Chapter 1
CHAPTER NO.1 ENVIRONMENT
In strict sense, environment means “that which
surrounds”. In the broadest sense this includes energy and matter capable of
influencing man and other organisms. But in practical terms, it is the
medium or specific surroundings, which interact with
the organisms for their adaptation. This is called “natural environment”.
Environment can also be defined as the sun total of conditions that surround
aman at a given point in space and time. In prehistoric days, by and large, man
lived in harmony with
nature, but presently man is exploiting nature and
the environment is changing steadily with the pas-sage of time. As such,
environmental conditions of people living in hills are different from those
living in plains and desests. Thus environment changes with space and is not
same at all the places.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT
The components of environment are divided into two
categories:
Abiotic components: These are non-living components.
These include climatic components such as energy, rainfall, solar radiation,
temperature, wind and water currents; chemical com-
ponents like oxygen, carbon dioxide, acidity,
salinity and inorganic nutrients of plants, and physical components such as
soil, air,light and geomagnetism. Though non-living, yet all these components
are essential for the life of man and other organisms.
Biotic components: These are the living components
of the environment, which include micro-organisms (the decomposers), plants
(the producers) and the animals including man (the consumers).
The interaction of abiotic and biotic components
results in a stable self perpetuating system. In this interaction, energy plays
a ctucial role. The main source of energy is the sun. Some of this solar energy
is utilized by green plants through photosynthesis and coversion of this energy
takes place into chemical energy in the form of food. The animals directly or
indirectly obtain their energy from the plants. When the animals die, their
bodies are decomposed by the micro-organisms, in this way, they
again transfer this energy back to the environment.
DIMENSIONS OF ENVIRONMENT
Environment has three dimensions : (i) Physical (ii)
Biological (iii) Social
Physical Environment: There are three main physical
components of the environment i.e.atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere (Fig
1.1).
The atmosphere is an envelope of life having gases
like oxygen and carbon dioxide that covers the planet earth. Oxygen is used by
animals including man for oxidation of food to get energy to perform different
activities of life. Carbon dioxide is used by plants to manufacture their food.
Atmosphere acts as a greenhouse as it protects our planet from scorching heat
of the sun during day time and extremely low temperature at night. It also
serves as a store house of water vapours which leads to rainfall.
The hydrosphere includes water on the surface of
earth in the form of oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies. Water is
essential for metabolism in all living organisms and thus it is
called ‘cradle of life’. It also plays a role in
moderating the temperature conditions of the environment.
The lithosphere literally means raw materials on the
earth's surface. It provides minerals and soil for growth of the plants,
animals and microorganisms. A narrow zone formed at or close
to the interfaces between atmosphere, hydrosphere
and lithosphere, is known as biosphere.As all the life exists in this zone,
thus it is called “life zone of earth” . The plants and animals
are found in the zone of contact between atmosphere
and lithosphere. Simlarly, the zone of contact between hydrosphere and
lithosphere is rich in organisms dwelling on the sea shores and shallow water
of the sea.
Biological Environment : The biological environment
includes all the living organisms. They are further differentiated on the basis
of their nutritional relationships into producers (autotro-ps) consumers
(heterotrophs) and decomposers.
The photosynthesis bacteria and. green plants are
included in the categary of producers because they synthesize their own complex
organic food from water, minerals, CO, and sunlight through
photosynthesis. They serve to provide food to the
entire biological environment.
All animals, inchnding man come under the category
of consumers because they cannot synthesize their organic requirement or food
of their own. They have to depend upon plants for their food.They are further
classified into two groups (a) primary consumers (b) secondary consumers :
(a)Primary consumers are herbivorous animals as they
directly consume plants as their food, e.g., hare, deer, elephants etc.
(b) Secondary consumers are camivorous animals as
they feed on herbivorous animals,¢.g., lion, tiger, leopard, etc.
Most of the micro-organisms, which mainly include
bacteria, fungi and some macro-organ-isms like worms and insects, are included
in the category of decomposers. They breakdown dead organic material into
smaller particles and finally into simpler substances that are used by plants
as nutrients. Thus decomposers play a viral role in nature, because without
them, all nutrients would be tied up as dead matter and no new life would be
produced.
Social Environment ; Man lives in an environment
where both abiotic and biotic factors affect him. Considered to be the most
intelligent of all living beings, man has adapted himself
to these factors in several ways. Since his
appearance on earth, he brought agricultural revo-lution for fulfilling his
demands in terms of food and fibre. He has developed methods to cultivate
slopes of mountains through terrace farming. The construction of dams on fast
flowing tivers led to the generation of electricity, being used to develop
industry. The network of canals
has been created for irrigation pruposes. He has
created different means of transportation to move from one place to another for
earning his bread and butter. The industrial revolution made
man’s life comfortable in more than one way.
