Environment and Society: NBSE Class 11 Sociology notes

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Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, notes, extras, PDF and guide of chapter 9, Environment and Society: NBSE Class 11 Sociology textbook, which is part of the syllabus for students studying under the Nagaland Board. These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed. 

Summary

Ecology studies how living things relate to each other and their surroundings. Social Ecology specifically looks at the relationship between human society and its total environment, including physical and living things. It considers four connected parts: population, environment, technology, and social organisation. Population refers to the people who need things like food and shelter. To get these, people adapt to or use their physical environment. They develop technology for this purpose. How people adapt or use the environment shapes their social relationships and organisation.

An ecosystem includes all living things like humans, animals, and plants, and non-living things like land, water, and air, interacting together. An ecosystem is healthy when these parts are in balance. Human actions can disturb this balance, causing problems. The environment means the surroundings. For humans, this includes land, water, air, plants, animals, and other people. We can talk about the natural environment given by nature, and the man-made environment created by human changes.

Every society has a relationship with its environment. This involves adapting to things humans cannot change, like climate, and using things they can, like minerals or plants. Technology is the tool humans use for both adapting and using the environment. Different levels of technology lead to different types of societies. Hunting and gathering societies know their environment well and use simple tools. Pastoral societies raise animals and often move to find grasslands. Agricultural societies farm the land, settle in villages, and develop more tools and social structures. Urban-industrial societies have large populations, advanced technology, and greatly modify their environment, creating man-made surroundings.

Today, we face an environmental crisis. This means rapid, harmful changes are happening to our natural world, affecting plants, animals, and humans. Globally, this includes problems like damage to the ozone layer and climate change, which is the warming of the Earth. The crisis began largely with industrial societies using fuels that pollute, needing more resources for goods, and growing populations demanding more resources and creating more waste.

Locally, the crisis appears as pollution. Pollution is when harmful substances damage the environment. Air pollution happens when the air quality becomes poor due to dust or harmful gases, causing health issues. Water pollution occurs when unwanted things like waste make water unsafe for life. Noise pollution is too much noise from sources like factories or traffic, disturbing normal life.

Society needs to respond to this crisis. One response is environmental conservation. This means protecting nature, avoiding wasteful use of resources, stopping unnecessary forest cutting, and planting new trees. It also involves changing how we live to consume less. Another response is keeping the environment clean. This includes treating waste properly, using cleaner technologies like eco-friendly engines, disposing of garbage safely, using materials that can be recycled, and planting trees. People should also encourage each other to keep their surroundings clean and green.

Textbook solutions

Very Short Answer Type Questions

1. What is ecology?

Answer: Ecology emerged as a branch of Biology to study the relationship between living creatures and their environment. It deals with the relationships between plants and animals among themselves, and the relationship between plants, animals and their physical environment.

2. What is social ecology?

Answer: Social Ecology is the study of the relationship between human society and its total environment, which includes the physical environment and the biological environment. Ogburn and Nimkoff define Social Ecology as the study of relationships between communities and their environment. It is considered a branch of Sociology, though some sociologists prefer to define it as Human Ecology, the study of the relationship between man and his environment.

3. What is ecosystem?

Answer: An ecosystem is a single system comprising constituents like human beings, animals, plants, and the physical environment, as considered by ecologists.

4. What is environment?

Answer: Environment means the ‘surroundings’. For human beings, it includes all non-living things, living things like plants and animals, and even other human beings. Generally, environment means the surrounding of man, which consists of the geographic environment (land, water, air, temperature, and so on) and all plants (flora) and animals (fauna).

5. What is environmental crisis?

Answer: The term ‘environmental crisis’ refers to the rapid and undesirable changes in the quality of the natural environment, which have very harmful effects on all forms of life (plants and animals), human beings, and society.

6. What is global warming?

Answer: Global warming is the rise in the earth’s average temperature due to increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Global warming is popularly known as climate change.

7. What are environmental pollutants?

Answer: An environmental pollutant is a harmful solid, liquid or gaseous substance in such concentration that it is injurious to living beings.

8. What is air pollution?

Answer: Air pollution is the imbalance in the quality of air so as to cause adverse effects on living beings. It is caused by dust, carbon particles, and harmful gases.

9. What is water pollution?

Answer: Water pollution is the presence of an excess of undesirable substances in water, such as decomposed vegetables, animals, urban waste and garbage, and industrial waste. Water pollution is harmful to life.

