What are the main types of human economic activity. General characteristics of human economic activity, the concept of an economic system. How the business started

1. Introduction.…………………………………………………….. 2

2. Human economic activity is the cause of environmental problems ……………………………………….. 3

2.1. Population growth……………………………. 3

2.2. Changes in the composition of the atmosphere and climate.…...... 4
2.3. Pollution of natural waters…………………….. 5

2.4. Deforestation……………………………………. 6

2.5. Soil depletion and pollution………………... 6

2.6. Reducing natural diversity ………... 7

2.7. Global warming………………………….. 7

3. Conclusion ………………………………………………… 9

4. Annex 1…………………………………………………10

5. Appendix 2………………………………………………………11

6. List of used literature………………………. 12

1. Introduction

We did not inherit the earth

our fathers. We took her

in debt to our children.

(From UN materials)

At all stages of its development, man was closely connected with the outside world. But since the emergence of a highly industrial society, the dangerous interference of man in nature has increased dramatically. The rapid development of energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and transport has led to the fact that human activity has become comparable in scale with the natural energy and material processes occurring in the biosphere. The intensity of human consumption of energy and material resources is growing disproportionately to its rational use. Moreover, a person releases into the environment thousands of tons of substances that have never been contained in it and which are often not amenable or poorly recyclable. All this leads to the fact that biological microorganisms that act as a regulator of the environment are no longer able to perform this function. The planet's resources are running out. Catastrophically quickly polluted air and water. Fertile lands turn into sands. Forest areas are shrinking before our eyes. Mountains of garbage are literally "falling out" on the planet; man provokes natural disasters.

Possible warming, depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain, "bloom" of water bodies, the accumulation of toxic and radioactive waste pose a threat to survival. According to experts, in 30 - 50 years an irreversible process will begin, which at the turn of the 21st - 22nd centuries will lead to a global environmental catastrophe.

Thus, environmental issues in modern world came to the fore, and therefore they are a global danger to all mankind.

2. Human economic activity is the cause of environmental problems

Humanity is part of the biosphere, a product of its evolution. However, the relationship between man and natural communities has never been cloudless. The hunting activity of ancient man undoubtedly hastened the extinction of many large herbivores. For hunting purposes, the burning of vegetation contributed to the desertification of territories. Man began to change and destroy entire communities with the transition to cattle breeding and agriculture.

During the development of agriculture, improper plowing led to the loss of the fertile layer, which was carried away by water or wind, and excessive irrigation caused soil salinization.

There have been two important shifts in the last hundred years. First, the population of the Earth has increased dramatically. Secondly, there has been an even sharper increase industrial production, production of energy and products Agriculture. As a result, humanity began to have a noticeable impact on the functioning of the entire biosphere. The critical situation at the end of the 20th century is formed by the following negative trends:

a) The consumption of the Earth's resources has so much exceeded the rate of their natural reproduction that the depletion of natural resources began to have a noticeable impact on their use, on the national and world economy and led to the irreversible impoverishment of the lithosphere and biosphere.

b) Waste, by-products of production and everyday life pollute the biosphere, cause deformations of ecological systems, disrupt the global cycle of substances and pose a threat to human health.

2.1. population growth(app.1)

The accelerating growth of the Earth's population has become a deviation from the laws of balance in wildlife. The UN provides data that, according to various estimates, by 2025 there will be from 8 to 9 billion people on Earth. Population growth requires an increase in food production, the creation of new jobs and the expansion of industrial production. So, at the end of the twentieth century. every day all the people of the Earth need about 2 million tons of food, 10 million m 3 of drinking water, 2 billion m 3 of oxygen for breathing. Almost 300 million tons of fuel are extracted daily by all branches of the human economy, 2 billion m 3 of water and 65 billion m 3 of oxygen are used. All this is accompanied by the consumption of natural resources and massive environmental pollution, which can lead to irreversible processes of extermination of living organisms by nature.

2.2. Changes in the composition of the atmosphere and climate

The most destructive of human impacts on communities is the release of pollutants. A pollutant is any substance that enters the atmosphere, soil or natural waters and disrupts the biological, sometimes physical or chemical processes taking place there. Pollutants often include radioactive radiation and heat. As a result of human activity, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides enter the atmosphere. The main sources of their income are the burning of fossil fuels, burning of forests and emissions from industrial enterprises. When using aerosols, chlorofluorocarbons enter the atmosphere, as a result of transport operation - hydrocarbons (benzapyrene, etc.).

Due to anthropogenic gases, acid precipitation and smog are formed. Getting into the lakes, acid precipitation often causes the death of fish or the entire animal population. They can also cause foliage damage and often plant death, accelerate metal corrosion and building collapse. Acid rain is mostly observed in regions with developed industry.

Smog is extremely harmful to living organisms. One of the harmful components of smog is ozone. In large cities, when smog forms, its natural concentration increases by 10 times or more. Ozone here begins to have a harmful effect on the lungs and mucous membranes of a person and on vegetation.

The destruction of the ozone layer, which is a protective screen against ultraviolet radiation, is also associated with anthropogenic changes in the atmosphere. The danger of depleting the ozone layer is that the absorption of ultraviolet radiation harmful to living organisms may decrease. Scientists believe that the main reason for the depletion of the ozone layer (screen) is the use of chlorofluorocarbons (freons) by people, which are widely used in everyday life and production in the form of aerosols, pre-reagents, foaming agents, solvents, etc.

2.3. Pollution of natural waters

Mankind is almost completely dependent on the surface waters of land - rivers and lakes. This insignificant part of water resources (0.016%) is subjected to the most intense impact. 2200 km 3 of water per year is spent on all types of water use. Water consumption is constantly growing, and one of the dangers is the depletion of its reserves.

Pollution of water bodies occurs not only with industrial waste, but also with the ingress of organic matter from fields into water bodies, mineral fertilizers, pesticides used in agriculture.

Marine waters are also polluted. Millions of tons of chemical waste are annually carried out into the sea with rivers and runoff from coastal industrial and agricultural enterprises, as well as with municipal runoff of organic compounds. Due to accidents of tankers and oil-producing installations, at least 5 million tons of oil per year enters the ocean through various sources, causing the death of many aquatic animals and sea birds. Concerns are caused by the burial of nuclear waste at the bottom of the seas, sunken ships with nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons on board ...

2.4. Deforestation

One of the most important global environmental problems of our time. The forest absorbs atmospheric pollution of anthropogenic origin, protects the soil from erosion, regulates the runoff of surface water, prevents the decrease in the level of groundwater, etc.

A decrease in the area of ​​forests causes a violation of the cycles of oxygen and carbon in the biosphere. Although the catastrophic effects of deforestation are widely known, deforestation continues. The reduction of forests entails the death of their richest flora and fauna.

2.5. Soil depletion and pollution

Soils are another resource that is overexploited and polluted. The imperfection of agricultural production is the main reason for the reduction in the area of ​​fertile soils. The plowing of vast steppe areas in Russia and other countries has caused dust storms and the death of millions of hectares of the most fertile lands.

Due to soil erosion in the 20th century, 2 billion hectares of fertile lands of active agricultural use were lost.

Excessive irrigation, especially in hot climates, can cause soil salinization. Radioactive contamination of the soil is a great danger. Radioactive substances from soils get into plants, then into the organisms of animals and humans, accumulate in them, causing various diseases. Of particular danger are chemical means of protection, especially organic compounds used in agriculture in the fight against pests, diseases and weeds. Inept and uncontrolled use of pesticides leads to their accumulation in soil, water, and bottom sediments of reservoirs.

