What is Environment

 Environment means oursurrounding

??
 Environment includes
air
water
soil
Biological environment- flora,
fauna
noise
aesthetics
cultural, socio-economic,
political conditions
Why Care for Environment ??
It affects our ability to live on Earth

It affects our health, our economy, our existence

 Threats to Environment
Air pollution
Tonnes of pollutantsdumped
in air by industries,vehicles
 Green coverage decreasing day byday
Air Pollutants
 CO2

 CO

 Nitrogen oxides (NOx)

 Sulfur oxides

 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

 Particulate Matter

 Toxic metals- lead, cadmium

Effects of Air Pollution
 Dust Particles of small sizes damages lungs– causing respiratory symptoms like
cough, wheezing, asthmaetc

 Excess Carbon Monoxide can causedeath

 Excess CO2 , CH4 (Green housegases)

causing Global warming

Polar ice caps melting

Higher sea levels floods

Effects of Air Pollution
 Cancer causing potential of diesel exhaust is very high

 Poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and particulate matter of diesel exhaust

10 times more potent to causemutation

 NOx reduces oxygen carrying capacity of blood, can cause cancer, emphysema

 NOx  Ozone  respiratoryproblems

 Protect Environment
(What can we do?)
 Preventive action is the best
 Spread the awareness among people
 Conduct epidemiological studies– how air quality affectshealth????????
 Pressurize governments for proper policies for e.g.
- prevent dieselization of private vehicles
 Promote usage of bicycles
 Use alternative energy resources-solar,wind…
Protect Environment
(What can we do?)
 Zoning and transport infrastructure planning

 Introduction of cleaner engines and cleaner fuels like CNG (compressed

Natural Gas)

 Stricter regulations for vehicular and industrial emissions and regular

compliance checking

 Stop burning of wastes

Water Pollution

Stop misuse and wastage of water!!!

Causes

Dhobi Ghat on river plastics and garbages

dumped into river
Causes

Human corpse discarded into

river

Clay idols discarded into river

Oil Spills

A bird covered with oil Oil spill cleaning process

Water Pollutants
 Heavy metals--- chromium, nickel, copper etc

 Inorganic chemicals– acids, alkalis, inorganic salts

 Nutrients- Nitrogen, Phosphorus

 Disinfection byproduts– trihalomethanes etc

 Microorganisms
Effects
 Cadmium causes Itai Itai disease

 Mercury causes Minamatadisease

 Microorganisms causes diseases like dysentry,diarrohea

Itai Itai disease
 Excess nutrients causeeutrophication

Decreases
dissolved oxygen
concentration

Affects aquatic life Minamata disease

You can help
 Never throw rubbish awayany how. Always look for the correct waste bin. If there is none around,
please take it home and put it in your trash can. This includes places like the beach, riverside and
water bodies.
 Use waterwisely. Do not keep the tap running when not in use. Also, you can reduce the amount of
water you use in washing and bathing. If we all do this, we can significantly prevent water shortages
and reduce the amount of dirty water that needs treatment.
 Do not throw chemicals, oils, paints and medicines down the sink drain, or the toilet. In many
cities, your local environment office can help with the disposal of medicines and chemicals. Check
with your local authorities if there is a chemical disposal plan for local residents.
 Buy more environmentallysafe cleaning liquids for use at home and other public places. They are
less dangerous to theenvironment.
 If you use chemicals and pesticides for your gardens and farms, be mindful not to overuse
pesticides and fertilizers. This will reduce runoffs of the chemical into nearby water sources. Start
looking at options of composting and using organic manureinstead.
 If you live close to a water body, try to plant lots of trees and flowers around your home, so
that when it rains, chemicals from your home does not easily drain into the water.
 Soil Pollution

It is the degradation of Earth's land surfaces by human activities and

misuse of land resources.

