\u201cEnvironment is the sum total of all conditions\nand influences that affect the development and life of all organs\u201d, said Dr. T.\nN. Khoshoo, world renowned environment scientist. Environment is everything\nthat surrounds us. It plays a crucial role in human life as in the development\nof society. Mankind is a part of nature and its life is dependent upon the\nuninterrupted functioning of natural system. Albert Einstein once remarked,\n\u201cEnvironment is everything that is not me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is an evident fact that today almost every\ncountry in the world is facing the problem of environmental pollution.\nEnvironmental pollution means presence in the environment of any pollutant\nwhich is likely to cause or which is causing pollution or degradation. Thus,\nenvironmental pollution means deterioration in the quality of air, water, land\netc. Environmental pollution can be broadly classified as Natural and Man-made.\nNatural pollution includes landslides, tsunamis, lava from volcanoes,\nepidemics, earthquakes etc. These are beyond the control of man. Man-made\npollution is caused due to the activities of human beings. The problem of\nenvironmental pollution can be dealt effectively only when we understand the\ncauses of pollution. Some of the causes includes overpopulation, poverty, urbanisation,\nindustrialisation, deforestation, radioactivity and lack of environment\neducation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The earth\nis finite and a finite earth can support only a finite population. However,\ntoday there is \u2018explosion of population\u2019. Each new human being is creating a\nburden on natural resources. The problem of poverty directly contributes to\nenvironmental pollution. Poverty is the inability of an individual or household\nto attain minimum standard of living. Indira Gandhi in the International\nConference on Human Environment, Stockholm, 1972 voiced deep concern on\neco-imbalances and stated that poverty and needs are indeed the greatest\npolluters. \u201cPoverty reduces the ability to use resources in a sustainable\nmanner\u201d, she said. There is a nexus between poverty, overpopulation and\nenvironmental pollution. Urbanisation means migration of people to urban areas\nin search of job opportunities, attraction for city life etc. Cities like\nMumbai, Kolkata, Delhi have become densely populated due to which problems of\nslums, poor sanitation, overcrowding etc. are arising. Industries are the axis\nwhich gears the economic growth of any country. Most of the environmental\npollution is caused due to industries. Industries require raw materials due to\nwhich there is unbridled clearing of land, deforestation etc. Industrial\nactivity leaves untreated effluents in water or on land which result in damage\nof ecology in that area and pollution. \u2018Noise\u2019 is a by-product of machineries\ncausing Noise pollution. Radioactivity is the property exhibited by unstable\nisotopes of elements emitting radiations producing energy. Nuclear Energy which\nis nowadays a big source of energy has become a big health hazard. The\nChernobyl Atomic Reactor and Three Mile Island incidents have proved that\nradioactive fallouts affect man and material, flora and fauna equally by\ndamaging them. One of the most important causes of pollution is lack of\nenvironmental education among masses. If people are not aware of the causes and\nhazardous effects, they will not make efforts to reduce pollution. In a PIL\nfiled by Mr. M. C. Mehta, the Hon\u2019ble Supreme Court directed Central Board of\nSecondary Education to make Environmental Studies compulsory. Now, many other\nboards have incorporated Environmental Studies in their syllabus. It is an irrefutable\nfact that environmental pollution can be curbed to a considerable extent by\nbringing awareness among people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, has\nrightly remarked, \u201cEarth provides enough to satisfy each man\u2019s needs, but not\nevery man\u2019s greed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The emergence of environmental jurisprudence is\nbased on the realisation of mankind of the dire physical necessity to preserve\nthe environment. There are numerous acts dealing with the problems of\nenvironmental pollution. The Water Pollution Act, 1974 is the result of\nmotivation derived from Stockholm Conference. It provides for establishment of\nboards at both State and Central level to abate water pollution and penalties\nfor offences committed in non-compliance with the provisions of the Act. The Air\nPollution Act is on similar lines with the Water Act. The Noise Pollution\nRules, 2000 lay down such terms and conditions as are necessary to reduce noise\npollution. Similarly, the Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2000 and Biomedical\nWaste Rules provides for proper handling of domestic and medical waste\nrespectively. In various judgements the Supreme Court as well as the High\nCourts gave decisions in favour of protecting the environment which shows the\nanxiety of the Judiciary in dealing with environmental problems effectively.