Interesting facts about ecology.
Throughout 2014, we looked through various media and selected interesting environmental facts. At the end of the outgoing year, we bring to your attention these entertaining facts.
- The energy spent on two attempts to search for information on Google is enough to boil water in a kettle.
- Currently, a single harmless Google search costs our planet 0.2 grams of carbon dioxide ending up in the atmosphere. How is that not enough for you? And if you consider that the services of the Google search engine are used by more than half a billion people every month?
- 12% of the entire surface of the Earth has the status of a reserve.
The largest reserve is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory "GREAT ARCTIC RESERVE" with an area of 41692.22 hectares of land founded on 05/11/1993
Sverdlovsk region "Visilisky reserve" 335 hectares of land, founded on 06/06/1971.
- For each new car, 0.07 hectares of land should be allocated for the construction of roads and parking lots.
- Over the past 30 years, fish consumption in China has increased six times.
- 63% of all agricultural land on the planet is subject to erosion.
- Every year the total area of deserts expands by 27 million hectares. Because of this, humanity is losing 25 billion tons of fertile soil every year. The area of land that becomes unsuitable for agricultural production every year is equal to all of Australia's wheat fields combined.
- Approximately 28 percent of all human-related methane emissions are emitted by methane-producing bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock.
- In 1800, only 3% of the world's population lived in cities. In 2008, the number of urban residents amounted to 50% of all mankind. In 2030, 60% of all people on Earth will live in cities.
- The current population of the Earth is 6.8 billion people. Every day the number of earthlings increases by 218,030 people. According to scientists, by 2040, 9 billion people will already live on Earth. The most populous countries are China (1.33 billion people), India (1.16 billion people), USA (306 million people), Indonesia (230 million people), Brazil (191 million people).
- Only 10% of the Earth's surface is more than 48 hours away from the nearest major city. The most remote corner of the Earth is Tibet.
- 33 billion kWh of electricity is spent annually on sending spam, which is accompanied by the release of about 17 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (like three million cars). This amount of electricity used is enough to power 2.4 million homes.
- On average, 9% of all fresh water is removed by humanity from the environment. This figure varies in different parts of our planet. So in North America, 8.4% of all fresh water is withdrawn from water bodies, in Asia - 18.5%, Europe - 6.4%, Latin America - 2%, Africa - 5.6%.
- 1,664 cubic meters of fresh water per year is consumed by the average resident of North America. Asia ranks second in terms of water consumption, here the average resident consumes 644 cubic meters of fresh water per year. The average global water consumption is 626 cubic meters of fresh water per person per year.
- 1000 liters of water is required to grow a kilogram of wheat.
- 15,000 liters of water is required to get one kilogram of beef. The average resident of the US and Europe consumes 5,000 liters of water per day by eating meat. While for drinking and hygienic needs it consumes "only" 100 - 250 liters of water per day.
- 2400 liters of water goes into the production of a single hamburger. The main items of water consumption in the preparation of a hamburger are the cultivation of wheat and cattle.
- 70-80% of all fresh water consumed by people is used in agriculture. The extremely inefficient use of water in the agricultural industry is inherent in all countries of the world. 30% of water used in agriculture can be saved by improving irrigation systems alone.
Energy consumption of the global Internet is growing by 10% per year.
- According to the famous Harvard biologist Wilson, about 30,000 species of living organisms disappear from the face of the Earth every year. By the end of this century, the Earth will have lost about half of its current biodiversity.
- Every year on Earth 10 million children die, 200 million children under 5 years of age are stunted, 800 million people go to bed hungry every night, 1.5 billion people do not have constant access to clean drinking water.
- The human race is only 200,000 years old, but during this time we have managed to change the face of the planet. Despite our vulnerability, we have penetrated into all areas of living organisms and captured vast territories.
- On the planet, every fourth of us leads a lifestyle characteristic of the human race 6 thousand years ago, and there are 1.5 billion such people, more than the entire population of rich countries combined.
- Over the past 60 years, the population of the Earth has increased by almost 3 times and more than 2 billion people have moved to cities. Every week, more than a million people add to the population of cities around the world.
- Every sixth person in the world lives in dangerous and unhealthy conditions.
- To grow 1 kilogram of potatoes, you need to spend 100 liters of water, 1 kilogram of rice - 4,000 liters of water, 1 kilogram of beef - 13,000 liters of water.
- Modern agriculture produces twice as much food as people need. More than 50% of grain sold worldwide is fed to livestock or used to produce biofuels.
BIOFUEL fuel from vegetable or animal raw materials, from the products of the life activity of organisms or organic industrial waste
- 80% of all extracted natural resources are consumed by 20% of the world's population, the powerful of this world. Moreover, most of the resources are extracted in developing countries, however, exactly half of the world's poor live in resource-rich countries of the world.
- Even before the end of this century, irrational development of deposits will lead to the fact that almost all the mineral reserves of the planet will be depleted.
- Since 1950, the volume of international trade has increased 20 times. 90% of trade turnover is carried out by sea. About 500 million containers are transported by sea every year.
- The world spends 12 times more money on armaments than on aid to developing countries.
Our way of development did not ensure the achievement of our goals. In 50 years, the gap between rich and poor has widened more than ever. Today, half of the world's wealth is in the hands of the 2% of the population. Hunger affects 1 billion people in the world.
- Since the middle of the last century, fishing catches have increased fivefold from 18 to 100 million metric tons of fish per year. Thousands of fishing trawlers devastate the oceans. 3/4 (75%) of fish resources are depleted or endangered. Most of the large fish disappeared forever, since regular catches did not leave them a chance to leave offspring. With the current rate of change in living conditions, all fish populations are under threat of extinction. However, fish is still included in the main diet of every fifth person on the planet.
