TRIBHUBVAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING

KANTIPUR ENGINEERING COLLEGE Dhapakhel, Lalitpur

ASSIGNMENT:-

TECHNOLOGY ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

Submitted To: Submitted By: ER. SUKRA RAJ PAUDEL MAHENDRA ADHIKARI(15/BEX/063)

RAHUL JHA(20/BEX/063)

RAVI POUDEL(21/BEX/063)

SABIN BHANDARI (23/BEX/063)

SABIN SHRESTHA (24/BEX/063)

SABITA NEPAL(25/BEX/063)

SANTOSH SUBEDI(31/BEX/063)

SAURAV DAHAL(32/BEX/063)

SHISHIR RAJ ACHARYA(33/BEX/063)

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2065 Baishakh

1. Define information society. Describe in detail how industrial society entered into

information society.

Industrial revolution describes the historical transformation of traditional societies into

modern societies by industrialization of the economy. The main defining feature of the

revolution was dramatic increase in per capita production that was made possible by the

mechanization of manufacturing and other processes that were carried out in factories. Its

main social impact was that it changed an agricultural society into an urban industrial

society.

In similar terms, the information revolution describes the transformation of the industrial

society into the information society. The defining feature of the information society is

that the economy of a state or a nation is driven by the creation and the efficient use of

information. This does not mean that there is no manufacturing process. However, the

construction and manufacturing sector has expanded little while the information sector

has experienced a tremendous growth. The information society is based on the motto that

“knowledge is power”. The information is basically future oriented.

In an information society (in most of the developed countries)most of the service workers

are engaged in the creation , processing and distributing of the information as

programmers, teachers, engineers, system analysis, accountants, lawyers, stock brokers,

insurance people, scientist, technicians, bureauerats, etc. with in goods manufacturing

factory it selves many workers hold information jobs. In industrial society also some kind

of the knowledge was required to do jobs. The difference between industrial and

information workers is that for the industrial worker the information is a mean to achieve

the final result, while for the information worker the information is in itself the final

result i.e. the creation, processing and distribution of the information is itself the job. In

an industrial society, the essential resource was capital and since not many people had

access to enough capital, the access to the economic system was limited. But in the

information society, the harnessing of the collective information has been critical, where

creative and innovative use of information can provide a competitive advantage.

2065 Baishakh and 2064 poush

2. What are water pollution and its causes? Describe in detail the causes, impacts and

mitigation measures for a) BOD b) fertilizers and pesticides c) arsenic d) pathogenic

organism e) iron and manganese e) nitrate on water pollution.

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Water pollution means the process of foreign organic, inorganic, biological and physical

substances or property in the water that tends to degrade its quality either creating a

health hazard or otherwise decrease the utility of water.

Causes

The major causes of water pollution are chemical, biological or physical material that

degrades water quality. The causes can be classified into eight category each of which

presents its own set of hazards.

Petroleum products

Pesticides and herbicides

Heavy metal

Excessive organic matter

Sediments

Infectious organism

Thermal pollution

Though the problem of water pollution is age old but in the modern era the problem like

population increase sewage disposal, industrial waste etc have polluted our water

resources considerably. The contributions to water pollution are sewage, oil, and

industries waste, and medical waste, agricultural and radioactive waste. Water pollution

not only change the physical properties of water like colour, odour and turbidity, taste

and temperature but also make it acidic and saline due to presence of dissolve and

suspended chemical pollutants.

a.BOD

Sewage also carries oxygen-demanding sub-stances-the organic wastes that exert a

biochemical oxygen demand as they are decomposed by microbes. This is the BOD.

BOD changes the ecological balance in a body of water by depleting the dissolved

oxygen (DO) content. The higher the BOD that is, the more organic matter, the greater is

the problem created by the decomposition of the organic matter. Microbial activity by

bacteria requiring oxygen may reduce the normal dissolved oxygen (DO) content in a

stream or lakes to less than 4mg/L below which most fish cannot survive. When all DO

disappear, anaerobic conditions occur and objectionable odors ensue. Because the amount

of dissolved oxygen (DO) in water decreases with increasing temperature the amount of

oxygen in streams is more critical to aquatic life in summer than it is in winter.

