Environmental protection

Environmental protection is a set of measures designed to limit the negative impact of human activities on the environment (nature) and prevent its degradation. Such measures may include:

Limitation of emissions into the atmosphere and hydrosphere in order to improve the overall environmental situation.
Creation of nature reserves, national parks in order to preserve natural complexes.
Restriction of fishing, hunting in order to preserve certain species.
Limiting the discharge of garbage.

Scientific basis

Ecology studies the scientific foundations of environmental protection. The study of the diverse impact of scientific and technological progress on the natural environment (biosphere) is one of the most important problems of our time. The ultimate goal of such a study is to protect and improve the environment for the well-being of current and future generations

Land protection and soil protection measures

Land protection, according to the Ecological Dictionary, is "a set of organizational, economic, agronomic, technical, reclamation, economic and legal measures to prevent and eliminate processes that deteriorate the condition of land, as well as cases of violation of the procedure for land use". Land protection is closely related to soil conservation. New subspecies of earthworms, Lumbricus rubellus, could be used to remediate soils contaminated with toxic industrial wastes (including lead, arsenic, zinc and copper). Each subspecies has its own protein complex that neutralizes dangerous compounds, that is, it absorbs a certain element and returns it to the soil in a form suitable for assimilation by plants. Thus, a two-stage soil remediation is possible:

worm breeding;
Planting of green spaces.
Since these worms are not able to live in clean soils, they can also be used to assess soil toxicity.

Forest conservation

Concentrated clear-cutting, fires, diseases, windfall, environmental pollution and individual selection, which is very widely used in breeding, lead to the fact that the effective number of individuals in woody plant populations is reduced. This is followed by a steady decline in the genetic diversity of forests. This is dangerous because new generations of forests, which appeared from a numerically limited group, will be less diverse in terms of genetics, which means that their productivity and resistance to unfavorable conditions will decrease. 

This problem can be eliminated in relation to each specific species only if its population and chorological structure is sufficiently well studied. The exploitation and subsequent recovery of the population should be carried out on the basis of the maximum possible preservation of the principle of natural reproduction of this population. For example, for Scots pine in the taiga zone, where there is a lot of undergrowth under the canopy of mature trees, forest restoration should take place naturally. The essence of the method here is the choice of optimal schemes for the development of cutting areas for the maximum preservation of undergrowth. In forest types where pine is not replaced by less valuable tree species, but undergrowth is scarce, pine renewal should also be natural, and gradual felling should be accompanied by measures to promote this. Restoration of felling by planting is possible only in those types of forests where pine is replaced by other, economically invaluable species. It is important to observe the principle: where the seeds were harvested, there they should be sown.

Environmental activism

Environmental activism (environmentalism, environmentalism) is a social movement aimed at strengthening measures to protect the environment. Activists organize protests against environmental pollution and sometimes (as in the case of Greenpeace) actively sabotage environmentally dangerous economic activities. The most radical environmentalist organizations (e.g., the Earth Liberation Front) tolerate eco-terrorism in their activities.