Environmental Quality: Meaning and Forms

After reading this article you will learn about the meaning and forms of environmental quality.

Definition of Environmental Quality:

The environmental quality can be defined as ‘level and competition of the stream of all environmental services, except the waste receptor services’. In principle, environmental quality can be measured in terms of the value the people place on these non-waste receptor services or the willingness to pay.

Due to the imperfect market system for environmental quality, no one can fix a price on it. Environmental quality is definitely a consumption public good as it possesses the basic characteristic feature of a public good namely, ‘non excludability and non-rivalry’.

The environment as a public good can be used in two ways:

1. It provides consumption goods that can be measured quantitatively, i.e., in physical units.

2. It provides inputs, which are qualitatively valued and used in industrialization.

People enjoy all amenities provided by nature at zero costs, but overexploitation of the same has resulted in them becoming scarce. This condition has an adverse effect on the standard of living of the people.

Hence, in order to maintain the existing level of environmental quality, people are willing to pay more to improve their welfare and their living condition. Moreover, environmental quality as a public good is meant to be used by all in equal amounts.

Forms of Environmental Quality:

The major forms of the environmental quality can be classified as follows:

1. AIR

2. WATER

3. FOREST

4. LAND, etc.

i. Air as an Environmental Quality:

Atmosphere is the life blanket of the earth, the essential ingredient for all living things. Air covers every part of the two hundred million square miles of the earth’s surface. Air is the most commonly used natural resource, which cannot be excluded by any individual and this is the root cause for it being polluted to the core by the people.

Air Pollution:

It is defined as the “the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more contaminants or combinations thereof, in such quantities and of such duration as may be, or may tend to be injurious to human, plant or animal life, or property, or the conduct of business.”

Sources of Air Pollutants:

There are different types of air pollutants. They are classified into primary and secondary pollutants. Primary pollutants are those, which are remitted directly into the atmosphere and the secondary are derived from the primary pollutants due to some chemical reactions in the atmosphere.

The Most Common Sources of Air Pollution:

1. Carbon monoxide released from motor vehicles, engines powered with petroleum derivate used for transportation and heating.

2. Hydrocarbons mostly discharged by motor vehicles and also from exhausts of industrial plants.

3. Nitrogen oxides released by motor vehicles, power plants and industrial establishments.

4. Sulphur oxides released mostly by motor vehicles, power generating plants and industrial units.

5. Particulate matter coming out of power plants, industries and waste disposal.

6. Natural pollutants like pollen, volcanic gases, marsh gases etc.

Effects of Deteriorating Air Quality:

1. On Humans:

Polluted air enters the human body mainly through the respiratory system and pollutants in the air make their access into the throat, lungs and other parts of the respiratory organs. This can cause diseases like bronchitis, tuberculosis, asthma, influenza etc.

2. On Animals:

Polluted air may gain entry through forage crops consumed by the livestock, as the air-borne contaminants accumulate in vegetation and fodder. Fluorides, lead and arsenic pollutants are very injurious to livestock.

3. On Plants:

Air pollution can cause serious damage to plants and vegetation. The damages can manifest in the form of visual injury, such as, yellowing, marking and banding of the leaves resulting in retardation of plant growth and final extinction.

ii. Water as an Environmental Quality:

Water as an environmental quality is very essential for human existence and also for all living organisms. It is necessary for the survival of any form of life. It accounts for about 70% of the weight of human body. But due to rapid increase in the population and fast industrialization most of the water resources are being degraded and polluted.

Water Pollution:

Water is polluted when there is a change in its quality or composition, directly or indirectly as a result of human activities, so that it becomes useless or less suitable for drinking. It may be defined as “any human activity that impairs the use of water as a resource.

The real menace of water pollution arises from sewage, industrial wastes and a wide array of synthetic chemicals being discharged into the water sources like rivers, streams or lakes. Many industries effluents have joined rivers and lakes, which supply water and are degraded by the flora and fauna present in the rivers. A state is reached when the content in the river becomes toxic, unfit for any use.

Classification of Water Pollution:

Water pollution is classified into five broad categories.

1. Organic pollutants:

This can further be classified as:

(a) Oxygen demanding wastes

(b) Disease-causing wastes

(c) Synthetic organic compounds

(d) Sewage and agriculture run-off and

(e) Oil pollution.

2. Inorganic pollutants:

Finely divided metals, metal compounds, cyanides, sulphates, nitrates, mineral acids, inorganic salts etc., form inorganic pollutants in water. Various metals and metallic compounds released from anthropogenic activities add up to their natural background levels in water, which play a vital role in biological processes which prove toxic to biota.

3. Suspended solids and sediments:

These pollutants are mainly due to soil erosion. Sediments are mostly contributed by the process of erosion, agricultural development, mining and construction activities. Soil erosion has been one of the major problems in India. Apart from the soil losing its fertility and productivity, the siltation results in reducing the storage capacity of reservoirs.

4. Radioactive materials:

The radioactive water pollutants may arise from mining processing of ores like uranium tailings; use of radioactive isotopes in agricultural, industrial, medical research and applications; radioactive materials due to testing and also use of nuclear weaponry.

5. Heated effluents:

Many industries using water as a coolant, dispose off the waste hot water by returning it into the original water bodies.

