Environment
• The environment encompasses all living and non-living things that occur naturally on
Earth. It includes a variety of elements and systems such as:
1. Natural Resources: Water, air, soil, minerals and living organisms.
2. Ecosystems: Communities of living organisms interacting with their physical
surroundings.
3. Climate and weather systems: Atmospheric conditions that influence life on
Earth.
4. Biomes: Large ecological areas with distinct climates and specific plants and
animal species (for example forests, deserts, tundra etc.)
5. Natural processes: Geological and meteorological processes like the water cycle,
carbon cycle and nutrient cycles.
• The environment can also be considered in terms of its impact on human life and
society, encompassing the built environment which includes urban settings and
infrastructure. Environment science studies and how human activities affect the
environment seeking sustainable solution to maintain ecological balance.
Environmental Education:
• Environmental education is a vital field aimed at increasing awareness, knowledge
and understanding of environmental issues among individuals and communities.
• Definition:
Environmental education is the process of recognising values and clarifying concepts
to develop skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the
interrelatedness among humans, their culture, and their biophysical surroundings. It
also involves practice in decision making and self-formulation of our code of
behaviour about issues concerning environmental quality.
Purpose or objective:
• The primary goals are to:
1. Increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues.
2. Foster positive attitudes, motivation and commitment to the environment.
3. Promote sustainable behaviours and practices.
Importance of environmental education:
• Every human on Earth has a role to play for the environment and it gives us
everything we need i.e. shelter, food, air, water etc. The points given below will help
us in understanding the importance of environment:
1. Environmental education is one of the subjects in the curriculum in schools and
colleges. When we study the environment and its functions we develop a sense
of understanding of the environment in the early stage of life.
2. It is important to increase the awareness of individuals about the environment.
With the help of environmental education people’s knowledge about the
environment is instilled into every country’s citizen.
3. There are a lot of environmental issues that the world is facing. To avoid them in
the future, people need to understand the environment and take proper care of
it. It can only be done with the help of environmental education.
4. Environmental education polishes various other skills of an individual. The ability
to make decision is strengthened with environmental education as people
become more responsible and aware.
5. Individuals can deal with any environmental problem through environmental
education. This in turn increases problem solving skills.
6. One develops sensitivity toward the environment because of the environmental
issues that have been happening since a long time. In this way. Each individual
takes any action by keeping in mind the harm it can cause to the environment.
7. There is no particular view point that is advocated through environmental
education. All the aspects are taken into consideration to reach an informed
decision.
8. Environmental education makes individual rich in the knowledge of environment
so that the best possible solutions can be provided for even the smallest of
situations the environment faces.
Aims and objectives of environmental education:
Aim:
1. The primary aim of environmental education is to make people aware of the
environment and its associated problems. The study involves knowledge, skills,
motivation, attitude and commitment to work individually and collectively towards
solutions to current problems.
Objectives:
1. Awareness: It is one of the fundamental objectives that any subject of study offers.
Through environmental education, awareness about the environment, the issues of
the environment and the solutions for the problems are generated. Moreover, there
is proper understanding as to why there are various functions present in the
environment.
2. Knowledge: Environmental education helps a person gain knowledge and information
about the current happenings in the environment. There is in depth and proper
education that is provided about the environment and the factors of the
environment.
3. Responsibilities: It is only when we understand the reason behind the disruption in
the environment, we can take proper measures to prevent them. Individuals
understand which activities harm the environment, be it big or small, and take
necessary precautions to face the adversities. It also helps in taking any future
actions and decisions responsibly.
4. Participation: Cleaned environment is very important for all of us, so we must all save
the environment and prevent it from being harmed. Through environmental
education, individuals are encouraged to participate in saving and taking care of the
environment as they become aware of the harm they can cause to our lives.
5. Creating new patterns: With increased awareness of the harm that man’s actions are
causing the environment, environmental education aims to create a new behaviour
pattern and attitude toward the environment which results in less harm as the new
pattern is aimed at being environmentally friendly.
6. Understanding the complexity of environment: The environment that we humans live
in is complex and involves various activities that happen within it. Environmental
education fulfils the aim to make people understand the complexity of working in the
environment and the process that occurs in it. By understanding this, people become
more indulged in saving and protecting the environment.
Scope of environmental education (3 M)
1. Biological aspect: The most important aspects of environmental education are
biological aspects. The best example is human beings. Other examples are animals,
birds, insects, micro-organisms and plants.
2. Physical aspect: It further divides into natural and man-made aspects. Physical
aspects include air, water, land, climate etc. On the other hand, man-made aspects
include roads, highways, airports, rail-roads, buildings, bridges, dams etc.
