MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course

Environmental
Conservation

Notes 18
WATER AND ENERGY CONSERVATION

You have already learnt in the previous lesson 16 that water and energy are required for
survival of all organisms. You have also learnt that there is growing shortage of water and
energy which limits growth and development. Human beings, through overexploitation of
water resources have made water scarce. Pollution of natural water bodies such as sea,
rivers, lakes etc., have made their water unusable. The problem of growing shortages of
two essential resources namely water and energy can be solved only through their wise
use and effective conservation. In this lesson, you shall learn about water and energy
conservation.

OBJECTIVES
After completing this lesson, you will be able to :
• list the factors responsible for increasing water demand;
• describe the various methods for conservation of water;
• explain the need and importance of water conservation and sustainable
management;
• describe national river conservation plan;
• define energy and explain the use of energy for human society; list various
conventional and non-conventional sources of energy;
• explain how to improve energy efficiency in home, place of work, transport and
industry;
• learn about various energy conservation programmes being carried out in the
country.

18.1 WATER AS A NATURAL RESOURCE

Water is an indispensable, natural resource as no life can exist without water. It is also
renewable and reusable. Scientists estimate that nearly three fourths of earth is covered

58
 Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
with water of the ocean, seas, rivers, lakes, snow, glaciers and ground water as you have
already learnt in lesson 8 of the module-3. However, only less than 1% of this water is
fresh water and usable for living organisms including humans. Though water cycle ((Fig.
18.1) throughout the year, everywhere, it is being overused and some of it is even wasted.
Hence, water conservation has become very necessary. At present, one-third of the global Notes
population is facing acute water shortage. In the villages, women have to walk long distances
to fetch water. In certain hilly areas, women may have to walk as much as ten kilometers
uphill to reach a well. According to UN estimates, by 2025, almost two-third of the world
will face shortage of potable (fit for drinking) water. We have to be cautious about using
water and devise methods of conserving it. But first let us understand as to what made
water scarce.

Fig. 18.1: Water cycle

18.2 FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR INCREASING

WATER DEMAND
Following factors for responsible for increasing water demand are as follows:
a. Expansion of irrigation
b. Increasing demand by industry
c. Rising demand due to growing population
d. Increasing water use due to changing life style

(a) Expansion of irrigation

India is an agricultural country hence plenty of water is needed for irrigation. 5.36 billion
cubic meter water was used for irrigation in the year 2000. It is 81% of the total water
used. The remaining percentage (19%) of water was used for domestic, industrial and
other purposes mentioned above. There has been a rapid increase in the irrigated area in

59
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
India since independence. Thus the demand for irrigation in India has been increasing
continuously. The reasons for the increasing demand of irrigation are:
• regional and seasonal variation in the distribution of rainfall.
• uncertainty of rainy season.
Notes
• growing demand of water for commercial crops.
• changing cropping pattern.
More efficient and environmentally sound irrigation technologies can greatly reduce water
demands and waste on fields by delivering water more precisely to crops. For example,
low pressure sprinklers (allows 80% of water to reach crops)and microirrigation (delivers
small amounts of water precisely to crops). Israel now treats and reuses 30% of its municipal
sewage water for crop production and plans to increase their percentage to 80% by
2025.

However, many of the world’s poor farmers cannot afford most of the modern technological
methods for increasing irrigation and irrigation efficiency. Instead, they use low cost
traditional technologies which use up huge amount of water.

(b) Industrial use of water

Most industries require water at various stages of production of goods and products.
Water is used in industries in both consumptive and non-consumptive ways. Be it agro-
based industries (cotton, textile, jute, sugar and paper) or mineral based industries (iron,
steel, chemical and cement). Water is needed in large amounts during the production
process or as heat exchanger for cooling various machine parts which get heated up during
the production process.

In power plants water is used as a power source as well as a cooling agent. The ore and
oil refining industries use water in various chemical processes.

(c) Rising demand for growing population

Population of India has been increasing continuously and it has increased three times since
independence. Due to this increase in population, the demand for water has increased. We
need water for drinking, for flushing or draining sewage or human waste, domestic use,
irrigation, industries.

