Pollutants and depletion of resources - class-VI

Photosynthesis and aerobic cellular respiration are complementary processes in the carbon cycle, where one consumes carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, while the other does the reverse.

Forests plays signicant role in improving rainfall. The growing plants used to intake lot of amount of moisture from the soil and release  90% of the moisture in the atmosphere which after condensation created precipitation. On the othe hand after rainfall they used to hold the moisture in it and aslo heps the soil to hold the moisture. In this ways a cycle goes on and forest improved rainfall.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), byname Earth Summit, was a conference held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 3–14, 1992), to reconcile worldwide economic development with protection of the environment

The Kigali Amendment under Montreal Protocol relating to the phase-down of the production and consumption of HFCs provided for Ambitious Phase-down. This phase down divided countries into groups one of which is that the developed countries were required to slash their use of HFCs by 10% by 2019.

The government environmental policies are made to comprehensively check the degradation of land and water through wasteland management and to provide rules and guidelines to improve the same. Provide for programs and measures to improve the quality of river waters, and to monitor and supervise the development through Environmental Impact Assessment studies which comparatively show figures and data of work done, programs utilized and funds exhausted while drawing the attention of the government to certain neglected areas of the environment.

The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete ozone layer is a landmark international agreement held under the aegis of United Nations for protection of stratospheric ozone layer. It was signed and finalized in 1987 and subsequently amended in 1990 and 1992. It stipulates phasing out the production of substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was ratified by almost all countries globally and came into force on 26 August 1987. 197 countries who were the member of UN ratified this protocol.

The Garo Hills are part of
the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. They are inhabited mainly by tribal
dwellers, the majority of whom are Garo people. It is one of the wettest places
in the world. The range is part of the Meghalaya subtropical forests ecoregion. 

Environmental degradation is the process of polluting natural environment. Different methods are being followed to conserve nature. Some of them include:

(i) minimising use water for processing by reusing and recycling it in two or more successive stages 

(ii) harvesting of rainwater to meet water requirements 

(iii) treating hot water and effluents before releasing them in rivers and ponds. Treatment of industrial effluents can be done in three phases 

(a) Primary treatment by mechanical means. This involves screening, grinding, flocculation and sedimentation. 

(b) Secondary treatment by the biological process.

(c) Tertiary treatment by biological, chemical and physical processes. This involves recycling of wastewater. 

Smoke emitted by chemical and paper factories, refineries etc., can be reduced by using Gas.

1. Mining activity is the main cause of environmental degradation.
2. Both legal and illegal mining activities has resulted in soil contamination, groundwater contamination, surface water contamination and loss of bio-diversity.
3. It also led to destruction of habitat and soil erosion.

Organic and inorganic industrial wastes and effluents discharged into rivers and water bodies causes water pollution.

• Though industrial development in India caused enormous improvement in India’s economy, it also proved disastrous to the environment.
  
• Industries cause air pollution due to the smoke released from factories.
  
• They also cause water pollution due to the draining of industrial wastes into water bodies causing problems to marine and human life.
  
• Industries create high decibel noises paving a way to noise pollution creating anxiety, hypertension especially among old people and patients.
  

• Environmental pollution is caused by many factors one of the main reason is indiscriminate use of resources.  For example excess use of forest products results in deforestation thereby increasing pollution.
  
• Production of hydroelectricity, canal irrigation and plantation agriculture do not cause pollution.
  

Ozone is a protective blanket that is present in stratosphere which protects earth from harmful effects of UV radiations that are present in sun light.

Chlorofluorocarbons and other halogenated compounds cause ozone depletion.

Chlorofluorocarbons are anthropogenic and are released from air-conditioning, refrigeration, blowing agents in foams, insulation and packing materials, propellants in aerosol cans, and as solvents.

The presence of high coliform counts in water indicate contamination by human wastes.

Coliform bacteria or Escherichia coli is a bacteria that is present in human intestine. It is a useful bacteria. When people discharge fecal matter near water bodies these microorganisms enter water.

Water contamination test is done by counting the number of coliform- bacteria E. coli colonies per 100 mL of water. The test is known as coliform microbial density. The water quality standards are that drinking water should not have any colonies, bathing and swimming pool water can have about 200 colonies, and recreational (fishing and boating) water about 1000 colonies

Atmosphere consists of many different  gases like nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide etc. Of all these gases nitrogen constitutes the major portion. Earth has 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide and other gases in minute proportion.

Trapping of sun’s heat in the lower atmosphere due to the presence of gases like water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane is called greenhouse effect.

Sun’s radiation is partly absorbed by earth and rest of the radiations are reflected back to the atmosphere which are escaped. But the greenhouse gases form blanket in the atmosphere and trap the radiation from escaping. This causes an increase in earth’s temperature resulting in Global warming.

Secondary treatment is a waste water management technique which uses physical phase separation and a biological process.

Physical phase separation removes suspended solids. Biological process is employed to remove organic matter. 

Example: Bacteria and protozoa consume biodegradable soluble organic contaminants

Living organisms that respond to the change in environment are called bioindicators. Lichens are useful bioindicators for air and water pollution specially for sulphur dioxide pollution. They are also useful in the detection of toxic elemental pollutants and radioactive metals.

