Social Science English Geography Class X PDF

 Cleanliness, Hygiene and Sanitation For students : z Wash your hands with soap and water before touching any food item. Also instruct and encourage the other members of your family to do the same. z Maintain proper cleanliness in and around your house / school premises. Obse...

 Cleanliness, Hygiene and Sanitation For students : z Wash your hands with soap and water before touching any food item. Also instruct and encourage the other members of your family to do the same. z Maintain proper cleanliness in and around your house / school premises. Observe the cleanliness in your neighbourhood as well. z Wash and clean the dishes before serving any food on them to kill Cleanliness, Hygiene and Sanitation germs. z See that the vegetables, green leaves, etc. are washed properly For students : before cooking. z Wash the fruits, vegetables, etc. properly before consuming. z Wastes such as animal and human excreta, solid wastes, z Cut and trim your nails, hair, etc. on a regular basis. domestic wastewater etc. may cause health problems if pit latrines, dry toilets, urine-diverting dry toilets, septic tanks are z Keep the surrounding and drains of your house clean so that not built and maintained properly. 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View list of e-resources available and click on any e-resource of your choice Social Science Part-II GEOGRAPHY Textbook for Class X Authors & translators Dr. Bimal Kumar Kar (Chapter 1, 3) Dr. Abani Kumar Bhagabati (Chapter 2) Dr. Ashok Kumar Bora (Chapter 4) Reviewer Dr. Manmohan Das Co-ordinators Golok Chandra Bora Dr. Rulima Bharali Prepared by : Board of Secondary Education, Assam Published by : The Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation Limited, Guwahati GEOGRAPHY : A Textbook on Geography as Social Science Part-II for class X in English, prepared and approved by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam and published by the Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation Limited, Guwahati on behalf of Govt. of Assam. FREE TEXTBOOK © The Assam State Textbook Production and All right reserved Publication Corporation Limited, Guwahati No reproduction in any form of this book, in whole or in part (except for brief quotation in critical articles or reviews), may be made without written First Edition : 2015, 2015 (revised) authorization from the publisher. Second Edition : 2016 (revised) Third Edition : 2017 (revised) Printed on : 70 GSM Paper Publisher : The Assam State Textbook Production and Publication Corporation Limited, on behalf of Govt. of Assam for free distribution. DTP : Nilabh Printers Printers : Abhiyatri Mudran Pvtl. Ltd. K.K.B. Road, Chenikuthi, Guwahati-781003 Resource persons involved in the preparation of the textbook Dr. Manmohan Das, Retd. Professor, Dept. of Geography, Gauhati University Dr. Abani Kumar Bhagabati, Professor, Dept. of Geography, Gauhati University Dr. Bimal Kumar Kar, Professor, Dept. of Geography, Gauhati University Dr. Ashok Kumar Bora, Professor, Dept. of Geography, Gauhati University Golok Chandra Bora, Academic Officer, Board of Secondary Education, Assam Dr. Rulima Bharali, Academic Officer, Board of Secondary Education, Assam (Third Edition : 2017)  C ONTENTS Chapter Subject Page Chapter-1 Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 1 1.1 Definition and Subject Matter of Economic Geography 1 1.2 Scope of Economic Geography and its Branches 2 1.3 Meaning and Importance of Resource 5 1.4 Classification and Use of Resources 7 1.5 Conservation of resources 10 Chapter-2 Environment and Environmental Problems 16 2.0 Introduction 16 2.01 The Meaning of Environment 16 2.02 Environmental Problem 19 2.03 Major Environmental Problems 20 Chapter-3 Geography of World 30 3.1 Brief Introduction of the Earth 30 3.2 Distribution of Continents and Oceans 31 3.3 Distribution and Characteristics of the Oceans 33 3.4 Location and Geographical Characteristics of the Continents 37 3.5 Countries of the World 50 Chapter-4 Geography of Assam 61 4.1 Population and Settlement 61 4.2 Transport System 78 4.3 Resources of Assam 86 4.4 Economy of Assam 92  CHAPTER-1 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY : SUBJECT MATTER AND RESOURCE KEY POINTS Definition of Economic Geography and its Subject matter, Scope and Branches Meaning, Importance and Classification of Resource Uses of Resources Resource Conservation: Meaning, Need, Methods and Role of National and International Organizations 1.1 Definition and Subject Matter of Economic Geography: The subject Geography is broadly divided into two divisions – Physical Geography and Human Geography. Economic Geography is one of the important branches of Human Geography. The branch of Geography in which the study of human activities associated with production, distribution, consumption and exchange of resources is done in spatial and temporal contexts is known as Economic Geography. In fact, the way the natural environment of different places on the earth is not the same, the same way its man-made environment is also different. The natural environment of the earth’s surface is characteristically different due to differences in its geological and physiographic structure including climate and soil. For instance, when some part of the earth’s surface Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 1 1  is mountainous highland, its other parts may be characterized by fertile plain, oceanic coastal plains, and some places may again be climatically very cold or very hot. Besides, some areas are covered with forest, or some other areas are confronted with natural hazards like floods and river bank erosion. In addition, like differences in the availability of vegetation, water, mineral resources, etc there also exists marked variation in availability of natural resources and their distribution and characteristic quality on the earth’s surface. Due to the prevalence of such differences in natural environment the relationship between man and environment is not found to be similar in every place, and its resultant human environment also becomes different in different parts of the earth’s surface. Hence, the areas with fertile soil are having developed agriculture, coastal areas for fishing and transport- trade, and the areas rich in mineral resources are industrially advanced. On the other hand, the areas with luxuriant grasslands have livestock rearing. Actually, due to the prevalence of variation in the elements of the natural and man-made environments, human’s way of life and its economic activities also do not remain the same everywhere. In view of such differences, if one place is agriculturally developed, another place may be developed in trade and commerce, or even rich in industrial or fish production activities. That is why all the places on the earth having dependent on one another continue to maintain a kind of interrelationship. In fact, resources and all the phenomena relating to various activities of man are discussed in economic geography. 1.2 Scope of Economic Geography and its Branches: The distribution of economic activities of man and the factors and processes associated with it are mainly studied in Economic Geography. The scope of its study is mainly based on the under mentioned basic questions: (1) Where is the economic activity located? (2) What are the characteristics of the economic activity? (3) To what other phenomena is the economic activity related? (4) Why is the economic activity located where it is? (5) Would it not be better if located elsewhere? Among the above mentioned five questions, the traditional economic geography is associated with the first three. But the latter two questions have laid the foundation of modern economic geography. According to George Chisholm, who is considered as the father of modern economic 2 2 Geography geography, the main objective of economic geography is determination of the economic development trend and direction of a place. On the other hand, according to two other economic geographers C.F. Jones and G.G. Darkenwald, economic geography is associated with productive occupations or activities and attempts to explore the answers to why certain regions are outstanding in the production and export of various articles and why some others are advanced in import and trade and commerce. It means economic geography basically studies the relationship between man’s productive activities and environmental conditions. There are four types of economic activities or occupations of man: (1) Primary Occupation: The human activity through which man collects resources from the nature is called primary occupation. For example, agricultural activity, fishing activity, forest resource collection, mineral resource collection, etc. (2) Secondary Occupation: The human activity through which man transforms the commodities collected from the nature into a usable form by using various technologies is called secondary occupation. For example, manufacturing process, various types of construction and repairing works, etc. (3) Tertiary Occupation: The human activity through which the com- modities produced by means of primary and secondary activities reach the consumers is called tertiary occupation. For example, transport, communication, marketing, wholesale or retail selling, tourism activity, etc. (4) Quaternary Occupation: The human activity through which the secondary and