Ecological problem is a change in the natural environment as a result of human activity, leading to a violation of the structure and functioning nature . This is an anthropogenic problem. In other words, it arises as a result of the negative impact of man on nature.

Environmental problems can be local (a certain area is affected), regional (a specific region) and global (the impact is on the entire biosphere of the planet).

Can you give an example of a local environmental problem in your region?

Regional problems cover the territories of large regions, and their influence affects a significant part of the population. For example, pollution of the Volga is a regional problem for the entire Volga region.

Drainage of the swamps of Polissya caused negative changes in Belarus and Ukraine. Water level change Aral Sea- the problem of the entire Central Asian region.

Global environmental problems include problems that pose a threat to all of humanity.

Which of the global environmental problems, from your point of view, cause the greatest concern? Why?

Let's take a quick look at how environmental issues have changed over the course of human history.

In fact, in a sense, the entire history of human development is a history of increasing impact on the biosphere. In fact, humanity in its progressive development proceeded from one ecological crisis to another. But crises in ancient times were local in nature, and environmental changes were, as a rule, reversible, or not threatening people with total death.

Primitive man, engaged in gathering and hunting, involuntarily disturbed the ecological balance in the biosphere everywhere, spontaneously harmed nature. It is believed that the first anthropogenic crisis (10-50 thousand years ago) was associated with the development of hunting and overfishing of wild animals, when the mammoth, cave lion and bear disappeared from the face of the earth, on which the hunting efforts of the Cro-Magnons were directed. The use of primitive people fire - they burned the forests. This led to a decrease in the level of rivers and ground water. Overgrazing of pastures may have had the ecological result of the creation of the Sahara desert.

Then, about 2 thousand years ago, followed by a crisis associated with the use of irrigated agriculture. It led to the development of a large number of clay and saline deserts. But keep in mind that in those days the population of the Earth was not numerous, and, as a rule, people had the opportunity to move to other places that were more suitable for life (which is impossible to do now).

During the Age of Discovery, the impact on the biosphere increased. This is due to the development of new lands, which was accompanied by the extermination of many animal species (remember, for example, the fate of American bison) and the transformation vast territories to fields and pastures. However, human impact on the biosphere acquired a global scale after the industrial revolution of the 17th-18th centuries. At that time, the scale of human activity increased significantly, as a result of which the geochemical processes occurring in the biosphere began to transform (1). In parallel with the progress of scientific and technological progress, the number of people has sharply increased (from 500 million in 1650, the conditional beginning of the industrial revolution, to the current 7 billion), and, accordingly, the need for food and industrial goods, for an increasing amount of fuel has increased. , metal, machines. This has led to a rapid increase in the burden on ecological systems, and the level of this load in the middle of the XX century. - early XXI in. reached a critical value.

How do you understand in this context the inconsistency of the results of technological progress for people?

Mankind has entered the era of the global ecological crisis. Its main components:

• depletion of energy and other resources of the bowels of the planet
• the greenhouse effect,
• depletion of the ozone layer
• soil degradation,
• radiation Hazard,
• transboundary transfer of pollution, etc.

Humanity's movement towards an environmental catastrophe of a planetary nature is confirmed by numerous facts. People continuously accumulate the number of compounds that are not utilized by nature, develop dangerous technologies, store and transport a lot of pesticides and explosives pollute the atmosphere, hydrosphere and soil. In addition, the energy potential is constantly increasing, the greenhouse effect is being stimulated, etc.

There is a threat of loss of stability of the biosphere (violation of the eternal course of events) and its transition to a new state that excludes the very possibility of human existence. It is often said that one of the causes of the ecological crisis that our planet is in is the crisis of human consciousness. What do you think of it?

But for the time being humanity is able to solve environmental problems!

What conditions are necessary for this?

• The unity of good will of all the inhabitants of the planet in the problem of survival.
• Establishing peace on Earth, ending wars.
• Cessation of destructive action modern production on the biosphere (resource consumption, environmental pollution, destruction of natural ecosystems and biodiversity).

Development of global models of nature restoration and science-based nature management.

Some of the points listed above seem impossible, or not? What do you think?

Undoubtedly, human awareness of the danger of environmental problems is associated with serious difficulties. One of them is caused by non-obviousness for modern man his natural basis, psychological alienation from nature. Hence the disdainful attitude to the observance of environmentally sound activities, and, to put it simply, the lack of an elementary culture of attitude towards nature on various scales.

To solve environmental problems, it is necessary for all people to develop new thinking, to overcome the stereotypes of technocratic thinking, ideas about the inexhaustibility of natural resources and misunderstanding of our absolute dependence on nature. An unconditional condition for the further existence of mankind is the observance of the ecological imperative as the basis of ecologically safe behavior in all areas. It is necessary to overcome alienation from nature, to realize and implement personal responsibility for how we treat nature (for saving land, water, energy, for nature protection). Video 5.

There is a saying “think globally, act locally”. How do you understand it?

There are many successful publications and programs devoted to environmental problems and the possibilities of their solution. AT last decade quite a lot of environmentally oriented films are being shot, and regular environmental film festivals have begun to be held. One of the most outstanding films is the environmental education film HOME (Home. A Travel Story), which was first presented on June 5, 2009 on World Environment Day by eminent photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and famed director and producer Luc Bessonne. This film tells about the history of the life of the planet Earth, the beauty of nature, environmental problems caused by the destructive impact human activity on the environment threatening to destroy our common home.

