Unit I- Environment

Syllabus

1. Need of environmental studies

2. Segments of environmental- Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere,
Biosphere.
3. Environmental Issues-
1. Green house effects,
2. Climate change,
3. Global warming,
4. Acid rain and Ozone layer depletion,
5. Nuclear accidents.
4. Concept of 4R(Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover),
5. Public awareness about environment.
 What is Environmental Studies?

• Environmental studies refer to an extensive and systematic study of

nature/environment and of its physical, biological, social, and cultural factors,
and the nature and characteristics of relationship between man and
environment.

• How far man influences nature and to what extent nature delivers its bounties
constitute another objective of environmental studies.

• It is an interdisciplinary study as subjects like ecology, biochemistry,

toxicology, geography, geology, meteorology, sociology, etc. are dealt with
under environmental studies.
 Need of environmental studies
• Nature or environment sustains life. As a conscious and rational being, man needs to
know the importance of environment and help keep the environment as healthy and
productive as it can be.

• It is the environment that has made this beautiful world possible for him. Hence, there
is an ever demanding need for environmental studies.

• The natural environment that mankind had before the onset of industrialization,
urbanization, and exponential growth in population was expectedly healthy and
resilient.

• Nature was able to replenish the loss of its resources, which was very limited.

• After the onset of modern civilization, the overall health and efficiency of natural
environment started deteriorating gradually and went on to such an extent that nature
has virtually lost its natural ability to replenish the loss of resources caused by man.
• Environmentalists, geographers, and biologists the world over are constantly
endeavoring for a sustainable solution to restore a sustainable environment.

• Environmental studies help us understand the importance of our environment

and teaches us to use natural resources more efficiently and embrace a
sustainable way of living.

• It enables us to know the behavior of organisms under natural conditions and

the interrelationship between organisms in population and communities.
Segments of environmental-
Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere

.
1) Atmosphere:

• The earth atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon,
along with carbon dioxide and other gases in trace amounts.

• Oxygen is essential for living organisms for respiration.

• Certain bacteria are able to fix nitrogen in the presence of lightening to produce
ammonia which is used in the formation of basic building blocks such as
nucleotides and amino acids.

• Carbon dioxide is used for photosynthesis by plants, cyanobacteria and so on. The
atmosphere shelters organisms from genetic damage from the sun’s ultraviolet
radiations and cosmic rays.

• The present composition of the Earth's atmosphere is the product of billions of

years of biochemical transformations over geological time by the earth’s
organisms.
• The atmosphere is comprised of different layers based on temperature. These
layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere

• The present composition of the Earth's atmosphere is the product of billions of

years of biochemical transformations over geological time by the earth’s
organisms.

• The atmosphere is comprised of different layers based on temperature. These

layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere.

• The lowest layer is the troposphere and 3/4th of the earth’s atmospheric mass
resides within the troposphere. It is this layer where the earth’s weather develops.

• The atmosphere is comprised of different layers based on temperature. These

layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere.
•
The region at about 500 km above the Earth's surface is called the exosphere.
These layers possess differences in their composition, temperature and pressure.

• The lowest layer is the troposphere and 3/4th of the earth’s atmospheric mass
resides within the troposphere. It is this layer where the earth’s weather develops.
2) Hydrosphere

It covers more than 75% of the earth surface either as oceans or as fresh water.
Hydrosphere includes sea, rivers, oceans, lakes, ponds, streams etc.

3) Lithosphere:

The lithosphere is the outer most layer of the earth consisting of crust and the
uppermost mantle.

They comprise the hard and rigid outer layer of the earth. There are two types of
crust.

They are continental and oceanic crust. The continental crust contains a variety of
rocks such as igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. It is lighter than the
oceanic crust and older than oceanic plates. These rocks are derived from the upper
mantle.
The oceanic crust is much younger as it is constantly being formed at spreading
zones and recycled in subduction zones.
New oceanic crust forms when crustal plates separate.
4) Biosphere

The term biosphere comes from the Greek word „bios‟ meaning life and „sphaira‟
meaning sphere.

It is also known as ecosphere. This is the segment of the Earth where life exists.

