Unit 4 Social Issues-2 5 17 PDF
Unit 4 Social Issues-2 5 17 PDF
Unit 4 Social Issues-2 5 17 PDF
UNIT IV
SOCIAL ISSUES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Books Referred:
1. Gilbert M.Masters, “Introduction to Environmental Engineering and
Science”, 2nd Edition, Pearson Education ,2004.
2. Benny Joseph, “Environmental Science and Engineering”, Tata McGraw-Hill, New
Delhi, 2006.
UNIT IV
Objectives
Developing and modernizing the technologies without losing our sound traditional
values and practices is essential.
Sustainable development
Meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future
generations, to meet their own need
Causes; Cities are main centers of economic growth, trade, transportation, education,
medical facilities and employment
Urban sprawl: Urban growth is fast , so difficult to accommodate with their limited area .So
cities spread into rural areas
• Urban energy requirement:
• Residential and commercial lighting
• Public and private transportation
• Electrical and electronic appliances
Solution:
Use public transport instead of motor cycles
Energy consumption must be minimized
Use solar and wind energy
Impose strict laws, penalty, and energy audit
WATER CONSERVATION
The process of saving water for future utilization.
Water source:
• Fresh water
• River
• Stream
• Pond
• Ocean
Need for water conservation
• Changes in environmental factors
• Better lifestyles
• Increase in population
• Deforestation
• Over exploitation of ground water
• Agricultural and industrial activities.
Strategies of water conservation
• Reducing evaporation losses
• Reducing irrigation losses
• Re use of water
• Preventing of wastage of water
• Decreasing run-off losses
• Avoid discharge of sewage.
Methods of water conservation
• Rain water harvesting- A technique of capturing and storing of rain water for
further utilization.
• Watershed Management
Watershed management
The management of rainfall and resultant run-off. It is defined as land area bounded
by divide line from which water drains under influence of gravity in to stream, lakes,
reservoir. Eg : Pits, dams, farm, ponds, Himalayas.
Types
1. Micro
2. Mini
3. Macro
Objectives
• To minimize of risk of floods
• For improving the economy
• For developmental activities
• To generate huge employment opportunities
• To promote forestry
• To protect soil from erosion.
Factors affecting watershed
• Unplanned land use
• Deforestation
• Droughty climates.
Forestry
Halt deforestation, provide vegetative cover, degraded land and supplement folder and
fuel wood resources available to rural communities
Agriculture
• Aims to increase agricultural productivity in sustained manner and to diversify crop
production
• Major objective shall be achieved through organizing farmers, training camps and
exposure visits.
• Construct check dams, water harvesting tanks, storage tanks and channels , repair of
old channels , implementing measures to check soil erosion
Horticulture
• establishment of private orchard
• Rejuvenation of existing orchards
• Distribution of horticulture plant for home garden planting.
• Animal husbandry
• Energy conservation
• Community participation
• Training and awareness programme
Causes
• Due to Developmental activities
• Due to Disaster
• Due to conservation initiatives.
Effects:
• Loss of land
• Loss of recourse
• Unsatisfactory comp[enasation
• Social and cultura problems
• Changes in tradition of indigenous people
• Spread of disease
• Submergence of valuable forest
• Waterlogging
• Extinction of wild life
Rehabilitation issues
• Displacement of tribal’s increases poverty
• Breakup of families
• Communal ownership of property
• Vanishing social and cultural activities
• Loss of identity between the people.
Case Studies
Sardar Sarovar Dam, the Theri dam Project, Pong Dam.
Environmental ethics
Refers to the issues, principles and guidelines relating to human interactions with
their environment.
Over exploitation of forests, land, water as well as various living components of
biosphere and failure to tackle the problem of pollution and environmental degradation are
exposing the humanly to the thread of a global environment crisis.
It emphasis that real development cannot occur unless the strategies which are
formulated are implemented are environmentally sustainable. Even though our government
is formulating several rules, regulations, policies, laws, it is the duty of each and every one to
protect our nature.
Therefore human beings are ethically responsible for the preservation of the world‟s
ecological integrity. The environment ethics literally means conscious efforts to protect
environment and to maintain its stability from the pollutants. Following are some of the ways
to safeguard environment.
1. To sacrifice the consumption of some of the good which reduces environment quality
2. Minimize the resource utilization and conservation
3. Adopt sustainable and eco friendly development. (e.g) reduction of waste, recycling,
waste management and harvesting non conventional energy
If we change as individuals then the society will also change by itself. The society is nothing
but an extension of the individual.