• Rising demand for water due to growing population is a single most important factor
leading to water scarcity in our country and elsewhere.
• It is becoming impossible for the state to supply clean drinking water to its people.
• Most other human activities like washing, cleaning, cooking, flushing of waste etc.
require water.

60
 Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
• More the number of people more is the demand for water to carry out day to day
work.
(d) Changing life style
Industrial development led to economic development. Purchasing capacity of individuals Notes
has increased. Thus the life style of people changed and the standard of living has gone up.
Large number of attractive appliances, gadgets and fittings for kitchen and bathroom are
available in the market and people are generally tempted to use them, for example taps
and showers are designed in such a way that large amounts of water come out when they
are turned on. Washing machines and dishwashers use large amounts of water but are
convenient and suit the present day life style.
Lot of water is used for recreational purposes like ‘water parks’ are becoming extremely
favorite place for people to enjoy holidays. Most of the sports or games here require huge
quantity of water.Although much of the water used in various water games are actually
recycled and reused.
Water in the reservoirs are used for recreational purposes –boating, swimming and angling
etc. Golf is becoming a very favorite sport and many golf courses are coming up at various
places. Golf courses use excessive amount of water for its maintenance. Private and public
gardens too require water for their maintenance.

We receive the second highest rainfall in the world, first being Brazil, but much less
rain water infiltrates the soil or is retained to increase water table. A sizeable amount
of water is drained as run off (moving out from the soil surface) draining into the sea.

Public and private swimming pools require water supply and sanitation.

18.2 VARIOUS METHODS FOR CONSERVATION OF WATER

You must have realized that it is crucial to conserve water. You may do your bit
(1) by making people aware of water scarcity so that they may use it judiciously. (2) never
waste water. Get leaking pipes and taps required. Use only as much as water needed. (3)
Close taps between brushing your teeth, bathing and shaving. It hardly required efforts to
open and closed taps. (4) collect rain water and use for domestic use. Remember it is
clean water.

We can do conservation of water by using various methods such as reforestation, re-use,

recycle, increase water use efficiency, water harvesting and ground water recharge.

(i) Reforestation

There is a continuous interchange of moisture between earth and atmosphere, constituting

the hydrological cycle. The movement of water through the hydrological cycle has a major

61
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
influence on rainfall distribution and temperature modification. Plants play an important
role in hydrological cycle through the process of transpiration. In tropical forests, 75% of
the annual precipitation is returned to the atmosphere by the plants. Thus forests play a
very important role in maintaining water balance of the soil and atmosphere. Forests play
Notes a protective function and conserve soil and water.

Forests provide major ecological services like-

• support energy flow and chemical cycling.
• reduce soil erosion.
• absorb and release water.
• purify water.
• purify air.
• influence local and regional climate.
• store atmospheric carbon.
Cutting down of large areas of forest reduces the ecological services provided by the
forest and it can lead to regional and global climate change.

Deforestation is the temporary or permanent removal of large areas of forest for agriculture
or other uses.

Reforestation is the process of planting of trees on the deforested area or of increased tree
cover from regrowth and planting of trees (plantations). Reforestation increases soil fertility
by preventing soil erosion, prevents run-off of eroded soil into aquatic systems and prevents
flooding. Thus reforestation plays a major role in conservation of water.

(ii) Recycling of water

The wastewater from industrial or domestic sources can be used after proper treatment
for irrigation, recharging ground water and even for industrial and municipal use.

Agricultural lands close to cities can be irrigated with municipal wastewater. Household
level recycled ‘grey water’ (untreated household water which does not come in contact
with toilet waste) can be used for various purposes.

Grey water from shower, bath, washbasins, laundry troughs and washing machines can be
put to various uses to reduce pure water requirement. Pure water after used in bath and
shower can be used for watering plants.

(iii) Reuse of wastewater

Wastewater containing lots of nutrients. These nutrients may help the growth of plants
when such water is used in irrigation.

