ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

(A) History of Environmental Thought

1. Environmental and Sustainable Development

 Sustainable development, a term first used in 1987 in a UN sponsored document called

the Brundtland Report, is often defined as “meeting the needs of current generations
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.” Like
conservationism, sustainable development is a middle ground that seeks to promote
appropriate development in order to alleviate poverty while still preserving the ecological
health of the landscape. Sustainable development does not focus solely on environmental
issues. The United Nations 2005 World Summit Document refers to the “interdependent
and mutually reinforcing pillars” of sustainable development as economic development,
social development, and environmental protection.
 Environmental sustainability concerns the natural environment and how it endures and
remains diverse and productive. Since natural resources are derived from the
environment, the state of air, water, and the climate are of particular concern.
 An unsustainable situation occurs when natural capital (the sum total of nature’s
resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished. Sustainability requires that human
activity only uses nature’s resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally.
Inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwined with the concept of
carrying capacity. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation is the
inability to sustain human life. Such degradation on a global scale should imply an
increase in human death rate until population falls to what the degraded environment can
support. If the degradation continues beyond a certain tipping point or critical threshold it
would lead to eventual extinction for humanity.

2. History of Environmental Movements

 The philosophy behind the environmental movement had its roots in the nineteenth
century. Among many notable conservationist philosophers, several stand out: Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Rachel Carson.
 In an essay entitled “Nature” published in 1836, Emerson wrote that “behind nature,
throughout nature, spirit is present.” Emerson was an early critic of rampant economic
development, and he sought to correct what he considered to be the social and spiritual
errors of his time.
 Henry David Thoreau was a writer and a naturalist who held beliefs similar to Emerson’s.
Thoreau’s bias fell on the side of “truth in nature and wilderness over the deceits of urban
civilization.”
 John Muir combined the intellectual ponderings of a philosopher with the hard-core,
pragmatic characteristics of a leader. Muir believed that “wilderness mirrors divinity,
nourishes humanity, and vivifies the spirit.” Muir tried to convince people to leave the

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 cities for a while to enjoy the wilderness. In the early 1890s, Muir organized the Sierra
Club to “explore, enjoy, and render accessible the mountain regions of the Pacific Coast”
and to enlist the support of the government in preserving these areas.
 Aldo Leopold was a thinker as well as an activist in the early conservation movement.
While serving in the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico in the 1920s, Leopold worked
for the protection of parts of the forest as early wilderness areas. He argued that regulated
hunting should be used to maintain a proper balance of wildlife on that landscape.
 Rachel Carson was a best-selling nature writer. In 1962, she published Silent Spring,
which dramatized the potential dangers of pesticides to food, wildlife, and humans and
eventually led to changes in pesticide use in the United States.
 Environmentalism, political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the
quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human
activities; through the adoption of forms of political, economic, and social organization
that are thought to be necessary for, or at least conducive to, the benign treatment of the
environment by humans; and through a reassessment of humanity’s relationship with
nature.
 Chipko movement in India.
 The world’s first green parties—the Values Party, a nationally based party in New
Zealand, and the United Tasmania Group, organized in the Australian state of
Tasmania—were founded in the early 1970s. The first explicitly green member of a
national legislature was elected in Switzerland in 1979; later, in 1981, four greens won
legislative seats in Belgium.
 By the late 1980s environmentalism had become a global as well as a national political
force. Some environmental nongovernmental organizations (e.g., Greenpeace, Friends of
the Earth, and the World Wildlife Fund) established a significant international presence,
with offices throughout the world and centralized international headquarters to coordinate
lobbying campaigns and to serve as campaign centres and information clearinghouses for
their national affiliate organizations.
 Although a small number of bilateral and multilateral international environmental
agreements were in force before the 1960s, since the 1972 United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment in Stockholm, the variety of multilateral environmental
agreements has increased to cover most aspects of environmental protection as well as
many practices with environmental consequences, such as the trade in endangered
species, the management of hazardous waste, especially nuclear waste, and armed
conflict. The changing nature of public debate on the environment was reflected also in
the organization of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was attended by some
180 countries and various business groups, nongovernmental organizations, and the
media. In the 21st century, the environmental movement has combined the traditional
concerns of conservation, preservation, and pollution with more contemporary concerns
with the environmental consequences of economic practices as diverse as tourism, trade,
financial investment, and the conduct of war. Environmentalists are likely to intensify the
trends of the late 20th century, during which some environmental groups increasingly

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 worked in coalition not just with other emancipatory organizations, such as human rights
and indigenous-peoples groups, but also with corporations and other businesses.

3. Agriculture and Industrial Revolutions

 An agricultural revolution or agrarian revolution is a period of transition from the pre-
agricultural period characterized by a Paleolithic diet, into an agricultural period
characterized by a diet of cultivated foods; or a further transition from a living a more
advanced and more productive form of agriculture, resulting in further social changes.
 The British Agricultural Revolution was the unprecedented increase in agricultural
production in England due to increases in labour and land productivity between the mid-
17th and late 19th centuries. Agricultural output grew faster than the population over the
century to 1770, and thereafter productivity remained among the highest in the world.
 The rise in productivity accelerated the decline of the agricultural share of the labour
force, adding to the urban workforce on which industrialization depended: the
Agricultural Revolution has therefore been cited as a cause of the Industrial Revolution.

Major developments and innovations

The British Agricultural Revolution was the result of the complex interaction of social,
economic and farming technology changes. Major developments and innovations include:

 Norfolk four-course crop rotation: Fodder crops, particularly turnips and clover,
replaced leaving the land fallow.
 The Dutch improved the Chinese plough so that it could be pulled with fewer oxen or
horses.
 Enclosure: the removal of common rights to establish exclusive ownership of land
 Development of a national market free of tariffs, tolls and customs barriers
 Transportation infrastructures, such as improved roads, canals, and later, railways
 Land conversion, land drains and reclamation
 Increase in farm size
 Selective breeding

Industrial Revolution
 The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period
from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going
from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron
production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam
power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system. It also
included the change from wood and other bio-fuels to coal. Textiles were the dominant
industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital
invested; the textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods.

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 The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of
daily life was influenced in some way. In particular, average income and population
began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. Some economists say that the major
impact of the Industrial Revolution was that the standard of living for the general
population began to increase consistently for the first time in history, although others
have said that it did not begin to meaningfully improve until the late 19th and 20th
centuries.

The Industrial Revolution and Population Growth

 The most prolific evidence of the Industrial Revolution’s impact on the modern world is
seen in the worldwide human population growth. Humans have been around for about 2.2
million years. By the dawn of the first millennium AD, estimates place the total world
(modern) human population at between 150 – 200 million, and 300 million in the year
1,000. The population of the United States population is currently 312,000,000 (August
2011). The world human population growth rate would be about .1 percent (.001) per year
for the next seven to eight centuries.
 At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1700s, the world’s human population
grew by about 57 percent to 700 million. It would reach one billion in 1800. (Note: The
Black Plague reduced the world population by about 75 million people in the late 1300s.)
The birth of the Industrial Revolution altered medicine and living standards, resulting in
the population explosion that would commence at that point and steamroll into the
20thand 21st centuries. In only 100 years after the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the
world population would grow 100 percent to two billion people in 1927 (about 1.6 billion
by 1900).
 During the 20th century, the world population would take on exponential proportions,
growing to six billion people just before the start of the 21stcentury. That’s a 400 percent
population increase in a single century. Since the 250 years from the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution to today, the world human population has increased by six billion
people!
 Human population growth is indelibly tied together with increased use of natural and
man-made resources, energy, land for growing food and for living, and waste by-products
that are disposed of, to decompose, pollute or be recycled. This exponential population
growth led to the exponential requirements for resources, energy, food, housing and land,
as well as the exponential increase in waste by-products.

4. United Nations Conference on Human Environment 1972

 The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, having met at Stockholm
from 5 to 16 June 1972, having considered the need for a common outlook and for
common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and
enhancement of the human environment, 113 nations participated.

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 Sweden first suggested to ECOSOC in 1968 the idea of having a UN conference to focus
on human interactions with the environment. ECOSOC passed resolution 1346 supporting
the idea. General Assembly Resolution 2398 in 1969 decided to convene a conference in
1972 and mandated a set of reports from the UN secretary-general suggesting that the
conference focus on “stimulating and providing guidelines for action by national
government and international organizations” facing environmental issues.
 The meeting agreed upon a Declaration containing 26 principles concerning the
environment and development; an Action Plan with 109 recommendations, and a
Resolution. Principles of the Stockholm Declaration:
1. Human rights must be asserted, apartheid and colonialism condemned.
2. Natural resources must be safeguarded.
3. The Earth’s capacity to produce renewable resources must be maintained.
4. Wildlife must be safeguarded.
5. Non-renewable resources must be shared and not exhausted.
6. Pollution must not exceed the environment’s capacity to clean itself.
7. Damaging oceanic pollution must be prevented.
8. Development is needed to improve the environment.
9. Developing countries therefore need assistance.
10. Developing countries need reasonable prices for exports to carry out environmental
management
11. Environment policy must not hamper development.
12. Developing countries need money to develop environmental safeguards.
13. Integrated development planning is needed.
14. Rational planning should resolve conflicts between environment and development.
15. Human settlements must be planned to eliminate environmental problems.
16. Governments should plan their own appropriate population policies.
17. National institutions must plan development of states’ natural resources.
18. Science and technology must be used to improve the environment.
19. Environmental education is essential.
20. Environmental research must be promoted, particularly in developing countries.
21. States may exploit their resources as they wish but must not endanger others.
22. Compensation is due to states thus endangered.
23. Each nation must establish its own standards.
24. There must be cooperation on international issues.
25. International organizations should help to improve the environment.
26. Weapons of mass destruction must be eliminated.

5. Our Common Future 1987

 Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, from the United Nations
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) was published in 1987.
 Its targets were multilateralism and interdependence of nations in the search for a
sustainable development path. The report sought to recapture the spirit of the United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment - the Stockholm Conference - which had
introduced environmental concerns to the formal political development sphere. Our

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 Common Future placed environmental issues firmly on the political agenda; it aimed to
discuss the environment and development as one single issue.
 The Brundtland Commission’s mandate was to:

1. “ re-examine the critical issues of environment and development and to formulate

innovative, concrete, and realistic action proposals to deal with them;
2. strengthen international cooperation on environment and development and to assess
and propose new forms of cooperation that can break out of existing patterns and
influence policies and events in the direction of needed change; and
3. raise the level of understanding and commitment to action on the part of individuals,
voluntary organizations, businesses, institutes, and governments” (1987: 347). “The
Commission focused its attention in the areas of population, food security, the loss of
species and genetic resources, energy, industry, and human settlements - realizing that
all of these are connected and cannot be treated in isolation one from another”

 The Brundtland Commission Report recognised that human resource development in the
form of poverty reduction, gender equity, and wealth redistribution was crucial to
formulating strategies for environmental conservation, and it also recognised that
environmental-limits to economic growth in industrialised and industrialising societies
existed. As such, the Report offered “[the] analysis, the broad remedies, and the
recommendations for a sustainable course of development” within such societies.
 The publication of Our Common Future and the work of the World Commission on
Environment and Development laid the groundwork for the convening of the 1992 Earth
Summit and the adoption of Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration and to the establishment of
the Commission on Sustainable Development.
 Our Common Future is also known as the Brundtland Report in recognition of former
Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland’s role as Chair of the World
Commission on Environment and Development.

