Interesting facts about nature conservation. Interesting facts on the topic: Interesting facts about ecology

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The energy spent on two attempts to search for information on Google is enough to boil water in a kettle.

Currently the only harmless search query Google costs our planet 0.2 grams of carbon dioxide ending up in the atmosphere. Few? And considering that more than half a billion people use the Google search engine every month?

12% of the entire Earth's surface has the status of a nature reserve.

For each new car, 0.07 hectares of land must be allocated for the construction of roads and parking lots.

Advanced fishing fleets, representing just 1% of the world's global fishing fleet, account for 50% of the world's fish caught.

Over the past 30 years, fish consumption in China has increased sixfold.

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 fertile soil annually. The area of ​​land that becomes unsuitable for agricultural production each 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 1997 exchange rates). This figure exceeded the world gross domestic product in 1997 by 1.8 times.

Approximately 28 percent of all methane emissions associated with human activities come from methane-producing bacteria in gastrointestinal tract large 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 accounted for 50% of all humanity. In 2030, 60% of all people on Earth will live in cities.

Currently, the world population is 6.8 billion people. Every day the number of earthlings increases by 218,030 people. According to scientists, by 2040 there will already be 9 billion people living 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% Earth's surface is more than 48 hours away from the nearest major city. The most remote corner of the Earth is Tibet.

Sending spam annually consumes 33 billion kWh of electricity, which is accompanied by the release of about 17 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (the equivalent of three million cars). This amount of electricity consumed is enough to power 2.4 million homes.

Currently, information technology is already responsible for 2% of CO2 entering 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 withdrawn from environment. This figure varies in different parts of our planet. Thus, in North America, 8.4% of all fresh water is withdrawn from water bodies, in Asia - 18.5%, in Europe - 6.4%, Latin America- 2%, Africa - 5.6%.

The average resident uses 1,664 cubic meters of fresh water per year North America. Asia ranks second in terms of water consumption, where the average resident uses 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 are required to grow a kilogram of wheat.

15,000 liters of water are required to produce one kilogram of beef. The average resident of the USA and Europe uses 5,000 liters of water per day by eating meat. While for drinking and hygienic needs it uses “only” 100 - 250 liters of water per day.

It takes 2,400 liters of water to produce one single hamburger. The main water uses when preparing a hamburger are growing wheat and livestock.

70-80% of all fresh water consumed by people is used in agriculture. Extremely inefficient use of water in the agricultural sector is typical for all countries of the world. 30% of water used in agriculture could 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 lose about half of its current biodiversity.

Every year, 10 million children die on Earth, 200 million children under 5 years of age have developmental delays, 800 million people go to sleep hungry every night, 1.5 billion people do not have regular access to clean water. 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 habitat 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 world's population has almost tripled and more than 2 billion people have moved to cities. Every week, more than a million people join the population of cities around the world.

Every sixth person in the world lives in hazardous and unhealthy conditions.

To grow 1 kilogram of potatoes you need to spend 100 liters of water, 1 kilogram of rice - 4000 liters of water, 1 kilogram of beef - 13000 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 biofuel.

80% of all extracted natural resources are consumed by 20% of the planet's population, strongmen of the world this. Moreover, most of the resources are extracted in developing countries, however, exactly half of the world's poor live in resource-rich countries.

Before the end of this century, unsustainable mining will lead to the depletion of almost all of the planet’s mineral reserves.

Since 1950, international trade has increased 20-fold. 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 weapons than on aid to developing countries.

Our method of development did not ensure the achievement of our goals. In 50 years, the gap between rich and poor has grown wider than ever. Today, half the planet's wealth is concentrated in the hands of 2% of the population. 1 billion people in the world suffer from hunger.

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 are devastating the oceans. 3/4 (75%) of fish resources are depleted or are under threat of extinction. Most of the large fish disappeared forever, since regular catches left them no chance to leave offspring. At the current rate of change in living conditions, all fish populations are in danger of extinction. However, fish is still included in the basic diet of every fifth person on the planet.

500 million people live in deserts, more than the entire population 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 water to irrigate fields, across the planet, one in ten major rivers no longer flows into the sea for several months of the year.

