1. Environmental crisis
There is hardly a person on Earth who would not have heard about modern environmental problems. And many have already experienced their effect on themselves! Droughts or heavy rainfall, shallowing of rivers and lakes or floods, crop failures, desertification of lands, destruction of forests, pollution of air, water and soil have caused the emergence of a new type of refugees - "environmental". These people are forced to move from their native places, which have become territories of ecological disaster, due to the increase in morbidity and mortality, the inability to engage in traditional activities, feed their families and raise children. The scale of the spread of environmental problems on the planet and the increase in their severity give reason to talk about a global environmental crisis of the entire biosphere of the Earth, which is a habitat for all living things.
Scientists have proven a direct link between environmental degradation and an increase in the number of refugees. First of all, the resettlement of people is associated with climatic changes, leading to constant crop failures and hunger. According to preliminary estimates, at present, the number of environmental refugees is at least 14 million. of the total number of refugees in the world, 70.8 million. (according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for 2018). The largest contribution to the number of environmental refugees is made by the countries of South and Central Africa, as well as the countries of Asia and Oceania: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Myanmar, the reasons for the flight of residents from which are environmental pollution, lack of fresh water, increased hurricanes and flooding of the island territories. In 2016, the flow of environmental refugees from these countries even exceeded all other types of forced resettlement, but then the expansion of the Middle East conflict led to a massive resettlement of people from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Moreover, if as the situation in the Middle East is resolved, the number of refugees from there will decrease, then the flow of environmental, primarily climate refugees will only grow as the global environmental crisis continues to deepen.first of all, climate refugees will only grow as the global environmental crisis continues to deepen.first of all, climate refugees will only grow as the global environmental crisis continues to deepen.
Consequently, environmental problems, entailing large-scale socio-economic problems, can no longer be ignored by any of the national governments of the countries of the world and by any of the well-known politicians. Public figures and non-governmental organizations are putting pressure on state apparatus in their countries, demanding a solution to both regional environmental problems and the entire global crisis in general. Even the stars of show business are involved in this struggle, both already held and "lit up" on environmental topics. Actress Pamela Anderson fights for animal rights and regularly protests against fur and leather products, and at the end of 2018 appeals to the President of Russia with a demand to save a hundred cubs of beluga whales and killer whales locked in an enclosure in the Primorsky Territory. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger advocates the introduction of tight controls on greenhouse gas emissions, creates a public organization R20 and in 2018 sues oil and gas companies for environmental pollution. Stylist Sergei Zverev goes to Red Square in Moscow with a single picket, demanding the preservation of Lake Baikal and removes barbarian forest clearings in the Siberian taiga from a quadcopter. Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old girl who staged a protest against global warming at the gates of the Swedish parliament after sitting on the pavement for several hours with a homemade poster "Skipping School for the Climate", became world famous. Stylist Sergei Zverev goes to Red Square in Moscow with a single picket, demanding the preservation of Lake Baikal and removes barbarian forest clearings in the Siberian taiga from a quadcopter. Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old girl who staged a protest against global warming at the gates of the Swedish parliament after sitting on the pavement for several hours with a homemade poster "Skipping School for the Climate", became world famous. Stylist Sergei Zverev goes to Red Square in Moscow with a single picket, demanding the preservation of Lake Baikal and removes barbarian forest clearings in the Siberian taiga from a quadcopter. Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old girl who staged a protest against global warming at the gates of the Swedish parliament after sitting on the pavement for several hours with a homemade poster "Skipping School for the Climate", became world famous.
But can any state or all the governments of the world together solve environmental problems? First, none of the regional environmental problems can be eliminated without overcoming their main cause - the global environmental crisis of the biosphere. Administrative measures: tightening legislation, introducing strict control of environmental indicators, duties and fines, it is only possible to transfer the problem in space - to the territory of other states or in time, shifting the burden of solving them onto the shoulders of subsequent generations - our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Secondly, there is already an experience of the failure of international environmental cooperation, which has shown that modern mankind, disunited in different national states, is unable to solve the global problem of the environmental crisis.
Ecology was on the agenda of almost every country in the world at the World Government Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The ideas of sustainable development of mankind while preserving the environment were received with great enthusiasm all over the world, which was expressed in the approval of the leaders of 177 countries of the documents that later compiled the so-called Rio Consensus. The basis of the Rio Consensus is the Agenda 21 Action Program and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with the later adopted Kyoto Protocol. Despite the fact that the Kyoto Protocol established obligations to reduce emissions of seven "greenhouse gases" (including CO2), it was not complied with by anyone. The United States refused to ratify this document. Canada, which first ratified the Kyoto Protocol,by 2011 announced its withdrawal from it. Japan, which was one of the initiators of the Kyoto Protocol, instead of reducing emissions by 6%, increased them by almost 18%. Even Australia was unable to fulfill its obligations - instead of reducing emissions by the declared 8%, they increased almost 1.5 times. Russia ratified the Kyoto Protocol 8 years after its signing - in 2005, and in 2012 in Doha (Qatar) at the 18th conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Russian delegation announced its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. Russia ratified the Kyoto Protocol 8 years after its signing - in 2005, and in 2012 in Doha (Qatar) at the 18th conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Russian delegation announced its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. Russia ratified the Kyoto Protocol 8 years after its signing - in 2005, and in 2012 in Doha (Qatar) at the 18th conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Russian delegation announced its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol.
