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Issue: E. Rev: 00
Code & Name of the Subject: GE6351 – Environmental Science and Engg. Year / Semester: II / III
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6. What is environmental ethics?
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral values. Environmental ethics is the application of studies to
environment concern. It refers to the issues, principles and guidelines relating to human interactions
with their environment.
7. Name some of the acts enacted by the Indian Government to protect the environment.
The water (prevention and control of pollution) Act 1974
The water (prevention and control of pollution) Cess Act 1977
The Air (prevention and control of pollution) Act 1981
The Environment (protection) Act 1986
The Public Liability Insurance Act 1991
8. What is E – waste?
All type of electronic and electrical wastes is called as E – waste. Eg. Computer, mobile phone, fax
machine etc.
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To prevent soil erosion
To avoid over – exploitation of natural resources
To conserve the biological resources
Methods of waste land reclamation
Drainage: Excess water can be removed by artificial drainage.
Leaching: Removal of salt from the salt affected soil by applying excess amount of water.
Irrigation practices: High frequency irrigation with controlled amount of water helps to
maintain better water availability in the land.
Green manures and bio fertilizers: To improve the saline soils.
Application of Gypsum: Soil Sodicity is removed by adding gypsum.
Afforestation programmes: The National Development Board has decided to bring 5 million
hacres of waste land annually for firewood and fodder plantation.
Social forestry programmes: Strip plantation on road, canal-sides.
2. What is rainwater harvesting? Explain its needs and significance. (Jun 2015)
Rain water harvesting is a technique of capturing and storing of rainwater for further utilization.
Rainwater, wherever it falls, is capturing and storing of rainwater for further utilization. The
Ministry of Water Resources in India is insisting the people to make rain water harvesting a part of
everyday life in our villages and cities.
Need (or) Objectives of Rainwater Harvesting:
To meet the increasing demands of water.
To raise the water table by recharging the ground water.
To reduce the ground water contamination from the intrusion of saline water.
To minimize water crisis and water conflicts.
To reduce surface run off loss.
To reduce storm water runoff and soil erosion.
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The rainwater from the top of the roofs, road surfaces, play grounds, open lands is diverted into
the surface tank (or) recharge pits through a delivery system, which can be later used for several
purposes.
Also, it can be used to recharge underground aquifers by diverting the water from stored water
to dug-well or bore wells. (The pit base is filled with stones and sand, which serves as a sand
filter.)
Advantages of Rainwater Harvesting:
Reduction in the use of current for pumping water.
Rise in ground water levels.
Minimizing the soil erosion and flood hazards.
Future generation is assured of water.
Cyclone:
Metrological phenomena, intense depressions forming over the open oceans and moving
towards the land. One reaching the shores, it moves into the interior of the land or along the
shore lines.
Most powerful, destructive, dangerous atmosphere storms on the earth.
may be active from days to weeks.
speed varies b/w 180 - 500 km/hour.
Occurrence:
Tropical cyclones are formed because of heat & moisture
Main requirement - sea surface temp must be below 25oc
More like spinning top at the speed of 10-30 km/hr
cyclone originating from bay of bengal are more in number & intensity - relatively less in south
west Indian ocean & Arabian sea.
In India - cyclone oceans during October - December or April - May
Different Names of Cyclones:
1. Hurricanes in Atlantic, Caribbean, Easters pacific, USA
2. Typhoons Western Pacific, Southern west of China - Japan
3. Cyclone in Bangladesh, Eastern coastal areas of India
4. Willy Willies in Australia
Effects:
Damage depends on the intensity of cyclones, Damage of human life crops, roads, transport,
tanks, and canals
Cyclone occurrence slows down the developmental activities of the area.
Cyclone Management:
Satellite images are used for forecasting the weather conditions, which reveal the strength and
intensity of the storm.
Radar system, used for cyclone warning
For observing the exact location of cyclone, every an hour satellite pictures are analyzed
Difficult to stop cyclone formation but the effect can be minimized by planting more trees on
the coastal belt construction of dams, wind breaks etc.
Landslides:
The movement of earthy materials like coherent rock, mud, soil & debris from higher region
to lower region due to gravitational pull.