6. Rio Summit 1992

 The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also
known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, and Earth Summit, was a major United
Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.
 172 governments participated, with 116 sending their heads of state or government. Some
2,400 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended, with 17,000
people at the parallel NGO “Global Forum” (also called Forum Global), who had
Consultative Status.
 The issues addressed included:

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  systematic scrutiny of patterns of production — particularly the production of toxic
components, such as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste including radioactive
chemicals
 alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are linked to
global climate change
 new reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle emissions,
congestion in cities and the health problems caused by polluted air and smoke
 the growing scarcity of water

 An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which

in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol.

Results

 The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents:

 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

 Agenda 21
 Forest Principles

 Moreover, important legally binding agreements (Rio Convention) were opened for
signature:

 Convention on Biological Diversity

 Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

7. Agenda 21
 Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations
with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN
Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It
is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateral organizations, and individual
governments around the world that can be executed at local, national, and global levels.
The “21” in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st Century. It has been affirmed and modified at
subsequent UN conferences.
 Agenda 21 is a 700-page document divided into 40 chapters that have been grouped into
4 sections:

 Section I: Social and Economic Dimensions is directed toward combating poverty,

especially in developing countries, changing consumption patterns, promoting

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 health, achieving a more sustainable population, and sustainable settlement in
decision making.
 Section II: Conservation and Management of Resources for Development Includes
atmospheric protection, combating deforestation, protecting fragile environments,
conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity), control of pollution and the
management of biotechnology, and radioactive wastes.
 Section III: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups includes the roles of children
and youth, women, NGOs, local authorities, business and industry, and workers;
and strengthening the role of indigenous peoples, their communities, and farmers.
 Section IV: Means of Implementation: implementation includes science,
technology transfer, education, international institutions and financial
mechanisms.

8. World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002

 The World Summit on Sustainable Development, WSSD or ONG Earth Summit 2002
took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was
convened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations. WSSD gathered a
number of leaders from business and non-governmental organizations, 10 years after the
first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (It was therefore also informally nicknamed
“Rio+10”.)
 Johannesburg Summit 2002 – the World Summit on Sustainable Development – brought
together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of State and Government,
national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses
and other major groups to focus the world’s attention and direct action toward meeting
difficult challenges, including improving people’s lives and conserving our natural
resources in a world that is growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for
food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.

9. Rio Summit-2 2012

 The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as

Rio 2012, Rio+20, or Earth Summit 2012 was the third international conference on
sustainable development aimed at reconciling the economic and environmental goals of
the global community. Hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 22 June 2012,
Rio+20 was a 20-year follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit / United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in the same city, and the 10th
anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in
Johannesburg.
 The ten day mega-summit, which culminated in a three-day high-level UN conference,
was organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and
included participation from 192 UN member states — including 57 Heads of State and 31

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 Heads of Government, private sector companies, NGOs and other groups. The decision to
hold the conference was made by UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/236 on 24
December 2009. It was intended to be a high-level conference, including heads of state
and government or other representatives and resulting in a focused political document
designed to shape global environmental policy.
 The conference had three objectives:

 Securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development

 Assessing the progress and implementation gaps in meeting previous commitments.
 Addressing new and emerging challenges.

 The official discussions had two main themes:

 How to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out
of poverty, including support for developing countries that will allow them to find a
green path for development.
 How to improve international coordination for sustainable development by building
an institutional framework.

 The three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social improvement

and environmental protection; focusing on reducing poverty while promoting jobs
growth, clean energy and more fair, sustainable uses of resources; goals first established
at Earth Summit in 1992.

10. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

 The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the eight international development
goals that were established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in
2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 189
United Nations member states at the time (there are 193 currently), and at least 23
international organizations, committed to help achieve the following Millennium
Development Goals by 2015:

1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. To achieve universal primary education
3. To promote gender equality
4. To reduce child mortality
5. To improve maternal health
6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. To ensure environmental sustainability
8. To develop a global partnership for development

 Each goal has specific targets, and dates for achieving those targets. To accelerate
progress, the G8 finance ministers agreed in June 2005 to provide enough funds to the

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 World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank
(AfDB) to cancel $40 to $55 billion in debt owed by members of the heavily indebted
poor countries (HIPC) to allow them to redirect resources to programs for improving
health and education and for alleviating poverty.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

 Target 7A: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country

policies and programs; reverse loss of environmental resources
 Target 7B: Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction
in the rate of loss
o Proportion of land area covered by forest
o CO2 emissions, total, per capita and per $1 GDP (PPP)
o Consumption of ozone-depleting substances
o Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological limits
o Proportion of total water resources used
o Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected
o Proportion of species threatened with extinction
 Target 7C: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable
access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
o Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water
source, urban and rural
o Proportion of urban population with access to improved sanitation
 Target 7D: By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at
least 100 million slum-dwellers
o Proportion of urban population living in slums

(B) Sustainable Development Issues

1. Population Growth
 The number one environmental problem is the ever-growing human population. For most
of human history our numbers were small as was our input on Earth. With the advent of
agriculture, sanitation, modern medicine, and, especially, inexpensive energy sources
such as oil, we have proliferated to the point where our numbers are a problem. The total
environmental impact from people is estimated by the impact per person times the total
number of people. Therefore, as population increases, the total impact must also increase.
 What Is the Population Bomb? Overpopulation has been a problem in some areas of the
world for at least several hundred years, but it is now apparent that it is a global problem.
From 1830 to 1930, the world’s population doubled from 1 to 2 billion people. By 1970 it
had nearly doubled again, and by the year 2000 there were about 6 billion people on
Earth. The problem is sometimes called the population bomb, because the exponential
growth of the human population results in the explosive increase in the number of people.

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 How Many People Can Earth Comfortably Support? Because Earth’s population is
increasing exponentially, many scientists are concerned that in the twenty-first century it
will be impossible to supply resources and a high-quality environment for the billions of
people who may be added to the world population. Three billion more people by 2050,
with almost all of the growth in the developing countries, is cause for concern. Increasing
population at local, regional, and global levels compounds nearly all environmental
geology problems, including pollution of ground and surface waters; production and
management of hazardous waste; and exposure of people and human structures to natural
processes (hazards) such as floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
 Some studies suggest that the present population is already above a comfortable carrying
capacity for the planet. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of people Earth can
hold without causing environmental degradation that reduces the ability of the planet to
support the population. The role of education is paramount in the population problem. As
people (particularly women) become more educated, the population growth rate tends to
decrease. As the rate of literacy increases, population growth is reduced. Given the
variety of cultures, values, and norms in the world today, it appears that our greatest hope
for population control is, in fact, through education.

2. Poverty
 Poverty is defined as the inability to meet one’s basic economic needs. According to a
2000 World Bank study, half of humanity is trying to live on less than $2 (U.S.) per day,
and one of every five people on the planet is struggling to survive on an income of
roughly $1 (U.S.) per day. Millions of people in developing countries are homeless and
often must sleep on the streets.
 Many of the world’s poor do not have access to the basic necessities for a healthy,
productive, and decent life). Their daily lives are focused on getting enough food, water,
and fuel to survive. Desperate for land to grow enough food, many of the world’s poor
people deplete and degrade forests, soil, grasslands, and wildlife for short-term survival.
They do not have the luxury of worrying about long-term environmental quality or
sustainability.
 Poverty also affects population growth. Poor people often have many children as a form
of economic security. Their children help them gather fuel (mostly wood and dung), haul
drinking water, tend crops and livestock, work, and beg in the streets. The children also
help their parents survive in their old age before they die, typically in their fifties in the
poorest countries. The poor do not have retirement plans, social security, or government-
sponsored health plans
 Many of the world’s desperately poor die prematurely from four preventable health
problems. The first problem is malnutrition, caused by a lack of protein and other
nutrients needed for good health (Figure 1-12). The second problem is increased
susceptibility to normally nonfatal infectious diseases, such as diarrhea and measles,
caused by their weakened condition from malnutrition. A third factor is lack of access to
clean drinking water. A fourth factor is severe respiratory disease and premature death
from inhaling indoor air pollutants produced by burning wood or coal for heat and

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 cooking in open fires or in poorly vented stoves. According to the World Health
Organization, these four factors cause premature death for at least 7 million poor people
each year or about 800 people per hour.
 This premature death of about 19,200 humans per day is equivalent to 48 fully loaded
400-passenger jumbo jet planes crashing every day with no survivors! Two-thirds of
those dying are children younger than age 5. The daily news rarely covers this ongoing
human tragedy.

Solutions: Reducing Poverty

 Analysts point out that reducing poverty will require the governments of most developing
countries to make policy changes. For example, they need to shift more of the national
budget to help the rural and urban poor work their way out of poverty. They also need to
give villages, villagers, and the urban poor title to common lands and to crops and trees
they plant on them.
 One way to help reduce global poverty might be to forgive at least 60% of the $2.4
trillion debt that developing countries owe to developed countries and international
lending agencies, and all of the $422 billion debt of the poorest and most heavily indebted
countries. This would be done on the condition that the money saved on interest debt be
devoted to meeting basic human needs. Currently, developing countries pay almost $300
billion per year in interest to developed countries to service their debt.
 According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), it will cost about $50
billion per year to provide universal access to basic services such as education, health,
nutrition, family planning, safe water, and sanitation. This amount is less than 0.1% of the
world’s annual income and a mere fraction of what the world devotes each year to
military spending.

