Tag: environmental risks of economic development

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.