6559632 Social Issues and Environment

8/8/2019 6559632 Social Issues and Environment

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SOCIAL ISSUES

ANDTHE ENVIRONMENT


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From Unsustainable to Sustainable

Development Human beings are both causative agents and

victims of the changes that environment goesthrough.

Economic development and the environment arerelated.

The imperative that humanity faces can beformulated as: without increased income and

economic development environmental protectionwill fail; without environmental protectioneconomic development will be undermined.


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Sustainable Development

Definitions

Environmental care married to development.

Improving the quality of human life while livingwithin the carrying capacity of supporting

ecosystems.

Development based on the principle of inter-generational , interspecies and intergroup

equity.


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Development that meets the needs the present

without compromising the ability of future

generations tomeet theirown needs.

An environmental handrail to guide

development.

A change in consumption patterns towards

more benign products, and a shift in investment

patterns towards augmenting environmentalintegrity.


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Sustainable development - Concept

As a concept, sustainable development

draws upon two intellectual traditions

- limits nature presents to humans.- the potential forhuman material

development.


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World Conservation Strategy

The maintenance of essential ecological

processes.

The preservation of biodiversity. Sustainable use of species and

ecosystems.


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Interpretation

Some people see it as a quest forharmony between humans and theirenvironment.

Some fail to accept that in a finite world

there cannot be unlimited growth. Some feel there can be a shift to less

environmentally damaging improvements

in the quality of human life. Some hope that science and technologywill allow limits to be stretched.


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Mainstream sustainable development

typically urges:

The maintenance of ecological integrity.

The integration of environmental care anddevelopment.

The adoption of an internationalist stance.

The satisfaction of atleast basic needs forall.

Concern for inter-generational, inter-groupand inter-species equity.

The adoption of long term views.


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A Model for integrating human needs,

ecosystem health and sustainable economic

growth


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Urban Problems Related to Energy

Energy is the key input in the economicgrowth and there is a close link between

the availability of energy and the future

growth of nation. Powergeneration and energy

consumption are crucial to economic

development as the majorsectors of

economy depend upon the availability of

energy resources.


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The main issues regarding the energy

problems i n urban areas are:

How to utilize the energy from non-renewable sources at theirmaximumefficiency?

How tomake use ofrenewable sources ofenergy or the alternate energy sources?

The shift to alternate energy sources may begradual or it could be accelerated as aresult of concern overthe potentialenvironmental affects of the fossil fuel

burning.


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Energy Policy

ENERGY POLICY

FOSSIL FUELS ALTERNATE FUELS


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Integrated Energy Management

Energy supplies and demand are difficult

topredict as technical, economical,

political and social assumptions are

constantly changing.

There are large variation annual and

regional variations in energy utilization.


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WaterConservation and Management

Water is essential for life.

Waterconservation and watershed

management are more economical andenvironmentally sound ways to store water

forfuture use and toprevent flood damage

than building huge dams and reservoirs.


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WaterConservation

Water conservation is the careful use andprotection of waterresources and involvesboth quantity and quality of waterused.

The objective of waterconservation canbe achieved through concrete efforts onthe conservation and utilization of wateron

sustainable basis with focus on holisticplanning and sustainable development ofsources of water.


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Domestic Conservation

Repairall leaks quickly.

Turn off waterwhen not absolutely

needed. Use conserving appliances, like low

volume showerheads, efficient

dishwashers and washing machines

In arid and semi-arid regions, replace lush

green lawns with decorative rock gardens.


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Use gray water from washing machines to

watervegetation. Water lawns and plants in early morning,

late afternoon orat night so as toreduce

evaporation.

Use driporsprinkle irrigation and place

waterholing mulch around garden plants.

In arid and semi-arid regions, plant

drought resistant vegetation that needs

less water.


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Agricultural Conservation

Use lined orcovered canals that reduce

seepage and evaporation.

Use improved irrigation techniques, suchas sprinklers ordrip irrigation.

Irrigate fields in the early morning orat

night when evaporation is minimal.

