What is an ecological disaster?

Ecological disaster refers to the disaster brought to society and human beings by the destruction of ecosystem balance. Such as land desertification caused by uncontrolled land reclamation and uncontrolled deforestation. The disaster brought by desertification to society and human beings is an ecological disaster. For example, from June 5438+1 mid-October, 2008, the freezing weather of low temperature, rain and snow that lasted for more than1month swept through most parts of southern China, and the forest ecosystem and wildlife in many places were greatly destroyed, resulting in an ecological disaster, which can be said to be the most common disaster in this century. So, what is an ecological disaster? ecology

Ecological disaster refers to the destruction and loss of ecological structure and function caused by special interference events, which in turn causes harm, influence and extinction to related lives. The magnitude of disasters is large or small, and large-scale ecological disasters cover a large time and space scale, with a wide range of hazards and a long recovery time. How did these ecological disasters happen? Although the types of these early man-made ecological disasters are different, they have the following absurd similarities.

Those who enjoy the benefits and those who suffer the damage are always different, and those who destroy and save are also different. The scapegoat always repeats itself in history. The imperfection of the economic system always sacrifices ecology, which not only shifts the environmental cost to the people, but also causes a greater disparity between the rich and the poor. Therefore, many developing countries have suffered many serious ecological disasters, such as drought, flood, debris flow and sandstorm. With so many cases and lessons, the ecological disaster caused by people's ignorance, indifference and arrogance not only destroyed nature, but even destroyed themselves.

Therefore, ecological disasters need careful management, not only to recover afterwards, but also to prevent beforehand. First of all, the country needs the guarantee of ecological security, because many ecological disasters are gradually formed and need the monitoring and response of the country. Secondly, individuals need to adjust their lifestyles. Too many ecological disasters are caused by ignorance, which requires personal vigilance and cognition. Faced with so many ecological crises, there won't be much time left, and mankind must choose between saving and destroying as soon as possible. The factors that destroy the ecological balance are natural factors and human factors.

natural cause

Natural factors such as floods, droughts, earthquakes, typhoons, landslides and tsunamis. The destruction of ecological balance caused by natural factors is called the first environmental problem. The destruction of ecological balance caused by human factors is called the second environmental problem.

human factor

Human factors are the main cause of ecological imbalance. Human factors mainly include the following three aspects:

(1) changed the environmental factors. For example, human production and life activities produce a lot of waste gas, waste water, garbage and so on. , continuously discharged into the environment; Unreasonable or predatory use of natural resources by human beings, such as blind land reclamation, deforestation, excessive reclamation of water surface, overloading of grassland, etc., will worsen environmental quality, have short-term or long-term effects, and make the ecological balance unbalanced.

(2) changing biological species. In the ecosystem, blindly adding a species may destroy the ecological balance. For example, the Welland Canal, which was dug by the United States in 1929, connected the internal drainage with the ocean, causing octopus to enter the internal drainage, reducing the annual output of trout from 20 million kilograms to 5,000 kilograms, seriously damaging the inland aquatic resources. Reducing one species in the ecosystem may also destroy the ecological balance. In 1950s, China killed a large number of sparrows, which caused serious pests in some areas. The reason is that sparrows, the natural enemies of pests, have been killed, and pests have lost their natural inhibitors. For example, in 1859, a farmer brought 25 rabbits from England to Australia, which caused serious damage to the Australian ecosystem because there were no natural enemies. For another example, 1906, Kaba forest in Arizona, USA, killed carnivores to protect deer, which led to a large number of deer breeding, and finally there was no food and it was on the verge of extinction.

(3) Damage to the biological information system. Only through mutual information contact can organisms maintain their own clusters and reproduce normally. Man-made release of a substance into the environment interferes with or destroys the information connection between organisms, which may lead to imbalance or destruction of ecological balance. For example, many insects in nature induce male adults of the same species to mate by secreting and releasing sex pheromones. If the pollutants discharged into the atmosphere can react with them, the sex pheromones of female insects will lose their physiological activity of attracting male insects, which will inevitably affect the mating and reproduction of insects and eventually lead to the decline or even disappearance of the population.

