Environment Management

Prof. Sharmila Anthony

Unit : 01

Syllabus : MMS IV Unit 1:

1. What is Environment Management?

2. Environment Management System

3. What is environment?

4. Common concepts to learning environment

5. Issues relevant to India

Objective of the course To understand the effects of modern

human society on environment To understand the effects of

industrialization on environment To understand the various government

legislations for environment protection To study the means for sustainable

development

Why do we need to study this course?

Currently we have just one planet that can sustain life – EARTH

Earth twin – planet called Kepler – too hot for life ( - NASA – December 2011)

Why do we need to study this course?

Resources are limited - Space on earth- Non Renewable Energy- Natural Resources To understand our

responsibilities towards the environment & adopt an environment friendly system of working

What is Environment Management? EM is the optimum utilization of finite

resources. Management means protecting the available

resources from degradation It is the process of taking steps to have a

positive effect on the environment. It involves the wise use of activity and

resources to have an impact on the world & the environment

Environment Management System?

It is a process used by organizations to manage, review, correct & improve the organizations approach towards business

A structured way to incorporate environment friendly initiatives into day to day operations.

A way of life….

Environment Management System

What is Environment? It may be defined as the surroundings of

man which includes:

1. Air

2. Water

3. Land

4. Natural resources

5. Flora (plant kingdom) &

6. Fauna (animal kingdom)

Contd.. Environment consists of biotic & abiotic

factors Biotic factors include all living beings Abiotic includes non living beings

Living organisms use abiotic elements around them for food & shelter in order to grow, survive & reproduce.

Biotic & Abiotic factors

Contd.. Thus, the nature of abiotic factors in a place

decides the nature of living organisms that will live in that place.

E.g : Polar Bears in

Artic Region

Ecosystem! The interaction between the biotic & abiotic

factors together forms an ECOSYSTEM or Ecological System

Earth has different ecosystems in different parts like equator, desserts, evergreen forests, coral reefs, polar regions etc.

Different ecosystems living in harmony results in BIODIVERSITY of our universe!

E.g: Marine Ecosystem

Common concepts: Fossil fuels are decomposed

remains of ancient plants & animals.

Over time, due to heat & pressure, these remains are turned into fuels which release energy when burned

They take millions of years to form. E.g: Coal, petroleum, gas

Industrialization has resulted in large scale burning of fossil fuels in industries & vehicles resulting into global warming!

Fossil fuels are non renewable energy sources. They are likely to deplete with time.

Contd..

Renewable energy: It is the energy obtained from resources that are inexhaustible & can be regenerated

Example:

1. Wind energy

2. Solar energy

3. Tidal energy

Environmental Pollution

Pollution is the effect of undesirable change in our surroundings that have harmful effects on plants, animals & human beings.

Pollution is mainly man made. Pollution due to earth becoming hot &

crowded.

Crowded! World population in : - Year 1800 – 1 billion- Year 1922 – 2 billion- Year 2000 – 6 billion

- Year 2050 – 9 billion (estimated) Population increase is due to : - Health care – increase in life span- Disease eradication – better facilities available- Economic development resulting into crowding in

developing nations

Maximum growth is observed in lesser developed countries – due to economic growth – rise in population from 5.4 billion to 7.9 billion

Mumbai has a population of over 19 million

World population growth

Effects of Crowding?

Loss of arable land Over fishing Water shortage Air & water pollution Stress on cities infrastructure

Issues relevant to India Air pollution: Origin can be traced back to the time when

man started using firewood for cooking Air pollution began to increase in the beginning of 20th

century with industrial revolution, development of transportation system which led to large scale consumption of diesel, petrol, coal & natural gas.

The greatest industrial disaster leading to serious air pollution took place in Bhopal where extremely poisonous Methyl Iso Cyanate (MIC) gas was accidently released from Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant on the night of Dec,2,1984.

Bhopal gas tragedy On 2nd December, 1984 at about 12:30 AM at

Union Carbide pesticide plant at Bhopal, a deadly poisonous gas MIC was released into the atmosphere, due to a faulty valve which resulted in the explosion of the tank holding the gas.