3. Biodiversity and its Conservations

 Biodiversity is a broad term that is used to describe the diversity of genes, species, and
ecosystems in a region. Biodiversity is lost when populations are greatly reduced in size,
when a species becomes extinct, or when ecosystems are destroyed or greatly modified.
Extinction is the death of a species—the elimination of all the individuals of a particular
kind.
 Extinction and loss of biodiversity are a major consequence of human domination of the
Earth. Over the past few hundred years, humans are estimated to have increased the
extinction rate by a factor of 1000 to 10,000 times above rates typical over the planet’s
history. About one eighth of bird species, one-fourth of mammal species, one-third of
amphibian species, and one-half of turtle species are threatened. Over 10 percent of the
world’s coral reefs have been lost. Nearly 60 percent of the remaining reefs are threatened
by human activity. Mangrove forests, which are found in swampy areas near the ocean,
are being reduced by over 1 percent per year. About 25 percent of the global land surface
has been converted to raising crops. Approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services
(closely linked to biodiversity) are being degraded or used unsustainably. These include

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 the maintenance of freshwater; the survival of fishery stocks; air and water purification;
and the regulation of regional and local climate, natural hazards, and pests.
 Climate change and excessive nutrient loading are two major factors affecting
biodiversity that are expected to become more severe in the future.
 Better protection of biodiversity and natural assets will require coordinated efforts across
all levels of government, business, and international institutions. The productivity of
ecosystems depends on policy choices in investment, trade, subsidy, taxation, and
regulation, among others.
 Genetic diversity is a term used to describe the number of different kinds of genes present
in a population or a species. High genetic diversity indicates that there are many different
kinds of genes present and that individuals within the population will have different
structures and abilities. Low genetic diversity indicates that nearly all the individuals in
the population have the same characteristics.
 Species diversity is a measure of the number of different species present in an area. Some
localities naturally have high species diversity, while others have low species diversity.
For example, it is well known that tropical rainforests have very high species diversity,
while Arctic regions have low species diversity.
 Ecosystem diversity is a measure of the number of kinds of ecosystems present in an area.
Many regions of the world appear to be quite uniform in terms of the kinds of ecosystems
present. For example, large parts of central Australia, North Africa, and southwestern
United States and adjacent Mexico are deserts. While there are general similarities (low
rainfall, thorny woody plants, and animals that can survive on little water), each of these
deserts is different and has specific organisms typical to the region.
 Our species is totally dependent on the diversity of organisms on Earth. It is important to
recognize that each organism is involved in a vast network of relationships with other
organisms. Symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in the roots of certain plants. Soil
building organisms live on the dead organic matter provided by plants and animals.
Animals eat plants or other animals. It is impossible to have an organism function
optimally unless it has its supporting cast of players that are part of the ecosystem.
 Overexploitation occurs when humans harvest organisms faster than the organisms are
able to reproduce. Overexploitation has driven some organisms to extinction and
threatens many others. According to the IUCN, overexploitation is responsible for over
30 percent of endangered species of animals and about 8 percent of plants. Organisms are
harvested for a wide variety of purposes. Animals of all kinds are killed and eaten as a
source of protein. We use organisms for a variety of purposes in addition to food. Many
plants and animals are used as ornaments. Flowers are picked, animal skins are worn, and
animal parts are used for their purported aphrodisiac qualities Because some people are
willing to pay huge amounts of money for these products, unscrupulous people are
willing to break the law and poach these animals for the quick profit they can realize.

What is being done to Preserve Biodiversity?

 Protection of biodiversity typically involves two kinds of activities: legal protections by
national laws and international agreements, and management of the use of species and

13
 ecosystems at sustainable levels. These management activities typically include the
establishment of regulations for hunting, fishing, and other uses.
 Efforts to preserve biodiversity involve a variety of approaches. Foremost among them is
the need to understand the life history of organisms so that effective measures can be
taken to protect species from extinction. Several international organizations work to
prevent the extinction of organisms. The IUCN lists over 16,000 species as threatened
with extinction. The IUCN classifies species in danger of extinction into four categories:
endangered, vulnerable, rare, and indeterminate. Endangered species are those whose
survival is unlikely if the conditions threatening their extinction continue. These
organisms need action by people to preserve them, or they will become extinct.
Vulnerable species are those that have decreasing populations and will become
endangered unless causal factors, such as habitat destruction, are eliminated. Rare species
are primarily those that have small worldwide populations and that could be at risk in the
future. Indeterminate species are those that are thought to be extinct, vulnerable, or rare,
but so little is known about them that they are impossible to classify.
 International efforts to preserve biodiversity have involved various activities of the
United Nations. Most countries of the world have ratified the Convention on Biological
Diversity, commonly known as the international biodiversity treaty. The United States is
one of five countries that have not ratified the convention. The United States signed the
treaty but it was not ratified by the U.S. Senate. Some of the key components of the
Convention on Biological Diversity are that the signatory countries will:

 Develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity.
 Identify components of biological diversity important for it conservation.
 Monitor biological diversity
 Identify activities that have adverse impacts on the conservation sustainable use of
biological diversity.
 Establish a system of protected areas.
 Rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of threatened
species.
 Develop or maintain necessary legislation for the protection of threatened species and
populations.
 Integrate consideration of the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources
into national decision making.

4. Energy Security (energy conservation and alternative energy sources)

 The amount of fossil fuels, especially petroleum, in Earth is finite. As a result, a transition
from oil will be necessary in the future.
 The origin of fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas—is intimately related to the geologic cycle.
These fuels are, essentially, solar energy stored in the form of organic material that has
been transformed by physical and biochemical processes after burial.

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Renewable Energy Sources
 Fossil fuels are the main energy sources used today; they supply approximately 90
percent of the global energy consumed by people. All other sources are designated
alternative energy and are subdivided into two groups: renewable energy and
nonrenewable energy. Nonrenewable alternative energy sources include nuclear energy
and geothermal energy, which were discussed previously. The renewable sources are
solar power, water or hydropower, hydrogen, wind power, and energy derived from
biomass. Use of alternative sources, particularly solar and wind power, is growing at
tremendous rates. Alternative energy sources have proven to be competitive with coal
burning, but they do not pollute our urban air, cause acid rain, or warm our climate to an
unacceptable level. Alternative renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power,
do not cause rapid or other climate change. Solar and wind power do not alter weather to
produce killer storms or droughts; nor do they raise sea levels around the world,
increasing coastal erosion and threatening low-lying areas, including islands. Alternative,
renewable energy sources offer our best chance to break our addiction to fossil fuels and
develop a sustainable energy policy that will not harm Earth.
 Renewable energy sources are usually discussed as a group because they are derivatives
of the Sun’s energy. That is, solar energy, broadly defined, comprises many of the
renewable energy sources. They are renewable because they are regenerated by the Sun
within a time period that is useful to people. Renewable energy sources have the
advantage of being inexhaustible and are often associated with minimal environmental
degradation. With the exception of burning biomass or its derivative, urban waste, solar
energy does not entail fuel burning and, therefore, does not pose a threat of increasing
atmospheric carbon dioxide and modifying the climate. Another important aspect of
renewable sources is that the lead time necessary to implement the technology is often
short, relative to the development of new sources or the construction of power plants that
utilize fossil or nuclear fuels.
 The total amount of solar energy reaching Earth’s surface is huge. On a global scale, 10
weeks of solar energy is roughly equivalent to the energy stored in all known reserves of
coal, oil, and natural gas on Earth. The average global recoverable solar power resource is
about 80 times the power now used by people on Earth.
 There has been a strong movement to change patterns of energy consumption through
measures such as conservation, increased efficiency, and cogeneration. Conservation of
energy refers to a moderation of our energy demand. Pragmatically, this means adjusting
our energy uses to minimize the expenditure of energy necessary to accomplish a given
task. Efficiency entails designing and using equipment that yields more power from a
given amount of energy, while wasting less energy. Finally, cogeneration refers to a
number of processes that capture and use some of the waste heat produced by power
generation and industrial operations, rather than simply releasing it into the atmosphere or
into water, where it may cause thermal pollution.
 The three concepts conservation, increased efficiency, and cogeneration are interrelated.
For example, when electricity is produced at large coal-burning power stations, sizable
amounts of heat may be emitted into the atmosphere. Typically, three units of fuel burn to

15
 produce one unit of electricity, an energy loss of about 67 percent. The use of a “unit of
fuel” is arbitrary. It could, for example, be a barrel of oil or a ton of coal. Cogeneration,
which involves recycling of that waste heat, can increase the efficiency of a typical power
plant from 33 percent to as high as 75 percent. Put another way, cogeneration reduces
energy loss from 67 percent to as little as 25 percent.

Sustainable Energy Policy

 Energy planning for the future is complicated; we know that burning fossil fuels is
degrading our global environment. We are seeking an new energy path because (1) the
age of cheap oil is coming to an end, and this is a reality, whether it comes this year or 20
years from now; (2) technology and economic opportunities are favorable for the
development and use of much more alternative, renewable energy; and (3) using much
less fossil fuel will help reduce environmental degradation by reducing emissions of
carbon dioxide and air pollutants and by increasing security. Although there is sufficient
coal to last hundreds of years, proponents would prefer to use sustainable energy coal as a
short, transitional energy source rather than as a long-term energy source. Others would
argue for greatly reducing the use of coal and using natural gas as the transitional energy
source to renewable sources. In their view, development of a sustainable energy policy
means finding useful sources of energy that can be maintained and that do not pollute the
atmosphere, cause climatic perturbations, such as global warming, or present
unacceptable risk.

5. Urbanisation and Sustainable Cities

 Urbanization is a population shift from rural to urban areas, “the gradual increase in the
proportion of people living in urban areas”, and the ways in which each society adapts to
the change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed and
become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas. The United
Nations projected that half of the world’s population would live in urban areas at the end
of 2008. It is predicted that by 2050 about 64% of the developing world and 86% of the
developed world will be urbanized. That is equivalent to approximately 3 billion
urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in Africa and Asia. Notably, the United
Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global population growth from 2015 to
2030 will be absorbed by cities, about 1.1 new urbanites over the next 15 years.
 Urbanization is relevant to a range of disciplines, including geography, sociology,
economics, urban planning, and public health. The phenomenon has been closely linked
to modernization, industrialization, and the sociological process of rationalization.
 A sustainable city or eco-city (also ecocity”) is a city designed with consideration of
environmental impact, inhabited by people dedicated to minimization of required inputs
of energy, water and food, and waste output of heat, air pollution - CO2, methane, and
water pollution. Richard Register first coined the term “ecocity” in his 1987 book,
Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future.

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 Ideally, a sustainable city creates an enduring way of life across the four domains of
ecology, economics, politics and culture. However, minimally a sustainable city should
firstly be able to feed itself with a sustainable reliance on the surrounding countryside.
Secondly, it should be able to power itself with renewable sources of energy. The crux of
this is to create the smallest possible ecological footprint, and to produce the lowest
quantity of pollution possible, to efficiently use land; compost used materials, recycle it
or convert waste-to-energy, and thus the city’s overall contribution to climate change will
be minimal, if such practices are adhered to.

