Environmental Science and Engineering Unit - I

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1. Introduction to Environmental Studies and Natural Resources

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
UNIT – I
“The earth provides enough to satisfy every person’s need but not every person’s greed”
--Mahatma Gandhi
Introduction to Environmental studies and natural Resources:
Environment is derived from the French word ‘Environner’ which means to

encircle or surround. All the biological and non – biological things surrounding an
organism are thus included in environment.
1. Define ‘Environment’:
The term Environment can be broadly defined as one’s surroundings. To be

more specific we can say that it is the biological and non–biological things surrounding
an organism.
2. Define environmental science:
Environmental science deals with the study of process in water, air, soil and
organisms which lead to pollution or environment damage, and the scientific basis for the
establishment of a standard which can be considered acceptably clean, safe and healthy
for human beings and the natural ecosystems. Environmental studies is not
unidisciplinary but multidisciplinary in nature.
3. Define Environmental Engineering:
It is the study of the technical process, used to minimize pollution and to assess
their impacts on the environment.
4. Define ‘Ecology’:
The word Ecology has its roots from two Greek words “ikos” meaning a house or
place of living or habitat and “logos” meaning study. Ecology is the study of the
interrelationship among plants and animals and their interactions with the physical
environment.
5. Name the two broad classifications of the environment?
The two major classifications of environment are:

a) Physical Environment: External factors like Air, Water and Land etc. This is also
called as Abiotic Environment
b) Living Environment: All living organisms around us viz., plants, animals and
microorganisms. This is also called as Biotic Environment.
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6. Define an ecosystem:
An Ecosystem is defined as a group of plants, animals or living organisms

living together and interacting with the physical environment in which they live.
7. Define the following terms:
a) Biotic – The living component of an ecosystem comprises, plants,

animals and microorganisms (i.e., Fungi and Bacteria)
b) Abiotic – The non-living component of the environment. E.g.: air, water
and soil/sediment.
c) Habitat – place where an organism lives.
d) Fauna – All the animals present in a given region.
e) Flora – All plants present in a given region.
8. What is the scope of the environmental education?

(Or)
Mention the scope of the environmental science.
Scope of environmental studies is broad based and it encompasses a large number

of areas and aspects, broadly listed below:
1. Natural resources – Their conservation and management.

2. Ecology and biodiversity.
3. Environmental pollution and control.
4. Social issues in related to development and environment.
5. Human population and environment.
6. Stopping the use of biological and nuclear weapons for destruction of human
race.
7. Managing the unpredictable disasters, and so on.
These are the basic aspects of environmental Science which have a direct relevance to
every section of the society.
9. Justify the need for environmental education:

 Environment belongs to all and is thus important for all.
 Whatever be the occupation or age of a person, he or she will be affected by
environment and will also affect the environment. Thus, environment is one
subject that is actually global in nature.
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 For example, atmosphere has no boundaries and the pollutants produced at one
place can be dispersed and transported to another place.
 The river water polluted by industrial or municipal discharge at one point would
seriously affect the downstream aquatic life.
 There are some environmental problems which may be of localized importance
but these are some major issues like global warming, depletion of ozone layer,
dwindling forests and energy resources etc., that are going to affect the mankind
as a whole and for that we have to think globally.
 For dealing with local environmental issues, e.g. the impacts of mining or hydro-
electric projects, solid waste management etc. we have to think globally and act
locally. In order to make the people aware about those aspects of environment
with which they are so intimately associated, it is very important to make every
one environmentally educated.
10. Explain the types of environment using block diagram.
Lithospheric Floral
Environment Environment
Atmospheric Physical Biological Faunal

Environment Environment Environment Environment
Hydrospheric
Microbial
Environment
Environment
Environment
Cultural Environment
Social Economic Political

Environment Environment Environment
On the basis of structure, the environment may be divided into two fundamental types:
1. The abiotic or physical environment consisting of air, water and soil/sediment.

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2. The biotic or biological environment consisting flora, fauna and microorganisms.
On the basis of physical characteristic and state, the physical environment is
further subdivided into three broad categories:
a. Lithosphere (sphere of rocks /soil / sediment)

b. Hydrosphere (sphere of water)
c. Atmosphere (sphere of gas)
The basic components of the environment consists of plant (flora), animal (fauna),
including man as an important component. The biological environment can be further
subdivided into:
a. Floral/plant environment
b. Faunal/ Animal environment
c. Microbial environment
All the organisms form their social groups and organizations at several levels,
constituting the social environment. The organisms derive matter for their development
from the economic environment. The interconnected process forms the economic
environment. The interactions among the different environments are shown in the above
diagram.
11. Define Biosphere.

It is the zone of earth where life is found. It includes air, water and soil.
12. How would environmental awareness help to protect our environment?
 People should be made to know how our environment gets polluted and what are
the ways and means by which environment can be protected. They should be taught
of the importance of keeping our surrounding clean and green
 The United Nations conference on Environment held in Riode Janeiro in 1992
and popularly known as “Earth Summit” followed by the “World Summit on
sustainable development” at Johannesburg in 2002, just 10 years after the first
summit, have highlighted the key issues of global environmental concern and have
attracted the attention of the general public towards the deteriorating environment.
 Any government at its own level cannot achieve the goals of sustainable
development until the public has a participatory role in it. Public participation is
possible only when the public is aware about the ecological and environmental
issues.
 Nearly 30 to 40% of the public of the developing country are really aware of the ill-
effects of so many anti-environmental activities but, they do not bother about it.
 The remaining 60 to 70% does not consider it as a serious concern. Hence, public
awareness is very essential to help understand the environmental problems.
 Each and every one of us should know the importance of unpolluted air, land and
water.
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 There is no doubt that unless people have awareness about all these things, it will
not be possible to form a healthy society.
13. What is EIA?
EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment.
 It is a systematic analysis of the effect of major developmental project activities on

ecosystem, resources and environment.
 It is a tool used for decision making regarding developmental projects.
14. List any four causes for the environmental problems we face.
1. Rapid population growth

2. Poverty
3. Lack of awareness of ecosystem
4. Unsustainable resource use.
15. Define “resource”. Classify the types of material resource.

(Or)
What are renewable and non-renewable resources? Give examples.
The “resource” is anything obtained from the environment to meet human needs
and wants.
The material resources from the environment shall be classified as:
1. Continuous resources
2. Non-renewable resources
3. Renewable resources
1. The continuous resources are directly obtained from the environment without any
interference.
e.g.: Solar light winds and tides.
2. The Non-renewable resources are fixed quantity or stock in the earth’s crust.
These exhaustible resources include energy resources (coal, oil, natural gas,
etc); metallic mineral resources (iron, copper, aluminium etc.) and non-metallic
mineral resources (salt, clay, sand, etc.)
3. The renewable resources are regenerated through natural processes.

e.g., Forests. Glass lands, wild animals, fresh water, fresh air and fertile soil.
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Resources
Continuous Renewable Non-renewable
Solar energy Winds, tides, etc
Fresh air Fresh water Fertile soil Plant and animals
Fossil Fuels Metallic minerals Non-metallic minerals.
FOREST RESOURCES:
Forests are important renewable resources on this earth. Covering the earth
like a green blanket these forests not only produce innumerable material goods, but also
provide several environmental services which are essential for life.
About 1/3 rd of the world’s land area is forest which includes closed as well as
open forests. The forests and grasslands are heavily disturbed by human activities. The
greatest loss occurred in tropical Asia where one third of the forest resources have been
destroyed.
16. Discuss the major uses of forests. How would you justify that ecological uses of
forests surpass commercial uses?
(Or)
Explain how forests are useful to mankind.
(Or)
In what way forests are to immense value to us? Justify your answer.
Commercial uses:
Forests provide us a large number of commercial goods which include timber,

firewood, pulpwood, food items, gum, resins, non-edible oils, rubber, fibers, bamboo
canes, medicine, drugs and many more items, the total worth of which is estimated to be
more than $ 300 billion per year.
 Half of the timber cut each year is used as fuel for heating and cooking.
 One third of the wood harvest is used for building materials as lumber, plywood
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and hardwood, particle board and clipboard.
 One sixth of the wood harvest is used for paper industry.
 Many forest lands are used for mining, agriculture, grazing and for development of
dams.
Ecological uses: While a typical tree produces commercial goods worth about $ 590 it
provides environmental services worth nearly $ 196, 250. The ecological services
provided by our forests may be summed up as follows:
1. Production of oxygen:
The trees produce oxygen by photosynthesis which is so vital for life on this
earth. They are likely called as earth’s lungs.
2. Reducing global warming:

The main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the forests as a
raw material for photosynthesis. Thus the forest canopy acts as a sink for CO 2 there by
reducing the problem of global warming caused by greenhouse gas CO2.
3. Wild life habitat:

Forests are the homes of millions of wild animals and plants. About 7 million
species are found in the tropical forests alone.
4. Regulation of hydrological cycle:

Forested watersheds act like giant sponges, absorbing the rainfall, slowing down
the run off and slowly releasing the water for recharge of springs. About 50 – 80% of the
moisture in the air above tropical forests comes from their transpiration which helps in
bringing rains.
5. Soil conservation:
Forests bind the soil particles tightly in their roots and prevent soil erosion.
6. Pollution moderators:
Forests can absorb many toxic gases can help in keeping the air pure. They have
also been reported to absorb noise and thus help in preventing air and noise pollution.
17. Write a note on over exploitation of forests.
 Since time immemorial, humans have depended heavily on forests for food,
medicine, shelter, wood and fuel. With growing civilization the demands for raw
material like timber, pulp, minerals, fuel, wood etc. shooted up resulting in large
scale logging, mining, road, building and clearing of forests.
 Out forests contribute substantially to the national economy. The international
timber trade alone is worth over US $40 billion per year.
 Excessive use of fuel wood and charcoal, expansion of urban, agricultural and
industrial areas and overgrazing have together led to over – exploitation of our
forests leading to their degradation.
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18. What is deforestation? How it is caused? What are the consequences of
deforestation?
Deforestation means destruction of forests. To be more specific, the term

