TOPIC 10 : The

Environment
and Us
OUMH1603 LEARNING SKILLS FOR 21ST CENTURY​
BY : TS. DR. SEGAR RAJAMANICKAM
The term environment refers to the
ENVIRONMENT
surroundings or conditions in which a
particular activity is carried in. Our
natural environment refers to the
condition in which human beings along
with other living things live in a
surrounding of crucial aggregates of air,
water, minerals and other non-living
elements.

Environment
What is Environment and How To Keep It
Clean? 

https://youtu.be/gEk6JLJNg0U
Ecosystem

https://youtu.be/sKJoXdrOT70
Food Web
• The cycle of matter and energy is best
understood by analysing how the solar
energy that is absorbed by producers (plants
including trees) is taken up by primary
consumers (herbivores and omnivores) and
secondary and tertiary consumers
(carnivores).
• Dead and decaying materials are recycled by
decomposers.
• Energy in the form of heat is produced during
the cycles and conserved in the Food Web
depicted in Figure.
• A food chain outlines who eats whom.
• A food web is all of the food chains in an ecosystem.
Global Environmental Issues
• Our environment faces several problems, and many of these seem to be worsening with time,
bringing us into a time of a true environmental crisis.
• It is therefore becoming increasingly important to raise awareness of the existence of these
issues, as well as what can be done to reduce their negative impact.
• Some of the key issues are:
• Air pollution
• Water Pollution
• Deforestation
• Species extinction / Loss of Biodiversity
• Overpopulation
• Climate Change
Air pollution
• Problem: Overloading of the atmosphere and of ocean waters with carbon. Atmospheric CO2 absorbs and re-emits
infrared-wavelength radiation, leading to warmer air, soils, and ocean surface waters - which is good: The planet would
be frozen solid without this.
• Unfortunately, there's now too much carbon in the air. Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation for agriculture, and
industrial activities have pushed up atmospheric CO2 concentrations from 280 parts per million (ppm) 200 years ago,
to about 400 ppm today. That's an unprecedented rise, in both size and speed. The result: climate disruption.
• Carbon overloading is only one form of air pollution caused by burning coal, oil, gas and wood. The World Health
Organization recently estimated that one in nine deaths in 2012 were attributable to diseases caused by carcinogens
and other poisons in polluted air.
• Solutions: Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Reforestation. Reduce emissions from agriculture. Change
industrial processes.
• The good news is that clean energy is abundant - it just needs to be harvested. Many say a 
100 percent renewable-energy future is feasible with existing technology now.
• But the bad news is that even though renewable energy infrastructure - solar panels, wind turbines, energy storage and
distribution systems - are already widespread, and getting cheaper and more efficient all the time, experts say we're 
not applying them quickly enough to prevent catastrophic climate disruption. Barriers in policy and finance remain to
be overcome.
THE BIG SMOG: CITIES PLAGUED BY AIR
POLLUTION - Ulan Bator, Mongolia
• Ulan Bator is not only one of the coldest capitals on earth, it's also
a city with massive air pollution. During the winter months, yurts
like Tsegi’s are heated with coal and wood which contributes up to
70 percent of the smog in the city.
• Air pollution in Ulan Bator is seven times higher than what is
considered safe by the WHO.
THE BIG SMOG: CITIES
PLAGUED BY AIR POLLUTION
Beijing, China