It was named so by the geologist Eduard Suess in 1875. He defined biosphere as the
place on Earth's surface where life dwells.

This layer extends up to 10 km above sea level and to depths of the ocean more than
8 km deep.

The biosphere is the global ecological system which integrates all organisms, their
interrelationships with other and with the earth‟s different segments such as
lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

Therefore, biospheres are any closed, self-regulating systems containing ecosystems.

Biospheres do not exist on any other planet or in extraterrestrial space.
Environmental Issues-
1. Green house effects,
2. Climate change,
3. Global warming,
4. Acid rain Ozone layer depletion,
5. Nuclear accidents.

1) Global warming and Green house effects:

Fig: Global Warming

• The main cause of global warming is the emission of ‘greenhouse gases’ such as
carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

• Human activity over the past 250 years, including the burning of fossil fuels,
change of land use and agriculture, has increased the concentration of green
house gases in the earth’s atmosphere.

• As these gases build up in the atmosphere they strengthen what is known as the
‘greenhouse effect’.
The earth receives energy from the sun, which warms the earth’s surface.

• As this energy passes through the atmosphere, a certain percentage (about 34%)
gets scattered called albedo.

• Some part of this energy is reflected back into the atmosphere from the land and
ocean surface.

• The rest (66%) remains to heat the earth. In order to establish a balance, the
earth must radiate some energy back into the atmosphere.

• As the earth is much cooler than the sun, it does not emit energy as visible light
but emits through infrared or thermal radiation.
2) Climate Change:

• Human population growth is a major contributor to global warming as humans use fossil
fuels for their economic growth and to support improved lifestyles.

• When fossil fuels are burned, these emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which traps
warm air inside like a greenhouse.

• The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Fourth and Fifth
Assessment Reports (IPCC 2007; IPCC 2014), has provided a strong scientific evidence
of global warming.

• It is now clear that climate change is being caused by people that threaten the livelihoods
and well-being of all people and societies.

• The extreme climate events such as storms, heat waves, droughts, and devastating floods
are intensifying.

• The extreme climate events cause direct destruction and have pervasive impacts on food
security, infectious disease transmission, and economic stability that continue to occur for
many years.
3) Acid rain :
Another common effect of air pollution is acid rain. When rainwater goes below a
pH of 5.6, it is called acid rain as normal rainwater has a pH of 5.6 due to the
dissolution of CO2 in rainwater.

The phenomenon occurs when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the
burning of fossil fuels such as, petrol, diesel, and coal combine with water vapour
in the atmosphere and fall as acidic rain, snow or fog. These gases can also be
emitted from natural sources like volcanoes.

Acid rain causes extensive damage to water, forest, soil resources and even human
health.

They can be wet depositions, where the acidic substances are dissolved in rain,
dew, fog, snow and dry depositions, where acidic particulate matter in dry form can
be deposited on vegetation, monuments etc.
4) Ozone Layer Depletion:

Ozone is a triatomic form of oxygen and is a strong oxidant. It derives its name from
the Greek word ozone meaning smell as it has a pungent smell in a concentrated form.
About 90 % of the ozone in the atmosphere is present in the stratosphere. This
protective ozone is formed as a product of a photochemical equilibrium.

Ozone is being continuously formed in the stratosphere by the absorption of short

wavelength ultraviolet radiation and is also removed by chemical reactions converting
it back to molecular oxygen. The balance between creation and removal is affected by
increasing stratospheric concentrations of chlorine, nitrogen and bromine, which act as
catalysts speeding up the removal process.

The most prominent ozone destructive gases are the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that
are very stable compounds, relatively unaffected by the usual pollutant removal
process in the troposphere.

