SOL-B.

COM(H)
FIRST SeM
envIROnMenT
SCIenCe
MedIuM –engLISH
 100% Notes

 Notes – SOL New Syllabus

 Question -Environmental Studies: Meaning, Objectives, Scope and Importance of
Environmental Studies
Meaning Of Environmental Studies:
Environmental studies are the scientific study of the environmental system and the
status of its inherent or induced changes on organisms. It includes not only the study of
physical and biological characters of the environment but also the social and cultural
factors and the impact of man on environment.

Environment literally means Surrounding in which we are living. Environment includes

all those things on which we are directly or indirectly dependent for our survival, whether
it is living component like animals, plants or non living component like soil, air water.

Environmental Protection Act (1986) defined,

Environment is the sum total of land, water, air, interrelationships among themselves
and also with the human beings and other living organisms. Environmental Science is
the interdisciplinary field and requires the study of the interactions among the physical,
chemical and biological components of the Environment with a focus on environmental
pollution and degradation. Environment studies is a multidisciplinary subject where
different aspects are dealt with in a holistic approach. The science of Environment
studies comprises various branches of studies like chemistry, physics, life science,
medical science, agriculture, public health, sanitary engineering, geography, geology,
atmospheric science, etc. It is the science of physical phenomena in the environment. It
studies the sources, reactions, transport, effect and fate of a biological species in the
air, water and soil and the effect of and from human activity upon these. Environmental
Science deals with the study of processes in soil, water, air and organisms which lead
to pollution or environmental damages and the scientific basis for the establishment of a
standard which can be considered acceptably clean, safe and healthy for human beings
and natural ecosystems.

“Environment as the sum total of water, air and land, their interrelationship among
themselves and with the human beings, other living beings and property.” Ecology and
Scope of Ecological Studies:
Ecology is that part of environmental studies in which we study about organisms, plants
and animals and their relationship or interdependence on other living and non living
environment.

The term ‘Ecology’ is derived from Greek word ‘Oekologue’ which is composed of two
words:

(a) ‘Oekos’ means surrounding

(b) ‘Logs’ means study on a whole ecology means ‘Study of surrounding’

SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENT:
The environment consists of four segments of the earth namely atmosphere,
hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere:

1. Atmosphere: The Atmosphere forms a distinctive protective layer about 100 km

thick around the earth. A blanket of gases called the atmosphere surrounds the earth
and protects the surface of earth from the Sun’s harmful, ultraviolet rays. It sustains life
on the earth. It also regulates temperature, preventing the earth from becoming too hot
or too cold. It saves it from the hostile environment of outer space. The atmosphere is
composed of nitrogen and oxygen besides, argon, carbon dioxide and trace gases.

The atmosphere has a marked effect on the energy balance at the surface of the Earth.
It absorbs most of the cosmic rays from outer space and a major portion of the
electromagnetic radiation from the sun. It transmits only ultraviolet, visible, near infrared
radiation (300 to 2500 nm) and radio waves. (0.14 to 40 m) while filtering out tissue-
damaging ultra-violate waves below about 300 nm.

2. Hydrosphere: The Hydrosphere comprises all types of water resources oceans,

seas, lakes, rivers, streams, reservoirs, polar icecaps, glaciers, and ground water.
Oceans represent 97% of the earth’s water and about 2% of the water resources is
locked in the polar icecaps and glaciers. Only about 1% is available as fresh water as
surface water in rivers, lakes, streams, and as ground water for human use.

3. Lithosphere: Lithosphere is the outer mantle of the solid earth. It consists of

minerals occurring in the earth’s crusts and the soil e.g. minerals, organic matter, air
and water.

4. Biosphere: Biosphere indicates the realm of living organisms and their interactions
with environment, viz atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

The scope of environmental studies is very wide and it deals with many areas like i)
Conservation of natural resources, ii) ecological aspects, iii) pollution of the surrounding
natural resources, iv) controlling the pollution, v) social issues connected to it, and vi)
impacts of human population on the environment.

Elements of Environment

Environment is constituted by the interacting systems of physical, biological and cultural

elements inter-related in various ways, individually as well as collectively. These
elements are:

(1) Physical elements

Physical elements are space, landforms, water bodies, climate, soils, rocks and
minerals. They determine the variable character of the human habitat, its opportunities
as well as limitations.
(2) Biological elements

Biological elements such as plants, animals, microorganisms and men constitute the
biosphere.

(3) Cultural elements

Cultural elements such as economical, social and political elements are essentially
man- made features, which make the cultural background.

ENVIRONMENT STUDIES: IMPORTANCE

The environment studies make us aware about the importance of protection and
conservation of our mother earth and about the destruction due to the release of
pollution into the environment. The increase in human and animal population, industries
and other issues make the survival cumbersome. A great number of environment issues
have grown in size and make the system more complex day by day, threatening the
survival of mankind on earth. Environment studies have become significant for the
following reasons:

1. Environment Issues are being of Global:

It has been well recognised that environment issues like global warming and ozone
depletion, acid rain, marine pollution and biodiversity are not merely national issues but
are global issues and hence require international efforts and cooperation to solve them.

2. Development and Environment:

Development leads to Urbanization, Industrial Growth, Telecommunication and
Transportation Systems, Hi-tech Agriculture and Housing etc. However, it has become
phased out in the developed world. The North intentionally moves their dirty factories to
South to cleanse their own environment. When the West developed, it did so perhaps in
ignorance of the environmental impact of its activities. Development of the rich countries
of the world has undesirable effects on the environment of the entire world.

3. Explosive Increase in Pollution

World census reflects that one in every seven persons in this planet lives in India.
Evidently with 16 per cent of the world's population and only 2.4 per cent of its land
area, there is a heavy pressure on the natural resources including land. Agricultural
experts have recognized soil health problems like deficiency of micronutrients and
organic matter, soil salinity and damage of soil structure.

4. Need for an Alternative Solution

It is essential, specially for developing countries to find alternative paths to an
alternative goal. We need a goal as under:

A true goal of development with an environmentally sound and sustainable

development.
A goal common to all citizens of our planet earth.

A goal distant from the developing world in the manner it is from the over-consuming
wasteful societies of the “developed” world.

It is utmost important for us to save the humanity from extinction because of our
activities constricting the environment and depleting the biosphere, in the name of
development.

5. Need for Wise Planning of Development

Our survival and sustenance depend on resources availability. Hence Resources

withdraw, processing and use of the products have all to be synchronised with the
ecological cycle. In any plan of development our actions should be planned ecologically
for the sustenance of the environment and development.

Objectives and Guiding Principles of Environmental Studies:

According to UNESCO (1971), the objectives of environmental studies are:

(a) Creating the awareness about environmental problems among people.

(b) Imparting basic knowledge about the environment and its allied problems.

(c) Developing an attitude of concern for the environment.

(d) Motivating public to participate in environment protection and environment

improvement.

(e) Acquiring skills to help the concerned individuals in identifying and solving
environmental problems.

(f) Striving to attain harmony with Nature.

According to UNESCO, the guiding principles of environmental education should

be as follows:

(a) Environmental education should be compulsory, right from the primary up to the post
graduate stage.
(b) Environmental education should have an interdisciplinary approach by including
physical, chemical, biological as well as socio-cultural aspects of the environment. It
should build a bridge between biology and technology.

(c) Environmental education should take into account the historical perspective, the
current and the potential historical issues.

(d) Environmental education should emphasise the importance of sustainable

development i.e., economic development without degrading the environment.

(e) Environmental education should emphasise the necessity of seeking international

cooperation in environmental planning.

(f) Environmental education should lay more stress on practical activities and first hand
experiences.

Scope and Importance of Environmental Studies:

The disciplines included in environmental education are environmental sciences,
environmental engineering and environmental management.

(a) Environmental Science:

It deals with the scientific study of environmental system (air, water, soil and land), the
inherent or induced changes on organisms and the environmental damages incurred as
a result of human interaction with the environment.

(b) Environmental Engineering:

It deals with the study of technical processes involved in the protection of environment
from the potentially deleterious effects of human activity and improving the
environmental quality for the health and well beings of humans.

(c) Environmental Management:

It promotes due regard for physical, social and economic environment of the enterprise
or projects. It encourages planned investment at the start of the production chain rather
than forced investment in cleaning up at the end.

It generally covers the areas as environment and enterprise objectives, scope, and
structure of the environment, interaction of nature, society and the enterprise,
environment impact assessment, economics of pollution, prevention, environmental
management standards etc.

The importance’s of environmental studies are as follows: in short

1. To clarify modern environmental concept like how to conserve biodiversity.

2. To know the more sustainable way of living.

3. To use natural resources more efficiently.

4. To know the behaviour of organism under natural conditions.

5. To know the interrelationship between organisms in populations and communities.

6. To aware and educate people regarding environmental issues and problems at local,
national and international levels.

Need of Public Awareness about Environment:

In today’s world because of industrialization and increasing population, the natural
resources has been rapidly utilised and our environment is being increasingly degraded
by human activities, so we need to protect the environment.

It is not only the duty of government but also the people to take active role for protecting
the environment, so protecting our environment is economically more viable than
cleaning it up once, it is damaged.

The role of mass media such as newspapers, radio, television, etc is also very important
to make people aware regarding environment. There are various institutions, which are
playing positive role towards environment to make people aware regarding environment
like BSI (Botanical Survey of India, 1890), ZSI (Zoological Survey of India, 1916), WII
(Wild Life Institute of India, 1982) etc.
Question- Explain the Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies. And
discuss //.
Importance and Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies

Environment belongs to all the lining beings and thus is, important for all. Each and
every body of whatever occupation he or she may have is affected by environmental
issues like global warming, depletion of ozone layer, dwindling forest, energy resources,
loss of global biodiversity etc..
Environment study deals with the analysis of the processes in water, air, land, soil and
organisms which leads to pollute or degrade environment. It helps us for establishing
standard, for safe, clean and healthy natural ecosystem. It also deals with important
issues like safe and clean drinking water, hygienic living conditions and clean and fresh
air, fertility of land, healthy food and development.
Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies:
Because, the environment is complex and actually made up of many different
environments, including natural, constructed and cultural environments, environmental
studies is the inter disciplinary examination of how biology, geology, politics policy
studies, law, geology, religion engineering, chemistry and economics combine to inform
the consideration of humanity’s effects on the natural world.
This subject educates the students to appreciate the complexity of environmental issues
and citizens and experts in many fields. By studying environmental science, students
may develop a breadth of the interdisciplinary and methodological knowledge in the
environmental fields that enables them to facilitate the definition and solution of
environmental problems.
It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach and its components include Biology,
Geology, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Sociology, Health Sciences, Anthropology,
Economics, Statistics and Philosophy. It is essentially a multidisciplinary approach.
An Understanding of the working of the environment requires the knowledge from wide
ranging fields. The Table 1.1 below shows a list of topics dealt commonly in air pollution
and the related traditional fields of knowledge illustrating the interdisciplinary nature of
the subject.

Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental Science:

Ex: Air Pollution: Nature and reaction of air pollutants Chemistry and Chemical
engineering
THE LITHOSPHERE -

It is believed the lithosphere evolved about 4.6 billion years ago. The lithosphere refers
to the solid, rocky crust that covers the entire planet. This solid, rocky crust is composed
of a number of different rocks that have been hrouped into three categories based on
how they are formed. These three groups include:
Metamorphic rocks – Metamorphic rocks are formed by heat and / or pressure from
pre-existing rocks.
Igneous rocks – igneous rocks are formed by the cooling of hot molten rock also
known as magma. When the hot magma cools it begins to harden meaning once it had
fully cooled it create what is known to be an igneous rock.
Sedimentary rocks – sedimentary rocks are formed from pre-existing rocks. When
rocks erode and mix with other dirt, clay and particles then settle together the mix
together to form a sedimentary rock.

The lithosphere includes a various number of different landforms such as mountains,

valleys, rocks, minerals and soil. The lithosphere is constantly changing due to forces
and pressures such as the sun, wind, ice, water and chemical changes.
The earth’s surface is composed into two types of lithospheres. There are known as the
oceanic and continental lithospheres.
The oceanic lithosphere includes the uppermost layers of mantle which is topped with a
thin yet heavy oceanic crust. This is where the hydrosphere and lithosphere meet.
The continental lithosphere include the uppermost layers of mantle which is topped with
a thick yet light continental crust. This is where the atmosphere, biosphere and
hydrosphere meet the lithosphere.
THE HYDROSPHERE -
The hydrosphere refers to the most important resource which I water. The hydrosphere
includes all forms of water in the Earth’s environment. The forms of water include things
such as the ocean, lakes, rivers, snow and glaciers, water underneath the earth’s
surface and even the water vapour that is found in the atmosphere. The hydrosphere is
always in motion as seen through the movement and flow of water in rivers, streams
and the ocean (beach). Plant and animal organisms rely on the hydrosphere for their
survival as water is essential. The hydrosphere is also home to many plants and
animals and it believed that the hydrosphere covers approximately 70% of the earth’s
surface.

THE BIOSPHERE -
The biosphere is composed of all living organisms, including; plants and animals. It is
believed that all life exists in the biosphere. Most of the living organisms are found from
up to three meters below ground to thirty meters above it and also in the to 200 meters
of the ocean and seas. The biosphere could not survive if it wasn't for the other spheres
as all organisms need water from the hydrosphere, minerals for the lithosphere and
gases from the atmosphere. Energy flow is essential to maintain the structure of
organisms by the splitting of phosphate bonds.