3. Socio-cultural aspect: These are the practices, cultures and traditions which humans
make to live in a society which include rules, laws, religious beliefs etc. Human beings
with their efforts have created this.
Environmentalism:
1. It is a movement that arose in response to global environmental crisis.
2. It encompasses theories about nature and causes of environmental problems, moral
views about our relations to nature and attempts to define and bring about an
environmentally sound. This is used as a general term to refer to concern for the
environment and particularly actions or advocacy to limit human impacts on the
environment.
3. It advocates the prevention, restoration and improvement of the natural
environment and critical Earth system elements or processes such as the climate and
maybe referred to as a movement to control pollution or protect plant and animal
diversity.
Why is environmentalism important?
1. It is a movement whose main aims are the protection and improvement of the
environment. The focus is on changing human activities through the use of socio-
political and economic organisations.
What are the features of environmentalism?
1. It advocates the preservation, restoration and improvement of the natural
environment and critical Earth system elements or processes such as climate and
maybe referred to as a movement to control pollution or protect plant and animal
diversity.
What is environmentalism also known as?
1. It is also called the environmental rights which is a philosophy, ideology, and a social
movement regarding concern for environmental protection.
What are the components of environment and their interactions?
1. The 4 major components of environment include: lithosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere and biosphere corresponding to rocks, water, air and life respectively.
2. Lithosphere is the outer most layer of Earth called crust which is made of different
minerals. Biological component interrelates with the abiotic component of the
environment. Interaction of these to components forms various ecosystems like
forest ecosystem, pond ecosystem, marine ecosystem, desert ecosystem etc.
3. Biosphere is independent and large ecosystem.
Man, and the biosphere:
1. It combines the natural and social sciences with a view to improving human
livelihood and safeguarding natural and managed ecosystems thus promoting
innovative approaches to economic development that are socially and culturally
appropriate and environmentally sustainable. Man, and biosphere develops the
basis, within the natural and the social sciences, for the sustainable use and
conservation of biological diversity and for the improvement of the relationship
between people and their environment globally.
What is the relationship between humans and the biosphere?
1. We humans are a product of the biosphere just like apples, caterpillars and rocks are.
2. We not only live in the biosphere but are absolutely dependent on it for almost every
aspect of our existence. The Neelgiri biosphere in India which was established in year
1986. It is located in the western parts and includes two of the 10 biogeographical
provinces in India.
What are the impacts of development on environment?
1. Initiatives and standards- UN:
With focus on sustainability and resilience, the UN environment program helps
countries achieve the sustainable development goals (SDG) through support to
science-based policy making, innovation, global advocacy and partnership building.
2. Basel action network (BAN):
It is a charitable non-government organisation (NGO), works to combat the export of
toxic waste from technology and other products from industrialised societies to
developing countries. BAN is based in Seattle with a partner office in the Philippines.
Its mission is to champion global environmental health and justice by ending toxic
trait, catalysing a toxic free future and campaigning for everyone’s right to a clean
environment. As world renowned experts, ban’s Basel team actively negotiates and
advocated for strong policies that protect both, human and environmental health
and promote national self-sufficiency in waste management
Basel Convention:
• The Basel Convention on the control of Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and their Disposal usually known as the Basel Convention, is an international
treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between
nations and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to
less developed countries, it does not, however, address the movement of radioactive
waste. The convention is also intended to minimise the rate and toxicity of wastes
generated to ensure their environmentally sound management as closely as possible
to the source of generation and to assist developing countries in environmentally
sound management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate.
• The convention was open for signature of 21st March 1991 and entered into force of
5th May 1992. As of June 2023, there are 191 parties to the conventions. In addition,
Haiti and the USA have signed the convention but not ratified (signed or give normal
consent to make it officially valid) it. India signed and ratified it on 22nd September
1992. Canada ratified it on 28th August 1992. This convention controls the movement
of hazardous waste and other waste (such as household and plastic waste) between
these countries. The goal is to protect human health and environment. Canada
ratified it because it wants manage its waste in a better way. Australia ratified it in
1992 to minimise their hazardous waste products.
• Australia ratified Basel convention in 1992. Their main aim was to minimise the
generation of hazardous waste materials of their country.
• Europe ratified on 22nd May 1990. The convention requires that the production of
hazardous waste materials be managed using an integrated life cycle approach which
involves strict control from its generation to storage, transport, treatment, reuse,
recycle, recovery and final disposal.