Social enviommment also includes cultural aspects
and social values. Political,economic and religions institutions constitute an
important part of the social environment and often decide how the environmental
resources should be used by man.
HUMAN BEING AS RATIONAL AND SOCIAL
PARTNER IN ENVIRONMENT ACTION
So far, we have discussed only the natural environment,
which has not been altered by man. It is often called ‘nature’. But today,
there is hardly any area where man has not intruded himself.
He has conquered the highest peaks of the mountains,
ventured in trophical rain forests, bot-toms of the ocean and even Antarctica,
the coldest region of the earth. Thus in present context,
environment may be taken as totality of natural and
man made environment. The latter includes agriculture, mining,
industrialization, housing and building of cities etc. Man has used his skills
to build multistorey buildings, roads, bridges, railways, airports, seaports,
tunnels, water-supply lines, cables
for telecommunications, sewers and several others
kinds of infrastructures. Though these changes have improved the living conditions
of the people, yet due to overexploitation of the natural re-
sources, the physical, chemical and biological
properties of water, air and land have vastly changed.The changed environment
is suspected to create a lot of problems for the man himself. To avoid
deterioration and degradation, many environmental societies and organizations
have started warning
the people through posters, rallies, lectures, film
shows etc. regarding the harmful effects of overexploitation of natural
resources. The local Governments do support such a noble cause. As a
consequence of this, many countries have earmarked
several areas which have been kept free from human interference. Such areas are
called as Biosphere Reserves, National Parks and Wildlife Sancturies. Also, in
the name of environment Governments have tried to convert these protected areas
into recreational spots without giving such emphasis on long term ecological
cosequences. The
environmentalists and conservationists are quite
conscious about such actions as these.
SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT
Society is a group of interacting people who live in
a specific geographical area in organised cooperative manners, sharing a common
culture. Thus it is very clear that human society and natural environment are
intimately tied to each other. Since the dawn of human civilization, many
social groups/societies have evolved. They have adjusted themselves as per
their natural environment. For example, where the natural environment provided
fertile land, the people started agriculture as their profession and became a
society of agriculturists as in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, etc. In other
regions, where natural environment was rich in coal and minerals, the people
started mining as in the regions of Bihar and Jharkhand.
Cultural factors also affect the natural factors.
Culture may be defined as the man-made part of the environment. It detennines
social environment and social actions. According to a Poritish anthro-
pologist Edward Burnett Tylor, “Culture is that
complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,att, law, morals, custom &
any other capabilities & habits acquired by man as a member of society”.
The role of cultural factors on natural factors can
be best understood by the following examples. In an agricultural society. Irrigation
of land is a main requirement. As a result, the rivers are dammed to channel
the water through canals. If the rivers are not available in nearby area,
people will irrigate
their fertile land through tube-wells. In Punjab,
the level of ground water has lowered considerably due to overuse of
tube-wells. Thus agriculture which is a cultural feature has affected the
nature.Similarly, the industrial culture of the present society has polluted
the commons i.e. water, air and soil.
It is the foremost duty of every individual of the
society to realise that if we go on destroying the
natural environment and natural resources it may
lead to a dark future for the coming generations. Let
the society, Governments and Non-Government
Organisations (NGOs) do something concrete to improve the environment. Most
important aspect for the improvement of the natural environment is an active
participation of general public in this noble venture. The public interest in
improvement of the environment is different at different times. According to
“Issue Attention Cycle” put foward by Down,
there are five stages to complete the cycle of
changes in the public interest. These are:
Stage one: It is the stage when the public is not
aware of environmental problems,
Stagetwo: It is the stage when the attention of the
public is drawn towards environmental problems by different types of media or
through actual observations. People show their interest
and respond to any measure to be taken without
caring for the cost involved in it.
Stage Three : At this stage people show keen
interest in the improvement and realise the cost involved in the process of
development. The people also understand that technologi-cal development is not
the best solution to the environmental improvement.
Stage Foor : At this stage the public interest
begins to decline due to two reasons. Firstly, they find difficulty in
implementation of improvement programmes due to indifferent and non-
cooperative attitude of agencies working in the
field. Secondly, the higher cost of
Stage Five: Finally the public interest becomes
intermittent. Sometimes it decreases and at other times it again increases.
According to Down, at present the situation is
approximately in the middle of the “Issue Atten-tion Cycle.”
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOCIAL SYSTEMS AND
THEIR IMPACT
Different types of social and political systems also
affect the environmental problems and their solutions. As usual, there are two
kinds of societies found in many countries of world i.c., capitalistic and socialistic
societies. Though both the societies are very much concemed with improvement of
the
natural environment, yet their approach varies due
to different types of industries, different level of
development and more so by, different view points of
their governments.
