How can people help the earth. Security of the planet Earth. Ecological and technogenic catastrophes. How to Save the Earth. economical driving rules

The trend of the new millennium is conscious consumption and economical use of natural resources. How to make the planet cleaner and save from garbage?

Admit it, the ecological situation is horrifying, uncontrolled garbage cemeteries, our indifference and haste. What will we leave to our children and descendants? The question is not rhetorical, but requires fundamental changes in our minds.

If you think that taking the first step is hard and you don’t have enough motivation, then you are deeply mistaken. Put economy, cleanliness and then the global cleansing of the planet at the forefront of your priorities - this is a strange and contradictory set 100% works! Every miracle starts with small steps!

1. Replacing plastic bags with fabric bags and bags

The solution to the problem came from vegans. It was they who had the first fabric bags and bags in the shops. Let's analyze the pros and cons. Now you can get rid of the numerous bags in the bag, free up the bowels of the kitchen cabinet or the space under the sink! It is there, most often, that the deposits of packages are stored.

A lightweight cotton fabric bag fits perfectly in even a small women's bag, is much stronger and more durable than a bag, and, importantly, is more environmentally friendly. The only "but", it requires washing and drying. Perhaps this is the only negative and concern for the owner.

2. Using batteries and rechargeable batteries

If you can’t refuse to use batteries, then bet on proper disposal and purchase batteries that only need to be recharged periodically. Recycling will allow you to quickly recycle the material, and rechargeable batteries will significantly save the family budget.

3. Down with household chemicals - we are looking for an environmentally friendly alternative!

Modern household chemicals make life much easier for a woman, simplifying and speeding up household chores. The only reason we refuse chemicals is food and skin allergic reactions. Unfortunately, every year there are more and more such complaints. How to solve it? We will use "grandmother's" means and proven methods. To do this, you need vinegar, lemon juice, mustard for washing dishes, soap root for washing. A kit that saves many allergy sufferers! After spending only 5-10 minutes, you can find a lot of recommendations and tips on the ratio of ingredients.

4. Disposable bottles are a thing of the past, we are looking for a replacement!

Of course, plastic bottles are very convenient, they are light and have different volumes, but used plastic decomposes up to 500 years! Unless it is a biodegradable material, such a discarded bottle takes much less time to decompose - about a year.

What came to replace the usual disposable plastic? Containers made of biodegradable material, bottles with built-in filters, soft reusable bags, and the list of eco-innovations is updated daily.

5. Install the water sprayer on the faucet

We often use tap water completely thoughtlessly. Did you know that only the morning procedure, brushing your teeth and washing your face takes up to 5 liters of water. And during the day, one person can take up to 250 liters. It's scary to think how much water is wasted if the family is large, and even with a small child! Washing dishes, cleaning, showering family members…

We do not call for saving on hygiene, but only for consciousness. After all, you can turn off the water while you are washing or brushing your teeth, do not run the washing machine with 2-3 things, and one more tip - install aerators, special nozzles for taps. They reduce water consumption by 50%, and modern models also additionally purify water from terrible impurities!

6. Looking for a new use for old things

How hard it is sometimes to part with your favorite things, agree. But sometimes a strict revision is still required in cabinets and living space. Something can be given as a gift to the needy, unnecessary, but valuable - to sell, send something "courageously" to the scrap, and give something a new life in an apartment or in the country!

Pots perfectly turn into flower pots, broken dishes into a skillful panel in the country, bright rugs can be made from old T-shirts. Immediately wake up the creativity and the sleeping genius in yourself, let you create and get up!

Do not flatter yourself with the illusion that someday you will lose the hated 10 kilograms and fit into a dress or jeans 15 years ago. Charitable foundations, shelters, churches will gratefully accept your old clothes. The main thing is to bring it in a good, washed condition, and give it back with a pure heart!

7. We help shelters and “adopt” a new family member

Animal shelters are a headache not only for animal rights activists, but also for their owners who are trying to help four-legged homeless children. How to help them make their city safe and clean?

We cannot influence the increase in the number of animals, but we can help with money and medicine, or shelter a little friend. Alas, he will not have a rich pedigree and he will not be able to show off at the exhibition either, but you will gain a reliable friend.

8. Install the motion sensor

Everyone associates motion sensors with foreign films and institutions where security is strictly monitored. We assure you that such innovations are appropriate for apartments and country houses. Sensors will significantly save energy consumption by almost 70%. With simple mathematical calculations, you will understand that the cost of purchasing and installing the device quickly pays off! Why pay more?

9. Sorting garbage

Properly recycled waste in Europe and Japan makes it possible to heat houses, generate electricity, and receive new items of use. Fortunately, we, too, are developing innovative ways to recycle. You just need to learn and help. As a standard, collection points accept plastic, glass, paper, metal products, food waste, lamps and batteries separately. By the way, did you know that expired medicines should not be thrown away in a twisted form? Required, go pour it down the drain and wash the bottle, or mix the tablets with crushed food waste.

10. Brewing instead of tea bags

An incredible number of various flavored bags delight us during a five-minute break and cheer us up. Here you have aromas with the smell of chocolate, and with mango and strawberries, how can you refuse such a temptation? It is possible and necessary! Tea connoisseurs unanimously claim that tea bags are the worst evil. And the point is not that there is practically no tea in the bags, but that they decompose for a very, very long time.

Give preference to brewed tea, it is more useful and fragrant, and you only need a couple of minutes more time for brewing.

Last August 2016 QA2. It was first noticed and recorded only a few hours before a dangerous approach to our planet - a celestial body ranging in size from 15 to 50 meters missed the Earth at a distance of 85,000 kilometers, which is less than a quarter of the distance to the Moon. In the event of a collision, the force of the explosion would be twice as strong as when the Chelyabinsk meteorite fell in 2013.