2.6. Reducing natural diversity

Extreme exploitation, pollution, and often just barbarous destruction of natural communities lead to a sharp decrease in the diversity of living things. Animal extinction could be the largest in the history of our planet. More species of birds and mammals have disappeared from the face of the Earth in the last 300 years than in the previous 10,000 years. It should be remembered that the main damage to diversity does not lie in their death due to direct persecution and destruction, but in the fact that due to the development of new areas for agricultural production, the development of industry and environmental pollution, the areas of many natural ecosystems are disturbed. This so-called "indirect impact" leads to the extinction of tens and hundreds of species of animals and plants, many of which were not known and will never be described by science.

2.7. Global warming(app.2)

Back in 1827, the French physicist Joseph Fourier noticed that the Earth's atmosphere acts like a kind of glass in a greenhouse: the air lets in the sun's heat, while preventing it from evaporating back into space. This effect is achieved due to certain atmospheric gases of secondary importance, such as, for example, water vapor and carbon dioxide.

If the trend of global warming continues, this will lead to changes in the weather and an increase in precipitation, which in turn will lead to a rise in global sea levels.

Man with his industrial activity only accelerates this process.

The consequences of climate warming will be felt at the North and South Poles, where increased temperatures will lead to the melting of glaciers. According to scientists, an increase in temperature by 10 degrees Celsius will cause an increase in the level of the world ocean by 5-6 meters, which will lead to the flooding of many coastal areas around the world.

As a result of the accelerated melting of the ice cap of Antarctica, the ice of the Arctic Ocean, the glaciers of Greenland, Canada, Scandinavia, the Alps and other large glaciers of the planet, the ocean level will eventually rise by 200 meters, thereby the upcoming flood will cover not only Western Europe, but also the European part of Russia .

3. Conclusion

Today we are talking about the salvation of Mankind. But from whom? From humanity itself? From the achievements of civilization? From aggression from nature?

Until we understand and frankly admit that in this situation, first of all, it is necessary to save nature itself, which we have brought to extinction, we will rush about in a useless search for ways to “save Mankind.” The ecological crisis and ecological catastrophe Test work >> Ecology

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    Directions economic and social activities society; 1. reproduction human; 2. demographic regulation, 3. ecological ... problems. §3.1. Ecological crisis as global problem. Main the reasons ecological crisis. Ecological ...

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    One of the global environmental problems requiring a radical solution ... economic, environmental and social losses resulting from economic activities human; violations ... capital-labor ratio. Causes lagging growth...

  • ODiplom // State Medical University // 04/01/2014

    Influence of natural conditions and natural resources on the territorial organization of society.

    Natural factors have played and continue to play a crucial role in the life and development of human society.

    The concept of "natural factors" usually includes the following categories: natural conditions, natural resources, sustainability of landscapes and ecological situation, which we will consider further mainly from the standpoint of the science of management.

    Natural conditions are understood as a set of the most important natural characteristics of the territory, reflecting the main features of the components of the natural environment or local natural phenomena.

    Natural conditions directly affect the life and economic activity of the population. Depend on them: the resettlement of the population, development and accommodation productive forces their specialization. They determine the cost and, consequently, the competitiveness of manufactured products, which is especially important for countries with a significant distribution of extreme natural features, including Russia.

    Among the components of the natural environment, as a rule, climate, geological environment, surface and ground waters, soils, biota, and landscapes are considered as characteristics of natural conditions.

    An additional, but very important characteristic of natural conditions is the prevalence of local natural phenomena - adverse and dangerous natural phenomena, which include natural disasters and natural foci of infections.

    The climatic features of the territory are manifested primarily in the ratio of heat and moisture.

    The amount of heat required to complete the vegetation cycle (growth period) is called the biological sum of temperatures. Thermal resources determine the energy of plant growth.

    As the world's largest country in terms of territory (about 17 million sq. km), Russia is characterized by a significant variety of climatic conditions. At the same time, it should be emphasized that Russia as a whole is the northernmost and coldest country in the world, which affects its economy, economy, many aspects of the life of the population and politics. The consequence of climatic conditions is permafrost, which covers an area equal to almost 10 million square meters. km.

    The specifics of permafrost must be taken into account when creating engineering structures: pipelines, bridges, railways and roads, power lines and other infrastructure facilities.

    Humidification is manifested primarily in the form of precipitation, is the second most important climatic factor. It is necessary for the entire period of plant life. The lack of moisture leads to a sharp decrease in yield. To identify the conditions for moistening a particular territory, they operate with indicators of the amount of precipitation and the magnitude of possible evaporation. In Russia, territories with excessive moisture predominate; excess of precipitation over evaporation.

    The most important factors in the formation of the natural specificity of the region are the relief and geological structure. Influencing all components of the natural environment, the relief contributes to the emergence of differences in landscapes and at the same time is itself affected by natural zonality and altitudinal zonation. Engineering-geological conditions of the area reflect the composition, structure and dynamics of the upper horizons of the earth's crust in connection with the economic (engineering) activities of man. On the basis of engineering and geological studies, the most favorable places for the placement of various types of economic objects are determined, calculations of the stability of rocks are carried out at construction work, reworking the banks after filling reservoirs, the stability of dams, determine the requirements for the construction of structures in permafrost conditions, excessive surface moisture in seismic, karst, landslide areas, etc. Accounting for mining and geological conditions is vital in all areas of economic activity, but especially in urban planning, transport and hydraulic engineering construction.

    For agriculture and a number of other sectors of the economy, soil conditions are of paramount importance. Soil is a special natural body that is formed as a result of the transformation of the surface layer of the earth's crust under the influence of water, air and biota and combines the properties of animate and inanimate nature. The value properties of the soil are reflected in its fertility - the ability to provide plants with digestible nutrients and moisture and create conditions for harvesting.

    In the natural sciences, biota is understood as a historically established set of living organisms living in any large area, i.e. fauna and flora of this area. The characteristic of the natural conditions of the area also includes an assessment of vegetation and wildlife.

    In Russia, the main types of vegetation include tundra, forest, meadow and steppe. Among the various types of vegetation, forests occupy a special place. Their ecological and economic value is high, as well as their unique environment-forming role on the planet.

    Natural conditions affect almost all aspects of the daily life of the population, the features of their work, leisure and life, people's health and the possibility of their adaptation to new, unusual conditions. The total assessment of natural conditions is determined by the level of their comfort for a person. To measure it, up to 30 parameters are used (duration of climatic periods, temperature contrast, climate humidity, wind regime, the presence of natural foci of infectious diseases, etc.)

    According to the level of comfort, there are:

    1. extreme territories (polar regions, alpine regions of high latitudes, etc.);

    2. uncomfortable territories - areas with harsh natural conditions, unsuitable for life of non-indigenous, unadapted population; subdivided into cold humid (arctic deserts, tundra), arid territories (deserts and semi-deserts), as well as mountainous areas;

    3. hypercomfortable territories - areas with limited favorable natural conditions for the resettlement population; subdivided into boreal (forests of the temperate zone) and semiarid (steppes of the temperate zone);

    4. precomfortable territories - areas with minor deviations from the natural optimum for the formation of a permanent population;

    5. comfortable territories - areas with almost ideal conditions external environment for the life of the population; characteristic of the southern part of the temperate zone, in Russia they are represented by small areas.

