What are green technology and environmental sustainability? Green technology is the application of science and technology that is environment-friendly and does not harm the ecosystem.
Environmental sustainability is the activity that protects the environment or the life support system, for the present and posterity. Let us focus on four principal aspects on this account, i.e., lifestyle, construction activities, mining and industrial activities, and waste management. Environment-friendly life style is otherwise understood as green lifestyle. The first and foremost thing to lead green lifestyle is to reside in smart or energy efficient building (Green Building) that ensures thermal comfort, natural ventilation, optimum availability of day light, safe drinking water, good sanitation and waste recycling.
The traditional source of energy is fossil fuel energy mostly from coal, petroleum, diesel, liquid gas, etc that generates greenhouse gases. Energy can be procured from renewable sources like solar photo-voltaic panels, solar geysers, biogas, etc. Concrete building generates about 40 per cent of the greenhouse gases (GHG), but if it is a green building GHG generation is quite minimum.
The second thing recommended for green lifestyle is to avoid sedentary life style, do walking or cycling for short distance, depend less on use of fossil fuel transport vehicles, and use green fuel or battery operated vehicle. The third thing is regarding use of energy efficient electric bulbs, electronic appliances like air conditioner, refrigerator, grinder, kitchen appliances, etc. The fourth thing which is more important is to eat home-cooked food from organic vegetables and avoid junk food.
Every second child in India suffers from some form of nutritional failure. Government of India launched ‘POSHAN Abhiyan’, a flagship programme with a budget of Rs 950 crore in 2017-18, and 3,400 crore in 2018-19 to meet the nutrition deficiency.
If one looks at the modern lifestyle impact on health, it is perturbing. The non-communicable diseases (NCDs) namely hypertension, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis, chronic liver diseases, osteoporosis, obesity, renal failure, etc are in increasing order. In India the estimated proportion of all deaths due to NCD has increased from 37.09 per cent in 1990 to 60 per cent in 2000, 68 per cent in 2012 and to 71 per cent in 2016 (41 Million).
India produces 150 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste (CDW) annually. Real estate is a lucrative business. Even the constructed buildings are demolished to raise multi-floor towers leading to generation of huge quantity of construction waste. Most of the materials in this waste can be recycled and reused, but it is not generally done.
Mining and industrial activities generate huge quantity of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes. During such activities one should be careful about the adverse environmental impacts. Around 3.5 lakh people of Angul and Dhenkanal industrial region are severely suffering from various respiratory diseases due to heavy air pollution and are under threat of Covid-19.
Industrial mine wastes are of various types such as fly ash from coal using industries, red mud from aluminium industries, slag from steel plant and ferrochrome plant, spent pot lining from aluminium industry, cement kiln dust, gypsum, sludge from paper mill and other sources, press mud from sugar factory, mine over burden, mine washing and mine dust. The new generation wastes are plastic, electronic and nuclear.
Municipal waste, industrial waste and bio-medical waste are governed by Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, Hazardous Waste Management Rules 2016 (and other Rules depending on the nature of the waste) and Bio-medical Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2019 respectively. Similarly there are rules and guidelines for management of the new generation wastes.
Sustainable development has four pillars, namely, wise use of natural resources, protection of environment, economic development, and socio-cultural development. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) –VII is dedicated to ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’. It means universal access to energy, increasing energy efficiency, achieving affordable and clean energy, and integration of renewable energy technologies.
At the initiative of India at the Paris Climate Accord in 2015, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) has been instituted with its head quarters in India. It is a coalition of 121 solar rich countries to address energy needs. Most of these countries, lying fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Tropics of Capricorn get nearly 300 days of good sunshine in a year and therefore they are most suited to move on the solar energy path. This green energy will reduce fossil fuel use and minimise waste generation.
SDG- XI addresses to ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’. It means make the cities and human settlements inclusive, safe and resilient. This SDG is translated into the concept of ‘Smart city’, which means a city where there is low carbon economy lifestyle, healthy environment and sanitation, rich culture, qualitative education, health, transport and communication, respect for citizens safety, peace and tranquility, equity, and good governance. City forest is a new emerging concept. Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thakeray decided to shift the proposed car shed for the Metro Phase-III project from Aarey colony to Kanurmark in Mumbai to set apart about 800 acres as forest area in Aarey colony. This is a classic example of political will and attitude for eco-city planning.
The Delhi Cabinet approved the country’s first tree plantation policy. Delhi Government has also taken decision for installation of a smog tower at Connaught Place to clean the air. Farmers in neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh burn paddy crop residue before onset of the winter. The stubble burning which emits toxic pollutants like methane, carbon monoxide, carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc adds to the air pollution problem. As a solution to the problem the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa has developed a new technology from fungal extraction to decompose the straw in the crop field itself. Therefore, the farmers need to adopt the technology instead of burning the straw.
The SDG-XIII stresses on ‘Climate Action’. The greenhouse gas level now increased from pre-industrial (1,750) level of 278 ppm to 407.8 ppm (2018). Climate change is an urgent issue that demands immediate attention. This SGD calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts which are the reflections of climate aberrations and frequent natural calamities.
(Dr Patro is president, Orissa Environmental Society. snpatro11@gmail.com. Mob: 943790420)