ENVIRONMENT

Environment, thin layer of life and life-supports called the biosphere, including the Earths air, soil, water, and living organisms.

CONSTITUENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

The atmosphere that shelters the Earth from excessive amounts of ultraviolet radiation and enables life to exist is a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapour, other elements and compounds, and dust particles. Heated by the Sun and by radiant energy from the Earth, the atmosphere circulates about the planet and modifies temperature differences. f the Earths water, !" per cent ma#es up the oceans, $ per cent is ice, and % per cent is the fresh water in rivers, la#es, groundwater, and atmospheric and soil moisture. The soil is the thin mantle of material that supports terrestrial life. &t is the product of climate, parent material such as glacial till and sedimentary roc#s, and vegetation. 'ependent on all these are the Earths living organisms, including human beings. (lants use water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to convert raw materials into carbohydrates through photosynthesis) animal life, in turn, is dependent on plants, in a se*uence of interconnected relationships #nown as the food web.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS - POLLUTION

(ollution, contamination of the environment by man-made substances or energy that have adverse effects on living or non-living matter. This contamination of air, water, or soil materials interferes with human health, the *uality of life, or the natural functioning of ecosystems. &n simple terms, pollution can be seen as the wrong substance in the wrong place in the wrong *uantities at the wrong time. This implies that harm is caused to the environment, and if the same substance is present at levels too low to cause harm, then it can be considered as contamination. +any substances that can be pollutants also occur naturally, in which case they are not classified as pollution. However, other pollutants result entirely from human activity, such as most toxic organic compounds and artificial forms of radioactivity, particularly from nuclear waste.

Thermal Inversion

Smog surrounds the ,ngel +onument in +exico -ity during a thermal inversion. ,ir pollution increases dramatically as a mass of cold air is trapped below a warmer mass of air. The absence of wind circulation prevents pollution near the earths surface from escaping. The ma.or environmental problems faced today includes growing pollution.(ollution as we #now is mainly of three types/0and (ollution,1ater (ollution and ,ir (ollutuion.2efore describing the ma.or problems of the environment let3s have an introduction of the pollution types.

,ir (ollution
&t is the contamination of the atmosphere by gaseous, li*uid, or solid wastes or by-products that can endanger human health and the health and welfare of plants and animals, or can attac# materials, reduce visibility, or produce undesirable odours. ,mong air pollutants emitted by natural sources, only the radioactive gas radon is recogni4ed as a widespread ma.or health threat, although gases and particles from volcanic eruptions can cause serious more locali4ed problems. , by-product of the radioactive decay of uranium minerals in certain #inds of roc#, radon seeps into the basements of homes built on these roc#s, posing a ris# of lung cancer to residents. Each year industrially developed countries generate billions of tons of pollutants. The most prevalent and widely dispersed air pollutants are described in the accompanying table. The level is usually given in terms of atmospheric concentrations 5micrograms of pollutants per cubic metre of air6 or, for gases, in terms of parts per million, that is, millilitres of gas per thousand litres of air. +any come from directly identifiable sources) sulphur dioxide, for example, comes from electric power plants burning coal or oil. thers are formed through the action of sunlight on previously emitted reactive materials 5called precursors6. 7or example, o4one, a dangerous pollutant in smog, is produced by the interaction of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides under the influence of sunlight. 4one also causes serious crop damage. n the other hand, the discovery in the %!89s that air pollutants such as fluorocarbons are causing a loss of o4one from the Earth3s protective o4one layer has caused the phasing out of these materials. , further category of air pollution is heavy metals, present as particulates and arising from many industrial processes

1ater (ollution
&t is the contamination of water by toxic substances li#e plastic,soaps and detergents,other industrial material. :otable effects of water pollution include those involved in human health. :itrates 5the salts of nitric acid6 in drin#ing water can cause a disease in infants that sometimes results in death. -admium in sludge-derived fertili4er can be absorbed by crops) if ingested in sufficient amounts, the metal can cause an acute diarrhoeal disorder and liver and #idney damage. The ha4ardous nature of inorganic substances such as mercury, arsenic, and lead has long been #nown or strongly suspected. 0a#es are especially vulnerable to pollution. ne problem, eutrophication, occurs when la#e water becomes artificially enriched with nutrients, causing abnormal plant growth. ;un-off of chemical fertili4er from cultivated fields may trigger this. The process of eutrophication can produce aesthetic problems such as bad tastes and odours and unsightly green scums of algae, as well as dense growth of rooted plants, oxygen depletion in the deeper waters and bottom sediments of la#es, and other chemical changes such as precipitation of calcium carbonate in hard waters. ,nother problem, of growing concern in recent years, is acid rain, which has left many la#es in northern and eastern Europe and north-eastern :orth ,merica totally devoid of life.

