Lupine Publishers- Environmental and Soil Science Journal
What is Environment and Why it is Important?
This is a vast subject encompassing the entire system of
human activities. Simply, environment is defined as: all forms that
surrounds us life forms [humans, animals, birds] & non-life forms
moving [air, water] & non-moving [mountains, forests]. Human
settlement interacts with the environment in a complex fashion
involving many different scales. The survival of all life forms on the
Earth is a function of healthy and balanced growth of environment
in space and time. The new economic order must make it mandatory
to protect the environment to have a balanced growth at present
and in future. We should not think forests, trees, and croplands as
carbon sinks, but we must look at them that provide clean air for
our survival. We take oxygen from the surroundings and give out
carbon dioxide; and at the same time plants take carbon dioxide
and release oxygen. These two groups of ecosystems complement
each other. Drastic changes in either of them leads to unsustainable
environment. Today, population is the greatest problem facing the
country. In the past, the nature used to keep the balance through
natural disasters and epidemics. Now, with the advent of modern
medicine we are in control of epidemics and with the advancements
in science and technology we are in a position to reduce the impacts
of natural disasters but at the same time increased the diseases
and disease rate. Human societies’ impact on environment is a
function of population growth, more particularly in urban areas
with around 30% concentration which may reach 60% by 2050,
their consumption pattern and their innovative technologies-based
lifestyles. We consume resources from healthy ecosystems and
make it unhealthy ecosystem over time.
Just before Paris Climate meet in 2015, Pope Francis released
a provocative encyclical on the environment-Laudato Si. Again,
later he emphasized that destroying the environment was a sin. He
further noted that humans were turning the planet into wasteland
of debris, desolation and filth, and called for urgent action. Pope
Francis further emphasized that, “We must not be indifferent to the
loss of biodiversity and destruction of ecosystems, often caused by
our irresponsible and selfish behavior”. He called for consumers to
modify their modern lifestyles by reducing waste, planting trees, etc.
The same was emphasized by UN & US President just before Paris
meet. But this was not reflected in the Paris Agreement Document.
A report of UNDP [United Nations Environment Program] warns
about the rising water pollution in three continents, namely Asia,
Africa and Latin America, placing hundreds of millions of people
at risk of contracting life-threatening diseases and putting aquatic
flora and fauna under extinction threat. It observed that, “The
increasing amount of wastewater being dumped into our surface
waters is deeply troubling.
What is Disaster and how it Impacts Environment?
The major causes for unsustainable environmental growth
in the modern world are the “disasters”. A disaster is a serious
disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving
widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss and
impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or
society to cope using its own resources. We are encountering with
three types of hazards, namely natural, manmade and socio-natural
hazards. The natural disasters are beyond human control and thus
we need to adapt to them. The manmade disasters are though in
the hands of man they rarely follow the precautionary principle -
prevention is better than cure policy. Here human greed and poor
governance play the pivotal role along with poor civic sense among
poor to elite.
Natural hazards
Are hazards which are caused because of natural phenomena.
They are of meteorological, geological or even biological origin.
Examples of natural hazards are cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions which are exclusively of natural origin.
Manmade hazards
Are hazards which are due to human negligence. Manmade
hazards are associated with industries or energy generation
facilities and include explosions, leakage of toxic waste, pollution,
dam failure, wars or civil strife, etc. Now a day modern festival also
comes under this group. The list of hazards is very long. Many occur
frequently while others take place occasionally.
Socio-natural hazards
Landslides, floods, drought, fires are socio-natural hazards
since their causes are both natural and manmade. For example,
flooding may be caused because of heavy rains, landslide or
blocking of drains with human waste are human induced. However,
the rapid growth of the world’s population and its increased
concentration often in hazardous environments has escalated both
the frequency and severity of disasters. With the tropical climate
and unstable land forms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned
growth proliferation, non-engineered constructions which make
the disaster-prone areas more vulnerable, tardy communication,
and poor or no budgetary allocation for disaster prevention,
developing countries suffer more or less chronically from natural
disasters. Asia tops the list of casualties caused by natural hazards.
Nature
Is being destroyed by both natural disasters such as cyclonic
activity, earthquakes, volcanic activity, tsunamis, etc.; and activities
to meet human greed such as wars, oil-gas-water extraction,
physical destruction of ecologically sensitive zones and destruction
of natural water flow systems, violation of acts or laws, etc. are often
attributed to global warming. The flood disasters in Hyderabad in
September 2000; Uttarakhand in June 2013; Jammu and Kashmir/
Srinagar in September 2014; November-December 2015 in Chennai
& Nellore; August 2018 in Mumbai; etc. are the manifestations of
human greed. Now governments are wrongly putting the blame on
global warming. Indian Institutions are making even Prime Minister
to make false statements like “Chennai floods are associated with
the Global Warming”. We must realize the fact that “ignorance is
terrible, but exaggeration is dangerous”. A classic example of state
disaster is Kerala August 2018 floods. To tackle the problem in the
right way we need the cause of the problem in the correct way. The
impacts of manmade disasters have been increasing with the time.
