Digital assignment

Name: KAUSHIK. K
Reg .no: 21MIS0332
Faculty: SANTHAKUMAR . K
Course: Environmental Science
Slot: B1+TB1
1.Highlight the importance of “Green Marketing” and “Eco-
mark”.
Ans:

Importance of “Green Marketing”

 It reduces the use of plastic and plastic-based products.
 It increases the consumption of natural products and reduces
chemical products.
 It creates a demand for herbal medicines, natural therapy and
yoga.
 It aware the reuse of the consumer and industrial products.
 It makes nature healthy.

Importance of “Eco-mark”; To provide an incentive for manufactures

and importers to reduce adverse environment impact of products.
2. How would you justify the ecological uses of forest
resources surpasses the commercial uses?
Ans
i. Reducing global warming:
The main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (C02) is absorbed by the
forests as a raw material for photosynthesis . Thus forest canopy acts as
a sink for C02 thereby reducing the problem of global warming caused
by greenhouse gas CCX.
ii. Wildlife habitat:
Forests are the homes of millions of wild animals and plants. About 7
million species are found in the tropical forests alone.
iii. Regulation of hydrological cycle:
Forested watersheds act like giant sponges, absorbing the rainfall,
slowing down the runoff and slowly releasing the water for recharge of
springs. About 50-80 % of the moisture in the air above tropical forests
comes from their transpiration which helps in bringing rains.

iv. Soil conservation:

Forests bind the soil particles tightly in their roots and prevent soil
erosion They also act as wind-breaks.

v. Pollution moderators:
Forests can absorb many toxic gases and can help in keeping the air
pure. They have also been reported to absorb noise and thus help in
preventing air and noise pollution.
3.What are Aquifers? Explain their classification and effects of
groundwater usage.

Ans:

An Aquifers is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock,

rock fractures or unconsolidated materials. Aquifers generally are
known to serve as reservoirs and could dry up when people drain them
faster than they are been refilled by nature.
Classification of Aquifers:
Confined Aquifer:
It is also called artesian aquifer. It is a type of aquifer overlain as well as
underlain by confining layers. The water within the aquifer is therefore
held under pressure. It is sometimes called pressure aquifer also. If the
aquifer has high outcrop laterally than the ground surface there will be
positive hydrostatic pressure to create conditions for a flowing well.
Water from such well comes to the surface without pumping. The
imaginary level upto which the water will rise is called piezometric
surface.
Unconfined Aquifer:
An aquifer which is not overlain by any confining layer but has a
confining layer at its bottom is called unconfined aquifer. It is normally
exposed to the atmosphere and its upper portion is partly saturated
with water. The upper surface of saturation is called water table which
is under atmospheric pressure therefore this aquifer is also called
phreatic aquifer.
4.Explain in detail about the advantages and disadvantages of
big dams.

Ans:

Advantages of big dams

 With the assistance of hydroelectricity or hydroelectric power,

electricity is generated at a steady rate.
 For irrigation purposes, water sports or even other types of
pleasurable activities, the lake or reservoir built behind the dam
may also be used.
 The buildup of water within the lake ensures that when required
and also when water is released for electricity production, the
energy can be stored.
 When used the electricity generated by the dams does not
generate greenhouse gases and therefore does not cause
pollution.
Dis-advantages of big dams:

 It is very costly to build a dam the government needs to ensure

strict regulations are followed and very high quality is established.
 In order to become profitable enough to compensate for the high
construction costs, they must work for several years.
 It is important to evacuate people living in towns and villages in
the surrounding area, in which there are risks of flooding. They
are losing their farms.
 People are often physically displaced to set up hydro-power
plants and this raises a significant ethical problem
5.Explain in detail about any five environmental changes
caused by modern agriculture.

Ans:

Soil Erosion
The top fertile soil of the farmland is removed due to the excessive
water supply. This leads to the loss of nutrient-rich soil that hampered
productivity. It also causes global warming because the silt of water
bodies induces the release of soil carbon from the particulate organic
material.

