2. Relationship between global environmental problems and possible solutions

Currently, the ecological situation on the planet is in a very difficult situation. If at this historical period humanity does not come to its senses, does not try to find a way out of the current situation, then in the end, nature will not withstand the constant interference of man in its natural processes. In this case, an ecological catastrophe is simply inevitable. That is why the solution of existing environmental problems is the first and most important matter not of individual states or groups of states, but of all mankind as a whole. One way or another, all currently existing problems are interconnected, and it is the concept of “Man” that unites them. And these problems are caused by the number of the population living on the planet, its uneven distribution over the surface of the planet, its constant growth. If we take this statement as a basis, then the connection between all environmental problems will be easy to trace. The following chain emerges:

An ever-growing population demands more and more food, shelter and consumer goods. This, in turn, causes the growth of cities and the construction of more and more industrial enterprises. To create them, a person cuts down forests, and to provide the population with food, he plows up forests that were not previously used in agriculture earth. These actions lead to a decrease in the areas of habitats for wild animals, and cultivated plants crowd out the wild ones. Due to the growing demand for wood, deforestation is increasing, which in turn affects the oxygen content in the Earth's atmosphere. Industrial enterprises pollute the atmosphere with toxic compounds, and then they, together with precipitation, enter the soil and water. Carbon dioxide, which is formed during the combustion of fuel, does not have time to be absorbed by plants and accumulates in the atmosphere. Many substances released into the environment react with the Earth's ozone layer and thereby destroy it. Ultraviolet radiation penetrates through the formed “ozone holes”, which, together with the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causes a phenomenon known as the “greenhouse effect”, which ultimately leads to global warming. Such a result, sooner or later, can lead to a catastrophe on a planetary scale, the main victim of which will be humanity. It is also impossible not to mention such problems as the decline or complete disappearance of some species of animals and plants and the resulting serious disruption of food chains in nature, soil pollution from industrial emissions, pesticides and fertilizers applied in excess. A serious problem was soil erosion and the erosion-induced decline in fertile land, which ultimately led to the fact that in some areas of the planet humanity was faced with crop failures and famine. Improper reclamation quickly leads to a decrease in the quality and fertility of the soil, a decrease in the amount of moisture retained by the soil and plants growing on it, which leads to desertification. Instead of trying to restore the lost lands, a person plows up new ones, seeing in this a salvation from hunger, while, as a rule, forests are destroyed.

The consequence of the above chain is a violation of the natural natural balance. The very possibility of life on Earth is under threat. If in the near future there are no changes in the attitude of mankind towards the environment, then sooner or later a person as a biological species may disappear forever from the face of the planet.