It must be said that the premiere of HOME was an unprecedented event in the cinema: for the first time the film was shown simultaneously in largest cities dozens of countries, including in Moscow, Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, in the format of an open display, and free of charge. Viewers saw the one and a half hour film on large screens installed in open areas, in cinema halls, on 60 TV channels (excluding cable networks), on the Internet. HOME was shown in 53 countries. At the same time, in some countries, such as China and Saudi Arabia, the director was denied aerial photography. In India, half of the footage was simply confiscated, and in Argentina, Arthus-Bertrand and his assistants had to spend a week in prison. In many countries, a film about the beauty of the Earth and its environmental problems, the demonstration of which, according to the director, "borders on a political appeal", was banned from showing.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand (fr. Yann Arthus-Bertrand, born March 13, 1946 in Paris) is a French photographer, photojournalist, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor and winner of many other awards

With a story about the film by J. Arthus-Bertrand, we finish our conversation about environmental problems. Watch this movie. He better than words will help you think about what awaits the Earth and humanity in the near future; to understand that everything in the world is interconnected, that our task now is a common one and for each of us - to try, as far as possible, to restore the broken by us ecological balance planets, without which the existence of life on Earth is impossible.

the video 6 hi den excerpt from the movie Home. The entire film can be viewed http://www.cinemaplayer.ru/29761-_dom_istoriya_puteshestviya___Home.html .

Now humanity is facing a choice: either to "cooperate" with nature, taking into account natural cycles, or to cause harm. The future of humanity on our planet, as well as the planet itself, depends on what we choose today.

Ecological crisis

To date, human impact on the environment has led to an ecological crisis throughout the planet. This page looks at the critical issues we are facing and identifies a number of remedial actions.

soil erosion. Soil erosion occurs when the fertile surface layer is destroyed by rain and wind. Ways to solve the problem:

Planting forests (shrubs and trees): trees and shrubs get in the way of the winds, and their roots bind the soil.

Organic farming: organic fertilizers retain water better, preventing the soil from drying out and weathering.

Destruction rainforest . Decision:

Property rights reforms in the countries where they are growing to save them from destruction.

Control of livestock and timber harvesting in the rainforest by reducing the need for rich countries in meat and timber.

Efficient methods of using forest resources, taking into account natural cycles, etc., for example, the production of natural rubber.

Small fields: than smaller sizes fields, the less erosion is exposed to the earth on it.

Acid rain and other pollution. Decision:

Installation of filters at power stations and transport.

Application of other, non-chemical fertilizers.

Termination of environmental pollution by industrial emissions and waste.

Desert offensive. It occurs where poor, dry lands due to their active use turn into a desert. Solutions:

Reducing the dependence of underdeveloped countries on the production of export crops: their cultivation on the best lands forces the peasants to move to the worst, which soon turn into.

Application of efficient irrigation methods.

Active afforestation.

Destruction of natural habitat. Decision:

Creation of new, larger nature reserves and natural parks in cities and rural areas.

Stricter international control and measures to protect the natural habitat; prohibition of hunting and trading in wild animals.

Destruction of the ozone layer. The protective ozone layer in the atmosphere is threatened by destruction. The only way out:

Complete and speedy ban on the production of chlorofluorocarbons.

the greenhouse effect. Decision:

Use of renewable energy sources.

A ban on the destruction of tropical rainforests, which act as filters that absorb carbon dioxide from the air and use it in the process of photosynthesis.

Reduced energy consumption and waste generation.

Inefficient use of natural resources. Solutions:

Recycling and disposal of waste.

Long-term use of things and clothes, their repair and repair instead of just throwing them away.

Creation of programs for the transition to a more rational and economical way of life.

Practical Measures

All the measures proposed above should preferably be implemented at the global level. This requires greater international cooperation, especially between rich and poor countries. The whole trouble, however, is that politicians usually care about the benefits for their countries, not thinking about the future of the whole world. Many believe that even these measures are clearly insufficient and that humanity must radically change its way of life. Environmentalists join forces to protect the environment. Today, there are many charitable organizations in the world that successfully help the poorest people on the planet. They specifically help communities to solve the problems they face without violating local traditions and ways of life. They use environmentally friendly mechanisms, such as wind turbines in Africa. The sunflower is one of the symbols of the "green" movement. It symbolizes the revival of nature (in countries that pay worthy attention to problems). Environmental problems are important for the whole world, but we can contribute to their solution. Even slight changes lifestyle of each of us will mean that the situation and the whole began to improve. This book tells you where to start. If you would like to know more about this, please contact an environmental organization.

One of critical issues facing the world community is the protection of the natural environment and the preservation of the sustainable development of human civilization. The catastrophically rapid increase in the population of the Earth, the steady growth of its material and spiritual needs, the expansion of areas for the use of natural resources, the introduction of new and the latest technologies, an increase in production in the energy sector, industry, agriculture, construction, and transport occurs with a profound transformation of natural landscapes. Such transformations lead to the emergence of new artificial landscapes previously unknown to the biosphere. Modern scientific technical progress and the expansion of interstate economic ties led to a sharp increase in the burden on the environment and intensified the contradictions in the interaction between the environment and human society.

The global scale of the use of natural resources and the development of labor processes, which determines the accumulation of material goods in society, is of a wide-ranging and multivariate nature. This scale can be reduced to ecological sense to four main areas:

formation of regional and global natural-technogenic ecosystems;

the occurrence of local, regional and global environmental disasters;

a sharp reduction and exhaustion of natural raw materials resources; the emergence of an ecological immunodeficiency of the planet as a result of the global anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment, inhibition and suppression of the natural mechanisms of self-regulation of the biosphere.

