Global warming will cause changes in precipitation, dry and wet conditions in various regions of the world, and then lead to changes in the economic structure of countries around the world. Mid-latitude areas will become dry due to the intense evaporation caused by climate warming, and now the developed agricultural areas will degenerate into grasslands; High latitudes will increase precipitation due to warming, and temperate crops will be able to settle here. But as far as the world is concerned, the negative impact of climate warming on the world economy is major, and only some local areas benefit.

The temperature in the city is much higher than that in the suburbs, just like a warm island. Beijing, the largest city in China, is 9.6 degrees higher than its suburbs, and the maximum temperature difference between Shanghai and its suburbs is 6.8 degrees. The reason of urban "heat island" effect is that urban population is concentrated and increasing, and industry is developed. Residents' life, industrial production and automobiles consume a lot of fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas every day, releasing a lot of man-made heat. Another reason is that buildings made of concrete, stone and brick and sidewalks, sidewalks and squares made of asphalt, cement, ceramics and stones have replaced the natural ground covered with vegetation and crops. They have low reflectivity, high heat capacity and absorb a lot of solar energy.

2. Rapid extinction of species

Due to the influence of human activities, especially people's deforestation and reclamation of grasslands, and environmental pollution, it has caused wildness.

The loss of animal and plant habitats and the deterioration of living environment, coupled with people's indiscriminate hunting of wild animals, have made many kinds of wild animals and plants in the world extinct or endangered.

The Red Alert List of Endangered Species published by IUCN 1996 shows that 24% of the existing 4,500 mammals in the world are facing extinction, while 12% of the existing 9,500 birds are about to become extinct. Of the 65,438+0,000 known woody plants, about 6% are endangered, of which about 65,438+0,000 are endangered. Every 24 hours, 150 ~ 200 biological species bid farewell to the earth forever. According to the data, the extinction rate of species on the earth is faster than the formation rate1100,000 times. China is a country rich in wildlife resources, but the biodiversity of China is facing a serious threat. Among angiosperms, 1000 species are endangered and 28 species are extremely endangered. Among gymnosperms, 63 species are endangered, 14 species are extremely endangered, and 1 species is extinct. 433 species of vertebrates are threatened.

3. The world's water resources are seriously inadequate.

With the rapid growth of the world population, the increase of water consumption and the increasingly serious water pollution, many people can own it.

The utilized fresh water resources have been destroyed. At present, 60% of the world faces water shortage, 20% of the population has difficulty in obtaining clean water and 50% of the population has no access to sanitary water. Many countries are short of water. In recent years, the United States, Japan and many countries in Eastern Europe have experienced the problem of water shortage. Even in Russia and Canada, which are rich in fresh water resources, some areas are facing the threat of water shortage. Some countries in Africa have been suffering from drought for years, and water shortage directly threatens people's survival. It is predicted that the water crisis will become the "most controversial issue" in cities in 2 1 century.

4. Global environmental issues

Environmental problems are not only the problems of a country or a region, but also have developed into global problems. When an environmental problem occurs in a region, its influence will often greatly exceed that of the region. For example, with the movement of the atmosphere, acid rain can affect far away areas; The pollution in the upper reaches of international rivers will affect the whole basin ... The problem of environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, and waste gas, waste water and even solid waste can be transferred from one country to another. Some environmental problems even affect the survival and development of all mankind. For example, the destruction of the tropical rain forest in the Amazon basin will have an impact on the global climate; The increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and the destruction of the ozone layer threaten all mankind.

5. Resources in China

As far as the total amount of natural resources is concerned, the total amount of various natural resources in China ranks in the forefront of the world, which is a vast territory and abundant resources.

A country rich in resources. However, China has a large population, and the per capita possession of various resources is very small. The relative shortage of per capita resources is the basic national condition of resources in China.

The cultivated land area of China ranks fourth in the world, and the per capita cultivated land is only1/3 of the world average. The forest area ranks sixth in the world, and the per capita forest possession is only equivalent to1/5 of the world average; The total reserves of mineral resources in China ranks third in the world, and the per capita possession is equivalent to 3/5 of the world's per capita value ... And with the increasing population of China, the per capita possession of various resources will continue to decline. The relative shortage of per capita resources has become a restrictive factor for China's economic development and the improvement of people's living standards. China's resources are still characterized by uneven regional distribution. For example, China has more water resources in the south and less in the north, but less arable land in the south and more in the north, which is not conducive to the development of agriculture.

6. Air pollution

Scientists have found that at least 100 kinds of air pollutants are harmful to the environment, especially to human health.

There are also sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrofluorocarbons and so on. Air pollutants seriously harm people's trachea, lungs and other respiratory systems.

The main ways to cause air pollution are the exhaust gas and dust emitted by industrial production and vehicles, and the dust particles emitted by industrial production also adsorb many toxic and harmful substances. These pollutants will also undergo various chemical reactions in the atmosphere, producing more pollutants and forming secondary pollution. Sulfur dioxide is one of the most common air pollutants. When it reacts in the atmosphere, it will form sulfuric acid smoke or even acid rain. Nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are also common pollutants in the atmosphere. They undergo photochemical reactions in the sun, which can form photochemical smog.

The accumulation of air pollutants in the air leads to the decline of air quality, which directly harms human health, warms the global climate and destroys the ozone layer. Pollutants drift with the wind, even affecting agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. The United States loses hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and China's losses are also quite serious.

