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UniT - V, Green Skills - II, SESSION 1 Importance, Problems and Solutions, Contents, Related to Sustainable Development, SESSION 1: IMPORTANCE,, PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS, RELATED TO SUSTAINABLE, DEVELOPMENT, 5.1. Introduction to, environment, 5.1, INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENT, The word 'environment' is derived from French word 'environer' - which means to, surround, enclose, and encircle'. It refers to both abiotic (physical or non-living) and biotic, (living) environment. Environment refers to an aggregate of conditions or surroundings in, which living beings such as humans, animals, and plants live or survive and non-living, things exist. In another words "Environment is the sum total of water, air and land, interrelationships among themselves and also with the human being, other living organisms, and property"., It includes all the physical and biological surrounding and their interactions., Environmental studies provide an approach towards understanding the environment of our, planet and the impact of human life upon the environment. All living beings including man, and their environment are mutually reactive, affecting each other in a number of ways. It is, generally equated with nature wherein physical components of the planet earth such as, earth, air, water, etc. support and affect life in the biosphere., Environment is the sum total of conditions that surrounds us at a given point of time, and space. It is comprised of the interacting systems of physical, biological and cultural, elements which are interlinked both individually and collectively. It influences the growth, and development of living forms., 5.2. Components of, environment, 5.3. Factors causing, imbalance, 5.4 Sustainable, Development, 5.5. Green Economy, 5.6. Importance of, sustainable, development, 5.7. Problems related to, sustainable, development, Points to Remember, Multiple Choice, Questions, Fill in the Blanks, • State True or False, Very Short Answer, Questions, Short Answer, Questions, 5.2. COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT, The two major classifications of environment are ;, • Long Answer Questions, Assignment, 1. Abiotic Components or Physical Environment : External physical factors like air,, water, and land etc, are also called the Abiotic components., 2. Biotic Components or Living Environment : All living organisms around us, viz., plants, animals, and microorganisms are also called the Biotic components., Biotic vs. Abiotic Factors, Living, Examples, o Plants, a Animals, a Fungi, a Bacteria", Non-Living, Examples, a Water, a Sunlight, a Sol, a Air, a Temperature, 89

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06, Earth's environment can be further subdivided into the following four segments:, 1. Atmosphere, 2. Hydrosphere, 3. Lithosphere, 4. Biosphere., ENVIRONMENT, Atmosphere Hydrosphere Lithosphere, Biosphere, 1. Atmosphere : The region surrounding the earth is known as atmosphere. Atmosphere is generally a mixture of, surrounding the earth., 2. Hydrosphere All the water bodies on the earth surface are included in hydrosphere. It includes oceans, glaciers, lakes, ponds, etc., 3. Lithosphere : The uppermost part of the carth crust is known as Lithosphere. Lithosphere includes, soil and, particles, rocks, metals etc., 4. Biosphere : The life supporting mantle of the earth extending from few kilometer into the atmosphere to the den, ocean is known as Biosphere The region of the earth where life exists is known as Biosphere., 5.3. FACTORS CAUSING IMBALANCE, Ecosystems consist of the animals, plants and the environmental conditions of an area. Wetlands, mangroves, rainforests, and coral reefs are examples of ecosystems. Ecosystems maintain a very delicate balance. Various human activities threaten to, disrupt this balance and destroy the world's ecosystems are as follows :, 1. Pollution : The addition of contaminating substances to the natural environment that has an adverse effect on organ-, isms and environment is called pollution i.e. An undesirable change in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of, the environment especially air, water and land that may adversely affect human population and the wild life is called pollution., that pollute the environment or cause pollution are called pollutants. Pollution is of following types:, () Air pollution : Air pollution refers to the release of pollutants like toxic gases, biological molecules, and particulate, matter into the atmosphere. The pollutants can be derived from several sources including both natural processes, human activity. Volcanic eruptions, automobiles, stubble buring, industrial emissions etc. are some examples of air, pollution sources. This pollution can be highly detrimental to the health and well-being of all life forms on earth., The, agents, pue, Figure 5.1. Air Pollution

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Green Skills-/, (), ubstances are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies. Any alterations in the chemical, physical, or, biological water properties qualify as water pollution., nd ground water. It occurs when foreign harmful materials like chemicals, waste matter, or contaminated, 91, Figure 5.2. Water Pollution, Soil Pollution : When the soil of an area is contaminated, it leads to soil pollution or land degradation. The soil, is essential to the growth of all plants including crops. Thus, degradation in the soil quality translates to lower, yields and, pollutants contaminating the soil., health of, 1ood, crops grown on such soil. Industrial and agricultural chemicals are the common, Figure 5.3. Soil Pollution

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can cause permanent hearing loss. Transport vehicles, machinery, industries, loud music etc. are some of the, animals and plants, it is called noise pollution. It is measured in decibels (dB) and sound levels beyond 100 d, VINESH Information Technology (Vocational) Code : 402 Class-x, 92, Gree, harmful, Noise Pollution : When the environment is filled with unnecessary or unpleasant sounds that are, (in), most common sources of noise pollution. This type of pollution on the long-term can, diseases like cardiovascular diseases., give rise to chronie, 5., fum, the, Figure 5.4. Noise Pollution, me, Radioactive Pollution : When radioactive metals disintegrate, they release beta rays which can cause diseases, (v), in living organisms and this is known as radioactive pollution. Radioactive pollution mostly comes from the, nuclear power industry, either in the form of radioactive waste being dumped or improperly disposed of and, then making its way into bodies of water. Once radioactive pollution is present in the environment, it can, linger for decades, making enormous areas of land unfit for human occupation of any sort., Radioactive, weste, 00, RIVERS, STATE, Taure 5.5. RadioactivePollhrtion

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4. Climate Change : Climate change continues to play a significant role in the destruction of the c, 5. Land Clearing : As human populations increase, so does the need to develop more land. Many ecosystems are, warming has led to increased temperatures, sea levels and ocean acidity that disrupt an ecosystem's natural balance., sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from the, hunting, results in overexploitation of forests and natural habitats., medicinal plants, excessive grazing of pastures by animals, destruction of forests, and water aquifers, overfishing and, 3. Mining : Mines are dug below the earth's surface to get ores. The ores are then refined to extract the valuable elements,, ing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource For example, removal of wild, such as metals, gems, minerals, etc. Some of the environmental impacts of mining include erosion, formation of, Green S, doitation of resources : Overexploitation refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminish, 93, over, mining processes, ecosystem. Global, Jestroved in order to clear land for housing developments and roads, agricultural uses and raising livestock., Deforestation : Deforestation is the cutting down of trees to make way for more homes and industries. Rapid growth, e population and urban sprawl are two of the major causes of deforestation. Deforestation contributes to global, warming as decreased forest size puts carbon back into the environment, -. Natural Causes : Things like avalanches, quakes, tidal waves, storms, and wildfires can totally crush nearby animal., 5.4. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of, Cure generations to meet their own needs. It is the use of natural resources that aims to meet human needs while preserving, he environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for future generations. Sustainable develop-, ment is development that meets, The needs of the, Without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs., This definition emphasizes two important things., present, The natural resources are vital not only for us but for future generations also., It is a long term concept. It does not focus only on the present economic growth but it also takes into account the future, economic growth., ENVIRONMENTAL, A VIABLE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, NATUPALG BORD, MRAMENT, DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, NURTIHING, COMMUNTY, (RMEN, alopment