THE ATMOSPHERE -
The atmosphere referrers to the air that surrounds the earth. The atmosphere is always
in motion and constantly changing. It’s believed that there are about 14 different gases
that make up the atmosphere. The atmosphere is also responsible for the weather as
the weather occurs within the lower atmosphere.
The bottom layer of the atmosphere is known as the troposphere. The troposphere is
where the weather happens. It is the warmest near the Earth because of the heat rising
from the earth’s surface but it becomes colder with altitude. This layer is separated from
the next by what is known as tropopause. The tropopause is the point in which
temperatures will begin to change due to the increase of altitude.
Above the tropopause is the stratosphere. The stratosphere is where there large
concentration of ozone gas is found. The ozone gasses are essential as they absorb a
large percent of radiant solar energy, protecting the earth from harmful ultra violet rays
also known as UV.
The coldest of spheres is known as the mesosphere this is where the water vapor often
freezes to create clouds that are purely made of ice. The mesosphere is separated from
the thermosphere by the menopause.
The topmost layer is known as the thermosphere, this is where many satellites circle the
earth. Due to the thin air and proximity of the sun, the temperatures in the thermosphere
tend to rapidly increase and decrease.
Queation - what is sustainable development or sustainability .
"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
The concept of sustainable development can be interpreted in many different ways, but
at its core is an approach to development that looks to balance different, and often
competing, needs against an awareness of the environmental, social and economic
limitations we face as a society.
All too often, development is driven by one particular need, without fully considering the
wider or future impacts. We are already seeing the damage this kind of approach can
cause, from large-scale financial crises caused by irresponsible banking, to
changes in global climate resulting from our dependence on fossil fuel-based energy
sources. The longer we pursue unsustainable development, the more frequent and
severe its consequences are likely to become, which is why we need to take action
now.
Living within our environmental limits is one of the central principles of sustainable
development. One implication of not doing so is climate change.
But the focus of sustainable development is far broader than just the environment. It's
also about ensuring a strong, healthy and just society. This means meeting the diverse
needs of all people in existing and future communities, promoting personal wellbeing,
social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity.
So If sustainable development focuses on the future, does that mean we lose out now?
Not necessarily. Sustainable development is about finding better ways of doing things,
both for the future and the present. We might need to change the way we work and live
now, but this doesn't mean our quality of life will be reduced.
A sustainable development approach can bring many benefits in the short to
medium term, for example:
Savings - As a result of SDC scrutiny, government has saved over £60m by improving
efficiency across its estate.
Health & Transport - Instead of driving, switching to walking or cycling for short
journeys will save you money, improve your health and is often just as quick and
convenient.
How does it affect me?
The way we approach development affects everyone. The impacts of our decisions as a
society have very real consequences for people's lives. Poor planning of communities,
for example, reduces the quality of life for the people who live in them. (Relying on
imports rather than growing food locally puts the India at risk of food shortages.)
Sustainable development provides an approach to making better decisions on the
issues that affect all of our lives. By incorporating health plans into the planning of new
communities, for instance, we can ensure that residents have easy access to healthcare
and leisure facilities. (By encouraging more sustainable food supply chains, we can
ensure the India has enough food for the long-term future.)
How do we make it happen?
We all have a part to play. Small actions, taken collectively, can add up to real change.
However, to achieve sustainability in India, we believe the Government needs to take
the lead. The SDC's job is to help make this happen, and we do it through a mixture of
scrutiny, advice and building organizational capacity for sustainable development.
The Main Challenges of Sustainable Development Today--
Having highlighted the importance of sustainable development, it is also important to
understand that it does need a lot of concentrated effort and, like many things in life, it
does have many challenges ahead of itself. It is also important to note that sustainable
development is equally valid in developing and developed countries, despite them
dealing with polarly opposite sides of the spectrum. Developed countries may be
developed but that doesn’t necessarily imply that they are sustainable and for these
countries, the main goal is to rid their society of issues such as social inequalities, waste
management, and environmental responsibility.
1. Lack of financial resources to carry out and plan sustainable development

2. Sustainable development is often not possible in war-torn countries as there are

other priorities on hand.
3. Natural occurrences, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, can pose a threat to
sustainability as they can shift the flow of water and destroy certain elements of
infrastructure.
4. The governmental conflict between immediate profit and investment towards
sustainable technologies.
5. Corruption.
6. Lack of efforts at a municipal level

Sustainable Development Goals in India

From India's point of view, Sustainable Development Goals need to bring together
development and environment into a single set of targets. The fault line, as ever in
global conferences, is the inappropriate balance between environment and
development…we could also view the SDGs and the post 2015 agenda as an
opportunity for revisiting and fine-tuning the MDG framework and sustainably regaining
focus on developmental issues.”

Need of Sustainable Development in India

This admission is of course an understatement. All available indicators point to the
ecological situation being nothing short of disastrous. Natural ecosystems are under
stress and decline across most of the country; some 10 per cent of the country’s wildlife
is threatened with extinction; agricultural biodiversity has declined by over 90 per cent in
many regions; well over half the available water bodies are polluted beyond drinking
and often beyond even agricultural use; two-thirds of the land is degraded to various
levels of sub-optimal productivity; air pollution in several cities is amongst the world’s
worst; ‘modern’ wastes including electronic and chemical are bring produced at rates far
exceeding our capacity to recycle or manage. A 2008 report by the Global Footprint
Network and Confederation of Indian Industries suggests that India has the world’s third
biggest ecological footprint, that its resource use is already twice of its bio-capacity, and
that this bio-capacity itself has declined by half in the last few decades.

Step Taken by Indian Government

1. Ratifying Paris Agreement
The 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) successfully concluded in Paris after intense
negotiations by the Parties followed by the adoption of the Paris Agreement on post-
2020 actions on climate change. This universal agreement will succeed the Kyoto
Protocol. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, it provides a framework for all countries to take
action against climate change. Placing emphasis on concepts like climate justice and
sustainable lifestyles, the Paris Agreement for the first time brings together all nations
for a common cause under the UNFCCC. One of the main focus of the agreement is to
hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-
industrial level and on driving efforts to limit it even further to 1.5°.
2.The Clean Development Mechanism projects in India
As on 4 January 2016, 1593 out of a total of 7685 projects registered by the CDM
executive board are from India, which so far is the second highest in the world with
China taking the lead with 3764 projects registered. Indian projects have been issued
191 million CERs, 13.27 per cent of the total number of CERs issued. These projects
are in the energy efficiency, fuel switching, industrial processes, municipal solid waste,
renewable energy and forestry sectors and are spread across the country. About 90-95
per cent of the CDM projects are being developed by the private sector, facilitating
investments of about R583,751 crore (US$ 87.77 billion) in the country, which is more
than the total of multilateral grants available for climate change related activities.
3. State Action Plans on Climate Change:
The State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC) aim to create institutional
capacities and implement sectoral activities to address climate change. These plans are
focused on adaptation with mitigation as co-benefit in sectors such as water, agriculture,
tourism, forestry, transport, habitat and energy. So far, 28 states and 5 union territories
(UTs) have submitted their SAPCCs to the MOEF&CC. Out of these, the SAPCCs of 32
states and UTs have been endorsed by the National Steering Committee on Climate
Change (NSCCC) at the MOEF&CC.
4. Coal Cess and the National Clean Energy Fund
India is one of the few countries around the world to have a carbon tax in the form of a
cess on coal. Not only has India imposed such a cess but it has also been progressively
increasing it. The coal cess which was fixed at R50.00 per ton of coal since 22 June
2010 and increased to R100.00 per ton of coal in Budget 2014-15, was further doubled
to R 200.00 per ton in the 2015-16 Budget. 8.46 The National Clean Energy Fund
(NCEF) which is supported by the cess on coal was created for the purposes of
financing and promoting clean energy initiatives, funding research in the area of clean
energy and for any other related activities. Till date 56 projects have been
recommended by the inter-ministerial group (IMG) with total viability gap funding (VGF)
of R34,784.09 crore spread over several years. For 2015-16, R4700 crore has been
allocated in the Budget for NCEF projects. VGF is also being provided for Namami
gang.

5. National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change

A National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) has been established with a
budget provision of I350 crore for the year 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. It is meant to
assist in meeting the cost of national- and state-level adaptation measures in areas that
are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The overall aim of
the fund is to support concrete adaptation activities that reduce the adverse effects of
climate change facing communities, sectors and states but are not covered under the
ongoing schemes of state and central governments. The adaptation projects contribute
towards reducing the risk of vulnerability at community and sector level. Till date, the
NSCCC has approved six detailed project reports (DPR), amounting to a total cost of
I117.98 crore, submitted by Punjab, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tamil Nadu
and Kerala.
Conclusion
Shepherding the achievements of the SDGs is an enormous task that requires the
involvement of every sector and each level of society. The experiences of the pilot
countries illustrate the opportunities the platform can create for India to build meaningful
and lasting state-philanthropy partnerships to achieve the prime minister’s vision of
“sabka saath, sabka vikas (collective effort, inclusive growth).
What is sustainability? The three pillars of sustainability
But what is sustainability? The definition of sustainability may be taken further and it is
widely accepted that to achieve sustainability we must balance economic,
environmental and social factors in equal harmony.
This may be illustrated with a sustainability Venn diagram, as shown below:

Sustainability Venn Diagram

So to achieve true sustainability we need to balance economic, social and
environmental sustainability factors in equal harmony. These may be defined as:
• Environmental Sustainability: Environmental sustainability means that we are
living within the means of our natural resources. To live in true environmental
sustainability we need to ensure that we are consuming our natural resources, such as
materials, energy fuels, land, water...etc, at a sustainable rate. Some resources are
more abundant than others and therefore we need to consider material scarcity, the
damage to environment
from extraction of these materials and if the resource can be kept within Circular
Economy principles. Environmental sustainability should not be confused with full
sustainability, which also need to balance economic and social factors.
• Economic Sustainability: Economic sustainability requires that a business or
country uses its resources efficiently and responsibly so that it can operate in a
sustainable manner to consistently produce an operational profit. Without an operational
profit a business cannot sustain its activities. Without acting responsibly and using its
resources efficiently a company will not be able to sustain its activities in the long term.
• Social Sustainability: Social sustainability is the ability of society, or any social
system, to persistently achieve a good social well-being. Achieving social sustainability
ensures that the social well-being of a country, an organisation, or a community can be
maintained in the long term.
Taking these three pillars of sustainability further if we only achieve two out of
three pillars then we end up with:
• Social + Economic Sustainability = Equitable
• Social + Environmental Sustainability = Bearable
• Economic + Environmental Sustainability = Viable
Only through balancing economic + social + environmental can we achieve true
sustainability and a truly circular economy.
 Ques- What is Ecosystem? Define the Function of Ecosystem:
(i) Structure of Ecosystem (ii)Types of Ecosystem

