GE 2211 Environmental Science and Engineering
Unit – I
www.msubbu.in
Introduction to Environmental
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Studies
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M. Subramanian
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering
Kalavakkam – 603 110, Kanchipuram (Dist)
Tamil Nadu, India
msubbu.in[AT]gmail.com
01-July-2009
Contents
• Introduction to Environmental Studies - definition, scope and
importance – need for public awareness
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01-July-2009 M Subramanian
Definition and Scope
• Environmental studies is the systematic study of human
interaction with their environment.
• Scope - It is a broad field of study that includes the natural
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environment, built environments, social environments,
organizational environments,.m w and
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• The discipline encompasses study in the basic principles of
ecology and environmental sciences as well as the associated
subjects such as policy, politics, law, economics, social aspects,
planning, pollution control, natural resources, and the
interactions of human beings and nature.
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History of the Subject
• The demand and creation of this subject as a core one for all engineering courses
is associated with the growing environmental concerns of global climate change,
biodiversity loss, pollution and environmental sustainability
• Earlier, Pollution control / Environmental Engineering was offered as one of the
elective subjects in Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering curriculums
• 20-July-2004: Supreme Court of India’s directive to create environmental
awareness among students, due to contempt petition filed by noted
environmental lawyer M C Mehtawwcomplaining
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implement its 1996 direction that environment be made as a compulsory subject
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• An all-India directive from the Supreme Court ordered that Environmental
Education (EE) be introduced as a compulsory subject starting from Std. I
onwards in all schools.
• Introducing Environment Education at the school level is the right move, as
attitudinal changes can be brought about more easily with young minds.
• Children present a primary target group for public awareness activities.
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Need for Public Awareness
• The main reason for this environmental deterioration is clear the lack of public
awareness, and also the lack of expertise to provide national planners and policy
makers with appropriate knowledge to integrate environmental considerations
into planning
• There is still a considerable lack of awareness of the interrelated nature of all
human activities and the environment, due to inaccurate or insufficient
information. Developing countries in particular lack relevant technologies and
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• Promoting environmental knowledge andsub enhancing public awareness seem to
be the most urgent goal in environmentalbuprotection
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• Environmental education implies a new way of thinking through which Man can
live in harmony with nature. In such a system, values, feelings, personal and
professional responsibilities, and even people's behavior patterns, which will
eventually all merge in social actions, must be realized in harmony with natural
processes.
• The objective is to promote broad public awareness as an essential part of a
global education effort to strengthen attitudes, values and actions which are
compatible with sustainable development
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Public Awareness in India
• Environmental education, both through
formal and non-formal routes, is an
important medium for creating awareness
about climate change among children and
youth
• The fortnightly magazine Down to wwEarth is
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having highest number of articles related
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climate change of any periodical in India
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• Among the mainstream English news
papers, The Hindu carried the maximum
number of climate change news and
articles
• Among the financial news papers, Business
Standard had the highest coverage
The Hindu, 29-June-2009, He Zongying Zack,
Earth Studies in Focus
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World Environment Day
• 5th June
• World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General
Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on
the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General
Assembly the same day, led to
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Environment Programme). w.m
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• World Environment Day, commemorated
the principal vehicles to stimulate worldwide awareness of the
environment and enhances political attention and action.
• The World Environment Day slogan selected for 2009 is 'Your Planet
Needs You! UNite to Combat Climate Change' .
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Ozone Day
• 16th September
• Commemorating the date, in 1987 on which Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed
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Earth Day
• 22nd April
• Celebrated in the US on April 22, is a day designed to inspire
awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment.
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Source: http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/ministries/environment-ministry/images/Ten-Things.jpg
01-July-2009 M Subramanian
