Environmental Concerns

2.7 FURTHER READING

-
Environmental Science - A global concern, by W.P. Cunningham and
B.W. Saigo, W.C. Brown Publisher.
-
~ntroduction to Environmental Science by Moran, Morgan, Wiersma,
W.H. Freeman and Company, New York.
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Environmental Science - Earth.as a living Planet by Daniel Botkin and
Edward Keller, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York.
UNIT 3 DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT
Structure
Introduction
Objectives
Development: Issues and Concerns
Impact of Agricultural Practices
Deforestation
Saliilisation and Water-logging
Soil.erosion and Desertification
Fertilisers and Plant Protection Chemicals
High Yielding Varieties (HYV)
Impact of Industrialisation
Impact of Urbanisation
Positive Impacts of Urbanisation
Problems of Urbanisation
Impact of Energy Generation
Impact on Air
Impact on Water
Impact on Land
Sustainable Development
Conc@t of Sustainable Development
Equity and Common Interest
Strategic Imperatives
Activities
Let Us Sum Up
Further Reading
3.1 INTRODUCTION
%e 20"' century is generally regarded as the century of development in science
and technology and advances in economic growth. It was also a century of the
decimation of the environment through the overuse of the non-renewable as
well as the renewable resources of the planet, in the name of development and
improvement in the life styles of the human population.
In the previous two units we explored the components of the environment and
the principles that govern the ecosystem. We discussed the available natural
resources and the means of exploring them in a judicious manner. In this unit
we will discuss the various issues and concerns related to the iinpact of some
developmental activities essential for human survival, Activitiqs like
agriculture, iqdustry, energy generation that lead to overexploitption of
biological resources and to the deterioration of environmental qbality and
enormous loss of vegetal cover at the local (in the Indian contexk), regional and
global level. We will also discuss the impact of the accompanyirfg urbanisation
that is essential for the growth and economic prosperity of a natiqn. You will
realize that the majority of the victims of environmental disasterh pre the
impoverished ones in the poor nations, and any degradation of thepnvironment
makes their survival even more difficult and uncertain.
The connections between the environment and development are so intricate
and tight that any attempt to untangle them wotild only lead to illogical
conclusions and counter productive solutions. Therefore, the concept of
sustainable development that is, development that meets the needs of the.
Environmental Concerns
present without comprumising the ability of the future generations to meet
I their needs has also been discussed, in this unit.
Objectives
After reading this unit you will become aware:
of the various issues and'concems related to developmental activities and
the environment at local, regional and global levels,
how various essential human activities such as agriculture, industry and
energy generation have led to environmerital degradation, deforestation,
soil erosion and a host of other environmental problems,
of the impact of urbanisation on the various aspects of the environment,
and
o of the need for sustainable development so that our environmental
resources and services remain healthy and available to our f i r e
generations.
3.2 . DEVELOPMENT: ISSUES AND CONCERNS
It is a common myth that there was no desti-uction of the environment before
the advent of industrialisation. In fact, human activities have resulted in
changes in the environment since early times. Some of the greatest
deforestations around the Mediterranean region took place in the Greek and
Roman era when indiscriminate logging for shipbuilding and for use as fuel in
daily life and activities related to mining led to rapid clearing of trees and
consequent desertification. As the human populatioil was small then, the
ecosystem was able to sustain the impact of human interference. But with the
growing population the needs of the people also grew and so did the impact of
their activities. With developments in agricultural practices, industrialisation,
and mining techniques there has been a marked increase in productioil as well
as consumption, a shift towards nondegradable products (such as plastics ) and
increased 'use of non-renewable resources such as petroleum products.
However, .in the last few decades the hazardous impact of human activities has
accelerated and become more visible in all major spheres -hydrosphere,
atmosphere and parts of the lithosphere. Pressure from the ever-growing
population, uncontrolled lavish consumption, urbanisation and industrial
expansion coupled with huge demands for energy have caused the changes that
are serious concerns for the environment.
It is a well known fact that growth an8 development of the human society,
even the very existence of human beings, requires many natural resources both
physical as well as biological. For all practical purposes land is limited, water
though replenishable, over a period of time can also become scarce. Air is
seemingly inexhaustible but due to severe deterioration of its quality through
changes in its composition can become unusable. Energy in its natural form
like sunlight appears abundant but it is critically in short supply at the level of
the consumer. Fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, natural gas and radioactive
elements are definitely finite. Their increasing use is resulting in their fast
depletion.
The unprecedented growth in world production and consumption is leading to
environmental stress through irreversible impacts at local, regional and global
levels. Global warming and ozone level depletion are examples of global
environmental degradation; acid rain and the state of oceans in several
countries are of international concerns and the more local impacts are due to
air and water pollution, soil degradation, deforestation etc.
Even now in most developing countries poverty, malnutrition, infectious and
parasitic diseases, shortages of food and water, poor sanitation and lack of
proper housing are the major concerns rather than issues of gl ~pal warming or
ozone depletion. The major concerns of the developed and the 'underdeveloped
countries have been compared in Table 3.1.
' .
Table 3.1: Environmental concerns of the developed and developing countries.
Environmental Developing countries Developed countries
aspect
Air Air pollution in major cities Air pollution, global warming
Ozone depletion
Land and soil Soil erosion, desertificatioil Soil loss, solid waste disposal
Loss of arable land Changing land use
Water Fresh water shortage Inland and marine water pollution
Flora and fauna ' Deforestation, fuel woad Loss of genetic diversity .
Shortage Loss of cropland
The.environmenta1 issues arising out of developmental activities have to be
exa~i ned keeping in view the growth of world popu!.ation as well the
'
consumption level. The '1972 UN World Conference on the Human
Environment held at Stoclcholm also highlighted the differences in the points
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of view of the developed and the developing countries regarding development
and environment.'The developing countries saw development above the
concerns for the environment while the developed countries saw the population
growth aq.fhe main reason for the environmental crisis. Among
environmentalists tbo, there are two opinions - one that tends to put greater
blame for environmental deterioration on the population growth mainly in the
developing nations. The ather viewpoint is that the over consumption patterns
of the industrialized nations is responsible for the present day environmental
problems (see Figure 3.1).
1
Most environmental issues are related either to the interaction bekeen human
population and natural resources (resource consumption), that is, those caused
by taking resources from the environment or putting waste into the
environment, or factors associated with the sheer growth of the human
!
population. On examining resource consumption patterns we find that per
3
capita, consumption in developed countries is far greater than in developing
nations. The industrialised countries are responsible for the greatest impact of
natural resource consumption on the global environmental problems like
changes in the atmosphere, while poverty and inability to meet even the basic
needs often forces the use of natural resourcqs in developing countries in ways
i
that lead to environmental degradation ( ~ o r f d - ~ e s ~ u r c e s 1994-95). ,
Development and
Environment
Environmental Concerns
=: X X
Number Resource Enviromental
Environmental impact of use per impact per unit
people person of resource used
- -
X X
I
Fig 3.1: kehationship between population, development and environmehtal degradation.
In 1992 the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro was held to discuss the global
environmental issues and focused on the links between the environment and
development. At Rio the governments agreed upon the Local Agenda 2 1, a
plan designed to tackle environmental issues globally, nationally and locally. It
brought out the relationship between poverty, development and environmental
degradation. The main issue agreed upon was that the rich nations had an .
ecological debt to pay to the poorer nations because of the disproportionate
consumption of natural resources in the wealthier nations. Ten years later this
issue ofunsustainable pattern of development and consumption of resources
particularly in the developed world was raised in The World Summit on
Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa (you will read
'
more about this in section 3.7 of this unit).
While the world population crossing the six billion mark and expected to reach
eight billion by mid century, is a cause of concern, there is not enough effo j to
examine or reduce the consumption levels in the developed nations. For
example calculations show that if petroleum used in New York was available
to the poor in the form of kerosene, the entire fire wood consumption of the
third world can be replaced! (See Box 3.1 also).
,
Apart from pollution which is a common concern of both.developed and
developing countries, another cause for concern is that environmental stress is
often both the causq and effect of military conflict. Thro~lghout history
, '
disputes over environmental resources has been common. Disputes over river
waters have taken place in Noi-th America over Ria Grande, in south East Asia
over the waters of the Ganges and Mekong; over the Nile in Africa. Relations
between Britain and Argentina have strained due:to a declaration of exclusive
fishing zone around Maldives Falkland islands. Such conflicts are likely to .
increase in the future as competition for.scarce resources increases.
Box 3.1: Unsustainable consumption patterns.
The total resource consumption of 20 average families in the developing world is less
than the consumption of one British family (having two children).
India uses less paper for printing textbooks than Scandinavian countries use for
printing pornographic literature.
0 One fifth the world's population in the North (USA, Canada, Western Europe and
Japan) consumes 80% of the world's resources.
Per capita emission of greenhouse gases in the US is twelve times that of South Asia.
Issues and Concerns in India
Since independence India has made rapid progress. We are becoming
progressively iildustrialized and urbanised. We have the third largest pool of
scientific and technological manpower after USA and Russia. Industrialisation
is considered a sign of development of a nation and India has seen a five fold
increase in industrial production in the last thirty years. However, issues related
to development in India are similar to issues faced by other developing
countries. These are:
Poverty
Clean air
Clean water for drinking and domestic use
Education
Malnutrition, health care and sanitation
Good soil to provide food and fodder to increasing human and livestock
population
* Fuel for cooking and heating
Shelter
.
You are already aware that there has been a population explosion in India since
independence -from 300 million in 1947 to over a billion today. This rapidly
growing population along with increased economic development has placed a
strain on India's environment as well as on the iilfrastructure of the country, If
not managed properly, providing eve11 the basics would result in more negative
environmental impacts. If we are to reach the level of the developed countries
then resource consumption is bound to increase. Since the last two decades
people in India are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental
problems of global warming, acid rain, scarcity of fodder and fuel wood,
pollution of air, water and soil from hazardous chemicals and radiation.
The State of the Environment Report for India prepared by TEN, broadly
covers the five priority issues pertaining to the environment identified by the
Government of India as per the UNEP guidelines. In addition, other issues
addressing economic and social development are also included. The five
priority issues are:
1. Land degradation, which occurs through the natural and man-made
processes of wind erosion, water erosion, and water-logging, has, been
' identified as one of the priority coilcerns in India. The result of such
degradation is the loss of invaluable nutrients and lower food grain
production. Poor lmd use practices and management are responsible for the
rapid land degradation in 1ndia.
Development and
Environment t
Environmental Concerns
A one meter rise in sea
level today would
displace 7 inillion
Indians and in the future
this number would be
much larger.
Source: Asia
Development Bank
(1 995)
2. Loss of biodiversity is of great concern to India since many plant and
animal species are severely threatened by a destruction of their habitat and
an over-exploitation of resources. A large number of species are either
endangered or on the verge of extinction, both of which can be attributed to
a lack of policy and institutional mechanisms.
3. Air pollution with special reference to vehicular pollution in cities. Air
pollution in India caa broadly be attributed to rapid industrialisation,
energy production, urbanisation, commercialisation, and an increase in the
number of motorised vehicles. Vehicles are a major source of pollutants in
cities and towns. Apart from the sheer numbers, other factors contributing
to the increasing vehicular pollution in urban areas include the types of
engines used, age of vehicles, density of traffic, road conditions, and the
status of automotive technologies and traffic management systems.
4. Management of fresh water resources. The availability of fresh water is
goi.ng to be the most pressing problem in India over the coming decades.
The stress on water resources is a result of multiple factors namely urban
growth, increased industrial activities, intensive farming, and the overuse
of fertilisers and other chemicals in agricultural production. Untreated
water from urban settlements and industrial activities, and run-off from
agricultural land c'arrying chemicals, are primarily responsible for the
deterioration of water quality and the contamination of lakes, rivers, and
groundwater aquifers.
5. Hazardous waste management with special reference to municipal solid
waste management. There has been a significant increase in the quantities
of municipal solid wastes and hazardous waste genqated in India over the
last few decades. The largest quantities of hazardous waste are generated
by the following industries: petrochemicals, p~armaceuticals, pesticides,
paints and dyes, petroleum, fertilisers, asbestos, caustic soda, inorganic
. chemicals, and general engineering. The rate of generation of solid waste in
urban centres has outpaced population growth in recent years with the
wastes normally disposed in low-lying areas of the city's outskirts (India:
State of the Environment 2001).
These core environmental issues are vital for the long-term economic
development in India, needed to provide the basic amenities to all the citizens.
Industrial pollution continues to remain a major problem accentuated by
expansion of the chemical industry in the recent past. Against an economic
growth of 163 per cent in the past 20 years, the pollution load increased by
more than 475 per cent. During the period from 1975-95 industrial pollution
grew by 247 per cent. The impact of this is being felt in the highly toxic quality
of water bodies, deteriorating ambient air quality and land degradation (India
Development Report 2002). The threat of climatic change due to the emission
of greenhouse gases (GHG) mainly carbon dioxide, is by now well known.
India is already facing pressure to reduce its emissibn of GI-IGs though the
unsustainable consumption patterns of industrialized nations have led to the
accumulation of GHGs. he three impacts generally expected of climate
change are effects on agriculture, sea level rise leading to submergance of
coastal areas and increased frequencies of extreme events such as drought,
floods cyclones etc. Each of these poses a serious threat to India.
It is important that we must recognize the cyclic relationship between the
environment, development and poverty. As poverty increases, pressure on the
natural resources increases leading to environmental degradation, the prospects
of further employment declines. Thus environmental degradation generates
more poverty. At least 500 million of the world's poorest people live in
ecologically marginal areas who may indulge in overexploitation'of the natural
resources resulting in the decline in productivity.
Thus we see that environmental challenges arise from lack of development and
also from development processes. The biggest challenge is to implement a
development process that will lead to greater equity, growth and sustainability.
In the following sections we will discuss the impact of various developmental
activities like agriculture, energy generation, ind~lstrialisation and urbanisation
on the environment.
Development and
Environment
3.3 IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
Agriculturc is probably the oldest industry setup by humans. It is also the
largest industry as well. More than half the world's population is engaged in
agriculture, hence it would be expected that agriculture would leave its impact
on the environment.
Before you start reading about the changes in human~environinent we would
like you to h o w about the history of land use patterns during different periods
of time, so that it is easier for you to compare and correlate the damages
caused by different agricultural practices. Figure 3.2 gives a brief account of
the agro ecosystems. The transformatioil from traditional to inoden~ agriculture
depicts the evolution of more energy intensive and more productive agriculture
from less energy intensive and less productive agriculture. In the figure you
can see the shifts in agricultural practices that have brought in significant
changes in land use patterns, health of natural resources, quantum and direction
of material flow and livelihood patterns.
Agriculture has undergone significant changes during the last century. Use of
modem implements, electric powered irrigation systems, fossil f~l el based agro
machinery, chemical fertilisers, plant protection chemicals and high yielding
varieties in traditional agriculture are some of the inputs that make it modem.
While modem agriculture has brought in enormous increase in crop production
on the one hand, on the other it has caused great damage to the natural balance
of the environnient.
For simplicity we have divided the impact of agro-pastoral activities into two
categories:
(a)
Changes brought about by traditional agriculture. These include
defacement of land, deforestation coupled with loss of soil structure, soil
erosion and depletion of soil nutrients. Some of these changes are shared
with overgrazing which is also a by-product of efforts to exploit the land
resources for maximum livestock production regardless of the ability of
the ecosystem to withstand external interventions. Traditional agriculture
sometimes has serious consequences (see box 3.2).
(b) Changes brought abovt by modern agriculture. Modem agricultural
practices continue to share the disruptive effects of traditional agriculture,
they also brings about soine changes in the environment that are
characteristic only of modein agriculture. For example, excessive
Environmental Concerns
irrigation results in twin problems of salinisation and water- logging;
addition of chemical fertilisers increases the rate of loss of micronutrients
from the soil, causes eutrophication of water bodies. The use of plant
protection chemicals poison food products, sometimes kill non-target
friendly organisms and help target organisms to develop immunity; and
use of high yielding varieties makes agriculture market -oriented,
encourages monoculture causing eruption of epidemics and depletion of
genetic diversity.
HUNTING AND GATHERING
ACTIVITIES CONCERN(S) FEATURE
i )
Very small group slze, no surpluses.
Food Regenerat~ve capaclty of ecosystem
took care of every thlng
PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE
i )
Food
Shelter
ACRO HOR'IICULTURAL SOCIETIES
tL
Food
Shelter
Clothlng
AGRARIAN SOCIETIES
Little deliberate change in land use,
settlements started small economic
surpluses.
Raid and plunder of agricultural produce
led to tiefdom and urban settlements used
metal tools, practiced application of water
for irrigation.
Food
Economy based on exchange of goods,
Shelter
surpluses large, settlements amund fertile
Clothing valleys.
Leisure
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MODERN AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
13
Enormous
Mechanized lnlgatlon and transfer ofraw
increase
mater~al; Heavy use of fertilizers and
rn food
pestic~des; Darnoge to nntural environment
production
Fig.3.2: Evolution of Induced Agriculture. .
Whilst these environmental problems have the greatest impact in the
developing world, they are also shared to some extent by the more developed
104
countries. Now we will discuss some of the major impacts of modem
agriculture that lead to the environmental issue of land degradation.
3.3.1 Deforestation
Removal of forest cover for agri cuhral activities is a major cause of
deforestation in the developing countries, most of which are in the tropics.
Tropical forests account for nearly half the world's remaining forests covering
an area of 2 x lo7 krn2. In contrast, in the inore developed countries the rate of
deforestation has stopped and in some there has been a reversal with the
implementation of afforestation programmes. In India, forest depletion has
been arrested to some extent. But forest cover still declined froin 63.89 million
hectares (mha) in 1995 to 63.34 rnha in 1997, (State of Forest Report 1997,
Forest Survey of India, Dehradun).
Deforestation of forests is caused by a nun~ber of human activities, of whicll
shifting agriculture is a primary cause. Though this type of aclivily has
coexisted with the rain forests Tor thousands of years, in recent years the
incidence has greatly increased as farmers forccd off land by cash-cropping
and ranching turn to the rainforest for sustenance. Other causes of
deforestation are mineral extraction, the building of roads and dams and
logging operations.
On a local level, the environnlental probleins associated with removal of forest
cover involve the water cycle. The water taken up by trees reduces the amount
available for surface run-off. When deforestation occurs surface run-off
increases lcading to severe soil erosion and floods. For example, in the
mountainous regions of India and Nepal enlire hillsides have been striped of
their forest covers and the monsooil rains have washed then1 away. On a
regional level the increase in surface run-off causes down stream flooding
transporting along huge amounts of sediment causing the problem of siltation.
On the global scale, the burning of biomass associated with deforestatioil is
contributing to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (sce box 3.2
also).
Deforestation is also a major cause of loss of biological diversity, for tropical
forest are said to contain at least half of the world's plant and animal species
(World Resource Institute).
Box 3.2: Consequences of deforestation - the Indonesian forest fires.
Indonesia has the world's second largest rainforests after Brazil. During the period
from August1997 to May 1998 at least 2 million hectares of these rain forests were
destroyed by fire. In previous such burning incidences the fanners engaged in slash
and bum agriculture were held responsible, but this time large - scale plantation
companies, encouraged by government policies to clear large areas of rainforest for
cultivation of rubber trees or oil palms have largely been held responsible. The
extremely dry conditions at that time encouraged the deliberate burning of the forests
and also assisted the fires to turn out of control. Peat bog forests also caught fire in
large areas and these continued to smoulder for weeks producing large amounts of
smoke that enveloped soutll-east Asia. (Ref. Pearce, F. (1998) Playing with fire.
New Scientist, 21 March 36-39),
Development and
El~vironrner~t
Eravironlmental Concerns 3.3.2 Salinisation and Water -logging
Salinisation is the accumulation of salts, mainly carbonates, chloride and,
sulphates in soil, surface water and ground water. This process occurs naturally
in arid and semi-arid regions forming salt Rats where salt come to the surface
due to capillary action as the water evaporates. The excessive irrigation of arid
and semi-arid regions to enable crop cultivation has greatly increased the
-salinisation of soil. Salt affected soils cover 5.5 mha of the 328 ml~aof India's
total land area (ICID, 2002). India has a total of 3.58 mha of alkaline soils that
contain excessive sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Out of these half
fall under agricultural land but remain unproductive.
In our enthusiasm to provide more water to agricultural fields, we have
employed canal irrigation as well as tube wells for drawing water from the
deep core of the earth. Excessive irrigation without proper drainage raises the
water table. As a result the soil becomes drenched with water or water logged.
According to the Central Water Commission a total area of 8.5mha is water
logged. Such soils cannot support plant growth as they lack air and
mechanical strength. India has the largest irrigated area in the world --
59.00mha and in 1997,501 billion cubic meters (BCM) water was utilised in
irrigation and the demand for water is expected to increase in the coming years
(ICID 1998).
3.3.3 Soil Erosion and Desertification
Soil erosion occurs when the removal of soil occurs at a much faster rate than
its replacement by weathering of underlying bedrock. It is a natural process,
mediated by water and wind. Human activities involving inappropriate
agricultural practices have greatly increased the rate of soil erosion in lllaily
parts of the world. The estimated annual soil loss through erosion is in the
region of 75 000 million tones. Soil erosion is a problem in both developing as
well as developed countries. As mentioned earlier, high population pressure in
the developing nations have resulted in the cultivation of marginal lands. SLI C~
lands may inherently have low fertility as they may be on the margins of
deserts or on land made available by clearing rainforests. Without the
protection of forest cover or crop cover, the bare soil is exposed to forces of
soil erosion. The worst form of erosion prevalent in agricultural lands is wash
off erosion or sheet erosion, which becomes in~portant in the hilly regions. In
semi-arid and arid regions soil erosion is strongly associated with
desertification.
Desertification describes the final stages by which former productive semi-arid
, and arid land is degraded into unproductive desert mainly'due to huinan
activities. The global rate of desertification is estimated to be about 6 million
hectwes per year. The problem of desertification is a continuing one especially
in the developing world as the need to increase agricultural production leads to ,
cultivation of marginal lands.
3.3.4 Fertilisers and Plant Protection Chemicals
. Most .of the chemical fertilisers used in modern agro ecosystems contain
macronutrients that is, nitrogen , phosphorus and potassium (NKP) .But
excessive use of NPK causes the plant to draw more micronutrients as well
from the soil. The rate of growth of pIants often exceeds. the soil's ability to
106
replenish the micronutrients. Thus excessive use of fertilisers causes
micronutrient deficiency in soils. Zinc deficiency, for example, in large tracts
of land in the high yielding belt of Punjab and Haryaila has depressed the
productivity of the land. Another adverse effect of excessive fertiliser use is
that about one-fourth or the applied fertiliser is not used by the plants and is
leached down. These chen~icals usually nitrates, find their way into
groundwater aquifers, increasing the concentration of nitrates in drinking
water. This has become a serious health hazard because excess amounts of
nitrates causes rnethemoglobinaeminni in bottle fed infants. Excess fertilisers are
carried by runoff water into aquatic bodies causing eutrophication. You will
read inore about tliis in unit-4.
Toxic, chemicals like insecticides, fungicides, hcrbicides and rodenticides are
generally used to protect crops or their l~arvested products. These chelnicals
generally known as biocides tend to remain active for long periods after their
use is over which makes them darlgcrous to the environment because these are
non-biodegradable. Some over 70,000 different kinds of biocides are being
used in the world. In lndia alone, over 82, 000 tollnes of pesticides wcre used
in 1991 as against 2000 tonnes in thc mid fiftics annually (Ministry or
Agriculture 1992).
On continued application these agro-chemicals cause contanlination of food
materials, disruption of the natural balance of the eeosystenl by lcilling non-
target organisms and gradual increase in immi~nity in the target organisms.
Traces of fertilisers and pesticides from fields find their way into rivers. Levels
of pesticides in the Yanlulna are foulld to be higher than the pcimissible levels.
Further these chemicals are often not biodegradable, once they enter the food
chain they get accumulated and concentrated in the orgallisill's body through
biological magnification (You have read about this in Unit- 1).
3.3.5 High Yielding Varieties (HYV)
.....
The HYVs are man made varieties of agriculti~ral plants, fodder plants, forest
plants, livestock and fish that have beell raised by brcediilg techniques to yield
more. As an outconle faril~ers were able to achieve greater output, increase in
yield and greater monetary returns from agriculture. The success 0.T these plant
breeding programmes is popularly called "Green Revolution" and it was
responsible for the self-sufiicicncv in food production in I'ndin. However, the
introduction of HYVs has not been u~liversally beneficial. In order to realize
their fill1 potential, these varieties necessitate tlie use of fertilisers and biocides,
'water in the foml of irrigation and file1 powered machinery. I-IYVs are totally
dependant on humans for their sulvival because left to tllemsclves they cannot
compete wit11 their wild relatives.
The HYVs also encourage monoculture, which nlcans the sanle genotype is
planted for kilomcters at a stretch. Large scalc monoculture of a specific
variety makes it highly susceptible to infectioris and may get wiped out under
attack from a pathogen. HYVs cause loss ol'agra biodiversity, as their use
replaces the cultivation of other local vilrietics which are ultimately lost.
3.4 IMPACT OF INDUSTWEALISATION
After agricultural practices, the next rnajor change in humall society was the
Industrial Revolution, which began iin England. Human inve~ltiveness led to
Development and
Environment
Environmental Concerns '
the discovery of methods for using chemical energy stored in fossil fuels such
as coal and later oil and natural gas. Horse drawn vehicles and wind-powered
ships were replaced by coal burning steam engines. Within a few decades the
agriculture based rural societies were transformed into more urbanized early
industrialized societies. From England the new ways spread to form what are
now known as the core nations of the 'developed' world. By 1870 there were
distinct industrial regions in France and Belgium, Russia, Geimany, USA and
Japan. All these were characterized by an increased per capita consumption of
energy, based on coal as fuel.
Along with industrialisation, the population also grew. By 1880 the population
of Great Britain had trebled in less than a century and these people
concentrated into towns and other emerging urban centers. Once set in motion,
the industrial growth was rapid everywhere. The development of inore efficient
machines and techniques for mass production and advances in scicnce aqd
technology led to the level of industrialisation that we see today.
Impact on Environment
To understand the impact of industrialtsation we can take up the example of a
steel mill or a coal mine and examine its e~lvironmental impact at the local and
regional level. Let us start at the local level. The impact on the local
environment would be in the form of changed land use, with a large area
covered by buildings, sheds, heaps of materials, roads and hard surfaces (see
Fig. 3.3). During construction there must have been vast amounts of bare soil
that would contribute to silt in the runoff and when completed, the plant would
show urban features. A heavily built up zone would therefore affect the local
water bodies. The quality of water is also likely to be affected through
percolation of wastes from the factory. Its load of suspended as well as
dissolved matter would be therefore higher and some of the substances carried
are likely to be toxic to life. There would be greater organic component of
sewage in the watercourse downstream too.
Water not necessarily piped to each dwelling I
I
And plant, draipage off tip water transport)
Fig 3.3: Impact of an Industrial Plant on the Local Environment.
Similarly the air near the plan would be polluted. There would be greater
fallout of soot near the chimney, which would affect the people living nearby.
* hl downwind direction the impact reduces progressively but sulphur
compounds will rain as dilute acid rain and destroy buildings as well as
vegetation.
We call extend this model to the whole planet. The developed regions can be
regarded as this plant and the rest of the world the outreach for its raw material
and waste products. With the industrialisation of the planet, using the
temperate grasslands to grow food crops, or converting them into ranches to
provide meat in the developed countl-ies met the denland for food. Demand for
other cash crops such as tea, coffee, rubber, and paper increased and large
areas of forests were converted into plantations.
Most developing countries started at independence with virtually no modem
ind~~stty. During the 1960s and 1970s their industrial production, e~nploylnent
and trade consistently gl-cw. Tildustry and its products have an impact on the
natural resource base through the entire cycle of raw nlaterials exploration,
extraction, and transformation illto products, energy consumption, waste
generation and the use by the consumer. These impacts may be positive,
enhancing the quality of the resource or extending its use, or they may be
negative, as a result of process and product pollution and of the depletion of
resources (Our Corn~no~l Future 1987)
The negative impacts were first perceived as localized probleins of air land and
water pollution in the develbped coulltries as the Los Angeles Smog or the
death of large lakes as Lake Erie in the US; and the progressive pollution of all
the major rivers in the west. Sinlilar problems have also been found in many
parts of the developing world as industrial growth, increase in automobile
numbers and urbailisation spreads.
llldustrial developmellt has contributed sig~lificatltly to economic growth in
India; however, not without an environmental price, India has seen a fivefold
increase in industrial production in the last three decades. With the new
industrial policy it is expected to further accelerate. With coal accounting for
52% of total primary energy consumption in 1999, this industrial development
has been fuelcd by a relatively high-polluting energy source. Not only is
industrial pollution increasing public health risks, but abatement efforts also
are consuming a significant portion of India's GDP. A rcport from Ministry of
Environment and Forests estimates that the annual cost of environmental
degradation in India in the past few years is averaging about 4.5% of GDP
(Source: Energy Information Administration, June 2001).
In many cities in the developing world eilvironn~cntal pollution is much worse
than any that was experienced in the developed world in the 1950s or the
1960s Vehicle exhaust, coal burning and particles from coal combustion and
factories in air that causes serious health problems. More than 2000 people
died in Bhopal in India in 1984, from release of methyl isocyanate out of the
Union Carbide Factory. Such industrial accidents too that are disastrous for
both the environment and the people.
Development and
E~i vi r o~~me ~l t ,
Whether industries are large or small, they all create pollution related problems
as they generate huge amounts of waste. Therefore, environmental pollution is
also compounded by rapid industrialisation and increase in the number of
Environmental Concerns
automobiles. Most of our industrial cities are often referred to as cities of
functioning chaos, as the haphazard and uncontrolled growth of different
industries in our industrial cities pose environmental challenges in the shape of
sluins, toxic wastes and gases and discharge of effluents into water bodies.
Box 3.3: Haphazard industrialisation and urbanization - Ludhiana.
Ludhiana known as the Manchester of India. is the fastest growing city in Punjab state of the Indian
Union. It is located 250 km from New Delhi .It is the most populous city in the state and the most
polluted too. According to the 199 1 census the population now exceeds I million. The fast industrial
growth and rapid population growth has led to many problems typical of unplanned development. The
living standard is perhaps at its minimum tolerable level. The city faces water pollution, depletion of
ground water sources due to excessive and unsustaillable use. The water in and around industrial
estates of the city is unfit for drinking.
The city's dyeing industiy and hosiery units and the sewerage system have converted the water body
Budda Nala into an open sewer, polluting the ground water dowi~strearn before the ilala joins the river
Sutlej. The air hangs thick with pollutants and on account of high population density the incidents of
T.B. have increased especially in the congested localities of migrant labour.
Mega cities - currently.
defined by the United
Nations as cities of over
10 million inhabitants.
The number of mega
cities will increase from 5
in 1975, of which 3 were
in the developing world,
to 29 in 201 5 of which all
but 4 will be in the
developing world.
With the advancements in technology, increase in econc)mic development and
human population, we are becoming more of an urban species. Urbanisation is a
global phenomenon. People move from villages to cities as cities provide better
econoinic opportunities, educational facilities, and health care and entertainment
options. From less than 10% of the global population in 1700, city dwellers now
account for more than half (about 5 i%) of a much larger total. Rapid
urbanisation first occul~ed in the developed countries but recent urban growth
has occurred dramatically in the large cities of the developing countries. In 1900,
thirteen cities in the world had populatioi~ over 1 million each. Exccpt Tokyo all
were in either Europe or North America. In 2000, however, there were 400
metropolitans with more than 1 million inhabitants of which a large number was
in India and China. In the developing countries urban growth has been the most.
rapid in a I'ew cities, which are referred to as 'megalopolises' or mega cities. The
mega cities of the poorer countries have been growing at a much faster rate than
those in the developed world (see Table 3.2).
Altliough there are nuinerous examples of mega cities in the developed world,
'
they 'are primafily ti phenomenon of the developing world. According to the ,
~ o ~ u l a t i o n pr oj ecf i ~s for the 11 largest urban agglolnerates in 2015, in 12
years most of the largest cities of the world will be in the developiilg world, a
significant chktnge from the largest city populations in 1980 and 1994.
Although Tokyo will remain the largest city in the world, New York, at second
place in 1980 and 1994, is projected to be at the bottom of the list by 2015,
while Muil~bai di l l have climbed from sixth to second place.
Both Tokyo and New York are experieilcing relatively modest population
increases, and a number of other large cities in the developed world are
experiencing population declines. In contrast, the populations of developing
world mega cities are typically growing over one to five percent per year,
although these growth rates are expected to abate somewhat in the next 15
years (UIY, 1998).
Table 3.2: Population and growth rates in the world's mega cities.
Develop~nent and
Elnviron~ncnt
City Population (millions) Growth rate
1990 2000 (tentative) (%I
Tokyo, Japan
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mexico city Mexico
New York, USA
Shanghai, China
Murnbai, India
Los Angeles, USA
Buenos Aires Argentina
Seoul, South Korea
Beijing, China
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Kolkata, India
Osaka, Japan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tianjin, China
Manila, Philippines
Cairo, Egypt
New Delhi, lndia
Karachi. Pakistan
Lanos, Nigeria 7.7 13..5 5.8
~l l i ka, ~Ln~ladcsh 6.6 11.5 7.2
Source: World Devclcprrzent Indicators, World Bank, 200 1.
Urbanisation alters the enviroilment locally as well as regionally, affecting the
climate, water flow and biodiversity creating new hazards and problems of
security and safety. The consuinption of land is the most obvious impact of
urbanisation but the impact spreads to Srontiel-s far beyond areas actually
convei-ted for settlements. Timber, fuel, building lllaterials and water are
extracted from ever widening zones arouiid the cities to meet their cver-
growing needs, and at the same time growing quantities of solid wastcs,
landfills, water and air pollution are exported out to the hinter land by the
urban centres. The extent of resou
r
ces used by a city can be visualized as its
"ecological footprint".
Box 3.4: Ecological footprint,
The term ecological footprint has been coincd by the Canadian Environmentalists William Rees and Mathias
Wackemagel of the Univorsily of British Columbia. Their methodology measures how much of the carrying
capacity of thc earth has been appropriated by huinans. It defines the amount of land that is required lo supply a city
with food and natural resources as well as the area of growing vegetation required lo absorb its carboil output.
Ecological footprint calculatioils are based on average per capita consillnption of food, forest products nnd fuel in a
given geographic area. The size of the footprint is determined by calculati~lg how much land would be needed to
produce that food, wood and paper and the equivalent amount of biomass needed to substitute ethanol for oil or gas,
Using 1993 United Nations data on population and consumptioil levels, Wackemagel and his colleagues working at
the Center for Sustainability Studies in Veracruz, Mexico, calculated the ecological footprints of 52 nations, as well
as a global average, The results show a wide range ofdifferent national footprints ranging from a modest 0.7
hectare per person in Bangladesh and 0.8 hectare in India and Pakistan to 9.8 hectares per capita in New Zealand,
8.4 hectares in the United States and 7.0 hectares in Canada. European nations generally have smaller footprints
with France and Nonvay using 5.7 hectares per inhabitant and Germany 4.6 hectares,
Environmental Concerns Urbanisation in India
India is probably one of the least urbanized countries in the world. Between
195 1 and 200 1 ,.the level of urbanisation increased only by 13 percentage
points, However, if population sizes are taken into account, India has the
second largest urban population in the world.
More than two thirds of this population lives in regions having population
greater than one million and one fourth of this population lives in the four
inega cities namely Muinbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai with populations
more than 10 million each in 2001 (see also Table 3.3).
Table 3.3: Total and urban population in India in the last 100 years.
Year Cities (UAs with Urban population Urban population
million+ (millio ti) (% of total)
population)
190 1 238.9 10.84
1921 2 25 1.3 11.18
1951 5 36 1 . 1 17.29
197 1 9 548.2 19.91
1981 12 683.3 23.34
1991 23 844.3 25.72
200 1 40 1027.0 30.5
Source: Census of India (2001).
3.5.1 Positive Impacts of Urbanisation
The process of urbanisation is often accompanied by major eco~lomic and
structural changes, New jobs are created and improved services are provided.
Urban regions provide better facilities of electricity, health, education,
infr;gstructure and safe drinking water and toilet facilities in conlparison to
rural areas. For example, 6lper cent of urban households have electricity,
toilets and safe drinking water where as, only 12.3 per cent in rural areas
possess these facilities. In case of energy use, 35 per cent of urban households
use liquefied petroleum gas and 27% use kerosene whereas, in rural areas
nearly 80 per cent of households use inconvenieilt bion~ass-based fuels,
There is better exposure to inass media in urban areas. More t ha~l half of the
total population in rural areas in 1990 was not exposed to any type of media.
With the spread of satellite TV network the situation is changing, but the
difference is likely to persist.
3.5.2 Problems of Urbanisation
The negative effects like the deterioration of the physical environment and
quality of life caused by the shortfall in demand and supply oft he essentials
overwhelm the positive impact of urbanisation.
Urbanisation has resulted in environmental degradation in a number of ways,
such as,
i)
Changes in Land Use: Towns and cities grow with economic growth of
human societies. As towns grow they invade the productivc crop lands
and rich forests. Both intracity and regionally open lands are converted
into built-up area. Thus, the land with all its biological resources is
irreversibly lost. An estimated area of 1.5 rnha of good agricultural land
has been !gobbled up by towns and cities since 1950 and another 8 mha of
such land may have been si~nilarly diverted for this purpose by 2000 AD.
The first Master Plan of Delhi, envisaged an area of 44,000 ha and called
for acquiring 32,000 ha of agricultural land. Within 20 years, the city has
expanded by more than 35per cent. Indian cities which are 30 years or
older, have lost practically all wild life from their suburbs due to
encroachment on agriculture land in their surroundings
ii)
Depletion of Water Resources: Water requirements of the rapidly
growing urban population also increases many times but due to the limited
resources it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the requirements of
the municipal water supply. In Munlbai as against the demand of 3026
million litres per day (mld) in 1995, only 60 percent was supplied. Delhi
is no better with average water demand for over 3600 mld only 2947.5
mld is being supplied. It may be mentioned that these are 'A' class cities;
in smaller towns the position of water supply is much worse. Due to
extensive built-up areas, the local groundwater recharges decline and the
cities have to draw water from outside. With further growth, the increased
water demand can be met only by drawing water from distant sources.
Presently Delhi is drawing water from Rsunaganga, 180 kin away. Indore
from Narrnada, 75 km away and Bangalore from Cauvery at a distance of
100 km. Chennai is seeking water from Krishna in Andhra Pradesh and
Cauvery in Karnataka with 600 m lift. 111each of these cases, water from
the cities has to be drawn at the cost of cultivation and rural demands.
iii) Building Materials: Construction of houses and other structures need large
quantities of building materials. Delhi's estimated need is 80,000 new
houses every day. Material for tl~is has to be brought froin adjoining areas
comprising fertile land causiilg further damage to good agricultural areas,
iv) Industries: Industrial development goes almost hand in hand with
urbanisation. For examples, nearly 60% of the industries in Maharashtra
are located in Mumbai alone. Industries draw upon water resources
heavily. Water requirement per tonne of produce in a crude oil refinery is
between 1-3 m
3
, it is 5-8 rn3 for daily, 20-403 for textiles, 100-250 in
3
for
steel, 250-400 m
3
for pulp and paper and 400-600 m
3
for viscose rayon.
v) Slum: United Nations estimates that at least 1 billion people live in
crowded, unsanitary slums of the central cities and in the vast shantytowns
and squatter settlements that ring the outskirts of most of the mega cities
of the developing world, Slums represent one of the worst types of
environmental degradation, which have become concomitant to
urbanisation and industrialisation. About 18.75% of India's urban
population lives in slums. Sixty percent of Mumbai's population is slum
dwellers and more than half a million people sleep on the streets,
sidewalks and traffic circles because they have no homes. While about
20% of the population of Delhi live in overcrowded informal settlements
in bastis or slums. Amongst the states, Rihar has 37.50% of its urban
population as slum dwellers followed by Maharashtra 32.63% and West
Bengal3 1.53%. Kerala with 8,8 1% and Karnataka with 14,43%, are the
two states with lowest percentage of urban population in slums. The slum
dwellers have an environment with inadequate living space, water supply,
and sewerage facilities. This causes steady deterioration of surrounding
regions as well as human health.
vi) Water Pollution: About 200 million people in the developing world do
not get safe drinking water, according to United Nations. Pollution of
Development and
Environment
Area of Delhi is 1485 sq
kmand the total population
by 2002 year end was more
than 14.5 million. It has a
population density of
9294lsq km against the
national density of 324
persons/sq km (Census of
India, 2001). Commercial
and industrial demands of
resources have grown 4
times in the last 5 vears.
Environmental Concerns
fresh water bodies like urban lakes and rivers through urbanisation and
industrialisation is colossal. About 90% of the drinking water in India
comes from rivers polluted by these human activities. About 873 mld of
waste water drained into the Ganga before the Ganga Action Plan was
initiated. Sabarrnati a small river alone receives 998 mld of dirty water
from the city of Ahmedabad (Source: State of India's Environment, 2001).
About 2,700 large and small units contri buts 70% by volume of the
polluted effluents and 30% comes from small and cottage industry sector..
Further, few cities in the developing world can afford to build modern
waste treatment systems for their rapidly growing cities. It is estimated
that 300 million of the world's urban residents havc inadequate sanitation.
Only 217 of the India's 3 119 towns have even partial sewage systems and
water treatment facilities Thus, sewage both seeps into the soil and
pollutes ground water or it flows through streams and rivers. Table 3.4
gives the status of wastewater generation and treatment in a few large
cities in India in the year 1994-95. Delhi alone pours over 500 million
litres of untreated sewage into Yamuna every day. While, Ganga receives
sewage and industrial wastes from 24 urban settlemeilts along its bank.
Table: 3.4: Waste water generation in selected cities of India (1994-95).
Metro city Waste water generated Waste
in million litres/dav (mld) Water collection
Domestic Industrial Total Total (rnld) As % of total Treattnel~t
Generated capacity (rnld)
Ahmedabad 520 3 6 556 445 80.0 5 10
Bangalore 375 25 400 300 75.0 290
Kolkata ' 1384 48 1432 1075 75.1 NA
Chennai 276 276 257 93.1 257
Delhi - 1270 1016 80.0 1071
Hyderabad 348 25 373 299 80.1 115
Mumbai 2228 228 2456 2110 90.0 109
Pune 432 432 367 85.0 370
Source: Anon 1997, Status and supply of waste water generation, collection, treatment and disposal in metro cities (1994-5),
ControI of Urban Pollution Series, CUPS/42/1997-8, Central Pollution Board, New Delhi.
vii) Air Pollration: The dense traffic, commonly old and poorly maintained
vehicles, smoky factories, and use of coal or wood fires for cooking often
create a thick pall of smoke in the world's mega cities. Most of the air
pollution in urban locations results from the discharge of sulphur dioxide,
. oxides of nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide and suspended particles, such as fly
ash etc., and cause considerable damage to plants, animals and to human
health (you will read more about the sources and effects of pollution in
the next unit).
viii) Waste Prt~duction: Solid waste produced by households, industry,
hospitals, construction sites etc., management and disposal problems in
. the urban areas of most countries. In India uncontrolled dumping of wa$te
on the outskirts of cites has created overflowing landfills which are
environmental hazards. At the present rate of solid waste generation the
four landfill sites of Delhi are likely to be filled very soon. This solid
waste also leads to pollution of ground waterand air. Table 3.5 shows the
amount of solid waste generaled by some of the major cities of India and
it is clear that the amount is increasing day by day.
Table 3.5: Municipal solid waste generated by major Indian cities.
DeveIopment and
Environment
City Per c a~i t a (kl~ldav) Collection t
1971-3 1994-5 efficiency
3
(%) I
I
Kanpm
Lucknow
Ahmedabad
Bangalore
Delhi
Mumbai
Kolkata
Ludhiana
Source: Report Prepared by the National Institute of Urban Affairs, 1999,
In addition to enviro~~mental degradation, urbanisation has affected the social
organisation, family structure, culture and belraviour of thc population living in
the urban areas as well as those who are living outside the urban centres.
3.6 IMPACT OF ENERGY GENERATION
Human beings have the remarkable capability to exploit energy
transforn~ations. They iirst learnt to exploit the transformation of cllemical
energy to heat energy in the form of fire. Later they used the wind energy and
energy in flowing water to sail their boats and to run wind and water mills. The
use of fossil file1 and the discovery of steal11 engine, were respollsible for the
Industrial Revolution, which has major ec.onoinic and environmeiltal
implications.
For centuries people have been inventing devices to save l~uman labour,
provide entertainment, and make lifc illore comfortable in the desire to
improve their quality of life. That trend has led us to depend on a variety of
energy consuming rnachiiles without which life would be inconceivable. Our
society would come to a halt without electricity, automobiles, trains, planes,
computers and so on. Today our survival totally depends on three fossil fuels-
coal, oil and natural gas. In fact pcr capita cons~m~ption of colninercial energy
is sometimes used as an indicatol. of ecorlomic advancement that a country has
attained, As said earlicr, India's per capita consumption of comn~ercial energy
is very low. It is only one eighth of the world average,
However, energy geilerdion for human consunlption involves potential
environmental, political or financial problems. It is a [act that developed
nations have been using at least ten times Inorc energy than the developing
nations for many years. Thc mail? concern will1 using fossil fuels is no longer
seen as its availability but Ihc absorption capacity of our environment.
Fossil fuel power plants release air pollutants, require large amouilts of cooliilg
water, and call destroy large tracls of land dul-i11g the lnining process. Nuclear
power plants are geiieratiilg anti accumulating copious quantities of radioactive
waste that currently lack absolutely safe locations for storage or disposal. Even
renewable energy facilities like large hydro electrical projects arc not without
environmental and social impact.
Environmental Concerns
3.6.1 Impact on Air
The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas in the generation of
electricity and in the internal combustion engine are altering the earth's
climate. Bunling fossil fuels releases carbon that has previously been locked
up in coal, oil and natural gas for millions of years. The carbon in these fossil
fuels is transformed into carbon dioxide (COz), the predominant gas
contributing to the "greenhouse effect," during the combustion process. The
release of large quantities of fossilized carbon threaten to raise average global
temperatures at an accelerated pace Energy-related ventures account for about
86 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions linked to human activities. The
generation of electricity by thermal power plants is the single largest source of
C.OZ emissions. Burning coal produces far more COz than oil or natural gas.
Global warming also poses a major threat to human health by way of increased
infectious diseases. Increasillg temperatures nurture the spread of disease-
carrying mosquitoes and rodents. As global temperatures rise, sea levels will
also rise. Water previously bound to mountain and polar glaciers melts and
flow into the world's seas. Much of the world's population, especially the
poorer people of the world, live at or close to sea level, areas vulnerable to the
lethal combination of rising sea level and increasingly severe ocean storms.
Sea levels have already risen 4 to 10 inches over the last century.
(Source: www.whrc.org)
Electricity generation using fossil fuels enlits s ul f ~~r dioxides and oxides of
nitrogen, which are a major cause of acid precipitation. Acid precursors call bc
carried in the atmosphere for several days and travel several hundred miles
downwind of the power plant stack before being deposited on the earth's
surface, For example, because of prevailing winds, the northeastern United
States and Canada receive significant quantities of acid precursors from coal-
fired power plants in states stretching from Missouri to the west and
Pennsylvania to the east.
Of course, not all power plants generate the same level of air pollutants
contributing to acid rain. Emissions rates vary widely depending upon Factors
as the precise fossil fuel type used, the nature of the coillbustion process, pre-
and post-combustion air emission controls, as well as vintage of the power
plant. Older coal plants especially those designed to burn high sulfur content
coal are the most significant source of acid rain pollutants,
India's large reserves of coal are a major asset to the country, accounting for 70
percent of India's current productio~l of electricity. However, excessive use of
this fonn of energy productioll - especially withoui the use of strategies to
mitigate its effects -will cause the quality of the country's air, land, and water
resources to deteriorate.
While climate change and cid rail1 impact the general environment on a
regional or global scale, air en~issions from fossil he1 power plants also have
direct impacts on human health. Most especially, human health is jeopardized
from the formation of ozone (or "smog") and fine particles that ]nay form
either in power plant smokestacks or in the air as a result of the e~llissions of
ally of the. three primary gases - carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide or nitrogen
oxides. Both ozone and fine particulates pose health risks within the vicinity of
the emitting power plants or inay travel hundreds of tniles and pose health risks
far from the sources of the precursor emissions (see Box 3.5). Electric power
plant emissions account for about one-third of all NOx released into the
atmosphere from human sources.
Box 3.5: Kolaghat thermal power plant.
West Bengal prides itself in its giant thermal power station (210MWx6) in
Kolaghat.Built in the eighties the station has won the award for "Best performing
Indian power plant" several times. There is no doubt that this power station has
changed the image of West Bengal from a power deficit state to a power - surplus
state. Yet for a large number of people staying in the vicinity the power plant is a
source of misery. Their problems stein fsoin the daily emission of about 4000 tonnes
of fly ash by the plant. The fly ash which is a by- product of coal combustion and
other materials for power generation, is suspected to have traces of alumina, various
other toxic heavy metals and carcinogenic elements. It has adversely affected the
quality of life in a large area.
The gravity of the situation is manifested in the large heaps of fly ash stacked along
the roads even 20 km from the power plant. Men playing cards on rickety cots
perched on top of fly ash heaps, children playing in the ash are corninon sights. A
vast grey sheet of fly ash particles remain hanging in the sky over Kolaghat and
adjoining areas observing the vision. The large ponds nearby smell of the leaden ash.
KTPS is fast acquiring vast tracts of land f& creating ash ponds. According to the
power sector norms, one MW of thermal power requires onc to ten acres of land for
disposal of ash over 30 years.The ash handling system accounts for five per cent of
the total cost of a power project, A part of the ash and certain gases inevitably
produced by burning of coal, escape into the air through the chimneys even though
the cllimneys are fitted with electrostatic precipitators.
1
Coal fieled electric power plants are also the single largest source of mercury
emissions. An inventory of mercury emissions conducted by EPA of USA
found that one-third of all mercury air emissions come from coal burning in
electric power plants. Mercury is present in the coal used as feedstock in the
utility boiler. As the coal is cornbusted in the utility boiler, mercury is
vaporized and released as a gas. Pollution controls employed by utilities to
curb other pollutants are not effective in removing mercury. At present, there
are no commercially viable control technologies for mercury. As a
consequence, this highly toxic air pollutant continues to go largely unabated.
3.6.2 Impact on Wat er
Thermal electric generating facilities make electricity by converting water into
high-pressure steam that drives turbines. Once water has gone through this
cycle, it is cooled and condensed back to water'and then reheated i o drive the
turbines again. The process of condensat i o~ requires a separate cooling water
body to absorb the heat of the steam.
The amount of water used for power plant cooling also varies by each specific
p'ower plant's electricity generating technology and, size. For example, nuclear
reactors require the most water for cooling, and fossil fuel power plants come
in second. However, most renewable energy teclmologies require little or no
water for cooling.
Ueveloprnent and
Environment
Environmental Concerns
Nydroelectric Generation
To generate, hydroelectl-ic powcr water from a fast flowing river or a stream is
diverted through turbines. Usually it involves the damming of a river and
flooding of a valley. However there are serious enviroilmental problems
associated with the constn~ction of hydro electrical power stations. Reservoirs
inundate forests, farmlands, and wildlife habitats. Large tracts of land are lost
and often local population displaced as a consequence of developing a
hydroelectric project.