10. Name any one practice that can contribute to keeping the environment clean.

Answer: One practice that can contribute to keeping the environment clean is planting trees and reducing deforestation and soil erosion.

11. What are pastoral societies? (’12)

Answer: Pastoral societies are societies whose economy is based on the domestication of animals. They need vast grasslands for grazing their animals, therefore their habitations are grasslands, and they are also usually nomadic in nature.

12. Write the meaning of urban ecology. (’14)

Answer : Urban ecology refers to the study of the relationship between human society and its environment in the context of urban settings. It examines how urban centres, characterized by large populations, significant control over the environment, and advanced technological modifications, create a man-made environment distinct from the natural environment.

Short Answer Type Questions

1. What are the four aspects of social ecology? How are they inter- related? (’13)

Answer: Social ecology has four aspects. They are: 1) population, 2) environment, 3) technology, and, 4) social organisation. These aspects are interrelated. Population is the biological component of a society and needs food, clothing and shelter. In order to satisfy these basic needs, the population adapts itself or exploits the physical environment. For this purpose, a society develops technology. Adaptation or exploitation of the physical environment gives rise to different types of social relationships. Technological advances further influence social organisation.

2. Explain the concept of social ecology.

Answer: Under the influence of Biology, Social Ecology came into existence to study the relationships between human society and its environment. This environment includes the physical environment and the biological environment. Therefore, Social Ecology is the study of the relationship between human society and its total environment. Ogburn and Nimkoff define Social Ecology as the study of relationships between communities and their environment. Social Ecology is a branch of Sociology, but many sociologists prefer to define Social Ecology as Human Ecology and define it as the study of the relationship between man and his environment.

3. Name the four aspects of human ecology.

Answer: The document states that many sociologists prefer to define Social Ecology as Human Ecology. The four aspects listed under Social Ecology, which can be considered aspects of Human Ecology in this context, are: 1) population, 2) environment, 3) technology, and, 4) social organisation.

4. Discuss the relationship of pastoral societies with their environment.

Answer: The economy of the pastoral societies is based on the domestication of animals. They need vast grasslands for grazing their animals, therefore their habitations are grasslands. They also are usually nomadic in nature.

5. Discuss the relationship between hunting-food gathering societies and their environment.

Answer: In hunting and gathering societies, people have intimate knowledge about their environment. They know where animals are found and which animals can be hunted for food. They also know what types of fruits and tubers can be collected for food, and know about plants with medicinal properties. Their technology for hunting includes hunting skills and simple weapons.

6. Discuss the relationship between agricultural communities with their environment.

Answer: While hunting and pastoral societies adapt themselves to their environment, agricultural societies begin the control and exploitation of their environment. They settle down in valleys and fertile areas. Technology begins to develop from agricultural implements.

7. How do agricultural societies give rise to urban centres and cities?

Answer: With surplus production in agriculture in agricultural societies, the stage is set for further development into urban centres or towns and cities.

8. What are the global dimensions of the environmental crisis?

Answer: The environmental crisis at the global level is seen in ozone depletion, global warming or climate change. Ozone depletion is the formation of a hole in the layer of ozone in the earth’s atmosphere that blocks the harmful rays of the sun. Global warming is the rise in the earth’s average temperature due to increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Global warming is popularly known as climate change.

9. What is environmental pollution?

Answer: Pollution is the deviation from the natural composition of the environment which results in adverse effects on living beings.

10. Why is conservation of environment necessary?

Answer: Conservation of the environment is necessary because all living organisms get their requirements from the environment, but the stock of natural resources is limited. Nature has the capability of regenerating its resources, but the process is slow. In pre-industrial societies, there was a balance between human consumption and the earth’s capacity to regenerate. However, in industrial and urban societies, this balance has been seriously disturbed, and rapid population growth has further aggravated the situation. Therefore, we need to involve ourselves in the conservation of the environment.

11. Differentiate between pollution and pollutants.

Answer: Pollution is the deviation from the natural composition of the environment which results in adverse effects on living beings. A pollutant is a harmful solid, liquid or gaseous substance in such concentration that it is injurious to living beings.

Essay Type Questions

1. Explain the meaning of social ecology.

Answer: Under the influence of Biology, Social Ecology came into existence to study the relationships between human society and its environment. This environment includes the physical environment and the biological environment. Therefore, Social Ecology is the study of the relationship between human society and its total environment. Ogburn and Nimkoff define Social Ecology as the study of relationships between communities and their environment. Social Ecology is a branch of Sociology. But many sociologists prefer to define Social Ecology as Human Ecology and define it as the study of the relationship between man and his environment. Social ecology has four aspects: 1) population, 2) environment, 3) technology, and, 4) social organisation. These aspects are interrelated.