“deforestation” refers to drastic elimination of forest resources due to many natural and
man-made activities.
The total forest area of the world in 1900 was estimated to be 7,000 million
hectares which was reduced to 2890 million ha by 2000. As per the present rate of
deforestation it is estimated that in the next 60 years we would lose more than 90% of our
tropical forests.
The percapita availability of forest in India is 0.08 hectares per person which is
much lower than the world average of 0.8 hectares. We are still far behind the target of
achieving 33% forest area, as per our National forest policy, as we are still having only
19.27% forest area.
Major causes of Deforestation:
(i) Shifting cultivation:
There are an estimated 300 million people living a shifting cultivators who
practice slash and burn agriculture and are supposed to clear more than 5 Lakh ha of
forest for shifting cultivation annually. In India, we have this practice in North-East and
to some extent in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and M.P which contribute to nearly half of the
forest clearing annually. Slash and burn cultivation – in which vegetation is cut down,
allowed to dry and burned off before seeds are planted.
(ii) Fuel requirements:

Increasing demands for fuel wood by the growing population in India alone has
shooted up to 300–500 million tones in 2001 as compared to just 65 million tones during
independence, thereby increasing the pressure on forests.
(iii) Raw materials for industrial use:

Wood for making boxes, furniture, railway-sleepers, plywood, match-boxes, pulp
for paper industry etc. have exerted tremendous pressure on forests.
(iv) Development projects:

Massive destruction of forests occurs for various development projects like
hydroelectric projects, big dams, road construction, mining etc.
(v) Growing food needs:

To meet the demands of rapidly growing population, agricultural and settlements
are created permanently by clearing forests.
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(vi) Overgrazing:
Overgrazing by the cattle leads to degradation of forest lands.
Major consequences of Deforestation:
1. The deforestation leads to global warming because the trees that are cut and burnt
release CO2 into the atmosphere.
2. Loss of wildlife due to destruction of their natural habitat.
3. Biodiversity is lost and along with that genetic diversity is eroded.
4. Hydrological cycle gets affected, there by influencing rainfall.
5. Problems of soil erosion and loss of soil fertility increase.
6. In hilly areas it often leads to landslides.
7. Loss of fruit, root-based foods production.
19. Case studies – Deforestation:
Desertification in hilly regions of the Himalayas.
Desertification in Himalayas, involving clearance of natural forests and plantation

of monocultures like pinus roxburghi, Eucalyptus camadulensis etc. have upset the
ecosystem by changing various soil and biological properties. Nutrient cycling has
become poor, original rich germplasm is lost and the area is invaded by exotic weeds.
These areas are not able to recover and are losing their fertility. The entire west Khasi hill
district of Meghalaya in North-east Himalayas and Ladakh are now facing the serious
problem of desertification.
Disappearing tea gardens in Chota Nagpur.
This hilly region used to be a good forested area towards the turn of the century
and used to receive fairly frequent afternoon showers favoring tea plantation. Following
the destruction of forests, rainfall declined in Chota Nagpur to such an extent that tea-
gardens also disappeared from the region.
20. Explain the effect of timber extraction:
Timber is the major resource of a forest. The pre and post independent periods of
India observed a recorded use of timber for various applications – furniture, doors and
windows, roofing, flooring, sleepers in railway industry, boat industry, and others. Till
1990, wood is used as fuel energy in rural India, to an extent of 50%. At present the
consumption of timber is reduced, due to the imposition of ban on cutting valuable trees.
Paper board and newsprint also consume much of our wood. With increasing
population growth our per capita consumption of paper is likely to increase from 2kg to
4.5kg per year.
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There are several interconnected effects of timber extraction and fuel wood cutting
on forests and tribal people. They are:
(i) Thinning of forests,
(ii) Loss of biodiversity, especially the tree breeding birds,
(iii) Soil erosion and loss of fertility,
(iv) Loss of tribal culture,
(v) Migration of tribal people in search of new forests, and
(vi) Extinction of tribal people.
21. Explain the effect of mining with example.
Mining is the process of removing deposits of ores from substantially very well
below the ground level. Mining operations for extracting minerals and fossil fuels like
coal often involves vast forest areas.
Mining from shallow deposits is done by surface mining while that from deep
deposits is done by sub-surface mining. More than 80,000 ha of land of the country is
presently under the stress of mining activities.
Some of the effects of mining on forest resources are:

(i) Clear-cutting of forests leads to deforestation,
(ii) Formation of acid mine drainage incase of coal mining,
(iii) Land sliding and loss of fauna and flora,
(iv)Soil erosion and loss of water resources.
(v) Loss of top soil & lowering of ground water table.
Example:
(i) Large scale deforestation has been reported in Missouri hills due to
indiscriminate mining of various minerals (limestone & marble) over the
length of about 40 km. It is one of the important national summer tourist
resorts, which helps in maintaining the weather in the region. The forested
area has declined at an average rate of 33% and the increase in non-forest area
due to mining activities has resulted in relatively unstable zones leading to
landslides.
(ii) Indiscriminate mining in forests of Goa since 1961 has destroyed more than
50,000 ha of forest land.
22. Discuss with the help of a case study, how big dams have affected forests and the
Tribal.
Dams are the massive artificial structures built across the river to create a
reservoir in order to store water for many beneficial purposes. Big dams and river valley
projects [RVP] have multi-purpose uses and have been referred to as “Temples of
modern India”. In a developing country like India, more than 75% of the population
depends on agriculture, the execution of River valley project is an important element of
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growth strategy. India has more than 1550 large dams, the maximum being in the state of
Maharastra (>600), followed by Gujarat (>250) and M.P (>130).
Although these projects have several benefits, they also have cost the society a
great deal. The biggest economic social and environment cost of river valley project is
the submergence of large tracts of lands, forests, dwellings, railways and roads.
For example Narmada RVP, will submerge tracts, 23km of railways, 85km of roads,
45km of telephone lines, 10,000 buildings and 3300 drinking wells.
1. Effect on Tribal people:

The greatest social cost of big dam is the widespread displacement of local
people. It is estimated that the number of people affected in India over the past 50 years
can be as high as 20 millions. The Hirakud dam, one of the largest dams executed in
fifties, has displaced more than 20,000 people residing in 250 villages.
2. Effect on forests:
Thousands of hectares of forests have been cleared for executing river valley
projects. For example, the Narmada sagar project alone has submerged 1,44,731 ha of
land, out of which 56,547 ha is best forest.
3. Effect on wild Animals:

Construction of dams under these projects will lead to lose of wild animals.
4. Effect on Environment:
The big river valley projects also cause water logging which leads to salinity and
in turn reduces the fertility capacity of the land.
23. Mention some major projects which have degraded the forests in India.
1. Silent valley project: This project Proposed during 1965 to generate 120 MW
hydroelectric powers at a cost of Rs 60 crores on the river Kuntipuzhe on the south
west slopes of Nilgiri Hills.
2. Narmada project: Narmada RVP, perhaps the largest in the world, is expected to
cost more than 25,000 crores of rupees. The project is aimed at providing irrigation
water, drinking water and electricity to the three states of Gujarat, Maharastra and
Madhya Pradesh.
3. Tehri Dam: The Tehri dam project involves the construction of 261 meter high rock
filled dam across the river Bhagirathi at Tehri in northern region of U.P state. The
objective of the project is to produce 6000 million units of power and to irrigate
2,70,000ha of land.
24. Write note on “Sardar Sarovar Narmada Project” and its impact on
environment.
1. The dam is situated on the river Narmada and is spread over three states of
Gujarat, Maharastra and Madhya Pradesh. Although the project is aimed
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at providing irrigation water, drinking water and electricity to the three states,
the environmental impacts of the project have raised challenging questions.
2. A total of 1, 44,731 ha of land will be submerged by the dam out of which

56,547 ha is forest land. A total of 573 villages are to be submerged by the
Narmada dam.
3. Submergence area is very rich in wildlife, e.g., tigers, panthers, bears,

wolves, Rangolins, hyenas, jackals, flying squirrels, antelopes, black bucks,
chinkara, marsh crocodiles, turtles etc., Thus, massive loss of these wildlife
species is apprehended due to the devastation of the forest under the project.
4. As per the estimates of the Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, the
Narmada valley project will lead to eventual displacement of more than one
million people, which is probably the largest rehabilitation issue ever
encountered as per the world Bank.
5. Uprooting of the tribal and their forced shifting in far-flung areas may not be
easily adjusted to. The displacement will affect the tribal people’s culture,
their beliefs, myths and rituals, festivals, songs and dances.
6. It is therefore the duty of the project proponents and government to pay

maximum attention for proper rehabilitation of the displaced tribal.
WATER RESOURCES
Water is an indispensable natural resource on this earth on which all life depends.
About 97% of the earth’s surface is covered by water and most of animals and plants
have 60 - 65% water in their body.
Water is characterized by certain unique features which make it a marvelous resource:
1. It exists as a liquid over a wide range of temperature i.e. from 0 to 100C.

2. It has the highest specific heat, due to which it warms up and down very slowly
without causing shocks of temperature jerks to the aquatic life.
3. It has a high latent heat of vaporization. Hence, it takes a huge amount of
energy for getting vaporized. That’s why it produces a cooling effect as it
evaporates.
4. It is an excellent solvent for several nutrients. Thus, it can serve as a very good
carrier of nutrients, including oxygen, which is essential for life.
5. Due to high surface tension and cohesion it can easily raise great heights through
the trunk even in the tallest trees.
6. It has anomalous expansion behaviour i.e. as it freezes; it expands instead of
contracting and thus becomes lighter. It is because of this property that even in
extreme cold, the lakes freeze only on the surface. Being lighter the ice keeps
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floating, where as the bottom waters remain at a higher temperature and therefore,
can sustain aquatic organisms even in extreme cold.
25. Explain Hydrological cycle.
The water from the water bodies [Oceans, Rivers, and Lakes etc] is evaporated due
to sun rays. The water which is evaporated forms clouds. These clouds are condensed to
form rain. The process is repeated naturally. This is called as hydrological cycle.
Clouds [Moisture in the Atmosphere]
Precipitation Transpiration
Evaporation
Rain,
snow
Water bodies [Oceans,
Rivers, Lakes etc] soil Plants
moisture, Ground water
Fig: Water cycle (or) Hydrological cycle

 We have enormous resources of water on the earth amounting to about
1404million km3.
 Every year about 1.4 inch thick layer of water evaporates from the oceans,
more than 90% of which returns to the oceans through the hydrological cycle.
 Plants too play a very important role by absorbing it into the atmosphere by
the process of transpiration.
26. What are the Sources of Water?