The Rio + 20 Conference on Sustainable Development, held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, finally consolidated the failure of the international environmental movement, which arose under the auspices of the UN. The United States, the most economically developed country, did not participate in the last Conference on Sustainable Development, Germany is the locomotive of the "green" movement in Europe and the birthplace of the first political party of the "green", as well as England - the birthplace of the first state environmental service. Therefore, today the question of the future of the biosphere and man remains open. Humanity is being drawn into an unprecedented ecological crisis, which could result in a catastrophe that could lead to the complete destruction of the biological species Homo Sapiens. The current situation is unique - in the historical time known to us, the natural environment has never lost its stability on a global scale. The complexity of the problem led to the failure of the international environmental movement based on the traditional mechanisms of cooperation between national states. The failure of international environmental cooperation of independent national states tells us that only a “global” integral humanity can solve any global problem. Accordingly, in order to develop global solutions, it is necessary to operate with the concepts of global planetary systems - the biosphere and technosphere of the Earth. The failure of international environmental cooperation of independent national states tells us that only a “global” integral humanity can solve any global problem. Accordingly, in order to develop global solutions, it is necessary to operate with the concepts of global planetary systems - the biosphere and technosphere of the Earth. The failure of international environmental cooperation of independent national states tells us that only a “global” integral humanity can solve any global problem. Accordingly, in order to develop global solutions, it is necessary to operate with the concepts of global planetary systems - the biosphere and technosphere of the Earth.
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2. Technosphere - artificial habitat
If you try to find out what currently unites all people into a certain community, then you can see that this is their artificial habitat - a technosphere, created by the hands of many generations since the Neolithic, i.e. more than 10 thousand years ago. People began to build the technosphere in the distant past to protect themselves from natural hazards and to ensure that they provide themselves with the necessary food. This path of human development turned out to be very successful - the technosphere became the highest scientific and technological achievement of mankind, which allowed it to radically reduce the influence of many natural hazards, ensure less dependence of the economy and social processes on natural factors, and meet the needs of the many times increased population of the Earth. Thinkers, writers, politicians,entrepreneurs and almost all educated people have seen and still see only the good side in the technosphere, noting that it is the basis of the social stability of the state, the prosperity of society and the source of well-being of citizens of any country. Although the technosphere is divided by national borders, there are continuous flows of mutual exchange of matter, energy and information between the individual technosphere regions, thanks to the modern development of means of transport and communication. Therefore, we can talk about a single planetary technosphere that replaces a significant part of the natural habitat - the biosphere. To create the technosphere, man completely destroyed or disrupted the work of regional ecosystems over large areas. At present, the technosphere occupies more than 60% of the land area most suitable for living, i.e.excluding deserts, glaciers and highlands.
The modern technosphere was built in the absence of the necessary ecological knowledge about the natural principles of environmental formation, which are currently known. The structure and vector of development of the technosphere absolutely does not correspond to the principles of the structure and direction of evolution of the biosphere. It can even be argued that the technosphere is the antipode of the biosphere - that is, it contradicts it in everything. Matter in the biosphere is involved in continuous closed cycles, while the technosphere is linear in matter. In the biosphere, one and the same supply of matter is able to circulate continuously within it, participating in an infinite number of cycles of resource synthesis, their use and decay. The technosphere is linear in substance, it constantly requires an inflow of various resources from the outside, as a result of which the regions of the technosphere grow, i.e. continuously increase their mass. It is clear that such a process cannot continue indefinitely, since in the biosphere, from which the technosphere draws and draws new natural resources, the reserves of matter are limited. There is no concept of “waste” in the biosphere - a substance that turns out to be unnecessary for someone immediately becomes food for other biological species, which successfully utilize it. The technosphere produces hundreds of billions of tons of waste per year, which cannot return to the natural cycles of matter in the biosphere, and therefore accumulate in the most unsightly technospheric territories - landfills, ash dumps, waste rock heaps, etc. There is no concept of “waste” in the biosphere - a substance that turns out to be unnecessary for someone immediately becomes food for other biological species, which successfully utilize it. The technosphere produces hundreds of billions of tons of waste per year, which cannot return to the natural cycles of matter in the biosphere, and therefore accumulate in the most unsightly technospheric territories - landfills, ash dumps, waste rock heaps, etc. There is no concept of “waste” in the biosphere - a substance that turns out to be unnecessary for someone immediately becomes food for other biological species, which successfully utilize it. The technosphere produces hundreds of billions of tons of waste per year, which cannot return to the natural cycles of matter in the biosphere, and therefore accumulate in the most unsightly technospheric territories - landfills, ash dumps, waste rock heaps, etc.
Therefore, the technosphere, the scale of the flows of matter and energy in which in the twentieth century became commensurate with the flows flowing in the biosphere, began to exert a negative disturbing effect on the biosphere. This impact destabilizes the biosphere, as a result of which it loses its stability and is getting worse and worse with its main function - to maintain favorable environmental conditions on the planet. As a result, the parameters of the habitat begin to change rapidly in a negative direction for humans and other inhabitants of the Earth, which creates a lot of known environmental problems. That is, the technosphere is the main cause of the global ecological crisis! Therefore, the reasons for the global ecological crisis of the biosphere are not at all political, not socio-economic, or even ideological - but purely technical and it is not politicians who can solve this problem,not public figures or entrepreneurs, but engineers and scientists, primarily environmentalists. Therefore, in order to save the climate, the planet, the biosphere and humanity, you need to master knowledge about the world around you, and not skip school!