62
 Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
Reuse of wastewater occurs most effectively with on-site or small treatment system. The
reuse option in the local context at the community level must be seriously considered.
(iv) Water harvesting
Water harvesting is collecting rainwater that falls on a house or on and around any building Notes
and then putting it to use later on or simply replenishing the ground water by allowing the
water to reach underground.
Time has come when we should work on our ancient methods of water management
including capturing of water from swollen streams and rivers during monsoon season and
storing it in various forms of water bodies.
(v) Recharging of groundwater
The available groundwater is about 13-20 times as much as water available on surface.
The groundwater consists of water contained in the soil or aquifers (underground natural
water reservoir).

• Flood water may be injected into aquifers through series of deep pits or ditches.
• Small reservoirs and percolation tanks can be dug to hold runoff water recharging
ground water.
• Storm water, used water (municipal and domestic), domestic drains can be fed into
pits, trenches, depressions to be filtered and percolated through the soil for recharging
ground water.
• Desiltation of canals and tanks should be done regularly.
• Premonsoon tillage of fields help to conserve soil moisture.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.1

1. State any three factors responsible for increase in water demand.
______________________________________________________________
2. Name two environmentally effective systems of irrigation.
______________________________________________________________
3. Why should water be conserved?
______________________________________________________________
4. Mention any two ways an individual can help in conserving water.
______________________________________________________________
5. Mention one important cause of water scarcity in our country.
______________________________________________________________

63
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
18.3 MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
The total amount of water available for use by humans is limited. In view of the variability
of rainfall in our country, this precious resource needs to be effectively managed and
Notes conserved. Due to the unwise use of water resources by our enormously large population
and poor distribution and maintenance practices, the existing system has resulted in serious
shortages.

Effective management and conservation of water has to incorporate the following two
strategies:

(1) Reduction in loss and wastage of water.

(2) Harvesting, collection and improved storage of water.

18.3.1 Reduction in wastage of water

Reduction in wastage of water can be best achieved by launching awareness campaigns to

involve all sections of the society for the conservation of water. Such awareness is possible
through different media such as newspapers, radio and TV. Other ways would be to
organize short plays, street plays or lectures.

• Any agency either government or otherwise responsible for water meters and charging
for water use should make it a point to install efficient meters and decide to charge a
rate which will force the public to reduce use of municipal water.
• Tap, shower flow restrictors and low volume toilet flushes can help in reducing water
use.
• Any leak in water pipes and faucets should be detected and repaired immediately.
• Lawns and gardens should be watered in the early morning or late in the evening so
that water evaporation losses are minimized.
• Rain water is the major source of water for irrigation of agricultural fields in the country
and for recharging the ground water. Rain fall is restricted to three months in a year
therefore rain water should be stored and use of ground water well planned as ground
water is a renewable water source and gets replenished by natural process of recharge.
Loss of water through seepage and evaporation, water wasted on weeds, cost of
bringing water from ponds to place of use should be minimized.

18.3.2 Harvesting, collecting, recharging of ground water and water storage

1. Recharging of ground water
• Flood waters may be injected into aquifers (underground water reservoirs) through
series of deep pits or ditches.

64
Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
• Small reservoirs and percolation tanks can be dug to hold run off water recharging
ground water. (Fig. 18.2)
• Rain water harvesting carried out by building power for recharging ground water.
• Storm water, used water, domestic drains can be fed into pits, trenches, depressions Notes
to be filtered and percolated through the soil for recharging ground water.
• Desiltation of canals and tanks should be done regularly.
• Pre-monsoon tillage of fields helps to conserve soil moisture.

Fig. 18.2: Collection of rain water

2. Removal of pollutants to transform polluted water into usable form
• Proper treatment of domestic and municipal waste water which is rich in organic matter
and pathogens material also helps to conserve water. Treatment ensures the removal
of pollutants, germs and toxic elements.
• Growing algae or floating masses of water hyacinth also helps in cleaning the water
polluted by absorbing phosphates, nitrates and other nutrients. These aquatic plants
can be harvested for producing biogas.