The fall of a larger asteroid. The question arises: can we humans do anything to avoid a sudden ground or air explosion with a capacity of up to one hundred million megatons?

Theoretically, anti-missile defense (ABM) systems such as the A-135/A-235 missiles that defended Moscow could detect and attack a small asteroid at an altitude of up to 850 kilometers. Some of these exoatmospheric missiles have nuclear warheads. In theory, even a weak warhead is enough to initiate the destruction of a body similar to the Chelyabinsk or Tunguska meteorite. If it breaks up into fragments less than ten meters, each of them will burn up high in the atmosphere. And the resulting blast wave will not even be able to knock out the windows in residential buildings.

However, the peculiarity of meteoroids and asteroids falling to Earth from space is that most of them move at speeds of 17-74 kilometers per second. This is 2-9 times faster than A-135/A-235 anti-missiles. It is impossible to accurately predict in advance the trajectory of a body with an asymmetric shape and an unclear mass. Therefore, even the best anti-missiles of earthlings are not able to hit the "Chelyabinsk" or "Tungus". Moreover, this problem is unrecoverable: chemical-fueled rockets cannot physically provide speeds of 70 kilometers per second or more. In addition, the probability of an asteroid falling on Moscow is minimal, and other major cities in the world are not even protected by such a system. All this makes a standard missile defense system very ineffective in combating space threats.

Bodies less than a hundred meters in diameter are generally very difficult to notice before they begin to fall to Earth. They are small, usually dark in color, making them difficult to see against the background of the black depths of space. It will not work to send a spacecraft to them in advance in order to change their trajectory. If such a celestial body can be seen, it will be done at the last moment, when there is almost no time left for reaction. So, the August asteroid was seen just twenty hours before the approach. It is clear that he "aims" more precisely - and there would be nothing to stop the heavenly guest. Conclusion: we need some other "close combat" means that allow us to intercept targets many times faster than our best ballistic missiles. The most promising weapons of this type would be huge orbital constellations of powerful, coordinated lasers (the "Death Star"), which we will talk about a little later.

Since 2016, most of the bodies over 120 meters in diameter, we will be able to see. It is this year that the commissioning of the Mauna Loa telescope in Hawaii is planned. It will be the second in the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) being developed by the University of Hawaii. However, even before its introduction, ATLAS had already seen its first near-Earth asteroid with a diameter of less than 150 meters.

However, even ahead of time, an asteroid discovered hundreds of meters in size cannot be quickly "deployed" in such a way that it avoids a collision with the Earth. The problem here is that its kinetic energy is so great that a standard thermonuclear warhead simply cannot provide an explosion on impact. A contact impact at a collision velocity above 300 meters per second will physically crush the elements of a nuclear warhead even before it has time to explode: after all, the mechanisms that ensure the explosion take time to operate. In addition, according to the calculations of specialists from NASA, even if the warhead miraculously explodes (hitting the asteroid "from behind", on a catch-up course), this will change almost nothing. An object hundreds of meters in diameter has such a curvature of the surface that more than 90 percent of the energy of a thermonuclear explosion will simply dissipate into space, and not go to correct the asteroid's orbit.

There is a method to overcome the asteroid "curvature protection" and "speed protection". After the fall of the Chelyabinsk body, NASA introduced the Hypervelocity Asteroid Intercept Vehicle (HAIV) concept. This is a tandem anti-asteroid system in which the warhead is a non-nuclear blank. When correcting the orbit of the asteroid, it will hit it first, and at a speed of about ten kilometers per second, leaving behind a small funnel. It is in this funnel that it is planned to send the second part of HAIV - a warhead with a yield of 300 kilotons to two megatons. Exactly at the moment when the second part of HAIV enters the funnel, but has not yet touched its bottom, the charge will be detonated, and the main part of its energy will be transferred to the victim asteroid.

A similar approach to fighting medium-sized asteroids was recently worked out on the Skif supercomputer by researchers from Tomsk State University. They simulated the detonation of an Apophis-type asteroid by a megaton nuclear warhead. At the same time, it was possible to find out that the optimal moment of detonation would be the one when the asteroid, even before the last approach to the planet, passes at some distance from it. In this case, the exploded debris will continue to travel away from the Earth. Accordingly, the danger of a meteor shower from fragments of a celestial body will be reduced to zero. And this is important: after a nuclear explosion of the required (megaton) power, the fragments of the asteroid will carry more radiation threat than Chernobyl.

At first glance, HAIV or its analogues close all problems. Bodies less than 300 meters after such a double impact will fall to pieces. Only about a thousandth of their mass will enter the Earth's atmosphere. Larger bodies, especially metallic asteroids, won't give up so easily. But even in them, the evaporation of matter from the funnel will give a significant impulse, significantly changing the initial orbit. According to calculations, one such anti-asteroid "shot" should cost 0.5-1.5 billion dollars - mere trifles, less than the cost of one rover or B-2 bomber.

One trouble - it is unreasonable to rely on weapons that have never been tested at least at the training ground. And NASA currently receives about one-fortieth of US military spending annually. With such a modest "ration", the agency is simply not able to allocate hundreds of millions for HAIV testing. But even if such tests were carried out, there would be little sense from them. The same ATLAS promises to warn about a medium-sized asteroid in a month, or even a couple of weeks. It is impossible to build HAIV from scratch in such a time, and keeping it on alert is too expensive for NASA's modest, by American standards, budget.

The prospects for humanity in the fight against large asteroids - especially more than a kilometer - at first glance look much better than in the case of small and medium ones. Kilometer objects in most cases can be seen in already deployed telescopes, including space ones. Of course, not always: in 2009, near-Earth asteroids with a diameter of 2-3 kilometers were discovered. The fact that such discoveries are still taking place means that there is a chance of suddenly finding a large body approaching our planet, even with the current level of development of astronomy. However, it is quite obvious that there are fewer and fewer such objects every year, and in the foreseeable future they may not remain at all.