tertiary activities can be made more easy and productive is called quaternary occupation. For example, bank or other financial institutions, publicity media, administration, education and research, etc. As a vast discipline economic geography is studied by using a number of approaches. Among them Regional Approach, Topical or Commodity Approach, Behavioural Approach, Principles Approach, System Analysis Approach and Institutional Approach are worth mentioning. In the contem- porary period quantitative techniques along with Geographical Information System (GIS) and Theory-Model are used in applied economic geography. Hence, in many cases problem solving approach is used in applied economic geography. The way human activities are diverse, the same way many specialized branches of economic geography have emerged. Among these, Agricultural Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 3 3  Geography, Industrial Geography, Geography of Resources, Transport Geography, Marketing Geography, Geography of Planning and Development, Geography of Tourism, etc are worth mentioning (Table 1.1). Such specialized branches of economic geography explain in detail various phenomena associated with a variety of economic activities of man. As every economic activity or development process is very closely related to environment, more emphasis is now given on sustainable development. It may be mentioned that the study of economic geography and its different branches is very closely related to geography of resources. It is because the economic development of any country is greatly dependent on its quality and availability of resources. Table 1.1: Major Branches of Economic Geography and their Subject Matter Branches of Economic Subject Matter Geography 1. Agricultural Geography An important branch of Economic Geography. Here, factors associated with agricultural activity, types of agriculture, distribution and methods of agricultural activity, crop production and its associated theory , marketing and export-import of agricultural produces, etc are studied. 2. Industrial Geographical Here, economic and other factors associated with establishment of indus- try, types of industry and geographical distribution, production of industrial goods, theories associated with location of industry, marketing and export- import of industrial produces, etc are studied. 3. Geography of Resources Here, types of resource, regional distribution of resources, the factors associated with exploration and production of resources, relationship between resource and development, conservation and management of resources, etc are studied. 4. Transport Geography Here, types of transport system and factors associated with it, role of transport on resource distribution, role of transport in movement and economic activities of man, role of transport system towards economic development, viz. industrial development, agricultural development, etc are studied. 5. Geography of Marketing Here, the need of establishing markets and the associated factors, types and distribution of markets and associated theories, etc are studied. 6. Geography of Planning Here, factors associated with economic development, and Development planning strategies, sustainable development, regional and resource- based development process, etc are studied. 7. Geography of Tourism Here, tourism and factors associated with its growth, types of tourism, development and planning process of tourism system, etc are studied. 4 4 Geography 1.3 Meaning and Importance of Resource: All the materials essential for human living are known as Resources. The air, water, sunrays, soil, plants, fruits, minerals, etc found on the earth are all essential to man. Hence, these are all resources. These resources are collected by man mainly from the nature through various means (Fig. 1.1). The re- sources so obtained from the nature are used by man employing its own energy, knowledge and intelligence and skill. It is due to the Fig. 1.1 : Natural resource availability of these resources, apart from fulfilling the man’s primary needs – food, shelter and clothing and many other requirements, the improvement in the living conditions of man has been possible. But, it needs to be mentioned that every material found on the earth is not resource. According to a famous economist Zimmermann, any material to become a resource should have two properties, viz. functionality and utility. It is because of these two properties resource utilization has been able to bring about human welfare and socio-economic development. That is why resource and its use are closely associated with progress of human society. It may be mentioned that the resources are formed as a result of the interactions among the nature, man and culture including science and technology. Man is associated with resource in two different ways – as producer of resource and as consumer of resource. Although many of the resources useful to man are made available from the nature, most of them are transformed as per requirement into more consumable form by man. Moreover, the attributes of functionality and utility of the materials found in nature can be explored only through human knowledge. With the expansion of the horizon of human knowledge many new resources are also created and used. It means, apart from the resources derived from nature, many of the resources, for example, technology, house, roads, indus- tries, schools, offices, agro-farm equip- ments, vehicles, etc are produced by men themselves. That is why these are called Fig. 1.2 : Manmade resource Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 5 5  man-made resources (Fig. 1.2). Moreover, as a producer or a creator of resource man is also a kind of resource. It is known as Human Resource. It is notable that the variation in the use of natural and man-made resources is dependent on the change in human demand and development of new technology. Hence, the meaning of the same resource may be different with respect to change in time and place. Resource is dynamic. Even though a commodity is not used by man today or it is harmful to man today, the same may be used for human welfare in future. In fact, of these materials found on the earth, which are in no way useful or harmful to man are known as Neutral Stuff. For instance, until man did not learn about the use of coal or mineral oil in generation of power, they were simply Neutral Stuffs. On the other hand, the materials or phe- nomena harmful to man are called Resistance. For example, infertile soil, severely flood-af- fected region (Fig. 1.3), etc are resistances. It may be mentioned here that until construction of dam on the river Damodar for generation of hydropower and creation of irrigation facility, the Fig. 1.3 : Flood problem in Assam– A resistance Damodar river that used to cre- ate flood havoc in West Bengal was considered as a resistance. Thus, with the expansion of human knowledge and development of science and technology many such neutral stuffs and resistances found on the earth are getting transformed into resource through human efforts. It is due to such a dynamic attribute of resource, a material or phenomenon which is found to be useful today may get transformed in the course of time into a resistance or neutral stuff. It means with change in society simultaneous change occurs in the concept of resource, and consequent change in resource collection and use. It may be mentioned in many respect both resource and wealth are considered same. But, according to the principle of Economics, the materials which have value in exchange are called wealth. Notably, besides usefulness, the supply of wealth is relatively limited and it can be transferred from one individual to another through money or value. 6 6 Geography For example, land, house, machineries, company share, etc are wealth. All these have market price. But, the sunshine, air, water, soil, rivers, lakes, education, social institutions, good government, public health, etc are not included in the category of wealth. Because some of these are found in abundance and some others cannot be exchanged and do not have market value. Thus, all wealth is resources, but all resources may not be wealth. Moreover, resource use brings about human welfare. But wealth may have both utility and harmful effects. For instance, the substances with market value like poison, chemical insecticides and pesticides, etc are wealth. But, the use of such substances is harmful or dangerous to man. Hence, such materials are not resources. 1.4 Classification and Use of Resources: Many types of resources are found on the earth. The way there are different types of innumerable resources on the earth, the same way their classification may also be done in different ways. On the basis of origin the resources can be broadly divided into natural resource, man- made resource and human resource. Besides, the resources may also be divided into biotic and abiotic; renewable and non-renewable; and individual, national and international resources (Chart 1.1). Although the resources are classified in a number of ways into different groups, many of them are found to overlap with one another in the chart. As for example, plant is a natural resource and at the same time it is a biotic resource and renewable resource. Again, plant is also an individual or national resource. Similarly, gold is a natural resource, and at the same time it is also an abiotic resource, non- renewable resource and individual or national resource. Table 1.2 : Classification of Resources Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 7 7  1.4.1 Natural, Man-made and Human Resource: The resources, for example, sunshine, air, water, soil, plants, animals, minerals, rivers, etc. which after natural formation remain distributed on the earth, are known as Natural Resources. The natural resources are found in solid, liquid or gaseous states, and in metallic or non-metallic form. Many of such natural resources are used as raw materials in different industries. Besides, coal, mineral oil, natural gas, etc are also natural resources (Fig. 1.1) which are used by us as sources of energy. We know that many materials having collected from the nature are converted into more usable forms as per requirement by applying different technologies. Mention may be made in this respect, for example, paper from bamboo; cloth from cotton; different types of dyes, paints, naptha, synthetic cloth, chemical fertilizer, insecticides, soap, plastic, synthetic rubber, wax, etc; different types of food items, medicine, wood, house construction materials, etc. are derived from plants. Such materials as produced through human efforts are known as man-made resources (Fig. 1.2). It is necessary to have adequate skill, education, technology and desire among men so as to make the natural resources useful to man. It is because of these attributes, population is known as human resource. Actually man is the creator of resources. It is due to human resource development despite scarcity of many natural resources and raw materials for industries, the countries like Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, etc have been able to occupy a high position in respect of development in the world. 1.4.2 Biotic and Abiotic Resource: According to physical structure or composition the resources which have life are called Biotic Resources and those without having life are called Abiotic Resources. The plants, animals, fishes, crops, etc are biotic resources. On the other hand, soil, rock, water, air, minerals, coal, etc are abiotic resources. But it is necessary to know that coal, mineral oil, natural gas, etc are of biotic or organic origin in respect of mode of formation. However, in Fig. 1.4 : Renewable resource– Solar energy view of non-living character in present context these are included under the category of abiotic resource. 1.4.3 Renewable and Non-Renewable Resource: Among the available natural resources on the earth, some do not get exhausted after use and some others get gradually exhausted. The 8 8 Geography resources which can be kept unexhausted after use through the process of regeneration are called Re- newable or Inexhaustible Resources (Fig. 1.4). It means sunshine, air, water, plants, animals, human- beings, crops, etc are renewable resources. These resources originate very easily on the earth. Of course, some plant and animal species have been extinct for ever or may get extinct soon due to excessive use or a variety of physical or human factors. On the other hand, the resources which cannot be regenerated after use and get completely exhausted are called Non-Renewable or Exhaustible Fig. 1.5 : Non-renewable resource Resources. For example, coal, mineral oil, minerals (e.g. Copper, Gold, Limestone, Iron, Silver, etc), natural gas, etc are non-renewable re- sources (Fig. 1.5). Once used, such resources get exhausted forever. Hence, adequate emphasis should be given for planned extraction and utilization of these resources so that such types of mineral resources are not easily exhausted. 1.4.4 Individual, National and International Resource: On the basis of ownership all the resources found on the earth can be grouped into individual, national and international resources. The things in possession of individual man – such as land, household properties and good self attributes, e.g. good character, education, working skill, etc are known as Individual or Personal Resources. All the resources under the responsibility or possession of a country, such as transport networks, land, rivers, bridges, wildlife sanctuaries, plants and animals present in forests, educa- tional institutions, administrative sys- tems, government, etc are called National Resources. For instance, Kaziranga National Park is a national resource (Fig. 1.6). On the other hand, national resources belonging to all the countries and the resources under the possession of the whole world, such as oceans and seas and their mineral and biotic resources, atmosphere, forests, etc are together known as International Resources. It Fig. 1.6 : Kaziranga National Park– a national resource Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 9 9  is because all these resources are used for the welfare of mankind. The international organization UNO is responsible for the management of exploitation and utilization of the international resources following already set regulations. It may be mentioned that the distribution of all the resources, more particularly natural resources, is not same. Because some of the natural resources like sunshine, air, water, etc are found everywhere or available in all places on the earth. Such natural resources are called Ubiquitous Resource. On the other hand, the natural resources which are found only in some selected places on the earth are called Localized Resource. For example, coal, petroleum, iron ore, uranium, etc mineral resources, veg- etation, crops, etc are some of the localized resources. 1.5 Conservation of Resources – Meaning, Needs and Methods: The resources, more particularly the natural resources, are not found uniformly on the earth. Many of these natural resources are again non-renewable or exhaustible, that is limited. But, the use of such natural resources has increased tremendously due to rapid growth of population and continued advancement of human civilization. Although the countries like USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, England, etc are not so populous like that of China and India, the use of natural resources is very high in these countries. It is worth mentioning that the main reason behind successfully reaching a very high position in economic development by these countries is the large scale utilization of many natural resources including mineral resources. It is notable that large scale utilization of natural resources in the developed countries and increased use of natural resources due to population explosion in the developing countries have given an indication of gradual exhaustion of many natural resources, more particularly non-renewable ones, throughout the world. In order to overcome or address such a serious situation a comprehensive plan for conservation of resources is taken up worldwide. As exploitation and use of natural resources have considerable impact on the natural environment, more emphasis is now given on conservation of nature. Use of resources and its conservation are very closely associated. Generally, the concept or act of possible complete utilization of any resource without any destruction and misuse is known as Conservation of Resources. It means the main objective of resource conservation is that we have to collect and use the necessary resources from the nature in such a way so that we all continue to get benefit from these 10 10 Geography for long time. By the term ‘Conservation of Resources’ simply does not mean preservation of resources without any use. For example, by conservation of mineral oil means the act of exploitation of mineral oil from the nature without any wastage and its proper use for long time towards human welfare. Although resource conservation is more associated with non- renewable resources, actually the concepts of conservation are appli- cable to all the resources. It may be mentioned that destruction of forests (renewable resource) results in decline of animal habitat including its bio-diversity and disturbance in the environmental balance in such areas. In view of such a situation many plans and projects for conservation of some rare and important biotic resources, such as tiger, elephant, rhino, dolphin, etc have been taken up throughout the world. Besides, many of the valuable plant-species of Assam, such as Sarpagandha, Chalmugra, Kalmegh, Arjun, Agaru, Chirata, Jaifal, Satmul, Suklati, etc are getting extinct. Among the animals getting extinct, Golden Langur, Hoolock Gibbon, wild Buffalo, Pigmy Hog, River’s Dolphin, White Wood Duck, Hornbill, Greater Adjutant Stork, etc are worth mentioning. Moreover, the rapid increase in the use of mineral oil, coal, etc as the sources of energy and chemical fertilizer, chemical insecticides and pesticides, etc in agriculture has caused serious environmental problems due to pollution of air, water and soil. Thus, we have to take up necessary steps for resource conservation including economical use of resources so that our development process lasts long. For instance, in respect of soil conservation, we have to make use of a plot of land for agriculture in such a way so that we continue to get good harvest of crops without depletion of soil fertility. Even though fish is a kind of renewable natural resource, its rapid increase of production has given rise to shortage of fish including its variety in many fishing grounds in the world. Besides, due to rapid increase of motor vehicles