18.4 NATIONAL RIVER CONSERVATION PLAN

There are several small and large rivers in India such as Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra,
Sutlej, Krishna, Narmada, Kaveri, Godavari etc.
Many of the Indian rivers are polluted and their waters over large stretches are unfit for
human use. River pollution is mostly from discharge of effluents by industries, and cities
developed along river courses.
To clean up the rivers, massive action plans have been launched by the Government of
India.

65
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
Two important action plans are:
1. Ganga Action Plan
2. Yamuna Action Plan
Notes Ganga Action Plan or GAP: Ganga is the largest and most important Indian river. It is
2,525 Km long. The watershed of river Ganga spreads over ten Indian states. The major
cause of Ganga water pollution is unrestricted discharge of untreated sewage and industrial
effluents all along its course. Ganga Action Plan (GAP) is an ambitious and first of its kind
river cleaning project. Ganga Action Plan(GAP) has been launched by the Government
of India to clean the river Ganga.

The first phase of the project was completed in 1993.

Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) was implemented in April, 1993 under the banner-
^^;equk dks LoPN cukuk gSA
ge lcdks gkFk cVkuk gSA**
Yamuna is a major tributary of the river Ganga.

Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) aims at cleaning and conserving water of the river Yamuna by
removing pollutants from it.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.2

1. State in a sentence how TV can help in spreading awareness regarding water
conservation.
______________________________________________________________
2. Why is it more sensible to irrigate plants and lawns in early morning or late evening?
______________________________________________________________
3. In your opinion what can be done to motivate people to reduce wastage of water?
______________________________________________________________
4. State one method of recharging ground water.
______________________________________________________________
5. What is the role of algae or aquatic plants like water hyacinth in removing pollutants
from waste water?
______________________________________________________________
6. What are GAP and YAP?
______________________________________________________________

66
 Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
7. Why is such action plans undertaken?
______________________________________________________________
8. Name two more important rivers of our country?
______________________________________________________________ Notes

18.6 ENERGY CONSERVATION

What is energy?

Energy may be defined as the capacity to do work. Energy can be transformed from one
form to another form. Energy gets used up? When used and accordingly energy cannot be
recycled like nutrients. You have already learnt in earlier lessons that the sources of energy
may be (i) renewable or (ii) non-renewable. However, energy can neither be created nor
destroyed and can not be recycled.

18.6.1 Use of energy by society

Human beings and all other living organisms require energy for their activity and physiological
functions. Living organisms obtain this energy required by them from food and is in the
form of a chemical compound adenosine –tri –phosphate (ATP). This compound is
synthesized mainly during the oxidation of food which occurs during cellular respiration.

You already know that in nature, transfer of energy takes place through the food chains
(refers Fig. 5.2, lesson-5) the ultimate source of energy is the sun. Plants use solar energy
for photosynthesis and they are called producers. Herbivores eat plants. They are the
consumers. Carnivores eat herbivores. In this way, energy is transferred from one organism
to another. Some energy is, however, always lost as heat.

Apart from energy required for one’s own body processes, humans need energy for carrying
out various kinds of activities.
• Heat or electrical energy is required for cooking and heating
• Electricity is required for lighting bulbs and tube lights, running fans, coolers and air
conditioners.
• Fuel such as petrol or diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) is required in vehicles
such as cars, buses, trains, trucks, aeroplanes which are responsible for transporting
human beings and goods from one place to another.
• Energy (electricity) is required for pumping water up the multi-storied buildings.
• Energy is required for the various industrial processes that ultimately result in the
manufacture of different kinds of goods.

67
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
• Energy is required in agriculture, for irrigation, tractors and other farm machines, spraying
pesticides.
• Energy is required in power generation e.g. rotating the turbines in hydro-electrical
power generations.
Notes
Thus energy is a very important resource for human beings.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.3

1. Define energy.
______________________________________________________________
2. List four human activities for which energy is required.
______________________________________________________________
3. Name the energy compound synthesized by human beings.
______________________________________________________________

18.7 CONVENTIONAL AND NON-CONVENTIONAL

SOURCES OF ENERGY
The conventional sources of energy are the fossil fuels. It took millions of years for the
formation of fossil fuels, hence they are limited and non-renewable. Fossils are remains
of organisms that lived in the past and fossil fuels are plants that got buried under earth that
became rock over years. Fossil fuels have to be unearthed from mines.

