GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
…Let us continue our environmental journey…we are now on our second leg…this
time we will broaden our knowledge and awareness about environmental
conservation, populations and their use of
resources…and become a responsive environmental steward…
Chapter II: Environmental Conservation, Populations and the Use
of Resources
Learning Objectives: At the end of the unit, students must have:
• demonstrated understanding of the concept of environmental
conservation, populations and the use of resources through reflective
analysis; and
• conducted an environmental assessment of resource utilization in a
locality.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Environmental Conservation
…before we start with our lesson proper, let us have a glimpse of these videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQoImcUJdag;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyL58vlbvgw;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbL9t1wZ0AU
What is Environment Conservation?
• Environmental conservation is the protection, preservation, management,
or restoration of natural environments and the ecological communities that
inhabit them.
o There are various core environmental issues which are taking a heavy
toll on human lives. Ranging from overpopulation, hydrological issues,
ozone depletion, global warming to deforestation, desertification and
pollution, all these issues pose a severe threat to the existence of
humankind.
o Conservation is generally held to include the management of human
use of natural resources for current public benefit and sustainable
social and economic utilization.
o Unless environmental conservation is becoming an effective mass
movement, it is futile to expect positive growth especially in the age of
digital media which holds the potential to bring a revolution to save
our planet from destruction.
International Day of Nature Conservation is held on the 28th July around the
world annually.
What is the Importance of Environmental Conservation?
• To reduce air, water and land pollution
• To facilitate the conservation of natural resources for our future generations
• To ensure the protection of biodiversity To implement sustainable
development
• To restore the ecological balance
1
GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
• To save our planet from harmful repercussions of global warming
What are the Methods of Environmental Conservation?
…let’s try to understand the core methods through which environmental
conservation can be effectively facilitated:
Forest Conservation
• Plants and trees are the essential sources of air, food as well as other day-to-
day products we use.
• Forests are the dwelling place of different living creatures and a single
disturbance in the ecosystem can cause disruption in the water cycle as well
as the food chain.
• Afforestation is amongst the core environmental conservation and aims to
plant more trees as well as save the existing ones from cutting down as trees
play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance.
The Global Day of Forests, celebrated internationally on 21 March, is an
incentive to recognize the vital importance of forests for human and
environmental wellbeing.
Soil Conservation
• The soil is the main element on earth that plays a pivotal role in soil erosion,
land degradation and floods.
• Soil is filled with rich nutrients for plant production.
• Soil conservation can be carried out by ensuring minimal use of fertilizers
and venomous chemicals as well as abolishing the disposal of harmful
industrial waste in the soil.
Waste Management
• The improper disposal of waste segregation can lead to various dreadful
diseases as well as soil pollution.
o In developing countries and congested places, on a daily basis, a large
amount of waste is thrown away recklessly on the streets and roads.
Waste Segregation
• To ensure minimal wastage as well as facilitate waste disposal, we can opt
for various techniques like the 3R’s, i.e. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, dry and
wet waste segregation, amongst others.
2
GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
3Rs: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle
Public Awareness
• Every individual should be made conscious of how they are polluting the
environment and what steps can be taken to implement environment
conservation, be it through using greener energy sources to following the
3Rs of Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.
• With the boom of information technology and the advent of digital media,
public awareness pertaining to environmental conservation can potentially
yield promising results.
o There is a dire need to make the masses aware about the consequences
of environmental pollution and degradation.
Every year on the 2nd of December, India observes National Pollution
Control Day in remembrance of the memory of those who lost their lives
in the tragic 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
Pollution Control
• As the increase in temperature is concerning, there is a need to keep a
watch on the toxic compounds we ingest that pollute the atmosphere.
o We need to adopt environmentally sustainable methods to minimize
multiple forms of emissions, such as eliminating waste, saving
electricity, limiting the unnecessary usage of fertilizers, insecticides
and pesticides, and using energyefficient appliances, among others.
What are the Measures to Conserve Environment?
Here are some measures to save the environment:
• Deforestation must be stopped
• Natural non-renewable resources must be utilized properly
• Afforestation is the best way to conserve the environment
• Create public awareness
• Control pollution and population
• Recycle goods
• Adopt an environment-friendly lifestyle
• Adopt waste management techniques
• Save species on the verge of extinction
3
GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
• Use cotton bags and say no to plastic
• Use less water and find ways to save water
• Sustainable development
Why is environmental conservation important?
• Life is possible on earth just because we have a perfect environment to live
in. It is our responsibility to provide the same or similar experience to the
upcoming generation.
• To save life one earth, it is essential to save the environment.
…environmental conservation is the protection of natural resources which
are features of the environment that are important and of value to
humans in one form or the other...however, the progression of modern
cultivation has had a great impact on earth’s natural resources…so,
conserving natural resources is must in the present situation…
…let’s have a peek of earth’s resources….
Lesson 2. Earth’s Resources
… the earth’s resources is abundant…enough to feed the different populations and
communities of organisms…but the human populations
keep on growing rapidly …and is exploiting all resources of the earth…the earth’s
environment is about to reach its carrying capacity…what now of its resources? …
• Earth's natural resources include light, air, water, plants,
animals, soil, stone, minerals, and fossil fuels.
4
GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
• Some resources, such as water, wind and sun, are abundant and
renewable.
