EVS CIA

Shravan Subramanian B

20SJCCC170

Has the advancement of science and technologies affected our

health style and environment in a positive or a negative way?

Industrial development coupled with technological advances

continues to have more of a negative impact on the environment. The
industrial advantages that result from technological advancement in
large-scale operations have indirectly contributed to high living
standards even though the negative side of technology is particularly
noticeable. This is evidenced by the increase in international
discussions through and conferences. The main theme of such
meetings is environmental infringements caused by technology.
Complaints and problems related to technical advancements come
from around the world.

Environmental declination is a growing concern as industrialization

progresses and is increasingly evidenced in developed lands. There
are three major negative technological impacts on the area
discussed in this article. First, the pollution caused by garbage
disposal is a result of technology. The impact of global warming is
the second consequence of emerging technologies. Finally, the
decline in natural resources and the imbalance that exists today are
due to technology. There are multiple other factors that contribute
to the above imbalance (which are listed below)-

Emissions: The most prominent negative effect of technology on the

environment is the pollution it creates. Your laptop or phone may not
emit any carbon emissions but the electricity they use does. Most of
the energy comes from fossil fuels, so when we use more energy, we
cause more pollution. Internet services, such as using mobile data on
your phone, depend on the data centers. These large server
networks use equally substantial amounts of electricity. How much?
Using your phone for just one hour a day can produce 1.4 tons of
carbon dioxide per year. The production and delivery of technology
also leads to more releases. Industries need energy and trucks need
diesel. As the world buys new gadgets, it means more emissions from
the manufacturing and transportation industries.

Depletion of resources: Creating our gadgets requires a lot of

resources, which can be harmful to the environment. All technologies
come from somewhere, so excessive use can deplete the earth's
natural resources. The biggest negative environmental impact of
technology about this is the destruction of the environment. Even if
the industry uses all renewable resources, with continuous
resources, it still needs space. Creating a new facility often involves
such things as deforestation. Removing all this land means that
animals in the area are losing their habitat, which could lead to
danger. Many gadgets contain minerals that companies need to dig
into the world. Removing too many of these can reduce the natural
balance of the area. Even if that is not a problem, the mining process
usually involves a lot of pollution.

Hazardous waste: Another negative impact of technology on the

environment is waste management. New electronics are constantly
emerging, leading users to throw away old ones in order to buy new
devices. All of that is good but only if they are used properly, but
not often. When it comes to throwing away old electronics, you may
not know how to recycle them properly. It’s easier to throw them
into the trash. However, this can be dangerous as many electrical
devices contain toxic metals, which can be dangerous if they leak
into the environment.

In conclusion, a high percentage of environmental problems are a

direct result of technological mismanagement by developers and
users. A small portion of environmental issues are related to
economic, social, and environmental changes resulting from human
activities. Pollution, disruption of ecosystems, depletion of natural
resources and climate change due to global warming are technically
influenced. Technology is essential to the development and growth of
a product to meet human needs, but uncontrolled technology has a
negative impact on the environment.

How has global warming affected the world so far? What is one
effect of global warming that you have personally experienced?

Global warming has taken the world by storm right now. Truth be
told, it always has even before its discovery in 1896 by Swedish
scientist Svante Arrhenius who predicted that excess carbon
dioxide could increase the surface temperature of Earth due to the
greenhouse effect.

The most obvious affect caused by global warming is the increase in

the overall temperature of the planet. This has led to immense heat
in hotter regions, with people dying from heatstroke and not being
able to survive without an AC. Droughts have increased, changes in
rainfall due to changes in temperature have caused more severe
storms, species have become extinct, food has become scarce,
poverty has increased, and I could go on and on.

Personally, the most substantial affect global warming has had on me

is how every year, summer becomes even more unbearable. I still
remember the first time I had to turn my fan to its highest speed
when summer rolled around in 2020, and it’s been like that ever
since. Every time March comes in, the fan goes from its regular
Speed 2 all the way to Speed 5.

I sweat profusely at night, even with the excellent ventilation in my

home. By the time I wake up in the morning, my body is sticky
because of the heat. My mood also becomes more susceptible to
frequent outbursts of anger because of the intense heat. I
automatically become more short-tempered in the summer.
Ice cream is a weekly or bi-weekly affair, despite me being a gym-
goer. Milkshakes and juices are on the other hand, daily. Which
makes it harder to stick to my diet.

And I know for sure that I am not the only one who is so troubled by
the soaring temperatures. Could you imagine the plight of the poor
people who can’t even afford fans? The condition of all the
underpaid construction workers who are exploited by their
managers? The children studying under the streetlights in hopes of
having a better life? It must be a living hell for them, yet they
survive because they are used to it.

But for how long? For how long can we continue to survive in this
carbon-dioxide ridden atmosphere? Surely, there will come a day
when a droplet of water falling on the leaf of deathly plant will cause
it to boil. And most of us would have perished long before that.

So, we cannot wait for our future generations to clean up our mess.
Children learn from adults, and our incompetence will only cause
them to have worse expectations for their surroundings. If there is
a change that has to happen, then the time is now.

How can you relate environment and public health? What are the
measures being taken in India to improve environment health?