Most fossil fuels release energy as heat. The types of fossil fuels are:

1. Coal is solid. It is mined and then transported in trucks and trains. In our country coal
mines are found in Raniganj, Jharia and Dhanbad in Bihar.
2. Oil is liquid which is pumped out from the ground after drilling a well. It is sent to far
away places in oil tankers or pipe lines. Oil (petroleum) is used in automobiles and
aeroplanes. In India oil is found along the west coast and in Digboi oil fields, Assam.
3. Natural gas is a mixture of gases. The gas we use for cooking which comes in cylinders
is LPG or Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Compressed Natural gas or CNG is used in
the public transport vehicles (buses, scooters, auto-rickshaws and taxi).
Oil and natural gas are fossils of phytoplankton (floating algae) which lived millions of
years ago and sank to ocean bottom when they died. Over years, under pressure and
heat, they became petroleum and filled reservoirs underneath the sea bed.

68
Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
Till about five decades ago, human beings were not worried about the exhaustion of fossil
fuel. But as population increased and consumption of fossil fuels became enormous,
environmentalists began to talk about fossil fuels as non-renewable and limited (last for
limited period of time) and scientists began to think and discuss about other sources of
energy (non-conventional), which were till then used by humans to some extent only. Notes
Non-conventional sources of energy are:
• solar energy
• wind energy
• hydel power
• tidal energy
• geothermal power
• energy from biomass.
These resources are renewable and almost inexhaustible. Of these solar energy or
energy from the sun is very important. It is widespread in nature is non-polluting and
available free of cost. Solar energy is now harnessed through “solar panels” directly
which heat homes by solar radiations, solar photovoltaic cells used in solar TVs and solar
thermal energy is used to cook food in solar cookers (Fig. 18.5). Solar energy is also used
in industries. Hinge

Mirrored Lid

Double Glass Lid

Hinge

Inner Cooking Box

Cooking Containers
Outer box

Handle

Fig. 18.5: Solar cooker

Wind energy
Wind energy has been traditionally used to lift water for domestic purposes and irrigation
of fields. Kinetic energy of wind is converted into electrical energy and used.
Hydro-power (Hydel power)
Many dams have been built on rivers to store water at a height and then potential energy of
the stored mass of water is converted to kinetic energy by letting the massive water flow

69
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
over turbines. Thus electrical energy is obtained converting potential energy of the mass
of water.
Tidal energy

Notes Tidal energy is the energy of ocean or sea waves which derive energy from wind which in
turn is driven by solar energy. Tidal energy can be transformed into electrical energy.
Geothermal power
Geothermal power is the heat energy or thermal energy present in the earth’s crust. The
heat in the uppermost part of earth is readily accessible and can be used to generate
electricity.

Energy from biomass

Biomass is plant matter produced as a result of photosynthesis. Some of it can be burnt to
provide heat, for example wood, agricultural waste. Biomass can also be used for power
generation or converted into alcohol (liquid or methane gas) to be used as fuel. Since
these are obtained from plant material, they are called bio-fuels.

Biomass is renewable energy and shall be available as long as plants grow on earth. Thus
for supplying fuel wood, fast growing trees like oil palm, species such as Euphorbia,
Jatropha etc. are planted. Another use of biomass as fuel is to collect agricultural waste
and crop residues and animal manure.

Organic wastes, sewage and any other solid biomass can be converted by bacteria into
biofuels such as biogas. Biogas digesters (Fig. 18.6) are large vessels in which organic
wastes (plants and animals waste) are made to undergo bacterial fermentation and produce
biogas which can be used for heating and cooking. Biogas is a mixture of methane and
carbon-di-oxide. Methane can be obtained by anaerobic (in absence of air) digestion of
manure and sludge of sewage treatment units by means of anaerobic bacteria.