    Natural conditions are of paramount importance for those industries National economy that operate under open sky. These are agriculture, forestry and water management. Almost all types of construction are in great dependence on natural conditions. The natural parameters of the territory have a significant impact on the organization of urban utilities.

    In the north and in other regions with extreme natural conditions, there is a need to create special technical means adapted to these conditions, for example, with an increased margin of safety.

    Unfavorable and dangerous natural phenomena (NOH) or natural disasters inherent in certain areas are a specific form of natural conditions.

    Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and storms, tornadoes, typhoons, landslides, landslides, mudflows, avalanches, forest and peat fires are among the most common and at the same time dangerous for humans. Typical examples of adverse natural phenomena are droughts, frosts, severe frosts, thunderstorms, heavy or prolonged rains, hail and some others.

    Vital in many cases, protection from NOA inevitably leads to a significant increase in the cost of building and maintaining cities and communications; technologies adapted to increased loads or capable of preventing dangerous impacts.

    Natural resources are represented by those elements of the natural environment that can be used in the process of material production at a given stage in the development of society. They are used to obtain industrial and food raw materials, electricity generation, etc.

    As the basis of any production, they are divided into:

    1. subsoil resources (these include all types of mineral raw materials and fuel);

    2. biological, land and water resources;

    3. resources of the World Ocean;

    4. recreational resources.

    On the basis of exhaustibility, natural resources are divided into exhaustible and inexhaustible.

    Exhaustible resources are divided into non-renewable and renewable. Inexhaustible natural resources include water, climatic and space resources, the resources of the World Ocean.

    Mineral resources remain an indispensable basis for the development of any society. According to the nature of industrial and sectoral use, they are divided into three large groups:

    - fuel or combustible - liquid fuel (oil), gaseous (usable gas), solid (coal, oil shale, peat), nuclear fuel (uranium and thorium). These are the main sources of energy for most types of transport, thermal and nuclear power plants, blast furnaces. All of them, except for nuclear fuel, are used in the chemical industry;

    - metal ore - ores of ferrous, non-ferrous, rare, precious metals, rare and rare earth metals. They form the basis for the development of modern engineering;

    - non-metallic - mining and chemical raw materials (asbestos, graphite,

    - mica, talc), building materials (clays, sands, limestones),

    — agrochemical raw materials (sulphur, salts, phosphorites, and apatites), etc.

    Economic-geographical assessment mineral resources is a complex concept and includes three types of assessments.

    It includes: a quantitative assessment of individual resources (for example, coal in tons, gas, wood in cubic meters, etc.), its value increases as the exploration of the resource increases and decreases j as it is exploited; technological, technical (reveals the suitability of resources for economic purposes, their condition and knowledge, the degree of exploration and availability) and cost (in monetary terms).

    The total value of explored and estimated mineral resources is 28.6 (or 30.0) trillion US dollars, of which one third is gas (32.2%), 23.3 is coal, 15.7 is oil, and the forecast potential is at 140.2 trillion US dollars (structure: 79.5% - solid fuel, 6.9 - gas, 6.5 - oil).

    The natural resource potential of Russia is distributed unevenly across the territory. The main and most promising sources of natural wealth are located mainly in the East and North of the country and are removed from the developed areas at very considerable distances. The eastern regions account for 90% of the reserves of all fuel resources, more than 80% of hydropower, a high proportion of non-ferrous and rare metal ores.

    Nature has a huge impact on human economic activity. Climatic features, relief, inland waters, permafrost, soils largely predetermine the specialization of agriculture. Natural conditions influence the development of many industries (mining, forestry, hydropower, etc.).

    Human economic activity

    For non-traditional types of energy - wind, tidal, geothermal, solar, the natural factor is generally decisive. The natural specificity of the territory affects the features of construction, the development of transport and the resort economy.

    To prove this, let us cite as an example the types of human agricultural activities in the tundra and steppe zones.

    In the tundra zone, located in the subarctic climatic zone, where the average July temperature hardly reaches + 8 ° C and the entire territory is covered with permafrost with an abundance of swamps and absolutely infertile, waterlogged and frozen tundra-gley soils, crop production in open ground is impossible.

    The most important branches of agricultural specialization here are the traditional occupations of the inhabitants of the Far North - reindeer herding, hunting and fishing.

    In the steppe zone, located in the southern regions of the temperate climate zone, where the average July temperatures are + 22 ° C, with insufficient moisture, the most fertile black earth soils, plant growing is becoming the leading branch of agricultural specialization.

    Agriculture here is a developed and diversified form of activity. In the steppe zone, wheat, corn, sugar beet, sunflower, essential oil crops are grown, vegetable growing, melon growing, horticulture and partly viticulture are developed.

    Among the branches of animal husbandry, dairy and meat and meat and dairy cattle breeding, horse breeding, pig breeding, sheep breeding and poultry farming have been developed here.

    Nature has an impact on human economic activity.

    Prove this by comparing the types of economic activities in different natural areas. For what types of economic activity is the importance of natural conditions especially great? wikipedia
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    With the advent and improvement of man, the evolutionary processes of the biosphere have undergone a significant change. At the dawn of its appearance, man had a predominantly local impact on the environment. This was expressed, first of all, in meeting the minimum needs for food and housing.

    Ancient hunters, with a decrease in the number of game animals, moved to hunt in other places. Ancient farmers and pastoralists, if the soil was depleted or there was less food, they developed new lands. At the same time, the population of the planet was small. Almost completely absent any industrial production. A small amount of waste and pollution generated at that time as a result of human activities did not pose a danger.

    Everything could be utilized due to the destructive function of living matter.

    The growth of the world's population, successful development animal husbandry, agriculture and scientific and technological progress have determined further development humanity.

    More than 7 billion people now live on Earth, by 2030

    this number will grow to 10 billion, and by 2050 - up to 12.5 billion people. Providing the population of the Earth with food and energy resources is already an acute problem. Today, about 70% of the world's population lives in countries where there is a constant shortage of food. Non-renewable natural resources are declining catastrophically.

    For example, according to scientists' forecasts, humanity will use up all the reserves of metals over the next 200 years.

    Human economic activity at the present stage increasingly demonstrates negative examples of the impact on the biosphere. These include: environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, land desertification, soil erosion. Natural communities are also violated, forests are cut down, rare species of plants and animals disappear.

    Environmental pollution

    Environmental pollution- the entry into the environment of new, uncharacteristic for it solid, liquid and gaseous substances or the excess of their natural level in the environment, which has a negative impact on the biosphere.

    Air pollution

    Clean air is essential for the life of all living organisms.

    In many countries, the problem of maintaining its purity is a state priority. The main cause of air pollution is the combustion of fossil fuels. Of course, he still plays a leading role in providing energy to all sectors of the economy. To date, the vegetation of the planet is no longer able to fully assimilate the combustion products of liquid and solid fuels.

    Carbon oxides (CO and CO2) released into the atmosphere as a result of fuel combustion are the cause of the greenhouse effect.

    Sulfur oxides (SO2 and SO3), formed as a result of the combustion of fuel containing sulfur, interact in the atmosphere with water vapor. The end products of such a reaction are solutions of sulfurous (H2SO3) and sulfuric (H2SO4) acids.

    These acids fall on the surface of the earth with precipitation, cause acidification of the soil, and lead to human diseases. Forest ecosystems, especially conifers, suffer the most from acid rain. They have the destruction of chlorophyll, the underdevelopment of pollen grains, the drying and falling off of the needles.

    Nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2), being exposed to ultraviolet rays, are involved in the formation of free radicals in the atmosphere.

    Nitrogen oxides lead to the development of a number of pathological conditions in humans and animals. These gases, for example, irritate the respiratory tract, cause pulmonary edema, etc.

    Chlorine compounds make a significant contribution to the destruction of the planet's ozone layer.

    For example, one free chlorine radical can destroy up to 100,000 ozone molecules, which is the cause of the formation of ozone holes in the atmosphere.

    The causes of radioactive pollution of the atmosphere are accidents at nuclear power plants (for example, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986).

    Nuclear weapons testing and improper disposal of nuclear waste also contribute to this process. Radioactive particles that enter the atmosphere are dispersed over long distances, polluting the soil, air, and water bodies.

    Transport should also be mentioned as a source of air pollution. The exhaust gases of internal combustion engines contain a wide range of contaminants.

    Among them are oxides of carbon and nitrogen, soot, as well as heavy metals and compounds with carcinogenic effects.

    Hydrosphere pollution

    Fresh water scarcity is a global environmental problem. Along with the consumption and shortage of water, the growing pollution of the hydrosphere is a concern.

    The main cause of water pollution is the direct discharge of industrial waste and municipal wastewater into aquatic ecosystems.

    In this case, biological contaminants (for example, pathogenic bacteria) also enter the aquatic environment with chemicals.

    When the heated ones are dropped wastewater, physical (thermal) pollution of the hydrosphere occurs. Such discharges reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, increase the toxicity of impurities and often lead to slaughter (death of aquatic organisms).

    Soil pollution

    In connection with human economic activity, chemical substances that disrupt soil-forming processes and reduce fertility.

    Soil pollution occurs with excessive use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Together with organic fertilizers (manure), biological pollutants can penetrate the soil.

    What human economic activity has changed the face of the steppes

    Depletion of natural resources

    Natural resources are people's means of subsistence, which are not created by their labor, but are found in nature.

    The main problem of their current state is the reduction in the number of exhaustible and the deterioration in the quality of inexhaustible natural resources. This is especially true for animal and plant resources.

    Habitat destruction, environmental pollution, overuse of natural resources, poaching significantly reduce the species diversity of plants and animals.

    During the existence of mankind, about 70% of forest land has been cut down and destroyed. This caused the extinction of plant species that lived in herbaceous and shrub layers. They could not exist in direct sunlight.

    As a result of deforestation, the animal world. Animal species that were closely related to the tree layers either disappeared or migrated to other places.

    It is believed that since 1600, as a result of human activity, about 250 animal species and 1000 plant species have completely disappeared from the face of the Earth. About 1,000 animal species and 25,000 plant species are currently threatened with extinction.

    Animal and plant resources are capable of constant renewal.

    If the rate of their use does not exceed the rate of natural renewal, then these resources can exist for a very long time.

    However, the speed of their renewal is different. Animal populations can recover in a few years. Forests grow in several decades. And soils that have lost their fertility restore it very slowly - over several millennia.

    A very important resource problem of the planet is the preservation of the quality of fresh water.

    As you know, the total water reserves on the planet are inexhaustible. However, fresh water accounts for only about 3% of the entire hydrosphere. Moreover, only 1% of fresh water is suitable for direct human consumption without prior purification. Approximately 1 billion people on Earth do not have constant access to fresh drinking water. Therefore, humanity should consider fresh water as an exhaustible natural resource. The problem of fresh water is aggravated every year due to the shallowing of rivers and lakes as a result of reclamation measures.

    The consumption of water for the needs of agriculture and industry is increasing, water bodies are being polluted by industrial and household waste.

    The lack of fresh water and its poor quality also affects people's health.

    It is known that the most dangerous infectious diseases (cholera, dysentery, etc.) occur in places where access to clean water is difficult.

    desertification

    desertification- a set of processes that lead to the loss of a continuous vegetation cover by a natural community with the impossibility of its restoration without human participation.

    The causes of desertification are mainly anthropogenic factors. These are deforestation, irrational use of water resources for land irrigation, etc. For example, excessive felling of woody mountain vegetation causes natural disasters - mudflows, landslides, snow avalanches.

    Excessive pressure on pastures with an increase in livestock farming can also lead to desertification. Vegetation cover eaten by animals does not have time to recover, and
    soil is subject to various types of erosion.

    Soil erosion is the destruction of the fertile soil layer under the influence of wind and water.

    Soil erosion occurs due to the mass inclusion of more and more new lands in active land use by man.

    To the greatest extent, desertification is typical for areas with an arid climate (deserts, semi-deserts) - the countries of Africa and Asia (especially China).

    Today, this problem is international in nature.

    Therefore, the UN was international convention to Combat Desertification, which has been signed by almost 200 states.

    The main consequences of human economic activity are environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources and desertification of lands.

    Preventing the destructive influence of the anthropogenic factor on the biosphere is today an important universal problem, in the solution of which every inhabitant of the Earth should participate.

    Steppe- a plain in temperate and subtropical zones, overgrown with grassy vegetation.

    The steppes play an important role in the life of nature in Russia. They are located in the south of the country, in particular, near the Black Sea and the Caucasus, as well as in the Ob valley and in Transbaikalia.

    The soil is chernozem, lying most often on a layer of loess-like clays with a significant lime content.

    This chernozem in the northern strip of the steppe reaches the greatest thickness and obesity, as it sometimes contains up to 16% of humus. To the south, the chernozem becomes poorer in humus, becomes lighter and turns into chestnut soils, and then completely disappears.

    Steppe climate

    In the steppe regions, the climate is temperate continental, winters are cold, sunny and snowy, and summers are hot and dry. The average temperature in January is -19 °C, in July - +19 °C, with typical deviations up to -35 °C and +35 °C. The climate of the steppes is also characterized by a long frost-free period, high average annual and average monthly temperatures.

    Human activity in the steppes

    There is little precipitation here - from 300 to 450 mm.

    Vegetable world

    The vegetation consists mainly of grasses growing in small tufts, between which bare soil is visible. The most common are various types of feather grass, especially pinnate feather grass with silky white feathery awns. It often covers large areas. On very fat steppes, species of feather grass develop, differing in much larger sizes.

    Smaller feather grass grows on dry barren steppes. After feather grass, the most important role is played by various species of the genus Tonkonog ( Koeleria). They are found everywhere in the steppe, but play a special role east of the Ural Mountains, some species are excellent food for sheep.

    The stock of plant mass in the steppes is much less than in the forest zone.

    See also: steppe plants

    Animal world

    Both in terms of species composition and some ecological features, the fauna of the steppe has much in common with the fauna of the desert.

    Just like in the desert, the steppe is characterized by high aridity, only slightly less than in the desert. Animals are active in summer, mostly at night. Many of them are drought-resistant or active in spring, when there is still moisture left after winter. Of the ungulates, species are typical that are distinguished by sharp eyesight and the ability to run quickly and for a long time; from rodents - building complex holes (ground squirrels, marmots, mole rats) and jumping species (jerboas).

    Most of the birds fly away for the winter. The steppe eagle, bustard, steppe harrier, steppe kestrel, and lark are common for the steppe. Reptiles and insects are numerous.

    Soils

    The climate of the steppes is very dry, so the steppe lands suffer from a lack of moisture. Due to the fertility of the land, there are many arable lands and places for grazing livestock, so the steppes suffer.

