Environmental degradation

All basic needs of human beings are fulfilled by the earth. All human being relies on nature for a range of services and resources. Therefore, it becomes immensely important to appreciate and respect mother Earth and its environment. However, man's growing need and greed has substantially altered the environment. Environmental degradation, global warming, recession of glaciers, water scarcity, rise in sea level and increasing pollution are some of the consequences of human interference with nature. This urgently calls for paying emphasis on inculcating human values in the growing seeds of nation and dealing sensitively with issues related to environment degradation. It is high time for man to realize that nature has nothing to lose, but it is his own survival which is threatened. Thus, human beings need to be aware of the consequences of their action on environment. Individuals who are environmentally aware would make their purchases and consumption in the manner which does minimum harm to the environment. Hence, it is most important to increase awareness in people. Since the women are the backbone of the family and the nation, it is important that women are given environmental education to increase the awareness so that they can influence their family mindful consumption. Keeping this philosophy in mind a research study was undertaken with two objectives, firstly to assess the environmental awareness of Homemakers with special reference to environmental condition, renewable and non-renewal resources and eco-friendly certification marks and secondly to develop a need based educational program to enhance the environmental awareness followed with post-test to assess the impact of educational program. The research study was conducted on homemakers of Vadodara city. A sample of 192 homemakers were selected through snow ball technique. Their Environmental awareness was assessed on a summated rating scale developed for the purpose. The major findings of the research showed that on the overall scale two third of respondents had high level of environmental awareness, whereas more than one fourth had moderate level of environmental awareness. The information gathered regarding awareness about environment related certification marks, depicts that more than three fourth of homemakers were aware about "star rating" on equipment but none of them were aware about

Environmental pollution is nowadays one of the main challenges of the world. The global economic growth and the associated environmental degradation have put environmental protection at the forefront of attention. Regarding the aim of economic growth and its impact on environmental quality, the effect of various economic and human factors on environmental pollution and degradation is increasingly gaining importance in Iran. This study investigated the effects of economic growth, energy consumption, trade liberalization, urbanization, financial development, and human development on ecological footprint and environmental degradation in Iran over the period 1971-2015 using the Markov switching-error correction method (MS-ECM). Based on the results, the environmental Kuznets hypothesis was confirmed for the ecological carbon footprint with a reversed-U shape. Economic growth, urbanization, and energy use were found to have a positive and significant effect on environmental degradation, while financial development negatively influenced environmental degradation. Also, human development had a positive effect on the ecological carbon footprint. Finally, it is recommended to save energy, especially fossil fuels, by using clean energy, increase environmental awareness, and enforce strict environmental monitoring.