b. fertilizers and pesticides

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chemical used to kill unwanted animals and plants, for instance on farms or in suburban

yards, may be collected by rainwater runoff and carried into streams, especially if these

substances are applied by rainwater runoff and carried into streams, especially if these

substances are applied too lavishly. Some of these chemicals are biodegradable and

quickly decay into harmless forms, while others are nonbiodegradable and quickly decay

into harmless or less harmful forms, while others are nonbiodegradable and remain

dangerous for a long time.

c. arsenic

It is toxic to living organisms, including humans and to the microbial population utilized

in waste water treatment processes.

d. pathogenic organism

Domestic sewage is a primary source of pathogens. Concern for the public health arises

when sewage that may contain pathogens is discharged into receiving waters used for

water supplies or recreation. Although limitations on the density of “indicator” organisms

control the degree of pollution from human wastes, they do not assure the absolute safety

of the water.

e. iron and manganese

2065 baishakh

3. What causes the climate change? Explain in detail its impact on earth. Also describe

measures to mitigate global warming gases.

Climate change is the measurable change in the average temperature of the earth atmosphere,

oceans and land mass. Scientist believe the earth is currently facing a period of rapid

warming bought by raising level of heat trapping gases, known as green house gases present

at the upper level of the atmosphere.

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The causes of climate change can be divided into two categories, human and natural causes.

It is now a global concern that the climatic changes occurring today have been speeded up

because of man's activities.

The main contributors of manmade causes of climate change in are:

carbon emissions come from industrial processes

from agriculture – for example methane emissions from livestock and manure, and

nitrous oxide emissions from chemical fertilizers

carbon emissions from transport

the use of fuel to generate energy (excluding transport)

About 40% of carbon emissions are the result of decisions taken directly by individuals. The

biggest sources of emissions for most people are likely to be:

energy use in the home (the main use is heating)

driving a car

air travel

There are other elements of people’s homes that contribute to climate change indirectly.

Everything, from furniture to computers, from clothes to carpets, all use energy when it is

produced and transported – and this causes carbon emissions to be released.

The natural variability and the climate fluctuations of the climate system have always been

part of the Earth’s history however there have been changes in concentrations of greenhouse

gases in the atmosphere growing at an unprecedented rate and magnitude. The United

Nations, governments and many top scientists around the world believe that we must act now

to stabilize and arrest further changes.

The general state of the Earth's climate is largely affected by how much heat is stored in the

atmosphere. Processes which affect this storage of heat can cause the climate of the Earth to

change. It is not just man-made pollution of the atmosphere which can cause climate change.

Changes in the amount of greenhouse gases in the air have occurred naturally during the

history of the Earth, leading to climate changes. Changes in the way ocean water circulates

around the world can also influence climate, because the oceans store even more heat than

the atmosphere. Changes in the amount of heat from the Sun will affect the Earth's climate

too.

Large volcanic eruptions can cause the Earth to cool over a couple of years, because huge

amounts of pollution injected in to the air block out a lot more sunlight. This type of climate

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change can also occur when a large comet or meteorite strikes the Earth. Luckily, this only

happens every few million years.

Other processes can change the Earth's climate, but only very, very slowly, over millions of

years. When continents move around the world, and when mountains ranges are built, the

changing patterns of landmasses affects the way the heat in the atmosphere and in the oceans

is stored. Continental drift however, takes millions of years, and so therefore does any

climate change caused by it.

Global warming refers to the increase in average temperature of the earth, particularly at the

lower atmosphere due to the abundant increase of greenhouse gases. This is primarily due to

the human’s intervention and the life style they have adapted in the recent years.

There are many easy solutions to reduce global warming and its impact. First of all, people

should understand the problem and take measures accordingly to save the world.

The measures to mitigate global warming gases:

People should reduce the usage of electrical appliances which emits green house

gases. For e.g. the refrigerator releases chloro fluro carbon (CFC) and the incandescent

light lamp emits 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. This can be replaced by a compact

fluorescent light bulb which saves much energy.

Follow RRR-Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. People should not dump waste products in the

ground. Plant products, food waste, vegetable dump undergoes anaerobic decomposition

i.e. they break down to produce methane, a green house gas instead of oxygen. Hence the

product usage and wastage should be reduced or recycled for a healthy atmosphere.

Trees absorb a large amount of carbon dioxide. Many trees should be planted since

they involve in photosynthesis, food preparation with the help of sunlight. During this

process, trees absorb carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Also, existing forests should be

saved and usage of plant byproducts shouldn’t be wasted.