Environmental problems
• Deforestation
• Population growth
• Pollution due to effluent and smoke
• Water scarcity
• Land degradation.
Solutions
• Reducing the energy sources
• Recycle and reuse of waste products
• Soil degradation
• Sustainable development
• Protection of Bio – diversity
• Reducing the population.
CLIMATE
The average weather of an area.
Causes of climate change
• Presence of green house gases
• Depletion of ozone gases.
Effect of climate change
• Migration of animals
• Upsetting the hydrological cycles results in floods and droughts
• Changes in global pattern of winds.
Causes:
Over the last century, the level of carbon dioxide in the atm. Has increase by 25%, the
level of nitrous oxide by 19% and the level of methane by 100%. These 3 major global warming
gases are released into the atm. by burning of fossil fuels, industrialization, mining,
deforestation, exhaust from increasing automobiles and other anthropogenic activities.
Effects:
1. Increase evaporation of surface water – influence climate change
2. Leads to declining biodiversity
3. Melting of mountain glaciers and polar ice, which cause rise in sea level
4. Change the climate and rainfall – reduction in food production
5. The biological productivity of ocean also decreased due to warming of earth‟s surface
6. With more carbon dioxide in the air, the plants will grow bigger with increase in yield and
resulting in the soils getting poor quality
7. If proper precautions are not taken, the conc. Of green house gases may double in the
atom. with in next 50 years, and will makes the average global temp. to 450 C.
Measures
• Reducing CO2 emission
• Utilizing renewable resources
• Plant more trees
• Adopt sustainable agriculture.
ACID RAIN
The precipitation of CO2, SO2, and NO2 gases as pollutants in water.
Control measures
• Clean combustion technologies
• Using pollution control equipments
• Replacement of coal by natural gas
• Liming of lakes and soils.
Effects:
1. On Human health - Marked rise in cause skin cancer
2. Damage immune system
3. Eye ailment such as cataract
4. On materials - Shorter life of paints and plastics
5. Restricted growth and crop damage
6. On aquatic systems – phyto plankton, fish
7. On climate – Increasing the average temperature of the earth surface.
Control Measures
• Replacing CFCs
• Use of methyl bromide – crop fumigant.
Examples
1.THE CARELESS SITING OF INDUSTRIES- Bhopal gas tragedy
The careless siting of industries and relatively poor regulatory controls leads to ill
health in the.The Bhopal gas tragedy on December 2nd 1984, where Union Carbide's
Plant leaked 43 tons of Methyl Isocynate and other substances, used in the manufacture
of pesticides is one of the worst industrial accidents in the recent past. Of the 5,20,000
people who were exposed to the gas - 8,000 died during the first week and another 8,000
later. The impact of the survivors is visible even today.
Effects
• Nuclear winter
• Ignition of all combustible material
Control Measures
• Suitable precautions to avoid accident
• Constant monitoring of the radiation level
• Checks and control measures done by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
Over all environmental impact of these two types of consumerism may be same or even
greater in case of MDC.
Objectives of Consumerisation
• Improves rights and power of the buyers
• Making the manufacturer liable
• Reuse and recycle the product
• Reclaiming useful parts
• Reusable packing materials
• Health and happiness.
The act provides for environmental Audit for checking complying with the environmental laws
and regulations.
Salient features
1. Prevention, control and abatement of air pollution
2. Air pollution has been defined as the presence of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance
(including noise) in the atmosphere in such a concentration that may be or tend to be
harmful to human being or any other living creature or plants or property or environment.
3. Noise pollution – inserted in 1987
4. CPCB & SPCB similar to water pollution board
5. Section 20 provides for emission std to auto mobile
6. Section 19 provides for SG to declare „air pollution control area‟ in consultation with
SPCB
7. Direction of PCB can be appealed in the appellate authority.
Water amendment Act 1987- As a result, some of the basic principles of water
law applicable today in India derive from irrigation acts. The early Northern India
Canal and Drainage Act, 1873 sought, for instance, to regulate irrigation,
navigation and drainage in Northern India.
• One of the long-term implications of this act was the introduction of the right of
the Government to ‘use and control for public purposes the water of all rivers and
streams flowing in natural channels, and of all lakes. The 1873 act refrained from
asserting state ownership over surface waters. Nevertheless, this act is a milestone
since it asserted the right of the Government to control water use for the benefit of
the broader public.