WEEE directory:
Waste electrical and electronic equipment
The purpose of the directory is, as a first priority the prevention of waste electrical and
electronic equipment and in addition, the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of
such waste products so as to reduce the disposal of waste products. It became European law
in 2003. The current list of restricted substances include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent
chromium, polybrominated diphenyl biphenyl (PDB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDE), bis(2-ethylhexyl) etc. If any manufactures re-brands or imports electrical and
electronic equipment (EEE), he/she becomes a producer of EEE and he/she must join and
approve producer compliance scheme. This directive is regulated the amount of WEEE
incinerated or sent to land fill sites. Reduction is achieved through various methods like
reusing and recycling.
Some of the electrical waste products are ovens, refrigerators, washing machines,
computers, electric kettles, hairdryers, digital watches, smart phones, electronic toys,
medical devices etc. Such items contain a wide variety of materials for example and average
tv contains 6% metal and 50% glass, where as a cooker contains 89% metal and only 6%
glass. Other materials include plastics, ceramics, and precious metals. As a result of these
metals, some of which are hazardous including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and certain
flame retardants.
WEEE recycling poses a number of health risk that need to be adequately managed. The
exact treatment of WEEE can vary enormously according to the category of WEEE and
technology that is used. Some treatment facilities utilise large scale shredding technologies
while other use dissembling process. Which can be manual, automated or a combination of
both.
ROHS:
Restriction of hazardous substances
ROHS directives 2002/95/EC short for directive on the restriction of the use of certain
hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, was adopted in February 2003
by the European Union. The initiative was to limit the amount of hazardous chemicals in
electronics. This directive cam into force on 13 Feb 2003. It came into force t protect the
environment and public health. The rise in the production and use of electrical and
electronic products such as mobile phones, computers and kitchen appliances has resulted
in an increasing volume of electrical and electronic waste which may release harmful
(hazardous) substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium which can cause major
environmental and health problems. To address such challenges EU laws restricts the use of
certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment through ROHS directive.
All products with an electrical and electronic component, unless specifically excluded have
to comply with these restrictions.
Social issue and environment:
From unsustainable to sustainable development.
Sustainable development is the type of development is type of development that satisfies
the current needs of the society without interfering with “the ability of the future
generations to meet their own needs”. On the other hand, unsustainable development
doesn’t consider future generations on their needs. Sustainable development projects are
designed to take care of not only the current population but also the coming generations.
Sustainable development seems to take care of the long term needs as opposed to
unsustainable development that takes care of short-term needs. A good example of
sustainable development is a decision by the governments to encourage use of renewable
energy resources. This could be a part of a plan to transform the energy market on a global
scale. The long-term achievement could be the use of renewable sources of energy, the
current global energy crisis might be resolved, while at the same time the future generations
will be able to meet their needs. This is because the renewable energy resources are
cheaper than non-renewable energy resources. The environment will also be protected at
present and in future. Sustainable development projects around the world cover peace,
environment, food, education, employment and other needs that are evident in the current
world. In environment protection, sustainable development protects the integrity of the
ecology, reduces waste and protects the inhabitants or species in those environments. Some
activities geared to a sustainable development are meant to achieve equity in terms of
resources. The present generation shares the unlimited resources, with future generation
while protecting the natural resources.
Unsustainable development doesn’t take into consideration the social, economic or
environmental needs of the future generations. According to research, unsustainable
development can occur as a result of deliberate carelessness. However, that is not always
the cause of unsustainable development. It can occur as a result of good intentions like
sustainable development. Lack of understanding of the possible long-term consequences
makes it to become unsustainable. A good example unsustainable development can occur in
irrigation projects. These projects are always planned with good intentions and with good
interest of both the current and future generations. They can be carried out to relieve
countries suffering from hunger and poverty which is a global predicament. In this way the
project falls under sustainable development since future generation will not be affected by
food insecurity. However, over-irrigation might result in depletion of natural water resources,
Aral Sea in Asia is a typical example of water source which was utilised in irrigation by the
Soviet Union. Overuse of this Sea initiated a long process of desertification endanger the
future generation. This turned a sustainable development project into an unsustainable
development affecting millions of people and endangering the natural environment.
Urban problems related to energy:
Coal and water quality, insufficient water availability, waste disposal problems and high
energy consumption are exacerbated by the increasing population density and the demands
of urban environments. Strong city plannings will be essential in managing these and other
difficulties as the world’s urban areas as well. Urban centres use enormous water quantity.
In the past urban housing required relatively smaller amounts of energy than we use at
present. Traditional housing in India required very little temperature adjustments as material
used to be bricks and wood, handle temperature changes better than the current concrete,
glass and steel of ultra-modern building. Until recently, a big majority of human population
lived in rural areas and their economic activities centred on agriculture, cattle, fishing,
hunting or cottage industry.