What is the Impact of Pollution on Environment?
Access to quality water and air are essential for human health
and human development. Both are at risk if we fail to stop the
pollution. Stan Cox’s “Sick Planet: Corporate Food and Medicine”,
argues that corporate food and medicine industries are destroying
environments and ruining living conditions across the world.
Unplanned urbanization, population explosion, agriculture and
uncontrolled sewage discharge in to rivers and lakes/tanks are
primary reason behind the rise in surface water pollution. We are
using groundwater indiscriminately, but we are not taking any
action on recharging the groundwater and thus causing water
pollution. The surface polluted water also polluting groundwater.
Industries, mining, transport, etc. have been the major contributors
of pollution. Civilization developed on the banks of the rivers
throughout the world, as water was the basic necessity for all living
beings. In the last two centuries, with the industrialization primarily
around urban centers the rural population started migrating to
urban centers for greener pastures. All these in urban areas and
modern agriculture practices in rural areas introduced the evil
pollution. Thus, directly and indirectly affected the environment
and living organisms on the Earth. Children and adults today carry
an estimated 300 or more chemical residues that were not present
in their grandparent’s body. These chemicals accumulate in the
body with the time and are passed on to the next generation often
at high concentrations. Water borne diseases caused by intake of
chemicals and contaminated water affecting around 3.4 million
people globally.
We rarely look at precautionary principle; instead of prevention
measures, we try controlling measures with which we rarely achieve
the stated goal. Also, with isolated control measures, the scenario
will not change. Take for example: will the Supreme Court order
really improve the industrial pollution? The court needs to look
into ground realities such as excess production and zero pollution.
Without that, there will not be any improvement in reducing the
pollution levels. Water is a natural resource, fundamental to life,
livelihood, food security and sustainable development; it is also
s scarce resource. India has more than 17.11% of the world’s
population but has only 4.6% of world’s water resources with 2.3%
of world’s land area. Precipitation and snow melt provide the fresh
water; though they are renewable, they are highly variable with
space and time; climate change plays vital role in the year to year
water availability over different parts of India. India crossed 130
crore population and wasting around 40-50% of food produced – it
is around 30% for the world as reported by FAO and the resources
used to produce that is also simultaneously wasted. This is basically
because of unplanned agriculture driven by technology that looks
at profit than over the environment. Modern agriculture is causing
air, water, soil and food pollution. We look at production growth, but
we rarely look at the impact on environment by such technologies,
more particularly on water resources and health of life forms.
Though the industry uses very little, when the pollutants generated
by industries released in to potable water, it changes potable water
in to polluted water. This very rarely we account as the water used
by industry.
How do We Achieve the Disaster Risk Reduction?
Preparedness
It is a protective process that embraces measures which enable
governments, communities and individuals to respond rapidly to
disaster situations to cope with them effectively. It also includes
the formulation of viable emergency plans, the development of
warning systems, the maintenance of inventories and the training of
personnel. It may also embrace search and rescue measures as well
as evacuation plans for areas that may be at risk from a recurring
disaster. Preparedness therefore encompasses those measures
taken before a disaster event which are aimed at minimizing loss
of life, disruption of critical services, and damage when the disaster
occurs.
Mitigation
It embraces measures taken to reduce both the effect of the
hazard and the vulnerable conditions to it in order to reduce the
scale of a future disaster. Therefore, mitigation activities can be
focused on the hazard itself or the elements exposed to the threat.
Examples of mitigation measures which are hazard specific include
water management in drought prone areas, relocating people away
from the hazard prone areas and by strengthening structures to
reduce damage when a hazard occurs. In addition to these physical
measures, mitigation should also aim at reducing the economic and
social vulnerabilities of potential disasters. However, with poor
civic sense among poor to elite along with poor governance in some
cases this is rarely achieved. Examples under this are the flood
disasters mentioned earlier pages.
Industrial Pollution Related Disasters
In the case of pollution, some are point sources and some others
are non-point source. Industrial pollution is point source pollution.
There are rules and regulations to control the pollution through
Water Act of 1974, Air Act of 1981, and Environmental Act of 1986,
EIA Notification 2006, etc.; and for which pollution control boards
were established to regulate them. However, the system is weak.
A classic example to this is the Bhopal gas tragedy. This disaster
would have been averted if the government departments followed
the stipulated norms. Instead, they allowed residential houses
all around the factory, which has been resulted the great tragedy.
Another example is urban water [surface & groundwater] pollution
that drastically reduced the potable water availability.
Agricultural pollution related disaster
Agricultural pollution is non-point source pollution and thus
there are no rules and regulations. The only solution is change of
technology. Though some farmers are attempting in this direction,
the governments are not showing much interest in this direction.
Gulf of Mexico turned in to a dead zone spreading over thousands
of square kilometers with runoff that contains residues of chemical
fertilizers & sprays from agricultural farms carried through
Mississippi River in USA.
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