Ozone depletion

The ozone layer is a layer with high ozone concentration in the upper atmosphere, which can block too much solar ultraviolet rays.

Irradiated to the surface of the earth, effectively protecting the normal growth of all living things on the ground. The destruction of the ozone layer is mainly achieved through the chain reaction that Freon, a chemical widely used in modern life, enters the stratosphere and decomposes into atomic chlorine under the action of ultraviolet rays. Recent studies have shown that the ozone content in the lower stratosphere 15-20km over Antarctica has decreased by 40%-50%, and the ozone loss may be as high as 95% at some heights. Ozone depletion has also occurred in the stratosphere of the Arctic. The destruction of ozone layer will increase the radiation intensity of ultraviolet β wave. According to statistical analysis, ozone concentration decreased by 65438 0%, skin cancer increased by 4%, and the incidence of cataract increased by 0.6%. By the beginning of this century, the ozone layer over the middle of the earth had decreased by 5%- 10%, which increased the number of skin cancer patients by 26%.

greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect means that carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and freon are high and greenhouse gases are high.

Emission into the atmosphere, raising global temperature. At present, the global annual emission of CO2 into the atmosphere is about 23 billion tons. Compared with the beginning of the 20th century, it increased by 20%. Up to now, it is still increasing at the rate of 0.5% per year, which will inevitably lead to global warming, ecosystem destruction and sea level rise. According to statistics, it is estimated that the global sea level will rise by about 20cm by 2030 and 65cm by the end of this century, which seriously threatens low-lying islands and coastal areas.

Land degradation and desertification

Land degradation and desertification refer to human activities such as grazing, farming and deforestation caused by people's transformation.

Factors and a series of natural factors work together to reduce the quality of land and gradually desertification. 15% of the global land area has been degraded to varying degrees due to human activities. In land degradation, water erosion accounts for 55.7%, wind erosion accounts for 28%, chemical phenomena (salinization, liquefaction and pollution) account for 12. 1%, and physical phenomena (waterlogging and subsidence) account for 4.2%. The average annual rate of soil erosion is about 0.5-2 tons per hectare. The world loses 6.5438+500,000 square hectares of irrigated land every year. 70% of agricultural arid and semi-arid land has been desertified, most seriously in North America, Africa, South America and Asia. In the past 20 years, the number of hungry refugees in the world has increased from 460 million to 550 million due to land degradation and desertification.

Pollution and transfer of waste

The pollution and transfer of waste refers to the waste gas, waste liquid and solid waste discharged into nature or other countries by industrial production and residents' life, which seriously pollutes the air, rivers, lakes, oceans and land environment and harms human health. At present, there are about 7 1800 chemical products on the market, of which about 35,000 are harmful to human health and ecosystem, and more than 500 are carcinogenic, teratogenic and catastrophic. According to research, 1 battery can pollute 60 liters of water, which can be used as 10 square meter.

Land loses its use value and its pollution can last for 20 years. Plastic bags can exist for 450 years in the natural state. Acid rain, the contemporary "death in the air", has been recognized for its influence and erosion on forest soil, lakes and various buildings. The transfer of hazardous waste often becomes a political event of international exchange. The illegal dumping of hazardous wastes by developed countries into the ocean and developing countries has caused great harm to developing countries, directly leading to environmental pollution in receiving areas and the health impact of residents. According to statistics, China's urban garbage has accumulated more than 6 billion tons over the years, occupying 500 million square meters of land, and the annual output of urban garbage per capita has reached 440 kilograms.

Reduction of forest area

Forests are known as "the lungs of the earth" and "the general dispatching room of nature", which have a great regulating effect on the environment.

