to resist the dominant ideology.

Analysis of the current environmental situation allows us to draw three conclusions:

1. In order to save the world, it is necessary to move from an aggressive-consumer civilization to an alternative type of civilization, the essential feature of which will be the disclosure of the deep potentials of human being, and not just the cultivation of needs.

2. Self-limitation of needs and violence, in order to be effective, must be based not on coercion, but on the free will of individuals.

3. This is possible only with the formation of a love-creative personality structure and lifestyle.

Questions and tasks

1. What is the essence of the global ecological crisis?

2. How does it differ from historically earlier ecocrises?

3. Who or what is to blame for the growing ecological crisis?

4. What are the scientific and technical roots of the global eco-crisis?

5. What are its religious roots?

6. What is the cultural cause of the global eco-crisis?

7. What are its social causes?

8. What is the structure of the modern personality responsible for the ecocrisis?

9. What, in your opinion, should humanity do to get out of the crisis?

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Good work to site">

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Hosted at http://www.allbest.ru/

• Problems of sustainable development of civilization inXXIcentury
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Problems of sustainable development of civilization in the XXI century

According to scientists, humanity currently lives at the expense of future generations, who are destined for much worse living conditions, which will inevitably affect their health and social well-being. To avoid this, people need to learn to exist only on the "interest" from the fixed capital - nature, without spending the capital itself.

Since the 20th century, this capital has been squandered at a steadily increasing pace, and by now the nature of the Earth has changed so much that global environmental problems have been discussed at the international level for several decades. In the ecosystem used, even the latest technologies for rational nature management do not allow preserving biodiversity.

In the history of mankind there has never been a shortage of problems of varying degrees of complexity and drama, but there has never been an era in which problems one another would be larger and more difficult to arise almost at the same time before humanity as a whole, and even with a categorical society to the brink of death in the event of an insufficiently prompt and correct response to this historical challenge.

Humanity is entering a new era in its history. Its most characteristic feature is the emergence of global problems.

Almost all types of human activities have acquired a global character in terms of their possible and actual impact on the biosphere.

Modern problems of nature conservation

The initial reasons that appeared at the end of the 20th century. global environmental problems were the population explosion and the simultaneous scientific and technological revolution.

The world population was equal to 2.5 billion people in 1950, doubled in 1984 and reached 6.1 billion in 2000. Geographically, the growth of the world's population is uneven. In Russia, since 1993, the population has been declining, but growing in China, the countries of southern Asia, throughout Africa and Latin America. Accordingly, over half a century, the spaces taken from nature by sown areas, residential and public buildings, iron and highways, airports and marinas, gardens and landfills.

At the same time, the scientific and technological revolution gave mankind the possession of atomic energy, which, in addition to being good, led to radioactive contamination of vast territories. High-speed jet aircraft appeared, destroying the ozone layer of the atmosphere. The number of vehicles polluting the atmosphere of cities with exhaust gases has increased tenfold. In agriculture, in addition to fertilizers, various poisons began to be widely used - pesticides, the washout of which polluted the surface layer of water throughout the oceans.

All this has led to many major environmental problems. Global environmental problems are the objective result of the interaction between our civilization and the environment in the era of industrial development. The beginning of this era is considered to be 1860, around this time, as a result of the rapid development of Euro-American capitalism, the industry of that time entered the new level. Global environmental problems are divided into several groups that are closely related to each other:

demographic problem (negative consequences of population growth in the 20th century);

energy problem (energy shortage gives rise to the search for new sources of energy and pollution associated with their extraction and use);

nutritional problem (the need to achieve a full-fledged level of nutrition for every person raises questions in the field of Agriculture and use of fertilizers);

conservation problem natural resources(raw and mineral resources have been depleted since the Bronze Age, it is important to preserve the gene pool of mankind and biodiversity, fresh water and atmospheric oxygen are limited);

the problem of protecting the environment and humans from the action harmful substances(there are sad facts of mass casting of whales on the coast, mercury, oil, etc. disasters and poisoning caused by them).

In the last quarter of the XX century. a sharp warming of the global climate began, which in the boreal regions is reflected in a decrease in the number of frosty winters. The average temperature of the surface layer of air over the past 25 years has increased by 0.7°C. The temperature of the subglacial water in the region of the North Pole increased by almost two degrees, as a result of which the ice began to melt from below.

It is possible that this warming is partly natural. However, the rate of warming forces us to recognize the role of the anthropogenic factor in this phenomenon. Now mankind annually burns 4.5 billion tons of coal, 3.2 billion tons of oil and oil products, as well as natural gas, peat, oil shale and firewood. All this turns into carbon dioxide, the content of which in the atmosphere increased from 0.031% in 1956 to 0.035% in 1996 (9. P. 99). and continues to grow. In addition, emissions of another greenhouse gas, methane, into the atmosphere have increased sharply.

Now most climatologists of the world recognize the role of the anthropogenic factor in climate warming. Over the past 10-15 years, there have been many studies and meetings that have shown that the rise in the level of the World Ocean is really happening, at a rate of 0.6 mm per year, or 6 cm per century. At the same time, vertical ups and downs coastlines reach 20 mm per year.

At present, the main environmental problems that have arisen under the influence of anthropogenic activities are: violation of the ozone layer, deforestation and desertification of territories, pollution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, acid rain, and a decrease in biodiversity. In this regard, the most extensive research and in-depth analysis of changes in the field of global ecology are needed, which could help in making fundamental decisions at the very high level in order to reduce damage to natural conditions and provide a favorable living environment.