Ecosystem mean
An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals, and organisms) in a
given area that interact with each other, as well as the non-living environments
(weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere) that surround the living things.
Given that an ecosystem is a community of animals, plants, and microorganisms, a
garden makes up small part of an ecosystem. Some indoor growers refer to their indoor
gardens as ecosystems, in which case they are referring to their grow room’s
environment and all of the things that affect their results.
Living organisms seem to interact amongst them and with the physical environment.
This, in short, can be called an ecosystem. There can be different types of ecosystems.
The biosphere, for example, can be a global ecosystem. It all depends on the different
components and the extent to which you want to define the space, to consider it as an
ecosystem. And hence to be able to learn more about them, ecosystems are generally
divided into smaller forms.
Ecology or environmental biology is the field that studies this complex set of
relationships between the living organisms and their surrounding environment. The
scope of this field is very large and covers things like global warming, environmental
pollution, plant and animal extinctions etc.
Components of Ecosystem
There are two main components of an ecosystem which are in constant communication
with each other. They are the biotic components and the abiotic components.
Here, the sun is the energy source. Producers/plants use this energy to synthesize food
in the presence of carbon dioxide and chlorophyll. The energy from the sun, through
several chemical reactions, turns into chemical energy.
Life on the Food Chain
Have you ever wondered why we can't seem to feed the world's hungry? It's a complex
issue, but it might surprise you to learn that it's not because there isn't enough food;
current agricultural capacity, based on current technology, exists to feed as many as 10
billion people. The Earth's population is "only" about 7 billion. The big question really is:
If we want to feed everyone, what would everyone need to eat? To answer that
question, download this excel spreadsheet and try plugging in some numbers.
Example: One acre of a grain crop could be used to feed cattle, and then the cattle
could be used to feed people. If 50% of the energy is lost to the cattle, you could feed
twice as many people if you fed them the grain directly. Another way of looking at it is
that it would only take a half acre of land to feed the people grain, but a whole acre if
you feed the grain to the cattle and the cattle to the people. A common practice to grow
cattle faster is to feed them ground up animal protein. This means that when we eat the
meat from the cow, we're at the tertiary level or higher. The loss of energy between
trophic levels may also be even higher. Recent studies suggest that only ~10% of
energy is converted to biomass from one trophic level to the next!
The Food Chain: The answer has to do with trophic levels. As you probably know, the
organisms at the base of the food chain are photosynthetic; plants on land and
phytoplankton (algae) in the oceans. These organisms are called the producers, and
they get their energy directly from sunlight and inorganic nutrients. The organisms that
eat the producers are the primary consumers. They tend to be small in size and there
are many of them. The primary consumers are herbivores (vegetarians). The organisms
that eat the primary consumers are meat eaters (carnivores) and are called the
secondary consumers. The secondary consumers tend to be larger and fewer in
number. This continues on, all the way up to the top of the food chain. About 50% of the
energy (possibly as much as 90%) in food is lost at each trophic level when an
organism is eaten, so it is less efficient to be a higher order consumer than a primary
consumer. Therefore, the energy transfer from one trophic level to the next, up the food
chain, is like a pyramid; wider at the base and narrower at the top. Because of this
inefficiency, there is only enough food for a few top level consumers, but there is lots of
food for herbivores lower down on the food chain. There are fewer consumers than
producers.
(ii)Types of Ecosystem
Planet Earth is a world filled with endless, scintillating places. It also harbors a glittering
array of many plant and animal species. These plant and animal species live in
completely diverse environments. These diverse environments are commonly known as
biomes. Biomes differ in climate, precipitation, location, and plants and animals. There
are two major categories of biomes; Aquatic and land (terrestrial) biomes.
Aquatic biomes occur under water bodies. The water body can be fresh water or salt
water. Aquatic biomes are further divided into freshwater biomes and marine biomes.
Freshwater biomes include lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds. Marine biomes include
oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries.
Land Biomes or terrestrial biomes form on dry land. They are very distinct in regard to
climate, plant and animal life. Many land biomes exist in the world today, including
tundra biome, desert biome, forest biome, and grassland biome.
Let’s have a look at various types of land biomes:
Tundra Biome
The tundra biome is a collection of habitats with different plant and animal species of
various characteristics and adaptations. This biome is situated in proximity to the North
Pole in the Arctic Circle. It’s regarded as the coldest biome in the world. Tundra biome
is typically extremely cold, with temperatures plummeting as low as -34 degrees
Celsius. This biome experiences only two months of summer, with average
temperatures still extremely cold between 3 degrees Celsius to 12 degrees Celsius.
Although tundra biome experiences freezing temperatures, plants and animals still live
here.
Desert Biome
The desert biome is a collection of ecosystems that form as a result of the extremely
low levels of rainfall it receives each year. Desert biomes attribute to approximately 20%
of the surface of the earth. Four main types of deserts exist in this biome, including hot
and dry deserts, semi-arid deserts, coastal deserts and cold deserts.
The desert climate is extremely hot and dry. Annual average precipitation is 25
cm.spring and summer experience the least rain in the desert biome. Desert biomes
temperatures vary considerably. Temperatures are lower than the ordinary; it gets hotter
during spring and summer and cools down a little bit in fall. Despite the scant rainfall
experienced in desert biomes, a wide range of animals and plants live here.
Plants in the desert have developed special adaptations to survive here. They shed
leaves to prevent moisture loss; some are thorny to protect themselves from herbivores.
Succulent plants like cactus store a lot of water for later use. Others have deep roots to
reach water tables.
Animals also have developed unique traits to survive the harsh temperatures in the
desert biome. They stay in shadows of plants to avoid direct heat from the sun. Some
burrow into the ground to escape the intense heat. Other animals remain inactive during
the day when temperatures are extremely high, and become active at night when
temperatures drop. A few animals have developed salt glands, which mean they will
secret salt without loss of water. Animals like camels store fat in humps, instead of the
body. The fat storage in the hump means the camel can go for days without food and
water.
Forest Biome
A Forest biome is a collection of habitats where trees are in bountiful supply. Forest
biomes are divided into 5 major categories depending upon the kind of trees growing
there. These kinds of forest biomes include Tropical forest biome, temperate forest
biome, and taiga (boreal forest biome).
Tropical Forest biomes experience average annual temperatures of approximately 50
degrees Fahrenheit. Average annual precipitation is 30 to 60 inches per year. They are
situated on the eastern half of U.S., Europe, Canada, parts of Russia, Japan and China.
This biome does not have a lot of plant life, but are dense with trees containing
shocking amount of flowers. Animals living here must adjust to the cold winters and hot
summers to survive.
Temperate forest biomes are located in eastern North America, northeastern Asia,
western and central Europe. Temperatures in temperate forest biomes vary
considerably from -30 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. The average annual
precipitation is 75 to 150 cm, which is distributed all year round. Trees in temperate
forest biome are characterized by broad leaves that are lost each year. Typical tree
species include oak, hemlock, hickory, maple, cottonwood, beech, basswood, willow,
and elm. Animals are represented by different bird species, squirrels, skunks, rabbits,
bobcat, fox, wolf, mountain lion, deer and black bear.
Taiga (Boreal Forest) Biome
Taiga is the largest terrestrial biome. It’s located between 50 and 60 degrees north
latitudes. Taiga biome is also located in the expansive belt of Eurasia and North
America, with two-thirds occurring in Siberia and the rest in Alaska, Canada, and
Scandinavia. Temperatures are extremely low, with precipitation occurring in the form of
snow (40-100cm yearly). Plants in taiga biome mainly consist of cold-resistant
evergreen conifers, featuring needle-like leaves, such as spruce, fir, and spine. Animal
species here include fox, chipmunks, hawks, bats, weasel, moose, bear, wolf, screws,
hares, and deer.
Grassland Biome
Grassland biomes are characterized by large, rolling terrains of wide-ranging grass
species. Large shrubs and trees are scarce in this biome. Grassland biomes attribute to
approximately one-quarter of the earth’s land surface. They are considered to be
between a forest and a desert regarding rainfall. Grassland biomes don’t experience a
lot of rainfall to support the growth of numerous trees like the forest biome, but they
have lots of grass, which means they receive more rain than desert. Two main types of
grassland biomes exist in the world; savanna grasslands and temperate grasslands.
Savanna grassland biome has wet and dry climate. Seasons vary considerably in
savanna biome. The dry season comes in winter. All the rain is experienced in summer.
The savanna biome experiences a temperature range of 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit
(25-30 degree Celsius). Winter temperatures range from 78 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit
(25 to 30 degrees Celsius. The average annual precipitation in the savanna biome is 10
to 30 inches (100 to 150 cm).
The vast sections of the savanna are covered by different species of grass including
star grass, lemon grass, Bermuda grass and Rhodes grass. Trees are also scattered in
this biome. Examples of trees growing in the savanna include baobab tree, acacia, and
jackal berry tree. Plants have developed adaptations to get by in the dry season and
drought of the savanna. Some plant species store water and energy in their trunk, roots,
and bulbs. Others have deep roots that are able to reach water tables.
Temperate grassland biomes are situated in colder climate regions and generally
receive less precipitation than savanna. Temperatures in the temperate grasslands
differ with seasons. Temperatures can drop to below zero degrees Fahrenheit in winter.
Summer temperatures, on the other hand, can go up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperate grassland biomes are situated north of the Tropic of Cancer about 23.5
degrees North, and south of the Tropic of Capricorn about 23.5 degrees South.
Grasses predominate in temperate grassland biomes. Large shrubs and trees are
scarce due to occasional fires, seasonal drought, and grazing by large mammals. Tree
species such as oaks, cottonwoods, and willows thrive in river valleys, including species
of flowers, which grow among them.
Temperate grassland biomes support a low diversity of wildlife. However, there is an
abundance of wildlife here. Examples of animals living in temperate grassland biomes
include bison, pronghorn, pocket gophers, prairie dogs, coyotes, wolves, badgers, swift
foxes, black-footed ferrets, Hawks, owls, quails, sparrows, grouses, meadowlarks.
The soil in temperate grassland is rich in nutrients. The nutrients come from the growth
and decomposition of grass roots. The rooted roots also hold the soil intact and prevent
running water from stealing the soil.
Ques- Define Land Resources. And Explain the various point of Water resources
and Energy resources.
Land resources: Minerals, soil, agricultural crops, natural forest products, medicinal
plants, and forest-based industries and livelihoods
General Introduction Definition Land resources include all those features and processes
of the land, which can, in some way, be used to fulfill certain human needs. As can be
seen from the definition of "land" given in Chapter 1, these resources are numerous and
complex. To study land resources as a general academic exercise is not impossible, but
it can only be done with major simplifications. It is easier therefore to study land
resources from a more defined standpoint. For this text, the self-evident standpoint to
take is that of the use of land resources within agricultural land utilization types. Only
occasionally will some reference be made to other rural land utilization types. For
agriculture, the most important land resources may be indicated in broad groups: a)
climate, b) relief and geological formations, c) soils (including soil hydrology), d) water
(including geohydrology), e) artificial elements of a stable nature, f) vegetation and
related biological features. In Para.l.3, the resources aspects of land use were indicated
briefly. This chapter is devoted to the description of those aspects of land resources
which are of particular importance for agriculture. For more fundamental aspects of
these land features, reference is made to the many good textbooks existing on
climatology, geomorphology, geology, soil science or pedology, hydrology and biology.
From our viewpoint, the land resources may be divided into three groups: (1) very stable
resources (climate, relief, geological formations, (2) moderately stable resources (soils
and water, some artificial elements of the land), and (3) relatively unstable resources
(vegetation and related biological features). The stability of a particular resource is seen
in relation to its period of formation as well as to the ease with which human activities
can influence it, causing either degradation or improvement.
Minerals : To meet the definition of "mineral" used by most geologists, a substance
must meet five requirements:
• naturally occurring
• inorganic
• solid
• definite chemical composition
• ordered internal structure
"Naturally occurring" means that people did not make it. Steel is not a mineral because
it is an alloy produced by people. "Inorganic" means that the substance is not made by
an organism. Wood and pearls are made by organisms and thus are not minerals.
"Solid" means that it is not a liquid or a gas at standard temperature and pressure.
"Definite chemical composition" means that all occurrences of that mineral have a
chemical composition that varies within a specific limited range. For example: the
mineral halite (known as "rock salt" when it is mined) has a chemical composition of
NACL It is made up of an equal number of atoms of sodium and chlorine.
"Ordered internal structure" means that the atoms in a mineral are arranged in a
systematic and repeating pattern. The structure of the mineral halite is shown in the
illustration on this page. Halite is composed of an equal ratio of sodium and chlorine
atoms arranged in a cubic pattern.
Soil, the biologically active, porous medium that has developed in the uppermost layer
of Earth’s crust. Soil is one of the principal substrata of life on Earth, serving as a
reservoir of water and nutrients, as a medium for the filtration and breakdown of
injurious wastes, and as a participant in the cycling of carbon and other elements
through the global ecosystem. It has evolved through weathering processes driven by
biological, climatic, geologic, and topographic influences.
Since the rise of agriculture and forestry in the 8th millennium BCE, there has also
arisen by necessity a practical awareness of soils and their management. In the 18th
and 19th centuries the Industrial Revolution brought increasing pressure on soil to
produce raw materials demanded by commerce, while the development of quantitative
science offered new opportunities for improved soil management. The study of soil as a
separate scientific discipline began about the same time with systematic investigations
of substances that enhance plant growth. This initial inquiry has expanded to an
understanding of soils as complex, dynamic, biogeochemical systems that are vital to
the life cycles of terrestrial vegetation and soil-inhabiting organisms—and by extension
to the human race as well.
This article covers the structure, composition, and classification of soils and how these
factors affect soil’s role in the global ecosystem. In addition, the two most important
phenomena that degrade soils, erosion and pollution, are discussed. For a cartographic
guide to the distribution of the world’s major soils, featuring links to short descriptive
entries on each soil type, see the interactive world map.
agriculture In relation to agriculture, plants (the organisms under Kingdom Plantae) are
divided into two types: crops and weeds. Crops are those which man intentionally grows
because they have uses or benefits to him such as food, shelter, clothing, tools,
medicines, as source of any product that can be marketed, etc. Otherwise, if any such
plant naturally grows in the wild, or in his farm or backyard, he puts it under his care or
management. For example, he may discover a seedling of large-leaved amaranth or
kulitis (Amaranthus spinosus) naturally growing in the backyard and thereafter takes
care of it to be a source of leafy vegetable.

Weeds, however, are not useful to him and may just become nuisance. These plants
may compete with that amaranth for soil nutrients and water, or prevent sunlight
exposure, or worst, climb and suffocate the later. He therefore decides to protect this
vegetable from weeds by curtailing their growth or removing them, an activity which is
called weeding. The plants classified as agricultural crops are further grouped into two
main divisions based on criteria that includes the extensiveness of production, usage,
and product descriptions: agronomic crops and horticultural crops (click here to read
more detailed comparison).

Further, both crop classifications are subdivided into various groups based on another
criteria which mainly include their specific uses and the plant organs which are
harvested. Agronomic crops include the cereals which are mainly consumed as staple
food, legume seed crops or pulses, oil seed crops, fiber crops, etc. On the other hand,
the horticultural crops include the vegetables, the fruits, and the flowering and other
ornamental crops. The classification does not end there. These crops have been
grouped further into specific types based on various criteria. For example, vegetable
crops can be grouped by taxonomic family, for example solanaceous vegetables. The
vegetable crops can also be grouped according to the parts that are primarily utilized
such as the root, stem, leafy, fruit, flower, and seed vegetables. Further, each
classification based on botanical organ may be subdivided some more into more
specific groups. Groups may be formed such as aerial vs. underground stems, raw
salad vs. cooked, or rich in carbohydrate vs. rich in protein, etc.
Forest Product : Wood is an organic material that, with the assistance of solar energy
and the process of photosynthesis, is created from carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and
oxygen (O2). During the spread of early European colonists in North America, forests
provided a wide range of wood products, many of which were essential for survival.
Settlers relied on wood to create fences and houses and used wood as fuel for cooking
and providing heat during cold weather. Forests also provided the settlers’ animal stock
with a source of free feed, which may have consisted of acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts,
grass, roots, and shoots of various plants (Williams 1989). More recently, there has
been a considerable amount of debate over the use and future of wood and paper in our
daily lives, including how we can conserve and recycle these resources, and how we
might substitute other products for these resources (e.g., steel studs for wood framing).
Some of the resources we use in our daily lives are renewable (i.e., we can grow more),
and some are nonrenewable; wood products are considered a renewable resource. This
implies that, once harvested, wood products can once again be grown on the same plot
of land. Our ability to shape and create products from wood, and the cost-efficiency of
doing so, facilitates a wide application of wood products in our daily lives. This chapter
is designed to provide an overview of the broad array of products that can be derived
from wood, trees, or forests; we simply call these forest products. Forest products can
be directly associated with the production of lumber or paper, or indirectly associated
with the existence of forests. This latter group might be considered nontimber forest
products (NTFPs), and we allude to a broad set of these in this chapter. Additional
chapters in this book are designed to examine certain nontimber values of forests in
more detail. These include chapters focusing on wildlife habitat (Chapter 5), ecosystem
services (Chapter 6), and recreation (Chapter 7). We briefly address these types of
NTFPs in this chapter. Upon completion of this chapter, readers should have acquired
an understanding of

Wood is a material produced by trees that is stored in the stem(s) and branches just
inside the cambial layer (Nieuwenhuis 2010). Trees, of course, produce bark, fruit,
leaves, and oxygen that are available outside of the cambial layer and are useful in
controlling such things as air temperature and soil erosion, and these too may be of
value to society. Since the late 2000s, wood removed from forests for industrial
purposes (i.e., the creation of other products such as paper or lumber) was greatest in
North America and Europe. However, around the world, variability in the production of
wood resources for human consumptive needs is striking (Table 4.1). For example,
North America and Europe combined produced about 71% of the total industrial
roundwood in 2005 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2010),
most of which was used to make lumber and paper products. The term round wood
includes tree stems, with or without bark, that have been delimbed (Nieuwenhuis 2010).
Fuelwood refers to wood cut into short lengths or chips that is used to generate heat.
Wood consumed for fuelwood purposes was greatest in Africa and Asia, where it is a
basic necessity and in high demand. The production of wood for fuelwood purposes on
these two continents accounts for nearly 74% of the total forest extractions (Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2010). You may have already obtained a
sense for this as you read the country profiles in Chapter 2. The types of products that
can be derived from trees or forests vary widely and can arise from wood or from roots,
leaves, bark, or plants and animals that depend on the existence of the trees. The
products range from chemicals and tissue to lumber and the plants and animals that are
intimately tied to the existence of forest vegetation. Given uncertainties in the price of
petroleum-based products today, options are also being explored for deriving liquid
fuels from whole trees. Products such as wood can be an integral part of a management
process that produces refined goods (Figure 4.1). We begin our discussion of forest
products with wood-based commodities, then transition to the vast array of no timber
products facilitated by the existence of forests.

Medical Plant
Have u ever found your grandma running after a doctor or medical store for every now
& then? We have so many wonderful natural remedies all around for any burns, cut,
cold, fever, sneezes and more.
It is very important to have medicinal plants around the house cause you never know
when you might need them.
So here are a list of plants that have the highest medicinal value compared to the other
million species around the world worth planting around the house.
Medicinal Plants or Medicinal herbs are essence of Traditional medicine practice.
Treatment using herbs developed different parts of world in different names. Herbalism
is the systematic study of medicinal herbs and its botany. Mainly focusing its medicinal
uses. Ethnomedicine is the study of traditional medicine. Researchers identify and
separate various active chemicals in the medicinal plants.
Indian medicinal plants or Ayurvedic medicinal Plants are the essence of Ayurveda and
Ayurvedic treatments. When used judicially and clocking with the basic principles they
produce miraculous effects. Their role cannot be confined to mere curative of disease
but they also used being of human body. Hence, Ayurvedic drugs are rightly called the
elixirs of life. Ayurvedic Herbs played important role in Ayurvedic treatment, from
ancient time to this most modern time.

Livelihoods from Small-Scale Enterprises

Small-scale enterprises are a major and one of the most rapidly growing sources of
livelihood in some countries. In India SSEs are the second largest source of
employment after agriculture. During 1984-85 SSEs provided employment to an
estimated 31.5 million person, an increase of nearly 75 percent in a decade (GOI,
1985). This perhaps is a gross underestimate as many livelihoods of an enterprise
nature in the so called informal sector, including collection and barter/trade of forest
products, processing and vending, etc. are not included; many primary production
activities such as rearing of silk worms are excluded; and activities, particularly in the
forestry sector, which presently fall under the category of wage employment but can be
organised as SSEs are not included. A good example in the last category is the bidi
(tobacco rolled into the leaf of Diospyros melanoxylon) industry which is estimated to
generate more than three million person years of employment1/.

1/Estimates in GOI, 1982 place employment at 3 million people in the industry which
presumably means rolling, marketing, etc apart from 7.5 million people employed in
collection of leaves during the flush season. A slightly lower estimate of 2.75 million
person years results if one assumes 0.3 million tons of leaves collected every year,
2,000 bidis per kilogram of leaves, 20% losses, 700 bidis rolled per person day and
average work year of 250 days. This estimate does not include employment in
marketing.
The classification of SSEs is a fairly hazardous exercise as the prevailing norms tend to
be grossly inadequate and there are major information gaps. In India, for example,
SSEs officially are divided on the basis of technology into two categories, traditional and
modern. Traditional includes all village enterprises, including handlooms and
handicrafts, whereas modern SSEs are those employing modern technology, such as
manufacturing, powerlooms, chemicals, electronics. SSEs have also been classified
from the point of view of supportive policies, for which the norms used in India are
assets (excluding land and buildings).

Employment norms are used in yet another classification, especially for regulation as
the Factories Act applies to enterprises employing 10 or more persons if power is used
and 20 or more persons otherwise and the Shops and Establishments Act applies to
enterprises employing more than 5 persons. Excluded from these are SSEs in the so
called informal sector which provides livelihoods to large numbers both in rural and
urban areas, and is perhaps one of the more rapidly growing sectors in terms of the
number of people occupied. Though all SSEs suffer many similar constraints, for
example in relation to factor availabilities, the primary constraints often are quite
different between traditional, modern and informal sectors. The primary constraints for
many informal enterprises, for example, are the lack of institutional protection and
support, and economic viability.

Modern sector SSEs typically tend to be concentrated in more developed regions and in
or around urban centers. Traditional and informal sector enterprises, on the other hand,
tend to be more widely dispersed, and often provide livelihoods to the most
disadvantaged groups, such as women and other socio-economically disadvantaged
segments of the population in both rural and urban areas.
Water resources
Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans.
It is important because it is needed for life to exist.
Many uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and
environmental activities.
Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water.
Only 2.5% of water on the Earth is fresh water, and over two thirds of this is frozen in
glaciers and polar ice caps.
Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the world, and many more
areas are expected to experience this imbalance in the near future.
It is estimated that 70% of world-wide water use is for irrigation in agriculture.
Climate change will have significant impacts on water resources around the world
because of the close connections between the climate and hydrologic cycle.
Due to the expanding human population competition for water is growing such that
many of the worlds major aquifers are becoming depleted.
Many pollutants threaten water supplies, but the most widespread, especially in
underdeveloped countries, is the discharge of raw sewage into natural waters.
Energy resources
Everything requires energy. Even when you are sitting as still as you possibly can, your
body is using energy to breathe, circulate blood, digest food, and perform many other
functions. Producing light or heat requires energy. Making something requires energy.
Plants and animals all require energy to function. To repeat, everything requires energy
is the ability to do work or produce change. Every living thing needs energy to perform
its daily functions and even more energy to grow. Plants get energy from the “food” they
make by photosynthesis, and animals get energy directly or indirectly from that food.
People also use energy for many things, such as cooking food, keeping ice cream cold
in the freezer, heating a house, constructing a skyscraper, or lighting their homes.
Because billions of people all around the world use energy, there is a huge need for
energy resources Energy conservation is something everyone can do now to help
reduce the strain on energy resources. Electrical transmission towers like the one
shown in this picture help deliver the electricity people use for energy every day.
The law of conservation of energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed.
This means that even though energy changes form, the total amount of energy always
stays the same. How does energy get converted from one type to another when you
kick a soccer ball? When your body breaks down the food you eat, it stores the energy
from the food as chemical energy. Chemical energy is stored within chemical bonds.
But some of this stored energy has to be released to make your leg muscles move. The
chemical energy is converted to another form of energy called kinetic energy. Kinetic
energy is the energy of anything in motion. Your muscles move your leg, your foot kicks
the ball, and the ball gains kinetic energy from the kick. So you can think of the action of
kicking the ball as a story of energy changing forms.
Potential energy is energy that is stored. Potential energy has the potential to do work
or the potential to be converted into other forms of energy. If a ball is sitting on the very
edge at the top of the hill, it is not moving, but it has a lot of potential energy.
Energy, Fuel, and Heat
If you read a book beneath a lit lamp, that lamp has energy from electricity. The energy
to make the electricity comes from fuel. Fuel has energy that it releases. A fuel is any
material that can release energy in a chemical change.
What are some examples of fuel, and what are they used for?
1. Food is fuel for your body.
2. Sunlight is the energy plants need to make food by photosynthesis.
3. Gasoline is fuel for cars.
4. Hydrogen is fuel for the Sun.
For a fuel to be useful, its energy must be released in a way that can be controlled.
Controlling the
release of energy makes it possible for the energy to be used to do work. When fuel is
used for its energy, it is usually burned, and most of the energy is released as heat The
heat
may then be used to do work. Think of a person striking a match to set some small
twigs on fire. After the twigs burn for a while, they get hot enough to make some larger
sticks burn. The fire keeps getting hotter, and soon it is hot enough to burn whole logs.
Pretty soon the fire is roaring, and a pot of water placed on the fire starts to boil. Some
of the liquid water evaporates.
.
What is the source of energy for boiling and evaporating the water? Although some
chemical energy from the match was put into starting the fire, the heat to boil and
evaporate the water comes from the energy that was stored in the wood. The wood is
the fuel for the fire.
Types of Energy Resources
Energy resources are either renewable or non-renewable resources. Non-renewable
resources are used faster than they can be replaced, so the supply available to society
is limited (see example in Figure below). Renewable resources will not run out because
they are replaced as quickly as they are used. Can you think of some renewable and
non-renewable energy sources?
Renewable resources are the resources which are used by the mankind from the
starting of human life. Our ancestors used wood for cooking and heating purposes, wind
energy for transportation, solar energy for lighting purposes, etc.
Anthracite coal is a non-renewable energy resource. But after the discovery of the
Non-renewable resources like fossil fuels, coal, etc the working of the entire mankind
has seen a drastic change and it resulted in rapid industrialization. Use of fossil fuels
has become a compulsion in our life which is polluting the earth very badly.

RENEWABLE RESOURCES
The resources which are being continuously consumed by man but are renewed by
nature constantly are called as Renewable Resources. These resources are
inexhaustible because they cannot be exhausted permanently. Renewable resources
are also called as ‘Non-Conventional’ sources of energy.
Examples
⦿ Solar energy ⦿ Wind energy⦿ Wind energy⦿ Tidal energy
⦿ Hydro power⦿ Geothermal energy⦿ Biofuels
NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES
The resources which are non-renewable are called as Non-Renewable sources. The
Non-Renewable resources do not replenish and cannot be renewed. It took thousands
of years of time to form the non-renewable resources which exist inside the earth in the
form of coal, fossil fuels, etc.
Examples
⦿ Coal⦿ Mineral Ores⦿ Metal Ores⦿ Crude Oil⦿ Nuclear Energy
Difference between Renewable Resources & Non- Renewable Resources
-The Renewable resources are present in the atmosphere of the earth.
-The Non-Renewable resources are typically found in the underground layers of the
earth.
Replaceable
-The Renewable resources are replaced by nature itself in a very short period.
-The Non-Renewable resources cannot be replaced by nature during the time of human
life span.
Availability
-The Renewable energy resources are plentily available and abundant in nature.
-The Non-Renewable resources are scarce resources and not available in an abundant
manner in nature.
Cost
-The Renewable resources are obtained free of cost or at very less cost in nature.
-The Non-Renewable resources are very costly and not easily available.
 Impact on Environment
-The Renewable resources do not affect the environment of the earth and don't cause
any climate changes in the atmosphere.
-The Non-Renewable resources seriously affect the environment and cause climate
changes in the environment.
Pollution
-The Renewable resources do not cause pollution in the environment and do not
release any pollutants into the environment.
-The Non-Renewable resources pollute the earth by releasing various types of
pollutants into the air, water, soil, etc. when fossil fuels are burned.
Impact on Atmosphere
-The Renewable resources are called as 'Clean and Green' energy sources because
they don't produce harm to the environment.
-The Non-Renewable resources release 'Green House' gasses into the atmosphere
which leads to global warming.
Impact on Health
-The Renewable resources do not cause any health problems to the living beings of the
earth.
-The Non-Renewable resources adversely affect the health of the living beings by
releasing smoke, radiations, carcinogenic or cancer causing elements into the
environment.
Impact on Nature
-The use of Renewable resources promotes the balance in the nature and natural
habitat of the earth.
-The use of Non-Renewable resources disrupts the balance in nature which is due to
digging the earth to take out coal, minerals, fuels, etc.
CONCLUSION
There is a limited supply of Non-Renewable resources is on the Earth. We’re using
them much more rapidly than they are being created. Eventually, they will run out and
our future generations are left with no crude oil and nuclear resources. We have a
responsibility to transfer the resource to our future generations, for that we have to use
the non-renewable and renewable resources in a balanced way and promote
sustainability of resources..

Ques- In your opinion what is Biodiversity ? Explain the Value of Biodiversity.

Biodiversity
Biodiversity and Conservation is an international journal that publishes articles on all
aspects of biological diversity-its description, analysis and conservation, and its
controlled rational use by humankind. The scope of Biodiversity and Conservation is
wide and multidisciplinary, and embraces all life-forms.
The journal presents research papers, as well as editorials, comments and research
notes on biodiversity and conservation, and contributions dealing with the practicalities
of conservation management, economic, social and political issues. The journal
provides a forum for examining conflicts between sustainable development and human
dependence on biodiversity in agriculture, environmental management and
biotechnology, and encourages contributions from developing countries to promote
broad global perspectives on matters of biodiversity and conservation
Biodiversity is the shortened form of two words "biological" and "diversity." It
refers to all the variety of life that can be found on Earth (plants, animals, fungi and
micro-organisms) as well as to the communities that they form and the habitats in which
they live.
The Convention on Biological Diversity gives a formal definition of biodiversity in its
article 2: "biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all
sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the
ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species,
between species and of ecosystems".
Biodiversity is not only the sum of all ecosystems, species and genetic material. Rather,
it represents the variability within and among them. It can be distinguished from the
expression "biological resources", which refer to the tangible components of
ecosystems. Biological resources are real entities (a particular species of bird, a wheat
variety growing in a field, oak wood, etc.) while biological diversity is rather an attribute
of life (the variety of bird species, the genetic variability of wheat around the world,
forest types, etc.).
Biological diversity is often understood at three levels:
• Species diversity refers to the variety of different species (plants, animals, fungi and
micro-organisms) such as palm trees, elephants or bacteria;
• Genetic diversity corresponds to the variety of genes contained in plants, animals,
fungi and micro-organisms. It occurs within a species as well as between species. For
example, poodles, German shepherds and golden retrievers are all dogs, but they all
look different;
• Ecosystem diversity refers to all the different habitats - or places - that exist, like
tropical or temperate forests, hot and cold deserts, wetlands, rivers, mountains, coral
reefs, etc. Each ecosystem corresponds to a series of complex relationships between
biotic (living) components such as plants and animals and abiotic (non-living)
components which include sunlight, air, water, minerals and nutrients.
Types of Biodiversity
Biodiversity further classifies into three major types. They are:
• Genetic Diversity
• Species Diversity
• Ecological Diversity
Let us now look at these classifications in more detail.
Genetic Diversity
It is basically the variety of species expressed at the genetic level by each individual in a
species. No two individuals belonging to the same species are exactly similar. For
example, in the species of human beings, each human shows a lot of diversity in
comparison to another human. People living in different regions show a great level of
variation.
Species Diversity
It is the biodiversity observed within a community. It stands for the number and
distribution of species. The number of species in a region varies widely depending upon
the varied environmental conditions. For example, it is usually observed that civilizations
residing beside water bodies show more species than the one compared to the areas
away from water bodies.
Ecological diversity
It defines the diversity observed among the ecosystems in a particular region. Different
ecosystems like mangroves, rainforests, deserts, etc., show a great variety of life forms
residing in them.
Global diversity
It is amazing to know that the total number of plant and animal species on this planet is
about 1.5 million. This data is according to to the IUCN(2004). More than 70% of the
species recorded are animals and plants account for about 22%; 70% of the animals
are insects. However, one drawback of these estimates is that they do reveal any data
for prokaryotes. This is because:
• The conventional taxonomic methods are insufficient to find these microbial species
• You cannot culture many of these species under laboratory conditions.
Let us more specifically discuss the conservation of biodiversity in India.

