55
themselves by production and consumption as
the two basic activities of the society.
In the course of production humans take material away from the natural environment: clearing
forest, degrading the environment by mines, etc.
Raw materials are processed and transformed to
create useful tools and material: provides his/her
food meets, builds appropriate residence, placing
furniture in it and prepares tools for further production, makes sure of the transportation of produced goods etc. Production is also associated
with material and energy usage and/or transformation that also mean the formation of waste
material and energy. (Waste free technologies do
not exist, only low waste production.)
Waste material causes no environmental harm
until they are treated in closed systems when they
are released into the environment (e.g. a lorry
transporting contaminated refuse oil has an accident and the oil spills on the ground beside the
road), however, they unfold their effects. In this
way the same material is considered waste in a
closed system but become pollutant when
released from the closed system. Material and
energy released from production (e.g. flue of coal
power plants, toxic gases of chemical industrial
factories, heavy metal contamination of metal
processing factories, heat pollution of nuclear
power plants) affect both the biotic and the abiotic environment, and also on the built environment and on humans themselves as a biological
being (Fig. 2.25). The effects cause that a part of
the living beings perish, the threatening of human
health, the increase of the frequency of diseases
and in extreme cases death and maybe the damage of technical facilities (e.g. acid deposition).
Production in the wider sense includes the
exploitation of raw material and energy resources
from the natural environment. In the course of this
life and soil is destructed at the site of the mine
and even geological values could be ruined by
disturbing rocks. (However, they can also expose,
make visible and accessible such values.)
Timbering also results in direct damage to the
environment (effects on the biosphere in
Fig. 2.25). Wood has been one of the most widely
utilised raw material since the existence of human
societies and it was the sole major energy
resource for a long time. Natural woodlands are
the richest ecosystems regarding the number and
diversity of species and their destruction (exploitation) as being typical in tropical areas since the
second half of the twentieth century has serious
consequences for the entire terrestrial life: resulting in a significant reduction of species richness.
Worldwide growth of transport and consumption has almost similar environmental effects as
production. The enormous quantity of waste
material produced in the course of consumption
(the average annual amount of municipal solid
waste in the European Union is above 400 kg/
capita) is comparable to the quantity of production waste. Domestic consumption produces liquid and gas pollutants as well. “Waste gas”
produced by heating become pollutants in the
environment almost at once as their harmful
effects appear when they are emitted into the
atmosphere contributing to the pollution of urban
air or even to the development of smog. Liquid
household wastes (e.g. sewage) become pollutant
depending on the level of drainage and sewage
treatment at the settlement. If these are missing or
insufficiently established pollution of the environment will be inevitable. Without listing further
examples the authors state that consumption produces a large amount of waste and their majority
will be pollutant material. That is, the by-products of consumption react to the natural and
anthropogenic environment and also to humanity
itself as in the case of production (Fig. 2.25).
Although the direct environmental destruction
effect of consumption is smaller than that of production it cannot be ignored. Such effects include,
for example, the collection of herbs from nature
or even protected plants and rare insects collected
due to a passion for collecting, and also the prohibited hunting protected animals. Such consumption becomes harmful to the biosphere
when only a few individuals left representing the
given species (populations of protected species)
and with the above activity the survival of the
given species is further decreased. Regarding abiotic material generally the “consumption” (collection, destruction) of rare geological values
(e.g. dripstones of caves) could present direct
environmental destruction.
2.6 Earth Models, “World Models”
themselves by production and consumption as
the two basic activities of the society.
In the course of production humans take material away from the natural environment: clearing
forest, degrading the environment by mines, etc.
Raw materials are processed and transformed to
create useful tools and material: provides his/her
food meets, builds appropriate residence, placing
furniture in it and prepares tools for further production, makes sure of the transportation of produced goods etc. Production is also associated
with material and energy usage and/or transformation that also mean the formation of waste
material and energy. (Waste free technologies do
not exist, only low waste production.)
Waste material causes no environmental harm
until they are treated in closed systems when they
are released into the environment (e.g. a lorry
transporting contaminated refuse oil has an accident and the oil spills on the ground beside the
road), however, they unfold their effects. In this
way the same material is considered waste in a
closed system but become pollutant when
released from the closed system. Material and
energy released from production (e.g. flue of coal
power plants, toxic gases of chemical industrial
factories, heavy metal contamination of metal
processing factories, heat pollution of nuclear
power plants) affect both the biotic and the abiotic environment, and also on the built environment and on humans themselves as a biological
being (Fig. 2.25). The effects cause that a part of
the living beings perish, the threatening of human
health, the increase of the frequency of diseases
and in extreme cases death and maybe the damage of technical facilities (e.g. acid deposition).
Production in the wider sense includes the
exploitation of raw material and energy resources
from the natural environment. In the course of this
life and soil is destructed at the site of the mine
and even geological values could be ruined by
disturbing rocks. (However, they can also expose,
make visible and accessible such values.)
Timbering also results in direct damage to the
environment (effects on the biosphere in
Fig. 2.25). Wood has been one of the most widely
utilised raw material since the existence of human
societies and it was the sole major energy
resource for a long time. Natural woodlands are
the richest ecosystems regarding the number and
diversity of species and their destruction (exploitation) as being typical in tropical areas since the
second half of the twentieth century has serious
consequences for the entire terrestrial life: resulting in a significant reduction of species richness.
Worldwide growth of transport and consumption has almost similar environmental effects as
production. The enormous quantity of waste
material produced in the course of consumption
(the average annual amount of municipal solid
waste in the European Union is above 400 kg/
capita) is comparable to the quantity of production waste. Domestic consumption produces liquid and gas pollutants as well. “Waste gas”
produced by heating become pollutants in the
environment almost at once as their harmful
effects appear when they are emitted into the
atmosphere contributing to the pollution of urban
air or even to the development of smog. Liquid
household wastes (e.g. sewage) become pollutant
depending on the level of drainage and sewage
treatment at the settlement. If these are missing or
insufficiently established pollution of the environment will be inevitable. Without listing further
examples the authors state that consumption produces a large amount of waste and their majority
will be pollutant material. That is, the by-products of consumption react to the natural and
anthropogenic environment and also to humanity
itself as in the case of production (Fig. 2.25).
Although the direct environmental destruction
effect of consumption is smaller than that of production it cannot be ignored. Such effects include,
for example, the collection of herbs from nature
or even protected plants and rare insects collected
due to a passion for collecting, and also the prohibited hunting protected animals. Such consumption becomes harmful to the biosphere
when only a few individuals left representing the
given species (populations of protected species)
and with the above activity the survival of the
given species is further decreased. Regarding abiotic material generally the “consumption” (collection, destruction) of rare geological values
(e.g. dripstones of caves) could present direct
environmental destruction.
2.6 Earth Models, “World Models”