The sources of water generally classified as:
1. Surface source: e.g., Lakes, steams, ponds, rivers and storage reservoirs.
2. Underground source: e.g., wells.
27. Explain the Uses of Water
 Due to its unique properties water is of multiple uses for all living organisms.
Most of the life processes take place in water contained in the body.
 Uptake of nutrients, their distribution in the body, regulation of temperature,
and removal of wastes are all mediated through water.
 Human beings depend on water for almost every developmental activity.
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 Water is used for drinking, irrigation, and transportation, washing and waste
disposal for industries and used as a coolant for thermal power plants.
 Water shapes the earth’s surface and regulates our climate.
 Water used by humans is of two types :
(i) Water withdrawal : Taking water from groundwater or surface

water resource and
(ii) Water Consumption: The water which is taken up but not
returned for reuse. Globally only about 60 percent of the water
withdrawn is consumed due to loss through evaporation.
 On a global average 70 % of the water withdrawn is used for agriculture. In

India, we use 93 % of the water in agriculture sector while in a country like
Kuwait, which is water-poor, only 4 % is used for watering the crops.
 About 25 % of water on global average is used in industry, which again varies
from a high of 70 % in European Countries to as low as 5 % in less developed
countries.
28. Water ‘A precious Natural Resource’ – justify
 Although water is very abundant on this earth, yet it is very precious

 Out of the total reserves of the world about 97% is salty water (marine) and
only 3% is fresh water.
 Even this small fraction of fresh water is not available to us as most of it is
locked up in polar ice caps and just 0.003% is readily available to us in the
form of ground water and surface water.
29. What are the main causes for Over-utilization of water?
 Today in almost all spheres of human activity more water is withdrawn than
what is actually needed
 Due to carelessness much of it is wasted and allowed to flow out in an impure
state
 Overuse of groundwater for drinking, irrigation and domestic purposes has
resulted in rapid depletion of groundwater in various regions leading to
lowering of water table and drying of wells.
 Rivers and streams have long been used for discharging the waste.
 As per the united estimate (2002), at least 101 billion people do not even have
access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion do not have adequate sanitation
facilities.
30. Ground Water: - What is an Aquifer?
 About 9.86% of the total fresh water resources are in the form of groundwater
and it is about 35-50 times that of surface water supplies.
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 A layer of sediment or rock that is highly permeable and contains water is
called aquifer. layers of sand and gravel are good aquifer while clay and
crystalline rocks (like granite )are not since the have low permeability
31. What are the environmental impacts of over utilization of ground water?
(i) Subsidence:
When ground water withdrawal is more than its recharge rate, the sediments in the
aquifer get compacted, a phenomenon known as ground subsidence. The common
problems associated with it include structural damage in buildings, fracture in pipes,
reversing the flow of sewers and canals and tidal flooding.
(ii) Lowering of water table:

Heavily pumped well can lower the local water table as a result of which
shallower wells go dry.
(iii) Water logging:

When excessive irrigation is done with brackish water it raises the water table
gradually leading to water-logging and salinity, problems.
32. Surface Water:
The water coming through precipitation (rainfall, snow) is either stored in the lakes,
ponds, wetlands, artificial reservoirs or flowing as rivers or streams is known as surface
water. The surface water is largely used for irrigation, industrial use, public water supply,
navigation etc.
33. Define ‘FLOOD’. How is it caused?
Flood is defined as a situation when water overflows its banks and the water spreads in
the surrounding areas and submerging them. Floods usually occur in the rainy season.
 In some countries like India and Bangladesh rainfall does not occur
throughout the year, rather, 90% of it is concentrated into a few months
(June-September).
 Causes of flood:
1. Heavy intense rainfall
2. The melting of accumulated snow due to global warming.
3. The melting of snow combined with rain.
4. Deforestation, overgrazing, mining and rapid industrialization have
also contributed largely to a sharp rise in the incidence of floods,
which otherwise is a natural disaster.
 Floods have been regular features of some parts of India and Bangladesh
causing huge economic loss as well as loss of life.
 Networking of rivers is being proposed at national level to deal with the
problems of floods.
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34. Define ‘DROUGHTS’. How is it caused?
Scarcity of water, which occurs, due to inadequate rains, late arrival of rains and
excessive withdrawal of ground water is referred to as drought.
 When annual rainfall is below normal and less than evaporation, drought
conditions are created.
 The severity of the drought depends on the degree of moisture deficiency, the
duration of the drought and the size of the affected area.
 Droughts can result in decreased crop yields, decreased drinking water
quality and availability and food shortages
 There are about 80 countries in the world, lying in the arid and semi-arid
regions that experience frequent spells of droughts, very often extending upto
year long duration.
Anthropogenic causes:
 Drought is a meteorological phenomenon, but due to several anthropogenic

causes like over grazing, deforestation, mining etc, there is spreading of the
deserts tending to convert more areas to drought affected areas.
 Erroneous and intensive cropping pattern and increased exploitation of water
resources through well or canal irrigation to get high productivity has
converted drought prone areas into decertified ones.
35. Explain the various types of Droughts.
Droughts are classified into different types they are:
1. Meteorological drought: It occurs when the total amount of rainfall received

in an area is less than 75% of the normal rainfall.
2. Hydrological drought: This drought is associated with the effects on surface
(stream or river flow, reservoir and lake levels) and sub-surface (ground water)
water supply due to less rainfall.
3. Agricultural Drought:
This drought links various characteristics of metrological and hydrological
droughts to agricultural impacts. Reduced ground water or reservoir levels, less
social moisture, etc., adversely affect agricultural output.
4. Socio-economic Drought:
This drought occurs due to a reduction in the availability of flood and social
security of the people in the affected areas.
36. Conflicts over water:
The existing constitutional provisions and legislations in India do not provide an

appropriate framework at deal with water sharing issues between states, sectors and
individuals. In the present setup,
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(a) Primary powers are vested at state levels which do not correspond to river
basin boundaries
(b) Surface water rights are not clearly defined and such rights can not be
commercially transferred.
(c) Groundwater rights are purely private and
(d) Environmental laws have not been comprehensively operationalised and
regulatable standards are either not enforced or do not exist.
 Indispensability of water and its unequal distribution has often led to inter state or
international disputes.
 Issues related to sharing of river water have been largely affecting our farmers
and also shaking our governments.
Some of the existing conflicts between states related to the sharing of water of rivers
that flows through more than one state are
(a) Sharing of the water of river Krishna between the states of Maharastra, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh.
(b) The Cauvery water dispute: Out of India’s 18 major rivers 17 are shared between
states. In all these cases, there are intense conflicts over these resources which hardly
seem to resolve. The Cauvery river water is a bone of contention between Tamilnadu and
Karnataka and the fighting is almost hundred years old.
 Tamilnadu, occupying the downstream region of the river wants water-use

regulated in the upstream. Where as, the upstream state Karnataka refuses to
do so and claims its privacy over the river as upstream user. The water is
almost fully utilized and both the states have increasing demands for
agriculture and industry.
 On June2, 1990, the Cauvery water Dispute Tribunal was setup to solve the
conflicts.
 Proper selection of crop varieties, optimum use of water, better rationing, and
rational sharing patterns, and pricing of water are suggested as some measures
to solve the problems.
(c) The Satluj-Yamuna link (SYL) canal dispute:

The issue of sharing the Ravi-Beas water and SYL issue between Punjab and
Haryana is being discussed time and again the case is in the Supreme Court.
37. What are the benefits and environmental impacts of construction of big dams?
River valley projects with big dams have usually been considered to play a key
role in the development process due to their multiple uses.
Benefits of Dams:
1. Irrigation during dry periods
18
2. Hydroelectricity generation
3. Flood control
4. Navigation
5. Transfer of water from areas of excess to areas of deficit using canals.
Environmental Problems:
The impacts can be at the upstream as well as downstream levels.
(a) The upstream problems include the following:
(i) Displacement of tribal people.

(ii) Loss of forests, flora and fauna.
(iii) Changes in fisheries and the spawning grounds
(iv) Loss of non-forest land.
(v) Stagnation and water logging near reservoir.
(vi)Breeding of vectors and spread of vector-borne diseases.
(vii) Reservoir induced seismicity [RIS] causing earthquakes.
(viii) Microclimatic changes.
(b) The downstream impacts include the following:
(i) Water-logging and salinity due to over irrigation.

(ii) Micro-climatic changes.
(iii) Reduced water flow and silt deposition in river.
(iv)Salt water intrusion at river mouth
(v) Losses of land fertility along the river since the sediments carrying nutrients
get deposited in the reservoir.
(vi)Outbreak of vector-borne diseases like malaria.
MINERAL RESOURCES
38. What are minerals? What are the uses of various types of minerals?
Minerals:
“Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic, crystallic solids having a definite
chemical composition and characteristic physical properties”.
(There are thousands of minerals occurring in different parts of the world.
However, most of the rocks, we see everyday are just composed of a few common
minerals like quartz, feldspar, biotite, dolomite, calcite, laterite etc. these minerals are
composed of some elements like silicon, oxygen, iron, magnesium, calcium, aluminium
etc.)
Uses:
Minerals find use in a large number of ways in everyday use in domestic,
agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors and thus from a very important part of any
nation’s economy. The main uses of minerals are as follows:
19
(i) Developing of industrial plants and machinery. - E.g. Iron, copper

(ii) Generation of energy. - E.g. coal, lignite, uranium
(iii) Construction, housing, settlements. - E.g. Copper, Iron, Silicate minerals,
Lime stone
(iv)Defense equipments – Weapons, Armaments,
(v) Transportation means
(vi)Communication – Telephone wire, cables, electronic devices
E.g. Aluminium, copper
(vii) Medicinal system – particularly in Ayurvedic system.
(viii) Formation of alloys for various purposes - e.g. phosphorite
(ix)Agriculture – as fertilizers, seed dressings and fungicides.
(x) Jewellry – e.g. gold, silver, platinum, diamond.
39. Write a short note on classification of minerals.
Based on their properties, minerals are basically two types:
(i) Non-metallic minerals.- e.g. graphite, diamond, quartz, feldspar.
(ii) Metallic minerals – e.g. Bauxite, Laterite, Haematite etc.,
Minerals are sometimes classified as
(i) Critical minerals: They are essential for economy of a nation. E.g. iron,
aluminium, copper, gold etc.
(ii) Strategic minerals: They are those required for the defense of a country. E.g.
Manganese, Cobalt, Platinum, Chromium etc.
40. Give some major minerals found in India.
(i) Energy generating minerals:
Coal and lignite: West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh (Nellore, Nalgonda),
Meghalaya, Rajasthan (Ajmer).
(ii) Other commercially used minerals:
Aluminium (Bauxite ore): Jharkhand, west Bengal, Maharashtra, M.P. and