Ecological crisis. Ecological disasters

The ecological crisis of the biosphere, which scientists are talking about, is not a crisis of nature, but of human society. Among the main problems that caused its occurrence are the volume of anthropogenic impact on nature in the 20th century, which brought the biosphere closer to the limit of sustainability; contradictions between the essence of man and nature, his alienation from nature; continued development of the "civilization of consumption" - the growth of non-mandatory needs of people and society, the satisfaction of which leads to an increase in the excessive technogenic load on the environment.

Efforts to protect the environment in all countries are undertaken, however, locally within the generally accepted paradigm of "mismanagement". It is considered possible to correct the situation by investing additional funds in improving technologies. scientists and practitioners of ecology, for the most part, are not engaged in "knowledge of the economy of nature", but in the development of particular issues - technologies for reducing emissions and discharges from enterprises, the preparation of norms, rules and laws. There is no agreement among scientists in the analysis of the causes and consequences of the "greenhouse effect", "ozone holes", in determining the permissible limits for the withdrawal of natural resources and population growth on the planet. Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is recognized at the international level as a panacea for the global greenhouse effect, which will require multibillion-dollar costs, but, as will be shown below, will not solve the problem, and senseless spending will only exacerbate the crisis.

Greenhouse effect and "ozone holes"

The greenhouse effect, as some scientists believe, is a modern physical and chemical process of disturbing the thermal balance of the planet with an accelerating rise in temperature on it. It is generally accepted that this effect is caused by the accumulation of "greenhouse gases" in the Earth's atmosphere, which are formed mainly in the process of burning fossil fuels. The infrared (thermal) radiation of the Earth's surface does not go into outer space, but is absorbed by the molecules of these gases, and its energy remains in the Earth's atmosphere.

Over the past hundred years, the average temperature of the Earth's surface has increased by 0.8 ° C. In the Alps and the Caucasus, glaciers have halved in volume, on Mount Kilimanjaro - by 73%, and the level of the World Ocean has risen by at least 10 cm. According to the World Meteorological Service , already by 2050 the concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere increases to 0.05%, and the increase in the average temperature on the planet will be 2-3.5 ° C. The results of such a process are not accurately predicted. An increase in the level of the World Ocean by 15-95 cm is expected with flooding of densely populated areas of river deltas in Western Europe and Southeast Asia, a shift in climatic zones, a change in the direction of winds, ocean currents (including the Gulf Stream) and precipitation.

A reduction in the area of ​​glaciers in the mountains will reduce the average value of the Earth's albedo (the coefficient of reflection of the sun's rays from the surface), the thawing of permafrost on the swampy plains of Eastern Siberia will release methane accumulated there into the atmosphere, an increase in ocean temperature will lead to the release of dissolved carbon dioxide and an increase in humidity on the planet. All these factors will accelerate and increase the greenhouse effect.

The stability of the biosphere is ensured only if the rate of carbon uptake by the biota is proportional to the rate of its growth in the environment. This balance has been broken. The situation is exacerbated by a decrease in the area of ​​photosynthesis due to the destruction of forests (for example, in the Amazon River valley) and a decrease in the mass of phytoplankton in the World Ocean. With an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the process of biomass growth should accelerate, but scientists noted that at the beginning of the last century, the land biota stopped absorbing excess carbon from the atmosphere and, moreover, began to emit it itself. The sign of stationary systems is violated - the principle of Le Chatelier-Brown: "When an external influence brings the system out of a state of stable equilibrium, this equilibrium shifts in the direction of weakening the effect of external influence."

Another global effect is the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. The ozone layer is air at altitudes of 7-18 km with a high concentration of ozone O3, which absorbs harmful to living ultraviolet radiation(UVI) Sun. When it is depleted, the UVR flux on the Earth's surface increases, which will lead to damage to the eyes and suppression of the immune system of people, and a decrease in plant productivity.

The main reason for the decrease in ozone concentration is considered to be emissions of chlorine and fluorine-containing compounds into the atmosphere: freon from refrigeration equipment, cosmetic sprayers (another hypothesis is a change magnetic field Earth, caused by human activity). The really observed result is "ozone holes" over Antarctica (the maximum decrease in ozone concentration is 3 times), over the Arctic, Eastern Siberia and Kazakhstan.

Recently, as the technical power of mankind has increased, the process of evolution has been transferred to the field of minerals, the composition of soil, water and air has changed. The evolution of species passes into the evolution of the biosphere. For example, powerful earthquakes have become more frequent. During the first half of the 20th century, 15 earthquakes with a power of more than 7 points were noted (740 thousand people died), and in the second half - 23 (more than a million people died). In recent decades, earthquakes technogenic nature noted in non-seismic regions (Tatarstan, Stavropol). The number of powerful hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, catastrophic river floods (Rhine, Lena) is increasing.

The intensification of human activity leads to the disruption of the ecosystems of the biosphere. Of the 150 million km2 of land area under direct human control (agro-industrial complexes, cities, landfills, roads, mining, etc.) is 28%. This leads to a reduction in the area of ​​​​forests (at the beginning of the era of agriculture, the forest area was 75% of land, and now - 26%), desertification (average rate - 2600 ha / h), dehydration of rivers and seas.

