Editor’s Note

Nurture the nature, heal the

world
When we talk of environment we must know that we are
referring to only earth’s environment and not about any
other planet. It’s known that we have only one planet to
live on and till date there is no other option available for
the humanity. Earths physical environment comprises of
biotic and abiotic components and four spheres namely
Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere.
Biosphere exists somewhere between all the preceding
three and we humans are just a miniscule part of it.
Biotic and abiotic components mutually coexisting in a
symbiotic interrelationship have created ecosystems
both Terrestrial as well as Aquatic, natural as well as artificial, starting from nano to micro,
macro and mega ecosystems i.e Biomes.

A rich biodiversity is present on earth despite all natural as well as anthropogenic

interventions which has severely damaged flora and fauna. Threatened, endangered and
extinct species have been categorized for studies, research and conservation purposes. Need
of the hour is not only environmental awareness among scores of people but a will power or
determination among the governments. As together can we make realize the desired
conservation and positive changes to our environment. Environmental ethics need to be
taught at homes as well as in academia as multitude of environmental problems will require
multitude of people to correct it.

Since ancient times our forests, rivers and common property resources were safe in the hands
of tribal and indigenous people for thousands of years as their understanding of conservation
was far superior than the present civilizations. A tribal following animistic religion conserves
our ecosystems in a more effective and meaningful way than our governing systems today.
There never was considered a cost benefit analysis so that we would have known about its
subsequent greater harmful repercussions. Developed world has a bigger role in the
destruction of ecosystems and environment as they were the pioneers of erroneous industrial
and urban development model and now they must take lead for correcting their deeds not as a
redemption measure but rather their economic and technological advancement can perhaps
help yielding better results.

Seminars , conferences, curriculum changes , and observing days dedicated to pertinent

environmental issues are important but let’s not make them just a ritual. An environment day
need not be observed only on 5th June but 365 days throughout the year. When we talk of role
of government, often there is a lot of pressure from industries, builders and corporate to clear
Environmental Impact Assessments for their projects and perhaps there must be intense
lobbying too but here the role of government and bureaucracy becomes more crucial so as to
not become lenient or come under any form of pressure. Simultaneously we must not ape the
developed world but rather explore different development paradigms which are sustainable
and do not bear higher ecological costs in the long run and most importantly let’s walk the
talk on environment!
Dr. Neeraj Singh

Student Editor’s Note

Running out of time!

Our planet, Earth is much like a home but we
never care to look after it like our homes. We
utilize its resources, we pollute it with waste or
trash, and we never even think that what things
will be like in the coming days or future, never
thinking what shape things will be in for posterity.
It is high time to think about our environment and
decide what we can do to make our environment
free from pollution and stop the ongoing
degradation. It is high time for each one of us to understand, why problems like
pollution, over-population, soaring temperature, drought, water problems,
dwindling forests, environmental degradation are affecting the lives of people.
If we do not act in time on the issue of growing pollution levels in the country,
rapid urbanisation, diminishing green cover, declining ground water table, a day
will come when people will have to buy oxygen cylinders for breathing like
water bottles for quenching their thirst. If such a thing happens, it will be a big
question how the poor people in the country would survive.

On the other hand, rapid depletion of forest cover has a deep impact on the
wet season in the country and has also resulted in unseasonal rain which has
affected agriculture and farmers.

So, it is important for all of us to be earth friendly or eco friendly as possible.

It’s in our hands as well as we have the ability to make our earth or world a
better place for ourselves, our children and for future generations to come.

Prajwal Agrawal
 Striking a balance between economic development and
environmental sustainability - a major challenge!
- Prajwal Agrawal

A
healthy environment is essential to a liveable society, strong economy and a
growing nation. And, it is high to time to show concern on striking a balance
between growth and environment. Growth and environment are two sides of the
same coin as one cannot prevail without the other. But, a question arises, that how is India
going to strike that balance between growth and environment protection?

Census reveals that India contributes over 17% to the world’s population and is on a high–
growth trajectory. But, this growth comes with hidden environmental cost. As the
population is growing rapidly, finding the equilibrium between economic advancement and
consumption of natural resources is a vital question, which needs to be scrutinized.

Our country has prioritized economic development over protection of environment because
of increasing pressure to feed and educate the population. But, supplying resources to
population will not be possible if there is no environment left to provide the natural
resources. Or else, India will soon have to start producing synthetic eggs and rice, just like
China. People have become accustomed to the idea that the quality of life is found in the
accumulation of material goods. The irony of the fact is that the industrial use of the
environment to sustain human life is causing severe damage to the environment. Industrial
pollution results in undesirable costs, not only in terms of environmental destruction, but
also in terms of costly clean-ups and damage to human health.