Effects of Water Pollution:

In most of the developed countries water-borne diseases are eradicated but not so with the developing countries. Water is a significant vehicle in the transmission of disease when it contains water-borne pathogens or disease producing organisms.

On Industries:

Water pollution may reduce the utility of water for industrial proposes. The range of quality required by the industries is very wide. Cooling water can often be of comparatively low sanitary quality but the presence of waste heat and of corrosive material is undesirable.

So polluted water requires high cost for the industries the cost of purifying the water, of repairing damaged equipment or of making extensive adjustments to the industrial processes themselves.

On Agriculture:

Water pollution can greatly affect the productivity of irrigated land. Irrigation itself is a major cause of water pollution. All natural water contains inorganic salts, particularly chloride. As irrigation water evaporates in the field, the salt concentrates in the wet soil. If this is allowed then the fertility would diminish and eventually land would become barren. If this is done with subsequent heavy rainfall then the damage would be less.

On Aquatic Food Resources:

The effects of the water pollution on fisheries are drastic. Fish may be killed by specific toxins or through oxygen depletion. Their breeding is affected due to the change in the temperature and the food may be spoiled through changes in flavor by pathogenic organisms.

The best example of the affect of the water pollution on aquatic life is the “minamata tragedy” where nearly forty people died after eating the fish caught in Japan’s minamata bay.

Control of Water Pollution:

The water pollution can be controlled only by the treatment of the effluents discharged by the industries and treating the sewage by providing for more sewage treatment plants. This sewage treatment proceeds in three stages.

At first through mechanical and biological process the solid wastes and the organic matters are removed. Virtually all the remaining pollutants are removed in the tertiary stage. But for complete removal of pollutants more advanced treatments are used.

They are:

1. Chemical coagulation method

2. Chemical oxidation method

3. Carbon absorption method

4. Ion exchange method

5. Electro dialysis and

6. Reverse osmosis.

With all these methods the water pollution can only be controlled when all the human beings realize their moral responsibility towards protecting water.

iii. Forests as an Environmental Quality:

Forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence. It makes no demand from the human beings but supplies the product for their life and activity, they help mankind as producers and as custodians of favourable environmental conditions. They provide food, fuel, fibre, building material, industrial products, packaging materials, textiles and clothing as well.

Destruction and Deforestation:

Apart from the services rendered by the forest it is destroyed for economic development and growth, all over the world. Deforestation is taking place at a faster speed.

The principal causes of deforestation are:

1. Logging and timbering, as an industry.

2. Overgrazing by cattle.

3. Clearing land for colonization and urban development.

4. Clearing land for cultivation and pasture.

5. Natural forest fires.

6. Felling of trees for fuel.

Effects of Deforestation:

On Climate:

Forest helps to maintain the temperature at a low level and prevent it from rising. A portion of the solar radiation is reflected back into the space by earth’s atmosphere. The rest reaches the surface of the earth as much is not absorbed by the atmosphere.

The forest present on earth will reflect back a portion of sunrays again into the outer space and we call it as the “albedo”. In the absence of forest, the entire heat that is not absorbed by the atmosphere strikes the earth’s surface, leading to a rise in atmospheric temperature.

But if forest cover would be thick and wide, this heat would be absorbed and the rise in temperature is prevented. Sometimes the ultra-violet- rays are absorbed by the ozone layer. But due to certain pollutants like chlorofluorocarbons, a hole is formed in the layer. Under such conditions the forests would serve as a natural filter of the ultra-violet- rays which threaten the health of the people.

On Soil:

Forests protect soil and deforestation can cause soil erosion. When trees are felled and the root-mat is destroyed, the soil is subject to erosion by the full force of the rains. Heavy rain removes nutrients by washing away the thin top layer of soil and by leaching nutrients deep into the sub-soil thus making it unavailable to plant roots.

Forest is the home for a large variety of animals and deforestation would lead to extinction of the species. Since forests exert a tremendous influence in maintaining ecological balance, they need to be preserved. Afforestation projects should be given more priority.

iv. Land as an Environmental Quality:

Land is a distinctly limited resource, which is central to all human’s needs and activities. It provides a foundation for all economic activities and a base for all natural resources. Without it, we would be flying in the air. In simple words, land can be referred as earth’s surface, on which all types of human activities are possible.

Land has been used for agricultural activities like irrigation, ploughing, sowing etc. It has been used for urbanization and housing purposes. It is the base for industrialization. Man depends on land for transport. Land, being covered by forests, mountains and deserts is also source of energy. Hence, land is also known to be a part of environmental quality.

Increase in population and overexploitation of resources has resulted in land abuse. The present rate of growth of population would leave people fighting with each other for land. Land’s productivity depends on soil types and its fertility.

But man has been destroying forests for wood, which is major source of fire and shelter, and also for space for habitation. This process of deforestation would lead to soil erosion resulting in the reduction of soil fertility, which in turn would have adverse effects on agricultural production.

Attempts to increase food production to meet needs of the ever-growing population, overgrazing by cattle, irrigation schemes without proper drainage system and the single cropping method of cultivation are other causes of decrease in land fertility.

Thus, it is important to realize the need to protect land from becoming a desert and to prevent a condition of draught. An efficient afforestation policy in order to conserve forests, enforcing laws to regulate the use of urban land, proper control measures to prevent unnecessary encroachment of agricultural land, are some of the measures to be adapted by the state and central governments to protect land from becoming an arid zone.