• Others, such as petroleum and natural gas, are available in
limited quantities and are considered non-renewable.
o As technology develops and fossil fuels dwindle, cleaner
renewable power is becoming a more viable option for
electricity every day.
• Earth’s natural resources can be renewable and non-renewable.
o Renewable resources can be replenished by natural
processes as quickly as humans use them and no danger
of being used up (sunlight and wind).
Soil and water are renewable resources but may be
ruined by careless human actions. Soil can be
depleted of nutrients. It can also be eroded by wind
or water. Over-use and pollution of freshwater
threaten the limited supply that people depend on.
Living things are considered to be renewable
because they can reproduce to replace themselves.
However, they can be over-used or misused to the
point of extinction and they must be used
sustainably.
Renewable resources also include water, solar,
wind and biomassbased power.
• Though a finite amount of water exists on the planet, local
conservations efforts can relieve water shortages within a short
period of time.
• Since the resources can be significantly replenished through
human effort, they are considered to be renewable.
• Solar power is a completely clean source of energy harnessed in
one of two ways. o Solar power can be used to heat water and
air for household use.
o Solar power also can be collected using solar
cells arranged in panels.
o Solar panels convert solar energy directly to
electricity, which then can be used like any
other electric power.
o Since solar power is mostly collected during the
day, systems relying solely on solar power must
have a way to store the energy for use during
dim days or at night.
• Wind power is a clean source of energy that is gathered by
harnessing the movement of the wind with windmills or
turbines.
o A disadvantage to wind power is its sporadic
nature.
5
GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
Since the patterns of wind cannot be
o
predicted with total accuracy, a power
storage mechanism or alternate power
source is needed for reliable power.
o Non renewable resources are natural resources that exist in fixed
- amounts, can
be used up and cannot be replenished through conservation or
effor production s (fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, oil and
t natural gas).
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are formed in Earth over a period of roughly 300
million years.
Coal, oil and natural gas are fossil fuels.
Petroleum can be synthesized into a variety of fuels, including
kerosene, gasoline and diesel.
Coal can be used to synthesize methane gas in a controlled
laboratory environment.
…and we are using these non-renewable resources up far faster than they
could ever be replaced…
Learning Task
Reflect on this: How will life be on earth if all its resources had been used
up?
…let’s move on with our environmental journey with population s and the use of
resources…
Lesson 3. Populations and the Use of Resources
…humans have been called the most successful weed species Earth has
ever seen…like weeds, human populations are fast growing…and
disperse rapidly…
..they have colonized habitats from pole to pole making an exponential
growth pattern…, the population increased very slowly at
first…as it increased in size, so did its rate of growth…
6
GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
• Human population refers to the number of people living in a particular area,
from a village to the world as a whole.
• Humans are uniquely able to consciously alter their environment to increase
its carrying capacity sometimes to the detriment of other species (via
artificial selection for crops that have a higher yield).
• Human intelligence, society, and communication have enabled this capacity
of altering the environment for its benefits.
o People can construct shelters to protect them from the elements; food
supply has increased because of agriculture and domestication of
animals; and humans use language to pass on technology to new
generations allowing continual improvement upon previous
accomplishments.
• The world’s human population is currently experiencing exponential growth
even though human reproduction is far below its biotic potential.
• The current world population is 7.8 billion as of October 2020 and is
expected to reach 8 billion people in 2023 according to the United Nations.
• The human population is now growing by more than 200,000 people a day,
close to its carrying capacity and has already harmed the environment.
o An even larger human population may cause severe environmental
problems which could lead to outbreaks of disease, starvation, and
global conflict.
• Earth’s human population and their use of resources are growing rapidly to
the extent that the ability of Earth’s environment to sustain its human
population.
o Long-term exponential growth carries with it the potential risks of
famine, disease, and large-scale death, as well as social consequences
of crowding such as increased crime.
• Human technology and particularly harnessing of the energy contained in
fossil fuels have caused unprecedented changes to Earth’s environment,
altering ecosystems to the point where some may be in danger of collapse.
o Changes on a global scale including depletion of the ozone layer,
desertification and topsoil loss, and global climate change are caused
by human activities.
7
GEE 18 (Environmental Conservation)
=================================================================================================================
• The ultimate effect of the changes done by humans on our carrying capacity
is unknown - the negative effects of increasing carrying capacity will
outweigh the positive one and the carrying capacity of the world for human
beings might actually decrease.
As the world’s population rises and demands more access to resources,
the issues associated with the commons become more severe.
Overpopulation occurs when the number of individuals exceeds the
number that the environment can sustain and the possible consequences
are environmental deterioration, impaired quality of life, and a population
crash.
…in spite of population control policies, the human population continues to grow…and
the consequence of population growth is the change and
degradation of the natural environment…many countries have attempted to
reduce the human impact on climate change by limiting their emission of greenhouse
gases…however, a global climate change treaty remains
elusive…and many underdeveloped countries trying to improve their economic condition
may be less likely to agree with such provisions without
compensation if it means slowing their economic development…
…and the role of human activity in causing climate change has become a hotly debated
socio-political issue in some developed countries despite the overwhelming scientific
evidence…
…thus, we enter the future with considerable uncertainty about our ability to curb
human population growth and protect our environment to maintain the carrying capacity
for the human species…
Learning Task
Ponder on this: The human population may already be larger than its
carrying capacity.
1. What evidence might show that there are too many people on Earth
today?
2. How does human overpopulation affect the environment? How does it
affect the populations of other species?