Since the emergence of human civilization, there has been continuous interaction between man and the natural environment. With the growth of the world's population, the environmental pressure on nature is increasing. This is due to the multiply increasing technical equipment, the use of the huge energy capabilities of man-made industries and entire systems, the widest range of technological factors, which in their totality from all sides affect earthly shells-, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. Typical Features modern development civilizations that directly or indirectly affect the geospheres and increase the speed of flow natural processes, lead to a very significant modification of the natural environment.

Anthropogenic factor of change natural objects and geospheres must be taken into account when general characteristics. Therefore, in the geoecological characterization of individual geospheres, great importance is attached to anthropogenic impacts. The tutorial reveals very complex interactions between the geospheres of the Earth at different hierarchical levels - from planetary to local, on which anthropogenic pressure is steadily increasing. It is important to take into account not only these intergeospheric connections, but also the impact of modern human civilization on their individual components. Generalized results can be obtained only in the interdisciplinary direction, which combined geoecology and ecological geology.

Considering the importance of environmental issues and the high degree of impact of human activity on a wide range of natural processes, environmental issues are dealt with by specialists of almost all professions - from geologists, geographers, biologists, physicists, chemists to engineers, technologists, lawyers, sociologists, politicians, etc. Depending on individual geospheres, objects of research and industries, separate disciplines of ecology are distinguished, which are taught in technical and humanitarian higher educational institutions. In addition to ecology itself, which has a clearly defined biological orientation, and such are molecular, species and system ecology, ecological soil science, geoecology, ecological geology, ecological geophysics, industrial or engineering ecology, radiation ecology, space ecology, ecology of special objects, social ecology, environmental law, etc.

Genetic Engineering

One of the most important problems facing humanity is the control of genetic engineering. Scientists working in this field of science use (or parts of them) to change existing life forms or create new ones. They often experiment with genes - living cells that contain genetic code defining the basic features of the organism. By changing the information stored in the genes of an organism, scientists can purposefully change the features and properties of future generations of this species. Genetic experiments show that Genetic Engineering- this and promising direction science, and a serious threat. For example, genetic scientists have created special microorganisms that kill pest caterpillars, but some experts believe that this can seriously upset the natural balance. Therefore, all experiments in the field of genetics must be strictly controlled.

Antarctica - touchstone

Antarctica is a continent almost unaffected by human activity. However, many highly the developed countries in our time, they are actively interested in Antarctica, since in its bowels there are huge reserves of other minerals. Less developed countries would also like to receive their share of these resources. The exploration of Antarctica is the touchstone of our ability to cooperate with each other for the benefit of future generations. By area Antarctica more USA and Mexico combined. Antarctica is a world reserve and is open to everyone scientific research; it is not threatened by an ecological catastrophe. Any pollution will cause irreparable damage to its fragile ecosystem. Low temperatures slow down the absorption of oil into the soil.

Holism - a new look at nature

Learning to respect nature is very important. And not only because it satisfies our basic needs (for food and air), but also because it has every right to exist and develop according to its own laws. When we understand that each of us is also an integral part of the natural world, and we will not separate ourselves from it, then we will fully realize the importance of protecting all before uniform forms life, of which nature is made. Holism (from the English word "hool" - the whole) considers nature as a whole, a continuous intertwining network of life, and not a mechanical connection of its disparate parts. And if we break individual threads in this network, this will sooner or later lead to the death of the entire network. In other words, by destroying plants and animals, we are destroying ourselves.

Modernity can be considered environmental pollution, because anthropogenic activity affects absolutely all earthly spheres. These include the hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere. Unfortunately, it is the person who is the main culprit of this situation, and every day he himself becomes its main victim. Terrifying statistics say that about 60% of people in the world die from pollution. atmospheric air, water resources, soil cover.

The fact is that this problem does not have state borders, but concerns all of humanity as a whole, so the solutions must take place at the global level. For an effective fight, the so-called "green" organizations have been created, which for many years have been successfully promoting their activities, these include the World Wildlife Fund, Green Peace, and other public organizations whose main activity is aimed at preserving nature. .

Ways to solve environmental problems should start with the implementation of which will allow the rational use of natural resources. For example, in the municipal sector, the introduction of technology for waste disposal, which is the main source of pollution of all natural spheres. Every day the number of waste is growing rapidly, so the problem of waste disposal is becoming more and more urgent for mankind.

Moreover, waste recycling can become economically beneficial, in addition to the fact that their disposal will have an environmental effect. According to experts, more than 60% of waste can be a potential raw material, which can be successfully sold and recycled.

Every year on our planet the number of industrial enterprises, which cannot but affect environmental situation. This growth of enterprises leads to an increase in emissions of pollutants and other harmful substances into the environment.

At the same time, the use of such facilities cannot lead to complete purification, however, it significantly reduces the number of harmful substances that enter the atmosphere.

A huge number of Western enterprises use non-waste and low-waste products in their industrial activities. production processes, and also apply recycling water supply, allowing to reduce the discharge into water bodies Wastewater. They see this as a kind of solution to environmental problems, and they are right, because such intervention will significantly reduce the negative impact on the nature of human activity.

It must be said that the rational location of petrochemical, chemical, nuclear and metallurgical industries also has a positive effect on the environment.

Solving environmental problems is one of the main tasks of all mankind as a whole, it is important to increase the level of responsibility of people, their upbringing culture so that we are more careful about what Mother Nature has given us.

Rational use of any resources will significantly reduce negative influence person to the environment.

No less important is the reduction in the number of shooting animals, because they are an important link in the chain of development of nature. chasing profit and material goods we forget that we are destroying our future, taking away our children's right to a healthy future.

Greening the planet is considered one of the ways to improve our condition, improve the condition of the air and enable many plants to develop in our difficult world.

We have listed far from all methods for solving environmental problems, however, we have touched on the most important and relevant areas that require positive human intervention.

Most scientists who study environmental problems believe that humanity has about 40 more years to return the natural environment to the state of a normally functioning biosphere and resolve issues of its own survival. But this period is extremely short. And does a person have the resources to solve at least the most acute problems?

The main achievements of civilization in the twentieth century include the successes of science and technology. Achievements of science, including the science of environmental law, can be viewed as main resource in solving environmental problems.

Consider the question of the main ways of solving environmental problems with the help and within the framework of environmental law.

a) Formation of a new environmental and legal worldview. To overcome the environmental crisis and consistent solution problems of the environment Russia and humanity need a completely new and valuable legal worldview. Its scientific and philosophical basis can be the doctrine of the noosphere, to the development of which the Russian natural scientist Academician V.I. Vernadsky. This teaching is permeated with the idea of ​​humanism, aimed at transforming relations with the environment in the interests of a free-thinking humanity as a whole.

At the same time, the problem of restoring the long-lost healthy connection between man and nature and the correlation of legal norms by which a person lives or should live with natural imperatives arising from the laws of nature development needs to be solved. When educating, shaping an ecological worldview, these truths should be taken as a basis. Recognizing your life supreme value, man must learn to appreciate all life on Earth in order to resolutely rebuild the conditions for the joint existence of mankind and nature.

b) Development and consistent, most effective implementation of the state environmental policy. This task should be addressed as part of a permanent ecological function states (see section 2 of the textbook).

Essential elements environmental policy are the goals of restoring a favorable state of the environment, the strategy and tactics for achieving them. At the same time, the goals should be realistic, that is, based on real possibilities. Taking into account these goals, society and the state determine the strategy of environmental protection, that is, the set of actions necessary and sufficient to solve the set tasks, ways to achieve the goals set. One of these methods is the law, which regulates the use of various legal means - regulation, assessment of the impact of planned activities on the environment, examination, certification, licensing, planning, audit, monitoring, control, etc. It is necessary to create a situation where any economic , managerial and other environmental significant decision is prepared and accepted only on the basis of and in accordance with legal environmental requirements.

c) Formation of modern environmental legislation. Environmental legislation is both a product and the main form of securing state environmental policy. The main characteristics and criteria of "modern" environmental legislation include:

Creation of a system of special legislative acts in the field of the environment, acts of natural resources legislation and greening of other legislation (administrative, civil, business, criminal, economic, etc.). The main requirements are the absence of gaps in the legal regulation of environmental relations, its compliance with public needs;

Formation of mechanisms to ensure the implementation of legal environmental requirements;

Harmonization with the environmental legislation of Europe and the world.

d) Creation optimal system bodies of state management of nature management and environmental protection, taking into account the principles of:

An integrated approach to solving the problems of ensuring rational nature management and environmental protection;

Organization of management, taking into account not only the administrative-territorial, but also the natural-geographical zoning of the country;

Separation of economic and operational and control and supervisory powers of specially authorized bodies.

e) Ensuring optimal financing of measures to ensure rational nature management and environmental protection and high efficiency investment. The state must ensure the solution of this given dual task by:

Fixing in the legislation the requirement for the mandatory allocation in the budget of a minimum percentage of amounts for environmental purposes from the expenditure side of the budget;

Through the implementation of the state environmental control over the fulfillment by enterprises of legal environmental requirements, enshrining economic incentives in law, providing them with environmental financing within the limits of real possibilities;

Creation of a legal mechanism to ensure the maximum effect of investments in the field of nature management and environmental protection.

f) State as political organization society within the framework of the environmental function in order to achieve the goals of environmental policy is interested in involving the general population in environmental protection activities. One of the recent trends is related to the democratization of environmental law. This is manifested in the creation of organizational and legal conditions for the participation of interested public formations and citizens in the preparation and adoption of environmentally significant economic, managerial and other decisions.

A high degree of democratization in the field of legal protection of the environment, determined by the needs of the public concerned, is an important direction, prerequisite and reserve for increasing the efficiency of the state's environmental protection activities.

g) Environmental education and training of environmental specialists. "Only a revolution in the minds of people will bring the desired changes. If we want to save ourselves and the biosphere on which our existence depends, everyone ... - young and old - must become real, active and even aggressive fighters for the protection of the environment" * ( 9), concludes his book The Three Hundred Years' War, A Chronicle of an Ecological Disaster, by William O. Douglas, LL.D. Supreme Court USA.

The revolution in people's minds, which is so necessary to overcome the ecological crisis, will not happen by itself. It is possible with purposeful efforts within the framework of the state environmental policy and independent function state management in the field of the environment. These efforts should aim environmental education of all generations, especially young ones, fostering a sense of respect for nature. It is necessary to form ecological consciousness, individual and social, based on the idea of ​​a harmonious relationship between man and nature, man's dependence on nature and responsibility for its preservation for future generations.