Since, as it was proved above, humanity is the root cause of all problems, it is the society, and not individual people, that should fight the problems. Without awareness by the entire world community of the perniciousness of the current situation, the problems simply cannot be physically resolved. First of all, it is necessary to develop high level human consciousness, which will become the starting point in resolving environmental problems. It is necessary that Man learns to love and take care of nature from an early age. This requires the introduction of environmental disciplines into the system of primary and secondary education on a worldwide scale. This responsibility lies primarily with national and regional governments, because without their active participation the situation on the ground will not change. They should also pursue a policy of environmental propaganda among the population. As the experience of recent years has shown, such activities have led to success. Thus, thanks to environmental commercials on television and on the Internet, over the past decade, household pollution in the United States has fallen by 5.4%, in Canada by 5.9%, in Finland and Norway by almost 7.5%, and on average in Europe by 6.1%, and it was industrialized countries with a diversified industry that achieved a significant decrease. Also, national governments should in every possible way encourage and facilitate the activities of environmental human rights organizations that oppose particularly gross environmental violations. Thus, as of March 2007, the offices of the international environmental organization Greenpeace operate in 41 countries of the world, including Russia. Over the 35 years of its existence, the activists of the organization have managed to attract the attention of the world community to more than 100,000 environmental problems in different regions of the world, thanks to the actions of the organization, about 30,000 harmful industries have been stopped. No less important is the role of individual states in the field of tougher punishment for environmental crimes and offenses. Usually, the tightening of legislation took place after the onset of the sad consequences caused by certain environmental disasters. Currently, an increasingly important role is being paid to the issues of preventive tightening of penalties for potentially possible environmental crimes. Serious economic and criminal consequences have reduced the number of environmental crimes on average around the world by 15-20% over the past 5-7 years, which can be considered a success of environmental justice. A monitoring process should be carried out at the interstate level environment, which consists not only in observing natural processes and phenomena, but also in assessing the state of the environment and predicting its changes. The results obtained in the course of monitoring should become an object of international heritage, since a comprehensive collection of information data helps to approach the problem in a comprehensive and comprehensive manner. But all these efforts will be fruitless if scientific and technological progress is not involved in solving problems. The organization of production should be carried out not only from the standpoint of economic benefits, formed by the market, but also from the standpoint of environmental safety, formed by common sense. Recently, a new term "ecoeconomics" has appeared, implying a type of economic activity that would be protective for the planet. Examples of this type are the achievements of a number of countries in the energy sector. So over 30% of energy in countries such as the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden is produced by wind, and without any harm to nature. A number of modern automobile concerns are introducing into production cars with hydrogen engines running on waste-free hydrogen raw materials. Currently, gasoline is increasingly being replaced by gas fuels - propane and butane - which are safer for the environment due to complete combustion. Currently, about 20% of cars in the world run on gas fuel. As a result, as a result of the development of the economy program, the number of industrial emissions is significantly reduced.

Conclusion

In this course work, we examined a very important set of problems of our time, connected with the global environmental problems of our time. It was possible to prove that the main culprit and the main victim of this situation is humanity, which, without knowing it during its entire history of existence, carrying out violence against nature, carried out violence against itself. Only with the development of ecology as a science was it possible to understand how destructive the consequences of an unreasonable impact on nature are for humanity. We have considered a whole complex of pollution of various shells of the Earth and outer space, which is the backbone of global environmental problems, the phenomena that generate pollution have been considered in sufficient detail, and relevant statistical data have been given. Further, the paper considers the relationship between all environmental problems, and possible ways out of this situation. It is postulated that, simultaneously with their most serious aggravation of problems, there has been a general desire to look for ways out of the emerging, sometimes critical, situation. In this regard, among the most promising areas of environmental protection activities are various social movements, intra- and interstate actions, due to their official nature, having a serious educational value. Attention is paid to the introduction of a new type of economic relations - eco-economics - which became possible only as a result of systematic cooperation between state and international structures with the industrial complex. The paper briefly describes the first successes of this fundamentally new approach.

Countries, the entire planet (deforestation, loss of rare species of flora and fauna, etc.). Due to the unbalanced development of nature and society on the planet, the following global environmental problems have arisen and are being exacerbated: · Climate warming; Destruction of the ozone layer; · Acid rain; · Environmental pollution; Reducing the gene pool of plants and animals; ...

Extraordinarily expanded. Now, along with biology, these are economic and geographical sciences, medical and sociological research, atmospheric physics and mathematics and many other sciences. The environmental problems of our time in terms of their scale can be conditionally divided into local, regional and global ones and require for their solution different means of solution and different in nature ...

Resources, artificially created means of production, natural resources. Last time environmental factor became more and more limited. economic development. Modern environmental problems are to a certain extent generated by the backwardness of economic thought. Neither the classics of economic science A. Smith and D. Ricardo, nor subsequent economic schools and scientists, including K. Marx, A. Marshall, ...

GLOBAL PROBLEMS OF MODERNITY

I. Read the text and complete tasks C1 - C4.

It seems to me that today, when mankind has come close to an ecological catastrophe, when everything is extremely clear. dire consequences utopian claims to the total control of social processes, the fate of the humanistic ideal is associated with the rejection of the idea of ​​mastery, suppression and domination. The new understanding of the relationship between nature and man corresponds not to the ideal of anthropocentrism, but to the one developed by a number of modern thinkers, in particular, the famous scientist N.I. Moiseev, the idea of ​​co-evolution, the joint evolution of nature and humanity, which can be interpreted as a relationship of equal partners, if you like, interlocutors in an unplanned dialogue...

