Glossary Kopbaeva Laura f1101

Vernandsky’s concept of the biosphere. In Vernadsky's theory of the Earth's development, the noosphere is the third stage in the earth's development, after the geosphere (inanimate matter) and the biosphere (biological life). Just as the emergence of life fundamentally transformed the geosphere, the emergence of human cognition fundamentally transformed the biosphere. In this theory, the principles of both life and cognition are essential features of the Earth's evolution, and must have been implicit in the earth all along.

The concept of biosphere – noosphere. Vladimir Vernadsky, a geochemist, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), a paleontologist, foresaw the Biosphere-Noosphere Transition, though neither envisioned the stage intermediate between the two - the technosphere. Because it is purely a function of the artificial timing frequency, the technosphere - planetary sphere of technology and its field of thought - is defined by the Law of Time as the catalytic agent bringing on the Biosphere-Noosphere Transition. The final phase of the technosphere is the cybersphere - the virtual reality of the internet and related digital computer technologies. Because of the enormity of this evolutionary transition, characterized as it is by exponential explosion of human population, velocity of machine, inexorability of industrialization and speed of biospheric deterioration, an entirely new perception of reality was required to comprehend the positive aspects of this rapidly accelerating shift.  Such was the purpose of the discovery of the Law of Time.

The concept of living matter. The Western commonsense view has held that there are only two kinds of things that truly exist in the world: matter and space. Matter occupies space and moves about in it and it is the primary reality. Space is a backdrop or container. Without furnished by material bodies, it does not enjoy reality in itself. It has been radically revised in Einstein's relativistic universe (where spacetime became an integrated four-dimensional manifold), and also in Bohr's and Heisenberg's quantum world. Now it may have to be rethought again structural units of noosphere In the original theory of Vernadsky, the noosphere is the third in a succession of phases of development of the Earth, after the geosphere (inanimate matter) and the biosphere (biological life). Just as the emergence of life fundamentally transformed the geosphere, the emergence of human cognition fundamentally transforms the biosphere. In contrast to the conceptions of the Gaia theorists, or the promoters of cyberspace, Vernadsky's noosphere emerges at the point where humankind, through the mastery of nuclear processes, begins to create resources through the transmutation of elements.

Noobiogeocenos an interrelated complex of living and inert components associated with each other by material and energy exchange; one of the most complex systems in nature. Among the living components of the biogeocenosis are autotrophic organisms (photosynthesizing green plants and chemosynthesizing microorganisms) and heterotrophic organisms (animals, fungi, many bacteria, and viruses), and among the inert components are the atmosphere layer around the earth, with its gas and thermal resources and solar energy; and the soil, with its water and mineral resources and, in part, the weathering crust (water in the case of an aquatic biogeocenosis).

Natural-industrial complex. One of the central principles of Industrial Ecology is the view that societal and technological systems are bounded within the biosphere, and do not exist outside of it. Ecology is used as a metaphor due to the observation that natural systems reuse materials and have a largely closed loop cycling of nutrients. Industrial Ecology approaches problems with the hypothesis that by using similar principles as natural systems, industrial systems can be improved to reduce their impact on the natural environment as well. The table shows the general metaphor. The systems IE deals with are complex systems. Complexity makes it difficult to understand the behavior of the system and may lead to rebound effects. Due to unforeseen behavioral change of users or consumers, a measure taken to improve environmental performance does not lead to any improvement or may even worsen the situation.

Environmental Pollution has been found to be present widely in the environment. There are a number of effects of this:

• Biomagnification describes situations where toxins (such as heavy metals) may pass through trophic levels, becoming exponentially more concentrated in the process.

• Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans as CO₂ becomes dissolved.

• The emission of greenhouse gases leads to global warming which affects ecosystems in many ways.

• Invasive species can out compete native species and reduce biodiversity. Invasive plants can contribute debris and biomolecules (allelopathy) that can alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment, often reducing native species competitiveness.

• Nitrogen oxides are removed from the air by rain and fertilise land which can change the species composition of ecosystems.

• Smog and haze can reduce the amount of sunlight received by plants to carry out photosynthesis and leads to the production of tropospheric ozone which damages plants.

• Soil can become infertile and unsuitable for plants. This will affect other organisms in the food web.

• Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause acid rain which lowers the pH value of soil.

Before discussing the main types of pollution, we need to understand what is pollution. Pollution is the introduction of harmful substances, particularly a contaminant or toxin, which produces some kind of harmful impact on the environment or living organisms.

Types of pollution.

One of the formal definitions of air pollution is as follows – ‘The presence in the atmosphere of one or more contaminants in such quality and for such duration as is injurious, or tends to be injurious, to human health or welfare, animal or plant life.’ It is the contamination of air by the discharge of harmful substances. Air pollution can cause health problems and it can also damage the environment and property. It has caused thinning of the protective ozone layer of the atmosphere, which is leading to climate change.

The effects of water pollution are not only devastating to people but also to animals, fish, and birds. Polluted water is unsuitable for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industry. It diminishes the aesthetic quality of lakes and rivers. More seriously, contaminated water destroys aquatic life and reduces its reproductive ability. Eventually, it is a hazard to human health. Nobody can escape the effects of water pollution

Environmentally unfriendly mineral exploitation practices and the misuse of soil by harmful agricultural practices can also lead to land pollution. Read about how such practices are cause of land pollution. Also, read more about soil pollution and soil pollution facts.

The Law of biological magnification. Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is the increase in concentration of a substance, such as the pesticide DDT, that occurs in a food chain as a consequence of:

• Persistence (can't be broken down by environmental processes)

• Food chain energetics

• Low (or nonexistent) rate of internal degradation/excretion of the substance (often due to water-insolubility)