Chapter Notes

Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution is the release of harmful substances and energy into the environment as a result of human activities. Think of it as the environment becoming "dirty" because of the waste we produce.

Pollution is classified based on the medium—like air, water, or land—through which the harmful substances, known as pollutants, travel. The main types of pollution are:

• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Land pollution
• Noise pollution

Water Pollution

The quality of water in our rivers, canals, and lakes is getting worse due to its indiscriminate use by a growing population and expanding industries.

Surface water is never perfectly pure; it naturally contains small amounts of suspended particles and organic and inorganic substances. However, when the concentration of these substances increases to a high level, the water becomes polluted. At this point, the water's natural self-purifying capacity is overwhelmed, making it unfit for use.

Sources of Water Pollution

While natural events like erosion and landslides can cause water pollution, the real concern comes from human activities.

• Industrial Sources: Industries are the most significant contributors to water pollution. They release industrial wastes, polluted wastewater, poisonous gases, chemical residuals, and heavy metals directly into running water or lakes. This destroys the aquatic ecosystem. Key polluting industries include leather, pulp and paper, textiles, and chemicals.
• Agricultural Sources: Modern farming uses chemicals like inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. When it rains, these chemicals are washed into rivers and lakes. They can also seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater. Fertilizers, for example, increase the nitrate content in water.
• Cultural Sources: Activities like pilgrimages, religious fairs, and tourism also contribute to water pollution, often through the disposal of waste and other materials into rivers.

Consequences of Water Pollution

Contaminated water is a major source of diseases.

• Common water-borne diseases include diarrhoea, intestinal worms, and hepatitis.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about one-fourth of all communicable diseases in India are water-borne.

The pollution of major rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna is a serious problem, as they flow through densely populated regions.

• Ganga: Polluted by industrial waste from towns like Kanpur and domestic waste from cities like Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna, and Kolkata.
• Yamuna: Polluted by domestic and industrial waste from Delhi, agricultural runoff, and water extraction for irrigation in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Namami Gange Programme

To address the pollution of the Ganga River, the Union Government launched the Namami Gange Programme. Its key objectives are:

• Developing sewage treatment systems in towns along the river.
• Monitoring industrial effluents (waste).
• Developing the riverfront and planting trees (afforestation) along its banks.
• Cleaning the river's surface.
• Creating public awareness to prevent pollution, even from religious rituals.

Air Pollution

Air pollution occurs when contaminants like dust, fumes, gas, smoke, or vapour are added to the air in large enough quantities to be harmful to plants, animals, and property.

Sources and Effects of Air Pollution

The main sources are the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, petrol, diesel), mining, and industrial processes. These activities release harmful substances such as:

• Oxides of sulphur and nitrogen
• Hydrocarbons
• Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide
• Lead and asbestos

Air pollution has severe health consequences, causing diseases related to the respiratory, nervous, and circulatory systems.

Another major effect of air pollution is acid rain. When pollutants like sulphur and nitrogen oxides mix with rainwater, they make it acidic. The first rain after a long dry summer is often more acidic than later rains.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution is a state of unbearable and uncomfortable sound caused by various sources. It has become a serious issue with the rise of modern technology.

Sources of Noise Pollution

• Factories, mechanised construction, and demolition work.
• Automobiles, aircraft, and trains.
• Sirens and loudspeakers used for festivals and advertising.

The level of noise is measured in decibels (dB). Of all sources, traffic is the biggest nuisance. The noise from sea traffic is mostly confined to harbours.

Urban Waste Disposal

Urban areas often suffer from overcrowding, congestion, and poor sanitary conditions due to the enormous amount of waste generated.

Solid waste refers to old and used articles like metal pieces, broken glass, plastic containers, polythene bags, and ash. It is also called refuse, garbage, or rubbish.

Sources and Disposal

1. Household/Domestic Establishments: Waste from homes is often disposed of on public lands or at private contractor sites.
2. Industrial/Commercial Establishments: This waste is typically collected by municipal facilities and dumped in low-lying public grounds known as landfill areas.