The soil is poisoned by "acid rain", it is polluted with heavy elements and emissions of other harmful substances. Soil erosion, loss of humus, salinization are increasing. Annually, 20 million hectares of land lose productivity as a result of erosion and the onset of sands.

The world ocean is the most important regulator of processes in the biosphere and the source of bioresources suffers from oil pollution. Their film disrupts photosynthesis, leads to the death of eggs, fish, birds and other animals. Every year, due to leaks from ships, accidents and rivers, 12-15 million tons of oil enter the World Ocean, which leads to a total area pollution of 150 million km2 out of a total area of ​​361 million km2.

Over 2000 years of our era, 270 species of large mammals and birds disappeared, and a third of them - over the past century (Pyrenean mountain goat, Berber lion, Japanese wolf, marsupial wolf, etc.). But each type of living thing is connected with other species, therefore, with the disappearance of a species, there is always a restructuring in the entire system. According to scientists, by the end of this century in different countries Europe and America will disappear 50-82% of the land species of the inhabitants of the Earth.

Causes of the ecological crisis

In the literature, the growth of the Earth's population and its scientific and technical power are considered as the causes of the crisis. This gives rise to the illusion that "prudent economic management", environmental education, birth control or the World Government will be able to prevent the development of the crisis. To dispel this delusion, we will consider the causes of the ecological crisis, dividing them into three groups: political.

The main reasons for the degradation of the biosphere are the excessive withdrawal of the living and mineral resources of the planet and its poisoning with man-made waste products of human activity.

The biosphere can remain stable when about 1% of its net primary production is withdrawn. As calculations by V.B. Gorshkov, the production of biomass in the entire biosphere in terms of energy equivalent corresponds to a power of 74 TW (74 * 1012 W), and a person takes more than 16 TW, that is, 20%, into his anthropogenic channel for the use of bioproducts. The extraction of bioproducts from the natural circulation of substances destroys systemic links in food chains and impoverishes the species composition of natural biocenoses.

Thus, one of the causes and components of the ecological crisis is the approximately twenty-fold excess of human consumption of biosphere products over the level acceptable for stable biosystems.

An ecological catastrophe is understood as a natural anomaly, often arising from direct or indirect human impact, or an accident of a technical device, leading to adverse catastrophic changes in the natural environment, mass death of living organisms and economic damage.

Recently, in connection with the development of the theory of sustainable development, the term socio-ecological catastrophe is increasingly used, which is understood as an event that threatens the viability of the population in a particular territory, produced by different sources risk.

According to modern scientific concepts, the following processes lead to a socio-ecological catastrophe:

depletion of natural resources ("collapse" of industrial and agricultural production);

genetic degeneration of the population due to direct or indirect (through mutations of pathogens) exposure to chemical pollution;

exceeding the ecological capacity of regional ecosystems.

Thus, the concept of "environmental catastrophe" can include:

destructive and irreversible changes in natural ecosystems;

various adverse consequences of such changes for society;

significant violations of the territorial complexes of the population and economy with their natural and ethno-cultural basis.

environmental crisis ozone layer

Territorial complexes of the population and economy may, in this case, have different sizes- from a single locality to a state and a group of states.

The system of criteria for assessing environmental distress can be divided into four groups, taking into account the following characteristics:

negative changes in the environment;

public health response to environmental changes;

deterioration of conditions for economic and other human activities.

When determining the ecological status of a particular territory, these criteria are used taking into account regional natural, economic, historical, ethnic and other features, as well as the geographical location of the territory (to take into account the influence of neighboring territories on the state of its natural environment).

For environmental disasters of man-made origin, the following classification is used:

disasters associated with environmental pollution;

catastrophes associated with mechanical disturbances of the natural environment;

catastrophes associated with the loss of the gene pool and biodiversity.

Exists whole line environmental disasters generated by purely natural phenomena. According to their genesis, they belong to solar-cosmic, climatic and hydrological, geological-geomorphological, biogeochemical and biological. The most typical of them include hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, squalls, earthquakes, mudflows, landslides, collapses, floods, etc. It should be noted that often man-made ecological disasters occur as a result of natural For example, it may be the destruction of a nuclear power plant due to an earthquake, followed by radioactive contamination of the natural environment.

Before the eyes of just one generation, the sea disappears. The Aral, the mother of many peoples, is disappearing, and only man can save it.

Conclusion

The emergence of global problems has led to the fact that humanity must unite to ensure the global security of modern civilization. The transition to sustainable development requires coordinated action in all spheres of society, social, economic, environmental institutions of the state, whose regulatory role is fundamental. The most important factor solutions to environmental problems is to strengthen the role of science. Mankind needs to focus on solving a dual task: not only to feed hundreds of millions of starving earthlings in the coming years and eliminate widespread poverty in the world by satisfying the basic needs of all living people today, but also to stop depriving future generations of earthlings. If this decision is put at the forefront of the "corner", then perhaps humanity will avoid a global natural disaster.

Environmental rights and obligations. Environmental economics.

Environmental rights and obligations of citizens - one of the most important institutions of environmental law

Central to the principles of environmental law, as noted above, is the priority of protecting human life and health. In this regard, the most important feature of modern environmental law is the formation and development of the institution of environmental rights of citizens as one of the determining factors in its system.

Basic rights of citizens Russian Federation in the field of ecology are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Article 42 proclaims one of the inalienable human rights - the right to a favorable environment, which is supplemented by other related environmental rights: to reliable information about the state of the environment and to compensation for damage caused to the health and property of citizens by an environmental offense.