The water level in the Dead Sea, deprived of the flow of the Jordan River, which is taken to irrigate fields, drops by 1 meter annually.

By 2025, water shortages could affect about two billion people.

Wetlands make up 6% of the planet's surface. They are the planet's natural filter. Over the past century, half of the planet's marshes have been drained.

Primary forests are home to 3/4 of the planet's biological species. Over 40 years, the area of ​​the Amazon rainforest has decreased by 20%.

Every year, 13 million hectares of forest disappear from the face of the Earth.

One in four mammal species, one in eight bird species and one in three amphibian species are at risk of extinction. Species are currently becoming extinct at 1000 times the natural rate.

The thickness of the northern polar cap has decreased by 40% in 40 years. According to the most optimistic estimates, by the summer of 2030 this cap may completely disappear. According to the most pessimistic estimates, this will happen within a couple of years.

The average temperature has reached its highest level in the last 15 years.

Carbon dioxide concentrations have never been as high over the past hundreds of thousands of years as they are now.

By 2050, a quarter of all living organisms will be at risk of extinction.

Greenland's ice contains 20% of the planet's fresh water. If they melt, sea levels will rise by approximately 7 meters.

As a result 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 out of 15 largest cities of the world are not located on coastlines or in river deltas.

30% of the planet's coral reefs have disappeared.

80% of the glaciers on Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro have disappeared. The same fate awaits the Himalayas. All the largest rivers in 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 into glaciers is 1.5 billion, which is twice the amount of carbon dioxide contained in the Earth's atmosphere.

Arctic ice has become 70 centimeters thinner in 5 years.

In 2002, the total carbon dioxide emissions caused by the operation of all data centers on the planet were estimated at 76 million tons. This amount is expected to triple by 2020.

5 tons cosmetics(suncream, skin cream, lipstick, eye shadow) end up in the oceans every year. Female body absorbs 2.5 kg of cosmetics per year.

Every year around the world, about 125 million working phones are thrown into landfills because their owners are simply tired of them.

More than 90% of the region’s total river water intake is spent on irrigating agricultural fields in Central Asia.

By 2050, the volume of river flow of the Amu Darya will decrease by 10-15%, and the Syrdarya by 6-10%.

Over the 20th century, the area of ​​glaciers in Tajikistan decreased by 20-30%, and in Afghanistan by 50-70%.

The frequency of natural disasters on the planet between 2000 and 2006 increased by 187% compared to 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 Earth's surface area 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 over the past 30 years. There was only one winter in 1968 when temperatures were below the long-term average.

Bacteria make up 2 to 5 kg of your body weight!

The world's five hundred million wealthy people (7% of the planet's total population) 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 per year.

Artisanal gold mining is responsible for 30% of global mercury pollution.

Groundwater pollution poses a potential threat of contamination of 97% of all free reserves. fresh water planets.

About a billion people in the world constantly suffer from indoor air pollution (various allergens, bacteria, dust, toxic emissions from 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.

Untreated wastewater has a profound impact on the health of 2.6 billion people.

Air pollution in the Earth's cities is responsible for the deaths of 865,000 people a year.

85% of the 8 million tons of lead that end up in the natural environment each year was contained in old batteries.

Breathing Cairo's polluted air throughout the day is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

Water pollution is responsible for 14,000 deaths per day on Earth.

60% acute respiratory diseases associated with unfavorable environmental factors. They cause the death of 2 million children a year.

Recent studies have found that 40% of deaths worldwide are associated with 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 the land.

Snow on Kilimanjaro will disappear completely by 2033.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, 28% of the Russian population uses “hard” water for drinking purposes.

Bluefin tuna may cease to exist as a species by 2012.

As a result of the thawing of permafrost, the area of ​​Russia is reduced by 30 square kilometers every year.

According to a UN report at the climate change conference in Copenhagen, by 2050 the acidity of the world's oceans will increase by 150%, which will cause irreversible changes marine ecosystems.

— 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 entering the atmosphere. Few? And considering that more than half a billion people use the Google search engine every month?

— 12% of the entire surface of the Earth has the status of a nature reserve.

— For each new car, 0.07 hectares of land must be allocated for the construction of roads and parking lots.