• This was progressively strengthened. Thus, the Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Act,
1931 went much further and asserted direct state control over water: ‘All rights in
the water of any river, natural stream or natural drainage channel, natural lake or
other natural collection of water shall vest in the Government.
Salient features
1. State government can use forest only forestry purpose.
2. Provision for conservation of all types of forests. Advisory committee appointed for funding
conservation
3. Illegal non-forest activity within a forest area can be immediately stopped under this act
Non forest activity means clearing land for cash-crop agriculture, mining etc.
However construction in forest for wild life or forest management is exempted from non
forestry activity.
1992 Amendment:
1. This amendment allows transmission lines, seismic surveys, exploration drilling and
hydro electric project in forest area without cutting trees or with limited cutting of trees
– prior approval CG to be sought.
2. Wild life sanctuaries, National parks etc. are prohibited from exploration except with
CG prior approval.
3. Cultivation of coffee, rubber, tea (cash crop), fruit bearing trees, oil yielding trees,
trees of medicinal values are also prohibited in reserved forest area with out prior
approval from CG. Has this may create imbalance to ecology of the forest.
4. Tusser (a type of silk yielding insect) cultivation in forest area is allowed since it
discourages monoculture practices in forests and improves biodiversity.
5. Plantation of mulberry for rearing silk worm is prohibited.
6. Proposal sent to CG for non-forestry activity must have a cost benefit analysis and
environmental impact statement (EIS).
Environmental Legislation
1972 June 5th – Environment was first discussed as an agenda in UN conference on
Human Environment. There after every year 5th June is celebrated as Environment Day.
Constitutional Provisions:
Added in 1976 – Article 48A – “The state shall endeavor to protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife of the country”
Article 51A (g): “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the
natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for
living creatures”.
By these two articles one constitution makes environment protection and conservation as
one of our fundamental duties.
PART – A
1. Define the term sustainable development? (or)
What is meant by sustainable development?
It is defined as, “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
2. What are the important aspects of sustainable development?
Inter – generational equity:
It states that we should hand over a safe, healthy and resourceful environment
to our future generations.
Intra – generational equity:
It states that the technological development of rich countries should support the
economic growth of the poor countries and help in narrowing the wealth gap and lead
to sustainability
3. Explain the need for water conservation?
- Though the resources of water are more, the quality and reliability are not high due
to changes in environmental factors
- Better lifestyles require more fresh water
- As the population increases, the requirement of water is also more
- Due to deforestation, the annual rainfall is also decreasing
- Over exploitation of ground water, leads to drought
- Agricultural and industrial activities require more fresh water
4. Define the term environmental ethics?
“Environmental ethics refers to the issues, principles and guidelines relating to
human interactions with their environment”.
5. What is greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect may be defined as, “the progressive warming up of the
earth’s surface due to blanketing effect of man-made CO2 in the atmosphere.”
6. Give some examples of greenhouse gases?
CO2, CH4, N2O and chlorofluoro carbons (CFCs)
7. What are the causes and effects of global warming?
Causes:
Increased inputs of CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from human
activities
Effect:
- Sea level increases
- Negative effect on crop production and forest growth
- Water resources decreases
- Drought nature increases
8. What are the causes and effects of ozone layer depletion?
Causes: presence of
- Chlorofluoro carbon
- Hydro Chloro Fluro Carbon (HCFC)
- Bromo Fluro Carbons (BFC)
Effect:
- UV rays destroys the melamine pigment in human skin
- It also effect the aquatic forms
- It degrade paints, plastics and other polymeric materials
- Increases the average temperature of the earth
9. What is acid rain? (Or) what is acid precipitation?
The presence of excessive acids in rain water is known as acid rain
PART – B
1. What is sustainable development? Explain.
2. What are factors affecting sustainable development?
3. Briefly explain measures for sustainable development.
4. Discuss the concept of urban problems related to energy.
5. Briefly explain water conservation.
6. Write short notes on water sheet management.
7. List out the benefits of rainwater harvesting.
8. Briefly explain the method of rainwater harvesting.
9. Give short note on environmental ethic.
10. Define global warming.
11. Give short note on green house effect and its impact on environment.
12. Write short note on climatic changes affect in the environment.
13. Give short not on ozone layer depletion and its effects.
14. Explain in detail about acid rain.
15. Write short note on wasteland reclamation.
16. Discuss the concept of consumerism and waste product.
17. The water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. Explain.
18. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. Explain.
19. The Wild life Protection Act. Explain.
20. The Forest Conservation Act. Explain.