Even our country, despite the lack of allocated state funding for the search for asteroid threats, plays a significant role in tracking them. In 2012, the group of Vladimir Lipunov from Moscow State University created a global network of MASTER robotic telescopes, covering both a number of domestic and foreign instruments. In 2014, the MASTER network discovered the four-hundred-meter 2014 UR 116, potentially capable of colliding with our planet in the foreseeable future.

However, large asteroids have their own unpleasant features. Suppose we learned that the seventy-kilometer 55576 Amik, with a potentially unstable orbit, is heading towards Earth. It is possible to "treat" it with a tandem HAIV with a thermonuclear warhead, but this would create unnecessary risks. What if, in doing so, we cause the asteroid to lose one of its loose parts? In addition, large bodies of this kind have satellites - in themselves they are not so small. A close explosion can provoke a sharp change in the satellite's orbit, which can lead the disturbed body anywhere - and to our planet too.

Let's take one example. The aforementioned network of MASTER telescopes discovered 2014 UR 116 less than 13 million kilometers from Earth a year and a half ago. If he was heading towards the planet even at a moderate speed of 17 kilometers per second, their paths would have crossed in less than ten days. At a speed of rapprochement of 70 kilometers per second, it would be about a matter of days. If a thermonuclear explosion breaks off a series of fragments from a multi-kilometer body, one of them can easily escape our attention. And when it appears in the field of view of telescopes a few million kilometers away, it will be too late to start production of another HAIV interceptor.

Certainly, large bodies that are known to collide in advance can be interacted with more safely and without explosion. Thus, the Yarkovsky effect constantly changes the orbit of almost all asteroids, and without the danger of their dramatic destruction or loss of satellites. The effect lies in the fact that the part of the asteroid heated by the Sun during its rotation inevitably falls into the unlit night zone. There it gives off heat to space through infrared radiation. The photons of the latter give the asteroid an impulse in the opposite direction.

It is believed that the effect is easy to use to divert large "dinosaur killers" from a dangerous trajectory of rendezvous with the Earth. It is enough to send a small probe to the asteroid, carrying a robot with a balloon of white paint. By spraying it on a large surface, it is possible to achieve a sharp change in the Yarkovsky effect acting on the body. Thus, a white surface, for example, emits photons less actively, weakening the strength of the effect and changing the direction of the asteroid's motion.

It may seem that the effect is in any case too small to affect anything. For example, for the asteroid Golevka with a mass of 210 million tons, it is approximately 0.3 newtons. What can such a "power" change in relation to a celestial body? Oddly enough, over the years, the effect will be quite serious. From 1991 to 2003, the trajectory of Golevka deviated from the calculated one by 15 kilometers because of him.

There are other ways to slowly remove a large body from a dangerous orbit. On the asteroid, you can install a solar sail made of film or throw a carbon fiber net over it (both options were worked out by NASA). In both cases, the light pressure of the sun's rays on the celestial body will increase, which means that it will gradually move away from the Sun, avoiding collision with us.

Sending a probe with paint, a sail or a net would mean a deep space mission that would cost far more than launching a tandem HAIV. But this option is much safer: it will not create unpredictable changes in the orbit of the fired large asteroid. Accordingly, there will be no threat of detachment from it of large fragments capable of falling to Earth in the future.

It is easy to see that such protection against a large asteroid has its weak points. Today, no one has a finished rocket with a robot-painter; it will take many years to prepare it for flight. In addition, sometimes space probes break down. If the device "fails" on a distant comet or asteroid, like the Japanese "Hayabusa" on the asteroid Itokawa in 2005, there may simply not be time for a second attempt at painting on a cosmic scale. Are there more reliable methods that exclude unsafe thermonuclear bombardment and sending not always reliable probes?

Well, there are some suggestions. Philip Lubin from the University of California at Santa Barbara (USA) presented the Directed Energy Solar Targeting of Asteroids and exploRation (DE-STAR) project a few years ago. It requires the creation of an orbital platform similar to the enlarged ISS. It will be composed of many separate modules with solar panels and lasers. All lasers will act in concert, creating a so-called phased array antenna. In it, the amplitude-phase distribution of the radiation of individual lasers will be chosen in such a way that the electromagnetic waves from them "add" to each other. This will effectively amplify radiation in one desired direction and suppress its scattering in all others. The result is, as it were, one super-powerful laser.

The size of such platforms may vary depending on the specific task. A hundred-meter DE-STAR 2 (approximately from the ISS) can "push" large asteroids and comets in the direction we need with light pressure directly from the earth's orbit, without risky flights to distant bodies. The distance of such an impact, in principle, can be billions of kilometers. This is surely enough to correct the trajectory of any near-Earth body, even kilometer-sized. What is important, many modules cannot fail at the same time, which means that the deviation of the asteroid will be guaranteed.

With some scaling (DE-STAR 4, ten kilometers in diameter), the system will have enough energy to completely vaporize a typical asteroid 500 meters in diameter in just a year. Small bodies DE-STAR 4 can destroy in a matter of days or even hours. Such a defense system looks universal, suitable both against large and medium-sized bodies like Apophis, and against small ones like the Chelyabinsk or Tunguska meteorites. Of course, DE-STAR 4 will obviously be an expensive project. But due to its enormous capabilities, it was originally conceived by Lubin as a multi-purpose one. Its energy is enough to accelerate a small space probe to speeds of thousands of kilometers per second, which is quite enough to explore the most remote corners of the solar system or (when zoomed in) even the neighborhoods of nearby stars.