In accordance with Article 18 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen are directly applicable. They determine the meaning, content and application of laws, the activities of the legislative and executive authorities, local self-government and are provided with justice.

At the same time, the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation are specified in the current environmental legislation. The Law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of the Environment" establishes that every citizen has the right to protection of health from the adverse effects of the environment caused by economic or other activities, accidents, disasters, natural Disasters. This right is guaranteed:

planning and regulation of the quality of the natural environment, measures to prevent environmentally harmful activities and improve the environment, prevent and eliminate the consequences of accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters;

social and state insurance of citizens, organization of medical care for the population;

providing real opportunities for living in conditions favorable for life and health of the natural environment;

compensation in a judicial or administrative order for harm caused to the health of citizens as a result of environmental pollution, the consequences of accidents and disasters;

state control over the state of the environment and compliance with environmental legislation, bringing to justice persons guilty of violating the requirements for ensuring the environmental safety of the population.

The right to health protection from the adverse effects of the environment is exercised through the implementation of specific powers of citizens in the field of environmental protection, the content of which is disclosed in the Law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of the Environment" (Article 12), Fundamentals of Legislation on the Protection of Citizens' Health (Article 17 , 19, 66), Federal Laws"On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population" (Article 8), "On the radiation safety of the population" (Article 22, 23, 26), "On environmental expertise" (Article 19) and other regulations.

In accordance with the provisions of these laws, citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to:

create public associations, funds and other public formations for the protection of the natural environment;

take part in meetings, rallies, processions, demonstrations, referendums on environmental protection, send letters, complaints and statements on these issues to the competent authorities;

require the relevant authorities to provide timely, complete and reliable information on the state of the environment and measures for its protection;

demand administrative or judicial cancellation of decisions on the placement, design, construction, operation of environmentally harmful facilities, restriction, suspension and termination of the activities of such facilities;

raise the issue of bringing to responsibility the guilty legal entities and citizens, bring claims to the court for compensation for harm caused to the health and property of citizens by an environmental offense;

put forward proposals for conducting a public environmental review and receive information on the results of its conduct;

exercise other rights in the field of environmental protection provided for by law.

These rights correspond to the duties of citizens established by law (Article 58 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Article 12 of the Law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of the Environment"):

preserve nature and the environment, treat natural resources with care;

take part in environmental protection;

comply with the requirements of environmental legislation and environmental quality standards;

improve their environmental culture, promote environmental education of the younger generation.

Citizens of the Russian Federation can exercise environmental rights and obligations both individually and through participation in public environmental associations. The latter were also given a number of powers to exercise their functions in the field of environmental protection. According to Article 13 of the Law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of the Environment", they have the right to:

develop and promote their environmental programs, protect the environmental rights and interests of the population, develop the ecological culture of the population, involve citizens on a voluntary basis in active environmental protection activities;

at the expense of their own funds and voluntary participation of the population, carry out work on the protection and reproduction of the natural environment, assist state bodies in the fight against environmental offenses;

recommend their representatives to participate in the state environmental review, conduct a public environmental review;

demand administrative or judicial cancellation of decisions on the placement, construction, operation of environmentally harmful facilities and the restriction, suspension, termination or re-profiling of their activities;

require the provision of timely, reliable and complete information on environmental pollution and measures for its protection;

organize meetings, rallies, marches, demonstrations, collect signatures, come in with proposals to discuss projects, referendums on environmental protection;

to raise the issue of bringing guilty officials to responsibility, to file claims in court for compensation for damage to the health and property of citizens caused by an environmental offense.

The state guarantees environmental and other public associations performing environmental functions and citizens the opportunity to exercise their rights in the field of environmental protection in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

State bodies and their officials are obliged to provide all possible assistance to public associations and citizens in the implementation of their environmental rights and obligations, to take the necessary measures to fulfill their proposals and requirements in the organization of environmental protection activities.

Bibliography

2. Alimov A.F. Options for solving environmental problems // Salvation. - 2003. - No. 6.

3. Antsev G.V., Elfimov V.G., Sarychev V.A. On the Approach of a Global Ecological Catastrophe // Monitoring - 2000. - No. 1.

4. Alekseev V.P. Nature and society: stages of interaction // Ecology and life. - 2002. - No. 2.

5. Snurikov A.P. Rational nature management. - M.: Nauka, 1996.

Hosted on Allbest.ru

Similar Documents

Ecological crisis of the biosphere. Efforts to protect the environment. Increase in carbon dioxide emissions. Greenhouse effect and destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. Fight against soil impoverishment and impoverishment water resources. Expansion of cultivated areas.

abstract, added 03/26/2011


The essence and causes of global environmental problems. Distribution of pollutants in the atmosphere. Destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. Pollution of the hydrosphere and lithosphere. Influence of anthropogenic activity on flora and fauna.

presentation, added 12/19/2013


Human impact on the environment. Fundamentals of environmental problems. Greenhouse effect (global warming): history, signs, possible environmental impact and ways to solve the problem. Acid precipitation. Destruction of the ozone layer.

term paper, added 02/15/2009


The essence of global environmental problems. Destruction of the natural environment. Pollution of the atmosphere, soil, water. The problem of the ozone layer, acid rain. Causes of the greenhouse effect. Ways to solve the problems of overpopulation of the planet, energy issues.