• Ulan Bator is not only one of

the coldest capitals on earth,
it's also a city with massive air
pollution. During the winter
months, yurts like Tsegi’s are
heated with coal and wood
which contributes up to 70
percent of the smog in the city.
• Air pollution in Ulan Bator is
seven times higher than what is
considered safe by the WHO.
THE BIG SMOG:
CITIES PLAGUED
BY AIR POLLUTION
LAHORE, PAKISTAN
• Air pollution is one of Pakistan's
main environmental concerns.
• The situation is particularly
dramatic in the country's second
largest city, Lahore. The smog is
caused primarily by the high
volume of road traffic, rubbish
incineration and dust from the
surrounding deserts.
Water Pollution
What Is Water Pollution?
• Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or
microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other
body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the
environment.
What Are the Causes of Water Pollution?
• Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,” water is
able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the reason we
have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. It’s also why water is so easily polluted.
Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix
with it, causing water pollution.
• Rubbish floating in a river near
Jalan Chain Ferry in Butterworth.
• If polluters are not caught, they
will continue to find easy ways to
discard waste, with rivers being
easy targets.
PIC BY SHAHNAZ FAZLIE
SHAHRIZAL
Southeast Asia’s
rivers under threat
• From rivulets to regionwide river channels, the Southeast Asian
region hosts dozens of rivers. The most well-known river in
Southeast Asia is the Mekong River – spanning five countries in
the region itself.
• The Mekong, which is also the 12th longest river in the world is a
major water source for drinking, fishing and agricultural needs for
millions of people. What many do not know about it however, is
that it is also a dumping ground for garbage and waste deposits,
making it one of the most polluted rivers in the region.
• River pollution is nothing new. In fact, the pollution that is
currently taking place in the region has stemmed from centuries
ago. The natural water resources in Southeast Asia are under
intense pressure because of population growth, urbanisation and
climate change.
• Rapid economic development and urbanisation has resulted in
degradation and depletion of natural resources, including water and
related ecosystem services. Many rivers in the region are highly
polluted with domestic, industrial and agricultural waste, causing
the Water Quality Index (WQI) to reach unsafe levels.
 MALAYSIA, 5TH
GLOBAL PLASTIC
POLLUTER OF THE
OCEANS.
Deforestation
• Problem: Species-rich wild forests are being destroyed, especially in the tropics, often to
make way for cattle ranching, soybean or palm oil plantations, or other agricultural
monocultures.
• Today, about 30 percent of the planet's land area is covered by forests - which is about half
as much as before agriculture got started around 11,000 years ago. About 7.3 million
hectares (18 million acres) of forest are destroyed each year, mostly in the tropics. Tropical
forests used to cover about 15 percent of the planet's land area; they're now down to 6 or 7
percent. Much of this remainder has been degraded by  logging or burning.
• Not only do natural forests act as biodiversity reserves, they are also carbon sinks, keeping
carbon out of the atmosphere and oceans.
• Solutions: Conserve of what's left of natural forests, and restore degraded areas by
replanting with native tree species. This requires strong governance - but many tropical
countries are still developing, with increasing populations, uneven rule-of-law, and
widespread cronyism and bribery when it comes to allocating land use.
 BURNING DOWN THE
AMAZON
- SCORCHED EARTH

• In 2013, clearing practices were

intensified again in Brazil’s
rainforest. At the World Climate
Summit in Warsaw, Brazil’s
environment minister Izabella
Teixeira admitted that by
November this year, some 5,843
square kilometers of forest had
been cut down.
• 2012 saw a loss of 4,571 square
kilometers. In 2004, some 27,000
square kilometers went up in
flames – a global negative record.
 BURNING DOWN THE
AMAZON
- WHERE TREES ARE
PRODUCTS

• Last year, the Brazilian government

announced it would limit the
destruction of the rainforest until
2020 to less than 4,000 square
kilometers per year by increasing
patrols.
• But an ever-growing number of trees
is lost to lumberjacks, gold diggers
and agricultural companies. The
illegally felled jungle giant pictured
here was discovered near the city of
Novo Progresso in Jamanxim
National Park.
 BURNING DOWN THE
AMAZON -
FLEEING THE GOLD-
DIGGERS

• The gold rush is threatening their

lives. Hundreds of Yanomami
have died from diseases brought
into their areas by prospectors.
• Settlers invade the area regularly
because the Yanomami’s
reservation hosts big gold
reserves. In June this year, the
Brazilian army destroyed illegal
airstrips in the nearly 9.5 million
hectare reservation on the border
with Venezuela.
Species extinction / Loss of
Biodiversity
• Problem: On land, wild animals are being hunted to extinction for bushmeat, ivory, or
"medicinal" products. At sea, huge industrial fishing boats equipped with bottom-trawling
or purse-seine nets clean out entire fish populations. The loss and destruction of habitat
are also major factors contributing to a wave of extinction - unprecedented in that it is
caused by a single species: humans. The IUCN's Red List of threatened and endangered
species continues to grow.
• Not only do species inherently deserve to exist, they also provide products and "services"
essential to human survival. Think bees and their pollinating prowess - necessary for
growing food.
• Solutions: Concerted efforts need to be made to prevent further loss of biodiversity.
Protecting and restoring habitats is one side of this - 
protecting against poaching and wildlife trade is another. This should be done in
partnership with locals, so that wildlife conservation is in their social and economic
interest.
LOOMING EXTINCTION CRISIS -
'SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION
EVENT'

• The world is embarking on its

sixth mass extinction event, the
current study concludes.
• The modern rate of species loss
was compared to "natural rates of
species disappearance before
human activity dominated."
• The dodo (pictured) was pushed
to extinction by the introduction
of nonnative species in 1690 -
only 100 years after it had been
discovered on Mauritius.
 LOOMING EXTINCTION
CRISIS
Pollution, deforestation,
climate change