— Over the past 30 years, fish consumption in China has increased sixfold.

— 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 loses 25 billion tons of fertile soil every year. The area of ​​land that becomes unsuitable for agricultural production each 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 1997 exchange rates). This figure exceeded the world gross domestic product in 1997 by 1.8 times.

— Approximately 28 percent of all methane emissions associated with human activity are released 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 accounted for 50% of all humanity. 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 there will already be 9 billion people living 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 (the equivalent of three million cars). This amount of electricity consumed is enough to power 2.4 million homes.

— Currently, information technology is already responsible for the entry of 2% of CO2 into 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, humanity withdraws 9% of all fresh water from the environment. This figure varies in different parts of our planet. Thus, 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%.

— The average North American resident uses 1,664 cubic meters of fresh water per year. Asia ranks second in terms of water consumption, where the average resident uses 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 are required to grow a kilogram of wheat.

— 15,000 liters of water are required to produce one kilogram of beef. The average resident of the USA and Europe uses 5,000 liters of water per day by eating meat. While for drinking and hygienic needs it uses “only” 100 - 250 liters of water per day.

— 2400 liters of water are spent on the production of one single hamburger. The main water uses when preparing a hamburger are growing wheat and livestock.

— 70-80% of all fresh water consumed by people is consumed in agriculture. Extremely inefficient use of water in the agricultural sector is typical for all countries of the world. 30% of water used in agriculture could 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 lose about half of its current biodiversity.

— Every year, 10 million children die on Earth, 200 million children under 5 years of age have developmental delays, 800 million people go to sleep 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 habitat 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 world's population has increased almost 3 times and more than 2 billion people have moved to cities. Every week, more than a million people join the population of cities around the world.

— Every sixth person in the world lives in dangerous and unfavorable conditions for health.

— To grow 1 kilogram of potatoes you need to spend 100 liters of water, 1 kilogram of rice - 4000 liters of water, 1 kilogram of beef - 13000 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 biofuel.

— 80% of all extracted natural resources are consumed by 20% of the planet’s population, the powerful. Moreover, most of the resources are extracted in developing countries, however, exactly half of the world's poor live in resource-rich countries.

— Even before the end of this century, irrational mining will lead to the fact that almost all the planet’s mineral reserves 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 method of development did not ensure the achievement of our goals. In 50 years, the gap between rich and poor has grown wider than ever. Today, half the planet's wealth is concentrated in the hands of 2% of the population. 1 billion people in the world suffer from hunger.

— 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 are devastating the oceans. 3/4 (75%) of fish resources are depleted or are under threat of extinction. Most of the large fish disappeared forever, since regular catches left them no chance to leave offspring. At the current rate of change in living conditions, all fish populations are in danger of extinction. However, fish is still included in the basic 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 water to irrigate fields, across the planet, every tenth major river no longer flows into the sea for several months of the year.

— The water level in the Dead Sea, deprived of the flow of the Jordan River, which is taken to irrigate 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 marshes have been drained.

— Primeval forests are the habitat of 3/4 of the planet’s biological species. Over 40 years, the area of ​​the Amazon rainforest has decreased by 20%.

— Every year, 13 million hectares of forest disappear from the face of the Earth.

— Every fourth species of mammals, every eighth species of birds and every third species of amphibians are threatened with extinction. Species are currently becoming extinct at 1,000 times the natural rate.

— The thickness of the northern polar cap has decreased by 40% in 40 years. According to the most optimistic estimates, by the summer of 2030 this cap may completely disappear. According to the most pessimistic estimates, this will happen within a couple of years.

— The average temperature over the past 15 years has reached its highest point.

— 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 at risk of extinction.

— The ice of Greenland contains 20% of all fresh water on the planet. If they melt, sea levels will rise by approximately 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 world's 15 largest cities are not located on coastlines or in river deltas.

— 30% of the planet's coral reefs have disappeared.

— 80% of the glaciers of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro have disappeared. The same fate awaits the Himalayas. All the largest rivers in 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” into glaciers is 1.5 billion, which is twice the amount of carbon dioxide contained in the Earth’s atmosphere.

— Arctic ice has become 70 centimeters thinner in 5 years.

