Summary
Contents
Subject index
‘This is a very interesting book. It is a very good introduction to key issues without some of the hype found in Western texts… Certainly it should be a standard text in teacher training situations for the breadth of its approach. Many senior school students would find the overviews easier to understand than in some texts and could use the exercises as awareness training. Overall, a fascinating text’ - TENews
‘This text has been written by ten top ranking Indian specialists involved in different fields of environmental studies…. With current data organized in an interesting manner, the book makes stimulating reading and should encourage students to explore on their own and find out more about the topics under discussion. In addition to original case studies the book also contains tables, illustrations and figures elucidating the important points raised in the discourse…. Each chapter ends with evaluation exercises, a set of questions and discussions which can ideally be carried out within the classroom. All this is systematically followed by appendices, glossary and index…. It is a rich source of concise and accurate information. A must for all reference libraries’ - http://www.dawn.com
This timely book addresses the issue of environmental sustainability and aims to raise awareness in people of the concerns within their own environments.
It identifies four key concepts: understanding how the Earth's natural systems work; accessing information about the state of the planet; acquiring tools and skills for productive and efficient environmental management; and committing to using natural resources sensitively and equitably. The book also uses case studies of individual and collective action and contains exercises and questions for discussion.
Energy
Energy
Energy is an essential ingredient of all activity on earth. Human society has progressed because it has learnt to harness and use more and more energy (see Illustration 5.1, ‘Consumption of Energy in the Development of Human Society’). Early humans acquired the 2,000 kcal of metabolic energy necessary for survival by gathering and eating plants. About 400,000 years ago, they discovered the use of a new source of energy—fire.
Illustration 5.1 Consumption of energy in the development of human society
By using wood fires for cooking, keeping warm and protection against wild animals, an early hunter-gatherer probably used not more than 5,000 kcal per day. Over time, humans learnt to use fire to extract metal from ores and to forge tools. The metal tools made ...
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