Function. Due to a large number of imports from developed countries and land reclamation, logging and grazing in developing countries, the forest area has been greatly reduced. According to Greenpeace's estimation, 80% of the world's virgin forests have been destroyed since 100. According to the latest report of FAO, the forest coverage rate of the earth is only 26.6% if calculated by the total land area. Forest reduction leads to soil erosion, frequent floods, global warming and species extinction. Humans who blindly claim the earth have pushed the earth to a very dangerous situation.

Reduction in biodiversity

The reduction of biodiversity refers to all biological species, including animals, plants and microorganisms.

Due to the loss of ecological environment, over-exploitation of resources, environmental pollution and the introduction of exotic species, these species continue to disappear. It is estimated that there are about 30 million species on the earth. 724 species have become extinct since 1600. At present, 3,956 species are endangered, 3,647 endangered and 7,240 rare. Most experts believe that14 of the living things on the earth may face the danger of extinction in the next 20-30 years. In 1990-2020, 5%- 15% of the species in the world may be extinct, that is, there will be 40- 140 species every day. The existence of biodiversity plays an irreplaceable role in the evolution and protection of biosphere life support system.

Exhaustion of water resources

Water is the source of life. Water seems to be everywhere. However, the threat of drinking water shortage

The survival of mankind. At present, the global annual water consumption has reached 7 trillion cubic meters. In addition, the discharge of industrial wastewater, the abuse of chemical fertilizers, the random dumping of garbage and the sharp increase of domestic sewage have turned rivers into sewers and lakes into sewage fields. Deforestation caused a lot of water evaporation and loss, and drinking water decreased sharply. Water shortage has sounded the alarm for mankind. According to the water quality monitoring project of Global Environmental Monitoring System, about 10% of the monitored rivers in the world are polluted, and the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) value exceeds 6.5 mg/L, and the water bodies are polluted by nitrogen and phosphorus. The average phosphorus content of polluted rivers is 2.5 times that of unpolluted rivers. According to United Nations statistics, there are more than 100 countries and regions in the world in urgent need of domestic water, among which 43 countries are seriously short of water, endangering the survival of 2 billion people, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. Many scientists predict that water will become the scarcest resource for human beings in 2 1 century. As people hope, don't let human tears become the last drop of water on the earth.

nuclear pollution

Nuclear pollution refers to reflective pollution caused by nuclear leakage or even nuclear explosion due to various reasons.

It has a wide range of hazards, extremely serious damage to surrounding organisms, long duration and complex post-treatment risks. For example,1April 1986, a nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union, and130,000 people were evacuated, resulting in economic losses of1500 million dollars.

noise pollution

High-intensity noise produced by industrial machinery, construction machinery, automobiles, airplanes, etc. has caused great damage to human living environment and seriously affected human health.

The population explosion has overwhelmed the earth; Environmental pollution makes it scarred; Ecological imbalance made her lose her former glory; Species extinction endangers the whole biosphere. Facing the endless pollution, the river is crying, the spring is moaning and the sea is roaring. Forests disappear, streams sing, grasslands degenerate and dust flies. Our earth is overloaded; Our home is on the verge of decline, and the alarm of human beings is sounded by themselves, so it is urgent to save nature, ecology, environment and the earth. Otherwise, the end of mankind will be a cup of homemade poisoned wine. At present, the ecological disasters on the earth are getting more and more serious, and there is no silence. The scale of space spans land, sea and air, and the scale of time affects dozens of generations. The earth itself is the isomorphism of life, and the causal relationship is too complicated to imagine. It is difficult to measure the extent of ecological disasters. According to the statistics of World Watch, the number of ecological refugees caused by various ecological disasters is as high as 1 10 million every year. Let's have a look.

ozone hole

One of the most striking global ecological disasters is the hole in the ozone layer in the sky. Due to the destruction of human activities, the ozone layer is getting thinner and thinner. The ozone layer prevents radiation from reaching the surface. If the ozone layer continues to disappear, life on earth will disappear. Scientists point out that as long as the ozone layer changes to 1%, 10 years, tens of millions of people may develop skin cancer. In 2000, there were 2000 ozone holes in Antarctica. 8.3 million square kilometers, larger than three United States, extending to the southernmost tip of South America. There is also a hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic, which will affect densely populated areas such as Western Europe, Northeast Asia and North America.

