Social Issues and the Environment

Unsustainable development depends on using resources faster than they renew, polluting beyond nature’s capacity to absorb, and ignoring who bears the costs. Sustainable development balances three pillars: environmental protection, economic growth and social equity. In 2015 the world adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be reached by 2030, covering poverty, health, clean water and energy, climate, and life on land and below water.

Cities use most of the world’s energy. Rapid growth brings rising demand for power and fuel, heavy traffic and pollution, the urban “heat island” effect (cities hotter than surroundings), and heavy air-conditioning loads.

• Energy-efficient buildings and appliances; LED lighting
• Mass transit (metro, buses), cycling and walking, electric vehicles
• Rooftop solar, green roofs, trees and cool surfaces
• Better urban planning that reduces long commutes

Rainwater harvesting collects rain from roofs and open areas and stores it or recharges groundwater through pits, wells and ponds. Tamil Nadu made it compulsory for buildings in 2003, a model for other states, and Chennai’s groundwater recovery after heavy rainfall years showed its value.

Watershed management treats a whole drainage basin: check dams, contour bunds, tree planting and village ponds slow runoff and let water soak in. Famous examples are Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra (led by Anna Hazare) and the revival of rivers in Alwar, Rajasthan, through traditional johads (earthen check dams) led by Rajendra Singh.

Dams, mines, highways, ports and industrial zones often displace people. Problems include loss of land and livelihood, broken communities and cultural ties, inadequate compensation, and delays in rehabilitation. Tribal and rural families usually suffer most.

• Narmada (Sardar Sarovar): prolonged protest over displacement and the quality of rehabilitation
• Polavaram and other irrigation projects raise similar questions

India’s Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 requires consent processes, social impact assessment and rehabilitation packages. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 gives forest-dwelling communities a say over forest land.

• Anthropocentric ethics value nature for its use to humans; biocentric ethics give living things value of their own; ecocentric ethics value whole ecosystems.
• Indian traditions: sacred groves, reverence for rivers and animals, and the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan, 363 of whom died in 1730 at Khejarli protecting Khejri trees from felling.
• Environmental justice: pollution and resource loss fall hardest on poor and marginalised communities. Some courts have even recognised rivers as legal persons (the Ganga and Yamuna in 2017, a ruling later stayed by the Supreme Court).

Possible solutions: environmental education, laws that protect the vulnerable, inter-generational thinking, and consumption restraint.

The natural greenhouse effect keeps Earth warm. Human activities, mainly burning fossil fuels, clearing forests and farming, add greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and others), trapping extra heat.

Impacts

• Rising temperatures and more intense heat waves
• Melting glaciers and sea-level rise (low coasts such as Chennai and the Sundarbans, where islands like Ghoramara are shrinking)
• More extreme rain, floods, droughts and stronger cyclones
• Threats to crops, water, health and biodiversity

Response

Mitigation cuts emissions (renewable energy, efficiency, forests); adaptation reduces harm (early warning, resilient crops, cooling shelters, sea defences). Under the 2015 Paris Agreement countries set voluntary targets (Nationally Determined Contributions) to limit warming to well below 2°C, aiming for 1.5°C.

The stratospheric ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet-B radiation. Chlorine and bromine from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons and some solvents destroy ozone, creating the Antarctic “ozone hole.” More UV causes skin cancer, cataracts, crop damage and harm to marine life.

The 1987 Montreal Protocol phased out these chemicals and is widely seen as the most successful environmental treaty. The 2016 Kigali Amendment now phases down HFCs, which do not harm ozone but are strong greenhouse gases. Scientific assessments expect the ozone layer to recover to 1980 levels over much of the world by around 2040, and over Antarctica by about 2066.

Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from burning fossil fuels dissolve in atmospheric moisture to form sulphuric and nitric acids, giving rain with pH below about 5.6. Effects: acidified lakes and dead fish, damaged forests and soil, corroded buildings and statues. Concern for the Taj Mahal’s marble led the Supreme Court in 1996 to order industries in the surrounding “Taj Trapezium” to switch to cleaner fuel or relocate. Control: cleaner fuels, scrubbers, and reduced emissions.

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945) showed the destructive effects of nuclear weapons, and scientists warn a large nuclear war could cause “nuclear winter” and global famine. Nuclear accidents (Chernobyl, Fukushima) show the lasting damage of radiation.

Wasteland is degraded land that is unproductive: saline and alkaline soils, ravines and gullies, waterlogged areas and degraded forests. Reclamation uses tree and grass planting, soil treatment (such as gypsum for sodic soils), contour bunds, and watershed management. Examples include community watershed work at Sukhomajri (Haryana) and ravine reclamation in the Chambal valley. A National Wastelands Development Board was set up in 1985.

Consumerism is the belief that happiness comes from buying and using more. It drives resource use, packaging and waste, fast fashion, and rapidly discarded electronics. Rising incomes make this a growing issue in India as well. Remedies: buying less and better, repairing and reusing, extended producer responsibility (makers must take back products), and conscious choices.

• Article 48A: the State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife
• Article 51A(g): every citizen has a duty to protect and improve the natural environment
• Article 21: courts have read the right to life as including a right to a healthy environment (for example, Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, 1991)

Other important laws include the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, which created the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for quick environmental justice.

Good laws do not guarantee good results. Common problems: understaffed and underfunded pollution control boards, weak monitoring, slow courts, pressure for quick development approvals, corruption, and low public awareness. Critics argue that replacing criminal penalties with fines can weaken deterrence; supporters say it makes the system fairer and easier to enforce. Public interest litigation, the NGT, the Right to Information Act and informed citizens help close the gap.