Biodiversity in India
India is one of the twelve mega biodiversity countries of the world. It has only 2.4 % of
the land area in the world. However, it has 8.1 % of the global species diversity. As an
estimate, there are around 45,000 species of plants and about 90,000-1,00,000 species
of animals. There are still quite a number of species that are yet to be discovered.
Various Patterns of Biodiversity
Biodiversity varies with latitude and altitude of the place. If the environmental conditions
are favorable for the speciation, you will find more diversity in such areas.
Latitudinal Gradients
Biodiversity depends upon the latitudinal gradients of a place. They are decreased from
the equator towards the poles. For example, Colombia (near the equator) has 1400
species of birds whereas New York(41° N) has 105 species. Why is species diversity
important to the ecosystem? According to ecologists, communities with more species
tend to be more stable than those with fewer species.
Stable Community
A stable community does not show too much of variations in the year-to-year
productivity. It is either resistant or resilient to seasonal disturbances. Therefore, it is
important for us to realize that species richness and diversity are essential for
ecosystem health. They are indispensable for the survival of human race on earth.
Loss of Biodiversity
Today the earth is facing a loss of biodiversity at rapid rates. It is mainly caused by
industrialization, population, and urbanization. Today, 31%
gymnosperms,32%amphibians,12% bird species and 23% of mammals face the threat
of loss of biodiversity.
Adverse Impacts of Loss of Biodiversity
• A decrease in plant production.
• Less resistance to environmental disturbances such as droughts.
• Increases variability in ecosystem processes like plant productivity, water use, pest
Causes of Loss of Biodiversity
• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Destruction of the natural habitat is one of the main
reasons for the extinction of species.
• Over-Exploitation: When a biological system is overexploited by man for the natural
resources, it results in degradation and extinction of the resources.
• Co-extinction: When a species becomes extinct, the plant and animal species
associated with it in an obligatory manner, also become extinct.
• Recent Extinctions: Quagga, Africa, The Dodo Bird, Mauritius, Thylacine, Australia,
Steller’s sea cow, Dugong resembling the Steller’s sea cow.
Importance of Conservation of Biodiversity
Humans derive a number of economic benefits from nature like food, firewood, fibres,
medicines and more. More than 25% of the drugs are derived from plants and more
than 25,000 species of plants are used by natives for medicine.
Besides this, biodiversity plays an important role in maintaining and sustaining the
supply of goods and services. It is also important to preserve every species of plants
and animals as each one has some or the other role to play in our nature.
Importance of Biodiversity
All these diversities help in maintaining the correct balance of nature. But, gradually
over the years, there has been a major loss in the biodiversity across the globe. The
loss of biodiversity could adversely affect our environment as the balance is lost and the
natural food web is disturbed.
Thus, due to its major role in our survival, conservation of biodiversity has now become
a matter of high priority. Everybody is paying high attention to it. We still have not
identified all the species living on the earth but of all the ones identified till now, many
have already been marked as extinct.
Recently, the rate of extinction has gone high and this is causing direct impact on our
earth like overuse of resources in some parts, the overpopulation of some species, etc.
This has created a great imbalance in nature. Thus, we have to understand the
importance of biodiversity.
Also, we must take necessary actions to maintain all the three diversities. Without the
proper conservation of this diversity, we could end up in different precarious situations.
• India as a mega-biodiversity nation
India is one of the 12 mega biodiversity countries in the world. The country is divided
into 10 biogeographic regions. The diverse physical features and climatic situations
have formed ecological habitats like forests, grasslands, wetlands, coastal and marine
ecosystems and desert ecosystems, which harbour and sustain immense biodiversity.
Biogeographically, India is situated at the tri-junction of three realms - Afro-tropical,
Indo-Malayan and Paleo-Arctic realms, and therefore, has characteristic elements from
each of them. This assemblage of three distinct realms makes the country rich and
unique in biological diversity. The country is also one of the 12 primary centres of origin
of cultivated plants and domesticated animals. It is considered to be the homeland of
167 important plant species of cereals, millets, fruits, condiments, vegetables, pulses,
fibre crops and oilseeds, and 114 breeds of domesticated animals. About 4,900 species
of flowering plants are endemic to the country. These are distributed among 141 genera
belonging to 47 families. These are concentrated in the floristically rich areas of North-
East India, the Western Ghats, North-West Himalayas and the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands. These areas constitute two of the 18 hot spots identified in the world. It is
estimated that 62 per cent of the known amphibian species are endemic to India of
which a majority is found in Western Ghats. Approximately 65 per cent of the total
geographical area has been surveyed so far. Based on this, over 46,000 species of
plants and 81,000 species of animals have been described by the Botanical Survey of
India (BSI) established in 1890 and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) established in
1916, respectively. This list is being constantly upgraded, especially in lower plants and
invertebrate animals. The Forest Survey of India established in 1981 assesses the
forest cover with a view to develop an accurate database for planning and monitoring
purposes. Conservation and sustainable use of biological resources based on local
knowledge systems and practices is ingrained in Indian ethos. The country has a
number of alternative medicines, like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathic
systems which are predominantly based on plant based raw materials in most of their
preparations and formulations. Herbal preparations for various purposes including
pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes form part of the traditional biodiversity uses in
India. The strategies for conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversity have
comprised providing special status and protection to biodiversity - rich areas by
declaring them as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, ecologically
fragile and sensitive areas. Other strategies include offloading pressure from reserve
forests by alternative measures of fuel wood and fodder need satisfaction by
afforestation of degraded areas and wastelands and creation of ]ex-situ conservation
facilities such as gene banks. For example, the Tura Range in Garo Hills of Meghalaya
is a gene sanctuary for preserving the rich native diversity of wild citrus and musa
species. Approximately, 4.2 per cent of the total geographical area of the country has
been earmarked for extensive in-situ conservation of habitats and ecosystems. A
protected area network of 85 national parks and 448 wildlife sanctuaries has been
created. The results of this network have been significant in restoring viable population
of large mammals such as tiger, lion, rhinoceros, crocodiles and elephants.

• Value of biodiversity: Ecological, economic, social, ethical, aesthetic, and

informational values of biodiversity with examples;
Some of the major values of biodiversity are as follows:
1. Environmental Value
2. Social Value
3. Ecosystem Services
4. Economic Value
5. Consumptive use value
6. Productive Use Value
7. Ethical and Moral Value
8. Aesthetic Value.
Biodiversity is the most precious gift of nature mankind is blessed with. As all the
organisms in an ecosystem are interlinked and interdependent, the value of biodiversity
in the life of all the organisms including humans is enormous.
Values of Biodiversity
1. Environmental Value:
The environmental value of biodiversity can be found by examining each ecosystem
process and identifying the ecosystem services that result. For instance, in wetlands the
vegetation captures water- carried sediment and the soil organisms break down a range
of nutrients and pollutants washed into the area.
These processes provide the ecosystem service of purifying water. Wetlands also act
as spawning and nursery grounds for some fish and provide a refuge for animals in
times of drought. Some ecosystem services are easy to overlook until the underlying
process is impaired.
For instance, dry-land salinity has emerged as a problem following sustained clearance
of deep rooted perennial plants over wide areas. Water tables have raised carrying
dissolved salts which then concentrate in the soil. Forests regulate the amount of
carbon dioxide in the air by releasing oxygen as a by-product during photosynthesis,
and control rainfall and soil erosion.

2. Social Value:
The social value of biodiversity includes aesthetic, recreational, cultural and spiritual
values. To this can be added health benefits resulting from recreational and other
activities. While traditional societies which had a small population and required less
resources had preserved their biodiversity as a life supporting resource, modern man
has rapidly depleted it even to the extent of leading to the irrecoverable loss due to
extinction of several species.
Thus apart from the local use or sale of products of biodiversity there is the social
aspect in which more and more resources are used by affluent societies. The
biodiversity has to a great extent been preserved by traditional societies that valued it
as a resource and appreciated that its depletion would be a great loss to their society.
There can be marked differences in landscape and biodiversity preferences according
to age, socioeconomic factors and cultural influences. The lifestyle of the ancient people
was closely interwoven with their surroundings.
The life of the indigenous people in many parts of the world still revolves around the
forests and environment, even in these modern times, many of them still live in the
forests and meet their daily requirements from their surroundings.The biodiversity in
different parts of the world has been largely preserved by the traditional societies. Since
the indigenous people always protect the forests for their own benefit. In ancient times,
especially in India, the environment in totally i.e., flora, fauna, etc., were held in high
esteem.
Trees like Peepal, Banyan and Tulsi are still worshipped. Ladies offering water to Tulsi
daily is considered good and there are festivals when ladies tie sacred threads around
Peepal and Banyan trees and pra ay for the welfare of their families.
3. Ecosystem Services:
These services also support human needs and activities such as intensely managed
production ecosystems.
Ecosystem service includes:
a. The production of oxygen by land based plants and marine algae;
b. The maintenance of fresh water quality by vegetation slowing run off, trapping
sediment and removing nutrients and by soil organisms breaking down pollutants;
c. The production and maintenance of fertile soil as a result of many interacting
processes;
d. The provision of foods such as fish, pastures for cattle and sheep, timber, fire wood
and harvested wildlife such as kangaroos and native cut flowers;
e. The provision of native species and genes used in industry research and
development, for instance, in traditional breeding and biotechnology applications in
agriculture, forestry, horticulture, mariculture, pharmacy, chemicals production and
bioremediation;
f. Pollination of agricultural crops, forest trees and native flowering plants by native
insects, birds and other creatures;
g. Pest control in agricultural land by beneficial native predators;
h. Flood mitigation by vegetation slowing run off and trapping sediment;
i. Breakdown of pollutants by micro-organisms in soil and aquatic ecosystems and
sequestration of heavy metals in marine and fresh water sediments;
j. Greenhouse gas reduction by, for instance, sequestering atmospheric carbon in wood
and marine calcium carbonate deposits;

k. Maintenance of habitats for native plants and animals; and

l. Maintenance of habitats that are attractive to humans for recreation, tourism and
cultural activities and that has spiritual importance.
4. Economic Value:
The economic potential of biodiversity is immense in terms of food, fodder, medicinal,
ethical and social values. Biodiversity forms the major resource for different industries,
which govern the world economy.The salient features regarding the economical
potential of biodiversity are given below:
1. The major fuel sources of the world including wood and fossil fuels have their origin
due to biodiversity.
2. It is the source of food for all animals and humans.
3. Many important chemicals have their origin from the diverse flora and fauna, used in
various industries.
4. Diverse group of animals are used for medical research during the testing of new
drugs.
5. Consumptive use value:
This is related to natural products that are used directly for food, fodder, timber, fuel
wood etc. Humans use at least 40,000 species of plants and animals on a daily basis.
Many people around the world still depend on wild species for most of their needs like
food, shelter and clothing. The tribal people are completely dependent on the forests for
their daily needs.
6. Productive Use Value:
This is assigned to products that are commercially harvested and marketed. Almost all
the present date agricultural crops have originated from wild varieties. The
biotechnologists continuously use the wild species of plants for developing new, better
yielding and disease resistant varieties. Biodiversity represents the original stock from
which new varieties are being developed.
7. Ethical and Moral Value:
It is based on the principle of ‘live and let others live’. Ethical values related to
biodiversity conservation are based on the importance of protecting all forms of life. All
forms of life have the right to exist on earth. Man is only a small part of the Earth’s great
family of species.
Don’t plants and animals have an equal right to live and exist on our planet which is like
an inhabited spaceship? Morality and ethics teach us to preserve all forms of life and
not to harm any organism unnecessarily.
Some people take pleasure in the hunting of animals. People also sometimes degrade
and pollute the environment by their unethical actions. Through proper education and
awareness, the people’s conscience against such practices must be raised.
8. Aesthetic Value:
The beauty of our planet is because of biodiversity, which otherwise would have
resembled other barren planets dotted around the universe. Biological diversity adds to
the quality of life and provides some of the most beautiful aspects of our existence.
Biodiversity is responsible for the beauty of a landscape.
People go far off places to enjoy the natural surroundings and wildlife. This type of
tourism is referred to as eco-tourism, which has now become a major source of income
in many countries. In many societies, the diversity of flora and fauna has become a part
of the traditions and culture of the region and has added to the aesthetic values of the
place.

Ques- What’s the Causes and Effects of Environment Pollution? And describe
the use of Solid Waste Management .

Environmental pollution is one of the most serious problems facing humanity and other
life forms on our planet today. Environmental pollution is defined as “the contamination
of the physical and biological components of the earth/atmosphere system to such an
extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected.” Pollutants can be
naturally occurring substances or energies, but they are considered contaminants when
in excess of natural levels. Any use of natural resources at a rate higher than nature’s
capacity to restore itself can result in pollution of air, water, and land.
Wild-type organisms have a slower degradation rate of hazardous materials. Currently,
advanced molecular biology tools along with conventional approaches allow us to
rapidly degrade or accumulate hazardous materials from environments. This can help
modify microorganisms to gain the ability to sense and degrade hazardous chemicals
from contaminated sites, in turn, allowing us to grow vegetation and improve crop
productivity. In this chapter, conventional and advanced molecular biology tools for the
removal and detoxification of contaminants from soil and water to improve
environmental conditions are highlighted.
Ecological Issues
Environmental pollution represents an obstacle to the economical exploitation of coal
deposits. In industrialized countries, the rules for protection of the environment are
stricter than in developing countries. Thus, to get a license to open mines involves
lengthy procedures which in turn cause delay. Indian authorities have also started to put
stringent conditions in place regarding environmental pollution. Consequently,
ecological problems can be totally prevented, but such measures are costly.
Pollution Science
Environmental pollution is the unfavorable alteration of our surroundings, wholly or
largely as a byproduct of man’s actions, through direct or indirect effects of the changes
in the energy pattern, radiation levels, and chemical and physical constitution and
abundance of organisms. Environmental pollution is a global problem and is common to
both developed as well as developing countries, which attracts the attention of human
beings for its severe long-term consequences. The substances that cause pollution are
known as pollutants. A pollutant can be any chemical (toxic metal, radionuclides,
organophosphorus compounds, gases) or geochemical substance (dust, sediment),
biological organism or product, or physical substance (heat, radiation, sound wave) that
is released intentionally or inadvertently by man into the environment with actual or
potential adverse, harmful, unpleasant, or inconvenient effects. Such undesirable
effects may be direct (affecting man) or indirect, being mediated via resource organisms
or climate change. Depending on the nature of pollutants and also subsequent pollution
of environmental components, the pollution may be categorized as follows:
1.Air Pollution:
How much pollution we breathe in is dependent on many factors, such as access to
clean energy for cooking and heating, the time of day and the weather. Rush hour is an
obvious source of local pollution, but air pollution can travel long distances, sometimes
across continents on international weather patterns. Nobody is safe from this pollution,
which comes from five main human sources. These sources spew out a range of
substances including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ground-level
ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and lead–all of which are
harmful to human health.
Household
The main source of household air pollution is the indoor burning of fossil fuels, wood
and other biomass-based fuels to cook, heat and light homes. Around 3.8 million
premature deaths are caused by indoor air pollution each year, the vast majority of them
in the developing world. Out of 193 countries, 97 countries have increased the
percentage of households that have access to cleaner burning fuels to over 85 percent.
However, 3 billion people continue to use solid fuels and open fires for cooking, heating,
and lighting. The adoption of cleaner, more modern stoves and fuels can reduce the
risks of illness and save lives.
Industry
In many countries, power generation is a leading source of air pollution. Coal-burning
power plants are a major contributor, while diesel generators are a growing concern in
off-grid areas. Industrial processes and solvent use, in the chemical and mining
industries, also pollute the air. Policies and programmes aimed at increasing energy
efficiency and production from renewable sources have a direct impact on a country’s
air quality. At the moment, 82 countries out of 193 have incentives that promote
investment in renewable energy production, cleaner production, energy efficiency and
pollution control.
Transport
The global transport sector accounts for almost one-quarter of energy-related carbon
dioxide emissions and this proportion is rising. Air pollution emissions from transport
have been linked to nearly 400,000 premature deaths. Almost half of all deaths by air
pollution from transport are caused by diesel emissions, while those living closest to
major traffic arteries are up to 12 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia.
Reducing vehicle emissions is an important intervention to improve air quality,
especially in urban areas. Policies and standards that require the use of cleaner fuels
and advanced vehicle emissions standards can reduce vehicle emissions by 90 percent
or more.
Agriculture
The major sources of air pollution from agriculture include livestock, which produces
methane and ammonia, rice paddies, which produce methane, and the burning of
agricultural waste. Methane emissions contribute to the formation of ground-level
ozone, which causes asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Methane is also a more
potent global warming gas than carbon dioxide – its impact is 34 times greater over a
100-year period. Around 24 percent of all greenhouse gases emitted worldwide come
agriculture, forestry and other land-use. There are many ways to reduce air pollution
from agriculture. People can move to a plant-based diet and/or reduce food waste, while
farmers can reduce methane from livestock by optimizing feed digestibility and
improving grazing and grassland management.
Waste
Open waste burning and organic waste in landfills release harmful dioxins, furans,
methane, and fine particulate matter like black carbon into the atmosphere. Globally, an
estimated 40 percent of waste is openly burned. The problem is most severe in
urbanizing regions and developing countries. Open burning of agricultural and municipal
waste is practiced in 166 out of 193 countries. Improving the collection, separation, and
disposal of solid waste reduces the amount of waste that is burned or landfilled.
Separating organic waste and turning it into compost or bioenergy improves soil fertility
and provides an alternative energy source. Reducing the estimated one-third of all food
that is lost or wasted can also improve air quality.
2.Water Pollution:
Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or microorganisms—
contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading
water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.
British poet W. H. Auden once noted, “Thousands have lived without love, not one
without water.” Yet while we all know water is crucial for life, we trash it anyway. Some
80 percent of the world’s wastewater is dumped—largely untreated—back into the
environment, polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans.This widespread problem of water
pollution is jeopardizing our health. Unsafe water kills more people each year than war
and all other forms of violence combined. Meanwhile, our drinkable water sources are
finite: percent of the earth’s freshwater is actually accessible to us. Without action, the
challenges will only increase by 2050, when global demand for freshwater is expected
to be one-third greater than it is now.
Sip a glass of cool, clear water as you read this, and you may think water pollution is a
problem somewhere else. But while most Americans have access to safe drinking
water, potentially harmful contaminants—from arsenic to copper to lead—have been
found in the tap water of every single state in the nation.Still, we’re not hopeless against
the threat to clean water. To better understand the problem and what we can do about
it, here’s an overview of what water pollution is, what causes it, and how we can protect
ourselves.
3.Soil/Land Pollution
it's the introduction into the environment of substances that don't normally belong there,
which, in great enough concentrations, can have harmful effects on plants, animals, and
humans. We can define land pollution either narrowly or broadly. Narrowly defined, it's
another term for soil contamination (for example, by factory chemicals or sewage and
other wastewater). In this article, we'll define it more widely to include garbage and
industrial waste, agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, impacts from mining and other
forms of industry, the unwanted consequences of urbanization, and the systematic
destruction of soil through over-intensive agriculture; we'll take land pollution to mean
any kind of long-term land damage, destruction, degradation, or loss.

