UNIT 4

SOCIAL ISSUES AND THE

ENVIRONMENT

DEVELOPMENT
From unsustainable to sustainable development :
Brundland commission describes sustainable development as
the development that meet needs of present generation without
compromising ability of future generations to meet their own need

Concept of sustainable development

A symbiotic relationship between consumer human race and
producer natural system
Compatibility between ecology and economics

Aim of sustainable development:

Inter generational equity
Intra generational technology

Significance of sustainable development:

Developing appropriate technology
Reduce , reuse, recycle of natural resource
Providing environmental education and awareness
Consumption of renewable resources
Conservation of nonrenewable resources
Population control

Urban problems related to energy:

Urbanization:
Movement of human population from rural areas top urban
areas for betterment of education, communication, health,
employment etc Causes; Cities are main centers of economic
growth, trade, transportation, education, medical facilities and
employment.
Urban energy requirement:
Residential and commercial lighting
Public and private transportation
Electrical and electronic appliance

Water conservation:
Process of saving water for future utilization Water
source:
Fresh water
River
Stream
Pond
Ocean

Need for water conservation:

Population increases water requirement also increases
Due to deforestation annual rainfall decreases
Over exploitation of ground water

Ways of water conservation

Reducing evaporation loss
Reducing irrigation loss
Reuse water
Avoid sewage discharge

Water conservation method

Rain water harvesting
Watershed management

Rain water harvesting

Objective:
To meet increasing demands of water Raise water table by
recharging ground water Reduce ground water contamination from
salt water intrusion Roof top rainwater harvesting roof of house

Advantages of rainwater harvesting

Increases the well water availability
Raise ground water level
Minimizes soil erosion

Watershed management:
It is defined as land area bounded by divide line from which water
drains under influence of gravity in to stream, lakes, reservoir. Eg.
Pits, dams, Farm, ponds, Himalaya. Types
1. Micro
2. Mini
3. Macro

Advantages of Watershed projects

Improved access to drinking water in project areas during
drought
Increase in cultivation area leading to increase in employment
Increase in crop yield, resulting better income to rural
population

Increase in employment & involvement of women

Increase in net returns from all crops.
Decrease in soil erosion.
Restoration of ecological balance.

Resettlement and Rehabilitation of people :

Resettlement simple relocation or displacement of human
population. Rehabilitation making, system to work again by
allowing, system to function naturally.

Effects:
Loss of land
Loss of recourse
Unsatisfactory compensation
Social and cultural problems
Changes in tradition of indigenous people
Spread of disease
Submergence of valuable forest
Water logging
Extinction of wild life

Environmental ethics:Over exploitation of forests, land, water as well as various

living components of biosphere and failure to tackle the problem of
pollution and environmental degradation are exposing the humanly
to the thread of a global environment crisis.

Following are some of the ways to safeguard

environment.
1. To sacrifice the consumption of some of the good which
reduces environment quality
2. Minimize the resource utilization and conservation
3. Adopt sustainable and eco friendly development.

Green House Effect and Global Warming:

The raise of earths surface
temperature due to intense green house effect is called global
warming.

Effects:
Increase evaporation of surface water influence climate change
Leads to declining biodiversity
Melting of mountain glaciers
Change the climate and rainfall

Ozone layer depletion:

Ozone is an important chemical species
present in the stratosphere. Its conc. is about 10 ppm.

Effects:
1. Marked rise in cause skin cancer
2. Damage immune system
3. Eye ailment such as cataract
4. Shorter life of paints and plastics
5. Restricted growth and crop damage

Waste land reclamation:

Any land which is not put to optimal use is defined
as waste land. The waste land do not fulfill their life sustain
potential wasteland contributes about 20.17% of the total
geographical area of India.

Reasons for formation

Over grazing and over exploitation
Toxic effluent discharged from sewage and industrial
wastes
Mining activities destroy forest and cultivable land
Use of pesticides also produce wasteland
Erosion, desertification, water logging also degrade
land

Wastelands can be reclaimed by the

following way
Conserving the soil land is brought under vegetal
cover. This can be done by growing grasses and shrubs
To reclaim the land/soil, effective participation of
the people, voluntary agencies and government is very
important

Consumerism and Waste Products

Consumerism refers to the consumption of
resources by the people. Early human societies used to
consume much less resources