SOMAIYA

VIDYAVIHAR
K J Somaiya Institute of Engineering and Information
Technology
An Autonomous Institute Permanently Affiliated to the University of Mumbai
Accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ Grade (3.21 CGPA), Approved by AICTE, New Delhi

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Report of Activity Based Learning On

DESTRUCTION OF NATURE AND

CLIMATE CHANGE

Prepared By:
Manav Gupta (Roll No. 20)
Varun Kanbhat (Roll No. 26)
Mansoor Kanorewala (Roll No. 27)
 Department of Information Technology
Academic Year: 2021-2022
Autonomy Syllabus Scheme-I (2021-22) - SEMESTER III (SY - IT)

Table of Contents

Sr. Contents Page No.

No.
1. Introduction 3

2. Problem statement/definition 4

3. Objectives 5

4. Social impact/ effects of problem 6-7

5. Findings of Survey 8-9

6. Measures/Solutions/Technical Solutions to the problem 10-11

7. Conclusion 12

8. References 13

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 Chapter 1: Introduction

Humanity is waging a “senseless and suicidal” war on nature that is causing human
suffering and enormous economic losses while accelerating the destruction of life
on Earth. We are destroying nature at an unprecedented rate, threatening the
survival of a million species – and our own future, too.
We as human beings are very fortunate to be living on this planet that we call
Earth. We toil over the land, and in return we receive provisions off of which we
live. Even though we get all that we need from this bountiful land, we still for
some reason feel like we need to alter it. In doing so we also end up ruining the
land that we thrive on.
What is destruction of nature?
Environmental degradation is thdeterioration of the environment through depletion
of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction
of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is
defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be
deleterious or undesirable.
Now destruction of nature can be both natural, i.e., the one’s that result from
natural processes of Earth or they can be human-made or human-accelerated.
Environmental degradation has become a “common concern” for humankind over
the past few decades. The distinctive nature of the present environmental problems
is that they are caused more by anthropogenic than natural phenomena. Mindless
consumerism and economic growth have started to demonstrate pernicious effects
on Mother Nature. In spite of this, the pace and desire for economic development
have never ceased. It is economics that has dictated environmental policy.
Emphasis has been placed on the role of science and technology as a catalyst for
integrating ecology with economics. In this process, sustainable
development became a buzzword.

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 Chapter 2: Problem Statement

Earth is the only known planet with existence of life in various forms of species
such as the human beings, insects, animals, birds, trees, etc. and a vast habitat and
ample of natural resources to thrive on. Yet we experience a shortage of these
resources and other such materialistic as well as living creatures are becoming
extent at a steady pace. We can also see a depletion in the natural habitats of many
living creatures and destruction of many of them. These alarming rates of
destructions has caused us to think on the possible reasons for the degradation.
Through this research and survey, we wish to understand these causes in depth and
also know about the possible solutions which can be implemented to bring down
these high rates of destruction and degradation of environment. We also wish to
understand the main cause of these degradations, i.e., Climate Change and learn
more about the causes for the increasing climate change in the past few decades.

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 Chapter 3: Objectives
Through this research, we wish to achieve the following objectives:
 Learn what is environmental degradation/ destruction of nature means
 Know the impacts of these destructions
 Know the types of destruction with the help of examples
 Understand the causes for these destructions
 Learn about climate change
 Understand the main cause of climate change

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 Chapter 4: Social Impact/Effects of Problem
Human pressure on nature has soared since the 1970s. We have been using more
and more natural resources, and this has come at a cost. If we lose large portions of
the natural world, human quality of life will be severely reduced and the lives of
future generations will be threatened unless effective action is taken. Over the last
50 years, nature's capacity to support us has plummeted. Air and water quality are
reducing, soils are depleting, crops are short of pollinators, and coasts are less
protected from storms.

Other major impacts due to destruction of nature are:

 Reduced Quality of Life: The effects of environmental degradation on

human quality of life are another symptom of biotic impoverishment.
according to the World Health Organization, nearly half the world's
population suffers from one of two forms of poor nutrition: undernutrition or
overnutrition.

 Environmental Injustice: Making a living from nature’s wealth has

consistently opened gaps between haves and have-nots, between those who
bear the brunt of environmental damage to their home places and those who
do not, and between the rights of people alive now and those of future
generations.

 Political Instability: National security threatened by un-precedented

environmental changes irrespective of political boundaries will require
unprecedented responses altogether different from military actions, he
warned. Nations cannot deploy their armies to hold back advancing deserts,
rising seas, or the greenhouse effect.

This destruction has led to many negative effects on the nature. Numerous facts
about those effects are:

 Global temperatures rose about 1.8°F (1°C) from 1901 to 2020.

 Sea level rise has accelerated from 1.7 mm/year throughout most of the
twentieth century to 3.2 mm/year since 1993.
 Glaciers are shrinking: average thickness of 30 well-studied glaciers has
decreased more than 60 feet since 1980.

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 The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic at the end of summer has
shrunk by about 40% since 1979.
 The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by 25% since
1958, and by about 40% since the Industrial Revolution.
 Snow is melting earlier compared to long-term averages.

