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БИОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ НАУКИ
_MAN AND THE BIOSPHERE_
David Baratashvili
Doctor of Biological Sciences, Full Professor of the Batumi State University after Shota Rustaveli, Head of
Biology Department, Batumi, Georgia
ABSTRACT
The article is devoted to the problems of the biosphere and the existence of man in it. While working on the article, the author applied such scientific methods as induction, deduction, analysis and synthesis. After posing the problem, the author presented the result, which can be formulated as follows: along with a clever demographic policy, it is necessary to create new biogeochemical cycles, that is, a new cycle of substances, which, above all, will include those species of plants that make better use of clean solar energy that does not cause ecological damage to the planet.
Key words: biosphere, global ecology, ecological thinking.
The atmosphere, the hydrosphere (seas, oceans, rivers and other water bodies) and the upper part of the earth's solid are commonly referred to the biosphere. The biosphere is not and has never been in a state of equilibrium. It receives the energy of the sun and, in turn, emits a certain amount of energy into space. These energies are of different quality. The earth receives shortwave radiation - a light that heats the Earth. In the space from the Earth takes long-wave thermal radiation. The balance of these energies is not observed: the Earth radiates into space a little less energy than it receives from the Sun. This difference is a small fraction of a percent - and the Earth, or more precisely, its biosphere, which accumulates energy all the time, assimilates. This small amount of accumulated energy is sufficient to support all the processes of the planet's development. This energy was enough to one day on the surface of our planet life broke out and a biosphere appeared that in the process of development of the biosphere a person appeared. [1]
The biosphere is a living developing system, open to the cosmos - the streams of its energy and matter. The first basic, practically very important task of human ecology is to learn the mechanisms of development of the biosphere and those processes that occur in it.
These are the most complex processes of interaction between the atmosphere, the ocean, and biota - essentially non-equilibrium processes. The latter means that all the circulation of substances here are not closed: some material substance is continually added, and something precipitates, forming over time huge sedimentary rocks. The planet itself is not an inert body. Its subsoil all the time throwing into the atmosphere and the ocean various gases, primarily carbon dioxide and hydrogen. They are included in the cycle of substances in nature. Finally, the man himself has a decisive influence on the structure of geochemical cycles-the cycle of substances.
The study of the biosphere, as an integral system, has received the name of global ecology - a completely new direction in science. Existing methods of experimental study of Nature are unsuitable for him: the biosphere can't be studied, like a butterfly, under a microscope. The biosphere is a unique object, exists in a single copy. Besides, today it is not what it was yesterday,
and tomorrow it will not be the same as today. Therefore, any experiments with the biosphere are unacceptable, simply in principle unacceptable. We can only observe what is happening, think, reason, study computer models. If we conduct experiments, they are only of a local nature, allowing us to study certain regional features of processes occurring in the biosphere.
That is why the only way to study the problems of the global ecology is the methods of mathematical modeling and analysis of the previous stages of the development of Nature. On this way, the first significant steps have already been taken. Over the last quarter century, much has become more understandable. Most importantly, the need for such research has become universally recognized. [2]
The problem of the interaction of man and Nature must become one of the fundamental problems of modern science. Mankind produces at least 2,000 times more waste of organic origin than the rest of the biosphere. Wastes or refuse are usually called substances that are permanently excluded from the biogeochemical cycles of the biosphere, that is, from the circulation of substances in Nature. In other words, humanity fundamentally changes the nature of the functioning of the basic mechanisms of the biosphere.
A well-known American computer scientist, Professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jay Forrester, in the late 1960s, developed simplified methods for describing dynamic processes using computers. The pupil of Forrester Meadows used these approaches to study the processes of changing the characteristics of the biosphere and human activity. His calculations he published in a book he called "Limits of Growth". [3]
Using very simple mathematical models, which could not be attributed to the number of scientifically grounded ones, he made calculations that allow to compare the prospects of industrial development, population growth and environmental pollution. Despite the primitiveness of the analysis (or maybe because of this), the calculations of Meadows and his colleagues played a very important positive role in the development of modern ecological thinking. For the first time on concrete numbers, it was shown that humanity is already in the very near future, most likely, in the middle of the coming century, facing a global ecological crisis.
It will be a food crisis, a resource crisis, a crisis situation with the pollution of the planet.
Now we can definitely say that Meadows' calculations are largely erroneous, but he caught the main trends correctly. More importantly, due to its simplicity and clarity, the results obtained by Meadows, attracted the attention of the world community.