Environmental health is a public health field that monitors and deals

with those physical, chemical, and biological factors that we may not
be able to control directly, but that may have an impact on our
health anyway. What your home is made of, what insects live nearby,
and what foods you can access in all can affect your health and the
health of your family. Simply put, environmental health is a public
health facility that addresses all the diverse ways in which the world
around us can affect our physical and mental well-being.

Air Quality: Low air quality has been linked to many health problems,
including sudden infant death syndrome, lung cancer, and Chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease. Air pollution is also associated with
low birth weight. A study published in 2005 found that babies born
to pregnant women exposed to elevated levels of ozone during the
second and third trimesters were more likely than their unborn
peers to be born with low birth weight.

Water and Sanitation: Diseases arising from mediocre quality water

and sanitation are a huge cause of mortality and morbidity
worldwide, especially in children • Diarrhea kills 1.6 million children
every year, more than malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined
(Water Aid). Diarrhea disease caused by contaminated water
contributes to malnutrition and respiratory disease.

Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes: Some harmful chemicals

absorb quickly into the skin, while others do not. Exposure to
harmful chemicals in the human body causes adverse reactions in the
fetus, children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly, but individual
reactions may vary. The fetus and the young child are at greater
risk for adverse reactions than for adults because their developing
organs can be permanently damaged. Other health conditions for
people of all ages include Behavior abnormalities, Cancer,
Physiological malfunctions, Genetic mutations, Physical deformations,
and Birth defects.

Homes and communities: We spend a lot of time at home, at work, or

at school, so it is important that these places are safe with minimal
hazard, and with a healthy lifestyle. If the area is very violent, for
example, families may not go outside to exercise. If the roads are
not properly maintained, it could lead to many car accidents.

India has undertaken several missions to ensure the maintenance of

environmental health. Public participation in the prevention and
control of pollution and environmental degradation has been
facilitated by the provision of necessary technical assistance and
governments has established appropriate mechanisms to respond
promptly to investigations and dispose of public complaints. Detailed
reports are prepared, which identifies the sources of contamination
of the project and indicates in a realistic and timely manner the
steps that need to be taken. Similar reports are prepared on
domestic and agricultural pollution, especially pesticides, resource
sources, and remedial measures. The government has provided
comprehensive and practical guidelines for environmental pollution as
well as procedures and standards for environmental impact
assessment. To promote public awareness, incentives to report
incidents of pollution, forestry, wildlife, and other environmental
issues should be provided.

What the country has achieved so far contradicts the environmental

concerns it still faces. India and the rest of the world have a long
and challenging way to deal with environmental problems, and to
learn to live together in sustainable communities.

“We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly

on Earth as its other creatures do” – Barbara Ward. Elaborate.

Barbara Ward is half right with these words of hers. Being a British
economist and writer who engaged in the advocacy of sustainable
development of countries, she surely was wise in her ways.

Every animal, plant, or micro-organism on this planet has their

natural instinct of selfishness. Whether it be through hunting or
overgrazing, every animal consumes resources from their
surroundings because of their survival instinct. Yet they still
contribute to the ecosystem through their natural roles. The plants
produce and the herbivores eat and get eaten by the predators.
Then the decomposers rewind everything back to the producer level.

But all this good guest behavior isn’t because of their supposed eco-
friendly activities in the environment. Its just because they haven’t
learnt how to rationalize like a human being. In hindsight, animals
still cause harm to the environment every day. Elephants uproot
trees to reach food, cows increase atmospheric methane with their
flatulence, goats overgraze causing erosion, rats spread the plague,
swarms of locusts destroy vegetation, and the sole purpose of a
virus is to reproduce without any concern for its host.

The only reason they aren’t able to cause enough destruction to the
environment like humans do is because – you guessed it; they aren’t
as smart as humans. Were they as powerful as us, any other
organism would surely dominate the planet with their brains.

Being at the top of the food chain comes at a price. Humans cause
imbalances within their own species. Poverty segregation, racism,
sexism and other forms of discrimination are rampant. In our day-
to-day life, we do not even think about the problems we cause to the
environment because to an individual, even the slightest pimple on
their face is a more concerning matter than raging fires in the
Amazon rainforest. And this mentality is consistent for all
organisms.

But the reason why humans are such bad guests compared to our
wilder counterparts is because of the massive scale at which we
alter the ecosystem of a place. When we want to clear a forest area
for farming, we don’t just cut a tree. We bulldoze entire acres of
forests. When we want to travel to our workplace, we don’t just walk
for an hour or two. We go there in our vehicles quicker, but with the
drawback of polluting the air. When a stray dog bites a person, we
don’t just catch it. We catch every dog there and in the surrounding
areas as well to euthanize them.

We don’t even spare ourselves. Before, it was just battling with

sticks and stones. But because of the increase in population and
invention of modern weaponry, now it is full-blown world wars with
thousands of people dying due to bullets and missiles. The ever-
lasting dread of a nuke being dropped on us at any time of the day is
also always present.
The only possible solution to end this heavy treading on the planet is
for the entire human race to become more empathetic towards all
lifeforms as a whole. But the biological drive to continue conquering
lands and consume endless resources is always there, leaving us with
an inevitable outcome.