- 500 million people live in deserts, more than the entire population of European countries combined. 5,000 people die every day due to drinking contaminated drinking water. 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.
- Due to diversion of river water to irrigate fields across the planet, one in ten major rivers no longer flows into the sea for a few months of the year.
- The water level in the Dead Sea, devoid of the flow of the Jordan River, which is taken to irrigate the fields, annually drops by 1 meter.
- Until 2025, about two billion people could suffer from water shortages.
- Wetlands make up 6% of the planet's surface. They are the natural filter of the planet. Over the past century, half of the planet's swamps have been drained.
- Primeval forests are the habitat of 3/4 biological species of the planet. In 40 years, the area of the Amazonian rainforest has decreased by 20%.
- Every year 13 million hectares of forest disappear from the face of the Earth.
- One in four mammals, one in eight birds and one in three amphibians is endangered. Currently, species of living organisms are dying out 1000 times faster than natural rates.
- The thickness of the northern polar cap has decreased by 40% in 40 years. According to the most optimistic calculations, by the summer of 2030, this hat may completely disappear. According to the most pessimistic calculations, this will happen in a couple of years.
The average temperature over the past 15 years has reached its highest level.
- The concentration of carbon dioxide over the past hundreds of thousands of years has never been as high as it is now.
- By 2050, a quarter of all species of living organisms will be under the threat of extinction.
- The ice of Greenland contains 20% of all fresh water on the planet. If they melt, the sea level will rise by about 7 meters.
- As a result of global warming, the level of the world's oceans rose by 20 centimeters in the 20th century.
- 70% of the world's population lives on the coastal plains. 11 of the 15 largest cities in the world are not located on the coastline or in river deltas.
- 30% of the world's coral reefs have disappeared.
- 80% of the glaciers of the African Mount Kilimanjaro have disappeared. The same fate awaits the Himalayas. All the largest rivers of Asia originate in the Himalayas, on the banks of which hundreds of millions of people live.
- By 2050, the number of climate refugees could reach 200 million.
- The amount of carbon dioxide "frozen" in glaciers is 1.5 billion, which is twice the amount of carbon dioxide contained in the Earth's atmosphere.
- The Arctic ice has become thinner by 70 centimeters in 5 years.
- In 2002, the total carbon dioxide emissions caused by the work of all data centers on the planet was estimated at 76 million tons. This amount is expected to triple by 2020.
- 5 tons of cosmetics (sun creams, skin creams, lipstick, shadows) annually end up in the oceans. The female body absorbs 2.5 kg of cosmetics per year.
- Every year in the world about 125 million functional phones are thrown into the landfill, which are simply tired of their owners.
- More than 90% of the total river water intake of the region is spent on irrigation of agricultural fields in Central Asia.
- By 2050, the volume of river flow in the Amudarya will be reduced by 10-15%, and in the Syrdarya by 6-10%.
- Over the 20th century, the area of glaciers in Tajikistan has decreased by 20-30%, and in Afghanistan by 50-70%.
The frequency of natural disasters on the planet during the period from 2000 to 2006 increased by 187% compared with the previous decade.
- Over the past 5 years, the air temperature in Tibet has risen by 1.5 degrees. Over the past 20 years, the mass of mountain glaciers in Tibet has decreased by 8%.
- By 2030, the world population will increase by one third to 8 billion people. Population growth will lead to an increase in demand for food by 50%, water by 30%, and energy by 50%.
- The surface area of the Earth is 148,940,000 km2, of which 18,617,500 km2 (12.5%) is inhabited by humans.
- Over the past 110 years, there have been 11 winters in Russia when temperature deviations from the average long-term norm exceeded 2 degrees, and 9 of them - over the past 30 years. In 1968 there was only one winter when the temperature was below the long-term average.
- Bacteria make up 2 to 5 kg of your body weight!
- Five hundred million wealthy people in the world (7% of the total population of the planet) are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. 50% of the world's poor are responsible for only 7% of global emissions.
- An enterprise where a thousand people smoke loses about 500 thousand euros a year.
- Artisanal gold mining is the source of 30% of the world's mercury pollution.
- Pollution of groundwater carries a potential threat of pollution of 97% of all free fresh water resources of the planet.
- About a billion people in the world constantly suffer from indoor air pollution (various allergens, bacteria, dust, toxic emissions of plastics, cigarette smoke, etc.).
- Metal production is the source of 6% of all carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere of our planet.
- Radioactive waste and uranium mining are the source of millions of liters of highly hazardous waste entering the environment.
- Raw sewage has a major impact on the health of 2.6 billion people.
- Air pollution in the cities of the Earth is the cause of death of 865,000 people a year.
- 85% of the 8 million tons of lead released into the environment every year was contained in end-of-life accumulators and batteries.
- Inhaling the polluted air of Cairo during the day is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
Water pollution kills 14,000 people a day on Earth.
- 60% of acute respiratory diseases are associated with adverse environmental factors. They are responsible for the death of 2 million children a year.
- Recent studies have found that 40% of deaths worldwide are due to air, water and soil pollution.
- Every day, two million tons of human waste ends up in natural water bodies.
- Plastic production increases by 9% every year.
- Every year, 260 million tons of plastic products end up in the world's oceans. All this plastic waste is carried into the oceans by rivers, streams and sea waves from land.
- Snow on Kilimanjaro will completely disappear by 2033.
- According to Rospotrebnadzor, 28% of the Russian population uses "hard" water for drinking purposes.