So, there are solutions as well. Firstly, business enterprises need to separate production
systems from the consumption of materials and energy to become sustainable. By following
steps like (a) switching from non–renewable to renewable sources of energy and materials
targeting cleaner production, (b) maximising recycling and reuse of wastes, (c)
environmentally sound production design, business enterprises can work towards
sustainable growth.
In any business organisation, sustainability is the name of the game. An institution, which
lacks the essence of sustainability, unfortunately, fails in the long-run. It is neither beneficial
for the organisation nor for the society. Business houses and industries can transform
themselves through sustainable practices and become engines of green growth by
developing technologies that enables others to drive their sustainability.

The issue, when discussed broadly, comes under two broad themes: economic and
environmental.

Economic sustainability means a combination of (a) remaining commercially feasible (both

now and ideally in days to come) and (b) being able to sustain operations in the face of
unexpected and severe events. Economic sustainability can be viewed through five capitals,
which include:
(a) Natural capital from ecological system
(b) Produced capital from productive activities,
(c) Human capital from talented and skilled people,
(d) Social capital from social trust and social interaction, and
(e) Financial capital, which connects all the previous four capitals to help grow and sustain
an economy.

On the other hand, environmental sustainability is focused on the physical environment. In

the organisational backdrop, it refers to taking responsibility for the environmental impacts
connected either directly or indirectly to operational activities.

Economic development and environmental sustainability are intertwined in several ways.

Producing goods and services requires, more or less, the use of natural resources which
comes attached with an environmental cost.

So, is it possible for an organisation to create economic gains from being focused on
environmental sustainability? Yes, the commercial value attached to environmental
sustainability can be measured by looking at the factual practise of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) reporting. Environmental justifies the commercial value-added, offering
management of financial capital in coexistence with natural capital. It helps in identifying the
inefficiencies due to excessive waste discharge and poor use of inputs within the value chain.
Minimising these inefficiencies through careful waste management translates directly into
reduced costs, and does not require lowering output. As such, environmental accounting
serves to increase the profit margin when applied effectively.

Changing the system will require the participation of humanity as a whole. All areas of our
accustomed way of life will be affected. Certainly governments must play an important role
in this process by simplifying the policies to create an ecosystem for new sustainable
businesses to flourish. Efforts like the introduction and adoption of Green Accounting
Standards will be a step towards enhancing the speed of transition among businesses and
corporations. We can expect to encounter many obstacles in the effort to get to change the
ways.

Management of water resources also poses a major challenge. Though, emphasis is being
given to ensure participation of stakeholders and increase the awareness in water
management. Further, an integrated river basin approach, combining both surface and
ground water, using advance technological tools, is being used for management and
conservation.

In the context of the issue, amidst the hustle of making Faridabad as a Smart City, the basis
for sustainability gets ignored, i.e., Environment. What is needed to be understood is that
this retrofitting process will lead to rapid urbanisation. Over-population will pressurise the
land, leading to decline of ground water table, fall in ambient air quality and will
diminish green cover. Implementation of Smart City mission will be possible only after
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plans (EMP).

Faridabad will become ‘SMART’ not by building state-of-art infrastructure or by providing

latest technology, rather it’ll become ‘SMARTER’ by maintaining a healthy environment and
keeping the ecosystem balanced.

Thus, the effort to create a new reality in which the economy and the environment work
together in harmony will be an extremely challenging one. Yet, this is an urgent issue and it
cannot be ignored or put off for too long, despite the difficulties. At stake are the health of
the planet and, ultimately, the survival of the human species.

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 WATER POLLUTION SPREADING DISEASES NEAR ARAAVALI (Faridabad)
- PANKAJ SOOD
B.Com. (Hons.) – IVth Semester – 27393
Groundwater pollution in Araavali caused by tons of untreated waste lying near waste
treatment plant is leading to diseases like skin lesions, bloody diarrhea and dermatitis
among people from neighboring villages.

Inhabitants of villages on Faridabad – Gurugram Road have stopped consuming water from
nearby lakes and wells. The waste treatment plant meant for Gurugram and Faridabad
districts has been lying defunct for the last two years. However, it is being used as a dumping
yard which in turn, is polluting the water.

Taking the advantage of the situation, private water suppliers in the area have increased
price of a 50-litre bottle to Rs.1000 from around Rs. 600(till a few months back). Many
villagers who can’t afford bottled water have been borrowing water from far off places. Even
among these families, cases of water-borne diseases like bloody diarrhea has been
diagnosed & reported.

