Q4.

Environmental ethics is a branch of ethics that studies the relation of

human beings and the environment and how ethics play a role in
this. It is the discipline that studies the moral relationship of human
beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and
its nonhuman content.

Environmental ethics believe that humans are a part of society as well

as other living creatures, which includes plants and animals. These
items are a very important part of the world and are considered to be
a functional part of human life. Therefore, it is essential that every
human being respected and honor this and use morals and ethics when
dealing with these creatures.

The practical purpose of environmental ethics, they maintain is to provide moral

grounds for social policies aimed at protecting the earth’s environment and
remedying environmental degradation.

It aims to ensure that ecosystem services are protected and maintained for future
human generation. It identifies factors affected by conflicts that rise between
meeting needs and protecting resources. It is thus linked to environmental
protection and sustainability.

Environmental Ethics are important as it makes the society aware of indiscriminate

and destructive human activities.

It inculcates moral values towards nature and learn to respect various life forms.

Human activities have made global warming and climate change a global threat. The rising
levels of CO2 andother greenhouse gases have caused an increase in average global
temperatures, extreme weather events, rising
sea levels and other negative changes. These changes are directly and indirectly affecting all
life forms. Pollution
of air, land and water through excessive deforestation, industrialization and overfilling
landfills which emits CO2
and adds to greenhouse gas emissions are all topmost causes of these environmental issues.

Rapid urban development, improper sewage disposal by industries, oil spills, disposal of
chemical and radioactive
wastes, and plastic pollution are some of the major causes of water pollution. Today, water
scarcity and polluted
water are posing a big threat to the human existence across many nations of the world.

Biodiversity helps maintain the balance of the ecosystem and provides biological resources
which are crucial for
our existence. Habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, secondary extinction and
introduced species are a
few ways in which humans are wreaking havoc on the biodiversity of this planet.
As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the amount of waste that people
produce. Plastic waste and
e-waste is affecting the whole earth, including mankind, wildlife, and aquatic life. It is
spreading like a disease
which has no cure. We all must realize the harmful impact it has on our lives and
environment

Improve waste compaction in landfills with smart technology like stationary compactors
which helps free up
space for other constructive uses. It comes in varying capacities and configurations for
handling different
volumes of trash.

Government should create and implement stricter policies and laws related to conservation
of biodiversity.

Expand the network which monitors the measuring of acidity levels to provide researchers
and shellfish
farmers with long-term and real-time pH data.

Awareness and adaption are two key steps towards conserving this boon called
environment. Each one of us can
and should do their bit to curb the effects of these environmental issues and ensure that our
future
generations have a healthy planet to live.

Implementing recycling habits into your daily life is one of the most effective ways to help
lessen
landfill waste, conserve natural resources, save habitats, reduce pollution, cut down on
energy consumption,
and slow down global warming.

Q3.The figures A,B and C are ecological

pyramids. These are the graphical
representation of the relationship between
various biotic components at various trophic
levels within an ecosystem
The producers and consumers are arranged in the ecosystem in a definite manner and their
interaction along with population size are expressed together as trophic structure
Each food level is known as trophic level
 1.The number of living species, their biomass
and energy differ at Each trophic level.
2.On that basis ecological pyramid may be
straight or inverted.
3.Ecological pyramid not only shows us the
feeding patterns of organisms in different
ecosystems, but can also give us an insight
into how inefficient energy transfer is, and
show the influence that a change in numbers
at one trophic level can have on the trophic
levels above and below it.
There are three types of ecological pyramids- pyramid of numbers
pyramid of biomass
Pyramid of energy
  Pyramid of energy is always upright because the energy
flow in a food chain is always unidirectional.

 With every increasing trophic level, some energy is lost

into the environment and never goes back to the sun.
Q1.

Q5.
Solid wastes: wastes in solid forms, domestic, commercial and
industrial wastes

Examples:
plastics, styrofoam containers, bottles,
cans, papers, scrap iron, and other trash

According to EPA regulations, SOLID WASTE is

Any garbage or refuse (Municipal Solid Waste)

Sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water

supply treatment plant, or air pollution control
facility

Other discarded material

Solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous

material from industrial, commercial, mining, and
agricultural operations, and from community
activities

Classification of Wastes according

to their Properties

Bio-degradable

can be degraded (paper, wood, fruits

and others)

Non-biodegradable

cannot be degraded (plastics, bottles,

old machines, cans, styrofoam containers
and others)

Classification of Wastes according to

their Effects on Human Health and the
Environment

Hazardous wastes

Substances unsafe to use commercially,

industrially, agriculturally, or economically
and have any of the following properties-
ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity & toxicity.