6. Carrying Capacity and Ecological Footprint

 Carrying capacity is a concept related to sustainability. It is usually defined as the

maximum number of individuals of a species that can be sustained by an environment
without decreasing the capacity of the environment to sustain that same number in the
future.
 There are limits to the Earth’s potential to support humans. If we used Earth’s total
photosynthetic potential with present technology and efficiency to support 6.8 billion
people, Earth could support a human population of about 15 billion. However, in doing
this, we would share our land with very little else. When we ask “What is the maximum
number of people that Earth can sustain?” we are asking not just about Earth’s carrying
capacity but also about sustainability.

The Ecological Footprint Concept

 The environmental impact of the developed world is often underestimated because the
population in these countries is relatively stable and local environmental conditions are
good. However, developed countries purchase goods and services from other parts of the
world, often degrading environmental conditions in less-developed countries. Thus, the
environmental impact of highly developed regions such as North America, Japan,
Australia, New Zealand, and Europe is often felt in distant places, while the impact on
resources in the developed region may be minimal.
 This has led to the development of the concept of the ecological footprint of a society.
The ecological footprint is a measure of the land area required to provide the resources
and absorb the wastes of a population. Most of the more-developed countries of the world
have a much larger ecological footprint than is represented by their land area. For
example, Japan has a highly developed economy but few resources. Thus, it must import
most of the materials it needs. One study calculated that the ecological impact of Japan is
nearly five times larger than its locally available resources. The same study estimated that
the ecological footprint of the United States is 1.5 times locally available resources.
 It is clear that as the world human population continues to increase, it will become more
difficult to limit the environmental degradation that accompanies it. Since much of the
population growth will occur in the less-developed areas of the world that have weak

17
 economies, the money to invest in pollution control, health programs, and sustainable
agricultural practices will not be present.
 While controlling world population growth would not eliminate all environmental
problems, it could reduce the rate at which environmental degradation is occurring. It is
also generally believed that the quality of life for many people in the world would
improve if their populations grew less rapidly. Why, then, does the human population
continue to grow at such a rapid rate?

7. Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture

 Famine is one of the things that happen when a human population exceeds its
environmental resources. Famines have occurred in recent decades in Africa. In the mid-
1970s, following a drought in the Sahel region, 500,000 Africans starved to death and
several million more were permanently affected by malnutrition. Starvation in African
nations gained worldwide attention some ten years later, in the 1980s.
 Famine in Africa has had multiple interrelated causes. One, as suggested, is drought.
Although drought is not new to Africa, the size of the population affected by drought is
new. In addition, deserts in Africa appear to be spreading, in part because of changing
climate but also because of human activities. Poor farming practices have increased
erosion, and deforestation may be helping to make the environment drier. In addition, the
control and destruction of food have sometimes been used as a weapon in political
disruptions. Today, malnutrition contributes to the death of about 6 million children per
year. Low- and middle-income countries suffer the most from malnutrition, as measured
by low weight for age
 Famines in Africa illustrate another key theme: people and nature. People affect the
environment, and the environment affects people. The environment affects agriculture,
and agriculture affects the environment. Human population growth in Africa has severely
stretched the capacity of the land to provide sufficient food and has threatened its future
productivity.
 The emerging global food crisis in the first decade of the 21st century has not been caused
by war or drought but by rising food costs. The cost of basic items, such as rice, corn, and
wheat, has risen to the point where low and moderate-income countries are experiencing a
serious crisis. In 2007 and 2008, food riots occurred in many locations, including Mexico,
Haiti, Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, India, and Sudan. The rising cost of oil used to produce
food (in fertilizer, transportation, working fields, etc.) and the conversion of some corn
production to biofuels have been blamed. This situation involves yet another key theme:
science and values.
 Scientific knowledge has led to increased agricultural production and to a better
understanding of population growth and what is required to conserve natural resources.
With this knowledge, we are forced to confront a choice: Which is more important, the
survival of people alive today or conservation of the environment on which future food
production and human life depend?

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 Answering this question demands value judgments and the information and knowledge
with which to make such judgments. For example, we must determine whether we can
continue to increase agricultural production without destroying the very environment on
which agriculture and, indeed, the persistence of life on Earth depend. Put another way, a
technical, scientific investigation provides a basis for a value judgment. The human
population continues to grow, but humans’ effects on the environment are growing even
faster. People cannot escape the laws of population. The broad science and- values
question is: What will we do about the increase in our own species and its impact on our
planet and on our future?

Alternatives to Conventional Agriculture

 Before the invention of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and other
agrochemicals, animal manure and crop rotation provided soil nutrients; a mixture of
crops prevented regular pest problems; and manual labor killed insects and weeds. With
the development of mechanization, larger areas could be farmed, draft animals were no
longer needed, and many farmers changed from mixed agriculture, in which animals were
an important ingredient, to monoculture. Chemical fertilizers replaced manure as a source
of soil nutrients, and crop rotation was no longer as important, since hay and grain were
no longer grown for draft animals and cattle. The larger fields of crops such as corn,
wheat, and cotton presented opportunities for pest problems to develop, and chemical
pesticides were used to “solve” this problem.
 Today, many people feel current agricultural practices are not sustainable and that we
should look for ways to reduce reliance on fertilizer and pesticides, while ensuring good
yields and controlling the pests that compete with us for the food that we raise. Several
alternative approaches have somewhat different but overlapping goals. Some of the terms
used to describe these approaches are: alternative agriculture, sustainable agriculture,
and organic agriculture. Alternative agriculture is the broadest term. It includes all
nontraditional agricultural methods and encompasses sustainable agriculture, organic
agriculture, alternative uses of traditional crops, alternative methods for raising crops, and
producing crops for industrial use. The sustainable agriculture movement maintains that
current practices are degrading natural resources and seeks methods to produce adequate,
safe food in an economically viable manner while enhancing the health of agricultural
land and related ecosystems.

Sustainable Agriculture
 There has been a growing interest in sustainable agriculture. There has also been a
growing amount of misleading information surrounding sustainable agriculture. In recent
decades, sustainable farmers and researchers around the world have responded to the
extractive industrial model with ecology-based approaches, variously called natural,
organic, low-input, alternative, regenerative, holistic, biodynamic, bio intensive, and
biological farming systems. All of them, representing thousands of farms, have
contributed to our understanding of what sustainable systems are, and all share a vision of
“farming with nature” and agro-ecology that promotes biodiversity, recycles plant

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 nutrients, protects soil erosion, conserves and protects water, uses minimum tillage, and
integrates crop and livestock enterprises on the farm.
 But no matter how elegant the system or how accomplished the farmer, no agriculture is
sustainable it it’s not also profitable and able to provide a healthy family income and a
good quality of life. Sustainable practices lend themselves to smaller, family scale farms.
These farms, in turn, tend to find their best niches in local markets, within local food
systems, often selling directly to consumers. As alternatives to industrial agriculture
evolve, so must their markets and the farmers who serve them. Creating and serving new
markets remains one of the key challenges for sustainable agriculture.
 Sustainable agriculture is a method of agriculture that does not deplete soil, water, air,
wildlife, or human community resources. Sustainable agriculture is a term used globally
to refer to farming practices that strive for this ideal as opposed to methods that rely
heavily on products such as gasoline, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. A growing
number of farmers throughout the world are growing all of the major food groups (grains,
dairy, meat, vegetables, fruit) using sustainable methods. Though yields differ by crop
and growing region, in general, sustainable methods do achieve average yields.
 There are many different types of sustainable pest and weed control practices. They are,
however, guided by some general principles. These include:
 Keeping insecticide, herbicide, fungicide, and fertilizer to a minimum.
 Biological diversity (many different types of plants and animals) should be
encouraged.
 Healthy, biologically active soils lead to healthier, more insect- and disease-resistant
plants and animals.
 Natural or supplemented populations of beneficial insects (good bugs) will keep pests
(bad bugs) below economically damaging levels. Many sustainable farmers purposely
grow plants that will attract beneficial insects.
 Fertile soils have a balanced mix of minerals, organic matter, microorganisms, and
macro organisms (like earthworms).
 Sustainable farmers try to keep these components in balance by adding compost,
minerals, and naturally occurring fertilizers (like blood meal or bat guano) and by
plowing back into the soil crop residues or crops grown specifically for fertility.

8. Ecological Restorations

 Ecological restoration is the part of ecosystem management that deals with the recovery
of ecosystems that have been damaged by human activities. It is a relatively new field.
 Ecological restoration is defined as providing assistance to the recovery of an ecosystem
that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. As such, ecological restoration is applied
science and derives from the science of restoration ecology. Some general principles for
restoration are listed below.
 Ecosystems are dynamic, not static (change and natural disturbance are expected).
 No simple set of rules will be applicable to a specific restoration project.
 Adaptive management, using the best science, is necessary for restoration to succeed.

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  Careful consideration of ecosystems (life), geology (rocks, soils), and hydrology
(water) plays an important role in all restoration projects.

 Ecosystems of all types have undergone degradation and need restoration. However,
certain kinds of ecosystems have undergone especially widespread loss and degradation
and are therefore a focus of attention today. Table 9.2 gives examples of ecosystems that
are commonly restored.
 Attention has focused on forests, wetlands, and grasslands, especially the North American
prairie; streams and rivers and the riparian zones alongside them; lakes; beaches; and
habitats of threatened and endangered species. Also included are areas that people desire
to restore for aesthetic and moral reasons, showing once again that restoration involves
values. In this section, we briefly discuss the restoration of rivers and streams, wetlands,
and prairies.
 Rivers and streams and wetlands probably are restored more frequently than any other
systems. Thousands of streams have been degraded by urbanization, agriculture, timber
harvesting, and channelization (shortening, widening, and even paving over or confining
the channel to culverts). In North America, large areas of both freshwater and coastal
wetlands have been greatly altered during the past 200 years. It is estimated that
California, for example, has lost more than 90% of its wetlands, both freshwater and
coastal, and that the total wetland loss for the United States is about 50%. Not only the
United States has suffered; wetlands around the world are affected.

 Ecological restoration is the process of helping degraded ecosystems to recover and

become more self-sustaining, and therefore able to pass through their natural range of
conditions.
 Overarching goals of ecological restoration are to help transform degraded ecosystems
into sustainable ecosystems and to develop new relationships between the natural and
human-modified environments.
 Restoration of damaged ecosystems is a relatively new emphasis in environmental
sciences that is developing into a new field. Restoration involves a combination of human
activities and natural processes. It is also a social activity.

