Interesting facts on the topic: Interesting facts about ecology. Interesting facts about ecology

• The average car produces more than 0.5 kilograms of waste gas less than every 35 kilometers driven. It's worth noting that just 50 years ago, the average car polluted the environment about 25 times more.
• In the state of Colorado (USA), there are special sensors that measure environmental pollution after each passing car. As a rule, such sensors are built into curbs.
• Just four liters of machine oil is enough to contaminate more than 4 million liters of clean drinking water. It is worth noting that although this number seems impressive, it is used by only fifty people in one calendar year.
• It’s surprising, but based on average calculations, it turned out that the average house with several people living in it emits more carbon dioxide than a new car. The most conservative estimates showed that the release of carbon dioxide is at least twice as large.
• Metal production is the source of 6% of all carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere of our planet
• The Amazon rainforest alone produces more than one-fifth of the world's oxygen supply.
• After recent research, it turned out that the cleanest air in the world “lives” on the island of Tasmania, which is located next to the continent of Australia.
• Why is it necessary to ventilate the room? Most people spend a huge amount of their time indoors without even realizing that the indoor air is more than 25 times dirtier than the air outside.
• California beaches are considered some of the cleanest. However, recently, a cleanup day was held on one of these beaches, in which environmental volunteers took part and counted the collection of garbage. So in one day more than 330 thousand cigarette butts were collected. It's worth noting that California's beaches are considered some of the cleanest because they are cleaned and cleaned every day, but studies have shown that this is not enough.
• Last year, the World Health Organization published a report on environmental pollution. The results are very disastrous. For example, in Cairo, the air is very polluted. Breathing “in the open air” there all day, for the body, is the same as smoking a pack of cigarettes.
• The daily waste of aluminum cans by Americans suggests that they could be used to rebuild all American airplanes. It is still unclear why they are not reducing the production of drinks that come in such containers.
• Regular baby diapers occupy at least 1 percent of all US trash bins and take 250 years to decompose. This suggests that in one and a half to two centuries, diapers may become almost the main source of air pollution in America.
• In the United States alone, more than two million plastic bottles are emptied and thrown away every hour. A very small part is sent for recycling. According to rough estimates, 230-270 thousand plastic bottles per day.
• According to many organizations for economic and environmental cooperation of countries, which are published annually, by 2050. Humanity will still get its energy from fossil fuels. This means that greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere will increase in volume by about 50 percent!
• Sending spam annually consumes 33 billion kWh of electricity, which is accompanied by the release of about 17 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (the equivalent of three million cars). This amount of electricity consumed is enough to power 2.4 million homes.

Humanity

• The Earth's surface area is 148,940,000 km2, of which 18,617,500 km2 (12.5%) is inhabited by people.
• If Africa's population grows at the same rate as it did in 2011-2012, the continent's total population will be 3.6 billion by 2100. It is noteworthy that human population growth in Africa is 2.3 percent per year, while in Asian countries it is only 1 percent. Although, on the other hand, the population of Asian countries is already too large, so it is unlikely that Asia will ever lag behind Africa in population.
  • The population of planet Earth increases by about nine thousand people every 60 minutes. It is noteworthy that currently 3.4 billion people live in urban areas, and by 2050, 2/3 of earthlings will live in cities.
  • Approximately 2.7 billion people live near or in river basins. This means that for approximately 30 days a year they cannot even meet their needs for clean drinking water.
  • In 1960, the need for clean drinking water for residents of the Middle East was 3.3 thousand liters per year. Today this need is approaching the sanitary minimum of 1000 liters per year and amounts to 1250-1300 liters. By the way, problems with water supply are experienced not only by residents of the Middle East, but also by a number of Asian countries, for example, India, Pakistan, and China. Moreover, recently, there has been a frightening trend of lack of drinking water in the United States of America. It is noteworthy that the ICC (Intergovernmental Committee on Climate Change) in its fourth report for 2012 indicated that by approximately 2030, 2/3 of the entire world population will experience severe water stress, which is also predicted by 2050.
  • Why doesn't planet Earth help the starving people in Africa? Everything is very simple: to provide food of average quality to a tribe of 350-500 people, you need a territory approximately equal to the Czech Republic. It is almost impossible to create such conditions in the modern world, although there is land for sowing, it is unlikely that a large number of people will do this on a volunteer basis.
  • Austin Troy of the University of Vermont has found a connection between the amount of green space and crime rates in Baltimore City. This relationship was as follows: an increase in the area of ​​green space in urban areas led to a decrease in crime by 12%.
  • 5 tons of cosmetics (sunscreen, skin cream, lipstick, eye shadow) end up in the oceans every year. The female body absorbs 2.5 kg of cosmetics per year.
  • Every year, about 125 million working phones that are simply tired of their owners are thrown into landfills around the world.

