1.

1 DEFINITION, SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE

1.1.1 Definition

Environmental studies deals with every issue that

affects an organism. It is essentially a
multidisciplinary approach that brings about an
appreciation of our natural world and human
impacts on its integrity. It is an applied science
as its seeks practical answers to making human
civilization sustainable on the earth’s finite re-
sources.
earth’s environmental resources. Thus most tra-
ditions refer to our environment as ‘Mother
Its components include biology, geology, chem-
Nature’ and most traditional societies have
istry, physics, engineering, sociology, health,
learned that respecting nature is vital for their
anthropology, economics, statistics, computers
livelihoods. This has led to many cultural prac-
and philosophy.
tices that helped traditional societies protect and
preserve their natural resources. Respect for
nature and all living creatures is not new to In-
1.1.2 Scope
dia. All our traditions are based on these values.
Emperor Ashoka’s edict proclaimed that all
As we look around at the area in which we live,
forms of life are important for our well being in
we see that our surroundings were originally a
Fourth Century BC.
natural landscape such as a forest, a river, a
mountain, a desert, or a combination of these
Over the past 200 years however, modern soci-
elements. Most of us live in landscapes that have
eties began to believe that easy answers to the
been heavily modified by human beings, in vil-
question of producing more resources could be
lages, towns or cities. But even those of us who
provided by means of technological innovations.
live in cities get our food supply from surround-
For example, though growing more food by
ing villages and these in turn are dependent on
using fertilizers and pesticides, developing bet-
natural landscapes such as forests, grasslands,
ter strains of domestic animals and crops, irri-
rivers, seashores, for resources such as water
gating farmland through mega dams and
for agriculture, fuel wood, fodder, and fish. Thus
developing industry, led to rapid economic
our daily lives are linked with our surroundings
growth, the ill effects of this type of develop-
and inevitably affects them. We use water to
ment, led to environmental degradation.
drink and for other day-to-day activities. We
breathe air, we use resources from which food
The industrial development and intensive agri-
is made and we depend on the community of
culture that provides the goods for our increas-
living plants and animals which form a web of
ingly consumer oriented society uses up large
life, of which we are also a part. Everything
amounts of natural resources such as water,
around us forms our environment and our lives
minerals, petroleum products, wood, etc. Non-
depend on keeping its vital systems as intact as
renewable resources, such as minerals and oil
possible.
are those which will be exhausted in the future
if we continue to extract these without a
Our dependence on nature is so great that we
thought for subsequent generations. Renew-
cannot continue to live without protecting the

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 able resources, such as timber and water, are
those which can be used but can be regener-
ated by natural processes such as regrowth or
rainfall. But these too will be depleted if we con-
tinue to use them faster than nature can re-
place them. For example, if the removal of
timber and firewood from a forest is faster than
the regrowth and regeneration of trees, it can-
not replenish the supply. And loss of forest cover
not only depletes the forest of its resources, such
as timber and other non-wood products, but ronment and change the way in which we use
affect our water resources because an intact every resource. Unsustainable utilization can
natural forest acts like a sponge which holds result from overuse of resources, because of
water and releases it slowly. Deforestation leads population increase, and because many of us
to floods in the monsoon and dry rivers once are using more resources than we really need.
the rains are over. Most of us indulge in wasteful behaviour pat-
terns without ever thinking about their environ-
Such multiple effects on the environment re- mental impacts. Thus, for all our actions to be
sulting from routine human activities must be environmentally positive we need to look from
appreciated by each one of us, if it is to provide a new perspective at how we use resources. For
us with the resources we need in the long-term. every resource we use we must ask ourselves
the following questions:
Our natural resources can be compared with
money in a bank. If we use it rapidly, the capital • What is the rarity of the resource and where
will be reduced to zero. On the other hand, if does it originate?
we use only the interest, it can sustain us over
the longer term. This is called sustainable • Who uses it most intensively and how?
utilisation or development.
• How is it being overused or misused?