Contamination of groundwater
The groundwater is one of the important sources of water for irrigation.
From agricultural fields, nitrogenous fertilizers leach into the soil and
finally contaminate groundwater. When the nitrate level of
groundwater exceeds 25 mg/l, they can cause a serious health hazard
known as “Blue Baby Syndrome”, which affects mostly infants even
leading to their death.

Water-logging and salinity

The salinity of the soil is one of the reasons of low productivity just
because of the improper management of farm drainage. In this
situation, the roots of plants do not get enough air to respiration then it
leads to low crop yield as well as low mechanical strength.
Excessive use of Pesticide
There are many pesticides that are used for destroying pests and
boosting crop production. Earlier arsenic, sulfur, lead, and mercury was
used to kill pests. For Example- Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane
(DDT) content pesticides were used, but unfortunately, it also targeted
the beneficial pests. Most importantly, many pesticides are non-
biodegradable, which also linked to the food chains which are harmful
to the human being.

The relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the

beginning of industrialization, and in 2006 – for the first time in history
– the services sector overtook agriculture as the economic sector
employing the most people worldwide. But we forget that if we need
food to survive then we need agriculture.

Eutrophication
It refers to the addition of artificial or non-artificial substances such as
nitrates and phosphate, through fertilizers or sewage, to a freshwater
system. It leads to an increase in the primary productivity of the water
body or the 'bloom' of phytoplankton.

Excessive use of fertilizers that consists of nitrogen and phosphorus

leads to over nourishment of the lakes/water bodies and gives rise to
the phenomenon of eutrophication (EU = more, trophication =
nutrition).
6. Why is replenishment of agricultural soil essential? Describe
two natural ways of soil replenishment

Ans:
Growing of crops year after year results in the depletion of certain
nutrients. The soil becomes deficient every year. If these nutrients are
not replenished, the soil will become unfit for cultivation and land may
become barren. Hence, replenishment of soil is essential.

The two natural ways of soil replenishment are:

(i) Crop rotation i.e., rotation of crops. In this practice, different crops
having varied requirements of nutrients are grown on the same land
during different seasons. So that the soil is not depleted of any
particular nutrient all the time, often a legume crop e.g., pea, gram,
pulses etc. are grown alternately to replenish the soil.

(ii) Leaving the agricultural land uncultivated for one or two seasons.
This helps the soil to regain its richness.
7. ‘Replenishment of energy source like wood takes a long
time but it is considered as a renewable source of energy.’
Comment.
Ans:

Renewable resources are a type of source which are used to extract

many substances which are highly valuable for the human race.
Renewable resources are also known as flow resources because they
maintain the flow of the sources of substances for use.

Wood is considered as a renewable source of energy even though as it

takes a considerable amount of years to mature as a tree. The 15 years
required to grow into a tree is less as compared to the millions of years
taken for the replenishment of sources of energy like coal petroleum.

Woods are obtained from the plants and used in daily purposes
activities like woods are used as a source of fuel, furniture
preparation, house making, used in art industries.
As we know renewable resources have the tendency to
maintain the core source for continuous usage of the substance
by humans for their needs. Renewable sources are maintained
by the natural process.
There are some similarities between wood and renewable
sources such as-
 RENEWABLE
PROPERTY WOOD
SOURCE
Origin of Natural source like They are originated from
source plant, sun, water plants
They are Plants have a tendency to
Regenerating
regenerated within regrow within a specific time
property
specific time limit to regenerate the woods.
They are
Woods are continuously
Continuity continuous source
obtained from plants
of energy
It is categorizing as It comes under the category
subcategory
continuous or flow of continuous resource.

As we see from the above table, all the properties of woods are
common with renewable sources. Hence it is a renewable source in
nature.
8. Explain in detail about any two solar energy harvesting
devices.
Ans:

1)Vacuum Tube Solar Water Heater

More advanced and efficient solar water heating systems utilize

vacuum tubes and self-contained heat pipes to transfer thermal
energy to a secondary tank. The vacuum tube ensures that radiant
energy can enter the system, but all energy that gets turned into
thermal energy is contained in the tube. The heat pipe absorbs this
energy and subsequently transfers it to the large water tank. These
systems are significantly more efficient at heating water during cold
months, as minimal amounts of thermal energy escape the vacuum
tube, allowing nearly all radiant energy to be converted into
thermal energy.