- Bluefin tuna by 2012 may cease to exist as a species.
- As a result of melting permafrost, the area of Russia is shrinking by 30 square kilometers every year.
- According to the UN report at the conference on climate change in Copenhagen by 2050, the acidity of the oceans will increase by 150%, which will cause irreversible changes in marine ecosystems.
The eco-facts presented to your attention below will remind you of what worried “progressive” humanity in the past year.
- How many people were born in the history of mankind on our planet? According to rough estimates, by 2002, a total of 106 to 140 billion Homo sapiens were born on Earth.
— By 2025, more than 2.8 billion people in 48 countries will experience water shortages. By 2050, the number of people permanently experiencing water shortages will reach 7 billion.
- 70% of all fresh water withdrawn from the environment by man is used to irrigate agricultural land.
- For the production of 1 kg of chocolate, 24,000 liters of water are needed, 1 kg of meat - 15,500 liters, 1 kg of olives - 4,400 liters, 1 kg of sugar - 1,500 liters, 1 cup of coffee - 140 liters.
- 38% of the Earth's surface is under the threat of desertification.
“According to the most conservative estimates over the past 200 years, about 2.1 trillion tons of CO2 have been in the Earth’s atmosphere due to the fault of man, while the acidity of the oceans has increased by 30% (pH has decreased by 0.1).
— Over the past 50 years, Canada's permafrost has retreated 130 km north.
— Since 1980, global electricity consumption has risen from 7,300 billion kWh to 17,400 billion kWh
- in 10 years, the amount of toxic e-waste in the world will increase 500 times
- 71 species of birds have disappeared from Hawaii since man first landed on the shores of these islands.
There are currently 17 species of penguins on Earth, of which 12 species are steadily declining.
- The annual income from the industrial catch of bluefin tuna is 7.2 billion dollars. Bluefin tuna numbers have now declined by 70% since 1980.
- According to the calculations of researchers from the Carnegie Institution, for every American there are 2.5 tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by industry in developing countries. For an average European citizen, this value is about 4 tons of CO2.
- In 2004, the rate of extinction of species of living organisms increased by 100-1000 times compared to prehistoric times, when man was not the master of the fate of all life on Earth. According to preliminary estimates, in the next 20 years, the rate of extinction of species may increase by 10,000 times compared to the background (prehistoric) level.
- 75% of the Earth's surface area is covered with water. 97.5% of the world's water is concentrated in the oceans, and only 2.5% of the water is fresh. 70% of the total amount of fresh water is concentrated in the ice. Of the remaining 30%, most of the fresh water is polluted, and only 1% of the water can be called pure water (about 0.007% of all the Earth's water is suitable for “direct” human consumption without prior post-treatment). 70% of usable water is used for irrigation, 22% is withdrawn by industry and only 0.08% is used in everyday life.
- The area of the Himalayan glaciers has decreased by 16% over the past 50 years.
— The air conditioning of the average American homeownership consumes 50% of all electricity consumed.
— Agriculture consumes about 70% of all fresh water consumed in the world. Agricultural land occupies 38% of the area of all land used by man. In addition, agriculture (mostly livestock) accounts for about 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
- According to the data obtained as a result of mathematical modeling, "withdrawal" from the planet's atmosphere of 100 billion tons of CO2 will lead to a decrease in the average global temperature by 0.16°C.
- According to scientists, 5-50 million species of living organisms may disappear in the near future, and only less than 2 million of them are known to science.
One third of all flowering plant species are endangered
— Undisturbed natural ecosystems occupy 2/3 of the country's territory. For comparison, in Europe the area of undisturbed ecosystems is 3-4% of the area of the EU, and, as a rule, these ecosystems in Europe are specially protected natural areas.
“Only 3,200 tigers are left on Earth. The number of tigers in the wild has decreased by 96.8% over the past 20 years. There are only 3,200 tigers left in the wild on the entire planet. For comparison, in 1990 there were 100,000 tigers in the wild.
- 80% of air pollution in Moscow comes from motor vehicles. Every year, 1,100,000 tons of pollutants (100 kg for each Muscovite) enter the air environment of the capital.
— Over the past 10 years, the average temperature of the Red Sea has increased by 1.5°C
- The level of the oceans near the Seychelles is rising 10% faster than the average on Earth.
- Only 17% of the bacterial species that live on the left hand of a person also live on the right hand. The mouth alone is home to between 500 and 1,000 species of microorganisms. Moreover, the species diversity of microorganisms is unique even for each tooth.
“Deforestation and climate change mean that in 90 years, two-thirds of all tropical forests in Central and South America, as well as 70% of Africa's forest ecosystems, could be radically transformed. 80% of the forests of the Amazonian lowland alone are waiting for a catastrophic decline in biodiversity, which could lead to the disappearance of half of all plant and animal species on our planet.
- From 1980 to 2000, 80% of agricultural land appeared on the site of cut down tropical forests. The total area of cleared forests during this period was approximately 1.3 million km2 (Alaska Territory).
Every 1°C increase in the daily minimum temperature causes a 10% decrease in the rice crop in Asia.
- It has been established that before the introduction of a ban on the production of ozone-depleting substances in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the ozone layer was depleted by 3.4% per 10 years, and the Southern - by 3.7%. After the introduction of the ban in the Northern Hemisphere, there is a depletion of 2.9%, in the Southern - by 3.0%.
“According to UN scientists, the ozone layer of our planet has stopped declining, and even more so, it can recover to the level of 1980 by 2045-2060.
- An analysis of the material of observations of the climate in Italy over the past two centuries showed that the temperature has increased by 1 ° C every century.
— Over the past 5 years, China's CO2 emissions have almost doubled, and the country has become the largest emitter of CO2 in the world. In 2005, about 1/3 of the total CO2 emissions (1700 Mt C02) was due to the production of export products, and the share of exports in CO2 emissions increased from 12% (230 Mt) in 1987 to 21% (760 million tons) in 2002
— For the period from 1973 to 2000. The US economy grew by 126% and energy use by 30%, industrial production grew by 41%, and electricity use by 11%. The United States has achieved such success thanks to the introduction of environmentally friendly (“green”) technologies.
- On the territory of Moscow, the volume of emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air from road transport exceeds that from all other sources and is about 90%, and the share of transport in the noise impact on the population is 85-95%. Currently, there are 270 transport units per 1,000 residents of the capital.
- From 1912 to 2007, the volume of Kilimanjaro's glaciers decreased by 85%. Moreover, a quarter of all ice losses occurred from 2000 to the present. Such a catastrophic reduction in the area of glaciers has not been observed over the past 11,700 years.
- The total area of agricultural land "taken away" from humanity by growing cities and industry is equal to the area of a country like Italy.
— An ecological and geochemical assessment of the state of the environment in Moscow based on the results of a soil survey carried out on the territory of the capital confirms the fact of many years of exposure to various sources of pollution. The study of the soil cover showed that 52.4% of the city's territory belongs to the category of minimal and low levels of pollution, areas with an average level of pollution occupy 25% of the territory, significant pollution is observed on 22% of the studied area.
- In order to cover 90% of humanity's need for hydrocarbon fuels with biofuels, it will be necessary to plant with industrial crops an area equal in area to Ireland (~ 69,000 sq. km.).
- The global IT industry is making the same contribution to the global warming that is happening on the planet as aviation. According to the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden), information technology accounts for 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
“By the end of this century, financial losses caused by natural disasters will amount to $185 billion a year.
- Man has a direct impact on 83% of the Earth's surface. Moreover, 88% of the territories not yet affected by anthropogenic activity belong to deserts, boreal and arctic regions (these are mostly territories not suitable for agriculture).
- Every year, the negative effects of global warming causes the death of 350,000 earthlings, and by 2020 the annual number of victims will be 5 million people.
- When transporting products, 92% of fuel costs are for the movement of the vehicle itself and only 8% for the movement of the payload.
- The energy spent on two attempts to search for information on Google is enough to boil water in a kettle.
“Currently, a single harmless Google search costs our planet 0.2 grams of carbon dioxide that ends up in the atmosphere. Few? And if you consider that the services of the Google search engine are used by more than half a billion people every month?
- 12% of the entire surface of the Earth has the status of a reserve.
- For each new car, 0.07 hectares of land should be allocated for the construction of roads and parking lots.
— Over the past 30 years, fish consumption in China has increased six times.
- 63% of all agricultural land on the planet is subject to erosion.
Every year the total area of deserts expands by 27 million hectares. Because of this, humanity is losing 25 billion tons of fertile soil every year. The area of land that becomes unsuitable for agricultural production every year is equal to all of Australia's wheat fields combined.
- Every year, humanity consumes the products of the Earth's biosphere for an incredible amount of 33 trillion dollars (at the rate of 1997). This figure exceeded the world gross domestic product in 1997 by 1.8 times.
— Approximately 28 percent of all human-related methane emissions are emitted by methane-producing bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock.
- In 1800, only 3% of the world's population lived in cities. In 2008, the number of urban residents amounted to 50% of all mankind. In 2030, 60% of all people on Earth will live in cities.
The current population of the Earth is 6.8 billion people. Every day the number of earthlings increases by 218,030 people. According to scientists, by 2040, 9 billion people will already live on Earth. The most populous countries are China (1.33 billion people), India (1.16 billion people), USA (306 million people), Indonesia (230 million people), Brazil (191 million people).
- Only 10% of the Earth's surface is more than 48 hours away from the nearest major city. The most remote corner of the Earth is Tibet.
— 33 billion kWh of electricity is spent annually on sending spam, which is accompanied by the release of about 17 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (like three million cars). This amount of electricity used is enough to power 2.4 million homes.
“Currently, information technology is already responsible for 2% of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere, exceeding the carbon dioxide emissions of the entire aviation industry. By 2020, the Internet is expected to account for 20% of all CO2 emissions.
- On average, 9% of all fresh water is removed from the environment by mankind. This figure varies in different parts of our planet. So in North America, 8.4% of all fresh water is withdrawn from water bodies, in Asia - 18.5%, Europe - 6.4%, Latin America - 2%, Africa - 5.6%.
- 1,664 cubic meters of fresh water per year is consumed by the average resident of North America. Asia ranks second in terms of water consumption, here the average resident consumes 644 cubic meters of fresh water per year. The average global water consumption is 626 cubic meters of fresh water per person per year.
- 1000 liters of water is required to grow a kilogram of wheat.
- 15,000 liters of water is required to get one kilogram of beef. The average resident of the US and Europe consumes 5,000 liters of water per day by eating meat. While for drinking and hygienic needs it consumes "only" 100 - 250 liters of water per day.
- 2400 liters of water goes into the production of one single hamburger. The main items of water consumption in the preparation of a hamburger are the cultivation of wheat and cattle.
- 70-80% of all fresh water consumed by people is used in agriculture. The extremely inefficient use of water in the agricultural industry is inherent in all countries of the world. 30% of water used in agriculture can be saved by improving irrigation systems alone.
— Energy consumption of the global Internet is growing by 10% per year.