Usage of green power prevents 300 kg of carbon dioxide to be emitted into the

atmosphere. The electricity obtained from the renewable resources like wind and water

is called green power. The cost is also low in case of green power.

Insulation of the ceiling of a house and power saving is the important factor to reduce

global warming. The electric appliances should be switched off instead to hold it in stand

by mode. This will save more power since standby mode consumes 40% of the energy.

People should use only energy efficient appliances. Thermostat should be used for air

conditioners since it reduces the temperature automatically.

Consumption of organic food should be increased because organic soil absorb large

amount of carbon dioxide. Buying local food reduces the consumption of fuel. Cows

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emits large amount of methane due to their vegetarian diet. Hence meat consumption

should be reduced. Also tetra packs should be used instead of tinned food.

Periodic maintenance of the vehicles helps in efficient usage of fuel and reduces release

of green house gases. Proper inflation of tyres should be done and fuel wastage should be

avoided.

Teach your neighborhood and friends about the cause and impacts of global warming

and methods to reduce it. Conservation of forests also forms a factor to reduce global

warming.

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Q. No. 13 Development and Environment: Two Side of Same Coin.

Answer:

Development is the gradual process of growing. It is in fact becoming or making something more mature, advanced

and organized. . And environment is the natural condition in which we live in. Development is ever happening

process. Industrialization, urbanization, etc are the part of development work. These development works has an

impact on environment in one way or other.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the world's population was only 635 million. The global population is more

than 6 billion now. This growing population needs more resources for survival. All these people should have reach

to the development works. To meet their demand the forest area is being narrowed everyday which has negative

impact on environment.

Industrial development and environmental destruction are two sides of the same coin. Market liberalization and

globalization have had unforeseen consequences for the environment. For example Japan's decision to begin

liberalizing imports of lumber products in the 1960s contributed to the degradation of tropical rain forests in the

Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Different types of gases from industries results in different environmental problems like acid rain,depletion of ozone

layer which results in global warming. Moreover, the industrial waste if dumped directly in water sources causes

serious water and soil pollution. Hence any industry has a potential to pollute almost all aspect of environment.

Development works cannot be stopped and hence there is the need of sustainable development which doesn’t have

or has lesser negative impact on the environment. We can have enterprises that can be both green and profitable.

Without a bare minimum level of food, medicine and education, developing countries will not be able to guarantee

decent living standards for their people -- a prerequisite to eradicating social inequality, preserving a balance

between development and the ecosystem, and achieving sustainable development. Such objectives can only be

achieved with economic growth of 5 percent. But the advanced industrialized nations will have to cut back their

emissions of contaminants by 4.4 percent per year in order to preserve the quality of the global environment at

current levels.

Eco-efficiency alone will not necessarily bring environmental improvement. For instance, more efficient central

heating means that, instead of saving energy, we now tend to make use of more living space within our houses.

Similarly, the improved fuel efficiency of automotive engines has not brought an overall reduction in oil

consumption, but rather has led to a proliferation of faster, more comprehensively equipped – and thus heavier –

vehicles.

Theoretically, it would be feasible for an organisation to propose to its automotive industry members that they all

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agree to produce cars capable of only, say, 120 km/hrs.This doubtly save fuel but would inevitably be branded as

anti-competitive.

The real solution is for the public to be educated and persuaded to adopt sustainable patterns of consumption. This

would permit a truly ecological use of technology – with everyone enjoying a lifestyle of elegant sufficiency, while

living within self-imposed limits.

Thus we can say that development will be efficient and sustainable if and only if we will consider our environment

in which we live in. That is any development process should adversely affect our environment.

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INDUSTRIAL AND MECHANICAL REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND:

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain during the 1700s. It started spreading to other

parts of Europe and to North America in the early 1800s. By the mid-1800s, industrialization had

become widespread in Western Europe and the northeastern United States. The Industrial

Revolution created an enormous increase in the production of many kinds of goods. Some of this

increase in production resulted from the introduction of power-driven machinery and the

development of factory organization. Before the revolution, manufacturing was done by hand or

simple machines. Most people worked at home in rural areas. A few worked in shops in towns as

part of associations called guilds. The Industrial Revolution eventually took manufacturing out

of the home and workshop. Power-driven machines replaced handwork, and factories developed

as the best way of bringing together the machines and the workers to operate them.

As the Industrial Revolution grew, private investors and financial institutions were needed to

provide money for the further expansion of industrialization. Financiers and banks thus became

as important as industrialists and factories in the growth of the revolution. For the first time in

European history, wealthy business leaders called capitalists took over the control and

organization of manufacturing. Today, most historians agree that the Industrial Revolution was a

great turning point in the history of the world. It changed the Western world from a basically

rural and agricultural society to a basically urban and industrial society. Industrialization brought

many material benefits, but it also created a large number of problems that still remain critical in

the modern world. For example, most industrial countries face problems of air and water

pollution.

Before the Industrial Revolution, some industry existed throughout western Europe. A little

manufacturing was carried on in guild shops in towns. Craftworkers in the shops worked with

simple tools to make such products as cloth, hardware, jewelry, leather goods, silverware, and

weapons. Some products made in the towns were exchanged for food raised in the countryside.

Town products were also exported to pay for luxuries imported from abroad, or they were sent to

the colonies in payment for raw materials. Life was hard for most people. They lived under the

constant threat that their crops might fail. Although few people starved, many of them suffered

from malnutrition. As a result, they caught diseases readily, and epidemics were common. Most

workers produced little and earned little. Only a few people enjoyed large incomes, usually

because they owned land, held public office, or had succeeded in business. Little money was

saved or invested in business ventures. In fact, there were few opportunities for investment.

Before the Industrial Revolution, most European countries were ruled by a monarch who had

much personal power. Great landowners, rich merchants, and some members of the clergy also

had considerable political influence. But the workers and farmers had no voice in the

government. Many countries did not even hold elections. Although Great Britain had a

Parliament, only male members of the Church of England who paid a certain amount of taxes

could vote. A handful of voters often determined who would represent a district in Great Britain.

All these social, economic, and political conditions changed in Great Britain as the Industrial

Revolution developed. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for several reasons. The

country had large deposits of coal and iron, the two natural resources on which early

industrialization largely depended. Other industrial raw materials came from Great Britain's

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colonies. By the mid-1700's, the country had become the world's leading colonial power. Great

Britain's colonies not only provided raw materials, but also provided markets for manufactured

products. These colonial markets helped stimulate the textile and iron industries, which were

probably the two most important industries during the Industrial Revolution.

The demand for British goods grew rapidly during the late 1700's both in Britain and in other

countries. This demand forced businesses to compete with one another for the limited supply of

labor and raw materials, which raised production costs. The rising costs of production began to

cut into profits. Further demand could not be satisfied until Britain enlarged its capacity to

produce goods inexpensively. British merchants did not want to raise the prices of their goods

and thus discourage demand. They sought more economical and efficient ways of using capital

and labor so the amount each worker produced would increase faster than the cost of production.

The merchants achieved their goal through the development of factories, machines, and technical

skills.

In this way, industrial and mechanical revolution took place in England.

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From industrial Society to information Society

An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, uses, integration

and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity. The

knowledge economy is its economic counterpart whereby wealth is created through the economic

exploitation of understanding. Industrial society refers to a society driven by the use of

technology to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for

division of labor. Such a structure developed in the west in the period of time following the

Industrial Revolution, and replaced the agrarian societies of the Pre-modern, Pre-industrial age.

Industrial societies are generally mass societies, and may be succeeded by an Information

society.

There is currently no universally accepted concept of what exactly can be termed information

society and what shall rather not so be termed. Most theoreticians agree that a transformation can

be seen that started somewhere between the 1970s and today and is changing the way societies

work fundamentally. Information technology is not only internet, and there are discussions about

how big the influence of specific media or specific modes of production really is. Some people,

such as Antonio Negri and Newt Gingrich, characterize the information society as one in which

people do immaterial labor. By this, they appear to refer to the production of knowledge or

cultural artifacts. One problem with this model is that it ignores the material and essentially

industrial basis of the society. However it does point to a problem for workers, namely how

many creative people does this society need to function? For example, it may be that you only

need a few star performers, rather than a plethora of non-celebrities, as the work of those

performers can be easily distributed, forcing all secondary players to the bottom of the market. It

is now common for publishers to promote only their best selling authors and to try to avoid the

rest—even if they still sell steadily. Films are becoming more and more judged, in terms of

distribution, by their first weekend's performance, in many cases cutting out opportunity for

word-of-mouth development. Considering that metaphors and technologies of information move

forward in a reciprocal relationship, we can describe some societies (especially the Japanese

society) as an information society because we think of it as such.