Now 50% of the world population lives in urban areas and there is increasing movement
rural folks to cities in search of employment. The urban growth is so fast that it is becoming
difficult to accommodate all the industrial, commercial and residential facilities within a
limited municipal boundary. As a result, there is spreading of the cities into the sub-urban or
rural areas too. This phenomenon is known as “urban sprawl”. The energy used is closely
related to development in industry, transport, communication, commercial, household and
agricultural activities. The urban requirement of urban population is much higher than that
of the rural ones. This is because urban people have a higher standard of life and their
lifestyle demands more energy inputs in every spear of life.
Water Conservation:
Two main challenges related to water are affecting the sustainability of human urban:
1. The lack of access to save water and sanitation and increasing water related disasters
such as floods and draughts. More storm run-off an erosion because there is less
recitation to slow water as it runs downs the hills. Most sediments is washed into
streams. Flooding can occur because water draining methods are changed. The
activities to conserve water are as follows:
Any beneficial reduction in water loss, use and waste of resources, avoiding any
damage to water quality and improving water management practices that reduces
the use or enhances the beneficial use of water. Water conservation is gaining
ascendency around the world as the most important strategy for water planning and
management for the future decades. In the urban areas of the developed world,
water conservation has, to a certain extent, achieved the objective of curving
consumption, especially in the more compact European cities. Urban water
conservation depends on changing behaviours by water users which may be
influenced by factors like age, income etc. or may follow stimuli coming from
company like pricing, technological or public awareness spears.
Water share management:
It is a term used to describe the process of implementing land use practices to protect and
improve the quality of the water and other natural resources within in water shed by
managing the use of those land and water resources in a comprehensive manner. [ water
shed – an area or ridge of land that separates water flowing to different rivers, basins or
seas.] In a nutshell the process to conserve soil and water so as to increase the production of
biomass substances is known as water shed management. Colombian river water shed,
Pacific Ocean water shed and the Sacramento River watershed are some popular examples
of water shed management. Basically, it is an adaptive, comprehensive, integrated multi
resource management planning process that seeks to balance healthy ecological, economic,
cultural/ social conditions within a water shed. It serves to integrate the planning of land and
water.
Features of water shed management:
• The individual components of the water shed:
Water user
The relationship between the characteristic form, slope and bedrock. The process
factors.
Average precipitation
Advantages on water shed management:
1. It helps to replenish the ground water
2. It is maintained by humans therefore its benefits are distributed in local people.
Mismanagement and over exploitation of these natural resources are reduced
because locals are controlling them
3. Water management development aims to balance the conservation, regeneration
and use by humans of land and water resources within a water she. Common
benefits include agricultural yields, increased access.
Components of water management:
Groundwater acetifiers
Snow packed glaciers
Ice fields
Enhanced precipitation
Re-settlement and rehabilitation (R & R):
The R&R plan forms a part of the environmental impact assessment and management plan
reports (EIA & EMP) and is assessed and approved by the expert appraisal committee (EAC)
of ministry of environment, for a stand climate change. MOUF AND CC. resettlement refer to
the process of settling again in a new area and rehabilitation means restoration to the
former state.
Natural disasters like earthquake, cyclones, tsunami render thousands of people homeless
and sometimes even force them to move resettle. Similarly, development projects like
development of roads, dams, canals and flyovers displace people from their homes.
Resettlement enables refugees to relocate to another place or country which has agreed to
admit them with a legal status ensuring international protection and ultimately common and
residence.
Rehabilitation during epidemic or pandemic:
The main aim of rehabilitation program is to give tools, skills and support their need to lead
a happy and fulfilled life following an illness, injury or addiction. It can take many forms and
will differ per person and per situation.
Rehabilitation during conflicts and terrorism:
This includes efforts to strengthen law enforcement and judicial capabilities, expand aviation
and border security, deepen global information sharing, counter-terrorist financing, improve
prices response.
Issues related to resettlement and rehabilitation policy in India:
Changes in economic activities, ownership of assets, accessibility to natural resources and
common property resources, social disruption and trauma of the affected persons are the
main concerns of human rights and rehabilitation and resettlement policies.
Environmental ethics:
Environmental ethics is a branch of applied philosophy that studies the conceptual
foundation of environmental values as well as more concrete issues surrounding societal
actions and policies to protect and sustain the bio-diversity and ecological systems.
Ecological sustainability:
We must strive to use resources responsibly and with an eye to preserving ecosystem and
biodiversity.
Human responsibility:
We are responsible for our own actions and their consequences for the environment
Human Equity:
We must strive for a just world where the rights and needs of humans, animals and plants
are respected and protected.