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 Disturbance, change, and variation in the environment are natural, and ecological systems
and species have evolved in response to these changes. These natural variations must be
part of the goals of restoration.
C. Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental Science

Orientation on Convergence of various Social and Natural Science to

evolve New Discipline of Environmental science:

 Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical,

biological and information sciences (including but not limited to ecology, biology,
physics, chemistry, zoology, mineralogy, oceanology, limnology, soil science, geology,
atmospheric science, and geodesy) to the study of the environment, and the solution of
environmental problems.
 Related areas of study include environmental studies and environmental engineering.
Environmental studies incorporates more of the social sciences for understanding human
relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. Environmental
engineering focuses on design and technology for improving environmental quality in
every aspect. Environmental scientists work on subjects like the understanding of earth
processes, evaluating alternative energy systems, pollution control and mitigation, natural
resource management, and the effects of global climate change. Environmental issues
almost always include an interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes.
Environmental scientists bring a systems approach to the analysis of environmental
problems. Key elements of an effective environmental scientist include the ability to
relate space, and time relationships as well as quantitative analysis.

(1) Environmental Biology

 Environmental biology is similar to ecology. But while both fields study ecosystems,
environmental biology places more emphasis on the biological aspect. Also, while
ecology often focuses on the interactions between species in the same ecosystem,
environmental biology focuses on the impacts of human activities on those ecosystems
and the species living in them.
 An environmental biologist investigates the impacts of actions, pollutants, and conditions
on wild communities. They usually focus on ecosystems rather than a particular species.
For example, they may study “indicator species” like worms that live at the bottom of
rivers, lakes, and streams to assess overall ecosystem health. They may delineate
wetlands areas, assess water quality, or investigate the impacts of a proposed
development project.

(2) Environmental Chemistry

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 Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical
phenomena that occur in natural places. It can be defined as the study of the sources,
reactions, transport, effects, and fates of chemical species in the air, soil, and water
environments; and the effect of human activity and biological activity on these.
Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary science that includes atmospheric, aquatic
and soil chemistry, as well as heavily relying on analytical chemistry and being related to
environmental and other areas of science.
 Environmental chemistry is the study of chemical processes occurring in the environment
which are impacted by humankind’s activities. These impacts may be felt on a local scale,
through the presence of urban air pollutants or toxic substances arising from a chemical
waste site, or on a global scale, through depletion of stratospheric ozone or global
warming. The focus in our courses and research activities is upon developing a
fundamental understanding of the nature of these chemical processes, so that
humankind’s activities can be accurately evaluated.
 Environmental chemistry involves first understanding how the uncontaminated
environment works, which chemicals in what concentrations are present naturally, and
with what effects. Without this it would be impossible to accurately study the effects
humans have on the environment through the release of chemicals.
 Environmental chemists draw on a range of concepts from chemistry and various
environmental sciences to assist in their study of what is happening to a chemical species
in the environment. Important general concepts from chemistry include understanding
chemical reactions and equations, solutions, units, sampling, and analytical techniques.

(3) Environmental Physics

 Environmental Physics describes the application of broad science of physics (the study
of the fundamental laws of nature pertaining to matter, energy, motion, and force) to
environmental questions. Some aspect of physics is important in nearly every
environmental issue, though few environment problems are solvable through just the
application of physics.
 While physics in most often brought to bear on environmental issues through
its application by scientists trained in other fields such as chemistry, engineering, and
geology, a growing number of physicists are applying their knowledge and skills to
environmental issues and are recognized a community of environmental physicists.
 Normally, environmental issues are tackled by combining the environmental components
of various sciences into an integrated and holistic scientific approach is often termed
“environmental science.” Environmental physics can be viewed a fundamental part of
environmental science.
 Environmental science includes (the following are a sampling and not comprehensive):
[1] disciplinary and interdisciplinary natural sciences such as: atmospheric sciences,
many branches of chemistry, biology, botany, climatology, ecology, hydrology,
geography, geology, geophysics, acoustics, limnology, ornithology, marine biology,
oceanography, soil science, toxicology; [2] social sciences such as anthropology,

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 economics, demography, environmental ethics, environmnetal history, environmental
law, and public policy; and [3] a recognition of numerous forms of engineering; and [4] a
recognition of relevant non-sciences like politics.
 The purpose of this article is to outline in general terms a few of aspects of physics that
are relevent to the study of the environment and some of the environmental issues to
which they are applied. Follow the key word links in this article to learn more about both
the physics and the environmental issues.

(4) Environmental Microbiology

 Environmental microbiology is the study of microbial processes in the environment,

microbial communities and microbial interactions. This includes:

 Structure and activities of microbial communities

 Microbial interactions and interactions with macroorganisms
 Population biology of microorganisms
 Microbes and surfaces (adhesion and biofilm formation)
 Microbial community genetics and evolutionary processes
 (Global) element cycles and biogeochemical processes
 Microbial life in extreme and unusual little-explored environments

 Environmental microbiology is the study of the composition and physiology of microbial

communities in the environment. The environment in this case means the soil, water, air
and sediments covering the planet and can also include the animals and plants that inhabit
these areas. Environmental microbiology also includes the study of microorganisms that
exist in artificial environments such as bioreactors.
 Molecular biology has revolutionized the study of microorganisms in the environment
and improved our understanding of the composition, phylogeny, and physiology of
microbial communities. The current molecular toolbox encompasses a range of DNA-
based technologies and new methods for the study of RNA and proteins extracted from
environmental samples. Currently there is a major emphasis on the application of “omics”
approaches to determine the identities and functions of microbes inhabiting different
environments.
 Microbial life is amazingly diverse and microorganisms literally cover the planet. It is
estimated that we know fewer than 1% of the microbial species on Earth. Microorganisms
can survive in some of the most extreme environments on the planet and some can
survive high temperatures, often above 100°C, as found in geysers, black smokers, and oil
wells. Some are found in very cold habitats and others in highly salt|saline, acidic, or
alkaline water.
 An average gram of soil contains approximately one billion (1,000,000,000) microbes
representing probably several thousand species. Microorganisms have special impact on
the whole biosphere. They are the backbone of ecosystems of the zones where light
cannot approach. In such zones, chemosynthetic bacteria are present which provide
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 energy and carbon to the other organisms there. Some microbes are decomposers which
have ability to recycle the nutrients. So, microbes have a special role in biogeochemical
cycles. Microbes, especially bacteria, are of great importance in the sense that their
symbiotic relationship (either positive or negative) have special effects on the ecosystem.
 Microorganisms are cost effective agents for in-situ remediation of domestic, agricultural
and industrial wastes and subsurface pollution in soils, sediments and marine
environments. The ability of each microorganism to degrade toxic waste depends on the
nature of each contaminant. Since most sites are typically comprised of multiple pollutant
types, the most effective approach to microbial biodegradation is to use a mixture of
bacterial species/strains, each specific to the degradation of one or more types of
contaminants. It is vital to monitor the composition of the indigenous and added bacterial
consortium in order to evaluate the activity level of the bacteria, and to permit
modifications of the nutrients and other conditions for optimizing the bioremediation
process.

(5) Environmental Toxicology

 Environmental toxicology, also known as entox, is a multidisciplinary field of science

concerned with the study of the harmful effects of various chemical, biological and
physical agents on living organisms. Ecotoxicology is a sub discipline of environmental
toxicology concerned with studying the harmful effects of toxicants at the population and
ecosystem levels.
 Organisms can be introduced to toxicants at various stages of their life cycle. The degree
of toxicity can vary depending on where the organism is found within its food web.
Bioaccumulation occurs when molecular compounds are stored in an organism’s fatty
tissues. Over time, this leads to the establishment of a trophic cascade and the bio
magnification of specific toxicants. Biodegradation releases CO2 and water as by-
products into the environment. This process is typically limited in areas affected by
environmental toxicants.
 Harmful effects of chemical and biological agents can include toxicants from pollutants,
insecticides, pesticides, and fertilizers, all of which can impact an organism and its
community through shifts in species diversity and abundance. Resulting changes in
population dynamics impact the ecosystem by altering its productivity and stability.

(6) Environmental Economics

 Environmental Economics is a sub-field of economics that is concerned with

environmental issues. Quoting from the National Bureau of Economic Research
Environmental Economics program:

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 “[...] Environmental Economics [...] undertakes theoretical or empirical studies of the
economic effects of national or local environmental policies around the world [...].
Particular issues include the costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies to
deal with air pollution, water quality, toxic substances, solid waste, and global warming.”

 Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources.

 Note that the theories of economics can be applied to any scarce resource, not just
traditional commodities.
 Economics is not simply about profits or money. It applies anywhere constraints
are faced, so that choices must be made.
 Economists study how incentives affect people’s behavior.

 Environmental and natural resource economics is the application of the principles of

economics to the study of how environmental and natural resources are developed and
managed.

 Natural resources – resources provided by nature that can be divided into

increasingly smaller units and allocated at the margin.
 Environmental resources – resources provided by nature that are indivisible.
 Natural resources serve as inputs to the economic system. Environmental
resources are affected by the system (e.g. pollution).

Why Study Environmental Economics?

 In general, prices reflect the relative scarcity of goods.
o However, in environmental economics, markets, and thus prices, often do not
exist.
 What aspects of environmental and natural resource economics make it unique?
1. Market failures
 When market failures exist, government intervention may be appropriate.
2. Dynamics
 The decision to consume a good today typically does not affect the ability
to consume it tomorrow. However, the decision to use natural resources
today does affect what will be available tomorrow.
 Note that prices will influence this.
 Higher prices both provide incentives to conserve resources,
encourage exploration for new sources, and the development of
technologies to better obtain resources.
3. Irreversibility
 Damage to natural resources has long-term effects. For example, if the
Grand Canyon were flooded, future generations would be unable to enjoy
its beauty. This is not as large a problem for normal consumer goods.
4. Linkages between the economic and ecological system

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  An interdisciplinary understanding of the environment, political science,
etc. necessary to be a good environmental economist.

(7) Environmental Geology

 Environmental geology, like hydrogeology, is an applied science concerned with the

practical application of the principles of geology in the solving of environmental
problems. It is a multidisciplinary field that is closely related to engineering geology and,
to a lesser extent, to environmental geography. Each of these fields involves the study of
the interaction of humans with the geologic environment, including the biosphere, the
lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and to some extent the atmosphere. In other words,
environmental geology is the application of geological information to solve conflicts,
minimizing possible adverse environmental degradation or maximizing possible
advantageous condition resulting from the use of natural and modified environment.
 Environmental geology includes:
 managing geological and hydrogeological resources such as fossil fuels, minerals,
water (surface and ground water), and land use.
 studying the earth’s surface through the disciplines of geomorphology, and
edaphology;
 defining and mitigating exposure of natural hazards on humans
 managing industrial and domestic waste disposal and minimizing or eliminating
effects of pollution, and,
 performing associated activities, often involving litigation.

(8) Environmental Geography

 Integrated geography (also, integrative geography, environmental geography or human–

environment geography) is the branch of geography that describes and explains the spatial
aspects of interactions between human individuals or societies and their natural
environment, called coupled human–environment systems.
 The links between human and physical geography were once more readily apparent than
they are today. As human experience of the world is increasingly mediated by
technology, the relationships have often become obscured. Thereby, integrated geography
represents a critically important set of analytical tools for assessing the impact of human
presence on the environment by measuring the result of human activity on natural
landforms and cycles. It hence is considered the third branch of geography, as compared
to physical and human geography.

(9) Environmental Biotechnology

 Environmental biotechnology is biotechnology that is applied to and used to study the

natural environment. Environmental biotechnology could also imply that one try to
harness biological process for commercial uses and exploitation. The International

27
 Society for Environmental Biotechnology defines environmental biotechnology as “the
development, use and regulation of biological systems for remediation of contaminated
environments (land, air, water), and for environment-friendly processes (green
manufacturing technologies and sustainable development)”
 Environmental biotechnology can simply be described as “the optimal use of nature, in
the form of plants, animals, bacteria, fungi and algae, to produce renewable energy, food
and nutrients in a synergistic integrated cycle of profit making processes where the waste
of each process becomes the feedstock for another process”.
 Consider an environment in which pollution of a particular type is maximum. Let us
consider the effluents of a starch industry which has mixed up with a local water body
like a lake or pond. We find huge deposits of starch which are not so easily taken up for
degradation by micro-organisms except for a few exemptions. We isolate a few micro-
organisms from the polluted site and scan for any significant changes in their genome like
mutations or evolutions. The modified genes are then identified. This is done because the
isolate would have adapted itself to degrade/utilize the starch better than other microbes
of the same genus. Thus, the resultant genes are cloned onto industrially significant
micro-organisms and are used for more economically significant processes like in
pharmaceutical industry, fermentations...etc.
 Humans have been manipulating genetic material for centuries. Although many benefits
are provided by these manipulations, there can also be unexpected, negative health and
environmental outcomes. Environmental biotechnology, then, is all about the balance
between the applications that provide for these and the implications of manipulating
genetic material. Textbooks address both the applications and implications.
Environmental engineering texts addressing sewage treatment and biological principles
are often now considered to be environmental biotechnology texts. These generally
address the applications of biotechnologies, whereas the implications of these
technologies are less often addressed; usually in books concerned with potential impacts
and even catastrophic events.

(10) Environmental Sociology

 Environmental sociology is typically defined as the sociological study of societal-

environmental interactions, although this definition immediately presents the perhaps
insolvable problem of separating human cultures from the rest of the environment.
Although the focus of the field is the relationship between society and environment in
general, environmental sociologists typically place special emphasis on studying the
social factors that cause environmental problems, the societal impacts of those problems,
and efforts to solve the problems. In addition, considerable attention is paid to the social
processes by which certain environmental conditions become socially defined as
problems.

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 The association between societal well-being and environmental quality is an important
topic of Sociological inquiry. Environmental Sociology as a sub discipline within
Sociology explores the various forms of interaction between human society and the
environment. Environmental Sociologists seek to understand a variety of topics, including
agrifood systems, environmentalism as a social movement, the ways in which societal
members perceive environmental problems, the origins of human-induced environmental
decline, the relationship between population dynamics, health, and the environment, and
the role that elites play in harming the environment. The inequitable social distribution of
environmental hazards is another central area of Environmental Sociological research,
with scholars examining the processes by which socially disadvantaged populations come
to experience greater exposures to myriad environmental hazards including natural
disasters.

D. Environmental Pollution

1. Air Pollution

 As the fastest-moving dynamic medium in the environment, the atmosphere has always
been one of the most convenient places for people to dispose of unwanted materials. Ever
since humans first used fire, the atmosphere has, all too often, been a sink for waste
disposal. With the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the past two centuries,
atmospheric circulation has often proved inadequate to dissipate human wastes, and urban
air, in particular, has become increasingly polluted.
 Chemical pollutants can be thought of as compounds that are either in the wrong place or
in the wrong concentrations at the wrong time. As long as a chemical is transported away
or degraded rapidly relative to its rate of production, there is no pollution problem.
Pollutants that enter the atmosphere through natural or artificial emissions may be
degraded by natural processes within the atmosphere, as well as by the hydrologic and
geochemical cycles. Conversely, pollutants in the atmosphere may become pollutants in
the hydrologic and geochemical cycles.

Sources of Air Pollution

 The two primary types of air pollution sources are stationary and mobile. Stationary
sources include those with a relatively fixed location, such as point sources, fugitive
sources, and area sources. Point sources emit air pollutants from one or more discrete
controllable sites, such as the smokestacks of industrial power plants. Fugitive sources
generate air pollutants from open areas exposed to wind processes. Examples include dirt
roads, construction sites, farmlands, storage piles, and surface mines. Area sources are
locations that emit air pollutants from several sources within a well-defined area, as, for
example, small urban communities or areas of intense industrialization within an urban
complex. Mobile sources move from place to place while yielding emissions. Mobile
sources of pollution include automobiles, aircraft, ships, and trains.

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Air Pollutants
 The major air pollutants occur either in gaseous form or as particulate matter (PM). The
gaseous pollutants include sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx, where x
represents a variable number of oxygen atoms, usually 1, 2, or 3), carbon monoxide (CO),
ozone (O3), volatile organic compounds (referred to as VOCs), hydrogen sulfide (H2S),
and hydrogen fluoride (HF). Particulate-matter pollutants are particles of organic or
inorganic solid or liquid substances. Those that are less than 10 μm (i.e.,10 millionths of a
meter) in diameter are designated PM 10. Those that are less than 2.5 μm in diameter are
designated PM 2.5. We will discuss particulates in some detail, as they often have
significant geologic components .
Air Toxins
 Air pollutants known to cause cancer or other serious health problems are classified as air
toxins. This category of air pollutants is classified by (1) whether they cause cancer and
(2) their tendency to cause respiratory, reproductive, neurological, or immune diseases.
Toxicity is based on exposure to an air toxin by breathing the pollutant. The extent to
which a specific toxin affects the health of an individual depends on the toxicity of the
pollutant, the frequency and duration of exposure, the concentration of the pollutant a
person is exposed to, and the general health of the person. More than 150 chemicals,
including ammonia, chlorine gases, and hydrogen sulfide, are evaluated for toxicity.

Primary and Secondary Pollutants

 Air pollutants may be classified as primary and secondary, according to their origin.
Primary pollutants are emitted directly into the air and include particulate matter, sulfur
oxides, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons. Secondary pollutants are
produced when primary pollutants react with normal atmospheric compounds. For
example, ozone forms over urban areas through reactions among primary pollutants,
sunlight, and natural atmospheric gases. Thus, ozone becomes a serious secondary
pollution problem on bright, sunny days in areas with abundant primary pollution.
 The primary pollutants that account for nearly all air pollution problems are carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulates.
Each year, about 50 million metric tons of these materials enter the atmosphere of the
United States as a result of human-related processes. At first glance, this amount of
pollutants appears to be very large. However, if uniformly distributed in the atmosphere,
this would amount to only a few parts per million by weight. Unfortunately, pollutants are
not uniformly distributed but tend to be released, produced, and concentrated locally or
regionally. For example, large cities’ weather and climatic conditions combine with
urbanization and industrialization to produce local air pollution problems.

Smog Production
 Wherever many sources are producing air pollutants over a wide area—as, for example,
automobiles in Los Angeles—there is the potential for the development of smog. The two
major types of smog are sulfurous smog, sometimes referred to as London type smog or

30
 gray air, and photochemical smog, sometimes called L.A.-type smog or brown air.
Sulfurous smog is primarily produced by burning coal or oil at large power plants. Under
certain meteorological conditions, the sulfur oxides and particulates produced by this
burning combine to produce concentrated sulfurous smog.
 Reactions that produce photochemical smog are complex, involving nitrogen oxides
(NOx), hydrocarbons, and solar radiation. Development of photochemical smog is related
to automobile use. In southern California, for example, when commuter traffic begins to
build up early in the morning, the concentrations of nitrogen oxide (NO) and
hydrocarbons begin to increase. At the same time, the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
may decrease, due to the sunlight-driven reaction of NO2 that produces NO plus atomic
oxygen (O). The atomic oxygen is then free to combine with molecular oxygen to form
ozone (O3), increasing ozone levels after sunrise. By midmorning, oxidized hydrocarbons
react with NO to increase the concentration of NO2. This reaction causes the NO
concentration to decrease and allows

2. Water Pollution

 Water pollution refers to degradation of water quality as measured by biological,

chemical, or physical criteria. This degradation is judged according to the intended use of
the water, its departure from the norm, and public health or ecological impacts. From a
public health or ecological point of view, a pollutant is any substance that, in excess, is
known to be harmful to desirable living organisms. In fact, the primary water pollution
problem facing billions of people today, especially in the developing world, is the lack of
clean drinking water that is free of disease- causing organisms or substances.
 The greatest water pollution problem in the world today is lack of disease-free drinking
water for about 20 percent of the world’s population. Another 20 percent have poor
sanitation conditions that favor waterborne diseases that kill about 2 million people a
year. Most of the deaths are of children under age 5. Chemical pollution is also an
emerging problem on a global scale that occurs almost every place where people live.
Agricultural, industrial, and municipal processes release chemical pollutants whose long-
term effects on the environment and human health are largely unknown.

Selected Water Pollutants

 Many materials can pollute surface water or groundwater. Our discussion will focus on
oxygen-demanding waste; pathogenic, or disease-causing, microorganisms; nutrients; oil;
synthetic organic chemicals; heavy metals; radioactive materials; and sediment. We will
also discuss a nonmaterial form of pollution: thermal pollution.

Oxygen-Demanding Waste
 Dead plant and animal matter, called organic matter, in streams decays over time; that is,
it is consumed by bacteria, which require oxygen. These are called aerobic bacteria,
meaning they require oxygen to live. If there is enough bacterial activity, the oxygen in
the water can be reduced to levels so low that fish and other organisms die. The amount

31
 of oxygen used for bacterial decomposition is the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), a
commonly used measure in water-quality management. A high BOD indicates a high
level of decaying organic matter in the water.
 Dead organic matter in streams and rivers comes from natural sources, such as fallen
leaves, as well as from agriculture and urban sewage. Approximately 33 percent of all
BOD results from agricultural activities, but urban areas, particularly those with sewer
systems that combine sewage and storm water runoff, may add considerable BOD to
streams during floods. Sewers entering treatment plants can be overloaded and overflow
into streams, producing pollution.

Pathogenic Organisms
 Pathogenic microbes or microorganisms, which are those that can be seen only with a
microscope, are important biological pollutants. Cholera, typhoid infections, hepatitis,
and dysentery are all waterborne diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms. It is
often difficult to monitor the pathogens directly; instead, the level of human fecal
coliform bacteria is used as a common measure of biological pollution and as a standard
measure of microbial pollution. Fecal coliform bacteria are usually harmless, are part of
the normal constituents of human intestines, and are found in all human waste.
 However, not all forms of fecal coliform bacteria are harmless. Escherichia coli (also
known as E. coli 0157), a strain of E. coli bacteria, has been responsible for human
illnesses and deaths. E. coli 0157, which causes over 70,000 illnesses and 60 deaths in the
United States each year, produces strong toxins in humans that may lead to bloody
diarrhea, dehydration, kidney failure, and death. In 1993, outbreaks of disease, apparently
caused by E. coli 0157, occurred as a result of people’s consumption of contaminated
meat at a popular fast-food restaurant. In 1998, E. coli apparently contaminated the water
in a Georgia water park and a Wyoming town’s water supply, causing illness and one
death.

Nutrients
 Nutrients released by human activity may lead to water pollution. Two important
nutrients that can cause problems are phosphorus and nitrogen, both of which are released
from a variety of materials, including fertilizers, detergents, and the products of sewage
treatment plants. The concentration of phosphorus and nitrogen in streams is related to
land use. Forested land has the lowest concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen, while
the highest concentrations are found in agricultural areas, such as fertilized farm fields
and feedlots. Urban areas can also add phosphorus and nitrogen to local waters,
particularly where wastewater-treatment plants discharge treated waters into rivers, lakes,
or the ocean. These plants are effective in reducing organic pollutants and pathogens, but
without advanced treatment, nutrients pass through the system.
 High human-caused concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in water often result in the
process known as cultural eutrophication. Eutrophication (from the Greek for “well fed”),
a natural process, is characterized by a rapid increase in the abundance of plant life,
particularly algae. Blooms of algae form thick mats that sometimes nearly cover the

32
 surface of the water in freshwater ponds and lakes. The algae block sunlight to plants
below, and those plants eventually die. In addition, the algae consume oxygen as they
decompose, thereby lowering the oxygen content of the water, and fish and aquatic
animals may die as well.

Oil
 Oil discharged into surface water (i.e., rivers, lakes, and the ocean) has caused major
pollution problems. The largest oil discharges have usually involved oil-tanker accidents
at sea. For example, just after midnight on March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez
ran aground on Bligh Reef, 40 km (25 mi) south of Valdez, Alaska, in Prince William
Sound. Crude oil poured out of the ruptured tanks of the vessel at a rate of approximately
20,000 barrels per hour. The Exxon Valdez was loaded with 1.2 million barrels of crude
oil, and, of this, more than 250,000 barrels (11 million gal) gushed from the hold of the
300 m (984 ft) tanker. The oil remaining in the Exxon Valdez was loaded into another
tanker.

3. Soil Pollution

 Soil pollution occurs when materials detrimental to people and other living things are
inadvertently or deliberately applied to soils. Many types of materials, including organic
chemicals, such as hydrocarbons or pesticides, or heavy metals, such as selenium,
cadmium, nickel, or lead, may act as soil contaminants. Soils, particularly those with clay
particles, can also act to selectively attract, absorb, or bind toxins and other materials that
otherwise would contaminate the environment. Soils may also contain organisms that
break down certain contaminants into less harmful materials. As a result, soils offer
opportunities to reduce environmental pollution. However, contaminants in soils and the
products of their breakdown by soil and biochemical processes may be toxic to
ecosystems and humans if they become concentrated in plants or are transported into the
atmosphere or water. Problems arise when soils intended for uses other than waste
disposal are contaminated or when people discover that soils have been contaminated by
previous uses. Houses and other structures, such as schools, have been built over sites
where soils have been contaminated. At many sites, contamination from old waste-
disposal facilities or from dumping of chemicals is now being discovered; some of these
sites are being treated. However, treatment of soils to remove contaminants can be a very
costly endeavor. Treatments vary from excavation and disposal to incineration or
bioremediation. Often, bioremediation is done on the pollution site and does not require
excavating and moving large quantities of contaminated soil. In recent years, soil and
water contaminated by leaking underground tanks have become a significant
environmental concern. Businesses are now adding systems to monitor storage tanks so
that leaks can be detected before significant environmental damage occurs.

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 Soil pollution is caused by the presence of human-made chemicals or other alteration in
the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural
chemicals, or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are
petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (such as naphthalene and
benzo(a)pyrene), solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is
correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical usage.
 The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct
contact with the contaminated soil, vapors from the contaminants, and from secondary
contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated
soil sites and the resulting cleanup are time consuming and expensive tasks, requiring
extensive amounts of geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modeling skills, and GIS
in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of industrial
chemistry. The waste from factory is also a cause of soil pollution
 Soil pollution can be caused by the following
 Accidental Spills
 Acid rain (Which is caused by air pollution)
 Intensive farming
 Deforestation
 Genetically modified plants
 Nuclear wastes
 Industrial Accidents
 Landfill and illegal dumping
 Land Erosion
 Agricultural practices, such as application of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers
 Mining and other industries
 Oil and fuel dumping
 Buried wastes
 Disposal of coal ash
 Disposal of ammunitions and agents of war.
 Drainage of contaminated surface water into the soil
 Electronic waste

 The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides,
lead, and other heavy metals.

Ecosystem effects
 Not unexpectedly, soil contaminants can have significant deleterious consequences for
ecosystems. There are radical soil chemistry changes which can arise from the presence
of many hazardous chemicals even at low concentration of the contaminant species.
These changes can manifest in the alteration of metabolism of endemic microorganisms
and arthropods resident in a given soil environment. The result can be virtual eradication
of some of the primary food chain, which in turn could have major consequences for
predator or consumer species. Even if the chemical effect on lower life forms is small, the

34
 lower pyramid levels of the food chain may ingest alien chemicals, which normally
become more concentrated for each consuming rung of the food chain. Many of these
effects are now well known, such as the concentration of persistent DDT materials for
avian consumers, leading to weakening of egg shells, increased chick mortality and
potential extinction of species.
 Effects occur to agricultural lands which have certain types of soil contamination.
Contaminants typically alter plant metabolism, often causing a reduction in crop yields.
This has a secondary effect upon soil conservation, since the languishing crops cannot
shield the Earth’s soil from erosion. Some of these chemical contaminants have long half-
lives and in other cases derivative chemicals are formed from decay of primary soil
contaminants.

Cleanup options
 Cleanup or environmental remediation is analyzed by environmental scientists who utilize
field measurement of soil chemicals and also apply computer models (GIS in
Environmental Contamination) for analyzing transport and fate of soil chemicals. There
are several principal strategies for remediation:

 Excavate soil and take it to a disposal site away from ready pathways for human
or sensitive ecosystem contact. This technique also applies to dredging of bay
muds containing toxins.
 Aeration of soils at the contaminated site (with attendant risk of creating air
pollution)
 Thermal remediation by introduction of heat to raise subsurface temperatures
sufficiently high to volatize chemical contaminants out of the soil for vapour
extraction. Technologies include ISTD, electrical resistance heating (ERH), and
ET-DSPtm.
 Bioremediation, involving microbial digestion of certain organic chemicals.
Techniques used in bioremediation include landfarming, biostimulation and
bioaugmentating soil biota with commercially available microflora.
 Extraction of groundwater or soil vapor with an active electromechanical system,
with subsequent stripping of the contaminants from the extract.

4. Noise Pollution

 Noise pollution is unwanted sound. Sound is a form of energy that travels as waves. We
hear sound because our ears respond to sound waves through vibrations of the eardrum.
The sensation of loudness is related to the intensity of the energy carried by the sound
waves and is measured in decibels (dB). The threshold for human hearing is 0 dB; the
average sound level in the interior of a home is about 45 dB; the sound of an automobile,
about 70 dB; and the sound of a jet aircraft taking off, about 120 dB. A tenfold increase in
the strength of a particular sound adds 10 dB units on the scale. An increase of 100 times
adds 20 units. The decibel scale is logarithmic—it increases exponentially as a power of
10. For example, 50 dB is 10 times louder than 40 dB and 100 times louder than 30 dB.

35
 Environmental effects of noise depend not only on the total energy but also on the
sound’s pitch, frequency, and time pattern and length of exposure to the sound. Very loud
noises (more than 140 dB) cause pain, and high levels can cause permanent hearing loss.
Human ears can take sound up to about 60 dB without damage or hearing loss. Any sound
above 80 dB is potentially dangerous. The noise of a lawn mower or motorcycle will
begin to damage hearing after about eight hours of exposure. In recent years, there has
been concern about teenagers (and older people, for that matter) who have suffered some
permanent loss of hearing following extended exposure to amplified rock music (110 dB).
At a noise level of 110 dB, damage to hearing can occur after only half an hour. Loud
sounds at the workplace are another hazard. Even noise levels below the hearing-loss
level may still interfere with human communication and may cause irritability. Noise in
the range of 50–60 dB is sufficient to interfere with sleep, producing a feeling of fatigue
upon awakening.
 Noise pollution affects both health and behavior. Unwanted sound (noise) can damage
psychological health. Noise pollution can cause hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus,
hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects.
 Sound becomes unwanted when it either interferes with normal activities such as
sleeping, conversation, or disrupts or diminishes one’s quality of life.
 Chronic exposure to noise may cause noise-induced hearing loss. Older males exposed to
significant occupational noise demonstrate more significantly reduced hearing sensitivity
than their non-exposed peers, though differences in hearing sensitivity decrease with time
and the two groups are indistinguishable by age 79. A comparison of Maaban tribesmen,
who were insignificantly exposed to transportation or industrial noise, to a typical U.S.
population showed that chronic exposure to moderately high levels of environmental
noise contributes to hearing loss.
 High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects and exposure to moderately
high levels during a single eight-hour period causes a statistical rise in blood pressure of
five to ten points and an increase in stress, and vasoconstriction leading to the increased
blood pressure noted above, as well as to increased incidence of coronary artery disease.