Simultaneously, essential precondition solution of environmental problems in the country is the targeted training of ecologists - specialists in the field of economics, engineering, technology, law, sociology, biology, hydrology, etc. Without highly qualified specialists with modern knowledge on the whole spectrum of issues of interaction between society and nature, especially in the process of making environmentally significant economic, managerial and other decisions, the planet Earth may not have a worthy future.

Even having organizational, human, material and other resources to address environmental issues, will people have the will and wisdom to adequately use them?

2. Formation and development of environmental law. Problems of differentiation and integration in the development of environmental law.

Norms on the protection of nature can be found already in the first regulations Russian state. The question of the history of the development of normative regulation of the protection of property rights on Natural resources, nature protection and nature management in Russia, it is advisable to consider in relation to three periods: a) before 1917, b) c Soviet period and c) on present stage .

a) As in other ancient or medieval states, the protection of natural resources on initial stage and to a large extent subsequently carried out primarily through the protection of property rights, economic, military and tax interests of the state. Thus, in Russkaya Pravda (1016), the protection of communal property, the object of which, for example, was a forest, or the property of a prince, was envisaged. In Russian Truth, a fine was established for stealing firewood. It also provided for a fine for the destruction or damage to the board, that is, a hollow filled with honeycombs. Article 69 of the "Large Truth" for the theft of a beaver provided for a fine of 12 hryvnia, i.e. the same punishment as for the murder of a serf * (25). In accordance with the Council Code of 1649, catching fish in someone else's pond or cage, beavers and otters was also considered as theft of property.

A special attitude to the protection of forest resources was also manifested for military reasons. As early as the 14th century, the protected nature of defensive forest fences was established, which served as a means of protection against Tatar raids. ("Notch" - a barrier of cut down and piled trees). The legislation of that time strictly prohibited the felling of trees in the notch line. Such forests were guarded by special guards.

The Russian legislation of the Middle Ages provided for a fairly wide range of sanctions for violating the rules relating to natural objects: a fine, "beat with batogs mercilessly" (batog - a stick, rod, cane), "beat with a whip without any mercy", cutting off the left hand. When punishing, the fact of repetition of the violation was taken into account. Thus, in accordance with the Council Code of 1649, for fishing in a strange pond, a person caught red-handed was beaten with batogs for the first time, with a whip for the second time, and for the third time with an ear cut off. Widely used the death penalty(for chopping trees in the protected clear forest, catching small herring, etc.).

Since the 17th century, protection forest areas in Siberia was associated with the fur trade. So, in 1681, a royal decree was adopted (in Yakutia), which provided that “so that in the yasak places the forests should not be flogged and burned, and therefore the beast would not run away and ... there would be no harm and unkind yasak collection” (“yasak "- a tax in kind, which was levied in the old days on the peoples of the Volga region, Siberia and the Far East).

In the 17th century, Russia saw the need to regulate the extraction of wildlife as a measure to prevent their depletion. At the same time, both the methods of extraction and the size of the harvested species, such as fish, were regulated.

Since catching beavers and otters with traps threatened their complete extermination, on August 28, 1635, a royal letter "On the prohibition of trapping beavers and otters" * (26) was sent to Perm the Great.

In the 17th century, when sable hunting became predatory and when more than a third of the autumn number of sables were harvested, their natural growth ceased, entire regions were declared protected areas to regulate sable hunting in Siberia. In the royal decree adopted in 1676 on the procedure for catching fish in Lake Pleshcheyevo, it was prescribed to catch only large herring. For catching small herring "the headman and fishermen should be on death row."

In the 17th century, a restriction was introduced on the ownership of natural objects and the right to use them in the interests of the state, and later third parties * (27). So, Peter I forbade by his decrees to destroy forests along the rivers, convenient for timber rafting. Some especially valuable forests and trees were declared reserved, i.e. inviolable, forbidden * (28).

If the requirements for nature management and protection of wildlife objects were initially carried out within the framework of the institution of property rights, then the requirements for the protection of air, water and public places from pollution were developed in legislation, which later became known as sanitary. The need for such norms arose in Russia in the 17th century. So, according to the decree of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, adopted in 1640, for prevention in Moscow it was prescribed that "... dead horses and all cattle outside the Earthen City in bare places dig into the ground not finely, ... but in the streets and behind city, in the settlements of dead horses and all dead cattle and dead dogs and cats and ... nothing dead ... were thrown anywhere ... ". In accordance with the legal act "Institutions for the management of provinces" in 1775, the zemstvo police officer was obliged to ensure that everywhere on the ground and roads was clean. The charter of the deanery, or police officer, of 1782 assigned the duty of "supervision of cleaning, paving the streets" to a private bailiff. According to the Regulations on Penal and Correctional Punishments of 1845, "if someone builds a factory or factory recognized by law as harmful to the purity of air or water in a city or, although outside the city, but upstream of it along the course of a river or channel, then these establishments are destroyed at the expense of the guilty person, and he is subject to arrest for a period of seven days to three months or a monetary penalty not exceeding three hundred rubles "* (29). In 1833, the rules "On the placement and arrangement of private factories, manufacturing, factory and other establishments in St. Petersburg" were issued, which provided that "all harmful gases that can be separated during the production of work must be necessarily absorbed or burned" . In the same document, industrial enterprises were divided into three categories depending on the harmfulness of their impact on the atmospheric air, and enterprises of the third category should not be located in the city * (30).

