VARDHAMAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

(Autonomous)
(Permanently Affiliated to JNTUH, Approved by AICTE, New
Delhi & Accredited by NBA)
Shamshabad – 501218, Hyderabad.

ENVIRONMENTAL SEIENCE
LECTURE NOTES

Prepared by
DURGASRILAKSHMI HARI
Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

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 COURSE CODE : A3010

COURSE TITLE : ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

COURSE STRUCTURE : Lectures Tutorials Practicals Credits

4 - - 4

SYLLABUS:
UNIT I - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE INTRODUCTION AND NATURAL RESOURCES

INTRODUCTION: Multidisciplinary nature of Environmental Studies: Definition, Scope and Importance –

Need for Public Awareness.

NATURAL RESOURCES: Renewable and non-renewable resources. Natural resources and associated
problems.
Forest resources: Use and over – exploitation, deforestation, timber extraction, mining, dams and other
effects on forest and tribal people.
Water resources: Use and over- utilization of surface and ground water, floods, drought, conflicts over
water, dams: benefits and problems.
Mineral resources: Use and exploitation, environmental effects of extracting and using mineral
resources.
Food resources: World food problems, changes caused by agriculture and overgrazing, effects of
modern agriculture, fertilizer and pesticide problems, water logging, salinity.
Energy resources: Growing energy needs, renewable and non-renewable energy sources, use of
alternate energy sources, Case studies.
Land resources: Land as a resource, land degradation, man induced landslides, soil erosion and
desertification. Role of an individual in conservation of natural resources.

UNIT II - ECOSYSTEM AND BIODIVERSITY

ECOSYSTEMS: Concept of an ecosystem. Structure and function of an ecosystem. Producers, consumers

and decomposers. Energy flow in the ecosystem. Ecological succession. Food chains ,food webs and
ecological pyramids. Introduction, types, characteristic features, structure and function of the following
ecosystem: Forest ecosystem, grassland ecosystem, desert ecosystem, aquatic ecosystems.
BIODIVERSITY AND ITS CONSERVATION: Introduction .Definition: genetic, species and ecosystem
diversity. Value of biodiversity: consumptive use, productive use, social, ethical, aesthetic and option
values. Biodiversity at global, national and local levels. India as a mega diversity nation . Hotspots of
biodiversity. Threats to biodiversity: habitat loss, poaching of wildlife, man -wildlife conflicts.
Endangered and endemic species of India .Conservation of biodiversity: In-situ and Ex-situ conservation
of biodiversity.

UNIT - III - ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CONTROL

MEASURES

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Environmental Pollution: Definition, causes, effects and control measures of air pollution, water
pollution, soil pollution, marine pollution, noise pollution, thermal pollution and nuclear hazards,
Pollution during Diwali and Fireworks.
Solid waste Management: Causes, effects and control measures of urban and industrial wastes. Role of
an individual in prevention of pollution. Case studies.
Disaster management: Floods, earthquake, cyclone and landslides. E-waste and plastic waste: recycling
and reuse
Water conservation: Rain water harvesting, watershed management .Resettlement and rehabilitation of
people: its problems and concerns. Case Studies. Climate change, global warming, acid rain, ozone layer
depletion, nuclear accidents and holocaust. Case Studies.

UNIT- IV- GREEN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Introduction – Clean development mechanism, carbon foot printing, carbon credits, carbon
sequestration and Polluter pay principle. Green building practices. Approaches to green computing and
nanotechnology .IS014000. Role of information technology in environment and human health. Case
Studies.

UNIT – V- ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESMENT & ROLE OF NGOs.

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: Environment Protection Act. -Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.
Water (Prevention and control of Pollution) Act .Wildlife Protection Act .Forest Conservation Act .Issues
involved in enforcement of environmental legislation. Public awareness.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESMENT: Conceptual facts of EIA, Baseline date acquisition, planning and
management of impact studies, operational aspects of EIA, methods for impact identification, prediction
of impacts(air, water, noise, soil, biological and socio- economic)Environmental Management Plan. Role
of NGOs in creating awareness among people regarding environmental issues.

IX. List of Text Books / References / Websites / Journals / Others

Text Books:
1. Benny Joseph (2005)., Environmental Studies, New Delhi, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing co.
Ltd
2. Erach Bharucha (2005)., Textbook of Environmental Studies for Undergraduate Courses,
Hyderabad, Universities Press.

Reference Books:
1. Anji Reddy .M (2007), Textbook of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Hyderabad, BS
Publications.
1. Y Anjaneyulu.(2004), Introduction to Environmental Sciences, BS Publications.

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 UNIT-I

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE INTRODUCTION AND

NATURAL RESOURCES

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The word Environment is derived from the French word “Environ” which means “surrounding”.
Our surrounding includes biotic factors like human beings, Plants, animals, microbes, etc and
abiotic factors such as light, air, water, soil, etc. Environment is a complex of many variables,
which surrounds man as well as the living organisms.

Environment includes water, air and land and the interrelation ships which exist among and
between water, air and land and human beings and other living creatures such as plants, animals
and micro organisms. She suggested that environment consists of an inseparable whole system
constituted by physical, chemical, biological, social and cultural elements, which are interlinked
individually and collectively in myriad ways. The natural environment consist of four
interlinking systems namely, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere.
These four systems are in constant change and such changes are affected by human activities and
vice versa.

Components of Environment

Environment has been classified into four major components:

1. Hydrosphere,
2. Lithosphere,
3. Atmosphere,
4. Biosphere.

Hydrosphere includes all water bodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and ocean etc.
Hydrosphere functions in a cyclic nature, which is termed as hydrological cycle or water cycle.
Lithosphere means the mantle of rocks constituting the earth’s crust. The earth is a cold spherical
solid planet of the solar system, which spins in its axis and revolves around the sun at a certain
constant distance.
Lithosphere mainly, contains soil, earth rocks, mountain etc. Lithosphere is divided into three
layers-crusts, mantle and core (outer and inner). Atmosphere The cover of the air, that envelope
the earth is known as the atmosphere.
Atmosphere is a thin layer which contains gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide etc. and which
protects the solid earth and human beings from the harmful radiations of the sun. There are five
concentric layers within the atmosphere, which can be differentiated on the basis of temperature
and each layer has its own characteristics. These include the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere.
Biosphere it is otherwise known as the life layer, it refers to all organisms on the earth’s surface
and their interaction with water and air. It consists of plants, animals and micro-organisms,
ranging from the tiniest microscopic organism to the largest whales in the sea. Biology is