According to Doctors, since mixed waste has all types of metals, chemicals and pollutants,
there are chances that the groundwater has deadly contents like lead, nickel and cadmium
compounds. In long term, polluted water like this can lead to hypertension, anorexia,
memory loss, gum diseases, kidney damage, liver failures and even a deadly disease like
cancer.

Environmentalists fear that contamination is spreading across a large part of Araavali. Amit
Chaudhary, who works for veterinary welfare, said “Water and soil pollution has a grave
impact on wildlife plants in Araavali forests”.

Talking about the possible solutions, Chetan Aggarwal, an environmental analyst, said “A
leachate lake has also been formed near the dumping site. While the long term solution is to
remove the waste dump, for now authorities should immediately pump out leachate water
from the lake and treat it to stop the ongoing contamination”.

Every other day, Municipal Corporations of Faridabad and Gurugram dump 1100 metric tons
waste at the 30–acre site. But, they are allowed to use only 12–acres as land fill site for
processed waste.

This scenario needs to change, or the monopoly of water will rise and people will start war
in the name of Water.

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 CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS CAUSES

- NOOR ARORA
B.Com. (Hons.) – IVth Semester

Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever,
based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth’s climate. The atmosphere
and oceans have warmed, accompanied by sea-level rise, a strong decline in Arctic sea ice,
and other climate-related changes. The climate is warming. There has been a considerable
increase in the temperature since 1900. The Earth's climate has changed throughout history.
There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases must cause the Earth to
warm in response. Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and Tropical Mountain
glaciers show that the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. The
scientists have clearly stated that this is all because of human activities. There are human
fingerprints on carbon overload. We can’t blame natural changes wholly for temperature
changes. Next, the lower level atmosphere which contains carbon load is expanding day by
day. CO2 is already present in our atmosphere but we the humans are constantly disturbing
the natural carbon cycle by releasing CO 2 in the atmosphere by extracting long, buried fossil
fuels and burning them for energy.

On the other hand, Sun has played a great role in climate change in recent decades. Sun
greatly dominates the temperature being the primary source of energy. Chasing sunspot
cycles, over the time-scale of millions of year and the change in solar intensity is a critical
factor influencing climate. Total solar irradiance also leads to climate changes. The warming
in the upper atmosphere and cooling in lower atmosphere are also the major causes of
climate change. It has been discovered that the warming of the lower layer i.e. troposphere
and cooling of the upper layers is all because of the CO 2 emitted in the atmosphere by the
human beings. In contrast, increase in the sun’s output would warm troposphere and full
vertical extent of stratosphere.

The above discussed are the causes of climate changes but the issue of climate change is an
alarming concern these days. The climate change is so frequent that it makes hard for the
human societies to adapt them. Even the climate changes caused naturally can prove to be
disruptive. This can cause extinction of species, population deterioration and migration. This
speed of warming is more than ten times that at the end of an ice age, the fastest known
natural sustained change on a global scale. The current level of CO 2 in the atmosphere is
unprecedented in the history of our planet. Addition of more CO 2 in the atmosphere would
cause further warming. As the atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 increase, the addition of
extra CO2 becomes progressively less effective at trapping Earth’s energy, but surface
temperature will still rise.

It has been observed that rate of warming varies from one decade to another. Not just this,
it varies from year to year, place to place, which may be because of the natural causes.
Global warming is a long-term trend, but that does not mean that every year will be warmer
than the previous one. Day to day and year to year changes in weather patterns will
continue to produce some unusually cold days and nights, and winters and summers, even
as the climate warms. Scientists are over confident over their prediction that the Earth will
warm further over the coming century. Global warming of just few degrees will be

associated with widespread changes in regional and local temperature and precipitation as
well as with increases in some types of extreme weather events

Even if the emissions of CO2 are stopped altogether, it would take thousands of years for
atmospheric CO2 to return to ‘pre-industrial’ levels due to its lagging transfer to the Deep
Ocean and ultimate burial in ocean sediments. Surface temperatures would stay elevated for
at least a thousand years, implying extremely long-term commitment to a warmer planet
due to past and current emissions, and sea level would likely continue to rise for many
centuries even after temperature stopped increasing. Nevertheless, several major issues
make it impossible to give precise estimates of how global or regional temperature trends
will evolve decade by decade into the future. Firstly, we cannot predict how much CO 2
human activities will emit, as this depends on factors such as how the global economy
develops and how society’s production and consumption of energy changes in the coming
decades. Secondly, with current understanding of the complexities of how climate feedbacks
operate, there is a range of possible outcomes, even for a particular scenario of CO2
emissions. Finally, over timescales of a decade or so, natural variability can modulate the
effects of an underlying trend in temperature.