Precautionary principle:
We should take precautions against environmental harm even when scientific evidence is
inconclusive.
Right to know:
Individuals have the right to access information about environmental issues.
Right to participate:
Citizens have the right to participate in environmental decision making.
Acid rain:
It is the rain or any form of precipitation that is usually acidic i.e. it has elevated levels
hydrogen ions. Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH level that exists from
6.5 and 8.5 but acid has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4-5 on an average.
Causes:
Acid rain can be formed by natural causes such as volcanic eruptions. More commonly,
however, acid rain is due to human activities. Burning fossil fuels, manufacturing, oil
refineries, electricity generation and vehicles all release sulphur and nitrogen oxides into the
atmosphere.
Global effects:
When the acid rain and dry acidic particles fall on Earth, the nitric and sulfuric acid that
make the particles acidic can land on statues, buildings and other man-made structures and
damage their surfaces. The acidic particles corrode metals and cause paint and stone to
detorate more quickly. Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when
compounds like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These
substances can rise very high into the atmosphere where they mix and react with water,
oxygen and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants known as acid rain
The pH of rain changes when combined with sulfuric and nitric acid, so when it falls on the
ground or water, it alters their chemical characteristics and endangers the balance of the
ecosystem. This is known as the acidification of the environment, a phenomenon that has
serious effects.
1. Oceans can lose biodiversity and productivity. The lowering of the pH level of marine
water harms phytoplankton, a food source for different organisms and animals which
can modify the food chain and lead to the extinction of different marine species.
2. Inland water is also acidified at a very rapid pace which is particularly worrying as
although only 1% of the planets water is fresh, 40% of fish live in it. This acidification
increases the concentration of metal ions mainly aluminium ions which could lead to
the death of many fish, amphibians and aquatic plants in acidify place. In addition,
heavy metals are transported to underground which become unsuitable for
consumption.
3. In forest the low pH level of the soil and the concentration of metals such as
aluminium this damages roots slows growth and makes plants. This damages roots,
slows growth and makes plants weaker and more vulnerable to disease and pests.
Acid rain also effects artistic, historical and cultural heritage.
Controls of acid rain:
A great way to reduce acid rain is to produce energy without using fossil fuels. Instead, we
have to use renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Renewable energy
sources help reduce acid rain because they produce much less produce. Regulating the
emissions coming from vehicles and factories is an important step. Using public
transportation, walking, riding a bike or car-pooling is a good start. People can also reduce
their use of electricity which is widely created with fossil fuels or switch to a solar plan. It is
also possible to prevent acid rain formation by adding lime deposits to major water sources.
This method is used to neutralise the pH level in the water which reduces the acidity for
thousands of years. This so called ‘liming’ operations have also been used to restore wild
life.
Ozone layer depletion
The ozone layer is mainly found in the lower portion of the Earth’s atmosphere. It has the
potential to absorb around 97 to 99% of the harmful ultra-violet radiations that can damage
life on Earth. If the ozone layer was absent, millions of people would develop skin diseases
and may have weakened immune systems. However, scientists have discovered a hole in the
ozone layer over Antarctica. This has focused their concern on various environmental issues
and steps to control them. The main reasons for the ozone hole are CFC’s, carbon tetra-
chlorides, methyl-bromide and HCFC’s. The thinning of the ozone layer in upper atmosphere
is called ozone layer depletion. Some chemical compounds release chlorine, bromine which
in exposure to high ultra-violet light causes the depletion of ozone.
What causes depletion of ozone layer?
• CFCs are the main cause of ozone layer depletion. These are released by solvents
spray aerosol (suspension of five solids or liquid particles in gas, refrigerators, ACs).
The molecules of CFCs in the stratosphere are broken down by UV rays and released
chlorine atoms.
What are the three effects of ozone layer depletion?
• Ozone layer depletion increases the amount of UV rays that reach the Earth’s surface.
Labs and epidemiological studies demonstrate that UV rays cause non-melanoma
skin cancer and plays a major role in malignant melanoma development. In addition,
UV rays have been linked to the cataracts, clouding on the eye’s lens.
Preventions and measures:
• Many plants and animals find it difficult to survive in areas having high temperature.
In such cases the changes in climatic conditions are the main reasons for their
extinction.
• The following measures should be taken to prevent the ozone layer depletion.
1. Private vehicle driving should be limited
2. Avoid using pesticides
3. Using eco-friendly products
4. Replacing CFCs used in ACs and refrigerators
5. Proper waste disposal techniques
Green-house effect:
It is a process that occurs when gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap the sun’s heat. This process
makes Earth much warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. The green-house effect
is one of the things that makes the Earth a comfortable place to live in and in some other
times makes it very difficult to survive.