Adopt betterfarming techniques, such as

minimum tillage, leaving cropresidue on

fields and ground, coverdrainage ways,

intercropping etc.


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Integrate the use of total surface and

ground waterso as to have a moreeffective use of the total resources.

In arid and semi-arid regions, encourage

development of crops that require lesswaterand are drought resistant.


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Strategies to Support WaterConservation

Rain waterharvesting

roof toprain waterharvesting.

revival of traditional waterharvestingstructures.

micro-Catchment waterharvesting.

macro-Catchment waterharvesting.

recharge structures forwells and bore wells.

Sustainable waterutilization

minimize domestic waterconsumption. Recycle waste water.

Improved irrigation methods.


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Encourage natural regeneration of

vegetation and supplementing withartificial regeneration.

Maintain and improve quality of water.

collection and treatment of waste watereffluents.

pollution check.

Awareness building on waterconservation


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RainWaterHarvesting

Defined as a method for inducing, collecting,storing and conserving local surface run-

off for latteruse.

Three types of waterharvesting is coveredby rain waterharvesting:

watercollected fromroof tops, courtyards and

similarcompacted and treated surfaces is

used fordomestic purposes orgarden crops,

orforground waterrecharge.


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Micro-catchment waterharvesting is a method

of collecting surface runoff from a smallcatchment area and storing it in the root zone

of an adjacent infiltration basin. The basin is

planted with trees, bushes orwith annual

crops. Macro-catchment waterharvesting also called

harvesting from external catchments, is case

where run-off from hill slope catchments is

conveyed to the cropping area located at hill

foot on flat terrain.


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RainWaterHarvesting - Objectives

Toreduce run-off loss.

To avoid flooding ofroads.

Tomeet the increasing demands of water. Toraise the water table by recharging

ground water.

Toreduce ground watercontamination. To supplement the ground watersupplies

during lean seasons.


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RainWaterHarvesting Methods

By storing in tanks above orbelow ground.

By constructing pits, dug wells, lagoons,

trenches orcheck dams orsmall rivulets. By recharging the ground water

Before adopting a rain waterharvesting

system, the soil characteristics,topography, rainfall pattern and climatic

conditions should be understood.


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Traditional RainWaterHarvesting

In f oot hills water flowing from springs arecollected by embankment type waterstorage.

In Himalayan foot hills people use hollowbamboos to transport the waterof naturalsprings.

Rajasthan is known for its tankas(underground tanks) and khadins(embankments forharvesting rain water.


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Modern Techniques of Rain Water

Harvesting

In arid and semi-arid regions artificial water

recharging is done by constructing shallow

percolation tanks.

Ground water flow can be intercepted bybuilding ground waterdams forstoring water

underground. As compared to surface dams,

ground waterdams have several advantages

like minimum evaporation loss, reduced chancesof contamination


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WaterShed Management

The watershed is defined as the land area fromwhich waterdrains undergravity to a commondrainage channel.

Watershed is a delineated area with welldefined topographic boundary and wateroutlet.

In the watershed the hydrological conditions aresuch that waterbecomes concentrated within aparticular location like a riverora reservoir, by

which the watershed is drained. The watershed comprises complex interactionsof soil, land form, vegetation, land use activitiesand water.


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A watershed affects us as it is directlyinvolved in sustained food production,

watersupply for irrigation, powergeneration transportation as well as forinfluencing sedimentation and erosion,vegetation growth, floods and droughts.

Thus, management of watersheds,treating them as basic functional unit, isextremely important and the first such

integrated watershed management wasadopted by in 1949 by the DamodarValleyCorporation.


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Watershed Management - Objectives

Torehabilitate the watershed through proper

land use adopting conservation strategies forminimizing soil erosion and moisture retention

so as to ensure good productivity of the land for

farmers.

Tomanage watershed forbeneficial

developmental activities like domestic water

supply, irrigation, hydropowergeneration

Tominimize the risk of floods, droughts and landslides.

To developrural areas in the region with clear

plans for improving the economy of the region.


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Watershed Management Practices

Waterharvesting.