Persistent appeal to politicians, national governments and state bodies with the requirement to solve environmental problems is not only useless, but may conceal the threat of their inadequate, inhuman solution. Currently, among politicians, the elite, a significant portion of the middle class, and even in the scientific community, it is widely believed that the cause of the global environmental crisis is the overpopulation of the Earth. Indeed, it is reliable that the population of the planet has now reached 7.53 billion people. with the biosphere's supporting capacity calculated by scientists at 500 - 600 million people. Thus, it was exclusively the technosphere created by him that allowed the biological species of Homo sapiens to reach the current level of numbers. But, believing that the modern technosphere is the highest achievement of mankind,such “figures” accept it as it is, without even thinking about what it could be, and even more so, what it should be, so as not to damage the natural environment of the Earth, but to develop together with it - that is, to co-evolve. Accordingly, within the framework of such direct, as the rails of thinking, the idea of reducing the number of inhabitants of our planet quite naturally arises, so that those who remain could be provided with all the necessary resources to ensure a high standard of living within the framework of the existing technosphere.quite naturally, the idea of reducing the number of inhabitants of our planet arises, so that those who remain could be provided with all the necessary resources to ensure a high standard of living within the framework of the existing technosphere.quite naturally, the idea of reducing the number of inhabitants of our planet arises, so that those who remain could be provided with all the necessary resources to ensure a high standard of living within the framework of the existing technosphere.
Any state has a monopoly on violence, so it is very tempting for politicians to implement such a plan to overcome the global environmental crisis. This implies that the currently existing powerful political, socio-economic and military centers should be preserved in the future, and “someone else should” be reduced. Therefore, the leading countries and blocs of the world - the United States, the European Union, China, may well try to use their exclusive right to full power. In this case, it will most likely not be about the use of nuclear or other types of "hot" weapons, because this can finally destroy the biosphere. The most probable procedure for launching a procedure for a "silent genocidal war" is through the use of biological weapons,selectively "disposed" to destroy representatives of a certain race or even a particular people.
To avoid such a "cannibalistic" scenario, it is necessary to transfer the management of society and the state to strictly scientific foundations. Today the slogan "Power to Science!" Is becoming extremely relevant. The fullness of power should be delegated to scientists - primarily to environmentalists. All key government decisions and development plans for the country should be developed by scientific institutions - Expert Councils on the basis of data collected and analyzed by specialized scientific institutes built into the system of public administration. The "statesmen" who stick out and in every possible way emphasize the connection between population growth and the ecological crisis are very short-sighted, since science has long shown a way to overcome the limitation of the world's population imposed by the volume of natural resources and the rate of their renewal. IN AND. Vernadsky in his work "Autotrophy of Mankind" (1925) showed that having energy sources, people will be able to provide themselves with the necessary food, without removing food resources from the biosphere that are necessary for other biological species. Vernadsky wrote: “To solve the social issue, it is necessary to approach the foundations of human power - it is necessary to change the form of nutrition and the sources of energy used by man. But the reserves of energy at the disposal of the mind are inexhaustible. The force of tides and sea waves, radioactive, atomic energy, the heat of the Sun can give the required force in any quantity. Direct synthesis of food, without the mediation of organized beings, as soon as it is discovered, will radically change the future of man. " Vernadsky not only showed the path of human development,allowing to create a new way of material production of goods necessary for mankind, but also lists all types of energy sources that are currently used as renewable or "non-traditional". Even atomic energy is presented, about the prospects of using which at that time few people thought. This work by V. I. Vernadsky sounds surprisingly modern and is also surprisingly underestimated even by the scientific community. First of all - in the West, although Vernadsky wrote it while teaching at the Sorbonne and "The Autotrophy of Humanity" was first published in French. This work by V. I. Vernadsky sounds surprisingly modern and is also surprisingly underestimated even by the scientific community. First of all - in the West, although Vernadsky wrote it while teaching at the Sorbonne and "The Autotrophy of Humanity" was first published in French. This work by V. I. Vernadsky sounds surprisingly modern and is also surprisingly underestimated even by the scientific community. First of all - in the West, although Vernadsky wrote it while teaching at the Sorbonne and "The Autotrophy of Humanity" was first published in French.
Environmental scientists can suggest that all intelligent humanity learn from nature, and not teach it that it needs to adapt to the extremely increased needs of humanity. Hopes for such an outcome of the confrontation between the technosphere and the biosphere are futile, since for the biosphere the technosphere has no meaning at all. From the point of view of the course of biospheric processes, the technosphere completely contradicts them. The technosphere withdraws from the biosphere natural resources intended for other biological species, depriving them of food and other vital factors, and besides, it also throws out harmful waste into the biosphere, which accumulates in increasing quantities, poisoning the air, water, soil and killing all living things … Even what is a useful product of the technosphere for us is still waste for the biosphere, only the period of their entry into the biosphere is postponed for the period of their operation. The hope of humanity should be not in the management of the biosphere, which has a colossal creation experience accumulated over more than 4 billion years of evolution, but in the management of the activities of people, so far having only a great experience of destruction and a meager experience of creation. Therefore, there is only one way out of the impasse of the global ecological crisis - it is necessary for the technosphere to be built and operate according to the same principles and rules as the biosphere, that is, to become nature-like. To overcome the global ecological crisis, it is necessary to change the basic principles of constructing an artificial human environment - i.e. to carry out its ecologization.so far, having only a large experience of destruction and a scanty experience of creation. Therefore, there is only one way out of the impasse of the global ecological crisis - it is necessary that the technosphere was built and operated according to the same principles and rules as the biosphere, that is, it should become nature-like. To overcome the global ecological crisis, it is necessary to change the basic principles of constructing an artificial human environment - i.e. to carry out its ecologization.so far, having only a large experience of destruction and a scanty experience of creation. Therefore, there is only one way out of the impasse of the global ecological crisis - it is necessary that the technosphere was built and operated according to the same principles and rules as the biosphere, that is, it should become nature-like. To overcome the global ecological crisis, it is necessary to change the basic principles of constructing an artificial human environment - i.e. to carry out its ecologization.it is necessary to change the basic principles of constructing an artificial human habitat - i.e. to carry out its ecologization.it is necessary to change the basic principles of constructing an artificial human habitat - i.e. to carry out its ecologization.