Active industrial activity leads to a continuous increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: during the 20th century it increased by 20 percent. This causes an increase in the average temperature of the planet, which in turn changes the nature of the circulation of the atmosphere and the distribution of precipitation. These changes affect the life of the plant world, the character of the polar and continental glaciation changes - the glaciers begin to melt, the ocean level rises, and so on.
If current rates of growth in industrial production continue, then by the thirties of this century the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will double. How can all this affect the productivity of biota - the historically formed complexes of living organisms? It turned out that the overall productivity of the biota will not change, but there will be a redistribution of its productivity in different geographical areas. So, the aridity of Mediterranean regions, semi-deserts and desert savannas in Africa, corn belt of the USA will sharply increase. The steppe zone will also suffer. Yields here can decrease by 15-20, even by 30 percent. But productivity of taiga zones will sharply increase and agriculture can move to the north. [4]
Thus, the first calculations show that man's productive activity in the coming decades, that is, during the lifetime of present generations, can lead to significant climatic shifts. For the planet as a whole, these changes will be negative. But for the North of Eurasia, the consequences of the greenhouse effect may turn out to be positive.
However, in the current assessments of the global environmental situation, there is still much discussion. The final conclusions are very dangerous. For example, according to calculations, by the beginning of the next century, the average temperature of the planet should increase by 0.5-0.6 degrees. But after all, natural climate variability can fluctuate within plus or minus one degree. Climatologists argue: is the observed warming the result of natural variability, or is it a manifestation of an intensifying greenhouse effect.
There is no doubt that the greenhouse effect exists. It should be taken into account, but there is no need to talk about the inevitability of the tragedy. Mankind can still do a lot and mitigate the consequences of what is happening. In addition, there are many other extremely dangerous consequences of human activity. Among them, such difficult as thinning the ozone layer, reducing the genetic diversity of human races, environmental pollution, and so on. These problems should not cause panic, but one should not ignore them. They must be the subject of careful scientific analysis, as they will inevitably become the basis for the development of a strategy for the industrial development of mankind.
The danger of one of such processes was anticipated at the end of the 18th century by the English
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monk Malthus. He hypothesized that humanity is growing faster than the planet's ability to create food resources. For a long time it seemed that this is not quite true - people have learned to improve the efficiency of agriculture. But in principle, Malthus is right: any resources of the planet are limited, food is primarily. Even with the most advanced technology of food production, the Earth can feed only a limited number of people. Now this frontier, apparently, has already been passed. In recent decades, the amount of food produced per capita in the world has slowly, but inevitably, decreased. This is a formidable sign demanding the immediate reaction of mankind. One can not do without improving the technology of agricultural production.
Mankind has approached a new frontier in its history, in which the spontaneous development of productive forces, uncontrolled population growth, the lack of discipline of individual behavior can put humanity, that is, the biological species of homo sapiens, to the brink of death. We are facing the problems of a new organization of life, a new organization of society, a new vision of the World. Now there is a phrase "ecological thinking". First of all, it reminds us that we are children of the Earth, not its conquerors. [4]
Everything returns to its place, and we, like our distant Cro-Magnon ancestors, must again perceive themselves as part of the surrounding Nature. We must treat Nature as a mother, as our own home. But there is a huge fundamental difference between a person belonging to modern society and our pre-glacial ancestor: we have the knowledge, and we are capable of setting development goals for ourselves, we have the potential to follow these goals.
About a quarter of a century the term "co -evolution of man and the biosphere" began to be used. It means such behavior of mankind and each person separately, which can ensure the joint development of both the biosphere and humanity. Today's level of development of science and our technical capabilities makes this regime of co-evolution fundamentally realizable. Now they often talk about the omnipotence of science. Our knowledge of the world around us has really incredibly expanded over the past two centuries, but our capabilities have so far been very limited. We are deprived of the ability to foresee the development of natural and social phenomena for more or less remote times. Therefore, we must be afraid of wide, far-reaching plans. In each specific period, it is necessary to be able to isolate what is certainly certain. The most reliable are often the knowledge of what exactly brings the notorious harm. Therefore, the main task of scientific analysis is to formulate a system of prohibitions. Probably this was understandable even during the Lower Paleolithic period of our anthropoid ancestors. Even then, various taboos began to arise. Modern mankind also can not do without this: a new system of prohibitions and recommendations should be developed - how these prohibitions can be realized.