- According to the famous Harvard biologist Wilson, about 30,000 species of living organisms disappear from the face of the Earth every year. By the end of this century, the Earth will have lost about half of its current biodiversity.
Every year on Earth, 10 million children die, 200 million children under 5 years of age are stunted, 800 million people go to bed hungry every night, 1.5 billion people do not have constant access to clean drinking water.
“The human race is only 200,000 years old, but in that time we have managed to change the face of the planet. Despite our vulnerability, we have penetrated into all areas of living organisms and captured vast territories.
- On the planet, every fourth of us leads a lifestyle characteristic of the human race 6 thousand years ago, and there are 1.5 billion such people, more than the entire population of rich countries combined.
- Over the past 60 years, the population of the Earth has increased by almost 3 times and more than 2 billion people have moved to cities. Every week, more than a million people add to the population of cities around the world.
— Every sixth person in the world lives in dangerous and unhealthy conditions.
- To grow 1 kilogram of potatoes, you need to spend 100 liters of water, 1 kilogram of rice - 4,000 liters of water, 1 kilogram of beef - 13,000 liters of water.
“Modern agriculture produces twice as much food as people need. More than 50% of grain sold worldwide is fed to livestock or used to produce biofuels.
- 80% of all extracted natural resources are consumed by 20% of the world's population, the powerful of this world. Moreover, most of the resources are extracted in developing countries, however, exactly half of the world's poor live in resource-rich countries of the world.
“Even before the end of this century, irrational development of deposits will lead to the fact that almost all the mineral reserves of the planet will be depleted.
- Since 1950, the volume of international trade has increased 20 times. 90% of trade turnover is carried out by sea. About 500 million containers are transported by sea every year.
- In the world, 12 times more money is spent on weapons than on assistance to developing countries.
— Our way of development has not ensured the achievement of the set goals. In 50 years, the gap between rich and poor has widened more than ever. Today, half of the world's wealth is in the hands of the 2% of the population. Hunger affects 1 billion people in the world.
- Since the middle of the last century, fishing catches have increased fivefold from 18 to 100 million metric tons of fish per year. Thousands of fishing trawlers devastate the oceans. 3/4 (75%) of fish resources are depleted or endangered. Most of the large fish disappeared forever, since regular catches did not leave them a chance to leave offspring. With the current rate of change in living conditions, all fish populations are under threat of extinction. However, fish is still included in the main diet of every fifth person on the planet.
- 500 million people live in deserts, more than the entire population of European countries combined. 5,000 people die every day due to drinking contaminated drinking water. 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.
— Due to the diversion of river waters for irrigation of fields, around the planet, one in ten large rivers no longer flows into the sea for several months of the year.
- The water level in the Dead Sea, devoid of the flow of the Jordan River, which is taken to irrigate the fields, drops by 1 meter annually.
By 2025, about two billion people could suffer from water shortages.
Wetlands make up 6% of the planet's surface. They are the natural filter of the planet. Over the past century, half of the planet's swamps have been drained.
- Primeval forests are the habitat of 3/4 of the biological species of the planet. In 40 years, the area of the Amazonian rainforest has decreased by 20%.
- Every year 13 million hectares of forest disappear from the face of the Earth.
One in four mammals, one in eight birds and one in three amphibians is endangered. Currently, species of living organisms are dying out 1000 times faster than natural rates.
- The thickness of the northern polar cap has decreased by 40% in 40 years. According to the most optimistic calculations, by the summer of 2030, this hat may completely disappear. According to the most pessimistic calculations, this will happen in a couple of years.
— The average temperature over the past 15 years has reached its highest level.
— The concentration of carbon dioxide over the past hundreds of thousands of years has never been as high as it is now.
By 2050, a quarter of all living organisms will be in danger of extinction.
- The ice of Greenland contains 20% of all fresh water on the planet. If they melt, the sea level will rise by about 7 meters.
- As a result of global warming, the level of the world's oceans has risen by 20 centimeters in the 20th century.
70% of the world's population lives on the coastal plains. 11 of the 15 largest cities in the world are not located on the coastline or in river deltas.
- 30% of the world's coral reefs have disappeared.
- 80% of the glaciers of the African Mount Kilimanjaro have disappeared. The same fate awaits the Himalayas. All the largest rivers of Asia originate in the Himalayas, on the banks of which hundreds of millions of people live.
By 2050, the number of climate refugees could reach 200 million.
- The amount of carbon dioxide "frozen" in glaciers is 1.5 billion, which is twice the amount of carbon dioxide contained in the Earth's atmosphere.
- The Arctic ice has become thinner by 70 centimeters in 5 years.
- In 2002, the total carbon dioxide emissions caused by the work of all data centers on the planet was estimated at 76 million tons. This amount is expected to triple by 2020.
- 5 tons of cosmetics (sun creams, skin creams, lipstick, shadows) annually end up in the oceans. The female body absorbs 2.5 kg of cosmetics per year.
- Every year in the world about 125 million workable phones are thrown into the landfill, which are simply tired of their owners.
- Irrigation of agricultural fields in Central Asia consumes more than 90% of the total river water intake of the region.
- By 2050, the volume of river flow in the Amudarya will be reduced by 10-15%, and in the Syrdarya by 6-10%.
— Over the 20th century, the area of glaciers in Tajikistan has decreased by 20-30%, and in Afghanistan by 50-70%.
- The frequency of natural disasters on the planet in the period from 2000 to 2006 increased by 187% compared with the previous decade.
- Over the past 5 years, the air temperature in Tibet has risen by 1.5 degrees. Over the past 20 years, the mass of mountain glaciers in Tibet has decreased by 8%.