Causes
 Haphazard disposal of urban and industrialwastes
 Exploitation of minerals
 Harmful agricultural practices
Population increasing
Forest converted to
agricultural fields
Higher food Intensive monoculture
demand agriculture

Excessive
use of
fertilizers,
pesticides,
herbicides
Causes
Urbanization More land required
for landfill sites

Construction, Construction debris

destruction of forests Informal settlements,
poorly maintained
sewage pipes
Effects
 Can seriously disrupt the balanceof nature

 Pesticides can damagecrops

 Some pollutants can get into our systems indirectly from eating vegetables
grown in contaminated soil.

 Reduced aesthetic appeal

What can we do?
 Three R– Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
 Collect degradable and non degradable waste in
separate bins
What can we do?
 Soil remediation for pollutedsoil
 Plant more trees

Afforestation reduces
soil erosion
Worst Environmental disasters
1)Bhopal Gas Tragedy
 Dec 2, 1984
 45 tonnes of poisonous Methyl isocyanate escaped from Union CarbidePlant
 Thousands died within hours
2) Chernobyl Disaster
 April 26, 1986
 One reactor of Chernobyl power plantof Ukraine
exploded
 Massive radiation sent into theatmosphere
3) Kuwait Oil well fire
 After Gulf War around 600 oil wells were put ablaze
intentionally
 They burnt for 7 months
 Smoke, soot, black rain
 Lakes of oil created
 Animals died

“Kuwait oil well fires 1991” Photo backwoodsweb.com

Aug.1991. 30 Aug. 2011. <http://wwwbackwoodsweb.com>
And the list goes on
1.The Ones that Made  Chernobyl  London's "Great
History BP Gulf Oil  Chevron Oil Smog" 1952
Spill Refinery Spill  Love Canal
 Tennessee Coal Ash  Bhopal India Gas  Minamata Bay toxic
Spill Leak poisoning
 Sidoarjo Mud  Meltdown at Three  The Great Dustbowl
Volcano Mile Island Alabama
 Jilin  Amoco Cadiz PCB Poisoning
 Al-Mishraq Fire  Cactus Dome 2.Ongoing
 West Marshall Islands Disasters The
Virginia/Kentucky  Seveso Aral Sea
Coal Sludge Spill  Times Beach  Gulf of Mexico
 Baia Mare Cyanide Missouri Dioxin Dead Zone
Spill Contamination  Great Pacific
 Libby, Montana  Fire Hole in Garbage Patch
Asbestos Turkmenistan  Guiyu China
Contamination  The Palomares  The Niger Delta
 Gulf War Oil Spill Incident  Picher, Oklahoma
 Exxon Valdez Oil  Ecocide in Vietnam Lead
Spill  Castle Bravo Contamination
Where we are going?
What is Environmental Incident?
 occurrence or set of circumstances, as a consequence
of which pollution (air, water, noise, or land) or an
adverse environmental impact has occurred, is
occurring, or is likely tooccur.
 Adverse environmental impact includes
contamination, harm to flora and fauna (either
individual species or communities), damage to
heritage items and adverse communityimpacts.
Report all Incidents
Why to Report all incidents
 Comply with Law
 Learn from mistakes
 Identify root cause and take action to avoid recurrence
 To avoid 110 Polluting incident and 1 environmental
disaster.
 We have only one earth for our future generation.
Environmental Disasters
Environmental accidents
Environmental accidents
Sustainable Development
Development in a way so that resources are able to
meet the demands of futuregenerations
Ramasubramanian.s Management consultant/Trainer/Auditor +919952229598
C Alternative Energy Resources

■ What new sources of energy are likely to satisfy future

demands?
■ 1. Context
■ 2. Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
■ 3. Solar Energy
■ 4. Wind Energy
■ 5. Geothermal Energy
■ 6. Biomass Fuels
1 Context

■ Emergence
• Received increasing attention since the first oil crisis in 1973:
• Attention varies with fluctuations in the price of oil.
• Several alternate sources need further research before they can
become truly viable alternatives.
• Moving from carbon-based sources to non-carbon based:
• Europe: 22% of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2010.
■ Unsustainability of fossil fuels
• The resource itself is finite.
• Use contributes to the global warming problem.
• Some 35% of the carbon emissions in the USA is attributable to
electric power generation.
• Employing substitutes for fossil fuels in that area alone would
help alleviate our greenhouse gas problem.
1 Context

CO2 Emissions from Energy ■ Fuel use efficiency

Usage, United States 2001 • Not an alternate energy source.
• Can have a great impact on
conservation.
10% • After 1973, many industries were
7%
motivated to achieve greater
efficiency of energy use.
• Many appliances (including
home air conditioners) were
54%
made more energy efficient.
29% • The USA continually ranks
behind Europe and Japan in
energy efficiency.