and industries and expansion of man’s luxurious modern life style the non-renewable energy resources like coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc are getting gradually vanished. In view of such a situation, conservation and rational use of resources have become very important globally. Otherwise, it would become difficult for sustenance of human and its civilization on this earth. In view of rapid increase of world population and growing environmental problems including depletion of many natural resources efforts are being made worldwide at various levels for environmental protection and conservation of natural resources. For this purpose a Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 11 11  large number of governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations have been formed at international, national, regional and local levels. In this respect an international environment conservation organization under United Nations Organization named International Union for Conservation of Nature – IUCN is worth mentioning. In fact, IUCN was formed in the year 1948 with the initiative of British Biologist Julian Huxley, the founder Director General of UNESCO. The main objective of this organization is to carry out study and research on conservation of global natural environment and natural resources including biodiversity, and to take appropriate measures. It is with the initiative of the IUCN two more international organizations like WWF for Nature (Worldwide Fund for Nature) and World Conservation Monitoring Centre have been established. In this way a large number of associations and organizations have been working at international and national levels for conservation of some specific animal and plant species including overall natural environment. For such purpose a Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has been formed at government level in India. Such government organizations are also responsible for formulation of laws related to environment protection and conservation of natural resources. Under this Ministry an autono- mous institute named Indian Council of Forestry Research and Edu- cation was formed in 1986. Besides, a number of non-governmental organizations like Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Greenpeace India, Wildlife Trust of India, etc are working for protection of the environment. In Assam also a number of non-governmental organizations like Assam Science Society, Aaranyak, etc are working for environment protection, biodiversity conservation, etc. As per decision and appeal of the United Nations Organization 5 th June of every year is celebrated worldwide as the World Environment Day so as to increase awareness among the gen- eral people about the protection of the environment. It may be mentioned here that the process of resource conservation cannot remain active of its own. Its proper ex- ecution requires well-considered and well planned programme. Thus, it is highly necessary to incorporate the following methods for successful implementation of Fig. 1.7 : Alternative (renewable) resource– Hydroelectricity resource conservation programme: 12 12 Geography  (a) Search for Alternative Resource: It is necessary to carry out required research and survey for exploring possible source of alternative resource even when the production of any highly used resource goes on. Synthetic fibre in place of cotton fibre, synthetic rubber in place of natural rubber, etc are a few examples of alternative resources. Besides, in order to reduce the use of non-renewable energy resources like coal, mineral oil, etc, use of renewable resources like solar energy, hydro electricity (Fig. 1.7), wind energy, organic energy, etc needs to be increased. (b) Recycling: In order to reduce the use of raw materials with limited reserve usable disposed garbages can be reused through the process of recycling. For instance, by the method of recycling of the old polythene bag, plastic bottle, paper, iron scrapes, etc the use of raw materials for such products can be reduced to some extent. Thus, the recycling of some usable waste materials helps conservation of resources. (c) Innovation: Necessary study and research are to be undertaken to develop innovation in converting the resources collected from the nature into usable forms. This also helps check misuse of raw materials and increase resource production. Emphasis needs to be given on the use of organic fertilizer so as to check the negative impact of the use of chemical fertilizer. (d) Waste Control: Considerable amount of resources can be conserved if adequate measures are taken to check production of waste materials through their recycling and reuse while converting raw materials to useful resources. For example, while constructing wooden materials after cutting trees, if arrangement is simultaneously made by utilizing waste wood through establishment of some small industries, misuse of natural resources can be checked. If the waste materials of wood and bamboo generated in a paper mill are converted into organic or chemical substances, the pressure on natural resources will automatically fall. (e) Expansion of Knowledge and Education: For proper management of production and use of resources, expansion of knowledge and education is highly essential. Awareness among the people needs to be increased to check unnecessary wastage of resources. (f) Execution of Conservation Related Acts: For proper execution of resource conservation programmes the provision of con- servation acts needs to be strict and transparent and it should be effectively implemented. (g) Proper Assessment of Resource Reserve: For future planning Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 13 13  of resource use a correct assessment of available reserve of any resource is necessary. This in turn helps in curtailing unnecessary use of certain resource and emphasizing to explore alternative resource. (h) Assessment of Future Requirement of Resources: Looking at the extent of present use of a resource and growth rate of population it is highly essential to determine the future requirement of the resource. It is through this effort also unnecessary use and wastage of resources can be checked and at the same it would help in expediting exploration of alternative resource. S U M M A R Y  Definition of Economic Geography: The branch of Geography in which the study of human activities relating to the production, distribution, consumption and exchange of resources is done with respect to space and time is called Economic Geography.  A few major branches of Economic Geography: Resource Geography, Agricultural Geography, Industrial Geography, Geography of Marketing, Transport Geography and Geography of Tourism.  Definition of Resource: All the materials necessary for human living are called resources. As air, water, sunshine, soil, plants, animals, fruits, minerals, etc are all useful to man, these are all resources.  Main Characteristics of Resource: Utility, Functionality and Dynamism.  Types of Resource: Resources are broadly classified into three divisions: Natural resource, Man-made resource and Human resource.  Resource Conservation: Generally the act or concept of complete use of resources without any kind of destruction and misuse is known as Resource Conservation. E X E R C I S E 1. What is Economic Geography? What is its main subject matter? Mention the important branches of Economic Geography. 2. Write in brief about the scope of Economic Geography. 3. What do you mean by economic activities of man? What are such economic activities? 4. Write briefly about the subject matter of the important branches of Economic Geography. 5. Why ‘Resource Geography’ is known as an important branch of Economic Geography? 6. What is meant by ‘Resource’? Mention its main characteristics. 7. ‘Resource is Dynamic’. – Explain. 14 14 Geography  8. Briefly discuss about the necessities of resources with examples. 9. Write in brief about the relationship between resource and man. 10. Briefly discuss about the relationship between resource and science-technology. 11. Write about classification of resources with examples. 12. What is meant by natural resource? Write briefly with examples. 13. What is man-made resource? Write in brief about its use with examples. 14. What are the differences between renewable and non-renewable resources? Discuss briefly with examples. 15. What is meant by ‘Conservation of Resources’? What is its necessity? 16. Write in brief about the methods of resource conservation. 17. Write in brief about the organizations associated with resource conservation and their role. 18. Write short notes: (a) Resource (b) Human Resource (c) Wealth (d) Renewable Resource (e) Personal Resource (f) National Resource (g) Biotic Resource (h) Resource Conservation (i) Resource Recycling (j) IUCN 19. Write the differences between: (a) Resource and Wealth (b) Economic Geography and Resource Geography (c) Resource and Neutral Staff (d) Biotic and Abiotic Resource (e) Renewable and Non-Renewable Resource (f) Personal resource and National resource (g) Man-made Resource and Human Resource (h) Recycling of Resource and Innovation 20. Choose the correct answer: (a) Which of the following is man-made resource? (1) Rivers (2) Mineral Oil (3) Irrigation Canal (4) Forest (b) Which one of the following is abiotic resource? (1) Air (2) Plants (3) Animals (4) Fungus (c) Which one of the following is non-renewable resource? (1) Air (2) Water (3) Crops (4) Coal (d) Which one of the following animals is about to be extinct? (1) One-horned Rhino (2) Pygmi Hog (3) Giraffe (4) Gayal (Mithun) (e) The organization IUCN is under which of the following organizations? (1) UNESCO (2) UNO (3) WWF (4) UNEP Economic Geography : Subject Matter and Resource 15 15  CHAPTER-02 ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS KEY POINTS Meaning of Environment Environmental Problems Major Environmental Problems– Pollution, Desertification, Global warming. 