Terrorist pollution incident of Rhine River

Let's take a look at a regional ecological disaster in Europe-the terrorist pollution of the Rhine River. German national television station ZDF exposed the chief culprit of the ecological disaster in the Rhine in recent years, that is, the terrorist activities of former Soviet agents. During the period of 1986, large chemical plants, pharmaceutical factories and their warehouses in Europe exploded one after another, and highly toxic chemicals flowed into the Rhine River, which brought devastating disasters to the Rhine River flowing through many countries and piled up dead fish. Even today, more than ten years later,

Armas oil spill pollution incident

An accidental local ecological disaster in Taiwan Province Province -- Amas oil spill pollution incident. Amas ran aground on the rocks in the eastern sea area of Hengchun Eguanbi, and about 1, 100 tons of heavy oil and diesel oil leaked from the ship, polluting the sea area and coast of Eguanbi. Under the northeast monsoon, the Longkeng Ecological Reserve in Kenting National Park bears the brunt of coral reefs.

Creating ecological disasters is not only the patent of modern people. Many man-made ecological disasters can be seen in history, even in prehistoric times. Loulan, a prosperous ancient country in Han Dynasty in China, died of desertification due to over-exploitation, which is a man-made ecological disaster recorded in history. A few days ago, Science magazine published an article saying that human beings killed a large number of wild animals, which led to the mass extinction of prehistoric animals on all continents. This was a man-made ecological disaster in prehistoric times. "At present, people's awareness of protecting the earth's resources is unprecedented, but the large-scale and extensive destruction of wildlife habitats has not slowed down. I am encouraged by the scientific and technological achievements of mankind, but the destruction of species diversity by these scientific and technological achievements makes me desperate. "

E.O. Wilson, a social biologist at Harvard University.

"In terms of environmental protection, marine protection is relatively backward. Because human beings have always thought that the ocean is so huge and rich, it is hard to imagine how human activities will affect such a behemoth. Unfortunately, we have caused irreparable damage to the ocean. "

-Jane Lubchenko, marine ecologist, University of Oregon, USA

"We must admit that in the past 10 years, human understanding of atmospheric chemical composition has improved a lot. Now almost everyone knows the word "greenhouse gas", and also knows that the exhaust gas emitted by factories and cars causes global warming. However, people are still ignorant of other hazards of' greenhouse gases', just like 10 years ago. "

-Shirley Rowland, atmospheric chemist at the University of California, Avon.

"When humans grow crops, they also destroy the topsoil of the soil. A large amount of topsoil was scraped up and then washed into the sea with the river. In the ocean, pesticides and insecticides are constantly accumulating, which is increasingly harmful to marine ecology. The key to solving this problem is that human beings should change the types of crops planted and have a variety of deeply planted plants, which is conducive to soil and water conservation. "

-Wes Jackson, crop geneticist

"Greenhouse gases have increased the atmospheric temperature and ocean water temperature. Once the water temperature of the ocean rises, it will be a global disaster, because the movement of ocean currents will make the water temperature of the oceans around the world as high. "

-Richard Barber, marine cartographer at Duke University

"Synthetic chemicals not only bring convenience to human life, but also interfere with hormones. Synthetic chemicals are everywhere on the earth, affecting the reproduction and development of human beings and all wild animals. But no country can ban synthetic chemicals from appearing in shopping malls, and we will continue to bear the side effects they bring. "

—— Ke Erpeng, Director of Wildlife and Pollutants Department of WWF

"On the issue of human attitude towards nature, the' Earth Summit' can be said to be a turning point. I hope people can realize that the protection of species diversity and the protection of natural environment such as wetlands and forests will affect the future operation mechanism of the earth. "

Hal Mooney, an environmental biologist at Stanford University, said

Edit this warning

"If human beings continue their current behavior without making any changes, then by the end of 2 1 century, the species on the earth will be reduced by half. If these data can't change human behavior, what else can warn humans? "

E.O. Wilson, a social biologist at Harvard University.

