Chapter- 9: Environment and Sustainable Development

Very short Answer type Questions (1 Mark each)

1. What is meant by environment?
Ans: Environment is defined as the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources.
2. What does environment include?
Ans: Environment includes all the biotic and abiotic factors that influence each other.
3. What do you mean by biotic elements?
Ans: All living elements like birds, animals and plants, forests, fisheries, etc. are biotic elements.
4. What is included under abiotic elements?
Ans: Abiotic elements of the environment include non-living elements like air, water, land, etc.
5. Give the meaning of renewable resources.
Ans: Renewable resources are those resources which can be used without the possibility of being
exhausted, such as trees, fishes, etc.
6. What do you mean by non-renewable resources?
Ans: Non-renewable resources refer to those resources which get exhausted with extraction and
use such as coal, gas, etc.
7. What happens when the rate of resources extraction exceeds that of their regeneration?
Ans: When the rate of resource extraction exceeds that of their regeneration, then environment fails
to perform its vital function of life sustenance and it leads to the situation of environmental crisis.
8. What do you mean by the carrying capacity of environment?
Ans: Carrying capacity of the environment implies that the resource extraction is not above the rate
of regeneration of the resources and the wastes generated are within the assimilating capacity of the
environment.
9. How the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact are high?
Ans: Increased financial commitments of the government due to global warming and ozone
depletion and rise in expenditure on health due to decline in air and water quality shows that
opportunity costs of negative environmental impacts are high.

10. What do you mean by pollution?

Ans: Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability,
disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem.
11. What is global warming?
Ans: Global warming is the observed and projected increase in the average temperature of earth’s
atmosphere and oceans.

12. What has caused global warming?

Ans: The global warming is due to increase in the greenhouse gas concentrations, like water vapor,
carbon dioxide, methane and ozone in the atmosphere.

13. Give the meaning of air pollution.

Ans: Air pollution is the presence of materials in air in such concentrations, which are harmful to
man and his environment.
14. Mention any one measure to control air pollution in vehicles.
Ans: Promotion of cleaner fuels, like use of CNG instead of petrol or diesel.
15. What is sustainable development?
Ans: Sustainable development is the development, which will allow all future generations to have a
potential average quality of life, that is, at least as high, which is being enjoyed by the current
generation.

16. What is meant by Biodiversity?

Ans: Biodiversity is defined as the variability among living organisms from all sources, including
terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a
part.
17. What do you mean by ozone depletion?
Ans: Ozone depletion refers to destruction of ozone in the ozone layer due to presence of chlorine
from manmade chlorofluorocarbons and other forces.
18. What has led to depletion of ozone layer?
Ans: The problem of ozone depletion is caused by high levels of chlorine and bromine compounds
in the stratosphere.
19. Why have some resources become extinct?
Ans: The demand for resources has gone beyond the rate of regeneration (supply). It has increased
the pressure on the absorptive capacity of the environment and such reversal of the supply demand
relationship has led to degeneration of the environment.
20. How has the supply-demand relationship led to degradation of environment?
Ans: The demand for resources has gone beyond the rate of regeneration (supply). It has increased
the pressure on the absorptive capacity of the environment and such reversal of the supply demand
relationship has led to degeneration of the environment.
21. What has led to air pollution in urban areas?
Ans: Increasing number of motor vehicles and concentration of industries in urban areas have led
to air pollution in urban areas.
22. State the two major environmental issues that the world is facing today?
Ans: (i) Depletion of natural resources;
(ii) Environmental degradation.
23. Name two movements to prevent cutting of trees.
Ans: Two movements are: Chipko and Appiko
24. What does study of environment call for?
Ans: Study of environment means the study of interrelationship between biotic and abiotic
components of the environment.
25. What is an opportunity cost?
Ans: Opportunity cost is the cost of alternative opportunity given up.
26. What do you mean by the absorptive capacity of the environment?
Ans: Absorptive capacity means ability of the environment to absorb degradation. The result is that
today we are at the threshold of environmental crisis
27. What are renewable resources?
Ans: Renewable resources are those which can be used without the possibility of the resources
becoming depleted or exhausted.
28. What are non-renewable resources?
Ans: Non-renewable resources are those which get exhausted with extraction and use.
Example: fossil fuels.
29. What do you mean by the carrying capacity of environment?
Ans: The carrying capacity of the environment implies that the resource extraction is not above the
rate of regeneration of the resources and the waste generated are within the assimilating capacity
of the environment. Carrying capacity of the environment helps to sustain life.
30. What are the causes of global warming?
Ans: Global warming is mainly caused by:
(a) Burning of coal and petroleum products
(b) Deforestation
(c) release of methane gas from animal waste
(d) increased cattle production.

31. What are the effects of ozone depletion?

Ans: Long-run effects of ozone depletion are:
(a) It causes skin cancer in human being.
(b) It lowers the production of phytoplankton and other aquatic organisms.
(c) It lowers the growth of terrestrial plants.
32. Explain Montreal Protocol adopted?
Ans: The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing
out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion. It
banned the use of compounds containing ozone depleting chemicals.
33. When and why was the Central Population Control Board (CPCB) set up?
Ans: In order to address two major environmental concerns in India, viz., water and air pollution,
the government set up the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 1974.
34. How can mini-hydel plants sustain environment?
Ans: Mini-hydel plants are environment-friendly as they do not change the land use pattern in areas
where they are located. Also, they generate enough power to meet local demands.
35. Give Edward Barbier definition of sustainable development?
Ans: Edward Barbier defined sustainable development as one which is directly concerned with
increasing the material standards of living of the poor at the grass root level. This can be
quantitatively measured in terms of increased income, real income, educational services, health
care, sanitation, water supply, etc. or a fall in absolute poverty, environmental degradation, cultural
disruption and social instability.
36. Which animals/birds help in bio-composting?
Ans: Cattle and earthworms.
37. Name a pesticide which is environment friendly.
Ans: Neem based pesticides are environment friendly.
38. Name animal/birds which help in Biopest control?
Ans: Snakes, owls, peacock, lizards help in controlling pest.
39. What adverse effect of green revolution was noticed?
Ans: With starting the Green Revolution, the state started using more and more of chemical
pesticides for higher yield. Soil, water bodies and even ground water were polluted with pesticides.
Milk, meat and fishes were also found to be contaminated.
40. How is solar electricity made? In which places can it be used?
Ans: India is naturally endowed with a large quantity of solar energy in the form of sunlight. With
the help of photovoltaic cells, solar energy can be converted into electricity. This technology is
extremely useful for remote areas and for places where supply of power through grid or power lines
is either not possible or proves very costly.
41. Name some traditional health practices.
Ans: Ayurveda, Unani, Tibetan and Folk systems are traditional health care systems.
42. How do thermal and hydro power plants cause adverse impact on environment?
Ans: Thermal power plants emit large quantities of carbon dioxide in environment and cause
pollution of water, land and environment. Hydroelectric projects inundate forests and interfere with
the natural flow of water in catchment areas and river basins.