Citizens and governments can choose among several options. In response to this
information, they can change their pattern of energy production and usage in order to limit
emissions of greenhouse gases and hence the magnitude of climate changes. They can wait
for changes to occur and accept the losses, damage and suffering that arise, they can adapt
to actual and expected changes as much as possible or they can seek as yet unproven geo-
engineering solutions to counteract some of the climate changes that would otherwise
occur. Each of these options has risks, attractions and costs and what is actually done may be
a mixture of these different options. Different nations and communities will vary in their
vulnerability and their capacity to adapt. But, the options have to be discussed at a global
scale and a decision is needed to be taken, because in many cases those communities that
are most vulnerable will influence the changes in future.

---x---
 DON’T LITTER, INDIA WILL GLITTER!
SIMRAN CHAUDHARY – B.Sc. (Computer Science)

What is the point of education, if we still throw garbage on streets, if we still litter
around and create a mess to be cleaned by someone else? Isn’t Earth the place we
live in? Then, why do we litter the place where we dwell? Why do people let their
pets defecate on streets rather in their own domain?

Every small piece of trash contains toxic substances that are just thrown anywhere
leading to improper disposal. A small piece thrown can cause drastic harm to the
environment. If we, the educated society, continue with the same behaviour, then
our education has no significance. The startup initiative of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan –
Swachh Bharat, Kushal Bharat” by PM Narendra Modi, will no way, have its purpose
fulfilled, unless people realize the need of cleanliness. We love to criticize everything
about our country but tend to forget that this very country has given a lot many
things in return to desire and achieve on. Anti-Littering is something, each one of us
can contribute on an individual level and make collective efforts. Unless we don’t
make an effort, we shouldn’t even expect any changes.

It is so easy to throw chewing-gum wrapper or dirty napkins on the ground and let it
flop around. We know it is wrong but people do it anyway. Some things that were
thrown on the ground could have been recycled but instead, they slowly decompose
into the ground and ruin the soil and make it infertile. If it was put in a recycling bin,
it would have been remade and used again or it would have been made into
something new and useful.

Litter that is tossed into the rivers and seas affect marine animals and birds, but it
also washes onto beaches, is caught in fishing nets, damages boat motors, is an
eyesore and smells bad. Animals also get sick or even die from swallowing trash, such
as cigarettes and silicon packets. It costs residents and locals, state and federal
governments millions of money to pick up garbage and reverse the effects of littering
and prevent spilling of waste. The monetary cost for these efforts will drastically
reduce, which can be used for other environmental projects, only if we dispose of
garbage properly, recycle or reuse.

We see ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top ten nations of the world
in terms of GDP. We have 10 per cent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels
are rising. Our achievements are being globally recognized today but still, we
complain about municipalities work, we say that the government is not working.

Whenever we visit abroad, say in Singapore, we don’t throw cigarette butts on the
roads. We don’t simply chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the
garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand and why don’t we spit
paan on the streets of Tokyo?

If we can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot we

be the same here in India? We admire the cleanliness of foreign countries but on the
other hand, we are the ones, spreading garbage all around.

We expect the government to clean up every mess we create but we are not taking
initiative to change ourselves. We expect the railways to provide clean toilets but we
are not going to learn to use the toilets properly. We want Indian Airlines and Air
India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering
at the least opportunity.

We can save our Earth by making it look better and keeping it clean and putting
things where they belong. We all have to work together to put in that extra effort and
do the right thing. We may have to walk extra few feet to reach to the dustbin, but it
will be worth of it. The need of the hour is to clean our surroundings and stop
littering to make INDIA glittering.

---x---
 GIVE A HOOT, DON'T POLLUTE!
- MANISHA SINDWANI
B.Com. (Hons.) – IVth Semester – 27350

Our planet Earth faces a variety of troubling issues that stem from manmade contamination.
Many of these lead to environmental problems that are causing long term damage to the
Earth's ecosystem. Nowadays, environmental problems are too big to be managed by an
individual person or country. In other words, it is an international problem and we all agree
to this up to an extent.

An essential problem of the 21st century is the world pollution which is increasing with
every passing year and causing grave and irreparable damage to our Mother Earth. By the
middle of 21st century, Earth's temperature at present level of heat emission would go up by
123°C and the sea level would rise between 30 to 100 centimetres. Currently the
environment is so contaminated that urgent measures should be taken. A single individual
cannot be blamed for the world pollution. However, every person should take care of his or
her habitat. In addition, it is vital that environmental issues are treated internationally.