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Industrial society is characterized by the use of external energy sources, such as fossil fuels, to

increase the rate and scale of production.[1]

The production of food is shifted to large commercial

farms where the products of industry, such as combine harvesters and fossil fuel based fertilizers,

are used to decrease required human labor while increasing production. No longer needed for the

production of food, excess labor is moved into these factories where mechanization is utilized to

further increase efficiency. As populations grow, and mechanization is further refined, often to

the level of automation, many workers shift to expanding industries. Industrial society makes

urbanization desirable, in part so that workers can be closer to centers of production, and the

service industry can provide labor to workers and those that benefit financially from them, in

exchange for a piece of production profits with which they can buy goods. This leads to the rise

of very large cities and surrounding suburban areas with a high rate of activity. These urban

centers require the input of external energy sources in order to overcome the diminishing

returns[2]

of agricultural consolidation, due partially to the lack of nearby arable land, associated

transportation and storage costs, and are otherwise unsustainable. This makes the reliable

availability of the needed energy resources high priority in industrial government policies. Some

theoreticians -- namely Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens and Manuel Castells argue that we are

located in the middle of a transformation or transition from industrial societies to post-modern

societies. The triggering technology for the change from an agricultural to an industrial

organization was steam power, allowing mass production and reducing the agricultural work

necessary. Thus many industrial cities are built around rivers. Identified as catalyst or trigger for

the transition to post-modern or informational society is global information technology.

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The comparison between Industrial Society and Information Society:

Industrial Society Information Society

Core Steam engine (power) Computer (memory, computation, control)

Basic Function Replacement, amplification of

physical labor Replacement, amplification of mental labor

Production

Power

Material productive power

(increase in per capita production)

Information productive power (increase in

optimal action-selection capabilities)

Products Useful goods and services Information, technology, knowledge

Leading

Industries

Manufacturing industries

(machinery industry, chemical

industry)

Intellectual industries (information

industry, knowledge industry

Industrial

structure

Primary, secondary, tertiary

industries

Matrix industrial structure (primary,

secondary, tertiary, quaternary/system

industries)

Socio-economic

principle

Law of price (equilibrium of

supply and demand)

Law of goals (principle of synergetic feed

forward)

Socio- economic

system

Private ownership of capital, free

competition, profit maximization

Infrastructure, principle of synergy,

precedence of social benefit

Form of society Class society (centralized power,

classes, control)

Functional society (multi- centre, function,

autonomy)

National goal GNW (gross national welfare) GNS (gross national satisfaction)

Force of social

change Labor movement, strikes Citizens' movements, litigation

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Social problems Unemployment, war, fascism Future shock, terror, invasion of privacy

Most advanced

stage High mass consumption High mass knowledge creation

Value standards Material values (satisfaction of

physical needs)

Time- value (satisfaction of goal

achievement needs)

Ethical

standards

Fundamental human rights,

humanity Self- discipline, social contribution

Spirit of the

times Renaissance (human liberation) Globalism (symbiosis of man and nature)

The information age is somewhat limiting, in that it refers to 30 years period between the wide

spread use of computers and the knowledge economy rather than an emerging economic order.

The information relates with the industrial revolution .the information economy and the

knowledge economy emphasize the content or intellectual property that is being traded through

an information market.

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The Development of Material Knowledge

THROUGHOUT the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the opening years of the

nineteenth century, while these conflicts of the powers and princes were going on in Europe, and

the patchwork of the treaty of Westphalia (1648) was changing kaleidoscopically into the

patchwork of the treaty of Vienna (1815), and while the sailing ship was spreading European

influence throughout the world, a steady growth of knowledge and a general clearing up of

men’s ideas about the world in which they lived was in progress in the European and

Europeanized world.

It went on disconnected from political life, and producing throughout the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries no striking immediate results in political life. Nor was it affecting popular

thought very profoundly during this period. These reactions were to come later, and only in their

full force in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It was a process that went on chiefly in a

small world of prosperous and independent-spirited people. Without what the English call the

“private gentleman,” the scientific process could not have begun in Greece, and could not have

been renewed in Europe. The universities played a part but not a leading part in the philosophical

and scientific thought of this period. Endowed learning is apt to be timid and conservative

learning, lacking in initiative and resistent to innovation, unless it has the spur of contact with

independent minds.

