Module EM-01: Society, Development
& Environment
The Aristotalian and Platonic world views. Triumph of the Aristotalian
world view, and Judeo-Christian teachings that shaped Occidental
attitude to the environment and the consequences thereof. Demonstration
of the temporal and spatial limitations of humans by using examples
from astronomy, relativistic mechanics and quantum mechanics. Perception
and reality. Human inability to predict future consequences of present
actions (Heisenberg). Role of science and technology in economic
development and the environmental consequences thereof. Changing
human attitude to the environment and life-style, and the social,
political and economic problems of doing so. Constraints to sustainable
development imposed by the prevailing laissez-faire economic system.
Human development as the aim of sustainable development. How we
lost respect for nature and how it could be regained. References
to the Indian, Islamic, Buddhist and Mayan philosophical traditions.
Possible future scenarios. Case studies.
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Module EM-02: Air Pollution —
Causes, Effects & Control
Definition of primary and secondary air pollutants. Structure of
the atmosphere. Functions and importance of the boundary layer.
Sources and sinks of atmospheric pollutants. Major primary pollutants,
their sources, and strategies for their control. Major secondary
pollutants, their sources, and strategies for their control. Air
quality standards. Environmental and health impacts of the major
primary and secondary air pollutants. Acid rain and its impacts.
Global warming and its impacts. Ozone depletion and its impacts.
Carcinogenic and mutagenic impacts of air pollution. The Montreal
and Kyoto Protocols. Economic and regulatory instruments and public
education policy for controlling air pollution. EU Directives on
air pollution. Future prospects. Case studies.
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Module EM-03:
Solid Waste Management
Classification of solid wastes and how they are generated. Roles
of institutions (local government, central government and NGOs)
in solid waste management. Socio-economic and cultural aspects of
solid waste management. Management options (landfill, composting
and incineration) and their relative advantages and disadvantages.
Strategies for waste separation at source. When is landfill a preferred
option? Classification of landfills. Application and economics of
landfill as a bio-reactor to produce methane gas with or without
retro-fitting. Imperatives of sustainable solid waste management
(waste minimisation, recycling and reuse). 'Before the pipe' (e.g.
public education) and 'end of pipe' management strategies. EU's
hierarchical approach to solid waste management. EU Directives on
solid waste management. Future prospects. Case studies.
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Module EM-04: Environmental
Management
General principles of sustainable environmental management. Conventional
ecosystem and compartmental approaches to environmental management.
Prerequisites of sustainability. The Polluter Pays Principle and
the Precautionary Principle. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA),
its key aspects, methods (checklist and the Leopold matrix), limitations
and recent developments. State of the Environment (SoE) reporting.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), its key aspects, methods, limitations
and recent developments. Environmental audit. Economic instruments:
standards, taxes, charges, levies and incentives; marketable permits;
deposit-refund schemes; and negotiation. Risk assessment. EMAS,
and ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series. Environmental conflict resolution
with particular reference to the Mutual Gains Approach (MGA). Situation
in the developing countries. Local Agenda 21 and its practical application.
Future prospects. Case studies.
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Module EM-05: Environmental Economics
& Policy
Differences between conventional and environmental economics. Marginal
utility; supply and demand; elasticity of supply and demand; consumer
surplus; equilibrium price; costs and benefits. Perfect and monopolistic
competition. Methods of estimating the value of non-market goods:
the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), the Hedonistic Pricing Approach
(HPA), and the Travel Method (TM). Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA).
Policy option and policy scenario. Participants in policy-making.
Criteria for and methods of policy-making. Public participation,
its importance, and methods of organising public participation in
policy-making. Policy-making for sustainable development. Monitoring
and evaluating impacts of implemented policy. Case studies.
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Module EM-06: Wastewater Treatment
Industrial, agricultural and domestic sources of water pollution.
Impacts of pollutants on ground and surface waters. Self-purification
of water and wastewater treatment. Main physical, chemical and biological
parameters describing water quality. Role and description of pre-treatment;
primary, secondary, tertiary and advanced wastewater treatment processes.
Management criteria and options for wastewater treatment. Policy
and strategies for controlling industrial pollution of water. Monitoring
of water quality. Concept of sustainable water use (quality sustainability
and quantity sustainability) and strategies for reuse, recycling
and waste minimisation. Sustainable water use through efficient
management of existing water resources; limiting or eliminating
leakage from the distribution system and on consumers' own premises;
possible reuse and recycling both by industry and households.
Situation in the developing countries. Case studies.
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Module EM-07: Soil Pollution —
Causes, Effects & Control
Formation, constituents and properties (mechanical, chemical and
redox conditions) of soil. Sources of soil contaminants (atmospheric,
agricultural, from waste disposal, derelict industrial sites, and
incidental accumulation of contaminants). Characteristics of some
major groups of soil contaminants (heavy metals, organic contaminants
and sewage sludge). Adsorption of contaminants by soil and their
decomposition. Effects of soil contamination on surface and ground
waters, flora and fauna, and on human health. Critical concentrations
of contaminants in soil. Methods of site investigation. Methods
of reclamation of contaminated land (removing contaminated soil
from site, covering contaminated land with barren soil, in situ
remediation, and remediation by reducing bio-availability). Case
studies.
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EM-08: The Project
Please see 'The project' under teaching & training methods.
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