Garbage recycling

• In some regions in southern China, there are large-scale condom recycling facilities. Recycled materials are used to create excellent hair ribbons. However, several authorities have long been threatening to close production, as doctors involved in hygiene are puzzled: on the one hand, such a product is harmless, but on the other, no one conducts a proper examination.
• In the United States of America, more than eighteen million diapers are thrown away every year for people of all ages. By the way, the United States ranks first in the world in recycling old things.
• It is known that in order to establish the production of coffins, a lot of effort and materials are required. For example, more than 90 thousand tons of steel, just under 3 thousand tons of copper and other precious metals. Accordingly, the most important material is wood. Plus, toxic wood processing. The British company Ecopod has come up with a more original and less expensive way to make coffins... making them entirely from recycled compressed paper.
• Only 4 percent of the world's population lives in the United States. Despite this, this country ranks first in the world in the “production” of garbage. Let's take 2006 as an example. Then the Americans recycled and threw away more than 250 million tons of waste! This is almost ten times more than the Canadians. It is noteworthy that waste in the United States is, in a sense, new waste. After all, they accumulated in the process of consuming modern products, production, using technology, and so on.
• Long before the advent of recycling and preserving the natural environment, most European residents were already recycling waste for certain purposes. A striking example of tanners in the Middle Ages. They collected human urine, which was used to process leather products and tan them. By the way, urine was also used to create gunpowder.
• More than 70 percent of the world's e-waste ends up in China. There, entire family businesses recycle once-expensive gadgets and give them new life. Actually, this explains the fact that the market is filled with cheap smartphones from Chinese manufacturers. It is worth noting that methods for recycling “electronic waste” are by no means a good invention, because they seriously pollute the environment and also have a detrimental effect on human health.
• There is a misconception that the Wall of China and the “most luminous city” of New York are clearly visible from space. This opinion is erroneous, since the astronauts said that it was easier for them to see the world’s largest landfills than these attractions.

In conclusion, let us remind readers how long it takes for seemingly harmless objects to decompose:

• Cigarette butt (together with filter) - at least twelve years;
• Aluminum or tin can - at least 200 years, sometimes up to 500;
• Hygienic pads or diapers require at least 500 years;

Water

• According to a UN report at the climate change conference in Copenhagen, by 2050 the acidity of the world's oceans will increase by 150%, which will cause irreversible changes in marine ecosystems.
  • Every day, two million tons of human waste ends up in natural water bodies.
  • Every year, 260 million tons of plastic products end up in the world's oceans. All this plastic waste is carried into the oceans by rivers, streams and sea waves from the land.
  • Water pollution is responsible for 14,000 deaths per day on Earth.
  • Greenland's ice contains 20% of the planet's fresh water. If they melt, sea levels will rise by approximately 7 meters.
  • Wetlands make up 6% of the planet's surface. They are the natural filter of the planet. Over the past century, half the planet's swamps have been drained.
  • To grow 1 kilogram of potatoes you need to spend 100 liters of water, 1 kilogram of rice - 4000 liters of water, 1 kilogram of beef - 13000 liters of water.
  • It takes 2,400 liters of water to produce one single hamburger. The main water uses when preparing a hamburger are growing wheat and livestock.
  • 70-80% of all fresh water consumed by people is used in agriculture. Extremely inefficient use of water in the agricultural sector is typical for all countries of the world. 30% of water used in agriculture could be saved by improving irrigation systems alone