Water Use and Consumption
Most electric power plants require water to operate. Nuclear and fossil fuel
power plants use over 185 billion gallons of water per day. Hydropower plants
use water directly to generate power. These power plants represent the single
largest consumer of water among any industrial, governmental or residential
activity. Withdrawal of large volunles of surfqce water for either power plant
cooling or hydropower generation call adversely affect the fisheries resources
by killing fish, larvae and other aquatic organisms trapped against intake
structures, or swept up in the flow through the different sectioils of a power
plant.
The use of water to generate power at hydroelectric facilities imposes unique,
and not insignificant, ecalogical impacts. The diversion of water out of a river
removes water healthy in-stream ecosystems. By slowing river flows, dams
also allow silt to collect on river and reservoir bottonls and bury fish spawning
habitat. The impoundment of water by hydropower facilities f~indainentally
reshapes the physical habitat from a riverine to an artificial pond community.
This often eliminates native populations of fish and other wildlife. This impact
is most significant on migratory fish, which breed in upstreail1 reaches of the
river and must migrate downstream early in life to the ocean and again migrate
upstream to lay their eggs (or "spawn"). For instance, the construction of the
Farraka dam in west Bengal has disrupted the migration of hilsa. Silt trapped
above dams accumulates heavy metals and other pollutants. Disrupting the
natural flow of sediments in rivers also pronlotes erosion of ~i verl ~eds
downstream of the dam and increases risks of floods.
Large fossil fuel and nuclear power plants are generally located near bodies of
water as they need huge quantities of cool i ~~g water. A variety of processes
associated with fuel handling and ongoing maillleilance of large tllerinal power
plants create or concentrate chemical pollutants that are then discharged into
nearby water bodies. Even when releases are limited to what is allowed in
water use permits, there is still the occasional but inevitable accidental release.
3.6.3 Impact on Land
Power generating facilities alter the land use. Large electric generating
facilities occupy acres upon acres of land just for the power plant components
alone. These power plants also require on-site fuel storage facilities as well as
structures for connecting to the transmission grid, which requires additional
land. Depending on the fuel burned at any one power plant, electricity
generators can leave their sites irrevocably scarred or polluted causing on-site
land impacts which often can never be completely cleaned off. Power plant
sites may become sacrifice zones, sealed off from any future land use due to
contamination linked to the operation of a power plant.
Most generating facilities also produce solid waste by-products of cornbustioi~
that can be toxic. Solid wastes fro111 power plants are typically landfilled,
another way in which a generating facility impacts land as it extends its
environmental footprint beyond the boundaries of the power plant site. In this
case, the waste will likely remain at the landfill forever. Mining, collecting and
transporting the natural gas, coal, oil, and n~~cl ear fuel necessary to generate
electricity can also impact land in much the same way by precluding other uses
and leaving pern~anent scars. All of these are known as off-site land impacts.
Environnlentally sound waste disposal techniques can reduce, but not
elirhinate, these impacts.
3.7 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The earlier sections of this unit had a look at environmental issues in both a
historical as well as a conteinporary context. The objective was to raise
questions about the process of development seen in terms of industrialisation
and economic growth. However, environment and development are inexorably
inter-linked. Development cannot subsist upon deteriorating environmental
resources and environment, in turn, cannot be prolected if development does
not take into account the environillental problems. Failure to manage the
enviroilrnent and to sustain developinent threatens the very basis of our
existence. The issue of environment and development led to the concept of
sustaiilable development, which we will discuss in this section.
3.7.1 Concept of Sustainable Develaprllent
The concept of sustainable development was advanced for the first time during
the Stockholm intergoveinmental conference on Human Enviroiul~ent of June
1972 to emphasize the links between development and environmental
problems and to promote political and economic change locally, nationally and
globally to tackle these problems. The World Con~nlission on Environment and
Development(l987) also known as the "Biundtland Report" fill-ther defined the
concept of sustaiilable developn~ent as "developn~cnt that meets the need of Qe
present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet
their own needs".
Sustainable development is the concept af needs and limitations imposed by
technology and society on the environment's ability to meet the present and
future needs. . Thus, the concept of sustainable development provides a
framework for the iiltegration of environmental policies and development
strategies llaving implications at international, national, regional and local
levels. Development should not endanger the natural systems that support life
on earth. Many people in the industrial world today operate with the frontier
mentality, which is a human-centred view based an three erroiieous basic
assumptions :
the world has an unlimited supply of resources for human use;
*
humans are apart from nature, and
*
nature is something to overcome.
With this attitude towards nature, technological advances increase our ability
to use earth's resources and thus, increase the damage. However, the
realization is growing fast that we are in a world of limits, and ever-increasing
Development and
Environment
Concerns
growth of material consumption can only damage, the life giving physical
coinponents of the environment.
Hence, the concept of sustainable developinent leads us to new resource
consumption strategies which are:
e conservation or reduction of excessive resource use,
e recycling and reuse of materials and
e more use of renewable resources like solar energy rather than non-
renewable resources.such as oil and coal.
Sustainable development also requires meeting the basic needs of all deprived
people in this world and extending to all, the opportunities to satisfy their
aspiration for a better life. Otherwise the world, in which poverty and inequity
are endemic, will always be prone to ecological and other crisis. In Gandhiji's
words, "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need but not any man's
greed. "
The UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janerio
in 1992 confirmed the pursuit of economic and social progress and equity
within the limits of the world's natural resources as a workable aim for
everyone, from individuals to governments. The measures needed to ensure
sustainable development were fuither outlined in Agenda 2 1 to promote
sustainable development at local level in developed as well as in developing
countries. Though Agenda 2 1 was a voluntary declaration, it has beconle a part
of several countries' local government. Among developing countries India
leads the way and has implemented 20 Agenda 2 1 s.
3.7.2 Equity and the Common Interest
A decade after the Rio Summit, we find that sustainable developn~ent is not
high on international agenda. In many countries there is a perception that
sustainability is expensive to implement and ultimately puts a stop to
development. The poorer countries are quite sceptical about the coillmitn~ents
of the rich countries and demand a more equitable sharing of resources,
environmental costs and responsibilities.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South
Africa from24th August to 4th September 2002 also known as Earth Summit
2002 reviewed the progress since 1992 in impleinenting sustainable
development, and discussed the way forward. The issues of equity and
common interests were taken up again. The Summit reaffirmed sustainable
development as a central element of the international agenda and gave new
impetus to global action to fight poverty and protect the environment. The
important linkages between poverty, the environment and the use of natural
resources were emphasised and govertln~ents agreed to and reaffirmed a wide
range of concrete commitments and targets for action to achieve more effective
implementation of sustainable development objectives. One of the important
outcomes was the establishment of a world solidarity fund to eradicate poverty
and to promote social and human development in the developiilg countries.
3.7.3 Strategic Imperatives
A shift to a sustainable society will require both policy and institutional
changes at local and global level as well as basic changes in the way people
interact with the environment. We will now discuss some of these aspects.
Technology
We are aware that advanced technology has played a major role in
environmental deterioration and destruction throughout the world. Although a
boon to society, technology has taken its own price. The challenge, then,
before mankind is to redirect its use to make it more energy efficient, less
risky, cleaner and more humane. As you have read earlier, the new resource
consumption strategies in sustainable development are conservation, recycling
and reuse of waste material and use of renewable resources, wherever possible.
Environmentally appropriate technology, which relies basically on the use of
smaller, repairable machines with production methods that use optimum
energy and materials and cause less pollution may be developed. It benefits
people, communities and nations helping them become inore self-reliant by
using raw materials that are available locally.
Such technology is advantageous as it increases employment and requires less
investment. It is also efficient on small scale and is compatible with
environment because of low energy requirement and minimal pollution. It is
especially useful in developing countries that have neither the capital nor the
energy resources for advanced technologies more suitable to conditions in the
developed world. Countries like India, who have an abundance of manpower
should look for labour-intensive rather than capital-intensive technology.
Sophisticated technology often puts people out of work, although it increases
the production. In addition the maintenance cost and high energy requirement
of these technologies are sometimes too much for developing countries.
In all countries, rich, or poor, the process of economic growth to achieve
sustainable society must be based upon the realities of available renewable and
non-renewable resources. I-Iowever, most of the times it is not so. For cxsunple,
income from forestry operations and mining is generally measured in terms of
monitory value of timber and other prod~~cts extracted minus the cost of
extraction. Whereas the cost of regenerating the forests or rcclarnatio~l of land
after mining is not take11 into account. Similar incomplete accounting is used to
justify the growing exploitation of other natural resources.
Population
The sustainability of development is intimately linked to the dynamics of
population growth. Overall rate of population growth in developed countries is
under 1%. However, levels of material and energy use are much higher in these
countries. Greater part of global population increase is in developing countries
and it far exceeds their capacity to cope with the demands of the growing
population. Therefore, sustainable development can be perused more easily if
population growth is stabilized at a level consistent with productive capacity of
the ecosystem.
