North America - environmental problems. Environmental problems of the North American continent

In South America, there are many environmental problems caused by technological progress and economic development. Forests are being destroyed and water bodies are being polluted, biodiversity is being reduced and soil is being depleted, the atmosphere is being polluted and wildlife areas are shrinking. All this can lead to an ecological catastrophe in the future.
In the cities of South American countries, environmental problems of the following nature have formed:

• the problem of unsanitary conditions;
• water pollution;
• the problem of garbage and municipal solid waste disposal;
• air pollution;
• the problem of energy resources, etc.

Deforestation problem

A significant part of the mainland is covered with tropical forests, which are the lungs of the planet. Trees are constantly cut down, not only to sell timber, but also to create farmland and pastures. All this leads to a change in the forest ecosystem, the destruction of some species of flora and the migration of fauna. To save the forest, many countries regulate logging activities at the legislative level. There are entire zones where it is prohibited, forests are being restored and new trees are being planted.

Problems of the hydrosphere

There are many problems in the coastal areas of the seas and oceans:

• overfishing;
• water pollution with garbage, oil products and chemicals;
• housing and communal and industrial effluents.

All these wastes negatively affect the state of water bodies, flora and fauna.

In addition, many rivers flow through the mainland, including largest river the world is the Amazon. Rivers South America also suffer from human activities. In the waters, many species of fish and animals are disappearing. The life of local tribes, who have lived on the banks of rivers for millennia, has also become very complicated, they are forced to look for new habitats. Dams and various structures led to changes in river regimes and water pollution.

Biosphere pollution

Air pollution is caused by greenhouse gases that emit vehicles and industrial enterprises:

• mines and deposits;
• enterprises of the chemical industry;
• oil refineries;
• energy facilities;
• metallurgical plants.

Soil pollution contributes to agriculture, which uses pesticides, chemical and mineral fertilizers. The soil is also depleted, which leads to soil degradation. Land resources are being destroyed.

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Changing the nature of the mainland under the influence of human activities. Human impact on nature in South America began when indigenous people, engaged in agriculture, burned out areas of forests for this, drained swamps. However, these changes were not so great in comparison with those that arose with the arrival of Europeans on the mainland. From the 16th century began the exploitation of natural resources. Plowing of land, deforestation, pastoralism, the emergence of new plants imported from other continents have led to the weakening or complete destruction of the links between the components of nature, to major changes in natural complexes. For example, a significant part of the pampas is plowed up or used for grazing. The pastures are overgrown with weeds.

Pampa has lost its original appearance. It has been turned into endless fields of wheat and corn, cattle grazing. The most valuable forests of araucaria are almost destroyed - coniferous trees growing in the east of the Brazilian plateau. Plantations have long existed in place of tropical forests and savannahs. coffee tree brought here from Africa, and cocoa plantations, wild species of which grow in the forests of the Amazon.

The Amazon forests are being destroyed very quickly. The construction of the Trans-Amazon Highway (5000 km) opened the way to the selva. At the current rate of use, according to scientists, these forests may disappear by the beginning of the 21st century. But the forests of the Amazon give the atmosphere a lot of oxygen, have huge amount plant and animal species.

The problem of nature conservation in South America arose in the early twentieth century. But it was only very recently that they began to implement it: a program was outlined, lists of animals and plants were compiled, for the conservation of which it was necessary to take urgent measures.

About a hundred species of mammals and birds are now included in the Red Book. The area of ​​protected areas on the entire continent is only about 1%.

Many countries in South America create nature reserves and National parks which also serve as centers of tourism.

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Population North America(together with the West Indies) unites several groups, different in origin, anthropological features and numbers: the indigenous population - Indians and Eskimos; descendants of European conquerors; later Asians and Negroes.

The question of the origin of the native inhabitants of America - the Indians - has long caused controversy and disagreement among scientists. For the first time they were called Indians by the Spanish conquerors, who mistakenly believed that the lands newly discovered by Columbus were India.

In America, no bone remains of human ancestors of the archanthropus type have yet been found anywhere. Not only hominids, but also all narrow-nosed monkeys are absent from the modern and fossil American fauna. In America, at the beginning of the Paleogene, a special branch of primates stood out - broad-nosed monkeys, which are very distantly related to humans and can in no way be considered his ancestors. Consequently, man could not appear in America through evolution, he got there from outside.

