Introduction to Environmental

Sciences

Lecture 1: Environmental Sciences

 System & Environment
• Environment can be defined as the physical, chemical and biological world
that surrounds us as well as the complex of social and cultural conditions
affecting an individual or community.
• Includes all factors living and nonliving that affect an individual organism or
population at any point in the life cycle;
• set of circumstances surrounding a particular occurrence and all the things
that surrounds us. It includes the conditions under which any individuals or
thing exists, live or develop
 Lithosphere

Environmental Factors Physical Hydrosphere

• Physical
Atmosphere
Land, water, atmosphere, climate, sound,
odors and taste.
• Biological Flora

Fauna (animal life of a region or geological

period) Environment Biological Fauna
Flora (the plants of a particular region or
geological period) Ecology, Microbe
bacteria and viruses; and all those social
factors which make up the quality of life.
Social
• Socioeconomic
Sociopolitical Socio-
Political
Cultural economical

Economical
Economical
 Environment Explained

• What is Surrounded? Types of Environment

• By what Surrounded? • 1. Natural environment
• Where surrounded? • 2. Man-made environment
Importance of environment:
1. To realize that environmental problems are global
2. To understand the impacts of development on environment
3. To discover sustainable ways of living
4. To utilize natural sources effectively
5. To focus on modern methods to reduce destruction
6. To create awareness about the environmental issues at both national
and international level
Why do you need to study environment in
business?
• Successful conduct of business
• Opening of new avenues
• To ensure survival and chances of growth
• To avoid legal consequences
Major Environmental Problems
• Global Warming
• Ozone Layer Depletion
• Deforestation
• Loss of Biodiversity
• Water pollution
• Waste generation
• Food and water shortage
Pollution:
•  Air, soil, and water all have the capability to be polluted. Pollution poses
a current and future threats to people and the environment.
Contaminated waters are undrinkable. Polluted air weakens the ozone
layer and causes health problems. Contaminated soil destroys habitats
and irrigation.
• As a human, your body is majorly affected by pollution if it’s in the air
you breathe or the water you drink. Pollution puts animals and the
environment in critical condition that only humans can restore.  People
who live in areas with high levels of air pollution are 20 percent more
likely to die of lung cancer — even if they’ve never picked up a cigarette
in their lives. 
Water pollution:
Portable water can become contaminated with things such as airborne
diseases, toxins, and hazardous chemicals. An 
estimated 780 million people have no access to clean water at all. This
isn’t just a problem in undeveloped countries through. The 2017 drought
in California, and the fact that Flint, Michigan hasn’t had clean water in
nearly four years, serves as the perfect example to show us that water
scarcity and pollution isn’t just a problem everywhere else — it’s a
problem here at home too. Like the Earth, your body is made up of a lot of
water, too. Both land and your body need clean water to survive.
Waste disposal:
• It’s easy to throw something in a trash can. We don’t usually think about
our local landfills unless complaining about the smell when we drive by
them, but the average person generates 4.6 pounds of trash per day.
• This trash ends up in two places.  It’s in landfills or it ends up in
environmental habitats and the ocean. Waste disposal poses a threat to
not only the Earth and its environment but humans as well.
• When waste is in the ocean, the ocean dwellers mistake it for food
burning r get tangled up in it. When waste is disposed of via or nuclear,
it emits hazardous toxins in the air, which people breathe in.
Global warming:
• Global climate change has already had observable effects on the
environment. Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up
earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.
• Effects that scientists had predicted in the past would result from global
climate change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise
and longer, more intense heat waves.
Effects:
• heat waves,
• droughts,
• heavy rainfall with floods,
•  heavy snowfall ,
• species extinctions due to shifting temperature
Ozone depletion:
Reduced ozone levels as a result of ozone depletion mean less protection
from the sun’s rays and more exposure to UVB radiation at the Earth’s
surface.
 Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun can cause a variety of health
problems in humans, including skin cancers, eye cataracts and a
reduction in the ability to fight off disease.
Furthermore, UV radiation can be damaging to microscopic life in the
surface oceans which forms the basis of the world’s food chain, certain
varieties of vegetation including rice and soya crops, and polymers used
in paints, clothing and other materials.
Deforestation:
Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the
land available for other uses.
Causes:
• To make more land available for housing and urbanization
• To harvest timber to create commercial items such as paper, furniture
and homes 
• To create ingredients that are highly prized consumer items, such as the
oil from palm trees
Loss of biodiversity:
Biodiversity refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth. It includes
the number of plants, animals, and microorganisms from the Earth’s vastly
different ecosystems such as coral reefs, grasslands, deserts and
rainforests.
Causes:
1. Hunting 2. exploitation of species 3. pollution
4. Collection for zoo and research
Effects:
2. Threats to existing species 2. unpredictable weather
3. Loss of livelihoods 4. loosing sight of nature
 Development
• Development is a process of planned changes from small to big, from
efficient method to more efficient method, from worst conditions to
better conditions, and from poor quality to higher quality.
Sustainable Development
 • Sustainable development can be defined as a way to meet the human
needs while protecting the environment.
• Sustainable development is based on 10 main principles, which are
derived from three main areas
• Triple Bottom line(Economics, Social and Environmental)
• Economic Development
• This is the issue that proves the most problematic as most people
disagree on political ideology what is and is not economically sound, and
how it will affect businesses and by extension, jobs and employability.
• It is also about providing incentives for businesses and other
organizations to adhere to sustainability guidelines beyond their normal
legislative requirements. Also, to encourage and foster incentives for the
average person to do their bit where and when they can; one person can
rarely achieve much, but taken as a group, effects in some areas are
cumulative. The supply and demand market is consumerist in nature and
modern life requires a lot of resources every single day; for the sake of
the environment, getting what we consume under control is the
paramount issue. Economic development is about giving people what
they want without compromising quality of life, especially in the
developing world, and reducing the financial burden.
• Social Development
• There are many facets to this pillar. Most importantly is awareness of
and legislation protection of the health of people from pollution and
other harmful activities of business and other organizations. In North
America, Europe and the rest of the developed world, there are strong
checks and programs of legislation in place to ensure that people's
health and wellness is strongly protected. It is also about maintaining
access to basic resources without compromising the quality of life. The
biggest hot topic for many people right now is sustainable housing and
how we can better build the homes we live in from sustainable material.
The final element is education - encouraging people to participate in
environmental sustainability and teaching them about the effects of
environmental protection as well as warning of the dangers if we cannot
achieve our goals.
• Environmental Protection
• We all know what we need to do to protect the environment, whether
that is recycling, reducing our power consumption by switching
electronic devices off rather than using standby, by walking short
journeys instead of taking the bus. Businesses are regulated to prevent
pollution and to keep their own carbon emissions low. There are
incentives to installing renewable power sources in our homes and
businesses. Environmental protection is the third pillar and to many, the
primary concern of the future of humanity. It defines how we should
study and protect ecosystems, air quality, integrity and sustainability of
our resources and focusing on the elements that place stress on the
environment. It also concerns how technology will drive our greener
future; the EPA recognized that developing technology is key to this
sustainability, and protecting the environment of the future from
potential damage that technological advances could potentially bring.
Principles of Sustainable Development