2.0. Introduction: The environment as a theme has drawn utmost attention of the people during the contemporary period. Although the term 'environment' has been in use for a long time, it has now acquired special importance. Presently, almost in all kinds of academic, administrative, commercial and political discussions, the issues relating to environment are commonly referred. That the environmental problems have disturbed people in almost all parts of the world have been currently in media. Now-a-days, all kinds of media are seen putting more emphasis on the environmental issues. That we should keep the environment healthy has become goal and objective for all of us. Necessary importance for environmental education has also been given in the school and college curricula. 2.01. The Meaning of Environment: In a broad sense, environment denotes the condition around an orgnism or a community of organisms. Such a condition includes all Geography 16 necessary elements for survival. These elements are both biotic and abiotic. The biotic elements include all sorts of plants and animals ranging from microbes to large mammals. On the other hand, land, water, air and all other lifeless elements fall under the abiotic category. These biotic and abiotic elements through their interaction create necessary condition or environment for life. In other words, each and every organism or community of organisms depend upon the conditions around. Thus organisms are also constituents of their environment. Human beings are also an organism and they also depend on the environment around. The meaning of environment is very wide and complex from geographical point of view. Four major shperes of the earth determine its environment. These are– (A) Lithosphere, (B) Hydrosphere, (C) Atmosphere and (D) Biosphere. These spheres are interconnected. The condition created by the interaction among them may broadly be called environment. The famous geographer Peter Haggett says that the environment is an outcome of the interaction among land, water, air and life. In this sense, the earth’s environment is a vast and Fig. 2.1 : Global Eco-system complicated system. Within such a vast system, the local and regional environments have been functioning. It means that the environments of all the localities are the constitutents of the vast global environmental system. In order to understand the earth's environment, it is necessary to have brief ideas on the above mentioned spheres and their interactions. (A) Lithosphere : The land component of the earth composed of rocks, soils, minerals, etc forms the lithosphere. The lithosphere covers all the continents where we find the mountains, hills, plateaus, plains, valleys and coasts. The characteristics of the lithosphere and its change in course of time depends on the other three components (hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere) of the earth's environmental system. (B) Hydrosphere : The seas and oceans have formed the earth's hydrosphere. The hydrosphere covers about 71% of the earth's surface. The rivers, lakes and other waterbodies distributed in the continents are also parts of the hydrosphere. The status and change in the hydrosphere depend on the status of the lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Environment and Environmental Problems 17  (C) Atmosphere : From the earth's surface upward extends a gaseous layer. Composed of Oxygen, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Carbon-di-Oxide, Argon, etc. this gaseous layer is called the atmosphere. The atmosphere extends broadly to a height of about 10000 km from the surface of the earth. The characteristics and change of the atmosphere depend on the other three components of the environmental system. (D) Biosphere : The biosphere covers those parts of the earth's environment where life forms occur. These include the earth's surface, down to a few meters from the earth's surface, the seas and oceans and the lower stratum of the atmosphere where birds and insects fly. So far 1.75 million species of plants and animals have been identified in the biosphere. Of these, human beings (Homo sapiens) constitute only a single species. It has been mentioned already that the four major spheres of the earth's environment are interdependent. The interactions among them have given rise to what we call environment. The innumerable elements of these spheres through a complicated network of relationships have determined the earth's present environment. The environment is changing both in terms of space and time. Each of the geographical regions of the world has its own characteristics, although they are interrelated. The quality of the natural elements varies from region to region. There are regional variations with respect to land, water, climate, natural vegetation and wildlife. The natural environment of the places close Fig. 2.2 : Coastal environment to the equator is significantly different from that of the polar areas. The environment of the desert areas is again different. The environment of the river valleys (Fig. 2.3) differs from that of the coastal areas at least to a certain extent (Fig 2.2). Thus the different geographical conditions create various types of environment. Changes occur within the same environment in course of time. Hundred years back from now the environment of the Brahmaputra and the Barak Valleys was notably different, for instance. Factors like population growth, industrialization, urbanization, expansion of transport and communication are responsible for the rapid change of the earth's environment. The shrinkage in forest cover, wetlands, etc has its negative impact on the biosphere and also on the Geography 18 atmosphere. With the spread of population and human activities to the mountainous and the desert areas as well, such areas have experienced rapid environmental changes. Under such circumstances, the study and proper conservation of environment have acquired added importance. Fig. 2.3 : River valley environment 2.02. Environmental Problems: No environmental problem occurs, if the quality of the environmental elements and the mutual relations among them remain normal. At the beginning of the human civilization, there was no problem of pollution like to-day. Natural phenomena like earthquake, volcanic eruption, cyclones created some problem, but never took lives like today. People coexisted with all these. It is important to note that no major problem occurs so long a balance is maintained among the natural and man-made elements. Environmental problems did not disturb people badly so long the relations among the elements of lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere were in balance. But during the last three hundred years or so world population and demand for resources increased so much that the relation among the environmental elements could not remain normal. All the spheres of the earth's environment were put under the growing pressure of human activities. The forest cover declined on the one hand and the presence of Carbon-di- Oxide in the atmosphere started increasing on the other. As a result, new problems began to appear. As these problems are basically linked with the environment, they are referred to as environmental problems. We know that in normal condition the Carbon-di-Oxide (CO2) content in the atmosphere Fig. 2.4 : Industrial pollution Environment and Environmental Problems 19  is 0.035%. This gas absorbs the solar energy reflected from the earth’s surface and thus helps in maintaining a favourable temperature condition for lives both in the atmosphere and the earth's surface. But, if the content of this gas increases in the atmosphere due to certain reasons, then there will be some change in the normal temperature of the atmosphere and the surface of the earth. In the contemporary period, because of the increasing trend of use of fossil fuel in the industries and transport vehicles, the Carbon-di-Oxide content in the atmosphere has increased. This has created serious problems like global warming (Fig. 2.4). Similarly, the processes like deforestation has accelerated the problem of soil erosion. Thus, the growing anti-natural human activities have led to rise of environmental problems in the world. It should be mentioned here that the environmental problems can be geographically divided into three different groups– (A) Local problem, (B) Regional problem and (C) Global problem. The local problems may remain confined to small areas, so far as their genesis and spread are concerned. The instances of such problem may be the land pollution created by a small-scale industry, water scarcity in winter due to shallowing of a wetland, bank erosion problem created by a river in a locality and so on. On the other hand, some problems may be regional in occurrence. The flood problem of the Brahmaputra or the Barak Valley, problem of water pollution in a vast industrial region, problem of underground water shortage in an urban area, problem of soil erosion in a river basin are some examples of such regional environmental problem. Sometimes a regional problem may cover more than one country. Some of the environmental problems on the other hand, cover the entire world. Such problems do not have any geographical boundary. For instance, we can refer to the problem of global warming. As this problem is linked with the atmosphere, it is limitless in terms of coverage. Its impact is felt in the lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, in addition to the atmosphere. The management of such problem needs international efforts. 