Aff orestation and agro-forestry.

Mechanical measures forreducing soilerosion and run-off losses.

Scientific mining and quarrying.

Public participation.


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Resettlement Issues

Displacement problems due to dams. Displacement due tomining.

Displacement due to creation of national

parks.


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Rehabilitation Issues

Tribals are the most affected amongst the

displaced who are already poor.

Displacement further increases their

poverty due to loss of land, home, jobs,

food insecurity

Break upof families.

The tribal are not familiarwith market

policies and trends.


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Environmental Ethics

Human-Centric Thinking Man is allpowerful and the supreme creature onearth and man is the master of nature and

can harness it at his will. Earth-Centric Thinking Nature has

provided us with all the resources forleading a beautiful life and she nourishesus like a mother, we respect her andnurture her.


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World Views in relation to

Environmental Protection AnthropocentricWorld View

Man is the planets most important species and is in-charge of the rest of nature.

Earth has unlimited supply ofresources nad it all

belongs toman. Economic growth is very good and more the growth,

better it is , because it rises ourquality of life and thepotential of economic growth is unlimited.

A healthy environment depends upon healthy

economy. The success ofmankind depends upon how goodmanagers we are fordriving benefits forus formnature.


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Eco-CentricWorld View

Nature exist not forhuman beings alone, but forallspecies.

The earth resources are limited and they do not

belong only to human beings.

Economic growth is good till it encourages earthsustaining development and discourages earth

degrading development.

A healthy economy depends upon healthy

environment.

The success ofmankind depends upon how best we

can cooperate with the rest of nature while trying to

use the resources of nature forourbenefit.


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Environmental Ethical Guidelines

You should love and honourthe earth

since it has blessed you with life andgoverns yoursurvival.

You should keep each day sacred to earth

and celebrate the turning its seasons. You should hold yourself above other

living things and have noright to drivethem to extinction.

You should be grateful to the plants andanimals which nourish you by giving youfood.


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You should limit youroffsprings because toomany people will overburden the earth.

You should not waste yourresources ondestructive weapons.

You should run aftergains at the cost of nature,rathershould strive torestore its damagedmajesty.

You should not conceal fromothers the effectsyou have caused by youractions on earth.

You should not steal from future generations

theirright to live in a clean and safe planet bypolluting it.

You should consume the material goods inmoderate amounts so that all may share theearths precious treasure ofresources.


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Climatic Change

Climate is average weatherof an area. The Intergovernmental Panel on

Climatic Changes in 1990 and 1992published best available evidence about

past climatic changes, the green houseeffect and recent changes in globaltemperature.

It is observed that earths temperature haschanged considerably during thegeological times.


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Anthropogenic activities upset the delicatebalance that has been established

between various components ofenvironment.

Green house gasses are increasing in theatmosphere resulting in increasing in theaverage global temperature.

This upsets the hydrological cycle, resultsin floods and droughts in different regions

of the world, cause sea level rise, changesin agricultural productivity, famines, deathof humans as well as live stock.


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The global temperature will not remain

uniform everywhere but will fluctuate indifferent regions.

The places at higher latitudes will be

warmed upmore during late autumn and

winter than the places in tropics.

The poles may experience 2-3 times more

warming than the global average where as

warming in the tropics may be only 50% -100%.


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The increased warming of the poles will reducethe thermal gradient between the equatorandhigh latitude regions decreasing the energyavailable to the heat engine that drives theglobal weathermachine.

This will disturb the global pattern of winds andocean currents as well as timing and distribution

of the rainfall. By a temperature increase of 1.5-4.5C theglobal hydrological cycle is estimated to intensifyby 5-10%.

Disturbed rainfall will result in some areas

becoming wetterand others drier. Although rainfall may increase, higher

temperatures will result in more evaporationleading to annual waterdeficit in crop fields.


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GlobalWarming

Troposphere, the lowermost layerof theatmosphere, traps heat by a natural process due

to the presence of certain gases. This effect is

called as Green House Effect.

The amount of heat trapped in the atmospheredepends mostly on the concentration of green

house gases and the length of time they stay in

the atmosphere.

