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Environment Engineering, Entrepreneurship

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Topic includes

- Environment
- Ecology
-  Pollution
-  Types of pollution
- Explanation different pollution types
- Entrepreneurship

Environment engineering

Environmental engineering is a professional engineering discipline that takes from broad scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiology, and mathematics to create solutions that will protect and also improve the health of living organisms and improve the quality of the environment.

Environmental engineering is the application of scientific and engineering principles to improve and maintain the environment to:

protect human health,
protect nature's beneficial ecosystems,
and improve environmental-related enhancement of the quality of human life

Ecology


The relationship between living things and their surroundings; the study of this subject.

Pollution is now a commonplace term, that our ears are attuned to. We hear about the various forms of pollution and read about it through the mass media. Air pollution is one such form that refers to the contamination of the air, irrespective of indoors or outside. A physical, biological or chemical alteration to the air in the atmosphere can be termed as pollution. It occurs when any harmful gases, dust, smoke enters into the atmosphere and makes it difficult for plants, animals, and humans to survive as the air becomes dirty.

Types of Pollutants


In order to understand the causes of Air pollution, several divisions can be made.

Primarily air pollutants can be caused by primary sources or secondary sources. The pollutants that are a direct result of the process can be called primary pollutants. A classic example of a primary pollutant would be the sulfur-dioxide emitted from factories

Secondary pollutants are the ones that are caused by the intermingling and reactions of primary pollutants. Smog created by the interactions of several primary pollutants is known to be as a secondary pollutant.

Air pollution

Air pollution can further be classified into two sections- visible air pollution and invisible air pollution. Another way of looking at air pollution could be any substance that holds the potential to hinder the atmosphere or the well being of the living beings surviving in it. The sustainment of all things living is due to a combination of gases that collectively form the atmosphere; the imbalance caused by the increase or decrease in the percentage of these gases can be harmful to survival.

Various Causes of Air pollution


1. The burning of fossil fuels
Sulfur dioxide emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and other factory combustibles are one the major cause of air pollution. Pollution emitting from vehicles including trucks, jeeps, cars, trains, airplanes cause an immense amount of pollution. We rely on them to fulfill our daily basic needs of transportation.

But, their overuse is killing our environment as dangerous gases are polluting the environment. Carbon Monoxide caused by improper or incomplete combustion and generally emitted from vehicles is another major pollutant along with Nitrogen Oxides, that is produced from both natural and man-made processes.

2. Agricultural activities
Ammonia is a very common byproduct from agriculture-related activities and is one of the most hazardous gases in the atmosphere. Use of insecticides, pesticides, and fertilizers in agricultural activities has grown quite a lot. They emit harmful chemicals into the air and can also cause water pollution.

3. Exhaust from factories and industries
Manufacturing industries release a large amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and chemicals into the air thereby depleting the quality of air. Manufacturing industries can be found at every corner of the earth and there is no area that has not been affected by it. Petroleum refineries also release hydrocarbons and various other chemicals that pollute the air and also cause land pollution.

4. Mining operations
Mining is a process wherein minerals below the earth are extracted using large equipment. During the process dust and chemicals are released in the air causing massive air pollution. This is one of the reasons which is responsible for the deteriorating health conditions of workers and nearby residents.

5. Indoor air pollution
Household cleaning products, painting supplies emit toxic chemicals in the air and cause air pollution.

Disastrous Effects of Air pollution


1. Respiratory and heart problems
The effects of air pollution are alarming. They are known to create several respiratory and heart conditions along with Cancer, among other threats to the body. Several million are known to have died due to direct or indirect effects of Air pollution. Children in areas exposed to air pollutants are said to commonly suffer from pneumonia and asthma.

2. Global warming
Another direct effect is the immediate alterations that the world is witnessing due to global warming. With increased temperatures worldwide, increase in sea levels and melting of ice from colder regions and icebergs, displacement and loss of habitat have already signaled an impending disaster if actions for preservation and normalization aren’t undertaken soon.

3. Acid rain
Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the atmosphere during the burning of fossil fuels. When it rains, the water droplets combine with these air pollutants, becomes acidic and then falls on the ground in the form of acid rain. Acid rain can cause great damage to human, animals, and crops.

Solutions For Air Pollution

1. Use public mode of transportation
Encourage people to use more and more public modes of transportation to reduce pollution. Also, try to make use of carpooling. If you and your colleagues come from the same locality and have same timings you can explore this option to save energy and money.

2. Conserve energy
Switch off fans and lights when you are going out. A large number of fossil fuels are burnt to produce electricity. You can save the environment from degradation by reducing the number of fossil fuels to be burned.

3. Understand the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Do not throw away items that are of no use to you. In-fact reuse them for some other purpose. For e.g. you can use old jars to store cereals or pulses.


Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities. Water bodies include for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater.
Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into the natural environment.
What Are the Causes of Water Pollution?
Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,” water is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the reason we have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. It’s also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution.

Categories of Water Pollution


Groundwater
When rain falls and seeps deep into the earth, filling the cracks, crevices, and porous spaces of an aquifer (basically an underground storehouse of water), it becomes groundwater—one of our least visible but most important natural resources. Nearly 40 percent of Americans rely on groundwater, pumped to the earth’s surface, for drinking water. For some folks in rural areas, it’s their only freshwater source. Groundwater gets polluted when contaminants—from pesticides and fertilizers to waste leached from landfills and septic systems—make their way into an aquifer, rendering it unsafe for human use. Once polluted, an aquifer may be unusable for decades, or even thousands of years. Groundwater can also spread contamination far from the original polluting source as it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans.

Surface water
Covering about 70 percent of the earth, surface water is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all those other blue bits on the world map. Surface water from freshwater sources (that is, from sources other than the ocean) accounts for more than 60 percent of the water delivered to American homes. But a significant pool of that water is in peril. According to the most recent surveys on national water quality from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly half of our rivers and streams and more than one-third of our lakes are polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking. Nutrient pollution, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the leading type of contamination in these freshwater sources.
While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have become a major pollutant due to farm waste and fertilizer runoff. Municipal and industrial waste discharges contribute their fair share of toxins as well. There’s also all the random junk that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways.

Various Sources of Water Pollution


There are various classifications of water pollution. The two chief sources of water pollution can be seen as Point and Non-Point.

Point refers to the pollutants that belong to a single source. An example of this would be emissions from factories into the water.

Non-Point, on the other hand, means pollutants emitted from multiple sources. Contaminated water after rains that has traveled through several regions may also be considered as a Non-point source of pollution.
Various Causes of Water Pollution
1. Industrial waste
Industries produce a huge amount of waste which contains toxic chemicals and pollutants which can cause air pollution and damage to us and our environment. They contain pollutants such as lead, mercury, sulfur, asbestos, nitrates, and many other harmful chemicals.

Many industries do not have a proper waste management system and drain the waste in the fresh water which goes into rivers, canals and later into the sea.

2. Sewage and wastewater
The sewage and wastewater that is produced by each household is chemically treated and released into the sea with fresh water. The sewage water carries harmful bacteria and chemicals that can cause serious health problems. Pathogens are known as a common water pollutant; The sewers of cities house several pathogens and thereby diseases.

Microorganisms in water are known to be causes of some very deadly diseases and become the breeding grounds for other creatures that act as carriers. These carriers inflict these diseases via various forms of contact onto an individual. A very common example of this process would be Malaria.

3. Mining activities
Mining is the process of crushing the rock and extracting coal and other minerals from underground. These elements when extracted in the raw form contains harmful chemicals and can increase the number of toxic elements when mixed up with water which may result in health problems. Mining activities emit a large amount of metal waste and sulphides from the rocks which is harmful to the water.

4. Marine dumping
The garbage produced by each household in the form of paper, aluminum, rubber, glass, plastic, food is collected and deposited into the sea in some countries. These items take from 2 weeks to 200 years to decompose. When such items enter the sea, they not only cause water pollution but also harm animals in the sea.

5. Accidental oil leakage
Oil spill poses a huge concern as a large amount of oil enters into the sea and does not dissolve with water; thereby opens problem for local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea otters. For e.g.: a ship carrying a large quantity of oil may spill oil if met with an accident and can cause varying damage to species in the ocean depending on the quantity of oil spill, size of the ocean, the toxicity of pollutant.

Entrepreneurship


Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching and running a new business, which is often initially a small business. The people who create these businesses are called entrepreneurs.

What Is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.

Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy, using the skills and initiative necessary to anticipate needs and bring good new ideas to market. Entrepreneurs who prove to be successful in taking on the risks of a startup are rewarded with profits, fame, and continued growth opportunities. Those who fail, suffer losses and become less prevalent in the markets.

What is government’s role in promoting or stifling entrepreneurship?

 Because the early research on entrepreneurship was done mainly by noneconomists (mostly actual entrepreneurs and management faculty at business schools), the prevailing belief was that new government programs were the best way to promote entrepreneurship. Among the most popular proposals were government-managed loan funds, government subsidies, government-funded business development centers, and entrepreneurial curriculum in public schools. These programs, however, have generally failed. Government-funded and -managed loan funds, such as are found in Maine, Minnesota, and Iowa, have suffered from the same poor incentives and political pressures that plague so many other government agencies.

-  The most critical and most important key success factors that can make an entrepreneur become a successful entrepreneur are:


Willingness to take action. ...
Entrepreneurial knowledge. ...
Entrepreneurial creativity. ...
Entrepreneurial skills. ...
Entrepreneurial intelligence. ...
Patience. ...
Persistence. ...
The ability for teamwork.

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