Residential Commercial
Industrial Transportation
1 Context

■ Nuclear fusion
• Currently researched but without much success.
• It offers unlimited potential.
• Not realistically going to be a viable source of energy in the
foreseeable future.
2 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells

■ Hydrogen
• Considered to be the cleanest fuel.
• Compose 90% of the matter of the
Hydrogen Oxygen
universe.
Fuel • Non polluting (emits only water and
heat).
• Highest level of energy content.
Fuel Cell
■ Fuel cells
Catalytic conversion • Convert fuel energy (such as hydrogen)
to electric energy.
• No combustion is involved.
Water Electricity
• Composed of an anode and a cathode.
• Fuel is supplied to the anode.
• Oxygen is supplied to the cathode.
• Electrons are stripped from a reaction
at the anode and attracted to form
another reaction at the cathode.
2 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells

■ Fuel cell cars

• Most likely replacement for the internal combustion engine.
• Efficiency levels are between 55% and 65%.
• May be introduced by 2004 (working prototypes).
• Mass produced by 2010.
■ Storage issues
• Hydrogen is a highly combustive gas.
• Find a way to safely store it, especially in a vehicle.
■ Delivery issues
• Distribution from producers to consumers.
• Production and storage facilities.
• Structures and methods for transporting hydrogen.
• Fueling stations for hydrogen-powered applications.
2 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells

■ Hydrogen production
• Not naturally occurring.
Fossil Fuels
Steam • Producing sufficient quantities to
Reforming satisfy the demand.
• Extraction from fossil fuels:
• From natural gas.
• Steam reforming.
Water Electrolysis
• Electrolysis of water:
• Electricity from fossil fuels not a
environmentally sound alternative.
• Electricity from solar or wind energy
Biomass Pyrolysis is a better alternative.
• Pyrolysis of the biomass:
• Decomposing by heat in an oxygen-
reduced atmosphere.
3 Solar Energy

■ Definition
• Radiant energy emitted by the sun (photons emitted by nuclear
fusion).
• Conversion of solar energy into electricity.
■ Photovoltaic systems
■ Solar thermal systems
3 Solar Energy

Level of insolation
Sun
(latitude & precipitation)

Solar cells Mirrors

Concentration

Water
Evaporation
Conversion
Steam

Turbine

Electricity
3 Solar Energy

■ Photovoltaic systems
• Semiconductors to convert solar radiation into electricity.
• Better suited for limited uses such as pumping water that do not
require large amounts of electricity.
• Costs have declined substantially:
• 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
• Compared to about 3 cents for coal fired electrical power.
• Economies of scale could then be realized in production of the
necessary equipment.
• Japan generates about 50% of the world’s solar energy.
3 Solar Energy

■ Solar thermal systems

• Employ parabolic reflectors to focus solar radiation onto water
pipes, generating steam that then power turbines.
• Costing about 5-10 cents per Kwh.
• Require ample, direct, bright sunlight.
• Drawback of the solar thermal systems is their dependence on
direct sunshine, unlike the photovoltaic cells.
■ Limitations
• Inability to utilize solar energy effectively.
• There is currently only about a 15% conversion rate of solar
energy into electricity.
• Low concentration of the resource.
• Need a very decentralized infrastructure to capture the resource.
4 Wind Power