By 2030, the world population will increase by one third to 8 billion people. Population growth will lead to an increase in demand for food by 50%, water by 30%, and energy by 50%.
- The surface area of the Earth is 148,940,000 km2, of which 18,617,500 km2 (12.5%) is inhabited by people.
“Over the past 110 years, there have been 11 winters in Russia when temperature deviations from the long-term average exceeded 2 degrees, and 9 of them have been over the past 30 years. In 1968 there was only one winter when the temperature was below the long-term average.
- Bacteria make up 2 to 5 kg of your body weight!
Five hundred million wealthy people in the world (7% of the total population of the planet) are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. 50% of the world's poor are responsible for only 7% of global emissions.
- An enterprise where a thousand people smoke loses about 500 thousand euros a year.
Artisanal gold mining is the source of 30% of the world's mercury pollution.
- Pollution of groundwater carries a potential threat of pollution of 97% of all free fresh water reserves of the planet.
— About a billion people in the world constantly suffer from indoor air pollution (various allergens, bacteria, dust, toxic emissions of plastics, cigarette smoke, etc.).
— Metal production is the source of 6% of all carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere of our planet.
— Radioactive waste and uranium mining are the source of millions of liters of highly hazardous waste entering the environment.
— Raw sewage has a major impact on the health of 2.6 billion people.
- Air pollution in the cities of the Earth is the cause of death of 865,000 people a year.
— 85% of the 8 million tons of lead released into the environment every year was contained in end-of-life accumulators and batteries.
- Inhaling the polluted air of Cairo during the day is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.
Water pollution is responsible for 14,000 deaths per day on Earth.
— 60% of acute respiratory diseases are associated with adverse environmental factors. They are responsible for the death of 2 million children a year.
- Recent studies have found that 40% of deaths worldwide are due to air, water and soil pollution.
Every day, two million tons of human waste ends up in natural water bodies.
— Plastic production is increasing by 9% every year.
— Every year, 260 million tons of plastic products end up in the oceans. All this plastic waste is carried into the oceans by rivers, streams and sea waves from land.
Snow on Kilimanjaro will be completely gone by 2033.
- According to Rospotrebnadzor, 28% of the Russian population uses “hard” water for drinking purposes.
- Bluefin tuna by 2012 may cease to exist as a species.
— As a result of thawing permafrost, the area of Russia is shrinking by 30 square kilometers every year.
- According to the UN report at the climate change conference in Copenhagen, by 2050 the acidity of the oceans will increase by 150%, which will cause irreversible changes in marine ecosystems.
In my opinion, an eco-friendly lifestyle is when a person tries to enter into a good dialogue with the world and nature around. And he tries to arrange his daily life without entering into confrontation with nature and our planet, as much as possible.
Today I want to talk about our kids, how you can lovingly pass on the knowledge of ecology to them in a simple way.
1. Make bird feeders out of plastic or tetrapak bags.
This is a creative activity for children and adults. Thus, we do two things at once: we dispose of plastic in the correct way, give it a second life, and feed the birds, which all children love to do! 🙂
Ecology for children - we make bird feeders
2. Garbage sorting.
Through their own everyday example, adults can show how to sort waste. To do this, we do not put the garbage that we reproduce in one wastebasket, but sort it according to the type of waste. To do this, you need to make several boxes where to put garbage: for paper, food waste, plastic, iron, batteries. The kids quickly figure out what's going on. And they put paper on paper, food leftovers on food, and so on. Thus, we teach our children from childhood to be responsible for the garbage we produce.
3. Dispose of waste
My dream and goal for the future is to have no garbage left from our family, that is, to utilize our waste as much as possible. How can this be done? There are a lot of ways! For example: burn used paper and fertilize your site with ashes, or make new paper out of old paper. Plastic can be used repeatedly, because with the same plastic bag you can go to the store many times, and then there will be no need to take a new bag. Use food waste in compost.
And, of course, tell the children about it, why we do it, why it is important not to leave garbage behind. Children need to know where the garbage goes if it is not sorted and the porridge is taken out of the waste into the trash can.
If the parents themselves sort and dispose of the garbage they produce, then the child will understand why this should be done.
Of course, many will now tell me: “Natasha, well, you live in your own house, it’s easy for you to implement this. And what should we do, we live in apartments, where should we bury food waste? And where to burn the paper?
Friends, I will definitely write in a separate article how you can deal with sorting and processing your own garbage in an apartment. But now I want to say, everything is possible if there is a desire. And difficulties exist only in our minds. Use a step-by-step strategy, because you can start with what is already working and do it! For starters, you can sort waste into organic and not, this is already a huge step.
4. Collect waste paper and hand it over.
This is a good solution for residents of multi-storey buildings. It is difficult for you to burn used paper, but there is a more correct way. Collect paper and take it to waste paper collection points. Used paper will be made into new paper.
And the kids will help put the used paper in a special box. The most important thing is to tell the kids why we are doing this. There is also a great option for creative activities: recycle used paper at home, and that is, we cook new paper from old.
5. Buy a reusable shopping bag.
Buy a cool rag bag with a fun pattern for shopping. Better yet, draw a picture yourself on a simple canvas bag with acrylic paints. Yaroslava knows that we go to the store with such a beautiful bag, she has her own little eco-bag with a giraffe. In Bali, eco-bags and baskets are sold at every turn. Yes, and in Moscow, ten years ago, we held environmental workshops, where we painted on canvas bags, so that people would have more motivation to go to the store without the usual plastic.