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 Chapter 5: Findings of Survey
On completion of this research and survey, we learned what destruction of nature
or environmental degradation means and the two types in which the various ways
of destruction are categorized- Natural and Man-Made. The various notable and
most destructive examples of Natural destruction over the past decades are The
Yangtze River flood (China), Haiti Earthquake (Haiti Island), Australian Bushfires
(Australia), etc. while the natural disasters are not under human control to prevent,
the Man-Made disasters have an element of human intent, negligence or error,
involving failure of a man-made system. Human made disasters are usually the
result of things going wrong in our complex technological society. They include:
blackouts, hazardous material spills, air pollution, house fires, radiation leaks, food
or water contamination, and industrial chemical releases etc. some devastating
human-made disasters over the past are the Jilin Chemical Explosion (China),
Tennessee Coal Ash Spill, Chernobyl Blasts, etc. the causes for human-made
disasters vary from disaster to disaster but ‘Climate Change’ remains a common
inclusion in all of them. Climate change is the global phenomenon of climate
transformation characterized by the changes in the usual climate of the planet
(regarding temperature, precipitation, and wind) that are especially caused by
human activities.
Climate change may aggravate erosion, decline in organic matter, salinization, soil
biodiversity loss, landslides, desertification and flooding. Extreme precipitation
events, fast melting of snow or ice, high river discharges and increased droughts
are all climate-related events which influence soil degradation. Things that we
depend upon and value — water, energy, transportation, wildlife, agriculture,
ecosystems, and human health — are experiencing the effects of a changing
climate.
The impacts of climate change on different sectors of society are interrelated.
Drought can harm food production and human health. Flooding can lead to disease
spread and damages to ecosystems and infrastructure. Human health issues can
increase mortality, impact food availability, and limit worker productivity. From
water, food, health and environment to the infrastructure we built, climate change
affects each and every aspect of our life.
There are a number of causes for these climate changes but the major cause is the
Greenhouse Gases.

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  Greenhouse gases: The main driver of climate change is the greenhouse
effect. Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere act a bit like the glass in a
greenhouse, trapping the sun's heat and stopping it from leaking back into
space and causing global warming. Many of these greenhouse gases occur
naturally, but human activity is increasing the concentrations of some of
them in the atmosphere. Humans are increasingly influencing the climate
and the earth's temperature by burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and
farming livestock. This adds enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to
those naturally occurring in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect
and global warming.

This survey and research also yielded various facts related to environmental
degradation such as:

 Every year, we extract an estimated 55 billion tons of fossil energy,

minerals, metals and bio mass from the Earth.
 The world has already lost 80% of its forests and we’re continually losing
them at a rate of 375 km2 per day.
 At the current rate of deforestation, 5-10% of tropical forest species will
become extinct every decade.
 Every hour, 1,692 acres of productive dry land become desert.
 27% of our coral reefs have been destroyed. If the rate continues, remaining
60% will be gone in 30 years.
 We have a garbage island floating in our ocean, mostly comprised of plastics
- the size of India, Europe and Mexico combined.
 We are using up 50% more natural resources than the Earth can provide. At
our current population, we need 1.5 Earths, which we do not have.

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 Chapter 6: Solutions

We have clearly understood the huge negative impact of destruction of nature and
environmental degradation and the way it affects the lives of all the species on
Earth. If this continues without any steps taken to prevent or slow down these
destructions, it will be a great threat to the lives on planet Earth. Various
preventive measures need to be implemented and are the need of the hour. We can
begin with the following steps:

 Government Regulations: Governments require intervening and setting a

framework whenever there are problems that lead to significant eco-
degradation. Governments set high taxes for activities that harm our planet
and support environmentally-friendly behavior with financial subsidies.
 Reduce Consumption Levels: It has become essential to reduce our
consumption levels. Our developed society always strives for the latest
electronics, smartphones, and the trendiest clothes and so on. However, this
behaviour leads to huge resource depletion and excessive production of
waste. We have to lower our consumption levels significantly to avoid the
adverse ecological consequences.
 Reuse and Reduce Waste Generation: You can reduce waste production by
using your items and food more efficiently. If you want to get rid of old but
still working things, be creative to give it a new look or use it in another
way. By doing so, your material things will be used more effectively. If they
cannot be put to use anymore, separate them and give them for recycling.
 Education: It is highly essential that children should know about the adverse
environmental consequences of our daily life behaviour and the ways we
can improve our ecological footprint. This education should start early in
school. Children are usually more eager to learn new things and change their
behaviour compared to adults.
 Replace Standard Products With Energy Efficient Versions: For example,
traditional light bulbs can be replaced with LED lights to use less electricity.
 Cut Back on Use of Paper Products: Print less things and use digital filings
instead. Replace paper towels with napkins and dish rags that are made of
cloth and can be washed and reused.

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  Use Batteries that can be Recharged: Batteries that must be disposed off
tend to end up in landfills, and their properties are toxic to Earth.
Rechargeable batteries have a long-life span and also money savers.
Other than these measures that need to be mostly taken on an individual level,
various measures are also needed to be taken on a community or national level
such as:
 Reduction in Mining Practices
 Higher fines for illegal dumping
 Better control mechanisms
 More nature reserves

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 Chapter 7: Conclusion

After a thorough and in-depth research which included learning about

environmental degradation and the types of destruction that occur in our
environment with the help of examples of related destructions that have occurred
in the past and further learning about the causes for these destructions and moving
forward understanding the main cause for majority of these destructions- Climate
Change, we also did an in-depth research and understood what Climate change
exactly means and further accessed the causes for the increasing climatic change
over the past few decades which has the greenhouse gases playing the major role in
this. The impact of all these destruction on nature and the living creatures are
immeasurable and have had huge negative effect which were discussed. The
various statistics found during the research and survey backed-up these claims of
effect of natural destruction on humans.
After a thorough research on the topic of “Destruction of Nature and Climate
Change”, we can positively establish the various types and sub-types of
destructions that happen in nature and also their causes and steps on individual as
well as community level that can be taken to decrease that more frequent
happenings of such destructions.

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 References
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/environmental-
degradation
 https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/
 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2201697-destruction-of-nature-is-as-big-a-threat-to-
humanity-as-climate-change/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_degradation
 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/23/destruction-of-nature-as-dangerous-
as-climate-change-scientists-warn
 https://www.theworldcounts.com/
 https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline/disaster-types
 https://www.livescience.com/

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