Fig. 18.6: Biogas digester

70
 Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
Recently, the idea of using ethanol as car fuel is doing the rounds. It is made from sugar
cane, sorghum, corn or beet root by fermentation and distillation. Pure ethanol may be
used and there is no need to change the engine for using ethanol in place of petrol.

Biodiesel
Notes
India has many varieties of oilseed plants. Biodiesel may be get from vegetable oils. Some
oil yielding trees that can give biodiesel are (1) Ratanjot or Jatropha curcas (2) Nagchampa
or Callophyllum ionophyllum (3) Rubber seeds or Hevea braziliensis. Biodiesel does
not contain any petroleum but it substitutes for petroleum in the same conventional engines.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.4

1. Distinguish between non-renewable and renewable sources of energy.
______________________________________________________________
2. Name one conventional and one non-conventional sources of energy.
______________________________________________________________
3. Name three fossil fuels.
______________________________________________________________
4. Name one biodiesel yielding plant.
______________________________________________________________
5. What do you mean by (a) biomass and (b) biogas?
______________________________________________________________
6. Name two chemical compounds which can be called biofuel.
______________________________________________________________
7. Why are they termed biofuels?
______________________________________________________________

18.8 IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

At home

• Do not waste electricity. Switch off lights and fans when not in use, minimize use by
sharing to sit and work at one place.

71
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
• Use fuel efficient hearths (chulhas) for cooking. Do not use smoking stoves.
• Cut only dry branches of trees for burning.
• Use the gas at simmer level. it saves cooking gas and makes cooked item healthier
Notes and tastier.
• Keep material ready for cooking before lighting the gas so that it does not burn
unnecessarily.
• Use solar cookers for heating and cooking.
At work place

• Use car pool to reach office – share the transport vehicles.

• Switch off lights and fan when not used. Does not matter if somebody else is paying
bills. It is not about saving money so much as it is about saving power.
• Computer to be switched off when not in use.
In transport

• To use public transport system as much as possible instead of using personally owned
vehicles.
• Car speed should be maintained as far as possible 50 to 60km/hr. Moderate driving;
driving at lower speeds.
• Do not use choke unless necessary. When choke is used, put it off as soon as engine
is warmed up, if there is a starting trouble, depress clutch to start the engine.
• Take care to check and mend leak if fuel tanks and exhausts of vehicles.
• Turning off a vehicles engine at stops rather than idling.

18.9 PROMOTION OF SOLAR ENERGY(POWER) IN INDIA

India is both densely populated and has high solar insolation, providing an ideal combination
for using solar power in India.

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) have initiated schemes and
incentives-like subsidy, easy loan, concessional duty on raw material imports, excise
duty exemption on certain devices/systems etc. to encourage and use of solar energy
systems.
• The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) provides financial helps
for the purchase of PV (Photovoltaic) systems.

72
Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
• Government is planning to set up 10 million square meter solar collector area by
2022. This will conserve electricity equivalent to that generated from a 500 MW
power plant.
• The state of West Bengal has initiated to make the use of solar power mandatory in
Notes
new multi-storied buildings.
• Rajasthan government has set aside a 35,000 km2 areas of the Thar desert for solar
power.
• Rural electrification can be done for about 2700 village by using SPV (Solar
photovoltaic) systems.
• Currently many companies in India are engaged in manufacturing PVs.
• Australian government has come forward to train next generation solar energy engineers
specially from India and China as a part of the Asia-Pacific partnership (APP) on
Clean Development and Climate. Many programmes have been designed under this
for rural solar energy usuage.
• In the agriculture sector, solar PV water pumping systems are used for irrigation and
drinking water. Solar driers are used to dry harvests before storage.
• Solar cookers, solar energy used for supply of hot water in hospitals, hotels and large
kitchens have solved the problem of electricity to some extent and if needs to be
extended.

