Wallaga university

Faculty of Technology
Department of Architecture

Introduction to Environmental
sciences
A RC H 2 3 4 2

Lecture two
 IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENT STUDIES:

• For architect: The environment studies enlighten us,

about the importance of protection and conservation of
our indiscriminate release of pollution into the
environment.
• It also deals with important issues like safe and clean
drinking water, hygienic living conditions and clean and
fresh air, fertility of land, healthy food and development .
 IMPORTANCE ENVIRONMENT STUDIES:

1. Environment Issues Being of International Importance

• It has been well recognized that environment issues like global
warming and ozone depletion, marine pollution and biodiversity
are not merely national issues but are global issues and hence
must be tackled with international efforts and cooperation.
2. Problems Cropped in The Wake of Development
• Development, in its wake gave birth to Urbanization, Industrial
Growth, Transportation Systems, Agriculture and Housing etc.
 IMPORTANCE ENVIRONMENT STUDIES:

3. Explosively Increase in Pollution

• there is a heavy pressure on the natural resources including land.
Agricultural experts have recognized soils health problems like
deficiency of micronutrients and organic matter, soil salinity and
damage of soil structure.
4. Need for An Alternative Solution
• It is essential, specially for developing countries to find alternative
paths to an alternative goal. We need a goal as under:
(1) A goal, which ultimately environmentally sound and sustainable
development.
(2) A goal common to all citizens of our earth.
 IMPORTANCE ENVIRONMENT STUDIES:

5. Need To Save Humanity From Extinction

It is mandatory upon us to save the humanity from extinction.
Consequent to our activities constricting the environment and
depleting the biosphere, in the name of development.
6. Need For Wise Planning of Development
Our survival and sustenance depend. Resources extract, processing
and use of the product have all by coordinated with the ecological
cycles in any plan of development our actions should be planned
ecologically for the sustenance of the environment and development.
 Human-Environment Interaction
• Refers to ways people interact with their environment
• Human-environment interaction can affect human
life, as society impacts the environment in everyday
activities. This occurs in examples such as driving
(releasing carbon dioxide emissions), and your diet
(the food you eat based upon the natural resources
around you).
• Human-environment interaction focuses on three
main ideas. These are how society depends on,
adapts, and modifies the environment.
 Human-Environment Interaction
Relationships between human activity and the environment
• Our environment means our physical surroundings and the
characteristics of the place in which we live.
• Humans have been interacting with their environment since
people first walked the Earth. For example, humans have been
cutting down forests to clear land to grow crops for centuries and
by doing so we have altered the environment.
• Conversely, the environment affects us in many different ways as
well. A simple example is the way we change our clothes in
response to cold or hot weather.
• A good climate, accessible clean water, fertile soil, etc. are aspects
of the physical environment that enable people to live and thrive.
However, harsh environments, such as a very hot climate, limited
water and infertile land, make it more difficult for people to
survive.
 Human-Environment Interaction
Examples of a Human Environmental Interaction
• Often, the human relationship with the environment is perceived
as negative due to the damage that is caused to the environment
because of humanity, which is why sustainability must be
maintained in these human-environmental interactions. There are
many examples of how humans interact with the environment.
These include:
• Deforestation
• Energy Resources
• Water Use
• Waste
• Pollution
• Tourism
• Urban Expansion
 Human-Environment Interaction
1. Deforestation
• is the clearing of forests to utilize the forest or the land differently, such as in
agriculture.
• Deforestation occurs for a number of reasons; infrastructure, agriculture ,for
construction development and feed livestock. These can regularly be seen as
negative human-environment interactions because the action of deforestation
removes a precious natural landscape and habitat that is key to a variety of
species.

Proportion of land area in

Ethiopia covered by forest (%)
from 2002 to 2010. (MoFED,
2012a)
 Human-Environment Interaction
• The conversion of forests to agriculture greatly reduces
biodiversity, which is a measure of the variety of living
organisms (all life forms). Biodiversity is important for
humans because we use other living organisms to provide
several essentials:
Food: we use plants and animals such as fish, goats, wheat,
rice and maize as sources of food.
Medicines: many traditional medicines are made from plants
and animals and new medicines are developed from them.
Ecological services: living organisms, especially plants and
micro-organisms, play an important role in processes that
maintain our lives and environment such as providing
oxygen, cleaning the air, purifying water, breaking down
 Human-Environment Interaction
2. Energy Resources
• The use of renewable or non-renewable resources is a critical factor
when considering energy resources.
• Fossil fuels have been the main energy source for global
industrialization, but because they are non-renewable, the quantity is
ultimately limited and their use is not sustainable over the long term.
• Burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change. There are
several renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. Wood used as a fuel is
renewable in the sense that trees will regrow but there are other
disadvantages such as deforestation,
• In Ethiopia, windfarms are harnessing wind power to generate
electricity (Figure 1.4) but the most important source of renewable
energy in Ethiopia is water.. Another renewable energy source is
solar power, using photovoltaic cells that convert the sun’s energy
into electricity
 Human-Environment Interaction
2. Energy Resources

