Definition and Concept of Environment

Definition and Concept of Environment The word environment is derived from the French word environ, meaning external conditions or surroundings that favour the growth of flora and fauna, human beings and their properties and protect them from the effects of pollution. According to Douglas and Holland (1947), the environment is ‘a word which describes, in the aggregate, all of the extrinsic (external) forces influences and conditions, which affect the life, nature, behaviour and the growth, development and maturation of living organisms’. ‘Environment covers all the outside factors that have acted on the individual since he began life’. (Woodworth and Marques, 1948) Environment means the aggregate of a complex set of physical, geographical, biological, social, cultural and political conditions that surrounds an individual or organism and eventually determines its appearance as well as nature of its survival. Types of Environment The environment is practically everything that embraces an organism. Out of all the planets comprising the solar system, the only habitable planet to provide all the necessary conditions for the existence of life is the Earth. The physical and chemical environments, however, varies at places and provides unique conditions for living beings to adapt and survive. On the basis of human interference, the environment can be categorized as natural, semi-synthetic or artificial. ● A natural environment is inherent, unaltered and not manipulated by man. Life processes and evolution progress are unhindered in such an environment. However, one does not own and such places in the present day. core areas of the biosphere reserve are examples of natural ecosystems. ● The semi-synthetic environment is the natural environment that is modified partially by human intervention, namely development of lakes, aquaculture tanks and so on. ● An artificial or man-made or synthetic environment is when the natural environment is deliberately controlled and converted by mankind. For example, aquariums, cities, community parks, paddy fields or the tissue culture laboratories. Kurt Lewin, a German-American psychologist, emphasized three types of environment that manipulate the persona of an individual ● . Physical environment refers to the physical space, the weather and climatic conditions that influence the organism. e physique and working efficiency of an individual depends much on the climatic conditions. Short and sturdy build-ups are features of humans in cold climates; their reduced body surface area allows more heat to be retained. In hot regions, a thinner and long-limbed structure allows more heat to be lost easily. Races such as Ethiopian or Negroids of Africa, the Caucasians of Europe, Western Asia, Australia and major part of America or Mongolians of East Indies, China, Japan, shows variation in skin colour owing to variation in the level of melanin synthesis. Lighter skin allows more penetration of UV rays to facilitate vitamin D synthesis whereas darker skin prevents the penetration of UV rays. the blacks having more dense bones, hence less buoyant but lose less than 1 per cent of the bone mass annually after mid-thirties; Whites with less dense bones lose about 2.5 per cent of bone mass annually and is more prone to ageing. ● The social and cultural environment is made up of moral values, cultural background and emotional drives that modify the life and nature of an individual. is, in turn, is dependent on the social, economic and political conditions surrounding an individual. The man seems to be the most civilized and skilful of all the organisms. This contributes to a highly systemic social organization. ● The psychological environment is the physical, social and cultural environment that limits one’s activities. is sets boundaries for the individual, triggering thought processes and changing behaviours of an individual Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies .The scope of environmental studies is very wide and it deals with many areas like i) Conservation of natural resources, ii) ecological aspects, iii) pollution of the surrounding natural resources, iv) controlling the pollution, v) social issues connected to it, and vi) impacts of the human population on the environment. Elements of Environment The environment is constituted by the interacting systems of physical, biological and cultural elements inter-related in various ways, individually as well as collectively. These elements are: (1) Physical elements Physical elements are space, landforms, water bodies, climate, soils, rocks and minerals. They determine the variable character of the human habitat, its opportunities as well as limitations. (2) Biological elements Biological elements such as plants, animals, microorganisms and men constitute the biosphere. (3) Cultural elements Cultural elements such as economic, social and political elements are essentially manmade features, which make the cultural background. Environmental studies cover every aspect that affects a living organism, as it interacts with the surroundings in its quest to live. Environmental studies are integrative, but the core of the subject comprises biological sciences like zoology, botany, microbiology and physiology. Many environmental concerns can be resolved through the application of biotechnology and molecular biology, while bioinformatics can serve as a database at the molecular level. Environmental studies are therefore multidisciplinary and aim at unravelling the ways in which human beings and nature correlate, sustaining life and man’s unquenchable thirst for development with limited and nite resources. Physics, chemistry, biology, anthropology, geology, engineering, archaeology, sociology, economics, statistics, political science, law, anthropology, management, technology and health sciences are all its components. Among these physics, chemistry, geography, geology and atmospheric science help us understand the basic concepts of the structural and functional organization, as well as the physical characteristics of our environment. Data simulation and interpretation need the application of statistics and computer application, while mathematical science is often used in environmental modelling. the technical solutions for pollution management, waste management, green building and green energy can be found with expertise from the fields of engineering and architecture. the achievement of sustainability at all levels is interwoven with and dependant on international cooperation which in turn rests on international relations. Principles of sustainable development determine the drafts and negotiation of international accords and security issues. International cooperation is an indispensable factor in dealing with global environmental issues like climate change, transboundary pollution, trade in hazardous substances, ozone layer depletion, biodiversity loss, etc. Economics enables us to gain a beer understanding of the social background needed to achieve growth and development. Keeping all these in mind, management studies will enable us to formulate policies, followed by legislation for their implementation. e study and treatment of the environment is very much connected with philosophy, ethics and cultural traditions that help us achieve our goal sustainably. e air that we breathe, the water that sustains our lives, the food that gives us energy, the towns and the cities that we live in, in fact, everything around us constitutes the environment. It is the sum total of all life support systems. e elements that constitute the environment have been revered and worshipped by our