Lately, many presentations, conferences and international summits have held to deal with
waste treatment, recycling and soil and water contamination. Many developed countries
have introduced certain laws not only to regulate various types of pollution but also the laws
to mitigate the adverse effects of pollution. It is for sure that joint efforts and consolidation
can also help in mutual war towards the ongoing environmental disaster. For instance,
government should offer support to companies and organisations, involved in manufacturing
industry or agriculture in order to find environmental friendly approaches. There could be
special laws and regulations, recycling programs, helping courses in order to implement ISO
certificates and other such initiatives.

However, the influence of individuals over environment should not be ignored. If we do not
understand that our planet is our home, we will never be able to take adequate care of it.
We have to contribute abundantly to preserve nature and environment. For example, always
remember to save energy by switching off lights, computers and everything which we are
not using. Our next obligation is to separate waste and throw garbage only in the designated
areas. Driving vehicles can also be environment friendly. For example, we have to avoid
accelerating the engines too rapidly or we can avoid using the air conditioner, where we can
save energy and simply open the windows.

To sum up, the only way to control current environmental issues is to create sustainable
development strategies and continue to install conservation methods. Environmental
problems should be handled by local and international authorities as well as by every
individual. Every single person should take care of the environment. Moreover, we have to
bring up our children to be conscious citizens of a clean and preserved planet.

"LESS POLLUTION IS THE BEST SOLUTION”

 ---x---

GREEN HOUSE EFFECT

KEDAR SINGH
B.C.A. – IInd Semester – 31218

Green House Effect is a phenomenon in which the atmosphere of a planet traps radiation
emitted by sun, caused by gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapour, and methane that
allows incoming sunlight to pass through but retain heat radiated back from the planet's
surface. The absorbed energy warms the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth. This
process maintains the Earth’s temperature at around 33°C warmer than it would otherwise
be, allowing life on Earth to exist.

The above given graphical presentation will help us understand the situation better.
Step 1: Solar radiation reaches the Earth's atmosphere - some of this is reflected back into
space.
Step 2: The rest of the sun's energy is absorbed by the land and the oceans, heating the
Earth.
Step 3: Heat radiates from Earth towards space.
Step 4: Some of this heat is trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, keeping the
Earth warm enough to sustain life.
Step 5: Human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and land clearing are
increasing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
Step 6: This is trapping extra heat, and causing the Earth's temperature to rise.

So, what really is the reason behind all these? The most important of these is the burning of
fossil fuels. Fossil fuels contain carbon, and when they are burnt, the carbon combines with
oxygen in the atmosphere to form carbon dioxide. Secondly, changes in land use are also
important sources of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, deforestation results in the
emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere that was previously stored on the Earth’s
surface in the form of trees and other vegetation, or locked up in soils.

What will happen if the green house effect continues to increase? The increase in
greenhouse effect will cause a more rapid global warming. It’ll result in the rise of the
average global temperature, in the melting of glaciers and land ice, rise in the sea and ocean
level and the increased frequency of extreme weather, like floods and hurricanes. Snow
covered areas might melt. Normally snow covered areas reflect the heat back out to space,
but, if the snow melts, the darker ground underneath will reveal and will absorb more
warmth.

But, we can reduce the green house effects by following steps like,
(a) Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
(b) Adding insulation to walls and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and
windows can lower heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy
need to heat and cool home.
(c) Buy Energy efficient products.
(d) Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights before leaving a room,
and using only as less as needed. And remember to turn off television, stereo and computer
when not in use.
(e) Share information about recycling and energy conservation with friends, neighbours and
co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and
policies that are good for the environment.
(f) Plant a Tree as a single tree absorbs approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its
lifetime.

These steps will take us a long way towards reducing our energy use. Less energy use will
less dependence on the fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global
warming.
SAVE THE EARTH, PLANT A TREE

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TODAY’S TROUBLE: OZONE LAYER DEPLETION

Aamir Khan (31227)

Ozone gas is cognizably blue in colour and has a sour smell. It develops throughout the
atmosphere, but only in small quantities. Basically, each centimetre of Ozone hole contains
around 1019 molecules of all the gases present of which ozone concentration is about 0.1
ppm. However, nearly 90% of the atmospheric – ozone lies in the stratosphere. Ozone is
actually a form of oxygen, but whereas molecules of ordinary oxygen each contain two
atoms, the ozone molecule has three. Basically, ordinary oxygen absorbs UV and this
provides the energy needed to split up or photo dissociate the molecule into a pair of highly
reactive oxygen atoms. Once released, an oxygen atom can combine with an intact oxygen
molecule, forming ozone.