— In 2002, the total emissions of carbon dioxide caused by the operation of all data centers on the planet were estimated at 76 million tons. This amount is expected to triple by 2020.

— 5 tons of cosmetics (sunscreen, skin cream, lipstick, eye shadow) end up in the oceans every year. The female body absorbs 2.5 kg of cosmetics per year.

— Every year around the world, about 125 million working phones are thrown into landfills, which are simply tired of their owners.

— More than 90% of the region’s total river water intake is spent on irrigating agricultural fields in Central Asia.

— By 2050, the volume of river flow of the Amu Darya will be reduced by 10-15%, and the Syrdarya by 6-10%.

— Over the 20th century, the area of ​​glaciers in Tajikistan decreased by 20-30%, and in Afghanistan by 50-70%.

— The frequency of natural disasters on the planet between 2000 and 2006 increased by 187% compared to 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 over the past 30 years. There was only one winter in 1968 when temperatures were below the long-term average.

— Bacteria make up from 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 responsible for 30% of global mercury pollution.

— Groundwater pollution poses a potential threat of contamination of 97% of all free fresh water reserves on the planet.

— About a billion people in the world constantly suffer from indoor air pollution (various allergens, bacteria, dust, toxic emissions from 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 a source of millions of liters of highly hazardous waste entering the environment.

— Untreated wastewater has a profound impact on the health of 2.6 billion people.

— Air pollution in the Earth's cities causes the death of 865,000 people a year.

— 85% of the 8 million tons of lead that end up in the natural environment every year was contained in old batteries.

— Breathing Cairo's polluted air throughout the day is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

— Water pollution is responsible for the death of 14,000 people every day on Earth.

— 60% of acute respiratory diseases are associated with unfavorable environmental factors. They cause the death of 2 million children a year.

— Recent studies have found that 40% of deaths worldwide are associated with air, water and soil pollution.

— Every day, two million tons of human waste end up in natural water bodies.

— Plastic production increases 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 the 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 may cease to exist as a species by 2012.

— As a result of the thawing of permafrost, the area of ​​Russia is reduced by 30 square kilometers every year.

— According to a UN report at the climate change conference in Copenhagen, by 2050 the acidity of the world's oceans will increase by 150%, which will cause irreversible changes in marine ecosystems.

Interesting Facts about ecology.

1. Sweden imports about 80 thousand tons of garbage a year, as the government's program to generate electricity by burning waste has proven surprisingly effective. The main supplier of waste is Norway, and the Norwegian side pays for the transportation of waste, then the Swedes get energy from it, and the ashes from high content heavy metals and toxins are returned to their homeland. Note that 96% of all waste in Sweden is recycled, and only a small remainder is buried in the ground.

2. Cats, according to American scientists, pose a serious threat to the planet's ecosystem. Researchers hold them responsible for the extermination of at least 30 species of animals - in the United States alone, they kill up to 20 billion mammals and about 4 billion birds every year. Most often, cats harm the natural balance in places where they did not historically live, but were brought by people.

3. Activists of the Movement for the Voluntary Extinction of Humanity believe that there are too many people on the planet, and the population Homo sapiens poses a threat to the Earth. To solve this problem, they suggest that people give up having children and just gradually disappear.

4. Company Nike more than 20 years ago opened in different countries collection points around the world for old sneakers, which are then sent for recycling. Shredded rubber soles from worn shoes are turned into Treadmills, the fabric is converted into basketball court surfaces, and middle part foam becomes tennis court surfaces.

5. In the Swedish town of Helsingborg, the crematorium heats 60,000 homes - it provides 10% of the energy produced by the local energy company.

6. Cruise ship passengers who like to play golf can also take care of the environment - one company from Germany produces balls for this game from compressed fish food, so it’s not at all scary if such a ball flies overboard.

7. To save rhinoceroses from poachers in some countries, they are caught and their horns are sawed off under anesthesia - the main object of interest for criminals who have brought the animals to the brink of extinction.

8. At a coffee factory in the English city of Banbury, owned by KraftFoods, there is a power plant that runs on coffee grounds.

9. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also called the Eastern Garbage Continent, drifts in the North Pacific Ocean. The new continent is made up of approximately 100 million tons of plastic waste from Asia and the Americas.

10. In Australia, environmentalists are stretching artificial vines between eucalyptus trees growing along different sides highways to protect koalas from being killed by cars.

11. In Switzerland they invented unusual way using the heat generated by IBM data center servers - it is used to heat water in the local swimming pool.

12. Chistye Ponds in Moscow were previously called Nasty Ponds, as waste was dumped into them. Then this territory became part of the estate of Prince Menshikov, the ponds were cleaned out, and they received their modern name.

Interesting facts about ecology.

Throughout 2014, we looked through various media and selected interesting eco-facts. At the end of the passing year, we present to your attention these interesting facts.
- The energy spent on two attempts to search for information on Google is enough to boil water in a kettle.
- Currently, one single harmless Google search costs our planet 0.2 grams of carbon dioxide ending up in the atmosphere. How little do you think? And considering that more than half a billion people use the Google search engine every month?
- 12% of the entire surface of the Earth has the status of a nature reserve.

The largest reserve is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory "BIG ARCTIC RESERVE" with an area of ​​41,692.22 hectares of land founded on May 11, 1993

Sverdlovsk region “Visilisky Reserve” 335 hectares of land, founded on 06/06/1971.
- For each new car, 0.07 hectares of land must be allocated for the construction of roads and parking lots.
- Over the past 30 years, fish consumption in China has increased sixfold.
- 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 loses 25 billion tons of fertile soil every year. The area of ​​land that becomes unsuitable for agricultural production each year is equal to all of Australia's wheat fields combined.
- Approximately 28 percent of all methane emissions associated with human activity are released 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 accounted for 50% of all humanity. 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 there will already be 9 billion people living 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 (the equivalent of three million cars). This amount of electricity consumed is enough to power 2.4 million homes.
- On average, humanity withdraws 9% of all fresh water from the environment. This figure varies in different parts of our planet. Thus, 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%.
- The average North American resident uses 1,664 cubic meters of fresh water per year. Asia ranks second in terms of water consumption, where the average resident uses 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 are required to grow a kilogram of wheat.
- 15,000 liters of water are required to produce one kilogram of beef. The average resident of the USA and Europe uses 5,000 liters of water per day by eating meat. While for drinking and hygienic needs it uses “only” 100 - 250 liters of water per day.
- 2400 liters of water are used to produce one single hamburger. The main water uses when preparing a hamburger are growing wheat and livestock.
- 70-80% of all fresh water consumed by people is consumed in agriculture. Extremely inefficient use of water in the agricultural sector is typical for all countries of the world. 30% of water used in agriculture could 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 lose about half of its current biodiversity.
- Every year, 10 million children die on Earth, 200 million children under 5 years of age have developmental delays, 800 million people go to sleep 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 habitat 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 world's population has increased almost 3 times and more than 2 billion people have moved to cities. Every week, more than a million people join the population of cities around the world.
- Every sixth person in the world lives in dangerous and unfavorable conditions for health.
- To grow 1 kilogram of potatoes you need to spend 100 liters of water, 1 kilogram of rice - 4000 liters of water, 1 kilogram of beef - 13000 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 biofuel.

BIOFUEL fuel from plant or animal raw materials, from life products of organisms or organic industrial waste
- 80% of all extracted natural resources are consumed by 20% of the planet's population, the powerful. Moreover, most of the resources are extracted in developing countries, however, exactly half of the world's poor live in resource-rich countries.
- Even before the end of this century, irrational mining will lead to the fact that almost all the planet’s mineral reserves 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 weapons than on aid to developing countries.

