Introduction to

environmental issues
Man ability to manipulate the environment today
has resulted in several serious problems,and the
most serious problem is the environmental
pollution. The atmosphere, the hydrosphere and,
to some extent, the lithosphere are the parts of
the earth from which all the members of the
biosphere obtain their essential requirements.
Since , living organisms are in constant interaction
with these constituents, any slight change in the
composition of the atmosphere or the
hydroshphere or the lithosphere will have marked
influence on the biosphere.
Pollution is an undesireable change in physical,
chemical or biological charectorstics on the
air,land or water caused by an excessive
accumulation of pollutants. Pollution harmfully
affects the health, survival or activities of human
and other living organisms.
Air pollution
Air pollution means the presence of chemicals or
compounds in the air which are usually not
present and which lower the quality of the air or
cause detrimental changes to the quality of life.
Causes of air pollution
 The burning of fossil fuels
Pollution emitting from vechiles
jeeps,cars,trains,airplanes cause an immense
amount of pollution.
 Smokestacks of thermal power plant.
 Exhaust from factories and industries.
Industries release a large a large amount of
carbon monoxide,hydrocarbon,organic
compounds and chemicals into the air thereby
depleting the quality of air.
Mining operations
Effects of air pollution
 Reduces growth and yield of crops .
  Causes premature death of plants.
 Respiratory and health problems
The affects of air pollution are alarming. They
arr known to create several respiratory and heart
condition s alon g with Cancer among other
threats to the body.
 Acid rain
Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulpur
oxides are released into the atmosphere during
the burning of fossil fuels. When it rains, the
water droplets combine with these air pollutants,
becomes acidicand then falls on the ground ion
the fom of acid.
Solutions for air pollution
 Use public mode of transportation to reduce
the pollution.
 Use of lead free petrol or diesel can reduse
the pollutants they emit.
 Catalytic converters heving expensive metals
namely platinum-palladium and rhodium as
 the catalysts, are fitted into automobile for
reducing emission of poisioness gas.
Use of CNG(compressed natural gas)
Use of several device to remove the particulate
matter. for example :
ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR:- it is a filteration
device that removes fine particles.like dust and
smoke,from the flowing gas using the force of an
induced electrostatic chargeminimally impending
the flow of gases through the unit.
SCRUBBER:- a device used for removing pollutants
from industrial exhaust streams.it is an air stream
pollution control device which uses liquid spray to
remove solid and liquid particulate matter.
Water pollution
The pollution of the water bodies of water,such as
lakes,rivers,seas,the oceans,as wellas
groundwater. It occurs when pollutants reach
these bodies without treatment.waste from
homes,factories and other buildings get into the
water bodies and as a result water gets
contaminated.
Causes of water pollution
Mining
Mines produce waste that can increase the
amount of minerals and salts in the water.it affect
the pH of the water and Can increase the
murkiness of water.
Agriculture
Increases nutrients due to fertilizer and
excreta,which causes worrying amountof nitrates
and phosphates to water supplies.
Increased pesticides use.
Industries
Industries produce waste that can affect :
pH of water(whether it is acid,neutral or alkaline)
colour of water
amount of nutrients and tempreture which can
impact on sensitive organism living in water.
Domestic sewage also couse water pollution to a
great extent.
Heated (thermal) wastewaters flowing out of
electricity-generating units, e.g., thermal power
plants, constitute another important category of
pollutants. It eliminates or reduces the number of
organisms sensitive to high temperature, and may
enhance the growth of plants and fish in
extremely cold areas but, only after causing
damage to the indigenous flora and fauna.