\nThe incorporation of Precautionary Principle which deals with burden of proof\nin environment cases i.e. shifting of onus on the individual\/industry to show\nthat the proposed activity will not cause pollution; principle of Sustainable\nDevelopment which emphasises on development meeting the needs of current\ngenerations without compromising the ability of future generations to use\nnatural resources; Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) or Social Impact\nAssessment (SIA) which involves the public before commencement of any\ndevelopment project etc. are proving beneficial in tackling environmental\nproblems with ease. These methods are preventive in nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to reduce air pollution, carpooling,\nreducing or restraining number of automobiles are some of the measures that are\nadopted. Also, recycling the products and avoiding bursting of fire crackers\nwhich cause noise, air as well as land pollution helps. Noise pollution not\nonly is harmful for human beings but also for animals and birds. Birds stop\nlaying eggs and mating even during mating season. According to Prof. Garl of\nMarburg University, 155 dB of sound may burn skin and 198 dB may cause death.\nAlternatives like Wind Energy in which turbines convert kinetic energy in\nmoving air into mechanical energy, which is then converted into electricity;\nSolar power produced from the energy obtained from sun; Geo-thermal energy, the\nnaturally occurring thermal energy produced by the earth\u2019s molten inner core\ncan be used. Similarly, Ocean Wave Energy harnesses the mechanical power in\nconstant waves are not dependant on time of day or year. Thermal energy can be\nexploited through various systems including combined heat and power units\n(CHPs), fuel cell technology and ocean thermal energy. Hydroelectricity is\nelectricity produced by the gravitational force of falling or flowing water.\nThis is currently the most widely used form of renewable energy. Tehri Dam,\nSrisailam, Koyana Hydroelectricity power project etc. have contributed\nsignificantly to generation of electricity in a non-polluting way.\nBioenergy is produced from Biomass obtained from living\nthings such as trees and plants or recently dead material, like agricultural\nand forestry residues, wood etc. Various companies like Bharat Petroleum, Indian\nOil, and Universal Biofuels now provide for this energy. To reduce Land\nPollution, we must cut use of fertilizers, herbicides and other agrochemicals\nand rely upon other alternatives such as Vermicompost and use of organic\nfertilizers. Excessive and undesirable burning of vegetation leads to Smog\nformation. Sponges and towels can replace tissue papers and paper towels. Water\nis the basic need not only of human beings but also of plants and animals.\nHence, it must be safe for consumption. 40% of phosphates in water pollution\ncomes from detergents. Hence, use of phosphate-free detergents must be\nencouraged. Untreated effluents should not be discharged into streams and\nwells. It is now compulsory for a tannery or similar establishment to set up a\nwaste treatment plant irrespective of its financial condition. Increasing\nparticipation and involvement of public in matters relating to environment is\none of the most influential as well as important methods for effectively\ndealing with the crisis of environmental pollution. Thus, emphasis should be\nshifted on prevention in environmental cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are other methods which come into picture\nafter the pollution is caused in order to seek remedy. It includes penalties,\nimprisonment to the habitual polluter, fines etc. The \u2018Polluter pays principle\u2019\nis incorporated by Supreme Court in many cases. The polluter is absolutely\nliable to compensate for harm caused to the environment and reversing the\ndamaged ecology. The principle of Absolute Liability is aggrieved form of \u2018Polluter\npays principle\u2019. \n\nThe success of any law depends upon its implementation. Various\ninternational treaties have been conducted addressing and covering almost every\naspect of environmental pollution but they have no binding effect. As the\npollution knows no boundaries, states should assist each other and cooperate to\ntackle environmental pollution. The developed nations should assist the\ndeveloping nations financially as the brunt of non-sustainable use of resources\nby the developing nations is borne by the developed nations as well. Thus,\nenvironmental problems can be effectively tackled when the whole mankind comes\ntogether. Proper education and awareness among masses about the causes of\npollution and its hazardous effect on present and future generations are\nnecessary for creating awareness which is an important factor in reducing\npollution. Every citizen should not only follow the set regulations and norms\nbut also contribute their bit to make Mother Earth a pollution-free place to\ndwell in. Thus, \u201cOne person alone cannot save biodiversity but each\nindividual\u2019s effort to encourage nature\u2019s wealth must not be\nunderestimated\u201d\u2014United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0How Can We Tackle It? \u201cEnvironment is the sum total of all conditions and influences that affect the development and life of all organs\u201d, said Dr. T. N. Khoshoo, world renowned environment scientist. Environment is everything that surrounds us. It plays a crucial role in human life as in the development of society. Mankind is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions\/269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}