Environment intro

Environment is generator: creation of life form is because of environment. Sun/moon,

sea/ earth, hot/ cold and forests/ desert etc; they together made an environment that is fit
for our existence. There are two different environments one is positive and the other one
is negative, life forms in both namely, pests, insects and others are cold blooded have
different conditions which suits them to survive that may not be suitable to us, both have
own identities. Most important factor is that negative positive factors have to join
together to form an environment for example mother/ father for birth of a child, negative/
positive of energy for electricity. In the system of environment, both have integral role to
play. Where negative dominates outlines its systems and where positive dominates forms
its own.
Environment motivates to react: We are miserable when are in desert and delighted
when we are in lush garden. In a hospital we are in different mood and in disco different.
Environment motivates us to change our mood and reaction is in accordance.
We also generate/alter environment in our surroundings by our practice: Depends on
the behavior of the individuals. Positive thinkers have positive feelings and negative
thinkers it is negative, creates environment accordingly. This process turns to
evolutionary system when a group of people have same thinking that initiates others to
follow. Human lust and excessive usage of natural wood causing deforestation, pollution
heating
The Problem: The world's tropical forests are being lost at an alarming rate, largely due
to agricultural expansion. This loss is resulting in the extinction of native plant and
animal species, a net increase in greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate
change, increased soil erosion, drought and flooding. This environmental degradation
forces farmers to clear even more land to grow food for their families.
The Solution: Sustainable Harvest International
For $25 you can plant a forest and feed a family.
Sustainable Harvest International provides struggling families in less-developedcountries with the technical assistance and materials they need to plant a variety of trees
together with other crops such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, vanilla and ginger in an
integrated system that provides food and income while protecting the environment. You
can support a family's ongoing participation in the SHI program by making a donation of
$25 per month.
Founded in 1997 by Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Florence Reed, Sustainable Harvest
International (SHI) addresses the tropical deforestation crisis by providing farmers with
sustainable alternatives to slash-and-burn agriculture. SHI facilitates long-term
collaboration among trained local staff, farmers and communities to implement
sustainable land-use practices that alleviate poverty by restoring ecological stability.

SHI works with local farmers, cooperatives, environmental organizations and indigenous
groups that invite us into their communities. We provide these groups with long-term
assistance adopting sustainable land-use practices such as reforestation, agroforestry and organic farming. These practices allow rural people to raise their standard
of living while planting trees, rather than clearing forest.
The more than 700 families working with SHI have planted more than one million trees
and converted thousands of acres of degraded land to sustainable land-use practices,
thereby saving tens of thousands of acres of tropical forest from slash-and-burn far
Participating families enjoy increased income (up to 800%) from alternative cash crops as
well as better health due to greater and more varied food crop production.
Case study
The peninsular India constitutes one of the mega biodiversity zones of the world which is
abundant with unique and diversified floral and faunal wealth. The prevailing tropical
climate coupled with physical and environmental factors have unitedly evolved impact on
resources pattern and many eco-subsystems which is highly complex and fragile in
nature. The land ecosystem is facing mounting problems in the cruel hands of human
beings. One of the causative factors is forest fire, either natural or man-made, which
periodically covers larger areas in the tropics destroying timber, other properties and life
beyond In India the ecosystems are under severe threat due to the recurrent fires apart
from the anthropogenic pressure on the forests which is attributed to the degradation, soil
erosion, reduced productivity etc. Every year some or other part of the forests in India is
facing the agony in the cruel hands of mankind by putting fire intentionally in the forests
which causes severe damages to the regeneration as well as the soils.nd measures.
Forest fires and indiscriminate grazing are among the most important factors that affect
natural regeneration in the forests.
The existing human resources pattern in the forest department at present disproportionate
with its vastness in extent and undulation to be handled by the forest staff against illicit
cutting, poaching, sandalwood smuggling and more so from forest fire. On an average
500 ha of forests have to be patrolled by one forest guard, and it does not seem to be
likely that this human resource will be sufficient to detect and prevent all forest fires.