Why is it called green-house effect?
The exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation warms the planet works in a similar way as
a green house.
How you can help reduce greenhouse gas emission at home?
Get a home or energy audit done
Use renewable energy
Purchase solar panels
Make green tags
Purchase cardboard offsets
Install solar lights
What is the meaning of buying green tags?
While conventional items get tax, green price tax.
Green price tags are used to indicate organic products.
A carbon offset broadly refers to reduction in green-house gas emission or and increase in
carbon storage. Example: Through land restoration or planting trees.
Consequences of green-house effects:
1. Thawing of green-house gases.
2. Flooding of islands and coastal cities.
3. Hurricanes will be more devastating.
4. Migration of species.
5. Desertification of fertile areas.
Consequences of Greenhouse Effect:
What is the Role of Cabon Dioxide In greenhouse effect?
Carbon Dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas – a gas that absorbs and radiates heat.
Live oxygen and Nitrogen, which may come in most of the atmosphere, greenhouse gases
absorb heat radiating from the Earth’s surface and re-release it in all the directions including
back towards Earth’s surface.
What are the 5 main causes of global warming?
1. Burning coal, oil and gas that produces co2 and nitrous oxides
2. Cutting down forests (deforestation)
3. Increasing livestock farming
4. Fertilisers containing nitrogen produces nitrous oxide emissions
5. Fluorinated gases, equipment and products that use these gases
What is global warming?
It is a long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between
1850-1900) due to human activities primarily fossil fuel burning which increases heat
trapping greenhouse gas that levels in Earth’s atmosphere. This term is not inter-changeable
with the term climate change.
Climate change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From
shifting weather patterns that threatens food production to rising sea-levels that increase
the risk of catastrophic floods. Increase of temperature, melting of polar ice-caps, increasing
water levels etc. It helps in determining future climate expectations.
What are the most important effects of global warming?
More frequent and intense draught, storms, heat waves, rising sea-levels and melting
glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live and
wreak havoc on people’s livelihood and communities. As climate change worsens, dangerous
weather events are becoming more frequent or severe.
Implementing a robust risk management plan build policies around avoiding potential
threats and majors to minimise their impact if it occurs.
It is crucial for any business to know the nature and extent of risk it is prepared to take, the
level of risk it can tolerate and communicate the same to its employees at all levels of
management. This enables limited control over the organisation.
The ability to understand risks enables the organisation to make confident business
decisions
It protects the events from the risk of unexpected events that can cause it a financial and
reputational loss.
Planning and developing structures to address potential threats improves the odds of
becoming a successful organisation
Polluter based principle is in-acted to make the party responsible for producing pollution
responsible for being for the damage done to the natural environment. This was first
introduced by organisation of economic co-corporation and development (OECD) IN 1972.
The report stated that the polluter is responsible for the controlling and prevention of
pollution associated with the process of the factory. They are involved in the whole
spectrum of development activities from creating environmental awareness to undertaking
water-shed development from disaster management to sustainable livelihoods, from join-
forest management to giving inputs to policies. These include growing trees, building more
green cities, practising better waste management and keeping the lakes and rivers clean.
Role of NGO in environmental impact assessment:
1. Environmental NGOs in particular are strongly committed to environmental issues,
and they often serve as important reps for the interest of the population and
therefore secure democratic values.
Role of NGO in wildlife conservation:
1. NGOs have long build engaged with efforts to gain knowledge above wildlife and
their habitat. Influencing government universities and others to conduct monitoring
efforts (i.e. nature serve). Such knowledge has often bolstered or fostered protection
and restoration efforts.
Role of NGOs on environmental sustainability and green technology:
1. Environmental NGOs typically take causes related to the environment such as climate
change, air pollution, deforestation, ozone layer depletion, waste management, bio-
diversity and land use, energy conservation, environment degradation, land
degradation etc.
Role of NGOs in wildlife conservation in India:
1. Endeavours to reduce human-animal conflicts especially between humans and tigers,
leopards and elephants. The NGO is among the most respected organisation in India
when it comes to conservation strategies.
How are economic growth and environment related?
1. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation are inevitable to bring in desired levels of
economic developments.
2. This is also believed to be essential to substantially increase the per capita income.
3. However, these income generating activities are sure to have negative environmental
consequences.
4. Noticeably, environmental quality is being compromised for the goals of mass
employment generation and poverty reduction.
5. It is believed that with gradual increase in income levels along with growth in
financial and technological capabilities, environmental quality could be restored.
6. But the reality is that the continued growth generating activities only increasingly
deteriorates the environmental quality.