2. What is ecosystem? What are its components?

Answer: The concept of ecosystem is a basic concept in Ecology. Ecologists consider human being, animals, plants and the physical environment as constituents of a single system, called the ecosystem. The ecosystem has two types of components. They are:

• Biotic or living things and includes human beings, animals and plants.
• Abiotic or non-living things consisting of all non-living components like land, water, air, and so on.
  The ecosystem exists because of the interrelationship between the different constituents. An ecosystem is said to be balanced if all the components are properly related.

3. Discuss the relationship between environment and society with examples. (’12)

Answer: Every society has its environment. The nature of a society depends on its environment. Therefore there is a close relationship between a society and its environment. This relationship has two aspects, namely, i) adaptation, and ii) exploitation.

• Man and his society must adapt itself to some elements of the environment. This is because man cannot change these elements. For example, geographic elements like climate, mountains and earthquakes are beyond the control of man. Therefore, he has to adapt himself.
• Man and his society exploit other elements of environment. For example, mineral resources, plants and animals can be exploited by man and his society.
  Technology is the means by which both adaptation to and exploitation of the environment takes place. Therefore, technological development has given rise to different types of societies with different types of relationships with their environment.

4. Distinguish between the different types of societies on the basis of their relationship to the environment.

Answer: Sociologists distinguish different types of societies in their relationship to the environment:

• Hunting and gathering societies: In hunting and gathering societies, people have intimate knowledge about their environment. They know where animals are found and which animals can be hunted for food. They also know what types of fruits and tubers can be collected for food and about plants with medicinal properties. Their technology for hunting includes hunting skills and simple weapons. The division of labour is mainly between males and females.
• Pastoral societies: The economy of the pastoral societies is based on the domestication of animals. They need vast grasslands for grazing their animals, so their habitations are grasslands. They also are usually nomadic in nature.
• Agricultural societies: While hunting and pastoral societies adapt themselves to their environment, agricultural societies begin the control and exploitation of their environment. They settle down in valleys and fertile areas and build villages. Technology develops from agricultural implements to cottage industries. Arts and crafts develop, leading to an elaborate division of labour and social stratification. With surplus production in agriculture, the stage is set for further development into urban centres.
• Urban-industrial societies: After the Industrial Revolution, urban industrial societies came into existence. Urban societies differ from other types regarding population, environment, technology and social organisation. Urban centres have large populations. There is a great amount of control over the environment and modification of environment, creating a man-made environment different from the natural one, possible due to technological advancement. Urban economy depends on trade, commerce, industry and other services. Social organisation differs significantly from villages due to the predominance of secondary groups and impersonal social interaction.

5. Discuss briefly the origin of environmental crisis.

Answer: The origin of the environmental crisis can be traced to the emergence of urban-industrial societies. Industry replaced muscle power with combustion engines which use fossil fuels, namely, coal and oil. These engines release pollutants into the atmosphere like carbon dioxide and other harmful gases, and also discharge industrial waste into the air, water and soil. The development of industries increased the desire for material possessions, leading to increased use of natural resources like forest products, causing deforestation. Along with industrial development, rapid population growth has been responsible for the present environmental crisis. A growing population needs more natural resources for food, shelter and clothing, and also produces greater amounts of waste and pollutants, especially in towns and cities. Both industrialization and rapid population growth have radically changed the relationship between human society and environment, leading to increased use of natural resources and production of pollutants, creating the environmental crisis in the pursuit of material affluence.

6. Explain the social response to environmental crisis.

Answer: Social response to the present environmental crisis has two dimensions. They are: i) environmental conservation; ii) keeping the environment clean.

• Conservation of Environment: All living organisms get their requirements from the environment. Nature has the capability of regenerating resources, but the process is slow and the stock is limited. In pre-industrial societies, there was a balance between human consumption and the earth’s capacity to regenerate. In industrial and urban societies, this balance is seriously disturbed, aggravated by rapid population growth. To deal with this, we need to involve ourselves in the conservation of environment, which means avoiding wasteful practices that damage the environment, like stopping unnecessary deforestation which leads to soil erosion. We can also involve ourselves in projects of afforestation and greening the environment. A more basic task is to change our life style and avoid wasteful consumption and wastage.
• Keeping the Environment Clean: It is of utmost importance to keep our surroundings clean and green. Things that can be done include: treating industrial waste, urban waste and garbage; using eco-friendly motors and engines; disposing of domestic waste and garbage properly; using eco-friendly and recyclable materials while avoiding non-degradable ones like plastic bags; planting trees and reducing deforestation and soil erosion. Individuals can also prevent others from damaging the environment and encourage others to keep their surroundings clean and green.

