Management Of Environment And Natural Disasters

The management of environment and natural disasters is a

major concern of the entire global community. The
environment is the life supporting system for all living
organisms including humankind. Its sustainable use is
essential for the current and future generations. At the same
time, natural disasters continue to lead to losses of life and
property, enhanced poverty and vulnerability affecting any efforts towards
achieving sustainable development.

The various strategies national, sub-regional, regional and international

strategies aim at sustainable use of environment and natural disaster reduction.

Saving Energy

Fight the Light!

Don't leave lights on when no one is in the room. If you are going to be out of the room
for more than five minutes, turn off the light.

If you know of a light that is everyone forgets to turn off, make a sticker or a sign to hang
next to the switch that says "Lights Out!" or "Don't Forget!"

Where possible, use compact fluorescent light bulbs. Those funny-looking bulbs produce
the same amount of light by using 1/4 of the electricity. Plus, they last for years and years
without burning out.

Don't Leave Things Turned On

Turn off the TV when no one is watching it. The same goes for computers, radios and
stereos - if no one using it, turn it off. Turn off all the appliances at the surge
protector/control strip - that four- or six-plug extension chord that you plug all your
computer things into. Some devices, like modems or other networking boxes are drawing
small amounts of power all the time. Check with your folks first, but the best thing to do
is turn them ALL off at the surge protector.

It's a Matter of Degrees!

In warm weather, the thermostat at home should be set at 78 degrees. (Don't do this, of
course, if it will cause health problems for anyone in your family.) When no one is home,
set the thermostat at 85 degrees. That way, you'll reduce the need for air conditioning and
you will save energy. If you have ceiling fans or other fans, turn them on. The blowing
air can make you feel 5 degrees cooler, without running the family's air conditioner. Fans
use a lot less electricity than air conditioners!

In cold weather, wear warm clothing and have your thermostat set to 68 degrees or lower
during the day and evening, health permitting. When you go to sleep at night, set the
thermostat back to either 55 degrees, or turn it off. When you leave home for an extended
time, set the thermostat at 55 degrees or turn it off, too. That way, your family can save
from 5 percent to 20 percent on your heating costs. (Don't do this, of course, if it will
cause health problems for anyone in your family.)
Don't Heat - or Cool - the Great Outdoors!

Americans use twice as much energy as necessary to heat their homes. That accounts for
a lot of wasted energy!

If you have a fireplace, close the damper when you don't have a fire burning. An open
fireplace damper can let 8 percent of heat from your furnace escape through the chimney!
In the summer, an open fireplace damper can let cool air escape. It's like having a
window open!

Make a map of your home, and mark all the windows, heating vents, and outside doors.
Take a ribbon and hold it up to the edges of the doors and windows. If the ribbon blows,
you've found a leak! Ask Mom or Dad to seal the leak with caulk or weatherstripping.

Think about your curtains. Keeping the curtains closed on cold, cloudy days helps block
the cold outside air from getting inside. Also, keeping the curtains closed on very hot
days keeps the hot air out!

In the Bedroom

Turn off your electric blanket when you aren't in bed.

Don't leave on your computer, TVs, radios or games that use electricity when you're not
using them.

In the Bathroom

Wasting water wastes electricity. Why? Because the biggest use of electricity in most
cities is supplying water and cleaning it up after it's been used!

About 75 percent of the water we use in our homes is used in the bathroom. Unless you
have a low flush toilet, for example, you use about five gallons to seven gallons of water
with every flush! A leaky toilet can waste more than 10,000 gallons of water a year.
Wow!

Drippy faucets are bad, too. A faucet that leaks enough water to fill a soda bottle every 30
minutes will waste 2,192 gallons of water a year.

Another simple way to save water AND energy is to take shorter showers. You'll use less
hot water - and water heaters account for nearly 1/4 of your home's energy use.

In the Kitchen

According to researchers who are paid to study such things, a load of dishes cleaned in a
dishwasher uses 37 percent less water than washing dishes by hand! However, if you fill
up one side of the sink with soapy water and the other side with rinse water - and if you
don't let the faucet run - you'll use half as much water as a dishwasher does. Doing the
dishes this way can save enough water for a five-minute shower!