3. Greening the technosphere
The greening of the technosphere is understood as the process of its transformation with the aim of transition to natural principles of construction and functioning. The goal of ecologization is to create an eco-technosphere - an artificial human environment that is fully compatible with the natural environment of the planet - the biosphere. That is, the ecotechnosphere will become a nature-like environment, and in this case, the global ecological crisis caused by the contradiction between the biosphere and the one created in the absence of the necessary knowledge for humanity will be overcome. Both the biosphere and the technosphere will be able to develop jointly according to the same evolutionary principles, instead of entering into conflict and contradictions with each other.
The idea of greening the technosphere at the present time can already be called indisputable. Thus, Russian President V. V. Putin, speaking on September 28, 2015 at the plenary session of the 70th UN General Assembly, said that in order to overcome the global environmental crisis, it is necessary to create a technosphere that harmoniously coexists with the biosphere, using "nature-like" technologies. However, what should be understood by nature-like technologies, V. V. Putin did not specify in his report. It is likely that materials for V. V. Putin were taken from the works of the general director of the Kurchatov Institute. M. V. Kovalchuk. He argues that NBICS technologies are nature-friendly, appearing as a result of the mutual integration of nano-bio-information technologies, as well as cognitive and socio-humanitarian sciences.
Adherents of NBIKS technologies claim that they open up the possibility of reproducing absolutely all systems and processes of living nature, since they use the same "technological methods" that Nature itself uses. Let's take a closer look at whether Nature uses NBIX technology. Indeed, it can be stated that in biochemical processes occurring at the molecular level in living organisms, signs of nanotechnology are seen - point manipulation of nanoscale objects - molecules of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, amino acids, enzymes, etc. The coding of DNA molecules during the reproduction of living cells makes it possible to speak about the possibility of recording and processing information, that is, about the use of information technologies at the molecular level and the availability of computing power in the hereditary apparatus of living organisms. However,Are cellular structures nanorobots and nanocomputers in the modern sense?
Describing the work carried out at the NBIKS Center of the Kurchatov Institute, the authors point out that a project is being implemented at the "protein factory" on membrane proteins that trigger signaling cascades in the cell, so that many processes in it can be influenced. These studies will allow in the near future to approach the creation of industrial biotechnologies, biosensor devices and biorobotic anthropomorphic systems capable of realizing some cognitive (cognitive) functions.
Also, according to the authors, electrically active structures based on semiconductor crystals will provide an information interface between a biological object and technical systems and will allow the structure created using nanobiotechnology to carry out the most important functions of a nature-like system and adequately reproduce the processes of living nature. This will make NBICS technology a practical tool for the formation of a qualitatively new technosphere, which will become an organic part of nature. How, one wonders, if cells and organisms do not have any semiconductor interfaces?
So what is the hidden pitfall here? The fact that the authors of NBIKS-technologies are trying to continue to follow the vector of technological development, laid down in the conditions of a world outlook absolutely alien to ecological knowledge. The concept of NBIKS appeared abroad, and the NBIKS-technologies center was created at the State Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" in order to copy foreign experience and be in the trend of development of Western science. In this context, science should be understood as social institutions, not a body of knowledge. Knowledge is the same for all mankind, and the institutionalization of scientific activity differs by country and by historical period, which makes it possible to talk, for example, about modern science of the West and (alas, in the past tense) about Soviet science.
The term NBICS convergence was coined in 2002 by Michael Rocko and William Bainbridge, whose title can be translated as “Converging Technologies to Improve Human Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Sciences”. That is, NBICS technologies were conceived exclusively to change human nature. Therefore, a lot is now being said about the possibility of a radical transformation of man as a biological and social being. This is no longer just an improvement in characteristics, but the creation of a person with predetermined properties. And with this approach, the humanities are no longer entirely humanitarian, but transhumanities, in which a new morality is being developed - transhumanism. What properties will such a “human” possess? Who will determine the direction of "technologization" of the human body and consciousness?