How and when did the human settlement of America occur? Was this path common to both continents of the Western Hemisphere, or were they settled independently of each other? Various points of view have been expressed on this matter, but at present the most common opinion is that America was inhabited by modern humans about 40-25 thousand years ago, in the second half of the last glacial period, i.e., in the Upper Paleolithic. The most reliable finds of fossil remains of American man, found in Mexico and Texas, date back to approximately 10-8 millennium BC. All of them, like those found in South America, are the remains of a modern human.

To begin with, consider negative examples: Deforestation associated with the construction of highways, etc.
Soil pollution occurs due to the use of fertilizers and chemicals.
Reducing the number of populations due to the expansion of areas for fields with the help of deforestation (animals, losing their normal habitat, die).
The destruction of plants and animals due to the difficulties of their adaptation to a new life, greatly changed by man, or simply their extermination by people.
Pollution of the atmosphere and water by various industrial wastes and by people themselves.

The positive lies in the activities carried out by people to improve the environment environment.On the territories of South America, protected areas, reserves and parks are organized - places where everything is preserved in its original form. This is the most reasonable influence of man on nature, positive. In such protected areas, people contribute to the conservation of flora and fauna. Thanks to their creation, many species of animals and plants have survived on Earth. Rare and already endangered species are necessarily listed in the Red Book created by man, according to which fishing and collection are prohibited. People also create artificial water channels and irrigation systems, which help maintain and increase soil fertility. On a large scale, activities are also carried out for planting diverse vegetation.

South America is mastered by man unevenly. Densely populated only marginal areas of the mainland, mainly the coast Atlantic Ocean and some parts of the Andes. At the same time, inland areas, such as the wooded Amazonian lowland, remained virtually undeveloped until recently. The question of the origin of the indigenous population of South America - the Indians - has long been a matter of controversy. The most common point of view about the settlement of South America by the Mongoloids from Asia through North America about 17-19 thousand years ago. But, based on some anthropological commonality of the Indian peoples of South America with the peoples of Oceania and the presence of the same tools for them, some scientists expressed the idea of ​​settling South America from the side of the islands. Pacific Ocean. However, this view is shared by few. Most scientists are inclined to explain the presence of Oceanian features among the inhabitants of South America by the fact that representatives of the Oceanian race could also penetrate through the northeast of Asia and North America with the Mongoloids. At present, the number of Indians in South America is much larger than in North America, although during the period of colonization of the mainland by Europeans, it has greatly decreased.

In some countries, Indians still make up a significant percentage of the population. In Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, they are about half of the total, and in some areas they even significantly predominate. Most of The population of Paraguay is of Indian origin, many Indians live in Colombia. In Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, the Indians were almost completely exterminated during the first period of colonization, and now there are very few of them. Brazil's population is also steadily declining. In the Andes and on the Pacific coast, strong Indian states developed, characterized by a high level of development of agriculture and cattle breeding, crafts, applied arts and the beginnings of scientific knowledge. The agricultural peoples of South America gave such cultivated plants like potatoes, cassava, peanuts, pumpkin. In the process of European colonization and a fierce struggle against the colonialists, some Indian peoples completely disappeared from the face of the Earth, others were pushed back from their ancestral territories to uninhabited and uncomfortable lands. Separate Indian peoples continue to live in areas of their former habitat.

Until now, there are tribes living in isolation, retaining the level of development and way of life at which they were caught by the invasion of Europeans. Tribal remnants still exist in the interior of Brazil language family"same". By the time the Europeans arrived on the mainland, they inhabited the eastern and southern parts of Brazil, but were pushed back by the colonialists into forests and swamps. This people is still at the level of development corresponding to the primitive communal system, and is distinguished by a wandering way of life. At a very low stage of development were the inhabitants of the extreme south of South America (Tierra del Fuego) by the arrival of Europeans. They protected themselves from the cold with animal skins, made weapons from bone and stone, and obtained food by hunting gunakos and sea fishing. The fire-earthers were subjected to the most severe physical extermination in the 19th century; now there are very few of them. Before the arrival of Europeans, the main occupation of the tribes living in the Argentine Pampas and Patagonia was hunting. The Spaniards brought horses to the mainland, which later became feral. The Indians learned how to tame horses and began to use them to hunt gunakos.