In general the people living on the fringes of forests are unaware of the biodiversity
concept. Their concept of forest is just confined to big animals such as elephants, tigers,
panthers, etc., as well as big trees such as Teak, Sal, Deodar, Rose wood, and others, and
they are totally unaware of the micro-flora and micro-fauna which are of least or no value
to them. In the recent past even when the scorching sun has given a severe impact on the
rain forest, one can imagine the fate of Indian Forest which are put on flames every year
whether intentionally or unintentionally due to heavy pressure of the population all along

the reserve forests boundaries. One or the other part of the forest area from northernmost
to southernmost region is facing agony of the forest fire incidences in the hands of human
beings at the peak period of summer (from December to May in Southern India and
March to June in Northern India) in the process of which regeneration composition of the
land is getting changed slowly and slowly and paving way to emergence of only fire
hardy species.
In the process of civilization, modern humans have emerged out with developmental
processes which cause so much agony to the 'Nature God', it is badly reflecting in the
form of environmental degradation and causing global warming. The recent fires in
Indonesia, Australia and South Mexico have drawn the attention of the environmentalists
to the sufferings of human beings as well as wild animals. Most endangered species for
example Orangutan have lost habitats in some parts of Indonesia and it was forced to
rehabilitate in some other place. One can imagine the fate of unrecognized flora and
fauna.
Considering the disastrous impact on the forest wealth an innovative scheme was
launched to prevent forest fire by involving the local rural masses in creating
environmental awareness. The Scheme was implemented in Coimbatore division of Tamil
Nadu, India which is a part of Western Ghats and also one of the important biospheres of
the world. The selected area used to get affected with fire by the graziers, illicit cutters,
poachers, etc. Western Ghats constitutes prominent and fascinating features of peninsular
India. It runs parallel to West coast ranging from Tapti valley in Gujarat to
Kanniyakumari of Tamil Nadu covering a distance of 1600 km covering a total area of
51,185 km2 out of which Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu cover an area of 12,760 km2.
On account of its geographical position it intercepts South west monsoon winds which is
the chief source of rain for the greater part of the country. Due to prevailing tropical
climate the variability in the altitude and amount of rainfall the region enjoys the
boundary of biological resources. Physical and environmental factors have unitedly
evolved impact on resources pattern and many sub ecosystem. They have become highly
complex and very fragile under the sub systems. This Western Ghats include one of the
important biosphere of India viz, Nilgiri biosphere which is the unique and richest biogeographical zone and fascinating feature in the Indian subcontinent holding multifarious
endemic floristic and faunal wealth
Lessons
We have learnt three important lessons from the above small experiment in eliciting
peoples' participation in forest fire control. The first is about village committees. We
found that committees are best formed after a period of interaction with people, and not
as a first step. Committees formed without a period of interaction often contained many
members whose initial enthusiasm withered away too soon. An initial period of
interaction, on the other hand, often brought forward individuals who had a long term
commitment to the cause.

The second lesson was that the forest department representative was a critical person
whose presence in committee meetings was necessary to sustain the interest of committee
in forest fire control. Without him the committees itself tended to underestimate its
importance, and with his continued absence the committee tended to wither away.
A third lesson was regarding the sustainability of this initiative. It is only two years since
this experiment began. In order to judge whether it is effective and worth emulating
elsewhere, it is necessary to continue for a number of years. Whether this would happen
or not depends to a large extent on the interest of forest department itself, especially the
local and middle level staff.

Ill effects of irresponsibility

In the mid-1980s, the semiconductor industry became the scapegoat for 20 years of
environmental ignorance inside the high-tech sector. Residents of Santa Clara County,
which encompasses most of California's Silicon Valley, brought a civil suit against five
industry leaders, including IBM, for massively polluting groundwater. The mainstream
media seized on the story, publicizing lurid tales of astronomical rates of miscarriages
and cancer. "It was a public relations disaster, even without the big financial hit those
companies took to clean up the mess," says Pam Gordon, president of Technology
Forecasters, which consults with semiconductor firms on environmental issues. Twenty
years later, semiconductor firms regularly win environmental awards, are featured in
"socially responsible" mutual fund portfolios, and are widely touted as role models for
responsible environmental stewardship. Having radically reduced groundwater pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions, the industry is now poised to tackle the problem of leadfree manufacturing initiatives and mandatory recycling requirements. However, even as
the industry prepares for a greener future, a new challenge has emerged. Today's
semiconductor firms wrestle with having thousands of suppliers scattered among dozens
of countries, many of which have lax enforcement of weak environmental laws. An
ecological disaster from the fringes of the industry could.../continued/