    The soil in the steppe is chernozem, lying most often on a thickness of loess-like clays, with a significant content of lime. This chernozem in the northern strip of the steppe reaches the greatest thickness and obesity, as it sometimes contains up to 16% of humus. To the south, the chernozem becomes smaller, it becomes lighter and turns into chestnut soils, and then completely disappears.

    Economic activity

    Human economic activity in the steppe zone is limited by natural conditions.

    Common cattle breeding and agriculture. Mainly grown cereals, vegetables, melons culture. But, often, irrigation is required.

    bred cattle of meat and dairy breeds, sheep and horses. Settlements are common along water bodies - rivers or artificial ponds.

    The steppe is an excellent area for agriculture, both for crop production, growing crops such as wheat, corn, sunflower, and for grazing, thanks to the presence of grasses.

    In the steppe regions, agriculture is traditionally developed. economic activity.

    Role in literature

    N. V. Gogol described the steppe very vividly and picturesquely in his story "Taras Bulba":

    Never has a plow passed over immeasurable waves of wild plants; only the horses, hiding in them, as in a forest, trampled them. Nothing in nature could be better: the entire surface of the earth seemed to be a green-gold ocean, over which millions of different colors splashed.

    Through the thin, tall stalks of grass, blue, blue and purple hairs showed through; yellow gorse jumped up with its pyramidal top; white porridge was full of umbrella-shaped caps on the surface; brought in, God knows where, an ear of wheat poured into the thick. Partridges darted under their thin roots, stretching out their necks.

    The air was filled with a thousand different bird whistles. The hawks stood motionless in the sky, spreading their wings and motionlessly fixing their eyes on the grass. The cry of a cloud of wild geese moving to the side resounded in God knows what distant lake.

    A gull rose from the grass with measured waves and luxuriously bathed in the blue waves of the air; there she disappeared in the sky and only flickers like one black dot! There she turned her wings and flashed before the sun! Damn you, steppes, how good you are!”

    Khomutovskaya steppe.

    A herd of horses grazes in freedom

    CC © wikiredia.ru

    Economic use of the steppe zone

    The steppe zone, together with the forest-steppe, is the main granary of the country, the area of ​​cultivation of wheat, corn, sunflower, millet, gourds, and in the west - industrial horticulture and viticulture.

    Agriculture in the steppe zone is combined with a developed animal husbandry (cattle, horse breeding, sheep breeding and poultry farming). In the west of the zone, the development of land for arable farming can be considered complete: the plowing of the territory has reached 70-80% here. In Kazakhstan and Siberia, the percentage of plowing is much lower. And although here not all the land funds suitable for plowing have been exhausted, the percentage of plowing of the Kazakh and Siberian steppes will continue to be lower compared to the European steppes due to increased salinity and stony soils.

    The reserves of arable land in the steppe zone are insignificant.

    In the northern, chernozem subzone, they make up about 1.5 million hectares (development of solonetsous chernozems, meadow-chernozem and floodplain soils). In the southern subzone, plowing of 4-6 million hectares of solonetzic chestnut soils is possible, but this will require complex anti-saline measures, and irrigation to obtain sustainable crops.

    In the steppe zone, the problem of combating droughts and wind erosion of soils is more acute than in the forest-steppe. For this reason, snow retention, field-protective afforestation, and artificial irrigation are of particular importance here.

    The rich soil and climatic resources of the zone are complemented by a variety of minerals.

    Among them are deposits of iron ore (Krivoy Rog, Sokolovsko-Sarbaiskoye, Lisakovskoe, Ayatskoe, Ekibastuz), manganese (Nikopol), hard coal(Karaganda), natural gas (Stavropol, Orenburg), chromites (Mugodzhary), rock salt (Sol-Iletsk), phosphorites (Aktyubinsk).

    Located on the territory of one of the natural zones most developed by man, many mineral deposits are quite well studied and widely developed, contributing to the industrial development of the steppe regions of the USSR.

    Literature.

    Economic activity of people in the steppe. Help!

    Milkov F.N. natural areas USSR / F.N. Milkov. - M .: Thought, 1977. - 296 p.

    More articles about the steppe

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    1. general characteristics economic activity of the economic environment of human life

    2. Main "tools" of economic research

    3. National wealth: content and structure

    4. Gross national product and methods of its calculation

    1 . General characteristics of economic activity of the economic environment of human life

    Economic activity is an expedient activity, i.e. the efforts of people in the process of managing, based on a certain calculation and aimed at satisfying their needs.

    The vital activity of a person in the process of managing is manifested, on the one hand, in the waste of energy, resources, etc., and on the other hand, in the corresponding replenishment of life costs, while the economic entity (a person in economic activity) seeks to act rationally, i.e. by comparing costs and benefits (which does not exclude errors in making business decisions).

    The economic activity of people is a very complex and intricate complex of various phenomena and processes in which theoretical economics distinguishes four stages: production proper, distribution, exchange and consumption.

    Production- this is the process of creating material and spiritual wealth necessary for the existence and development of man.

    Distribution- the process of determining the share (quantity, proportion) in which each business entity takes part in the product produced.

    Exchange- the process of movement of material goods and services from one subject to another and a form of social connection between producers and consumers, mediating social metabolism.

    Consumption- the process of using the results of production to meet certain needs. All these stages are interconnected and interact.

    But before characterizing the relationship between these stages of human economic activity, it is important to emphasize that any production is a social and continuous process: constantly repeating, it historically develops - it goes from the simplest forms (preparation of food by a primitive man using primitive means) to modern automated high-performance production. Despite the dissimilarity of these types of production, it is possible to single out common points inherent in production as such.

    Production is the basis of life and the source of the progressive development of human society, the starting point of economic activity; consumption is the end point; distribution and exchange are accompanying stages linking production with consumption. Although production is the primary stage, it serves consumption. Consumption forms the final goal and motive of production, since in consumption the product is destroyed; it dictates a new order to production. A satisfied need gives rise to a new need, the development of needs is the driving force behind the development of production. But the emergence of the needs themselves is due to production - the emergence of new products causes a corresponding need for this product and its consumption.

    The distribution and exchange of the product depend on production, for only what is produced can be distributed and exchanged. But, in turn, they are not passive in relation to production, but have an active feedback effect on it.

    The economic activity of an individual, their groups and society as a whole is carried out under certain conditions, in a certain situation, economic environment.

    The doctrine of human economic activity distinguishes the natural and social environment. This is explained by the fact that in their economic activity people are limited and conditioned, firstly, by nature, and secondly, by social organization.

    The natural environment determines the natural conditions of management. These include climatic and soil conditions, conditions of heredity, population size, quality of food, housing, clothing, etc. It is known that a person carries out his activities in conditions of natural limited resources.

    A very significant role in achieving certain economic results is played by heredity. Science today, of course, recognizes the law of heredity. Children inherit not only external resemblance, but also the psychological qualities of their parents, not only health, but also illness. Poverty, poor nutrition, unfavorable hygienic conditions are reflected in the growth of mortality and diseases not only of the present, but also of future generations. At the same time, all reforms to improve the situation of the population do not have their beneficial effect immediately, but gradually.

    From the standpoint of modern science about the life of people in the natural environment, it is necessary to take into account the connection between man and space. The idea of ​​human life and activity as a cosmic phenomenon has existed for a long time. At the end of the XVII century. The Dutch scientist X. Geygens in his work "Kosmoteoros" noted that life is a cosmic phenomenon. This idea was comprehensively developed in the works of the Russian scientist V.I. Vernadsky about the noosphere.