2) Photovoltaic Solar Panels

Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels use the sun's power to create a flow

of electricity. This is the most widely adopted method of harvesting
solar energy today. These panels, which range in size from a few
square centimeters to a few square meters, are constructed from
many PV cells arranged in an intricate matrix. Intuitively, the larger
the surface area available for sunlight to penetrate the PV cells, the
more solar energy that gets harvested.

Each PV solar cell is generally made up of a compound

semiconductor wafer structure, which can either be a
monocrystalline or polycrystalline structure. The structure's two
thin semiconductor wafers, one P-type and one N-type, are each
grown separately. The two wafers are placed on top of each other,
and the natural reaction that occurs between the two
semiconductor types creates a depletion zone that reaches an
equilibrium point, without generating any electricity. Due to the PV
cell, when light photons pass through and connect with the
semiconductor wafers, their interaction releases enough energy to
create an equilibrium disruption in the depletion region. That action
subsequently creates a brief flow of electricity. However, because of
the constant presence of light, this interaction occurs continuously
and can produce massive amounts of electrical energy.

9. What causes the wind to blow? Explain the principle of

working of a windmill

Ans:

Causes the wind to blow

Wind exists because of differences in air pressure. As sunlight strikes
the Earth, it doesn't heat it equally.2 It strikes different places at
different angles; and some places, such as land, heat more quickly than
others, such as oceans. In the places that warm more quickly, heat
energy is transferred to the air molecules, causing them to excite,
spread out, and rise; this is observed as a decrease in pressure,3 or the
 creation of a low pressure center. Meanwhile, molecules within cooler
pockets of air are more tightly packed and sink downward, exerting a
high amount of force onto the air below them; these are centers of high
pressure.

Because Mother Nature doesn't like imbalance, air molecules from

these regions of high pressure always move to the regions of low
pressure, in an effort to "fill in" the space the warm, rising air leaves
behind. (Meteorologists call the force that pushes air horizontally
between high and low pressure regions the "pressure gradient force.")
The resulting rush of air between these two locations is the wind we
experience. It's also how winds aloft, including the prevailing winds that
reside in the upper levels of the atmosphere, are born.

The principle of working of a windmill

A windmill converts wind energy into rotational energy by means of its

blades. The basic principle of every windmill is to convert the kinetic energy
of wind into mechanical energy which is used to rotate the turbine of an
electrical generator to produce electricity.

10. How is natural gas supplied nowadays? What are its

advantages?
Ans:

Natural gas is found in deep underground rock formations or associated

with other hydrocarbon reservoirs in coal beds and as methane
clathrates. By pipes and in tightly closed cylinders natural gas is
supplied to our houses.

Advantages of Natural Gas

 Natural Gas is Environmentally Clean: Among many burning fossil
fuels available on planet earth, natural gas is the most cleanest . It is
 considered clean because unlike other gases, natural gas emits very
less byproducts into the atmosphere as pollutants. This keeps the air
we breathe cleaner.
 It is Economical: Natural gas is not as expensive as other burning
fuels.
 It is Convenient: If people use natural gas for cooking or electric
purposes, it can be directed connected to the consumer’s house with
the help of pipelines. This eliminates the long process of collecting,
processing, packing, and delivering the end product to the customers.
 Natural Gas is Safe to Use: One of the biggest fear we have when
using LPG cylinders or any other type of fuel is the possibility of
leakage. Gases have the power to burn things and people around and
can be very dangerous. However, natural gas is lighter than air. In
case of a leakage, it dissipates quickly into the air avoiding fire. Isn’t
that super safe?

 It is Available Abundantly: Currently, experts state that amount of

natural gas available is more than crude oil or other such products.
 It is More Efficient: When compared to things like propane gas,
natural gas provides more energy when it burns, which makes it much
more efficient.
 Natural Gas is Easy to Deliver: If we look at the current mode of
delivery of gas to homes in India, we notice a lot of metal cylinders
changing hands. Should natural gas take over as the preferred fuel for
cooking, its delivery would be much easier since all that is needed to
deliver natural gas is a network of pipes.