7. Learn about sandstorms

Sandstorm, also known as black storm, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in desert areas. A large amount of quicksand in desert area is the sand source of sandstorm, and the strong wind in spring is the intensity of sandstorm.

In the past century, due to over-reclamation, overgrazing and deforestation, the surface vegetation has been seriously damaged and a large area of land has become bare. With the continuous acceleration of desertification, the scope of sandstorms has gradually expanded and the degree of sandstorms has gradually increased. In the spring of 2000, the capital Beijing was hit by sandstorms for eight times in a row. According to scientists' calculations, it will take more than 2,000 years to scrape off18cm thick topsoil on a grassland. If the grassland is reclaimed into farmland, it will only take 49 years; If it is bare land, it only takes 18 years. Judging from the causes and development of sandstorms, human destruction of the environment and the destruction of surface vegetation are the most important reasons for sandstorms. Only by protecting vegetation and preventing land desertification can the harm of sandstorm be truly reduced.

The sandstorm disaster in China is getting more and more serious. According to experts' statistics, from 1952 to 1993, the number of sandstorms in northwest China is: 5 in 1950s, 8 in 1960s, 0/3 in 1970s and 0/4 in 1980s. 1993 A severe black storm happened. After that, it happened at least once a year in April and May in Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province, and it happened 8 times in succession in 2000. According to authoritative experts' analysis, in 10-20 years, in the face of increasing population and deteriorating ecological environment, if effective measures are not taken, the frequency, intensity and harm of sandstorms in China may be further aggravated.

8. The worst sandstorm in the world.

1934 on may 12, the worst sandstorm occurred in the United States. Sandstorms originated in the western plains of the United States. A strong storm quickly swept across the vast land in the west, rolling up the fertile soil of thousands of hectares of farmland and roaring across the whole land of the United States from west to east at the speed of 60- 100 kilometers per hour. The three-day sandstorm swept away an average of 5- 13 cm of topsoil in the western United States, thus destroying more than 45 million mu of cultivated land, drying up wells and streams in the western plain, withering crops and killing a large number of cattle and sheep.

Historically, the North American continent was full of dense forests, abundant aquatic plants and abundant wild animals. With the development of the western United States, large areas of forests and grasslands have been destroyed. Americans almost cut down the endless forest from the Atlantic coast to the great plains, leaving the land bare, losing vegetation protection and planting a curse.

9. Minamata disease and pain

1953, a strange epidemic occurred in Minamata Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. First of all, a large number of sick cats appeared. These cats went crazy, staggered, bent over and committed suicide by jumping into the sea. Soon, a group of inexplicable patients appeared. The patient was inarticulate and sluggish at first, then developed into numbness and insanity, and finally died of screaming. Many years later, scientists found the cause of this strange disease: mercury poisoning. It turns out that there is an acetic acid factory in Minamata Town, which uses mercury as a catalyst in the production process and then discharges a large amount of mercury-containing wastewater into Minamata Bay. Mercury is very toxic. Under the action of microorganisms in water, it is transformed into methylmercury with greater toxicity and enriched in fish and shellfish. People will suffer from the terrible Minamata disease only after eating these creatures polluted by methylmercury. Methylmercury can accumulate in people's brains and damage the nervous system, so cats and people are crazy.

Painful diseases also occur in Japan. In Toyama Prefecture, Japan, local residents drink a river called Shentongchuan and use it to irrigate crops on both sides. Later, Mitsui Metal Mining Company of Japan built a zinc smelting plant in the upper reaches of the river. The wastewater discharged from zinc smelter contains a lot of cadmium, and the whole river is polluted by cadmium-containing wastewater discharged from zinc smelter. A large amount of cadmium is enriched in river water, rice, fish and shrimp, and then enriched in the human body through the food chain, which makes the local people get a strange bone pain disease (also known as pain disease). Cadmium enters the human body, which causes a large amount of calcium loss in human bones, causing osteoporosis, bone atrophy and joint pain. Once a patient sneezed and broke many parts of his body. Another patient ended up with 73 fractures in his whole body and his body length was shortened by 30 cm. His illness is very painful. Pain has been prevalent in the local area for more than 20 years, causing more than 200 deaths.

10, noise pollution

Noise refers to the sound that people don't need. No matter what sound, as long as it is annoying and interferes with people's lives, it is called noise. The roar of machinery in the factory, the horn of cars on the road and the noise of people are all headaches. Sometimes strong rhythm rock music, disco, etc. It will also become noise and affect people's life and health.

Strong noise can cause hearing organ damage. If people work in a factory with roaring machines for a long time, their hearing is often not as good as that of ordinary people. Noise can also seriously interfere with people's central nervous system, making people neurasthenia, indigestion, and even nausea and headache. Noise also has a great influence on people's normal life and work. Can make people insomnia, loss of appetite, trouble and other unpleasant emotions. Scientists have also found that long-term noise stimulation will also weaken the function of human immune system and increase the incidence of malignant tumors.

1 1, the concept of sustainable development

In the report "Our Common Future", the World Commission on Environment and Development made a clear definition of sustainable development: sustainable development is a development that not only meets the needs of contemporary people, but also does not harm the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Sustainable development is a comprehensive concept, and its rich connotation can be summarized as three points: ecological sustainable development, economic sustainable development and social sustainable development. The sustainable development of ecology, economy and society is interrelated and restricted, forming a composite system. Sustainable development requires people to live in harmony with nature and realize their responsibilities to nature, society and future generations. People are required to have higher moral standards and protect the resources and environmental foundation necessary for human survival and development.