SYNOPSIS OF

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
EDU-886

Topic: Conduct a survey to assess the awareness

among students of Lovely Professional University about
environmental problems

Submitted To: Mr. Dinesh Kumar

Submitted By: Kapil Jamwal
Section: DE827
RollNo: 24
Registration No: 10806213
INTRODUCTION:

A variety of environmental problems now affect our entire world.  As globalization

continues and the earth's natural processes transform local problems into international
issues, few societies are being left untouched by major environmental problems.

Some of the largest problems now affecting the world are Acid Rain, Air Pollution,Global
Warming, Hazardous Waste, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution,Overpopulation,
and Rain Forest Destruction,land degradation

Land Degradation
Land degradation is a concept in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by
one or more combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any
change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.

Causes
The major causes include:

 Land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation

 Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices
 Urban sprawl and commercial development
 Vehicle off-roading
 Quarrying of stone, sand, ore and minerals

Waste
Waste (also known as rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, junk) is unwanted or useless
materials. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly.

In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living
organisms; such as urea, sweat or feces.

Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically and socially. The
compositions of different wastes have varied over time and location, with industrial development
and innovation being directly linked to waste materials. Examples of this include plastics and
nuclear technology. Some components of waste have economical value and can be recycled once
correctly recovered.

There are many waste types defined by modern systems of waste management, notably

including:

 municipal solid waste (MSW)

 construction waste and demolition waste (C&D)
 institutional waste, commercial waste, and industrial waste (IC&I)
 medical waste (also known as clinical waste)
 hazardous waste, radioactive waste, and electronic waste
 biodegradable waste

Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of
its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and
its environment, the Earth. Steve Jones, head of the biology department at University College
London, has said, "Humans are 10,000 times more common than we should be, according to the
rules of the animal kingdom, and we have agriculture to thank for that. Without farming, the
world population would probably have reached half a million by now." The world’s population
has significantly increased in the last 50 years, mainly due to medical advancements and
substantial increases in agricultural productivity.
Effects of human overpopulation

Some problems associated with or exacerbated by human overpopulation:

 Inadequate fresh water for drinking water use as well as sewage

treatment and effluent discharge. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, use energy-
expensive desalination to solve the problem of water shortages.
 Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution.
Once a country has industrialized and become wealthy, a combination of government
regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline substantially, even as the
population continues to grow.
 Deforestation and loss of ecosystems that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and carbon
dioxide balance; about eight million hectares of forest are lost each year.
 Starvation, malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases
(e.g. rickets). However, rich countries with high population densities do not have famine.
 Unhygienic living conditions for many based upon water resource depletion, discharge of
raw sewage and solid waste disposal. However, this problem can be reduced with the
adoption of sewers. For example, after Karachi, Pakistan installed sewers, its infant mortality
rate fell substantially.
 Elevated crime rate due to drug cartels and increased theft by people stealing resources to
survive

Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental
noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life. The source of most outdoor
noise worldwide is mainly construction and transportation systems, including motor
vehicle noise, aircraft noise and rail noise. Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution,
since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the
residential area.

Indoor and outdoor noise pollution sources include car alarms, emergency service sirens,
mechanical equipment, fireworks, compressed air horns, groundskeeping equipment, barking
dogs, appliances, lighting hum, audio entertainment systems, electric megaphones, and loud
people.

Effects
Human health
Noise health effects are both health and behavioral in nature. The unwanted sound is called
noise. This unwanted sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution
can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep
disturbances, and other harmful effects. Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading
causes to health problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at
times panic attacks.
Environment
Noise can have a detrimental effect on animals by causing stress, increasing risk of death by
changing the delicate balance in predator/prey detection and avoidance, and by interfering with
their use of sounds in communication especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation.
Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing.