Lesson 1

• Environment


  The surrounding external conditions influencing development or growth of people, animal or plants; living or working conditions etc. This involves the living objects in general and man in particular and the physical attributes or the sum total of condition such as land, water, and air that support and affect the life in the biosphere
• Environment


  The circumstances or conditions that surround an organism or group of organisms. Alternatively, it can be defined as the combination of social or cultural conditions that affect the individual and the community
• Components of the environment

  • Atmosphere
  • Hydrosphere
  • Lithosphere
  • Biosphere
• Atmosphere


  • The protective blanket of gases surrounding the earth, sustains life on earth and saves it from the hostile environment of outer space due to the sun's electromagnetic radiation, composed of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and trace gases
• Hydrosphere


  • Comprises all types of water resources such as oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, streams, reservoir, polar icecaps, glaciers, and ground water
• Lithosphere


  • The outer mantle of the solid earth, consists of minerals occurring in the earth's crusts and the soil e.g. minerals, organic matter, air and water
• Biosphere


  • The realm of living organisms and their interactions with environment, where life is found and thrive
• Elements of the environment

  • Physical (landforms, water bodies, climate soils, rocks and minerals)
  • Biological (plants, animals, microorganisms and men)
  • Cultural (economic, social and political elements)
• Environmental science


  The systematic, scientific study of the environment in combination with living organisms
• Environmental science is a multi-disciplinary science because it comprises various branches of studies like chemistry, physics, medical science, life science, agriculture, public health, sanitary engineering etc.</b>
• Environmental science studies the sources, reactions, transport, effect and fate of physical and biological species in the air, water and soil and the effect of from human activity upon these
• Issues in the environment

  • Rapid population growth
  • Poverty
  • Food shortage and famines
  • Agricultural growth
  • Need to Ground water
  • Degradation of Land
  • Reduction of Genetic Diversity
  • Consequences of Urbanization
  • Water shortage
  • Depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels
  • Deforestation and threat to biodiversity
  • Improper disposal of solid and hazardous wastes
• Poverty and environmental degradation have a connection, the vast majority of people are directly dependent on the natural resources for basic needs such as food, fuel shelter and fodder
• Food security is often linked to poverty, democracy, and equitable distribution than it does with the amount of food available
• High yielding varieties of agriculture have caused soil salinity and damage to physical structure of soil, mono-cropping has posed serious damage to the environment by converting forests into huge plantations, polluting the water bodies surrounding them, and loss of biodiversity
• Community wastes, industrial effluents and chemical fertilizers and pesticides have polluted our surface water and affected quality of the groundwater
• Degradation of the condition of land has been noted due to excessive and conventional farming, mining and quarrying, pollution, infrastructure development, urban sprawl, and many others
• Wilding including the Asiatic Lion are facing problem of loss of genetic diversity due to protected areas network like sanctuaries, national parks, biosphere reserves isolating populations
• Over 30 percent of urban Indians live in slums, and only 21 out of 3,245 towns and cities have partial or full sewerage and treatment facilities, coping with rapid urbanization is a major challenge
• Majority of industrial plants are using outdated and population technologies and makeshift facilities devoid of any provision of treating their wastes, leading to air and water pollution
• Fossil fuels are rapidly depleting due to their overutilization by the growing population along with growth in industrialization, their use is leading to air pollution and damage to the environment
• Deforestation of tropical forests, coral reefs, wetlands and other biologically rich landscapes is causing an alarming loss of species and a reduction of biological variety and abundance
• We produce millions of tons of hazardous waste materials annually and much of it is disposed of in dangerous and irresponsible ways
• Human activities have an impact on the environment through pollution, waste disposal, habitat destruction, introduction of non-native species, overexploitation of resources, etc.
• The environment includes all living organisms including humans (biotic) as well as features like air, water and soil (abiotic).
• Environmental Science is the scientific, social, and ethical study of natural systems and human interactions with them.
• Environmental problems can be classified into three categories: local, regional, and global
• Environmental scientists investigate the effects that human actions have on the environment.
• Ecological science focuses on understanding how ecosystems function and respond to changes caused by human activity.