Technogenesis and Сurrent Tasks in the Earth Sciences

Abstract

The paper scrutinizes technogenesis in the context of human industrial activity in natural resources development and the creation of social and economic infrastructure

on the Earth. The rapidly growing antagonism between technogenesis and the society requires the elaboration of a new strategy of modern civilization development based on keeping the balance between the human economic activity and the environment protection. Some problems arising from technogenesis development are analyzed, and it is shown how the environmentally friendly economic activity may be managed. As an example, the seismic and engineering geological zoning of Moscow is described, which was aimed at “fitting” items of the technosphere to the natural conditions and at optimizing the interaction between the engineering structures and the environment. The problems in surface- and groundwater conservation, assessment of natural risks upon land development, as well as industrial and domestic waste treatment are discussed. The cases cited witness to the necessity of developing the scientifically grounded policy of human technogenic activity based on the principle of technogenesis-environment coevolution.