Living world and nature

• It is known that approximately 8 million living organisms live on Earth, and only ¼ of them have been described. This means that on average, only 25 percent of the creatures that live in the world are known to man. However, approximately 100 thousand living organisms are described every year, so in 60 years, it is quite possible that a person will know almost all species.
• If global temperatures rise by at least 4 degrees, then forests will disappear from almost the entire territory of modern Russia, and deforestation will take over almost all of central Europe, as well as western Siberia. If the temperature rises by 2 degrees, which should happen in the near future, then the general forest cover zone will even cover the tundra zone.
• In Austria there is a whole system of rivers that is more than sensitive to climate. If the temperature rises by just 1 degree, the volume of water flow decreases by more than 15 percent! It is noteworthy that at the moment the flow of one of the Murray rivers is approximately 1780 gigalitres/year. And just three years ago it was 8890 gigalitres/year.
• As of 2012, more than 43 percent of the surface of planet Earth is occupied by anthropogenic activities (industry, construction, agriculture, and so on).
• According to the institute for measuring climate conditions and their assessment, which is located in Potsdam, the level in the world's oceans is rising at tremendous speed, which could soon lead to disaster. The institute's current estimate is 60 percent for 2012. This differs significantly from the IPCC assessment. Every year, the ocean rises by 3.2 millimeters. The IPCC gives an estimate of 2 millimeters.

The importance of ecology cannot be overestimated. Only caring for the environment will allow humanity to keep the Earth suitable for life, and this is doubly important in our time, because the planet has already suffered greatly from man-made impacts. Environmental problems are growing stronger year by year, this is a fact, and even the persistent struggle of environmental civilizations has still not had significant success. We can only hope that we will be able to preserve our future.

Facts about ecology

• About 12% of the earth's surface has the status of a nature reserve.
• Half of China's residents drink polluted water, the percentage of harmful substances in which is much higher than the norm ().
• Approximately one millionth of all produced oil is spilled, monstrously polluting the environment.
• There is a huge garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean - currents carry all the trash thrown out by people to a certain point. Its area reaches 1.5 million square kilometers. Need I say what damage this causes to the world ecology?
• Sweden imports waste from other countries, recycling and reusing it. Traditional local concern for the environment has long ensured the recycling of local waste in almost 100% volume ().
• In some parts of the world, cats cause serious damage to the environment. Having been brought to a place where they were not originally found, they multiplied and destroyed about 30 smaller species.
• There is an organization in the world called “For the Voluntary Extinction of Humanity,” which calls on everyone to stop destroying the environment, stop reproducing and leave the Earth alone.
• In Sweden and Iceland, heat removed from crematoria is used to heat homes.
• In some countries, conservation organizations capture elephants and saw off their tusks to protect these animals from poachers ().
• Australian animal protection organizations are stringing artificial vines over highways to prevent koalas from dying under the wheels of cars.
• Chistye Ponds in Moscow were formerly called Pogany, which gives an idea of ​​their ecological state in the recent past.
• Many countries are actively losing forests due to deteriorating ecology and barbaric cutting down of trees. Deforestation is growing fastest in Malaysia and the UK.
• In China, several thousand square kilometers of land turn into desert every year. This environmental problem is a consequence of intensive farming.
• The greatest burden on the environment is created by people themselves, whose numbers increase by a million every 4 days.
• The region with the cleanest ecology in the world is Tibet.
• Every year, the average inhabitant of the Earth uses more than 600 cubic meters of fresh water.
• About 90% of all world trade occurs on sea routes, which causes irreparable damage to the ecology of the World Ocean ().
• Not only plastic bags are harmful to nature, but also paper ones. Yes, they decompose faster, but forests are cut down to produce them, and the production process itself significantly pollutes the environment.
• Poor ecology contributes to the development of various diseases, and, according to some scientists, about 15% of all deaths in the world can be associated with air pollution.
• The Chinese capital Beijing is a city with incredibly dirty air, occupying one of the top ten places in this anti-rating ().
• About 9 billion tons of garbage are dumped into the ocean every year.
• The plastic from which bottles are made completely decomposes after about 500 years.
• One of the dirtiest lakes in the world is Karachay, located in Russia.
• In the Indian metropolis of Mumbai, the air is four times dirtier than in the aforementioned Beijing ().
• The river flowing through the Philippine capital of Manila is completely biologically dead. There is no ecology in it at all; even microorganisms cannot survive in its water.

