The chief economic product of forests is timber, but the economic benefits, in terms of climate control, pollution abatement,

and wildlife maintenance, have rarely been calculated. The economic importance of nontimber forest products is also increasing. The forest is also vital as a watershed. Because of the thick humus layer, loose soil, and soil-retaining powers of the trees' long roots, forests are vitally important for preserving adequate water supplies. Almost all water ultimately feeds from forest rivers and lakes and from forest-derived water tables. In addition, the forest provides shelter for wildlife, recreation and aesthetic renewal for people, and irreplaceable supplies of oxygen and soil nutrients. Deforestation, particularly in the tropical rain forests, has become a major environmental concern, as it can destabilize the earth's tempeature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. Efforts to control deforestation, including those at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, remain ineffective. Well, forests are used for many different indistries like timber, plant medicine, palentolagy and many different species of animals are found in them, some of which can be potentially useful for man. Also forests can have roots in the servicing indistries, foodstuff indistries, paper, textiles, and even mining. Well, forests are used for many different indistries like timber, plant medicine, palentolagy and many different species of animals are found in them, some of which can be potentially useful for man. Also forests can have roots in the servicing indistries, foodstuff indistries, paper, textiles, and even mining.

Employment Employment in forest-based manufacturing (primary and secondary) accounts for over 8 percent of all manufacturing employment in Indiana (15). Forest-based manufacturing ranks fourth in employment behind transportation equipment, metal, and plastics and rubber products manufacturing and above machinery, food, and chemical manufacturing employment.

Forest-based manufacturing employs over 54,000 people in Indiana (15). Although Indiana ranks 35th of the 50 States in timberland area (12), the Hoosier State places 16th nationally in forest-based manufacturing employment, with over 54,000 employees. The States timberland supports the equivalent of 12 forest-based manufacturing jobs for each 1,000 acres, with over $340 of annual payroll generated for each acre. The total forest-based manufacturing payroll for the State is over $1.4 billion (15). Between 1988 and 1998, forest-based employment decreased in many western States while it increased in Indiana. In 1998, Indiana employed more forest-based manufacturing workers than Idaho, Montana, Colorado, and Alaska combined (1)!

Secondary Products Value of shipments for forest-based manufacturing ranks sixth in the Stateabout 6 percent of the Statewide valuetotaling over $8 billion in 1997 (14). About 85 percent of the value of shipments is attributed to the manufacture of secondary products. On the national scene, Indiana is a major player in the production of secondary wood products. Five industry sectors (product lines) rank in the top five nationally in value of shipments (16):

Product

National Rank

Wood office furniture Mobile homes Wood kitchen cabinets, counter tops Upholstered household furniture Prefabricated wood buildings Exports In addition to domestic markets, Indiana forestbased products are in demand worldwide. Furniture and cabinets, lumber and millwork, flooring, veneer facing for furniture, doors and door parts, prefabricated wood buildings, pallets, and cardboard boxes are a few examples of products manufactured locally and shipped to other states and countries (2). In 2002 Indiana exported forest-based products valued at nearly $354 million (4). Included were wood products valued at over $137 million (13th in the State), paper products at $80 million (18th), plus an additional $135 million of furniture and bedding products (14th).

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Rising of water table on earth surface is called waterlogging. The word salinity is drived from saline/salt . The excess of salt present on earths surface is called salinity Water Logging: Soaking of agricultural land caused by a rising water-table [the surface of groundwater in the soil] or excessive irrigation. [Waterlogging] compacts soil, deprives roots of oxygen and contributes to salinization. Salinization or Salinity: The buildup of salts in soils.

Any type of noise which is unpleasant to our human ears is considered as noise pollution. Hard and loud sounds created by factories, machinery, trains, automobiles, explosives, fire crackers, and explosives are also playing a major role in creating the noise pollution. Pollutions are also created by the natural disasters like volcanic eruptions and hard winds. Regardless of how the noise pollution has created definitely it will give an impact on the human health. This type of pollution will cause hearing issues, irritation & headache. Anyhow noise pollutions are not included in the list of major issues but the extreme sounds are very harmful. They can even give a hike to your cholesterol levels .These all factors can even create heart strokes and heart attacks.
Water Pollution

Any type of harmful elements components or contaminants entering in to the water bodies such as oceans, rivers, ponds, lakes and streams can cause water pollution. So many human acts say for example cleaning, dumping waste and washing are playing a vital role to the water pollution. The detergents and soaps are made up of harmful chemicals, synthetic materials which all produce much more contaminants in to the water. Above all dumping the wastes such as cans, plastic materials will also pose a warning alarm. These pollutions are not only making way for the depletion of marine life but also these are very hazardous to human life. Generally polluted water is very safe for the use of agriculture, industrial and drinking water usage.