4.Noise Pollution
Noise is all around you, from televisions and radios to lawn mowers and washing
machines. Normally, you hear these sounds at safe levels that don’t affect hearing.
However, exposure to excessive noise can damage hearing. Harmful or annoying levels
of noise are considered noise pollution.
Loud sounds can damage sensitive structures of the inner ear and cause hearing loss.
This makes conversation and other daily activities more difficult, and also causes many
other health problems. Exposure to noise causes stress, anxiety, depression, high blood
pressure, and heart disease.
People differ in their sensitivity to noise. As a general rule, sounds louder than 80
decibels are hazardous. Noise may damage your hearing if you are at arm’s length and
have to shout to make yourself heard. If noise is hurting your ears, your ears may ring,
or you may have difficulty hearing for several hours after exposure to the noise.
Children often participate in recreational activities that can harm their hearing. These
activities include attending music concerts and sporting events, watching fireworks, and
playing with noisy toys and video games. Listening to loud music, especially on
headphones, is a common cause of noise-induced hearing loss.
5.Radioactive Pollution
The term 'radiation' can refer to a wide variety of forms of energy moving around as
waves or particles. It can mean x-rays, or it can mean microwaves. It can also refer to
infrared light and even visible light. But when we say 'radioactive pollution,' we're being
more specific. Radioactive pollution refers to the release of ionizing radiation into the
environment as a result of human activity.
Ionizing radiation is the form of radiation that has a short wavelength and a high
frequency. In short, it's the form of radiation that's commonly thought of as being high
energy and thus harmful to living things. Ionizing radiation includes x-rays and gamma
rays.
In this lesson, you'll learn about the sources of radioactive pollution, its consequences,
as well as some prevention strategies.
Sources of Radioactive Pollution
A nuclear power plant. Mining for nuclear fuel, nuclear waste, nuclear power plant
mishaps (sometimes caused by the hapless Homer Simpson), and nuclear weapons are
all possible sources of radioactive pollution.
Improperly handled material used in nuclear medicine is also another possible
radioactive pollutant. Actually, even medical x-rays are technically a source of
radioactive pollution, as some x-rays scatter into the environment after the x-ray is
taken. In fact, nuclear medicine and x-rays are the two prevalent types of radioactive
pollution affecting most people today. You should be more worried about them than you
should be about the fallout from a nuclear power plant unless, of course, you live near
one. That being said, however, when such medical diagnostic and treatment techniques
are used properly they are considered to be quite safe! Quick side note: some people
believe that radioactive pollution also includes radon gas, which naturally comes up
from underground. In that case, the major cause of radioactive pollution is radon gas,
not medicine.
6.Thermal Pollution
The term thermal pollution has been used to indicate the detrimental effects of heated
effluent discharge by various power plants. It denotes the impairment of quality and
deterioration of aquatic and terrestrial environment by various industrial plants like
thermal, atomic, nuclear, coal-fired plants, oil field generators, factories, and mills.
sources of Thermal Pollution
Nuclear Power Plant, Coal-fired power Plant , Industrial Effluents, Domestic Sewage
,Hydro-electric power
Solid Waste
Before introducing solid waste management, let's start with a discussion of the material
being managed — solid waste. Solid waste refers to the range of garbage arising from
animal and human activities that are discarded as unwanted and useless. Solid waste is
generated from industrial, residential and commercial activities in a given area, and may
be handled in a variety of ways. As such, landfills are typically classified as sanitary,
municipal, construction and demolition or industrial waste sites.
Waste can be categorized based on material, such as plastic, paper, glass, metal, and
organic waste. Categorization may also be based on hazard potential, including
radioactive, flammable, infectious, toxic, or non-toxic. Categories may also pertain to the
origin of waste, such as industrial, domestic, commercial, institutional or construction
and demolition.
Regardless of the origin, content or hazard potential, solid waste must be managed
systematically to ensure environmental best practices. As solid waste management is a
critical aspect of environmental hygiene, it needs to be incorporated into environmental
planning.
6 Functional Elements of the Waste Management System
There are six functional components of the waste management system as outlined
below:
1. Waste generation refers to activities involved in identifying materials which are no
longer usable and are either gathered for systematic disposal or thrown away.
2. Onsite handling, storage, and processing are the activities at the point of waste
generation which facilitate easier collection. For example, waste bins are placed at the
sites which generate sufficient waste.
3. Waste collection, a crucial phase of waste management, includes activities such as
placing waste collection bins, collecting waste from those bins and accumulating trash
in the location where the collection vehicles are emptied. Although the collection phase
involves transportation, this is typically not the main stage of waste transportation.
4. Waste transfer and transport are the activities involved in moving waste from the local
waste collection locations to the regional waste disposal site in large waste transport
vehicles.
5. Waste processing and recovery refer to the facilities, equipment, and techniques
employed both to recover reusable or recyclable materials from the waste stream and to
improve the effectiveness of other functional elements of waste management.
6. Disposal is the final stage of waste management. It involves the activities aimed at
the systematic disposal of waste materials in locations such as landfills or
Solid-Waste Collection
Collecting and transporting
Proper solid-waste collection is important for the protection of public health, safety, and
environmental quality. It is a labour-intensive activity, accounting for approximately
three-quarters of the total cost of solid-waste management. Public employees are often
assigned to the task, but sometimes it is more economical for private companies to do
the work under contract to the municipality or for private collectors to be paid by
individual home owners. A driver and one or two loaders serve each collection vehicle.
These are typically trucks of the enclosed, compacting type, with capacities up to 30
cubic meters (40 cubic yards). Loading can be done from the front, rear, or side.
Compaction reduces the volume of refuse in the truck to less than half of its loose
volume.
The task of selecting an optimal collection route is a complex problem, especially for
large and densely populated cities. An optimal route is one that results in the most
efficient use of labour and equipment, and selecting such a route requires the
application of computer analyses that account for all the many design variables in a
large and complex network. Variables include frequency of collection, haulage distance,
type of service, and climate. Collection of refuse in rural areas can present a special
problem, since the population densities are low, leading to high unit costs.
Refuse collection usually occurs at least once per week because of the rapid
decomposition of food waste. The amount of garbage in the refuse of an individual
home can be reduced by garbage grinders, or garbage disposals. Ground garbage puts
an extra load on sewerage systems, but this can usually be accommodated. Many
communities now conduct source separation and recycling programs, in which
homeowners and businesses separate recyclable materials from garbage and place
them in separate containers for collection. In addition, some communities have drop-off
centres where residents can bring recyclables.
Transfer stations
If the final destination of the refuse is not near the community in which it is generated,
one or more transfer stations may be necessary. A transfer station is a central facility
where refuse from many collection vehicles is combined into a larger vehicle, such as a
tractor-trailer unit. Open-top trailers are designed to carry about 76 cubic meters (100
cubic yards) of uncompacted waste to a regional processing or disposal location.
Closed compactor-type trailers are also available, but they must be equipped with
ejector mechanisms. In a direct discharge type of station, several collection trucks
empty directly into the transport vehicle. In a storage discharge type of station, refuse is
first emptied into a storage pit or onto a platform, and then machinery is used to hoist or
push the solid waste into the transport vehicle. Large transfer stations can handle more
than 500 tons of refuse per day.
Solid-Waste Treatment And Disposal
Once collected, municipal solid waste may be treated in order to reduce the total
volume and weight of material that requires final disposal. Treatment changes the form
of the waste and makes it easier to handle. It can also serve to recover certain
materials, as well as heat energy, for recycling or reuse.
Ques-Discuss the issue of Global Environment. Explain the Sustainable
development Goals.
Introduction
An Introduction to Global Environmental Issues presents a comprehensive and
stimulating introduction to the key environmental issues presently threatening our global
environment. Offering an authoritative introduction to the key topics, a source of latest
environmental information, and an innovative stimulus for debate, this is an article for all
those studying or concerned with global environmental issues. Major global
environmental issues are brought into focus. Explanations of the evolution of the earth's
natural systems (hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, ecosphere) provide an essential
understanding of the scientific concepts, processes and historical background to
environmental issues. Contemporary socioeconomic, cultural and political
considerations are explored and important conceptual approaches such as Gaian
hypotheses and Chaos Theory are introduced. Human impact and management of the
natural environment, and concerns for maintaining biodiversity are emphasized
throughout. The rapid growing population and economic development is leading to a
number of environmental issues in India because of the uncontrolled growth of
urbanization and industrialization, expansion and massive intensification of agriculture,
and the destruction of forests. Major environmental issues are forest and agricultural
degradation of land, resource depletion (water, mineral, forest, sand, rocks etc.),
environmental degradation, public health, loss of biodiversity, loss of resilience in
ecosystems, livelihood security for the poor. It is estimated that the country’s population
will increase to about 1.26 billion by the year 2016. The projected population indicates
that India will be the first most populous country in the world and China will be ranking
second in the year 2050. India having 18% of the world's population on 2.4% of world's
total area has greatly increased the pressure on its natural resources. Water shortages,
soil exhaustion and erosion, deforestation, air and water pollution afflicts many areas.
The condition of the environment is a worldwide issue [1]. Air and water pollution do not
recognize borders; poor soil conditions in one nation may reduce another country’s food
supply.

Methodology : The risks inherent in gathering and interpreting observed evidence

made it essential to design a methodology that allowed access to a diverse range of
sources, so that data could be verified before being accepted as evidence. The
methodology made different types of data. Relevant data collected from printed
materials, internet, books, journals, articles and thesis etc., Objectives
• To discuss the global environmental major issues
• To formulate the Problems faced by global warming and climatic changes
• To discuss the effects of global warming in India
• To discuss the climate change modeling and prediction.
Global change scenarios A brief summary of the status of global climate change
predictions provides a context for subsequent discussions. We rely primarily on the
work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (78), and on McCracken et al.
(106), who combine discussions of model-based predictions and paleoclimate records.
This is a rapidly developing field.
Environmental issues at global level
• Depletion of natural resources
• Water pollution
• Air pollution
• Ground water pollution
• Toxic chemicals & soil pollution
• Ozone layer depletion • Global warming
• Loss of bio-diversity
• Extinction of wildlife and loss of natural habitat
• Nuclear wastes and radiation issues
Global environmental issues
list If asked what are the global environmental issues that the planet faces today, most
people out there wouldn't be able to go beyond global warming and energy crisis. These
people are not aware of the fact that there are several other issues of global concern,
each of which is equally hazardous. More importantly, all these issues are related with
each other by some or the other way, and hence, tackling them one by one has just
become difficult.
Climate change: Climate change has become more than obvious over the past
decade, with nine years of the decade making it to the list of hottest years the planet
has ever witnessed. The rise in temperature has also ensured that the equations on the
planet have gone for a toss. Some of the most obvious signs of this include irregularities
in weather, frequent storms, melting glaciers, rising levels of sea etc. Going by the
prevailing conditions, it is not difficult to anticipate that the planet is heading for a
dramatic climate change, some wherein, near, future.
Conservation of species: Yet another global environmental issue, species
conservation basically deals with conservation of flora and fauna, in order to curb the
extinction of species. Extinction of a single species of plant or animal results in a
dramatic imbalance in the ecosystem, as a number of other species dependent on it
directly or indirectly are also affected. Over the last century or so, several plants and
animal species have become extinct thus resulting in a major loss for the biodiversity of
the planet.
Energy crisis: The fact that we are largely dependent on fossil fuels for our energy
requirements has made us significantly vulnerable to severe energy crisis. Though,
quite a few renewable energy sources have been identified, none of them have been
promising enough when it comes to replacement of fossil fuels as the major source of
energy for mankind. Attempts to tap the full potential of these sources are in progress,
and our future by and large depends on these attempts, as fossil fuels are on the verge
of exhaustion.
Exploitation of natural resources: Our greed for more has left us empty handed in
terms of natural resources in several parts of the world. Several human activities,
including the likes of mining, agriculture, fishing etc., has resulted in drastic degradation
of our natural resources. While mining and agriculture have triggered large-scale
deforestation, over fishing has only resulted in the reduction of population of marine
creatures inhabiting the planet. If the trends continue, we are bound to exhaust those
natural resources on which we are dependent, and thus dig our own graves.
Land degradation: Land pollution, owing to human activities, and desertification, due to
loss of vegetation has left the surface of the planet unsuitable for human use. Land
degradation can be attributed to the fact that we have become too laid-back in terms
preservation of the nature. Improper soil use, haphazard waste disposal, large-scale
deforestation and other such human activities harmful for nature are on the rise,
something which is invariably taking a toll on our natural surroundings.
Land use: Global environmental problems pertaining to the land are not just restricted
to haphazard waste disposal or large-scale deforestation, but also to improper use of
land. Natural environment is being destructed to make way for urban sprawl, which is
indirectly resulting in loss of habitat for several species. Fragmentation of land owing to
construction is also a major factor when it comes to improper land use. All these factors
together result in several problems, including soil erosion, degradation of land and
desertification.
Nuclear issues: Nuclear power does have high potential, but the problems associated
with it are no less. Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants is one of the major
problems we are likely to face, especially if safety regulations are not followed properly.
Chernobyl tragedy has set an example of how nuclear waste can lead to disaster for
mankind, and no one would like to see another Chernobyl happening. It doesn't end
here as the threat of some nation diverting its nuclear power to produce nuclear arsenal
is always looming over the mankind. And it won't take an Einstein to imagine the
amount of damage these nuclear weapons would cause.
Overpopulation: Yet another major global environmental issue is overpopulation. As
the population of world continues to soar at an alarming rate, the pressure on the
resources of the planet is increasing. These problems associated with overpopulation
range from food and water crisis to lack of space for natural burial. Overpopulation also
results in various other demographic hazards. Incessant population growth will not just
result in depletion of natural resources, but will also put more pressure on the economy.
After all sustaining a huge population requires quite a mammoth effort for a nation, as
far as finance is concerned.
Pollution: This is perhaps the most obvious, yet most ignored global environmental
issue in this list of environmental problems. The term 'population' in itself have several
other aspects, prominent ones among which include air pollution, water pollution and
land pollution. On one hand air pollution can be attributed to the large amount of carbon
dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by industries and vehicles, water pollution and
land pollution is caused as a result of waste disposal from factories, oil-carrying vessels
etc. Basically, mankind is to be blamed for this issue as our activities tend to hamper the
environment at an alarming rate. If this trend continues, we will be very soon left without
any fresh air to breathe, and clean water to drink.
Waste management: As population increases, human activities increase, which
eventually increases the amount of waste produced. This waste doesn't just include
those harmful gases let out in the atmosphere or toxic waste released in water bodies,
but also includes nuclear waste, e-waste, medical waste (Abhijit Naik) and even the
waste from our homes. With limited area available on the planet, and most of it being
inhabited by us, we are left with no space to dispose this waste. The rate at which this
waste is produced is far more than the rate at which it is being treated, and this just
results in piling up of waste, which eventually pollutes the environment.
Strategies for Adapting Cultural Heritage to Climate Change
Climate Change Modeling and Prediction
Climate change predictions are based on climate models which are constructed from
studies of the current climate system, including atmosphere, ocean, land surface,
cryosphere and biosphere, and the factors that influence it such as greenhouse gas
emissions and future socio-economic patterns of land use. A climate model is a
mathematical formulation of the effects of all the key processes operating in the climate
system and the effectiveness of any particular model is assessed by seeing how well it
reproduces past climate behavior. Additionally, extrapolating the models to future
climates incorporates not only the scientific uncertainties inbuilt in modeling complex
weather systems, it implies that the broad operation of the climate system will remain
constant and not undergo dramatic shifts and the much less quantifiable uncertainties in
future emissions and land use. Advanced global models typically have a coarse
resolution which does not allow for useful local climate change projections where local
weather is heavily influenced by local topography and land use .
Ozone Layer Depletion
Ozone in the atmosphere’s upper layer, the stratosphere, protects humans, animals and
plants from the damaging effects of UV-B radiation from the sun. Without it, all life on
earth would cease to exist. However, the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other
Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) are slowly eating away at the stratospheric ozone
layer, creating a major potential health hazard. While the concentrations of ODS in the
lower atmosphere peaked in about 1994 and is now slowly declining due to worldwide
efforts to phase out the use of CFCs and other damaging sub- stances, significant
health threats relating to ozone depletion persist. Past (and current) emissions of ODS
result in increases of ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth’s surface which can pose
sever- al health effects
• Increase of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers;
• Cause or acceleration of eye cataracts development; • Reduce effectiveness of the
immune system;
• Impact on nutrition (e.g. reduced plant yield);
• Damage to ocean ecosystems and reduced fish yield (by killing microbial organisms in
the ocean).