CFC molecules can be broken by ultraviolet radiation freeing the chlorine that is
available to destroy ozone. Ozone can be removed from the stratosphere by catalytic
reactions involving chlorine, nitrogen, hydrogen oxides or bromines.
5) Nuclear accidents
Energy released—during a nuclear reaction is called nuclear energy.
Nuclear fission and nuclear fusion are used to prepare nuclear energy.
During nuclear accidents large amount of energy and radioactive products are released
into the atmosphere.
Types of nuclear accidents:-
1. Nuclear Test:- Nuclear explosions –release radioactive particles and radioactive rays
into the atmosphere.
2. Nuclear power plant accidents:- Nuclear power plants located in seismic vulnerable
area may cause nuclear accidents which releases radiation.
3. Improper disposal of radioactive wastes:- Drums with radioactive wastes, stored
underground rust and leak radioactive wastes into water, land and air.
4. Accidents during transport:- Trucks carrying radioactive wastes (or) fuels in
accidents. The major accident at a nuclear power plant is a core melts down.
Effects of nuclear radiation
5. Radiation affects DNA in cells.
6. Exposure to low dose of radiation (100 - 250 rds.) people suffers from fatigue,
vomiting, and loss of hair.
7. Exposed to high radiation (400 - 500 rds.) affect bone marrow, blood cells, natural
resistance fail of blood clot.
8. Exposure to very high dose of radiation (10000rds) kills organisms by damaging the
tissues of heart and brain.
4.Concept of 4R(Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover):
1) Recycle
Recycling means the processing of used materials or waste into new product! Key
component of modern waste reduction & the third component of waste hierarchy
Advantages-
• Prevents waste of potentially used materials
• Reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials
• Reduce energy usage
• Reduce air & water pollution
• Recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material
eg: Paper recycling
Recycle Materials
• Glass
• Paper
• Plastics Metals
• Textiles
• Clothing
• Some building materials
Collection of Recycles
• Drop off center’s
• Buy back center’s
2) Reuse:
This includes conventional reuse where the item is used again for the same
function, and new-life reuse where it is used for a new function. To reuse is to use
an item more than once.

Reuse Materials
• Reuse envelopes.
• Reuse single-sided paper for scratch paper.
• Reuse foam peanuts and other packaging material.
• Use remanufactured or surplus office equipment.
• Use rechargeable batteries.
• Use rechargeable fax and printer cartridges.
• Compost grass clippings and food waste.
• Donate toys and other items to charity.
• Paper, Rubber bands, Buttons, Paper clips , Empty food containers, Water
bottles, Card board boxes, Gift bags
3) Recover:
Includes any technique or method of minimizing the input of energy to an overall
system by the exchange of energy from one sub-system of the overall system with
another.

The energy can be in any form in either subsystem, but most energy recovery
systems exchange thermal energy in either sensible or latent form.

Examples
• Heat recovery is implemented in heat sources.
• Regenerative brake.
• Active pressure reduction systems.
4) Reduce:
Reduction means to make something smaller Do I really want this
item?
• Boil only water you need
• Buy only what you need
• Buy things with less packaging
• Cook food for only those eating
• Switch off lights, monitors, appliances
• Print on both sides of paper
• Solar power
5. Public awareness about environment

• Since our environment is getting degraded due to human activities, we need to do

something about it to sustain the quality.

• We often feel that government should take proper measuring steps. But all of us are
equally responsible to protect our environment.

• Hence public awareness needs to be created. Both print media and electronic media can
strongly influence public opinion. Politicians should respond positively to a strong
publicly supported activity.

• NGOs can take active role in creating awareness from grass root levels to the top-most
policy decision makers.

• Environment is an integration of both living and non-living organisms. Water, air, soil,
minerals, wild life, grass lands, forests, oceans, agriculture are all life supporting
systems.
•
• Since these natural resources are limited, and human activities are the causative factors
for environmental degradation, each one of us need to feel responsible to protect the
environment.
• The activities help in creating awareness among public are
• Join a group to study nature such as WWF-I or BNHS or any other organization.

• Read newspaper articles and periodicals like Down to earth, WWF-I newsletter,
BNHS, Hornbill, Sanctuary magazine.

• Discuss environmental issues with friends and relatives.

• Join local movements that support activities like saving trees in your locality,
reducing use of plastics, going for nature treks, practicing 3 Rs i.e. reduce, reuse,
& recycle.

• Practice and promote good civic sense and hygiene such as enforcing no spitting
or tobacco chewing, no throwing garbage on the road and no urinating in public
places.

• Take part in events organized on World Environment Day, Wildlife week etc.
• Visit a National park or sanctuary or spend time in whatever natural habitat you
have near your home.

World Environment Day : June 5th