6. Differentiate between water logging and salinity.

Ans. Water logging. When excessive irrigation is done with brakish water, it raises the water table gradually leading to water logging and salinity problems. Salinity. It refers to the increased concentration of soluble salts in the soil due to wrong agriculture practices. The carbonates, chlorides and sulphates of sodium and traces of calcium and magnesium form a layer on the surface of soil and poses a threat to the survival of plants.

Q. 11. Why is water a unique resource?

Ans. Water plays a vital role in supporting system as follows: 1. It has an influence in regulating climate.

2. Ocean acts as heat bank for coastal regions releasing and absorbing heat. 3. Water falls, tides and river currents are used to move machine and generate hydroelectric power. 4. Water is essential for agriculture and industry. 5. It provides surface for navigation. 6. Water provides hydrogen required in living system. Thus water is a unique resource. Q. 4. Discuss benefits of Dam?

Ans. Benefits of Dams: More than 45000 dams all over the world are estimated to support about 30-40% of land worldwide and supply 19% of total worlds electric power. Thus, they play major role in development of communities and economies. 1. Dams provide water for intensive planned irrigation. 2. Dams are source of hydroelectric energy to meet urban and industrial consumption. 3. Dams check floods.

Q. 2. Write an essay on the impact of dams on people ? What are the benefits and negative impacts on people?

Ans. Most dams are built to control flood hazards, to store water for irrigation or other uses or to produce hydroelectricity. In India, where nearly 75 percent of the population depends on agriculture, the execution of River Valley Projects and dam building are some important steps of growth strategy of the country. Benefits of Dams 1. Dams are needed for power, they can have a positive effect in offsetting environmental costs associated with other power sources. Hydropower is cleaner and safer than nuclear power. Water turbines are also cleaner than coal-fired generators. Furthermore, both nuclear and coal power require extensive mining with great damage to .environment. 2. The dams have tremendous economic upliftment and growth. potential for

3. They can help in checking floods and famines, generate electricity and reduce water and power shortage.

4. Provide irrigation water to lower areas 5. Provide drinking water in remote areas and promote navigation, fishery etc. Negative Impact of Dams 1. Displacement due to Dams. The big dams are being constructed everywhere in tribal or hilly areas. The people of these regions are being uprooted to provide power to big cities, industries and irrigation water to comparatively more prosperous area. This is unethical. Big river valley projects like Hirakund dam (Orissa) Bhakra Nngal dam (Punjab), Tehri dam (Uttaranchal), Sardar Sarovar Project (Gujarat) and Damodar Valley project (West Bengal) etc., have caused large scale displacement of local people. In the last 50 years more than 20 million people have been displaced by dams. 2. Loss of forests, flora and fauna 3. Changes in fisheries and the spawning grounds 4. Siltation and sedimentation of reservoirs 5. Loss of non-forest land 6. Stagnation and water logging near reservoir

7. Breeding of vectors and spread of vector-borne diseases 8. Reservoir induced seismicity (RIS) causing earthquakes 9. Growth of aquatic weeds. 10. Changes in the micro climate 11. Reduced water flow and slit deposition in river 12. Flash floods 13. Salt water intrusion at river mouth 14. Loss of land fertility along the river since the sediments carrying nutrients get deposited in the reservoir.

Q. 7. Discuss the economic importance of forests.

Ans. Economic importance of forests. Forest is considered an industry which plays a significant role in strengthening the economy of a nation. The followings are the important uses of forests

1. Conserve fertility of the soil. The forests check -the soil erosion and conserve the fertile soil. They also improve the soil by increasing porosity. 2. Climate of a nation. The climate is considerably affected by forests which protect life from hot winds and dust storms. Forests also cause rains. 3. Forests provide wood. Indian forests yield valuable timbers wood like teak, sal, deodar, Shisham etc. 4. Forests provide paper. The conifers and bamboos are used as material to prepare paper. 5. Medicinal plants of forests provide medicine of great importance. 6. Forests provide number of products like resins, gums, rubber, food and insecticides. 7. Forest provide shelter to variety of animals. 8. Forests (Quercus). also provide the cork e.g. oak

