Environmental Sciences Course

Understanding our Environment

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Environmental Sciences?

The 2nd part of the 20th century (major changes in science branches and new branches).

Famous sciences are electronics and environment.

Conflict between industrial and environmental parties!!!

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What is the Environment?

The environment is something you are very familiar with. It's everything that makes up our surroundings and affects our ability to live on the earth-the air we breathe, the water that covers most of the earth's surface, the plants and animals around us, and much more.

In recent years, scientists have been carefully examining the ways that people affect the environment. They have found that we are causing water and air pollution, deforestation, acid rain, and other problems that are dangerous both to the earth and to ourselves.

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Ecology: the study of the relationships

between organisms and their environment.

the study of the interactions (with both the physical environment and other organisms) that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms.

Definitions

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Environment: the sum total of all physical and biological factors

influencing a particular organism. the external physical and biological factors which

influence growth, survivorship, development and reproduction of organisms.

Definitions

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What is the nucleus of your environment?

What are the components of your environment ?

what is the boundary of your environment?

Nucleus of Environment

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"YOU" are the nucleus of your environment.

The components of your physical environment are your family, friends, enemies, trees, water, air, soil, sun, moon, bacteria, insects, rodents, birds, dogs, cats, rats, bats etc. etc. and the components of your social environment are science, technology, religion, politics, traditions, Culture and customs and above all the maturity of your mind.

Nucleus of Environment

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The boundary of your environment or your town or city or district as the boundary. As man has already started affecting the global climate, the need of the hour is to dedicate ourselves to safeguard our environment without limiting ourselves to the narrow household or town or country but extending it to the whole universe.

Boundary of Environment

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Physical Environment

The physical environment has fundamental effects on living things. By "physical environment" we mean the general parameters of temperature, light, atmosphere, moisture, and climate and so on in which an organism lives, i.e., those factors not arising from other living organisms.

Environmental Science Domains

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Environmental Science Domains

Man Made Environment

-The man-made environment includes: Land use (Urban, rural etc.)

-Infrastructure (wastewater collection systems, wastewater treatment plants etc.)

-Industrial states

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Environmental Science Domains

Social Environment

-Public services (Schools, parks, clinics, civil defence etc)

-Habitats

-Commercial and industrial states

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Environmental Science Domains

Aesthetic Environment

-Historical, arch-logical sites

Economic Environment

- living standards

- employment and unemployment rates etc.

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Questions

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Evolution of Man

Man was born about 2 to 3 million years ago, Humans are thought to have evolved first in Africa. According to older theories, the first really modern Europeans and Asians did not show up before 40,000 B.P. (Before Present) Human remains found in java (Asia) show that homosapiens might have developed independently in Africa as well as elsewhere. Biologically man belongs to the family of mammals and hence has warm blood, hair and milk glands. Mammals are a frightened and in-secured group of tiny creatures some 75 millions years ago, when gigantic Reptiles ruled the earth.

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Impact of Man on Environment

Man's quest for progress is eternal. In his zeal to achieve scientific and technological advancement which he hopes would make his life happier ,man is unwittingly endangering the surroundings and tilting the ecological balance. As human population is increasing by leaps and bounds, there is need for more production in all spheres. So more industries and more vehicles are coming up polluting more and more that leaves the biosphere foul unless properly treated. Take for example manufacturing of cookers. Cookers are made of aluminum with copper bottom and plastic handles. This involves first ore dressing, extraction of metals, purification and then reshaping. All these involves machines which while working leave by-products that cannot be easily assimilated by biosphere. The list can be lengthened by adding manufacturing of plastics etc. Thus a man ascends rung by rung the ladder of civilization, his needs grow in arithmetic progression and the corresponding population grows in geometric progression.

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So the modern huge population with a thrust on being more civilized is imposing a great concern for the environmentalists. A small baby caresses its dolls, loves it and protects it. Preservation and protection is probably the basic instint of man. But as the time passes, man lured by the smell of dollar is relegating himself from the basic instint of keeping his surroundings clean. The early examples of pollution is a mere warning to the threatening problems we have to face at the dawn of 21st century. As man has become more and more civilized he is not content with the three primary requisites-food, shelter and clothing. Men now have more needs-more entertainment and more comfort. When they could walk, they needed a means of transport, where they found natural food sufficient they went for processed food.

Impact of Man on Environment

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These acquired needs had a major thrust on industry because most of them are met by items requiring processing, refinement, large scale production, and then transport. All these involves machines which leave by-products. The pesticides, the insecticides and the fertilizers used for rich yield and test of some materials cause air pollution leading to diseases such as cancer. In 1958 Paul Muller was awarded Nobel prize for his discovery of DDT.Malaria was eradicated but at the same time DDTtraces were found in almost all higher forms of life and its use is banned because it is a cumulative toxin. The series of ecological and environmental disasters made man realize that he will kill himself if he thoughtlessly and violently upsets the delicate web of environment of which he is a part. The earth song of Emerson is a trenchant indictment for the avaricious bipeds who deem to control nature.

Impact of Man on Environment