Tamilnadu.
Iron (Haematite and Magnetite ore): Jharkhand, Orissa, M.P., A.P., Tamilnadu,
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.
Copper (copper pyrites): Rajasthan (Khetri), Bihar, Jharkand, Karnataka, M.P.,
West Bengal, A.P., and Uttaraunchal.
41. Write short notes on over exploitation of minerals.
By the turn of 21st century, it is observed that several minerals are over exploited
all over the world. For e.g.,
20
(i) 50 to 60% of diamond in South Africa was over exploited, because of its
popularity and high demand.
(ii) Gold and platinum are exploited at faster rate, because of their high
economic values.
(iii) Almost 70 to 80% of coal reserves and 90% of oil reserves were
exhausted in the last century.
(iv)The construction of industries around the globe have consumed as much as the
reserves of gypsum, limestone, siliceous materials, iron ore, and several non
precious metals,
(v) The phosphate rocks are over utilized to an extent of 40 to 60% for the
manufacture of phosphatic based fertilizers.
42. What is mining? Mention its methods.
Mining is done to extract minerals (or fossil fuels) from deep deposits in soil by
using (i) sub-surface mining or from shallow deposits by (ii) surface mining. The
former method is more destructive, dangerous and expensive including risks of
occupational hazards and accidents.
Three types of surface mining are,
(a) Open-pit mining in which machines dig holes and remove the ores. e.g. copper,
iron, gravel, limestone.
(b) Dredging in which chained buckets and draglines are used which scrap up the
minerals from underwater mineral deposits.
(c) Strip mining in which the ore is stripped off by using bulldozers, power shovels
and stripping wheels (e.g. phosphate rocks).
43. Discuss the major environmental impacts of mineral extraction.

(Or)
Enumerate the effects of mining on the environment.
The mining, processing and use of mineral resources takes enormous amounts of
energy and often cause land disturbance, soil erosion, and air and water pollution.
21
Steps Effects
Disturbed the land,

Mining, mining accidents,
Exploration, extraction health hazards, heat
Processing Solid waste, radioactive

Transportation, material, air, water and
Purification soil pollution
Use Noise, health hazards,

Individual user, heat, pollution
eventual user
(i) Devegetation and defacing of landscape:
The topsoil as well as the vegetation is removed from the mining area to got
access to the deposit.
(ii) Subsidence of land:
This is mainly associated with underground mining. Subsidence of mining areas

often results in tilting of buildings, cracks in houses, buckling of roads, bending of rail
tracks and leaking of gas from cracked pipelines leading to serious disasters.
(iii) Groundwater contamination:
Sulphur, usually present as an impurity in many ores is known to get converted

into sulphuric acid through microbial action thereby making the water acidic. Some
heavy metals also get leached into the groundwater and contaminate it posing health
hazards
(iv) Surface water pollution:
The acid mine drainage often contaminates the nearby streams and lakes.
Sometimes radioactive substances like uranium also contaminate the water bodies
through mine wastes and kill aquatic animals.
22
(v) Air pollution:
In order to separate and purify the metal from other impurities in the ore, smelting
is done which emits enormous quantities of air pollutants damaging the vegetation nearby
and has serious environmental health impacts.
(vi) Occupational Health hazards:
Most of the miners suffer from various respiratory and skin diseases due to constant
exposure to the suspended particulate matter and toxic substances. Miners working in
different types of mines suffer from asbestosis, silicosis, black lung disease etc.
44. Discuss the major environmental impacts of mineral extraction with case
studies.
1) Mining and quarrying in Udaipur:
About 200 open cast mining and quarrying centers in Udaipur, about half of
which are illegal, are involved in stone mining including soapstone, building stone,
rock phosphate and dolomite. The mines spread over 15,000 ha in Udaipur have
caused many adverse impacts on environment.
About 150 tones of explosives are used per month in blasting. The overburden,
wash off, discharge of mine water etc. pollute the water. The maton mines have
badly polluted the Ahar River. The waste water flows towards a big tank of “Bag
Dara”. Due to scarcity of water people are compelled to use this effluent for
irrigation purpose.
The blasting activity has adversely affected the fauna and the animals like tiger, iron,
deer and even hare, fox, wild cats and birds have disappeared from the mining area.
2) Mining at Sariska tiger Reserve, India:
This tiger reserve is a unique ecosystem, located in Alwar, Rajasthan, India. It is

well known for its rich biodiversity as well as mineral resources. This was declared
“Sariska tiger Reserve” in 1979.
The mining include marble, limestone, granite, quartzite etc. After completion of the
mining activities these areas have been made permanently unproductive.
There are in all about 400 mining plots in the area. Each plot measures about 100 to
125 sq.km. As a result of mining, the flora, fauna and other natural resource were
extensively damaged. More than 400 mines were shut immediately by the state
government of Rajasthan in response to a public interest Litigation of Tarun Bharat
Sangh. But, still some illegal mining is in progress.
23
45. FOOD RESOURCES:
Food is one of the basic needs of every living organism and fertile soil is a key to
produce most of the human food. Historically humans have depended on three systems
for their food supply.
1. Croplands mostly produce grains and provide about 76% of the

world’s foods.
2. Rangelands produce meat, mostly from grazing livestock and supply.
3. Oceanic fisheries supply about 7% of the world’s food.
46. List some of the major food resources in the World.
There are thousands of edible plants and animals in the world. But only few
varieties of grains, root crops, fruits, vegetables, birds, animals, fish and marine
organisms yield food for human beings.
Some important food resources:
Crop 1998 yield [Million metric tons]
Wheat 586
Rice 384
Maize 597
Potatoes 281
Barley and oats 170
Soya beans 155
Cassava potato 286
Sugar (cane and beet) 119
Sorghum and millet 84
Vegetable oils 91
Vegetables and fruits 884
Meat and milk 432
Fish and seafood 94
47. What is malnutrition? Write the Impacts of malnutrition.
The food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of United Nations estimated that
on an average the minimum caloric intake on a global scale is 2,500 calories/day. People
receiving less than 90% these minimum dietary calories are called undernourished and if
it is less than 80% they are said to be seriously undernourished.
24
Besides the minimum calorific intake we also need proteins, minerals etc.,
Deficiency or lack of nutrition often lead to malnutrition resulting in several diseases as
shown in the following table.
Impacts of malnutrition:
Death per year

Deficiency Health Effect No. of cases
(in millions)
Proteins
Stunted growth 750,
and 15 – 20
kwashiorkor marasmus 1 million
calories
Iron Anemia 350 million 0.75 – 1
150 million
Iodine Goiter, Cretinism -
6million
Vitamin A Blindness 6 million -
48. World Food problems

(Or)
Discuss “Food distribution around the world and their problems”.
1) During the last 50 years world grain production has increased almost three times.
But, at the same time, population growth increased at such a rate in LDCs [Less
Developed Countries].
2) Every year 40 million people [50% of children (1-5year)] die of
undernourishment and malnutrition. This means that every year our food problem
is killing as many people as were killed by the atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima during World War-II.
3) In countries like North America and Europe the daily average calorie intake is
about 3500 cals, which is nearly one – third more than that required for healthy
living.
4) In Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia the food production is very low due to drought,
war and governmental mismanagement.
5) These startling statistical figures more than emphasize the need to increase our
food production, equitably distribute it and also to control population growth.
6) Indian Scenario:
Although India is the third largest producer of stable crops, an estimated 300
million Indians are still undernourished. India has only half as much land as USA,
but it has nearly three times population to feed. Our food problems are directly
related to population.
7) The world Food Summit, 1996 has set the target to reduce the number of
undernourished to just half by 2015, which still means 410 million
undernourished people on the earth.
25
49. What is overgrazing? How does it contribute to environmental degradation?
Overgrazing: The phenomenon of excess grazing by livestock, mostly in the grass lands
is called overgrazing. Overgrazing occurs when too many animals graze for too long
and exceed the carrying capacity of a grass land area. Excessive number of domestic
livestock feeding for too long in a particular area causes most overgrazing.
Impacts of overgrazing:
1. Land Degradation: overgrazing removes the vegetal cover over the soil, which
lead to loss soil structure, hydraulic conductivity and soil fertility.
2. Soil Erosion: Due to overgrazing by cattle, the cover of vegetation almost gets
removed from the land. The soil becomes exposed and gets eroded by the action
of strong wind, rainfall etc.
3. Loss of useful species: overgrazing adversely affects the composition of plant
population and their regeneration capacity. Such overgrazing lowers the net
primary productivity of grassland vegetation which is about 2400 K.Cal/m2/year.
4. It reduces grass cover, which will have impact on global warming.
5. Finally it causes deforestation.
AGRICULTURE:
50. What do your mean by shifting cultivation?
Agriculture society slowly took shape during the “Neolithic period” (i.e., new stone
age) about 10,000 B.C. the early agriculturists’ practiced “Slash and burn cultivation”
or “shifting cultivation” or “Swidden”. This starts with the clearing of small plots in
tropical forests by cutting and burning the vegetation. Seeds and root crops are then
planted in the clearings. The ashes from burning provide nutrients to the nutrient – poor
soil. The most of the nutrients are taken up by the crops with in a short period, thus
making the soil nutrient poor which makes the cultivators shift to another area.
51. Discuss methodologies of traditional agriculture and its impacts on environment.
It usually involves a small plot, simple tools, naturally available water, organic
fertilizer and a mix of crops. It is more near to natural condition and usually it results in
low production. It is still practiced by about half the global population.
The main impacts of this type of agriculture are as follows:
(i) Deforestation: the slash and burn of trees in forests of clear the land for
cultivation and frequent shifting result in loss of forest cover.
(ii) Soil erosion: Clearing of forest cover exposes the soil to wind, rain and
storms, thereby resulting in loss of top fertile layer soil.
(iii) Depletion of nutrients: During slash and burn the organic matter in the
soil
26
gets destroyed and most of the nutrients are taken up by the crops within a short
period, thus making the soil nutrient poor which makes the cultivators shift to
another area.
52. Discuss the modern methodologies of modern agriculture. What are their
impacts on environment?
Some of the applications of technology in the development of agriculture are.
(i) Agriculture output has been increased world wide by the use of mechanized
farming for almost all activities of farming.
(ii) Soils are enriched by the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
(iii) The drip-irrigation to conserve water and nutrients, the development of
disease-resistant hybrid seeds, etc. are examples of high tech agriculture.
(iv) Genetically modified seeds to increase yield, the practices of mixed farming
in higher yield.
The out come of above technology results in agriculture resolution. However it

has its own impact on environment.
(i) Impacts related to high yielding varieties [HYV]:

The uses of HYVs encourage monoculture i.e., the same genotype is grown
over vast areas. In case of an attack by some pathogen, there is total devastation of the
crop by the disease due to exactly uniform conditions, which help in rapid spread of the
disease.
(ii) Fertilizer related problems:

(Any substance that is applied to land to encourage plant growth and produce
higher crop yield is called fertilizer. Fertilizer may be made from organic material
including recycled waste, animal manure, and compost or chemically manufactured.
Most fertilizers contain varying amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
inorganic nutrients that plants need to grow).
(a) Micronutrient imbalance: Most of the chemical fertilizers used in modern

agriculture have nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P, and K) which are
essential macronutrients. Excessive use of fertilizers cause micronutrient imbalance.
(b) Nitrate pollution: Nitrogenous fertilizers applied in the fields often leach deep into
the soil and ultimately contaminate the ground water. When the concentration of the
nitrates in ground water exceeds 25 mg/L, they become the cause of a serious health
hazard called “Blue baby syndrome” (or) “methaemoglobinemia”. This disease
affects the infants to the maximum extent causing even death.
(c) Eutrophication: A large proportion of nitrogen and phosphorus used in crop fields
is washed off and along with run off water reach the water bodies causing over
nourishment of the lakes, a process known as “Eutrophication”. [Eu = more, tropic
27
= nutrition]. The algal species grow very fast by using the nutrients. They are often
toxic and badly affect the food chain. The algal species quickly complete their life
cycle and die thereby adding a lot of dead organic matter. The fishes are also killed.
Oxygen is consumed in the process of decomposition of deed matter and very soon
the dissolved oxygen in water decreased. This further affect aquatic fauna and
ultimately anaerobic conditions are created.
(iii) Pesticide related problems:

(These are chemicals that used to kill insects, weeds and other organisms to
protect human beings, crops, and live stock). The pesticide used can be classified into
many groups. Some of them are
(i) Fungicide – protect crop plants from fungal pathogens.
(ii) Herbicide – Kill weedy plants, thus decreasing the competition by weeds
(iii) Nematicides – Kill nematodes, which can destroy the roots of crop plants
Thousand types of pesticides are used in agriculture. The side effects are,
(a) Creating resistance in pests and producing new pests:

Some individuals of the pest species usually survive even after pesticide spray.
The survivors give rise to highly resistant generations. About 20 species of pests are now
known which have become immune to all types of pesticides and are known as “super
pests”.
(b) Death of non-target organisms: Many insecticides are broad spectrum poisons
which not only kill the target species but also several non-target species that are useful to
us.
(c) Biological magnification: Many of the pesticide are non-biodegradable and keep on
accumulating in the food chain, the process called biological magnification. Since the
human beings occupy a high tropic level in the food chain, hence they get pesticides in a
bio-magnified form which is very harmful.
(iv) Water logging:

Over irrigation of crop lands by formers for good growth of their crop usually lead
to water logging. Without adequate drainage, however, water accumulates underground
and gradually raises the water table.
1. Under water logged conditions, pores in the soil get fully filled with water. So that
the roots of plants do not get adequate air for respiration. Mechanical strength of
the soil declines, the crop plants get lodged and crop yield falls.
2. When oxygen levels become depleted, soil microbes extract oxygen from the
nitrate molecule, causing nitrogen to be converted to a gaseous form that is lost to
the air. This process is called denitrification. Due to that, the availability of
nitrogen in the soil decreased and plant growth is also decreased.
(v) Salinity: (Salinity is the presence of salt in the land surface, in soil or rocks, or
dissolved in water in our rivers or ground water).
1. At present – one third of the total cultivable land area of the world is affected by
salts. Saline soils are characterized by the accumulation of soluble salts like NaCl,
Na2SO4, CaCl2, MgCl2 etc. in the soil profile.
28
2. Causes: A major cause of salinization of soil is excessive irrigation. About 20%
of the world’s cropland receives irrigation with canal water or groundwater which
contains large dissolved salts than rainwater. Under dry climates, the water evaporates
leaving behind salt in the upper soil profile.
Effects:
(i) Salinization land leads to stunt growth
(ii) It leads to lower crop yields
(iii) Sometimes plants are destroyed
(iv) In most cases the land becomes impotent and no crop can be cultivated.
53. Case studies
Salinity and water logging in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan
The floods of 1947, 1950, 1954 – 56 in Punjab resulted in water logging with
serious drainage problems.
Introduction of canal irrigation in 1.2 Million hectares in Haryana resulted in
rise in water – table followed by water-logging and salinity in many irrigated area
causing huge economic losses as a result in crop productivity.
Rajasthan too has suffered badly in the regard following the biggest irrigation
project “Indira Gandhi canal project” and the sufferings of a big area in western
Rajasthan have changed from a condition of “water-starved wasteland” to that of “water
soaked wasteland”.
54. List any five pesticides used in agriculture and give its effects on human health.
Pesticide Affected medium Primary health effect

Water, food chain
DDT Nervous disorders,
Decreased WBC count,
Liver damage.
Water, food chain
Dioxin Damage to Kidney, liver and
nervous system.
Water, air
Fenitrothion Cause Reye’s syndrome in
children
Water, food chain
Mirex Bioaccumulation in food
chain, toxic
Food chain
PCB (Poly chlorinated Liver and heart damage.
biphenyls)
Water
Trihalomethanes Carcinogenic
Questions:
55. What are the impacts of salinization and water logging on agriculture?
56. What is salinization?
57. What is water logging?
58. What do your mean by
(a) Eutrophication
(b) Super pest
(c) Denitrification
(d) Blue-baby syndrome / mathaemoglobinemia
(e) Slash and burn cultivation.
29
ENERGY RESOURCES:
Energy consumption of a nation is usually considered as an index of its
development. This is because almost all the developmental activities are directly or
indirectly dependent upon energy.
Energy may be defined as any property which can be produced from or converted
into work.
In many developed and developing countries, the energy resource started from
wood then, shifted to coal, then to oil, and natural gas. Throughout the world, there is a
heavy demand for energy in every sector, including rural sector. The most difficult
question within us is whether there will be enough energy in the coming year to meet our
needs. The answer is not easy, because it is difficult to determine how much oil and other
fossil fuel remain.
59. Discuss about GROWING ENERGY NEEDS.
1. Development in different sectors depends largely upon energy. Agriculture,
industry, mining, transportation, lighting, cooling and heating in buildings all need
energy.
2. With the demands of growing population the world is facing further energy deficit
3. Our life style is changing very fast and from a simple way of life we are shifting to
a luxurious life style.
4. The number of electric devices, private cars and scooters has multiplied many in
the last years and all of them consume energy.
5. Developed countries like U.S.A. and Canada constitute about 5% of the world’s
population but consume ¼ of global energy resources.
6. An average person in USA consumes 300 GJ [Giga Joules, equal to 60 barrels of
oils) per year. By contrast as average man in a poor country like Bhutan, Nepal or
Ethiopia consumes less than 1 GJ in a year.
7. So a person in a rich country consumes almost as much energy in a single day as
one person does in a whole year in a poor country. This clearly shows that our life-style
and standard of living are closely related to energy needs.
8. The following figure shows the strong correlation between per capita energy use
and GNP [Gross National Product]. USA, Norway, Switzerland etc., with high GNP
show high energy use while India, China etc have low GNP and low energy use. Bahrain
and Quarter are oil rich states (UAE) and hence their energy consumption and GNP are
more, although their development is not that high.
30
600 - United Arab Emirates

●
450 -
Canada
300 - ●
Kuwait ● USA Norway
Energy
consumption Russia ● ● ●
in GJ ● ●Germany Sweden
Greece UK ●
50- ● ● ● ●
●China ●Argentina Denmark Japan Switzerland
●
● Egypt
● India
0
10,000 20,000 30000 40000
GNP: $ per Capita
Ethiopia
Fig. Per capita energy use and GNP
8. The world wide commercial energy production is given in the following figure.
Wood, peat, coal, manure.
Nuclear, solar, wind & Hydro
6% 9%
36%
23%
oil coal
26%
natural
gas
10. The per capita electricity consumption in 2000.
Per Capita Electricity consumption

Country
in 2000 [UNITS]
India
31
355
China 827
Egypt 976
Brazil 1878
United Kingdom 5601
Australia 9006
USA 12331
World average 2156
60. What is an energy source? Classify the types of energy sources.

A source of energy is one that can provide adequate amount of energy in a
usable from over a long period of time. There sources can be two types.
(i) Renewable Resources which can be generated continuously in nature and are in
exhaustible.
E.g. wood, solar, wind energy, tidal energy, hydropower, biomass energy, bio-fuels,
geo-thermal energy and hydrogen.
They are also known as non-conventional sources of energy and they can be used
again and in an endless manner.
(ii) Non-renewable Resources which have accumulated in nature over a long span
of time and cannot be quickly replenished when exhausted.
E.g. Coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear fuels like uranium and thorium.
61. Explain the various renewable energy sources available in India.