40,000 kg of the lethal gas was released.

Reasons behind the tragedy: MIC needs to be kept below 5 degree

centigrade under pressure. But the refrigeration system was not functioning for more than 1 yr prior to the accident.

Safety valve was poorly maintained & was defective

It is estimated that temperatures rose upto 350 degrees in the tank resulting into decomposition of the gas – creating a cocktail of poisonous gases.

Impact on people? About 20,000 people died due to gas

poisoning 5.7 lakh people suffered major health

problems MIC mainly affects the lungs – causing

breathing problems. It made people vulnerable to TB & other lung

related problems.

• After a prolonged legal battle, Union Carbide agreed to pay Rs. 713 crores as compensation for affected victims

• Govt. arbitarily fixed 1,05,000 as affected people & 3000 as dead

• But in reality, nearly 20,000 people died & 5.7 lakh people suffered major health problems

• Compensation amount of 713 crores was meant for 1 lakh people but was distributed among 6 lakh

Causes of Airpollution

Natural causes

1. Volcanoes – dust, sulphur other gases

2. Forest fires

These pollutants tend to remain in the atmosphere for a short time and do not lead to permanent atmospheric change

Man made causes

1. Emissions from vehicles

2. Emissions from industries

3. Emissions from man made gases – CFC from refrigerators, deodrants, air conditioners etc..

Control Measures for Air Pollution

1. Electrostatic precipitators: highly efficient filters that can remove fine particulate matter like dust & smoke from air stream

2. Particulate scrubbers: Polluted gas stream is brought into contact with a scrubbing liquid to remove pollutants

3. Dust cyclones that use rotational effect & gravity to remove pollutants

Water pollution 71% of earth covered with

water 97% of this water is found in

oceans – too salty to drink or for irrigation

3% is fresh water 2.997% locked in polar ice

caps Thus only 0.003% of earths

total volume of water is available in the form of ground water, lakes & rivers stc..

Causes of water pollution

1. Domestic wastage

2. Industrial sewage

3. Excess use of fertilizers in agricultural field, which seeps through the ground

4. Accidental oil spills

State of Indian rivers Every single river in India is polluted – Ganga, Yamuna,

Godavari Sewage & muncipal effluents account for 75% pollution

& remaining 25% comes from industrial effluents 1985 – Govt of India launched Ganga Action Plan

(GAP), the largest ever river clean up operation in the country

1991 – GAP Phase II was introduced to clean up tributaries of Ganga – namely Yamuna,Gomti etc..

1995 – National River Conservation Plan was launched for all Indian rivers clean up operation.

Drawback

In most plans, the sewage was diverted to a sewage treatment plant before letting into the main river.

Biggest drawback was lack of responsibility in terms of the staff that was involved with GAP

Erratic power supply was required for the treatment plants as they were heavily dependant on power

Hence most facilities were underutilized

Soil Pollution Soil – thin covering over land consisting of minerals,

organic material, living organisms, air, & water that together supports growth of plant life

Soil is formed by mechanical weathering of rocks due to temperature changes, flowing water etc.

Soil cannot be manufactured Fertility of soil can be enhanced There is no substitute for soil

Causes of soil pollution

1. Erosion – It is the movement of top soil from one place to another – due to wind, flowing water and this is accelerated further by deforestation, construction etc..

Loss of top soil makes soil less fertile & reduces its water holding capacity

For 1 inch top soil to form, it takes 200 – 1000 yrs. Thus if top soil erodes faster that it is formed, soil

becomes a non renewable resource

Contd..2. Excess use of fertilizers/pesticides – 25% of

crop yield is through use of fertilizers. Pesticides are used to ensure good yield Excess use not only affects soil but also

pollutes the ground water through soil seepage

Questions

Unit 2:

1. Significance of Environment Management

2. Present status of Environment Management

3. Role & Functions of government

4. Managerial Aspects in EM – Sustainable Development