The important point is that ozone is regularly being created and devastated in the
stratosphere. There are a number of pollutant trace gases like NO, NO 2, etc. known, which
could easily react with O3 and thus produce O2, which is known as “Ozone depletion“. Firstly
it was suggested by Dr. M. Molina and S. Rowland in 1974, that a man-made group of
compounds known as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were likely to be the main source of
ozone depletion. The rate of this declination is about three times faster than that recorded
in the 1970s.

Ozone layer may be reduced by reactions involving a variety of compounds which reach the
stratosphere, like water vapour and nitrogen oxides released by high altitude aircrafts.
Nitrous oxide produced by the action of bacteria in soils (amount of which have become
significant with the large scale use of nitrite fertilizers) and chloro-fluoro hydrocarbon which
are widely used as aero spray propellants and refrigerants, it is postulated that the combined
effect of aircraft’s halogen nitrate fertilizers and effluents would considerably lead to
depletion of the ozone layer and could result in an increase in ultraviolet radiation reaching
the earth tending to crop damage and marked rise in cases of skin cancer. The recent reports
of the zone hole in the atmosphere over the Antarctica are a cause for great concern. Ozone
depletion in the stratosphere leads to an increase of UV Radiations on the ground with its
devastating effects on health, ecosystem, materials etc.

Generally, there are three principal ways of O 3 destruction, (a) Hydrogen System,
(b) Nitrogen System, and (c) Chlorine System.

If we talk about the Natural Process, the atmospheric oxygen absorbs UV radiation at
shorter wavelength than 240 nm and photo-dissociate into two oxygen atoms. This unites
with other O2 molecules to form ozone. During the process, surplus energy of nascent O 3 is
often transferred to the nearby molecules as kinetic energy which slightly releases the
surrounding atmospheric temperature.

1. O2 + nµ O + O
2. O3 + O  O2 + O2

Ozone acts as a strong oxidant because of its ability to remove electrons from other
molecules. Its higher concentration is found in large urban area of the world, which is
characterized by automobile dependent transportation and petroleum dependent energy
production etc. The travelling time for CFCs and halogens to reach to stratosphere may range
from 20 to 40 years, the chlorine and bromine atoms present in these chemicals are
released as a result of interaction with UV radiations in the stratosphere.

As per the Anthropogenic Process, scientists are rather worried about the anthropogenic
activities which play a significant role in the matter of NO x lead to the stratosphere affecting
ozone concentrations. The supersonic aircrafts fly at ozonosphere cruising altitudes because
of low air resistance which is essential to maintain speed of the supersonic. Their exhaust
gases directly provide water vapours and NO x into stratosphere. Nuclear explosions produce
large quantities of NOx which directly enter into stratosphere. Studies indicate that nuclear
tests conducted by USA and USSR reduced O 3 concentration by about 40%. Species of
molecules such as NO3, OH and NO2 are highly reactive but may have relatively long
life-times in regions where the total concentration of molecules is low. The net result is that
NOx increases the rate of O3 destruction with no change in the concentration of NO.

Ozone layer depletion adversely affects the human body. Ozone at low concentration is also
known to cause accumulation of inflammatory cells at the site of lung injury causing severe
damage to the lung. The capacity of lung phagocytes which normally fight bacterial
infections is also affected resulting in increasing incidence of respiratory infections.
Emphysema, a destructive lung disease, and chronic obstructive lung disease such as chronic
bronchitis and development of asthma might be the ultimate results of chronic ambient
ozone exposure. Exposure to ozone has been shown to be associated with lung cancer, DNA
breakage, inhibition and alteration of its replication and formation of DNA adduct, which has
been implicated in premature aging and finally cell death. Ozone exposure has also been
implicated in dizziness and visual impairment – a sign of central nervous system damage,
enlargement of spleen and thymus and impairment of the immune system.

Photochemical smog is the major cause of ozone-exposure causing urban air pollution
posing a threat to human health. So the crew and passengers of flying commercial aircrafts
often suffer adverse reaction from ozone present in unfiltered air cabin. Any increased
concentration of ozone brings about changes in the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. So,
increased UV absorption will have drastic results. Ozone has been reported to be a strong
irritant and is supposed to reach the lungs and respiratory tract much faster than the oxides
of sulphur. Even its low concentration causes pulmonary edema.
Exposure to air containing toxic result in lesions to plants usually confined to the upper
surface of leaves. These lesions are characterized by the uniformly distributed white or
brown flecks and stipples in irregularly distributed blotches. Ozone flecking is observed with
the plants of grape, citrus and tobacco. At 0.02 ppm, it damages tomato, pea, pine and other
plants. In pine seedlings it causes tip burn. Plant proteins are also susceptible to UV injury
because they absorb strongly around 280 nm 20-50% chlorophyll reductions and harmful
mutation has also been observed. In USA and California fruits and vegetable yields have
reduced due to ozone pollution. Ozone along with, other pollutants like SO 2 and NO2 affects
crop losses of over 50% in European Countries. In Denmark, O 3 affects spinach, potato,
clover and alfalfa etc. In limited pockets O 3 level can be potentially harmful.O 3 level can
reduce yields of bean, potato and poplar. In plants O 3 enter through stomata. It causes
visible damage to leaves there by reducing their photosynthetic-rate.