Abstract
By virtue of the country's size, population and heavy dependence on coal, China's
situation should be of particular interest to all with a concern both for energy
conservation and the environment. Efforts to conserve energy in China's enterprises
must be carried on alongside rapid development and the transition from a command
economy to a more hybrid market socialist economy. This transition may in the
longer term offer opportunities for energy conservation, but in the meanwhile can
be seen as imposing constraints. This paper is the result of field work undertaken in
China over the period 19941997. The paper begins by outlining the contradictory
context for energy conservation in China the international concern about climate
change and acid rain, and the domestic imperatives of modernization and
transformation of the economy. Then, setting out briefly the position with regard to
energy supply and consumption, and measures for conservation and enforcement, it
reports the views of managers at three important industrial plants on energy and
related environmental matters, and more generally of some of the most senior

officials and experts in China concerned with forming policy on energy

conservation in China's enterprises. Because little is known of the views of such
practitioners outside China, these views are presented in some detail, and analyzed
against the background of the broader changes taking place in China today. The
paper concludes with a number of specific recommendations to aid progress on
conservation, as they have been put forward by Chinese experts.
Why polar bear getting thinner
Why are the polar bears getting thinner? The answer to that question appears to be tied to
global warming and the melting of Earth's Arctic or northern ice cap. Polar bears do
most of their feeding while wandering the sea ice. These "bears of the sea" are terrific
swimmers and can spend hours in the cold water, hunting for the seals they eat. However,
much of their time is spent on the sea ice. A normal year has a small period of time when
the sea ice breaks up and the bears must retreat to land and live off their fat. What appears
to be happening now is that increased temperatures are causing the sea ice to break apart
sooner and refreeze again later, lengthening the amount of time the bears are on land and
shortening the amount of time the polar bears are free to hunt.
The consequences for the polar bears of thinning or disappearing sea ice are dire. It is the
loss of a habitat. Already researchers in the Hudson Bay area are seeing female bears who
are thinner and less healthy as they enter their season for having cubs. The females
appear to be running out of their stored fat which they and their cubs live on. The female
bears need to leave their dens earlier than they used to; in more and more cases, the
smaller of a female bear's two cubs will starve, as there isn't enough food.
Looking to the Future
One solution to the problems of our melting ice caps may be reversing global warming by
reducing the amount of "greenhouse gases" entering Earth's atmosphere. These gases
consist mainly of carbon dioxide produced from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal,
oil, and gas. Many scientists believe that greenhouse gases trap the Sun's heat and prevent
it from escaping into space, much the way a greenhouse for plants keeps heat inside.
Environmentally desirable materials and
Construction are the hallmark of the
Sanctuarys model home:
Recycled cork used in flooring and recycled
Material used in sub-flooring
Truss-joist floor joints consist of recycled
Materials
Oriented strand board (OSB) used for exterior
And roof sheathing as an alternative to
Plywood
Wall insulation made from recycled paper
(Cellulose), which provides great insulation
Value compared to fiberglass and comes

From recycled material

Carpets made from recycled soda bottles
Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds)
paints both inside and out reduce greatly
The amount of ozone depleting VOCs released
Into the atmosphere.
Limited turf for home landscaping, drought
Tolerant plants and plants of similar low
Maintenance requirements are used to minimize
The amount of irrigation needed.
Pervious pavement used in driveway construction
Allows water to drain through the
Slab, rather than runoff. Pervious concrete
Eliminates the erosion and storm water runoff
Problems often associated with impervious
Surfaces.
A rain garden in the center of the cul de sac
of the driveway helps filter storm water.
Rain water diffusers added to downspouts
Cut down on erosion and help water infiltrate
Into the ground.
The sales center and model home showcase
numerous environmentally-friendly
Features. Homes in The Sanctuary are
Subject to design guidelines enforced by
a design review board.
What can be your contribution towards better world?

Prevent paving around trees

Channelise run off water
set up green harvesting system
Create and maintain vegetative plots
Save paper, use recycled paper
Avoid using polybags as they are non-biodegradable
Reduce use of air-conditioners
Buy CFC-free refrigerators
Do not buy wildlife products
Respect local culture and livelihood