7. Explain the need for the conservation of environment.

Answer: All living organisms including human beings get their requirements from the environment. Our earth provides the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. It provides us with material for our clothes and houses. Nature has the capability of regenerating or replenishing its own stock of resources, but this process is slow, and the stock of natural resources is limited. In the pre-industrial societies, there was a balance between the human consumption of natural resources and the earth’s capacity to regenerate them. But in industrial and urban societies this balance has been seriously disturbed. Rapid population growth has further aggravated the situation. Therefore, in order to deal with the situation, we need to involve ourselves in the conservation of environment. Environmental conservation means avoiding wasteful practices that damage the environment. For example, we need to stop unnecessary and mindless deforestation because it leads to soil erosion.

8. Identify some of the ways that you can adopt to keep the environment clean and green.

Answer: There are many things that can be done to keep our environment clean. Some of them are the following:

i) Treating industrial waste, urban waste and garbage will prevent water and air pollution
ii) Using eco-friendly motors and engines, especially in transport vehicles to prevent air pollution.
iii) Disposing of domestic waste and garbage in a way that they do not pollute water or the soil.
iv) Using eco-friendly materials and avoiding non-degradable materials like plastic bags.
v) Using materials that can be recycled. For example, paper can be recycled
vi) Planting trees and reducing deforestation and soil erosion.

In addition to adopting these ways, individuals can also prevent others from damaging the environment and encourage others to keep their surroundings clean and green.

9. Describe the different local aspects of environmental crisis found in different types of pollution.

Answer: Local aspects of environmental crisis are different types of pollution. Pollution is the deviation from the natural composition of the environment which results in adverse effects on living beings. A pollutant is a harmful solid, liquid or gaseous substance in such concentration that it is injurious to living beings. Different types include:

• Air Pollution: Air pollution is the imbalance in the quality of air so as to cause adverse effects on living beings. It is caused by dust and carbon particles and harmful gases. It creates conditions like the smog. Air pollution causes disease like Tuberculosis, breathing problems and other airborne diseases.
• Water Pollution: Water pollution is the presence of excess of undesirable substances in water. Such substances are decomposed vegetables, animals, urban waste and garbage, industrial waste, etc. Water pollution is harmful to life. It can cause diseases like dysentery, cholera and jaundice.
• Noise Pollution: Noise pollution is excess of noise in the environment. It is caused by noise from factories, machines, automobiles, etc. Noise pollution affects normal life.

Problem Solving

our neighbourhood is not clean because people dump different types of waste material just outside the house. How will you go about making it clean?

Answer: To make the neighbourhood clean, I would first try to talk to the neighbours and encourage everyone to dispose of their domestic waste and garbage properly, perhaps in designated bins, so that it doesn’t pollute the surroundings, water, or soil. We could organize a community effort to clean up the existing waste. I would also suggest we try to reduce waste by using materials that can be recycled, like paper, and avoiding non-degradable materials like plastic bags as much as possible. We could also plant some trees or create green spaces once the area is clean to make it look better and improve the environment. The main goal is to work together and urge everyone to keep our surroundings clean and green.

Think and Answer

What are the benefits of keeping the surroundings of your house clean?

Answer: The benefits of keeping the surroundings of your house clean are:

(i) Prevents Diseases: Proper disposal of waste prevents the spread of diseases like dysentery, cholera, and jaundice which can be caused by water pollution from garbage, and reduces breeding grounds for pests that carry diseases. Keeping the air clean by avoiding burning waste prevents respiratory problems.
(ii) Healthier Environment: A clean surrounding means less air, water, and soil pollution. This leads to cleaner air to breathe and safer water, contributing to the overall health and well-being of everyone living there.
(iii) Improved Quality of Life: A clean and green environment is more pleasant to live in. It reduces unpleasant smells and sights associated with waste and contributes positively to mental well-being.
(iv) Environmental Protection: By managing waste properly and keeping the area clean, we contribute to the conservation of the environment and prevent harmful substances from damaging the local ecosystem.