Effect of water pollution

BIOMAGNIFICATION:- it refers to the increase in
concentration of the toxicant at successive tropic
level.this happens because a toxic substance
accumulated by an organism cannot be
metabolisedor excreated,and thus passed on to
the next higer trophic level.high concentration of
DDT disturb calcium metabolism in birds ,which
causes thinning of egg shell and their premature
breaking,eventually causing decline in bird
population.
EUTROPHICATION:- is the natural aging of a lake
by nutrient enrichment of its water. In a young
lake the water is cold and clear, supporting little
life. With time, streams draining into the lake
introduce nutrients such as nitrogen and
phosphorus, which encourage the growth of
aquatic organisms. As the lake’s fertility increases,
plant and animal life burgeons, and organic
remains begin to be deposited on the lake
bottom. Over the centuries, as silt and organic
debris pile up, the lake grows shallower and
warmer, with warm-water organisms supplanting
those that thrive in a cold environment. Marsh
plants take root in the shallows and begin to fill in
the original lake basin. Eventually, the lake gives
way to large masses of floating plants (bog),
finally converting into land. However, pollutants
from man’s activities like effluents from the
industries and homes can radically accelerate the
aging process. This phenomenon has been called
Cultural or Accelerated Eutrophication.
CONTROL WATER POLLUTION
The following measures should be taken to
control water pollution.
 Avoid throwing garbage into lakes, rivers and
streams and help in cleaning litter around
water resources.
Proper use and dispose of chemicals.
 Reduce the use of pesticides, fertilizers and
other chemicals to maintain your garden.
 Wash your automobiles at carwashes instead of
washing it yourself. The wastewater from these
carwashes are drained into the sewer and
treated which reduce the amount of pollutants
in the water.
Greenhouse effect and
global warming
The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring
phenomenon that is responsible for heating of
Earth’s surface and atmosphere. without
greenhouse effect the average temperature at
surface of Earth would have been a chilly –18oC
rather than the present average of 15oC.
Clouds and gases reflect about one-fourth of
the incoming solar radiation, and absorb some
of it but almost half of incoming solar radiation
falls on Earth’s surface heating it, while a small
proportion is reflected back. Earth’s surface re-
emits heat in the form of infrared radiation but
part of this does not escape into space as
atmospheric gases (e.g., carbon dioxide,
methane, etc.) absorb a major fraction of it. The
molecules of these gases radiate heat energy,
and a major part of which again comes to
Earth’s surface, thus heating it up once again.
This cycle is repeated many a times. The above-
mentioned gases – carbon dioxide and
methane – are commonly known as
greenhouse gases because they are responsible
for the greenhouse effect. Increase in the level
of greenhouse gases has led to considerable
heating of Earth leading to global warming.

During the past century,

the temperature of Earth has increased by 0.6
oC, most of it during the last three decades.
Scientists believe that this rise in temperature is
leading to deleterious changes in the
environment and resulting in odd climatic
changes , thus leading to increased melting of
polar ice caps as well as of other places like the
Himalayan snow caps. Over many years, this will
result in a rise in sea level that can submerge
many coastal areas.
How can we control global
warming?
The measures include cutting down use of fossil
fuel, improving efficiency of energy usage,
reducing deforestation, planting trees and
slowing down the growth of human population.

Ozone depletion in the

stratosphere
ozone is found in the upper part of the
atmosphere called the stratosphere, and it acts
as a shield absorbing ultraviolet radiation from
the sun. UV rays are highly injurious to living
organisms since DNA and proteins of living
organisms preferentially absorb UV rays, and its
high energy breaks the chemical bonds within
these molecules. The thickness of the ozone in a
column of air from the ground to the top of the
atmosphere is measured in terms of Dobson
units (DU). Ozone gas is continuously formed by
the action of UV rays on molecular oxygen, and
also degraded into molecular oxygen in the
stratosphere. There should be a balance
between production and degradation of ozone
in the stratosphere. Of late, the balance has
been disrupted due to enhancement of ozone
degradation by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
CFCs discharged in the lower part of
atmosphere move upward and reach
stratosphere. In stratosphere, UV rays act on
them releasing Cl atoms. Cl degrades ozone
releasing molecular oxygen, with these atoms
acting merely as catalysts; Cl atoms are not
consumed in the reaction. Hence, whatever
CFCs are added to the stratosphere, they have
permanent and continuing affects on Ozone
levels. Although ozone depletion is occurring
widely in the stratosphere, the depletion is
particularly marked over the Antarctic region.
This has resulted in formation of a large area of
thinned ozone layer, commonly called as the
ozone hole.
Effects of ozone depletion
UV-B damages DNA and mutation may occur. It
causes aging of skin, damage to skin cells and
various types of skin cancers. In human eye,
cornea absorbs UV-B radiation, and a high dose
of UV-B causes inflammation of cornea, called
snow-blindnes.
Various steps taken to control
ozone depletion
Recognising the deleterious affects of ozone
depletion, an international treaty, known as the
Montreal Protocol, was signed at Montreal
(Canada) in 1987 (effective in 1989) to control
the emission of ozone depleting substances.
 Subsequently many more efforts have been
made and protocols have laid down definite
roadmaps, separately for developed and
developing countries, for reducing the emission
of CFCs and other ozone depleting chemicals.

Conclusion
Much is being done to control, monitor and
rectify damage done by pollutants. The problems
are diverse and some are only being recognised
but it is important to keep a close control
over pollutants so that we can maintain
the environment in an acceptable condition for
future generations.