Question - Explain the following

(i) Chipko Movement, (ii) Biodiversity Hotspots(iii) E-Waste (iv) Conservation &
Preservation

(i) Chipko Movement,

Chipko Movement, started in 1970's, was a non-violent movement aimed at protection
and conservation of trees and forests from being destroyed. The name of the Chipko
moment originated from the word 'embrace' as the villagers used to hug the trees and
protect them from wood cutters from cutting them. Chipko movement was based on the
Gandhian philosophy of peaceful resistance to achieve the goals. It was the strong
uprising against the against those people, who were destroying the natural resources of
the forests and disturbing the whole ecological balance.

It was first started in the Chamoli district in the year 1973 and from there it spread to the
other parts of the country. There is one very famous story about the girl, Amrita Devi,
who died while trying to save the trees grown in her village. The village was under the
rule of the local Maharaja, who desired to build a palace for his family. He ordered his
servants to bring wood from the nearby village. When the wood cutters arrived the
village to cut the tress, Amrita and other women of the village jumped in front of the
trees and hugged them. She said they will have to cut her first before the trees. The
servants were helpless to follow the orders and cut the tree. Amrita Devi died on the
spot. Before offering her head to the Maharajas servants, Amrita enchanted :- “seir
santhe runkh raheb, to bhee sastojan” (it is till a small price to pay if at the cost of my
head the tree is saved).

The incident inspired the several other rural womens, who in 1970's launched such
similar movements in different parts of India. The incident inspired the several other
rural womens, who in 1970's launched such similar movements in different parts of
India.It is really surprising that the women of that age were better aware about the
significance of forests. The rural women in India actively participated in the movement,
who knows about deforestation and its future consequences. Some of the key women
leaders who fought for the protection of forests, whom they call it their maternal mother
were Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi, Dev Suman, Mira Behn, Sarla Behn and
Amrita Devi.
(ii) Biodiversity Hotspots
Conservation International was a pioneer in defining and promoting the concept of
hotspots. In 1989, just one year after scientist Norman Myers wrote the paper that
introduced the hotspots concept, Conservation International adopted the idea of
protecting these incredible places as the guiding principle of our investments. For nearly
two decades thereafter, hotspots were the blueprint for our work.

Today, our mission has expanded beyond the protection of hotspots. We recognize that
it is not enough to protect species and places; for humanity to survive and thrive, the
protection of nature must be a fundamental part of every human society.

Yet the hotspots remain important in our work for two important reasons:Biodiversity
underpins all life on Earth. Without species, there would be no air to breathe, no food to
eat, no water to drink. There would be no human society at all. And as the places on
Earth where the most biodiversity is under the most threat, hotspots are critical to
human survival.
The map of hotspots overlaps extraordinarily well with the map of the natural places that
most benefit people. That’s because hotspots are among the richest and most important
ecosystems in the world — and they are home to many vulnerable populations who are
directly dependent on nature to survive. By one estimate, despite comprising 2.4% of
Earth’s land surface, forests, wetlands and other ecosystems in hotspots account for
35% of the “ecosystem services” that vulnerable human populations depend on.

(iii) E-Waste
Electronic waste, also called e-waste, various forms of electric and electronic equipment
that have ceased to be of value to their users or no longer satisfy their original purpose.
Electronic waste (e-waste) products have exhausted their utility value through either
redundancy, replacement, or breakage and include both “white goods” such as
refrigerators, washing machines, and microwaves and “brown goods” such as
televisions, radios, computers, and cell phones. Given that the information and
technology revolution has exponentially increased the use of new electronic equipment,
it has also produced growing volumes of obsolete products; e-waste is one of the
fastest-growing waste streams. Although e-waste contains complex combinations of
highly toxic substances that pose a danger to health and the environment, many of the
products also contain recoverable precious materials, making it a different kind of waste
compared with traditional municipal waste.
Globally, e-waste constitutes more than 5 percent of all municipal solid waste and is
increasing with the rise of sales of electronic products in developing countries. The
majority of the world’s e-waste is recycled in developing countries, where informal and
hazardous setups for the extraction and sale of metals are common. Recycling
companies in developed countries face strict environmental regulatory regimes and an
increasing cost of waste disposal and thus may find exportation to small traders in
developing countries more profitable than recycling in their own countries. There is also
significant illegal transboundary movement of e-waste in the form of donations and
charity from rich industrialized nations to developing countries. E-waste profiteers can
harvest substantial profits owing to lax environmental laws, corrupt officials, and poorly
paid workers, and there is an urgent need to develop policies and strategies to dispose
of and recycle e-waste safely in order to achieve a sustainable future.
.
(iv) Conservation & Preservation
Those who are concerned with protecting the environment often use the words
conservation and preservation. These two terms are often confused and are used to
mean the same thing, although differences exist.
Conservation is the sustainable use and management of natural resources including
wildlife, water, air, and earth deposits. Natural resources may be renewable or non-
renewable. The conservation of renewable resources like trees involves ensuring that
they are not consumed faster than they can be replaced. The conservation of non-
renewable resources like fossil fuels involves ensuring that sufficient quantities are
maintained for future generations to utilise. Conservation of natural resources usually
focuses on the needs and interests of human beings, for example the biological,
economic, cultural and recreational values such resources have. The rain forest for
example, contains a wide range of biodiversity, providing food stocks for local
populations and a source of timber and medicines for other countries. Conservationists
accept that development is necessary for a better future, but only when the changes
take place in ways that are not wasteful. What the conservationist opposes is not the
harnessing of nature for mankind's progression, but the fact that all too often the
environment comes off the worse for wear.
Preservation, in contrast to conservation, attempts to maintain in their present condition
areas of the Earth that are so far untouched by humans. This is due to the concern that
mankind is encroaching onto the environment at such a rate that many untamed
landscapes are being given over to farming, industry, housing, tourism and other human
developments, and that we our losing too much of what is 'natural'. Like
conservationists, some preservationists support the protection of nature for purely
human-centred reasons. Stronger advocates of preservation however, adopt a less
human-centred approach to environmental protection, placing a value on nature that
does not relate to the needs and interests of human beings. Deep green ecology argues
that ecosystems and individual species should be preserved whatever the cost,
regardless of their usefulness to humans, and even if their continued existence would
prove harmful to us. This follows from the belief that every living thing has a right to
exist and should be preserved.

Question
(i) Biogeographic Zones of India
(ii) Delhi Air Pollution and Public Health Issues
(iii) Nuclear Hazards and Human Health Risk
(iv) Ecosystem services

Biogeographic Zones of India

Biogeographic classification of India is the division of India according to biogeographic
characteristics. Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species (biology),
organisms, and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. There
are ten biogeographic zones in India.
1. Trans Himalayan zone.
2. Himalayan zone
3. Desert zone.
4. Semiarid zone.
5. Western ghat zone.
6. Deccan plateau zone.
7. Gangetic plain zone.
8. North east zone.
9. Coastal zone.
10. Islands present near the shore line.
Trans- Himalayan Region
The Trans Himalayan regions of the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal
Pradesh are a moonscape land – an arid high altitude desert unlike any other part of the
Indian subcontinent. The stark landscape is a panorama of high snow capped peaks
and bare multi hued hills sculpted by the forces of nature. The high dusty valleys strewn
with rock have altitudes ranging from 2,500m to 4,500m.
Himalayan Zone
The Himalayas consist of the youngest and loftiest mountain chains in the world. The
Himalayas have attained a unique personality owing to their high altitude, steep gradient
and rich temperate flora. The forests are very dense with extensive growth of grass and
evergreen tall trees. Oak, chestnut, conifer, ash, pine, deodar are abundant in
Himalayas. There is no vegetation above the snowline. Several interesting animals live
in the Himalayan ranges. Chief species include wild sheep, mountain goats, ibex,
shrew, and tapir. Panda and snow leopard are also found here.
Semi-Arid Areas
Adjoining the desert are the semi-arid areas, a transitional zone between the desert and
the denser forests of the Western Ghats. The natural vegetation is thorn forest. This
region is characterized by discontinuous vegetation cover with open areas of bare soil
and soil-water deficit throughout the year. Thorny shrubs, grasses and some bamboos
are present in some regions. A few species of xerophytic herbs and some ephemeral
herbs are found in this semi-arid tract. Birds, jackals, leopards, eagles, snakes, fox,
buffaloes are found in this region.
Western Ghats
The mountains along the west coast of peninsular India are the Western Ghats, which
constitute one of the unique biological regions of the world. The Western Ghats extend
from the southern tip of the peninsula (8°N) northwards about 1600 km to the mouth of
the river Tapti (21°N). The mountains rise to average altitudes between 900 and 1500 m
above sea level, intercepting monsoon winds from the southwest and creating a rain
shadow in the region to their East.
The varied climate and diverse topography create a wide array of habitats that support
unique sets of plant and animal species. Apart from biological diversity, the region
boasts of high levels of cultural diversity, as many indigenous people inhabit its forests.
The Western Ghats are amongst the 25 biodiversity hot-spots recognized globally.
These hills are known for their high levels of endemism expressed at both higher and
lower taxonomic levels. Most of the Western Ghat endemic plants are associated with
evergreen forests.
The region also shares several plant species with Sri Lanka. The higher altitude forests
were, if at all, sparsely populated with tribal people. Rice cultivation in the fertile valley
proceeded gardens of early commercial crops like areca nut and pepper. The original
vegetation of the ill-drained valley bottoms with sluggish streams in elevations below
100m would be often a special formation, the Myristica swamp. Expansion of traditional
agriculture and the spread of particularly rubber, tea, coffee and forest tree plantations
would have wiped out large pockets of primary forests in valleys. The Western Ghats
are well known for harboring 14 endemic species of caecilians (i.e., legless amphibians)
out of 15 recorded from the region so far.
North-West Desert Regions
This region consists of parts of Rajasthan, Kutch, Delhi and parts of Gujarat. The
climate is characterised by very hot and dry summer and cold winter. Rainfall is less
than 70 cm. The plants are mostly xerophytic. Babul, Kikar, wild palm grows in areas of
moderate rainfall. Indian Bustard, a highly endangered bird is found here. Camels, wild
asses, foxes, and snakes are found in hot and arid sex positions.
Deccan Plateau
Beyond the Ghats is Deccan Plateau, a semi-arid region lying in the rain shadow of the
Western Ghats. This is the largest unit of the Peninsular Plateau of India. The highlands
of the plateau are covered with different types of forests, which provide a large variety of
forest products. The Deccan plateau includes the region lying south of the Satpura
range. It extends up to the southern tip of peninsular India. Anaimudi is the highest peak
of this region. The Deccan plateau is surrounded by the western and the eastern
ghats.These ghats meet each other at the Nilgiri Hills. The Western Ghats includes the
Sahyadri, Nilgiris, Anamalai, and cardamom Hills. Many rivers such as Mahanadi,
Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri originates from the Western Ghats and flow toward the
east. The Eastern Ghats are broken into small hill ranges by rivers coming from the
Western Ghats. Most of these rivers fall into the Bay of Bengal. The Godavari is the
longest river in the Deccan plateau. The Narmada and the Tapi flow westwards and fall
into the Arabian sea.
Gangetic Plain
In the North is the Gangetic plain extending up to the Himalayan foothills. This is the
largest unit of the Great Plain of India. Ganga is the main river after whose name this
plain is named. The aggradational Great Plains cover about 72.4mha area with the
Ganga and the Brahmaputra forming the main drainage axes in the major portion.
The thickness in the alluvial sediments varies considerably with its maximum in the
Ganga plains. The physiogeographic scenery varies greatly from arid and semi-arid
landscapes of the Rajasthan Plains to the humid and per-humid landscapes of the Delta
and Assam valley in the east. Topographic uniformity, except in the arid Western
Rajasthan is a common feature throughout these plains. The plain supports some of the
highest population densities depending upon purely agro-based economy in some of
these areas. The trees belonging to these forests are teak, sal, shisham, mahua, khair
etc.
North-East India
North-east India is one of the richest flora regions in the country. It has several species
of orchids, bamboos, ferns and other plants. Here the wild relatives of cultivated plants
such as banana, mango, citrus and pepper can be grown
Islands
The two groups of islands, i.e., the Arabian Sea islands and Bay Islands differ
significantly in origin and physical characteristics. The Arabian Sea Islands (Laccadive,
Minicoy, etc.) are the foundered remnants of the old land mass and subsequent coral
formations. On the other hand, the Bay Islands lay only about 220 km. Away from the
nearest point on the main land mass and extend about 590 km. With a maximum width
of 58 km the island forests of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea have some of the best-
preserved evergreen forests of India. Some of the islands are fringed with coral reefs.
Many of them are covered with thick forests and some are highly dissected.
Coasts
India has a coastline extending over 5,500 km. The Indian coasts vary in their
characteristics and structures. The west coast is narrow except around the Gulf of
Cambay and the Gulf of Kutch. In the extreme south, however, it is somewhat wider
along the South Sahyadri. The backwaters are the characteristic features of this coast.
The east coast plains, in contrast are broader due to depositional activities of the east-
flowing rivers owing to the change in their base levels.
Extensive deltas of the Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri are the characteristic features of
this coast. Mangrove vegetation is characteristic of estuarine tracts along the coast for
instance, at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. Larger parts of the coastal plains are covered by
fertile soils on which different crops are grown. Rice is the main crop of these areas.
Coconut trees grow all along the coast.