2.03. Major Environmental Problems: Currently our earth including its people has confronted with various types of environmental problems. The root cause of all these problems is the overgrowing human activities. Factors like spread of human settlements, expansion of agricultural land, growth of industries and urban centres, expansion of transport and comunication have Geography 20 together disturbed the interrelationship among the environmental elements. This has created severe problems in the environmental system. The problems that have caused great loss to human beings and the biological world include different types of pollution, desertification, landslide, soil erosion, global warming, artificial flood, rise of sea level, etc. (Fig. 2.5). Here, some of the major environmental problems have been Fig. 2.5 : Problems of soil erosion discussed. 2.3.1 Pollution : The process of contamination of the environment by harmful substances is simply called pollution. Many of the man-made substances, if added largly to the environment, it may cause harm to the biotic world. Such substances are generally called pollutants. Zinc, Sulpher di-Oxide, Carbon-monoxide, etc. are some of the environmental pollutants. The major elements of environment-land, water and air-being polluted for various reasons may cause harm to human beings and other life forms. Presently, the pollution of these three elements has led to serious problems in different parts of the world. Land Pollution : Land is an important element of nature. It is an indispensible resource for human being. The development of human civilization has been possible mainly based on this resource. It is, however, regretable that the land is getting polluted due to basically human factors. Land looses its natural properties and fertility, when it comes into contact with certain chemicals, poisonous metals, industrial wastes, radioactive substances, acid rain and so on. In such a situation, land is considered to be polluted. Generally, modern farming practice, expanding industries and increasing deforestation are held mainly responsible for land pollution. The modernization of agriculture encouraged the application of chemical fertilizer, irrigation, insecticides, etc., in the crop land. The application of chemical fertilizers causes change in the soil composition and properties. Similarly, the use of underground water in the fields affects the natural property of soil. Moreover, the insecticides and weedicides applied in the fields destory the helpful microbes and other life forms in addition to the targetted insects and weeds. All these pollute the land by changing its natural properties. The industrial wastes and chemical substances also pollute land, if they get mixed with the soils. Environment and Environmental Problems 21  The remains of coal and petroleum also pollute land when these are extracted from below the surface without proper care. Thus land pollution has become a widespread problem in most parts of the world. Air Pollution : The atmosphere is mainly composed of gaseous substances. Some liquid and solid substances are also present in the atmosphere in different states. Among the gaseous substances, Nitrogen (78.08%), Oxygen (20.94%), Argon (0.93%) and Carbon di-Oxide (0.035%) are important. By maintaining a definite proportion, these substances keep the atmosphere in a balance. Surely various problems will occur, if this balance is somehow disturbed. The natural state of the atmosphere may be changed, if certain solid, liquid or gaseous substances are added to the atmosphere by some natural or human processes. If such a change causes some harm to the biotic and abiotic elements, then the atmosphere is said to be polluted. Among the natural factors that contribute towards polluting the atmosphere, the important one is the volcanic eruption. The smoke, ashes and gases that come out from the earth's interior during eruption pollute the air. The example of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in Phillippines may be cited as example in this connection. During this eruption as high as 15-20 million tonnes of sulphur di-oxide (SO2) gas was emitted to the atmosphere and the prevailing winds spread the pollutants to cover a Fig. 2.6 : Eruption of Mount Pinatuba, 1991 huge part of the earth's atmosphere. Moreover, in certain parts of the earth, forest fire also pollutes the atmosphere. Primarily the human activities are responsible for polluting the atmosphere. The growth of industries, urbanization, growth of vehicular traffic and nuclear explosions are some of the major man-made factors that cause air pollutions. Actually, the atmosphere started getting polluted after the beginning of industrial revolution in Europe. The increasing use of fossil fuel has added harmful gases like Carbon- monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxide (NO 2), Hydrocarbon (HC), Sulphur- dioxide (SO 2 ), etc. to the atmosphere. These gases pollute the atmosphere. One of the important consequences of atmospheric pollution is the occurence of acid rain. It has been seen that during the last few decades Geography 22 some of the industrially advanced areas have faced problems arising out of acid raining. Such problems have taken serious turn in the industrial areas of West Europe, United States of America and Eastern Canada. Generally, acid rain occurs when there is maximum concentration of Sulphur di-oxide and Nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. Such rains destroy forests and pollute water of the wetlands. Water Pollution : Just like the atmosphere, the hydrosphere is also more or less polluted. The natural state or quality of water gets changed when certain chemical substances, particles, microbes, radiations are added to or passed through it. The process of such change in water is called pollution. In simple words, pollution means the process of making water unusuable due to mixing of some pollutants. Generally the water is polluted if there are human settlements, industries, agriculture, etc. in the water sources, where from wastes get mixed with water. Polluted water harms Fig. 2.7 : Polluted water wastes the plants and animals present there (Fig. 2.7). Such water is not usable for human beings. Generally, the industrial and urban wastes pollute the water of the rivers flowing through or by the side of the towns. The example of the Ganga flowing through North India may be cited in this connection (Fig 2.8). The wastes generated in the towns and cities and industries located on the banks of this river have been drained to the river for a long time and as a result the water of the river, which was considered to be sacred, is now badly polluted. Similarly, from a survey carried out in the United States of America it is evident that 55% of the total length of the rivers of the country is polluted by agriculture related factors. The remaining 16% is polluted by the cities, while 13% by mining activities and another 13% by housing development activities. In the same way, the twenty two towns along with more than 300 industries therein have polluted the water of the Yangtze river in China. We all know how the water of the Bharalu river flowing through the Guwahati Fig. 2.8 : Pollution in Ganga river Environment and Environmental Problems 23  city is being polluted by the urban and industrial wastes (Fig. 2.9). Cleaning these rivers and to make them pollution free has paused great challenge before the coutries concerned. The water of the rivers and wetlands located close to the big industrial regions is polluted by the increasing proportion of acid in the water. The Sulphur di-oxide and Nitrogen oxide present in the atmosphere may come down in the form of acid rain and pollute the waterbodies. Many of the aquatic plant and animal species may be extinct, if the acid content in the water increases. On the other hand, due to various causes the ocean water is also getting polluted now. Becuse of the dumping of industrial wastes and accidents of the oil ships, the ocean water may be polluted. Thus, the water pollution caused by various factors has adversely affected human health and fertility of soil Fig. 2.9 : Water pollution in Guwahati in the continents. 