The progress of physical science reacted upon metallurgy. Improved metallurgy, affording the

possibility of a larger and bolder handling of masses of metal and other materials, reacted upon

practical inventions. Machinery on a new scale and in a new abundance appeared to

revolutionize industry.

In 1804 Trevithick adapted the Watt engine to transport and made the first locomotive. In 1825

the first railway, between Stockton and Darlington, was opened, and Stephenson’s “Rocket,”

with a thirteen-ton train, got up to a speed of forty-four miles per hour. From 1830 onward

railways multiplied. By the middle of the century a network of railways had spread all over

Europe.

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Concurrently with the development of steam transport upon land and sea a new and striking

addition to the facilities of human intercourse arose out of the investigations of Volta, Galvani

and Faraday into various electrical phenomena. The electric telegraph came into existence in

1835. The first underseas cable was laid in 1851 between France and England. In a few years the

telegraph system had spread over the civilized world, and news which had hitherto travelled

slowly from point to point became practically simultaneous throughout the earth.

Parallel with this extension of mechanical possibilities the new science of electricity grew up. It

was only in the eighties of the nineteenth century that this body of enquiry began to yield results

to impress the vulgar mind. Then suddenly came electric light and electric traction, and the

transmutation of forces, the possibility of sending power, that could be changed into mechanical

motion or light or heat as one chose, along a copper wire, as water is sent along a pipe, began to

come through to the ideas of ordinary people.

A fresh phase in the history of invention opened when in the eighties a new type of engine came

into use, an engine in which the expansive force of an explosive mixture replaced the expansive

force of steam. The light, highly efficient engines that were thus made possible were applied to

the automobile, and developed at last to reach such a pitch of lightness and efficiency as to

render flight—long known to be possible—a practical achievement. A successful flying

machine—but not a machine large enough to take up a human body—was made by Professor

Langley of the Smithsonian Institute of Washington as early as 1897. By 1909 the aeroplane was

available for human locomotion. There had seemed to be a pause in the increase of human speed

with the perfection of railways and automobile road traction, but with the flying machine came

fresh reductions in the effective distance between one point of the earth’s surface and another. In

the eighteenth century the distance from London to Edinburgh was an eight days’ journey; in

1918 the British Civil Air Transport Commission reported that the journey from London to

Melbourne, halfway round the earth, would probably in a few years’ time be accomplished in

that same period of eight days.

Too much stress must not be laid upon these striking reductions in the time distances of one

place from another. They are merely one aspect of a much profounder and more momentous

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enlargement of human possibility. The science of agriculture and agricultural chemistry, for

instance, made quite parallel advances during the nineteenth century. Men learnt so to fertilize

the soil as to produce quadruple and quintuple the crops got from the same area in the

seventeenth century. There was a still more extraordinary advance in medical science; the

average duration of life rose, the daily efficiency increased the waste of life through ill-health

diminished.

Clearly it demands great readjustments of our social, economical and political methods. But

these readjustments have necessarily waited upon the development of the mechanical revolution,

and they are still only in their opening stage to-day.

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WATER POLLUTION: EMERGING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN

KATHMANDU VALLEY

Water is the important constituent of life support system. No one can live and even

dream to live without water. Water pollution means the presence of foreign organic,

inorganic, biological and physical substance or property in the water that tends to

degrade its quality either creating a health hazard or otherwise decrease the utility of

water.

Water pollution is contamination of stream, lakes, underground water, bays or oceans

by substance harmful to living things. Water is very crucial element for sustaining

different forms of life. All living organism rely on it for various metabolic process.

Not a single one can live without it. Plants and animal require water that is moderately

and in natural way, but if water is loaded with heavy toxic chemical they cannot

survive. So water has a great importance and if this is underestimated the life of all

will be in danger. Due to the water pollution there will be imbalance in the ecosystem.

The food chain may be disturbed, all the biotic components are imbalanced and

finally the unstable situation is created.

Major types of water pollutants

The major types of water pollutants are chemical, biological or physical material that

degrades water quality. Pollutants can be classified into eight categories each of

which presents its own set of hazards.