Causes:
Downhill movement of earth - mainly caused by rain forces either increasing the top
material weight, or making the slop too steep.
movement of heavy vehicles on the unstable sloppy regions.
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Earth quakes, vibrations, shocks & cyclone
Erosion in the hilly tract due to run off H2O
Underground caves, underground mining activities
Effects:
Blocking of the roads & diverts the passage
Erosion of soil increases
Sudden landslides damage houses, crop yield, live stock
Landslide Management:
Unloading the upper parts of the slope
Improving the cultivation in the sloppy region
roots of which retards the flow of water
concrete support at the base of the slope
soil stabilization using some chemical (quick lime)
Earth Quakes:
Sudden vibration caused on the earth's surface due to sudden release of tremendous amount
of energy stored in the rocks under the earth's crust
Causes:
Caused due to disequilibrium in any part of the earth's crust - disequilibrium - caused by
volcanic eruptions hydrostatic pressure of man-made water bodies like reservoirs, dams &
lakes - causes movements of plates.
underground nuclear testing
Decrease of underground water level
Severity of earthquakes:
Generally measured in Richen scale
o Less than 4 - Insignificant 6.6.9 - Destructive
o 4-4.9 - Minor 7.7.9 - Major
o 5.5.9 - Damaging More than 8 - Great
Effects of Earthquakes:
Shocks produced by earthquakes in mountainous area, cause land slides
Collapses houses & other structures - people die in thousands depending on the severity of
the quake and Deformation of ground surface
Earthquake Managements
By constructing earth - quake - resistant buildings in earthquake - prone arrear.
Wooden homes are preferred in earth quake prone areas as in Japan.
Seismic hazard map should give the information about the magnitude of intensity of
anticipated earthquakes may indicate the possibility of occurrence of earthquakes' in a
potential area.
Tsunami:
Japanese word - means harbor waves Tsu - harbor nami - wave
Definition:
Large wave that are generated in a water body when the sea floor is deformed by seismic
activity - This activity displaces the overlying water in the ocean.
Causes:
Seismic activities like earthquakes, landslides, Volcanic equations, explosions, can generate
Tsunami
Deformation of the sea floor due to the movement of plates.
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Concept (formation) of Tsunami:
Not a single wave but a series of waves like the ordinary waves, which we see on a sea.
Ordinary waves have relatively short wavelength of about 100 meters. But Tsunamis have X
of about 500 km.
Travel across the deep sea at very high velocity ie, around 800 -90 km/hr.
The rate of loss of its energy in inversely proportional to its wavelength ie., greater the
wavelength, lesser is the loss of energy.
Effects of Tsunami
Tsunami causing devastating property, damage and loss of life
Tsunami can kill lot of human beings, livestocks etc
causing lot of water borne diseases.
Management:
Earth quakes under the water are monitored by sensors on the floor of the sea.
floating buoys on the surfaces detect any change in pressure of the sea
The information in than relayed to satellites, which passes it on the earth stations.
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5. Discuss briefly about the important Protection act. (Dec 2014 / Jun 2015 / Nov 2015)
ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT, 1986:
It fills the gaps in other acts. Central Government had fix standards or norms for air, water, soil,
noise and hazardous wastes.
Objective: Protect and improve environment, Prevent hazards and Harmonious relation
between humans and environment.
Features: Lay down procedures and safeguards for prevention of accidents caused by pollution
and remedial measures, Close or regulate industries, Stringent penal action – 5 yrs and fine of
Rs. 1.0 lakhs (or both) and addl fine of Rs. 5000/- per day, Punish individuals directly
responsible, Inspection and monitoring by central Government, and Government can directly
involve avoiding regulatory authorities and agencies.
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Features:
It covers the rights and the non rights of forest dwellers.
It provides restricted grazing in sanctuaries but prohibits in national park.
It also provides the collection of non-timber forest.
Forest Act (1980):
This act provides conservation of forests and related aspects.
Objectives:
To protect and conserve the forest.
To ensure judicious use of forest products.
Features:
The reserved forests shall not be diverted or dereserved without the prior permission of the
central government.
The land that has been notified or registered or forest land may not be used for non-forest
purposes.
Any illegal non forest activity within the forest area can be immediately stopped under act.
