Class 5 Social Studies Chapter 14 Notes from Conserving our Environment. Class 5 Social Studies Chapter 14 Notes covers all the topics in a simplified and easy-to-understand way.
What is the environment?
Everything that is around us is called the environment. It consists of both living and non-living things.
| Living things | Animals, plants, human beings, etc. |
| Non-living things | : Air, soil, water, buildings, roads, and all other man-made things around us, etc. |
Pollution
Mixing unwanted and harmful substances into the environment is called pollution. Contamination of these harmful substances into the environment causes negative effects on nature. (Contamination means being impure)
Reasons of pollution
Humans have created so many things which save our time, make our life easy and comfortable. While doing this we have not cared for the environment and damaged it. The environment is continuously being damaged by pollution.
Types of Pollution
> Air Pollution
> Water Pollution
> Land Pollution
> Noise Pollution
> Radioactive Pollution
> Light Pollution etc.
Air Pollution
| Causes of Air Pollution | Ways to Control Air Pollution |
| Burning of fuels Smoke from vehicles and factories Deforestation etc. | Reducing fuel consumption Using filters in chimneys to filter poisonous gases. Afforestation. |
Water Pollution
| Causes of Water Pollution | Ways to Control Water Pollution |
| Poisonous wastes from industries into the water bodies. Sewage and wastewater from homes into the water bodies. Dumping dead animals and garbage into the rivers. | Treating the wastes from industries before disposing them into water. Setting up sewage treatment plants. Not dumping the dead animals into the water bodies. |
Land Pollution
| Causes of Land Pollution | Ways to Control Land Pollution |
| Throwing the waste openly on lands. Fertilizers, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals. Wastes from Thermal power plants, mining, leather, rubber industries, etc. | Managing the garbage in a better way. Reducing the use of poisonous chemicals and practicing organic farming. Proper waste management from the industries etc. |
Noise Pollution
| Causes of Noise Pollution | Ways to Control Noise Pollution |
| Excessive levels of noise from loud music, honking, etc. High-speed aircraft. Industries with heavy machinery etc. | Reducing the loud music and avoiding unnecessary honking. Following the guidelines for noise levels. Controlling the noise near sensitive areas like jungles, hospitals, schools, etc. |
Radioactive Pollution
| Causes of Radioactive Pollution | Ways to Control Radioactive Pollution |
| Release of radioactive substances into the environment. Nuclear testing of weapons, explosions, and nuclear weapon production. Mining and handling of radioactive materials. | Proper waste management of radioactive wastes from the power plants. Reducing the use of nuclear weapons. Keeping the extra safety measures in the industries related to radioactive materials. |
Light Pollution
Light Pollution is another type of pollution that is caused by excessive and unwanted use of light during the nighttime.
> Light pollution changes the natural conditions of the atmosphere and environment.
> Sensible and controlled use of light helps in controlling light pollution.
What is Waste?
Anything that is not useful anymore is called waste material. It can be anything like empty refills, used disposable glasses, old notebooks, parcel packaging, wrappers of food items, rotten vegetables, broken old USB cables, etc.
Types of wastes
Biodegradable Waste: Materials that rot and mix up into the soil with time.
Examples – Waste from animals and plants.
Non-Biodegradable Waste: Materials that don’t rot and mix up into the soil with time.
Examples – Broken glass, metal cans, plastics, etc.
Importance of Waste Management
All the waste materials are disposed into the dustbins by the households. These waste materials are collected by municipal corporations of a city and dumped outside the city.
The disposal of waste materials is a huge concern for nature. Improper disposal affects the environment in a negative way.
Various types of pollution are caused by the improper disposal of waste materials. It also becomes the reason for various diseases.
Proper waste management is a must for reducing pollution and saving the environment.
How to reduce waste materials?
By following the policy of 4Rs.
Refuse: Refusing to use plastics.
Reduce: Reduce the over purchase and use of anything.
Reuse: Instead of throwing things, reuse the usable things.
Recycle: Make other useful things from the waste materials.
What is Composting?
The process of keeping the biodegradable waste into a pit for about 2-3 months so that it rots and becomes manure or compost.
It is a recycling process of biodegradable waste materials.
Manure is used in farming and it is very good for the plants.
How can we contribute to reduce the pollution?
> By not wasting electricity.
> By reducing fuel consumption.
> By managing household waste properly.
> By reducing the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals.
> By going for green energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, etc.
> By creating awareness.
> By saving paper
> By more and more planting trees.
Days to remember:
Environment day : 5 June
Earth Day: 22 April
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