    The economic activity of people is carried out within the framework of certain rules of the game, the main of which are property relations. It is these relations that determine the social environment of economic activity, which is reflected in the results of management. A. Smith wrote that "a person who is not able to acquire any property cannot have any interests, like eating more and working less." Motivation to work here is either extremely weak or completely absent. This theoretical position is confirmed by the practice of economic management in countries where, until recently, "no man's" public property prevailed. Private property creates conditions for free competition and encourages initiative, creative and more productive work.

    Property relations give rise to differentiation of producers - the poor and the rich appear. Upbringing, education and average life expectancy in these social groups different. Upbringing and education, promoting physical and mental development, improve the human body, make it more capable of work and are reflected in heredity.

    Property relations largely determine the working conditions. Even the ancients understood that a person cannot work without rest.

    Thus, the behavior of "economic man" is determined not only by natural, but also by social conditions, and, consequently, not only by social laws, but also by the laws of biology, the cosmos and the entire system of laws of natural science. The difference between economic laws and the laws of nature is that the former are manifested through the activities of people and, as a rule, on average, as tendencies, are historically transient.

    2 . The main "tools" of economic research

    One of the important features of scientific knowledge in comparison with ordinary knowledge is its organization and the use of a number of research methods. In this case, the method is understood as a set of techniques, methods, rules of cognitive, theoretical and practical, transformative activities of people. These techniques, rules, in the final analysis, are not established arbitrarily, but are developed on the basis of the laws of the objects under study themselves.

    The main "tools" - methods of economic research include:

    Observation and fact gathering;

    Experiment;

    Modeling;

    Method of scientific abstractions;

    Analysis and synthesis;

    Systems approach;

    Induction and deduction;

    Historical and logical methods;

    Graphic method.

    Let's consider these methods. Hobservation(that is, a deliberate, purposeful perception of economic phenomena, processes in their real form) and fact-finding actually occurring. It is thanks to this that one can trace how commodity prices have changed over a given period, how the volumes of production, trade and profits of an enterprise have increased.

    In contrast to this experiment involves the conduct of an artificial scientific experiment, when the object under study is placed in specially created and controlled conditions. For example, to test the effectiveness new system wages, conduct its trial tests within a particular group of workers.

    There is also an active use of the method modeling. It provides for the study of socio-economic phenomena according to their theoretical image - a model (from the Latin modulus - measure, sample), which replaces the object of study itself. Particularly effective is computer modeling, which allows, for example, to calculate the most rational variant of economic relations of an enterprise, city, region, country with their partners.

    Method of scientific abstractions, or abstraction, is a special mental device that allows you to formulate certain abstract concepts - the so-called abstractions, or categories. People in their everyday life use a great variety of various abstractions at every step, without even thinking about it.

    The method of scientific abstractions, which involves the rejection of the analysis of superficial, non-essential aspects of the phenomenon in order to reveal its internal, essential, stable and universal connections, to identify the actual trend of movement. The result of applying this method is the "derivation" (substantiation) of economic categories. Abstraction allows you to reflect in an ideal form the content that is already embedded in the phenomena under study. The more meaningful and capacious abstractions (in the form of categories, definitions, concepts) are developed by economic theory, the more fully and accurately they reflect reality, the more effective their use as a tool of knowledge.

    An equally important aspect of this method of cognition is the need for selective consideration of economic phenomena or processes from a certain point of view while ignoring all other properties. Thus, when studying the structure of the social mode of production, the productive forces are considered as its material content, production relations as a social form, and the technical and technological side of the productive forces (the technological structure of production) is omitted in this case.

    For abstraction to be scientific, it is necessary to determine the boundaries of abstraction, to prove that consideration of an economic phenomenon or process in a certain aspect or from a certain point of view does not change their inner essence, the laws of development and functioning.

    Methods of analysis and synthesis involve the study of socio-economic phenomena both in parts - this is analysis (from the Greek analysis - decomposition, dismemberment), and as a whole - synthesis (from the Greek synthesis - connection, combination, compilation). For example, comparing the economic performance of individual mines is an analysis, while determining the industry-wide results of managing the entire coal industry Russia - synthesis.

    Thanks to the combination of methods of analysis and synthesis, systematic, integrated approach to complex (multi-element) objects of study. Such objects (systems) are considered as a complex of interrelated parts (subsystems) of a single whole, and not as a mechanical connection of some disparate elements. Importance integrated approach is due to the fact that the entire economy essentially consists of many large and small systems (the national economy - from industries, industries - from enterprises, enterprises - from workshops, the cost of goods - from cost elements, the market - from many sectors, niches, participants, etc. .d.).

    The division of economic theory into micro- and macroeconomics (from the Greek mikros - small and makros - large) is logically connected with the method of analysis and synthesis, which involve two different levels of consideration of economic systems.

    Thus, microeconomics deals with individual elements (parts) of these systems. She learns:

    a) such isolated economic units as industry, enterprise, household;

    b) individual markets (for example, the grain market);

    c) production, sale or price of a particular product, etc.

    The microeconomic approach is thus close to the method of analysis.

    In contrast, macroeconomics explores economic systems as a whole, or the so-called aggregates (from the Latin aggregatus - attached), that is, the totality of economic units. These units include world economy, the national economy, as well as large divisions of the latter - the public sector, households (taken in aggregate), the private sector, etc. Macroeconomics, based on the synthesis method, operates with generalizing, or aggregate, indicators such as: gross output, national income, total expenditures . In addition, the macroeconomic sphere also includes the consideration general concepts- cost, market, budget, taxes, etc.

    The division of economic science into micro- and macro-spheres should not be made absolute. They are closely related. Many problems intrude into both areas, although different levels generalizations.

    Induction and deduction are two opposite but closely related modes of reasoning. The movement of thought from particular (separate) facts to a general conclusion is induction (from the Latin inductio - guidance), or generalization. It allows us, in the words of Dostoevsky, "to gather our thoughts into a point." And the reasoning in the opposite direction (from general position to particular conclusions) is called deduction (from the Latin deductio - derivation). Therefore, the meaning of induction and deduction follows from the very etymology of these words. Thus, the facts of an increase in the price of milk, bread, vegetables, etc., suggest an increase in the cost of living in the country (induction). From the general proposition about the rising cost of living, one can deduce individual indicators of consumer price increases for each product (deduction).

    Historical and logical methods(or approaches) are also applied in unity. Here, a detailed study of socio-economic processes in their historical sequence is accompanied by logical generalizations, that is, an assessment of these processes as a whole and general conclusions. For example, a detailed study of the specific course and features of the construction of socialism in the twentieth century in different societies is a historical approach. And the conclusions based on it (on the inefficiency of the economy in socialist countries, on the daily loss of incentives to work, on commodity shortages, etc.) are a logical approach.

    However, the historical approach to the analysis of economic activity is fraught with significant shortcomings. The abundance of descriptive material and private historical details can make it difficult theoretical study economy. In this way it is not possible to clearly identify the typical features of production systems. The logical method helps to overcome these shortcomings.

    The logical method allows you to apply the laws and forms of correct thinking. With their help, the truth of the expressed judgments and conclusions is achieved.

    The logical method helps to better understand the cause-and-effect relationships in the economy. People do not always notice that there are certain objective connections between economic processes. In order to help economic development free itself from natural forces, or at least reduce their destructive consequences, economic science seeks to know as fully and deeply as possible the objective logic of economic development on the scale of each enterprise, country and the whole world. The obtained theoretical and practical conclusions are used to predict and improve the management of the economy.