Noise mitigation
 Roadway noise can be reduced by the use of noise barriers, limitation of vehicle speeds,
alteration of roadway surface texture, limitation of heavy vehicles, use of traffic controls
that smooth vehicle flow to reduce braking and acceleration, and tire design. An
important factor in applying these strategies is a computer model for roadway noise that is
capable of addressing local topography, meteorology, traffic operations, and hypothetical
mitigation. Costs of building-in mitigation can be modest, provided these solutions are
sought in the planning stage of a roadway project.
 Aircraft noise can be reduced by using quieter jet engines. Altering flight paths and time
of day runway has benefitted residents near airports.
 Industrial noise has been addressed since the 1930s via redesign of industrial equipment,
shock mounted assemblies and physical barriers in the workplace. In recent years, Buy
Quiet programs and initiatives have arisen in an effort to combat occupational noise
exposures. These programs promote the purchase of quieter tools and equipment and
36
 encourage manufacturers to design quieter equipment. The National Institute for
Occupational Health has created a database of industrial equipment with decibel levels
noted.

5. Solid Waste

 The several kinds of waste produced by a technological society can be categorized in

many ways. Some kinds of wastes are released into the air and water. Some are purposely
released, while others are released accidentally. Many wastes that are purposely released
are treated before their release. Wastes that are released into the water and air are
discussed in chapters 15 and 16, respectively. There are wastes with particularly
dangerous characteristics, such as nuclear wastes, medical wastes, industrial hazardous
wastes, and household hazardous wastes. Chapter 10 deals with nuclear wastes, and
chapter 18 considers hazardous waste issues. The focus of this chapter is solid waste.
 Solid waste is generally made up of objects or particles that accumulate on the site where
they are produced, as opposed to water- and airborne wastes that are carried away from
the site of production. Solid wastes are typically categorized by the sector of the economy
responsible for producing them, such as mining, agriculture, manufacturing, and
municipalities.
 We have very good information about those waste streams that are tightly regulated
(hazardous wastes, municipal solid waste, medical wastes, nuclear wastes) but only
general estimates for many of the other kinds of wastes, such as mining and agricultural
waste.
 Mining waste is generated in three primary ways. First, in most mining operations, large
amounts of rock and soil need to be removed to get to the valuable ore. This waste
material is generally left on the surface at the mine site. Second, milling operations use
various technologies to extract the valuable material from the ore. These techniques vary
from relatively simple grinding and sorting to sophisticated chemical separation
processes. Regardless of the technique involved, once the valuable material is recovered,
the remaining waste material, commonly known as tailings, must be disposed of. Solid
materials are typically dumped on the land near the milling site, and liquid wastes are
typically stored in ponds. It is difficult to get vegetation to grow on these piles of waste
rock and tailings, so they are unsightly and remain exposed to rain and wind. Finally, the
water that drains or is pumped from mines or that flows from piles of waste rock or
tailings often contains hazardous materials (such as asbestos, arsenic, lead, and
radioactive materials) or high amounts of acid that must be contained or treated—but
often are not. In addition, failures of the earthen dams used to form waste ponds result in
the release of contaminated water into local streams. Between 1993 and 2005, about 35
such failures occurred worldwide, seven of them in the United States.
 Agricultural waste is the second most common form of waste and includes waste from the
raising of animals and the harvesting and processing of crops and trees. The amount of
animal manure produced annually is estimated at about 1240 million metric tons. Other
wastes associated with agriculture, such as waste from processing operations (peelings,
seeds, straw, stems, sludge, and similar materials), might bring the total agricultural waste

37
 to about 1.5 billion metric tons per year. Since most agricultural waste is organic,
approximately 90 percent is used as fertilizer or for other soil-enhancement activities.
Other materials are burned as a source of energy, so little of this waste needs to be placed
in landfills. However, when too much waste is produced in one place, there may not be
enough farmland available to accept the agricultural waste without causing water
pollution problems associated with runoff or groundwater contamination due to
infiltration.
 Industrial solid waste from sources other than mining is variously estimated to be
between 200 million and 600 million metric tons of solid waste per year. It includes a
wide variety of materials such as demolition waste, foundry sand, scraps from
manufacturing processes, sludge, ash from combustion, and other similar materials. These
materials are tested to determine if they are hazardous. If they are classified as hazardous
waste, their disposal requires that they be placed in special hazardous waste landfills.
Hazardous wastes are discussed in chapter 18. In addition to solid wastes, industries
produce several billion metric tons of aquatic waste. See chapter 15 for a discussion of
industrial use of water.
 Municipal solid waste (MSW) consists of all the materials that people in a region no
longer want because they are broken, spoiled, or have no further use. It includes waste
from households, commercial establishments, institutions, and some industrial sources
and amounts to about 210 million metric tons per year.

Methods of Waste Disposal

From prehistory through the present day, the favored means of disposal was simply to dump
solid wastes outside of the city or village limits. Frequently, these dumps were in wetlands
adjacent to a river or lake. To minimize the volume of the waste, the dump was often burned.
Unfortunately, this method is still being used in remote or sparsely populated areas in the
world. As better waste-disposal technologies were developed and as values changed, more
emphasis was placed on the environment and quality of life. Dumping and open burning of
wastes is no longer an acceptable practice from an environmental or health perspective.
While the technology of waste disposal has evolved during the past several decades, our
options are still limited. Realistically, there are no ways of dealing with waste that have not
been known for many thousands of years. Essentially, five techniques are used: (1) landfills,
(2) incineration, (3) composting, (4) source reduction, and (5) recycling.

6. Water Logging and Salinity

 Waterlogging refers to the saturation of soil with water. Soil may be regarded as
waterlogged when the table of the groundwater is too high to conveniently permit an
anticipated activity, like agriculture. Crops need air to a greater or lesser depth in the soil.
Waterlogging of the soil stops air getting in the practice of irrigation results in
consumptive uses of water through evapotranspiration, leaving behind salts concentrated
in a smaller volume of water. In irrigated agricultural land, waterlogging is often

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 accompanied by soil salinity as waterlogged soils prevent leaching of the salts imported
by the irrigation water.
 Salts are a major water quality factor in choosing disposal options for subsurface drainage
in arid irrigated areas. Salinity can restrict the urban or agricultural re-use of drainage
water, as it is the most significant long-term water quality concern for managing irrigated
agriculture in arid zones. Salinity has not been noted as a serious concern with subsurface
drainage waters from humid areas. This is generally due to the higher rainfall, higher
dilution capacity in surface waters and lower initial salt content in the soil.
 Drainage of irrigated land serves two purposes: to reduce waterlogging and to control and
reduce salinization. Subsurface drainage water from arid areas always has a higher
salinity than the supply water, a higher proportion of Na and Cl, an increased hardness
and a higher sodium adsorption ratio (SAR). The higher salinity and higher levels of
specific ions often reflect the characteristics of the soil through which the irrigation water
has percolated. This in turn is influenced by the shallow groundwater quality, by the ionic
composition of the irrigation water, and by the irrigation efficiency. Salt species are also
influenced by a number of interdependent, multi-phase chemical interactions. A full
salinity appraisal is an essential component of any subsurface drainage water re-use or
disposal scheme.
 Waterlogging refers to the saturation of soil with water. Soil may be regarded as
waterlogged when the water table of the groundwater is too high to conveniently permit
an anticipated activity, like agriculture.
 In agriculture, various crops need air (specifically, oxygen) to a greater or lesser depth in
the soil. Waterlogging of the soil stops air getting in. How near the water table must be to
the surface for the ground to be classed as waterlogged, varies with the purpose in view.
A crop’s demand for freedom from waterlogging may vary between seasons of the year,
as with the growing of rice (Oryza sativa). In irrigated agricultural land, waterlogging is
often accompanied by soil salinity as waterlogged soils prevent leaching of the salts
imported by the irrigated water.

7. Deforestation

 Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the
land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Examples of deforestation include
conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use.
 In temperate mesic climates, natural regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in
the absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic. Furthermore, biodiversity
after regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural disturbance, including
biodiversity loss after naturally occurring rainforest destruction.
 Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees are cut down to be used or sold as fuel
(sometimes in the form of charcoal) or timber, while cleared land is used as pasture for
livestock, plantations of commodities and settlements. The removal of trees without
sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. It
has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

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 Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and
displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the
fossil record. More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world live in
tropical forests.

Causes
 According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
secretariat, the overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. Subsistence
farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for
32% of deforestation; logging is responsible for 14% of deforestation and fuel wood
removals make up 5% of deforestation.
 Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global
deforestation. Some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they
have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and
labour needed to clear forest. One study found that population increases due to high
fertility rates were a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases.
 Other causes of contemporary deforestation may include corruption of government
institutions, the inequitable distribution of wealth and power, population growth and
overpopulation, and urbanization. Globalization is often viewed as another root cause of
deforestation, though there are cases in which the impacts of globalization (new flows of
labor, capital, commodities, and ideas) have promoted localized forest recovery.
 In 2000 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that “the
role of population dynamics in a local setting may vary from decisive to negligible,” and
that deforestation can result from “a combination of population pressure and stagnating
economic, social and technological conditions.”

Environmental Problems
 Deforestation is a contributor to global warming, and is often cited as one of the major
causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Tropical deforestation is responsible for
approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions. According to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deforestation, mainly in tropical areas, could
account for up to one-third of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. But recent
calculations suggest that carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (excluding peatland emissions) contribute about 12% of total anthropogenic
carbon dioxide emissions with a range from 6 to 17%. Deforestation causes carbon
dioxide to linger in the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide accrues, it produces a layer in the
atmosphere that traps radiation from the sun. The radiation converts to heat which causes
global warming, which is better known as the greenhouse effect. Plants remove carbon in
the form of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis, but
release some carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere during normal respiration. Only
when actively growing can a tree or forest remove carbon, by storing it in plant tissues.
Both the decay and burning of wood releases much of this stored carbon back to the
atmosphere. In order for forests to take up carbon, there must be a net accumulation of
wood. One way is for the wood to be harvested and turned into long-lived products, with
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 new young trees replacing them. Deforestation may also cause carbon stores held in soil
to be released. Forests can be either sinks or sources depending upon environmental
circumstances. Mature forests alternate between being net sinks and net sources of carbon
dioxide.
 The water cycle is also affected by deforestation. Trees extract groundwater through their
roots and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a forest is removed, the trees no
longer transpire this water, resulting in a much drier climate. Deforestation reduces the
content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. The dry soil
leads to lower water intake for the trees to extract. Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so
that erosion, flooding and landslides ensue.
 Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in biodiversity, and on a natural global
scale is known to cause the extinction of many species. The removal or destruction of
areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity.
Forests support biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster
medicinal conservation. With forest biotopes being irreplaceable source of new drugs
(such as taxol), deforestation can destroy genetic variations (such as crop resistance)
irretrievably.

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