Oil Spill Clean Up 0and (ollution

&t includes disposal of normally solid or semi-solid materials, resulting from human and animal activities, that are useless, unwanted, or ha4ardous which results in contamination of the land. 7ollowing are some of the problems of environment which are causing foremost damage to it.

Carbon Dioxide

ne impact that the burning of fossil fuels has had on the Earths environment has been the increase of carbon dioxide 5- $6 in the Earths atmosphere. The amount of atmospheric - $ apparently remained stable for millennia, at about $<9 ppm 5parts per million6, but over the past %99 years it has increased to =>9 ppm. The significance of this change is its potential for raising the temperature of the Earth through the process #nown as the greenhouse effect. -arbon dioxide in the atmosphere prevents the escape of outgoing long-wave radiation from the Earth to outer space) as more heat is produced and less escapes, the temperature of the Earth increases. The greenhouse effect refers to the way in which gases in the Earths atmosphere warm the Earth li#e the glass roof of a greenhouse-by letting sunlight in but #eeping the reflected heat energy trapped inside. These naturally occurring gases, notably carbon dioxide and water vapour, are called greenhouse gases. , significant global warming of the atmosphere would have profound environmental effects. &t would speed the melting of polar ice caps, raise sea levels, change the climate regionally and globally, alter natural vegetation, and affect crop production. These changes would, in turn, have an enormous impact on human civili4ation. Since %8>9 there has been a mean rise in global temperature of about %? - 5%.8? 76. +ost scientists have predicted that rising levels of - $ and other @greenhouse gasesA will cause temperatures to continue to increase, with estimates ranging from $? to <? - 5B? to %%? 76 by the mid-$%st century. However, some scientists who research climate effects and trends dispute the theories of global warming, and attribute the most recent rise to normal temperature fluctuations.

reenho!se E""e#$
The greenhouse effect refers to the way in which gases in the Earths atmosphere warm the Earth li#e the glass roof of a greenhouse-by letting sunlight in but #eeping the reflected heat energy trapped inside. These naturally occurring gases, notably carbon dioxide and water vapour, are called greenhouse gases.

Destruction of ozone layer

4one layer, a region of the atmosphere that shields the Earth from the Suns harmful ultraviolet 5 C D 6 rays. 1ithout this gaseous layer, which is found at about B9 #m 5$> mi6 above sea level, no life could survive on the planet. Studies showed the o4one layer was being damaged by the increasing use of industrial chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons 5-7-s, compounds of fluorine6 that are used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, cleaning solvents, pac#ing materials, and aerosol sprays. -hlorine, a chemical by-product of -7-s, attac#s o4one, which consists of three molecules of oxygen, by ta#ing one molecule away to form chlorine monoxide. -hlorine monoxide then reacts with oxygen atoms to form oxygen molecules, releasing chlorine molecules that brea# up other molecules of o4one.

Soil Degradation

Soil 'egradation, the decline in *uality and *uantity of a soil. This may be brought about by various processes/ erosion, salini4ation, contamination, drainage, acidification, lateri4ation and loss of soil structure, or a combination of these. The most important process of degradation is accelerated erosion. This is the loss of soil by water, wind, and mass movements or, more locally, the action of vehicles and trampling feet of humans and animals. 1hile only serious in some areas, its cumulative and long-term effects offer considerable cause for concern. The loss of the upper hori4ons containing organic matter and nutrients and the thinning of soil profiles reduces crop yields on degraded soils. 7re*uent causes of contamination are farmyard waste and sewage sludge which may contain high levels of heavy metals. Soils have also been contaminated by radioactive isotopes from nuclear weapons testing and, on a restricted but locally serious scale, from the -hernobyl nuclear power station accident in %!8<. -ontamination may also result from other chemical wastes or byproducts of industrial processes.

'egradation of peatlands is brought about by drainage resulting in soil-loss due to oxidation and wind erosion.The loss of organic matter due to erosion and oxidation degrades the soil and in particular its value as a crop-growing medium. The loss of organic matter also decreases the stability of soil aggregates which under the impact of rainfall may then brea# up. This process may lead to the formation of soil crusts which reduce infiltration of water into the soil and increase the li#elihood of run-off and water erosion occurring. Soil crusts also inhibit the germination of seeds. 0oss of soil structure may occur due to loss of organic matter, compaction brought about by agricultural machinery and cultivation in wet weather, or dispersion of soil materials in the subsoil 5@sodicationA6.