    Finally, a very wide application in economic sciences It has graphic method(from the Greek grapho - I write, I draw, I draw). It displays business processes and phenomena with the help of various systems, tables, graphs, diagrams, providing brevity, conciseness, clarity in the presentation of complex theoretical material. Thus, the graph visibly demonstrates the dependence of certain quantities on each other, reflecting, say, the relationship between ticket prices and the number of theater spectators.

    3. National wealth: content and structure

    National wealth is the sum total of the constantly repeating process of social production throughout the history of development. national economy.

    National wealth is the totality of material goods that society has at a certain date and which were created by labor over the entire previous period of its development.

    National wealth in the broad sense of the word is everything that a nation possesses in one way or another. National wealth includes not only material goods, but also all natural resources, climate, works of art and much more. But all this is very difficult to calculate due to a number of objective reasons. Therefore, in practice economic analysis the indicator of national wealth in the narrow sense of the word is used.

    National wealth in the narrow sense of the word includes everything that is somehow mediated by human labor and can be reproduced. In other words, the national wealth of a country is the totality of material and cultural wealth accumulated by a given country throughout its history at a given point in time. This is the result of the work of many generations of people.

    According to its structure, national wealth consists of the following main elements.

    Production assets should be considered the first and most important element of national wealth. They occupy the largest share in the national wealth. Here we have in mind, first of all, fixed production assets, since their technical level mainly determines the possibilities for the growth of the social product.

    In addition to fixed production assets, the composition of national wealth includes circulating production assets - objects of labor. Circulating production assets account for approximately 25% of fixed production assets.

    National wealth also includes inventories and reserves. This includes finished products in the sphere of circulation, inventories at enterprises and in trading network, state reserves and insurance funds.

    From a functional point of view, material reserves and stocks play the role of a stabilizer of the economy under unforeseen circumstances. They determine the stability and continuity of production during market changes and natural disasters. But the question of the size of insurance reserves and stocks is especially worth it. The practice of the leading industrial states shows that they should be large enough and account for at least 25% of the production potential.

    The structure of national wealth.

    National wealth consists of various elements and has its own structure. The elements of national wealth are:

    The main productive capital is functioning plants, factories, the production and technical potential of which creates a national product.

    Working capital is the produced and accumulated raw materials and materials necessary for production. The cost of raw materials and materials can be up to 25% of the cost of fixed capital.

    Reserves and stocks also refer to national wealth. They are in every enterprise and guarantee the continuity of the production process. This also includes finished products, but not sold in the sphere of circulation, and insurance funds.

    Fixed capital operating in the non-productive sphere. These are residential buildings and institutions of the socio-cultural sphere.

    The property of the population is also part of the national wealth. Everything that a family has accumulated over a long period allows it to exist normally, and serves as the basis for its further prosperity, is at the same time an integral part of the country's wealth.

    Used wealth of nature, i.e. natural resources to which human labor is applied. The rest is potential wealth, which can turn into real after a certain period of time.

    All of the listed elements of national wealth have a material content, i.e. represent the material wealth of society. But with the arrival scientific and technological progress, information began to play an important role, and the economy, from the middle of the 20th century. from industrial began to turn into post-industrial, and non-material elements were included in the national wealth.

    These included human capital and information. In our time, there is such a point of view that the real wealth of the country should be the intellectual and spiritual potential of the population.

    It is believed that it is he who will force the economy, politics to develop, to change the nature of social and industrial relations and the whole face of the country. Therefore, human capital, which absorbed all the achievements of modern science and technology, was included in the national wealth.

    Information itself also becomes a national wealth with the advent of modern information technology based on computer technology. But its value is not the same for recipients: someone is ready to pay millions for it, but for someone it has no value.

    With the accelerated progress of human society and economy, there have been attempts to include in the national wealth such elements as, ecological situation in the country, the security of the population, etc. But it is necessary that they correspond to the main features of national wealth: materiality, accumulation, long-term use, reproducibility, alienability and the ability to turn into an element of market turnover.

    Thus, the modern concept of national wealth can be defined as a set of material and spiritual values ​​created by labor and accumulated by society, which serves as the basis for further development.

    4 . Gross national product and methods of its calculation

    The production possibilities of society have always been limited. With an increase in population, it became necessary to involve new lands and a variety of natural resources in the economic circulation. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the growth rate of the resources used remained relatively small. This was explained, on the one hand, by a certain stability in the needs of the population, and, on the other hand, by the limited growth of the population itself.

    In connection with the ongoing population explosion over the past forty-fifty years, as many natural resources have been involved in the economic turnover as they have been used in the entire history of the development of civilization up to that time. Justification of the choice of the use of limited resources has become one of the central problems of management.

    The result of management in any economic system is the produced product. It represents the sum of all the benefits created during the year and has a double value. First of all, these are various items and services produced to meet the production and personal needs of people.

    The second value of a social product lies in the fact that it has a value, embodies a certain amount of labor expended, and shows the cost of what efforts this product was produced.

    In Soviet statistics, this product was called the total or gross product. It includes material goods and services created in material production, and intangible goods and services created in non-material production (spiritual, moral values, education, healthcare, etc.). According to its value structure, the total product consists of the value of the spent means of production, the necessary product, consisting of goods and services for personal consumption, and the surplus product intended to expand consumption and production.

    The central indicator of the System of National Accounts (SNA) is the gross domestic product (GDP). In the statistics of a number of foreign countries, an earlier macroeconomic indicator is also used - the gross national product (GNP). Both of them reflect the results of activity in two spheres of the national economy, material production and services. Both determine the value of the entire volume of final production of goods and services in the economy in one year (quarter, month). These indicators are calculated in both current (current) and constant (prices of a base year) prices.

    The difference between GNP and GDP is as follows:

    GDP is calculated according to the so-called territorial basis.

    This is the total value of the products of the spheres of material production and the service sector, regardless of the nationality of enterprises located on the territory of a given country;

    GNP is the total value of the total volume of products and services in both spheres of the national economy, regardless of the location of national enterprises (in the country or abroad).

    Thus, GNP differs from GDP by the amount of the so-called factor income from the use of resources of a given country abroad (the profit of capital invested abroad, the property available there, the wages of citizens working abroad minus similar incomes of foreigners exported from the country).

    Usually, in order to calculate GNP, the difference between profits and incomes received by enterprises and individuals of this country abroad, on the one hand, and profits and incomes received foreign investors and foreign workers in this country, on the other hand.

    This difference is very small: for the leading Western countries no more than ± 1% of GDP.

    In our country, the transition to new indicators - first GNP, and then GDP - began in 1988. This transition is carried out by recalculating the gross social product (GSP) and national income (ND), which are respectively the sum of gross output and net output of industries material production.

    The main requirement in calculating GDP and GNP indicators is that all goods and services produced in a year should be counted only once, i.e. so that the calculation takes into account only final products and does not take into account intermediate products that can be bought and resold many times.

    End products are goods and services that are bought by consumers for final use and not for resale. Intermediate products are goods and services that are further processed or resold several times before reaching the final consumer.

    If we sum up the goods and services produced in the country by all sectors of the economy, then repeated repeated counting is inevitable, significantly distorting the real volume of the gross domestic product.

    Therefore, in order to avoid repeated counting, GDP and GNP should act as the cost of final goods and services and include only the value created (added) at each intermediate stage of processing.