"When asked,' What do you get from nature?' At that time, most people's answers were food, fiber, drugs and genes. But most people don't know about other services provided by the ecosystem. It purifies air and water, regulates climate, enriches barren soil and controls pests and pathogens. Only when we lose these services will we realize their value. "

-Jane Lubchenko, marine ecologist, University of Oregon, USA

"The El Ni? o phenomenon has raised people's vigilance, but no one can say when the next El Ni? o will come again. No one knows whether its consequences are gradual or sudden. If it is a mutation, it is naturally not prepared to give human beings any chance. "

-Shirley Rowland, atmospheric chemist at the University of California, Avon.

"The relationship between agriculture and wildlife has always been concerned, but the relationship between agriculture and the ocean has not received enough attention. It has been warned before that the wild world will be destroyed if agriculture is not controlled. Now I want to warn that if agriculture is not controlled, the ocean will be finished. "

-Wes Jackson, crop geneticist

"65,438+000 years ago, when a hurricane hit mankind, people at that time would only ask the government,' What the hell is going on?' Now, the government has been able to predict hurricanes, understand the intensity and direction of hurricanes, and minimize people's losses. /kloc-what we need after 0/00 years is that the government should also understand other extreme natural disasters. "

-Richard Barber, marine cartographer at Duke University

"Now there is enough evidence to prove that chemicals can enter the uterus, affecting the development of the human brain and the formation and function of the immune system. Humans need smart descendants and wise decision makers. "

—— Ke Erpeng, Director of Wildlife and Pollutants Department of WWF

"History has proved that the opinions of a few people can awaken the attention of the public and then change the direction of social development. Now that scientists are United as never before, we will present more and clearer evidence to make the public and policy makers change their minds. "

Hal Mooney, an environmental biologist at Stanford University, began to pay attention to protecting the environment while pursuing his own development, which can be said to be a great progress for mankind.

In ancient times, the relationship between man and nature was unequal. Human beings are weak, limited by nature everywhere, but unable to change nature. Therefore, it has become a rare quality for human beings to regard nature as an enemy and the world as an enemy. The spirit of fools has been praised for thousands of years.

With the advent of the industrial age and the continuous improvement of human science and technology, the relationship between man and nature has been reversed, and man has become a strong man, while "gentle nature" has become an easily injured object. High-purity chemicals, such as pesticides, paints and detergents, pose a great threat to the natural environment; Large-scale energy consumption has changed the composition of the atmosphere, thus changing the climate of the earth; With the improvement of sanitary conditions and the sharp increase of population, human activities have destroyed a large number of forests and wetland resources on the earth. As a result, "gentle nature" has become "ferocious nature", and everything imposed on it by human beings will eventually be returned to human beings. In areas where water and soil are polluted by high-purity chemicals, the incidence of deformed children and terminal diseases is much higher than that of normal people; Once the oil resources are exhausted, the quality of human life and the normal operation of society will inevitably encounter problems; Abnormal climate will inevitably bring floods or droughts, and famine will also be accompanied by various natural disasters. "Cruel nature" will make human beings weak again, and the relationship between human beings and nature will return to the starting point.

In order to change this situation, human beings must protect "gentle nature" and prevent it from deteriorating. Protecting the environment is to protect human beings themselves, which is valuable knowledge after industrialization and extreme expansion of self-confidence.