(ii) Delhi Air Pollution and Public Health Issues

Air pollution is a problem only in Delhi and during wintersAir pollution levels are
unacceptably high in Delhi throughout the year. Between November 2016 and October
2017, both RK Puram in South Delhi and Anand Vihar in East Delhi exceeded the
national daily standard (60 microgram/cubic metre for PM 2.5) 75% of the time. During
winters, pollution levels become perceptibly worse as two factors converge.

One, atmospheric conditions trap pollutants closer to the surface of the earth, and
reduce the rate at which they can disperse. This increases concentrations. Two,
season-specific emissions, like the burning of biomass for heating and stubble burning,
add to regular sources like vehicular emissions and construction dust. Fireworks during
Diwali also spike pollution levels, and the effects persist for days.
While Delhi is certainly among the most polluted parts of the country, some other places
in the Indo-Gangetic plain — spanning from Punjab all the way to Bihar and including
populous cities like Lucknow, Agra, Patna and Kanpur — are just as polluted. In fact,
using the AQLI, we find that the people of Agra could live 5 years longer if air pollution
was reduced; Bareilly could live 4.7 years longer; and, Lucknow, 4.5 years — not that
far off from the 6 years longer Delhi citizens could live.
While Delhi certainly isn’t the only city that suffers from such extreme pollution, it could
see the greatest gains from pollution control because of the density of population, along
with the density of pollution. The population of NCT exceeds 15 million, meaning its
aggregate life expectancy could improve by more than 90 million life-years if particulate
levels met the national standards.
(iii) Nuclear Hazards and Human Health Risks
Nuclear hazards
1. SOURCE, EFFECT AND CONTROL
2. DEFINITION Risk or danger to human health or the environment posed by radiation
emanating from the atomic nuclei of a given substance, or the possibility of an
uncontrolled explosion originating from a fusion or fission reaction of atomic nuclei.
3. A nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier
nucleus with the release of energy.
4. A nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with
another particle, with the release of energy.
5. NUCLEAR HAZARDS Nuclear power is being used world wide for the generations of
electricity. 17% of electricity energy consumed comes from nuclear power.
6. NUCLEAR HAZARDS Radioactive substance are present in nature . They undergo
natural radioactive decay in which unstable isotopes spontaneously give out. Fast
moving particles, high energy radiation or both, at a fixed rate until a new stable isotope
is formed. The isotopes released either in the form of Gamma rays (High energy
Electromagnetic radiation). Alpha and Beta particles ( Ionization particles). ALPHA
PARTICLES : fast moving positively charged particles. BETA PARTICLES : fast
moving negatively charged electrons. These ionization radiations have variable
penetration power.
7. NUCLEAR HAZARDS
8. SOURCE OF NUCLEAR RADIATION NATURAL SOURCES : Cosmic rays from
outer space Radioactive radon-222 Soil, rocks, air, water and food ANTHROPOGENIC
SOURCES : Nuclear power plants Nuclear accidents X-rays Diagnostic kits Test
laboratories
9. Pathways Of Exposure To Man From Release of Radioactive Materials
10. Natural sources (81%) include radon (55%), external (cosmic, terrestrial), and
internal (K-40, C-14, etc.) Man-made sources (19%) include medical (diagnostic x-rays-
11%, nuclear medicine- 4%), consumer products, and other (fallout, power plants, air
travel, occupational, etc.)
(iv) Ecosystem services
Definition:
ecosystem goods and services .“The benefits people obtain from ecosystems.”
These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such
as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational, and
cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling that maintain the
conditions for life on Earth.
Provisioning services are: The products obtained from ecosystems, including, for
example, genetic resources, food and fiber, and fresh water. When people are asked to
identify a service provided by nature, most think of food. Fruits, vegetables, trees, fish,
and livestock are available to us as direct products of ecosystems. A provisioning
service is any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from nature. Along with
food, other types of provisioning services include drinking water, timber, wood fuel,
natural gas, oils, plants that can be made into clothes and other materials, and
medicinal benefits.
Regulating services are: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem
processes, including, for example, the regulation of climate, water, and some human
diseases. Ecosystems provide many of the basic services that make life possible for
people. Plants clean air and filter water, bacteria decompose wastes, bees pollinate
flowers, and tree roots hold soil in place to prevent erosion. All these processes work
together to make ecosystems clean, sustainable, functional, and resilient to change. A
regulating service is the benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural
phenomena. Regulating services include pollination, decomposition, water purification,
erosion and flood control, and carbon storage and climate regulation.
Cultural services are: The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems
through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic
experience, including, e.g., knowledge systems, social relations, and aesthetic values.
As we interact and alter nature, the natural world has in turn altered us. It has guided
our cultural, intellectual, and social development by being a constant force present in
our lives. The importance of ecosystems to the human mind can be traced back to the
beginning of mankind with ancient civilizations drawing pictures of animals, plants, and
weather patterns on cave walls. A cultural service is a non-material benefit that
contributes to the development and cultural advancement of people, including how
ecosystems play a role in local, national, and global cultures; the building of knowledge
and the spreading of ideas; creativity born from interactions with nature (music, art,
architecture); and recreation.
Supporting services are: Ecosystem services that are necessary for the production of
all other ecosystem services. Some examples include biomass production, production
of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and
provisioning of habitat. The natural world provides so many services, sometimes we
overlook the most fundamental. Ecosystems themselves couldn't be sustained without
the consistency of underlying natural processes, such as photosynthesis, nutrient
cycling, the creation of soils, and the water cycle. These processes allow the Earth to
sustain basic life forms, let alone whole ecosystems and people. Without supporting
services, provisional, regulating, and cultural services wouldn't exist

Question- What According to you were the reason of Environmental

Communication And public Awareness ?
Environmental Communication -
In the simplest terms, environmental communication is communication about
environmental affairs. This includes all of the diverse forms of interpersonal, group,
public, organizational, and mediated communication that make up the social debate
about environmental issues and problems, and our relationship to the rest of nature.
"It is both a lay activity and a field of professional practice"
Anyone who is participating in these discussions is engaging in the activity of
environmental communication. That includes everyone from the most passionate
environmental advocates, to the fiercest opponents of ecological protections. In this
sense, it is both a lay activity that anyone can undertake, and a field of practice that
professional communicators have created.
It should be noted here that former “U.S. Vice-President Al Gore shared the 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) for his work in communicating about climate change. That makes him the most
distinguished environmental communicator today.”
"It is also an interdisciplinary field of study"
Environmental communication is also an interdisciplinary field of study that examines
the role, techniques, and influence of communication in environmental affairs. Basically,
it studies the activity and in doing so, it draws its theory and methods primarily from
communication, environmental studies, psychology, sociology, and political science.
There are university courses and programs in environmental communication, research
centers dedicated to its study, scholarly journals focused on the subject, and books on
various aspects of the field.Work in this area is concerned with several interconnected
dimensions of the communication.
These are most easily explained with reference to the standard questions of who, what,
where, when and how. In each of these dimensions, we might also ask why and so
what?
Who gets to participate in the discussions? Why are certain voices privileged and others
marginalized? Among those are the voices of citizens, politicians, civil servants,
scientists, corporations, religious institutions, labour unions, indigenous peoples,
environmental organizations, and other civil society groups, not to mention journalists
and other media workers.
What are the facets of the environmental issues that are being discussed? Why are
some emphasized over others? What are the implications? Among the key facets that
might be discussed are the science, costs, risks, problem definitions, possible
responses, values, agency, responsibilities, future visions, and ideas about nature, as
well as the patterns of those discussions known as discourses.
Where and when does the communication take place? What are the limitations and
opportunities associated with those different contexts? These include traditional news
media, public participation for a , policy-making venues, advocacy campaigns,
advertising, street protests, social media, popular culture and the public sphere
generally.
How are people communicating? Why are they using certain words, metaphors, visuals,
frames, music, art, narratives, and other rhetorical devices? Why not different words,
etc.? What are the consequence for those who hear and see these messages? How
should people be communicating?
"A central goal of the field is to discern and promote good practices"
These are some of the core questions that environmental communication researchers
explore and practitioners face. However, despite tremendous growth in the literature of
environmental communication in the past two decades, there is still much to learn and a
lot of work to be done in order to fully answer them.
Because many of the people who study this field see it as a “crisis discipline,” akin to
conservation biology, their work often goes beyond describing, explaining, or critiquing
the communication. They feel a responsibility to see that communication concerning
environmental affairs be as ethical and effective as possible. That’s because such
communication is essential if we are to avoid violent conflicts and address
environmental health and justice issues in the most effective ways possible.
Accordingly, a central goal of the field is to discern and promote good practices.
"Environmental communication is a practical, and indeed essential, tool for
action"
As with communication in general, environmental communication serves two broad
social functions. The first is that we use communication to do things. For example, we
communicate in order to inform, persuade, educate, and alert others. Similarly, we use
communication to organize, argue, reconcile, and negotiate with each other, among
other things. In this way, environmental communication is a practical, and indeed
essential, tool for action. As such, it deserves careful scrutiny.
Whether you are using environmental communication to advocate for a policy, raise
awareness, change behavior, influence public opinion, collaborate to address conflicts,
pass legislation or challenge assumptions, how you communicate will affect your
outcomes. Whether you seek technological, political, economic, behavioral or cultural
solutions, you need effective communication to succeed.
"Communication shapes how we see and value the world"
The second broad social function of communication is that it plays an important role in
creating meaning. Communication shapes how we see and value the world of things,
events, conditions, ideas and so forth. In environmental affairs, communication guides
our understanding of the issues, the problems that underlie them, the people and
organizations involved, the possible approaches that can be taken, potential futures,
and most importantly, the natural world itself.
Many people working in this field understand how important meanings and values are to
guiding everything from the kinds of technologies people develop to the policies they
support to the day to day personal choices they make. Of course, meanings and values
don’t fully determine how people act, but they can greatly influence it.
"How well we communicate with each other about nature andenvironmental
affairs will affect how well we address the ecological crisis"
Better policies, cleaner energy sources, new technologies, carbon taxes and all of the
other innovative approaches to dealing with environmental issues will only take us so
far. In order to achieve lasting ecological sustainability, human culture (especially in
wasteful Western societies) is going to have to change as well. This will require some
significant shifts in our views and values towards the natural world, ourselves, and each
other. So, how well we communicate about nature and environmental affairs will affect
how quickly and thoroughly we can transform our cultures and ultimately how well we
address the ecological crisis.

Public Awareness
The word environment is derived from the french word 'environner' meaning
surroundings. Hence, everything surrounding us is called "ENVIRONMENT".
Every organism is surrounded by materials and forces that constitute its environment. It
is the environment from where every organism must derive its requirement. The
environment creates favourable conditions for the existence and development of living
organisms.
The survival of any organism requires a steady supply of materials and removal of
waste products from its environment.
The degradation of the environment has become a serious problem for the existence of
human beings. Pollution of soil, water and air causes harm to living organisms as well
as loss to valuable natural resources.
scope & importance, need for public awareness

Environmental studies involve educating the people for preserving the quality of
environment.
The scope of environmental studies include:
1. Developing an awareness and sensitivity to the total environment and its related
problems
2. Motivating people for active participation in environmental protection and
improvement
3. Developing skills for active identification and development of solutions to
environmental problems
4. Imbibe and inculcate the necessity for conservation of natural resources
5. Evaluation of environmental program in terms of social, economic, ecological and
aesthetic factors.

IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

In the industrialized era that we live today, every component that we intake - be it, air,
water or food are contaminated by industrial activities. THERE IS NO ZERO
POLLUTION. To minimize this problem, knowledge of environmental studies is
essential. An in-dept study of environmental studies will help us in the following ways:
1. We will begin to appreciate and adopt the idea of "DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT
DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT"
2. Knowledge about "VARIOUS TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTS & DIFFERENT
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS"
3. Playing an effective role in protecting the environment by "DEMANDING CHANGES
IN LAW AND ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS".
4. Having a "POSITIVE IMPACT" on "QUALITY OF LIFE".
5. Creating a "CONCERN AND RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT".

NEED FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS:

Increasing population, Urbanization and poverty have generated pressure on the
natural resources and lead to a degradation of the environment. TO PREVENT THE
ENVIRONMENT FROM FURTHER DEGRADATION, the supreme court has ordered
and initiated environmental protection awareness through government and non-
government agencies to take part in protecting our environment.

Environmental pollution cannot prevented by laws alone. Public participation is equally

important with regard to environmental protection.
Environmental Education (EE) is a process of learning by giving an overall perspective
of knowledge and awareness of the environment. It sensitizes the society about
environmental issues and challenges interested individuals to develop skills and
expertise thereby providing appropriate solutions.

Climate change, loss of biodiversity, declining fisheries, ozone layer depletion, illegal
trade of endangered species, destruction of habitats, land degradation, depleting
ground water supplies, introduction of alien species, environmental pollution, solid
waste disposal, storm water and sewage disposal pose a serious threat to ecosystems
in forest, rural, urban and marine ecosystems.
Both formal and informal education on the environment will give the interested individual
the knowledge, values, skills and tools needed to face the environmental challenges on
a local and global level.