Problems of Urban Waste Disposal

• Health Hazards: Piles of solid waste create foul smells and become breeding grounds for flies and rodents, which carry diseases like typhoid, diphtheria, diarrhoea, malaria, and cholera.
• Water Pollution: Dumping industrial waste into rivers contaminates water sources, causing serious health problems for people living downstream.
• Inefficient Collection: In major cities like Mumbai and Kolkata, about 90% of solid waste is collected. However, in most other towns, 30% to 50% of waste is left uncollected on streets and in open spaces.
• Toxic Gas Release: Untreated waste ferments and releases toxic biogases, including methane, into the atmosphere.

• The village's overhead water tank capacity was increased to supply clean water.
• The village pond was cleaned and desilted to help recharge the groundwater.
• Rainwater harvesting structures were built to dilute contaminants.
• Over 1,000 trees were planted to improve the environment.

Rural-Urban Migration

Rural-urban migration is the movement of people from rural areas to cities. This flow is driven by several factors.

• Push Factors (reasons to leave rural areas): Low job opportunities, poverty, and unbalanced development.
• Pull Factors (reasons to move to urban areas): High demand for labour and the promise of a better livelihood.

In India, poor people from rural areas often bypass smaller towns and move directly to megacities in search of work.

• Push: His family was in debt and struggled to survive on a small plot of land. He had to drop out of school.
• Pull: He was inspired by successful migrants from his village and the perceived job opportunities in cities like Ludhiana and Surat.
• Experience: He started with a low-paying job and faced difficulties adjusting to a new culture. Over time, he learned a skill (welding) and was able to send money home, significantly improving his family's standard of living.
• Consequence: While his family's economic condition improved, he bears the pain of being separated from them, as his job is temporary and transferable.

This case shows that poor, semi-skilled migrants often end up in low-wage jobs in the informal sector. Because they cannot afford to bring their families, this migration stream is dominated by males.

Problems of Slums

Urban centres in India are highly diverse. On one end are well-developed, high-income localities with excellent infrastructure. On the other end are slums (also known as jhuggi-jhopari clusters).

Slums are inhabited by people who migrated from rural areas for work but could not afford proper housing due to high rent and land costs. They are forced to live in environmentally degraded areas.

Characteristics of Slums

• Dilapidated houses with poor ventilation and hygienic conditions.
• Lack of basic amenities like drinking water, electricity, and toilets.
• Overcrowded with narrow streets and unregulated drainage systems.
• Serious health and socio-environmental hazards.

Socio-Economic Conditions

• Most slum dwellers work in low-paid, high-risk jobs in the unorganised sector.
• They are often undernourished and prone to various diseases.
• Poverty prevents them from providing proper education to their children.
• These conditions make them vulnerable to drug abuse, alcoholism, crime, and social exclusion.

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is a government initiative aimed at improving the quality of life in urban slums.

Land Degradation

Land degradation is the decline in the productive capacity of land, which can be temporary or permanent. This happens when land is used continuously without managing its fertility. While not all degraded land is wasteland, the unchecked process can turn it into one.

Causes of Land Degradation

There are both natural and human-made processes that cause land degradation.

• Natural Processes: These create wastelands like gullied/ravinous land, desert sands, barren rocky areas, and steep slopes.
• Human-made Processes (and natural factors): These lead to waterlogged and marshy areas, as well as land affected by salinity and alkalinity.
• Purely Human Actions: These are responsible for wastelands from shifting cultivation, degraded forests and pastures, and mining and industrial activities. Wastelands caused by human actions are a more significant problem than those created by natural processes.

• Solution: The government implemented Watershed Management Programmes to prevent land degradation and improve soil quality by managing land, water, and vegetation together.
• Community Participation: In the Petlawad block, the local Bhil community revitalised common property resources. Each household planted and maintained a tree, grew fodder grass on pasture land, and practised "social-fencing" to prevent open grazing.
• Result: This community-led effort has helped restore the ecology and ensured that the developed pastures can sustain their cattle in the future. This shows how community participation can successfully combat land degradation.