Deforestation

'eforestation, the large-scale removal of forest, prior to its replacement by other land uses. &t is proceeding at about %" million hectares each year. 2etween %!!9 and %!!> the forests of 0atin ,merica were reduced by >8,999 s* #m 5$$,>99 s* mi6 each year. 2etween %!89 and %!!9, annual deforestation rates were %.$ per cent in ,sia and the (acific, 9.8 per cent in 0atin ,merica, and 9." per cent in ,frica. 7orest area is generally stable in Europe and :orth ,merica, although the rate of transition from old-growth forest to other forms in :orth ,merica is controversially high. 'eforestation and forest degradation occur in response to policy, mar#et, and institutional @signalsA. These tend to either @pushA people into the forest, through difficult economic or social conditions outside it) or to @pullA people into the forest, through the attraction of profits 5from logging or forest clearance6. +any policies effectively undervalue forests, such as low fees for logging, or they overvalue the benefits of removing forest for other uses, which can be seen in the subsidi4ation of food prices. &n contrast, they do not provide long-term incentives to loo# after forests. The lac# of security of forest ownership and forest-use rights encourages exploitative behaviour. Some policies even re*uire deforestation in order to show the owner has @improvedA the land. -ommercial and official debt, owed by many developing nations to industriali4ed countries, forces developing countries into deforestation to generate foreign exchange. 1hilst these are the root causes of deforestation, they are exacerbated by increasing population, increasing demands for forest products, and inappropriate technology.

%e"ores$a$ion

%es$r!#$ion o" Ama&onian Rain"ores$ '( %e"ores$a$ion

Other toxic Substances

Toxic substances are chemicals and mixtures of chemicals the manufacturing, processing, distribution, use, and disposal of which present an unreasonable ris# to human health and the environment. +ost of these toxic substances are synthetic chemicals that enter the environment and persist there for long periods of time. +a.or concentrations of toxic substances occur in chemical dump sites. &f they seep into soil and water, the chemicals can contaminate water supplies, air, crops, and domestic animals, and have been associated with human birth defects, miscarriages, and organic diseases. 'espite #nown dangers, the problem is not lessening. &n a recent %>-year period, more than "9,999 new synthetic chemicals were manufactured, and new ones are being created at the rate of >99 to %,999 each year.

MENACE OF POL) BA S
(lastics are synthetic substances produced by chemical reactions. ,lmost all plastics are made from petroleum, except a few experimental resins derived from corn and other organic substances. E(lasticsE derive their name from their properties to be molded, cast, extruded or processed into a variety of forms, including solid ob.ects, films and filaments. These properties arise from their molecular structure. (lastics are polymers, very long chain molecules that consist of subunits 5monomers6 lin#ed together by chemical bonds. The monomers of petrochemical plastics are inorganic materials 5such as styrene6 and are not biodegradable. (lastic has many properties which has made it a raw material of choice for +anufactures of plastic 2ags and pac#ing materials. -ost of production, light weight, strength, easy process of manufacture, and availability are few of the properties. There is nothing wrong with plastic as a

material. +an has simply not put the plastic to the right useF or using it without ta#ing proper care of other related norms of usage.

HA*AR%S OF PLASTIC
The ha4ards plastics pose are numerous. The land gets littered by plastic bag garbage presenting an ugly and unhygienic seen. The EThrow away cultureE results in these bags finding their way in to the city drainage system, the resulting bloc#age cases inconvenience, difficult in maintaining the drainage with increased cost, creates unhygienic environment resulting in health ha4ard and spreading of water borne diseases. This littering also reduces rate of rain water percolating, resulting in lowering of already low water levels in our cities. The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form part of manure remain in the soil for years. &t has been observed that the animals eating the bags sometimes die. (lastic goes into the ocean which is already a plastic infested body of water. 7ish and other marine species in the water ways, misunderstanding plastic garbage as food items swallow them and die. (lastic is a non -biodegradable substance..2ecause plastics are relatively inert, the final products do not normally present health ha4ards to the ma#er or user. However, some monomers used in the manufacture of plastics have been shown to cause cancer. Similarly, ben4ene, which is an important raw material for the synthesis of nylon, is a carcinogen. The problems involved in the manufacture of plastics parallel those of the chemical industry in general.+ost synthetic plastics are not environmentally degradable) unli#e wood, paper, natural fibres, or even metal and glass, they do not rot or otherwise brea# down over time. 5Some degradable plastics have been developed, but none has proved compatible with the conditions re*uired for most waste landfills.6 Thus, there is an environmental problem associated with the disposal of plastics.(olythene bags are harmful for the environment and should be avoided for use due to their non biodegradable nature. &nstead of them paper bags should be used.