Our method of development did not ensure the achievement of our goals. In 50 years, the gap between rich and poor has grown wider than ever. Today, half the planet's wealth is concentrated in the hands of 2% of the population. 1 billion people in the world suffer from hunger.
- 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 are devastating the oceans. 3/4 (75%) of fish resources are depleted or are under threat of extinction. Most of the large fish disappeared forever, since regular catches left them no chance to leave offspring. At the current rate of change in living conditions, all fish populations are in danger of extinction. However, fish is still included in the basic 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 water to irrigate fields, across the planet, every tenth major river no longer flows into the sea for several months of the year.
- The water level in the Dead Sea, deprived of the flow of the Jordan River, which is taken to irrigate fields, drops by 1 meter annually.
- About two billion people could suffer from water shortages by 2025.
- 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 marshes have been drained.
- Primeval forests are the habitat of 3/4 of the planet’s biological species. Over 40 years, the area of ​​the Amazon rainforest has decreased by 20%.
- Every year, 13 million hectares of forest disappear from the face of the Earth.
- Every fourth species of mammal, every eighth species of bird and every third species of amphibian are under threat of extinction. Species are currently becoming extinct at 1,000 times the natural rate.
- The thickness of the northern polar cap has decreased by 40% in 40 years. According to the most optimistic estimates, by the summer of 2030 this cap may completely disappear. According to the most pessimistic estimates, this will happen within a couple of years.

The average temperature has reached its highest level in the last 15 years.
- 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 at risk of extinction.
- The ice of Greenland contains 20% of all fresh water on the planet. If they melt, sea levels will rise by approximately 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 world's 15 largest cities are not located on coastlines or in river deltas.
- 30% of the planet's coral reefs have disappeared.
- 80% of the glaciers of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro have disappeared. The same fate awaits the Himalayas. All the largest rivers in 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 into glaciers is 1.5 billion, which is twice the amount of carbon dioxide contained in the Earth's atmosphere.
- Arctic ice has become 70 centimeters thinner in 5 years.
- In 2002, the total emissions of carbon dioxide caused by the operation of all data centers on the planet were estimated at 76 million tons. This amount is expected to triple by 2020.
- 5 tons of cosmetics (sunscreen, skin cream, lipstick, eye shadow) end up in the oceans every year. The female body absorbs 2.5 kg of cosmetics per year.
- Every year around the world, about 125 million working phones are thrown into landfills, which are simply tired of their owners.
- More than 90% of the region’s total river water intake is spent on irrigating agricultural fields in Central Asia.
- By 2050, the volume of river flow of the Amu Darya will be reduced by 10-15%, and the Syrdarya by 6-10%.
- Over the 20th century, the area of ​​glaciers in Tajikistan decreased by 20-30%, and in Afghanistan by 50-70%.

The frequency of natural disasters on the planet between 2000 and 2006 increased by 187% compared to 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 average long-term norm exceeded 2 degrees, and 9 of them over the past 30 years. There was only one winter in 1968 when temperatures were 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 per year.
- Artisanal gold mining is responsible for 30% of global mercury pollution.
- Groundwater pollution poses a potential threat of contamination of 97% of all free fresh water reserves on the planet.
- About a billion people in the world constantly suffer from indoor air pollution (various allergens, bacteria, dust, toxic emissions from 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 a source of millions of liters of highly hazardous waste entering the environment.
- Untreated wastewater has a profound impact on the health of 2.6 billion people.
- Air pollution in the Earth's cities causes the death of 865,000 people a year.
- 85% of the 8 million tons of lead that end up in the natural environment every year was contained in old batteries.
- Breathing Cairo's polluted air throughout 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 unfavorable environmental factors. They cause the death of 2 million children a year.
- Recent studies have found that 40% of deaths worldwide are associated with air, water and soil pollution.
- Every day, two million tons of human waste end up in natural water bodies.
- Plastic production increases 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 the 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 may cease to exist as a species by 2012.
- As a result of the thawing of permafrost, the area of ​​Russia is reduced by 30 square kilometers every year.
- According to the UN report at the climate change conference in Copenhagen, by 2050 the acidity of the world's oceans will increase by 150%, which will cause irreversible changes in marine ecosystems.

Atmospheric pollution is one of the main problems of our planet. Nature and people constantly suffer from harmful emissions into the environment. You will be extremely surprised to learn facts about air pollution that you never knew about.

Dirty air makes people fat

“It turns out that it’s all the air’s fault in my curvaceous!»

Everyone knows: dirty air is hard to breathe and causes illness. respiratory organs. But according to new research, the presence of this harmful factor leads to obesity! According to scientists, particles from industrial or cigarette smoke entering the lungs can cause inflammation in the body, which in turn reduces its ability to burn energy, leading to weight gain.