It is obvious that the founders of the NBICS-convergence will direct the artificial transformation of human nature and, most likely, they will strive to achieve the well-known goal of the modern global economic system: maximizing financial profit while minimizing costs (including for the reproduction and maintenance of such "modified labor resources") … Thus, we see that in this area we are talking exclusively about man, and there is not a single word about the natural environment, ecosystems and biosphere, which are supra-organismal and multi-species structures. Thus, most likely, on the basis of NBICS technologies, it is possible to build an artificial organism, including a human, but it is impossible to build a human environment. That is, this is the way to dehumanize science,violation of the biological integrity of a person and the preservation of the existing world socio-economic order, based on the property and financial inequality of members of the global society. Natural ecosystems lack computers, rigid algorithmic programs, human-readable interfaces and 3D printers. The biosphere is characterized by self-development based on the flexibility of connections and competitive selection of various biological species to perform certain ecosystem functions. Moreover, all organisms - representatives of biological species interacting in a common habitat, are independent living systems, and not pre-programmed biorobots.human-readable interfaces and 3D printers. The biosphere is characterized by self-development based on the flexibility of connections and competitive selection of various biological species to perform certain ecosystem functions. Moreover, all organisms - representatives of biological species interacting in a common habitat, are independent living systems, and not pre-programmed biorobots.human-readable interfaces and 3D printers. The biosphere is characterized by self-development based on the flexibility of connections and competitive selection of various biological species to perform certain ecosystem functions. Moreover, all organisms - representatives of biological species interacting in a common habitat, are independent living systems, and not pre-programmed biorobots.
It is possible to transform the existing technosphere only by using the living matter of the biosphere in the form of biological species specially selected for the performance of specific tasks, possessing their own goal-setting and most suitable for performing the main function of IES - maintaining human life. To do this, a person must physiologically remain the person we know him throughout the entire history of civilization, and not become that artificial organism that can be created using NBIK technologies. Therefore, the future is not for individual “scientific geniuses”, like Procruste, who come up with ways to transform a person in order to “adjust” him to the extremely complicated processes of the modern extremely energy and information-rich technosphere, but for the environmentally competent behavior of all members of society,possessing an objective picture of the surrounding world. Only the process of improving public consciousness, the accumulation of scientific knowledge by mankind as a whole, and the development of ecology allows us to create an integral system of views on the environment, accessible for everyone to understand already at the initial stages of education and training. Thus, the dissemination of environmental knowledge in the mass public consciousness is a key moment for the survival of mankind! Therefore, attempts to use NBIKS technologies to build the technosphere will probably lead to the already familiar dead end. In the field of creating an artificial habitat, being in the trend of the West means constantly lagging behind the West, which invests enormous financial resources in applied scientific research and technosphere construction. If we want to solve problemsposed by Vernadsky in his work "Autotrophy of Humanity", then it is necessary to rely on the work that is a continuation and development of his teachings.
In the works of Russian scientists - followers of V. I. Vernadsky about the "living matter" of the biosphere, plans are also being developed to transform the modern ecologically illiterate technosphere. But for this it is proposed to use completely different methods that differ from all known or developed technologies. By "living matter" we mean all chemical compounds included in the composition of living organisms that simultaneously live in the biosphere. According to V. I. Vernadsky, living matter is the main geological force that transforms the surface of the planet, which 4 billion years ago influenced and now affects the chemical composition of the earth's crust, atmosphere and hydrosphere, while converting a large amount of energy. IN AND. Vernadsky was the first to draw attention to the fact that living matter performs various target functions in the biosphere. The most important functions of living matter are reproduction of biomass and biogenic mobilization of chemical elements. Producing plants convert the energy of the Sun, storing it in the primary photosynthetic biomass, and transfer it further along the food chains to animals and microorganisms. Biogenic mobilization of elements is carried out through the formation of closed cycles of chemical elements, the driving force of which is the energy of living matter. Living matter evolves towards a more complex level of organization, an increase in the volume of synthesis of primary biomass and an acceleration of the cycles of chemical elements.and transfer it further along the food chain to animals and microorganisms. Biogenic mobilization of elements is carried out through the formation of closed cycles of chemical elements, the driving force of which is the energy of living matter. Living matter evolves towards a more complex level of organization, an increase in the volume of synthesis of primary biomass and an acceleration of the cycles of chemical elements.and transfer it further along the food chain to animals and microorganisms. Biogenic mobilization of elements is carried out through the formation of closed cycles of chemical elements, the driving force of which is the energy of living matter. Living matter evolves towards a more complex level of organization, an increase in the volume of synthesis of primary biomass and an acceleration of the cycles of chemical elements.
Thus, for “living matter”, as a unified system, goal-setting comes first, and not cognitive functions, as in individual organisms. Analyzing the dynamics of changes in the parameters of the environment on Earth, it can be assumed that the biosphere deliberately reduced the content of CO2 in the atmosphere in order to bring the climatic parameters of the planet to those that were observed at the initial stage of human origins. After most of the atmospheric carbon dioxide by the end of the Ordovician period of the Paleozoic era (i.e., 500 million years ago) was buried in the bottom sediments of the World Ocean in the form of carbonates, the climate remained quite hot, the average global temperature reached + 26 ° С due to the fact that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was at the level of 0.4% by volume. The appearance of the first terrestrial plants in the Devonian period and the rapid flowering in the Carboniferous period of gymnosperms on land (horsetails, moss, ferns) made it possible to bury another part of carbon dioxide in the earth's crust in the form of deposits of coal, oil and natural gas. As a result, 2 million years ago, by the time of the genetic isolation of the ancestors of modern humans, the concentration of CO2 decreased to 0.03% by volume, and the average global temperature on the planet's surface dropped to + 15 ° C.and the average global temperature on the planet's surface dropped to + 15 ° С.and the average global temperature on the planet's surface dropped to + 15 ° С.