If you need to warm up or defrost small amounts of food, use a microwave instead of the
stove to save energy. Microwave ovens use around 50 percent less energy than
conventional ovens do. For large meals, however, the stove is usually more efficient. In
the summer, using a microwave causes less heat in the kitchen, which saves money on air
conditioning.

Don't keep the refrigerator door open any longer than you need to. Close it to keep the
cold air inside! Also, make sure the door closes securely. There is a rubber-like seal
around the door that you can test. Just close the door on a dollar bill, and then see how
easy it is to pull out. If the dollar slides out easily, the door is probably leaking cold air
from inside.

Is there an old refrigerator sitting in the garage or someplace else at home? Old
refrigerators are real energy hogs! An old refrigerator could be costing your family as
much as $120 a year to operate. Urge your parents to replace it if they don't need it, and
remind them that one large refrigerator is cheaper to run than two smaller ones.

Shocking News About Batteries

Did you know that Americans use an average of about eight batteries a year per person?
Wow!

Batteries that are thrown away produce most of the heavy metals - dangerous substances
like lead, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, copper, and mercury - that are found in household
trash. These metals are toxic. They can be harmful to humans and wildlife. When
discarded batteries from our trash wind up in landfills, these dangerous metals can seep
into the ground water and eventually into the food chain. So, instead of throwing batteries
in the trash, we should all take them to a toxic waste disposal area, if at all possible.

Turn off the toys and games (like GameBoys TM) that use batteries when you are not
playing with them. That makes the batteries last longer, and you won't need as many of
them.

Forty percent of all battery sales are made during the holiday season. Ask for holiday
gifts that do not require batteries.

Ask your parents to buy rechargeable batteries and a recharger.

Outside the House

Remember how saving water saves energy? Use a broom instead of a hose to clean off
the driveway, patio or deck - this will save hundreds of gallons of water each year.

If you only have a small lawn, consider getting a manual push mower. It doesn't use any
energy except your own. Pushing the mower spins the rotating wheels, which spins the
cutter. Consider it good exercise!

Don't use an electric or gasoline leaf blower. Instead, use a rake.

If you need to leave a security light on over night, change the incandescent bulb to a
compact fluorescent. It will last months and maybe years and save you energy and
money. Some compact fluorescent bulbs even come in yellow so they won't attract bugs.

Other Recycling Tips

Make a scrap-paper pad. Gather pieces of used paper the same size with the blank side
up. Find a piece of cardboard the same size as the paper and put it at the back. Staple the
whole thing together, and use it as a place to write down grocery lists or things to do.

If every American recycled his or her newspaper just one day a week, we would save
about 36 million trees a year. You can save a tree for every four feet of paper you recycle.
It takes half as much energy to make recycled newspaper as it takes to make fresh
newsprint from trees.

Recycle your newspapers. (Check to see if recycling centers want them tied together or in
bags.) Anything that comes with the newspaper can also be recycled (except magazines,
which must be recycled separately).

Recycle your old notebook paper. It is considered "white paper," and makes better
recycled paper. "White paper" is writing paper, notebook paper, white envelopes, typing
paper, index cards, computer paper, and white stationary.

Cereal boxes, egg cartons, wrapping paper are called "mixed paper." All these things can
be recycled. Mixed paper can be made into paperboard, the paper that is used on roofs.

Global Environmental Change

Large-scale and global environmental hazards to human health include

• climate change
• stratospheric ozone depletion
• loss of biodiversity
• changes in hydrological systems
• changes in the supplies of freshwater
• land degradation and
• stresses on food-producing systems.

Appreciation of this scale and type of influence on human health requires

a new perspective which focuses on ecosystems and on the recognition
that the foundations of long-term good health in populations rely in great
part on the continued stability and functioning of the biosphere's life-
supporting systems. It also brings an appreciation of the complexity of the
systems upon which we depend.
Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Subsidence: Causes, Consequences, and
Strategies

Greenhouse-induced climate warming increasingly appears to be a reality,

and the warming climate will be accompanied by an accelerated sea level
rise – as much as 60–100 cm over the next century. What is commonly
absent in the discussion of rising sea level, however, is the role played by
the subsidence of low-lying coastal areas, which can have a far greater
local effect than the eustatic rise of the sea. The combined sea-level rise
and land subsidence will almost certainly make the greatest impact on
coastal societies in the densely populated regions of southern Asia, but its
effects will be felt globally.