This can and should be understood in a broader sense. Freedom as an integral characteristic of the humanistic ideal is conceived not as mastery and control, but as the establishment of equal partnerships with what is outside of a person: with natural processes, with another person, with the values ​​of a different culture, with social processes, even with unreflexible and " opaque” processes of my own psyche.

C5 (1). Name 3 main global problems of our time.

C 6. Illustrate with three examples the relationship between the problems associated with the widening gap between developed and third world countries and the problem of preventing a new world war.

C6 (1). Give three examples of the relationship between global problems of our time.

C7 (1). Today, due to the existence global problems Nowadays, there are quite loud calls for the rejection of scientific and technological progress, the cessation of research in the field of the latest technologies. Do you share given point vision? Are these calls consistent with the concept of sustainable development? Give three reasons to support your opinion.

C7 (2). Speaking at a scientific conference, an environmental scientist said: “It is time to realize that humanity is coming to its end. We do not have the strength and ability to save ourselves. We are doomed". Do you agree with this opinion? Give three reasons to support your position.

C8. You have been instructed to prepare a detailed answer on the topic "The environmental crisis as a global problem of our time." Make a plan according to which you will cover this topic. The plan must contain at least three points, of which two or more are detailed in subclauses.

Answers to the tasks of the topic " Global problems of our time»

Part 1

1 - 1
3 – 3
5 – 2
7 – 4
9 – 1
Part 3

1. 
   C1 - C4

C1.

1) realities modern society:

- “Humanity has come close to an ecological catastrophe”;

- "all the terrible consequences of utopian claims to the total control of social processes are extremely clear";

2) the essence of the new understanding humanistic ideal:

"the idea of ​​co-evolution, the joint evolution of nature and humanity, which can be interpreted as a relationship of equal partners, if you like, interlocutors in an unprogrammed dialogue."

1. 
   “Freedom as an integral characteristic of the humanistic ideal is conceived ... as the establishment of equal partnerships with what is outside of a person: with natural processes, with another person, with the values ​​of a different culture, with social processes, even with non-reflective and “opaque” processes of my own psyche";
2. 
   “freedom is understood as such an attitude when I accept the other, and the other accepts me”;
3. 
   "free acceptance based on understanding as a result of communication."

C3. the humanistic ideal present stage ceased to correspond to anthropocentrism the following reasons:

1. 
   the establishment of human dominance over nature has led to irreversible changes external environment;
2. 
   irreversible changes in the external environment have a negative impact on human health, the functioning of society;
3. 
   the amount of resources that the rapidly growing humanity can use for its development has been significantly reduced;
4. 
   the installation of domination extended to the relationship of a person to his own kind, to public interests.

C4. The relationship of people "with what is outside of man":

1. 
   “relationships with natural processes”: the use of nature-saving and resource-saving technologies by man, limiting consumption;
2. 
   “relationship with another person”: recognition of the unconditional value of the personality of another person, respect for his freedom;
3. 
   “relationships with the values ​​of a different culture”: a tolerant attitude towards the values ​​of a different culture and the bearers of these values;
4. 
   "relationships with social processes": rejection of the installation of personal and group egoism, consumerism, striving for social peace;
5. 
   “relationships with non-reflexible and “opaque” processes of my own psyche”: attentive attitude to one’s own psychological state, sparing its adjustment if necessary, maximum use of one’s own mental abilities and states in activity.

1. 
   C1 - C4

C1. The author highlights the following issues:

Limited resources;

The North-South problem;

Demographic;

Consequences of NTR.

C2. Assumptions:

Availability of scientific knowledge and technical means for mankind for global transformative activity (and means for the destruction of life on the planet);

Formation of a consumer society in which speed and comfort are among the dominant values.

C3. Examples supporting the author's statement:

communist ideologies;

Ideology of the Enlightenment;

The illusion of the omnipotence of science and the possibility of its victory over hunger and disease.