The majorgreen house gases are CO2, O3, CH4,N2O, CFCs, watervapors


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The average global temperature is 15C;

in absence of green house gases it wouldbe -18C.

Heat trapped by green house gases in the

atmosphere keeps planet warm enough to

allow us and otherspecies to exist.

The twopredominant green house gases

are watervapors, which are controlled by

the hydrological cycle, and CO2, which iscontrolled by the global carbon cycle


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Global Temperature increase It is estimated that the earths mean temperature will

rise between 1.5 to 5.5 C by 2050 if input of greenhouse gases continues to increase at present rate.

Rise in sea level With increase in global temperature sea waterwillexpand.

Heating will melt the polar ice sheets and glaciersresulting in furtherrise in sea level.

Current models indicate that an average increase inaverage atmospheric temperature of3C will increasethe sea level by 0.2 -1.5 meterovernext 50-100years.

Impacts of Green House effect


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Effects on human health The global warming will lead to changes in rainfall

pattern in many areas, thereby affecting thedistribution of vectorbourne disease like malaria,filariasis, elephantiasis

Warmertemperatures and stagnant waterwould favorthe breeding ofmosquitoes, snails and some insects,

which are known to carry such diseases. Higher temperature and humidity will

increase/aggravate respiratory diseases.

Effects on agricultures

Soil moisture may decrease and evapo-transpirationwill increase.

Increase in temperature and humidity will increasepest growth.


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Measures to Check GlobalWarming

Cut down the current use of CFCs and fossil fuel.

Use energy more efficiently. Shift torenewable energy resources.

Increase nuclearpowerplants forelectricity production.

Shift f rom coal tomethane gas.

Trap and use methane as a fuel. Reduce beefproduction.

Adopt sustainable agriculture.

Stabilize population growth.

Efficiently remove CO2 from smoke stacks. Plant more trees.

Remove atmospheric CO2 by utilizing photosyntheticalgae.

A id R i


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Acid Rain Industrial operation and fossil fuel combustion

liberates various acid forming gases; thesegases in the atmosphere gets oxidized overaperiod of time.

The oxides when undergo hydrolysis forms aciddroplets in the atmosphere and come onto the

earth along with rain water. Rain water is turned acidic when pH falls below

5.6

The strong acids like H2SO4 and HNO3 dissolved

orformed in rain waterdissociate and releaseH+ ions thereby increasing the acidity in raindrops.


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Effects of Acid Rain

It causes deterioration of buildings especially

made ofmarbles. It damages tone statues.

It damages metals and carfinishing.

Aquatic life especially fish are badly affectedby lake acidification.

Aquatic animals sufferfrom toxicity ofmetalssuch as aluminum, mercury, manganese,zinc and lead which leak from thesurrounding rocks due to acid rain.


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It results in reproductive failure and killing

of fish. It damages foliage and weakens trees.

It makes trees more susceptible to

stresses like c

old te

mperatu

re, d

roughtetc.

Many insects and fungi are more tolerant

to acidic conditions and hence they can

attack the susceptible trees and causediseases

C f


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Control of Acid Rain

Emission of SO2

and NO2

from industries

and powerplants should be reduced by

using pollution control equipments.

Liming of lakes and soils should be done

to correct the adverse effects of acid rain.

A coating ofprotective layers of inert

polymers should be given in the interiorof

waterpipes fro drinking water.

O L D l ti


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Ozone LayerDepletion Ozone layer filters out harmful ultraviolet radiations

from the sunlight and thus protects various life formson earth.

Ozone is a fromofoxygen.

In the stratosphere ozone is being continuouslycreates by the absorption of short wavelength UV

radiations. UV radiations less than 242 nm decompose molecular

oxygen into atomic oxygen by photolyticdecomposition.

O2 + hv O + O The atomic oxygen then rapidly reacts with molecular

oxygen to formozone.

O + O2 + M O3 + M

M is the third body necessary to carry away the energyreleased in the reaction.


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6559632 Social Issues and Environment