All of the above seems to inspire hope. HAIV already at the current technological level can be used as a means of "close combat" against small bodies that could not be detected long before a dangerous approach. DE-STAR 2, deployed in orbit, is quite capable of preventing even a body like the Chicxulub asteroid that killed the dinosaurs from approaching the Earth. Such two-layer protection (or one-layer - in the case of DE-STAR 4) looks quite sufficient. Why, with quite well-developed and balanced projects, the same NASA, which collaborated with the creators of both concepts, is not at all in a hurry to put them in the budget? And Roskosmos, where after the explosion over Chelyabinsk a lot was said about plans to create such a system, is somehow in no hurry to report on their implementation ...

The reasons for the modesty of the world's leading space agencies are quite understandable. It's not about the low probability of an asteroid impact. If the chances of a nuclear war are assessed as low, then the fall of a large asteroid to Earth will happen sooner or later with one hundred percent probability. Nevertheless, billions of dollars are spent on nuclear arsenals around the world, and hundreds of millions are not allocated to protect against asteroids.

The difference is due to the fact that nuclear weapons have already killed a lot of people. But the fall of a significant asteroid in populated areas in the written history of mankind has not yet been recorded. Yes, if the Tunguska meteorite exploded in 1909 four hours earlier (over Vyborg and St. Petersburg) - and Hiroshima and Nagasaki (thousand times weaker) would seem like children's toys. Then the priorities of modern mankind would be further from missile defense and closer to the creation of a reliable anti-asteroid defense.

In Western countries, the situation is further aggravated by the fact that no administration plans space programs for more than a few years. Everyone rightfully fears that when power is transferred, the new administration will immediately close the expensive programs of its predecessors. So there is no point in starting them. In states like the PRC, everything is formally better. The horizon of planning there is moved far into the future. However, in practice they do not have either technological (China) or financial ( Russia) opportunities for deploying tandem systems like HAIV or orbital laser arrays of the DE-STAR type.

All this means that the projects described above will begin their implementation only after a multi-megaton explosion of a body not noticed in time over a densely populated area. Such an event - which, in general, is bound to happen sooner or later - will definitely cause human casualties. Only after that we can confidently wait for a political sanction for the construction of anti-asteroid defense systems both in the West and, possibly, in Russia.

Who would have thought a hundred years ago that the Earth would be in danger? Moreover, the danger is the fault of the people themselves! Unfortunately, back in the 80s of the 20th century, scientists observing the state of the environment began to sound the alarm.

For about thirty years now, the question of the safety of the planet, as well as its salvation from destruction, has been acute. What is happening, is it possible to fix everything, how to live in harmony with nature and with each other? You will find answers to all these questions below.

What was the planet before...

The Lord created the Universe, stars, planets, satellites. But at the same time, he chose the only planet on which there should be life - this is the Earth. At first there was water, then land gradually appeared, and continents formed. Then the planet began to fill with flora and fauna. The first people appeared. As is known from history, they obtained food from bushes, plants, used herbs, hunted animals. Later they began to build houses from natural raw materials. But this did not worsen the ecological situation. Why? Because man took only what nature gave.

At present, disputes about how old the planet Earth is do not stop. In fact, you need to think about something else: how to protect it from destruction through the fault of people. We must go back to history to understand what our mistake is.

Comparison of past and future

Since ancient times, people have used the material that they found around them: stone, earth, water, plants. Stone, earth were used in construction, and water and plants were used more for food. Of course, if waste was formed, then they decomposed naturally or again became a full-fledged object of nature.

Also, there was no powerful technique for extracting oil, ore from the depths of the earth. In addition, horses with chariots, carts or wagons were always used as transport. There were no factories. There were more villages than cities. The only thing that could disturb ancient scientists, especially astronomers, was meteorites, which from time to time fly past or almost above the surface of the Earth. But, of course, even at the present time it is impossible to create conditions for the safety of the planet, it is very difficult to control the elements, especially those of huge masses and sizes.

Further, it should be noted that never before the 19th-20th centuries were any devices capable of causing harm created. There were no power plants, nuclear power facilities. People have always used what they have: they need lighting and heat - they make a fire, they need to wash themselves - they bathe in the cleanest reservoirs and so on.

Modern furnishings

The third millennium is an era not only of information technologies, but also of an ecological crisis. There are very few places left in the world untouched by human hands. In addition, with winds and precipitation, toxic substances are carried through the air, settling everywhere.

The first and most global man-made disaster occurred in 1986 during the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Within a radius of more than two hundred kilometers, the earth was contaminated with radiation particles that could not only kill all life, but also be transported with rain and wind to other regions.

The automotive industry also began to actively develop. If at the end of the 80s of the 20th century not all people could buy a personal car, now one person can have two of them, and a family can have as many as five! But what harm do cars bring? We are talking about exhaust gases that fly into the air. To understand how millions of cars pollute the environment in a metropolis, you need to go for a few days to nature, far from settlements, where the air is cleanest. If you start a car engine in such a pristine place as a forest and a field, you can smell an unpleasant exhaust smell that sharply pollutes the environment. Now imagine that in the cities we only breathe fumes, we just got used to it! Therefore, the security of the planet is at risk.

Due to multiple emissions of CO 2 (carbon dioxide), the temperature in locality much higher than it should be. After all, harmful impurities fly out of the internal combustion engine through the exhaust pipe with a current of hot air. Why is there a difference of 5 or even 10 degrees Celsius? Because the exhaust gases of cars, the walls of high buildings made of reinforced concrete, the fumes and smoke from factories, thermal power plants heat up the air a lot. Global warming is another environmental problem that can slowly but surely lead to the death of all living things.

If you plunge into the past again, you will notice that our ancestors traded things, products by weight, or prepared environmentally friendly packaging. There were no plastic bags, no cling film, no wrappers. There were also no plastic bottles. All these are materials of artificial origin - non-combustible, indestructible. In addition, they are produced in large quantities. Modern people throw them into landfills, leave them in nature. Thus, the garbage becomes more and more.