A further area of concern derives from ozone’s major role in the atmosphere. As ozone
cycles through its round of creation and destruction, there is an overall absorption of solar
radiation, which is ultimately dumped as heat into the stratosphere. This warms the
stratosphere and produces the temperature inversion at the tropopause. Indeed, there
would be no stratosphere without the ozone layer. Thus, any depletion of stratospheric
ozone is predicted to cool this region and, hence, change the temperature structure of the
atmosphere to some extent.

There is no doubt that the problem of ozone depletion exists and deserves extensive
research and attention. With the release of each and every CFC, our ozone layer takes one
small step towards its destruction. The decision to completely ban CFCs sooner than later
cannot be decided by the United States or even the United Nations. The entire world must
unite in order to expel this problem forever. The effects of ozone depletion are real and of
great global significance. Lower ozone levels cause an increase in UV-B radiation reaching
the Earth’s surface, harming plant, animal, and marine life. Humans are adversely affected
as well as the risk of skin cancer and decreased immunity level becomes more serious. It is
only in the last few years that effects of previous legislation banning the use of CFCs are
becoming apparent. Speeding the process of reduction of CFCs can only help the
environment. Still new problems arise that need to be addressed. Illegal trading of CFCs has
become a serious issue in the fight against ozone depletion. It is often easier for a company
to buy or smuggle illegal CFCs than it is to pay the increased costs due to heightened taxes.

It is important that we as individuals educate ourselves of the truths concerning the

depletion of ozone. If each human in this world would be willing to make a small sacrifice
for the greater good, the future of our ozone layer would undoubtedly be secure.

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 RAIN WATER HARVESTING

– SUMIT SHARMA
B.C.A. – IInd Semester – 31208
Rainwater harvesting involves the collection and storage of rainwater into the natural
resources or artificial resources in order to prevent the surface water runoff.

Rain water harvesting is a technique used for collecting and storing rainwater by using
various means in different resources for the further use purpose (like cultivation, etc).Rain
water can be collected into the natural resources or artificial tanks. Another method of
collection is infiltration of surface water into the subsurface aquifers before getting lost by
surface overflow. Rooftop harvesting is also a method to collect rainwater. It is of big
importance to the people living in the less rainfall areas. They can continue seasonal crop
harvesting using collected rain water even in the lack of regular water supply. Whenever it
rains, rain water gets collected into the man made ponds or tanks.

Following are the benefits of rainwater harvesting at individual or city-wide level:

 It helps in reducing the water supply bills especially to the institutions.

 Rainwater recharged to the ground positively affects groundwater quality by diluting
fluorides, nitrates and its salinity.
 It contains almost neutral pH and zero hardness which makes it more able to be used
in homes, industries, institutions and other commercial establishment.
 It may reduce the stress of public water supply sources.
 Recharge of rainwater to the ground prevents sea-water immersion into the fresh
bodies in the coastal areas.
 It helps in controlling urban flooding if people do rainwater harvesting from rooftops.
 It reduces water demands of people from the municipality thus lessens energy
consumption too in distributing water all through the city.
 It helps in reducing water supply loads and electricity bills of municipality, improve
free water supply, crop production in rural areas.
 Rain water harvesting system helps in reducing the insecurity of households or
individuals in the rural areas.
 It provides easy and low cost water supply in the lack of water supply in the lack of
water areas thus helps in food security and income generation.

Tamil Nadu is one of the states of India and now has been first Indian state where rainwater
harvesting has been mandatory. Tamil Nadu state government has declared on 30 th of May
2014 to establish around 50,000 rainwater harvesting structures at various places in the
Chennai. Till now, approximately 4,000 of the temples in the Tamil Nadu have rain water
tanks serving at various rituals in temples and help in recharging the groundwater.

Why Rain Water Harvesting is Necessary:

Rain water harvesting is very necessary to be practiced by the people in all regions. It is good
to reduce the fear of water scarcity in the future.

