The paper presents the most important scientific results (1991-94) of the projects of Direction I of the National Scientific and Engineering Program "Global Changes in Environment and Climate". Consideration is given to the most important processes of global changes in environment: evolution of climate and possible consequences, permafrost behavior, changes in organic realm, forecast of variations in the level of the Caspian Sea, changes in position of continents and relief, volcanism evolution, variations in substance flows and greenhouse gases in the ocean and lithosphere, cosmogenic processes, and anthropogenic processes. The processes are evolutional, cyclic, and catastrophic. The causes of the periodicity of climatic and biotic catastrophes are related to cosmic and terrestrial (endogenic) factors. A persistent correlation is revealed for global changes in the environment which is expressed in proceeding of some processes synchronously with variations of frequency of the Earth's magnetic inversions. On this basis a general concept of global changes of the environment is developed. It rests on the idea of periodical detachment of mantle plumes from the core-mantle boundary under the effect of regularly "overheated" outer core. These endogenic processes are responsible for long-period changes. They are superimposed by more short-period changes of climate determined by cosmic (Milankovitch cycles, etc.) and more local endogenic factors.
