Social Issues &

Environment

By
Dr. Nirmali Bordoloi
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental
Sciences
Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi-835205
Contact: 09864816651/09401739018
E-mail: [email protected],
19/02/2025 [email protected] 1
Social Issue:
A social issue is any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people
and that is generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed.
Common social issues that impact large portions of society include:
• Poverty
• Homelessness
• Climate change
• Overpopulation
• Immigration stress
• Civil rights
• Discrimination
• Gender inequality
• Health care availability
• Childhood obesity
• Bullying
• Poor leadership
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Social Issue Related to the Environment
• Unsustainability
• Urban problem related to energy
• Water related issues
• Rehabilitation and Resettlement of people
• Acid rain and ozone depletion
• Global warming
• Climate change
• Wasteland
• Nuclear hazards an accident
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 Sustainability and sustainable development

Sustainability: ability to maintain certain level of harmony with biosphere.

Sustainable Development: Meet needs of present generation without

compromising ability of future generations to meet their own need”

Sustainable development emerged on an international level in 1992, in the

UN conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), Earth Summit,
held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Everyone talk, walk and act substantially

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 Change from unsustainable to sustainable development:

Dimensions of sustainable development:

Derived from interactions between society, economy and environment.

 We live in a social and natural

environment
 Development is not only from the
point od economic
 It has to be holistic approach

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 Key aspects for sustainable development (Agenda-21):

1. Inter-generational equity - states to hand over safe, healthy & resourceful

environment to future generation.
Stop overuse
Reduce impacts
Maintain ecological balance

1. Intra-generational equity - rich countries should support the growth of poor

countries.
Minimize gap between and within nation
Support economic growth of poorer country
Provide technological help

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Approaches for sustainable development

1. Developing appropriate technology - locally adaptable, eco-friendly, resource

efficient and culturally suitable.
2. Reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse, rot [5R] approach – reduces waste generation
and pollution
3. Providing environmental education and awareness – changing attitude of the
people.
4. Consumption of renewable resources – attain sustainability
5. Conservation of non renewable resources – conserved by recycling and reusing
6. Slow Down Population Growth
7. Reduce Poverty, Inequality
8. Make Agriculture Sustainable
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9. Protect Forests and other Habitats
10.Reduce Waste Generation
11. Resource utilization as per carrying capacity:

Carrying capacity: maximum number of individuals that an environment can sustain

over time without destroying or degrading the environment (determined by food
availability, water, and habitat”)

Sustainability of a system depends largely upon the carrying capacity of the

system. If the carrying capacity of a system is crossed, environmental degradation
starts and continues till it reaches a point of no return.

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Carrying capacity has two basic components:
• Supporting capacity: the capacity to regenerate
• Assimilative capacity: the capacity to tolerate different stresses.

In order to attain sustainability it is very important that consumption should not

exceed regeneration and changes should not allow to occur beyond the tolerance
capacity of the system.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action
to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace
and prosperity.
17 SDGs are integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in
others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental
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sustainability.
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Main global issues:

1. Green House Effect and Global Warming

2. Acid rain
3. Ozone layer destruction

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 Green House Effect and Global Warming
• Our atmosphere is a protective blanket of many gases, surrounding the earth.
The gases play a vital role in maintain the heat balance on the earth.
• Green house gases - causing global warming are CO2, CH4, N2O, H2O, CFCs.
• Troposphere, traps heat by natural process due to presence of GHG. This
effect is called Greenhouse effect.

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 Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased substantially since the beginning of
the industrial era, rising from 280 ppm in the late 1700s to 414 ppm in 2021 .

 Methane concentrations in the atmosphere has more than doubled since

preindustrial times, reaching over 1,900 ppb in recent years.

 The concentrations of N2O in the atmosphere increased from 270 ppb and 324 ppb

from preindustrial time.

 The general increase in the earth’s average temperature which is basically caused by
the presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which causes changes in climate
patterns across the globe and this phenomenon is known as global warming and
leads to global climate change.
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Effect on global warming:
1.Sea level→ glacial melting & thermal expansion of ocean raise the sea level

2. Agriculture and forestry →Climatic pattern shifts, rainfall is reduced, soils are
dried, result in drought, less crop production

3. Water resources → Rainfall pattern change, Drought & Floods will become
common. Rise in temperature increases water demand

4. Terrestrial ecosystems → Animals & plants face the problems in adapting.

5. Human health →As earth become warmer, floods & droughts become frequent.
This increase waterborne disease, infectious diseases caused by mosquitoes.
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Preventive Measures of Global Warming:

• Reducing CO2, CFCs emission by reducing use of fossil fuels

• Utilizing renewable resources like wind, solar, hydro power etc.
• Plant more trees
• Adopt sustainable agriculture.
• Stabilize population growth
• Remove CO2 by photosynthetic algae.