The rapid development of capitalism in Europe was accompanied by the ruthless extermination of the population of the colonial lands. In Argentina, in particular, the Spaniards pushed the local residents to the extreme south of Patagonia, to lands unsuitable for grain farming. At present, the indigenous population is almost completely absent in Pampas. Only small groups of Indians have survived, working as farmhands in large agricultural holdings. The highest socio-economic and cultural development by the arrival of Europeans was achieved by the tribes that inhabited the elevated plateaus of the Andes within Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, where one of the oldest centers of irrigated agriculture is located.

The most numerous modern Indian people - Quechua - inhabits the mountainous regions of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina. On the shores of Lake Titicaca live the Aymara, one of the highest mountain peoples in the world. A significant part of the population, especially in the Atlantic regions (in Brazil, Guiana, Suriname, Guyana), are Negroes - the descendants of slaves imported into South America at the beginning of colonization, when a large and cheap labor force was needed, used on plantations. The Negroes partly mixed into the white and Indian population. As a result, mixed types were created: in the first case - mulattos, in the second - sambo. Fleeing from exploitation, Negroes - slaves fled from their masters to the rainforests. Their descendants, some of whom mixed with the Indians, in some areas still lead a primitive forest lifestyle. Until the independence of the South American republics, that is, until the first half of the 19th century, immigration to South America from other countries was prohibited. But subsequently the governments of the newly formed republics, interested in economic development their states, the development of vacant lands, opened access to immigrants from different countries Europe and Asia. Especially many citizens arrived from Italy, Germany, Balkan countries, partly from Russia, China and Japan. Settlers of a later period usually keep apart, preserving their language, customs, culture and religion. In some republics (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay) they form significant population groups.

Human impact on the South American environment

Features of the history of South America and, as a consequence, the great unevenness in the distribution of the modern population and its relatively low average density have led to a significant preservation natural conditions compared to other continents. Large expanses of the Amazonian lowland, the central part of the Guiana Highlands (the Roraima massif), the southwestern part of the Andes and the Pacific coast remained undeveloped for a long time. Separate wandering tribes in the Amazonian forests, with almost no contact with the rest of the population, did not so much influence nature as they themselves depended on it. However, there are fewer and fewer such areas. Mining, laying communications, in particular the construction of the Trans-Amazonian highway, the development of new lands leave everything in South America less spaces unaffected by human activity. The extraction of oil in the very thick of the Amazonian rainforests or iron and other ores within the Guiana and Brazilian highlands required the construction of transport routes in recently still remote and inaccessible areas.

This, in turn, led to population growth, the destruction of forests, and the expansion of arable and pasture land. As a result, on nature using latest technology the ecological balance is often disturbed, easily vulnerable natural complexes are destroyed (Appendix 2). Development and significant transformations began primarily from the La Plata plain, the coastal parts of the Brazilian Highlands, extreme north mainland. The areas developed even before the start of European colonization are located in the depths of the Andes of Bolivia, Peru and other countries. On the territory of the most ancient Indian civilizations, centuries-old human activity has left its mark on the desert plateaus and mountain slopes at an altitude of 3-4.5 thousand meters above sea level. Now the population of South America is almost 320 million people, and 78% are urban. Growth major cities becomes the cause of serious environmental problems characteristic of urban areas around the world. This is a defect and poor quality. drinking water, air pollution, accumulation of solid waste, etc.

An environmental problem is a deterioration associated with negative impact nature, and in our time, the human factor also plays an important role. The destruction of the ozone layer, environmental pollution or its destruction - all this, one way or another, entails adverse consequences now or in the near future.

North America, which is quite significant, but is extremely acute, is one of the most progressive regions of the world. For the sake of prosperity, the United States and Canada have to sacrifice their nature. So what are the difficulties in providing environmental safety are facing the inhabitants of the North American continent, and what do they threaten in the future?

Technological progress

First of all, it should be noted that over time, the living conditions of the population of cities are deteriorating, especially in industrial centers. The reason for this is active exploitation natural resources- soil, surface water, and the environment, the destruction of vegetation. However, the most important links natural environment- soil, hydrosphere and atmosphere are interconnected, and human impact on each of them affects the others, so destructive processes become global.

While North America is developing, the continent's environmental problems are becoming more acute. Even with progress, the destruction and displacement of the natural landscape occurs, followed by its replacement with an artificial environment, which can be harmful and even unsuitable for human life. Already in the second half of the 20th century, the mass of waste on the North American continent amounted to 5-6 billion tons per year, of which at least 20% were chemically active.