In order to live in our common house, we must work out not only some general rules of behavior, a strategy for our development. The rules of the hostel are in most cases local. They are reduced more often to the development and introduction of low-waste production,
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to the purification of the environment from pollution, that is - to the protection of Nature.
To meet these local requirements, there is no need for any super-large-scale activities: everything is decided by the culture of the population, technological and environmental literacy and discipline of local officials.
But then we come across even more complex situations, when we have to think about the well-being of not only our own, but also our distant neighbors. An example of this is a river crossing several areas. Many people are interested in its purity, and are interested in different ways. The inhabitants of the upper reaches are not very inclined to take care of the state of the river in its lower reaches. Therefore, in order to ensure a normal joint life of the population of the entire river basin, regulation is already required at the state, and sometimes at the interstate level. [5]
An example with a river is also a special case. After all, there are problems of a planetary nature. They require a common human strategy. To produce it, there is not enough one culture and ecological education. Little and the actions of competent government. There is a need to create a universal strategy. It should cover literally all aspects of human life. These are new systems of industrial and agricultural technologies, which should be waste-free and resource-saving. An example is the use of plants that have the highest coefficient of solar energy. That is, energy is clean, not polluting the environment. This cardinal solution of agricultural problems is of particular importance, since they are directly related to the problem, which I am convinced will inevitably have to be solved. This is the population of the planet. Mankind is already faced with the need for strict regulation of the birth rate - in different parts of the Earth in different ways, but everywhere - restriction. [6]
In order for a person to continue to fit into the natural cycles of the biosphere, the population of the planet, with the preservation of modern needs, should
be reduced every ten times, and this is impossible. The regulation of population growth will not result in a tenfold reduction in the number of inhabitants of the planet. Consequently, along with a clever demographic policy, it is necessary to create new biogeochemical cycles, that is, a new cycle of substances, which, first of all, will include those kinds of plants that more efficiently use clean solar energy that does not cause ecological harm to the planet.
Solving problems of this magnitude is available only to humanity as a whole. This will require changing the entire organization of the planetary community, in other words, a new civilization, the most important restructuring - those value systems that have been established for centuries.
References:
1. Smith W.H. Lead contamination of the roadside ecosystem // J. Air Pollut. Control. Assoc. 1976. N 26. P. 753 — 766.
2. Nagel E. The Structure of Science. New York: Hartcourt, 2008
3. Jay Forrester, "Limits of Growth", https://ar-chive.org/stream/growthitsimplica00unit/growthitsim-plica00unit djvu.txt
4. Sterelny K. Science and Selection. The Genesis of a Natural-scientific Theory // Biology and Philosophy. 1994. Vol. 9, № 1
5. Gierre R.N. The Cognitive Structure of Scientific Theories // Philosophy of Science. 1994. № l.P. 276-296 Huntington S. The Clash of Civilization and Remaking the World Order. New York, 19961.terna-tional Archive for the History of Science. New York, 1983. № 110
6. Kecney D.R. The nitrogen cycle in sediment — water systems // J. Environ. Qual.1973. Vol. 2, N1. P. 15 —28. Latour В., Woolgar S. Laboratory Life. The Social Constructions of Scientific Facts. Beverly Hills London, 1979
ВОДОРОСЛИ SCENEDESMACEAE ПЛАНКТОНА РЕКИ ОБЬ (НИЖНЕ_ВАРТОВСКИЙ РАЙОН)_
Изгужина Регина Равильевна Гонтажевская Екатерина Николаевна
студенты кафедры экологии НВГУ, г. Нижневартовск
АННОТАЦИЯ.
Целью исследования является качественная и количественная оценка водорослей семейства Scenedesmaceae в среднем течение реки Обь осенью 2016 г. Основными задачами данной работы являются оценка видового состава, экологических характеристик и численности выявленных водорослей. Отмечена прямая зависимость увеличения видового разнообразия семейства Scenedesmaceae от повышения температур. Наибольшее видовое разнообразие приходится на начало осени.
ABSTRACT.
The article deals with the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the Scenedesmus algae in the middle reaches of the river Ob carried out in autumn 2016. The main task of this research was to assess the species composition, ecological characteristics and abundance of these algae. The authors estimate than an increase in the Scenedesmus algae diversity directly depends on the increase of temperatures. The greatest species diversity is observed at the beginning of autumn.
Ключевые слова: таксон, численность, экология
Keywords: taxon, algae count, ecology