Develop~nent and
Environment t
Environmental Concerns Conservation
As you have read earlier, to meet our basic needs on a sustainable basis, earth's
natural resources must be conserved and enhanced. The shift to
environmentally appropriate technology and efficient as well as increased use
of renewable resources such as solar energy, wind energy etc. can help us
conserve our natural reserves. Apart from meeting the developmental goals
conservation of nature is also our moral obligation to other living beings and
the to future generations.
Today, however, there is a general awareness of environmental impact in both
rich and poor nations, Worldwide, many organizations are involved in the
studies of critical issues of energy, population, resources and environment.
Many people in developed countries are simplifying their life-style. The
number of governmental agencies responsible for environmental protection in
poorer nations has increased many-folds between 1972 and the present. All
these indicate the beginning of a environmental society. Still we are a long way
from becoming a truly sustainable society which means changes at global level
so as to maintain the ecological balance with equitable distribution of benefit
without discrimination to all for satisfying the legitimate needs and aspirations.
3.8 ACTIVITIES
1.
a)
Write an essay on the developmental activities in the last 20 years in
your local area.
b) Mention the stresses those activities have imposed on the
environment.
c)
Give your suggestions regarding solutions to those environmental
stresses.
I
2. If you were the mayor of a mega city, what would you do to control
growth and improve the quality of life?
3.9 LET US SUM UP
I
I
Human activities have resulted in changes in the environment since early
times. The growing world population and resource consumption is leading
to environmental stress through irreversible impacts at global regional and
local levels.
I
Most environmental issues are related either to interaction between human
populations and natural resources or factors associated with the increasing
human population. However, the environmental issues and concerns of
developing and developed countries differ. Priority environmental issues
identified by India are in the areas of poverty elimination, education and
health care; land degradation; air pollution; loss of biodiversity;
management of fresh water resources and management of hazardous waste.
These environmental challenges arise out of developmental activities and
the biggest challenge is to implement development that will lead to greater
equity, growth and sustainability.
The impacts of various developmental activities on the environment have
been discussed.
Agriculture being the oldest industry in human history has left its impact
, on the environment. Traditional as well as modern agricultural methods
have changed the land use patterns, affected the health of the natural
Development and
environment and changed the flow and direction of materials and
Environment
livelihood patterns. The impact of modern agriculture has resulted in
deforestation; excessive irrigation leading to salinisation and water logging.
The use of fertilisers and plant protection chemicals has increased crop
production tremendously but also resulted in loss of micronutrients and
caused eutrofication of water bodies. Use of high yielding varieties.and
their monoculture had lead to outbreaks of crop diseases and depletion of
genetic diversity .
Industrialisation changed the agriculture based nlral societies to more
urban societies and formed what is known as the developed world. All the
countries of the developed world are characterized by increased per capita
resource and energy consumption. Industry and its products have an impact
on the natural resource base of civilization through the entire cycle of raw
material exploration, extraction, transformation into products, energy
consumption, and waste generation. The negative impacts of
industrialisation are pollution of air, land and water seen first locally in the
developed countries but are now major issues at regional and global levels.
Similar problems are seen in most developing countries as industrial
growth, increase in automobiles and urbanisation spreads.
Urbanisation occurred rapidly in the developed countries and is now a
global phenomenon. In fact most of the urban growth in the future is
expected to be seen in the developing world. Aillong the worst
environmental problems faced in the megacities of the developing world
are traffic congestion, growing slums, water and air pollution , inadequate
sanitation and sewage and solid waste disposal systems.
a. Most of the energy generated for human consumptioil is from fossil fuels
which leaves its impact on the environment locally in the forin of air
pollution, acid precipitation, consumption of water for cooling, land
degradation and displacement of human populations. The global effects of
the generation of energy through nonrenewable resaurces are climate
change and acid rain. Energy generation using nuclear fuel also bas
problen~s of radioactive waste disposal.
The concept of sustainable development was advanced for the first time in
the Bruntland Repoi-t of 1987. It empl~asizes the links between
development and environmental problems, and promotes the need for
political and economic changes locally, regionally and globally to tackle
these problems, It leads to new resource consumptio~l strategies-
conservation or reduction of excessive resource use, recyclii~g and reuse of
materials and more use of renewable resources rather than non-renewable
resources. The issues of eq~lity and common sharing were emphasised
again during the ~ a r t h Summit 2002 held in Johannesburg South Africa
where nations of the world agreed upon to establish a world solidarity fund
to eradicate poverty and to promote social and human development in the
developing countries. Sustainable development implies a concern about the
a) relationship between resource use, population growth and technological .
development; b) production and distribution of resources of food, energy,
and industry amongst the developing and developed countries; c) uneven
development and imbalances between the rich and the poor nations and
d) environmental degradation and ecological disaster.
123
Environmental Concerns
3.10 FURTHER READING
1. Kupchella, CE and Hyland M.C., Environmental Science, (1986). Allyn &
Bacon.
2. Weizsacker Ernet Urlichvon, (1994) Earth Polities. Offers more than a
collection of facts: you will get a chance to understand the history of all
the themes and that they are interwoven and approaches to solution exist.
3. Cunningham W.P. & Saigo B. W. Envirnoninental Sciences - A global
concern (1990). WMC Brown. The chapter on Energy and Use &
Traditional Fuels Chapter 15 and Chapter 19 on Nuclear fuels are have
expanded coverage.
4. Meyer William B., Human Impact on the Earth, (1996) Cambridge
University Press.
5. Aggarwal S.K., Environmental Issues and Themes (1997), APH
Publishing Corporation.
6. Agarwal Anil Narain Sunita and Sen Srabani.,Ed.,The State of India's
Environment. The citizen,^ Fifth Report Part 1(1999), Center for Science
and Environment.
References
Human Environment (AHE-01, Block 2 and 5), IGNOU Publication.
Asia Development Bank (1995) Climate changes in Asia, V. Asthana.
World Resources 1994-95.
India Development Report 2002.
Rees, W., 1992 " Ecological footprints and Appropriate carrying
capacity: What Urban Economics Leaves Out, Environment and
Urbanisation Vol., 4 No. 2, pp. 121 - 130.
The World Commission on Enviroi~n~ent and Development. "Our
Common Future" 1987.
George Bugliarello, The Bridge, VoIume29, No. 4, Winter 1999.
India: State of Environment 2001, Report no. 1999 EE4J, Submitted to
United Nation Environment Programme, TERI.
United Nation 1998. Trends in urbanisation and the components of urban
growth. In proceedings of the Symposium on InternaI Migration and
Urbanisation in Developing Countries, 22-24 January 1996. New York:
United Nations Population Fund.
Silvertown J. and Sarre P., Environment and Society (Eds) 1990.
London, Hodder and Stoughtonl Open University, UK Chapter 5 The
Impact of human societies on the environment.
Botkin, Daniel B., Keller Edward A., Environmental Science -Earth as a
Living Planet (Third Edition), John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 11, 15 & 26.
http://www, wri.orq
Energy Information Administration http://www.eia.doe.gov
h t t p : / / m. toxics1ink.org
UNIT 4 DEVELOPMENT AND
ENVIRONMENTU POLLUTION
Structure
4.1 Introduction
Objectives
4.2 What is Pollution?
4.3 Build Up of Pollution in the Enviroilment
4.4 Air Pollution
Types of Air Pollutants
Major air Pollutants
Air Pollution and Atnlospheric Problems
4.5 Water Pollution
Types of Water Pollutants
State of Indian Water Resources
Eutrophication
Marine Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Water Quality Paramcters
4.6 Soil Pollution
4.7 Noise Pollution
4.8 Pollution by Radioactivity
4.9 Activities
4.10 Let Us Sum Up
4.1 1 Further Reading
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In this unit 'pollution' is the topic for discussion. Pollutioi~ is caused by any
undesirable physical, biological or chemical change in thc components of the
environment i.e., air, water and soil. In our daily usage pollution implies the
adverse state of environment we live in, In the preceding units you have
studied about the concept of environment and earth's resources available for
meeting the basic requirements and developmental needs of ever-growing
human population. Unmindful use of resources and energy intensive
technologies that generate lot of wastes have resulted in degraded and polluted
environment. The adverse effects are on living systems including l~urnans,
buildings and other materials. Eveiltually, none of us can escape from direct or
indirect encounters with pollutants as pollution created in air, water or soil are
ultimately bound to become global i.e., spread throughout the biosphere as it
has one continuous environment.
In this unit you will study about the pollutioil in air, water and soil, their
sources and their effects in brief. Apart from gaseous and other chemicals,
noise, radiations and thermal pollution also have adverse effects on living
organism and create problems of survival for humans and other living beings.
Though natural processes also affect the environment but at an extremely slow
rate. The pollution we are going to study in this unit is generated at an
' accelerated rate as a result of our own activities. In the next unit you will study
about the adverse effects of polluted environment on human health.