presentation, added 11/05/2014


The division of global environmental problems into groups related to each other: demographic, energy, food, conservation of natural resources and environmental protection. Greenhouse effect and "ozone holes". Causes of the ecological crisis.

abstract, added 05/09/2009


Protection of the climate and the ozone layer of the atmosphere as one of the most acute global environmental problems of our time. The essence and causes of the greenhouse effect. The state of the ozone layer over Russia, the decrease in the ozone content ("ozone hole").

abstract, added 10/31/2013


Influence of the thermal regime of the Earth's surface on the state of the atmosphere. Protecting the planet from ultraviolet radiation with an ozone shield. Atmospheric pollution and ozone depletion as global problems. Greenhouse effect, the threat of global warming.

abstract, added 05/13/2013


Global changes in the atmosphere. Destruction of the ozone layer. Continental problems, causes of extinction of a mass of tropical plant and animal species. Greenhouse effect and possible consequences of climate change. Threat to ecosystems and biodiversity.

abstract, added 10/13/2011


From the history. Location and function of the ozone layer. Causes of the weakening of the ozone shield. Ozone and climate in the stratosphere. Destruction of the earth's ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons. What has been done to protect the ozone layer. The facts speak for themselves.

abstract, added 03/14/2007


Local ecological crisis. Ecological problems of the atmosphere. The problem of the ozone layer. The concept of the greenhouse effect. Acid rain. Consequences of acid rain. Self-purification of the atmosphere. What are the main priorities? What is more important ecology or scientific and technical progress.

The ecological crisis is a tense state of the relationship between humanity and nature, characterized by a discrepancy between the development of the productive forces of society and the resource capabilities of the biosphere.

The modern global ecological crisis can be defined as an imbalance in ecological systems and in the relationship of human society with nature.

The ecological crisis can also be viewed as a conflict in the interaction of a biospecies or genus with nature. In a crisis, nature, as it were, reminds us of the inviolability of its laws, and those who violate these laws perish. So there was a qualitative renewal of living beings on Earth.

In this article:

Environmental problems in the world

Current state environment in the world is characterized extremely negatively due to the global environmental crisis. This problem is caused due to the degradation of the environment and the inability of nature to reproduce.

The irrational use of natural resources, the constant growth of scientific and technological progress runs counter to the principles of environmental protection. Violation of the ecological balance in the world is a consequence of the negative impact of man on nature.

The current generation thinks less and less about their own future and their children, who have the right, on an equal basis with everyone else, to a favorable environment.

Components of the ecological crisis

The existing ecological crisis in nature can be characterized by its various components:

• significant depletion of natural resources, namely, the world is experiencing an acute shortage of fresh water drinking water;
• increasing soil erosion in agriculture, caused by the misuse of land, as well as fertilizer with chemicals that contribute to the growth of agricultural products, but at the same time to the depletion of the fertile properties of the land;
• desertification of the territory of the earth, caused due to large-scale logging. Wood harvesting is in first place, as it is a very profitable business, and reproduction is in the very last place;
• atmospheric pollution leading to the growth of ozone holes and the greenhouse effect on the planet;
• the rapid exploration of outer space, leaving behind space debris;
• periodic environmental disasters caused due to man-made accidents of disasters at hazardous facilities, such as nuclear power plants, the oil industry.

The most acute environmental crisis manifests itself in undeveloped countries, as well as in overpopulated areas, such as Africa, India, China. In the near future, the complete disappearance of drinking water, oil and gas reserves is expected.

Causes of the ecological crisis

In many ways, the ongoing negative processes in nature are associated with a number of reasons:

• because of the political situation in the world, when the West is trying to keep all the world's reserves in its hands, including through wars and civil revolutions;
• due to imperfect legislation, which does not always take into account the interests of the environment;
• growing corruption in the highest echelons of power, who are ready to sell everything that is possible and available in their hands for money;
• lack of qualified specialists in the field of environmental protection, for example, ecologists, agronomists, forest guards;
• continuous improvement of technologies that harm the environment;
• disregard in use alternative sources energy, for example, in Russia, which is still rich in oil and gas;
• economic growth of countries, carried out contrary to the interests of the natural environment.

Ways to solve environmental problems

In order to reach a new level in relation to "man - nature" and the balance of the world ecosystem, humanity should develop a number of directions.

Among which:

• improvement technological processes, using non-waste production, filter elements for the discharge of pollutants into the atmosphere;
• renewal of the economic mechanism of environmental protection, when the country's economy includes measures for the protection and protection of nature from the negative impact of man;
• tightening legal liability for damage to nature, for example, increasing penalties, the amounts of which can go to the reproduction and restoration of the environment;
• improvement of the legal culture of the population by holding from an early age environmental and educational discussions about the relationship of man with nature;
• and, of course, the development of international relations in the field of environmental protection.

The need for an urgent practical solution to the problem of environmental protection has led to the development in most countries of state measures of a legislative, organizational and administrative nature aimed at preserving and restoring the quality of the natural environment.

Moreover, it is this aspect that is increasingly becoming the main direction of state activity in countries with developed market economies, accompanied by the active use of economic levers and incentives, which together ensure the achievement of the goal.

At the same time, in a number of regions of the world and countries, including Russia, the effectiveness of environmental protection activities is not adequate to the significance of the problem and the severity of the crisis situation.

Significant reasons for this are insufficient knowledge of the state of the environment and its changes, the relationship of a complex of natural processes with various anthropogenic factors, and insufficient funding.