C4. Overcoming the contrasts between "rich" and "poor" countries in the near future is hardly possible, since this is hindered by the following:

The situation of uncontrolled births in conditions of limited resources and unfavorable living conditions;

A small share of participation in the global division of labor;

Growth of military and other expenditures of developed countries, preventing the redistribution of funds in favor of "poor" countries.

C5 (1). The main global problems of our time:

Ecological;

Demographic;

The North-South Problem.

C6 (1). Examples of the relationship of global problems of our time:

The threat of an ecological crisis forces economically developed countries to transfer harmful, environmentally hazardous industries to third world countries, which exacerbates the North-South problem;

The threat of international terrorism in modern conditions is closely connected with the problem of preventing nuclear war, maintaining peace (terrorists are trying to gain access to technologies for the production of weapons of mass destruction);

demographic problem in modern world acts primarily as a problem of the rapid demographic growth of third world countries, which increases the backlog from economically developed countries.

C6 (2). Examples that reveal the global nature of the environmental problems of the modern world:

Climate warming is leading to the melting of polar ice caps and an increase in the level of the world's oceans, which in the future may change the contours of continents, swallow islands and archipelagos, i.e. the human environment is threatened;

The population of all countries of the continents suffers from pollution of soils, atmosphere and the World Ocean by industrial and household waste;

The extinction of certain animal species affects not only local ecosystems, but in its long-term consequences upsets the balance of the global ecosystem.

We present to your attention a video lesson on the topic “The essence of global problems. Relationship and interdependence. In the course of the development of civilization, complex problems constantly arose before mankind. In this lesson, we will discuss what contributed to the aggravation of the problems in the 20th century and consider their essence, affecting the planetary scale. We will learn about the classification of global problems of mankind, about their interrelation and interdependence.

Topic: Global problems of mankind

Lesson: The essence of global problems. Relationship and interdependence

In the course of the development of civilization, global problems began to arise before humanity. Today, humanity is faced with the most acute global problems that threaten the very existence of civilization and even life itself on our planet.

The term “global” itself originates from the Latin word “globe”, that is, the Earth, the globe, and since the end of the 60s of the XX century it has become widespread to refer to the most important and urgent planetary problems of the modern era affecting humanity as a whole. .

Global problems of our time is a set of socio-natural problems, on the solution of which the social progress of mankind and the preservation of civilization depend. These problems are characterized by dynamism, they arise as an objective factor in the development of society, and for their solution they require the combined efforts of all mankind. Global problems are interconnected, cover all aspects of people's lives and concern all countries of the world.

Global, or worldwide (universal) problems, being the result of the contradictions of social development, did not arise suddenly and only today. Some of them, such as the problems of war and peace and health, have existed before and have been relevant at all times. Other global problems, such as environmental ones, appear later due to the intense impact of society on the natural environment. Initially, these problems could only be private (single) issues for a particular country, people, then they became regional and global, i.e. issues of vital importance to all mankind.

The main features of global problems:

1. Problems that affect the interests of not only individual people, but can affect the fate of all mankind

2. They lead to significant economic and social losses, and in case of their exacerbation, they can threaten the very existence of human civilization.

3. Global problems are not solved by themselves and even by the efforts of individual countries. They require purposeful and organized efforts of the entire world community.

4. Global problems are closely related to each other.

The main problems of mankind:

1. The problem of peace and disarmament, the prevention of a new world war.

2. Ecological.

3. Demographic.

4. Energy.

5. Raw.

6. Food.

7. Use of the oceans.

8. Peaceful space exploration.

9. Overcoming the backwardness of developing countries.

Rice. 1. Poverty and poverty in Africa ()

The development of a classification of global problems was the result of long-term research and generalization of the experience of several decades of studying them.

In modern scientific literature, attempts are being made to comprehensively consider the whole variety of global problems. Since all these problems are of a socio-natural nature, since they simultaneously fix contradictions both between man and society, and contradictions between man and the natural environment, they are usually divided into three main groups. Researchers have proposed many classification options.

Classification of global problems:

1. Problems that are related to the relationship between the main social communities of mankind, i.e. between groups of states with similar political, economic and other interests: "East - West", rich and poor countries, etc. These include the problem of preventing war, international terrorism and ensuring peace, as well as establishing a fair international economic order.