    Bibliography

    1. Economic theory M.A. Sazhina G.G. Chibrikov; Moscow 2007

    2. Bulatov A.S. Economy. -M., ed. "Jurist", 1999, -896s.

    3. Akulov V.B. Macroeconomics. Petrazavodsk. Ed. University of Petrozavodsk. 1994, - 155p.

    4. Bulatov A.S. Economy. -M., ed. "Jurist", 1999, -896s.

    5. Galperin V.M., Lukashevich V.V., etc. Macroeconomics. St. Petersburg, University of Economics and Finance, 1994, -398s.

    6. Gebler N. M. Macroeconomics. -TO. Ternopil Inst. household 1993, -399 p.

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    More than 10 thousand years ago, people produced almost nothing, but only scooped everything they needed from the natural environment. Their main activities were gathering, hunting and fishing. As humanity has matured, people's occupations have changed greatly.

    What is a modern economy?

    Geography of the main types of economic activity

    With the advent of new types of economic activity of people, their economy also changed. Agriculture is concerned with growing plants (plant growing) and raising animals (animal husbandry). Therefore, its placement strongly depends both on the characteristics of these living organisms and on natural conditions: relief, climate, soils. Agriculture employs the largest part of the world's working population - almost 50% But the share of agriculture in total world production is only about 10%.

    Industry is divided into mining and manufacturing. The mining industry includes the extraction of various minerals (ores, oil, coal, gas), logging, catching fish and sea animals. It is obvious that its location is due to the location of the extracted natural resources.

    Manufacturing enterprises are located according to certain laws, depending on what products and how they produce.

    The service sector is a special link in the economy. Its products, unlike those of agriculture and industry, are not things. Services are activities that are important to modern people Keywords: education, health care, trade, transport and communications. Enterprises in this area - shops, schools, cafes - to serve people. Therefore, the higher the population density, the more such enterprises.

    They originated tens of thousands of years ago and over this long period have passed a difficult path of development. If at first a person was engaged only in gathering, hunting and farming to maintain his existence, then today there are dozens of areas and industries in which certain products and materials are produced. And this is not to mention highly specialized types of economic activity, which most consumers are not even aware of. At the same time, traditional forms of economic activities are also preserved, undergoing minor, but still changes. At the same time, the formation and expansion of new areas of production associated with the introduction of innovative technologies does not slow down.

    The concept and signs of economic activity

    All the benefits that surround modern man, one way or another, were produced as a result of his efforts - mental and physical. The form of their application can just be considered as an economy. In a general sense, this is an activity, as a result of which both material and spiritual benefits appear. Although there are other concepts that strictly separate, for example, science from trade and construction from agriculture. In this case, there is a distinction between industries that do not produce anything material, and enterprises whose work ultimately provides real products. As a rule, the second group includes the main types of economic activity, among which are the agricultural sector, industry, transport infrastructure, etc. The following features are characteristic of such areas:

    • As a rule, the work of enterprises is carried out on a professional basis.
    • The activity is aimed at manufacturing products and performing work for other entities.
    • The result of the activity has a value expression, that is, the market price.
    • In the process of operation of enterprises, the interests of the owner as a private person are combined with public and state ones.

    Classification in terms of law

    AT Russian legislation there is an Economic Code that provides for the allocation of several areas of such activities. In general terms, it is understood as one of the areas of social production with the task of manufacturing and further selling goods or providing services. From the point of view of law, the following types of human economic activity are distinguished:

    • A commercial. In essence - entrepreneurship carried out with the aim of making a profit or achieving other social and economic results.
    • Non-commercial activity. In this case, there is no goal of making a profit, but there may be tasks to achieve certain social or economic results.
    • Economic support. A special category of activity that can be presented as a tool to support existing enterprises, for example, by improving their technical or material condition.

    agricultural holding

    An extensive industry and one of the oldest forms of activity, including agriculture, animal husbandry, plant growing, etc. There is also a classification of agricultural types of economic activity on the basis of belonging to climatic zones. Thus, the cold belt is considered less favorable for the cultivation of the soil cover, therefore, in such zones, cattle breeding and, in particular, reindeer husbandry predominate. In contrast, regions with a warm climate are successfully growing cereals, vegetables, cotton and citrus fruits. Basically, this industry is concentrated on the production of food products, however, there are also types of economic activities in the agricultural sector aimed at growing industrial crops. For example, the fruits of dyeing, spinning and bast plants are further used in industry.

    Water management

    It is also a significant industry, in which there are several areas of activity. First of all, these are areas related to the cultivation of underwater flora and fauna. The final products can be used as food, go to the needs of industry and agriculture. The economic activities of people associated with the ocean and coastal areas deserve special attention. In this part, we can talk about the extraction of biological products, and about energy resources. In the Pacific waters, for example, oil shelves are being developed, as well as coal deposits. No less attractive are sea crafts rich in seafood, rock and table salt, bromine and magnesium.

    Industry

    This sector covers many types of manufacturing, processing and mining activities. Factories, combines, mines and mines provide a significant share of consumer goods with their products. Food, chemical, light and heavy industries provide different market segments. In recent years, the energy industry has been technologically developing, the product of which can be electricity, heat, fuel materials, steam, etc. Stations for generating different types energy. New industries are also emerging, whose enterprises produce innovative products. What types of economic activity can be attributed to this group? First of all, these are narrow areas of the microbiological, medical and construction industries. Companies modern type produce materials and products High Quality with a fundamentally new combination of operational and consumer properties.

    Transport economy

    The infrastructure that provides the possibility of movement is no less important for the stable operation of the same agricultural and industrial enterprises. And aggregate Vehicle also in itself is part of the national economy. There are three types of economic activity in this area:

    • Ground communication. Cars, metro, rail transport.
    • Water transport. River and sea vessels.
    • Aircraft.

    Services as a form of economic activity

    The provision of services is also considered as a separate category of economic activity. The final product, for example, can be treatment, education, sale, communication, etc. That is, the result of the activity does not necessarily become a natural object. In this context, the most common types of economic activities related to trade. On the one hand, catering establishments, food markets, clothing stores serve people, and on the other hand, they can act as the same consumers of manufacturing companies that produce real products.

    Importance of economic activity

    Without the development of the above sectors, it would be impossible modern quality human life. The pros are obvious, but there are also cons. They are associated with massive pollution of the biosphere and atmosphere, with soil erosion, depletion of forests, etc. And even specific and remote types of economic activity associated with the ocean cause irreparable harm. This applies not only to spills of oil products and toxic organic compounds. The same transport water vessels and coastal enterprises dump processing waste, the distribution of which in the aquatic environment leads to the destruction of flora and fauna. As a result, other sectors of the economy also suffer.

    Conclusion

    Despite the numerous problems that arise as a result of man's intrusion into the natural structure of nature, this process is almost impossible to stop. Accordingly, environmental organizations have to develop and propose new concepts for doing business. Such ideas, in particular, include models of optimized processing enterprises with a complete processing cycle. On the other hand, modern views economic activities are increasingly being introduced into production processes biotechnological developments and social principles of management organization. The main idea of ​​the new approaches can be called not the reduction and limitation of capacities with the minimization of conditional harmful emissions, but the economic benefit for the enterprises themselves, which will master such concepts. For example, the idea of ​​energy-saving engineering communications allows increasing the rate of production returns, but without increasing the cost of consumed resources.



    
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