At the beginning of the 20th century, the issue of creating a special body to monitor compliance with environmental regulations was discussed in Russia. Since the idea belonged to scientists, the creation of such an institution was supposed to be under the auspices of the Academy of Sciences or the Ministry of Education * (31).

Speaking at a conference on international protection nature (Bern, 1913), a delegate from Russia, Professor G.A. Kozhevnikov noted: "In Russia there is no special law for nature protection. The reason for this is that until recently Russia possessed and possesses such a number of wild animals that the very idea of ​​nature protection was alien to both the people and the government." But already in 1915 - 1916. under the guidance of Academician I.P. Borodin, a pioneer of serious scientific environmental activity in Russia, the first (unrealized) project was developed Russian law on the protection of nature * (32).

b) The main features of the development of legal regulation of nature management and nature protection in Russia during the Soviet period were manifested in the following.

Until the 1970s, the natural resource approach dominated the development of legislation in this area. This means that the regulation of nature management and nature protection was carried out in relation to individual natural resources. In the early 1920s, a number of laws and government decrees were adopted, including Land Code RSFSR (1922), forest code RSFSR (1923), Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On the bowels of the earth"(1920) Decree of the Central Executive Committee and SNK of the USSR "On the basics of the organization of fisheries USSR" (1924) Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On hunting" ( 1920), decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On the protection of natural monuments, gardens and parks"(1921), Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On the sanitary protection of dwellings" (1919) and etc.

As for the ownership of natural resources, these resources were the exclusive property of the state. The Decree "On Land", adopted by the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets on October 26 (November 8), 1917, carried out the complete nationalization of the land, along with other natural resources. Private ownership of land and other natural resources was abolished, they were withdrawn from civil circulation.

The problem of protecting nature from pollution was assessed during this period mainly as sanitary, not ecological. This meant that when regulating the protection of atmospheric air and water, the interests of protecting human health were taken into account, rather than all living organisms suffering from pollution. Accordingly, relations for the protection of water and atmospheric air were regulated to a certain extent by sanitary legislation. Only in the 1970s with regard to waters and in the 1980s with respect to atmospheric air, the problems of protecting the environment from pollution began to be assessed and regulated as ecological ones.

The array of codification natural resource legislation was formed mainly in the period from 1970 to 1982. It included acts such as Land Code RSFSR (1970), water code RSFSR (1972), Subsoil Code of the RSFSR(1976) Forest Code of the RSFSR(1978) Law of the RSFSR on the protection of atmospheric air(1982) Law of the RSFSR on the protection and use of wildlife(1982). These laws were adopted in accordance with the Fundamentals of land, water, forestry and mining legislation of the USSR and union republics, Laws of the USSR on the protection of atmospheric air and on the protection and use of wildlife. With the adoption in 1968 of the Fundamentals of Land Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics, other industries - water, forestry, mining - began to develop as independent industries law and legislation and received scientific and official recognition as such. During this period and still has not received the required development of the right to regulate the use and protection flora outside the forests.

The main attention in the natural resource legislation was paid to the regulation of the use of land, water, forests, and other natural resources. With the exception of the Law on the Protection of Atmospheric Air, relations for the protection of the relevant natural object from pollution and other harmful effects were regulated in them fragmentarily, in a general form. This is partly due to the fact that in the late 60s and early 70s, during their development and adoption, the problem of protecting the environment from pollution was not acute in Russia today, was not sufficiently recognized by the highest bodies of the state, including the Supreme Council RSFSR, and besides, it did not have sufficient scientific development.

True, in the early 1960s, due to the increased involvement of the country's rich natural resources in the economic circulation, during the period of the extensive construction of communism, the need to establish a system of measures aimed at protecting, using and reproducing natural resources was realized at the national level. On October 27, 1960, the Law of the RSFSR " On the protection of nature in the RSFSR"* (33). It contained articles on the protection of lands, subsoil, waters, forests and other vegetation, wildlife. But this law did not play a noticeable role in regulating nature management and nature protection. It did not offer effective environmental measures and a mechanism for ensuring their implementation .

Basically, with the adoption in 1980 of the Law of the USSR "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air", relations on the protection of the environment from physical and biological influences were included in the scope of legal regulation.

The system of sources of environmental law during this period was dominated not by laws, but by-laws in the form of decrees of the Government of the USSR and the RSFSR, departmental rules and instructions. At that time, not laws, but government regulations determined some integrated approaches to the regulation of nature management and environmental protection as a single object.

At the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in September 1972, concern for the protection of nature and the best use of natural resources was recognized as one of the most important state tasks. At the same time, activities for further strengthening protection of nature and improvement of the use of natural resources was instructed to develop the Government of the USSR. Subsequently, these measures were enshrined not in laws, but in a joint resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR of December 29, 1972 "On strengthening the protection of nature and improving the use of natural resources" * (34). Along with the development requirements environmental regulation, environmental monitoring, and other measures, this resolution provided for the need for mandatory planning of measures for nature protection and nature management in the system of state plans for social and economic development. The nature protection plan, approved by the relevant representative body, became legally binding.

Later, on December 1, 1978, another joint resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR was adopted - "On additional measures to strengthen nature protection and improve the use of natural resources" * (35). Taking into account the role assigned to planning as one of the main instruments of regulation community development, in order to improve it, the resolution provided for a new form of pre-planning document - territorial integrated schemes for nature protection.