(i) Promotion of CFLs (Compact Fluorscent Light Bulbs)

• Mercury is an essential element in the operation of fluorescent lighting. It allows the
bulbs to be an efficient light source.
• CFLs use less electricity than traditional light bulbs (75%) less), they reduce demand
for electricity.
• CFLs contain very small amount of mercury-an average of 4 milligrams in each bulb.
• No mercury is released when bulbs are intact or in use, however, it is important to be
careful in the disposal of these products.
• Most people have started using CFLs at home to cut down their electricity bill.
• Government offices and institutions have replaced traditional light bulbs with CFLs.

(ii) Use of star rating of electrical equipments

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is an agency of the Government of India, under the
Ministry of Power created in March, 2002 under the provision of Energy Conservation

73
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
Act. The agency’s function is to develop programs which will increase the conservation
and efficient uses of energy in India.

• The government has proposed to make it mandatory or compulsory for appliances in

India to have ratings by the BEE starting in January 2010.
Notes
• The BEE Star Energy Efficiency Labels have been created to standardize the energy
efficiency ratings of different electrical appliances and indicate energy consumption
under standard test conditions.
• These labels indicate the energy efficiency levels through the number of stars highlighted
in colour on the label.
• Star rating system ranges from one star (least energy efficient thus least money saved)
to five stars (most energy efficient, thus most money saved).
Refrigerators, Air conditioners, washing machines, lighting systems etc. will bear the star
levels to indicate their energy efficiency.

(iii) Transport and energy

The transport sector is the fastest growing source of green house gases (carbondioxide
(CO2), Methane (CH4) Nitrous oxides (N2O)). Of the total green house gas emissions
from transport, over 85% are due to CO2 emissions from road transport vehicles.

Reducing energy waste requires improving energy efficiency by using less energy to do
more useful work. Reducing such energy waste has numerous economic and environmental
advantages.

• The best way to save energy in transportation is to increase the fuel efficiency of motor
vehicles.
• Fuel efficient vehicles powered by a hybrid gas-electric engine and electric vehicles
powered by fuel cells running on hydrogen are being developed.
• Fuel cells are about twice as efficient as internal combustion engines, have no moving
parts, require little maintenance and produce little or no pollution.
• Reva is a small electric car developed in our country. Use of small sized cars instead of
big cars and using two wheelers can go a long way in saving energy.
• Large reductions in energy costs can be done by using vehicles with efficient engine
that reduces consumption of petroleum (i.e. petroleum electric hybrid vehicle) or
preferably that uses renewable energy sources throughout its working life.
• Using biofuels instead of petroleum fuels is a new field where government of India is
giving a lot of attention at the moment.

74
Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation

INTEXT QUESTIONS 18.5

1. Mention how you improve energy efficient at home, at work place and in transport
sector. Give two points in each. Notes
______________________________________________________________
2. Expand the following:
MNRE, IREDA, CFL
______________________________________________________________
3. Why have people started using CFL at homes?
______________________________________________________________
4. What does BEE stand for? What is its function?
______________________________________________________________
5. What is the difference between ‘one star’ and ‘five star’ refrigerators?
______________________________________________________________

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

• Water is an indispensable natural resource.
• Sources of usable water are rivers, lakes, ponds, tanks and groundwater
• Several factors responsible for water scarcity are –
(i) Increased demand of an increasing population.
(ii) Increasing demand by expansion of irrigation and its demand.
(iii) Increasing water use due to changing in lifestyle.
(iv) Silting of rivers
(v) Bad management of water resources.
• Since water is needed for domestic purposes, in industries, irrigation and rearing
livestock, its conservation is absolutely necessary.
• Water may be conserved by proper management of water resource. this can be in
four directions:(i) Reducing wastage of water, (ii) Storage, (iii)Recharging and (iv)
Harvesting of water.