Non-hazardous

Substances safe to use commercially,

industrially, agriculturally, or economically
and do not have any of those properties
mentioned above. These substances usually
create disposal problems.

Classification of wastes according to their

origin and type

Municipal Solid wastes: Solid wastes that include household garbage, rubbish,
construction & demolition debris, sanitation residues, packaging materials, trade
refuges etc. are managed by any municipality.

Bio-medical wastes: Solid or liquid wastes including containers, intermediate or

end products generated during diagnosis, treatment & research activities of
medical sciences.
Agricultural wastes: Wastes generated from farming activities. These substances
are mostly biodegradable.

Fishery wastes: Wastes generated due to fishery activities. These are extensively
found in coastal & estuarine areas.

Radioactive wastes: Waste containing radioactive materials. Usually these are

byproducts of nuclear processes. Sometimes industries that are not directly
involved in nuclear activities, may also produce some radioactive wastes, e.g.
radio-isotopes, chemical sludge etc.

E-wastes: Electronic wastes generated from any modern establishments. They

may be described as discarded electrical or electronic devices. Some electronic
scrap components, such as CRTs, may contain contaminants such as Pb, Cd, Be or
brominated flame retardants.

Industrial solid wastes are sources of toxic metals and hazardous

wastes, which may spread on land and can cause changes in physico-
chemical and biological characteristics thereby affecting productivity

of soils. Toxic substances may leach or percolate to contaminate the

ground water.
In refuse mixing the hazardous wastes are mixed with garbage
and other combustible waste. This makes segregation and disposal all
the more difficult and risky. Various types of wastes like cans, pesticides,
cleaning solvents, batteries (zinc, lead or mercury) radioactive materials,
plastics are mixed up with paper, scraps and other non-toxic materials
which could be recycled. Burning of some of these materials produce
dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls, which have the potential
to cause various types of ailments including cancer.

Management of Solid Waste: For waste management we stress

on three Rs-Reduce, reuse and recycle before destruction and safe
storage of wastes.
(i) Reduction in use of raw materials: Reduction in the use of
raw materials will correspondingly decrease the production of waste.
Reduced demand for any metallic product will decrease the mining of
their metal and cause less production of waste.
(ii) Reuse of waste materials: The refillable containers which
are discarded after use can be reused. Villagers make casseroles and
silos from waste paper and other waste materials. Making rubber rings
from the discarded cycle tubes which are used by the newspaper vendors,
instead of rubber bands, reduces the waste generation during
manufacturing of rubber bands. Because of financial constraints poor
people reuse their materials to the maximum.
(iii) Recycling of materials: Recycling is the reprocessing of
discarded materials into new useful products.
(i) Formation of some old type products e.g. old aluminium cans
and glass bottles are melted and recast into new cans and bottles.

(ii) Formation of new products: Preparation of cellulose insula-

tion from paper, preparation of fuel pellets from kitchen waste. Prepa-
ration of automobiles and construction materials from steel cans.

The process of reducing, reusing and recycling saves money, en-

ergy, raw materials, land space and also reduces pollution. Recycling

of paper will reduce cutting of trees for making fresh paper. Reuse of
metals will reduce mining and melting of ores for recovery of metals
from ores and prevent pollution.
For discarding wastes the following methods can be adopted:
(i) Sanitary landfill: In a sanitary landfill, garbage is spread out
in thin layers, compacted and covered with clay or plastic foam.
In the modern landfills the bottom is covered with an impermeable
liner, usually several layers of clay, thick plastic and sand. The liner
protects the ground water from being contaminated due to percolation
of leachate. Leachate from bottom is pumped and sent for treatment.
When landfill is full it is covered with clay, sand, gravel and top soil to
prevent seepage of water. Several wells are drilled near the landfill site
to monitor if any leakage is contaminating ground water. Methane
produced by anaerobic decomposition is collected and burnt to produce
electricity or heat.
(ii) Composting: Due to shortage of space for landfill in bigger
cities, the biodegradable yard waste (kept separate from the municipal
waste) is allowed to degrade or decompose in an oxygen rich medium.
A good quality nutrient rich and environmental friendly manure is
formed which improves the soil conditions and fertility.
(iii) Incineration: Incinerators are burning plants capable of
burning a large amount of materials at high temperature. The initial
cost is very high. During incineration high levels of dioxins, furans,
lead and cadmium may be emitted with the fly ash of incinerator. Dioxin
level may reach many times more than in the ambient environment.
For incineration of materials, it is better to remove batteries containing
heavy metals and plastic containing chlorine before burning the
material. Prior removal of plastics will reduce emissions of dioxins and
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Industrial wastes: Liquid and solid wastes that are generated by manufacturing &
processing units of various industries like chemical, petroleum, coal, metal gas,
sanitary & paper etc.