9. Rayon and artificial silk are obtained from cotton linters. 10. Plastics are also prepared from cellulose nitrate.

11. Natural rubber is also obtained from the forests e.g. Hevea. 12. The other useful products which are obtained from the forests e.g. shellac, natural dyes, lac, honey, wax. 13. Forests provide fuel wood. 14. Forests provide essential oils which are obtained from rosha grass, Khas and sandal wood. They are used in the manufacture of soaps, cosmetic, pharmaceuticals, confectionary, pipe, tobacco and incence. 15. Soap substitute such as ritha and shikakai are important commercial products. 16. Forests have a great aesthetic value.

omes may be hazardous to your health. Frying chicken at the stove, spraying ants with insecticide, taking a hot shower, plugging in a room freshener, or sudsing the rug with detergent -- all these release chemicals that swirl around rooms like invisible dust devils. Household products, furnishings and cosmetics release vapors and particles that people can inhale or absorb through the skin. Then there are the pollutants that are tracked into the house from outside or allowed to waft through open windows that add to the hazard. Plunking down on a sofa, vacuuming the rug or making the bed stirs up the chemical-laden dust. All of this sounds like a scary scenario out of a horror movie, or a paranoid's nightmare of modern industrialized society.

But the nation's best researchers on indoor air pollution are cautioning consumers that levels in houses are many times higher than those from the outdoors, even when compared to city air where trucks and factories belch pollution. And, they add, they can rise to concentrations that would trigger inspections in the workplace. "We spend so much time indoors, yet spend so little time thinking about the quality of our indoor air," said Richard Corsi, associate professor in the Texas Institute for the Indoor Environment at the University of Texas in Austin. "We know a lot more about the effects of occupational exposure to high concentrations of chemicals than we do about the effects of chemicals in our homes," said Corsi, author of dozens of studies on airborne contaminants. People spend 65 percent of their time in their houses, and 25 percent in some other indoor environment. Transit takes from 5 to 7 percent of the time, and usually less than 5 percent is spent outdoors, studies show. Yet, scientists are stymied in predicting health effects. They lack studies on the amount of exposure that people actually get and what the exposure may do to people's health. This month and next, six health and environmental groups are releasing reports on toxic chemicals in the environment: flame retardants in dust, phthalates in cosmetics, pesticides in the human body and the chemical dangers posed to the growing child. The groups support three bills in the California Legislature geared toward increasing the public's right to know: Assembly Bill 2025 requires the disclosure of reproductive toxicants and carcinogens in cosmetics; Assembly Bill 1940 tells chemical manufacturers to provide analytical methods for thousands of chemicals on the market; and Senate Bill 1168 sets up a pilot program to test for toxic chemicals in breast milk. In the past, scientists have documented tobacco smoke, radon gas, lead particles, mold, asbestos and some pesticides as potential contributors to cancer, respiratory disease and other ailments. But exotic chemicals are now emerging as potential hazards, including those in plastic softeners, flame retardants and so-called surfactants in detergents and cosmetics. So what is a consumer to do? While some scientists point out that exposures to chemicals are low, many others say they are cumulative in humans, long-lived in the environment and insufficiently studied. Once thought "inert, " or inactive, many are turning up in the human body and in fish and wildlife. Questions going unasked "How does the new parent know what kind of products to buy when they prepare the new baby's room? Consumers have almost no ability to know of the chemical composition of very common products that are ubiquitous in our society," said John Spengler, professor of environmental

health in the Harvard School of Public Health and author of the authoritative "Indoor Air Quality Handbook." "Nobody has asked the question, 'Do these products have inherent risks and hazards for the population that we should address before we disseminate them widely?' " said Spengler. "Did anybody ask if they could put these in our environment in the first place Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/AROUND-THE-HOUSE-Indoor-airpollution-Home-is-2758122.php#ixzz2K0MSnNp4

Water pollution can cause many problems within and around the home. Common problems often occur with drinking water, pond water and swimming pool water. Drinking water can become contaminated with many different substances that can harm human health and change the colour or odour of the water.