Ecological Principles Social/ Ethical Principles Political Principles

Principle 1: Dependence Principle 5:

Principle 8: Participation
intergenerational equity
Principle 2: Biophysical
Limits
Principle 6: intra- Principle 9:
generational equity Cooperation
Principle 3: living Within
Limits
Principle 7: Ecological Principle 10:
Principle 4: interdependence Justice Addressing the Root cause
Dependence
• The life of man here on earth completely depends on the natural
environment for its existence.
• It is from the environment that man ultimately obtains food or cash.
there are two major elements in managing the environmental resources
Criticality:
The estimate of importance of resources.
Scarcity:
The estimate of availability of resources.
Biophysical limits of resources
Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) Model
1. Resources are scarce in absolute terms. That is, humanity is endowed with a
finite amount of material resources.

2. If uncontrolled, the tendency of human populations is to grow exponentially.

3. Technology should not be perceived as the ‘ultimate’ escape from the

problem of resource scarcity.
Living within limits
Intergenerational equity
• The sustainable development is an equity between the economic growth and
environmental protection.
• The natural resources available in the environment should be equally
available to every individual regardless of their economic background.
• The main purpose of intergenerational equity is to manage the environmental
resources within the same generation equally to decrease the social problems
like poverty, crime.
Intra-generational equity
• Management of environmental resources in such a way that they remain
available for the future generations with the same extend that they are
present now.
• The decision of resources use and conserve is a necessity of society for
longer duration of time.
Ecological justice
• Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement
of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with
respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement
of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
• The resources are common for every species and their rights are
conserved.
Participation and cooperation:
• Participation of different political parties within or outside the country
helps to reduce the environmental problems.
• The principle of participation is a key governance principle that is highly
relevant for conservation and sustainability.  Participation is essential for
ensuring accountability. 
• Declaration on Environment and Development states that environmental
issues “are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens,
at the relevant level” and that each individual should have “the
opportunity to participate in decision-making processes.”
Addressing the root cause:
• The root cause must be controlled before time in order to save yourself
from the future issues.
• For example, paints with lead leads to different issues like cancer and
heart disease. The root cause was founded now the bigger companies
are not using them to avoid these issues.
• Cosmetic companies: direct effect on mental and physical health due to
lead. Now the ingredients are changed because we need to include
ourselves in the international markets. The awareness is much more
over there.
Sustainable development goals of Pakistan:
1. No poverty
The first sustainable development goal aims to “end poverty in all its forms” by 2030.
2. Zero Hunger:
By 2030, Pakistan is supposed to “end hunger and ensure access for all, especially for
the poor and vulnerable, to nutritious and sufficient food the year round.” By signing on
the SDGs, the government has committed to ending all forms of malnutrition. However,
independent of these commitments, if the country wants to achieve high growth rates
and sustain the latter to ensure development, hunger and food insecurity need to end. 
3. Good health and well-being:
With Goal 3 – promoting good health and well-being – calling for an integrated approach
crucial for progress across multiple goals, including alleviating poverty and hunger, the
focus includes a commitment to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and
other communicable diseases by 2030. It also aims to achieve universal health coverage,
and provide access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines for all.
4. Quality education:
Goal 4 prioritizes equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
This goal has seven targets and three means for implementation, covering all levels of education;
from early childhood, primary to secondary, technical vocational for decent jobs, and university
through formal, non-formal and technology enabled channels, favorable learning environments,
adequacy of trained teachers and opportunities for scholarships to pursue continuous learning.
5. Gender equality:
The Gender Gap Index 2015 ranked Pakistan 2nd from the bottom among 145 countries. Goal 5
aims to address gender equality and women empowerment. Poverty, poor health and illiteracy
make almost 50pc of the country’s population who are not full participants in the realm of socio-
economic development. The low status of women, in fact, deprives the state of realizing the full
productive potential of half the population.
6. Clean water and sanitation:
Goal 6 of the development agenda talks about ensuring availability and sustainable management
of water and sanitation; specific targets have been formulated to achieve universal and equitable
access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for all, to end open
evacuation with special attention given to the needs of women and girls.
7. Affordable and clean energy:
For affordable clean energy, Pakistan requires more transmission lines, cost-
effective production, better-regulated renewable energy markets. Experts have
estimated that about a quarter of the country’s land area and half its population is
vulnerable to climate change-related disasters. With its dry climate, extreme
weather events, and natural resource shortages, the country’s climate
vulnerabilities can’t be overstated.
8. Decent work and economic growth:
Goal 8 empowers governments to break free from the shackles of aid and propels
nation-states towards making greater strides in trade, growth, jobs and
safeguarding the dignity of individuals, communities and nations. 
9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure:
Goal 9 aims to “build strong infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable
industrialization and foster innovation”. This goal recognizes firstly, that sustainable
human development improvements cannot come without economic growth.
10. Reduced inequalities:
Goal 10 focuses on the reduction of the inequalities in every sector. The
purpose is to achieve and sustain growth of all the people equally.
Everyone should be provided with the opportunities to increase their
quality of life.
11. Sustainable cities and communities:
The goal is to create sustainable and green cities. Strategic planning is
required. Gated communities that are supported by automobile friendly
transportation infrastructure are being encouraged. With more than half
of the world’s population presently residing in urban centers, these
designs serve as the frontlines in the battle against climate change.
12. Responsible consumption and production:
Goal 12 calls for ensuring sustainable consumption and production, confirming global consensus on the
centrality of sustainable practices in the mission for sustainable development. The targets linked to Goal
12 include sharp cuts in food losses and waste; environmentally sound management of chemicals;
enhancing knowledge and awareness about the benefits of sustainable practices and lifestyle; and
strengthening the scientific and technological capacity of developing countries to embrace SCP.
13. Climate action:
Goal 13 specifically calls for ‘urgent actions to combat climate change and its impacts’. Adverse climate
impacts are reflected through increased floods, prolonged droughts, changing temperatures and
extreme weather events — heat-waves, glacial melting, changing monsoons and cropping cycles.
14. Life below water:
Goal 14, aimed at the Integration of Oceans into the SDG framework, calls for commitment to ensuring
the sustainability of oceans and marine life with special attention to the welfare of populations
dependent on ocean life. Pakistan has witnessed various happenings in its ocean fisheries environment,
with numerous incidences of large mammals – sharks and whales – washing up dead on its coastlines.
With seas and oceans being over-polluted due to human activity and serving as repositories of human
waste, chemical pollution and dumping grounds for industrial non-useable outputs, our ocean has
turned into a junkyard. This toll on marine life directly impacts the welfare and livelihoods of
communities dependent on these resources.
15. Life on land:
Goal 15 focuses on protecting, restoring and promoting the sustainable use of forests, combating
and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss. Rapid action is needed to sustain populations
with the loss of land resources.
16. Peace, justice and strong institutions:
This goal has 12 targets that include reduction in violence and related death rates; an end to abuse,
trafficking, exploitation, violence and torture of children; rule of law and equal access to justice;
substantial reduction in corruption and bribery; effective, accountable and transparent institutions;
responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making; provision of legal identity
for all, including birth registration; public access to information and protection of fundamental
freedoms; and strengthening of institutions to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.
17. Participation for goals:
This goal aims at global partnerships for development by building domestic means to implement
the SDGs. Global partnerships must have varied elements: more development assistance, debt
relief, trade agreements that help developing countries find markets and better conditions for
foreign and domestic investment. Partnerships matter when lifting people out of poverty, when
protecting the environment and when building peace — partnerships between governments, the
private sector, civil society and the international community.
CASE STUDY NO 1:
 GLOBAL WARMING
Global warming is a steady rise in Earth's
surface temperature. Temperatures today are
about 1 °C (1.8 °F) higher than
150 years ago. Many scientists say that in the next
100–200 years, temperatures might be up to 6 °C
(11 °F) higher than they were before the effects of
global warming were discovered. Most noticeable
changes by this increase in temperature is the
melting of ice caps all around the world. Sea level is rising steadily because of continental ice
melting into the sea. As a prediction, many cities are soon to be partially submerged in the ocean.
Consequently, many part of the world have a major increase in temperature.
• Among the Greenhouse gases, the concentration and increase of 
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere appears to be the main cause of
global warming, as predicted by Svante Arrhenius a hundred years ago,
confirming the work of Joseph Fourier more than 200 years ago. When
people use fossil fuels like coal and oil, this adds carbon dioxide in the
air. When people cut down many trees (deforestation), this means less
carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere by those plants.
• As the Earth's surface temperature becomes hotter the sea level
 becomes higher. This is partly because water expands when it gets
warmer. It is also partly because warm temperatures make glaciers
 melt.
• The sea level rise causes coastal areas to flood. Weather patterns,
including where and how much rain or snow there is, will change. 
Deserts will probably increase in size. Colder areas will warm up faster
than warm areas. Strong storms may become more likely and farming
 may not make as much food. These effects will not be the same
everywhere. The changes from one area to another are not well known.
• People in government and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
 (IPCC) have talked about global warming. They do not agree on what to
do about it. Some things that could reduce warming are to burn less
fossil fuels, adapt to any temperature changes, or try to change the
Earth to reduce warming.
The Kyoto Protocol tries to reduce pollution from the burning of fossil
fuels. Most governments have agreed to it. Some people in government
think nothing should change. The gas produced by cows digestion also
causes global warming, because it contains a greenhouse gas called 
methane.
 CASE STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the events that indicate the happening of global
warming.
2. Who talks about the global warming at larger scale?
3. Discuss the phenomenon of global warming.
4. Suggest what we can do to combat the issue of global
warming?