Activity 1: • Who is responsible for its improper use –

the resource collector, the middleman, the
Take any article that you use in daily life – end user?
a bucket full of water, or an item of food, a
table, or a book. Trace its components jour- • How can we help to conserve it and pre-
ney backwards from your home to their ori- vent its unsustainable use?
gins as natural resources in our
environment. How many of these compo-
nents are renewable resources and how Activity 2:
many non-renewable?
Try to answer the questions above for one
Understanding and making ourselves more of the components in the article you chose
aware of our environmental assets and prob- in Activity 1. Then answer the following
lems is not enough. We, each one of us, must questions:
become increasingly concerned about our envi-

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 each of us uses also increases, the earth’s re-
source base must inevitably shrink. The earth
cannot be expected to sustain this expanding
level of utilization of resources. Added to this is
misuse of resources. We waste or pollute large
amounts of nature’s clean water; we create
more and more material like plastic that we dis-
card after a single use; and we waste colossal
amounts of food, which is discarded as garbage.
Manufacturing processes create solid waste
• Are you using that resource byproducts that are discarded, as well as chemi-
unsustainably? cals that flow out as liquid waste and pollute
water, and gases that pollute the air. Increasing
• In what ways could you reduce, reuse amounts of waste cannot be managed by natu-
and recycle that resource? ral processes. These accumulate in our environ-
ment, leading to a variety of diseases and other
• Is there an unequal distribution of this adverse environmental impacts now seriously af-
resource so that you are more fortunate fecting all our lives. Air pollution leads to respi-
than many others who have less access ratory diseases, water pollution to
to it? gastro-intestinal diseases, and many pollutants
are known to cause cancer.
Once we begin to ask these questions of our-
selves, we will begin to live lifestyles that are
more sustainable and will support our environ-
ment.

1.1.3 Importance

Environment is not a single subject. It is an inte-

gration of several subjects that include both
Improving this situation will only happen if each
Science and Social Studies. To understand all
of us begins to take actions in our daily lives
the different aspects of our environment we
that will help preserve our environmental re-
need to understand biology, chemistry, physics,
sources. We cannot expect Governments alone
geography, resource management, economics
to manage the safeguarding of the environment,
and population issues. Thus the scope of envi-
nor can we expect other people to prevent
ronmental studies is extremely wide and covers
environmental damage. We need to do it our-
some aspects of nearly every major discipline.
selves. It is a responsibility that each of us must
take on as ones own.
We live in a world in which natural resources
are limited. Water, air, soil, minerals, oil, the
products we get from forests, grasslands, oceans
and from agriculture and livestock, are all a part
of our life support systems. Without them, life
itself would be impossible. As we keep increas-
ing in numbers and the quantity of resources

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 Activity 3: What happens to it when you throw it away/
where does it go?
• Think of all the things that you do in a
day. List these activities and identify the
main resources used during these ac- Example – Fossil fuels:
tivities. What can you do to prevent
waste, reuse articles that you normally How much do you use? Can you reduce your
throw away, what recycled materials consumption?
can you use?
What effect does it have on the air we breathe?
• Think of the various energy sources you
use everyday. How could you reduce When we leave a motorbike or car running dur-
their use? ing a traffic stop, we do not usually remember
that the fuel we are wasting is a part of a non-
renewable resource that the earth cannot re-
Activity 4: Exercises in self learning about form. Once all the fossil fuels are burnt off, it
the environment will mean the end of oil as a source of energy.
Only if each of us contributes our part in con-
Attempt to assess the level of damage to serving fossil based energy can we make it last
the environment due to your actions that longer on earth.
have occurred during your last working day,
the last week, the last year. Then estimate
the damage you are likely to do in your life- Example – Water:
time if you continue in your present ways.
How much do you really need to use, as against
Use the following examples for the above exer- how much you waste when you:
cise:
(a) Brush your teeth? (b) Have a bath? (c) Wash
Example – Plastic: Plastic bags, plastic ball pens clothes? (d) Wash the scooter or car?

Think about all the articles you use daily that Where did the water come from? What is its
are made from plastic. Plastic plays an impor- actual source? How has it reached you?
tant part in our modern lives.
Where will the waste water go?
Make a list of the plastic articles you usually use.
Do you feel you should change the way you use
How can you reduce the amount of plastic you water? How can you change this so that it is
use? more sustainable?

What effects does plastic have on our environ-

ment? Example – Food:

Where did the plastic come from/ how is it Where has it come from? How is it grown? What
made? chemicals are used in its production? How does
it reach you?

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