Unit II: Environment and Natural Resources
Components of the Environment: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere;
Natural resources: physical and biological.
Environment consists of physical, chemical, biological, social and cultural elements, which
are interlinked individually and collectively.
The Environment has been classified into four major components.
i. Hydrosphere
ii. Lithosphere
iii. Atmosphere
iv. Biosphere
They constantly change and such changes are affected by human activities and vice versa.
i. Hydrosphere includes all water bodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and ocean etc.
Hydrosphere functions in a cyclic nature, which is termed as hydrological cycle or water cycle.
The frozen part of the Earth’s hydrosphere (glaciers, icecaps is known as the cryosphere.
Types :
1. Surface water: Rivers, lakes, oceans.
2. Groundwater: Aquifers and water in the soil.
3. Ice and snow: Glaciers, ice caps.
4. Atmospheric water: Clouds, precipitation.
ii. Lithosphere means the mantle of rocks constituting the earth’s crust. Lithosphere mainly,
contains soil, earth rocks, mountain etc. Lithosphere is divided into three layers - crusts, mantle
and core (outer and inner). Derived from Greek work ”Lithos” meaning Rocky.
There are two types of lithosphere:
• Oceanic: Which is associated with oceanic crust and exists in the ocean basins.
• Continental: This is associated with continental crust.
iii. Atmosphere is the cover of the air, that envelope the earth is known as the atmosphere.
Atmosphere is a thin layer which contains gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide etc. and which
protects the solid earth and human beings from the harmful radiations of the sun.
Composition: Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), Argon (0.93%), Carbon Dioxide (0.04%);
Trace Gases: Includes neon, helium, methane, krypton, hydrogen, and water vapor.
Layers: There are five concentric layers (i.e., the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere) within the atmosphere, which can be
differentiated on the basis of temperature and each layer has its own characteristics.
1. Troposphere (12 Km): The lowest layer where weather occurs.
2. Stratosphere (50 Km): Contains the ozone layer, which absorbs and scatters UV
radiation.
3. Mesosphere: (50–85 km): Coldest layer, burns up meteors
4. Thermosphere (85–600 km): Contains the ionosphere, which is important for radio
communication.
5. Exosphere: The outermost layer, where the atmosphere thins into space.
iv. Biosphere is known as the life layer, it refers to all organisms on the earth’s surface and
their interaction with water and air. It consists of plants, animals and micro-organisms.
Natural Resources
Any stock or reserve that can be drawn from nature is a natural resource. Natural resources are
two kinds.
i. Renewable resources: These are in exhaustive and can be regenerated within a given span
of time.
E.g. Forests, wind energy, biomass energy etc.
ii. Non-renewable resources: These are exhaustive and cannot be regenerated within a given
span of time.
E.g. Fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, natural gas
Natural resources are also a products of geological, ecological, and biological processes that
are used to meet human needs. They can be physical or biological, and include things
like water, soil, air, plants, and animals.
Physical resources
• Air: A mixture of gases, including nitrogen and oxygen, that is essential for life
• Water: Available in many forms, including oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater
• Soil: A natural filter that provides nutrients and water for plants
• Sunlight: A source of energy that powers the Earth's plant life, winds, and ocean currents
Minerals: Non-living, inorganic resources like gold, copper, iron, and diamonds
Biological resources
• Plants: A living resource that uses solar energy to convert it into a form that humans and
animals can use
• Animals: A living resource that is part of the biosphere
• Fossil fuels: Formed from the decay of organic matter over millions of years, coal, oil, and
natural gas are biotic resources
Anthropocene: The age in which humans began to dominate the earth and alter her nature and
natural resources through the increased use of land and resources. It began in the industrial age
and has continued into the present times. The use of nature's resources is beyond the carrying
capacity of our earth. The pattern of economic development in the anthropocene is
unsustainable.
Coal and its impact on the environment:
• Coal is the world's largest single contributor of greenhouse gases and is one of the most
important causes of global warming.
• Many coal-based power generation plants are not fitted with devices such as
electrostatic precipitators to reduce emissions of suspended particulate matter (SPM),
which is a major air polluter.
• Burning coal also produces oxides of sulfur and nitrogen which, combined with water
vapour, lead to acid rain. This destroys forest vegetation, damages architectural heritage
sites, pollutes water and affects human health.
• Thermal power stations that use coal produce waste in the form of fly-ash. Large dumps
are required to dispose of this waste material; some efforts have been made to use it for
making bricks.
Environmental problems:
• The extraction of natural resources from the lithosphere is done by mining, which has
a variety of side effects.
• Mining operations are considered one of the main sources of environmental
degradation.
• The depletion of available land due to mining, waste from industries, conversion of land
to industry and pollution of land, water and air by industrial waste are the environmental
side effects of the use of these non-renewable resources.
Use of alternate energy sources
• Solar Energy
o Solar heating for homes
o Solar water heating
o Solar cookers
o Solar powered devices
• Photovoltaic energy
• Solar thermal electric power
• Mirror energy
• Biomass energy
• Biogas
• Wind power
• Tidal and wave power
• Geothermal energy
• Nuclear power
Biogas: Biogas is produced from plant material, animal waste, garbage, waste from households
and some types of industrial waste such as fish processing, dairies and sewage treatment plants.
It is a mixture of gases which includes methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and water
vapour. In this mixture, methane burns easily. Biogas plants have become increasingly popular
in India in the rural sector. The biogas plants use cow dung that is converted into a gas which
is used as a fuel