To confirm this theory, an experiment was conducted on mice at Ohio State University. They were placed in an environment with polluted air for a certain time. As a result, the rodents acquired characteristic “fat” on their bellies and around them. internal organs. A decrease in their sensitivity to insulin was also noted.

The study of this problem was not limited to animal experiments. Several studies have been conducted in the world's most polluted cities. The results confirmed that human body reacts to unclean air in a similar way.

Hong Cheng, a researcher at the Ontario Public Health System and the Clinical Evaluative Sciences Institute of Canada, studied the health records of 62,000 people over a 14-year period. He found that the risk of developing diabetes increased by 11% in those people who breathed particularly dirty air. Another scientist, Andrew Rundle from Columbia University, discovered a similar analogy. He stated that children growing up in polluted regions such as the Bronx are 2 to 3 times more likely to be obese than those living in cleaner environments.

Birds sing better in unfavorable environmental conditions

The louder the songs, the closer the environmental disaster is?

It's hard to believe that bad ecology can have any benefits, but it does. Scientists from Cardiff University in Wales found that male birds in polluted environments sing more melodiously.

Behavioral ecologist Shai Markman and his team chose wild European starlings as research subjects. These birds forage for food inside sewage treatment plants. The earthworms living there often contain harmful substances With high level chemical estrogen.

Researchers fed starlings contaminated worms. Over time, the area of ​​the bird's brain responsible for singing has increased in size. This allowed males to sing longer and more complex roulades - it is this ability that females pay attention to when searching for a partner. But researchers also found that pollution weakens the birds' immunity.

We can throw trash... in the sun

Clean up in one place and move to another? Good idea!

The “garbage” problem has become so global today that the most strange ways her decisions. One such idea was launching garbage into the sun. While broadcast on BBC4 radio, PhDs Adam Rutherford and Anna Fry confirmed that the seemingly stupid idea is not so fantastic after all. It will be very difficult to make it a reality, because launching rockets into space is extremely expensive. And here the price will also depend on the weight of the luggage.

But Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, which is developing cheap rockets, gives little hope for the success of the project. Perhaps, as space technology develops, “shooting” debris at the Sun will become an everyday reality.

Air purity affects the likelihood of suicide

“The air is clean, the breath is fresh. But weak..."

When we hear the word "suicide", the last thing that might come to mind is air pollution. However, breathing in dirty air increases the risk of suicide. Particularly critical periods are spring and autumn.

Researchers at the University of Utah studied the stories of more than 1,500 people who committed suicide from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010. Those that have been exposed to fine particles or nitrogen dioxide for three days before committing suicide, they completed their plan 5–20 percent more often than other people at risk.

Research leader Dr. Amanda Bakian noted that these results do not assign pollution a major role in causing suicide. But the interplay of psychological, physical and environmental factors can significantly increase the risk of suicide.

Pollution Shrinks the Brain

For some reason, most often in such cases it’s the brains that get it!

In 2015, the results of an interesting study were published. It turns out that the human brain can shrink as a result of prolonged exposure to dirty air! Boston scientists medical center examined 943 healthy residents of the New England area aged 60 years and older. The magnetic resonance imaging method was used to study the structure of the brain and its dependence on pollution in places where people live. It turned out that an increase in harmful particles in the air (for example, exhaust gases) of up to two micrograms per cubic meter leads to a reduction in brain volume by 0.32%. Which in turn is equivalent to one year of brain aging!

The same ill-fated 2 micrograms increase the risk of developing “silent” strokes by 46%! This disease affects the development of dementia and deterioration of cognitive function, but is asymptomatic - it can only be detected by brain scanning.

Want to help science? Breathe exhaust fumes!

There are few people interested in this type of experiment.

Residents of Canada can join in studying the long-term effects of dirty air on humans. Those wishing to participate in the program will breathe diesel exhaust gases for two hours in a sealed glass box with the following parameters: 1.2 meters - length, 1.8 - width, 2.1 - height. The quality of this air is comparable to that breathed by people in Beijing and Mexico City. During the experiment, volunteers can relax and watch their favorite series on Netflix.