Petroleum products

Pesticides and herbicides

Heavy metal

Excessive organic matter

Sediments

Infectious organism

Thermal pollution

Though the problem of water is age old but in the modern era the problem like

population increase sewage disposal, industrial waste etc have polluted our water

resources considerably. The contributors to water pollution are sewage, oil, industries

waste, medical waste, agricultural and radioactive waste. Water pollution not only

change the physical properties of water like colour, odour and turbidity, taste and

temperature but also make it acidic and saline due to presence of dissolve and

suspended chemical pollutants.

For the people of the Kathmandu valley clean river water is just a memory. Today the

rivers can only be said to be clean at their source and river pollution has become a

major problem in the valley. The major rivers of the valley, Bagmati, Bishnumati, and

Tukucha are no longer the important natural resources that they once were. This is

because of the mis-management of the drainage system of houses and local industries

at a time of increasing urbanization. Even the outlets of hospitals flow directly into

the rivers.

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Surface water in the Kathmandu Valley is severely polluted by industrial effluence,

domestic waste, and by the discharge of untreated sewage from residential areas.

Emerging issues

Inadequate supply of water

This is basically related to the demand for water for household

consumption and other economic activities such as industry, hotels and

restaurants, transport and others. The piped water supply is far below the need of

people. The gap between demand and supply is widening each year.

Deteriorating quality of water

The quality of water for drinking purposes has deteriorated because of the

inadequacy of treatment plants, direct discharge of untreated sewages into rivers,

and inefficient technical management of the piped water distribution system. Also

the quality of water in rivers, ponds and lakes in major urban area is deteriorating

rapidly. At the consequence of such unhygienic water quality condition, water

borne diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery and gastroenteritis often occurs. These

diseases are prevalent in both urban and rural areas throughout the kingdom. The

aesthetic value of so called sacred rivers, lakes and ponds has been badly

damaged. Therefore, the religious importance and recreational activities such as

bathing, swimming and fishing in the rivers has declined.

Depletion of ground water table and drying up of sources and ponds

The over exploitation of ground water not only affects the ground water

table but may also have adverse effect on health due to the change in the

geological sources.

Water rights

Awareness in local communities of Nepal is rising about water-use rights

to the streams following through their own areas.

Challenges in Kathmandu valley

It is estimated that Kathmandu produces 150 tons of waste each day, nearly half of

which is dumped into the river. More than 40 million liters a day of wastewater is

generated in Kathmandu and a whopping over 80 percent of this is generated by

households.

The problem of excreta disposal is clearly as old as mankind itself and the need for

careful disposal is highlighted in a number of religious books including Hindu,

Islamic and Christian texts. The proper management of excreta acts as the primary

barrier to

Prevent the spread of pathogens in the environment. It directly impacts disease

transmission through person-to person contact, water and the food chain.

The potable water contaminated with faeces is the chief cause of some important

disease of man. About 98% of the people of rural areas use open field for defecation.

Faeces are the most common pollutant of potable water. They consist primarily of

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intestinal bacteria. Empirical studies of drinking water throughout Nepal have found

that faecal coli form contamination in the water consistently exceeds WHO guidelines

for water considered fit for human consumption. A report by international consultants

concludes, "Kathmandu's drinking water is hosting disease-causing microbes and

hazardous chemicals." According to the same study, when tap water from

representative locations of Kathmandu's urban areas was analyzed in the laboratory,

almost 90% of the sample was not potable.

An increase in the quantity of water has a greater health impact than improved water

quality, because an adequate water supply makes it possible or at least more feasible

for people to adopt safe hygiene behaviors. Since a primary cause of contamination of

water is inadequate or improper disposal of human and animal excreta, better water

quality only improves health when sanitation is improved as well and when the

quantity of water is sufficient.

Conclusion

Out of the total population of Nepal, only 84% have access to safe drinking water. In

rural Nepal, millions of people do not have access to safe drinking water or basic

sanitation sources. Only 27% of the population as a whole has access to sanitary

facilities.

All water is susceptible to contamination. It may accumulate contaminants from the

air, the ground, or from rocks. Some of these contaminants, such as low levels of

certain minerals or compounds, are not harmful to health, whereas others, such as

pathogens, may be.

In cities in the developing countries of the region, most water bodies are now heavily

polluted with domestic sewage, industrial effluents, chemicals and solid wastes. Most

rivers in Nepal’s urban areas have been polluted and their waters are now unfit for

human use, whereas drinking water in Kathmandu is contaminated with coliform

bacteria, iron, ammonia and other contaminants. www.sa

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