Meaning of Environment

Environment literally means Surrounding in which we are living. Environment

includes all those things on which we are directly or indirectly dependent for our
survival, whether it is living component like animals, plants or non living
component like soil, air water.

Environmental Protection Act (1986) defined “Environment as the sum total of

water, air and land, their interrelationship among themselves and with the human
beings, other living beings and property.”

Meaning of Environmental Studies

Environmental studies are the scientific study of the environmental system and the
status of its inherent or induced changes on organisms. It includes not only the
study of physical and biological characters of the environment but also the social
and cultural factors and the impact of man on environment.

Objectives of Environmental Studies

(a) Creating the awareness about environmental problems among people.

(b) Imparting basic knowledge about the environment and its allied problems.

(c) Developing an attitude of concern for the environment.

(d) Motivating public to participate in environment protection and environment

improvement.

(e) Acquiring skills to help the concerned individuals in identifying and solving
environmental problems.
(f) Striving to attain harmony with Nature.

Scope and Importance of Environmental Studies

The disciplines included in environmental education are environmental sciences,

environmental engineering and environmental management.

(a) Environmental Science:
It deals with the scientific study of environmental system (air, water, soil and
land), the inherent or induced changes on organisms and the environmental
damages incurred as a result of human interaction with the environment.

(b) Environmental Engineering:
It deals with the study of technical processes involved in the protection of
environment from the potentially deleterious effects of human activity and
improving the environmental quality for the health and well beings of humans.

(c) Environmental Management:
It promotes due regard for physical, social and economic environment of the
enterprise or projects. It encourages planned investment at the start of the
production chain rather than forced investment in cleaning up at the end.

It generally covers the areas as environment and enterprise objectives, scope, and
structure of the environment, interaction of nature, society and the enterprise,
environment impact assessment, economics of pollution, prevention,
environmental management standards etc.

The importance’s of environmental studies are as follows:

1. To clarify modern environmental concept like how to conserve biodiversity.

2. To know the more sustainable way of living.

3. To use natural resources more efficiently.

4. To know the behaviour of organism under natural conditions.

5. To know the interrelationship between organisms in populations and

communities.

6. To aware and educate people regarding environmental issues and problems at

local, national and international levels.

Need for Public Awareness

Since our environment is getting degraded due to human activities, we need to do

something about it to sustain the quality. We often feel that government should
take proper measuring steps. But all of us are equally responsible to protect our
environment. Hence public awareness needs to be created. Both print media and
electronic media can strongly influence public opinion. Politicians should respond
positively to a strong publicly supported activity. NGOs can take active role in
creating awareness from grass root levels to the top-most policy decision makers.

Environment is an integration of both living and non-living organisms. Water, air,

soil, minerals, wild life, grass lands, forests, oceans, agriculture are all life
supporting systems. Since these natural resources are limited, and human activities
are the causative factors for environmental degradation, each one of us need to feel
responsible to protect the environment.

The activities help in creating awareness among public are

  Join a group to study nature such as WWF-I or BNHS or any other
organization
 Read newspaper articles and periodicals like Down to earth, WWF-I
newsletter, BNHS, Hornbill, Sanctuary magazine.
 Discuss environmental issues with friends and relatives.
 Join local movements that support activities like saving trees in your
locality, reducing use of plastics, going for nature treks, practicing 3 Rs i.e.
reduce, reuse, & recycle.
 Practice and promote good civic sense and hygiene such as enforcing no
spitting or tobacco chewing, no throwing garbage on the road and no
urinating in public places.
 Take part in events organized on World Environment Day, Wildlife week
etc.
 Visit a National park or sanctuary or spend time in whatever natural
habitat you have near your home.
Types of Natural Resources

Based on the availability are two types of natural resources:

1. Renewable: resources that are available in infinite quantity and can be used

repeatedly are called renewable resources. Example: Forest, wind, water,
etc.
2. Non-Renewable: resources that are limited in abundance due to their non-
renewable nature and whose availability may run out in the future are called
non-renewable resources. Examples include fossil fuels, minerals, etc.

Difference between Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

 Renewable resource Non-renewable resource

It can be renewed as it is available in Once completely consumed, it cannot be

infinite quantity renewed due to limited stock

Sustainable in nature Exhaustible in nature

Low cost and environment-friendly High cost and less environment-friendly

Replenish slowly or do not replenish naturally

Replenish quickly
at all

The 5 Most Important Natural Resources are:

1. Air: Clean air is important for all the plants, animals, humans to survive on
this planet. So, it is necessary to take measures to reduce air pollution.
2. Water: 70% of the Earth is covered in water and only 2 % of that is
freshwater. Initiative to educate and regulate the use of water should be
taken.
3. Soil: Soil is composed of various particles and nutrients. It helps plants
grow.
4. Iron: It is made from silica and is used to build strong weapons,
transportation and buildings
5. Forests: As the population increases, the demand for housing and
construction projects also increases. Forests provide clean air and preserve
the ecology of the world.

Types of Non-Renewable Resources

The two broad categories of non-renewable resources are fossil fuels and nuclear
energy (from uranium ore).
1. Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are formed due to the continuous heating and compressing of organic
matter buried beneath the earth’s surface. The organic matter mainly comprises of
plant and animal remains that have decomposed, heated, and compressed over
millions of years to form fossil deposits.

The deposits are extracted through drilling or mining, and they can be in liquid,
gas, or solid form. Fossil fuels are highly combustible, making them a rich source
of energy. Examples of fossil fuels include:

Crude oil

Crude oil, also referred to as petroleum oil, is the only non-renewable resource that
is extracted in liquid form. It is found between the layers of the earth’s crust, or
between the rocks, and it is retrieved by drilling a vertical well into the ground and
ocean floor.

The crude oil is then pumped out to the surface, taken through a refinery, and then
used to create different products. It used to produce gasoline and diesel to power
motor vehicles and manufacture plastics, heating oil, propane, and jet fuel, as well
as artificial food flavors.

With oil reserves being used up more quickly than new oil fields are discovered,
scientists predict that the current oil reserves may not last beyond the middle of the
21st century.

Natural gas
Natural gas is a gaseous non-renewable resource that is found below the earth’s
crust but near crude oil deposits in the subsurface. Natural gas primarily consists of
methane, but may also contain other forms of natural gas such as propane, ethane,
and butane.

Methane is odorless, and it is mixed with a special additive to give it an odor for
easy detection in case there is gas leakage. Once natural gas is extracted, it is sent
to processing plants to remove propane and butane, which are used as liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG). Natural gas is used for heating homes, as well as for cooking
in gas ovens, stoves, and grills.

Coal

Coal is created by compressed organic matter, and it contains carbon and

hydrocarbon matter. It is formed from plant-filled swamps that have been covered
by sediments for millions of years. Coal is extracted by digging up the ground and
taking out the coal solids for processing into energy.

Over-Utilization of various resources and consequences

There are two types of natural resources: renewable and non-renewable. The

former are inexhaustible, like solar radiation, or their renewal is relatively rapid, as
is the case with biomass. Non-renewable resources are those that exist in nature in
a limited way because their regeneration involves the passage of many
years, such as minerals and fossil fuels — oil, natural gas and coal —.

Human beings are depleting the planet's natural resources and standards of
living will begin to decline by 2030 unless immediate action is
taken. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warns that the current
overexploitation of natural resources is generating an enormous deficit, as 20%
more than can be regenerated is consumed each year and this percentage is
growing steadily.

Thus, if we continue at this rate, we would need 2.5 planets to supply ourselves
in 2050, according to the WWF itself. In turn, this organization shows that the
world's population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined by 58
% between 1970 and 2012 due to human activities and predicts that by 2020 this
percentage will soar to 67%.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE OVEREXPLOITATION OF NATURAL

RESOURCES

The uncontrolled consumption of natural resources has significant effects:

  Environmental

The disappearance of habitats essential for flora and fauna and, therefore,
the extinction of species. There are some 30 million different animal and plant
species in the world, and of these, the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) says that, currently, more than 31,000 species are threatened
with extinction.
   Economic

33% of the world's soils are moderately to highly degraded, according to a United

Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). If the erosion of fertile soil
continues at the same rate, agricultural commodity prices will inevitably soar.

  For Health

If we do not take care of the forests there will be fewer CO2Nota sinks and

therefore more air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
nine out of ten people worldwide breathe air with high levels of pollutants and
seven million people die each year due to air pollution.

SOLUTIONS TO THE OVEREXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

The future, as stated in the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable

Development, poses a double challenge to human beings: conserving the many
forms and functions of nature and creating an equitable home for people on a
finite planet. If we want to reverse this situation, we need, among other things, to:

Conserve natural capital

 Restore degraded ecosystems and their services.

 Halt the loss of priority habitats.

 Significantly expand the global network of protected areas.

Improve production systems

 Significantly reduce the objects, materials and resources used in the

development of human life and the volume of waste in production systems.

 Manage resources in a sustainable manner.

 Promote the production of renewable energy.

Equitable use of resources for sustainable lifestyles