Efforts to ensure rational use of natural resources and nature protection, undertaken on the basis of natural resources legislation and the above-mentioned government decrees, however, did not give visible and tangible results. In the late 1980s, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Government of the USSR realized that the main reasons sharp deterioration the state of the environment in the country were: weak legal regulation of nature management and environmental protection, imperfect organization of state administration in this area, the "residual" principle of financing environmental activities, the lack of economic incentives for enterprises to rational use natural resources and protection of nature from pollution. On January 7, 1988, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution "On the radical restructuring of nature conservation in the country" * (36).

This decree gave a number of significant directives. The main ones are: 1) consolidation of state management of nature management and environmental protection through the formation of the USSR State Committee for Nature Protection (based on subdivisions of natural resource ministries and departments that duplicated each other); 2) improvement of the economic mechanism that provides effective use and security natural resources(primarily by regulating fees for natural resources and environmental pollution); 3) a decision to prepare a draft Law of the USSR on Nature Protection.

These directives had to be carried out already in the new political and socio-economic conditions and in fact in the new state.

With the exception of the Law "On Nature Protection in the RSFSR", legal regulation of nature (environment) as an integrated object was carried out mainly in joint resolutions of the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

Main common disadvantage Russian legislation in the socialist period, in addition to significant gaps, there was a lack of a "working" mechanism for ensuring the implementation of norms. Low effectiveness of legislation, depletion of natural resources and constant deterioration quality state environment - these and other factors required new approaches to the legal regulation of nature management and environmental protection.

c) New approaches to the development of environmental law are being implemented at the present stage of development of Russian society. The transition to market relations in the economy, the rejection of ideological dogmas in law, the desire of Russian society to create in the future a legal and welfare state, to the establishment of legal norms for nature management and environmental protection mainly in laws, and not in by-laws - these are the phenomena in environmental law that mark the beginning of a new stage in its development.

At the present stage, environmental law is developing taking into account the following critical factors: the crisis state of the environment in the country and public needs to restore a favorable environment; defects in the existing environmental legislation, which is characterized by gaps and fragmentation in the legal regulation of environmental relations; prospects for the creation of a legal and social state; ongoing transformation of public economic relations; introduction of a number of forms of ownership of natural resources; trends in the development of relations between society and nature and environmental law in the world. The most important principle formation of environmental legislation at the present stage is its harmonization with the advanced world legislation.

Continuous technological progress, the continuing enslavement of nature by man, industrialization, which has changed the surface of the Earth beyond recognition, have become the causes of the global ecological crisis. Currently, the population of the planet is particularly acute environmental problems such as atmospheric pollution, ozone depletion, acid rain, greenhouse effect, soil pollution, pollution of the world's oceans and overpopulation.

Global Environmental Issue #1: Air Pollution

Every day, the average person inhales about 20,000 liters of air, which contains, in addition to vital oxygen, a whole list of harmful suspended particles and gases. Air pollutants are conditionally divided into 2 types: natural and anthropogenic. The latter prevail.

Things are not going well with the chemical industry in the best way. Factories emit such harmful substances as dust, oil ash, various chemical compounds, nitrogen oxides and much more. Air measurements showed the catastrophic state of the atmospheric layer, polluted air becomes the cause of many chronic diseases.

Atmospheric pollution is an environmental problem that is familiar to residents of absolutely all corners of the earth. It is especially acutely felt by representatives of cities where ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, energy, chemical, petrochemical, construction and pulp and paper industries operate. In some cities, the atmosphere is also heavily poisoned by vehicles and boilers. All these are examples anthropogenic pollution air.

What about natural sources? chemical elements polluting the atmosphere, then these include forest fires, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion (dispersion of soil and particles rocks), the spread of pollen, evaporation of organic compounds and natural radiation.

Consequences of atmospheric pollution

Atmospheric air pollution adversely affects human health, contributing to the development of heart and lung diseases (in particular, bronchitis). In addition, atmospheric pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide destroy natural ecosystems, destroying plants and causing the death of living creatures (particularly river fish).

The global environmental problem of atmospheric pollution, according to scientists and government officials, can be solved in the following ways:

• limiting population growth;
• reduction in energy use;
• improving energy efficiency;
• waste reduction;
• transition to environmentally friendly renewable energy sources;
• air purification in highly polluted areas.

Global Environmental Issue #2: Ozone Depletion

The ozone layer is a thin strip of the stratosphere that protects all life on Earth from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Causes of the environmental problem

Back in the 1970s. environmentalists have found that ozone layer decomposes under the influence of chlorofluorocarbons. These chemical substances found in coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners, as well as solvents, aerosols/sprays and fire extinguishers. To a lesser extent, other anthropogenic influences also contribute to the thinning of the ozone layer: the launch of space rockets, the flights of jet aircraft in high layers of the atmosphere, nuclear weapons testing, and the reduction of the planet's forest lands. There is also a theory that global warming contributes to the thinning of the ozone layer.

Consequences of ozone depletion

As a result of the destruction of the ozone layer ultraviolet radiation passes freely through the atmosphere and reaches the earth's surface. Exposure to direct UV rays adversely affects human health by weakening immune system and causing diseases such as skin cancer and cataracts.

World Environmental Issue #3: Global Warming

Like the glass walls of a greenhouse, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor allow the sun to heat our planet and at the same time prevent the reflection from the earth's surface from escaping into space. infrared radiation. All these gases are responsible for maintaining the temperature acceptable for life on earth. However, increasing the concentration carbon dioxide, methane, nitric oxide and water vapor in the atmosphere is another global environmental problem called global warming (or the greenhouse effect).