There was a lot of noise:

• transport,
• music,
• construction equipment,
• cleaning units and so on.

In addition to the above, there are many more factors that destroy nature. It is worth talking about each of them separately, and at the same time we will think together how each of us can save the Earth.

Instead of a car and a motorcycle - a bicycle

Any modern transport (car, bus, motorcycle) creates an unfavorable environment, not only polluting the air, but also creating noise. Many people are tired of such sounds up to the deterioration of their health. Once in Europe, an idea was proposed: on one holiday, to ban travel around the city by a private car if you have a bicycle. This idea was picked up by many citizens.

If all physically healthy and able-bodied people agreed to work / study in good and warm weather to ride a bicycle, then one could enjoy the silence. Of course, it is impossible to clean the air from exhaust gases in a few days, but further environmental destruction, up to global warming, can be prevented.

In addition, a bicycle is not just a transport, it will help improve well-being and improve health.

We throw garbage only in the container

In any settlement there must be garbage containers, tanks and trash cans. Each person undertakes to throw away even a small mote in a specially designated place.

Unfortunately, there are two problems:

1. The amount of expected garbage is much more than containers and bins.
2. There are people who are not accustomed to keeping a used item with them until they can throw it in the trash can.

In addition, the amount of indestructible garbage is becoming more and more in forest plantations, in glades and in forests. It has been stale for years in the same place, rotting.

Remember that our home - the planet Earth, is unique! This is nowhere else! Life is given to us so that we create it, not destroy it. Learn to clean up after yourself everything that you want to leave after picnics, swimming, hiking. Agree, how insulting and bitter it will be if you want to come, relax in nature, where there is a forest, cleanliness, birds sing, but there is rubbish all around! If it is there, do not join, do not add your "mite".

Burning environmentally friendly items

Do not leave paper bags, matchboxes and other combustible items that do not pose a danger to people and the environment. It is better to burn them where the risk of ignition of nearby places is minimal, for example, on bare ground among stones and near a reservoir.

Of course, smoke is not very good, but as they say, there is no smoke without fire. People have used fire at all times. And if it is used wisely, observing safety precautions, then you can help nature, and not harm it.

The preservation of life on Earth depends entirely on us - people. The more benefits we bring to nature, the more chances to save it. But, unfortunately, the lost cannot be returned.

Disposal of household items

It is difficult to imagine now a house that does not have any household appliances at all. At least a stove and a refrigerator can be found in every residential sector. But over time, technology deteriorates. If it cannot be adapted to other needs, the question of disposal arises. As a rule, in our country, people take large items to a landfill.

In many highly developed countries there are special points for the disposal of any equipment. But, unfortunately, it is not possible to completely and safely destroy an unnecessary device or unit. Therefore, there are only three options:

1. Recycling to make a new item/material.
2. Parsing for your own needs.
3. Landfill disposal.

If the first two points will help to significantly save the planet's resources, then the last one only hurts.

A very important factor should be noted: environmental disasters occur due to the release of radioelements, electromagnetic devices, batteries and other items containing toxic chemicals into the environment.

About the dangers of smoking

Many have already heard that it is very harmful to smoke, as tobacco destroys health. But it's not just that. If earlier cigarettes, pipes were made on the basis of environmentally friendly raw materials, now various chemicals are added to tobacco products in order to save on real tobacco.

In metropolitan areas, there are more and more smokers who use the same low-quality product that has practically nothing to do with tobacco. Not only is the air poisoned by exhausts, tobacco smoke is also added here. Thus, not only smokers suffer, but also non-tobacco people, animals, birds and plants.

A person on Earth exists in order to take what is available: herbs, trees, shrubs, mushrooms, to build houses from stone. But he went further, he wanted to become a powerful master in order to be richer in terms of creating a technosphere. But the richer a modern person is, the poorer our planet is.

Washing and washing with natural products

Well-known laundry soap, soda, sand and sea salt have replaced dishwashing liquids, perfumed laundry detergents and cleaning solvents, as well as various paints and varnishes. All these substances are always poured into a drain pipe or directly onto the ground.

To reduce the use of harmful household chemicals, it is better to use natural remedies.

Oil products

In the automotive industry, in the railway and in the factories of any transport equipment, flammable liquids from oil are used. Any of these materials easily penetrates the soil, spreading deep into. As a result, groundwater is polluted. In addition, enterprises not only consume the aboveground part of the water, but also create emissions into it and into the air.

The safety of the planet directly depends on how often people pour oil products and various chemicals into the soil. If the process is not stopped, then in 20-40 years the earth will become uninhabitable.

Processing and fertilizing plants in the garden

Along with oil products, pesticides, artificial fertilizers, which are used by gardeners, summer residents, as well as agricultural workers and farmers, cause significant harm.

The penetration of toxic substances into the soil can be compared to an environmental disaster. The fact is that poisons continue to remain in the upper layers of the soil for a very long time, harming the health of those who eat food, herbs grown in such areas.

Therefore, it is better to do either without fertilizers at all, or to use natural raw materials, for example, ash, manure.

Energy saving

Power plants operate at full capacity, creating an unfavorable environment for the environment. This is especially true for overloads on the line, for example, in winter, when it gets dark early.

To reduce emissions of electromagnetic and thermal radiation, to reduce the risk of accidents at nuclear power plants, it is necessary to save energy. Currently, energy-saving lamps are in great demand.

Safety from electromagnetic radiation must also be observed at home, in the workplace. Do not leave appliances, lights on if nothing is currently being used.

The Earth and the Sun are the main sources of energy that have been used since the dawn of life. Sunlight should also be used by contemporaries while working, reading. Therefore, you need to strive to create rooms with the largest number of windows.

