The environment of Russia

Biota

Climate

The climate of Russia is formed under the European peninsula. The enormous size of the country and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the continental climate, which is prevalent in European and Asian

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

except for the tundra and the best extreme southeast. Mountains in the south obstructing the flow of cold air masses from the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

and the plain of the south and north makes the country open to Pacific and Atlantic influences. Russia Köppen

Geography

Land

Water

Climate change

Energy

Pollution control

Protected areas

Waste management

141 019 100 tonnes of hazardous waste was generated in Russia in 2009

Environmental policy and law

Treaties and international agreements

Russia is a signatory to a number of treaties and international agreements: ;Party to: : Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling, Climate Change- Kyoto Protocol ;Signed, but not ratified: : Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,

Environmental organisations/organizations

Environmental issues

Air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and

agricultural pollution Agricultural pollution refers to biotic material, biotic and abiotic byproducts of agriculture, farming practices that result in pollution, contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to human ...

of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion;

soil contamination Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity ...

from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or undesirab ...

; ground water contamination from toxic waste; considerable biodiversity addressed by the country's Biodiversity Action Plan. While Russia possesses vast mineral and energy wealth, this does not come without some price both to Russia and to the greater globe.Krivtsov, A.I., 2006, Geoenvironmental Problems of Mineral Resources Development, in ''Geology and Ecosystems'', Zekster (Ru), Marker (UK), Ridgeway (UK), Rogachevskaya (Ru), & Vartanyan (Ru), 2006 Springer Inc., Particularly, oil and gas extraction exacts a heavy cost to the health of the land and people. Drilling waste water, mud, and sludges are accumulated, annual volumes have been estimated at 1.7 million tons of chemical reagents contaminating 25 million cubic meters of topsoil. Considerable geomechanical disturbances, contamination of soils and water, and multiple increases of contaminated waste water ejected into surface water streams, is a serious problem offsetting Russia's profits from the industry. It has been estimated that between 1991-1999 the volume of contaminated waste waters from the Russian oil industry amounted to 200 million cubic meters. Complete utilization of co-extracted gas in oil extraction does not exceed 80% in Russia, it has been variously estimated that annually 5-17 billion cubic meters of un-utilized gas extracted alongside oil is burnt in " gas torches," with 400,000 tons or more hazardous substances released into the atmosphere from this each year, creating the double impact of wasted resource and negative environmental effect.Waste discharges during the offshore oil and gas development
/ref> 560 million tons of methane is estimated to leak annually into the atmosphere from oil and gas extraction, not counting accidental outbursts and pipe breakage. Other valuable industries also have their costs, such as the coal industry's release of vast quantities of hazardous, toxic, and radioactive materials. Also the Russian gold industry, with Russia being the only nation for at least a century with high extraction of gold from placer deposits, and having 4000+ large deposits, inevitably creates problems for the river systems. The associated pollution from using mass explosions in mining also can be a problem. Overall, the extensive mineral wealth and riches, brings with it both great benefit to the Russian economy & people, and the greater globe and all people, yet also several difficult problems to be dealt with.

References

External links

Zhuravlev, Yu. N., ed. (2000) ''Стратегия сохранения биоразнообразия Сихотэ-Алиня = A Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for the Sikhote-Alin Vladivostok: Russian Academy of Sciences, Far Eastern Branch
* ''Sobisevich A. V., Snytko V. A., Postnikov A. V.'
The surrounding environment monitoring in the Soviet Union: a review of establishing new "ecological" science
// IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019. Vol. 350. №. 1. P. 1–6. {{DEFAULTSORT:Environment Of Russia