QUESTION BANK:
1. Explain in detail the WEEE directive
2. What are the objectives of environmental education?
3. What do you mean by environmental education explain in detail?
4. What is meant by environmental engineering?
5. What are the issues related to resettlement and rehabilitation policy in India?
6. What do you mean by ozone layer depletion? Explain briefly with the causes.
7. What are the effects of ozone layer depletion?
8. What are the urban problems related to energy and water conservation?
9. State in brief the relationship between human and the biosphere.
10. What is the initiative to restrict the hazardous substances known as? Explain in brief
11. Difference and resettlement and rehabilitation.
12. What are the different types of environmental ethics? Discuss with example
13. State the causes and effects of acid rain
14. What is environmentalism? Explain using examples.
Waste as a resource:
The waste to resource approach promotes a paradigm shift in the management of solid
waste under this approach rather than view as a problem and burden, it is seen as a valuable
resource, one that can be managed to produce sustainable benefits for a range of factors.
1. Mining waste into building materials: A new building material, solid rock has been
engineered out of the rubbish of the mining industry.
This geopolymer material is the most sustainable to cement-waste concrete with the
capacity to with the capacity to reduce
2. Waste is increasingly also seen as a production resource and a source of energy.
However, depending on regional and local conditions, these different waste
management activities may have different environment impacts.
Implementing good practices in waste management not only helps to protect the
planet but can also support the business. One of the main phases of waste
management is recycling, as it helps to save resources overtime. The practice of
recycling paper can be traced to one of the greatest causes. Materials found in
municipal and construction and demolition waste, commercial waste and industrial
waste can be used to recover resources for the manufacturing of new materials and
products. Plastic, paper, aluminium, glass and metals are examples of where value
can be found in waste.
Environmental Law:
Environmental laws are law that protect the environment. It is the collection of laws,
regulations, agreements and common law that governs how humans interact with their
environment. In India, environmental law is governed by the environment protection act
1986. This act is enforced by the central pollution control board and the numerous state
pollution control boards. Apart from this, there are also individual legislations specifically
enacted for protection of water, air, wildlife etc.
What are the current environmental laws in India?
Some of the current environmental laws of India are:
1. The environment (protection) act 1986
2. The forest conservation act 1980
3. Wildlife act 1942
4. AIR (prevention and controlling of pollution) act 1981
5. The Indian Forest act 1947
What is the importance of environmental law?
Environmental law and legislation are central (uniform- illustrative of ecosystems,
geographical conditions, species etc) in protecting us humans as well as the different plants
and animals in the greater ecosystems that we exist in. Environmental law ensures that
individuals, governments and corporates don’t harm the environment or its ecosystem. It is
central in setting up, regulating and interpreting the various conventions and laws that have
been initiated by various countries and international organisations across the world to
prevent transgression (an act that goes against the rule or is an offense that pose a threat to
the environment and by extension like human race as a whole).
Constituent of Environmental Law:
Environmental law address a wide variety of different areas. Listed here are some of the
most central areas governed by environmental law and its principles:
1. Reducing air pollution and maintaining air quality:
This refers to the measures adopted to maintain safe air standards i.e. enforcing rules
and regulations after determining what is the safe level of emission in terms of motor
vehicles, industrial emissions and common everyday uses.
Waste management:
One of the major areas addressed by environmental law initiative is waste management.
This can take the form of helping to build or upgrade waste management systems to make
sure that waste in not polluting ground water or causing the spread of disease. It can also
take the form of managing radioactive waste materials. In areas of the world where
industrialisation in changing traditional community giving, there may also have to be
educational programs done that demonstrates public health and hygiene.
Food production is another area covered by environmental law. Regulations will concern
everything from how seed is harvested and prepared to what type of fertiliser and pesticides
are used to nurture the crops to maturity. They will also examine processing, packaging and
storage facilities for food products to ensure that all ingredients are safe for human
consumption and there is less risk for contamination or spoiled food.
Water reserves:
Making sure that adequate drinking or potable water is available in community is a issue
with environmental law they don’t just
That can be cause by standing water they can promote the presence of disasters carried out
by mosquitoes that can breed in standing water
Pollution control and remediation:
Environmental law is concerned with the control of pollution on the one hand and the
conservation of natural resources on the other hand it also has relevance to product design
in the form of environmentally friendly materials, emission controls and energy efficient
devices.
Flaura and fauna:
They have been under constant threat under human activities. Environmental law may be
enacted to protect bio-diversity or as a special means for protecting species deemed
important. The need of the hours is to come up with new laws to protect endangered
species from poachers/prohibition on dealing or disruption of existing species and effects to
induce or support species recovery.