Noise pollution is a physical form of pollution that affects the receiver directly. dB (decibel) is a standard abbreviation used for the quantitative expression of noise. Noise or pollutant sound has a value of 80 dB and above, it harms hearing system. The WHO has fixed 45 dB as the safe noise level for a city.

Mercury is hazardous to the environment because it interferes the food chain and enters human body causing adverse effects. This process is called bio magnification.

Example is the cause of Minimata disease, caused due to the mercury pollution in Japan. Tons of Mercury was released by industries into the river water and this entered human bodies by eating the fish which already consumed mercury of river water. Many people suffered nervous disorder because of the disease caused by mercury pollution.

B.  Environment

Temperature is an important factor to consider when assessing water quality. Water temperature can affect the metabolic rates and biological activity of aquatic organisms. Water temperature should be between 22-25 degree celsius.  But the water temperature should preferably be less than 25 degree celsius because in this temperature aquatic life flourish.

Conventional farming systems share many characteristics like rapid technological innovation, large capital investments, uniform high-yield hybrid crops, extensive use of pesticides, fertilizers, and external energy inputs.

Negative effects include:

Reduction in soil organic matter may be attributed to excessive use of fertilisers.

Soil erosion because of over irrigation may lead to soil erosion

Leaching of pesticides and fertilizers into the groundwater due to extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers.

Depletion of Earth's ozone layer results in increased amount of Ultra violet radiation will reach earth's surface

Ozone is a protective blanket that is present in stratosphere which protects earth from harmful effects of UV radiations that are present in sun light.

Chlorofluorocarbons and other halogenated compounds cause ozone depletion.

Chlorofluorocarbons are anthropogenic and are released from air-conditioning, refrigeration, blowing agents in foams, insulations and packing materials, propellants in aerosol cans, and as solvents.

BOD stands for Biological Oxygen Demand. It is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic matter present in a given water sample. It is mostly expressed in milligrams of oxygen consumed per litre of sample. 

Though industrial development in India caused enormous improvement in India’s economy, it also proved disastrous to the environment.

Industries caused air pollution due to the smoke released from factories.

They also caused water pollution due to the draining of industrial wastes into water bodies causing hectic problems to marine and human life.

Main pollution is caused by chemical industries.

Trapping of sun’s heat in the lower atmosphere due to increase in the pollution causing gases like carbon dioxide is called greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane and ozone, nitrous oxide etc.

Sun’s radiation is partly absorbed by earth and rest of the radiations are reflected back to the atmosphere. But the greenhouse gases form blanket in the atmosphere and traps the radiation from escaping. This causes an increase in earth’s temperature resulting in Global warming.

Sustainable development focuses on meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, which requires controlling pollution and conserving natural resources. The term aligns with modern development paradigms that balance economic growth with environmental protection.

Industrial activities are a major source of pollution, waste generation, and resource depletion, all of which contribute significantly to environmental problems.

Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, natural gas etc. These are used to generate energy for transportation cooking and many other. Such actions release particulate matter which includes suspended chemical compounds like oxides of sulphur and nitrogen and dangerous gases like carbonmonooxides.

Ground water is one of the important sources for irrigation and drinking. Contamination of ground water by hazardous wastes causes serious environmental effect.

Ground water is often contaminated by man-made products such as gasoline, oil, road salts and chemicals get into the groundwater and cause it to become unsafe and unfit for human use

CO₂ is one of the major gases causing
greenhouse effect. Increase in the concentration of CO2 in our environment in
last fifty years since 1960 is about 14% which is a huge change. This is
mostly anthropogenic that is manmade. Extensive industrialisation,
urbanisation, increase in the vehicular transport, deforestation are attributed
to this increase in carbon dioxide percentage

Biological oxygen demand (BOD) measures the amount of dissolved oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose organic matter. When more organic matter is present, more oxygen is consumed by these organisms, leading to an increase in BOD.

Ground water mining is the removal, or withdraw, of water from the natural source. Ground water is contained in specific rock units called aquifers.

Ground water mining in the coastal areas is very harmful because when the water is drawn sea water reverses its flow towards the water that is being used and causes an increase in salinity.

Air pollution is defined as the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans, animals, and plants. It involves the contamination of the air by chemical, physical, or biological agents.

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 is a central Act of Parliament, which provides for the prevention and control of air pollution and maintaining the good quality of air.

Excessive use of artificial fertilizers leads to nutrient runoff that can contaminate water bodies (rivers) and degrade soil structure and fertility. It can also cause air quality issues through the release of gases like nitrous oxide.

Conservation of resources is nothing but making use of resources such that they are not depleted and are left behind for replenishing in future. This can be achieved in many ways, for example for conservation of natural resources like natural gas, one can get tank less water heater as it reduces the usage of natural gas and the other example is to save natural gas, the use of another energy source like hydro, solar or wind power can be followed.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), was formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). Its name was changed in 1994 during Presidency of Bill Clinton. It is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers. 

The tribals of singhbhun district of Jharkhand started the protest when the government decided to replace the natural sol forest, that movement is known as Jungle Bachao Andolan.

Polypack bags are made of plastic which can be recycled. Instead of throwing them, its better to recycle it.