Global Environmental Problems

and Solutions

Dr. Darshan Panda

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW,NRRI,CUTTACK

Global Environment Problems
 Environmental Pollution
 Climate Change
 Greenhouse Effect
 Ozone Depletion
 Acid Rain
 Deforestation
 Genetic Degradation
 Ocean Acidification
 Bioaccumulation and Eutrophication
 Persistence of polythene in Environment
 Desertification
 Global Environmental Status

 One out of every five persons in the world -

Dies for malnutrition.
 One out of every five persons in the world -
Lacks clean drinking water.
 One out of every five persons in the world -
Lack proper energy & do not have fuel to
cook food.
 One out of every five persons in the world -
gets inadequate health facility desperately
poor for whom life is survival.
The Blue Planet – Our Home …………..
Increasing Population

 Slow start, rapid increase

 Human population
• 2012 ~ 7 billion people

 Projections
• 225,000 people per day
• Add population of U.S. < 4 years
• 2050 ~ 14 billion people
Living in an Exponential Age
 Industrial revolution

Black Death—the Plague

Hunting Agricultural revolution Industrial

and gathering revolution
Fig.Fig.
1-1,
1-1,p.
p. 15
Solutions

 Understand our environment

 Practice sustainability
What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society?

 Our lives and economies depend on energy from

the sun (solar capital) and natural resources and
natural services (natural capital) provided by the
earth.

 Living sustainably means living off earth’s

natural income without depleting or degrading
the natural capital that supplies it.
 Four Scientific Principles of
Sustainability
Nature has sustained itself for billions of
years by using solar energy, biodiversity,
population regulation, and nutrient
cycling – lessons from nature that we
can apply to our lifestyles and
economies.
Four Scientific Principles of
Sustainability
 Reliance on Biodiversity
Solar Energy

Nutrient Cycling Population Control

Fig. 1-13, p. 20
Learning to Live More
Sustainably
Current Emphasis Sustainability Emphasis

Pollution cleanup Pollution prevention

Waste disposal
Waste prevention
(bury or burn)

Protecting species Protecting habitat

Environmental Environmental
degradation restoration

Increasing resource Less resource waste

use

Population growth Population stabilization

Depleting and
degrading natural Protecting natural
capital capital
Fig. 1-14, p. 20
Natural Resources

 Materials
• Renewable
• Nonrenewable

 Energy
• Solar capital
• Photosynthesis
Natural Services

 Functions of nature
• Purification of air, water
• Nutrient cycling
Key Natural Resources and Services

Fig. 1-3, p. 8
Natural Capital Degradation

Fig. 1-6, p. 12
Reuse and Recycling

Fig. 1-7, p. 12
Measuring Environmental Impact

 Ecological footprint
• Biological capacity to replenish resources and
adsorb waste and pollution

 Per capita ecological footprint

• Renewable resource use per individual
Ecological Footprint

Fig. 1-8, p. 13
Poverty – Is it affecting Environment ?

Fig. 1-12, p. 16
Some Harmful Results of Poverty
 Lack of Number of people
access to (% of world's population)

Adequate 2.6 billion (39%)

sanitation facilities

Enough fuel for

2 billion (30%)
heating and cooking

Electricity 2 billion (30%)

Clean drinking
1.1 billion (16%)
water

Adequate
health care 1.1 billion (16%)

Adequate
1 billion (15%)
housing

Enough food
0.84 billion (13%)
for good health
Fig. 1-11, p. 16
Environmental Effects of Affluence

 Harmful effects
• High consumption and waste of resources
• Advertising – more makes you happy

 Beneficial effects
• Concern for environmental quality
• Provide money for environmental causes
• Reduced population growth
Evaluating Full Cost of Resources Use

 Examples
• Clear-cutting + habitat loss
• Commercial fishing + depletion of fish stocks