Traffic fumes

The problem of exhaust gases is relevant throughout the world today, but on the West Coast of the United States in California, the situation is especially difficult. In these places, steam flows along the mainland, as a result of which steam condenses over coastal waters, in which large volumes of vehicle exhaust gases are concentrated. In addition, during the summer half of the year, there is anticyclone weather here, which contributes to an increase in the inflow of solar radiation resulting in complex chemical transformations in the atmosphere. The consequence of this is a dense fog, in which a mass of toxic substances is concentrated.

Experts studying the environmental problems of the North American continent call the excessive emission of exhaust gases a serious challenge to society, because they not only adversely affect nature, but are also the cause of many human diseases.

Depletion of water resources

What other environmental problems exist in North America? On the mainland today things are very bad with water resources- they are simply depleted. On the continent, the level of water consumption is constantly growing, and today it already exceeds the permissible. Back in the last century, the American specialist A. Walman published the results of studies, according to which more than half of the population of the United States consumes water that has been used at least once and passed through the sewer.

Under such circumstances, it is difficult to carry out two very important conditions: along with the restoration of water quality, it is necessary to constantly ensure the presence of its natural volume in rivers and other reservoirs. In 2015, water levels in the country's largest reservoir plummeted, with scientists warning that this could be the start of a longer drought.

Water pollution

Environmental problems are not limited to depletion alone List negative factors in this area is quite long, but mainly it is the pollution of water bodies. They throw out waste, which contains everything, and shipping also causes significant damage.

Also today, quite a lot of harm is caused. Approximately one third of the water withdrawn annually from rivers falls on nuclear and thermal power plants, in which it is heated and returned to the reservoir. The temperature of such water is 10-12% higher, and the oxygen content is noticeably lower, which plays a significant role and often causes the death of many living organisms.

Already in the second half of the 20th century, 10-17 million fish perished in the United States every year from water pollution, and the Mississippi, which is the largest river in North America, is now one of the ten most polluted in the world.

Rest of nature

The unique landscape and very rich flora and fauna animal world has North America located in almost all latitudes of the hemisphere. Ecological problems reached the virgin nature of the mainland. On its territory there are several dozens of national parks, which in today's conditions have become almost the only corners in which many millions of city residents can take a break from the noise and dirt of megacities. The influx of visitors and tourists, increasing at an incredible rate, affects them because of which today some unique species of animals and plants are on the verge of extinction.

It is a sad fact that not only people are a source of pollution - they are washed out by rainwater and blown out by the wind, and then various toxic substances contained in rock dumps move into the rivers. Such dumps can often stretch along the riverbed for long distances, constantly polluting the reservoir.

Even in the north of Canada, where natural resources are not being developed as intensively, today one can notice significant changes in nature. Ecological problems of the taiga in North America are being studied by employees of Wood Buffalo, one of the largest national parks in the world.

Exploitation of natural resources

As already mentioned, the environmental problems of the continent are largely related to the high technological level of development of the United States and Canada. The natural resources of North America are diverse and numerous: the bowels of the mainland are rich in oil, natural gas, the most important minerals. Huge stocks of timber in the north and favorable for Agriculture the lands of the south have been overused for many years, as a result of many environmental problems.

Shale gas

There has been a lot of buzz lately around shale gas, which is increasingly being produced by North America. The environmental issues that may arise with the use of certain technologies appear to be of little concern to companies involved in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons from shale formations. Unfortunately, political intrigues play a role in promoting this type of extraction of energy resources, and possible consequences for ecology are sometimes not taken into account at all. Thus, the US government has set a course to acquire independence from energy supplies from foreign markets, and if yesterday the country purchased gas from neighboring Canada, today it is already positioning itself as a hydrocarbon exporting state. And all this is done at the expense of the environment.

Conclusions for the future

In this short article, the environmental problems of North America were briefly considered. Of course, we did not consider all the information, but, based on the available material, we can conclude that in the pursuit of profit and in the pursuit of material wealth, people have methodically caused and continue to cause serious damage to the environment, while rarely thinking about the consequences of their actions.

Trying to achieve the maximum effect in the exploitation of natural resources, we paid little attention to preventive measures, and now we have what we have. A good example of this is the North American continent, perhaps the most highly developed region of the world, whose environmental problems are also very significant.