6. Reusable water bottle.
For the water you take on a walk, you can use an aluminum or glass bottle that can be used many times. Don't buy new plastic water bottles all the time. Kids love having their own water bottle. I told my daughter that we buy such a bottle so as not to multiply plastic ones. And she agreed with me: “Yes, mom, and we will drink delicious water that dad brings from the spring. Not a store." 🙂
7. Collect garbage.
Children quickly pick up the idea of a clean land, cleanliness and beauty. And if they are offered to go for a walk and, at the same time, collect garbage, they will agree.
Our house is located among the rice fields where, despite the outward beauty, there is a lot of garbage in the subak channels. Walking through the fields, at sunset, we take a bag with us, where we collect garbage. This happens in the process of walking, in a natural way.
We travel a lot with our daughter around the island - to waterfalls, volcanoes, beaches, and other beautiful places. And everywhere we meet a lot of plastic and wrappers. What are we doing? We collect this garbage, as far as possible. And my daughter always participates in garbage collection.
I told my daughter that everything that happens around us is part of ourselves and our world. And if this plastic is lying around here and we saw it, this is also part of our world. Instead of thinking about who littered it, it’s better to help our planet and take the plastic at least to the trash can, and if possible, dispose of it. We have a choice to remove the plastic or leave it here. What do we choose?
Recently, having arrived at a beautiful beach, we found a huge amount of broken glass. Our daughter immediately ran to collect glass “so that no one would prick their legs,” as she explained. And although I was worried that my daughter herself would be careful with sharp glass, in my heart I was very happy for my little protector of the earth.
8. Conduct ecology lessons for children.
How do we do it? We invite schoolchildren to our homes and conduct environmental lessons for them, where we talk about sorting and recycling waste. Then we go to collect garbage together. And our daughter also participates in the lessons, listens carefully to the information along with the rest of the children, and engages in discussions. And of course, he collects garbage with the whole big company, realizing that he is doing something important. 🙂
For very young children, you can conduct impromptu lessons, for example, in the form of a puppet show. Where flowers ask to be watered, cleaned from someone's abandoned wrapper. Where the main character cleans the planet and does it cheerfully, provocatively, along the way explaining what's what.))
9. Plant trees and more!
Planting a tree near your house or building a flower garden is a great example for our children, with the help of which we, adults, can teach them to love nature. Children are interested in planting seeds from fruits or vegetables they eat with their parents.
Our daughter has already planted the entire garden with seeds, from which plants have grown. The mango tree, herring, papaya and even corn that grew in our garden are the work of our daughter. She likes to be aware of the process itself. So she ate an apple, took out the seeds, then dug a hole, planted it, watered it. And after some time a sprout grew, which then turned into a tree.
How can this be done in an urban setting? Very simple. You eat fruits or vegetables and tell your child how a plant grows from this seed. Take out the bone, wash, dry. Naturally, you do all this with your child. And then germinate the bone on the balcony or windowsill. The baby observes the first sprouts. Then you transplant the sprout into the forest. Do not worry if something does not work out, the main thing is to try to do it.
10. Sprout seedlings.
It is an amazing miracle to watch how green sprouts peep out of a swollen bean. This is a great interactive learning for the baby, where in practice the baby sees how plants grow. Sprouts can be grown at home even in winter. Moreover, they are useful and can be used for cooking. What can be germinated? Lentils, chickpeas, mung beans, oats, wheat and more. There is a lot of information on this topic.
Yaroslava and I often germinate lotus seeds in our home pond. The lotus is growing amazingly. A bone bursts right in the water and a tiny sprout appears from it, which begins to grow slowly. And the lotus seed just floats in the water. Yaroslava runs to the pond every day and looks to see if it has sprouted?
11. Play eco-friendly games.
Of course, this is also a topic for a separate article. In a nutshell, I will say this, you should not shower your child with plastic toys from the store. You can sew dolls yourself, because this is a sacred toy for girls. If the mother sews the doll herself, then the toy will become spiritualized and will protect her daughter. 🙂
Pyramids can be made from wooden blocks. And so in everything. Instead of store plasticine, you can sculpt from salt dough, paint it with food coloring. Children really like to dance, sing songs and show puppet shows.
Excellent dough for modeling, colorful and tasty.
Salt dough appliqués
12. Communicate with wildlife
Say hello to the earth and the sun in the morning, telling your children that our planet is alive and understands everything. Hug trees. Say hello to the wind. 🙂 Yaroslav, waking up, runs to the garden and says: “Hello, earth”, addresses the house “good morning, house”.
I recommend that as often as possible, the family go to natural sites, to the forest, to waterfalls, lakes, seas, where the child can restore his integrity in connection with nature. It is important for a child to run barefoot on the ground, look at butterflies, dig in the sand, jump on the waves. At these moments, an incredibly important connection of the child with living and wise nature takes place, the restoration of the integrity of the soul and body, which is gradually lost when a person lives in a city, among artificial values.
13. Create family traditions.
Each family may have its own regularly performed large and small family traditions. In this way, the child develops family values. And the family accumulates its own family charter.
I fry pancakes, and Yaroslav already knows and says: “Mommy, the first pancake is for the ancestors, and the second I will take the brownie.” Here we have such unusual traditions.
I believe that the value of the family must be raised and preserved, as well as prompting the baby in every possible way how important this is. To do this, you need to respect family members so that the baby feels how parents respect and love each other. A little man needs to be nourished with family values, like a flower with water. Family dinners, trips to some magical places, communication with nature. Always make some personal, family-only connections. It is precisely such moments that remain deep in the memory of the child, and it is so wonderful when the values of family, home, mutual joy and love accumulate in the mind.