From the teachings of V. I. Vernadsky about the biosphere, it follows that the most important principles of the nature of the environment are:
- food production and waste disposal inside the habitat using the functions of "living matter" of the biosphere;
- closedness of internal flows of matter, multiple participation of the same stock of matter in the cycles of synthesis and use of resources necessary for the life of inhabitants;
- self-cleaning, self-regulation and self-healing of chemical and climatic parameters of the environment.
To implement nature-like principles in an artificial habitat, it is necessary that the technosphere be built as an artificial ecosystem (IES). A person in such an environment is the closing link in all physicochemical and biological processes. The parameters of photosynthesis, energy and mass exchange are calculated in advance based on the necessary vital functions of the inhabitants of the PWI. In the eco-technosphere, all functional components of the natural ecosystem should be reproduced - communities of higher and lower plants, animal communities and soil biota, as well as cyclic transformation and exchange of matter (metabolism) between all components of the artificial ecosystem, including. It is the correct organization of the metabolism of the technosphere that is the key to the control of the physical and chemical parameters of the artificial environment and their stable maintenance at an optimal level for humans. The main task of creating an IES is its power supply. The energy that must enter the artificial environment from the outside (similar to how solar radiation enters the biosphere) is necessary to maintain the processes of photosynthesis of plant nutrition for the inhabitants of the eco-technosphere, lighting, heating, ensuring the operation of transport and other auxiliary equipment.it is necessary to maintain the processes of photosynthesis of plant nutrition for the inhabitants of the eco-technosphere, lighting, heating, ensuring the operation of transport and other auxiliary equipment.it is necessary to maintain the processes of photosynthesis of plant nutrition for the inhabitants of the eco-technosphere, lighting, heating, ensuring the operation of transport and other auxiliary equipment.
Power plants of various types, operating on local energy resources, can be used to supply power to the PWI. A promising direction is the use of biochemical energy. As a backup source of energy supply, you can use compact thermal mini-power plants operating on biogas released in the process of biological wastewater treatment from organic pollution. Currently, new types of devices have been developed that make it possible to more efficiently utilize the energy of the Sun, air, water and biomass. The choice of a specific type of natural energy resource and the type of electric generator used is determined by the characteristics of the region in which the PWI is located. The use of energy from a variety of sources for the implementation of plant food photosytesis under conditions of artificial lighting and controlled microclimate will be the first step towards the autotrophy of humanity, predicted by V. I. Vernadsky in the first quarter of the 20th century. Humanity is quite capable of releasing the channel of natural photosynthesis, leaving the biosphere all the primary biomass produced by producing plants and moving on to photo and biosynthesis of food (i.e., taking on the function of a producer) by converting energy from various sources, abandoning, including heat power based on burning fossil organic fuels.leaving the biosphere with all the primary biomass produced by producing plants and moving on to photo and biosynthesis of food (i.e., taking on the function of a producer) by converting energy from various sources, abandoning, including heat power engineering, based on the combustion of fossil organic fuel.leaving the biosphere with all the primary biomass produced by producing plants and moving on to photo and biosynthesis of food (i.e., taking on the function of a producer) by converting energy from various sources, abandoning, including heat power engineering, based on the combustion of fossil organic fuel.
Also, when constructing the technosphere, it is necessary to observe the similarity with the principle of constructing the biosphere. The biosphere consists of biocycles - large areas of the planet, extremely different conditions for the existence of organisms. A terrestrial biocycle, a marine and oceanic biocycle, and a fresh water biocycle are distinguished. Biocycles are subdivided into biochores, which differ in climatic conditions. On land, biochores are landscape and climatic zones - vast areas of continents with a homogeneous climate and located at the same altitude above sea level. Biochores form biomes - ecosystems that occupy large areas. Biomes are ecosystems located on different continents in the same landscape and climatic zones. The smaller structural unit of biomes is biogeocenoses. Biogeocenosis is an ecosystemoccupying a very specific area of the terrain, therefore, they speak of the biogeocenosis of a forest, meadow, lake, etc.
This principle can also be applied to technospheric structural units. The artificial environment, like the natural one, has its own hierarchy - from the local to the global level: a plant, a city, an industrial agglomeration, a region, a country, a continental urban ecosystem, the technosphere as a whole. Just as in nature, the biosphere is built from smaller structural units (biogeocenoses - biomes - biosphere), so the eco-technosphere of the future should be built according to the cluster principle: residential modules will be combined into larger settlements, settlements - into a technosphere region. The interaction of technosphere regions will determine in the future the nature of the interaction of the technosphere with the natural environment.
4. The path to the new technosphere of the Earth
For the transition to the eco-technosphere, it is possible to propose a strategic program for the greening of the technosphere, the initial stage of which should be an inventory of the territories of Russia in order to establish the degree of their ecological disadvantage. Russia plays a key role in starting the greening of the technosphere, thanks to the natural biomes preserved over a large area, which form the world center for ecological stabilization of the biosphere, completely located on the territory of our country. The plan for the transition to the new technosphere begins with a pilot project to restore severely damaged ecosystems. This plan may include the following steps:
- selection of a region with an assessment of the nature and degree of its ecological disturbance;
- construction of small autonomous residential modules;
- combining residential modules into an urban ecovillage;
- organization of interaction between individual ecovillages within the boundaries of the eco-technosphere region.
- carrying out long-term work to restore the natural environment in the eco-technosphere region.