 Tax breaks

 Subsidies
Biodiversity loss and its
Conservation
 Impacts of climate change on
biodiversity
• Observed regional changes in temperature
have been associated with observed
changes in ecological systems world-wide,
examples include:
– earlier plant flowering and longer growing
season in Europe
– poleward and upward in elevation migration of
plants, insects and animals
– earlier bird arrival and egg laying
– increased incidence of coral bleaching
Climate change will
exacerbate the loss • Estimated 10-15% of the
of biodiversity
world’s species will be
Climate change will exacerbate the loss of
biodiversity
committed to extinction over
next 30 years
 Hotspots:
1.4% of Land Surface but 40-50% of biodiversity

Many of the ecosystems vulnerable to climate change are “hot spots” and
in some areas, north<>south and east<>west migration will not be
possible
 Climate change is projected to
affect all aspects of biodiversity

 i.e., individuals, populations, species

distributions and ecosystem composition and
function

 both directly, for example through

increases in temperature, changes in
precipitation (and in the case of marine
systems changes in sea level etc)
and
 indirectly, for example through climate
change and associated increases in the
intensity and frequency of disturbances
such as wildfires).
 What Actions Can be Taken?
1) Protected areas
2) Species protection and recovery measures
3) Ex situ and in situ conservation of genetic diversity
4) Restoration
5) Payments and markets for biodiversity and ecosystem services
6) Consider biodiversity in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries
7) Capture of benefits by local communities
8) Increased coordination
9) Public awareness and education
10) Enhanced capacity for assessing the consequences of ecosystem change
11) Increased integration of sectoral responses
12) Elimination of subsides
12) Sustainable intensification of agriculture
13) Addressing unsustainable consumption patterns
14) Slowing global growth of nutrient loading
15) Correction of market failures
16) Integration of biodiversity conservation and development
17) Increased accountability of performance in decisions
18) Scientific data need to be made available to all sectors of society
 
 What is pollution ?
Pollution is defined as an 'undesirable
change in the physical, chemical or
biological characteristics of air, water and
land brought about by man's activities that
may harmfully affect living organisms and
other resources‘.
 Classification of Pollutants
Pollutants may be classified into two types based on bacterial activity.
They are:
Biodegradable pollutants- get broken down under natural conditions
due to the action of micro-organisms. Therefore they are considerably
less harmful. They behave as pollutants only in very large quantities.

Example: excreta, sewage, pollen grains, etc.

Non-biodegradable pollutants- cannot be broken down under natural

conditions by the action of micro-organisms or they take an extremely
long time to be broken down.

Example: Common plastics, DDT, metal wastes such as lead, mercury,

arsenic, etc.
 Major Types of Pollution
• 1- Air Pollution

• 2- Water Pollution

• 3- Soil Pollution

• 4- Noise Pollution
36
37
 Following type of industries are
responsible for air pollution.
Thermal power plants - CO2, CO
Fertilizer industries - NH3, CH4, SO2, H2S, NO3
Food industries - Cl, NO3, CO2
Pesticide industries - HCN, CN2, NH3, CH4, SO2, H2S, NO3, Cl,
CO2, CO
Pharmaceutical industries - Cl2, H2S, SO2, CH4, NH3
Cement industries - Cl2, NH3, SO2, NO2,
Steel industries - CO2, CO
Paper industries - CO, Cl2, CO2, H2S, SO2, NH3
Sugar industries - CO2, CO, Cl2, SO2, NH3, NO2
Textile industries - CO2, Cl2, NO2, SO2, NH3,
Petroleum industries - CO2, CO, SO2
Atomic energy units - radioactive gases
 Effects of Air Pollution

1-Carbon monoxide (CO)

It has strong affinity to combine/bind with
haemoglobin in blood to form
carboxyhaemoglobin, which reduces oxygen
carrying capacity of blood to cause
headache,nausea ,asphyxiation and fainting
(low supply of O2 to body though one may
inhale normally). Against normal level of 0.5%
CO in blood, severe pollution may lead to 8 to
9% CO.
 
 Global Warming

Our Home is Burning……………..