2. Problems related to relations in the system "man - society": the development of culture, the effective use of the achievements of scientific and technological revolution, the development of education and health

3. Problems that are generated by the interaction of society and nature. They are associated with the limited capacity of the environment to endure anthropogenic loads. These are such problems as the provision of energy, fuel, raw materials, fresh water, etc. The environmental problem also belongs to this group, i.e. the problem of protecting nature from irreversible changes of a negative nature, as well as the task of the reasonable development of the World Ocean and outer space.

Rice. 2. Lack of drinking water in Africa ()

Global problems are interconnected.

Rice. 3. Scheme of interrelations of problems of a global nature

At present, humanity and the leading countries are actively fighting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their use. The UN General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. In addition, treaties were signed between the main nuclear powers (for example, START-1, START-2, ABM).

The largest countries in terms of the number of armed forces:

5. Russia.

The problem of arms proliferation and disarmament remains relevant. The military bases of the United States and NATO members on the territory of many countries pose a particular potential danger.

Rice. 4. US military base in Turkey ()

Homework

Topic 11, Item 1

1. What global problems of mankind do you know?

Bibliography

Main

1. Geography. A basic level of. 10-11 cells: Textbook for educational institutions / A.P. Kuznetsov, E.V. Kim. - 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2012. - 367 p.

2. Economic and social geography of the world: Proc. for 10 cells. educational institutions / V.P. Maksakovskiy. - 13th ed. - M .: Education, JSC "Moscow textbooks", 2005. - 400 p.

3. Atlas with a set of contour maps for grade 10. Economic and social geography of the world. - Omsk: Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Omsk Cartographic Factory", 2012. - 76 p.

Additional

1. Economic and social geography of Russia: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. A.T. Khrushchev. - M.: Bustard, 2001. - 672 p.: ill., cart.: tsv. incl.

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography: a guide for high school students and university applicants. - 2nd ed., corrected. and dorab. - M.: AST-PRESS SCHOOL, 2008. - 656 p.

2. Africa // encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.

Literature for preparing for the GIA and the Unified State Examination

1. Thematic control in geography. Economic and social geography of the world. Grade 10 / E.M. Ambartsumova. - M.: Intellect-Centre, 2009. - 80 p.

2. The most complete edition of typical options for real USE assignments: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: Astrel, 2010. - 221 p.

3. The optimal bank of tasks for preparing students. Unified state exam 2012. Geography: Tutorial/ Comp. EM. Ambartsumova, S.E. Dyukov. - M.: Intellect-Centre, 2012. - 256 p.

4. The most complete edition of typical options for real USE assignments: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2010. - 223 p.

5. Geography. Diagnostic work in the format of the Unified State Examination 2011. - M .: MTSNMO, 2011. - 72 p.

6. USE 2010. Geography. Collection of tasks / Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 272 p.

7. Tests in geography: Grade 10: to the textbook by V.P. Maksakovskiy “Economic and social geography of the world. Grade 10 / E.V. Baranchikov. - 2nd ed., stereotype. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2009. - 94 p.

8. Unified state exam 2009. Geography. Universal materials for the preparation of students / FIPI - M .: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 240 p.

9. Geography. Answers on questions. Oral exam, theory and practice / V.P. Bondarev. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2003. - 160 p.

10. USE 2010. Geography: thematic training tasks / O.V. Chicherina, Yu.A. Solovyov. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 144 p.

11. USE 2012. Geography: Standard exam options: 31 options / Ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: national education, 2011. - 288 p.

12. USE 2011. Geography: Standard exam options: 31 options / Ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2010. - 280 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ( ).

2. Federal portal Russian Education ().

The problems of modernity and the future of mankind - these are the questions that concern everyone contemporary politicians and scientists. This is quite understandable. After all, from the decision contemporary problems the future of the Earth and all mankind really depends.