The first step can be the creation of a small domed residential module with autonomous power supply and reproducing the principle of closed internal flows of matter. The module contains internal equipment that ensures the closure of the internal environment for gas exchange, power supply and water circulation. For this, the functions of "living matter" in the form of various living organisms are widely used. The module allows you to create an environmental safety system for workers involved in the restoration of ecosystems disturbed by hazardous pollutants. For power supply of the module, wind generators, solar panels, geothermal, tidal and other mini-power plants operating on local energy sources can be used. Miniature biogas-fired thermal power plants can be used as a backup source of energyreleased in the process of biological wastewater treatment from organic compounds.
When placed on the ground, the dome of the module is connected by transitional vestibules with other residential, technical and storage modules, which makes it possible to compose quite numerous ecovillages from separate modules. By assembling the required number of residential, technical and storage modules on one site, you can create a whole city, the habitat in which will also be based on the principles of using the "living matter" of the biosphere, the closed nature of material flows and homeostasis of climatic and chemical factors. The status of an "ecological city" can be assigned to such a "modular settlement" after the formation of a sphere of employment of the population and the creation of a social environment in it. Employment of the population is ensured by the placement in a special central module of a large industrial enterprise or scientific institution. Social security of the population is carried out by educational, medical and leisure institutions, which are also located under the dome of the central module. Since the main criteria laid down in the scientific basis for the development and improvement of technology and technologies for eco-technosphere construction are simplicity and high reliability of elements, it is possible to produce everything necessary for the construction and maintenance of new eco-cities within the limits of ecological clusters, small in terms of the occupied area, specialized in types of natural disturbance. Wednesday. To do this, it is necessary to locate in one region several cities with different industry specializations. The purpose of each city is determined by the composition of enterprises located in its central module. The main work of the inhabitants of these settlements will be in the large-scale restoration of the disturbed habitat, using the arsenal of nature-restoring technologies known today.
The transition to a new technosphere is, of course, a long-term task. On this path, it is necessary to concentrate the collective efforts of not only a large number of people, but also many countries of the world and even all mankind as a whole. We all need to constantly think about how and in what environment to continue living on the planet. But it is already possible to start full-fledged restoration of natural ecosystems lost through the fault of people today. The state and society should entrust this work to scientists - professionals in the field of ecology. The creation of a living environment built according to nature-like principles is not limited to solving applied problems, but has global prospects in the light of the need to restore the stability of the entire biosphere of the planet. Therefore, the importance of such work for the future of Russia can be comparable to the atomic and space projects that took place in the history of our country. The Institute of Biophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Fundamental Problems of Biology of the Pushchino Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a number of other leading scientific organizations and educational institutions can join the work. Also, scientists must decide how exactly humanity will live in the restored biosphere and maintain its favorable state. Obviously, in order not to enter the ecological "dead end" again, a new worldview is needed, formed in every member of the world community and an economy based on other principles that differ from the socio-economic model that is often used in many countries of the world. Modern science makes it possible to answer these questions today.
5. Civilizational ecological revolution
From the analysis of the historical process of the development of civilization, it can be concluded that the “engine” of a qualitative change in the structure of the technosphere, state institutions, socio-economic relations, the entire way of life of people and their worldview were periodically arising crises of various kinds that arose during the development of human civilization. Progress was constantly accompanied by crisis situations, but each time the critical situation was resolved by humanity through another civilizational revolution and, first of all, by the transformation of the existing technosphere. Despite the problems that constantly hit people - natural disasters, wars, crop failures, hunger and epidemics, the built environment progressed, i.e. continuously increased its quantitative indicators - the population and the area of the territory grew,occupied by the technosphere, its power supply increased. The development of the technosphere was abrupt - apart from the very first Neolithic "biotechnical revolution", which took place about 10 thousand years ago in the Neolithic era, a number of subsequent "civilizational revolutions" are also known, after which the development of the technosphere sharply accelerated. Table 1 shows the key transitional moments in the history of the development of mankind and the technosphere.
Table 1. Stages of development of the technosphere:
| Stage start | Transitional moment | Stage content |
| 60 years ago | Scientific and technological revolution | Transition to the use of atomic energy and other discoveries and inventions. The emergence of a new productive force - scientific and technical knowledge. |
| 160 years ago | Industrial Revolution | Transition to mass industrial production of consumer goods. The emergence of a global industry. |
| 7 thousand years ago | Urban revolution | Transition to city building. The emergence and development of states. |
| 10 thousand years ago | Biotech revolution | The transition to agriculture. The emergence of the technosphere. |
Each new stage in the evolution of the technosphere made it possible to extract additional material and energy resources and thereby supported the increase in the population, meeting its growing needs. Technical progress in relation to material production made it possible to increase the amount of products produced per unit of energy consumption, and the growth of the energy potential of the technosphere greatly increased the material security of a person, even at high rates of increase in the number of people. Over the next millennia of existence, the technosphere slowly changed its shape. The volume of mankind's knowledge about the surrounding world has been continuously increasing. It was knowledge that ensured the continuous progress of mankind, despite all the cataclysms, crises and wars. Therefore,for the future, the role of knowledge acquisition as a type of activity of people and science, as an institution ensuring the process of social development is extremely important.
