MODULE I

LECTURE 6
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
The environment has three important constituents. These are
(a) Physical
(b) Biological
(c) Social
(a) Physical : It includes soil, water, air, climate, temperature, light etc.
Also called abiotic constituents of the environment.
It determines the type of the habitat or living conditions of the human
population.
It is again divided into three parts. These three parts represent the
three important states of matter constituting the environment.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
(a) Physical :It consists of non-living things like air, water and soil.

1.Water :Water and temperature are the most important abiotic components
affecting living beings. Larger proportion of body’s weight is due to
water
All living organisms require water for their survival. Besides water
is the main vital fluid to keep optimum temperature of the body.
All life activates work in a particular range of temperature.
When temperature will be in excess of necessity, living beings will
die.
 COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
(a) Physical :It consists of non-living things like air, water and soil.
2. Air :Air is main physical component which provides oxygen for respiration.
All living beings including plants & animals require oxygen for their existence.
Oxygen is taken into the body by respiration process and comes out in from of
carbon dioxide. Plants, on the other hand takes in carbon dioxide for food
preparation during photosynthesis and gives out oxygen to the surrounding.
3. Soil :It is the most important for all living beings to create their habitat.
It is the soil in which plant grows and man constructs houses to live in.
It is the ground water present in the soil which provides for drinking and other
farming activities.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
(b) Biological components :
> The biological constituent of environment is also called biotic component of
environment.
> This component consists of all living things like plants, animals and small micro-
organisms like bacteria.
> This component interacts with the abiotic component of the environment.
> This interaction of two components forms various ecosystems like pond ecosystem,
marine ecosystem, desert ecosystem etc.
> The self sufficient large ecosystem of the earth is called Biosphere.
>All ecosystems consist of three different types of living organisms.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
(b) Biological components :
All ecosystems consist of three different types of living organisms.
(a) Producers
(b) Consumers
(c) Decomposers.
> Producers are generally green plants and other photosynthetic bacteria which produces
various organic substances such as carbohydrates, proteins etc. with the help of water, soil
and light energy.
> Consumers depend for their nutrition on the organic food produced by the green plants
> Decomposers bring about the decomposition of dead plants and animals and return
various important minerals for the running of the biogeochemical cycles.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
(c) The social components :
> It consists of various groups of population of different living organisms like birds,
animals etc.
> Man is the most intelligent living organism.
> Like other living creatures, man builds house, prepares food and releases waste
materials to the environment.
> Man is a social animal. He makes various laws, policies for the proper
functioning of the society.
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ENVIRONENT
 Technology is the making, modification, usage and knowledge of tools,
machines, techniques, crafts, systems and methods of organization, in order to
solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal,
handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function.
Technologies used within our environment are important aspect of our life
Environmental impacts are often not realized or considered.
These impacts are expressed throughout the manufacturing, use and disposal
of these products within our environmental premises.
 So it requires monitoring and an understanding of each stage of technological
life cycle
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ENVIRONENT
Example of technologies:

> Construction technology,

> Medical/health technology,
> Biotechnology,
> Green technology,
> Nanotechnology and
> Information communication technology (ICT) etc.
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ENVIRONENT
Construction technology:
It Covers the basic elements
> Substructure (site works, settings out and foundations).
> Superstructure (flooring and roofs, simple finishes, fittings and fixtures).
> Basic services such as water, gas electricity and drainage, and considers
low- rise framed industrial and commercial buildings.
 Construction technology is responsible for high levels of pollution as a result of
the energy consumed during extraction, processing and transportation of raw
materials.
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ENVIRONENT
Agricultural technology :
Agricultural technology: Application of techniques to control the growth and harvesting
of plants and animals products.
It focuses on technological processes used in agriculture.
Extensive usage of pesticides and use of chemical fertilizers affect the biodiversity of
agricultural fields as well as the environment outside of fields.
Eutrophication is one the environmental impact due to the excess use of chemical
fertilizers.
 The extent to which the undesirable impact can be minimized by intensive use of
available science and technology on the most suitable land of great significance but has
been generally overlooked
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ENVIRONENT
Biotechnology :
Use of any technique that makes use of biological systems, living organisms or their
derivatives to develop, make or modify useful products, to improve plants or animals, or to
develop micro-organisms for specific purposes.
Crops developed with biotechnology will have many impacts on the environment.
Benefits include reduced pesticides used, improved water and soil conservation and greater
safety for workers and the ecosystems.
Environmental biotechnology more efficiently cleans up many hazardous wastes than
conventional methods.
Ecological impact of biotechnology (agricultural) include; spreading genetically engineered
genes to indigenous plants, which may move through the food chain, disrupting nature system
of pest control, creating new weeds or virus strains etc.
IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ENVIRONMENT
Nano technology :
 It is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. It is the
manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale.
 Nanotechnology environmental impacts include, the possible novel type of
pollution that nano technological materials might cause if released into the
environment.
 Bacteriostatic silver nanoparticles used in socks to reduce foot odour are being
released in the wash.
 These particles are often flushed into the waste water stream and may destroy
bacteria which are critical components of natural ecosystems, farms, and waste
treatment processes.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of
resources such as air, water and soil the destruction of ecosystems, habitat destruction,
the extinction of wildlife and pollution. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the
environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.
Causes of Environmental Degradation
. Pollution :  Pollution, in whatever form, whether it is air, water, land or noise is harmful for
the environment
.Overpopulation: Rapid population growth puts strain on natural resources which results in
degradation of our environment. More population simple means more demand for food,
clothes and shelter. You need more space to grow food and provide homes to millions of
people. This results in deforestation which is another factor of environmental degradation .
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
. Landfills: Landfills pollute the environment and destroy the beauty of the city.
Landfills pose a great risk to the health of the environment and the people who
live there. Landfills produce foul smell when burned and cause huge
environmental degradation.
. Deforestation:  Rapid growth in population and urbananization are two of the
major causes of deforestation. Apart from that, use of forest land for agriculture,
animal grazing, harvest for fuel wood and logging are some of the other causes
of deforestation.
. Natural Causes: Things like avalanches, quakes, tidal waves, storms, and
wildfires can totally crush nearby animal and plant groups to the point where
they can no longer survive in those areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Effects of Environmental Degradation
1. Impact on Human Health:  Areas exposed to toxic air pollutants can cause
respiratory problems like pneumonia and asthma. Millions of people are known
to have died of due to indirect effects of air pollution.
2. Loss of Biodiversity: Biodiversity is important for maintaining balance of the
ecosystem in the form of combating pollution, restoring nutrients, protecting
water sources and stabilizing climate. Deforestation, global warming,
overpopulation and pollution are few of the major causes for loss of biodiversity.
3. Ozone Layer Depletion: Ozone layer is responsible for protecting earth from
harmful ultraviolet rays. The presence of chlorofluorocarbons, hydro
chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere is causing the ozone layer to deplete. As
it will deplete, it will emit harmful radiations back to the earth.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
4. Loss for Tourism Industry: The deterioration of environment can be a huge
setback for tourism industry that rely on tourists for their daily livelihood.
Environmental damage in the form of loss of green cover, loss of biodiversity,
huge landfills, increased air and water pollution can be a big turn off for most of
the tourists.
5. Economic Impact: The huge cost that a country may have to borne due to
environmental degradation can have big economic impact in terms of
restoration of green cover, cleaning up of landfills and protection of endangered
species. The economic impact can also be in terms of  loss of tourism industry.