Origin of the term

The term "global problems" began to appear in the scientific literature in the late 60s of the last century. This is how the scientists characterized both the new problems that appeared at the junction of the industrial and information eras, and the old ones that existed in the system "man - nature - society", which have worsened and aggravated in modern conditions.

Fig 1. Environmental pollution

Global problems are problems that cannot be solved by the forces of one country or one people, but, at the same time, the fate of the entire human civilization depends on their solution.

Causes

Scientists identify two large groups of reasons that led to the emergence of global problems.

• The development of local problems, conflicts and contradictions into global ones (this is due to the process of globalization, unification and generalization of mankind).
• Active transformative human activity that affects nature, the political situation and society.

Types of global problems

The global problems facing humanity include three large groups of problems (modern classification).

Table"List of global problems of mankind"

TOP 3 articleswho read along with this

Group	The essence of the problems (characteristic)	Examples of major global issues included in the group
Intersocial global problems	Problems existing in the “society-society” system related to maintaining security and peace on the planet	1. The problem of preventing a global nuclear catastrophe. 2. The problem of war and peace. 3. The problem of overcoming the backwardness of developing countries. 4. Creation of optimal conditions for the social progress of all peoples.
Ecological problems	Problems existing in the "society - nature" system associated with overcoming various environmental problems	1. Raw material problem. 2. Food problem. 3. Energy problem. 4. Prevention of environmental pollution. 5. Preventing the extinction of various animals and plants.
Social problems	Problems existing in the "man-society" system associated with overcoming complex social problems	1. Demographic problem. 2. The problem of maintaining human health. 3. The problem of the spread of education. 4. Overcoming negative impacts NTR (scientific and technological revolution).

All global problems are interconnected and affect each other. It is impossible to solve them separately, an integrated approach is needed. That is why priority global problems were identified, the essence of which is similar, and the solution of which depends on the near future of the Earth.

Let us represent the dependence of problems on each other schematically and name the global problems of mankind in order of their importance.

Fig 2. Relationship of global problems with each other

• Peace problem (disarmament of countries and prevention of a new world global conflict) is connected with the problem (hereinafter referred to as “-”) of overcoming the backwardness of developing countries.
• Ecological problem is a demographic problem.
• energy problem - resource problem.
• food problem - use of the oceans.

It is interesting that the solution of all global problems is possible if we try to solve the most important and urgent problem at the moment - the world's space exploration.

Common features (signs) of global problems

Despite the fact that there are many global problems at the present stage of human development, they all have common features:

• they affect the vital activity of all mankind at once;
• they are an objective factor in the development of mankind;
• they require an urgent decision;
• they involve international cooperation;
• the fate of the entire human civilization depends on their decision.

Figure 3. Hunger in Africa

Main Directions for Resolving World Problems and Threats

To solve global problems, the efforts of all mankind are needed, and not only material and physical, but also psychological. In order for the work to be successful, it is necessary

• form a new planetary consciousness, constantly inform people about threats, give them only up-to-date information, and educate;
• develop effective system cooperation of countries in solving global problems: studying, monitoring the state, preventing the aggravation of the situation, creating a forecasting system;
• concentrate a large number of forces precisely on solving global problems.

Social predictions of the existence of mankind

Based on the fact that at the moment there is an aggravation and expansion of the list of global problems, scientists make social forecasts for the existence of mankind:

• pessimistic forecast or environmental pessimism(in short, the essence of the forecast boils down to the fact that humanity is waiting for a large-scale environmental catastrophe and inevitable death);
• optimistic forecast or scientific and technical optimism(scientists hope that scientific and technical progress will lead to the fact that global problems are resolved).

What have we learned?

The term "global problems" is not new, and it does not refer only to those problems that appeared at the end of the 20th century. All global problems have both their own characteristics and similarities. They are interrelated and the solution of one problem depends on the timely resolution of another.

The topic "Global problems of our time" is one of the main topics in social science lessons at school. On the topic "Global problems, threats and challenges" they make reports and write abstracts, and it is necessary not only to give examples of problems, but also to show their connection, and explain how it is possible to cope with a particular problem.