Overcoming the next crisis always began with the creation and implementation of any innovations. In the Neolithic, these were drilled stone axes, the industrial revolution began with the invention of the steam engine, the scientific and technical revolution with the beginning of the use of atomic energy. Technical innovations led to changes in the socio-economic relations between people. The change in relations, in turn, entailed a change in the composition and principles of work of state institutions. and finally, significant changes took place in the most conservative element of society - public consciousness. But studying people's ideas about the world and the natural environment in different eras and in different countries, we can conclude that despite the "blossoming complexity" of concepts, the diversity of their paradigms, modifications and individual currents,anthropocentrism has invariably remained a constant of mass public consciousness. The anthropocentric picture of the world implies that in the center of everything there is a man - “the king of nature” and “the crown of creation”. And the Nature surrounding man is a simple utilitarian application to Man and is viewed exclusively as a source of gratuitous resources to ensure a high standard of living and increase the well-being of people.
The separation, isolation of man and his activity from Nature was carried out in the 5th century. BC. representatives of the ancient Greek school of sophists, Protagoras, Antiphon, Hippias and others, who were the first of the philosophers to talk about the fact that along with the natural world, there is also a world created by the will, mind and hands of man. Since then, the concepts of "first nature" and "second nature" have been used to analyze human economic activity. "The first nature" is a natural environment that arose long before the appearance of man and exists independently of his consciousness. Man was originally a product of nature, its integral part. However, thanks to reason and creative activity, he stood out from nature. The "second nature" is created in the process of labor and includes an artificial human environment - the technosphere,built on separate areas of the planet's land, previously occupied by the "first nature", i.e. biosphere. It is in the “second nature” that the production of material resources necessary for people (buildings and structures, equipment, consumer goods) and social life - the formation of social consciousness of people and the development of a system of relations between them.
The famous saying of one of the most ancient pillars of anthropocentrism - the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras, sounds like this: "Man is the measure of all things that exist, that they exist, non-existent, that they do not exist." Yes, man, the only inhabitant of the Earth's biosphere, turned out to be capable of abstract thinking, mastered speech and was able to rebuild nature, providing himself with a safer, more comfortable and aesthetic environment. However, the weak point of Protagoras' statement is the duration of the process of cognition of the "nature of things" by humanity. Anthropocentrism of Protagoras allowed people to be proud of their minds, without backing up this pride with a sufficient amount of knowledge about the world, primarily ecological, which caused the modern crisis of the biosphere.
The predominance of anthropocentrism in philosophy and culture of the most materially active European civilization has led to the fact that the natural environment in the countries that were the first to embark on the industrial path of development was almost completely destroyed. The technosphere arose and was formed not only in the absence of the necessary environmental knowledge for humanity, but also without a proper philosophical understanding of the processes taking place in nature, society and human consciousness under the influence of technological progress. In the modern world, according to sociological data, the number of people who are not indifferent to environmental problems does not exceed 5% of the total population of the planet. Most people, even admitting the environmental problems caused by the technosphere, believe thatthat there is no need to worry - either “wise” nature will adapt itself to the increased needs of humanity, or “genius” humanity will correct nature - and everything will be fine. That is, most people defend themselves, as V. I. Danilov-Danilyan and others, "the armor of civilization", and it is obvious that "Such a position is difficult to criticize, since it is based on a simple belief in human power, and not on any serious scientific theory." Hence, we can conclude that at present the mass consciousness does not take seriously ecological problems, since it is based on an anthropocentric picture of the world and belief in the unlimited scientific and technical capabilities of man. Destructive environmental problems, growing like a snowball, climatic disasters, and more frequent natural disasters show thatthat the collapse of the anthropocentric system is approaching. But what can replace anthropocentrism? A person should stop being “the measure of all things”, recognizing the supremacy of the laws and rules of Nature over himself, in order to build his way of life and habitat not in spite of, but in accordance with the principles of the existence of the natural environment of the planet. The new worldview can be called "ecocentrism", as it implies giving absolute value to the biosphere and its regional ecosystems.since it implies giving absolute value to the biosphere and its regional ecosystems.since it implies giving absolute value to the biosphere and its regional ecosystems.
It is possible to change the negative scenario of the development of civilization only if the worldview of the majority of members of modern society changes. The impact directly on public consciousness through the institutions of upbringing, education, culture, mass media can take a long time, which is necessary for the formation of ecocentric consciousness. The greening of the technosphere can become exactly that scientific and technical innovation, with which the process of the next civilizational revolution of mankind can begin, this time - ecological. The global ecological revolution will not only lead to a change in the principles of the structure and appearance of the technosphere, but will also cause a radical transformation of socio-economic relations, state institutions, the entire way of life and the way of thinking of people. The ecotechnosphere will allow satisfying all the basic needs of the Earth's population, without harming the biosphere, and therefore will give every inhabitant of the Earth a reliable basis for unleashing their creative potential, harmonious personality development, cognition, creating a family, raising offspring, family and friendship.
The severity of the global ecological crisis, which poses a threat to the survival of mankind, dictates the need for a rapid change in the principles of thinking of all living people. The experience of the experiment "Biosphere-2" in the USA in 1991 - 1993 showed that the participants of this experiment ("bionauts") understood the complete dependence of human life on the natural mechanisms of food reproduction, self-purification of air and water, and formation of soil rather quickly … One of the "bionauts" - Jane Poynter, giving lectures after the end of the experiment in "Biosphere-2", said: "It was only here that I first realized how dependent a person on the biosphere is - if all plants die, then people will have nothing to breathe and there will be nothing there is. If all the water is polluted, then people will have nothing to drink”. So is it worth bringing the situation on the planet to such a catastrophe, or will modern mankind have enough reason to take "preventive measures" - that is, bring the technosphere to nature-like before it is too late!
Author: Tkachenko Yu. L., Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of M. V. N. E. Bauman