2.3.2 : Desertification The deserts are naturally located in certain specific areas of the world. In the deserts, rainfall is scarce, but evaporation is more. Therefore, the desert environment is dry. Natural vegetation is scarce in the deserts. About 20% of the world’s land surface is covered by the deserts. The snow-covered areas of the polar regions are called cold desert. Here, only the matters relating to the tropical hot deserts are discussed. Desert and desertification do not mean the same thing. Desertification is such a process which renders the productive areas of the tropical region a desert-like situation. The term desertification, however, denotes the spread of the deserts to their peripheral areas (Fig. 2.10). It is worth mentioning in this connection that the environment of the Sahara desert in Africa became so dry in the early 1970s that many animals had to die. People were also badly affected. Under such circumstances, a meeting was held at Nairobi in 1977 under the patronage of the United Nations. Concerned with the problem of desertification, the Fig. 2.10 : Desertification meeting defined desertification as– "the Geography 24 diminution or destruction of the biological potential of the land leading ultimately to desert-like conditions." The process of desertification reduces the productivity of land and causes expansion of desert to the neighbouring and even the distant lands. This means that this process contributes towards the spread of the deserts and conversion of fertile areas into deserts. At present, around 35% of the world’s land surface is affected by the process of desertification. Generally, a number of natural and human factors favour the process of desertification. Among the natural factors, drought and global warming are important. The drought condition affects the land productivity and the growth of natural vegetation. This accelerates the desertification process. But the scientists are of the opinion that the global warming, which has made presently everybody worried about, would be a dangerous factor for increasing desertification. There is no doubt that the increasing temperature will make the desert environment more dry. Many have held human activities responsible for desertification. Such activities include overgrazing, expansion of agriculture and deforestation. During the contemporary period, the rapid population growth has increased pressure in the desert and semi-desert regions. This pressure has helped greatly in the expansion of the deserts. At present, the dry areas of about 100 countries of the world have faced the problem of desertification. The proportion of area severely affected by desertification is very high in the continent of North America. As high as 27% of the total dry areas of the continent has been affected by desertification. The next position is occupied by South America with 22%, followed by Asia, Africa and Australia respectively with 20%, 18% and 8%. The low Fig. 2.11 : Measure to resist desertification rainfall areas of the North - Western India have been under the impact of desertification. The solution of the problems of desertification is now a challenging task before the people of the world. Without international co-operation, it will not be possible to resolve this issue. As it is linked with the process like global warming, desertification has gradually acquired a very complicated dimension. The problem will be more intensified, if human activities are directed against nature. It is, therefore inportant to take steps for reducing desertification (Fig. 2.11). Environment and Environmental Problems 25  2.3.3 Global Warming : The earth has experienced a variety of changes during its 4,600 million years long history. The causes of these changes were basically natural. But lately the changes experienced by the earth are mostly man- made. Although the change in climate was caused by natural factors earlier, the present change in atmosphere as well as earth's surface temperature is ascribed to the human activities by the scientists. Termed as global warming, this particular problem has now badly threatened the people of the world (Fig. 2.12). The source of temperature for the earth's surface and atmosphere is the solar energy. Out of the total incoming solar energy, 30% is reflected back by the cloud and the surface of the earth. The atmosphere absorbs 19% of the solar energy and the remaining 51% is released by the earth to the atmosphere as latent heat. Thus the atmosphere and the earth maintain a balance with respect to temperature. Fig. 2.12 : Threat of global warming Maintaining such a balance of temperature has been made possible by the gases present in the atmosphere in specific proportion. It should be remembered in this connection that certain gases can trap the energy reflected back by the earth's surface. These gases include Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), water vapour, etc. These gases help in increasing the atmospheric temperature by traping the energy reflected back by the earth and therefore these are called greenhouse gases. These gases constitute only 0.1% of the total volume of gases in the atmosphere. These gases naturally help in maintaining a balance in the temperature on the earth's surface and the atmosphere. But, if some how some variation occurs in the proportion of these gases in the atmosphere, the natural state of temperature will change. Atmospheric temperature generally increases with the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Among all the environmental problems that have greatly disturbed the people of the world, the problem of rise of temperature in the Geography 26 atmosphere and the earth's surface as well, is the most important one. This has now become a global problem and the question of survival of the entire living world is connected with this. Therefore, the issue of global warming has become a common subject matter in all kinds of academic, administrative, political and economic discussions. The role of Carbon-di-oxide, among all the greenhouse gases, in global warming is the most significant. We all know that the use of fossil fuel started increasing gradually after the industrial revolution and just to meet the demands of certain industries cutting of trees also increased. As a result, the proportion of Carbon-di-oxide gas in the atmosphere started rising. In addition to human activities, volcanic eruption also caused increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Thus during the 150 years or so there has been an increase of Carbon- di-oxide alone in the atmosphere by 30%. Moreover, there has also been increase in the proportion of gases like Methane, Nitrous oxide, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC s), etc. All these gases have caused increase in the atmospheric and earth's surface temperature by traping more and more solar energy. It has already been established that the average surface temperature of the earth has increased by about 0.76 0C from the pre- industrial revolution level. At the same time it has been estimated that the average temperature of the earth's surface will increase by about 5.8 0 C. This type of temperature increase will greatly change the earth's environment and threaten the very existence of lives in the world. In view of this, most of the countries of the world are ready to take up necessary programmes to control temperature rise. The United Nations has come forward to provide necessary guidance to the people of the world. A variety of problems will be there due to the rise of atmospheric temperature. Among them, however, melting of snow in the polar areas, rise of sea level, change in the Fig. 2.13 : Future result of global warming Environment and Environmental Problems 27  growth and distribution of plants and animals, fall of crop output, desertification, etc. are important. It has been estimated that a rise of atmospheric temperature by 2-3 0C will cause melting of snow on the north and south polar regions and rising of sea level (Fig. 2.13). Thus, if the sea level rises by one meter from the present level, about 5 million sq.km of coastal area will get submerged. At the same time many populated islands, deltas, and coral islands will get submerged. Fortunately the people of the world are aware of these problems and the countries have agreed to take up necessary plan unitedly to curb the problem of global warming. S U M M A R Y  In a broad sense, environment denotes the condition around an orgnism or a community of organisms. Such a condition includes all necessary elements for survival.  Four major shperes of the earth determine its environment. These are – (A) Lithosphere, (B) Hydrosphere, (C) Atmosphere and (D) Biosphere.  The environmental problem can be considered geographical in three different ways– (A) Local problem, (B) Regional problem and (C) Global problem.  The problems that have caused great loss to human beings and the biological world include different types of pollution, desertification, landslide, soil erosion, global warming, artificial flood, rise of sea level, etc.  The growth of industries, urbanization, growth of vehicular traffic and nuclear explosious are some of the major man-made factors that cause air pollutions.  At present, around 35% of the land surface is affected by the process of desertification.  During the 150 years or so there has been an increase of Carbon-di-oxide alone in the atmosphere by 30%. Moreover, there has also been increase in the proportion of gases like Methane, Nitrous oxide, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), etc. All these gases have caused increase in the atmospheric and earth's surface temperature by traping more and more solar energy.  A variety of problems will be there due to the rise of atmospheric temperature. Among them, melting of snow in the polar areas, rise of sea level, change in the growth and distribution of plants and animals, fall of crop output, desertification, etc. are main. Geography 28  E X E R C I S E 1. Write in your own words the meaning of environment. 