Renewable Energy Resources:
SOLAR ENERGY:
Sun is the ultimate source of energy directly or indirectly for all other forms of
energy. The nuclear fusion reactions occurring inside the sun release enormous
quantities of energy in the form of light and heat.
The solar energy received by the near earth space is approximately
1.4KJ/second/m2 known as solar constant.
Solar energy technologies offer a clear, renewable and domestic energy sources. Some
important solar energy harvesting devices are discussed here.
(i) Solar heat collectors: (photo thermal conversion)
Solar radiant energy can be converted into thermal energy by solar collectors. These
can be passive or active in nature. Passive heat collectors are natural materials like stones,
bricks etc. or material like glass which absorb heat during the day time and release it
slowly at night.
Active solar collectors pump a heat absorbing medium (air or water) through a
small collector, which is normally placed on the top of the building. For this purpose flat-
plate collector is sufficient.
Sunlight
32
Tables through
which water circulates.
Glass (or)
Plastic window
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
……….
It consists of a block surface covered by a clear plastic or glass window. The block
surface absorbs sunlight and converts it to heat, and the window prevents the heat from
escaping out, the window prevents and the block surface, where as water heating can be
done by passing it through tubes embedded in the surface. Thus, minimum cost is
involved in collecting and converting solar energy to heat.
(ii) Solar cells: They are also known as photovoltaic cells or PV cells. Solar cells are
made of thin wafers of semi conductor materials like silicon and gallium. When solar
radiations fall on them, a potential difference is produced which causes flow of electrons
and produces electricity. The potential difference produced by a single PV cell of 4 cm2
size is about 0.4 – 0.5 volts and produces a current of 60 milli amperes.
The groups of solar cells joined together in a definite pattern form a solar panel
which can harness a large amount of solar energy.
Uses:
It is widely used in calculators, electronic watches, street lighting, traffic signals,
water pumps, artificial satellites, radio and television.
Boron Solar
Junction enriched radiations
Silicon
Electric bulb
33
e- e-
e-
e-
Phosphorus DC - electricity
Enriched
Silicon
Fig: PV cell [Solar cell]
(iii) Solar cooker: Solar cookers make use of solar heat by reflecting the solar radiations
using a mirror directly on to a glass sheet which covers the black insulated box within
which the raw food is kept as shown in figure. Now, spherical reflector [concave or
parabolic reflector] is used instead of plane mirror in the solar cooker.
Plane mirror [reflector]
Solar radiations
Inside blackened
Blackened Metallic box
Container for
cooking food
Glass cover
The food cooked in solar cookers is more nutrious due to slow heating. However it has
the limitation that it can not be used at night or on cloudy days.
(iv) Solar water heater:
It consists of insulated box painted black from inside and having a glass lid to
receive and store solar heat. Inside the box it has black painted copper coil through which
cold water is made to flow in which gets heated and flows out into a storage tank.
(v) Solar furnace:
Here thousands of small plane mirrors are arranged on concave reflectors, all of
which collect the solar heat and produce as high a temperature as 3000˚ C.
(vi) Solar power plant:
Solar energy is harnessed on a large scale by using concave reflectors which cause
boiling of water to produce steam. The steam turbine drives a generator to produce
34
electricity. A solar power plant [50 KW capacity] has been installed at Gurgaon,
Haryana.
2. WIND ENERGY
The high speed winds have lot of energy in them as kinetic energy due to their
motion. The wind energy is harnessed by making use of wind mills. The blades of wind
mill rotate due to the force of the striking wind. The rotational motion of the blades
drives a number of machines like water pumps, flour mills and electric generators
“Wind farms” consisting of arrays of 50 to several thousand wind mills, are now
producing power in a number of places around the world. These farms are ideally located
in coasted regions, open grasslands or hilly regions, where the winds are strong and
steady.
The minimum wind speed required for satisfactory working of a wind generator is
15 Km/hr. the wind power potential of our country is estimated to be about 20, 000 MW,
while at present we are generating about 1020MW. The largest wind farm of our country
is near Kanyakumari in Tamilnadu generating 380MW electricity.
Advantages:
1. It does not cause any air pollution.
2. It is renewable.
3. After the initial installation cost, the wind energy is very cheap.
4. One of the sustainable sources of energy.
Disadvantages:
1. Wildlife and especially migratory birds face problems from wind mill farms.
2. It may create some noise pollution in the local area.
3. HYDROPOWER:
The water flowing in a river is collected by constructing a big dam where the
water is stored and allowed to fall from a height. The blades of the turbine located at the
bottom of the dam move with the fast moving water which in turn rotates the generator
and produces electricity. The minimum height of the water falls should be 10 meters.
The hydropower potential of India is estimated to be about 4 x 1011 KW – hours.
Till now we have utilized only a little more than 11% of this potential.
Advantages:
1. It does not cause any pollution.
2. It is renewable.
3. The hydro power projects are multi-purpose projects helping in controlling floods,
used for irrigation, navigation etc.
Disadvantages:
1. Big dams cause impacts on the environment like deforestation, loss of habitat,
water logging and salinization etc.
4. TIDAL ENERGY:
35
Ocean tides produced by gravitational forces of sun and moon contain enormous
amounts of energy. The “high tide” and “low tide” refer to the rise and fall of water in
oceans. The difference of several meters is required between the height of high and low
tide to spin the turbines.
Tidal barrage Water stored
At high tide
Sea In reservoir
[High tide]
_ __ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ __ _ _ _ _ _ _
Reservoir _ ___ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Turbine
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ __ _ Sea
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Low
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ tide)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(a) (b)
(a) – Water flows into the reservoir to turn the turbine &
(b) - Flows out from the reservoir to the sea, again turning the turbine at low
tide.
A dam (or) a barrage is built across an estuary or bay, permitting the incoming
and outgoing waters to flow through small openings fitted with propellers that run
electric turbines. At present, tidal power plants are operating in Russia, France and Nova
Scotia. The Bay of Fundy in Canada having 17 – 18m high tides has a potential of 5000
MW of power generation. The tidal mill at La Rance, France is one of the first modern
tidal power mill. In India Gulf of Cambay, Gulf of Kutch and the sunderbans deltas are
the tidal power sites.
5. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY (OTE):
The energy available due to the difference in temperature of water at the

surface of the oceans and at deeper levels is called Ocean Thermal Energy. The
difference of 20˚ C or more is required between surface water and deeper water of ocean
for operating OTEC [Ocean Thermal Energy conversion] power plants.
The warm surface water of Ocean is used to boil a low boiling liquid like
ammonia. The high pressure vapours of the liquid formed by boiling are then used to
turn the turbine of a generator and produce electricity. The colder water from the deeper
ocean is pumped to cool and condense the vapours into liquid. Suitable sites for this
system is limited OTEC plants are costly and maintenance cost is high.
6. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:
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The energy harnessed from the hot rocks present inside the earth is called
geothermal energy. High temperature, high pressure steam fields exist below the earth’s
surface in many places. This heat comes from the fission of radioactive material
naturally present in the rocks.
The temperature of earth’s interior increases with depth. A temperature of 300 0C
normally occurs only at depth of about 10 Km.
If the geothermal sites are close to the surface, wells can be drilled to extract the dry
steam, wet steam or hot water. This thermal energy can be used to heat homes and
buildings and to produce electricity.
In some places, the steam or the hot water comes out of the ground naturally through
cracks in the form of “natural geysers”.
For example:
1. 2000 MW electricity produced from “the natural geysers” at San Francisco in
US in the year 1988.
2. Also Philippines, Mexico, Japan, Italy and Iceland are generating a total
geothermal power of about 3000 MW.
3. Geothermal energy is used to heat about 85% of Iceland’s buildings
Problem:
1. Hot brine released into surface water cause ecological problem.
7. BIOMASS ENERGY:
Biomass is the organic matter produced by the plants or animals which include
wood, crop residues, cattle dung, manure, agricultural waste etc., Biomass is obtained
through the process of photosynthesis. Biomass energy is considered to another from of
indirect use of solar energy.
Biomass comes in many forms and can be burned directly as a solid fuel or
converted into gaseous or liquid biofuels.
Biomass energy is of the following types:
(a) Energy plantations: Fast growing trees like cottonwood, poplar and crop plants
like sugar cane, seed sorghum and sugar beet, and carbohydrate rich potato, cereal
etc, are some of the important energy plantations. They may produce energy
either by burning directly or may be converted into burnable gas by fermentation.
(b) Petro – Crops: Certain latex-containing plants and oil palms are rich in
hydrocarbons and can yield oil like substance under high temperature and
pressure. This oily material may be burned in diesel engines directly or may be
refined to form gasoline. These plants are popularly known as petro-crops.
(c) Agriculture and Urban waste biomass:
Crop residues, sugarcane residues, coconut shells, peanut hulls, cotton stalks,
etc, are some of common agriculture wastes which produce energy by burning.
For example:
In Brazil 30% of electricity is obtained from burning sugar cane residues.
Problems:
1. The burning of plant residues or animal wastes cause air pollution and produce a
lot ash as waste residue.
2. The burning of dung destroys essential nutrients like N and P.
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8. BIOGAS ENERGY:
Biogas is a mixture of gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and
hydrogen sulphide etc. It contains about 65% of methane gas.
 Biogas is obtained by anaerobic fermentation of wastes like animal dung or
plant wastes in the presence of water. Anaerobic means in the absence of oxygen.
 Biogas is a non-polluting, clean and low cost fuel which is very useful for rural
areas where a lot of animal waste and agriculture waste are available.
 India has the largest cattle population in the world [240 million] and has
tremendous potential for biogas production. At present there are more than 330, 000
biogas plants in the country. It has been estimated that 150, 000 biogas plants will save
600, 000 tones of wood equivalent per year.
Biogas plants used in our country are basically of two types.
1. Floating gas – holder type and
2. Fixed – dome type.
1. Floating gas – holder type:
Biogas
Slurry outlet
[Cattle dung + water]
Over flow
tank
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
- _-
Floating biogas
-_ Holder (Steel) _- Spent Slurry
- _ __ -
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Inlet pipe _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _- _ Outlet pipe
_ _-_ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _
_ _ -_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _-_ _ _
Underground _ _ _ _ ___ _ _
digester tank _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _
Fig: Floating gas holder type biogas plant
2. Fixed dome type biogas plant:

The structure is almost similar to that of the previous type. However, instead of a
steel gas-holder there is dome shaped roof made of cement and bricks.
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9. BIOFUELS:
Biomass can be fermented to alcohols like ethanol and methanol which can be
used as fuels.
Ethanol – Produced from carbohydrate rich substance like sugar cane.
Methanol – Produced from wood.
For example:
1. Gasohol is a common fuel used in Brazil and Zimbabwe for running cars and
buses. Gasohol is a mixture of ethanol and gasoline.
2. Methanol is very useful since it burns at a lower temperature than gasoline or
diesel. Thus the bulky radiators may be substituted by sleek design in our cars.
Methanol is a clean and non-polluting fuel.
10. HYDROGEN AS A FUEL:
As hydrogen burns in air, it combines with oxygen to form water and a large
amount of energy [150KJ/gm] is released. Due to its high, rather the highest calorific
value, hydrogen can serve as an excellent fuel.
H2 + O2 H2O + 150 KJ/gm
Hydrogen is generated by using the following methods.
(i) By heating the water (i.e. Thermal dissociation) (at 3000º K or above) (Or)
(ii) By passing electricity through water [ i.e. electrolysis of water] (Or)
(iii) By photolysis of water (i.e. breakdown of water in the presence of sunlight to
release hydrogen)
Problems:
1. Very high cost in production
2. Highly explosive & inflammable in nature
3. It needs much external energy to condense it to liquid form by cooling down to
-253º C.
Presently, H2 is used in the form of liquid hydrogen as a fuel in spaceships.
62. NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES:
These are the fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear fuels. The
fossil fuels were formed by the decomposition of the remains of plants and animals
buried under the earth millions of year ago.
1. COAL:
The coal was formed 255 – 350 million years ago in the hot, damp regions of the
earth during carboniferous age. There are three types of coal, namely,
1. Anthracite (hard coal)
2. Bituminous (soft coal) and
39
3. Lignite (brown coal)
At present rate of usage, the coal reserves are likely to last for about 200 years
and if its use increases by 2% per year, then it will last for another 65 years.
India has about 5% of world’s coal and Indian coal is not very good in terms of heat
capacity.
Advantage:
1. Very large amount of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly
cheaply.
Disadvantages:
1. When coal is burnt it produces CO2, which is a greenhouse gas responsible for
causing enhanced global warming.
2. Coal also contains small amount of sulphur and nitrogen, released into atmosphere
as toxic gases like oxides of sulphur and nitrogen.
3. Trace amounts of mercury and radioactive materials are also released into the
atmosphere when coal is burned.
2. PETROLEUM
It is the lifeline of global economy. There are 13 countries in the world having 67%
of petroleum reserves. About ¼ th of the oil reserves are in Saudi Arabia.
At the present rate of usage, the world’s crude oil reserves are estimated to get
exhausted in just 40 years.
Crude petroleum is a complex mixture of alkane hydrocarbons. Hence it has to be
purified and refined by the process of fractional distillation, during this process different
constituent separate out at different temperatures. We get a large variety of products from
this namely, petroleum gas, Kerosene, petrol, diesel, fuel oil, lubricating oil, paraffin
wax, asphalt, plastic etc.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): The main component of LPG is butane, the other
being propane and ethane. The petroleum gas is easily converted to liquid form under
pressure as LPG. It is odourless, but the LPG in our domestic gas cylinders gives a foul
smell. This is due to ethylmercaptan (C2H5SH), a foul smelling gas, added to LPG to
detect the gas leakage.
3. NATURAL GAS:
It is mainly composed of methane (95%) with small amounts of propane and

ethane. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel
It can be easily transported through pipelines. It has a high calorific value of about
50 KJ/gm and burns without any smoke. Currently, the amount of natural gas deposits in
the world are of the order of 80, 450 g.m-3
It is used as a fuel in thermal power plants. It is used as a source of hydrogen gas in
fertilizer industry and as a source of carbon in type industry.
Compressed natural gas (CNG): It is used as an alternative to petrol and diesel for
transport of vehicles. Delhi has totally switched over to CNG. CNG use has greatly
reduced vehicular pollution in the city.
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Synthetic natural gas (SNG): It is a mixture of CO and H2. Low grade coal is initially
transformed into synthetic gas by gasification followed by catalytic conversion to
methane.
4. NUCLEAR ENERGY:
Nuclear power produces around 11% of the world’s energy needs. Electricity is
produced as per the following flow diagram.
Nuclear heat converts steam turbine

reaction water to turns turns Electricity
produces steam turbines generator
heat
Nuclear energy can be generated by two types of reactions.
(i) Nuclear fission: It is the nuclear change in which nucleus of certain isotopes with
large mass numbers are split into lighter nuclei on bombardment by neutrons and a large
amount of energy is released through the chain reaction as shown in below.
Kr o n1
92 U235 o n1
Ba o n1
1
0 n + ENERGY
36 Kr92 Kr o n1
0 n1 U235
92 o n1 92 U235 o n1
141
56Ba n1 o
+ ENERGY Ba + ENERGY
o n1
Kr o n1
92U235 o n1
Ba o n1
+ ENERGY
Nuclear fission reaction:

235
92U + 0 n1 36 Kr 92 + 56Ba 141
+ 3 0 n1 + Energy
Energy = 1.9 x 107 K.Cal/gm
In conventional nuclear fission reactors, the splitting of uranium–235 nuclei releases
heat, which produces high-pressure steam to spin turbines and thus generate electricity.
41
(ii) Nuclear fusion: Here two isotopes of a light element are forced together at extremely
high temperatures (1 billion º C) until they fuse to form a heavier nucleus releasing
enormous energy in the process.
Nuclear fusion is much more difficult to initiate than nuclear fission, but once
started it releases for more energy per unit of fuel than does fission. Fusion of hydrogen
nuclei to form helium nuclei is the source of energy in the sun and stars.
For example:
1. 1H 2 + 1H 2 1 billion º C 2He 4 23 x 108 KJ/mol

(Deuterium) (Helium)
2. 1H2 + 1 H3 2 He 4 + 0 n1 16.2 x 108 KJ/mol

(Tritium)
1 4
3. 4H 2 He + 2 +1e 0 25 x 108 KJ/mol
Advantages:
1. Produces huge amount of energy from small amount of fuel.
2. Produces small amount of waste.
Disadvantages:
1. Nuclear energy has tremendous potential but any leakage from the reactor may
cause devasting nuclear pollution.
2. Disposal of the nuclear waste is also a big problem.
3. Huge amount of money has to be spent on safety aspects.
63. Use of alternate energy sources:

CASE STUDY: “Solar power generating systems at the milk collection centers of
panchmahal dairy in Gujarat state”.
Dairy industry in India is developing at faster rate. The milk collection centre
can not be operated in rural area due to unavailability or lack of electricity. To overcome
these difficulties, a solar photovoltaic power generating system can be utilized for
providing continuous uninterrupted power and operation of milk collection centre.
The Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources [MNES] had sanctioned 10
nos. of solar photovoltaic power generating system and installed at the 10 milk collection
centers at Gujarat state.
All the systems are found to be performing excellent. The revenue is also increased.
It is the Doodh Utpadak Shakari Mandli-milk cooperative a non-profit making
organization, which has started the cooperative movement and now, wants to install solar
photovoltaic power generating system at all milk collection centers.
QUESTIONS:
64. What are solar cells? Draw a diagram and enumerate its applications.
65. Discuss the merits and demerits of wind energy.
66. Comment upon the types of energy harnessed from oceans. (Tidal & OTEC)
67. What is biogas? Discuss the structure and function of biogas plant.
68. What is nuclear energy? Discuss its two types.
69. What are the merits of using renewable energy sources?
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70. What are applications of wind energy?
71. Write a note on geothermal energy.
72. Differentiate between renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
73. Explain the various renewable energy sources available in India.
74. Which country uses maximum energy in the world?
75. Discuss the solar energy with real time application.
76. What is a wind farm?
77. Discuss any three “alternate sources of energy”
(1. Solar energy source 2. tidal energy 3. Geothermal energy)
78. How hydrogen fuel can be a clean burning gas without any pollution?
79. What is ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)?
LAND RESOURCES:
80. Land as a resource –Explain.
1. Land is a finite and most valuable resource for mankind as it is used to produce
agricultural crops and other biological materials needed for food, fodder, medicine, fiber
and so on.
2. It forms about 1/5 th of earth’s surface, covering approximately 13,393 million
hectares.
3. Increasing human population has put a great pressure on this natural resource which
is not available in unlimited quantity.
4. Soil, especially the top soil, is classified as a renewable resource because it is
continuously regenerated by natural process though at a very slow rate. About 200-1000
years are needed for the formation of 1 inch or 2.5 cm soil, depending upon the soil type
and climate. But, when rate of erosion is faster than the rate of renewal, then the soil
becomes a non-renewable resource.
5. If managed efficiently, this natural resource has long term sustainable potential for
food production especially for nourishing the increasing population of India.
81. Land Resource of India:

India has a total land area of 2.4% of the world total and supports a population
over 15% of the world. The per capita land availability is 0.48 ha, as against 8.43 ha in
the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and 0.98 ha in China.
82. Define Land Degradation. How is it caused?
1. Land is the basic natural resource that provides habitat and sustenance for living
organisms, as well as being a major focus of economic activities.
2. Land degradation can be defined as any change in the land that reduces its
condition or quality and hence it productivity or productive potential.
3. It occurs whenever the natural balances in the landscape are changed by human
activity, through misuse or overuse.
4. As population grows, more land is needed to increase agriculture, industry and
housing. Only 11% of the earth’s land has a level ground with suitable climate and
soil conditions useful for agriculture. Hence there is more and more pressure on the
limited land resources which are getting degraded due to over-exploitation.
5. The various causes of land degradation are
(i) Soil erosion
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(ii) Soil pollution
(iii) Salinization and water-logging
(iv) Shifting cultivation
(v) Desertification
(vi) Urbanization
(vii) Soil fertility decline or nutrient loss
(viii) Loss of flora and fauna and hence loss of biodiversity
(ix) Overgrazing
(x) Toxic substances released from industrial and modern agricultural
activities (use of fertilizers, pesticides, weedicides etc,)
(xi) Natural factors like floods and drought.
83. What is Soil Erosion? Explain the types of soil erosion.

1. The literal meaning of “Soil Erosion” is wearing away of soil.
2. Loss or removal of the superficial layer of the soil by the action of water, wind or by
the activities of man is termed as soil erosion. (Or) Soil erosion is the movement of
the soil components, especially surface litter and top soil, from one place to another.
3. Soil erosion results in the loss of fertility because it is the top soil layer which is
fertile.
4. If we look at the world situation, we find that one third of the world’s cropland is
getting eroded. 2/3 rd of the land degraded in Asia and Africa.
5. Soil erosion is basically of two types based upon the cause of erosion:
(i) Normal erosion or geological erosion: This is caused by the gradual

