Influence of modern people on the North nature

Now deposits of petroleum and gas, coal, ores of iron and non-ferrous metals are developed in the Far North. Especially it concerns Russian North. It’s value for the national economy of the country grows constantly. Population here increases in number. Large cities with wide avenues and multi-storey buildings have grown here and the thousands kilometres of highway and railroads, oil and gas pipelines have stretched. In the last decades not only new, modern industries, energetics, transport, but also traditional branches of economy - deer breeding, hunting, fishing are developed in the North. The interrelations of man and nature become more and more complex and fragility, instability, special vulnerability of northern nature become more obvious. The organic world of the Far North suffers most of all. The new ways of utilising nature, together with the fact that the traditional ways are now pursued more intensively, have led to extensive damages to nature in some areas. “Normal” for more southern areas a load, the same forms and range of human activity cause in the North deep, and frequently undesirable and irreversible changes. The organic world — animals and vegetation - suffers especially. Chemical weed-killers and pest-killers as well as the products of their disintegration, sometimes cause large harm to northern scenery. River waters, sea and air currents bring them here. Chemicals are stored in organisms of north animals. White bears and seals eating sea fish especially suffer from them. Having accumulated definite amount of chemicals, animals stop to breed and even perish. Pollution by industrial and domestic waste and pollution by petroleum and oil products, poisonous substances of boring solutions have led to extensive damages to northern scenery. One of the consequences of the man activity is destruction of birds and sea mammals from petroleum, black oil and other pollution of seawater. And even people full of the kindest feelings to “the smaller brothers ” but unfamiliar with their customs can cause involuntary harm to local animals. Here especially harmful consequences of so-called “factor of anxiety” appear. It is enough to scare broody away and the nest disappears because it becomes unprotected. Frequently the lovers to photograph close to walrus rookery, to look at them in details and even to touch these giants appear here. Meanwhile it is not required large efforts to cause panic on walrus rookery, and as the result frightened animals weight down each other very often, and tens of their carcasses remain on the place of rookery. The panic can be caused also by the low flying plane or by hooter of a passing steamship. Ejections of sulphur gas and oxides of nitrogen by factories, gas and petroleum drill holes here result in fall of “acid rains” — solutions of a sulfuric and nitric acid. It causes hurm to lichens and thus to vegetative cover. The man quite often reduces northern woods even if there is no large need in it. And you see that these woods not only decorate a landscape and give a shelter for birds and four-footed inhabitants, but also grow milder climate. To cut down a tree means to open access to wind and snowstorm. In the Far North, as well as everywhere, the fires more often arise as a result of the man’s fault. And it burns sometimes vast squares. There are also unexpected problems deal with development of industry and transport. So, gas and oil pipelines become an obstacle for migrant reindeer herds. Navigation in the northern seas becomes longer with each year. The icebreaking ships easily overcome ice and more often leave in it bars of open water. In turn these channels attract sea animals, especially ringed seals. But these channels close very quickly and they become traps for the animals.