Reducing radiation from household appliances

Microwaves, cell phones, laptops, computers are the most important sources of electromagnetic radiation that negatively affect health, mood and energy in general.

To protect yourself and loved ones from excessive radiation, it is better to use:

1. Gas stove instead of multicooker, microwave oven.
2. One laptop instead of many different office equipment.
3. Read real books instead of e-readers.
4. Wash clothes by hand instead of a washing machine.
5. Use a cloth and water when cleaning instead of a vacuum cleaner.

Of course, with the current pace of life, it is impossible to apply absolutely all the recommendations, but this will help to avoid the progression of a man-made disaster that occurs quietly, imperceptibly.

Silence

It is very important for living beings to be in an environment where there is no man-made noise. Modern appliances and instruments create a lot of unpleasant sounds that irritate others, frighten animals and birds.

You should switch to silent devices. For example, instead of a lawn mower, purchase an ordinary scythe, replace a chainsaw with a hand saw.

A person on Earth feels comfortable and safe only when he is surrounded by a calm and quiet environment: the singing of birds, the rustling of leaves, the wind, the splash or sound of water, and so on.

Medicines and cosmetics

The pharmaceutical industry produces various synthesized drugs in non-flammable packages, which also fill landfills. The same goes for cosmetics.

Nature walks and rules of conduct

The ability to appreciate nature, to love the Earth and the Sun, to enjoy what is, always gives a feeling of joy, happiness.

It is very important when walking in nature to take care of the world around you. Do not break and burn what is still alive. You can not kill for your own benefit birds and animals, which are becoming less and less. Under no circumstances should fires be lit where there is a risk of fire.

About love for our planet

You can sometimes see slogans: "Love our home - planet Earth!". But not everyone understands what needs to be done. In addition, you need to have willpower to leave those familiar things that greatly spoil the environment and health.

It is impossible to cope with a man-made disaster alone, but if measures are taken together, then perhaps the future generation will be able to live in more favorable conditions.

Large scale planetary conservation

Even schoolchildren are aware of the dangers of industrial facilities, but it is almost impossible to completely ban them and eliminate them, at least for moral reasons. After all, it is very difficult for a modern person to switch from technology to manual labor.

If all the plants and factories in the world that throw tons of waste into the environment every day were closed, if modern vehicles were banned, then the state of the planet would probably improve, the ozone layer would be preserved.

How old is the planet Earth, and it continues to exist even in the most severe conditions. Over the course of many millions of years, geophysical processes take place, sometimes meteorites fall.

Both natural phenomena and man-made accidents harm all living things. Therefore, we are faced with the task of how to protect ourselves:

• space security of the planet (protection against meteorites);
• environmental safety (reduction of environmental pollution);
• spiritual and moral values ​​(cessation of wars, internecine strife, terrorism).

Remember that everything is only in our hands. Together we can do a lot to stop the destruction of the planet.

Are you concerned about the health of our planet? What are you willing to do to save her? With the daily bad news of global warming, shrinking oceans and endangered animals, it's hard to know where to start. You may think that there is not much one person can do, but there are actually so many ways to help our planet. Start by changing your personal habits, educate the people around you, and you can make a significant contribution to saving Mother Earth.

Steps

Respect for water

Take good care of the water in your home. By spending too much water, we have a significant impact on the health of the planet. You can start taking steps right now to reduce your water intake. If you live in a water scarce region, this is even more important for the health and prosperity of your region. Here's what to do:

• Check if you have water leaks. If there is, fix it. A leaky faucet can waste a lot of water.
• Install water saving devices on faucets and in bathrooms. Installing a low flow shower head is a good place to start.
• Do not wash dishes with the water constantly on. Use a method that will allow you to spend less water on dishwashing.
• Shut off access to water in the dishwasher to avoid leaks. It doesn't have to be on all the time.
• Replace old toilets with new ones that reduce water consumption.
• Dishwashers and washing machines should only be used when fully loaded. Otherwise, excess water will be wasted.
• Don't use too much water to water your lawn.
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

1. Reduce the amount of chemicals you use. The chemicals we use to bathe, clean the house, wash the car, and anywhere else are washed away and soaked into the ground or grass, eventually ending up in the plumbing system. Because many people use harsh chemicals, they cause significant damage to waterways and aquatic life. For humans, chemicals are even more dangerous, so do everything in your power to reduce their use. Here are some ways:

   • Find out about alternatives to home cleaning products that don't contain dangerous chemicals. For example, a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and water works just as well for almost all types of cleaning as store-bought products. Baking soda and salt are also cheap, non-toxic cleaning products.
   • If it is not possible to find an alternative to a chemical agent, try to use the minimum amount necessary to achieve the required cleanliness and disinfection.
   • Instead of using chemical-laden shampoos and soaps, try making your own.
   • Instead of using pesticides and herbicides, try getting rid of weeds and pests naturally.

2. Dispose of toxic waste the right way. Paint, machine oil, ammonia, and a host of other substances should not simply be washed onto the ground or grass. They penetrate deep into the earth and end up in groundwater. Contact your local wastewater treatment plant for the location of the nearest toxic waste dump.

3. Help find water pollutants. Even one single person can do a lot to keep the water clean. Very often the culprits of water pollution are enterprises and industries. Citizens interested in protecting the environment should discuss the problem with the leaders of such enterprises and find ways to protect themselves from pollution.

   • Join a local conservation organization to help clean water in your area, whether it's a river, lake, sea or ocean.
   • Contact local authorities to discuss your views on keeping water clean.
   • Be a volunteer and help clean up beaches and river banks.
   • Involve other people in the cleanup of waters in your area.