Causes of global warming

During the 20th century, the average temperature on earth increased by 0.5 - 1?C. The main cause of global warming is considered to be an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to an increase in the volume of fossil fuels burned by people (coal, oil and their derivatives). However, according to the statement Alexey Kokorin, head of climate programs WWF(WWF) Russia, « the largest number greenhouse gases are generated from power plants and methane emissions from the extraction and delivery of energy resources, while road transport or flaring of associated petroleum gas cause relatively little harm to the environment”.

Other prerequisites for global warming are overpopulation of the planet, deforestation, ozone depletion and littering. However, not all ecologists place the responsibility for the increase in average annual temperatures entirely on anthropogenic activities. Some believe that the natural increase in the abundance of oceanic plankton also contributes to global warming, leading to an increase in the concentration of the same carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Effects greenhouse effect

If the temperature during the 21st century increases by another 1 ? C - 3.5 ? C, as scientists predict, the consequences will be very sad:

• the level of the world ocean will rise (due to the melting of polar ice), the number of droughts will increase and the process of land desertification will intensify,
• many species of plants and animals adapted to existence in a narrow range of temperatures and humidity will disappear,
• hurricanes will increase.

Solving an environmental problem

To slow down the process of global warming, according to environmentalists, the following measures will help:

• rising prices for fossil fuels,
• replacement of fossil fuels with environmentally friendly ( solar energy, wind energy and sea currents),
• development of energy-saving and waste-free technologies,
• taxation of emissions into the environment,
• minimization of methane losses during its production, transportation through pipelines, distribution in cities and villages and use at heat supply stations and power plants,
• introduction of carbon dioxide absorption and binding technologies,
• tree planting,
• reduction in family size
• environmental education,
• application of phytomelioration in agriculture.

Global Environmental Issue #4: Acid Rain

Acid rain containing fuel combustion products also pose a threat to the environment, human health, and even to the integrity of architectural monuments.

Effects acid rain

Contained in polluted precipitation and fog solutions of sulfuric and nitric acid, aluminum and cobalt compounds pollute the soil and water bodies, have a detrimental effect on vegetation, causing dry tops of deciduous trees and oppressing conifers. Due to acid rain, crop yields are falling, people are drinking water enriched with toxic metals (mercury, cadmium, lead), marble architectural monuments are turning into gypsum and eroding.

Solving an environmental problem

In order to save nature and architecture from acid rain, it is necessary to minimize the emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.

Global Environmental Issue #5: Soil Pollution

Every year people pollute the environment with 85 billion tons of waste. Among them are solid and liquid waste from industrial enterprises and transport, agricultural waste (including pesticides), household waste and atmospheric fallout of harmful substances.

The main role in soil pollution is played by such components of industrial waste as heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, thallium, bismuth, tin, vanadium, antimony), pesticides and petroleum products. From the soil, they penetrate into plants and water, even spring water. In a chain, toxic metals enter the human body and are not always quickly and completely removed from it. Some of them tend to accumulate over many years, provoking the development of serious diseases.

Global Environmental Issue #6: Water Pollution

Pollution of the oceans, underground and surface waters of land is a global environmental problem, the responsibility for which lies entirely with man.

Causes of the environmental problem

The main pollutants of the hydrosphere today are oil and oil products. These substances penetrate into the waters of the oceans as a result of the collapse of tankers and regular discharges of wastewater from industrial enterprises.

In addition to anthropogenic oil products, industrial and domestic facilities pollute the hydrosphere heavy metals and complex organic compounds. Agriculture and the food industry are recognized as leaders in poisoning the waters of the oceans with minerals and biogenic elements.

The hydrosphere does not bypass such a global environmental problem as radioactive contamination. The prerequisite for its formation was the disposal of radioactive waste in the waters of the oceans. Many powers with a developed nuclear industry and nuclear fleet, from the 49th to the 70th years of the 20th century, harmful radioactive substances were purposefully stored in the seas and oceans. In the places of burial of radioactive containers, the level of cesium often goes off scale even today. But "underwater ranges" are not the only radioactive source pollution of the hydrosphere. The waters of the seas and oceans are enriched with radiation as a result of underwater and surface nuclear explosions.

Consequences of radioactive contamination of water

Oil pollution of the hydrosphere leads to the destruction of the natural habitat of hundreds of representatives of oceanic flora and fauna, the death of plankton, seabirds and mammals. For human health, the poisoning of the waters of the oceans also poses a serious danger: fish and other seafood “infected” with radiation can easily get on the table.

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Jan 31.05.2018 10:56
To avoid all this, it is necessary to solve everything not for the state budget, but for free!
And besides, you need to add environmental protection laws to your constitution of your country.
namely strict laws which should make at least 3% of environmental pollution not
only of their homeland but also of all countries of the world!

24werwe 21.09.2017 14:50
The cause of air pollution soil water crypto-Jews. There are degenerates with signs of Jews on the streets. Greenpeace and environmentalists vile kriptoreyskie TV-ri. They are engaged in eternal criticism according to the Catechism of the Jew in the USSR (according to the Talmud). Promote dosed poisoning. They do not name the reason - the deliberate destruction of all living things by the Jews hiding under the labels of "peoples". There is only one way out: the destruction of the Jews with their agriculture and the cessation of production.