Polyethylene packaging as an environmental problem.

Plastic bags are convenient and practical, but we don’t even think about how their widespread use harms the environment.

Facts:

● 4-5 trillion plastic bags are produced annually in the world (and this is only according to 2002 data)
● more than 1 trillion bags are thrown away every year
● it takes from 300 to 1000 years for one package to decompose
● 6.3 million tons of garbage (most of it plastic) is dumped into the oceans every year

● 15 million kilometers of plastic waste floats in the North Pacific (read more about this)

● 1 million birds and thousands of animals die every year from becoming entangled in trash or ingesting plastic waste

● more than 40 countries have banned or restricted the production, sale or use of plastic bags

The world has begun to think about the harm caused by polyethylene and plastic since the beginning of this century.
Bans or restrictions on the production, sale or use of plastic bags and packaging are already in effect in 40 countries around the world. Here are some of them:

2002 — Ireland, Scotland (UK)
2003 — Singapore, South Africa, Canada (Leaf Rapids), Bangladesh, Taiwan (China)
2004 — Australia, Denmark, Moldova
2006 — Tanzania (Zanzibar Island), Rwanda
2007 — Belgium, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Wales (UK)
2008 — Egypt, Israel, China
2010 — Los Angeles (USA), San Francisco (USA), France
2011 — , San Jose (USA)
2012 — Mauritania, Latvia
2013 — Makati (Philippines)

Also Mexico, Kazakhstan, Austria, some states of India, Japan, Afghanistan, UAE.
Similar measures are being discussed, in particular, in Ukraine, Belarus and, finally, here in Russia!

✔ in 2010 As part of an environmental campaign, the residents of Madrid were given free duffel bags made from organic cotton and paper.
✔ in 2008 In UK stores, plastic bags have been replaced with paper ones.
✔ The Irish fight most effectively with the use of plastic bags: in 2002. the price of one plastic bag reached €0.33 and their use decreased by 94%.
✔ In Estonia, paper bags are cheaper than plastic bags
✔ Makati, the financial capital of the Philippines, began issuing fines of 5,000 pesos ($115) to those caught distributing these items in stores and supermarkets. More details

78% of Europeans are in favor of reducing the use of plastic packaging!

An average family of three uses about 1,500 large plastic bags and about 4-5,000 small ones per year. You can, of course, count how many families live in the city, in the country, and in the world, but these will be unrealistic amounts. And yet it is, and yet it is reality. But many still prefer to close their eyes to this, not to think, not to realize... It’s simpler, it’s easier - “Now I feel good, comfortable, and then I don’t care, let others think - after me there might be a flood!”

Let's awaken consciousness in our compatriots! Let's tell them this information, show them the facts. Call for awareness. And since these problems are already being discussed in our government, the situation in Russia regarding plastic will change very soon!

There is an excellent alternative to plastic bags -. They are now made from cotton, paper and other biodegradable materials. And just a few decades ago, all people used them, they lived well, they were happy, and they did not harm the environment.

Over a year of service, one ecological bag can replace more than 500 plastic bags.

Our method of development could not ensure the achievement of our goals. In 50 years, the gap between rich and poor has widened more than ever. Half of the wealth of our planet is in the hands of 2% of the population. 1 billion people around the world suffer from hunger.