 Prevention of Air Pollution

 a) Checking the air pollution by strict imposition of laws on factories.

 b) Reducing vehicular traffic and encouraging public transport
vehicles than individual vehicles.
 c) Use of unleaded petrol.
 d) Regular check of exhaust gases from vehicles to declare their
status in respect of pollution.
 e) Ban and imposition of fines on polluting vehicles.
 f) Strict control measures to take care of accidental pollution by
industries.
 g) Safe burial of atomic wastes.
 h) Raising the height of chimneys of factories so that pollutant gas
released from chimneys will reach upper strata of atmosphere.
 i) Ban on illegal burning of hazardous materials and illegal handling
of radioactive materials.
 
 Water Pollution – Causes
1-Industries
Paper industries - For e.g., chlorinated effluents
Textile industries - For e.g., Ammoniated effluents
Thermal plants - For e.g., Hot water
Fertilizer, food and chemical industries - For e.g.,
acidic / corrosive effluents
Petroleum industries - For e.g., oily effluents
Leather industries - For e.g., sulphur - based
effluents
2-Sanitary wastes
human and animal excreta
3-Solid wastes

City droppings - For e.g., carbaneaceous paper / cloth / wooden

materials
Animal droppings and slaughter house wastes - For e.g.,
decomposable drug / slaughter house wastes
Domestic wastes - For e.g., vegetable / food wastages
Industrial solid wastes - For e.g., paper wastes, iron filings, metal
chips
Market Wastes - For e.g., vegetable / fruit rottings

4-Natural Resources

Death of animals, birds Reasons - Ammonia released by carcasses of

animals, birds.
Water collection from forest areas - For e.g., Nitrates and ammonia
compounds from rich forest soils
Natural mineral deposits - For e.g., Deposits of bauxites
45
 Effects of Water Pollution
1-Effects on Ecosystem
The growth of oxygen consuming algae, which
deoxygenates water killing fish and other animals is
referred to as eutrophication.
Addition of oxygen not sufficient to support life.
 Addition of non-degradable broad-spectrum
pesticides, which cause mass destruction of agnatic
life.
 Addition of oil destroys life by reducing oxygen
and catching fine, destroying ecosystem.
 2-Effects on Animal Health

Large scale death of aquatic and terrestrial

animals
Reduced reproduction rate
Increased incidence of diseases
Imbalances created in secondary food chains
Accumulation of bioaccumulative and non-
biodegradable pollutants in animal bodies.
Some organochlorine pesticides (like DDT,
BHC, Endrin) are known for bioaccumulative
and biomagnifiable characters.
 3-Bioaccumulation

It is a concept wherein pesticides are not subjected to

disintegration and excretion from animal/human body.

4-Bio magnification
Due to bioaccumulative characters, these pollutants
pass through the food chain and food web. While
passing through the organisms, the concentration of
pollutants gets increased. This is called bio
magnifications. For e.g., 0.5 ppm DDT in grasses gets
magnified to 2ppm in sheep. It may be magnified to 10
ppm in human beings who eat such polluted mutton
 Effects on Human Health

 Increased incidence of tumours, ulcers due to nitrate pollution.

 Increased incidence of skin disorders due to contact with pollutants.
 Increased incidence of constipation, diarrhea and infections to intestine.
 Dangerous effects on growing foetus in pregnant women.
 Concentration of pollutants due to bioaccumulative pesticides. through
secondary and tertiary food chain in case of non - vegetarians.
 Still births, abortions and birth of deformed children.
 'Blue baby' disease caused by methane globinemia - which results in
asphyxia (reduced O2 supply).
 Reduced activity of immune system.
 Loss of memory power and reduced mental sharpness.
 Water borne diseases like jaundice, hepatitis, gasteroenteritis will be more
prevalent due to water pollution.
 Reduced bone development and muscular development.
 Reduced male fertility.
 Shifts in physiological cycles of human body.
 Noise Pollution-Causes