FUTURE ALTERNATIVE - ECO-FRIEN%L) PLASTICS

However newer technology is also being developed in this regard. This entails the use of 'EG;,',20E (0,ST&-S. The principal is to incorporate into the plastic some chemical that is photodegradableFbiodegradable or chemically treatable. 2y adding starch, biodegradable plastics are generally made. n burial such plastics are attac#ed by bacteria feeding on starch, which brea#s these down into tiny particles that disappear harmlessly into the soil. Some common examples of biodegradable plastics are the use of EnonremovableE suture materials in surgery or capsules for drugs, which dissolve slowly in body fluids. -hemically degradable plastics can be bro#en up by spraying them with a solution that causes them to dissolve. 7or example such material can be used as a protective wax covering for new cars, that washes off at the dealer3s garage by a specially formulated spray. This spray reacts with one of the components of the plastic and causes it to dissolve into harmless materials which can be flushed down the drain. (hoto-degradable plastics contain chemicals that slowly disintegrate when exposed to light. &n 7rance, strips of photo-degradable plastic about = ft 5%mtr6 wide are used to retain heat in the soil and produce early crops. They last for about % to = years before rotting into the soil. 2ut they have to be used in places with consistent amount of sunshine so that they decay at a predictable rate. &n the CS,, about one *uarter of the plastic yo#es that lin# beer cans in a six pac# are made of plastic called Ecolyte, which is photo-degradable. 2ut to stop them decaying too early, they must be stored away from direct sunlight, which can be of some inconvenience to the retailer.

ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION
Energy -onservation, the attempt to reduce the amount of energy used for domestic and
industrial purposes, particularly in the developed world.

Co+enera$ion o" Po,er

-ogeneration of (ower -ogeneration 5or -ombined Heat and (ower6 systems recycle exhaust energy from the primary power generation process 5in this case a gas turbine6 into a secondary power process, and from there remaining exhaust energy is rechannelled again 5in this case in the form of steam6 to provide energy that is used directly in the environs of the power plant 5for heating buildings, for instance6, further increasing the overall efficiency of the system. &n the past, energy was plentifully available in relation to human demand so that wood or charcoal was burned prodigally and inefficiently on open fires or in simple stoves. This provided the staple fuel supply until coal arrived to fuel the &ndustrial ;evolution in the %8th century. Even today wood provides %= per cent of world energy and much of it is burned very inefficiently to provide heat for coo#ing in developing countries. , typical &ndian villager uses five times as much energy to coo# the evening meal on a wood-fuelled fire or stove as his or her counterpart in Europe. The conse*uence is that fuel wood as an energy source is beginning to run out in ,frica and southeastern ,sia. &n Europe, and particularly 2ritain, wood was already in short supply by the middle of the %8th century, but coal was becoming increasingly available. ,s well as being used domestically it was burned to raise steam to power the pumping engines necessary to remove the water from the coal mines and so increase the production of this valuable fuel. The coal-fired steam engine also made rail transport possible, with George Stephenson3s invention of a railway engine 50ocomotion, built in %8$>6 that was overwhelmingly more reliable and efficient than any other form of propulsion. That is not to say it had a high efficiency) the conversion of the chemical energy in the coal into the energy of motion of the railway engine was achieved with an efficiency of less than one per cent. &ncreasing demand for fossil fuels and the associated pollution ha4ards involved have led to calls by the 2rundtland -ommission 5%!8"6 and others for a move to sustainable development, and this has been endorsed by politicians in many countries. The extreme difficulties in achieving this