Since the middle of the last century, fish catches have increased from 18 to 100 million metric tons per year. ¾ of fish resources are on the verge of extinction. Many species of large fish disappeared forever, as regular catches did not allow them to leave offspring. Fish is included in the diet of every fifth person on the planet. All fish populations are at risk of extinction.

You can read the first part of "Interesting Environmental Facts" ;)

An interesting environmental fact is that due to the diversion of river water for the purpose of irrigating fields, every tenth major river on the planet no longer flows into the sea for several months of the year.

The water level in the Dead Sea, which is deprived of the flow of the Jordan River and is withdrawn to irrigate fields, drops by one meter annually.

Two billion people could suffer from water shortages by 2025.

Important environmental fact– wetlands occupy 6% of the planet’s total surface. They are the planet's natural filter. Over the past 100 years, half of the planet's swamps have been drained.

Primary forests are home to ¾ of the planet's species. The area of ​​the Amazon rainforest has decreased by 20% in 40 years.

13 million hectares of forest disappear from the face of the Earth every year.

The thickness of the polar cap at the North Pole has decreased by 40% over 40 years. According to the most optimistic estimates, by the summer of 2030 this cap may disappear completely. According to pessimistic estimates, this will happen in a couple of years.

An important environmental fact is that the average temperature on Earth has reached its highest level over the past 15 years.

Greenland's ice contains 20% of the planet's fresh water. If they melt, sea levels will rise by 7 meters.

It is an environmental fact that the level of the world's oceans rose by 20 cm in the 20th century as a result of global warming.

30% of the planet's coral reefs have disappeared.

80% of the ice on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa has disappeared. The Himalayas face the same fate. All the largest rivers in Asia originate here, on the banks of which the lives of hundreds of millions of people are concentrated.

Carbon dioxide “frozen” into glaciers reaches a volume of 1.5 billion, which is twice the amount of carbon dioxide found in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Arctic ice has become 70 cm thinner.

5 tons of cosmetics (skin cream, sunscreen, eye shadow, lipstick) end up in the oceans every year. The female body absorbs 2.5 kg annually.

Every year around the world, about 125 million working phones are thrown into landfills because their owners are tired of them.

During the 20th century, the area of ​​glaciers in Afghanistan decreased by 50-70%, and in Tajikistan - by 20-30%.

The world population will increase by 1/3 by 2030 and will amount to 8 billion people. An increase in population will lead to an increase in demand for food by 50%, water by 30% and energy by 50%.

The area of ​​the earth's surface is 148940000 km2, 18617500 km2 of which is inhabited by people, i.e. 12.5%.

Bacteria make up 2-5 kg ​​of human body weight!

An enterprise where one thousand people smoke loses about 500 thousand euros a year.

It is also an environmental fact that air pollution in the cities of our planet is responsible for the deaths of about 865,000 people per year.

Inhaling Cairo's polluted air throughout the day is equivalent to smoking 20 cigars.

Plastic production increases by 9% annually.

260 million tons of plastic products end up in the oceans every year. This plastic waste is carried into the oceans by streams, rivers, and sea waves from land.

Atmospheric pollution is one of the main problems of our planet. Nature and people constantly suffer from harmful emissions into the environment. You will be extremely surprised to learn facts about air pollution that you never knew about.

Dirty air makes people fat

“It turns out that it’s all the air’s fault for my curvy figure!”

Everyone knows: dirty air is difficult to breathe and causes respiratory diseases. But, according to new research, the presence of this harmful factor also leads to obesity! According to scientists, particles from industrial or cigarette smoke entering the lungs can cause inflammation in the body, which in turn reduces its ability to burn energy, leading to weight gain.

To confirm this theory, an experiment was conducted on mice at Ohio State University. They were placed in an environment with polluted air for a certain time. As a result, the rodents acquired characteristic “fat” on their bellies and around their internal organs. A decrease in their sensitivity to insulin was also noted.

