Foundation Course-II

Ecology

Q.1) Explain the causes of environmental degradation.

 Environmental degradation refers to the destruction of natural

resources like air, water and soil and also the deterioration of
wildlife and ecosystem. Environmental degradation occurs when
the environment gets damaged. Environmental degradation can
occur in many forms such as naturally or through human
processes. The most affected area due to environmental
degradation is the rain forests, and it also causes ozone depletion
and air pollution.
 Environmental degradation can be caused due to the following
reasons:
1. Industrial Activities: Chemicals released by industrial
processes rise to the stratosphere to degrade the ozone
layer. The primary cause of ozone depletion is
chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs.
The depletion of natural resources is the result of the
industrial activities. The resources such as coal, petroleum
and natural gas that were used scarcely earlier are now
used in very large quantities.
The industrial and automobile operations have resulted in
enormous emissions in atmosphere.
2. Population Explosion: Rapid population growth in a country
like India is threatening the environment through expansion
and intensification of agriculture, uncontrolled growth of
urbanization and industrialization, and destruction of
 natural habitats. The environmental effects like ground
water and surface water contamination; air pollution and
global warming are of growing concern owing to increasing
consumption levels.
3. Pesticides and Insecticides: The fertility of the soil has been
reduced due to the large amount of usage of chemical
fertilizers. It results in the contamination of ground water. A
fault in the use of fertilizer can also result in growth of
microorganisms. An imbalance in the soil can also occur due
to excessive use of the fertilizers and insecticides as they
are not easily biodegradable.
4. Deforestation: deforestation means the cutting down of
trees to build houses and industries. A large growth in the
population is also the result of deforestation as large
amount of area is required to accommodate more
population. Apart from the population, the use of forest
land is done for agriculture, feeding animals and for the
wood which also results in the cutting down or decreasing
number of trees. Deforestation also results in global
warming as the numbers of trees are being reduced and the
amount of carbon dioxide is increasing due to that.
5. Changing Lifestyles: Changes in lifestyle also results in
environmental degradation. The rich class people use air
conditioner and refrigerators excessively which causes air
pollution and effects the environment. Also, people in the
cities prefer packaged drinking water and soft drinks. These
bottles of soft drinks and water are made of plastic and
plastics do not degrade easily and it becomes a problem for
 the natural resources. The excessive use of plastic bags in
the urban areas is also a threat to the environment.
6. Automobiles: Automobiles also contribute to
environmental degradation as the cars and trucks emit large
amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The
greenhouse gases are important as they trap heat in the
atmosphere but excessive emission of these gasses causes
the earth’s temperature to rise and thus it leads to
degradation as well as global warming. The excessive
emission of these gases causes a rise in air pollution and
affects the Air Quality Index.