SUBJECT - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

CLASS - X
UNIT - V (GREEN SKILLS)

INTRODUCTION:

We cannot imagine our lives without the environment around us. Everything that surrounds us
comprises Environment - Living beings, flora and fauna, non-living things, the vegetation, climate,
natural resources. Each of these affect us in one or the other way and in turn our actions also have a
deep impact on all these, largely called as the environment.

According to Collins’ English Dictionary, The environment consists of the particular natural
surroundings in which we live or exist, considered in relation to their physical characteristics or
weather conditions.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT:

The society constitutes of group of people living together in a community, a village, a city, a town, a
state or a country. It is these group of people with their own set of ideologies and beliefs that affects
the environment. If a group of people believe that rivers are sacred, then all people belonging to
that group will resonate the practices that support their belief. If a group of people believe that
killing of animals is a heinous crime, the people in that community will reflect it in their behaviour
shaping their relationship. But, if a group of people is greedy and is concerned to accumulate wealth,
their actions will echo their mind-set and will have adverse effect on the environment.

As said, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The same is this true in case of the Society
and Environment. To fulfil our greed, we are exploiting the resources nature has given us, while
nature has its own way to show its fury. Issues like Global Warming, Climate change, other man-
made disasters are a few that have a direct implication of man’s activities. Natural Disasters like
earthquakes have a direct impact on the economy hence affecting the society. Hence, it may be
concluded that both society and environment are interdependent and cannot exist in isolation.

ECOSYSTEM AND FACTORS CAUSING IMBALANCE:

Ecological Imbalance is caused when natural or a man-made disturbance disrupts the natural
balance of an ecosystem. Human activities have a direct implication in causing ecological imbalance.
Following are the man-made disruptions that cause ecological imbalance:

i. Deforestation: Due to increase in population the need for building houses has emerged. To
overcome this challenge more and more houses are built in hilly regions due to which trees
are cut. Also, in order to maintain the life style, lot of forests have been cut. With increasing
deforestation, problem related to climate change has risen in past few decades. Many
species of birds and other animals are on verge of extinct due to changing climatic
conditions.

ii. Degradation of Land and Soil Erosion: Deforestation has also given rise to problems like soil
erosion and degrading quality of land. The poor quality of land and soil is resulting in rising

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 health concerns for human beings. It is also leading to problems for herbivorous animals
causing concerns of their extinction. Many animal species found in mountains are losing
their habitat because of which their existence is becoming difficult.

iii. Overexploitation of Resources: To satisfy our needs, we are not only using the resources
available to us but we are exploiting them as well. We generate tons of waste due to over
usage of resources making it difficult for our own selves to breathe fresh air. The
overexploitation of resources is also one of the factors adding to degradation of land in
urban cities. The natural resources that take millions of years to form are being used at a
rampant rate by us that is not only causing pollution but will make the life of the future
generation also difficult.

iv. Industrial and Atmospheric Pollution: The rising number of industries is one of the major
concerns these days. The pollution caused by these industries and factories is not limited to
air. The presence of the industries near the rivers to dispose the waste is causing water
pollution. Some industries also dump their waste in landfills, mounting to increased land
pollution. Though number of measures have been taken to curb this problem but still a lot
of efforts need to be made in order to put a stop to atmospheric pollution.

v. Faulty Mining Practices: Large scale mining has caused conversion of agricultural land and
forests to become stockyards, railway tracks, roads etc. Not only this, mining dust is also
degrading the quality of air around us. Improper disposal of mining waste is resulting in
degradation of land. Faulty mining practices have severe implication on human health.

vi. E waste generation: Advanced use of technology and gadgets has given rise to lot of e
waste generation, that needs to be addressed before it becomes a huge problem.

NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION:

Natural resources can largely be seen as Air, Water, Land (Soil and Forest), and Energy. In the
prevalent time where pollution levels have risen to the extent of causing health hazards,
conservation of these resources is the primary concern. Conservation is the key to world
environmental problems. This means that we need to judiciously use the resources around us and
avoid wasting them.

Air Conservation: At macro level, minimizing the release of toxins and green-house gases by the
Industries will help us conserve fresh air. Every individual can also contribute in preserving the
quality of air by adopting eco-friendly ways. Using public transport or carpooling, use of electric
vehicles, vehicles that run on natural gases rather than petrol or diesel, pollution check and
maintenance of vehicles at regular interval are few ways in which we can ensure that air pollution is
reduced . Use green ways to renovate and construct buildings and houses will also help reduce air
pollution.

Water Conservation: Scarcity of Water has caused International agencies to act immediately. Wise
usage of water is need of the hour. Adopting Rain Water Harvesting Systems in our communities
and waste water treatment plants shall contribute in conserving water for future generations.

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Judiciously using water in our day-to-day life, using water aerators in taps shall also help preserving
water. Correspondingly, ensuring that the marine life is not disturbed due to improper waste
management will also contribute in preserving quality of water. About 70% of our planet consists of
water, and if this water is contaminated in any form, it will be as good as not having any water to
support life on Earth.

Land Conservation: Conserving land means promoting afforestation and discouraging deforestation
for material benefit. This will help promote other life forms to survive and help to maintain balance
in the eco system. Second, improving the quality of soil, most of the health concerns today are due
to poor quality of food. The landfills and degradation of land and agricultural fields is resulting in
poor quality of crops leading to major health concerns. The need of the hour is to manage our waste
using 4Rs’ – REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE and UPCYCLE. Upcycle is a new concept wherein old,
used material is modified and a new product is created to share with needy/interested people.
Segregating the waste at source should become a part of our life in order to manage waste
generation. Segregating dry waste, wet waste, medical waste, E waste etc. at source will make the
waste management easier.

Energy Conservation: We use a lot of non-renewable sources of energy to fulfil our daily needs.
Conservation of Energy means to conserve these resources and use alternative sources of energy to
meet our needs such as wind, solar, wave energy. Using these means of energy will promote
sustainable living and will ensure that other resources are available for future generation use. Using
Air conditioner with doors closed, not keeping the door of refrigerator open for too long, keeping
the lights and fans switched off while not in use, switching off main plugs(power) of TV, computer
and other gadgets, using public transport or carpooling etc. are some practices that we can adopt in
our daily life to conserve energy.

GREEN ECONOMY AND ITS IMPORTANCE:

Collins’ English Dictionary defines Green Economy as Biological economy that is concerned with
renewable energy, green buildings, clean transportation, water, waste and land management.

This would mean that without compromising on the ecological aspects we create options that
promote the economy. According to UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) a green economy
is defined as low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. In a green economy, growth in
employment and income are driven by public and private investment into such economic activities,
infrastructure and assets that allow reduced carbon emissions and pollution, enhanced energy and
resource efficiency, and prevention of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. These green
investments need to be enabled and supported through targeted public expenditure, policy reforms
and changes in taxation and regulation. The Green Economy provides a macro-economic approach
to sustainable economic growth with a central focus on investments, employment and skills.

Green Economy will help maintaining resources for present use as well as for future generation
while also ensuring that more employment and investment options are created to promote
economic growth of the country. A green economy will be future ready. A green economy will
observe less health concerns and promote healthy life style with use of best technology to grow.

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Such kind of economy will be self-dependent and self-reliant. But it will take effort at each level to
build such an economy.

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