The study of this problem was not limited to animal experiments. Several studies have been conducted in the world's most polluted cities. The results confirmed that the human body reacts to unclean air in a similar way.

Hong Cheng, a researcher at the Ontario Public Health System and the Clinical Evaluative Sciences Institute of Canada, studied the health records of 62,000 people over a 14-year period. He found that the risk of developing diabetes increased by 11% in those people who breathed particularly dirty air. Another scientist, Andrew Rundle from Columbia University, discovered a similar analogy. He stated that children growing up in polluted regions such as the Bronx are 2 to 3 times more likely to be obese than those living in cleaner environments.

Birds sing better in unfavorable environmental conditions

The louder the songs, the closer the environmental catastrophe?

It's hard to believe that bad ecology can have any benefits, but it does. Scientists from Cardiff University in Wales found that male birds in polluted environments sing more melodiously.

Behavioral ecologist Shai Markman and his team chose wild European starlings as research subjects. These birds forage for food inside sewage treatment plants. The earthworms that live there often contain harmful substances with high levels of the chemical estrogen.

Researchers fed starlings contaminated worms. Over time, the area of ​​the bird's brain responsible for singing has increased in size. This allowed males to sing longer and more complex roulades - it is this ability that females pay attention to when searching for a partner. But researchers also found that pollution weakens the birds' immunity.

We can throw trash... in the sun

Clean up in one place and move to another? Great idea!

The “garbage” problem has become so global today that the strangest ways to solve it are being considered. One such idea was launching garbage into the sun. During a broadcast on BBC4 radio, PhDs Adam Rutherford and Anna Fry confirmed that the seemingly stupid idea is not so fantastic after all. It will be very difficult to make it a reality, because launching rockets into space is extremely expensive. And here the price will also depend on the weight of the luggage.

But Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, which is developing cheap rockets, gives little hope for the success of the project. Perhaps, as space technology develops, “shooting” debris at the sun will become an everyday reality.

Air purity affects the likelihood of suicide

“The air is clean, the breath is fresh. But weak..."

When we hear the word "suicide", the last thing that might come to mind is air pollution. However, breathing in dirty air increases the risk of suicide. Particularly critical periods are spring and autumn.

Researchers at the University of Utah studied the stories of more than 1,500 people who committed suicide from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010. Those who were exposed to fine particulate matter or nitrogen dioxide in the three days before committing suicide were 5 to 20 percent more likely to complete their suicide plans than other people at risk.

Research leader Dr. Amanda Bakian noted that these results do not assign pollution a major role in causing suicide. But the interplay of psychological, physical and environmental factors can significantly increase the risk of suicide.

Pollution Shrinks the Brain

For some reason, most often in such cases it’s the brains that get it!

In 2015, the results of an interesting study were published. It turns out that the human brain can shrink as a result of prolonged exposure to dirty air! Scientists at Boston Medical Center examined 943 healthy residents of the New England area aged 60 years and older. The magnetic resonance imaging method was used to study the structure of the brain and its dependence on pollution in places where people live. It turned out that an increase in harmful particles in the air (for example, exhaust gases) to two micrograms per cubic meter leads to a reduction in brain volume by 0.32%. Which in turn is equivalent to one year of brain aging!

The same ill-fated 2 micrograms increase the risk of developing “silent” strokes by 46%! This disease affects the development of dementia and deterioration of cognitive function, but is asymptomatic - it can only be detected by brain scanning.

Want to help science? Breathe exhaust fumes!

There are few people interested in this type of experiment.

Residents of Canada can join in studying the long-term effects of dirty air on humans. Those wishing to participate in the program will breathe diesel exhaust gases for two hours in a sealed glass box with the following parameters: 1.2 meters - length, 1.8 - width, 2.1 - height. The quality of this air is comparable to that breathed by people in Beijing and Mexico City. During the experiment, volunteers can relax and watch their favorite series on Netflix.

So far there are very few people willing to take part in the experiment, so we have to use guinea pigs for this purpose. They think the project is very important. Inhaling dirty air for two hours a day can make changes to the genetic structure of living organisms, scientists say. But this factor does not affect the DNA sequence, unless another link can be added to the structure.