In capitalistic societies, the main aim is maximum
production with maximum profit. The high technological developments in such a
society have led to an unparallel growth of economy. The
interest of such companies lies in overexploitation
of natural resources for their selfish ends. This type
of development leads to ecological imbalance.
On the contrary, the socialistic societies, feel
more concerned about the importance of natural resources, environment and
ecological problems. Such societies generally set up good traditions to prevent
exploitation of natural resources and to have harmony between man and nature.
The concept
of involvement of society in the production and
consumption of natural resources develops a sense of
belonging. In such societies, people weigh merits
and demerits and are mostly conscious of the uses and misuses of their natural
resources.
INDIAN TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS AND
CULTURE-PAST AND PRESENT
The science of Ethology (study of human behaviour)
states that “Man is a creature of customs and culture”. In fact, human culture
end environment ate intimately tied to each other by a feedback process. Let us
study this relationship under two headings: (i) Past customs and culture Gi)
Present customs and culture.
Past Customs and Culture: The earliest record of our
past customs and culture is found in “Rig Veda”, the first written document of
our civilization. It provides a very illustrative ac-
count of the five basic elements of our environment-
the earth, water, ait, energy and space.Man is ordained to conserve and use
these elements judiciously for the prosperity of man-
kind, It clearly defines man's obligations towards
the protection of all natural resoures, includ-
ing plant and animal kingdoms. The “Upanishads”
explain the need for putting restraint on use of natural resources in order to
protect the interests of future generations. It is perhaps because of this
reason that trees have been an object of worship in our country and cutting of
trees has been religiously prohibited. Form this, one can clearly make out that
conservation of the environment has been an integral part of the society in the
past.
Present Customs and Culture: The present day customs
and culture of our society are also related to the environment. For example, in
Jammu and Kashmir, the climate is quite cold and that is why the people living
there wear phiran (a long coat) and keep kangri (a type of
hater) to keep their body warm. They drink a speical
type of tea called kKahwah to maintain their body temperature. On the other
hand in Rajasthan (part of Thar Desert), due to sandy soil, the days are very
hot and because of this reason they wear a long turban (14 meters)that act as
air conditioner for them. They also keep long moustaches to protect their
nostrils and mouth from dust. The women folk keep a long ghongat (a type of
‘parda’, veil) to protect themselves from dust and scorching heat.
In south Indian states, the environment is hot and
humid and that is why the people there wear a cotton lungi (a type of dhoti),
cotton kurta and mostly keep an angvastra (a type of towel) on
their shoulder. Similarly, one learns ones native
language, eating habits, games, workmanship, life style, worship methods and
alsc death rituals that conform to ones own cultural traditions.
The distribution of natural resources on the planet
earth has also lead to the development of varied cultures. Say in India, the
fertile soil in areas like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh has
generated the occupation of agriculture. The mines
of Jharkhand have created occupation of mining and industries related to it.
The existence of sea shore along the coastal areas has created the occn-pation
of fishing and related industries.
No doubt, human culture and natural environment are
interrelated, but a change in one perturbs the other, which, in tum, stirs up
more ripples. Now-a-days, the Indian culture tends to have a shift towards the
Western culture. As a result of this, some subtle changes in the environment
may show their head in future years. The arrival of multinational companies in
India may start exploitation of our natural resources purely for profit and
greed. In the long run, it may cteate problems for us. Let us learn from the
past, incorporate it in the present and pass it on to the future to have clean
and
pollution free environment.
EXERCISE
(A) Very short answer type questions (1
mark each) :
1. What is natural environment?
2. Name the components of the environment,
3. Give three dimensions of the environment.
4. Define autotrophs.
5. What are heterotrophs?
6. Name the components of social environment,
7. What are biosphere reserves?
8. What are the five elements of our environment?
(B) Short answer type questions (2
marks each) :
1. Differentiate between abiotic and biotic components?
2. Why socialistics society is better for the
conservation of environment?
3. Differentiate between Lithosphere and
Hydrosphere.
4. Justify that producers are most important for the
biological environment.
(C) Short answer type questions (4
marks each):
1. Comment upon the role of public m protecting the
environment?
2. Give a detailed account of the physical
environment.
3. How will you explain that man is a rational and
social partner in environmental action?
4, Explain the details of biological environment.
(D) Long answer type questions: (5
marks each):
1. Discuss the five stages of “Issue Attention
Cycle” of Down.
2. Give a brief account of India's past and present
customs and culture. Which one is
better in your opinion?