Requirement of a contract:
The requirement of a contract are considerations, offer and acceptance, legal purpose,
capable parties and mutual assent. When any of the requirements is lacking, vitiated or
irregular, the contract may become void, voidable or un-enforceable.
1. Consideration: It is the value that convinces the parties to engage in the contract.
Each party agrees to furnish an item or value to the other party in a contract
2. Offer and acceptance: A contract needs to have a valid, understandable and specific
offer and there must be acceptance of offer. The offer must be brief but clear enough
so that there will be no room for error.
3. Legal purpose: A contract must have a legal purpose that doesn’t break any law. For
example, it is not legal to hire someone to break into a building and steal something.
4. Capable parties: One must know or comprehend what one is doing to be considered
capable of making a contract. Minors and individual who have been proven insane
are usually classified as not capable of entering into an agreement because they
don’t know what they are in. persons under the influence of drugs or alcohol also
cannot enter into any binding contract.
5. Mutual asset: Each party in a contract has to agree on the meaningful terms and to
be bound by the contract. Simply put, the parties must see eye to eye regarding the
nature of the agreement and the contract specifics
Environmental legislations:
Article 48-A of the Constitution of India was introduced by the 42nd Constitution
(amendment act). In 1976 as a directive principle of state policy (DPSP). It states that “The
State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests
and wildlife of the country.” It is the set of laws and regulations that protect air quality,
water, wildlife and environment health. The Environment Protection Act (EPA) of 1986 came
into effect shortly after the Bhopal gas tragedy and is considered a protective legislation
because it filled many gaps in existing legislation. Since then, a significant number of
environmental laws have been enacted to deal with specific environmental issues. The
environmental laws consist of all legal guidelines that are intended to protect the
environment.
Objectives of environmental laws:
1. To preserve and protect the nature’s gift from pollution
What are the three important issues of environmental legislations?
1. The precautionary principle
2. The polluter pays principle
3. Freedom of information
Which is the first environmental legislation in India?
Water (prevention and control of pollution) act 1974. As water is a state subject and as 12
states had passed the enabling resolutions, the government of India, in pursuance of clause
19 of Article 252 passed this legislation.
What are the legislations to environment protection in India?
It empowers the central government to establish authorities charged with a mandate of
preventing environmental pollution of preventing environmental pollution in all its forms
and to tackle specific environmental problems that are peculiar related to different parts of
the country.
Power cell functions of pollution-controlled goods:
The CPCB has been empowered by section 18 of the water (prevention and control of
pollution) act to give directions to the state pollution control board.
The CPCB has the powers to perform any of the functions of a state pollution control board
in case of a non-compliance with the CPCB’s board direction.
The CPCB has been empowered to issue directions under section 33-A of the water
(prevention of control of water) act to direct the prohibition, closure or regulation of any
operation, industry or process or regulation of supply of electricity, water or any other
service.
Advice Central Government:
The CPCB has to advise the central govt. on preventing and controlling water pollution.
What are the three types of audits, explain in detail?
1. Compliance, functional and management audits
2. Environmental compliance audits, focus on determining compliance to a specific and
defined cheque list. Compliance audits assess and verify aspects related to or
undertaken by an organisation against a specific objective.
3. Functional environmental audits are responsible for majoring the consequence of
specific environmental pollution or hazard caused. This particular auditing is
authorised for investigating specific concern areas such as evaluation of monitoring
of the maintenance of air quality, waste management etc.
4. Environmental management audit verifies whether the company has met the
environmental objectives, policies and performance set by the management.
Benefits:
1. Provide management with information about the management and performance of
the companies, environment as input for making decisions.
2. Identify risks related to environmental responsibility and take action to implement
them
3. Ensure company operations comply with environmental laws and requirements and
take necessary collective actions.
4. Identify environmental management system witnesses before they cause problems
5. Develop organisational culture and increase environmental awareness among the
people within the company.
6. Identify opportunities for improvement in environmental management and
performance to drive increased efficiency and cost savings.
7. Improve company transparency to stakeholders such as government, customers and
investors to support long-term good relationship with them.
8. Encourage positive publicity by publishing audit results, thereby enhancing the
reputation and image of the company.
9. Develop marketing strategies and strengthen brand equity and encourage customers
to be loyal to the company
Sustainable development:
Using ethics in sustainability means that humans need to find an objective way to agree on
what basic human needs are and whether these will be met for future generation while
taking into account moral values across all subsets.
High upfront capital cost
Recycling sides are always unhygienic, unsafe and unsightly
Products from recycled waste may not be very durable
Recycling is not widespread on a large scale
Mode energy consumption and pollution
Result in pollutants
Increased processing cost and low-quality job