I also advise telling the child about his ancestors, what they did, what virtues they had. Draw a family tree together and wish your ancestors all the best.
14. Come up with your own little ritual before eating.
Let someone have a prayer, someone have a moment of silence and gratitude to the earth for its gifts, and someone else will come up with something of their own, kind and beautiful.
15. Feed any living beings.
Ecology for children - feed the animals
Dear readers, for today I will complete my list of how you can tell your child about ecology. Of course, it can be replenished. Write in the comments how you tell children about ecology, do you have your own ecological traditions in your family? I would love to hear your stories.
Until we meet again, friends, I send rays! 🙂
Man is the only living being on planet Earth that causes the greatest damage to the environment. Every year, the waters of the oceans become more and more polluted, deforestation continues, and a huge amount of emissions enter the atmosphere as a result of the work of various factories and enterprises.
But even any single person in his entire life uses hundreds of thousands of items that, after the expiration of their service life, are sent to the trash. And given that the world's population exceeds 7 billion people, the scale of waste generation is colossal.
Now the level of purity of our planet is much lower than it was, for example, a hundred years ago. Therefore, the task of all mankind is to preserve natural resources and reduce the level of environmental pollution.
Interesting facts about the state of the environment
More than 70% of the Earth's surface is occupied by the oceans. Humanity cannot survive without water. But, unfortunately, many reservoirs are now in a deplorable state. Here are some facts about the pollution of the Earth's water resources.
- Every year, more than 6 billion kg of various garbage and waste are thrown into the waters of the oceans, most of which is plastic. Often, marine life die by eating only one plastic bag, which they mistook for a jellyfish.
- It is horrifying that there is a huge garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean, the so-called "mainland" of plastic waste, the total area of \u200b\u200bwhich is larger than the size of the United States.
- According to reports from various environmental protection societies, for every million tons of oil transported, one ton ends up in the ocean. And if there is an accident on a ship, spilled oil takes the lives of thousands of marine animals and birds with it.
- Residents of far from all countries can afford unlimited consumption of clean fresh water. For example, in India, 80% of waste is dumped into the sacred river Ganges. In the same place, poor residents bury their dead relatives. Due to the terrible quality of drinking water, which contains pathogenic bacteria, more than a thousand people die in the country every day (in addition to deaths from other causes).
- Approximately one in eight people on the planet does not have access to safe drinking water.
- The ecology of the planet suffers greatly from radioactive waste. Lake Karachay in the Chelyabinsk region is so polluted with such waste that one hour spent in this reservoir is deadly for humans;
- Over the past 40 years, the amount of fresh water per person in the world has decreased by 60%. Over the next 25 years, a further 2-fold decrease is expected.
Even a child understands why it is necessary to protect nature, because from such a colossal amount of pollution, the life of mankind as a whole deteriorates qualitatively. This applies not only to water quality, but also to the state of air and soil pollution.
Air pollution from the factory Every day we walk the earth, we grow food in the soil, we build our houses, roads, and at the same time we litter everything around us more and more every day.
- Garbage dumps pollute the soil the most. Especially acute in recent decades is the issue of increasing electronic waste. Progress does not stand still, and if earlier each family got by with one TV and one telephone, now the number of household and other appliances in our homes is steadily growing. And in order to keep up with the times, people often change various gadgets and devices, not because they are out of order or broken, but simply because a new improved version has been released. It has been estimated that at the beginning of the second millennium, the volume of e-waste throughout the Earth was about 50 million tons.
- Scientists have calculated that most of the garbage - about 30% of the global amount - is produced by Americans. This is despite the fact that their number is only 5% of all people on Earth.
- Scientific fact: that the average American, European or Australian family throws out more than a ton of garbage a year.
It is also important to protect the purity of the air around us, because a person can get respiratory or bronchopulmonary diseases from inhaling various dirt.
- A huge number of harmful emissions into the atmosphere occur during the movement of cars. Now in the world you can count more than 500 million cars, and the forecast for 2030 is a billion copies. Moreover, it is worth considering that one car produces on average about 0.5 kg of gaseous waste for every 40 km of travel.
- Enterprises also make their “contribution” to the deterioration of the air. For example, in the Siberian city of Norilsk, there is the largest complex in the world for the smelting of heavy metals. It has been established that the average life expectancy of people in the city and its environs is 8-10 years lower than in neighboring settlements.
- Now China is considered the country with the highest level of air pollution. The air in Beijing has been found to increase the risk of lung cancer in the same way as smoking 21 cigarettes a day.
- The situation is the same in Cairo - according to WHO, the air in the city is so polluted that breathing it all day is like smoking a pack of cigarettes.
- In our cities, the atmosphere is also not the best - more than 36 million Russians live in cities where the level of air pollution is 10 times higher than sanitary standards.
- For a year, an ordinary resident of a metropolis inhales about 48 kg of various carcinogens.
- With air quality gradually deteriorating, more than 11 million hectares of forest are cut down on Earth every year, which is 10 times the amount of reforestation.
The facts about nature associated with the population of animals and plants are sadly surprising.
- Over the past 50 years, the list of species of animals and plants living on Earth has decreased by a third. In Europe alone, more than 17,000 species have irrevocably disappeared in the past 20 years.
- The earth loses 30,000 species of living organisms every year.
- The Mediterranean Sea has already lost its flora and fauna by almost a third.
The picture is rather sad, but the main thing is to remember that everything is in our hands. The general state of the planet depends on the actions of each person. Otherwise, the prophecy of the scientist Niels Bohr may well come true:
"Humanity will not die in an atomic nightmare, but will suffocate in its own waste."