Heavy metals from industrial processes can accumulate in nearby lakes and rivers. This can sometimes contaminate groundwater and end up in our drinking water supply. Heavy metals can slow development, result in birth defects, and cause cancer due to their carcinogenic nature. They can also give unpleasant odors and tastes to the drinking water. Microbial pollutants often result in infectious diseases that infect humans through drinking water. Microbial water pollution is a major problem in the developing world, with diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever being the primary cause of infant mortality. This can also be a problem in the developed world where diseases such as Cryptosporidiosis infect humans through contaminated drinking water. Suspended particles in freshwater reduces the quality of drinking water. Suspended particles can often cause discolouration of drinking water and may have an unpleasant taste. Hard water is water that has high mineral content, usually high levels of calcium and magnesium. This can cause a build-up of minerals in pipelines and cause erosion and blockage problems. Water softeners and conditioners can be used in the water to reduce limescale but can be expensive.

Swimming pool water can become contaminated with a number of different pollutants and may cause changes in water colour and odour, some pollutants may also be harmful to human health.

Discolouration of the swimming pool water could be due to a number of reasons. It may be dirty and cause the water to change a milky colour if the filter is inadequate or blocked. Algae contamination can also cause discolouration, black algae cause black spots to appear in the pool. Other forms of algae contaminate pools when chlorine levels are too low, these often turn the water a green colour. Chlorine is used in many swimming pools to keep them clean. There are certain substances, such as certain types of detergents and some forms of make-up, that don

Indoor air pollution

It refers to the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of air in the indoor environment within a
home, building, or an institution or commercial facility. Indoor air pollution is a concern in the developed countries, where energy efficiency improvements sometimes make houses relatively airtight, reducing ventilation and raising pollutant levels. Indoor air problems can be subtle and do not always produce easily recognized impacts on health. Different conditions are responsible for indoor air pollution in the rural areas and the urban areas.

In the developing countries, it is the rural areas that face the greatest threat
from indoor pollution, where some 3.5 billion people continue to rely on traditional fuels such as firewood, charcoal, and cowdung for cooking and heating. Concentrations of indoor pollutants in households that burn traditional fuels are alarming. Burning such fuels produces large amount of smoke and other air pollutants in the confined space of the home, resulting in high exposure. Women and children are the groups most vulnerable as they spend more time indoors and are exposed to the smoke. In 1992, the World Bank designated indoor air pollution in the developing countries as one of the four most critical global environmental problems. Daily averages of pollutant level emitted indoors often exceed current WHO guidelines and acceptable levels. Although many hundreds of separate chemical agents have been identified in the smoke from biofuels, the four most serious pollutants are particulates, carbon monoxide, polycyclic organic matter, and formaldehyde. Unfortunately, little monitoring has been done in rural and poor urban indoor environments in a manner that is statistically rigorous.

In urban areas, exposure to indoor air pollution has increased due to a variety of
reasons, including the construction of more tightly sealed buildings, reduced ventilation, the use of synthetic materials for building and furnishing and the use of chemical products, pesticides, and household care products. Indoor air pollution can begin within the building or be drawn in from outdoors. Other than nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead, there are a number of other pollutants that affect the air quality in an enclosed space.

Volatile organic compounds originate mainly from solvents and chemicals. The main indoor
sources are perfumes, hair sprays, furniture polish, glues, air fresheners, moth repellents, wood preservatives, and many other products used in the house. The main health effect is the imitation of the

eye, nose and throat. In more severe cases there may be headaches, nausea and loss of coordination. In the long term, some of the pollutants are suspected to damage to the liver and other parts of the body.

Tobacco smoke generates a wide range of harmful chemicals and is known to

cause cancer. It is well known that passive smoking causes a wide range of problems to the passive smoker (the person who is in the same room with a smoker and is not himself/herself a smoker) ranging from burning eyes, nose, and throat irritation to cancer, bronchitis, severe asthma, and a decrease in lung function.

Pesticides , if used carefully and the manufacturers, instructions followed carefully they do not cause
too much harm to the indoor air.

Biological pollutants include pollen from plants, mite, hair from pets, fungi, parasites, and some
bacteria. Most of them are allergens and can cause asthma, hay fever, and other allergic diseases.

Formaldehyde is a gas that comes mainly from carpets, particle boards, and insulation foam. It
causes irritation to the eyes and nose and may cause allergies in some people.

Asbestos is mainly a concern because it is suspected to cause cancer. Radon is a gas that is emitted naturally by the soil. Due to modern houses having poor ventilation, it is
confined inside the house causing harm to the dwellers.