Air security

1. Reduce the use of electricity. The most popular sources of electricity are coal and gas. Their burning is the main factor in air pollution. Reducing electricity consumption is a great way to help save the environment. Here's what you can do:

   • Use solar energy for your home and water heating.
   • Turn off electrical equipment when you leave work.
   • If you use central air conditioning, do not block vents in unused rooms.
   • Lower the water temperature on your water heater to 50°C.
   • If you plan to leave for a long time, turn off the water heater or lower the temperature on it.
   • Turn off the lights, even if you leave the room for a short time.
   • Set the refrigerator to 2-3°C and the freezer to -15-17°C.
   • Try to open the oven as little as possible when using; each opening reduces the temperature by 20–30 degrees.
   • Clean the lint filter in your dryer after each use to use less electricity.
   • Wash clothes not in hot, but in warm or cool water.
   • Turn off lights, computers, and other electrical appliances when not in use.
   • Use low wattage fluorescent lamps to save money and energy.
   • Plant trees to shade your home.
   • Replace old windows with new ones with improved thermal insulation.
   • When leaving, set the thermostat to a higher temperature in summer and a lower temperature in winter.
   • Insulate your home as best you can.

2. Drive a car and fly as little as possible. One of the minor sources of air pollution and global warming is emissions from cars, trucks, aircraft and other vehicles. Everything matters here: the production of the vehicle, the fuel needed for it, the chemicals burned, as well as the construction of roads. The less you drive and fly, the more you contribute to the preservation of the environment.

   • Instead, go for walks or bike rides whenever possible. Find bike routes in your city and use them!
   • If cycling or walking isn't an option for you, consider sharing cars and vans with colleagues to get to work.
   • Report vehicles with high emissions to your local environmental protection agency.
   • Service the vehicle properly. Order radial tires and make sure they are well inflated. Use brushes and rollers instead of sprayers to minimize harmful emissions.

3. Buy local goods. This will help reduce air pollution in two ways. You do not have to travel far to buy what you need, and the goods, accordingly, will not need to be moved over long distances. Make wise decisions about where to buy groceries, clothing, and other items to reduce air pollution.

   • Buy products at local agricultural markets; this product was produced as close to your home as possible.
   • When buying goods online, pay attention to where the delivery will be from. Try to choose products as close to your location as possible.
   • Pay attention to where your clothes, electronics, home goods and other purchases are made. Try to buy more products made in your area.

4. Eat vegetables and local meats. Industrial farmland is not only bad for animals, it is not very good for the whole environment. These industries pollute water and air. You can start individually addressing this issue by doing the following:

   • Eat more vegetables. This is an easy way to not take part in industrial scale farming.
   • Ask yourself what kind of meat you eat and where it comes from.
   • Buy only local meat from small farms.
   • Give up beef. Cows emit a lot of methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas, and other pollutants. Try cutting back on beef and choosing other meats.

5. Become an air pollution activist. Join local groups fighting air pollution. You can do much more by educating yourself and others than simply changing your lifestyle.

   • Join a tree planting organization to purify the air.
   • Become an active cyclist. Find safe routes in your city.
   • Contact your local government to discuss issues specific to your area. If there is an air polluting facility in the area, take action to stop the pollution.

Protecting the earth from pollution

1. Produce less waste. Everything that you throw in a garbage bag, tie up and take for collection, sooner or later will end up in a landfill. Plus all this garbage, including plastic, paper, metal and everything else, was produced in an inappropriate, environmentally damaging way. You can reduce pollution by throwing away fewer items. To do this, try the following:

   • Buy what you can reuse. For example, buy a glass container instead of a thin plastic one.
   • Do not use plastic bags, but rag ones.
   • Instead of buying new ones, repair existing durable items.
   • Avoid products in multi-layer packaging, when just one layer would be enough. About a third of the garbage we throw away is packaging.
   • Use reusable utensils and plates instead of disposable ones. Also use reusable storage containers instead of foil and cling film.
   • For frequently used devices, use rechargeable batteries.
   • Photocopy and print on both sides of the paper.
   • Reuse envelopes, paper folders, and staples.
   • Use email instead of paper correspondence.
   • Use recycled paper.
   • Instead of buying new clothes, recycle old clothes.
   • Buy used furniture - there are more than enough of them, and they are much cheaper than new ones.

2. Make things with your own hands. When you prepare or make your own cleaning products, you generate less waste. One-time pre-made dinner packages, shampoo bottles, and more can actually clog your trash can! Here are a few things you can do yourself:

   • Food. If you are very principled, grow your own natural products. Otherwise, try to cook on your own as often as possible, without using semi-finished products. Buy products in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging thrown away.
   • Body products. Shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste - all this and much more can be made by yourself! Try to replace some of them first, and then gradually replace everything that you already use. Tip: Coconut oil is a great alternative to body lotion, conditioner, and face wash.
   • Cleaning products. Everything from glass cleaner to bathroom cleaner and oven cleaner can be made using only natural ingredients.

Help to protect animals

1. Make your home a paradise for flora and fauna. Due to the progress of mankind, many species of animals, from birds to deer and insects, have lost their homes. You may have seen birds swimming in oily pools and deer roaming the outskirts of settlements, simply because they have nowhere else to go. If you have some free space, be hospitable to those animals that need help. You can make your home more pet-friendly by:

   • Plant shrubs, flowers, and trees that can attract forest dwellers.
   • Hang up a bird feeder and drinker and always replenish them with clean water and food.
   • Do not kill snakes, spiders, bees, bats and other creatures. If they live near you, your ecosystem is healthy.
   • Set up a hive if there is space.
   • Use cedar shavings instead of moth balls.
   • Don't use pesticides.
   • Instead of using mouse poisons and insecticides, use more humane traps.
   • Use an electric or manual lawnmower, not a gas-powered one.
   • If you hunt, be it deer or squirrels, respect the animals whose meat provides you with food. Don't throw it away.