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7. Detail about Consumerisation of Waste products. (8)
Consumerisation – Consumption of resources
Traditionally favorable rights of sellers- Right to introduce product, price , Incentives.
Traditionally buyer rights-Right to buy, right to expect the product to perform as claimed
Important informations to be known by buyers: - ingredients, manufacturing dates, expiry etc.
Objectives of consumerisation:
Improves rights and power of the buyers
Making the manufacturer liable
Reuse and recycle the product
Reclaiming useful parts
Reusable packing materials
health and happiness
Sources of wastes:
Glass, papers, garbage’s, food waste, automobile waste, dead animals, etc..
E – Waste
Computers, printers, mobile phones, Xerox machines, calculators, etc.
Effects of wastes:
Dangerous to human life and degrade soil
Cadmium in chips, Cathode ray tube, PVC cause cancer and other respiratory problems and
non-biodegradable plastics reduce toxic gases.
Factors affecting consumerisation and generation of wastes:
People over – Population and Consumption over - Population
Environmental legislation and laws – Important protection acts
Water Act 1974, 1978
Water amendment Act , 1987,
Air Act, 1981.
Wild life Act 1972
5.Forest Act 1980
8. Discuss briefly on Bhopal disaster & Chernobyl disaster. (8) (Jun 2015)
Bhophal gas tragedy: December 3rd 1984 world worst accident manufactures some carbonate
pesticides using methyl isocynate. The reactor got exploded due to failure of its cooling system
and 40 tones of MIC leaked into the atmosphere.
Effects: Lungs and eyes causes irritation in the skin. Higher amounts of MIC remove oxygen
from the lungs and can cause death.
Chernobyl disaster: On April 26th 1986 the worldworst nuclear explosion occurred in one of
the reactors in Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine. This diseaster was caused mainly due to poor
reactor design and human error.
Impacts: Chernobyl accident killed more than 20,000 people and 3.5 million people have
suffered ill because of the accident. Nearly 1,35,000 people had to be evacuated at around
Chernobyl.
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UNIT V – HUMAN POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
10. What are the environmental problems related to population explosion? (Dec 2015)
Increase in demand for food, water and shelter.
Degradation and over exploitation of natural resources.
Environmental pollution.
Unemployment.
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PART B (8 MARK QUESTIONS)
1. Draw a typical population pyramid of a developing country and discuss how it is likely to differ
from that of a developed country. (8)
The world’s population has crossed 6 billion. Less developed countries (Africa, Asia and South
America) have 80% population and more developed countries (U.S.A, Canada, Australia) have 20%
population.
Variation of population based on age structure:
Age structure of population:
Pre-productive (0-14) years
Reproductive (15-44) years
Post-reproductive (above 45) years
Variation of population can be explained based on the above mentioned types.
Pyramid shaped variation
Bell shaped variation
Urn shaped variation
Pyramid shaped variation:
E.g. India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria.
In this case, pre-productive age group > reproductive age group.
Pre-productive is more in number and it is indicated at the base of the pyramid whereas the
post-reproductive are less in number indicated at the top of pyramid. The large number of young pre-
productive age group will soon enter into the reproductive age group, which increases the population
growth.
Minor symptoms
Persistent cough for more than 1 month
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General skin disease
Viral infection
Fungus infection in mouth and throat
Frequent fever, headache and fatigue
Major symptoms
Fever for more than 1 month
Diarrhea for more than 1 month.
Cough & TB for more than 6 months
Fall of hairs
10% weight loss within a short period
CONTROL/PREVENTION
Educate the public
Prevention of blood borne HIV transmission
Primary health care through voluntary health agencies and health workers
Counseling
Drug treatment, nutrient diet, less stress.
Effects of HIV/AIDS
Large number of death occurs, which affect the environment
Loss of labour
Level of production decreases
Water consumption is more to maintain hygiene
4. Define Human Rights and discuss the salient features of the universal declaration of
Human Rights by UN. (8) (Jun 2015 / Nov 2015)
HUMAN RIGHTS: Human rights are the fundamental rights which are possessed by all human beings
irrespective of their caste, nationality, sex and language.
These are natural rights and cannot be taken back by any act or legislation.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Human Right to -
Freedom (speech, to form association, house & profession anywhere)
Property
Freedom of religion
Freedom of culture and education
Constitutional remedies
Equality
Against exploitation
Right to food and environment
Good health.
INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Articles 14 (equality),
Articles 15 (indiscrimination-religion, caste, sex, place of birth),
Articles 16 (equal opportunity),
Articles 19 (freedom of speech, right to form unions and associations),
Articles 22 (rights of a person in custody),
Articles 23 (prohibit human trafficking and forced labor),
Articles 24 (prohibits child labor),
Articles 25 (freedom to any profession,
Articles 28 (secular characteristics in educational institutions),
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Articles 29 (minorities right),
Articles 30 (right to establish educational institutions by linguistic and religious minorities).
National commissions for-SCs and STs, Women, Minorities etc.
6. Briefly describe the various schemes launched for Women and Child welfare. (8)
(Jun 2015 / Nov 2015)
WOMEN WELFARE They suffer a lot as they are weak, helpless and economically dependent.
EIA is a formal process of predicting the environmental effects of any development projects.
Objectives of EIA:
To identify the main issues and problems of the parties.
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To identify who is the party
To identify what are the problems
To identify why the problem arise
Benefits of EIA:
Cost and time of the project is reduced
Performance of the project is improved
Bio diversity is maintained
Key elements of EIA:
SCOPING: It is used to identify the key issues of the concern in the planning process at an
early stage.
SCREENING:It is used to decide whether an EIA is required or not based on the
information collected.
IDENTIFYING AND EVALUATING ALTERNATIVES: It involves knowing alternative
sites and alternative techniques and their impacts.
MITIGATING MEASURES DEALING WITH UNCERTAINITY: It reviews the action
taken to prevent (or) minimize the adverse effects of a project.
ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENTS: This is the final stage of the EIA process. It reports
the findings of the EIA.
8. Narrate the role of IT in protection of environment and human health.(16) (Dec 2014 / Jun
2015)
Role of information technology in environment:
Remote sensing:
Component- A platform, aircraft, A balloon, rocket, and satellite.
Functions:
Origin of electromagnetic energy
Transmission of energy
Interaction of energy
Detection of energy
Preprocessing of data
Data analysis and interpretation
Integration and other applications.
Applications:
In agriculture, forestry, land cover, water resources
Data Base- Collection of inter related data on various subjects.
Applications:
Ministry of environment and forest
National management information system
Environmental information system
Geographical information system: GIS
Application:
o Thematic maps are super imposed using soft wares.
o Interpretation of polluted zones
o To check unplanned growth and related environmental problems
Satellite data:
Helps in providing reliable information and data about forest cover
Provide information about forecasting weather
Reserves of oil , minerals can be discovered.
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WORLD WIDE WEB: WWW Current data.
Applications:
Online learning
Digital files or photos, animations on environmental studies.
Role of information technology in human health:
The health service technology involves three systems
Finance and accounting
Pathology
Patient Administration – clinical system.
Applications:
Data regarding birth and death rates
To monitor the health of the people effectively
The information regarding the outbreak of epidemic diseases.
Online Consultation
Drugs and its replacement..
Case study: Health Services of New South Wales: State administered public health service-integrated
hospitals and community services-for 3 million population-IT package useful for finance, accounting
and pathology systems.
Family welfare programme was introduced by government of India in the year 1952. It provides
information on birth spacing, birth control, health care for pregnant women and infants. It also has
reduced the legal and illegal abortions and also reduced the risk of death during pregnancy.
Objectives of family welfare programme:
Slowing down the population explosion, by reducing the fertility rate.
Pressure on the natural resources can also be reduced.
100% registration of birth, death and marriages.
Encourage late marriage and late child bearing.
Encourage breast feeding.
Improves women health and education.
Constrain the spread of AIDS.
Prevent and control communicable disease.
Promotes small family norms.
Compulsory school education up to age 14.
Fertility control methods
o Traditional methods
o Tubectomy (female sterilization)
o Vasectomy (male sterilization)
o Condoms
o Copper Ts.
o Oral contraceptive pills.
Family Planning Programs:
o 1952 - launched
o 1970 – Forced family planning campaign
o 1978 – Minimum age for marriage 18 & 21
o 1981 – Funding increased due to inadequate results.
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