What can we do?

Individual
What difference can I make?

When faced with this question, individuals should recognize that collectively they
can make a difference. Think back to the days before recycling became popular
– when everyone threw everything out in the trash. In less than 20 years, most
households have gone from recycling little to nothing to recycling newspapers,
plastics, glass and metal. Many businesses recycle paper and buy recycled
products and many industries practice source reduction in their packaging efforts.
An entire mindset has changed in one generation!

Taking action on global warming (or climate change) is similar. In some cases, it
only takes a little change in lifestyle and behavior to make some big changes in
greenhouse gas reductions. For other types of actions, the changes are more
significant. When that action is multiplied by people worldwide, the savings are
significant.

"Individuals Can Make A Difference" identifies actions that many households can
take that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in addition to other benefits,
including saving you money! The actions range from changes in the house, in the
yard, in the car, and in the store.

Impacts
Rising global temperatures are expected to raise sea
level, and change precipitation and other local climate
conditions. Changing regional climate could alter
forests, crop yields, and water supplies. It could also
affect human health, animals, and many types of
ecosystems. Deserts may expand into existing
rangelands, and features of some of our National
Parks may be permanently altered.

Most of the United States is expected to warm, although sulfates may limit
warming in some areas. Scientists currently are unable to determine which parts
of the United States will become wetter or drier, but there is likely to be an overall
trend toward increased precipitation and evaporation, more intense rainstorms,
and drier soils.

Unfortunately, many of the potentially most important impacts depend upon

whether rainfall increases or decreases, which can not be reliably projected for
specific areas.
Kyoto protocol
An international agreement, reached in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, which
extends the commitments of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change.The Protocol established specific targets and
timetables for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to be achieved by
the framework’s signatories. The United States , Japan and 82 other
countries agreed on the need for an average 5.2 per cent reduction in
industrialized countries’ 1990 emissions by the year 2012, to slow global
warming due to the greenhouse effect. The reductions are not the same for
all countries but depend on the degree of economic development,
population, climate and size.

The Kyoto Protocol, negotiated by more than 160 nations in December

1997, aims to reduce net emissions of certain greenhouse gases (primarily
carbon dioxide (CO2)). Each of the participating developed countries must
decide how to meet its respective reduction goal during a five-year period
(2008-2012); but specific ground rules remain to be worked out at future
negotiating sessions.

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. It contains legally
binding commitments, in addition to those included in the UNFCCC
countries agreed to reduce their anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
(CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6) by at least 5% below 1990
levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012. The Kyoto Protocol has not
yet entered into force (April 2001).

OBJECTIVES OF KYOTO
The Kyoto Protocol’s guiding principles are economic efficiency,
environmental integrity and support for sustainable development.
Kyoto’s key concepts state that: developed countries should commit to
reducing collective emissions of six key greenhouse gases :Kyoto’s key
concepts state that: developed countries should commit to reducing
collective emissions of six key greenhouse gases by an average of at least
five per cent; national emissions targets must be achieved by 2008-2012
Kyoto’s key concepts state that: developed countries should commit to
reducing collective emissions of key greenhouse gases(CO2, CH4, N2O,
HFCs, PFCs, and SF6 )by an average of at least five per cent; national
emissions targets must be achieved by 2008-2012
The third Conference of Parties took place at Kyoto, Japan, in December
1997, at which further greenhouse gas emission reduction targets were
negotiated (a global reduction of greenhouse gases by 5.2% by 2008 to
2012). As a Protocol, the agreement will become legally binding once
enough countries have ratified it
- Courtesy by : Energy Information Administration.

