Unit – V Environmental concepts:
What is Environment?
The term environment comes from the French word "environ"
and means everything that surround us.
The totality of the surrounding conditions for comfortable living
of organism.
Environment is the area in which we live.
Natural Environment
• Land, water, air, plants and animals comprise the natural environment.
• lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere
• Lithosphere is the solid crust or the hard top layer of the earth.
• Landforms are found over the continents and also on the ocean floors.
• Lithosphere is the domain that provides us forests, grasslands for grazing,
land for agriculture and human settlements. It is also a source of mineral
wealth.
The domain of water is referred to as hydrosphere. It comprises various
sources of water and different types of water bodies like rivers, lakes, seas,
oceans, etc. It is essential for all living organisms.
The atmosphere is the thin layer of air that surrounds the earth. The
gravitational force of the earth holds the atmosphere around it. It protects us
from the harmful rays and scorching heat of the sun. It consists of a number
of gases, dust and water vapor. The changes in the atmosphere produce
changes in the weather and climate.
Plant and animal kingdom together make biosphere or the living world. It is a
narrow zone of the earth where land, water and air interact with each other to
support life.
Ecosystem: It is a system formed by the interaction of
all living organisms with each other and with the
physical and chemical factors of the environment in
which they live, all linked by transfer of energy and
material.
atmosphere
Our earth is surrounded by a huge blanket of air called atmosphere.
All living beings on this earth depend on the atmosphere for their survival.
It provides us the air we breathe and protects us from the harmful effects of
the sun’s rays.
Composition of the Atmosphere
Structure of the Atmosphere
Our atmosphere is divided into five layers starting
from the earth’s surface.
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosp
here and Exosphere
Troposphere: This layer is the most important layer of the atmosphere.
Its average height is 13 km. The air we breathe exists here. Almost all
the weather phenomena like rainfall, fog and hailstorm occur in this
layer.
Stratosphere: Above the troposphere lies the stratosphere. It extends
up to a height of 50 km. This layer is almost free from clouds and
associated weather phenomenon, making conditions most ideal for
flying airplanes. One important feature of stratosphere is that it
contains a layer of ozone gas. We have just learnt how it protects us
from
the harmful effect of the sun rays.
Mesosphere: This is the third layer of the atmosphere. It lies above the
stratosphere. It extends up to the height of 80 km. Meteorites burn up in
this layer on entering from the space.
Thermosphere: In thermosphere temperature rises very rapidly with increasing
height. Ionosphere is a part of this layer. It extends between 80-400 km. This
layer helps in radio transmission. In fact, radio waves transmitted from the
earth are reflected back to the earth by this layer.
Exosphere: The upper most layer of the atmosphere is known as exosphere.
This layer has very thin air. Light gases like helium and hydrogen float into the
space from here.
What are Pollutants?
A pollutant can be defined as any unwanted or harmful substance
that pollutes our environment Generally, certain toxic substances
like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide are present
in the air in small quantities and are not harmful to us. But when these
substances are further present in ways that cannot be tolerated, they
become pollutants.
Air pollution
The presence of harmful toxic compounds in extreme quantities in the air
results in air pollution.
The primary sources of air pollution are harmful gases like sulfur dioxide,
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and other
suspended particles.
Air pollution is usually caused by burning fossil fuels like petroleum, and coal-
burning of wood and cow dung cakes in homes, factories, vehicles, and
power plants. Among all other continents globally, India is the country with
the most polluted cities. Lucknow, Kanpur, New Delhi are a few among them
because of excessive use of fossil fuels by vehicles and other industrial units.
Water pollution
The contamination of water bodies, such as lakes, rivers, oceans, underground
water and seas by harmful substances is water pollution. The leading cause
of water pollution is sewage, industrial wastes, pesticides and fertilisers from
farming.
Polluted water becomes unfit for drinking, bathing, washing, and irrigation
Garbage dumping can also leak out pollutants into underground water.
Noise Pollution
An unwanted and disturbing sound that proves to be detrimental to the well-
being and health of humans and other living beings is called noise pollution.
Elevated sound levels above 85 decibels are considered to have adverse
effects on your health.
Noise pollution causes much disruption to daily activities like sleep. Moreover,
exposure to extreme noise levels can cause a lack of concentration and
hearing impairment in humans.