Topic quiz

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Global problems are problems relating to the "world-man" system as a whole and having a non-local, but an all-encompassing, planetary character. The life of society, the fate of mankind, the conditions of its habitat, the state of the natural environment, social progress and the preservation of civilization directly depend on their solution. These include problems of ecology, protection of human health, demographic problems, problems of the crisis of culture, issues of war and peace. Accordingly, they are divided into ecological, demographic and military-political ones.

Modern research allows us to classify more than two dozen problems as global problems, including:

Threat of ecological catastrophe;

Mineral resource crisis;

Medico-biological problems of health;

Conservation of homo sapiens;

Problems of preventing war with the use of weapons of mass destruction;

Cessation of the arms race;

Reduction of areas of poverty and poverty;

Problems of the energy crisis, etc.

The causes of global problems are the increased growth of human needs, the increased technical means of society's impact on nature, the scale of these impacts.

TO characteristic features The global problems of our time include the presence of a close relationship between them, in which the aggravation of one leads to the aggravation of the entire chain of problems. We can say that global problems are a complex tangle of problems. Therefore, attempts to separate their consideration and solution are ineffective. Global problems must be solved comprehensively, in a coordinated manner, through the efforts of numerous subjects of the world community.

Multilevel environmental problems. At the present stage of human development, most of the global problems are concentrated on the pole of active interaction between man and nature. Uncontrolled use natural resources, the barbaric consumption of natural resources raises the issue of a special social policy that regulates the relationship between man and nature, raises the problem of the need to protect both nature and humanity, which is interested in its future. The environmental problem is exacerbated by the fact that the world annually disappears. 150 species of plants and animals, there is depletion of the soil, pollution of water, atmospheric layers of air and the environment as a whole. A person pollutes everything around him with chemical and radiation substances: from the oceans to outer space. Changes in the biosphere, ionosphere, characteristics of air, soil and water, under which human life originated and became possible, testify to the destruction of that ecological niche, the destruction of which leads to the disappearance of all living things. K. Lorenz in the article “The Eight Deadly Sins of Civilized Mankind”, drawing attention to the exponentially accelerating rate of technological development, speaks of the threat of complete destruction of the biocenoses in which and at the expense of which a person lives.

The ecological problem is multilevel. It should be addressed both at the national and international, global levels. The basis of the exacerbation of the environmental problem is the rapid scientific and technological progress, focused on the unbridled growth of consumption. It is fraught with a shortage of natural resources in many countries. soil, hydropower, fresh water, fish stocks in many countries have reached their critical levels.

The Club of Rome is one of the leading research centers that includes politicians and scientists who develop models for eliminating crisis tendencies in the relationship of humanity with its environment. Its activity is aimed at developing a new ecological thinking, a system of measures that ensures safe living on earth. Pollution of the world's oceans with chemical and industrial waste has led to the creation of organizations such as the North Sea Confederation and the International Maritime Organization. The activities that can provide a turn towards the harmonization of relations "man-nature" include:

Waste disposal;

Prevention of emissions of gases into the atmosphere during fuel combustion;

Mastering energy and resource saving technologies;

Stimulating the restoration of the natural environment.

The ecological problem closely raises the issues of human ecology, the health of his body and spirit. There are warnings from biologists, geneticists, physicians that man is in danger of extinction as a biological species. Genetic engineering in its discoveries and achievements poses a real threat to human existence. Spread of pathogens and weakening immune system under the influence of various stresses lead to catastrophic consequences in human ecology and cannot be left without close attention. AIDS is the plague of the 20th century. today is also a universal problem. Its origins lie in mass drug addiction, sexual perversion and prostitution, which destroy a person and induce him to antisocial actions.

Speaking about human ecology, one should keep in mind the study of the real way of life of human populations. Here, not only the corporeality of a person and the physical environment are important, but also the spiritual component. Of course, in order to give life to the spirit, it is necessary to provide life to the body. This mutual positing and mutual negation of the spirit and the body as a real contradiction, which develops each time with new force, requires its solution in something else, which would not be only spiritual and would not be only bodily. In this sense, the key problem of human ecology has always been the problem of its self-realization, understood as the development of everything potentially inherent in it. At one time Montaigne wrote: "The most important thing in the world is the ability to be yourself." The new term - "ecosophy" means a personal code of values ​​and a view of the world that determines and initiates personal behavior, giving the joy of being oneself.