removal of top soil by natural processes which bring equilibrium between physical,
biological and hydrological activities and maintain a natural balance between erosion
and renewal.
(ii) Accelerated erosion: This is mainly caused by anthropogenic (man-made)
activities and the rate of erosion is much faster than the rate of formation of soil.
Overgrazing, deforestation and mining are some important activities causing
accelerated erosion.
There are two types of agents which cause soil erosion:
(a) Climate agents: Water and wind are the climatic agents of soil erosion. Water affects
soil erosion in the form of heavy rains rapid flow of water in the slopes, runoff, wave
action and melting and movement of snow.
Erosion by water
Water induced soil erosion is of the following types:
 Sheet erosion: When there is uniform removal of a thin layer of soil from a large
surface area, it is called sheet erosion. This is usually due to run-off water.
 Rill erosion: When there is rainfall and rapidly running water produces finger-
shaped grooves or rills over the area, it is called rill erosion.
 Gully erosion: It is a more prominent type of soil erosion. When the rainfall is very
heavy, deeper cavities or gullies are formed, which may be U or V shaped.
 Slip erosion: This occurs due to heavy rainfall on slopes of hills and mountains.
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 Stream bank erosion: Streams and rivers change their courses by cutting one bank
and depositing the slit loads on the others. During flash floods, the damage is much
accelerated.
 Sea shore erosion: This type of erosion is caused by the striking action of strong
tidal waves.
Erosion by Wind:
Erosion by wind is a common problem in dry land areas. Movement of soil
particles is caused by wind forces exerted against or parallel to the surface of the ground.
 Saltation: It is bouncing or jumping action of soil particles 1 to 1.5 mm in
diameter by wind.
 Suspension: The movement of soil particles usually less than 1mm diameter
through the air, usually at a height of greater than 15 cm above the soil surface,
for long distances.
 Surface Creep: It is the rolling of dislodged soil particles 1 to 10mm in
diameter by wind along the soil surface.
(b) Biotic Agents: Excessive grazing, mining and deforestation are the major biotic
agents responsible for soil erosion. Due to these processes the top soil is disturbed or
rendered devoid of vegetation cover. Overgrazing accounts for 35% of the world’s soil
erosion while deforestation is responsible for 30% of the earth’s land seriously eroded.
Unsustainable methods of farming cause 28% of soil erosion.
84. What is Water Logging? Give cause and effect of water logging.
In order to provide moisture to the growing crops, farmers usually apply heavy
irrigation to their farmland. Also, in order to reach down the salts deeper into the soil, the
farmer provide more irrigation water. However, due to inadequate drainage and poor
quality of irrigation water there is accumulation of water in underground and gradually
it forms a continuous column with the water table. We call these soils as water logged
soils which affect crop growth due to inhibition of exchange of gases. The pore-spaces
between the soil particles get fully filled with water through the roots.
Water logging is most often associated with salinity because the water used for
irrigation contains salts and the soils get badly degraded due to erroneous irrigation
practices.
An estimated loss of Rs.10, 000 million per annum occurs due to water-logging
and salinity in India.
85. Define Landslides. What are the factors inducing land slides.
Landslides occur when coherent rock of soil masses move down slope due to
gravitational pull. Slow landslides don’t cause much worry but sudden rockslides and
mudslides are dangerous.
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Various anthropogenic activities like hydroelectric projects, large dams,
reservoirs, construction of roads, and railway lines, construction of buildings, mining etc.,
are responsible for clearing of large forested areas.
Example:
Earlier there were few reports of landslides between Rishikish and Byasi on
Badrinath Highway area. But, after the highway was constructed, 15 landslides
occurred in a single year.
During the construction of the roads, mining activities etc., huge portion of fragile
mountainous areas are cut or destroyed by dynamite and thrown into adjacent valleys
and streams. These land masses weaken the already fragile mountain slopes and lead to
landslides. They also increase the turbidity of various nearby streams, thereby reducing
their productivity.
86. Define Desertification. Explain the causes.
The progressive destruction or degradation of existing vegetal cover form desert.

This can occur due to overgrazing, deforestation, drought and the burning of extensive
areas.
Definition:
Desertification is a process whereby the productive potential of arid or semi-arid

lands falls by ten percent or more.
 Moderate desertification is 10-25% drop in productivity, severe

desertification causes 25-50% drop while very severe desertification results in
more than 50% drop in productivity.
 Desertification leads to the conversion of rangelands or irrigated croplands to
desert like conditions in which agricultural productivity falls.
 Desertification is characterized by devegetation and loss of vegetal cover,
depletion of ground water, salinization and severe soil erosion.
Causes of Desertification:
Formulation of deserts may take place due to natural phenomena like climate
change or may be due to abusive use of land. The major anthropogenic activities
responsible for desertification are as follows.
(a) Deforestation: The process of degrading a forested land initiates a desert producing
cycle that feeds on itself. Since there is no vegetation to hold back the surface run-off,
water drains off quickly. This increases soil erosion, loss of fertility and loss of water.
Causes: Forest fire, overgrazing, excessive fuel wood collection.

46
(b) Overgrazing: The regions most seriously affected by desertification are the
cattle producing areas of the world. This is because the increasing cattle
population heavily grazes in grasslands or forests and as a result denudes the
land area. The dry land becomes loose and more prone to soil erosion. The top
fertile layer is also lost and thus plant growth is badly affected. The dry barren
land reflects more of the sun’s heat, changing wind patterns, driving away
moisture laden clouds leading to further desertification.
(c) Mining and Quarrying: These activities are also responsible for loss of
vegetal cover and denudation of extensive land areas leading to
desertification. During last 50 years about 900 million ha of land have
undergone desertification over the world.
(d) Agricultural practices: Excessive use of fertilizers.
(e) Frequent droughts or failure of monsoon and their link with global climate
phenomena.
ROLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

87. How can you as an individual conserve different natural resources? (Or)
Discuss the various conservation practices followed in an individual.
Different natural resources like forests, water, soil, food, mineral and energy
resources play a vital role in the development of a nation. However, overuse of these
resources in our modern society is resulting in fast depletion of these resources and
several related problems.
Environment belongs to each one of us and all of us have a responsibility to
contribute towards its conservation and protection. Let us see how individuals can help in
conservation of different resources.
Conserve water:
1. Reduce wastage of water
2. Don’t keep water taps running while brushing, washing or bathing
3. Install water saving toilets
4. Check for water leaks in pipes and toilets and repair them promptly.
5. Use drip irrigation and sprinkling irrigation to improve irrigation efficiency and
reduce evaporation.
6. Build rain water harvesting system in your house.
Conserve energy:
1. Turn off lights, fans and other appliances when not in use.
2. Use solar heating as far as possible.
3. Drive less, make fewer trips and use public transportations whenever possible.
4. Design houses and buildings which will have natural lightings, thus saving
electricity.
5. Try riding bicycle or just walk down small distances instead of using your car
scooter.
6. Recycle and reuse glass, metals and paper.
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Protect the soil:
1. Buy environmentally degradable products.
2. Make compost from your kitchen waste and use it for your kitchen-garden.
3. Grow grass in the open areas which will bind the soil and prevent its erosion.
4. Better use sprinkling irrigation.
5. Don’t over irrigate without proper drainage.
6. Use mixed cropping so that some specific soil nutrients do not get depleted.
Conserve forest:
1. Do not encourage product made as the result of deforestation.
2. Avoid using timber and plywood made from old growth trees for construction.
Promote sustainable Agriculture:
1. Do not waste food; take as much as you can eat.
2. Reduce the use of pesticides.
3. Fertilize your crop primarily with organic fertilizers.
4. Use drip irrigation to water the crops.
5. Eat local and seasonal vegetables.
6. Use biological control methods to control the pests.
88. What are the essential objectives of equitable use of resources for sustainable life
styles?
1. The availability of natural resources on our earth is limited and they must be used
with utmost care and economy, since it is essential to sustain the natural resources.
2. The resource distribution throughout the world is very much uneven and its
utilization is also rational because of the economic status and variation in
population.
3. The more developed countries (MDC) have only 22% of world’s population, but
they use 88% of its natural resources, 73% of its energy. Their income is merely
85% of global income. In turn, they contribute a very big proportion to its
pollution.
4. The less developed countries (LDC) have 78% of the world’s population, and use
about 12% of natural resources, 27% of energy. Their income is 15% of global
income.
5. The gap between the two is increasing with time due to sharp increase in pollution
in the LDC’s.
6. As the rich nations are developing more, they are also leading to more pollution and
sustainability of the earth’s life support system is affected.
7. The two basic causes of unsustainability are
(i) over population in poor countries resulting in their under consumption of
resources.
(ii) Over consumption of resources by the rich countries, which generate wastes.
8. An equitable sharing of resources will bridge the gap between the rich and the
poor so that the sustainable life style may be achieved.
9. Two things are essential to attain sustainable lifestyle, one is that basic needs of
food, clothing, shelter and jobs must be provided and the other is to limit the
development there by reducing the pollution and sustaining the available resources.
***********

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1

1. Introduction to Environmental Studies and Natural Resources

Environment is derived from the French word ‘Environner’ which means to

The term Environment can be broadly defined as one’s surroundings. To be

2. Define environmental science:

3. Define Environmental Engineering:

5. Name the two broad classifications of the environment?

The two major classifications of environment are:

An Ecosystem is defined as a group of plants, animals or living organisms

7. Define the following terms:

a) Biotic – The living component of an ecosystem comprises, plants,

8. What is the scope of the environmental education?

Scope of environmental studies is broad based and it encompasses a large number

1. Natural resources – Their conservation and management.

9. Justify the need for environmental education:

Atmospheric Physical Biological Faunal

Social Economic Political

1. The abiotic or physical environment consisting of air, water and soil/sediment.

a. Lithosphere (sphere of rocks /soil / sediment)

11. Define Biosphere.

12. How would environmental awareness help to protect our environment?

13. What is EIA?

EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment.

 It is a systematic analysis of the effect of major developmental project activities on

1. Rapid population growth

15. Define “resource”. Classify the types of material resource.

3. The renewable resources are regenerated through natural processes.

Continuous Renewable Non-renewable

Solar energy Winds, tides, etc

Fresh air Fresh water Fertile soil Plant and animals

Fossil Fuels Metallic minerals Non-metallic minerals.

Forests provide us a large number of commercial goods which include timber,

2. Reducing global warming:

3. Wild life habitat:

4. Regulation of hydrological cycle:

17. Write a note on over exploitation of forests.

Deforestation means destruction of forests. To be more specific, the term

Major causes of Deforestation:

(i) Shifting cultivation:

(ii) Fuel requirements:

(iii) Raw materials for industrial use:

(iv) Development projects:

(v) Growing food needs:

Major consequences of Deforestation:

19. Case studies – Deforestation:

Desertification in hilly regions of the Himalayas.

Desertification in Himalayas, involving clearance of natural forests and plantation

Disappearing tea gardens in Chota Nagpur.

20. Explain the effect of timber extraction:

21. Explain the effect of mining with example.

Some of the effects of mining on forest resources are:

1. Effect on Tribal people:

3. Effect on wild Animals:

2. A total of 1, 44,731 ha of land will be submerged by the dam out of which

3. Submergence area is very rich in wildlife, e.g., tigers, panthers, bears,

6. It is therefore the duty of the project proponents and government to pay

Water is characterized by certain unique features which make it a marvelous resource:

1. It exists as a liquid over a wide range of temperature i.e. from 0 to 100C.

25. Explain Hydrological cycle.