1. The Global Environmental Crisis
CHAPTER 1
Environmental Studies, 2e

2. Chapter Objectives
After studying this chapter, the reader should be able to:
Appreciate the fact that the world is facing an environmental crisis
Describe the global environmental crisis through examples and statistics
Describe exponential growth, the spikes and their implications
Trace the origins of the environmental crisis to the Idea of Progress and the change in our attitude towards nature

3. Chapter Objectives (Contd)
Explain the concept of ecological footprint
Recall the major international agreements on environment
Define terms like environment, ecology, and environmental studies
Appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of environmental studies.

4. The Story of Kalahandi Kalahandi District in Orissa some decades ago:
Full of forests
1000s of water sources controlled by community
Abundant diversity of crops
Kalahandi today:
Extreme poverty and deprivation
Often drought and famine
Reasons for decline:
Forests cut down
Water sources taken over by govt., but not maintained
Focus on large irrigation projects

5. The story of Kalahandi: From forests to famine

6. State of the Planet: Sources of Reports
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Worldwatch Institute, US
WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi

7. Global Environmental Crisis
Population
Water and sanitation
Biodiversity
Forests
Land
Pollution
Coastal zone and the ocean
Natural disasters
Energy, global warming, climate change
Urbanization

8. Pollution

9. More than 60,000 Indian villages lack sources of drinking water

10. Global warming: Melting glacier

11. Urbanisation

12. Our Unsustainable Way of Living
We are consuming natural resources at a rate much higher than that at which nature can regenerate them.
We are creating waste and pollution much faster than the rate at which nature can absorb them.
This unsustainable way of living can only lead to an environmental and social catastrophe.

13. Exponential Growth and the Spikes Figure 1
Exponential Growth and the Spikes Figure 1.1: Curve showing exponential growth

14. Human population (Figure 1.2)

15. Consumption of goods and services (Figure 1.3)

16. Carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere (Figure 1.4)

17. Biological species becoming extinct every year (Figure 1.5)

18. Reasons for the Spikes
Scientific and Industrial Revolutions
Idea of Progress
‘Man is the supreme species.’
‘We can exploit nature endlessly.’

19. Ecological Footprint
Area required to sustain indefinitely a person, a city, a country, etc.
Accounts for the energy, food, water, and materials that are consumed and the wastes created.
Humanity’s Footprint is now more than 1.4. That is, we require 40% more than the earth’s area to sustain our consumption!
This Footprint is also increasing steadily.

21. Sustainable Development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.

22. Related, interdisciplinary subjects
Environmental Studies
Environmental Science
Ecology

23. Keywords & Phrases of Chap. 1
Ecological Footprint
ecology
environment
environmental studies
exponential growth
Idea of Progress
sustainable development

24. Key Points of Chap. 1
The world is facing a global environmental crisis.
We are consuming natural resources at an ever-increasing rate.
We are also greatly polluting the world.
Our unsustainable way of living can only lead to a catastrophe.
The environmental crisis is a consequence of:
the Idea of Progress.
our attitude of domination and exploitation of nature

25. Key Points of Chap. 1 (Contd)
Many phenomena have been growing exponentially.
Ecological Footprint expresses the area needed to sustain the lifestyle of an entity.
We now require 40% more than the earth’s area to sustain our consumption.
There are complex interconnections in nature.
Implementation of international agreements over environment has been poor.