The global crisis of culture. Some of the global problems are based on fixing the state of society as a victim of global upheavals. World wars and local military conflicts have led to the loss of humanity's faith in humanistic ideals. The crisis of human spirituality, the ideology of consumerism is, in the words of the Russian philosopher M. Mamardashvili, "an anthropological catastrophe." All this is very typical of the late 20th century. The modern Western philosopher J. Ortega y Gasset sees the foundations of the crisis of culture in the fact that European history has been given over to mediocrity. It matured and acts new type mass man who interferes in everything and. does not know morality. This type is parasitic, his actions have the character of violence.

K. Jaspers drew attention to the fact that in comparing modernity with the time of decline and death of ancient culture, there is one significant difference: technology during the collapse of antiquity was in a state of stagnation, while in the modern world it continues its “destructive progress” at an unheard of pace.

The backwardness in the development of a huge part of the population and the need to overcome it is also recognized today as one of the global problems of mankind. The economic gap between the population of the most developed countries and the vast mass of the poorest population of developing countries cannot create a favorable background for the development of modern civilization and is also included in a number of global problems of our time. The volume of production per capita in underdeveloped countries is on average 12 times less, and energy consumption is 14 times lower than in developed countries. 3/4 of the population of developing countries live in unsanitary conditions, and 31% of the population live in conditions of absolute poverty. The areas of poverty and hunger indicate that society has not solved the problem of its provision with food and energy resources, which leads to the destruction and pathologies of the human population.

Globalistics of military-political problems. Along with the global environmental problem the issues of ensuring peace and preventing war are also the most serious problem of human existence. Among the military-political ones is the problem of the aggravation of the arms race, the atomic or nuclear threat. A large number of tests and the accumulation of nuclear charges, outbreaks of military conflicts, mass terror lead to a situation where humanity is teetering on the brink of peaceful coexistence. Even A. Einstein called for the released energy of the atom to work for the benefit of mankind, and not for its destruction. The signing of treaties on the reduction of strategic nuclear arsenals somewhat reduces the danger of a direct nuclear collision, but the threat of a technological atomic explosion does not disappear, there are no guarantees against a repeat of the Chernobyl catastrophe on a global scale. New types of weapons, including not only chemical and bacteriological, but also "genetic", "plasma", "solar" weapons, offer ever newer and more sophisticated methods of destruction. Unfortunately, it is with the problem of war that humanity is crossing the threshold of the new millennium. Progressive scientists and philosophers, representatives of literature and art call for the preservation of peace on earth in the name of all mankind. The UN plays a special role in solving the global problems of our time. The world community is trying to coordinate the efforts of mankind to minimize the global problems of our time, to ensure consensus and improve world economic relations.

Philosophers note with concern that the prospects for solving global problems are largely determined by the level of development of humanity itself and its culture. On the threshold of the XXI century. humanity, faced with the need to solve the problems of the world order: pollution of the environment by industrial waste, the irreplaceable disappearance of natural resources; imbalance in demographic processes; the danger of a radioactive catastrophe, etc. - cannot fail to realize the catastrophic nature of further technogenic development. Knowledge of threats, identification of risks and assessment of new hazards can equip scientists in activities to minimize global problems. The researchers note that the negative consequences of scientific and technological activity can be overcome not by its suspension, but by the creation of the latest technologies for the disposal of hazardous waste. The possibility of creating robotic doctors living inside the human body and eliminating any deviations from the norm, as well as saturating the ecosphere with robotic orderlies that process waste is noted.

Philosophy cannot be aloof from solving the global problems of our time, since they are associated with the possibilities and prospects for the survival of all mankind. At the same time, philosophy alone is not able to solve them. A complete and comprehensive solution to the global problems of our time or a gradual reduction in their severity is possible only through the combined efforts of practical scientists and theorists of the entire world community, who are aware of the imminent danger of their aggravation.