Following are the points proving the fact that why rain water harvesting is necessary:

 Surface water cannot fulfil the demand of water for various purposes.
 Everyone depend on the ground water for their every need.
 Rain water conservation maintains the level of water in natural water resources.
 It reduces the chance of flooding of water on the roads, reduces the risk of soil
erosion and improves the quality of water.

Following are main techniques of rain water harvesting:

 Collecting rainwater to the surface for future use.

 Recharging the ground water.

Collecting rain water to the surface is very effective and traditional techniques. It can be
done using small ponds, underground tanks, dams, weirs etc. However, ground water
recharging technique is a new concept of harvesting. It can be done using dug wells, pits,
trenches, hand pimps, recharge wells, recharge shafts, recharge lateral shafts with bore
wells, spreading technique (means spread of water to the stream, naala, etc).

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 Wastewater Story
Yati Vashisht
B.Com. (CA) – IInd Semester

Water is an important natural resource and one of our basic needs. Almost every living
organism needs water to survive. We need water to drink, to cook food, to wash our clothes
and for many other activities. Water is essential for carrying out digestion, absorption,
transportation and excretion of various substances in our body. Not only humans and
animals but plants also need water to prepare their food as plants also cannot survive
without water.

But, we make the water dirty in most of our activities in which we use water. The dirty water
that goes out from sinks, toilets, bathrooms, kitchen into drains is called wastewater.
Wastewater is also generated in industries, in hospitals, in offices and it also goes down into
drains which contain lots of impurities. Even the wastewater from industries contains
harmful chemicals. So, we have to make this wastewater free from every impurity to reuse
it.

Wastewater from various sources that flows through the drains is called sewage. It also
includes rainwater that falls down on the streets and goes into drains. It also contains
harmful substances, dissolved and suspended impurities present in the sewage called as
contaminants. We must have noticed that there are two sets of water pipes in our house.
One set of pipes brings clean water and the other takes away wastewater. A channel of small
and big pipes which is called sewer carry sewage away from our houses is called sewerage.
Most sewer pipes are underground, through which sewage is carried from the point of origin
to where it has to be disposed, i.e., the treatment plant.

In places where there is no proper drainage, it is a common site to see sewage collecting on
pits. Such stagnant sewage becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread diseases
like dengue and malaria. To stay healthy, we need to use clean water. But many houses do
not get clean water. Indeed billions of people in the country suffer from water-borne
diseases as they consume unclean water that is not fit for drinking. Wastewater is treated in
wastewater treatment plants. As we know that sewage contains almost every type of
impurity i.e., solid substance, germs etc. The following steps are involved in the treatment of
sewage.
Step 1 - The wastewater is passed through parallel bar screens which help to remove solid
materials like cans, sticks, plastic bags etc.
Step 2 - The water is then passed through selling tanks called grit chambers. Here, the speed
of incoming wastewater is reduced so that sand, grit, pebbles and gravel settle down which
are then removed.
Step 3 - Next, the wastewater is passed through a sedimentation tank called clarifier. In this
tank, the solid organic matter settles down which is then removed with a scraper. The solid
organic matter that settles down is called sludge. A skimmer is used to remove floating
materials like oil and grease. The water that emerges from the settling tank is called clarified
water. The sludge is then transferred into a separate tank where anaerobic bacteria act on it
and convert it into methane, carbon dioxide and a humus- like material by a process called
digestion. Dried sludge is used as a fertilizer and the methane formed is used as a fuel.

Step 4 - Now, the clarified water is shifted to an aeration tank where air is pumped into it to
allow aerobic bacteria to grow and to consume organic contaminants like food waste, feces,
soap, that is still left in the water.

Ultimately the bacteria settle down at the bottom as activated sludge and the water is
removed from the top. The treated water has very low percentage of organic and suspended
matter. It is discharged into a water body where the remaining impurities are cleaned up on
its own by nature.

Although wastewater is treated in such a way that maximum impurities present in it are
removed. But we can also contribute by minimizing the water that we throw into the drains.
Indian food contains lot of fats and oils. We mustn’t throw the left-over food into the kitchen
sink as it may result in the hardening or blocking of pipes. We mustn’t dispose used tea
leaves, food remains, cottons, sanitary towels etc. into the drains as this may cause the
clogging of drains and prevents free flow of oxygen, which may badly affect the degradation
processes. Also, chemicals like paints, medicines and insecticides should not be thrown into
the sink. They may kill the microbes that help to clean the water. This also causes land and
water pollution which consequently results in growth of disease.

We all need to behave as a responsible citizen and play a role in keeping our environment
clean. We should throw garbage or waste in the dustbins. While walking on the road if you
do not find dustbins to throw the waste, it is advisable to carry it with you to your home and
dispose it properly.

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