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

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

North America, whose environmental problems are quite significant, and the issue of environmental protection is extremely acute, is one of the most progressive regions in the world. For the sake of prosperity, the United States and Canada have to sacrifice their nature. So what are the difficulties in ensuring environmental safety facing the inhabitants of the North American continent, and what are they threatening in the future?

Technological progress

First of all, it should be noted that the living conditions of the city's population deteriorate over time, especially for industrial centers. The reason for this is the active exploitation of natural resources - soil, surface water, air pollution and the environment, destruction of vegetation. However, the most important links in the natural environment - soil, hydrosphere and atmosphere - are interrelated, and the human impact on each of them is reflected in the rest, so the destructive processes become global.

While North America is developing, the continent's environmental problems are becoming ever more acute. Evenly, with progress, the natural natural landscape is destroyed and displaced, followed by its replacement by an artificial environment, which can be harmful and even unfit for people's lives. Already in the second half of the XX century, the mass of waste in the North American continent was 5-6 billion tons per year, of which at least 20% were chemically active.

Traffic fumes

The problem of exhaust gases is relevant today in the whole world, however, on the west coast of the USA in the state of California the situation is especially difficult. In these places along the mainland there is a cold current, as a result of which steam condenses over the coastal waters, in which large volumes of automobile exhaust are concentrated. In addition, during the summer half of the year there is anticyclone weather, which contributes to increasing the influx of solar radiation, as a result of which complex chemical transformations take place in the atmosphere. The consequence of this is a dense fog, in which the mass of toxic substances is concentrated.

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

Depletion of water resources

What other environmental problems exist in North America? On the mainland today, things are very bad with water resources - they are simply depleted. On the continent, the level of water consumption continuously increases, and today it exceeds the permissible level. Even in the last century, the American specialist A. Walman published research results according to which more than half of the population of the United States consumes water, which was used at least once and passed through the sewage system.

Under these circumstances, it is difficult to fulfill two very important conditions: along with the restoration of the quality of water, it is necessary to constantly ensure the availability of its natural volume in rivers and other water bodies. In 2015, the largest reservoir in the country has significantly lowered the water level, and scientists warn that this may be the beginning of a longer drought.

Water pollution

The ecological problems of the rivers of North America are not limited to exhaustion alone. The list of negative factors in this area is quite long, but mostly it is pollution of water bodies. Wastes are thrown away in them, in which something is not contained, and shipping also causes considerable damage.

Also today, a lot of damage causes thermal pollution. About a third of the water that is taken annually from the rivers falls on nuclear and thermal power plants, in which it heats up and returns to the reservoir. The temperature of such water is higher by 10-12%, and the oxygen content is noticeably lower, which plays a significant role and often causes the death of many living organisms.

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

Other nature

A unique landscape and a very rich flora and fauna has the North America located almost in all the latitudes of the hemisphere. Environmental problems have reached the virgin nature of the continent. On its territory there are several dozens of national parks that have become in today's conditions almost the only places in which many millions of city residents can rest from the noise and mud of megacities. The influx of visitors and tourists, increasing with incredible speed, affects their ecological balance, which is why today some unique species of animals and plants are on the verge of extinction.

The fact that not only a person is a source of pollution is saddened - it is washed out by rain water and blown out by the wind, and then various toxic substances contained in rock heaps move into rivers. Such dumps can often stretch along the riverbed for long distances, constantly polluting the reservoir.

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

Exploitation of natural resources

As already mentioned, the environmental problems of the continent are largely due to the high technological level of development of the United States and Canada. Natural resources of North America are diverse and numerous: the bowels of the continent are rich in oil, natural gas, the most important minerals. Huge timber reserves in the north and favorable for agricultural land of the south for many years have been used too much, which was the result of many environmental problems.

Shale gas

Recently, a lot of hype has arisen around the shale gas - it is increasingly being extracted by North America. Ecological problems that can arise with the use of certain technologies, apparently, are of little concern to companies engaged in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons from shale reservoirs. Unfortunately, political intrigues play a role in promoting this type of extraction of energy resources, and the possible consequences for the environment are sometimes not taken into account. So, the US government has taken a course to acquire independence from energy supplies from foreign markets, and if yesterday the country bought gas from neighboring Canada, today it is already positioning itself as an exporting country of hydrocarbons. And all this is done to the detriment of the environment.

Findings for the future

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

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