Kyoto Protocol Adoption: A Historical First Step to Fruition

The Global Summit on Climate Warming has closed with the adoption of
a protocol with the first-ever globally legal binding power, including
target values for reducing greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide
(CO2) across a five-year period from around 2010 to 1990 level king cuts
as follows: EU 8%, US 7%, and Japan 6%, with an average reduction of
5.2% among the developed nations.
World environment NGOs CO2 reduction urged by "power to the
people"

Environmental
NGO parade in
Kyoto to appeal to
the citizens to
cherish the Earth
(April 1997)
Kyoto protocol
awareness
AN EFFORT TO REDUCE THE GREEN HOUSE GASES
MAINLY CO2 WHICH IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF GLOBAL
WARMING.
People from countries all around the world arrived in small groups in
Kyoto to represent Greenpeace and other environmental NGOs (Non-
Governmental Organizations) at the 3rd Session of the Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(COP3) Kyoto Conference. The number of people from NGOs
participating in the conference is said to exceed 1000. At the Kyoto
Conference,government representatives from each country will decide on
policies to prevent global warming, NGOs have no right to vote, and
furthermore, are limited to being merely conference observers.
Environmental NGOs are public action bodies formed from among
ordinary citizens, but what do they hope to gain from the Kyoto
Conference, and what kind of role are they themselves trying to play? We
took a good look at environmental NGOs, which have been called another
leading light of the Conference.
 The Kyoto Conference is an important conference that is dealing with the
world environment, which will have a serious effect on people's lives and
food supply in the 21st century. It is calling for a major reduction in
carbon dioxide (CO2), which is causing damage to the world's
environment, oxide (CO2) .

Definition of Water Pollution

 The addition of sewage, industrial wastes, or other harmful or objectionable

material to water in concentrations or in sufficient quantities to result in
measurable degradation of water quality.
 The presence in water of enough harmful or objectionable material to damage
water quality. Water solubility The maximum possible concentration of a
chemical compound dissolved in water. Water storage pond An impound for
liquid wastes designed to accomplish some degree of biochemical treatment.
Water supply system The collection, treatment, storage, and distribution of water
from source to consumer. Water table The surface of groundwater in the soil.
Weir A spill over device used to measure or control water flows.
 The addition of harmful or objectionable material causing an alteration of water
quality.
 Harmful or objectionable material in water in sufficient quantities to result in a
measurable degradation of the water quality.
 The presence in water of enough harmful or objectionable material to damage the
water's quality.
 The presence in water of enough harmful or objectionable material to damage the
water's quality.
 Industrial and institutional wastes, and other harmful or objectionable material in
sufficient quantities to result in a measurable degradation of the water quality.
 The impairment of water quality by agricultural, domestic or industrial wastes to a
degree that the natural water quality is changed to hinder any beneficial use of the
water or render it offensive to the senses of sight, taste, or smell or when
sufficient amounts of wastes create or pose a potential threat to human health or
the environment.
 The degradation of a body of water by a substance or condition to such a degree
that the water fails to meet specified standards or cannot be used for a specific
purpose.
 The introduction of substances that make water impure compared with
undisturbed water. Usually this comes from soil erosion, introduction of
poisonous chemicals from industries and spills and introduction of domestic
sewage or industrial and agricultural wastes.
 a state of unhealthiness, impurity dirtiness of water caused by the deposition of
harmful substances into the water.
 Generally, the presence in water of enough harmful or objectionable material to
damage the water's quality. More specifically, pollution shall be construed to
mean contamination of any waters such as will create or is likely to create a
nuisance or to render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public
 health, safety or welfare, or to domestic, municipal, commercial, industrial,
agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate uses, or to livestock, wild animals,
birds, fish or other aquatic life, including but not limited to such contamination by
alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of such waters, or
change in temperature, taste, color or order thereof, or the discharge of any liquid,
gaseous, radioactive, solid or other substances into such waters. More simply, it
refers to quality levels resulting from man's activities that interfere with or
prevent water use or uses.
 Any substance or energy form (heat, light, noise, etc.) which alters the state of a
body of water from what would naturally occur. Especially associated with those
altered states which human value judgements have decreed as bad.
 The substances that cause harm to the water environment are called pollutants.
Water pollutants both come from point sources and diffuse sources. Point sources
are readily identifiable (e.g. domestic, urban, industrial wastes) compared with
diffuse sources (e.g. agricultural or urban wastes via atmosphere - gaseous),
making control easier in a perfectly regulated society. Monitoring freshwater
pollution requires a thorough appreciation of the sources, pathways, and targets
for a myriad of pollutants. It also means that we need to understand the dynamic
processes occurring in the water ecosystems.