2. Mention some of the biotic and abiotic elements of environment. 3. Write the meaning of lithosphere. 4. What are the features included in the hydrosphere? 5. Write about the composition of the atmosphere. 6. Give an outline of the extent of the biosphere. 7. Discuss briefly the relation among the four major components of environment. 8. Mention the major causes of environmental change. 9. Explain the meaning of environmental problem. 10. Write geographical divisions of the environmental problems. 11. What is a local environmental problem? Give examples. 12. Give two examples of regional environmental problem. 13. Which problems are considered as global environmental problem? 14. Mention the major environmental problems of the world. 15. Give the meaning of the term pollution. 16. What is water pollution? How does it occur? 17. Write a short note on land pollution. 18. Write how air is polluted. 19. What is a desert? Give the definition of desertification. 20. Mention the causes of desertification. 21. Is it possible to control desertification? 22. What is global warming? Mention its causes. 23. What are the probable consequences of global warming? 24. Write how to control global warming. 25. Is there any environmental problem in your own locality? If yes, then explain their causes and indicate some measures for their solution. Environment and Environmental Problems 29  C HAPTER -3 GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD KEY POINTS Brief Introduction of the Earth Distribution of the Continents and Oceans Location and Characteristics of the Oceans Location and Geographical Characteristics of the Continents Capital, Land Area and Population of the Countries of the World 3.1 Brief Introduction of the Earth: The earth, the only habitat of man, is very large. Its total surface area is 510 million square km. It may be mentioned that only about 29 per cent of the earth’s surface area, that is 149 million square km is covered by land and the remaining 71 per cent, that is 361 million square km is covered with water. The land portion of the earth is constituted by the continents like Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Oceania and Antarctica. On the other hand, the huge water portion of the earth is covered with the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans. It may be mentioned that among the continents Asia and among the oceans the Pacific are the largest ones in area. According to the estimates of 2015 the total population of the world is 730 crores or 7.3 billion. It is notable that the topographic character, climate, soil, plants, animals, etc are different in different places on the earth. It is due to such Geography 30 variations of different elements of the natural environment the population distribution and the man’s ways of living are not the same in different places on the earth. Even the socio-economic advancement of different places on the earth greatly depends on the prevailing characteristics of the natural environment. That is why the areas having favourable natural environment and rich in natural resources are generally economically advanced. On the other hand, many areas on the earth having unfavourable natural environment and devoid of necessary natural resources are economically lagging behind. 3.2 Distribution of Continents and Oceans: According to the Continental Drift Theory, in the early stage, that is about 300 million years before (Permian Period of Palaeozoic Era), the earth’s lithosphere was together as a single landmass, which was surrounded by hydrosphere. This state of lithosphere of the earth is known as Pangaea, and the hydrosphere surrounding the Pangaea is known as Panthalassa. After passage of sometime a narrow and elongated sea was formed due to fracture almost in the middle of the Pangaea in east-west direction. It is known as Tethys sea. Formation of this Tethys sea divided the Pangaea into two parts in north-south direction. Its northern part is called Angaraland or Laurasia and the southern part Gondowana Land. During the Mesozoic era, that is about 250 million years ago, due to splitting and continental drift the Laurasia and Gondowanaland got further divided and moved towards the equator and the west and thereby the continents of present form were created. According to the theory of continental drift, North America, Greenland and the landmass of Europe and Asia north of Indian sub-continent were formed after division of the Laurasia. On the other hand, following division of the Gondowanaland South America, Africa, Madagaskar, India, Arabian region, Malayasia and its other islands, Australia, Antarctica, etc were formed. A large portion of the earth’s surface covered by the oceans and seas including rivers, lakes, etc is known as the Hydrosphere. On the other hand, another part of the earth’s surface formed by land slightly above sea-level is called the Lithosphere. It may be mentioned that both these two large hydrosphere and lithosphere of the earth are not forming two separate clusters. It means hydrosphere and lithosphere are pen- etrating within each other through fragmentation of both the units. Of course, all the oceans and seas of the earth excepting the Caspian sea, Environment and Environmental Problems 31 32 W r es phe ter is n em He H m n si p ter he es r W Fig. 3.1 : The Continents and the Oceans of the World. Geography Dead sea and Aral sea are being linked with one another. But the lithosphere, having surrounded by water from all sides, remains divided into four divisions. It means the first part of lithosphere is formed by the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa; the second part is formed by the continents of North America and South America; the third part by Australia including a large number of islands constituting the continent of Oceania; and the fourth part by the continent of Antarctica. On the other hand, among the five oceans of the earth, which are all interlinked and surrounding the continents, the Pacific is located between Asia, North America and South America; the Atlantic is located between North America and South America and Europe and Africa; the Indian ocean is located on the south of Asia, east of Africa and west of Oceania; the Northern or Arctic Ocean on the north of North America, Europe and Asia; and the Southern ocean is on the south of South America, Africa and Oceania (Fig. 3.1). It may be mentioned that a large proportion of the hydrosphere (57 per cent) is confined to the southern hemisphere. On the other hand, a large portion of the lithosphere (67 per cent) is confined to the northern hemisphere. That is why about 90 per cent of the world’s human population lives in the northern hemisphere. 3.3 Distribution and Characteristics of the Oceans: It is not possible to determine the exact boundaries of all the oceans in the earth as they are all interconnected. Even then the spatial extent of the oceans has been roughly fixed for ease of their study. Out of five oceans, as already mentioned, three oceans, such as the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian, are spatially spread to both northern and southern hemispheres. Only, the Southern ocean is located in southern hemisphere, and the Northern ocean in the northern hemisphere (Fig. 3.1). Among all the oceans, with respect to land area or spatial extent, the Pacific ocean is the largest and the Northern ocean is the smallest (Table 3.1). Although the water surface of the oceans is smooth, their bottom topography is very rugged. The way mountains, hills, plateaus, plains, etc. make the topography of the lithosphere rugged, in the same way ridges, trenches, etc also turn the oceanic floor rough. The average depth of ocean floor is 4000 meter. We know that from the line of contact of lithosphere and hydrosphere the depth increases towards middle of the ocean and different landforms are found. Generally, from the coast to the middle of oceans and seas there exist Continental Shelf, Environment and Environmental Problems 33  Continental Slope, Deep Sea Plain, Oceanic Canyon, Oceanic Ridge and Island and Deep Sea Trench (Fig. 3.2). In fact, the shallow part of the oceans and seas (depth up to about 200 meter) surrounding the coasts is called the Continental Shelf. The considerably deep part (depth up to about 2000 meter) after the continental shelf is known as the Continental Slope. After the continental slope there exist very deep oceanic floor (depth up to 4000 meter), deep oceanic trench (on an average with depth up to 8000 meter in the middle of the ocean) and a large number of scattered ridges, islands, etc appearing above the sea level. Among the oceanic trenches, the Mariana Trench or Challenger Trench (with depth 11, 022 meter) of the Pacific ocean floor is the deepest. Continental Shelf Continental Slope Coast Ocean Fig. 3.2 : Continental Shelf (Mahidhal) Table 3.1: Distribution of Land Area of the Oceans Land Area Proportion to Total Land Ocean (in million km2) Area to the Hydrosphere (in per cent) 1. Pacific Ocean 165.2 45.8 2. Atlantic Ocean 82.4 22.8 3. Indian Ocean 73.4 20.3 4. Southern Ocean 20.3 5.6 5. Northern Ocean 14.1 3.9 Total Hydrosphere 361.0 –– The areal extent and major characteristics of the of the oceans are presented below. Geography 34  (1) Pacific Ocea