The way out of the ecological crisis will contribute to the solution of environmental problems, in turn, the solution of environmental problems is a necessary prerequisite for progressive economic development.

What would you like to see in the future

End of the 20th century characterized by an aggravation of the relationship between human society and nature.

It is caused by the growth of the Earth's population, the preservation of traditional ways of managing at an increasing rate of consumption of natural resources, environmental pollution and the limited capacity of the biosphere to neutralize it.

These contradictions begin to slow down the further scientific and technological progress of mankind, becoming a threat to its existence.

Only in the second half of the twentieth century. thanks to the development of ecology and the spread environmental knowledge among the population it became obvious that humanity is an indispensable part of the biosphere, therefore the conquest of nature, the uncontrolled and unlimited use of its resources and the growing pollution of the environment is a dead end in the development of civilization and the evolution of man himself.

The most important condition for the development of mankind is respect for nature, comprehensive concern for the rational use and restoration of its resources, and the preservation of a favorable environment.

However, many do not understand the close relationship between economic activity, population growth and the state of the environment.

Broad environmental education should help people to master such environmental knowledge, ethical norms and values, the use of which is necessary for the sustainable development of nature and society.

At present, many contradictions, conflicts, problems outgrow the local framework and acquire a global global character.

The main causes of the crisis:

• 1. Earth's climate change as a result of natural geological processes, enhanced greenhouse effect caused by changes in the optical properties of the atmosphere by emissions into it mainly of CO, CO2 and other gases.
• 2. Reducing the power of the stratospheric ozone screen with the formation of the so-called "ozone holes", which reduce the protective capabilities of the atmosphere against the entry of hard short-wave ultraviolet radiation dangerous for living organisms to the Earth's surface.
• 3. Chemical pollution of the atmosphere by substances that contribute to the formation of acid precipitation, photochemical smog and other compounds that are dangerous for biosphere objects, including humans.
• 4. Pollution of the ocean and changes in the properties of ocean waters due to oil products, their saturation with carbon dioxide of the atmosphere, which in turn is polluted by vehicles and thermal power plants, burial of highly toxic chemical and radioactive substances in ocean waters, pollution from river runoff, disturbance of the water balance of coastal areas due to with the regulation of rivers;
• 5. Depletion and pollution of land waters.
• 6. Nuclear pollution environment.
• 7. Soil pollution due to polluted precipitation, the use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers.
• 8. Changes in the geochemistry of landscapes due to the redistribution of elements between the bowels and the surface of the Earth.
• 9. Continued accumulation on the Earth's surface of all kinds of solid waste.
• 10. Violation of the global and regional ecological balance.
• 11. Increasing desertification of the planet.
• 12. Reducing the area of ​​tropical forests and northern taiga - the main sources of maintaining the oxygen balance of the planet.
• 13. Absolute overpopulation of the Earth and relative demographic overpopulation of certain regions, extreme differentiation of poverty and wealth.
• 14. Deterioration of the living environment in overpopulated cities.
• 15. Exhaustion of many mineral deposits.
• 16. Increased social instability as a result of the increasing differentiation of the rich and poor part of the population of many countries, the increase in the level of armament of their population, and criminalization.
• 17. Decline in the immune status and health status of the population in many countries of the world, repeated repetition of epidemics, which are becoming more massive and severe in their consequences. One of the main global problems is the preservation of the environment. Its beginning lies in the distant past. About 10,000 years ago, the agricultural culture of the Neolithic arose. The expansion of the area of ​​cultivated land, the felling of trees for economic purposes, the spread of slash-and-burn agriculture - all this led to the replacement of the natural landscape with a cultural one, and increased human influence on the environment. A rapid population growth began - a population explosion - a sharp increase in population associated with an improvement in socio-economic or general historical living conditions. The population of the Earth is growing exponentially: if since 8000 BC. before the beginning of the new chronology, the population increased from 5 million people to 130 million, that is, by 125 million people in 8 thousand years, then from 1930 to 1960, that is, in just 30 years, the population of the Earth increased by 1 billion people (from 2 billion to 3 billion people). Currently, it is more than 6 billion people. From 1830 to 1930, the population of Europe and North America grew, and in recent years a population explosion has been observed in Asia and Latin America.

The Industrial Revolution began about 200 years ago and over the past 100-150 years the face of Europe and North America has completely changed. There was an inextricable connection between nature and society, which is mutual. On the one hand, the natural environment, geographical and climatic features have a significant impact on community development. These factors can accelerate or slow down the pace of development of countries and peoples, and influence the social development of labor. On the other hand, society affects the natural environment of man. The history of mankind testifies both to the beneficial effect of human activities on the natural habitat, and to its detrimental consequences. Man has carried out such chemical reactions that did not exist before on Earth. Iron, tin, lead, aluminum, nickel and many others were isolated in pure form. chemical elements. The amount of metals mined and smelted by man reaches colossal proportions and increases every year. The extraction of combustible minerals is even more significant. During the combustion of coal and other fuels, oxides of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and other products are formed. The earth's surface turns into cities and cultivated land and dramatically changes its chemical properties.

Pollution atmospheric air exceeded all allowable limits. The concentration of substances harmful to health in the air exceeds medical standards in many cities by dozens of times. Acid rain containing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which is a consequence of the functioning of thermal power plants, transport and factories, is the death of lakes and forests. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant showed the environmental threat posed by accidents at nuclear power plants, which are operated in 26 countries around the world.