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ACID RAIN:
• Normal rain is slightly acidic due to CO2 gas.
• The pH of the rain water is further acidic due to SO2 & NO2 gases.
• This type of precipitation of water is called acid rain.
Formation of HNO3:
Nitrous oxide, which is produced by the action of soil bacteria, undergoes photolysis in the
stratosphere to nitric oxide or free oxygen atoms:

N2O + ℎʋ → NO + N

N2O + ℎʋ → N2 + O
The nitric oxide so formed is then oxidised and nitrogen dioxide is formed. The free oxygen atoms
interact with nitrous oxide to form nitric oxide.

N2O + O → 2 NO

NO+O3→ NO2 + O2
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 The most importantly primary photochemical reaction is the dissociation of NO 2..

 The nitric oxide so formed is then oxidised (O2) and nitrogen dioxide is formed.

• 2NO+O2→ 2NO2

• NO+O3→ NO2 + O2

• 2NO2+O3 → N2O5 +O2

4NO2 +O2 +2H2O → 4HNO3 (nitric acid)

N2O5 + H2O → 2 HNO2 (Nitrous acid)

 The HNO3 and HNO2 may undergo photochemical dissociation again

HNO2 + hv → NO2 + H* (hydrogen radical)

HNO2 + hv → NO+ HO* (Hydroxyl radical )

HNO3 +hv → NO2 + HO*

 In the stratosphere, NO2 may react with the HO* free radical, forming HNO3
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NO +HO* → HNO
Formation of H2SO4:
• SO2 present in the atmosphere, absorb solar radiation in the range of 300-400 nm and produce

electronically excited states of SO2. This undergo oxidation to SO3 and in presence of water

vapour, this converted to H2SO4.

SO2 + hv → SO2*

SO2* + O2 → SO4*

SO4* (Sulphur tetra oxide) → SO3 (sulphur trioxide) + O3

 Ozone may be formed in the atmosphere as a by product during the photochemical oxidation of
sulphur dioxide to sulphuric acid.
 The sulphur trioxide formed immediately combines with water to give sulphuric acid:

SO3 + H2O → H2SO4

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Effects of acid rain:
1. On Human beings
Destroy life – nervous, respiratory and digestive system
Causes premature death from heart and lung disorders like asthma &
bronchitis.
2. On Buildings
Taj Mahal in Agra suffer due to H2SO4 acid fumes released from Mathura
refinery.
British Parliament building suffered due to H2SO4 rain
Acid rain reduce the value of building, bridges, cultural objects etc.
This increases the maintenance cost.
3. On terrestrial and Lake Ecosystem
Reduces rate of photosynthesis, growth of crops, Fish population
Nitrogen, & phosphorous stay up in dead wastages
Biomass production is reduced & fish population decreases.
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Ozone layer destruction
 Ozone in the stratosphere is a product of UV radiations acting on dioxygen (O 2)

molecules. The UV radiations split apart molecular oxygen into free oxygen (O) atoms.
These oxygen atoms combine with the molecular oxygen to form ozone.

O2(g) + hv (242 nm) → O(g) + O(g)

O(g) + O2 (g) → O3 (g)

• There have been reports of the depletion of this protective ozone layer because of the
presence of certain chemicals in the stratosphere. The main reason of ozone layer
depletion is believed to be the release of chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs), also
known as freons.
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• CFC, CFC-11, CFC-12 are most common.
• CFC are used as a coolant.
• CFCs remain in the atmosphere for 65-110 years

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O3 destruction:

1. Nitric oxide
O3+NO → NO2+O2

2. Atomic oxygen
O3+O → O2+O2

3. Reactive hydroxyl radical

O3+HO* → HO2+HOO*

HOO*+O → HO*+O2

4. Chlorine
Cl +O3 → ClO+ O2

ClO+O → Cl+O2

l ClO+NO2 →ClONO2 (chlorine nitrate), relatively inactive 22

Effects:
1.Marked rise in cause skin cancer
2.Damage immune system
3.Eye ailment such as cataract
4.Shorter life of paints and plastics
5.Restricted growth and crop damage
6.Destruction of aquatic life

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Water conservation:
• The original source of water is precipitation from the atmosphere.
• The water available on the earth may occur in all three stages as gas, liquid or solid.
• Temperature is the main factor in deciding the state of water.

Strategies of water conservation:

Reducing evaporation losses
Reducing irrigation losses Irrigation
Reuse of water
Preventing of wastage of water
 Decreasing run off losses
Avoid discharge of sewage
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Water Harvesting:
Traditional rainwater harvesting:
Collection from rooftop and stored in open storage bodies such as lakes, ponds,
and tanks.
Using hallow bamboo as pipelines in hilly region

Modern rainwater harvesting:

Artificial ground water recharge by constructing shallow percolation tank.
Construction of Check-dams (with suitable native materials).
Check dams are relatively small, temporary structures constructed within
concentrated-flow areas such as swales, channels and ditches.