75
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
• Water wastage is best reduced by generating public awareness through the media,
enforcement by the government and by individual efforts.
• Water harvesting is through collection of rainwater, regular desiltation of canals and
ponds, injecting flood waters into aquifers.
Notes
• Another way of obtaining usable water is by removing pollutants from freshwater
bodies.
• Our rivers Ganges and Yamuna had been polluted and are being cleaned through the
river action plans.
• Energy is defined as the capacity to do work.Energy is renewable and non-renewable.
• Conventional sources of energy are fossil fuels whereas non conventional sources are
solar, wind, hydel power, tidal, geothermal and biomass energies.
• Biofuels are obtained from plants and plant products and may be in the form of liquid
(Bioethanol) may be obtained as gases CO2 and CH4 (bio gas). Oil seeds of plants
like Jatropha, Hevea and Callophyllum yield biodiesel.
• Certain careful actions at home and place of work can save energy.
• India has a well chalked out electricity conservation programme.
• Promotion of solar energy power in India and promotion of CFL.
• Star rating of electrical equipments by BEE, an agency of Government of India under
Energy Conservation Act.
• Development of fuel efficient vehicles to reduce emission of green house gaese as well
as to reduce energy waste.

TERMINAL EXERCISE
1. State the factors responsible for water scarcity.
2. Mention the strategies for water conservation.
3. What is water harvesting? In what ways can it be done?
4. Write short notes on: Ganga Action and Yamuna Action Plan.
5. What are conventional and non-conventional energy resources? Explain with examples.
6. What are bio fuels?
7. Write notes on (i) Biogas digesters (ii) Biodiesel (iii) Fossil fuels
8. What are the ways of conserving energy as an individual?

76
 Water and Energy Conservation MODULE - 5
Environmental
Conservation
9. What is the need for making electrical gadgets/equipments with star rating?
10. How can transport vehicles be made energy efficient?
11. Mention three ways of using solar energy as an energy resource.
Notes

ANSWER TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

18.1
1. Increasing demand by industry, Rising demand due to growing population, Expansion
of irrigation, Increasing water use due to changing life style (any two).
2. Low pressure sprinklers and micro irrigation.
3. To overcome the problem of scarcity of water, we need to judicious use of water and
conserved it for use of future generations.
4. Use water very judiciously. To repair leaking pipes and taps to collect rain water for
domestic use.
5. Growing population.
18.2
1. Awareness programmes in the form of small skits or conversation or cartoons can
reach a large population.
2. Because transpiration is low so water loss is reduced.
3. Change an appropriate amount on water consumption.
4. Divert supply from region of surplus to that of scarcity. Feed used water into pits/
inject flood waters into aquifers / desilt canals/ hold runoff water/ till fields before
monsoon/ harvest rain water (any two)
5. They take up phosphates and nitrates from water bodies.
6. Ganga Action Plan and Yamuna action plan.
7. Because the rivers Yamuna and Ganga got badly polluted.
8. Krishna/ Kaveri/ Godavari/ Rabi / Brahmaputra/ Narmada (any other)
18.3
1. Capacity to do work
2. Cooking, using electrical gadgets, fuel for vehicles in industries and agriculture
3. ATP or Adenosine trphosphate.

77
MODULE - 5 Environmental Science Senior Secondary Course
Environmental
Conservation
18.4
1. Non renewable is limited in supply; Renewable energy is available in an unlimited
amount.

Notes 2. Conventional- coal or petroleum: Non-conventional-solar/hydel/ tidal/ biomass

3. Coal, natural gas, Petroleum (oil).
4. Jatropha/ Callophyllum/ Hevea (Rubber).
5. Biomass = plant matter.
Biogas = Gas used as fuel, containing CH4 and made by action of anaerobic bacteria
on organic waste.
6. Ethanol, Methane.
7. Because they are obtained from plants or by bacteria both of which are biological
organisms.
18.5
1. i. Switch of light, fan and AC when not in use, use gas at simmer level, it saves cooking
gas.
ii. Switch off light, fan and AC when not in use, use car pool to reach office, use CFL,
computer to be switch off when not in use.
iii. Car speed should be maintained at 50-60 km/h, turn off a vehicle engine at stops
rather than idling. (Any other)
2. MNRE- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; IREDA- The Indian Renewable
Energy Development Agency; CFL- Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
3. Energy consumption is low hence cuts down electricity bill.
4. Bureau of Energy Efficiency – the function of BEE is to develop programme to increase
conservation and efficient uses of energy in India.

78