desirable end have not been appreciated by many) the 1orld Energy -ouncil estimates that new renewable energy sources are only li#ely to provide a maximum of %9 per cent of world re*uirements by about $9$9 5although this figure could rise towards B9 per cent by $%996, so it is difficult to see how demand will be met without a substantially increased input from nuclear power. 7or these reasons the European Cnion has developed a number of initiatives to encourage energy savings, with a figure of $9 per cent saving being seen as a reali4able goal. The 1orld Energy -ouncil in its various future energy scenarios has postulated considerable reductions in energy intensity) that is, in the amount of energy re*uired to produce one unit of Gross 'omestic (roduct 5G'(6. 7igures published in a 1orld Energy -ouncil report in %!!= suggest the average world figure for efficiency of energy use as = to =.> per cent) in 1estern Europe and Hapan the figure is B to > per cent and in the Cnited States only $ per cent. Energy saving by improved efficiency of operation can be achieved on the supply side by technological improvement in electricity generation, refining operations, and so on. The demand side-energy used for warming buildings, operating electrical appliances, lighting, and so on-has been neglected compared with the supply side and there is very considerable scope for improvement. &n 1estern Europe B9 per cent of final energy use is in the domestic sector and $> per cent in industry) =9 per cent is used in transport.

Soil +anagement, the basis of all scientific agriculture, which involves six essential practices/
proper tillage) maintenance of a proper supply of organic matter in the soil) maintenance of a proper nutrient supply) control of soil pollution) maintenance of the correct soil acidity) and control of erosion. The purpose of tillage is to prepare the soil for growing crops. This preparation is traditionally accomplished by using a plough that cuts into the ground and turns over the soil, removing or #illing any weeds growing in the area, loosening and brea#ing up the surface layers of the soil, and providing a bed of soil that holds sufficient moisture to permit the planted seeds to germinate. ,mong soil deficiencies that affect productivity, deficiency of nutrients is especially problematic. The nutrients most necessary for proper plant growth are nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, iron, calcium, sulphur, and magnesium, all of which usually exist in most soils in varying *uantities. &n addition, most plants re*uire minute amounts of substances #nown as trace elements, which are present in the soil in very small *uantities and include manganese, 4inc, copper, and boron. :utrients often occur in the soil in compounds that cannot be readily utili4ed by plants Soil pollution is defined as the build-up in soils of persistent toxic compounds, chemicals, salts, radioactive materials, or disease-causing agents, which have adverse effects on plant growth and animal health.,lthough the application of fertili4ers containing the primary nutrients-nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium-has not led to soil pollution, the application of trace elements has. The irrigation of arid lands often leads to pollution with salts. Sulphur from industrial waste has polluted soils in the past, as has the accumulation of arsenic compounds in soils following years of spraying crops with lead arsenate. The application of pesticides has also led to short-term soil pollution. The effectiveness of a pesticide as well as the ha4ards of harmful residues depend largely on how long the pesticide remains in the soil. 7or example, ''T, a chlorinated hydrocarbon, has a half-life of three years in cultivated soils, while organophosphorus insecticides persist for only days or months. -hlorinated hydrocarbons persist longer in soils that have a large amount of organic matter, although more of the chemical must be applied to such soils to #ill pests. &nsecticides persist longer if wor#ed into the soil than if left on the surface. Herbicides applied to soils may not persist at all or may persist up to two years or longer, depending on the compound. Simia4ine is one of the most persistent herbicides, although all pesticides disappear eventually because of evaporation and vapori4ation, leaching, plant upta#e, chemical and microbial

decomposition, and photodecomposition. The mechanical loss of fertile topsoil is one of the gravest problems of agriculture. Such loss is almost always caused by erosion resulting from the action of water or wind.So to conserve soil trees should be planted in the areas where erosion occurs at very high rate.2elts of trees prevents erosion of soil since roots of the trees #eep hold on the top soil.

SOME ACTION POINTS TO PROTECT OR IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT

'ispose the waste afterseparating into biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste material. Start a compost bin.This can lead to recycle waste food and other biodegradable materials. ,void unneccessary or wasteful pac#aging of products. ;euse carrier bags. ;euse carrier bags. (lant trees. They will help to absorb excess carbon dioxide. bserve world Environment 'ay,>th Hune. :ever put any left over chemicals,used oils down the drain,toiletor dump them on the ground or in water or burn them in the garden . 'on3t burn any waste, especially plastics, for the smo#e may contain polluting gases. Cse unleaded petrol and alternate sources of energy, and #eep the engine properly tuned and serviced and the tyres inflated to the right pressure, so that vehicle runs efficiently. ,void fast starts and sudden brea#ing of automobiles. 1al# or cycle where it is safe to do so- wal#ing is free, cycling can help to #eep you fit. Cse public transport wherever you can, or form a car pool for every day travel. Send your waste oil, old batteries and used tyres to a garage for recycling and safe disposal) all these can cause serious pollution.