ancestors. Our forefathers, in almost all the major civilization around the world, understood the fragile nature of the environmental system. ey also discovered the need to lead a lifestyle that was in sync with the environment. It was this basic understanding, profound as it may sound now, led to their worshipping of nature in its various forms. However, the industrial revolution beginning in 1760 introduced a paradigm shi in man’s interaction with the environment. Rapid industrialization needed huge amounts of resources to feed the wheels of progress. Europe and then America rode the tidal wave of economic development, discarding the frugal and stoic ways of our forefathers and speeding towards hedonistic lifestyles based heavily on a culture of consumption. Dams were built that harnessed river water to generate electricity and provide water for agriculture. Traditional farming methods were replaced by ones that depended on a massive infusion of chemicals in the form of fertilizers and pesticides. Agricultural production boomed, but entire riverine systems were destroyed irretrievably and ecosystems were devastated. Factories needed to go full throttle to match the increasing demands, as a result, nature’s womb was pillaged – fossil fuels were extracted and burnt to power the surge of progress. However, in doing so, humans not only pushed the availability of resources towards exhaustion but also sacrificed a myriad life forms by forcing them towards untimely extinction. A growing population and rapidly incremental demand needed more and more. is need led to the destruction of Earth’s forest-cover, which in turn led to the loss of habitats for organisms that lived in these forests. Finally, it also added to the process of climate change and global warming The science of Environment studies is a multidisciplinary science because it depends on various disciplines like chemistry, physics, medical science, etc. It is the science of physical phenomena in the environment. It is inherently a multidisciplinary field that draws upon not only its core scientific areas, but also applies knowledge from other non-scientific studies such as economic, law and social science. 1. Physics: ● To understand the flux of material and energy interaction. ● To construct mathematical models of environment. 2. Chemistry: ● To understand the molecular interactions in the system. 3. Biology: ● To describe the effects within the plant and animal kingdom and their diversity. 4. Atmospheric Science: ● To examine the phenomenology of the Earth's gaseous outer layer with emphasis upon interrelation to other systems. ● It comprises meteorological studies, greenhouse gas phenomena, airborne contaminants, sound propagation phenomena related to noise pollution, and even light pollution. 5. Ecology: ● To analyse the dynamics among an interrelated set of populations, or a population and some aspects of its environment. ● These studies could endangered species, predator interactions, effects upon populations by environmental contaminants, or impact analysis of proposed land development upon species viability. 6. Environmental Chemistry: ● To study the chemical alterations in the environment. ● Principal areas of study include soil contamination and water pollution. ● The topics of analysis involve chemical degradation in the environment, multi-phase transport of chemicals and chemical effects upon biota. 7. Geo-science: ● It includes environmental geology, environmental soil science, volcanic phenomena and evolution of the earth's crust. ● In some classification systems, it can also embrace hydrology including oceanography. 8. Mathematics and Computer Science: ● It will help in environmental modeling and analysis of environment related data. 9. Economics: ● It deals with the economic aspects of various components of the environment. 10. Law: ● It helps in the framing of environment-related laws, Acts, rules and their monitoring. 11. Social Science: ● It helps in dealing with population and health-related issues 1.2 DEFINITIONS OF ENVIRONMENT: Some important definitions of the environment are as under: 1. According to Boring, ‘A person’s environment consists of the sum total of the stimulation which he receives from his conception until his death.’ Indicating that environment comprises various types of forces such as physical, intellectual, mental, economic, political, cultural, social, moral and emotional. 2. Douglas and Holland defined that ‘The term environment is used to describe, in aggregate, all the external forces, influences and conditions, which affect the life, nature, behaviour and the growth, development and maturity of living organisms’. ENVIRONMENT STUDIES: IMPORTANCE The environment studies make us aware of the importance of protection and conservation of our mother earth and about the destruction due to the release of pollution into the environment. The increase in human and animal population, industries and other issues make the survival cumbersome. A great number of environmental issues have grown in size and make the system more complex day by day, threatening the survival of mankind on earth. Environment studies have become significant for the following reasons: 1. Environment Issues are being of Global: It has been well recognised that environment issues like global warming and ozone depletion, acid rain, marine pollution and biodiversity are not merely national issues but are global issues and hence require international efforts and cooperation to solve them. 2. Development and Environment: Development leads to Urbanization, Industrial Growth, Telecommunication and Transportation Systems, Hi-tech Agriculture and Housing etc. However, it has become phased out in the developed world. The North intentionally moves their dirty factories to the South to cleanse their own environment. When the West developed, it did so perhaps in ignorance of the environmental impact of its activities. Development of the rich countries of the world has undesirable effects on the environment of the entire world. 3. Explosive Increase in Pollution World census reflects that one in every seven persons in this planet lives in India. Evidently, with 16 per cent of the world's population and only 2.4 per cent of its land area, there is heavy pressure on natural resources including land. Agricultural experts have recognized soil health problems like deficiency of micronutrients and organic matter, soil salinity and damage of soil structure. 4. Need for an Alternative Solution It is essential, especially for developing countries to find alternative paths to an alternative goal. We need a goal as under: 1. A true goal of development with environmentally sound and sustainable development. 2. A goal is common to all citizens of our planet earth. 3. A goal distant from the developing world in the manner it is from the over-consuming wasteful societies of the “developed” world. It is utmost important for us to save humanity from extinction because of our activities constricting the environment and depleting the biosphere, in the name of development. 5. Need for Wise Planning of Development Our survival and sustenance depend on resources availability. Hence Resources withdraw, processing and use of the products have all to be synchronised with the ecological cycle. In any plan of development, our actions should be planned ecologically for the sustenance of the environment and development. Keeping in view of the goal of planning for environmentally sustainable development, India contributed to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also referred to as “Earth Summit” held at Rio de Janeiro, the Capital of Brazil, 3rd-14th June 1992