Household gadgets like mixer, grinder,

vacuum cleaner, washing machine, cooler,
air conditioners, greatly enhance the levels of
sound and are deleterious to health.
Loud speakers not only disturb the students
in their studies but also the peace of the
locality. Loud radios, stereos and televisions
are also a major source.
Printing presses, industries, vehicles on
road, aeroplanes contribute to noise
pollutions in large cities.
 Effects of noise pollution

Increase in the rate of heart-beat, increased

cholesterol and blood pressure.
Constriction of blood vessels
Digestive spasms and stomach disorders
Dilation of the pupil of the eye
It interferes with proper communication, peace of
mind and behavior
It causes headache, irritability and nervousness,
feeling of fatigue and decreases work efficiency.
Noise also affects the developing embryo in
mothers uterus.
 Prevention of Noise Pollution
 Construction of sound proof rooms for noisy machines in industries.
 Use of horns with jarring sounds to be banned.
 Noise producing industries, aerodromes, and railway stations to be
shifted away from the inhabited areas.
 Proper law should be enforced to check the misuse of loudspeakers
and public announcements systems.
 To enforce silence zones near schools / colleges, hospitals etc.
 Growing green plants/trees along roadside to reduce noise pollution
as they absorb sound.
 Loud speakers are banned from 10pm to 6am. India enacted Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and noise pollution
has been declared an offence.
 
 Soil Pollution-Causes

Indiscriminate use of fertilizers

Indiscriminate use of pesticides,
insecticides and herbicides
Dumping of large quantities of solid waste
Deforestation and soil erosion
 Effects of Soil Pollution

• Reduced soil fertility

• Reduced nitrogen fixation
• Increased erodibility
• Larger loss of soil and nutrients
• Deposition of silt in tanks and reservoirs
• Reduced crop yield
• Imbalance in soil fauna and flora
 Prevention of Soil Pollution

Ban on use of plastic bags (below 20 microns

thickness) - which are major cause of pollution in
cities
b) Recycling of plastic wastes to manufacture
many 'remake' items
c) Ban on deforestation
d) Encouraging forest replantation programs
e) Encouraging social and agro forestry programs
f) Undertaking many pollution awareness
programs
Environmental management
The environmental management is a
comprehensive multiple goal, strategy for
environmentally sound resource utilization .
This aims to conserve what needs to be
protected and regulate the utilization of
natural resources to acceptable limits.
The corner stones of environmental
management are environmental planning,
environmental legislation and environmental
administration.
The environmental pollution has now
become global problem. Hence
environmental planning must have be
location specificity, considering the
conservation of natural resources and
pollution abetment .
 The environmental legislation has become
quite essential to control pollution .
The environmental administration includes
pollution presentational control
,environmental audit , environmental impact
assessment, hazardous substances
management ,conservation and survey ,
research and development , conservation
and survey ,and environmental awareness
and education .
 Environmental Education and
Awareness
Environment Education and Awareness aims at
following ;
 (i) To promote environmental awareness among all
sections of the society;
(ii) To spread environment education, especially in the
non-formal system among different sections of the
society;
(iii) To facilitate development of education/training
materials and aids in the formal education sector;
(iv) To promote environment education through
existing educational/scientific/research institutions;
(v) To ensure training and manpower development for
environment education, awareness and training;
(vi) To encourage non-governmental organizations,
mass media and other concerned organizations for
promoting awareness about environmental issues
among the people at all levels;

(vii) To use different media including films, audio,

visual and print,, theatre, drama, advertisements,
hoarding, posters, seminars, workshops, competitions,
meetings etc. for spreading messages concerning
environment and awareness; and

(viii) To mobilize people's participation for preservation

and conservation of environment.
 Words of Famous Persons

• I need no inspiration other than Nature’s.

Mahatma Gandhi

• Nature is the Art of God

Alighieri Dante

• Nature is not a spiritual place but a

workshop and man is the workman in it.
Ivan Turgenev

• Man argues, Nature acts.

Voltaire