Countries all over the world are also aware of this problem. 10 years ago, 178 leaders gathered in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to discuss environmental protection. The leaders plan to protect the earth's environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the welfare and development of mankind. 1997, 160 countries signed the Kyoto protocol aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Kyoto, Japan. However, the United States, the largest emitter of carbon dioxide, refused to implement it because emission reduction hindered economic development. Last year, at the Earth Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, world leaders and scientists continued to discuss plans to improve the environment.

Awareness of environmental protection is increasing.

After long-term publicity, environmental awareness has been accepted by many people and governments, and people have begun to care about the impact of human activities on nature, hoping that this impact will not worsen the natural environment. Governments began to deal with environmental problems through cooperation. The Rio de Janeiro Summit on 1992, the Kyoto Climate Conference on 1997, and the Johannesburg Summit last year all reflected the strengthening of the world's environmental awareness. Although the United States refuses to implement the Kyoto Protocol for its own benefit, which has caused great damage to future transnational environmental cooperation, the progress of international environmental protection efforts is an irreversible trend.

The clean car came out.

Hybrid electric vehicles have come out and run on the roads of Japan, Western Europe and the United States, which can greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The inventor of the "Super Car" company in Colorado, USA, is developing a zero-emission car. One of the cars is designed to use hydrogen as fuel. The inventor claims that it is unnecessary to bring drinking water when driving this car for a holiday, because it emits 100% pure water. The prospect of electric vehicles is also very promising, and it is likely to become the next generation of personal mobility tools.

Ban 12 "environmental killer"

At the United Nations General Assembly held in Stockholm, Sweden in 20001year, it was decided to restrict the use of 12 chemicals containing carbon and chlorine preparations worldwide. This move is to protect air, water and soil resources from pollution. The meeting called for limiting or completely eliminating persistent organic pollutants such as chlorine, DDT pesticides and PCBs pesticides. 1987, the agreement prohibiting the use of chlorofluorocarbons has played a role, and the destruction of the earth's ozone layer has slowed down.

Develop eco-tourism

The International Ecotourism Association, headquartered in the United States, describes ecotourism as "responsible tourism that protects the environment and supports the welfare of local people". Eco-tourism and its profits have become an important channel to support the financial revenue sources of developing countries around the world, and it is growing rapidly at an annual rate of 30%. The natural environment, like cultural traditions, has become an important driving force to attract tourists. But environmentalists are still worried that the market economy function of ecotourism is far greater than the significance of protecting the environment.

Corporate environmental protection movement

Large companies are increasingly aware that environmental protection can help them attract more customers. Xerox's "Waste-Free Plan" recycled 80% of the harmless solid waste produced by its factory in 2002. It also took out more than 60,000 tons of buried electronic waste and recycled it. This move by Xerox can save millions of dollars every year. Xerox's sustainable development method has been welcomed by environmental groups. Many large companies are also aware of the great role of environmental recycling. Shell, IBM and other world-renowned companies have launched their own "clean plan".

More environmentally friendly buildings

The most important standard of environmental protection building is to reduce energy consumption. Some houses in Europe began to install tiles to absorb solar energy, while "Trench" company in California began to install high-performance insulating glass on the roof of the office. The environmental protection design of the chesapeake bay Foundation headquarters office building in Annapolis, Maryland, USA is even better. The toilets in the office building are flushed with collected rainwater through a special water storage device. Use solar panels to power the office. Compared with ordinary buildings of the same area, this office building consumes only one-third of electricity and one-tenth of pure water.

Reduce the harm of acid rain

The United States and Europe have proved that the reduction of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions has greatly improved the earth's surface environment. In 1980s, developed countries began to control the emission of sulfur dioxide to reduce the great harm of acid rain to the environment. They began to ban factories from using carbon as fuel, and instead used cleaner energy sources such as natural gas and purified carbon to generate electricity. Cars have also been modified, using higher gasoline grades, and the emission of nitrogen dioxide after combustion is greatly reduced. The harm of acid rain in the United States and western Europe has been greatly reduced. Take Britain as an example. In the past 15 years, the harm of acid rain has been reduced by half.