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 Water conservation methods:
Rain water Harvesting and Watershed management

Rain Water harvesting: Capturing rain where it falls or capturing the run off in
your own village or town. And taking measures to keep that water clean by not
allowing polluting activities to take place in the catchment.
Methods:
Surface Runoff Harvesting
Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting

• The rain water from roofs, road surfaces,

play grounds is diverted into the surface
tank or recharge pits. The pit base is filled
with stones and sand.

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Modern rainwater harvesting:
Recharge of ground water is a recent concept and the
structures used for the purpose are

Pits: For recharging shallow aquifer, recharge pits are

constructed with boulders, gravel, sand to aid filtration
before percolation. These are 1-2 m wide and 3m dept.

Trenches: About 0.5-1m wide, 1-1.5m deep and up to

20m long trenches.

Dug wells: Existing dug wells may be utilized as recharge

structures.

Spreading technique: The water is allowed to spread in

streams/nullahs, making check dams, nullah bunds

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 Watershed management:
• A watershed (also called drainage basin/catchment area) is a geographical area
of land that comprises a set of rivers and streams, all draining into a typical central
water body such as a river or an ocean.

• Land area from which water drains under gravity to a common drainage channel. Well
defined topographic boundary with outlet.

• Types of Watershed: They are classified depending

upon the size, drainage, shape and land use pattern.

• Macro watershed (> 50,000 Ha)

• Sub-watershed (10,000 to 50,000 Ha)
• Milli-watershed (1000 to 10,000 Ha)
• Micro watershed (100 to 1000 Ha)
• Mini watershed (1-100 Ha)
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Importance watershed management:
• It recharges the groundwater table.
• Restores soil fertility and helps in soil conservation.
• Restores water for drinking and other human purposes.
• It helps to fight climate change and promotes sustainable agriculture.
• Protects biodiversity of a region, if managed properly can restore biodiversity.

Watershed Management:
It refers to the management and conservation of surface and groundwater
resources, which includes conservation, regeneration and judicious use of
all resources within a watershed.

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 Resettlement and Rehabilitation of people
Resettlement : simple relocation or displacement of human population.
Causes:
Due to Developmental activities - dams, mining, roads, airports, etc
Due to Disaster (Natural disaster - earthquake, floods, droughts, landslides,
avalanches, volcanic eruptions etc.) (Manmade disasters - Industrial
accidents, nuclear accidents, dam bursts etc)
Due to conservation initiatives - national park, sanctuary, forest reserves,
biosphere reserve etc.

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Rehabilitation: Involves making the system to work again by replacing the lost
economic assets, employment, land for building, repair damaged building etc.

Rehabilitation issues
 Displacement of tribal’s increases poverty by losing home, land, jobs, food security etc
Breakup of families
 Communal ownership of property
Vanishing social and cultural activities like folk songs & dances
Loss of identity between the people.
Extinction of wild life

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WASTE LAND RECLAMATION:
The land which is not in use – unproductive, unfit for cultivation and other economic uses. The
wasteland contributes about 20.17% of the total geographical area of India.
Types of waste land:
1. Uncultivable waste land – Barren rocky areas, hilly slopes, sandy deserts.
2. Cultivable waste land- degraded forest lands, gullied lands, marsh lands, saline land etc.
Causes for waste land formation:
1. Soil Erosion, Deforestation, Water logging, Salinity.
2. Excessive use of pesticides.
3. Developmental activities [Construction of dams, power projects, causes water logging].
4. Over-exploitation of natural resources.
5. Sewage and industrial wastes.
6. Mining destroy forests & cultivable land.
7. Growing demands for fuel, fodder, wood and food causes degradation and loss of soil
productivity.

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Methods of waste land reclamation

 Drainage in waterlogged soil

 Leaching to remove the salts
 Irrigation practices
Green manures and bio fertilizers
Application of Gypsum to reduce soil acidity
Selection of tolerant crop and crop rotation
Afforestation programmes.

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ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS:
• Over exploitation of forests, land, water as well as various living components of
biosphere and failure to tackle the problem of pollution and environmental
degradation are exposing the humanly to the thread of a global environment crisis.
• Therefore human beings are ethically responsible for the preservation of the world’s
ecological integrity.
• The environment ethics literally means conscious efforts to protect environment and
to maintain its stability from the pollutants.
Ethical Guidelines:
 Love & honor the earth
Should be grateful to plants & animals
Should not waste your resources
Should not steal from future generation
Should not pollute & hold other living things
Should not consume more materials
Should share the precious earth resources. 34
 Thank You!!!

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