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HISTORY OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT-ASSIGNMENT-1

Environmental quality and sustainability are closely linked. Future reductions in the quality and availability of natural resources upset estimates of carrying capacity and accelerate the likelihood of significant environmental catastrophe. The environmental crisis concerns are categorized as (a) social and economic dimensions, and (b) conservation and management of the natural environment. Social and economic dimensions concern such issues as poverty, consumption patterns, human population and health. Conservation and management issues cover atmospheric protection, land resources, ecosystem protection and waste management, amongst other things. Sustainability means balance between environmental conservation, which aims to protect natural resources, and economic progress, which aims to develop human infrastructure. It is understood to be ecological, social, economic, etc in its breadth and meaning. This balance between environmental conservation, which aims to protect natural resources, and economic progress, which aims to develop human infrastructure, is what is known as sustainable development. Too much emphasis on the environmental side will limit the ability to deliver improvements in living standards, particularly for the developing world, while too much emphasis on the economic side will lead to depletion of vital natural resources that cannot be readily recreated. Urban sustainability involves a reexamination of urban development, including environmental, social and economic policies, politics and practices, and an acknowledgement of the role of cities in global environmental change. For the first time in human history, more people live in cities than in the countryside, and cities are bigger than ever imagined. What is meant by urban sustainability and what part do cities play in the larger question of sustainability? The concept of sustainable development has stimulated the search for solutions that do not result in a clash between rising living standards and environmental protection. The essential ingredients for sustainability seem clear, although how they are brought together in practice is undeniably complex. The main challenges are: 1. The industry must re-engineer its entire production process. 2. Current economic approaches to project evaluation need to be re-examined. 3. The integration of economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability needs to be further developed. 4. There needs to be increased awareness and understanding of sustainability issues at all levels in the community. Climate Change: Of all the global environmental problems, climate change is the most pervasively threatening to human well-being and in many respects the most intractable. Climate change scenarios generally attempt to calculate the time frame and temperature change on the basis of a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The imperative to protect the atmosphere rises out of its various properties and the relationship it has with the maintenance and support of the Earths ecosystems. It is now generally accepted that a link exists between atmospheric degradation and the onset of climate change and climate variability. Currently, the major concern in relation to climate change is anthropocentric air pollution as well as issues relating to ozone layer depletion. It is a major objective of the UNCED to improve the understanding of processes that influence and are influenced by the Earths atmosphere on a global, regional and local scale including, physical, chemical, geological, biological, oceanic, hydrological, economic and social processes, to improve understanding of the economic and social consequences of atmospheric changes. Global Warming is a major problem which our environment faces today terribly. This global warming is caused due to Greenhouse Effect. What is greenhouse effect? Global warming is caused by the build-up of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone which trap energy on the Earths surface. While the presence of greenhouse gases is essential to the survival of all living creatures, increases upset the natural equilibrium. Scientists have measured a significant rise in the levels of heat-absorbing gases in the atmosphere and these increases give rise to global warming which can result in damaging consequences for the planet. Climate change, devastation of the ecosystem, water contamination, melting ice over Arctic and Antarctic regions, negative impacts in the agricultural sector are just the problems caused by global warming. A lot of damages have been done by this phenomenon. Policies on global warming are made each day. Are these policies properly implemented each day? The answer is big NO.

Harita Salvi [12UP02]