Environmental Science

Creating a hopeful future

C. B. Dua R. Gupta

Environmental Science

Creating a hopeful future

C.B. Dua

Ex. HOD Applied Sciences GJGI, Shambhu Kalan

Worked in Punjab State Council of Science and Technology.

Member of various organizations.

R. Gupta

Research Scholar, GNDEC, Ludhiana

Chairman Brainiac Group (www.brainiacgroup.in)

Ex. Assistant Professor, GNDEC Ludhiana

Ex Lecturer, GJGI Shambhu Kalan

For, so sustained by sacrifice, the Gods will give you the food of your desire. Whoso enjoys their gift, yet gives nothing, is a thief, neither more nor less.

People should use the worldunselfishlyin order to maintain thenatural balanceand to repay God for the gifts he has given

. Bhagavad Gita

To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.

HAVAN: THE ANCIENT RITUAL: FOR CLEANSING THE ENVIRONMENT

One can live without food for few days and water for some hours but cannot live without AIR i.e. oxygen known as PRAN-YAYU.

HAVAN is an ancient ritual which is performed to purify the atmosphere and the environment. HAVAN ritual is like giving back to the atmosphere what we have taken from the atmosphere. The aromatic herbs when burnt remove the foul odor in the atmosphere by their fragrance. HAVANhas been found an effective method to reduce the FUNGAL load in small office or room. As per the experiments conducted the HAVAN fire smoke has the potency to kill fungi like Aspergillus, Penicillium, Curvuleria and Cladosporium etc. Ref:(Earth environmental science) in June 2007 in Acrobiolagia A Journal published in NETHERLAND. HAVAN smoke is like inhalation therapy derived from AYURVEDA and as described above it relaxes the mind and heals the body and has positive effects spiritually too because of the holy verses (mantras) chanted during the HAVAN

PREFACE

If the world is saved, it will be saved by people with changed minds, people with a new vision. It will not be by people with old vision and new programmes. Daniel Quinn

One of the major concerns of this millennium is taking good care of the environment which nurtures all of us. We have now been living in a situation where environmental degradation is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Environmental studies should be made mandatory in schools and colleges. There is just no double opinion on this. With the release of pollutants into the atmosphere on a huge scale and subsequent rise in the levels of global warming, planet Earth is inching forth an irreversible disaster. If the coming generations are not made aware of the disaster one could be geared up for such undesirable consequences that are beyond description.Hence the immediate need of the day is bringing about an awareness of the environment and its problems at all levels. Sincere efforts are needed to re-establish our links with the environment. We must protect the environment from ourselves. It is our own life style, greed, selfishness and lack of awareness that is the starting point of all the problems related to the environment. The great scientist Albert Einstein has said you cannot solve a problem with the same mind-set which created it at the first place. It is only when we truly begin to see ourselves as an indivisible part of the environment, and then there would be a fundamental shift in our mind set towards its conservation.

The book entitled Environmental Science : Creating a Hopeful Future has been written keeping in mind the need of undergraduate students from various engineering and science colleges of all Indian universities.

We would like to thank my colleagues, family members and all other motivational factors that directly or indirectly enabled us to publish this book.

C. B. Dua

R. Gupta

About the Authors

Chunesh B Dua had worked as HOD Applied Sciences in GJIET, Rajpura(Patiala). She had worked in IISER, Mohali and in Punjab State Council for Science and Technology on different projects. She earned her MS honors degree from Punjab University, Chandigarh. She is the member of various organizations. She has taught courses on Environmental Engineering and Physics.

Rohin Gupta is research scholar at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana and Chairman at Brainiac Group (www.brainiacgroup.in). He earned his B.Tech and MTech degree from Punjab Technical University. He has worked as Lecturer at GJGI, Shambhu Kalan and Assistant Professor at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana. He is a life member of Indian Association of Physics Teacher (IAPT). He has presented a number of papers in national and international conferences.

SYLLABUS

Bachelor of Computer Applications

EVSC 101 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Objective/s and Expected outcome:

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

1. Measure environmental variables and interpret results

2. Evaluate local, regional and global environmental topics related to resource use and management

3. Propose solutions to environmental problems related to resource use and management

4. Interpret the results of scientific studies of environmental problems

5. Describe threats to global biodiversity, their implications and potential solutions

SECTION-A

Introduction: Definition and scope and importance of multidisciplinary nature of environment. Need for public awareness. Natural Resources: Natural Resources and associated problems, use and over exploitation, case studies of forest resources and water resources.

Ecosystems: Concept of Ecosystem, Structure, interrelationship, producers, consumers and decomposers, ecological pyramids-biodiversity and importance. Hot spots of biodiversity. Environmental Pollution: Definition, Causes, effects and control measures of air pollution, Water pollution, Soil pollution, Marine pollution, Noise pollution, Thermal pollution, Nuclear hazards. Solid waste Management: Causes, effects and control measure of urban and industrial wastes. Role of an individual in prevention of pollution. Pollution case studies. Disaster Management : Floods, earthquake, cyclone and landslides.

SECTION-B

Social Issues and the Environment: From Unsustainable to Sustainable development, Urban problems related to energy, Water conservation, rain water harvesting, watershed management. Resettlement and rehabilitation of people; its problems and concerns. Case studies. Environmental ethics: Issues and possible solutions. Climate change, global warming, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, nuclear accidents and holocaust. Case studies. Wasteland reclamation. Consumerism and waste products.Environment Protection Act. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. Water (Prevention and control of pollution) Act. Wildlife Protection Act, Forest Conservation Act, Issues involved in enforcement of environmental legislation Public awareness

Human Population and the Environment, Population growth, variation among nations. Population explosion Family Welfare Programme. Environment and human health, Human Rights, Value Education, HIV/AIDS. Women and child Welfare. Role of Information Technology in Environment and human health. Case studies

EVSC101 ENVIORNMENTAL SCIENCE

B.Tech

Scheme and Syllabus

1st /2nd Sem.

Introduction: Definition and scope and importance of multidisciplinary nature of environment. Need for public awareness.

Natural Resources: Natural Resources and associated problems, use and over exploitation, case studies of forest resources and water resources.

Ecosystems: Concept of Ecosystem, Structure, interrelationship, producers, consumers and decomposers, ecological pyramids-biodiversity and importance. Hot spots of biodiversity.

Environmental Pollution: Definition, Causes, effects and control measures of air pollution, Water pollution, Soil pollution, Marine pollution, Noise pollution, Thermal pollution, nuclear hazards. Solid waste Management: Causes, effects and control measure of urban and industrial wastes. Role of an individual in prevention of pollution. Pollution case studies. Disaster Management : Floods, earthquake, cyclone and landslides

Social Issues and the Environment: Urban problems related to energy, Water conservation, rain water harvesting, and watershed management. Resettlement and rehabilitation of people; its problems and concerns. Case studies. Environmental ethics: Issues and possible solutions. Climate change, global warming, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, nuclear accidents and holocaust. Case studies. Wasteland reclamation. Consumerism and waste products. Environment Protection Act. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. Water (Prevention and control of pollution) Act. Wildlife Protection Act, Forest Conservation Act, Issues involved in enforcement of environmental legislation Public awareness.

Human Population and the Environment: Population growth, variation among nations. Population explosion Family Welfare Programme. Environment and human health, Human Rights, Value Education, HIV/AIDS. Women and child Welfare. Role of Information Technology in Environment and human health.