MAN AND ENVIRONMENT The relationship of man with the environment is necessarily symbiotic; the equilibrium between the

two must be maintained at all costs. Throughout mans existence on the earth, he has depended upon a neat balance among the various elements on the earth. During the last few centuries, however, mans relationship with his environment has drastically changed due to a vast increase in his expectations and activities. Aoquisition of knowledge about science and technologies and their application in meeting the ever in creasing needs of man has not left any part of the biosphere untouched, making his own survival precarious. Extensive modifications of the environment have been caused by shifting millions of tones of materials from one place to another, converting them to less degradable forms or into substances that are positively harmful to living beings. For example, hundreds of millions tones of minerals, fuels and other toxic materials are being dug out from the interior of the earth every year and thrown on the earths surface in one form or the other. Another fact is that this planet has become overpopulated. With increasing population more and more demands are made on the limited sources of energy and materials. The capacity of the environment to support the increasing demands of man is limited. The environment performs three basic functions in relation to man. First, it provides lining space and other amenities that make life qualitatively rice for man. Second, environment is a source of agricultural, mineral, water and other resources that are consumed directly. Third, the environment is a sink where all the waste produced by man is assimilated. It is essential that the capacity of the environment to perform these functions is not impaired, which explains our general concern for it. It is important, therefore, that due to stresses imposed on the environment, the rate of exploitation of resources does not exceed natures capacity to reproduce them, or that

the amount of chemical and industrial effluents do not exceed the assimilative capacity of nature. Rapid population growth, unplanned towns and random growth of industry are common features of any developing country. Where as slums, chimneys emitting poisonous gases and deafening noise fall to the lot of the dweller, soil contamination and river and subsoil water pollution due to the use fertilizers and pesticides are quite common in villages and small towns. Today, fortunately, all sections of society are aware of the problems of environment pollution. There is growing need to tackle the problem through a variety of measures, such as legal, scientific, technical, economic, and educational. Different legal and administrative methods have been introduce in almost all countries. The basic aim of legislation is to achieve air and water quality within acceptable levels.

What is the main idea of paragraph c. look up your dictionary and find meaning of these word 1. Relationship= 2. Symbiotic 3. Equilibrium 4. Existence 5. Century 6. Drastically 7. Expectation 8. Survival 9. Precarious 10.Shifting 11.Drastically 12.Converting 13.Amenity 14.Degradable 15.Consumed 16.Assimilated 17.Exceed 18.Effluent 19.Chimney 20. Contaminati