So far there are very few people willing to take part in the experiment, so we have to use for this purpose guinea pigs. They think the project is very important. Inhaling dirty air for two hours a day can make changes to the genetic structure of living organisms, scientists say. But this factor does not affect the DNA sequence, unless another link can be added to the structure.

Pigeons fly faster in a polluted atmosphere

Does anyone else use this means of communication these days?

Although it sounds incredible, it is true: homing pigeons (also called racing pigeons) fly faster in polluted airspace! These birds are popular because they develop high flight speeds and are able to return to their “home base.”

The team analyzed data on high-speed homing pigeons from the North China Plain from 2013 to 2014. This region has the most polluted air in the country. It was expected that poor ecology would hinder the birds' homing, route accuracy, and flight speed.

However, the results showed the opposite. Feathered in such bad conditions fly faster. Scientists do not understand why this happens, but they have several theories about it. One of them is associated with aromatic impulses, which are especially important for birds. Presumably, very dirty air contains many organic and inorganic compounds. Their presence helps pigeons determine the location of the “home”.

Lack of clean air and excess of light in Hong Kong

There is little air, there is a lot of light... And why is Hong Kong considered heaven on earth?!

Air pollution in Hong Kong of the highest degree. But there is another problem - too much light. At night, this city glows a thousand times brighter than required by international standards.

There are two reasons for this problem. The first is the lack of rules for regulating artificial lighting, as, for example, in Sydney or London. Second, the Hong Kong authorities are literally obsessed with public safety. For this purpose, city parks and squares are illuminated at night so that the level of light is the same as on a clear day.

IN rural areas, for example, in the city of Lantau, and in wetland parks, people also suffer from an excess of light. This is quite a worrying factor. Recent studies have shown that it has a negative effect on animals that are awake at night.

The lungs of ancient Egyptians are no cleaner than those of modern humans

15 mummies is not an indicator?

Many people believe that air pollution is a modern problem. New research challenges this claim. Some ancient civilizations also suffered from this problem. Scientists examined 15 Egyptian mummies and found particulate matter in their lungs. They caused lung problems, heart disease and even cancer. Scientists were even more surprised when they discovered that fine particles similar to those that remain in the lungs today due to inhalation of car exhaust fumes.

In 2011, researcher Roger Montgomery found that the level of particulate matter in the lungs of ancient Egyptians was almost the same as that of our contemporaries, and the level was the same among people of different classes - among the poor and important people.

This discovery intrigued the public. Perhaps the reason is the presence of the mining industry at that time. But too many solid particles were found in the lungs of ancient Egyptians. The question of where they managed to find such polluted air still remains open.

Contamination of the atmospheres of other planets will help find extraterrestrial civilizations

Who knows, maybe with their antics the earthlings will provoke the indignation of other life forms?

Many people are interested in the search for extraterrestrial life beyond ours. solar system. How can we find other forms of life on planets millions of light years away? Answer: by examining the degree of their contamination.

James Webb plans to complete development by 2018 the latest telescope. Harvard inventors already believe that the discovery can be used to search for chlorofluorocarbons (abbreviated as CFCs) on distant planets. CFCs are greenhouse gases that damage the Earth's ozone layer.

Lead researcher Henry Lynn suggests that the detection of environmental contamination will help determine the approximate age of extraterrestrial civilization. Some harmful substances can accumulate and remain on the surface of the planet for 50 thousand years. Others are short-lived - dissolving into the atmosphere within one decade. If only long-lasting contamination is found on an alien planet, this may indicate that it was previously inhabited by extraterrestrial life forms that have long since died out.

Harvard researchers noted that the presence of CFCs in the atmosphere of the planet does not prove 100% the presence of traces of life. In addition, extraterrestrial civilizations may deliberately contaminate the atmospheres of planets that are too cold with pollutants to “warm” them, making them suitable for life.

Based on the above facts, we can draw an encouraging conclusion. Modern science does not stand still. Scientists carefully study the environmental problems of our planet and look for options for solving them. Some of the discoveries made during the search were shocking scientific world and the public. We are confident that these unexpected discoveries will help humanity take a big step in the fight against environmental pollution.