Sun
Heat

Air

Pressure Major prevalent wind

differences systems
Wind

Wind mills
Fans Site suitability

Turbine

Electricity
4 Wind Power

■ Potential use
• Growing efficiency of wind turbines.
• 75% of the world’s usage is in Western Europe:
• Provided electricity to some 28 million Europeans in 2002.
• Germany, Denmark (18%) and the Netherlands.
• New windfarms are located at sea along the coast:
• The wind blows harder and more steadily.
• Does not consume valuable land.
• No protests against wind parks marring the landscape.
• United States:
• The USA could generate 25% of its energy needs from wind power by
installing wind farms on just 1.5% of the land.
• North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas have enough harnessable wind energy
to meet electricity needs for the whole country.
4 Wind Power

• Farms are a good place to implement wind mills:

• A quarter of a acre can earn about $2,000 a year in royalties from wind
electricity generation.
• That same quarter of an acre can only generate $100 worth or corn.
• Farmland could simultaneously be used for agriculture and energy
generation.
• Wind energy could be used to produce hydrogen.
■ Limitations
• Extensive infrastructure and land requirements.
• 1980: 40 cents per kwh.
• 2001: 3-4 cents per kwh.
• Less reliable than other sources of energy.
• Inexhaustible energy source that can supply both electricity and
fuel.
 World Wind Energy Generating Capacity, 1980-2002
4 (in megawatts)

35,000
Capacity
30,000 Addition

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0
80

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

98

00

02
19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

20

20
5 Geothermal Energy

■ Hydrogeothermal
• 2-4 miles below the earth's surface, rock temperature well above
boiling point.
• Closely associated with tectonic activity.
• Fracturing the rocks, introducing cold water, and recovering the
resulting hot water or steam which could power turbines and
produce electricity.
• Areas where the natural heat of the earth’s interior is much
closer to the surface and can be more readily tapped.
5 Geothermal Energy

Winter ■ Geothermal heat pumps

House • Promising alternative to
heating/cooling systems.
• Ground below the frost line (about 5
5 feet
feet) is kept around 55oF year-round.
• During winter:
• The ground is warmer than the
55o F
outside.
• Heat can be pumped from the
Summer ground to the house.
• During summer:
House • The ground is cooler than the
outside.
5 feet • Heat can be pumped from the house
to the ground.

55o F
6 Biomass

■ Nature
• Biomass energy involves the growing of crops for fuel rather than
for food.
• Crops can be burned directly to release heat or be converted to
useable fuels such methane, ethanol, or hydrogen.
• Has been around for many millennia.
• Not been used as a large-scale energy source:
• 14% of all energy used comes from biomass fuels.
• 65% of all wood harvested is burned as a fuel.
• 2.4 billion people rely on primitive biomass for cooking and heating.
• Important only in developing countries.
• Asia and Africa: 75% of wood fuels use.
• US: 5% comes from biomass sources.
 Energy Consumption, Solid biomass (includes
6 fuelwood)
Kenya
1990
Tanzania
2001
South Africa
Thailand
Congo, Dem Rep
Ethiopia
Viet Nam
Pakistan
Brazil
Indonesia
United States
Nigeria
India
China

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000

Thousand metric tons oil equivalent
6 Biomass

■ Biofuels
• Fuel derived from organic matter.
• Development of biomass conversion technologies:
• Alcohols and methane the most useful.
• Plant materials like starch or sugar from cane.
• Waste materials like plant stalks composed of cellulose.
■ Potential and drawbacks
• Some 20% of our energy needs could be met by biofuels without
seriously compromising food supplies.
• Competing with other agricultural products for land.
6 Biomass

• Could contribute to reducing carbon emissions while providing a

cheap source of renewable energy:
• Burning biofuels does create carbon emissions.
• The burned biomass is that which removed carbon from the atmosphere
through photosynthesis.
• Does not represent a real increase in atmospheric carbon.
• Genetic engineering:
• Create plants that more efficiently capture solar energy.
• Increasing leaf size and altering leaf orientation with regard to the sun.
• Conversion technology research:
• Seeking to enhance the efficiency rate of converting biomass into energy.
• From the 20-25% range up to 35-45% range.
• Would render it more cost-competitive with traditional fuels.