Figure 1.4 Windfarm at Ashegoda, Tigray Region

 Human-Environment Interaction

Renewable Energy Resources Non-Renewable Energy Resources

Geothermal – generates energy through the
Earth's thermal energy, which is found in the
-
Earth's crust.
Solar – the generation of energy from
Coal
sunlight.
Wind Oil
Tidal - energy generated from breaking
Gas
waves
Hydropower – fast flowing water (often from
Nuclear
a dam) is used to generate energy.
 Human-Environment Interaction
3. Water resources
• Water is depended upon, and modified for human use as an interaction with
the environment. Due to its essential nature, human have modified their
natural environment in order to increase their access to precious water
sources.
• High dependence on water creates water scarcity, where in society can suffer
consequences of no water for crops or drinking use, which can lead to health
issues and economic issues.
• the environment can face pressures such as droughts. As the continued
modification of the environment can lead to desertification.
. The direct use of water by people falls into three main categories:
1. domestic uses, including drinking, washing and cooking
2. agricultural uses, principally irrigation
3. industrial uses, in manufacturing processes and for energy generation.
The relative proportions of these three categories vary in different parts of the
world, but globally the sector using the most water is agriculture (FAO, 2012)
(Figure 1.5).
 Human-Environment Interaction
3. Water resources

Figure 1.5 Global water withdrawal by sector. (Adapted from FAO, 2012)
 Human-Environment Interaction
• water is also essential for the environment and to maintain
biodiversity. Rivers, lakes and wetlands are important habitats for
wildlife and need a minimum amount of water at all times. This
becomes a problem when the demand for water for human
activities exceeds the supply.

• Water is not an endlessly renewable resource. In many parts of the

world water demand is significantly above sustainable water
supply. Sustainable water supply means there are adequate
supplies, in both quality and quantity, to meet the current and
future needs of people and of the environment.

• Many countries are already experiencing water stress or scarcity.

These terms refer to the volume of water available relative to the
use and demand for it, which is linked to the population served.
 Human-Environment Interaction
• In practice, for Ethiopia, the problem of water supply is
not so much about the volume of water that is available.
• The problem is the infrastructure and investment
required in delivering adequate quantities of safe water
to all the people wherever they live.
• The availability of water and access to a safe supply
varies considerably throughout the country and between
rural and urban populations
Human-Environment Interaction

Figure 1.7 Loss of water from Lake Alemaya,

between 1986 and 2005. (UNEP, n.d. 2)
 Human-Environment Interaction
4. Production of waste and pollutants
• Following on from our use of natural resources, it is expected that
wastes are produced. For the WASH sector, the most important of
these is our own bodily wastes.
• Waterborne diseases are caused by pathogens (disease-causing
agents) in water and food that have been contaminated by the
wastes from infected people.
• Industry, agriculture and energy production all generate wastes
that can pollute air, water and soil.
For example, the leather industry produces large amounts of liquid
wastes from the tanning process. These wastes contain organic
materials such as fat from the hides and toxic (poisonous) chemicals
including some human carcinogens (cancer-causing agents).
 Human-Environment Interaction
4. Production of waste and pollutants

Human–environment interaction and the generation of waste and pollutants .

 Human-Environment Interaction
5. Technology and the environment
• Technology improves the quality of our environment. For
example, energy can be generated from renewable sources such as
wind and solar power, which reduces our reliance on non-
renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels.
• Another example of the benefits from technology is the highly
advanced eco-friendly wastewater treatment plant at the St.
George Brewery in Addis Ababa. This plant recovers nutrients and
waste water from the brewery that would otherwise be released
into the environment. This type of technology can help to alleviate
the problem of water shortage, prevent surface water pollution and
protect the environment.
 Human-Environment Interaction
6. Agriculture and environment
• Agriculture is very important in Ethiopia to provide essential food
crops and as a source of income, contributing about 46% of our
country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• About 80% of the labor force in Ethiopia is in the agricultural sector,
so it is vital to the livelihoods of the majority of people.
• However, agriculture also has significant negative impacts on our
environment, including loss of biodiversity, pollution, climate change,
soil erosion and the use of large amounts of water for irrigation.
• Agricultural activities are also major sources of water pollution.
Pesticides and fertilizers applied to crops may wash into rivers and
leach into soil and groundwater.
• Poor farming practices, especially on steeply sloping land, are a
significant cause of soil erosion in Ethiopia because rainfall washes
away the soil particles downhill.
 Human-Environment Interaction
6. Agriculture and environment

Good agricultural practices such as building terraces on sloping land

helps to conserve soil.
Thank You