The principles of the natural structure, which are violated by man and lead to an ecological crisis:

• 1. The use by man in his economic activity of energy sources internal to the biosphere (organic fuel). This leads to an increase in the entropy of the biosphere, disruption of the ecological cycles of carbon dioxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, and thermal pollution.
• 2. The openness of business cycles leads to a large number waste polluting the environment. The use of many artificially synthesized substances along with natural ones causes a violation of the ecological balance, leads to an increase in environmental toxicity.
• 3. With the direct participation of man, the destruction of the structural diversity of the biosphere and the death of many species occur. There is an excessive increase in pressure on the human biosphere, which leads to serious violations of environmental stability and a decrease in the stability of the biosphere.

With the advent of man, partial imbalances in the biosphere acquired a qualitatively different character and a completely different pace. According to T.A. Akimova and V.V. Haskin, humanity was in the niches of primitive gatherers and fishermen with a minimum biological energy consumption of 200 thousand years, in the niches of primitive agriculture, cattle breeding and hunting with an energy consumption of 2 times greater - 10 thousand years, in the niche of traditional farming with working cattle with five times the energy consumption - 1000 years. This accelerated change in the qualitative stages of progress and the acceleration of energy growth are among the main causes of the ecological crisis.

Environmental crises have happened before. However, in relation to most of them, we are talking not so much about global changes in the ecology of the biota, but about the stages of changing the regional ecological niches of humans. The most important of these are the crises of ancient gathering and trade, which led to the transition to a production economy, and the crisis of producers (autotrophic organisms, mainly green plants, which form the primary production of organic substances), i.e. exhaustion of the most available resources of wood for fuel and construction, as well as reaching the limits of the productivity of domestic agriculture. These circumstances became one of the incentives for the industrial revolution and the development of industrial civilization, which led to modern crisis. And each of these stages was accompanied by a significant expansion of the ecological niche of mankind.

The modern ecological crisis is called the crisis of decomposers (decomposers are heterotrophic organisms (bacteria and fungi), final destructors that complete the decomposition of organic compounds to simple inorganic substances - water, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and salts) because the entire set of decomposers of the biosphere can no longer cope with destruction colossal mass of anthropogenic environmental pollution. This is combined with the scarcity and threat of depletion of many mineral resources. The ecological crisis that began in the 20th century, unlike the previous ones, has acquired a global character and is developing quite rapidly in historical terms.

Man, according to D. Markovich, increasingly violates the basic ecological principle, i.e. it produces something that does not exist in nature and that can be dangerous for other living beings. Mankind, actively consuming renewable and non-renewable resources, produces more and more quantitative and qualitative pollutants.

Quantitative pollutants are substances that man does not create, they exist in nature, but man releases large quantities of them, and this leads to ecological imbalance. Qualitative pollutants - substances produced by man, synthetic substances, against which the human body is poorly protected. The increase in the volume of pollutants in the biosphere has led to a violation of the ecological balance.

Violation of the ecological balance in modern world took such dimensions that there was an imbalance between the natural ecosystems necessary for human life and the industrial and demographic needs of man.

Scales modern activities mankind have no analogues in the history of the planet. For 80 years (since the beginning of the 20th century) more minerals have been extracted from the bowels of the Earth than in the entire history of civilization, starting from the Paleolithic. More than half of the iron ore mined over these years, more than 2/3 of oil, natural gas, potash salts, phosphorites, 3 A bauxite was taken from the Earth for 20 years (from 1960 to 1980). In one year, the extraction of rocks from the bowels of the planet reaches 100 billion tons, i.e. people "compete" with volcanic processes. Thus, the thesis of V.I. Vernadsky about the transformation of mankind into a geological force.

So, plowing the soil, a person annually moves the mass of the earth (the volume of 4 thousand square kilometers), approximately 3 times the mass of all volcanic products rising from the bowels of the planet over the same period, and 200 times more than is carried into the seas and oceans with flowing waters. It takes 13% of the world river runoff (3.8 thousand cubic km) for household needs; burns 13.2 billion tons of standard fuel, while consuming 22 billion tons of atmospheric oxygen (data from 1993); smelts 2.5 billion tons of various metals, produces more than 60 million tons of synthetic materials unknown in nature; scatters over 500 million tons of various pesticides on the fields, of which V 3 is washed off by rains into water bodies and lingers in the atmosphere.

Technogenic releases into the environment of chemical compounds widely used in production and everyday life are often dozens of times higher than their natural intake during volcanic eruptions and weathering of rocks. Thus, the pollution of the seas with oil products (more than 10 million tons per year) significantly exceeds the flow of oil into the hydrosphere through natural faults and cracks in the lithosphere.

At present, the area of ​​land developed by man has reached 60% of the land. Built-up land now occupies about 300 million hectares. Man today is able to regulate hydrological regimes in large areas. It can significantly, although still locally, change the climate, landscapes and green cover of the planet. People have 10 10 kW of energy at their disposal. This energy is sufficient for a noticeable effect on the processes developing on the Earth's surface, in the atmosphere and in the ocean.

According to Yu.L. Khotuntsev, in the 50 years since the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution, there are no signs of a slowdown in technical progress. Society has passed into a new state, characterized by an increase in the speed of scientific discoveries, the creation of new technologies and unprecedented rates of development of productive forces.