Pigeons fly faster in a polluted atmosphere

Does anyone else use this means of communication these days?

Although it sounds incredible, it is true: homing pigeons (also called racing pigeons) fly faster in polluted airspace! These birds are popular because they develop high flight speeds and are able to return to their “home base.”

The team analyzed data on high-speed homing pigeons from the North China Plain from 2013 to 2014. This region has the most polluted air in the country. It was expected that poor ecology would hinder the birds' homing, route accuracy, and flight speed.

However, the results showed the opposite. Birds fly faster in such poor conditions. Scientists do not understand why this happens, but they have several theories about it. One of them is associated with aromatic impulses, which are especially important for birds. Presumably, very dirty air contains many organic and inorganic compounds. Their presence helps pigeons determine the location of the “home”.

Lack of clean air and excess of light in Hong Kong

There is little air, there is a lot of light... And why is Hong Kong considered heaven on earth?!

In Hong Kong, the air is highly polluted. But there is another problem - too much light. At night, this city glows a thousand times brighter than required by international standards.

There are two reasons for this problem. The first is the lack of rules for regulating artificial lighting, as, for example, in Sydney or London. Second, the Hong Kong authorities are literally obsessed with public safety. For this purpose, city parks and squares are illuminated at night so that the level of light is the same as on a clear day.

In rural areas, such as the city of Lantau, and in wetland parks, people also suffer from excess light. This is quite a worrying factor. Recent studies have shown that it has a negative effect on animals that are awake at night.

The lungs of ancient Egyptians are no cleaner than those of modern humans

15 mummies is not an indicator?

Many people believe that air pollution is a modern problem. New research challenges this claim. Some ancient civilizations also suffered from this problem. Scientists examined 15 Egyptian mummies and found particulate matter in their lungs. They caused lung problems, heart disease and even cancer. Scientists were even more surprised when they discovered that the small particles were similar to those that remain in the lungs today from inhaling car exhaust fumes.

In 2011, researcher Roger Montgomery found that the level of particulate matter in the lungs of ancient Egyptians was almost the same as that of our contemporaries, and the level was the same among people of different classes - among the poor and important people.

This discovery intrigued the public. Perhaps the reason is the presence of the mining industry at that time. But too many solid particles were found in the lungs of ancient Egyptians. The question of where they managed to find such polluted air still remains open.

Contamination of the atmospheres of other planets will help find extraterrestrial civilizations

Who knows, maybe with their antics the earthlings will provoke the indignation of other life forms?

Many people are interested in the search for extraterrestrial life beyond our solar system. How can we find other forms of life on planets millions of light years away? Answer: by examining the degree of their contamination.

By 2018, James Webb plans to complete the development of the newest telescope. Harvard inventors already believe that the discovery can be used to search for chlorofluorocarbons (abbreviated as CFCs) on distant planets. CFCs are greenhouse gases that damage the Earth's ozone layer.

Lead researcher Henry Lynn suggests that the detection of environmental contamination will help determine the approximate age of extraterrestrial civilization. Some harmful substances can accumulate and remain on the surface of the planet for 50 thousand years. Others are short-lived - dissolving into the atmosphere within one decade. If only long-lasting contamination is found on an alien planet, this may indicate that it was previously inhabited by extraterrestrial life forms that have long since gone extinct.

Harvard researchers noted that the presence of CFCs in the atmosphere of the planet does not prove 100% the presence of traces of life. In addition, extraterrestrial civilizations may deliberately contaminate the atmospheres of planets that are too cold with pollutants to “warm” them, making them suitable for life.

Based on the above facts, we can draw an encouraging conclusion. Modern science does not stand still. Scientists carefully study the environmental problems of our planet and look for options for solving them. Some discoveries made during the search shocked the scientific world and the public. We are confident that these unexpected discoveries will help humanity take a big step in the fight against environmental pollution.