The simple tips below will not require any time or additional effort from you. By changing our habits just a little bit, we will make the world around us cleaner and safer.

Less use of disposable tableware

Cheap disposable plates-cups-spoons-forks have led to the fact that we thoughtlessly use them almost every day. Today, plastic utensils are used not only by catering companies that bring meals to companies, but also by office canteens.

It is clear that walking with your plate for food is not very convenient. But everyone can take their knife and fork to work. On average, there are 250 working days per year. Imagine what a mountain of used plastic you will save your hometown from if you simply bring a cup, spoon, fork and knife from home.

Buy local vegetables and fruits

Having lived at least one day without meat, a person will also help nature. The fact is that the production of meat is incredibly resource-intensive. To get at least a pound of beef, you need more than 3 kg of grain and about 400 liters of water. And scientists at the University of Chicago even argue that following a vegetarian diet, a person slows down the process of global warming more than if he switched to a hybrid car.

The effect of switching to vegetables and fruits for a day can be enhanced by giving preference to local products. So you not only support the domestic manufacturer, but also reduce fuel consumption for transportation and, accordingly, minimize the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

Replace plastic with paper and glass

If you can’t do without disposable tableware - for example, when going on a picnic - use not plastic plates and cups, but paper ones. And try to buy drinks in glass containers. Experts have calculated that recycling glass pollutes the air by a quarter and water by half.

If buying water in a glass bottle is expensive for you, at least try to use a plastic container several times. For example, take filtered water from home on the road or to work so you don’t have to buy a new bottle every day.

Save electricity

There are so many ways to save electricity in everyday life that for convenience it is advisable to break them down into points. Again - everything is quite obvious and simple, but for some reason we practically do not use it. So:

• Make the most of natural light.
• Turn off the lights when you leave the room.
• Instead of leaving your computer in sleep mode overnight, turn it off.
• Turn off the TV when it is on, not because you are watching something, but "for the background."
• If you have an electric stove, use not an ordinary kettle, but an electric one. Yes, and it will be more economical to cook porridge in a double boiler than on an electric stove.
• Try to wash things at a temperature not higher than 40 degrees. Use the drying mode as little as possible - dry things in the traditional way.
• Load the washing machine and dishwasher completely - do not "drive" them empty. By the way, this way you will save not only electricity, but also water.
• Do not turn on the oven beforehand. First put the dish to be cooked in it, and only then turn it on.
• Replace at least one light bulb in your home with an energy-saving one. If you think that it is dull, screw it in the toilet or, for example, in the pantry.

Use cleaning filters

This advice follows from the previous one - use water filters at home. In this case, you will not need to spend money on bottled drinking water. So you will not only save the family budget, but also reduce the harmful impact on the environment caused by the production of bottles and their transportation.

Don't waste water

For those who really like to take a bath, you can refuse it at least a couple of times a week in favor of a shower - this will help save water. Another feasible contribution is to reduce the time spent in the shower by 1-2 minutes.

It's also a good idea to get into the habit of turning off the faucet when you don't need water, such as while brushing your teeth or rubbing the pan with detergent. After all, on average, according to statistics, 5-10 liters of water per minute flows out of a tap, depending on the pressure.

Go shopping with your bag

In the 80s of the last century, a bright plastic bag could only be bought from the hands for fabulous money - 10 rubles (with an engineer's salary of 180 rubles). It is not surprising that the happy owners of this miracle walked with bags for months, wiping them to holes and sealing worn places with electrical tape. The concept of "one-time package" did not exist in principle!

Today, when packages cost a penny, or even get to customers for free, the planet is literally choking on polyethylene. Especially considering that it decomposes ten times longer than any other garbage. European stores are gradually phasing out plastic bags in favor of paper bags as they are more environmentally friendly. But there is an even more acceptable alternative - a reusable fabric bag.

The fact that such a bag will not be destroyed after one or two uses reduces environmental pollution and saves the Earth's resources. Yes, and the consumer will like it, because modern fabric bags are very convenient: they do not tear from a couple of extra pounds and fold in such a way that they can easily fit in a pocket.

save paper

Try not to print letters and documents on the printer, if you can do without it. The Americans have calculated that every year office workers alone send more than 20 million tons of A4 paper to the landfill, and it is in our power to reduce this amount by giving preference to electronic media rather than paper ones. You can also use the reverse side of the paper: set up the printer for duplex printing or give the child drawing sheets that have already been used on one side.

Banks, utilities and other businesses often offer the option to pay bills online. This way you will save time and money, prevent deforestation and personally save at least one tree.

According to statistics, the average person uses 5-6 paper napkins per day. By reducing this amount by at least one napkin, you will not send 3-4 large packs to the landfill per year.

Get rid of phosphates

Ecologists threaten an ecological crisis and explain that phosphate compounds contained in household chemicals, when they get into rivers and lakes, act as fertilizer. This causes rapid flowering, and then the aging of the reservoir. And if it were not for the cold winters, we would not be spared an ecological disaster!

In a word, if you want to save the planet, choose phosphate-free products for laundry and dishwashing, especially since their offer has expanded significantly today. So you will not only save loved ones from allergies, but also save rivers and lakes, and there it’s not far from the seas and oceans!

Reuse things

Studies show that Americans have learned to reuse about a third of everything that was supposed to be thrown away. Bottles, plastic pallets for meat and cheese cuts, bags, gift boxes and packages, envelopes - it turns out that there are a lot of things that you can use again without purchasing them again and without polluting the world around you with such waste.

By the way, you can not take the packaging at all in the store if you do not need it in the future. Now sellers, as an additional service, even packaged small items (tights, underwear, hairpins, cosmetics, etc.) are placed in tiny bags. At home, such a bag is sent directly to the trash can, but you could not initially take it in the store and thereby save some fraction of resources in the long term.