Never before has civilization provided mankind with such a quantity of benefits as it happens at the turn of the millennium. From 1950 to 1990, world social production increased 7 times, and grain production - about 2.5 times, while the population increased only 2 times.

Since the 70s. 20th century there have been significant changes in the social sphere. The average life expectancy has increased in most countries of the world, the average calorie content of food has increased, the number of various services provided to the population is a record for the entire history of world civilization.

However, the Earth's resources are being used unevenly. The G7 countries (USA, UK, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada) are home to 15% of the world's population, and use 53% of energy, 33% of fertilizers, 79% of industrial wood, 81% of the most hazardous waste and 90 % chlorofluorocarbons that deplete the ozone layer.

But not only the G7 countries are involved in the aggravation of the global problems of mankind. Other states of Europe, Russia, countries of the "third" world are making their "contribution" to the aggravation of such global problems of mankind as demographic, energy, the impact of transport on the environment, pollution of the atmosphere and hydrosphere, destruction of forests and soil cover, etc.

Pollution of the natural environment is expressed in smog, dead lakes and rivers, water unfit for consumption, extinction of biological species, and the creation of man-made landscapes. These are symptoms of ecosystem degradation, obvious to any person.

Reflection on the consequences of technological progress began in the second half of the 19th century. (J.P. Marsh, K. Leontiev and others). Later, as you accumulate scientific knowledge, many scientists have tried to understand the causes of the destruction of both individual ecosystems and the global environmental crisis.

A. Toynbee saw in the godlessness of nature the leading line of Christianity and Western civilization. Together with the disappearance of the pious veneration of nature, the last obstacles in the way of human greed are removed. The formation of monotheistic religions radically changes the relationship of man to nature, which begins to be regarded as raw material devoid of holiness. “If I am right in my diagnosis,” A. Toynbee wrote, “then the medicine that modern humanity needs is a return from a monotheistic worldview to a pantheistic, more ancient and once widespread ... Confucianism and Shinto advocate harmonious cooperation. Taoism advocates that nature go its own way, undisturbed by inappropriate and clumsy human interference. The worldviews that flow from these wiser and less aggressive religious and philosophical traditions give us hope for the salvation of mankind today. The command to "conquer", which modern man has accepted as a guide to action, is without any doubt immoral, impracticable and disastrous.

Another Western author, Lynn White, believes that the attitudes of Christian religious consciousness led to the formation of a specific relationship between man and nature, where man acts as the master of nature, and nature is only a storehouse of resources. L. White writes that Christianity, especially in its Western form, is the most anthropocentric of all world religions.

Man's attitude to nature is largely determined by the fact that he, like God, is transcendent in relation to the world. Completely and irreconcilably opposed to ancient paganism and Asian religions, with the possible exception of Zoroastrianism, Christianity not only established the dualism of man and nature, but also insisted that the will of God is precisely such that man exploits nature for his own purposes. By destroying pagan animism, Christianity opened up the psychological possibility of exploiting nature in a spirit of indifference to the well-being of natural objects.

So, it was the effective-practical value orientations of Christianity that led to the formation of a specific ideology of the conquest of nature and the ecological crisis.

In domestic scientific literature, it is more customary to talk about industrialization, technical progress as main reason global ecological crisis. This seems to be correct, but not the whole "truth". The reasons for this phenomenon are much more complex.

Ecological crises can be divided into two groups according to the nature of their course.

1. Crises that are explosive, sudden. Typical are industrial disasters in Chernobyl, Bhopal (India), in Ufa. These crises can be predicted, but usually exact time their occurrence is unknown.

2. Crises are "creeping", slow in nature. They can take decades before quantitative changes turn into qualitative ones. Typical examples are the Aral Sea crisis, the eco-catastrophe in the USA in the 1930s. 20th century (improper tillage led to erosion and dust storms that destroyed the fertile layer on tens of millions of hectares), aridization (desertification), deforestation, etc.

Le Chatelier's principle is important for understanding the causes of the global ecological crisis. This principle characterizes the stability of the system and is expressed in the fact that the rate of carbon uptake by biota (under small relative environmental perturbations) is proportional to the increase in carbon concentration in the environment. During the 19th century biota (biota should be understood as such natural communities of fauna and flora organisms that are able to obey the Le Chatelier principle and compensate for all environmental disturbances that arise. Domestic animals and plants cultivated by humans, as well as home gardens, gardens and parks that do not have internal stability , should not be included in the concept of biota) land obeyed Le Chatelier's principle, i.e. was slightly outraged by the man. In the XX century. land biota, according to G.I. Marchuk, ceased to absorb excess carbon from the atmosphere. This means that the structure of the natural biota has been disrupted on a global scale.

In the pre-industrial era, the total anthropogenic share of consumption of biosphere products did not exceed 1%. Much more is being consumed now. The biosphere can withstand no more than 10%. However, the biota of the ocean continues to obey Le Chatelier's principle. This curbs the greenhouse effect.

Nevertheless, anthropogenic activities create four categories of threats associated with changes in the environment:

1. Immediate threats to human existence (hunger, disease, radiation, etc.).

2. Threats to territories (desertification, sea level rise, transboundary transfer of pollution, withdrawal of river flow).

3. Threats to life support systems (agriculture and fisheries, fresh water resources, forests, etc.).

4. Threats to economic development (deficiency of natural resources, instability of the financial system and markets, etc.).

All these "threats" led to the genetic and social consequences of the ecological crisis.