• The causes of species loss are

mostly manmade. They range
from climate change, to
pollution, to deforestation
and beyond.
• About 2,000 trees have been
cut down every minute
during the past 40 years,
according to a different
study.
 LOOMING EXTINCTION
CRISIS -
THREATENED
ECOSYSTEMS

• As species disappear, so do crucial

services, such as pollination of
crops by honeybees.
• At the current rate of species loss,
humans will lose innumerable
biodiversity benefits within three
generations, the study's authors
write.
• "We are sawing off the limb that
we are sitting on," wrote author
Paul Ehrlich from Stanford
University.
Overpopulation
• Problem: Human population continues to grow rapidly worldwide.
Humanity entered the 20th century with 1.6 billion people; right now, we're
about 7.5 billion. Estimates put us at nearly 10 billion by 2050. Growing
global populations, combined with growing affluence, is putting ever greater
pressure on essential natural resources, like water. Most of the growth is
happening on the African continent, and in southern and eastern Asia.
• Solutions: Experience has shown that when women are empowered to
control their own reproduction, and gain 
access to education and basic social services, the average number of births
per woman drops precipitously.
• Done right, networked aid systems could bring women out of extreme
poverty, even in countries where state-level governance remains abysmal.
 REMEMBER WHEN WE
USED JUST ONE EARTH?
Many more of us

• In 1970, 3.7 billion people

lived on the planet. Our
numbers today exceed 7.5
billion.
• China and India top the
global population list, with
1.4 billion and 1.33 billion
inhabitants respectively.
(Source: Statista, Deutsche
Stiftung Weltbevölkerung)
 Urbanists

• We are becoming city people

instead. The number of us
living in urban areas rose
from 1.34 billion in 1970 to 4
billion in 2016.
• According to the latest
estimates, the majority of us
are living in urban areas even
in less developed countries.
(Source: WorldBank)
What's your ride?

• People love cars, right? But do you know how many there are
today? The exact figure is hard to come by but estimations draw a
relatively a clear picture.
• In 1970, 250 million cars were on the road worldwide. That
number shot up to 1 billion in 2010 and will have skyrocketed to 2
billion by 2020.
• The figures include cars, all kinds of trucks as well as buses.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Climate Change
• Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment.
Glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and
animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.
• Effects that scientists had predicted in the past would result from global climate
change are now occurring: loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and longer,
more intense heat waves.
• Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for
decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human
activities.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes more
than 1,300 scientists from the United States and other countries, forecasts a
temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.
• Scientists believe we are adding to the
natural greenhouse effect, with gases
released from industry and agriculture
trapping more energy and increasing the
temperature.
• This is known as climate change or
global warming.
• However, melting ice is now thought to
be the main reason for rising sea levels.
Most glaciers in temperate regions of the
world are retreating.
• And satellite records show a dramatic
decline in Arctic sea-ice since 1979. The
Greenland Ice Sheet has experienced
record melting in recent years.
• Satellite data also shows the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing mass. A
recent study indicated East Antarctica
may also have started to lose mass.
• The effects of a changing climate can also
be seen in vegetation and land animals.
These include earlier flowering and
fruiting times for plants and changes in
the territories of animals.
How much will temperatures rise in
future?

• The change in the global surface

temperature between 1850 and the end
of the 21st Century is likely to exceed
1.5C, most simulations suggest.
• The WMO says that if the current
warming trend continues, temperatures
could rise 3-5C by the end of this
century.
• Temperature rises of 2C had long been
regarded as the gateway to dangerous
warming. More recently, scientists and
policymakers have argued that 
limiting temperature rises to 1.5C is s
afer.
Green Technology and Environment
• While technology and a techno-centric society have generated negative impacts in the area of
environmental issues, green technologies are seen as potential solutions and an opportunity for
greater innovations and reforms.
• Technology itself is often not the real issue. What matters is our understanding of the “green” concept,
awareness of environmental ethics, paradigm shift in our thought processes, and change in our
practices.
• The need to act responsibly lies in moral relationship towards our fellow human beings and other
aspects of our natural environment.
• In order for us to act responsibly, we require a paradigm shift into what we think is the nature and
scope of our responsibility.
• Green technology refers to the use of science and technology to conserve and protect the
environment. It can lead to reduction of greenhouse gases and is an essential component of Green
Growth Strategy.
Trends in Green Technology and Sustainable Solutions by Sector
Sustainable Development Goals
• Sustainable Development Goals known as SDGs refer to the 17 goals along with 169 targets developed
by the United Nation in 2015 as an action plan for people, planet, prosperity and peace (
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/).
• The goals and targets are designed to stimulate actions by all for the next 15 years.
Thank You